[ You won't get away from this, Akechi sounds like salvation. A chime of bells outside of Eden and Akira's voice leads the choir enticing him in.
And of course he'll walk through those doors and of course he'll walk along the velvetine carpet and of course he'll look into the eyes of an executioner hiding among lambs and of course he'll lean into the noose and of course-
It rings and rings and rings and beckons and makes him feel something, makes him feel anything, creates a hellfire that explodes through body and mind. He wants more. He wants more.
And even as he watches Akira falter and hopes for his fall because he should fall and Akechi wants to drag him down, all the way down, completely and utterly coated in muck and grime until there's nothing left of Kurusu Akira and there's nothing left of Akechi Goro and there's nothing left for the world to take from either of them.
Splintered bone scrapes the inside of his chest when he forces himself back up and-
He can only get an inch, two, three off the ground before his lungs constrict and he gets another inch, two, three off the ground before his skull splits, it must be splitting, it's never felt this agonizing and his own hollow laughter continues through the blood coated spittle covering his lips.
He watches Akira and Akira isn't collapsed on the ground so Akechi must get up.
It feels like
joy.
It feels like
joy.
He thinks he feels joy.
And he chases that high by pushing up, up, up and getting nowhere. He can't get up. His back hits the ground instead of his chest and he can't get up. ]
You really are remarkable. After all this time, I still can't win. Even so-
[ It hurts to speak, so he continues. It's not death. He won't die. Kurusu said as much and that thrill of being alive is foreign. He's grasping at it with every exhausted, wheezing breath. ]
It's never been in my nature to give up. Against you of all people - no, I will never stop!
[ And from the ground, Akechi pulls a gun from his hip. A gift. More fitting than ever. A guiding light in his increasingly desperate attempt to stay focused. His aim is lacking, but all he needs to do is hit a body. It will hurt.
-because he's the Joker in the deck, the highest and lowest card as he's needed to be, the trump card that has outsmarted death at the hands of everyone who wants him dead.
He won't stay dead-
-because he's meant to be the rival of Akechi Goro, the other side of the same coin, and he won't fall in such a foolish way.
He won't stay dead-
because there's too much he has left to do. because he has too many promises to keep. because he doesn't intend to fall when faced with the living person he couldn't save. because he wants to win.
Riot Gun fires off and-
-the recoil whips searing pain through his entire body, pain that sears through each of his limbs that he forces forward to move, and move, and move.
His attack connects, he can see it as he gets closer and closer, feet closing in to inches, because Akechi doesn't move or guard or anything else-
-the same as Akira doesn't, for the bullet that shoots clean through him.
He thought he was in pain before. It's nothing compared to now, an inferno radiating out from both the entry and exit. It hurts. It hurts. He's been shot in the Metaverse before, but it's never hurt like this, because maybe there's cognition in this world, but not enough to make pain feel any less real.
But even as it hurts-
Even as it blinds him, slows his movements-
Akira doesn't stop.
He doesn't stop.
He catches Akechi at the waist as he runs into his own attack.
Pain. Pain. So much pain - that he finally feels almost numb.
Akira never feels their bodies hit the ground, but they must at some point. The only way he can tell is by opening his eyes, and seeing the sky above him.
The world is wrapped in a cotton lens, and he can't navigate it. Can't feel, can't see if Arséne or Loki are still summoned. Can't tell if he's bleeding out, though logic says he probably is. He can't heal himself. Can't heal Akechi.
His fingers flex, and he can't feel it. Can still tell there's an object there; his arm is probably trapped under Akechi's body. He can't tell if he's better, can't tell if he's worse off. Can't feel if there's a heartbeat against his fingertips. Can't even... feel his own...
The world is hazy.
The world is blue. The world is red.
But he can't let them die here...
He tries to move his body, and it won't respond to his commands.
I can't...
Akechi...
The hero hath crumbled over the weight of his own justice...]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
D3 stands for D(3)AD cw: gun!
And of course he'll walk through those doors and of course he'll walk along the velvetine carpet and of course he'll look into the eyes of an executioner hiding among lambs and of course he'll lean into the noose and of course-
It rings and rings and rings and beckons and makes him feel something, makes him feel anything, creates a hellfire that explodes through body and mind. He wants more. He wants more.
And even as he watches Akira falter and hopes for his fall because he should fall and Akechi wants to drag him down, all the way down, completely and utterly coated in muck and grime until there's nothing left of Kurusu Akira and there's nothing left of Akechi Goro and there's nothing left for the world to take from either of them.
Splintered bone scrapes the inside of his chest when he forces himself back up and-
He can only get an inch, two, three off the ground before his lungs constrict and he gets another inch, two, three off the ground before his skull splits, it must be splitting, it's never felt this agonizing and his own hollow laughter continues through the blood coated spittle covering his lips.
He watches Akira and Akira isn't collapsed on the ground so Akechi must get up.
It feels like
joy.
It feels likejoy.
He thinks he feels joy.And he chases that high by pushing up, up, up and getting nowhere. He can't get up. His back hits the ground instead of his chest and he can't get up. ]
You really are remarkable. After all this time, I still can't win. Even so-
[ It hurts to speak, so he continues. It's not death. He won't die. Kurusu said as much and that thrill of being alive is foreign. He's grasping at it with every exhausted, wheezing breath. ]
It's never been in my nature to give up. Against you of all people - no, I will never stop!
[ And from the ground, Akechi pulls a gun from his hip. A gift. More fitting than ever. A guiding light in his increasingly desperate attempt to stay focused. His aim is lacking, but all he needs to do is hit a body. It will hurt.
Akira will feel alive.
Among the wolves.
And Akira will hurt.
Akechi wants him to hurt. ]
Why can't you just stay dead!!
[ And he shoots. ]
well. i don't need to roll for this one ❤
He won't stay dead-
He won't stay dead-
because he has too many promises to keep.
because he doesn't intend to fall when faced with the living person he couldn't save.
because he wants to win.
Riot Gun fires off and-
His attack connects, he can see it as he gets closer and closer, feet closing in to inches, because Akechi doesn't move or guard or anything else-
He thought he was in pain before. It's nothing compared to now, an inferno radiating out from both the entry and exit. It hurts. It hurts. He's been shot in the Metaverse before, but it's never hurt like this, because maybe there's cognition in this world, but not enough to make pain feel any less real.
But even as it hurts-
Even as it blinds him, slows his movements-
Akira doesn't stop.
He doesn't stop.
He catches Akechi at the waist as he runs into his own attack.
Pain. Pain. So much pain - that he finally feels almost numb.
Akira never feels their bodies hit the ground, but they must at some point. The only way he can tell is by opening his eyes, and seeing the sky above him.
The world is wrapped in a cotton lens, and he can't navigate it. Can't feel, can't see if Arséne or Loki are still summoned. Can't tell if he's bleeding out, though logic says he probably is. He can't heal himself. Can't heal Akechi.
His fingers flex, and he can't feel it. Can still tell there's an object there; his arm is probably trapped under Akechi's body. He can't tell if he's better, can't tell if he's worse off. Can't feel if there's a heartbeat against his fingertips. Can't even... feel his own...
The world is hazy.
The world is blue. The world is red.
But he can't let them die here...
He tries to move his body, and it won't respond to his commands.
I can't...
Akechi...