You're the bravest of hearts, you're the strongest of souls

As the liquid pours down there's a faint shiver, a tingling in the base of the skull and then images, feelings, thoughts and sounds and smells all come rushing in at once.

An image repeated over days, over months. A vast clock under a huge glass cathedral ceiling proclaiming in vibrant orange lettering Severe Unexplained Activity. A creeping sense of dread, the impression of looking up at this threat, this near state of emergency every day for months, nearly a year.

Then it's a series of headlines, each more horrific than the last, the front page of a paper with moving pictures. Gruesome stories of deaths numbering into the hundreds. A woman with dark hair bracing herself time and again, nearly in tears over and over as they both wonder how many of their colleagues might have been lost since the day before. Then she winks out of existence and the sharp, nauseous twist of fear in her guts makes it that much harder to stave off the tears.

The low key hum of panic never ceases.

Standing in the middle of a city street watching a coiling black mass of smoke and fire tear the city to pieces. People screaming, dying, knowing this destructive force is heading for your friends, family, the only people you have left in this world. Tears hot on your face as you realize that this... this is what Grindelwald will unleash on the entire world if he gets his war. This destruction, violent and undiscriminating will tear apart everything in this world.

Terror, absolute and all consuming.

A man, blond and smiling, grinning manically as a pair of uniformed aurors march him out of a subway tunnel. His smile unhinged, his eyes sharp and calculating, all the more eerie for the one blown out, gold and unnatural from overuse of magic. That same face peering out again from a paper.

GRINDELWALD AT LARGE

The fear is still there, the terror, exhaustive and unceasing. A constant weight in the pit of your stomach that feels like it's all you've ever known.

Slowly the fear fades, sharpens into something hot and painful, an aching heartbreak and bone deep sorrow.

If there's even a chance I can stop it-

If yer sure, sweetheart, ya know I got yer back

A brief image of Nishitani's hands over hers, shifting her grip on the hilt of a knife. Anxiety fluttering in her chest like a wild thing. A demonstration of how to hold the knife, how to cut. She drops the knife, turning to bury her face against his chest. Fear and sorrow and a heavy sick feeling in your stomach.

I don't want to do this to them. We finally have a reason to hope.

Look, if you want... ya can always off me, right? 'm already fuckin' dead anyhow.

Tani... n-no. A kiss before he can argue, a thought, loud and despairing. But who else?

On her knees over him, muscles loose, a pleasant hum in her despite the choking knot of tears in her throat. Fear, sorrow, hurt, relief, worry, all vying for the highest emotion. She leans down, kisses him, tears trailing down her cheeks.

I shoulda said it before. I love you

He doesn't have time to answer, she can't let him because if he says it back she won't be able to do it. The knife isn't in her hand anymore, hasn't been for awhile. It presses in, the point precise and exact because of the guide he'd given her.

Lov-

She sobs and the knife moves faster, hard and deep and the words stop as the blood flows down around them. She leans over him, bracing herself on the cushions next to him, blood pooling around her hand but she doesn't care anymore. She brushes her lips against his one last time and it feels as though her heart is breaking. This is what Grindelwald means by "For the Greater Good".

I don't want you to be executed after a five minute trial.

That would be---boring.

Of course... What are you offering? And what's the price?

I think the price of winning is steep enough.


And then a mechanical arm reaches down from the ceiling, offering her wand.