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

[spikelet]

[ She doesn't want to make people fight, it's obvious by now that that would have been a terrible idea even then, if there's some ghost of revenge wandering the train. She's glad she didn't tell him, to make him a target. ]

The... the first day we got here. [ She can't think of a good lie, so she just repeats, ] I'm okay.

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

[ Realization hits, and he feels guilty suddenly. ]

I should never have left you alone. If I had known Xue Yang was here...

[ He would have... What? Never left her side? He didn't even know she was someone Xue Yang would target. What could he have done, truly? ]

[spikelet]

I didn't know either. Don't feel bad.

[ Except, he's the kind of guy who feels bad no matter what, huh? She could use that, but she's mostly just... tired. Guilt is less useful when it's for something she doesn't want to think about. ] You let me stick around with you after that. That helped, I owe you.

[ He'd promised to blind her, after all, and he'd never found her alone again to do it. ]

[lookslikeacinnamonroll]

I could have at least warned you how dangerous he is. I'm sorry.

[ He wishes they were standing in front of each other so he could apologize properly. Not that she would be able to see, either way, but it would make him feel better. ]

You don't owe me anything. I'll help you because I want to, not because I feel I have to.

voice -> video

[spikelet]

[ gege 8( she already knew how dangerous he is, that was the whole problem-- ]

I-- [ oh................ ugh!! fuck!! there's a scuffling, and then a quiet curse, and then the video flicks on ] Then there's no debts between us, and obviously you don't need to apologise, it's all his fault anyway!