[OPEN]

[daddyscythe]

Characters: OPEN
Location: Outskirts of Nevada
Rating: PG
Time: All day, Feb 27
Description: Shibusen offers a field trip to acclimate the guests to the Madness wavelength.


It's a perfectly pleasant day for the most part, if one is to look at the sky and maybe the horizon. For the attendees of the fieldtrip, however, things are naturally a lot more grim, if also lot more colorful. There are understandably no civilians in the area -- or any other signs of life apart from the group.

As promised, the location is extensively arranged to cordon off various areas of the place where Madness spikes have been identified. They are all properly labeled, both with text and visuals, and discreet agents kept an eye on all corners of the large field. The mirror by which the guest will come in is set in a corner, with some food provided next to it.

People are free to come and go, though the other end leads to the clinic instead of the Death Room. The rules are simple: venture into a level you think you can handle, and if you can't, someone will help.

In the afternoon, a light rain will come to add some variety to the endless desert. Make sure to take shelter in the open tents provided to protect you from the elements!

[ooc: Just put in open tags in the comments, [Character Name | Open/Close | Area/sort of madness targeted/whatever marker you want].

Plotting and information post was here.]

Comments

[ Kanji Tatsumi | Open | Any Madness Area ]

[topgun_textiles]

After Auron's lesson, Kanji knew what to expect when it came to standing out in the desert. Trading his usual sweatshirt for a sleeveless, jacket slung over a tattooed shoulder for now, he checked out the different sectioned-off areas indicating the level of Madness within, idly toying with the bullet charm around his neck.

All ready he felt the heavy presence of the wavelength pressing down on his shoulders, though he knew it'd only get worse once he stepped into any one of these sections.

It left him feeling a little... edgy, not wanting to stick too close to people for the moment, but he knew he had to beat this if he was going to beat everything else out there, even if at the edge of his hearing he could hear some whispers.


[ooc: Action? Prose? Your choice!]

[pure_lineage]

Sephiroth was already standing out in the madness by the time Kanji arrived. He'd slipped out from Cloud's watchful gaze in order to attempt weathering the effects the wavelength often had on him. This was something he had to do for himself and their partnership, but it was something that he had to do without his Meister hovering over him.

He had picked what he thought to be a more secluded area of the camp to attempt such a thing in. So far his seclusion had helped even if he felt the prickle at the back of his unstable mind. Sephiroth's brows furrowed at the feeling, and he did what he could in order to push it back. He couldn't allow for it to win... he couldn't allow for his own fears and insecurities to dominate what he was attempting to build for himself here.

[topgun_textiles]

He pushed down the whispers in his mind, the first thing catching Kanji's attention being the impressive length of silver hair. As the Meister idly watched him step away from the rest of the gathering, an eyebrow furrowed... hadn't he seen this guy before?

The emitters. He remembered now, that pressing feeling similar to the one he felt now, a weight upon his body. This man and his partner destroyed the emitter in the sector he and Tifa fought in.

That's right... this guy was from her world, wasn't he? Before he knew it, he'd stepped closer. For now, he'd just observe. What the hell went through this guy's mind now with the wavelength all around him?

[pure_lineage]

There was some part of him that sensed the others in the area around him. He had learnt well to ignore the looks from others, and did just that here also when he felt the gaze pressed against his back. The fact that the Madness continued to affect his thoughts helped him to further keep his mind from the presence just off behind him.

This wasn't enough. The press of the Madness wasn't enough for him to begin to lose himself, but the curious gaze from the one behind him prevented the ex-General from continuing. It wouldn't do for anyone else to follow him to where he was going. It was even dangerous for Cloud to do so.

His back remained to the other male, and with a subtle movement, he pushed her whispering voice to the back of his mind as he glanced back over his shoulder. "You shouldn't be here."

[topgun_textiles]

Oh... he was noticed. Guy was pretty perceptive. Kanji kept up his poker face and didn't move from his spot, arms folded.

"'s worse if you stay away from everybody. Who's gonna pull you back if you hit somethin' you can't handle, huh?"

Of course, he was avoiding people himself, but that wasn't the point. Between the two of them, Kanji was supposed to be the greenhorn making dumb mistakes. What was this guy's excuse?

[pure_lineage]

Sephiroth's lips quirked up at the statement given. That was the entire reason to why he had come out here. It wasn't to find solace in some fool, but attempt to combat and gain control of the monster that lurked within. He could already feel that darkness stirring at the back of his mind, but he did what he could to keep his mind fixated on this young fool.

"You're making quite the assumption there," he smoothly murmured. Sephiroth huffed lightly in amusement before he turned his attention back ahead of him. "Only he can pull me back, which is why I need to conquer this without his aid."

[topgun_textiles]

Kanji furrowed a brow. Sephiroth wasn't off on assuming he was something of a fool, but he'd press on regardless. What made his partner so special, that he was from the same world? He had to admit that Tifa didn't provide too much information on either of the men hailing from her world.

"You wanna conquer shit on your own, be my guest... but I ain't movin'."

[pure_lineage]

This one didn't appear to be backing off, and it caused the barest flicker of irritation to worm through his body. The Madness weighing in the air didn't help with his thoughts, but now was far from the time to consider such things.

"Then you are an even bigger fool than I originally thought," Sephiroth said while staring out at the terrain around him. The ex-General slowly turned back to regard the young male with an expression that was as smooth as silk.

Sephiroth began to close the distance between them while his gaze remained fixated on his target. "Is it this foolishness that you run out into battle with?"

[topgun_textiles]

Kanji wasn't too fond of the insult, but he let it go as his mouth thinned into a line.

He didn't move from his spot as Sephiroth approached. There was no doubt the guy was dangerous, but he'd had plenty of brushes with his type.

"I'm a Meister. I go into battle with everything I got, and get the job done. That's all you need to know."

Mid-to-High

[pishirogane]

Missions had exposed Naoto to several levels of Madness before, but mainly low and medium. It's around the medium levels that she began hearing sounds again. Their low voices, jumbled together and all of them critical against the little boy in their department and disrupting work. They should be at home, being watched by their parents, but oh, that's right, they died. Perhaps her guardian is going senile letting them in here believing they had a chance to solve this case.

It's... nothing, but it does boil her blood slightly. It doesn't matter; it's in the past.

"..." She turned her attention elsewhere, wondering if she should head deeper into the Madness. "... Kanji-kun?" When did he get here?

[topgun_textiles]

That guy is seriously creepy...

You must give your mother such a headache...

Kanji shook his head to clear it. The last time he fell victim to something like this, he was beating countless people bloody with a folding chair. He had to focus, keep his bearings, and not let himself get riled up by the Madness waves.

Didn't make the words hurt any less, though.

But he jumped, nearly dropping his jacket when he heard his name called, and turned. For a brief moment, he squinted. No, the Madness wasn't that strong here. The detective was definitely real.

"Hey," he answered in greeting, though a tad gruffly than intended. He understandably looked a little agitated.

[pishirogane]

"... It's already agitating you as well, I see."

She frowned and turned ahead. "It will only get stronger if we step forward. I'm not sure if I'm prepared. What if some representation of our dungeon manages to manifest itself?"

Or, what if the dungeon has somehow managed to warp itself. Naoto knows who she is, but there have recently been other things concerning her. Death mainly and perhaps being the only one here. She's fortunate enough that Kanji is still here and Minato, but she barely knows anyone beyond the Agency. What if something happened to both of them?

Right now, beneath the voices of children in primary school, it was mourning bells and the lonely tick of a clock.

[topgun_textiles]

Agitating is putting it lightly. He could practically feel when eyes were upon him, and each time was like a little needle in the brain.

Though the little pin pricks in his skull were trying their hardest to drive him to turn and pick a fight with someone, get them to stop looking, stop staring damn it, he worked to think of Naoto's plight. He didn't know what was going through her head, but he'd seen her Shadow, the world born from her mind. Kanji had a rather educated guess.

He set his jaw, straightening out that jacket and draping it over his shoulders.

"So we take it slow. We wanna build up a resistance, yeah?" He turned a shade-covered glance her way.

"If it gets rough, I'll pull us out or we face it head-on n' beat it back. ...Y'know, like old times."

[pishirogane]

Naoto tends to put everything lightly since it could be a much worse condition right now. He didn't have to be addressing her at all right now and instead, could be attacking her.

"Yes. That would be the best method." Of course, it was going to become much worse quickly.

"... Of course. Just like before." Though, Naoto was unsure if it would be so easy to pull them from their Madness as it was to convince each other into accepting their shadows. Or at least, him helping convince her to accept her shadow.

[topgun_textiles]

He'd had some awful nightmares to that effect the nights he was afflicted with the Black Blood. There was so much riding on whether or not he could control his emotions with the Madness pressing in all around him.

Kanji nodded, keeping his best face. He couldn't be unsure... the wavelengths in the air would swoop in and take advantage of it.

I'm sorry... I don't know what came over my son.

If only your father were here.

"Resonance pushes it back, right? Y'wanna do that, or are we goin' in as is?" The latter was risky. Very risky. But, he'd seen others doing it, both veteran and greenhorn.

[pishirogane]

Whatever happened, Naoto wouldn't blame him.

Naoto's expression was briefly broken by a wince, but she said nothing. They really should keep their attention on the Madness.

"... It does, but..." It was still risky. They would have to maintain focus for now and one day, they would still have to confront this separately. She just shook her head. "Let's try it for now."

[topgun_textiles]

"Okay," he answered, silently relieved as he offered a hand. One day they would have to face it head-on on their own, but right now, he was feeling rather glad he wasn't stepping into those roped off sections alone; not when he didn't know what 'low', 'medium', or 'high' even meant in a Madness sense and how each would affect him.

"Gonna start with that one over there when you're ready, Naoto-kun."

[somewhere in the mid levels?]

[attentionwenches]

There. That person looked strong for a human. He was built like a tank -- strong arms, a broad chest, and he was blonde on top of that.

The very sight of him made Loki's palms itch.

"You there," he called in a haughty tone. "Human. Care to test your mettle against a prince of Asgard?"

[topgun_textiles]

For a moment there, Kanji was unaware he was being called, but he eventually turned his head. A brow furrowed at that 'human' bit. Who the hell was this kid?

Prince of Asgard? He wasn't up-to-date on his mythology, so this guy could be speaking Latin for all he knew. The Madness left what little patience he had at the door.

"You talkin' to me?" He said with a bit of a sneer.

[attentionwenches]

"You're not a very sharp one, are you?" Loki said with an answering sneer. "You're almost as slow as he is. Perhaps my father could be convinced to make you king. You've got exactly the right combination of assets for an heir of Asgard: all muscle, no brains." He was spitting the words by the end.

[topgun_textiles]

Normally Kanji would take the jabs, make threats, but ultimately work to scare off the other person. He'd come a long way to let some obvious ploy to pick a fight rile him into an ass-beating.

Today was not a normal day. Those words like nails in the brain, the edges of his vision beginning to redden. Kanji turned and advanced on Loki, cracking his knuckles.

"You got a big mouth, y'know that, prick? How 'bout I rearrange your face?"

[attentionwenches]

"Try it, if you can," Loki said, wearing an oh-so-punchable smirk, pleased to see that this musclebound buffoon was appropriately bad-tempered. Yes, fighting this one would be satisfying. "That is, if you're man enough."

He spread his arms wide, inviting. The ever-present cheers of the soft-headed crowds who gathered to watch Thor's sparring matches pounded in the back of his head. In Loki's mind, he had an audience now.

The only difference was, this match wasn't fixed. He would earn glory.

[topgun_textiles]

His lips peeled back in a snarl, and that jab at his masculinity was enough for his addled mind. The sand was kicked up when Kanji broke into a charge. Loki's arms were wide open, daring him to make the swing.

He didn't need an invitation.

Kanji was a brawler. While most stuck with quick, light jabs, wearing down the opponent before finishing with something stronger, Kanji threw all that out the window. His attacks had some wind-up, but he put nearly everything into his punches with intent to finish things quick and messy. When within range, he brought down a hard right hook, aiming for that punchable smirk with a bellow of rage.

[attentionwenches]

Loki's strength was in his smarts and in his speed. He wasn't completely untrained in combat and had observed many times more fights than he had been in, so it wasn't hard to tell what sort of attack was coming. He waited until the last possible second, then ducked under Kanji's arm and scampered forward so he was behind Kanji, stopping just out of reach.

"Pity, you missed. Why don't you try again?"

[topgun_textiles]

He swung and hit nothing but the arid desert air. The red at the edges of his vision crept inward as Kanji turned toward the source of the voice.

His stance widened, and his teeth ground together. This guy better shut his mouth before he earns such a fat lip he can't talk for days. In his head he heard giggling.

That's all he knows how to do. It's pathetic...

That guy freaks me out a little, let's go down the other hall!

"THE HELL D'YOU KNOW!?" He roared, and his soul wavelength ignited, his Soul Descent sending a shockwave out all around him. Others nearby felt a harsh shove from afar, but to those much closer...