As you are (Backdated to the 2nd)

[heretic_hamlet]

Who: Ramza, Fortuna, Mukuro, and Yu
Where: Near the southeast gate
When: August 2nd, dawn
Summary: Zeloph has offered a chance to talk things through. Ramza isn't going to make the same mistakes twice; he's going to listen, he's going in with allies, and he's not going to be taken for a fool.
Warnings: Potential plot spoilers.

There was a chill in his bones and a gnawing somewhere in the pit of his stomach. But for once- if only thanks to his company- he was sure that miasma and touch-starvation wasn't to blame for it. That wasn't to say there wasn't a rotten air lingering above them in light the day's affairs... and it was an all too familar one, at that. And the entire affair stank of it.

It wasn't as though he feared getting attacked or caught off-guard, either- especially not with allies such as these at his sides. Yu had the air of an impeccable mediator, and he'd long since come to know Fortuna's prowess with machines and battle alike. Mukuro was more of an unknown to him, and for a moment he had his doubts... but who was he to turn down someone else who sought only to know the truth of their lot? She was even-- Gods help her!-- a soldier in her own right.

Yet there they were, praying their skills would be happily wasted in a peaceful parley.

But it would be for the best. Ramza never wished to see his own sword draw blood, however meager the amount or source, but he would be damned if ever he once again cut short a just plea at the neck.

When the gates finally came into view, Ramza laboriously checked his watch, and cast a glance behind to his companions.

"Soft, now... but sharp eyes all around."

Comments

6th DISTRICT GATE MINGLE

[rekindlemyfire]

[shadowsgambit]

Fortuna was discreetly wired into the control deck, only a part of the plug sticking out from beneath her hair. The deck itself was tucked into a coat pocket, one hand on it at all times ready to take over its slave ports. Though it meant she could only hold one person's hand, or the person on that side would have to hold her arm, it meant that at a moment's notice she could take control of either of the drones following along behind her.

Though she could cover more ground as a horse (and maintain easy contact with a rider), she needed her thermal vision. In fact, she kept her eyes sharp for any heat signatures out of the ordinary at all near the gate. This district was supposed to be lifeless, after all. Body heat would be unusual.

"I'm ready for this. If he's hiding in the shadows, I'll see him."

[heretic_hamlet]

"Expect a second, if not more. I know not if he will be as blighted here as we are..."

Ramza still wasn't sure exactly how that mass of wires and casings actually worked, and- as illiterate as he was to the more complex machines of this world, Fortuna's, and his own, as well as the differences between them- he had to admit there was a pang of concern in light of Zeloph's accusations against the scientists.

But he knew well enough that he hadn't the knowledge for such things- and Fortuna, he was certain enough, actually knew what she was doing. He just hoped she was not as wholly baffled by Saeng Seong's technology as she'd been in the past.

"Is there aught within your world that could cause such a thing?"

[shadowsgambit]

"Like this? No- ...Well, there's radiation, but it sure as hell can't be beat by holding hands. It'll clear a place of life pretty fast, though."

Most of the things here had at least something similar enough back home. And then there were things like the touch-powered generators and...whatever this miasma was.

[heretic_hamlet]

"Radiation? It sounds like some manner of plague." Unsurprising that he hadn't heard of it, all things considered.

"The closest I've known to this miasma was a scattering of toxic spores, spread across a battlefield to sicken the soldiers... I would not be surprised to hear of a duke making use of such a thing on a city's slums."

[shadowsgambit]

"It's, uh...related to an energy source, actually. Happens when it's not contained properly." Something about rocks and half-lives and stuff she can't really remember from school. Oh well.

"This doesn't sound like either of those things, though. Sounds magical. Wonder what a shaman would see if he peeked into the astral here..."

[dead_eyed_wolf]

Tall, horns, fangs, guns and tech. This was definitely the person Kanji had mentioned to her.

...She was going to have to apologize for not believing she was real.

Mukuro approached hesitantly, peering up at the troll for a moment before sticking out one hand. "Hi," she started, voice flat. "You're, ah... Fortuna, right?" She hoped she'd recalled the name correctly.

[shadowsgambit]

"Yeah, that's me." She accepts the handshake, her hand dwarfing Mukuro's. In spite of her hand's relative size, her grip probably isn't any stronger than her own. "I guess Ramza told you about me?"

[dead_eyed_wolf]

She shook firmly, as best she could considering the difference in size, still peering up at her curiously. She wasn't as strange as a sentient tiny robot, she supposed.

"Ah, no... Kanji Tatsumi." She wasn't really sure how to explain. She'd probably come off as weird no matter what she said, right? She gave a resigned sigh and spoke again. "I, uh... I'm a soldier, I asked if he knew of any kind of weapons supply shop, he said you might know. Guns, ammo... that kind of thing."

[dead_eyed_wolf]

For once, she felt calm.

They were about to head into a toxic wasteland, potentially heading right into a trap, probably surrounded by unknown enemies. And it was the most familiar situation she'd experienced in quite some time-- definitely since arriving in this strange city, at least. She wasn't struggling to find words in a silted conversation, or faking her sister's mannerisms under wig and makeup. She was walking onto a battlefield. With a mission, and experienced comrades (though strangers, but even that was familiar). The only thing she missed was the weight of a gun in her arms-- but at least she still had her knife, and she'd strapped a sharpened length of pipe to her back with a makeshift shoulder sling, and that would do.

She nodded automatically at Ramza's warning, steel grey eyes scanning the area, expression unreadable as always. "I'm ready."

[heretic_hamlet]

It wasn't that he had any suspicion or doubts about his newest ally- after all, Ramza was well accustomed to welcoming sellswords into his ranks, and he'd let men and monsters alike accompany him into far more troubling tasks.

He just couldn't fathom how she could be so disposed to the task. He'd recruited men and women into his squad straight off of battlefields who did not have such a hardened look or focused stare about them; so why would he see it on a girl who seemed barely old enough to hold rank?

Regardless, Ramza wasn't sure a makeshift spear was as ready for the task as its wielder. He drew one of the two swords off his waist and offered Mukuro the grip.

"You said you were a cadet, did you not? Something about soldiers and a school...?"

[dead_eyed_wolf]

She glanced towards him curiously, gaze flicking from his face to the offered blade. She took it carefully, respectfully-- as she would with any weapon, but especially one offered by another soldier, even considering the slightly archaic nature of both.

"Not exactly," Mukuro murmured, testing the sword's weight, feeling its balance. She'd used them before, even sparred with the SHSL Swordswoman at the academy-- the researchers loved pitting them against each other. She flipped the blade into her left hand and held up her right to him, showing the wolf tattoo emblazoned on the back. "When I was 14, I joined the Fenrir mercenary corps," she explained, flipping the blade back into her dominant hand and shifting into a ready stance.

"The school-- Hope's Peak Academy-- they have talent scouts, and they recruit the best students all fields. I was invited as the SHSL Soldier when I was 17." She spoke without emotion, neither bragging about her achievement nor downplaying it-- and swept the blade through the air in a few experimental slashes, almost faster than one could follow.

"And you?" She replied coolly, continuing with her sword refresher course. "I'm, ah... I'm guessing you're not from my time and place."

[heretic_hamlet]

"You were fourteen?" He was only a few years older when he started his training, and older still when he took up arms as a sellsword; he would have been disbelieving had he not seen the way Mukuro carried herself- to say naught of her 'practice' with an unfamiliar blade.

"Surely not," he finally pushed out through his astonishment in reply to her question. "I've never heard of such a thing, or a rank or title of SHSL. Though I was once a cadet in employ of my homeland's order..."

It was his turn to look back ahead to their path, but for him the story wasn't such a casual affair. His pondering quickly became brooding.

"...but ill fit to the mold they'd asked me to fill."

[callmewhateveryuwant]

Lately Yu had been utilizing his animal form to explore the open districts but as he and the other members of the group gathered around the gate, he had stayed in his human form for a couple of good reasons: he could use his personas and it would be harder to explore a miasma-filled district without touch and being carried around was not an option.

He felt bad for not saying it to anyone but it was dangerous to go in; Naoto and Kanji would want to follow, Labrys might plow her way through, and Shinju...well, he would be worried and maybe try and convince him to stay and that isn't like Yu to run from the truth. So for now, he waited and nodded at Ramza's command.

[heretic_hamlet]

Of course, Ramza knew little of Yu's prior feats in battle or his ability to evoke spirits; he'd always saw him a charismatic speaker- and certainly, that alone was a quality of no small merit- but little else. And in file with a self-professed soldier and a well-armed goliath, Ramza made sure to keep at Yu's front.

However, Gods be good, it wasn't going to come to that, and they'd find more use in the sharpness of Yu's tongue than in Ramza's sword.

"You two spoke, did you not? I only saw a small part of it..."

[callmewhateveryuwant]

If he thought Banchou sneaking in the chocobo nests was weird, wait until he saw Izanagi or any of his other personas running around in his soul. Hopefully there would be no need for fighting as well, none needed to die in the closed off district.

"We did along with Diarmuid. He said that Rhea-san was someone we can trust. Even at a distance he's trying to protect his sister."

[heretic_hamlet]

"His sister? The priestess?"

Of course, such a dedication was one that struck closer to his heart than he wished to admit, and the look on his face was anything but his usual, calmer curiosity.

"He'd said that his caste was ill-favored by those in power; how is it she came to hold such a position?"

[dead_eyed_wolf]

Mukuro was almost surprised to see him-- he hadn't looked like much of a fighter to her, but then again, she probably didn't look like much to anyone else either.

She gave an awkward wave and a tiny smile, not sure how to greet him. 'Hi, how's your kitten doing, I hope you don't get horribly injured on this adventure?'

[callmewhateveryuwant]

Surprises come in many shapes and sizes and while he was a little surprised at seeing Mukuro there, he was also curious about she could do. When she waved and smiled at him, he returned it in kind.

"Hey Mukuro, looks like we'll be exploring this place before anyone else."

[dead_eyed_wolf]

She nodded, sharp eyes scanning the area once more. There were no sounds, no reason to be overly cautious, but this was the edge of enemy territory just the same.

"Can you fight?" Her question was blunt but not unkind. She figured, after everything she'd seen here, it was likely he could take care of himself-- but it was still prudent to find out before anything happened.

6th DISTRICT EXPLORATION

[rekindlemyfire]

As the group nears the gates, they'll find that for once in the times they have ever headed toward the very south end of the 2nd District, that they open once approached. Like many districts when they're first opened, there is no power lighting the streets. Nothing in the storefronts as they enter. Not even a sign of animals wandering in the midst of the miasma.

There is no one in sight beyond the gates, no heat signatures within range of Fortuna's thermal vision. Only the unknown amidst the invisible danger. For now, there is only one path that is visible to them...

[shadowsgambit]

"Huh. Not much of a welcome, is it? I'll start scouting ahead."

Fortuna flips the switch on the Steel Lynx's slave port. The tank-like drone wheels itself out and ahead of them while she slows only slightly; she should still be able to keep in line with everyone else. The Steel Lynx lacks thermographic vision; the harsh false color is too jarring in feedback with her own organic heat vision. But it does have low-light vision capabilities, less jarring and useful in this situation.

[dead_eyed_wolf]

Mukuro strode alongside them, fearless, sharp eyes flicking from place to place-- they wouldn't be taken off guard if she could help it. She did hate having to sacrifice one hand to keep contact, though, that was extremely inconvenient. Still, she made do, reaching out to whoever was nearest on her right while gripping Ramza's sword in her left. She could fight just as well with either, after all-- better to let a right-handed fighter take the side they were comfortable with.

"Just to be clear," she said, voice calm and clipped, "no one knows what might be out here, right?" She was hoping for enemies of the human sort, if they had to fight, but at this point she really had no idea what to expect.

[heretic_hamlet]

"We know one such thing," he spoke out in reply to Mukuro. But even that one thing was fraught with mystery- and, worse, uncertainty.

Fortuna's robotic scouts notwithstanding, Ramza made certain to keep himself at the point... he was the one who had brought them here, after all, and that was enough. He wasn't about to throw his precious newfound allies- or, for that matter, anyone- into peril for his sake.

"...Keep to the path. If they mean us to part from it, they should have left us some sort of sign..."

[callmewhateveryuwant]

"He's right; don't stray away from the path. It's just us right now and without much for backup." He gave his two cents as he slipped on his glasses and looked at said path.

"If it comes to it, I have an emergency escape route."

Basically summon gold dragon and ride the fuck out of there.