WEEK 4 TRIAL

[foundationmods]

It was noon on Saturday.

No matter where they were, no matter what they were doing...the moment the chimes rang out through the hall, they felt a change.

The world...began to expand, as they felt themselves leaving the world they were on, and towards another, much larger world...🗈

...As always, the courtroom was there - along with the audience, watching, waiting for the entertainment before them.

The Witch - Nirrti - was there, sitting in the most important place, watching all of them with a sharp, cruel gaze, though no smile could be seen on her face today.

Watanuki was also there, but he merely lounged in the back behind them, smoking a kiseru pipe in silence.
...It seemed as if he was content to watch - that he had to watch - as part of the rules of the game.

There was no music to be heard, but... perhaps on another plane, in another place, someone else heard music as they gazed upon the proceedings.

Again, their forms had changed - perhaps into something different than last time, but...still a change, no matter how dramatic or inconsequential it was.

...There was a deep silence in the room, one that no one wanted to break. It was the faint tension in the air, like the moments before a race or a competition begins.

Truth was elusive, yet they had to find it.
No matter how painful, or upsetting.
No badly how much they all hurt.

For the sake of the dead...and the sake of them all.

Comments

FANTASY RETELLING

[lutea]

The night air was calm, if warm for a summer night.
Natsuno stood in front of the chapel, with white flowers in his hands.

Of course, he had no intention to go inside of the building.
With no one to invite him in, it would be unpleasant, to say the least.

Still, he was so focused on the flowers in his hand...that he didn’t even hear the black flames appear out of the air behind him, heralding the appearance of the Witch…

“Hello, Natsuno.”

He stared at her - coolly, as always.
“Witch. What do you want?”

“How rude! I merely wanted to tell you something I think you’ll be very interested to hear.”
She smiled - but her eyes were sharp, and dangerous.
She didn’t look at him like a friend….but as meat.

“Then spit it out already.”

Nirrti laughed, though she felt a moment of disappointment.
She had enjoyed their chats - how sad that they would not have another.

“Straight to the point, as always….Very well.”
With a flourish, she outstretched her hands.
“...Natsuno. Tonight….you will be the victim in my game.”

His body tensed - though he kept looking at her though he didn’t care about her declaring to kill him.
“Don’t call me that. And like hell I will.”

“Hmmm? I can call you whatever I wish. And you will die tonight. In fact - I suppose I should summon my Furniture, shouldn’t I?”
With a motion of her hand, she drew their talk to a close...and below her, a magical circle appears, glowing with an ominous red light…

“...Come, Valefar.”

At her simple declaration...from the middle of the circle came a flashing light, which grew slowly to be in the shape of a man...before dispersing and revealing -!

The grinning, red-eyed demon who bowed to the Witch of Misfortune, his red suit looking strikingly suitable for the demon that governed the relationship between thieves.
Indeed, he almost looked like a dashing rogue in that moment - though in truth, what he had been summoned for was something entirely different…

“Valefar, there you are. Please - kill him for me, won’t you?”

At the question, the demon smiled a sharp, self assured smile.
“With pleasure.”
It was a quick, measured response - but one that spoke of his utter confidence.

The Witch smiled, giving him a pleased look, even reaching out to ruffle his already shaggy hair.
“Thank you, my dear furniture. Feel free to have as much fun as you’d like~ Ah, but leave his body in a presentable state, won’t you?”

Of course, Valefar had no intention to argue.
As he cast his gaze to the side - directly at Natsuno - the smile he had before still remained on his face.
But….it was more predatory now, much like the stare of a lion that was about to lunge at a gazelle.
“And damage that pretty face too much? Wouldn’t dream of it~”

“*giggle* Of course. Well then - I’ll step back and let you two boys have fun, hm?”

Though, the moment she said that - Natsuno wasted no time.
Immediately, he braced himself - and dropped his flowers, going low and aiming to grab Valefar by the waist to tackle him to the ground.

Of course, the demon saw it coming - and only allowed himself to be grabbed in order to shift his weight to the side, causing the two of them to bust through the chapel doors.

Immediately, Natsuno knew he was in trouble.
Though he tried to show no outward sign of weakness, his head was already spinning.
Not only had he not been invited in, this was a chapel - a place of religion.
In essence…
This was the worst place for him to fight in!

Still, he knew his enemy would give him no mercy - so fighting past the disorientation, he took a defensive stance, looking for any potential openings.

Valefar, in stark contrast, seemed almost unfazed by the place they were in.
Standing easily on his feet, he gave Natsuno a far too casual smile, his stance completely open and ungarded.
He even winked at his opponent - though it was clear it wasn’t meant as a friendly gesture.
And, from the looks of it, there was plenty; Valefar’s stance, once he was back on his feet, was far-too-casual, much like the smirk on his lips.

...So this was how it was going to be.
This had to be a trap...but he didn’t have much choice.
Even though he felt like he was fighting through water, he still came forward - aiming a punch at Valefar’s chest.

And instantly, it was dodged.
As easily as one would dodge a small child’s attack - though the demon’s playful nature vanished as he moved, quickly grabbing Natsuno’s arm to fling him to the side.

As disoriented as Natsuno was, he couldn’t stop himself - and slid right into the pews, jostling them aside.
Snapping his head up, he saw the calm, playful smile return on Valefar’s face - looking all the world like a lion happily playing around with a mouse…

Still, he wouldn’t lie down and die.
He had accepted death once before - and he refused to do so again.
No matter how many times his attacks were dodged...he would continue to fight.

...Yet, this fight could barely be called one.
Each one of his punches or attempts to grapple were either easily dodged or reversed, and soon...Valefar began to intersperse a punch or two while he dodged and spun.
A hit to the ribs here, a crack to the sternum there.
Each hit rattled his body and made him ache, but Natsuno never stopped trying to hit him.

Just when he thought he had figured out the demon’s fight patterns despite the disorientation…
Valefar himself turned off his playful demeanor, his blood-red eyes narrowing as he began to get serious.
The blows...began to get faster, and faster.
Soon, it was all Natsuno could do to block his body with his arms, each hit stinging painfully...

Valefar sighed, shaking his head.
“Ah... I’m almost disappointed this is over already. Any last words?”

Natsuno...merely stared at him, in silence.

The demon shrugged, casually, like it didn’t even involve him.
“Suit yourself, then.”

The moment he proclaimed that...he began to change.
His body glowed with an ominous red light….and shifted, going from a human form to a more inanimate form…

Indeed, he looked….like a wicked, double-edged dagger, red and black, with an edge sharp enough to cleave away anyone’s life…!

With a laugh, the dagger flew in the air - diving into the shadowed part of the chapel, under the pews and around Natsuno.

With his body tense and defensive, Natsuno braced himself.
If he could just be fast enough to dodge the next hit, then maybe…!
Just maybe...he could win -

SHUNK.

-And yet.
Valefar….was a demon.
So...the outcome...was entirely expected.

There, on his chest, digging into his heart...was the dagger Valefar had become.

The wound....was fatal.
Even for a Jinrou, that much was clear.
And as the demonic blade drew back, he clutched his chest...but refused to fall.

No.
Not here, not now

Using what power he still had left to him, Natsuno managed to run past the demon, out of the chapel - even past a shocked Witch, who had already let her flames fade the moment her Furniture had trapped his intended victim in the chapel.
Within moments, he had run into the mansion…

Nirrti blinked - and looked confused, turning towards the chapel in concern.
“Valefar?”

“I can still finish it!”
Quickly, he got into a stance to follow - but then stopped, as the Witch outstretched a hand in front of him to still his movement.

“...There’s no need to follow him. For this...I will summon one of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory.”

...A look came to the eyes of the demon - one of impatience.
He would be able to chase down a mere mortal in moments, but...perhaps she was unhappy with him letting his quarry escape.
So, he nodded.
The Lady knew best, after all.

With a smile, she leaned over ruffled his hair again, with a fond look in her eyes.
“Good. ...Make no mistake, Valefar. I am not doing this because I believe you failed.
I merely wish to make sure you will be safe...and to get someone a little more experienced to finish this.”

Spreading her hands out towards the ground, the same magical circle that had summoned Valefar flared...but it was different.
The symbol was stronger, more intense.
After all, she was summoning a demon she had not yet contracted to.
Her own Furniture was a simple matter, but summoning one of the demons that ruled over the terraces of Purgatory was entirely different from that.

“...Come, arise, forgive the Sin. One of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory...I care not who responds. Come, and swiftly! The Witch of Misfortune, Nirrti, demands you appear!

The glowing from the magic circle rose, the red light twisting into shapes - first as a pointed stake, and then...slowly becoming a humanlike form.
Long hair, the outline of some outlandish costume appearing…

And soon, an elegant young girl was standing there….no, she was floating.

“Lucifer the Prideful, right here.
….The Witch of Misfortune, is it? I see you already have a Duke of hell as your Furniture.
Speaking of - Valefar, that’s quite the interesting vessel you’ve taken.
It’s much better than your previous one.”

“Thanks… I thought so, too,” he started with a small smirk... before giving her a wink, “You’re looking as gorgeous as always~”

Lucifer blushed for a moment - before regaining her composure, huffing.
“And you don’t change, even when you change vessels! Shouldn’t you change even a little bit to match whoever your vessel was before?”

That gets a laugh before he responds with a small grin.
“Or, maybe, this vessel just so happens to have already been a near-perfect fit, anyway.”

“...If you’re the one saying that, then I take back my original compliment. ...I’m just glad I didn’t meet your vessel in person while he was still alive.”

The Witch clapped her hands, bringing an end to the happy talk between the demons.
Instantly, they fell silent - instead looking at their Lady expectantly.

“Lucifer. The intended victim tonight didn’t die inside of the chapel, like he should have. Could you please hunt him down and put an end to him?
...Ah, and if you could, allow Valefar to observe it.
Though he is a duke of hell, he hasn’t been in this new vessel very long.”

Lucifer puffed out her chest, smirking happily.
“Of course! I, Lucifer of the Seven Stakes of Purgatory, will gladly take care of your little problem for you!
Watch and learn, Valefar!”

Valefar….rolled his eyes, discreetly, so the Witch wouldn’t see..
Of course, he wasn’t happy with this situation, but what choice did he have?
Yet, he still gave the Lady a smile, getting ready to zoom after Lucifer when she began her hunt.

Quickly, Lucifer changed into the same glowing light that she’d appeared in...and when she was done,, she looked like an occultish stake…

Without any other words, she zoomed forward, zipping into the mansion in an instant.
Aaah, where could he beeee?

Pang pang pang pang!

She made an unholy racket as she zoomed through each of the rooms, ignoring the sleeping inhabitants or the lower ranked demons going about their work in the Mansion.
She had only one goal - to find the person who had foolishly attempted to run from his death…

“Fooooound yooou~!”

It was...the library.
Natsuno...didn’t know why, in the end, he had come here.
Perhaps because it had been a place of peace and safety for him, all these weeks he had been trapped on this island…

...But now, standing and staring down the floating stake, a hand clutching his chest, where his blood flowed….

...He knew that this peaceful place….was no longer his safe haven…

Almost immediately, the stake zoomed forward - and Natsuno jumped back, using his speed.
Though he was only at a human level, he still had enough blood in him to keep himself at the higher limits.

So, if he had to die…
Then he wouldn’t make it easy in the slightest…!

Jumping around from bookshelf to bookshelf, countless books flew in the air - either from Natsuno’s own exertions, or the force of Lucifer bouncing off of them harmlessly.

The dull metal noise of her bounces off of books and the walls echoed in the room, and though he was beginning to flag, he refused to give in.

“Make this easier on yourself already! Let me just pierce you, you stupid vampire!”

The demon was getting frustrated - and Natsuno gave a dry chuckle.
Maybe, just maybe...he might be able to use her frustration against her, and make her -

And then, he stopped.
Not because of any attack.

No, he stopped….because, suddenly, the world itself Shifted, and he...was on the ceiling.

In shock, he stared below him, seeing what was once the ground - and that momentary lapse in attention was enough for Lucifer to strike.
With a horrible sound, she sped forward -

squelch.

Natsuno….at the impact, looked back down at himself.
The stake….had buried itself in his chest, right where Valefar had stabbed him…

“I finished the job. After all, aren’t you vampires weak to a stake in the chest…? Kyahahahaha!”

….No.
Not….like this….
Despite his blood dripping from his body - and his vision fading - Natsuno still turned around, and began to walk away.

“...Just where do you think you’re going? You’re dead. ...No, my mistake - you were already dead to begin with! Stop dragging this out and just lay down and die already!”

He had been silent for a while, but somehow he managed one last retort.

“Sorry, I’m not the agreeable type.”

Step...step….step.

Every step felt...like an eternity, a lifetime’s worth of effort.
And yet, he kept walking.
His soul….refused to give into death.

But the Witch would make sure it would.

Suddenly, the world around them flipped….and gravity itself returned to normal.
Weightless in the air, his feet left the ground…
...And his body hit hard against the carpet below him, blood splattering out like a horrible, blossoming flower.

...The world was going dark.
The stake...still burned in his chest, but it was a cold burn that began to fade.
And even though he still struggled to cling to life...
...He was past the point of saving, long, long ago.

As his eyes slid shut, only the laughter of the witch, and the gentle clapping of the demon at her side could be heard...

THE WITCH

[lutea]

[...This time, as the vision fades away....there's a moment of her shutting her eyes before her oh-so-familiar grin appears on her face, sharp and cruel as ever.]

...Welcome back to our baaaaattle, you pathetic pieces! How did you like it? Did you enjoooooy hearing how I killed my victim this time, *cackle cackle cackle!*

Come on, come on, face me! Tell me how I killed him in the most glorious manner, and praise me! Accept that I exist!!

...Of course, if you'd rather twist your guts in pain and accuse each other, then that's fine. That's just fine with meeeeeeeeeee!! Either way, you'll all feel the misfortune of having ever been piiiiicked to play this gaaaaaaaaame!

Submit to me, or find a human culpriiiiit! And it all has to be within six hours, or I wiiiiiin!!

So go on, tell me, try to stab and kill me to your heart's content, or blame me for everything! What was it, what waaaaaas it?!

Was Natsuno's death a mystery, or a fantasy?

???

[foundationmods]

Code for blue truth:

<font color=#000099><b>TEXTHERE</b></font>

As a reminder, Blue Truth is meant for theorycrafting - so while you can ask for information normally, Blue Truth is meant as a counterattack against the witch.

Going up against her and getting hit multiple times will require you to step away, though there's no imposed time limit. We just ask that you have your character back off.

[anonnomnomnom]

Hey, Nirrti. [His voice is perfectly casual, like they're at afternoon tea of some sort.] Let me do the execution, won't you? I'll make it worth your while.

[excavated]

Witch. Can you confirm something in red for me: "outside of the culprit, nobody tampered with the scene in the library."

THEORY AND ACCUSATION

[rikuchi]

[ And there it is, he's bringing out his scimitar-- ]

Natsuno had been out and about, looking for a place to lie to rest those flowers of his, unaware that the killer had been stalking him. The killer struck, forcing Natsuno back into the chapel where they fought briefly, and he managed to have Natsuno injured with well-placed martial arts movements.

Though, it didn't come without the killer coming out unscathed, as Natsuno managed to tear a piece of clothing from the killer in the scuffle, and he also managed to get a decent hit on the killer's thighs and knees, trying to aim low in order to slow him down or make the killer much more vulnerable. However, it wasn't enough to stop the killer from getting the drop on Natsuno and stabbing him straight in the heart. Still, the struggle wasn't what he, the killer, had anticipated.

After Natsuno died in the chapel, the killer carried Natsuno's body to the library. Then, he made sure to drive the stake into his heart with one from the bedrooms, because the killer had been studying up on vampire mythology and supposed it'd make sense. Following that, the killer set up the scene, using the ladder from the garden to make it easier for him to plant Natsuno's footprints with his shoes on the ceiling.

The killer made sure to set up a paint trap in order to disorient anyone coming onto the scene and make it difficult for them to investigate properly.

Following that, he made sure to bring Natsuno's shoes with him and went ahead to wash himself clean. Then, leaving behind that evidence, he went straight to bed, content with what he did.

And as for the killer's identity...

That belongs to Syaoran! Who would have no regrets killing if only to make sure his so-called wish could come true.

[excavated]

[ Hearing everything makes the expression on his face twist. Does she really want to be blamed for all of this that much? Syaoran is wearing the same outfit as last week, traditional as always, but. There's one significant difference, and that's the color of his eyes. Nevertheless, he is quiet, although he casts a worried glance in Kimihiro's direction, just for a moment before shaking his head. They have to focus, although he really doesn't have much to say just yet. ]

[foundfate]

[OH LOOK THEY MATCH EVEN MORE NOW

But Watanuki's place isn't to speak at a trial except under certain circumstances, so he stands silently. All Syaoran gets is an uneasy glance at his wardrobe change, and that's it.]

[improbablenotimpossible]

[Sherlock Holmes made his appearance, like before the lining of his coat had darkened, his riding crop in hand, the only noticeable change was his gloves changed from the dark brown leather to white cotton. His eyes searches the group, gathering himself before he speaks]

[keydomhearts]

[ And padding to the middle of the room before sitting down is this guy ]

There's already an obvious mistake in her story!

[cryosurgeon]

[Erhard's form isn't that different from last week, except his blood cloak is starting to turn to ashes from the bottom hem, the black flakes floating in midair in the shape of the folds. The same jagged red crystal forming the fangs in his mask now sprouts from the tips of his gloved fingers like claws, and the formerly smoked lenses of the now blackened mask are red as well. When he speaks, his voice is lower and has a hollow sort of echoing distortion, enough that it barely sounds like him anymore.]

Yes, the paint.

[clearumbrella]

[ is that a fluffy ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Eyy, fellow furries again. He's not bothering to greet anyone this time, but Sora is free to come to him.]

[oceanicbutterfly]

[Kitty!]

[goldenmaniac]

[Aquire... kitty??! Give him kitty]

[incrediblystressedout]

oh my god yes.

[Okay she's getting a little distracted.]

[aleph_armed]

[...Well. Gebura looks quite different today for some reason, looking far more robotic than she usually is during the trials. In fact, she looks like a tall humanoid android with a metallic helmet covering its face, with long red hair flowing out of the back of the helmet.]

...Just once I would like these transformations to make sense.

[foundationmods]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?! WHERE AM I?!

[Hey gebura, do you like having a high pitched girl's voice coming from your body while there's a bunch of rattling noise?]

[anonnomnomnom]

[Anon's trial form today is nominally the same as always -- except that it's grown to the point where he no longer has any room to fly around the courtroom, rendering the wings mostly useless. He's just a giant, black blob pretty much from floor to ceiling. As with last week, the bony protrusions on him are now real spikes. They seem larger and sharper. The perfect circle of the pompom is a mess, longer black fur trailing behind him like pennants. The rictus skeleton grin seems the same as ever. His tone is bright and conversational, even, as though nothing has happened. It's also extremely cold.] I thought we could just get down to business, after looking around yesterday -- I looked around at everything, but I might have missed some things! So help me out, won't you? First, the body was in the library and covered in red paint. There was red paint on the ceiling and red paint on the floor and everywhere. That's all I saw. Oh, and the stake, of course. They really wanted us to know he was a vampire, didn't they? Speaking of which, I explained a little of this yesterday but Koide is a jinrou, which is a special type of stronger vampire. The regular vampires he talked about were called shiki, and I'm pretty sure he didn't have any of their weaknesses. Those were sunlight, the inability to live on anything except blood, and automatically falling asleep at dawn! I think you can also kill them with enough stakes, but in general vampires are really durable, so one stake is a little funny, actually. Hmm... Oh, he also wasn't weak to running water, but he didn't like crosses and ofuda and stuff like that. They're like vampire bug spray. [Is this explanation making any sense at this point.] It's the same with temples and shrines, probably, and of course the chapel. So that means... it does look like he was killed in the chapel, because there was a fight there that knocked the pews around and a big pool of blood. And, uh, a bit of black cloth, but it wasn't from Koide. He wouldn't have entered the chapel normally, so that part of the fantasy was probably accurate. The library part, though? Hahaha, what a joke! [The laugh sounds more like a death-rattle in his hollow throat, but them's the breaks.] And... there were white flowers by the chapel, next to where it looked like there was a fight or a struggle in the grass, like in the vision. That's... he was going to say goodbye to someone with those flowers, so he probably went there himself. He said Tateyama gave them to him, I think for flower crowns, but he doesn't like white flowers for himself. One more thing: he was killed with one of the blades from the master bedroom. There were two blades in there that smelled an awful lot like blood when I went to look. They were a broadsword and a double-bladed knife. It was hard to match up to the wound... [His voice does get a little quieter there, but it's the end of his spiel, anyway.] ... That's it.

[excavated]

I saw that there was a missing knife from the kitchen, which apparently Gebura-san found in the boiler room - but if he was murdered with a blade from the master bedroom, it was probably a fake to throw us off.

[youkaiwatch]

[ Emi is, uh. Looking a lot more youkai today. She still sounds and acts about the same, though, so don't be too creeped out, please. ]

[keydomhearts]

[ S'up. Sora is a lion cub. ]

[literalidiotball]

[There are two things different about Wheatley today. One, instead of a suit coat he's wearing a lab coat that's splattered in orange and blue gel. Two, if you get too close to him, you can hear faint music coming from his body.

Too bad Anon probably won't hear the music since he's keeping his distance from the giant hairball.)

[byanyother_name]

[Kurama's form is closer to where it started the first week, a roughly even mix of human and youkai. And yet...

It's not quite stable. It keeps subtly fluctuating. It's most obvious in his eyes, and the way the color shifts between green and gold.

...during Valefar's cameo, they're solid gold and ice cold.]

What a poorly contrived story. I wonder, is this carelessness or desperation?

[youkaiwatch]

[ Oh look, she took over your job as the scary fox this week. ]

It's got a different feel to it than last week's, anyway.

[incrediblystressedout]

[Joey finds herself wearing a dress that's really cool but a little showy about the shoulders by her standards (sans headscarf), but she ignores it almost entirely, trying to focus this time.]

Someone went through a lot of trouble to stage a fight scene. It almost seems like they wanted to make Nirrti's baloney more believable. But why mess around in the library when they had to carry a body all the way from the chapel inside?

[oceanicbutterfly]

[don't ignore the dress it's a good dress]

guess this is just my life now

[anonnomnomnom]

Since we have all the evidence, and a lot of questions, I think it's time we try a real Blue Truth. We already know that Nirrti probably won't accept anything other than a full theory, but it's dangerous to go alone, I guess. So we should have at least three people to split the full Blue Truth. That way, damage like what we saw last week would be more spread out. What we have so far is... Koide went to the chapel himself, to lay white flowers outside of it. He was ambushed by the killer there, and the fight moved to the chapel. Most of the fight was physical, knocking the pews around, but the final blow to the heart was struck with a blade, like the broadsword or the double-bladed knife. Not a dagger. All of the blood at the chapel was his. [There's a hint of scorn in his voice as he goes through that one.] The killer then moved him to the first floor library, where they prepared the paint and the shoes with a ladder. They used his shoes to create the footprints on the ceiling, tossed a few books off the shelves to make it look like there was a struggle, and put paint everywhere, even if it was a pretty bad effort at a decoy. The stake was also from the master bedroom, and they staked him with it after everything. [...] It's kind of weird that the stakes are people, too. Is there anything else we want in the Blue Truth? It's a good tool to clarify things.

[rikuchi]

... I have a full and complete theory, and I'm ready to accept the consequences.

[ And that's about the only warning because he's gonna go for it now okay byeeeee. ]

INFERNAL PUNISHMENT: BLOOD EAGLE

[anonnomnomnom]

I thought you'd never ask. [There's a delighted note in his voice, cold and clear -- he's absolutely enjoying this, every moment of it, even as he gets up from his bloody sprawl and moves ponderously over to where Syaoran is still pinned by the swords. With a nod, he uses the swords to move Syaoran into mid-air so that all hangers-on are removed. All of the swords pull themselves out at once except for two, splashing blood all over the floor, but not enough, obviously. Playtime is over now, after all.] Now... Syaoran. Your real name was Tsubasa, wasn't it? I've only read about this method, but I think it's the most fitting! I'm pretty sure I did a lot more research than you did, anyway. [He moves his funny skeleton hands like conductor's batons; they're spindly like them too, but conductor's batons usually aren't used for this sort of thing, are they? The swords move swiftly, carving Syaoran up like two of his kitchen knives, exposing his spine to the air. With that, they warp into two needles, bone again -- they suspend him in the air in the swords' place, because Anon is starting to get the hang of this, this metaspace thing. Next, there's a horrible cracking noise as delicate wires appear and snake themselves into Syaoran's back, binding themselves around his ribs and pulling until they jut all out of his back, exposed to the air. Meanwhile, two large stakes hover at ready, one for each side of his chest. The moment the ribs have been moved out of the way, they fly forward, slamming straight through his chest and spearing a lung each, forcing them out through his back and into the cradle of the ribs there like some kind of horrible still life. The good news is that the stakes were large and merciless enough to neatly pulverize his heart in the bargain, so all that's left at the end is what once was a boy named Tsubasa hanging from the needles, and half of his insides quite spread-eagled behind him. The blood that rains down is like an afterthought, almost gentle as the world fades again, the courtroom and all its Witchy company vanishing for another week. They come back to themselves, minus one.]

[goldenmaniac]

[Between the Stakes and Anon lifting Syaoran away, Takumi is safe... but can feel the hot blood on his face.

He can't look away. It's like a compulsion. Eyes wide and unblinking- even once things fade out he's still staring upwards, wiping at gore that isn't there anymore]