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[Ever since he figured out his clue to another passage, Beat was swept up in excitement, diligently following its steps throughout the chapel. Nothing's happening yet, but that's to be expected; he just hasn't finished the instructions yet. Once he drinks this communion wine, it will all come together...

...He's a little nervous though. It's his first time trying alcohol! He's gotta psych himself up.]

Well, I was gonna wait til I was legal, but this is for the clue, yo! Aight... I'ma do this!

[Beat grabs the glass up, stalls one more time with a toast of "Kanpai!", and has a gulp of the contents.]

[nothing appears to be happening just yet! no trap doors opening in the ceiling or disappearing hallways magically appearing or Aslan's closet popping up behind the pulpit. seems like this clue is a bust, or perhaps Beat has followed the instructions wrong.

...but around ten seconds after Beat drinks the liquid, he will find himself in pain that's excruciating enough to send most to their knees. what shortly follows may be disturbing to Beat in his final moments of slipping mental clarity; a clear thirst for blood and the desire to kill in gruesome, uninhibited ways. he will still be capable of speech - as much as he can manage while in pain - but will find it difficult to articulate himself beyond these desires.]

[The disgusted face he made on the first sip was hilarious, but Beat makes himself drain the glass. Smacking his lips a bit after the strange, strange taste, he sets it back down and looks around the chapel expectantly...]

[...Nothing's happening. He wonders if he came to the wrong conclusion about the puzzle.]

Edited 2013-11-04 20:45 (UTC)

[...And then comes the pain.]

Hnggh... Gah!?!

[He growls and yelps in agony and confusion. What was happening!? Poison- it's a trap, he could die!

But he can't.

He struggles with all of his might to stay upright as his body screams, and clutches his head. Rhyme... Rhyme...]

Aagh! I'm not-- finished!!

[How could he let this happen? He's so angry. He has to... has to...]

[KILL. Maim, tear, it doesn't matter who! Blood! He needs blood! NOW!]

[Having planned a picnic in the chapel with Kaoru, May heads there first to set things up. There seems to be someone already there though...and it sounds like they might be in pain? Seeing as how it's Wednesday and a body's yet to be found, she immediately dashes in to see if she can help.]

Beat! Are you all right? What's wrong?

[Not much, just having intrusive murderous thoughts. For a brief moment, less than a second, Beat stands there shaking with a look of horror on his face as he realizes what he just thought and sees May. The pain is overwhelming, and makes him whimper - a sound that must sound completely out of place coming from the boy.]

[However, he has no time to register that feeling of horror. Not when there's a body in front of him, a body that he can mutilate - his eyes didn't leave her for a second when she stepped into the room. Every other thought rapidly vanishes. His wings flare out and he roars]

DIE!! [Beat's skateboard was on the floor in front of the table with the wine. He jumps on it and activates a high velocity charge that surrounds him in a violet barrier as he attempts to slam into her with all his might.]

[She takes a step forward when she hears that whimper, but the instant he jumps on the skateboard, the instincts from a lifetime of avoiding assassinations takes over and she manages to leap out of the way in time. She's still too stunned to pull out her weapons though.]

W-what are you doing? It's me, May! Please calm down!

[Beat snarls when he misses, flipping his board under him as he turns around. It appears to attach itself to his feet as he floats slightly above the floor. He does not appear to be calming down at all, growling and shouting like a crazed animal.]

Whaaaat!? I'ma SHRED YOU!

[The thirst for blood pounds into his mind - he flips over so that a hand touches the floor and the board is raised facing May. Three of the giant red shuriken suddenly materialize and fly out from beneath the board in a line toward her. They're not very fast, but he did it from a close distance, and he quickly rolls back into a standing position.]

[She dodges the first two, but cries out as the third slices into her shoulder. She recovers quickly though and takes three quick leaps backwards, trying to put as much space between them as possible to make it easier for her to avoid any more projectiles.

A flick of the wrist and her hands now hold several kunai. She watches Beat warily, looking for any opening she can take advantage of.]

I'm warning you now...if you're attacking me because you think I'm an easy target, think again!

HAHAHAHAHA! [His eyes widen in almost glee and he laughs maniacally as May is cut and he sees her blood. As she warns him, he's already rising back into the air. Her voice barely reaches him, but... an "easy target?" That's the last thing he'd want!]

I jus' want... [He swoops, bringing the board crashing down on May's head.] ... BLOOD!

[Whether it connects or not, the impact will cause a purple shockwave to burst along the ground. He wants to see her beaten and bruised and then he'll cut her up into even smaller pieces and...]

[Backflipping out of the board's way is easy enough, but she doesn't expect the shockwave when she lands. The impact sends her and Xiao Mei flying towards a wall, but not before she hurls her kunai towards him. She's not even thinking about adjusting her aim to hit a non-vital spot; against an enemy this dangerous, survival's the only thing she has in mind right now.]

[Beat's flurry of homicidal thoughts is interrupted as the kunai hits its mark; his neck. This time his reddened eyes bulge in shock as he lets out a pathetic sound]

Ghkkk-!

[Soon after the shockwave fades, he hits the ground clumsily as the blood spurts out. If he was in his right mind, this would be when he used I Live For Food to try to heal himself. Instead, he struggles forward toward May with a look of confusion on his face and an arm outstretched. Breathless but still wanting to kill her, he calls out another shuriken ... only to groan and collapse to the ground instead, without the strength to throw it. It disappears into static as he bleeds out on the floor.]

[She isn't awake to see her blade hit its mark. Throwing her kunai gave her no time left to brace herself; both she and the panda hit the wall hard and crumple down to the floor, unconscious.]

[Gundam is out around the grounds when the hamsters begin acting agitated. He can tell they hear the sound of something that's upsetting, and it's Wednesday, after all, so he doesn't ignore it.

He's led to the chapel, but the sight that's waiting for him there is especially horrifying. He first notices Beat, lying on the ground with blood around him, eyes open. There seems to be something in his throat, but with the way he's lying, he can't tell what it is, only that he's dead. His first thought is sadness; Beat has always been kind to him. He had hoped that perhaps...but he's also accustomed to losing things, and the pain he feels isn't overwhelming, doesn't conflict him, beyond forcing him to shove down a little more sadness in his heart before he clenches his fists with determination. He knows he must simply examine the surroundings and then summon help. He's about to send Maga-G off to do so, stepping into the chapel, when he sees another form collapsed against the wall. Two forms.

This time, he reacts with horror, heart pounding, unable to move. He recognizes May immediately, and Xiao Mei as well. He's come to care for her very much. It's not simply that he likes her, or even that he likes children - he doesn't, particularly, though he finds them easier to feel affection towards than other humans. But May is a very strong girl, but gentle, kind to animals, naive and trusting. All of that reminds him in certain painful ways of himself. She's not very like how he was as a child, but she cares about him and knows too little of the world, and he's found himself wanting to protect her very much. And there's little in the world that's more painful than the knowledge that you failed someone who was relying on you.

He shoves those feelings down, as well, however. He's become very good at pushing away feelings that threaten to prevent him from action. If this was the end, he could have quite easily continued to examine the crime scene, summon the others, and go through with the trial. Her death would have bothered him in the same way a thousand things, and several things in particular, have affected him throughout his life, but he would have continued on as he was. It would at least be over.

Instead, he realizes, as he approaches her, that she's still alive. Unconscious, but alive. And he should be relieved, and there is a part of him that is, but there is a part of him that is feeling sick as comprehension of the situation begins to dawn on him.

He goes over to Beat's body and turns him over, and...yes. The kunai. So then, did Beat attack her? He can't hate him for it. He doesn't know Beat's motivations, who it is Beat desires the power over life and death for. If he believed May Chang an easy target, he was mistaken, but guilty? He doesn't particularly care.

What's important is that the situation is different now. It's not a past tragedy that he can push away. It's an impending tragedy that he has the power to alter. And...he does know how to do that. But it isn't a decision he can make lightly. There are those relying on him. There are those who would be...hurt, by what he might do. And he himself, he wants to continue living. If he didn't, he would have abandoned doing so long ago. But even so...

Anyone who happened to try to enter the chapel now would find him sitting near the body, staring at the wall, hands clapsed together, though whether in prayer or whether he's intending to perform some sort of spell is a matter of interpretation. His expression is unusually serious as he considers his decision.]

[Kaoru, who had been hidden in the forest, listens to the ensuing battle with eyes closed. once it sounds like it's over, he makes a move to step from the trees, somber but relieved. though he had a genuine soft spot for May, it isn't enough to deter him from doing whatever necessary to pull off a successful kill.

—but then there's Gundam, and the relief immediately turns to shock. Kaoru doesn't even have time to mentally berate himself for not doing a thorough check of the grounds beforehand. his mind works quickly; he can't stay, he can't enter the chapel, he won't have time to frame Rapture - he can't even risk getting close enough to see exactly what is happening in its interior, too frightened that the hamsters might catch his scent. he can only ease back into the woods, hand over his mouth, and then turn to leave with the basket in tow. the entire way back to the manor, his mind is racing, trying to puzzle out where to go from here.]

[The hamsters do seem a little agitated, or at least trying to catch his attention, but the fact that one of them may have noticed someone else approaching completely escapes his notice. He's too caught up in his thoughts, and assumes the agitation is solely based on their ability to read his emotional state.

After a few seconds, he begins to chuckle. Partially to appease them, but he also feels an overwhelming sense of relief, almost happiness. There's really no choice, not when he can change this fate so easily. And while he would have liked to go on living, the fact that he came to this point and chose is an incredible weight lifted. He did promise someone, after all, not to abandon his heart, but he hadn't been fully sure of that promise until this moment.]

Aha. Ahaha.

Very well, mastermind. It seems I am not the opponent worthy of facing you after all.

[He moves very quickly, now, as he knows he may not have much time. He directs the dark gods to act as lookouts. He unravels the bandages on his arm and pools them on a pew, and then discards his coat and button-down as well, and then takes the gun he's been keeping in the lining of his coat.

It is without any sentimentality for his fallen comrade that he picks Beat up, careful not to get blood on his undershirt, though a small amount won't matter. He carries the body to the wall, and props it up. He fires a shot into Beat's chest. With that done, he hides the gun in his boot. He picks Beat's body up again and moves it to the floor near the altar. He takes the kunai out of the throat. Blood pours onto his hands when he does this, but it doesn't matter at all. He quickly slits the throat with the kunai, and then plunges the kunai into Beat's shoulder. This will create the impression the shoulder was the true wound, caused by May. Finally, he plunged the kunai into the gunshot wound, twisting it to alter the shape of the wound. The body should be visible now from the door, so he must act very quickly. He takes his bandages and begins to wipe what he can of the blood on the ground where Beat first fell. It will not come up completely, but he drags a pew against the wall, and another into close to the old pew's place, over the bloodstains on the ground. The pew will cover the bullet hole in the wall, but the other will also, hopefully, keep the bloodstains from detection, as they lead to May. If they are found, he can only hope they will be imputed to the shoulder wound. It's not perfect. There are plenty of flaws he can see...but he has no time, so it will have to suffice. He carefully picks up May and Xiao Mei in his arms and moves them both close to the door, so hopefully they will flee before they examine the scene.

Finally, he pulls his shirt and coat back on hastily, and gathers up the bloody bandages.]

I now concede my defeat. But I did warn of the consequences of awakening what was dormant in me...still, we will see.

[And with that statement to no one in particular, he runs for the pond, leaving the scene behind. He doesn't have much time to dispose of evidence before he must return for the discovery.]

[She wakes up around five minutes later, her head throbbing. It takes her a few moments to gather her bearings and try to figure out what had happened. The last things she remembered was Beat attacking her...but why...? And where did he...

Her gaze lands on Beat's body and she stares at the kunai in his chest, horrified.]

W-what have I...

[It's not the first time she's had to kill someone to defend herself, but even with her pounding headache, she instantly realizes the consequences of her actions. Her immediate impulse is to remain by the body until they found it; she couldn't just let someone else take the fall for her.

...but her clan. Her people. If it was only her own life on the line, that was one thing, but the lives of nearly a thousand people rested entirely on her surviving and returning to Xing. The Chang clan had no other heirs and no way to appeal to the Emperor without her. They were already struggling just to get by; if she died here, it would only be a matter of time before their line perished entirely. If she was to be a good ruler, shouldn't it be her responsibility to ensure her people's survival and well-being, no matter what the cost?

...but then again, what kind of ruler would let an innocent die in their place?

There's a good chance she would have stayed there frozen in shock and horror until someone found her anyway, but Xiao Mei's frantic squeaking and pawing at her clothes snaps her out of it. Blind with panic, choked with terror and guilt, she grabs the kunai in Beat's chest without thinking and yanks it out, slipping it up her sleeve before running out of the chapel as fast as she can.]

[Gundam, meanwhile, goes to the pond. He wraps his bandages around a rock, tying them tightly in place, and throws it into the pond, where it sinks. He washes his hands of the blood. His clothes, thankfully, are clean, so he straightens himself up, keeping his sleeve uncharacteristically rolled down. He hides the gun back in the lining of his coat, for now at least; later he'll hide it in the drawing room.

He moves very stealthily through the woods, back near the chapel, and remains in the trees, instead sending the Dark Gods out to survey for anyone nearby. He waits until May has fled, and until someone else comes.]

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