WEEK FOUR: EXECUTION

[saturations]

EXECUTION: TRIAL BY COMBAT

Sunday morning starts peacefully enough, until around noon, when alarms start going off on your phones. The dreadful noise is accompanied by a reminder of the execution taking place in the Central Node. You can snooze the alarms at first, but they begin to get a little more insistent. If you're being stubborn, you can probably hold out until exactly 1 PM, when an archway opens right in front of you and pulls you in.

Today the Central Node is eerily quiet and empty. There are a few blankets laid out on the grass for those of you who wish to sit instead of standing the whole time. No refreshments have been provided, but the Residents are already there waiting for you.

As the last person enters the node, an enormous archway suddenly opens. This archway once again leads to an area which is pitch black inside, with white and grey dust falling softly like snow. The chilly air feels even colder than before, and you instinctively know you must not approach it. If you try to push through anyway, something is blocking your way. Smaller tears to the same space open in the air, at the very least. You can see what's happening, even if you can't follow.

Because - once the archway is open, Atsushi and Vin alone will begin to walk through as though drawn. All you can do now is watch and wait.

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Comments

[allomantic]

[and take it she does.

she doubts she'll need the gun now that he's been disarmed as well, so she's dropping it as she runs, though she keeps a hold of her dagger. she's small, but there's force behind it when she tackles him, too, moving the weapon to prepare to strike—

and hesitating for just a moment while her expression tightens, taking in a shaky breath. before she does anything else - she leans in to whisper something to him, quietly enough that nobody watching can hear. though, it's a little bit more audible when she says, voice raw:]

...I'm so sorry.

[the feeling that it brings forth is both sorrowful and warm as she shoves her dagger into his chest.]

[moonlightbeast]

[Atsushi's eyes go wide, first from her whispered words and then from the dagger that follows them. Shock and elation, followed by pain.

He gasps quietly as the dagger hits its mark, piercing him right through the scar left behind by his stabbing three weeks ago. Painful, deep, and deadly. He can already feel his strength draining from him even before the blade is removed, and it's a good thing he's already been tackled down because he might actually fall now otherwise.

But even if he's in pain, even as tears well up in his eyes and his breathing gets difficult, he's smiling. And he just reaches up to cup the side of her face.]

Yeah. Me too.

[Which part is he agreeing with: the whisper, or the apology?

It probably doesn't matter much in the end though. Because with the last bit of strength he has left, he's going to lift his head up to press his lips against Vin's. Maybe that's a better answer than raspy words.

It only lasts for a couple moments though, before Atsushi's vision starts to go dark and he finds his body going limp. But he's not alone, and he can feel the warmth of Vin's presence comforting him as he sinks into unconsciousness.]

[allomantic]

[she's trying very hard to keep calm, trying to stem the flow of tears - but as he puts his hand on her face and then leans in to kiss her, she goes still. she wishes they were in any other place, any other time, but... there's a rising sense of both affection and sorrow as it ends, before there's a new awareness of the blood soaking out of his wound. she has to fight very hard not to panic - she doesn't want that to be the last thing he feels from her.

all the same, her voice is a little bit watery as she says:]

...I've got you.

[saturations]

[just like that...he's gone. the images inside the archway swirl again, fading away in a whirl of color. atsushi, too, appears to fade away, colors leaving him first before his form entirely blurs and vanishes into the darkness. there’s nothing there anymore, only pitch black and gently falling dust, gray, white, and for a moment, a few flakes of amber orange.

...vin finds herself gently tipped out of the archway as it closes behind her, sealing away the area once more. you no longer feel the intense anxiety (just your own), and you can move once again.

atsushi nakajima is dead.]