thefolder | September Missions - Dark Field Elimination

Fifteen minutes, huh?

[ He stares down at the device in his hands and had pulled out his D-T to help keep track of time. No one who has ever entered one of these places has ever come out looking alright. Dante comes to mind with his broken arm and burnt up body. ]

I swear... if anything happens to any of you...

[ He shakes his head and sticks close to the Dark field. Something might come out of it and he has to be ready for that. He ended up tucking Kotemon under his arm as well to keep him from doing something stupid. ]

Th-they'll be okay. They're strong. They can handle this, right Squall?

[ Squall just stays silent as he paces around outside of the field. ]

[ He'd listened to Alex's recaps of the Dark Fields, so he's prepared for something bad to happen, imagined or not. And happen it does. The blinding light assaults him, and it feels like he tripped and fell into one of the lava pools in the Fire Cavern.

He keeps calm though, mostly because he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he panicked. Sure, he wasn't a SeeD, but he wasn't some chicken-wuss or puberty boy. Tons of people had gone into the Dark Fields. They came out a little worse for wear, but they all survived; he would, too. Trying to pretend like his flesh wasn't on fire: ]

Where the hell are you two dumbasses?

[It's like a vacuum. Even though nothing can be seen, in any direction, screams and calls are swallowed up, and no echoes answer. Sound? What's that? Walking will not produce footsteps. The ground itself is less like ground and more like glass.

Walking, there is nothing. No one. Except...

There has to be something. What else would be causing that itching, on your arms, your legs, your back. The burns are one thing, but this...as if attacked by a wild animal, sudden slashes cover the Chosen. Shallow at first, and then deeper, deeper. Along with the feeling that something wants them gone, immediately.

The silence isn't always pervasive. If they try to walk or not, eventually, after a short time of this assault, a quiet hiss will take root in their ears, growing until it forms words.

They are the words of familiar voices, someone the Chosen knows...but it is not words of comfort or joy. It's a phrase, something the Chosen has heard, something that hurts, repeating over and over and over. With every word, a new slash, a new burn.

The field is relentless.]

You'll come crawling back...

What?

You'll come crawling back...you ungrateful bitch

Who is that?

[ Roze spun around, hopping back on her heels and holding one arm over her face, the other flinging out, hand clawed. Eventually she forced herself to stand straight, hands falling to her sides balled into fists as burns curled across her skin in snail trails of virulent red. ]

COME SAY IT TO MY FUCKIN' FACE!

You'll come crawling back...nothing you do changes anything.

[ Slashes came on syllables and she hunched, putting one leg back and grounding herself solidly, ignoring the heat of tears welling in her eyes, the trembling of muscles under skin as she quivered like a horse that caught a wolf scent. ]

Nothing you do changes anything...

[ She broke off into a run, screaming at nothing, stumbling over nothing as she leaped towards the voices - voices everywhere - rage boiling bile bitter in her throat as her fists slammed against nothing. Screaming felt better. Fighting back was better than just taking it like a bitch, listening to those words so full of hate and working so hard to break her down. She would never disappear. She would never let "them" tell her she didn't matter. Never again. ]

Nothing you do changes anything; you'll come crawling back, you ungrateful bitch...

Shut up! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!

Nothing you do. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. You're nothing. You ungrateful bitch. You're nothing.

[ All she had to do was stop the voice... ]

[Most people, in a Dark Field, heard every cruel word, every discarded feeling, every hurtful action from their lives. And at first Neku does too- he has plenty to choose from. But in his mind most of those were almost like things meant for someone else. The person he was before the Game. Some of them, maybe even many of them, deserved in a lot of ways.

He even hears his own voice a few times, hissing in his ears. Every hateful thought and word he'd said to others that were nothing but shameful now. He snarls at the voice, snapping up Terri and running to escape them.

But the phrase that ends up repeating and taking over the others is different. Older and buried much deeper. Innocuous to anyone else but himself. A young voice. Younger then him ~~or at least the Him Of Now, not the Him Of Then~~ and bright, happy.]

Don't worry, I'll be there. The mural wall, right? Make sure to wait for me, okay?

[At that voice he froze, ignoring the growing gashes, or the weak echoing attempts at Terri to speak to him. This hurt more then any mean word. This sliced deep into the core of every cruel action he made after.

He didn't notice when he started to cry, shaking his head frantically as if he could toss the voice away physically. He thought he had mostly forgotten what it sounded like.]

Wait for me, okay?

[ He impatiently stares down at the D-terminal as if that might help speed up the time. Seriously it hasn't been that long yet and yet it feels like it's been hours. Kudamon was trying to comfort Squall while he continued the pace around and kick at things with his boots.

This was all he could do. Stand and wait. Stand and wait. This was pathetic. ]

[ He feels an unfamiliar sense of dread as he takes a few silent steps forward. Just a few. He tries to think, think through the burning sensation, think through feeling like he's getting his scar again except this time it's spreading all over his body.

But it's hard to think.

And then, the quiet whisper of a voice that hadn't changed since he was a small child. ]

Squall.

[ Always Squall. Always him first. He always seemed to be her favorite. ]

Quistis, Selphie.

[ Bossy, over-bearing Quistis and Selphie, too. Quistis acting like she was years older than the rest of them when she was only older than him by two months. ]

Irvine, Zell. You've all grown so much... and become so strong....

[ But what about him? That dumbass Irvine always sticking with Selphie and Zell getting all the attention because he was a crybaby chicken-wuss. To make it worse, Zell and Quistis had actually been adopted. Families actually came all the way out to the middle of nowhere and decides those two blond-haired blue-eyed children were more adoptable than him.

He could shrug it off. He could remember the mission, which had apparently changed to stick it out for fifteen minutes since he knew there was no way in hell he'd be able to find either of them.

He's better than Quistis. Better than Zell. He could shrug it off. Now isn't the time to be thinking about that. Just focus on anything other than that. Anything other than the burning, cutting pain.

But what about him?

No, quit asking that.

But why couldn't she ever remember him?

It's not important. How much time is left?

Why didn't she care about him, too?

Goddamit, focus! ]

Because you're useless. A useless fool.

[ He reminds himself that Edea's not here. He reminds himself, but... ]

I'm not useless, Matron.

[ The word slips out by mistake. He was the one who protected her. He was the one who stayed by her side, who acted as her knight, who protected her from Squall and the others who didn't even remember she was their matron and tried to assassinate her.

It was him. He was the heroic one. He was the one who made sure she stayed alive. It was because of him that she was able to have her happy reunion with Cid later. Cid, the one training everyone to kill Matron in the first place, who always favored Squall.

They were on the same team. Squad B was one unit. It didn't matter what Cid said; he knew he made the right decision to investigate further. Squall and that dumbass chicken-wuss followed his orders. If orders were supposed to be followed exactly, then why...? If they became SeeDs because they disregarded the exam's instructions to follow his orders, shouldn't he have passed, too? It was his fucking idea in the first place! He laid out the plan! If Cid was so desperate for a gunblade specialist, why did he pass him up four times? Why did he pick Squall over him?! Him and Matron both— ]

You're useless.

[ She isn't here. He knows that. He does. She's not here yet he can't bring himself to actually tell that familiar voice to shut up. She wouldn't... say that to him again.... And even if she would, he wouldn't care because... because.... ]

Squall, will you just flip the goddamn switch already?!

[ Pathetic. Even he was relying on Squall now. There was nothing sadder than that. He'd rather die having come here to rescue people than to put up with this bullshit. ]

[The words continue. The pain continues. Any screaming or protests, they don't dissuade the Dark Field. In fact, it just encourages it, the pain intensifying and--

...and then? What? It all stops. Very suddenly. The words, the scratches.

It will start slow. The Chosen will feel something, a touch. It is perhaps the most comforting kind of touch they can imagine: a lover, a friend, a family member -- it is whatever they want, whatever they need. They may associate it with a specific person. They may see that person, in the dark haze. Whatever it is, it is good. It is nice.

And then it all goes wrong.

The touch, wherever it is, suddenly shoots to the Chosen's neck. There are no hands, just a squeezing around their throat, tighter and tighter. Try to fight, but against what? There's no one there.

There's nothing there.

A flash, like a strobe, and they are surrounded by wastelands, familiar places in ruin, loved ones dead, and then back to the darkness of the field. All the while, the unseen hands keep trying to choke them.

There's nothing there.]

[ She was hitting something, she thought. Her hands hurt, her knuckles crunched, she could smell the bitter dirty penny scent of blood, but she could see anything to hit, couldn't see herself or what she was going for. ]

I'M NOT NOTHING!

Nothing. Nothing nothing nothing you're nothing. Ungrateful bitch. You're nothing...nothing...

SHUT UP!

[ She choked on a sob, face red and streaked with angry tears as she jerked back, raising her fist to hit out blindly again, only to feel a hand on her arm. She snarled, the sound low, animal and vicious in warning but there was no grip. Just a touch.

Everything seemed to stop for a moment and she stumbled to her knees, relief flooding her as she groped for the hand on her...

But there was nothing there. ]

What is th--GGHECCK!?

[ Both hands went to her throat, clawing for purchase and serving no purpose other than to draw raised welts on her straining throat with her nails. An illusion! It had to be an illusion! There was nothing there! It wasn't real! It isn't real! Why couldn't she believe it? Why couldn't she see past the--

A flash, Shinjuku, the buildings...broken. Everything crumbling and black...So what? She didn't care about that place. She could give it up because there was nothing there for her. Even her parents didn't lov-- White hair and red leather under concrete and rebar. Two scarred faces smeared with ash and covered in crows. Pink curls and crinoline. Sweater and striped tie. Pink hair in tight twists. Dozens of blank and dead faces.

No one loved her, but there were plenty of people she loved. They'd die if she gave up. Everything she'd gotten the chance to have would be gone just like that. The blackness swallowed her up again and she strained for air, back arched painfully and hands clenched as tight as her eyes closed against the need for air and constant pain.

Why wouldn't they close the dark area? Had the device broken? Had they become trapped as well?

I'm not nothing. I'm not nothing. You can't beat me.]

[ Outside, Musashi writhed and bucked and kicked against Squall, tangled in his own over-sized uniform as he roared in his surprisingly deep voice. ]

CLOSE IT! CLOSE IT DAMN YOU CLOSE IT! LET ME GO! CLOSE IT!

[That light touch was a hand in his own, fingers threading between his own. And for a moment he could only feel relief, that hand pulling away to brush his forehead, as if looking for a fever- Mom?

He misses her, he realizes. A lot. He wonders if during those 3 weeks she'd cried.

The, the strangling starts. Not the parental touch, but the smaller hands again. In a panic he claws at the pressure, adding more marks to the Dark Field's attempts.

Oh god this is what Shiki felt, isn't it?!

He sees his two homes- like Roze the Terminal seems to mesh with Tokyo- though his district of Shibuya replaces Shinjuku. Only with more people from his home mixed with his friends here. Had Joshua gone through with his threat after all? Because he couldn't shoot him?

He hears Terri's...NeoDevimon's... cackles in the dark. His fault. Just like that car accident was his fault. People following him to their deaths.

I'm sorry... I'm sorry!

He tries to say it out loud, but the pressure is too much, making him fall to his knees. If he killed him it'd only be fitting. After all those years of blaming the other for leaving him. Blaming humanity for hurting him.

Blame.... me?

For a moment he remembered the girl he had fallen in here with- how she had laughingly forgiven him for what he had done to Terri. The same with Squall... And Shiki back home. How Cam SAVED HIM.

How Cam had listened to him talk about that boy who went away and had been eased by the story. If his friends now didn't blame him would he do so? Had Rhyme blamed her brother when HE failed to save her? No... no way. She, they, weren't that kind of people.

One hand leaves his throat, clutching at his crest in a crushing grip, leaving cutting imprints on his soft palm. He didn't need forgiveness. But there was something he needed to say before this hell killed him. His lips moved but no words could get out- that was okay. His heart knew the words he'd been hiding in the deepest bit of that inner wall. Heh, Sora would be proud.]

I miss you. I miss you and I love you and I'm sorry for blaming you for... everything.

I can't. Not yet. It's not fifteen minutes yet,.

[ He stares down at the clock clutching onto his D-terminal as tightly as he could. His heart was racing and he was holding onto the Digimon tighter so he couldn't get out. ]

C'mon.... C'mon.....

[ It's a short reprieve. Something comforting to tear his mind away from both the pain and the mission. He exhales deeply just then, glad for a tiny instant, before he regrets letting out so much air.

His hands instrinctively reach for his throat. He can feel it, but there's nothing there besides his blank tag. Right?

It's just the Dark Field. The Dark Field plays tricks on the mind; he won't come out of this any worse than the line of people before him. How many times has he heard that before? How many times has Alex or someone else recapped the events of the Dark Field?

He understands the logic behind it, but that doesn't make the feeling of asphyxiation falter for a moment. His gloved fingers curl around the tag at his throat, and even as he reminds himself that it's just the Dark Field manipulating him, that the gap between his throat and the metal is no smaller than before, it feels impossible to breathe.

He tries to focus, tries to focus on something other than the ruin shown to him which he'd caused himself. It's not so much the fact that he'd done it that upsets him—it's the consequences. Seeing the ruins of Trabia only reminded him that the friendship he had with Fujin and Raijin is officially over; that he'd gone off the deep end; that it was his own fault.

And most of all, he made an effort to refuse to allow his brain to process even the idea of the possibility of the two of them dead; of Cam dead; of Roze dead; of even Squall or Impmon dead. If he seriously followed Ultimecia's wish here, that's what would happen, isn't it? If he followed it back home....

It's not like he's some innocent teenager. He's killed people plenty of times; he had to. He was a cadet. It was kill or be killed and Seifer wanted to live. So it's not like the idea that losing people he knew personally was new to him. That if he'd gone just a few steps further, he might have killed Squall himself back then. That Fujin and Raijin might have died following his orders. That the three of them inside the Dark Field could very well die following his orders.

It's just the Dark Field. It's not real. Or... most of it's not real.

Reminding himself didn't help. It felt real. How could something that felt so real be fake? ]

[ Squall was counting down in his head. Ten. nine. eight. It was getting to be too much. What if they couldn't handle that length of time?

Seven. Six. Five.

Clutching onto his D-T even tighter.

Four. Thee. Two,

This was it!

ONE! SHUTS DOWN EVERYTHINGGGGG (~~like madagascar~~ ) He gripped onto the Device he was given, the eliminator and pressed the button as quickly as he could. His heart was pounding. and he was staring at the field. C'mon c'mon. This piece of junk better work! ]

[The field from the outside flickers, but inside, it's like it dissolves, into a world of code, zeros and ones, and a high-pitched whine.

A hissed word, arc?

But then the field is gone, leaving those who'd gone inside free, with only their memories and the marks on their bodies.]

[ And finally it ended, Roze gasping for air, inhaling too fast and too deep, color leeching away from her face as as collapses sideways with a hoarse cry, covering her face with both hands. ]

I'm not nothing...I'm not nothing... [ She mumbles, voice muffled by the cover as she hides tears that she is ashamed of - only after staring wide and glassy-eyed between her fingers to see Squall, Seifer, Neku and the digimon and know they were there and real and very much alive.

That small piece of relief is not enough to hide her shame and she curls on her side, hands pressing up her face to dig fingers in her hair and pull painfully, punishing herself for her own weakness. She rolls back to her knees before anyone can say or do anything, turning away bearing her teeth in a feral snarl.

Get yourself under control, you piece of shit. Get up. GET ON YOUR FEET. You are nothing but no one else needs to know...

It takes her a few tries, but she manages to teeter back onto her own two feet alone, her back to the others, rising and falling as she forces herself to breath slower, hands scrubbing away dirt and tears. ]

Lady Roze? LADY ROZE! Damn you, unhand me! [ Musashi kicks at Squall hard once more before whapping him solidly in the knee with his shinai, eventually managing to get away and too Roze. He slows down when he's a few feet away, stopping short of reaching for her and eventually turning away to stare at the others awkwardly; a moment passes and the Kotemon heads towards the other digimon who had been caught in the field, helping them instead and giving Roze a moment to get herself under control.

A moment later Roze turns around, cocking a tired grin only swaying a little on her feet as she fights pain and exhaustion in favor of putting on a smile she didn't feel in the least. ]

WELL! That was some shit...don't wanna do that again!

[Neku gasps heavily as well, like he almost drowned, still clutching his crest and curling up in a ball for a bit.

They were out? Yes, yes of course, just like everyone else that ever stumbled into one of those things. He's alive, he has a chance. With a groan he tries to stand, only managing to get to his knees before having to rest.

Terriermon, reverted from the stress, gives Kotemon a weak smile when he helps her up]

[ Seifer managed to remain standing during his fifteen minute stay in the Dark Field. Yet, as it dissipates into binary code, it's then he finally falls to his knees, fingers still curled around his tag, his tattered longcoat floating upward momentarily as his knees hit the ground.

He doesn't take in the others right away. Instead, he bows his head to shift his gaze toward the ground as he lowers his hand from his tag. His hair, normally neatly stylyed back, falls into his face one bit at a time. The heavy feeling he felt inside the Dark Field feels like it followed him, even though the field gone. It made his chest feel tight. Tighter than it had inside the Dark Field...?

Impmon, shaken up by the whole ordeal, does just as Seifer predicted and latches onto the nearest living being—Musashi. ]

It was horrible! I never wanna do that again! Ever!

Edited 2013-09-26 03:28 (UTC)

[ Squall watched as the field seemed to flicker. it flickered for a few seconds and seemed to just disappear as everyone and everything inside that field seemed to appear once more. They looked like they were stuck in the desert weeks or even worse. Squall couldn't believe it. They were back All three of them were back.

He completely ignored the kicks that Musashi gave him and ended up setting Kudamon down so he could help see if the other Digimon were okay. ]

Seifer.... Roze... Neku....

[ He stares at them, a flicker of relief and worry cross his eyes. It's quickly gone as he moves closer to them, trying to pull back his emotions. ]

We need to get you all back to town.

[ He didn't even know who to go to first. All three of them looked like they could collapse at any minute. ]

Edited 2013-09-26 03:34 (UTC)

And well you should not. Ah...ahem...you do not have to...ah..*sigh* [ Musashi gave up, resting a hand on Impmon's back and patting gently before tugging him to shuffle towards Terriermon, helping her up as well. ]

[ Roze looks up, blinking at Squall and offers a wan smile and weak salute before nodding for him to go to Neku, obviously the worse for wear while she made her stiff-legged way to Seifer. She put a hand on his head, smoothing his hair back and cleared her throat. ]

Looks like the Knight went in the save the stupid fuckin' Princess anyways. Get up...last thing we want is Pretty Boy goin' all hero-mode and trying to carry us back...[ She murmurs only loud enough for the blonde to hear, holding her battered and burned hand out for him to take. ]

[Having a breather, Neku moves to stand again, managing to reach his feet but no more, wavering back and forth. He simply lacked Roze and Seifer's stamina and sturdiness.]

...fuck.

[ It's not like it changed anything. He went in, thinking he'd be able to pull the two klutzy dumbasses out no problem, but in the end he couldn't do anything. Well, anything that wasn't standing around like a dumbass himself and experience the effects of a Dark Field first hand.

He seems a little out of it, as if only allowing himself to process what happened just now, perhaps out of training to be a SeeD or perhaps out of sheer stubbornness. He hears Roze speak to him as she touches his hair, but can't be bothered to piece the words together to get any meaning out of them.

When Roze holds out her hand, he finally seems to snap out of it. Of course, he has no intention of actually taking it, but the reason for it changes when he catches sight of Impmon. Using his hands to push himself up off the ground into a standing position, he steadies himself for a moment and heads off the way they came, fingers curled tightly into fists at his sides. ]

We're finished here, right? Then I'm heading back.

[ Because if he doesn't... ]

[ Squall made his way over to Neku with a frown on his face. he kept an eye out for the other two while still checking neku over. The kid looked like he wouldn't be able to walk at all. So instead he bends down and swipes his arms under Neku's legs and picks him up. ]

Morons....

[ He notices Seifer walking off and moves neku over his shoulder now as he moves his pace to grab onto Seifer's shoulder. ]

You can't go off ahead alone. You're going to get yourself hurt.

[ Sorry Neku you're kind of a bag of potato's right now. ]

[ Roze's fingers curl inward, retracting from Seifer as he brushes past. She watches him, frowning briefly before nodding with a smile and wave. ]

Right, right. You guys go on ahead. I'll go into the village and see that everyone is okay!

[ Really she just didn't want to face anyone. She didn't want to walk in silence and feel the weight of guilt and judgment. She didn't want to know if they heard her scream or saw her cry. ]

Lady Roze--

You too. Go on, I'll catch up. Help Terri and Squire, yeah? I'll be around.

[When Squall hauls him up he turns a little red, only to puff out breath when he's slung over his shoulder]

Yeah... this isn't emasculating in the least...

[His voice lacks any venom though, and from his reversed perch he can see what Roze is doing]

Hey... no... not cool. Terri.

[Terri nods in understanding, and in a flash is back to BlackGatomon, running up to Roze]

Let me go Roze, I can get there and back to the group way faster then you can.

[ Seifer shrugs himself out of Squall's grasp, only to turn around and grab Squall's face in his hand. ]

Don't you tell me what to do. I don't need your advice, Squall, and I can walk back on my own.

[ Impmon is hiding behind Kotemon. He wants to reassure Seifer that it's okay, but... ]

Near Primary Village	Underwater Tunnel	Koromon Village	Milleniummon's Castle	Infinity Mountain	Upside-Down Pyramid
Needed: 4	Needed: 4	Needed: 4	Needed: 4	Needed: 4	Needed: 4
When: 9/20	When: 9/22	When: 9/24	When: 9/26	When: 9/28	When: 9/30
600 BIT	600 BIT	600 BIT	600 BIT	600 BIT	600 BIT

September Missions - Dark Field Elimination

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