Eighth.

[trustfellows]

Friday morning dawns like the rest of the week before it, with the chiming of the clock and the doors to the kitchen unlocking; however one usually wakes up in the mornings in this place – slowly, anxiously, whichever – it seems that you're not going to be allowed to sleep in. Not because there's a body announcement to get you out of bed, but rather because there isn't. Eventually, Jericho can be heard over the public-address system. Again, he doesn't seem quite as excitable as usual, but once again, that can likely be explained by what he has to say today. "Good morning, guys. Just so you know, we've got something going on this morning that you're probably going to want to know about. Get in the foyer so you've got some idea of what's going on. We'll be waiting." And once again... Well,you might want to go.

Comments

[trustfellows]

[And when people manage to make their way to the foyer, they'll be greeted by two people there; one is Hilda, as is probably expected. She's looking as stonefaced as usual, facing the wall near the clock, and while she doesn't have her notebook with her, she's holding something else in one of her hands – it's thin and white, and it looks almost like a conductor's baton.

She's pointing it at the girl standing halfway across the room from her, near the wall; it seems that whatever's happening today has to do with Hibiki.

Hibiki is standing with her back to the wall, her body shaking as she tries to remain calm; her head is tipped up apprehensively, however, and she looks for all the world like she's trying very hard to not cry. It's a brave face that she's putting on, she's absolutely doing her best, but she's shaking a bit because really, there's only one thing that being dragged out of bed by the Coordinators on a Friday morning can imply.

And once enough people have gathered, Jericho speaks again.]

So, it looks like nobody died last night. Good for you guys! That's either really great or kind of disgusting, depending on your point of view. You're all surprisingly more cavalier than I'd thought about how willing you are to let billions of people die – but you know what, that's your problem, not mine.

And this? Is also your problem now. After all, you're out of time.

[Hilda shifts position a bit; Hibiki watches her warily, keeping her eyes on that white baton in her hand as it sways through the air, and when it's aimed at her again it's with a fair amount of strong conviction and surprisingly little flourish.

Bright blades materialize in the air, appearing out of nowhere and looking as though they're made of some sort of crystal; they glimmer for a second before firing forward, all of them shooting forward at once as though they'd been launched from some sort of weapon, the majority of them centered on Hibiki's chest. They pierce easily – they're sharp, intensely so, cutting through Hibiki's body as though there's no real resistance to be had there; the entire strike happens in an instant, and the ones that don't stab through her chest hit her in the abdomen, resulting in an alarming amount of blood flowing forth onto the floor.

It's difficult to watch, but it's quick; at least there's that much by way of a small mercy. Either way, however, it's not much of a consolation in the end.

Hibiki Ganaha is dead.

Jericho is quiet for a moment after it happens; he'll speak up eventually, however.]

No trial for this; we'll take care of the body. You have eight hours until the next one.

[destage]

[...You know, Sayaka needs to stop expecting things to go even somewhat smoothly when Friday comes around, because holy shit.]

Hibiki--!!

[Oh god, no--anyone but her, that's...that's a ton of blood, that's just so much, it's too much.]

[chessturner]

...

[The timer is over. Kyrie isn't sure what to think about someone not having murdered during the night, given that whole worlds were at stake, but...yeah, what's done is done: someone was randomly chosen to die]

Only eight hours until the next one...

[Grim, Kyrie leaves the foyer. With so few people, anyone's odds for survival are rather low, unlike when Tabby died. It's not a fun situation]

[sleepytimegal]

No--!

[ Alex claps a hand to her mouth, eyes filling with tears. They've only had to watch something like this once before, without the...fanfare of the execution, it's...still horrifying. ]

No... No, shit!

[perpend]

[Oh... oh my god.]

This... this is evil, all of it!

[bloodisthicker]

[it's.

it's kind of. hard to talk about this one. like, say anything at all. maybe punch a fucking wall? he's gonna punch a fucking wall over the fucking timer, the fucking fake guilting, the fact that someone's-]

...

Alright. I'm going back to my room.

[trustfellows]

[It takes less than two minutes this time, after Hibiki dies; even from the foyer, a loud bang can be heard reverberating through the stairwell.]

[destage]

[--Holy shit, what the fuck--]

What--what on earth was that?!

[Oh god, what the actual hell? Sayaka's gonna go over to the stairwell and see what's up...]

[bloodisthicker]

[



OH WELL OKAY TIME TO MAKE A DETOUR TO THE STAIRWELL

[sleepytimegal]

[ SAYAKA DON'T GO WANDERING OFF AFTER LOUD BANGS??? Alex follows her as quick as she can. ]

[perpend]

[RIGHT BEHIND YOU FRIEND]

[chessturner]

[Kyrie comes running too. So much is happening in so little time...]

[bloodbiter]

[MMMMM NOPE

off she goes in that direction]

[evilfrenzy]

[Rideaux was fully prepared to deal with another body this morning, but having this happen again...

Oh shit. Oh shit.]

[notaccurate]

[He's up early, and he doesn't even need to hear all of what Jericho says to get what is going on.]

No!

[But she is dead before he can do anything. And now they have only eight hours left once more.

This sucks.]

[evilfrenzy]

[...yeah, here we fucking go.]

[trustfellows]

[It seems that the first floor stairwell is clear of any bodies, but that doesn't mean that everything is safe; you all should know that by now.

Continue upward?]

[destage]

[God, this is just--okay. Okay. Sayaka looks to Alex quickly, but...]

It's...it's not here, but...

[Upward we go, then! Let's see if there's anything going on...]

[hesperos]

...Hibiki!

[ Yuri finds himself shouting this, despite everything, despite knowing that - damnit. ]

[trustfellows]

[The further up you go, eventually you'll find a trail of red that starts somewhere around the fourth stairwell or so.

...It doesn't smell like blood, thankfully, but the sight of it is probably a little jarring regardless. It very much is a trail leading off somewhere, though. Further up, looks like.]

[sleepytimegal]

[ Alex nods. She has a hand on the radio in her pocket. What can it do? ...Nothing, honestly. But still. Maybe, as much as she dislikes it, it gives her comfort. ]

[notaccurate]

[Adult party in the stairwell?

Adult party in the stairwell.]

[destage]

[...oh what the fresh hell is this--Sayaka calls down toward everyone.]

What--what is this? That...guys, there's a trail up here...!

[...Well, let's keep ascending upward, this is slowly turning utterly mortifying.]

[trustfellows]

[Go team! Go follow the teen party in the stairwell.]

[trustfellows]

[Well.]