FIRST EXECUTION

[faentasy]

Execution

Regardless of how you spent the day after trial, time ticks forward. Zola’s fate has been sealed, and all that awaits is the execution of her sentence. Come Sunday morning, the familiar sound of a flute reaches your ears, though this time you're not inclined to obey (although those who resist will have a feeling of dread they just can't shake until the end of the day), unless you're one particular blonde. Today the notes of music bring you inside the palace and into the stairwell leading to the upper floors, bars completely gone as if they were never there to begin with. What awaits at the end of the ascent is a white, completely featureless corridor with a single, plain black door at the end. As soon as it's opened, you find yourself in a completely different space.

All you can see around you is yourself and those came to bear witness you, reflections flooding your peripheral vision. This entire space is one giant mirror, from the floors, to the walls, to the ceilings. In the middle of the room stand Zola, no longer confined with vines or any restraints, and Junko with Hamelin directly in between them.

"Welcome, welcome! Now that our audience is here, let's get started shall we? Today's performance has Junko starring as the heroine and Zola as the villain! Put on a proper show for us, will you ladies?"

With a theatrical bow, Hamelin steps out from between them, a shimmer visible as he does, a large magic barrier shining into place. The stage has been set, and now all that remains is to enjoy the play.

Comments

EXECUTION

[faentasy]

[dezolation]

[Zola knew this could only end in a death. Whether it was hers or someone else's...well, she certainly was going to try it to be someone else's, that's for sure.

She didn't really expect any of this, though. When Junko appears into view, she gets tense, already getting her guard up.

There are no weapons in her hands. In fact, most of her weapons were confiscated. Again. That needed to stop happening]

...I thought I'd be facing Hamelin.

[purefuries]

[ Junko's wearing something less...Junko today, not the floor-length gowns she normally sports, so she's being practical about this, at least. In her right hand is a dagger.

She seems eerily nonchalant about all of this. ]

Your assumption was false. I was chosen to be your executioner.

POPCORNING

[faentasy]

[ For all your reactionary and shouting at Hamelin needs. ]

[mearry]

"Proper show". As if this were just some play or something.

[ c-ta doesn't really want to be here, but...he's here anyways. it's not like he feels much for zola. ]

[incompletely]

And he'd rather not get his own hands dirty.

[ Junko doesn't seem like she has too many qualms doing this right now, but. Really. ]

[heroicact]

Ah, I wonder if this is really necessary... All these mirrors... are a little much.

[It's halfway to himself, Jack has his hand up to shield his eyes as though from a too-strong sunbeam, but all the same even with his eyes lowered it's impossible not to see the execution. Perhaps it's just a little better than staring into infinity, all the same.

He falls silent after that somewhat soft and somewhat disjointed pronouncement. It's not the best atmosphere for chatter.]

[hellochildren]

[Hey Jack! Hope you don't mind a small weight landing on your shoulder shortly after you become silent.]

It does seem raser unneetet, for the current situation.

I hope you don't mind my perching here, Herr Vessalius, but I woult prefer not having to fly during the whole thing.

[Because he is not about to miss this from having to sit on the floor.]

[biqe]

[ Phil doesn't have any desire to watch this, and he's not the type to get any satisfaction out of this kind of justice... if it can be called that. But he wants to learn as much about this place and situation as he can so that he can help get them all out of it, and that means he can't very well stay in his room the first time this location and process are being revealed to them.

So, he's here.

The mirrors catch him by surprise, and he ends up paying attention more to the structure of the room and arrangement of the mirror pieces than anything. The way these all reflect off of each other, if they were mirrages and not standard mirrors, then something like the Kaleidoscope... hm.

...Well, maybe that's not what he should be focusing on. ]

[sempiternel]

We're putting on a show for someone.

[ She didn't want to come to see what would surely be a mockery of justice. Yet she couldn't stay away, though the sweet sounds of the flute leading them here made her sad. They had sentenced Zola to this fate, even if there hadn't been much choice in the matter. If this is how the story is supposed to go, it would happen to someone else sooner or later.

(It could be her here one day.)

Still, she can't quite look at the fight going on. So instead, she walks around the the edge of the room, tapping at the mirror walls. ]

Is there someone watching us from the other side, you think?

[mirrite]

[Marcus is by his side, of course-- there's no way he'd let Phil go to something like this by himself, even if he knows that it's not because there's any sort of joy or satisfaction to be derived from it.

... on Phil's end, at least. On his own... deep down, there is a part of him that wants to see justice served for Samidare, some sort of closure to this whole horrible thing, if it can even be called that. He's not sure.

What he does know is that standing here isn't making him feel any better, yet he can't bring himself to look away. Without a word, he brings one hand up to give Phil's shoulder a squeeze, as much to ground himself as to lend support, though his gaze remains facing forward, his face impassive.]

[laytorest]

[Yor is here, expression subdued as she watches, hands folded in front of her.]

Re: POPCORNING

[crimson_flamel]

[Edelgard watches, her face blank. It should serve as a cautionary tale at least. Rhea is quite fond of those too.

Perhaps it's just a monster trait.]

I suppose it's a good thing that it wasn't someone... less acquainted with death.

[ideismo]

[Alexei is...well, he's here, though he seems incredibly blank for someone watching people fight to the death. It's surreal, surely, just as this entire area is; just the same, he's watching with literally no visible reaction whatsoever.]

[amortristis]

[ She's here, but by and large she's quietly watching. Regardless of what Zola did, they put her in there, so it's only fair that they're there for it. ]

[libirdian]

[ Nageki is here to look at the area and nothing else, so he'll be pointedly examining the reflections in the mirror. Eventually, he'll stop to think for a moment (all while fighting is going on in the background)...before pecking at the mirror.

This is probably a bad decision. ]

[reallyfishy]

[Raven's here as well. For how vibrant and lively he usually seems, it's hard to tell if there's anything going on behind his eyes now. But he's here, and he's watching Zola give it her all, fighting until the last breath.]

[scythegun]

[Yeager's here and while he's certainly more subdued than usual, he doesn't particularly seem upset by this either. He's watching very closely, but he at least has the decency to keep the commentary to himself.]

[purefuries]

[ This disaster can be found a) leaving the scene while covered in blood like the champ she is or b) later, patched up and hanging around in the lounge and not saying anything.

If you wanted to say anything to her after all of that. Christ. ]

a!

[incompletely]

...Junko-san.

[ He waves her over. ]

Let me help you patch yourself up. I can tear some fabric from something in the boutique to use as a makeshift bandage for you. Can you make it there?

b.

[mearry]

How are you feeling, Junko-san?

[ c-ta’s just going to check up on her! ]

[vogelfrei]

[ Yeah, that happened... If McGillis is thinking anything specific about it, he's not showing that. His expression is flat and his eyes are very distant. He'll walk out after it is done, without comment. ]

[mathodical]

[ william is here to watch the whole thing, because what good is a show without an audience to show for it? he knows that better than anyone.

he's keeping his commentary to himself, though, unless someone asks. ]

[foxetious]

[This is hardly the first execution Gin has attended, and the mirrors add a distinct flare Sōkyoku Hill never achieved. Unlike many of the others, his gaze remains infallibly centered on the action. Near the end of the fight, Gin's eyes even crack open the slightest amount revealing cold blue, his smile also toning down.

This is the most invested he's been in this place over the entire week.]

Quite the messy affair, hm?

[The tone is soft and mostly to himself. He doesn't seem the slightest bit disturbed by the idea of one captive killing the other, or how that affects the rest of them.]

[eternaljune]

[Rika doesn't really have much to say: her first thoughts thinking of execution wasn't a flat-out brawl, but she can't exactly feel too invested when the outcome is already decided. No matter what, Zola is going to die. All she can really do is watch it play out.]

...so that's how it is, then. Not even a proper gallows to speak of.