THE EXECUTION OF...
Where the courtroom might have once been plagued with silence, the sound of cheers and clapping from unseen masses begin to filter through the speakers around the room. The sound, although happy, is morbidly terrifying in light of recent events. Joining in with the celebrations is the manic laughing of Monobear, who now sits perched in the purple haired female's arms.
"Well, well, well, looks like you bastards got it! Aw, it really sucks to bring this to an end, but, the show must go on!"
He then clears his throat, leaping down to the ground. Speaking slowly this time, as if being sure that every word was an agony for the others, he finally announces the verdict. "Chiau Ichijoja and Tatsuya Tendo have been found guilty."
The cheering intensifies, whistles and screams of glee still coming from outside. As his next words sit on the tip of his tongue, he lifts his furry paws into the air.
"Commencing execution."
Violently the entire courtroom begins to shake, the flooring in the middle of the trial stands sliding apart to reveal a deep pit of black. Before anyone even has the chance to glance down and see what is within, a large silver column rises from it, shooting up in a blur. In unison the ceiling begins to move, shifting apart with a boom like thunder. Metal mechanisms, chains, and what look like circuits are hidden above, now sliding down to meet the column. The components slot together, a variety of Monobear's moving onto the scene to fix them into place. The process takes less than a minute, revealing a monster of an execution.
The room seems suddenly bright, metal glinting harshly in the fluorescent lights. Attached to the column that arose from the centre is a platform on one side, and a large robotic arm on the other. The two appear to be linked, revealed by the cut away section of column that reveals a chain connecting the arm and platform. All the walls around the courtroom have moved backwards, leaving a small space to students to remain by their trial stands. Behind them however is an expanse of white ground riddled with black holes of varying sizes.
As soon as he heard those words, the words that signified that he really was going to die here, Tatsuya's heart began to race. Quickly his breaths started to hitch in his throat, airy gasps barely leaving his form. A hand moved to clutch at his chest.
This... Was this what he deserved...?
Without realising it tears had begun to fall from his eye, the mechanical replacement's light dulling. Just as he opened his mouth to utter another apology to his dear friends, cold fingers wrapped themselves around a once broken wrist.
He turned to find that… demon… grinning at him. She had made his life a hell for who knows how long now, he had tried to forget, and now she would finally drag him to the grave for good. As he saw the hopelessness in her eyes, the despair tearing away at her, he began to accept his fate. He ignored the execution as it came into place, instead focusing on his thoughts. Finally, everything he had ever fought for had failed. Everyone he ever cared for was dead, or was about to enter Hell. Before, he had died out of courage. Now, he would die out of cowardice. He came to realise that this death was something he wanted, an end to his pain and a chance to be with his closest friends and family once again. Maybe he could even atone for the sins he had never wished to commit.
In the least he’d escape further pain and guilt.
So through the deafening sounds of metal against metal, a screeching that couldn’t be ignored, he smiled.
Chilled and slightly blue fingers in returned wrapped themselves around the females wrist- his grip soft. It was a silent apology, and a sign that he no longer feared her as much as he once did.
Throughout ‘Monobear’s’ little speech about having to draw this to an end, Chiau’s eyes were shut, a contented smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Despite being slightly disappointed that she wasn’t able to kill everyone, she felt satisfied with everything that had happened. Once her eyes fluttered back open, the entire scenery had changed. Ah, the execution was ready for her and her special ‘guest.’ Chiau took a hold of Tatsuya’s wrist, it wasn’t a strong hold, but it was forceful enough to be able to keep a grip on him if he tried to make a break for it.
Which she hoped wouldn’t be the case.
She took the boy to his side of the execution, her steps slowing ever so slightly as she felt the other take a hold of her own wrist. For a brief moment, she looked back at Tatsuya, her face expressionless, as she let go of him, sliding her own wrist out of his grip. She readied the chains, placing the Roboticist into the start of the inescapable act. She didn’t once look him in the eye, and once she was finished with him, she walked to her side of the execution, her boots against the cold metal floor, and her breathing, were the only sounds she could hear.
She was ready.
There was barely enough time for the Roboticist to turn his head to the remaining students, and let a ‘Thank you… and I am sorry….’ roll off of his tongue. Brutally he was tugged over to the back of his trial stand. For the first time he looked at how he was going to die, the sight of a chain and robotic claw sending chills down his spine. For a second his resolve wavered, and he pulled at the grip around his wrist.
It was futile.
Before he knew it he was standing under a large chain he had glimpsed earlier, littered with locks he had not previously noticed. He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to look at the girl as he felt the metal coil around his body, almost painfully digging into his flesh. The click that resounded as each of the locks were closed only acted to make him more fearful. Of course he was going to die, and that much he wished for, but the humiliation and terror that would be invoked beforehand…? That was something he would have wanted to avoid. Even if it was deserved.
With his eyes still shut, all he could hear was the tap of boots against metal, and the gentle hum of the execution of standby.
Out of the blue, he felt the chains tighten around his form even further, eliciting a yelp of pain. He could feel his feet leave the floor, flailing momentarily as he yearned to stay grounded. As he ascended, he finally allowed himself a glimpse at his surroundings. What he saw was his class, now barely visible on the ground. Beneath him and to the side, he could just see Chiau, stepping onto a platform that he could of sworn used to be up near the ceiling. What worried him the most however, was the holes dotting the ground directly under and around his body. He had stepped over them when let her by Chiau… but what exactly were they?
His thoughts were cut short as he felt himself moving. A glance up and around confirmed that the central mechanism had begun to spin, taking both himself as the mastermind around in circles with it. At first, it was not so bad, but swiftly nausea took over. His body swayed violent as the machine span, the scenery shifting into a blur of colour.
That was when he suddenly felt himself plummeting to the ground, sharp hisses beginning to punctuate the air. He hadn’t even tried to escape… so what on Earth…? Unable to hold back a scream as his stomach dropped, he tried to get a grip on what was going on. All he could see around him were pitch black objects, shifting rapidly in and out of his view. His fall was abruptly halted, the machine stopping for a second. Maybe he would have been relieved, if it wasn’t for the sharp pain flaring up along the length and breadth of his left leg, the agony heightened by the damp sensation of blood.
Wh…. What had hit him?
Timidly he looked downward, only to see one of the black objects he had noticed before just piercing into his flesh after cutting it.
It was a spike.
There were spikes shooting from the ceiling and the ground.
With a brief squelch, the metal began to move down, pulling itself out of his leg. Gritting his teeth, Tatsuya let his eyes shut, trying to force away the pain as his body was mercilessly thrown around in circles once more, terrified of the prospect of being impaled.
Once Chiau had taken her spot on the platform, she sat down, making herself rather comfortable, given the circumstances. She had the same contented smile back on her face from earlier, her eyes closed as she waited patiently for the execution to begin. A few thoughts rushed through her mind, but only briefly. Thoughts like, did Tatsuya really deserve this? Could she turn this around? Of course not. She wasn’t going to let all this be in vain.
She opened her eyes, just in time for the machinery to start its job. She brought herself to a standing position, her stance being one that would allow her to keep her balance whilst being spun around. To Chiau, this felt like a theme park ride, with more dire consequences than just throwing up everywhere afterwards. A squeal of glee escaped her mouth as she spun around, one hand holding back her bangs from flying in her face, whilst her other arm stretched out towards the middle of the mechanism, as if it were towards Tatsuya. A playful expression flashed across Chiau’s face, as if she wasn’t scared of what was to happen to her.
The platform raised further towards the ceiling that was covered in these sharp, black objects. However, Chiau wasn’t paying attention to any of that, in fact, she was more interested in Tatsuya. She waved down to him, hoping he’d look up at her, and it was only until one of the objects pierced itself through her arm that she realised where she was.
A scream echoed through the room. One would think it was a scream of agony, since it was so blood-curdling, and high pitched, but Chiau’s expression seemed to have said otherwise. The hand that had been holding onto her hair shakily touched the spike that was covered in her blood. As she trailed her fingers up and down the spike, it suddenly shot out of her arm, sending the main machine the message to begin spinning again.
How… How long had they been spinning…? H… How many times had he felt that pain shoot through some part of his body…? H...How much longer did he have to endure this torture…?
Tatsuya could barely feel anything any more, even the slick droplets of blood sliding from his form going unnoticed. Surely by now he should be dead…?
But he wasn’t and consistently the spikes assaulted him, the machine no longer bothering to stop. He was sure that if one of them caught a limb at the right angle, it would be torn straight off. That thought brought a silent sob on, and he shook lightly from the trauma of it all.
Once again he felt the weightlessness of being dropped from such a height on the chain, his torso surely bruised beyond comprehension from this treatment. Yet… something felt different this time. Maybe it was the sharp metallic jangle, or maybe it was that he was wishing for it all to end.
He felt his body moving to a more horizontal position. The wind generated from the speed he was falling at threw his hair about wildly. Blank eyes fluttered closed after taking in the sight of the spikes refusing to move beneath him…
...And he let the memories of those who he was to meet again flood his mind...
All of this spinning and being hit by the spikes at different angles was beginning to take a toll on Chiau, as it would anyone. She couldn’t remain standing for very much longer, so she resigned herself to laying down, her back feeling strangely comfortable on the fabric platform. She wasn’t aware at how much her body could stand, until she looked at her bloodied form, soft giggles escaping her mouth. Yes, this is what she wanted. A despair inducing end. She gazed at the ceiling, at the metal spikes that now weren’t moving. This surely was to mark the end of the execution. The way the machine had sped her ascent towards her demise sealed that thought for her.
She didn’t need to look anymore. She knew what was going to happen. With no remorse left in her at all, Chiau closed her eyes, and inhaled sharply, for it’d be her last.
Could she be forgiven in the afterlife?
Like she gave a damn.
Everything fell silent, the execution machine as still as the night. To its left, the body of a raven haired male lie, crushed under the weight of the the thick chain, twin spikes protruding from both his face and his torso. To its right, above everything was the body of the mastermind, spikes sticking out from her form at random. There was a smile on her lips, the blood slipping down her face dripping down to the floor below...
Was this the finale that they had wished for...?