Hallow's eve party (Kidd and I, pm for invite, mission sorta)

Ah, Halloween, a time for tricks, treats, costumes, and cold blooded murderers. All an individual had to do was disguise themselves with a costume, wait until some unsuspecting trick or treater is alone, and go in for the kill. That's exactly what one individual was doing, a low level kishin egg that dubbed himself "The headless horseman", would go around killing people, but only on Halloween. This year he had something big planned; a Halloween party, but it wasn't a regular party, he was going to invite people with only the most delectable souls, and was going to kill everyone, one by one, until midnight, what fun! The sadistic kishin egg also planned to keep one person alive until midnight, then he'd torture the poor victim to death, even more fun! The Headless horseman was busy preparing his country side house for the exciting events about to happen later that night, putting out refreshments, decorating, and going over the ways he'd kill off everyone and the various amount of murdering tools he had, tonight was going to be so fun!


A student from the academy received one of these invitations, and felt something was extremely off about the message on the invite, it Saud:

You are invited to a party that will be more extravagant than any party you've seen, or ever will see. Join me and others at sundown for a night of spooks, costumes, snacks and fun. This party is not one you'll want to miss, it's to die for.

The address is ***** on ### street


A weapon-meister pair was selected to investigate, and that pair happened to be Alabaster Eisnheim and Asher Hazard. They two would be told to meet at bus station that was in the town the party was being hosted in, and that they were encouraged to go in costume, the student who originally received the invitation even helped provide two costumes for the pair. Alabaster sat on a bench that was right outside the bus station, looking down at one of the two packages that contained his and Asher's costumes, and a printed description of the mission, the party is supposed to begin when the sun sets, so the two were dropped off at the bus station thirty minutes before evening to get prepared.

Asher had a strange feeling in his gut today.

It was Halloween.

What a strange and macabre holiday these Americans celebrated. Due to how shut off from the world Asher was as a child, he hadn't the slightest clue that such a holiday existed. They probably didn't even celebrate it back in Begium much anyway. The only thing he felt could slightly relate to Halloween was Driekoningen, and even those two were way different. On Driekoningen, the kids would dress up as the three Wise Men, while on Halloween, they'd dress up as some of the most gruesome and horrendous monsters the mind could concoct. Asher wondered how kids could manage to put on such awful costumes and strut around in them. He had to admit though, it wasn't all that bad in some cases. On their way to the bus station, he spotted one of the trick-or-treaters dressed up in a hotdog costume. If it weren't for his cold and phlegmatic personality, he might have commented on how cute he thought it was. Sadly, that just wouldn't be happening.

"Are these the costumes, Alabaster?" Asher asked, holding up one of the two packages. He read the mission description that was with the two packages, not having noticed it before. Another Kishin Egg? "I wonder if this one is anything like that Christopher Balon character." Asher said, a bit more talkative than usual today. Whether this new Kishin Egg was anything like Balon didn't matter to Asher, though. All he knew was that he and Alabster would rescue the lives of those in need and make it out themselves.

"Who's is who's?" Asher asked, opening both the packages and then pulling them both out to estimate how each one fit against him. The first costume reached just a bit below his waist when he held it against his abdomen. "This one is obviously yours." Asher handed the costume to Alabaster, grabbing the other package that had his costume. "I'm going to change. Let's discuss this once we're done." Asher said simply, turning away from his partner and making his way into the bus station and into the restrooms.

Once he was fully clothed and ready, Asher walked out to the benches they were at prior to him changing his attire. He took a seat, waiting for Alabaster to come out so they could talk about their mission.

Ooc: Remember what the costumes looked like? :3


"Well, just like Mr Balon, he threw a party" the bluenette said, looking up at Asher as the weapon was examining the costumes. Alabaster looked at his own costume, then Asher's, noting that the weapon's costume looked like a butler suit of some sort, and that his own costume resembled some old century clothing, I wonder what made that boy give us these as costumes?, the blue eyed meister thought as he went inside to change. After the young meister got into his costume, he found a tag on it that said Ciel Phantomhive, Alabaster was going to ask if Asher knew who that was, but he decided that they should spend this time coming up with a plan. "We don't know much about the host of the party, so I suspect that we are to just keep a look out for suspicious activity" Alabaster said to the dark haired weapon.

Asher stepped out of the restroom once he'd finished changing his attire and walked out to the bench where he and his partner had previously been. However, Asher had came out of the restroom before Alabaster and took a moment to examine the costume he was given. Black trousers, a six-button double-breasted tailcoat, and a gray vest. Asher actually really enjoyed his costume. He felt in his element.

Asher looked over to his partner who was now making his way towards him. Asher took a quick glance at Alabaster's costume. He had to admit, Alabaster really fit into his clothing well. The two were sporting some really stylish clothing.

"You should dress that way more often." Asher teased, giving his partner a small smile. Just as quickly as the smile appeared, it disappeared. A phenomenon only few were blessed with witnessing. What made this moment different from the other's was that the joke and smile actually seemed.... genuine. Strange.

Pushing away the small leakage of emotion, Asher nodded at his partner. "Correct. Remaining weary and cautious would be the best strategy right now." Asher stuck his hand in his pocket. Upon doing so, his hand brushed up against a small piece of paper. Asher took the small note out and unfolded it, reading aloud what was neatly scribbled on it. "Sebastian Michealis." Asher shrugged at the name, not having the slightest clue on who that could be.

"We need to find someway of exposing this 'Headless Horseman'." Asher peered down at his watch. "We won't make any progress if we play it safe the entire night." He said stolidly before looking back at Alabaster. "There has to be someway we can draw him out amongst the crowd." Asher crossed his arms and stroked his chin, formulating as he always did.

Alabaster grinned slightly, he knew that jokes from Asher would be very rare so he decided to shoot a tease back, "Likewise, my good man" he said, though he really could admit that the costume really suit him, even though it came with an eyepatch which irritated the bluenette, It's like giving someone with a pegleg another pegleg, what am I supposed to do, wear it on my good eye and walk around blind?, the young meister thought. After the very brief moment of joking about, Alabaster got serious as he listened to his partner's input before doing some formulating himself.

"How to draw out a murderer..." Alabaster murmured to himself, how do you do that? He asked himself, how does one get a killer out of hiding, surely he'd want to stay undercover...Unless..., "We make ourselves irresistible" the meister said aloud, knowing it would sound weird "A hunter would only try to hunt down the prey that looks the most appealing to him, so if we could somehow get him interested in us, we could possibly get him away from the crowd and end him quickly before anyone else is hurt" the blue haired boy looked up at his weapon for a second opinion or suggestion after concluding with: "Unless he's attracted to someone else first, then we'd have to act almost like behind the scenes body guards, but we'd have to try to act casual about it, he would choose another victim if the one he originally chosen seems well protected".

OOC: Ok, this I'm gonna make an ACTUAL effort to stop with my inconsistency this time. Forgive me once more.

Asher listened to Alabaster's idea and commentary, imagining how they'd be able to apply it to real life. "If we're to draw him out the way you think we should, I suppose we have to make ourselves appear vulnerable as well," Asher thought about it. Alabaster's plan was good, and it was more than Asher could come up with at the moment, but he couldn't help but feel as though there could be a few issues with this strategy. Would the Kishin sense that perhaps Alabaster and Asher were a bit stronger than some of the guests at the party? Not to say that they were strong in anyway, they were still just amateurs in their field of work. However, they had a bit of experience under their belt and although it may seem as if they were an unfinished product, Asher knew that they had potential deep within. And this potential could probably sensed by those around them, especially a Kishin Egg.

"I think your plan should be sufficient for this type of mission." Asher stated, sensing that his partner was waiting for some sort of feedback. "There's just a few things we should worry about," Asher paused and looked down at the ground, compiling a list of precautions they should take, "Bystanders are one. I don't want anyone else to get hurt that isn't involved. We also need to make sure that we can absolutely differentiate who our target is from the rest of the people." Asher hoped the party wouldn't be very big in order to prevent there being too much collateral damage....

....

That and Asher wasn't much of a party person.

Alabaster thought about it for a bit, if the kishin egg did possibly see their potential to cause more damage than they look like they can, he might not risk it, "You're right, he could possibly be deterred, but maybe it might attract him to us more, those with usually potential have stronger therefore more desirable souls, if he sees us as strong souls in weak bodies, he may think it would be an opportunity too good to pass up" the meister thought aloud, but it could be a long shot. When Asher started mentioning bystanders, Alabaster replied with: "We'll just have to be extra vigilant, if he decides to go after another victim first we need to be prepared to catch him in the act".

Asher nodded, wondering how everything would play out. They were in an extremely similar situation a while ago when they'd dealt with Christopher Balon, but there were many people working behind the scenes on that one. The young duo would really be put to the test with this mission. Asher sighed and ran a hand through his hair. As of late, he'd been feeling a bit more on edge. Through the extensive knowledge he'd acquired on his own soul through personal experience, he lacked something. Around this time of year, he felt like something was itching at him. Some foreign impulse he'd never felt before. His soul being unstable wasn't news to him or Alabaster, but there was still something he was ignorant to.

Sometime within last week, he began to feel.... Strange. And he didn't know if this was natural or not. It'd only been about a year since he'd been turned into what he was, so he still wasn't all too familiar with who he really was as a person. But lately he'd began feeling more aggressive. Perverse. Destructive.

But he had no clue as to why he was feeling this way.

It came as a surprise to him that he wasn't feeling those horrendous urges right now. Tension had been building up within him leading up to this specific day, but now it was all gone. He felt at ease with Alabaster around. His meister was having some sort of positive influence on him. Asher's eyes darted over to Alabaster for a moment. Should he tell him what he'd been experiencing? The rational and logical Asher inside him was nodding at him and giving lengthy detailed explanations as to why it was much much wiser to speak on his issues, but the irrational Asher was shaking his head at him, giving him a lengthy detailed explanation as to why it was better not to. And he actually brought up some valid points. Asher knew Alabaster and he would learn a lot out of this mission and taking down the murderer would benefit the people of Death City long term. Jeopardizing this mission would strip them of all that.

Mouth sealed, Asher looked down the road and noticed the bus coming that'd be taking them to their destination. "Look," Asher gestured toward their ride, "I think that's for us."

The young meister noticed the older weapon seemed uneasy when the brunette's dark eyes glanced at him. Alabaster tilted his head slightly, was Asher hiding something yet again? He looked back at when they first met, Asher had hid the fact that he was a dark weapon, perhaps he hadn't told the entire truth? Alabaster opened his mouth, about to mention it, when Asher pointed out that their bus was coming towards the station "Oh, well then, are you ready Asher?" The blue haired boy asked, he decided to leave his questions for later.

Ooc: Your posts make my posts look small ;w; good work.

Asher climbed into the bus and sat down in the seat closest to the window. Taking note of his surroundings, Asher noticed it was fairly empty on the bus, save for a few shady looking people in the back. A common Halloween night, or what he'd assumed it'd be like on a night where demons were supposedly conjured and summoned. Unfortunately, in a city like this, no one was really ever safe.

Asher sighed as he watched all the buildings move past them like a blur. His eyes were glued to the outside world, and if Alabaster had said anything to him while they made their way to the party, he'd be oblivious to it. The sun had become a pinkish-orangish hue as it began to set. Asher scratched at the back of his head, ruining his typically picturesque hair. He really couldn't shake the thought that his personal issues could possibly risk his and Alabaster's well being.

Asher was well aware of the fact that the risks far outweighed the benefits. And he wasn't so sure he could allow himself to draw out that side of him again. Chills went up Asher's spine as he revisited the memory of the first day he and Alabaster had been acquainted with each other. He thought about how he almost killed that innocent girl. That was probably the feeling that he could relate to how he'd felt in the past few days the most. Asher let out another sigh.

Asher studied Alabaster in silence. "Are getting close?" Asher asked his partner, staring straight ahead. He hadn't been in this part of town before.

Alabaster noticed how distant Asher was during the bus ride, it made the Alabaster worry about what he brunette was thinking about. Alabaster looked at Asher with a concerned look on his face "Asher...Are you feeling alright?.." He asked the weapon, but got no response, which worried Alabaster even more, What's wrong with him....? the young boy thought. The bluenette sat in silence for a while, trying to figure out what Asher was thinking so hard about, Maybe it has a do with the fact he's a dark weapon..He said he ate only one soul...Perhaps he has eaten more?...., the meister's thoughts were suddenly put a halt when Asher finally spoke, slightly startling Alabaster. The blue eyed boy looked through the bus window and nodded "We should get off at the next bus stop, we'll have to walk a bit to house after that..." The meister looked at his partner "Say Asher...Anything you want to tell me before we get off?..." He asked, he didn't want to said pushy, he was actually thinking about the well-being of Asher's mental state.

Asher scratched at his neck as he awaited Alabaster's answer. Something was off, aside from the strange thoughts Asher had been having. Asher scratched at his neck again. His scarf was missing. A day where he didn't actually have his scarf on? Now that was another phenomenon that would probably never be explained. Asher rubbed at his bare throat, missing the presence of his beloved scarf. He almost felt naked without it on. How had he managed to walk out of his home without noticing.

"Huh?" Asher glanced over at Alabaster, caught off guard himself. "Oh, alright." Asher said, snapping out of his thoughts. "Tell me when we're about to get off." Asher said turning his head to look outside again. But before he could mourn over his scarf, he heard Alabaster speak up once more.

Asher stared at Alabaster intensely for a second before speaking. His thoughts were all over the place today and very erratic, but did he appear nervous on the surface? "Yeah, I'm fine." Asher said, attempting to mask whatever emotions he may have let leak out. "Why? Does something seem wrong?" Asher wondered what he could've done to alert Alabaster of his internal concerns. Everything Asher had done up until this point didn't seem uncharacteristic of himself, so what could have let Alabaster know that he was secretly stressed?

Alabaster tilted his head slightly at the older weapon, "Well...You seemed a bit distracted, and more distant than you usually are..." The bluenette said, but then shook his head "But it's probably just my imagination, I know you'd most likely tell me if something was wrong", Or at least I hope he would, I had to ask him about the disturbance in his soul the first time we met, he didn't tell me beforehand.., Alabaster thought. Suddenly, a feeling of shame crept up onto the meister, he shouldn't be so suspicious of his partner. The bus soon stopped, allowing the passengers to get off. Alabaster stood, starting to head towards the bus door "We'll have to walk from here" the eyepatch wearing boy said.

Asher raised an eyebrow, a bit confused by how Alabaster was acting. "Of course. I'll let you know if anything has gone awry." Asher patted his concerned young partner on the back to reassure him. Asher knew well that communication was the key element that behind keeping partnerships strong and healthy. Although....

Was it wrong of him to not tell Alabaster of how he'd felt prior to this very moment?

It didn't seem like something worth worrying his meister with. That's all Asher felt it would do. Put them in a more pressured state of mind than they already were. And if worse comes to worse, Asher wouldn't want Alabaster's performance to be hindered if they end up in a hectic situation.

But what if this "feeling" was a greater problem than it'd led itself on to be?

What if the urges became stronger and actually influenced Asher to do something that he would regret later on? Would his relationship with Alabaster be strained if things went wrong and Asher had failed to voice what'd been going on? The two Asher's crawled out from the deepest pits of Ashers mind and began clashing again. The logical was beginning to seem more logical now.

"Hmmm...." Asher rubbed his bare neck in thought. But just as he decided confessing to what had been bothering him, the bus stopped, snapping him out of his train of thought and making him forget what he had to tell Alabaster. "Oh.... Right...." Asher frowned, having difficulties remembering what he wanted to say. He stepped out of the bus after Alabaster, ready to be led.

Alabaster gave Asher a half smile when he was patted on the back, He'll be fine.., the bluenette thought to himself. When Asher stood, ready to go, Alabaster walked off of the bus, looking at the hill that they needed to get over "The house should be over that hill" Alabaster said, looking back at his partner. Alabaster was sure that Asher was fine, for now, but he couldn't help but feel the need to stay observant.

OOC: I'm SO sorry. I thought it was your turn to post this whole time. -.- PM me next time I take this long.

Asher looked over at the hill that stood between them and their destination. Asher's intuition was giving him a bad vibe. His eyes scanned up and down the hill. Asher sighed. Suddenly, their mission seemed a lot more daunting than it had before. They were truly on their own for the first time. Yep, no one would bail them out if they landed deep in it. Asher's eyes darted over to Alabaster. An exemplary partner and DWMA student, he wasn't fazed by the work they had ahead of them. Why was Asher suddenly lacking confidence? Asher's expression remained neutral, but on the inside he felt otherwise. For once, the cool guy was losing his cool.

Asher inhaled deeply through his nose and held it for a moment. Things couldn't be as bad as he thought, he was probably just over thinking, due in part to his analytical nature. Asher exhaled again after regaining his calm. "I'm ready whenever you are, Alabaster." Asher looked over to his partner, putting a bit of confidence in his voice to mask his nerves.

Alabaster nods at his partner before starting the trek to the house, though it was hard to trek with the heels he was wearing, Why in the world does this Ciel Phantomhive character wear heels?, Alabaster thought to himself in irritation, the blue haired boy would stop to take off the shoes and walk in socks until they got to the Headless Horseman's house. Alabaster would glance towards Asher once and a while during the walk, but unless the tall brunette did anything out of the ordinary or spoke to Alabaster, the walk would be uneventful and they'd make it to the target's house in silence.

Asher stuck his hands in his pockets as he and Alabaster made their trek up the large hill. What was it that he had intended to tell his partner? Asher brushed his fingers along the inner lining of his pockets, really getting a good feel for the fabric. Most people would complain about wearing something that he was in, but not Asher. He really liked dress clothes. The world would be a much better place if everyone dressed up like that. But even the comfort of his costume couldn't get his mind off of the real problem.

"Aren't you uncomfortable like that?" Asher frowned as he watched his partner walk in nothing but socks. "Do you want me to carry your shoes for you at least?" Asher offered.

When Asher asked if Alabaster was uncomfortable walking in his socks and if he could at least carry his shoes, Alabaster gave him a small smile "No, it's quite alright Asher, even though the road is a bit unpleasant to my feet, I'll carry my own shoes, but thank you", after a little bit Alabaster gave Asher a smile "Though, if we were to go in character, I'd probably ask you to carry me instead of my shoes, with you being a butler and all" the meister said jokingly.

Asher stuck his hands in his pocket and looked back up the path they were taking. "Oh? Is that so?" Asher looked down upon his partner with a slightly menacing look, contemplating whether to capitalize on this moment or not. He planned on scooping Asher up and seeing if a comedic moment could come out of it like in the television programs he'd recently began watching. After a short second or so, Asher decided against  it. Many of those scenes looked overly-dramatized and seemed unrealistic. Besides, if a person like Asher were to do it, it'd probably just result in awkwardness. Asher continued walking up the hill in silence, forgetting that he'd ever thought such a thought.

When the pair arrived at the top, Asher scanned his surroundings. They were on the adversary's home turf, but it didn't hurt to analyze the area and get insight on what they would be dealing with. "What should we do now?" Asher said, quickly glancing around. The best approach would be to act as though they were just regular guests attending the party, but Asher wanted to hear what his partner had to say.

The young meister looked a bit surprised at the look in Asher's eyes, was the weapon actually thinking of picking him up? Alabaster thought against this, that would be the last thing that Asher would do, he was too serious. The bluenette focused his mind on the task at hand. When they got to the top of the hill, there would be a big house some meters away. The house would be decked out with a bunch of festive halloween decorations, it was obvious that the target was really passionate about halloween. After putting back on the uncomfortable heels, Alabaster looked at Asher and responded "We should just approach the house and blend in with the other guests for now". Others were already lingering outside the house, drinking punch and admiring other's costumes. The door was open, so the guests were going in and out of the house.

Asher looked at Alabaster and nodded in agreement with his plan, the same that Asher. They do say that great minds think alike. Of course, the plan was not anything extraordinary or a stroke of genius from the two. It was just a regular plan and the danger for the two was still very real. "There is a lot of people around." Asher stated the obvious. "I wonder how many of these people he planned on killing...." Asher trailed off. Indeed. How many of these people would have never returned home if Alabaster and he were not here to prevent such a catastrophe? Thinking of this only strengthened Asher's determination to succeed and protect everyone here. He was not willing to fail.

"Stay on alert." Asher said, scanning the people in the party. He would not be able to tell who their target was based off of just physical appearance. Maybe he would not even be able to tell who the target was at all. But in the area that he lacked, Alabaster would be able to step in and thrive. "How is your Soul Perception?" Asher asked his partner. Whether this ability was functioning or not would be vital to the results of their mission.

And then it hit Asher again. His desire to cause chaos was reoccurring. Asher clenched his fists tightly, resisting the urge to jump into the crowd. By now, most would have spoken up and said something about an issue like this, but Asher was driven to keep it under wraps. They were already technically on the mission, and Asher felt that they were to deep in to turn back now. All he had to do was hold off until after they were done to go back to the DWMA and discuss with his professors what could be wrong with him.

Alabaster wondered the same thing, he also wondered HOW the Headless Horseman planned on killing all these people, Perhaps poisoned punch? Kidnapping people during the party, pick them off one by one? All I know is that he'd somehow have to make it non suspicious..., the meister thought to himself. When asked how good his Soul Perception was, the bluenette scanned the crowd "It's decent, but I can only do it for so long, it takes a great deal of concentration..." Sometimes it made his head hurt to focus so long, but the only way for him to get over that was to keep practicing, he had to make sure that kishin egg didn't slip out of their grasp, all these innocent people counted on them! 

The eyepatch wearing boy continued to look, all he saw where glimpses of pure souls, but no kishin egg yet, perhaps he was hiding inside the house, blast it all. "All I see are pure souls, I can't really see the ones in the house, I see nothing of the kishin egg yet, perhaps I'll see him inside?" he said to Asher, he'd probably have to try again later, just to do a double check "Did you notice anyone acting suspicious or out of the ordinary?"

Asher shook his head as he continued to survey the area. "Unfortunately not. With everyone fancied up it will prove to be difficult to truly alienate a suspected culprit." Asher was growing rather frustrated. Dealing with large groups of people was not his forte, but it was necessary now. To be of some use to society, one would have to take up jobs that forced them out of their comfort zone. Asher knew it would all be well worth it if they were able to save every life there. If even one person was hurt, he would be incapable of resting easy.

Asher sighed at the suggestion of going inside. Obviously, it was far more practical for the killer to be inside. This was something Asher was hoping it wouldn't come to, for it would leave he and his partner at a far greater disadvantage if battle were to ensue in there. "I believe we should go inside and inspect the place." Asher said. For some reason, he had a bad feeling. His intuition was once more telling him that something was off with the whole situation. But yet again, Asher decided against his inner feelings.

"Ready whenever you are." Asher gently patted Alabaster on the shoulder.

Alabaster nodded and started to head inside, trying to seem casual but staying observant. Alabaster thought he'd seen some pretty strange things before, but the different types of costumes and the obvious time taken to make them were astounding. 

There were those dressed as witches, those with realistic fangs and fur to make them look ilike a werebeast, those who looked like deathly pale ghouls, and other monstrosities, and while he was admiring the costumes it suddenly dawned on Alabaster. Some of these guests might actually be a monster, or a witch, they could even be helping the Headless Horseman! 

Alabaster suddenly felt a bit nervous, the enemy could be anywhere and they were walking in blind because he was a novice with his Soul Perception, I don't want to fail these people just because I'm a "noob", I have to start concentrating!, the blue haired meister tried to search through the sea of souls again, straining his eye and mind to find their target. All of a sudden, through all the souls, he had spotted a hint of red, There he is!, Alabaster thought before trying to head that way, but he stoped and put a hand on his head, groaning slightly in pain, now he had a slight headache from pushing himself too hard. "Ugh...I got a bloody headache...I got a glimpse of a red soul though,  but I'm not necessarily sure where it is..." .