[ WP ] Stars have brilliant deaths , large explosions given a beautiful name . Men are granted nothing so glorious .

The silver streets were silent, save for a smattering of rain so fine it floated in the twilight breeze. As usual for Arcadia, the only color to be found were those muted pastels sported by its citizens, but more unusually the scene was highlighted with wispy, gaudy streaks of crimson. Two men stand on Rockel's Bridge, and one is leaking color as if trying to paint the city with his own body. 
 
 `` You were warned, Jack. You ca n't say I did n't warn you.'' 
 
 Jack, scrambled on the ground, one hand feebly propping him up against the rusting steel of the bridge, the other clenched tight over a hole where his liver used to be. His breath comes in racking fits and pained spasms; the final throes of a dead man too stubborn to die. 
 
 `` Go **fuck** yourself, Kennedy.'' The decades-old curse was delivered with distilled malice; spittle and blood flew from pursed lips. `` So, who paid you off? Evo? Horizon? Some upstart corp? Who was it?'' 
 
 The man in the duster stood up from a kneel, his overcoat streaked with scorch marks and grease. The rain picked up its pace, and tiny rivulets of water snaked across a rose-tinted faceplate. `` You've heard of Deimos, I assume.'' 
 
 `` No. You did n't. You did n't take the deal, you would n't.'' 
 
 `` He drives a hard bargain, Jack.'' 
 
 `` He's *insane, * Kenne-'' Jack's enraged outburst was cut short by a bubble of blood rising from his chest, and soon his tattered face was dyed red, just like the street. 
 
 `` Sorry. That's just the way it goes.'' 
 
 Kennedy turned, and walked away from the spotlight on the bridge, unwavering in his stride. 
 
 `` God damnit, Kennedy, do n't you walk away!'' 
 
 Blood and rain mixed in the gutters. 
 
 `` Do n't you fucking leave me here to die!'' 
 
 The color was already diluting, as with all things in Arcadia. 
 
 `` Kennedy!'' 
 
 Within the hour, the gray of the city had returned to the bridge. Maintenance bots had disposed of the body which, being SINless, did n't even warrant police investigation. Save for the patter of rain, the city was silent once again, with only the stars above bearing witness. 
 

