Fantasy Reaper

[Kazu Kun]

"Hey! I thought this was secret! You Joel Lover, or uhmm the oppisate way around?"


Kano frowned with disappointment. He thought they are keeping this a secret.

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel sighs, shaking his head. "Not really a secret. We can assume any we would keep this from, would already know everything we do, and would likely have answers in regards to what we saw. It's like when, hmm, take for instance, back in the playground days, when those kids would make 'secret' clubs, but have their meetings during a free period in home room, where everyone could hear them, but thought they were being secret because they had their own table."


 
Joel shrugs, that was a pretty accurate description of this rooftop escapade.

 

[Mehitsuji]

Had this been the old Yui, she would have no qualms with using her threads to completely subdue this child. She actually might have, had Joel not shared his analogy. Which she couldn't understand herself, to be blunt, but she hopes it would quiet the boy. She's almost at her wit's end with him. "I was going to find Belle, anyway. I had no intention of keeping this from her, or any other leader. I thought I mentioned that earlier."

 

[Silsa]

"Kano, you thought such a conspiracy could be hidden? Foolishness" Belle commented to no one in particular before regarding Yui with an elegantly raised eyebrow. Really of all the squad leaders she assumed that the one who's power was in the mind would have figured out what was happening. Or at least have the sense to stop before she fell off the egde. "More than likely he is directly involved, some suspect he IS Grim Reaper, or at least when he is not around, and if so, the fact that he has not acted as of this moment proves that whether this is true or not, he does not particularly care. For all we know, it could be baseless accusations spun by coincidence, if not a demonstration of power meant to garner curiosity. As of this moment, it does not matter."


Project Grim Reaper, one of the older classified undertakings that gave birth to a montser, an anomaly the higher ups could not contain or control. For all the information she had, it involved the Threads and Reapers themselves, but that was it. Her experiments have not progressed far enough for Reaper assimilation, but something told her that it would not lead to such power. The Threads seemed more likely, though if that was the case then they all would have the power to kill as fast as it did.


"Final verdict, we have to wait until he chooses to reveal it to us... unless we can get our hands on those crates before those monsters reduce the place to rubble. If met with holstility, we will just have to take that thing down." She finished, glancing around at the people beside her. With a team comprised of two leaders, a few recruits and a veteran, they would probably be able to take a pair of Reapers easily.

 

[Kazu Kun]

"Just don't get ahead of yourself and underestimate something like -"


Kano was interrupted by whisperes which made him walk off, holding his left ear trying to make it go away.


"Tch... Reapers need to stop getting up in my head. Seems like not all my wounds are healed still."

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel looks to Kano discontently. His look of confusion becomes concern, his straight face turning into a frown. Reapers getting into someone's head didn't sound too pleasant. Or safe, for that matter. He uncrosses his arms. He begins to watch Kano much more carefully now.


He asks a question to make it seem like he wasn't uncomfortable around Kano, "When would we go, if we were doing that?"

 

[Kazu Kun]

The whispers slowly halted to the voice of others. Kano became laidback now and more relaxed. He sighed and breathed deeply.


"I would say after we know the people we are bringing are able to take out a reapers not as hard as before."

 

[Mehitsuji]

Well, she had known that Belle would take this issue seriously. But like her other personality, they both tend to think chaotically. It was easier to wave away the suspicions against Scourge from earlier, but hearing her equal, and admittedly, the one closest to her, speak out her unwanted thoughts, it was difficult to deny that their Head might indeed be directly involved with the Project. She thought about it, but she did not want to believe it.


Eyeing Kano, she finally adds, "I'm unsure about this. I don't want to let this lie and metastize into something we can't control without doing something, but retrieving the crates on our own is still risky." Yui's brows furrowed. She knows that there really isn't any other option, but, "as of right now, it's too dangerous. But, I don't disagree. I'd rather we get to the bottom of this. But before any one of us makes a single move, we need plans. And obviously, our operation needs to go unnoticed by anyone not involved with it— especially Scourge." Yui's mind wandered to the other recruits. "This means no going out on your own and not doing anything that would jeopardize anyone's lives. With that Reaper-like man walking about, we need to be careful, even here at base." Yui turned to Belle and lowered her voice. "Belle, this is beyond what we've been through. I know you understand. And because of that, I'd like to join you with your research."

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel wavers from one foot, to the other. He wasn't about to sit on the ground or anything, but standing tends to make him uncomfortable. Yet, he starts to think, and like that, he begins to pace, not erratically, or for very long, moving at a slow short pace. The gears were turning, very slowly. Thinking, analyzing. Back in his old days, he'd even call it plotting. He blurts out one of his thoughts, "Are mind weavers capable of controlling or influencing other weavers?"

 

[Mehitsuji]

Yui turns wide-eyed toward Joel. With her deep train of thought centered on Belle, Joel's comment was a sharp right turn. Yui stares at Joel with a surprised look, and her mouth moves as if to say something she could not. After letting his words sink in, she speaks apprehensively, "Yes... They are capable of doing so." She lowered her face. "What... What did you have in mind?"

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel thinks for a moment, and ends up pacing to and fro his original spot for a few more moments. The gears were turning much quicker now, which meant he was likely to start rambling if given the chance. To prevent looking ridiculous, he collects his thoughts, and calmly asks, "How difficult is that? Is it easier, or harder, than controlling a reaper?" Right now, he had an insane idea in his mind, but he wanted to lessen the insane-ness level of the idea by asking these questions before proposing his plan.

 

[Mehitsuji]

Yui looked to the ground now. "It's... Not that difficult. It depends on how well-composed and, I suppose, how stable, the Weaver is. Compared to a Reaper, it's a walk in the park." She paused. "I haven't used my threads on another Weaver in a very long time. And..." It's not the most ideal situation I'd like to put myself into. "But, yes, it's been awhile, but it's most likely much easier for me to do so compared to before. Why?"

 

[Field of Crows]

"What is it like, " Joel begins this question very, very carefully. Yui was by far one of the most stable mind weavers he has met so far, and due to the fact nearly every other mind weaver he knows essentially has a form of PSTD, he didn't want to trigger anything, He sighs, "What is it like to use your mind weaving on a person, on a weaver, and on a reaper?" He focuses his gaze solely on Yui now, and stops his pacing.

 

[Mehitsuji]

"It's like," her eyes drift to Belle, then to Joel's, "it's like using it on a Reaper. The actual controlling part, that is. Except, for a Reaper, you can't tell for sure what they're thinking. Weavers are much more expressive when they are being controlled. They're harder to control the first time, because their individual will is more difficult to control than a Reapers. But given time, some times longer or shorter than the others, it becomes nothing extraordinary. You... I got used to it." She sighed. Somehow she's understanding where Joel might be taking this, but she sent him a doubtful look.

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel nods quietly. The gears are in overdrive, which was a rarity for him. Simple man, of simple words. By now, he assumed everyone already knew what Joel was thinking. Yet, there was more to it than that. so much more. "I think you could use your powers on that human reaper." He says this bluntly, believing it'd be best form this point forward to speak openly about this idea. "I don't think you could control it, either though." He pauses, letting each word sink in. "You could distract him with it though." He was going somewhere with this. "Then, the rest of the teams could use their powers at once, and if it came to it, overwhelm him while you have him incapacitated." Yet, despite the seemingly solidness to his plan, he reveals the kick.


"I don't think the recruits weaves are strong enough to do this quickly, however. I also don't think, without constant training you'd be able to hold him still either." He sighs, stretching out his back. "I think we would need to have serious daily training done. Threads kind of work like a muscle, yeah? The more you work it out, the stronger it'll become. More than that, we would have to have the recruits fight, in unison." He looks down now, thinking. He returns his gaze to Bella and Yui. "Ya know. If we have to fight him, that is. He didn't exactly attack last time." He carefully finishes with, "Yet despite claiming to protect his pets there, he effortlessly cut down those two Yui sent at him."


Then, it hits him.


"I think, in addition to whatever type of weaver he is, he has mind weaving. If ya were to counter that with your own, I'm assuming we'd have to deal with the reapers he was controlling too. Or maybe they'd go for him first. I don't know." He sighs, rubbing the back of his head. It was an overall silly plan to him, no matter what.

 

[Mehitsuji]

Yui listened to Joel, first in apprehension and then in amazement. She watched the man's compassionate shrink as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. She quickly interjected, admiring his fire, "No, yes, I understand what you mean." She pulled back, "But..." Yui shook her head, pushing aside her internal obstacles. "You're right. He's immensely strong, but I don't believe he's absolutely invulnerable. I've rarely heard of a weaver possessing multiple kinds of threads, but it's not impossible, either. Concerning the reapers, if he really could control them, there must be some limit, since it wasn't difficult for me to override those two." Yui nodded. "It's a feasible plan. If everyone agreed to it, it has a chance of working. It's just," She looked at Belle then to the ground, "there's no measuring how powerful he really is. And training— who would I, would I practice solely on Reapers?"

 

[Silsa]

"Possible, very possible, if an anomaly like this reveals itself then there is no telling what else is capable off. Still, in terms of pure power, even he would have trouble with a couple of weavers compared to reapers. If he does have mind muddled in, which while possible, is something I highly doubt, then we could just hit him with sensory overload and hope for the best. In a straight up fight, we could realistically win, the problem being we don't know how many aces he has up his sleeve." Belle thinks for a while, considering everything they knew about the monster and could only come to one other conclusion. "We will have to take it up to Scourge"


There was no other alternative, and quite frankly, there were more pros than cons here. If he was involved then things would be broughto light quickly, and as much manpower as it would take to kill the very first, it could be done. If he wasn't involved, then things would go even smoother as they didn't have to beat around the bush and wait for the monster to come out. They would have official help, as well as access to any and all information they would need. Another thing was the fact that she didn't want Yui of all people in her room, more specifically on her table, for very obvious reasons, the first being she was doing somehing that could very well kill her.


Back to the Xillia and Revnoir debacle, she was playing with her life here, she did not want to be responsible for Yui's.


"Any rebuttals?" She asked cheerfully, a grin returning as her eyes once more regained theri ussual shine.

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel nods quietly to both of them. "I like the idea of him controlling multiple reapers through the usage of mind weaving." He says this, but before it truly has a chance to sink in.


"The alternative is they actually follow him. Which would not help us at all."


He was in agreement then, they would need a lot more information. Still, he thought it'd be a good idea if everyone further trained their threads. Training one's body could only go so far, and even Joel, who was well above top condition, had doubts he'd last against the Grim Reaper's speed, He had doubts any weaver could, in fact. Maybe if enough of them could delay him, they could wear him down. If he could wear down that is. It didn't run, it simply was there, it toyed with Yui and Aura before. It's speed was more akin to warping than sprinting, yet he had the strange feeling it did in fact run. Which means that.


You can't out-run death. He thought solemnly, interrupting his previous train of thought. He frowns.

 

[Mehitsuji]

Yui looked at Belle with a look which contrasted the former's vivaciousness. There is no other alternative. With all of the unknowns, it's the most logical to involve Scourge, but it's also because he is involved that the situation becomes a tad bit more complicated. "We don't know how Scourge is involved with the Reaper. If it turns out that he's conspiring with him, for whatever reason, then it may just complicate things." Yui sighed and rubbed her temples. "We wouldn't worry about whether the Reaper could control the other reapers if we had more information..." She spoke more to herself, then looked at the two. "We'll ask Scourge. But not before we prepare ourselves for the worst."

 

[Silsa]

"Ya~ Ya~ Though I'm sure that I'd last long enough to run, what are ou two lo-err-people going to do?" She waved off Yui's conern easily, as if battling the very first wasn't as dangerous as it sounded. It was pride deserved, with what she did, she was sure that he wouldn't be able to kill her before the five minute mark; enough time to lay a few traps and head for the hills. "Training is fun and all, but we're a metal, a mind, and a light and I have no clue on how to train you two. You guys just want to play until no one's left standing? The night is still young, we can definitely have some fun in the training halls~"

 

[Field of Crows]

Joel nods, still in agreement of needing more information. "Those crates, items, left behind during the last encounter. If the -" don't you dare call him that edgy all-too-pun worthy name Joel! "-If the creature is no longer there, that information could help, before you two meet with Scourge." He's been here, what, less than a day, and already it feels like the world is ending, again.


(Wasn't there, like three civilians that were brought in before, or more, and thought to be reapers in disguise. And someone actually brought it up in the IC, is that still an issue? An unresolved plot! Or...is this all according to plan?)


 
Joel already knows what he is going to do if the shit hits the fan, he'll use his weaving Not a fast runner, and his threads were not good for climbing like spiders, unlike those shadow weavers. Still, given his skill with metal weaving, he'd probably put up a strong fight before being mercilessly executed by Scourge or the Grim Reaper. Or both. For a moment, he thinks of the two literally ripping into him. Strangely unappealing!


"Can threads cut other threads?"

 

[Mehitsuji]

Yui squinted in a strange state of disbelief at Belle. She's not wrong, but that confidence is a little off-putting. If they were really going to proceed with the plan, Yui's role would be paramount. Speed isn't too much of a problem for her when it came to regular reapers, but this case is a whole other story. Yui nodded. "We'll definitely find what we can before taking it up to Scourge. We can never be too careful." She stretched her back and cracked her neck. "Cutting other threads is possible. And painful." Yui gripped her sword. "So, I'll follow Belle's advice, and train. Better to start now if ever." She turned abruptly to Belle. "Train. Not have fun."


(What's the pun?)

 

[Silsa]

"Beating each other senseless in a triple threat show down, what's not fun about that? Its not like we'll really kill each other right?" After all that time, they had never fought seriously against anyone if Belle was not mistaken. Any training bout wold be settled, win or lose, with at most a fourth of her reall battle potential. That in itself gave birth to a very impressive record of a pefectly bad win loss ratio of 2 for 9 despite the fact that her enemies have always been people, supposedly, her level as a Squad Leader. "Come on, Yui~Yui, it would be fun to have a reamatch, even if Jojo jumps in~"

 

[Field of Crows]

(It's more of Joel really doesn't want to actually call the Grim Reaper; the Grim Reaper. It's using reaper powers, with a scythe? C'mon, that's too easy of a name for what first appears to be the big bad!)


Joel nods, "Are you allowed to train on others, Yui?" For the rest of the weavers, it would be a small thing for them to train, they could, to an extent, use each other, or use lesser reapers, or even rig up some dummy systems. Joel thinks on the subject of thread cutting. "Threads, are kind alike nerves, yeah? So, I've no doubt it'd be very painful. Do you think if enough were cut, or a large one was cut, that it'd become life-threatening?" Threads were incredibly strong, but Joel was told, once upon a time, that severe damage to them was possible, and the quickest way to such a thing, was using other threads. If any threads could do it, it would be metal threads for sure.


"Wait, what kind of sparring are you planning on doing?" Now he looks flustered again, tactical Joel packing up camp and leaving big brawny and confused Joel behind.

 

[Mehitsuji]

"It's that part about you which finds that fun that worries me," Yui stated blankly, not even bothered from hearing her pet name. She turned to Joel. "I don't know if it would be life-threatening directly because they were cut, or more that those unfortunate souls would be left more vulnerable to external forces. I would say it's possible, but unless we try it on someone, we wouldn't know." Yui automatically glances at Belle before returning her gaze to Joel. She tightened her grip on her sword, saying, "I can spar with others without using my threads. Though, maybe I might have to start doing so..." She gives a look of distaste towards Belle and sighs. "Training grounds, it is." Yui starts for the training grounds, but before that she looked at Joel in confusion. Maybe he's worried about training against two leaders? She gives a half-smile to reassure him. "It's nothing difficult for a big strong guy like you. Right?"


(Lol too edgy indeed)