Agent J (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
eba02) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
interstellar55552016-03-27 11:28 pm
eba02) wrote in interstellar55552016-03-27 11:28 pm
Entry tags:
Sittin' On the Dock Of the Bay [Narrative/Closed]
Who: Agent J
What: Know thy enemy, right?
When: The week of March 8-15 (backdated)
Where: The beach near Virgo HQ, mostly
Warnings: None?
It had been bothering J for a while now - ever since the meeting where he'd seen Silver and Gold again, actually. They could both still knock him sideways by sheer force of tune alone, and they didn't have to think about it; how badly would he fare against someone with that strong of a tune who actively wanted him dead? The answer, either which way he looked at it, was not well.
But he couldn't just take that lying down, could he?
He'd already made a habit of checking at the beach while Lapis was missing; it wasn't much of a stretch to start it back up again, heading down in casual clothes with a towel, because who was going to look askance at a guy going for a night swim? It wasn't like the ghost hunters frequented the place much anymore.
He laid out his towel on the sand as close to Virgo as he dared, lay down on it, got comfortable as best he could, closed his eyes, and listened.
He could pick up a general tune from Virgo - he was too far away to grab individual musician tunes, but that almost didn't make too much of a difference, given how much the discordant tune from Virgo at large stuttered and shook. It was broken, damaged through and through, and it was a wonder it still played at all-
But something was holding it together. Something at its core thrummed, a bass so deep he nearly felt it in his chest, ancient and menacing and inhuman, woven through Virgo's tune like the roots of a toxic tree, dripping poison into the Music itself-
He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. What- what the hell was that-
But he already knew, didn't he? Virgo's CEO. Edward Blanche. Half the reason they were all here. He'd known that Blanche was inhuman, but that-
That was something he was going to have to get used to, J told himself, breathing deep. It was better than being blindsided by it. If he knew what he was up against, he could...well, he didn't know what he could do, but it had to be something. So he settled back in and listened, until he was reasonably sure he could pick the deep bass of that tune out of the Music a mile away - at this point, he'd need that mile as a head start.
The next night, the tune was different - still Blanche, still poison, but the strangling reach of a kraken hungry to capsize a ship. Then it was acid rain, and molten lava, and the monster hiding in the shadows just beyond what he could see. It was always ancient, and inhuman, and poisonous; aside from that, Blanche's tune was different every night.
Hanging out at a cafe as near to Pride's HQ as he could stand produced much the same results. Lesedi's tune was spreading wildfire, and hungry tigers, and lightning storms - much more vibrant than Blanche's, but still old and alien and dangerous; aside from that common thread, it was somehow never the same.
It didn't make any sense, and he wasn't making any progress, aside from scaring himself half to death twice a night. He finally skipped a night, falling asleep in his own bed - or as close as he could get to that dimensions away from home - listening to the familiar music he'd brought with him.
What: Know thy enemy, right?
When: The week of March 8-15 (backdated)
Where: The beach near Virgo HQ, mostly
Warnings: None?
It had been bothering J for a while now - ever since the meeting where he'd seen Silver and Gold again, actually. They could both still knock him sideways by sheer force of tune alone, and they didn't have to think about it; how badly would he fare against someone with that strong of a tune who actively wanted him dead? The answer, either which way he looked at it, was not well.
But he couldn't just take that lying down, could he?
He'd already made a habit of checking at the beach while Lapis was missing; it wasn't much of a stretch to start it back up again, heading down in casual clothes with a towel, because who was going to look askance at a guy going for a night swim? It wasn't like the ghost hunters frequented the place much anymore.
He laid out his towel on the sand as close to Virgo as he dared, lay down on it, got comfortable as best he could, closed his eyes, and listened.
He could pick up a general tune from Virgo - he was too far away to grab individual musician tunes, but that almost didn't make too much of a difference, given how much the discordant tune from Virgo at large stuttered and shook. It was broken, damaged through and through, and it was a wonder it still played at all-
But something was holding it together. Something at its core thrummed, a bass so deep he nearly felt it in his chest, ancient and menacing and inhuman, woven through Virgo's tune like the roots of a toxic tree, dripping poison into the Music itself-
He sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. What- what the hell was that-
But he already knew, didn't he? Virgo's CEO. Edward Blanche. Half the reason they were all here. He'd known that Blanche was inhuman, but that-
That was something he was going to have to get used to, J told himself, breathing deep. It was better than being blindsided by it. If he knew what he was up against, he could...well, he didn't know what he could do, but it had to be something. So he settled back in and listened, until he was reasonably sure he could pick the deep bass of that tune out of the Music a mile away - at this point, he'd need that mile as a head start.
The next night, the tune was different - still Blanche, still poison, but the strangling reach of a kraken hungry to capsize a ship. Then it was acid rain, and molten lava, and the monster hiding in the shadows just beyond what he could see. It was always ancient, and inhuman, and poisonous; aside from that, Blanche's tune was different every night.
Hanging out at a cafe as near to Pride's HQ as he could stand produced much the same results. Lesedi's tune was spreading wildfire, and hungry tigers, and lightning storms - much more vibrant than Blanche's, but still old and alien and dangerous; aside from that common thread, it was somehow never the same.
It didn't make any sense, and he wasn't making any progress, aside from scaring himself half to death twice a night. He finally skipped a night, falling asleep in his own bed - or as close as he could get to that dimensions away from home - listening to the familiar music he'd brought with him.