justice delayed [closed]

[reformedsinner]

Who: Cho Hakkai, Schuldig, D2, Ross
When: September 14th
Where: Outside Loki's temple hideaway
What: Hakkai promised Ross several weeks ago that he would help deal with "Loki." Finally -- with D2's help -- that promise is about to be fulfilled. Unfortunately, it's not all going to go as planned....
Warnings: Character death, violence (gun & melee.)

[Even at the tail end of summer, the tops of the mountains above them are snow-dusted and pale against the midafternoon blue of the sky. The cave that Ross had pointed out is almost invisible.

Hakkai would never, he thinks, looking at it from his position a few hundred meters away, have found it on his own. Loki's temple is not built to encourage visitors.

Loki does, however, have to return to his temple sometime -- and from what Ross had mentioned about his schedule, it will be soon. Hakkai shifts, feeling the slight pinch of the microphone D2 had given him against his undershirt where it's clipped, and glances back down along the flank of the mountain. Yes, it should be soon.]

Come, Shiki.

[The tall blond figure next to him dissolves into a heavy saber, naked in his hand. He waits.]

Comments

[shiitan]

[It took a second for him to realize he wasn't in his vessel form. He'd been used with the intent of killing someone. Not only that, he'd been used against someone who was trying to help him, and he couldn't prevent it. If anything, he'd been an obstacle. It took the blight burning into his skin for him to snap out of that train of thought.

There was still a chance. Or so he wanted to believe. He went to Hakkai with his hands already glowing, but no matter how much mana he poured into his healing magic, there was no change. None of the wounds were closing. That was when he knew it was much too late. His magic was bound by natural laws, and natural laws couldn't bring someone back from this state. He stood up with his hands balled into fists and his fingernails digging into his palms.

He would have to take Hakkai's body back to his temple, but the thought wasn't occurring to him right then.]

[smilingbullet]

[ If Ross is back out of vessel form, then Schuldig should be properly dead. Probably. He doesn't know for sure. But he secures and packs up the firearm, slips the bag over his shoulder and leaves his perch. He has no teleportation ability, so he has to move by foot to reach the scene of the battle.

He doesn't know if Ross will leave before he gets there, but he still has to go there. It'll take a little while, but he hurries, and he's cursing all the way, while he listens to what he can hear through the listening device, trying to catch any sound. ]

Wrap for me

[volksdaemon]

[ There'd been no hint in Ross's mind that the fallback plan was a sniper, let alone where the sniper was coming from. Ross's blight had been clouding the forefront of his thoughts enough that it was consuming him and Schuldig himself was so affected by his own blight that he could only concentrate on superficial thoughts.

But that was the only way they were able to succeed in killing him - he didn't see it coming. He had a split second for the first bullet to shatter his facade of confidence and superiority over handling the situation before the second bullet came and really wracked him with pain. Instead of a gut instinct to teleport away - a new power that he didn't have nearly enough practice using for it to be second nature - he turns to face his attacker like maybe he'll be able to stop them from this distance. Of course that's not what happens, and soon enough he crumples to the ground under the impact, spray, and sound of his own imminent death. He can't muster the mental strength to scream at his deceptive shinki, nor can he speak well enough to do the same out loud. He's been thoroughly silenced, which is as much a punishment as any death that - hypothetically - a god can recover from.

As the light from Schuldig's eyes fades, the first thing to happen is indeed Ross changing back out of his vessel form. When he breathes his last, a more drastic change takes place. The snowy cavern behind them starts to melt, the rocks underneath them crumbling. This was all his temple, after all - his hideaway starting at the very entrance. They'll not be able to see the inner sanctum likewise distorting into naught but dust, but that's why the mountain heaves and groans like Schuldig couldn't, threatening an avalanche that won't come. Instead, the whole thing collapses in on itself like a sinkhole pulling the place into a vortex of grainy sand that less resembles a beautiful beach and more a shore at the base of a European cliff.

Finally, there's silence. The temple of Loki is no more and, in the chaos of it all, Schuldig's body disappears too.]