ACCOUNTABILITY.

[blackmass]

[The sound of footsteps is slow, but deliberate and without hesitation. And as they echo through the room he walks into view lacking fear, lacking hesitance, lacking...much of anything at all.]

[He's tall--perhaps taller than his profile had implied--wide-shouldered and built like an unbreakable fortress wall, wearing the solid black of a priest; the light catches a gold cross around his neck to confirm the fact. And as he steps forward, his long coat (the deep purple of poisons and nightshade itself) trails behind him before coming to a stop as he does.]

[A smile cut across his gaunt and pale face, but it was far from a pleasant one. It was the enigmatic smile of someone witnessing a joke only they found humorous, and yet it did not reach the dark and emotionless eyes that scanned the room briefly as though the priest was carefully calculating what course of action to take.]

At last we meet face to face, my Apprentices.

[The voice that leaves him is recognizable as the same one that was heard only moments before, but clearer in person. Now it seems to ring like the largest, deepest bells of Notre Dame itself, no louder than an ordinary speaking tone--the result sounds more like distant thunder heralding an oncoming hurricane.]

[The real difference lies not in how he speaks, but what he says. The short, impersonal sentences of the weeks prior are at last discarded, and the man before them speaks as a true preacher--a true wordsmith--would address his congregation.]

Rejoice and be proud of your accomplishments. Each and every last one of your number, dead or alive, has truly exceeded all expectations I had for this group. And now you have clawed and scratched your way here, on the backs of your fallen friends' struggles and failures. You have proven that their own accomplishments would not be in vain simply by standing here before me--I do not doubt that your success is the wish most of them held in their hearts, at the very end of their lives.

[He places a hand over his own heart, taking on a tone that nearly sounds genuinely proud...until a patronizing current begins to run through each syllable like a deadly undertow.]

Do you perhaps feel satisfied? You would be right to, for making it so far. Your sorrow, desperation, joy, determination...all of it has been a magnificent thing to behold as you fought to reach this point in time. Each second of it has served its purpose, and served it very well. I am one who believes such struggling and effort deserves to be rewarded, and so this alongside my own endless gratitude is what I will grant you in return for all that you have done for me.

My name is Kirei Kotomine.

[He holds his arms out slightly to his sides, a gesture that would almost seem welcoming if 'Kageshirou' did not react and coil--completely harmlessly--around his arms like a black serpent. The smile he wore turned to a razor-edged smirk, the challenge set before the remaining Apprentices clear even without his next words:]

And now that we have properly met, tell me: shall we continue our discussion?

Comments

[blackmass]

I believe, unless I have very much lost track, that most of your current situation has been made clear to you. [Returning the Jewel Sword to wherever it had been hidden in his coat, Kirei once again folded his arms behind his back and addressed the group.]

And now I have a question for you. What will you do now? Your friends remain somewhere you can not reach, and I have no means to return them to you. Will you perhaps kill me? Destroy Avenger? Both options at once?

...I will assure you that you will not be able to defeat me in a fight. Not singlehandedly and not together. If you choose that option, I will be forced to kill everyone in this room.

[But for now he simply...stood there, and spoke calmly.]

So...What do you intend to do from here, my Apprentices?

[oyashiromama]

No means, or no desire? You truly can't reach them?

[blackmass]

It's true I have no desire to try, but I do not believe I possess the means to even if I did desire it.

[oyashiromama]

...Can you answer where they are, then? If you haven't the means...then we'll have to find it ourselves. Their well-being...and ours, that's what matters most to me.

[matchbreaker]

The dead ones: Are they already inside Angra Mainyu?

[blackmass]

I believe that they should be, yes.

[matchbreaker]

[ . . .

She squeezes Hanyuu harder. It's time to give voice to this: ]

Do you know how we contacted them? Did you allow for that, Kirei? Or for Noir in the chalkboard?

[blackmass]

Why on earth would I allow for something like that?

[sportadork]

... You could tell us where the door out of here is? Just to start? [maybe they can go find someone more useful than this dude...]

[blackmass]

..You don't really think it's that easy.

[sportadork]

I was really hoping, but, no. You do not seem like someone who makes things very easy.

... So, when we do fix everything [and he's 100% sure they will], how will we get out of here?

[blackmass]

If you can get past me, I am certain you may yet find it.

[firstaid]

Are you saying for us to find another way to defeat you? It almost sounds like you want us to defeat you.

[blackmass]

You came down here for a reason, didn't you?

[firstaid]

Naturally, we did. You know why we did. I want to go home as much as I want to ensure those that have passed on are safe and still alive... if that is a possibility.

[blackmass]

Then you can not expect me to give you all the answers.

If there is something you desire, fight for it and take it yourself. If you can.

[feistytrader]

...So, I know everyone's asking you important stuff, but I've got something important to ask too.

[He pulls out the gummy tails, because... Noir said they might be important?]

What the hell are these?

[blackmass]

...What?

[From the look he gave Silver, Kirei genuinely had no idea.]

How would I know?

[feistytrader]

They're weird, you're weird, they came out of your vending machine...

[No dice, huh? Damn.]

[acherontiastyx]

...

[he thinks about it.]

How many of those do we have, Silver?

[feistytrader]

Elda and I have twenty each. Why?

[matchbreaker]

Oh, I have some too.

[ Elda pulls out a few as well! Gummy tails!

Between her and Silver there's like forty in the room ]

[acherontiastyx]

...

What if we feed one to Angra Mainyu. What then.

[matchbreaker]

They sort of smell bad...

[ But... ]

Sure, why not?

[sportadork]

Would it hurt to start with the healthier option? [THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE RIGHT TIME FOR THIS]