VIDEO-ish (cw: torture and murder)

[bloomingdespite]

[Before the ICP flickers on, every passenger hears a resounding, deep voice thunder through every car in the train, carrying with it a deathly—if odd—proclamation:]

PENALTY GAME: HELL REVERSE!

[Moments later, every ICP turns on to reveal a figure shrouded in shadows, holding the unconscious body of Xue Yang with one hand as the Eye of Wdjat blazes on both of their foreheads. It's clear they're in the gaming car, but if anybody tries to enter from either end, they'll find the doors are impossibly locked.]

Passengers of the Voidtrecker Express, I hold in my hands an unrepentant murderer who slaughtered one of your very own: the victim being A-Qing, and the criminal being Xue Yang. While she has returned, this crime cannot go unpunished, and I have taken it upon myself to try and burn out the stain on his soul—or, at the very least, provide adequate agony for all of his victims, both on the train and off.

If you need to see proof of my justice...

Avert your eyes if you do not wish to see memories of the brutal death of a young woman in her prime.

[The screen flickers once again, this time showing A-Qing's murder, although it doesn't have any audio. ((OOC: Additional CW for graphic depictions of murder.))

When it returns to the interior of the Games Car, the shadowy figure is gone, but their voice and Xue Yang remain.]

I leave it to the council to dispense their own punishment, as meager as it may be.

Remember, passengers:

I am watching.

[The ICP clicks off, and the train is deadly quiet.]

Comments

[so_dark_a_road]

We've got a problem, Tony. A nasty complicated one.

[ The dispirited sound of his voice doesn't erase the anger and the pain in his face. ]

You and Eva were talking about keeping Xue Yang in the Medical Coach, with guards? I'll volunteer. I tried to befriend him, so I'd be a good choice. I'll talk with him.

[runs_on_batteries]

[He hated seeing his friend without that warm spark that was always there. He hated all of this. The worst part was that he hadn't known it was happening until it was hurting everyone he cared for, including the elf speaking to him now.]

That we do. This is catching us unprepared when we should've come out of that council meeting with more answers and options.

[He shook his head, feeling the weight of responsibility on his shoulders. It was just who he was to take the blame for not keeping the train more protected.]

Curufin, do you or does anyone you know have any magic that can bind or contain someone? We're going to end up with two in custody and we only have one make-shift jail.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin similarly hated seeing what these events were doing to his community, and that included his friend Tony. ]

Answers and options are be in short supply, for a problem of this nature. For that lack, I don't think we should blame ourselves, and certainly you should not blame yourself, Tony.

My magic can't contain or bind a person. I'm a vision-caster, and I can't think of a vision that would keep a person in one place, at least, not one I'd care to use. As for jail, I take it you're talking about the Medical Carriage. They have one locked room, I think. I wonder if we could talk the train into providing more locks? Or if we could install some ourselves? I don't like jail cells, but they're preferable to some of the other alternatives. [ Especially of the type that shadowy figure was demonstrating.]

[runs_on_batteries]

If you can, think of them as neutral zones while we determine the validity of these accusations. We don't know who that was or how they made those images. It can be fabricated or the truth. We'll need A-Qing to say which.

Also if you do speak with him, I'd like to hear what he has to say for himself.

[so_dark_a_road]

Neutral zones. . . [ Small laugh. ] All right, that would hopefully be an accurate designation. Nobody can kill anybody in the Medical center, or at least we hope that the doctors can enforce truce rules in their territory. And right, we don't know enough about that shadowy figure. Kaiba says it's a spirit named Wester, and Wester is manifesting a being called Atem. They're both from Kaiba's world. But there's no such person as Wester on the passenger list, let alone Atem. And how did they make the images?

If I do speak to Xue Yang, I'll find out if he's willing to talk to others. If he isn't, I'll give you a synopsis of what he says.

[runs_on_batteries]

[Tony nodded in agreement. He didn't need verbatim if it was coming from Curufin. Others maybe, but he trusted in the elf and he was sure everyone else on the train did too or simply didn't know him.]

Good luck. I think I have an idea on how to help the kids. Let me know what you find out.

[so_dark_a_road]

[ Curufin nodded, too. He just hoped to god that his connection with Xue Yang could result in what he hoped it could. He knew he was going out on a limb with that, but being who he was, he could not do otherwise. He appreciated Tony's trust. ]

Thank you, Tony. I'll be in touch. And good luck with whatever it is you're doing to help the kids on the train. I'll try to help out there, too.