WEEK FIVE: EXECUTION

[cluedin]

WEEK FIVE: EXECUTION

Some of you may have slept well knowing you did the right thing. Other of you may have tossed and turned, struggling with feelings of guilt and unease. Regardless of which group you fit into, it doesn't change the fact that on Sunday morning all guests will find themselves compelled to head to the front door. When all have gathered, the door will swing open and allow the group to witness a scene on the front lawn.

Zenitsu has been set out in his metal cage, isolated from the rest of the group. It isn't long before Peach, Plum and Pumpkin (and Pookie, now leashed) appear from another part of the yard, strangely absent of their large wheeled box. Stopping in front of the cage, the trio begins to speak.

"We gather here today to say goodbye to our dear friend, Zenitsu Agatsuma.

Zenitsu Agatsuma was a cowardly guy
If you looked at him wrong, he'd start to cry
But then one night he tamed lightning
And became something very frightening
The wolf went out and was on the attack
But couldn't resist a little midnight snack
So now comes the time we all will dread
Where once again, Zenitsu will be dead."

Three pairs of eyes turn and lock on a face in the crowd.

"Ash, you ready?"

It seems as though Ash doesn't have a choice. The moment the girls summon the chosen party, they will find themselves walking forward against their best judgment. All other guests will be unable to step past the threshold, but nothing's stopping them from leaving either.

Comments

[cluedin]

[Once Ash approaches the girls, they will take notice of the weapon in his hand, along with a small box. Instinctively knowing what this is, they nod in unison and take the box from him. It's Peach who speaks up then and she's...trying not to laugh? Hm.]

We'll hold onto this until you're ready. Good luck. [The girls step off to the side...and Zenitsu's cage slowly swings open.]

[voidbreaker]

[ Ash is. Well. He's got a look going on when he walks up to the girls, and he gives Peach a really flat look when he sees her trying not to laugh. ]

Seriously, Cobbler? [ Seriously? Right now? ]

[ ... Look. It's fine. He's fine.

Ash turns to look at the cage as the door swings open, resting his now familiar axe on one shoulder as he watches, and waits for whatever's left of Zenitsu and whatever's overtaken him makes its way out. ]

C'mon Sparky, let's get this over with.

[swordflash]

[ A low rumbling like that of thunder sounds from the bird cage. What exits is neither fully human nor fully monster, but an amalgamation of both. The meager fur that’s been present since everyone’s transformations on Monday has grown, now colored white and blue, extending to form a pair of wolfish ears on his head and slipping from his neck into his clothes unseen.

Other developments abound: fangs have grown in and protrude out of his mouth while his claws, even longer and sharper than before, claw at the ground. Three tails sprout from the bottom of his spine and lightning crackles around his body like a second layer of skin.

But Zenitsu's face is still his own. With whited out eyes, he watches Ash. Then he kicks off at lightning speed toward him in a manner similar to which he swiped at Luna’s neck. ]

EXECUTION COMMENTARY

[cluedin]

[ so some poor fool doesn't get their inbox slammed with notifs ]

[not here]

[brokethefirst]

[The robot is not going to be commentating but she's here, just. Tiredly watching from the back of the crowd. Getting down three flights of stairs was bad and watching sunday death tv is worse.]

[wakizashis]

[ i have nothing more important to say than have a sword with a wholeass WHAT THE FUCK WHY DOES HIS WEAPON TRANSFORM ENTIRELY WHO DOES THAT range of facial expressions. ]

[wakizashis]

[ WHAT THE WHAT IS THAT. HEWWO???

IS NO ONE ELSE SEEING THIS

hori probably doesn't know what the fuck a chainsaw is, so enjoy the continued baffled faces ig ]

[oathic]

[...

as zenitsu fights to hold back the monster, agni smiles, however grimly.

told you that you were strong, zenitsu.]

[goldpeony]

[He frowns while watching from his spot.]

[gitalong]

[ he's staying quiet so Ash can concentrate but

also gently dancing

ganba ]

[shortforever]

[Once again, Chuuya is left wishing he had his own powers back.]

mods! said! stick! around!

[miscakes]

[Akechi is a good(?) boy and will wait until everyone is nice and settled after the execution is finished. But once that's done? Everyone is getting dragged to the Ballroom whether they like it or not. He will address the group once everybody is together, the same notebook he carries around during the trials in his right hand. If the chalkboard is still here, he will absolutely use it to jot down notes as he speaks.]

Good morning, everyone. If we're all settled, let's get to the heart of the matter.

[Haha, "heart." This is a joke that only like five people in this room will get. It's fine.]

As we all know, our numbers won't survive another week of this twisted game. If we want to break the cycle, we must find the source, separate Master Blue from it, and crush it. It is only then that we will release ourselves from the house's clutches... and save our fallen companions. The means by which we will achieve this are still unknown, but Master Blue and the sisters have reiterated that we collectively have everything we need to secure our route. Only issue is, we each hold a piece of the puzzle — but not all of us have publicly laid down everything we know.

Over the past weeks, most of us have come to suspect that the room Akira, Missile-kun, Amada-kun and Carbide-san broke into is connected to the source. While this is not necessarily false... our suspicions have caused us to act recklessly. Everyone who has utilized that room is now missing a piece of their souls. Failing to recover those pieces will lead... to an unfortunate fate, according to Master Blue. This is exactly what occurred to those who supposedly escaped the house in the past. Furthermore, allowing the house to devour us has given it an advantage over our group. Plum-san referred to this as a "stacked deck."

[So, that's... cheerful. Akechi himself looks briefly uncomfortable as he says this, but it's there and gone in a second. He continues like mistakes weren't made.]

Luckily, that room isn't our only path to the source. Peach-san said that we need to consider it might not be exactly as we imagined it. When I asked if that means the source isn't tangible, she confirmed that it was. It's just not in the we think it is. We can reach it without being where we need to go. Physically, we have everything we need to find it. I believe that the deceased are currently trying to point us in the right direction. To those of us who received a note on Friday morning, I will ask that we present what we received so we may ascertain the meaning behind these messages.

... I have said it before, but I will say it again. Our group must be the last one to suffer through this ordeal. I refuse to allow the cycle to continue any longer. But in order to achieve that, our collaboration is essential. If we continue to act independently of each other, we will lose everything we have worked for. As Akira stated last week, our worlds are at risk. So let's take this time to discuss what we know. After all, we don't know what Monday will bring. This may be the last opportunity we'll get.

( OOC NOTE: Feel free to think of this as an informal trial! Characters are free to post sub-top levels under this one to share any information they have, or to raise up questions they think are worthy of further discussion. I, too, will yeet some shit under this comment once I'm done dying. There's no time limit for this, so feel free to jump in now or later in the day when you're free. )

[infire]

[ well whenever ash is taken care of and brilith is finally dragged in she's going to just sit down somewhere out of the way and pass out, have fun kids ]

[miscakes]

[and nothing of value was lost.]

[unanswering]

-I don't suppose you have any idea how we're meant to recover them. If we're able to defeat it, will that be all that's necessary, do you think?

[he's Very concerned about that, thanks!]

[miscakes]

That part is still uncertain. But we do have to separate Master Blue from the house before we defeat it. Since they were consumed by the house as well, I believe our own separation may come naturally as a result of that.

[Make the house puke up ALL their souls.]

[madburnout]

Blue implied to me that it was one - or maybe multiples - of the strange locations we broke into. The room that consumes souls is only one of these, so perhaps it is one of the others.

They also said to save items for when we have seen the Source. I would guess that it intends to trap us in the same way it has the smaller groups, and the items Blue has provided can be useful for battling it.

[survivaltricks]

[annnnd this one is actually specifically directed to Ash]

Hey, Ash. One of the notes Akechi got from Phoenix referenced the Third Eye-- uh. The Adder's Stone.

Have you used it on anything else recently?

A Note

[goldpeony]

[Well, he has a note. So there's that.

Just, like, ignore the rest of it, please.]

[gitalong]

[ hmmmmmmmm... ]

If the source of the house is an object, does that mean the missing bits of souls are objects now too?

[ he's... thinking about a certain museum. ]

[shortforever]

Maybe we should take a moment to show off the sweet loot we've gotten from this house and describe what each thing does. One of those items might be the key to finding the source.

[disreguarded]

Do we wanna put a list out of items we all have so none of us are in dark, or is that too much to ask?

[ hey what's up beau is here and flurry is running on fumes but i'll be here as long as i can. she's wearing the beanie as usual and is thankfully less birdlike, though she's also like, quiet and her voice is all rough. it's fine. ]

Cause I got all my shit together. I don't know how much more I know about anything than you guys. I'm listening.

[voidbreaker]

[ eventually ash will return with one (1) phantom thief after their tour of the house with their own child, the Adder Stone, they have raised from week one. ]

So all of you can stop asking me if I've checked the furthest corner of some room in the very back of the house yet, we've checked the whole house with this thing.

[ He's twirling his necklace with the medallion and stone around his fingers. ]

It all look fine. Outside, inside, pretty much normal, except --- [ Wait for it. ] --- for the Req Room. That's still pulsing red, although sometimes it looks pinky or orangey, but mostly it's red. Like it always has been.

[soba]

[ ok i am going to assume toi went around and grabbed all the number notes so we can have them under one tl

but here's one, two, three, four, five ]

If anyone else received anything with a number, let us know. Hopefully none were sent to the two that died. But we can see if any of this makes sense when it's together or not.

[madburnout]

We know the Adder's Eye only points to the Room of Requ-- Whatever we are calling it. Soul Room, perhaps. Several of the notes contain drawings of it, pointing with "Entrance #2," and the implication that it is the entrance to the source of power of the house.

If we think it is not any other room, then perhaps as others have said, this is only the first "layer" of the room. Other groups have asked to go directly to the Source, or to see the Heart, while we know what we need to find is a path. Perhaps what we need to ask for is this path, instead of the Source itself.