New Beginnings (Plot Thread)

(Keep in mind, this is on the steps of the DWMA. You can start out having been here the whole time, or just walking up.)

-News Report-

-And today we get word on a topic that has been rarely brought up, but still poses a slight problem. Congress has found the need to propose a Kishin Detection Act, or as some outraged citizens have come to call it the "Demon Weapon Oppression Act." The bill they they have prepared proposes that all Demon Weapons be registered as such, including an identification on their licenses, and passports. Specifically, DWMA students must have Meisters accompany them to most places, and people will have the right to ask for these identifications. Including testing for Madness in Demon Weapons, that would occur annually to bi-annually, and having the names, and addresses for each Demon Weapon as public knowledge. These, among other things are what we will come to expect for the future safety of our country. While some people believe that the bill is a good idea, and will stop issues such as Asura's rise, others are incredibly hurt, and claim that the bill dehumanizes these beings. Congress' main hope is that it might serve as an early warning system while providing a national catalog , for situations that the DWMA can't handle, or have lost control of. More news as the situation continues.-

"Welcome to the first open discussion over the KDA at Shibusen...I wanted to just let everyone know that the KDA is an actual act, that Congress is considering highly. It is appalling that they seek to criminalize us for being different. Who is to say that we're the bad ones? We already don't get enough credit for the things that we do, and all because the precious Meister is the one swinging us around. We could do it by ourselves." An older student, obviously a Demon Weapon, stood in front of the area around the steps. They had spent the time gathering there, and had hoped that the turn-out would be mostly other Weapons, considering the fact that the posters were about the new act that Congress was proposing. After he said this, there were various cheers from the crowd, which reinforced the fact that it still remained mostly Demon Weapons. The Weapon in front was well dressed, presumably for the occasion, and had light blonde hair, that seemed well groomed. Impressing his fellow Weapons seemed to be a huge necessity, because he had the gall to wear a pressed suit, and pants...Along with a pair of shoes that held a glaring shine.

"Who are you to say that? Meisters train just as hard as you, along with you, in order to PROPERLY use you. That's the only way that they would succeed, obviously. Another voice from the back of the crowd. They stood out less, but from his words it could be assumed that he was a Meister. The boy in the front seem to be irritated, because his eye twitched at the sight of him.

"Yes...I admit that I stepped out of line, but I only said what was actually true. We need to consider the facts here, and understand that what the KDA is attempting to do is demeaning, and wrong. They want Demon Weapons to basically be leashed to their Meister, and give out their I.D. to any store clerk, or police officer who even thinks that we might be Weapons. The basis for this, you ask? We have to register guns, and even knives...So why not human beings, who just happen to be more powerful than usual? They have nothing to fear from Demon Weapons. During WWII, they tried to breed us in order to create better Weapon forms.Who is to say that this isn't just a ploy, so that they can later use the registration to force us into battle? We're seen as tools, and the only reason that they want to oppress us is to potentially strengthen themselves, and because they're afraid of the fact that we could rise above them." The student ran his fingers through his hair, and glared at the Meister with a slight look of contempt. It was true that this was supposed to be an open discussion, but there was obviously going to be prejudice, and bias when someone else had an opinion.

"You're not looking past the fact that some people don't just treat Demon Weapons like tools. A Meister, and Weapon relationship is a sacred, and important thing when it comes to fighting Kishins. Leaving the Meister in the dust completely is hardly fair. Especially when we can all help each other?" The Meister had stepped forward now, and still wasn't the most noticeable person. He was wearing jeans, and a white t-shirt...Nothing special, but it did seem to stand out more considering the fact that his counterpart was dressed up. "Either way there is a point for the concern! Both Justin Law, and Giriko were Demon Weapons that were taken by Madness, and helped cause the catastrophe two years ago. Maybe it will do some good to keep tabs on some Weapons..."

The situation seemed to escalate rather quickly after the Meister said this, the entire Demon Weapon half of the area seemed to jump up, and begin attacking him with various forms of "Are you serious!?", or "You're freaking stupid!?" The blonde Weapon in the front put up two fingers for quiet, and it slowly died down. The situation shouldn't be allowed to turn violent...Not yet, anyways. "Sacred? What happens to the Demon Weapons who leave the academy? They get a pat on the back, and a diploma that more or less says that they're fit to live in normal society. And when they make it to DeathScythe who gets credit? The Meister gets the credit for it. Even if the Meister doesn't turn his Weapon into one, they get to live a nice, and comfortable life as a hero, and the failure to turn their Weapon is mostly blamed on the latter. Of course the Meister deserves the credit...They wield us, while we just sit there and do nothing, right? Wrong...We help regulate your Wavelength, and when it comes to choosing a Weapon partner, we almost have to hope, and pray that someone will want us. If your Weapon form is perfect, cool looking, or highly dangerous, then who wants you? We have the most stress to deal with by far...but the sheer fact that most of us can deal with it properly is what sets us apart." A succession of snapping in agreement from members of the crowd drowned out he next part that he had planned to say, and he again put up two fingers for quiet. If you look at our school system that way, then you see how oppressive it is. Do half of you even know what Meister means? Master. That's what you take pride in calling yourselves...The Masters of the poor Demon Weapons, who not only take the full brunt of blocked attacks, but are expected to give their lives for the Meister. Then you're going to want to argue about Giriko, and Justin? What about the Kishin Asura himself!? He was a Meister, and his first victim was his Weapon partner." The Weapon stood in his triumph as the Meister twitched, and then looked to the ground, receding back into the crowd. The lost look on his face seemed out of place, and many people who didn't know him before, might now notice that the two had originally been partners. "Back to the issue at hand...They also want to impose a yearly, or Bi-yearly Madness examination for each Weapon. Just like drug testing, why would we limit it to people that we think are using drugs? I'm not saying that drug testing is very fair either, but if we had the entire school get Madness tested, then who would be hurt? It wouldn't be segregation that way. If anyone else has thoughts on the issue, feel free to speak up now. As well as any questions about the KDA Act itself...but I'm sure that the unjust issue at hand speaks for itself."

Andrew Fischer had originally planned to sleep on the steps of the school, but his rest was interrupted by a protest. Not that it didn't automatically catch his attention. The Weapon payed a decent amount of attention to the news, and had seen the various posters against this posted all over the school. While he wasn't against the Meisters, or anything, he still agreed with the fact that this was an outrage. A true outrage...Not having to use paper to write his reports, or not being allowed to use any substance that he saw fit. Those things were usually a big deal to him, but they weren't on the level of something like this. After the entire speech seemed to play itself out, the boy stood up, awkwardly taller than the other people there, and got the attention of a bunch of those around himself.

"I think that we should be tested...Madness is a heavy issue." This wasn't loud enough for a large amount of people to here, but those around him shot him some glances, while others nodded their head in agreement. The comment itself started a decent amount of bickering among a few people, and some quick questions thrown his way like, "Why do we need to be tested?" and one student who apparently knew him, "You would pass no matter what, so why do you care?" Andrew shifted his feet a bit, and decided that the situation called for him to be a bit more open, and actually share his opinion.

The Weapon cleared his throat, and raised his hand to get the attention of the student up front. "I don' think that we should be treated tha' way...but I am fine with the idea of Madness testin'. It has become a serious issue, and if we can implement a drug test, then why not somethin' like that? 'Specially in the school systems, with all of the teenagers bein' so unstable..." Andrew shifted in his feet again, and let that settle in. None of the Demon Weapons really acted harshly towards him, considering the fact that he was one of them, but he did get a few awkward stares after he finished talking. Some of the students snapped in agreement, though...Which made him feel less self-conscious.

Pierce scoffed as he listened to the bickering back and fourth between the two. They both had fair points but he liked watching them get into it. He wasn't normally one to pick sides in a fight like this but it wasn't just about him. This was about the well being and tyranny about to be inflicted upon many people. It was big and it was something that could be profitable in some way. He weighed the in and outs of everything said and carefully formulated an idea until Andrew stood up. He'd recognize that shaggy mop anywhere. The first time Andrew spoke the words were too quiet. His next words were loud enough to hear and the words were fair enough though he wondered if the weapon could even pass a drug test.

He lifted his chin from his arms that were crossed over his knees to look up at the impossibly gangly boy who seemed uncomfortable. He needed back up, to his point it seemed. Who better than him? He stood and slipped through the crowd to stand next to Andrew and put his hand on the taller boy's shoulder with a smile he hoped was comforting. He felt the curse wither and sleep. The tranquility of the weapon's wavelength over taking him. "He has a point. Madness testing should be mandatory in everyone, not just weapons! Meisters are susceptible as well." His smile turned into a scowl.

"I'm a bit divided on the point of making weapons require a meister to go with them everywhere however. While it might be a nuisance it could potentially save lives to keep weapon and meister partners together at all times, surely we'd be able to tackle problems like Kishin Eggs should they arise in our paths. Doesn't mean I wanna drag my partner everywhere I go or have to follow him in what should be his personal life. A partnership is a bond not a lifetime's commitment.

Asking for ID on weapons is even worse. If they put an identification on every Meister's ID marking them as such we'd get nothing but praise while most would simply be afraid of weapons. It'd open the doors for even further segregation and far greater discrimination that what you suffer now. That's not fair, not in the slightest is it? You already have to take our blows for us and give unto us our own souls as well as your own. We merely must learn to wield and use that energy even though you work in your own fashion. A meister is only as good as his weapon, if a meister cannot wield their weapon then what glory have they left?"

He took a breath and patted Andrew's back encouraging as he went on about his speech. It was odd to see possibly the rudest meister most could encounter standing up for others, especially strangers. He may not have felt very strongly about it but passion wasn't always a ready match for a level head. "I'm on his stance mostly, it's unfair but the madness testing should be universal. Maybe they could find and actually do something about others who are afflicted. Ashura's crimes should never be allowed to happen again and I'm not keen on the idea that I or someone like me might end up becoming like him while the rest world worries solely on keeping madness out of the weapons."

He grinned and waited for rebuttal. A good debate would be fun, even though he was on the side of the weapons. It was an issue that if not addressed would change everyone's lives, including his at Shibusen. The quickest way for evil and injustice to triumph was for good men to stand by and do nothing. Maybe not many meisters would feel as he did about it but he would never ask Deth to take a final blow for him, he couldn't ask the boy to die for him. It was just wrong, he'd rather lay down his life defending what few people mattered in the world to him than to have his first friend and partner die for his cause. It wasn't Deth's place to do so anyway.

Zasha listen to the crowd as they protested and supported the act. Their cries rang in the air catching an ear of a certain weapon that happen to be passing by. She knew about the Act and she didn't care for it. She was pretty neutral about the thing. She was a weapon born to bring down kishin's or even people if she could. If madness had stricken the young girl, she knew that she would kill everything in her path. There were many times were she wanted to kill her family. Now this act was going on it would be impossible.

Zasha almost laughed at the fact that she was thinking about killing her family. She shook her head of the thoughts that burned inside her head. She walked into the crowd binging in the back of where people wont knowledge her. Her eyes were closed as she listen to everyone talking about their opinions. Although her ears were mostly on the 2 in front arguing. The Weapon was making a really good point. It would be hard arguing with him.

Being natural was not unknown from the girl. Zasha just didn't really care, she is a weapon, brought up to kill. Those kishin's were once humans. And who knows maybe in a year or two she might give into her madness and kill everything. Zasha really didn't care being think of a weapon. that was what she was. It was her duty to protect her meister with her life no matter what. She was brought up this. She was nothing but a weapon and had to serve her meister with her life. Almost like a maid minus the cleaning and cooking,

Listening to all these arguments almost made Zasha's head spin. She agreed with some of the comments and opposed of them. She was not on either side maybe because she didn't care for it. Yeah she had opinions but who really cared. Watching the well suited one. The corner of her mouth twitched a little. Interesting. This might be a very interesting thing. Although Zasha was neutral. She wanted to be in it to see what will happen next.

"They'd have to kill me first." A lone voice shot out from the crowd immediately following the silence that Andrew Fischer's comment produced. His words, however lowly spoken, were completely audible when treading across awkward silence.

Drake.

One of the few autonomous weapons at DWMA stepped forward standing beside Andrew though clearly taking a different side on the argument. Himself being a Demon Weapon and even more so being a lone one would be even more discriminated against by this new act. "I agree."

He let his words hang for a little bit as he looked toward the blonde Demon Weapon that was directing this open discussion. "With you... They have no right to impose all of these laws and prejudice against us. We are under represented and you would think that DWMA, with all of it's sway and clot would do more to help us." Drake spoke, his tone getting more aggressive and his voice getting louder in hopes of reaching the greater majority of the crowd. He didn't want to create a rift between the Meisters and the Demon Weapons, no. He just wanted to protect and represent the Demon Weapons however if that warranted consequences in the form of separation then it was fine by him.

This man standing before Drake was right. Demon Weapons are the evolution of mankind. They didn't Need them.

His mood had been changed ever since he caught wind of this entire situation. You couldn't put into words how it felt to be discriminated against. It turned good men into bad people and gave bad people a motive. The world was just lucky that Drake was a good man and not a bad person looking for a motive.

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Damien stayed silent for a moment while he processed the words, making sure he had heard everything correctly before speaking. Damien knew he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and he didn't feel like having his words discounted over something petty. I can't believe something like this is actually happening.[/i] Damien thought with a low groan. Still, he understood the rationale behind it. His own partner Sophie, if she ever succumbed to madness -God forbid- could just walk into a bank or airport and take command, and no one would be able to catch her.

Speaking of which, where is the girl?[/i] Damien had come here for his partner, to support her or restrain her as the circumstances may require. All he knew was that Sophie wouldn't be able to resist such a possibly polemical meeting as this, and that he didn't know how she would react. But what many didn't realize that Damien did- perhaps because it was too simple to see- was that Weapons couldn't fight back. If they became violent, they were proving a point. If they went through the legal system, it would be seen as expected at best, suspicious at worst. Meisters couldn't do it for them, or they would just be propagating the stereotype of the Meister superiority.

Damien shook his head. Meisters and Demon Weapons would have to work with Meisters, and pray they get some powerful people on their side. Coming from the ghetto, Damien knew how painful it was to be cast aside, to be discriminated at from a glance. He couldn't imagine how terrible it would be if all that was proposed in the bill came to pass.

Rolling his neck uncomfortably, Damien fixed the lapel of his suit. It had been provided to him by his old boxing trainer, and damned if he wasn't going to make good use of it. It was nice, too- unlike the ill-fitting one he had to wear to a wedding, this one was tailored and cut to fit him. And he looked almost as squeaky clean as the main speaker before him. Still, he had his usual rough look that came from having a good fifty pounds on most of the students. Well, it would help Damien get his point across. Few wanted to talk about the 300 pound gorilla in the room, but even fewer wanted to argue with one.

Clearing his throat, Damien prepared to speak out, but a more vocal student beat him to the punch. Clearly, this student was a Meister. "Well, what's the matter with registration? If a Demon Weapon went into a bank, or God forbid an airport, there would be no way to know. He or she could wait to transform, then wreak hell upon unsuspecting victims. There may not be many students here who have seen one, but Dark Weapons are hell. You can't find it until it's too late, and the weapon is literally part of their own bodies. They can use it perfectly, and are invincible in weapon form. And that's just for the ones we find."

While most of the other student body fell silent, the Meister continued to speak, his voice gaining strength, his words strangely alluring. "Not one sane Meister here would say that a Weapon 'just sits there,' and perhaps that's the problem. You're too good at what you do, and what you do is fight. It's literally in your genes. Should a Weapon snap, it could wreak unprecedented havoc before being brought to justice. All it would take is a simple blood test, which could be administered during any one of the tests all American students must undergo during childhood and adolesence. Here the speaker turned to the crowd, looking for a victim.

He chose Damien. In his defense, Damien did stand head an shoulders above most of the crowd, and his suit shone out in a group consisting mostly of jeans and t-shirts. "You there! I've seen you around, you're a Meister, aren't you? What do you think your partner could do if infected with the Madness?" All eyes turned to Damien. Squaring his shoulders, Damien slowly pushed his way through the throng, making his way to the front. He then turned around, preparing to address the population before him. His naturally loud voice boomed across the plaza.

"My partner is a shotgun, and indeed could cause massive damage if infected with Madness." Damien waited a moment as the outraged crowd roared its indignance. Damien simply stared it down, waiting once again for silence. "But then again, who wouldn't? Look at the Columbine or Aurora Massacres. Any idiot with access to gun can kill. Demon Weapon, Meister, human...it doesn't matter. People are people, and some will hurt others, while others will help." Damien saw that the other student was about to open his mouth to do damage control, but Damien would not let him.

"Why should one group be short-changed just because of fear or prejudice, just because they're born different? We might as well put chains on African Americans again, and pick up the White Man's Burden- I really don't see any difference in argument. Damien shrugged before continuing. "I'm a boxer myself. I know that I could put just about any human to sleep in a few hits, but I don't have to be registered, nor does any martial artist. We're even worse than Demon Weapons, too- there's no genetic tell tale saying that I can do what I can. There are boxers weighing 120 pounds who can do the exact same thing I can. And yet no one would even hear of us having to register."

"Yes, as Pierce said, Madness testing should be enacted. It's only natural. But why stop at Meisters or Weapons? We're the most exposed, but we're also probably the ones who can fight it off the best. Require it for every citizen in America- especially after Asura. It's too dangerous to ignore the effects otherwise." Damien turned then to the Demon Weapon speaker. "And buddy, keep in mind that Meisters is the name given to us. I don't think of myself of anyone's master- rather, we're your partners. We help each other survive, and we should be treated equally. So let's work together to help fight this thing."

"You have your way; I have my way. As for the true way, the right way and the only way..."

August Ashford stood amidst the throng of people, a massive, teeming, heaving sea of corporeal entities. Each of them, he had determined from due observation, had arrived imbued with a sense of purpose. Such a profound ocean of absolute teleology sparked the faintest pang of latent guilt within the young man, whom had arrived with little sense of what indeed was going on or what he would have to say with regards to it.

The people made their points. Words were spoken. Some were sweet; others harsh; some soared on gilded wings, others struck down the listener with the blunt force trauma of a verbal mallet. There were murmurs of agreement; there were whispers of dissent. Some sneered, some snickered, some simpered.

And yet, nobody laughed and sang.

Ideology had emerged. The people had their ideals - they had to, of course; everybody had to have something to strive towards, after all - and their ideals gripped the people around them. When they spoke, they spoke with a firmness of being that was striking; a profound conviction that they were the only ones who spoke of a higher truth. They knew what nobody else knew. They had seen the light, and the light had blinded them, but they had returned to the murky depths of the ethereal cave to tell their fellow prisoners-of-ideals that they were now enlightened.

Some seemed to have just as little idea as he did as to what was being spoken of. They shuffled and sniffed and chattered politely, occupying themselves with some vague sort of intent, yet said very little. Only when another spoke did they dare raise their voice - and then when another spoke, in their own turn, they would shift to that side. The freshest ideas seemed to be the most radical, the most brilliant, the most accepted. It was a constant paradigm shift on a microcosmic scale that moved as the people's hearts and minds and souls moved.

Perhaps, then, he ought to say something. He had borne with him his own Demon Weapon partner for the occasion - moved, as he was, to act by the sudden interest being taken in whatever this representative of the ordinary man had to say.

No. Perhaps that was where the danger lay. The fascination was with the extraordinary here. These were no ordinary people. They were people, of course, but they were people with a higher agenda.

And they were angry.

The people sang, singing the song of angry men, and all listened. August, alone in the crowd but for the myriad of souls mingling betwixt he and this parasite messiah and the little blue-haired girl whose delicate little head he held softly and implacably against his flat, firm chest, said nothing.

Only listened to the drums of war beginning to beat dimly in the distance.

"It does not exist." - Friedrich Nietzsche

The tiny Weapon stood in front of her partner within this unpleased crowd. If she wasn't near him, or against his chest in this case, the Knight might have been toppled over and stomped on because of her unimposing size. Heck, most of these students could easily crush her like a dry twig if they bothered trying. Meisters and Weapons alike debating before her very person. All around her were murmurs and whispers, while others pronounced their criticisms and ideas of this dilemma. Ashley had nothing to say in this at all. At best, she was the prime example of Weapons who can't do anything by him or herself.

She was weak. So weak that she could barely do anything on her own, even something as simple as going shopping was a grand task for her. Ashley had to -unwillingly- rely on her partner for some tasks. Of course they were done entirely on his own free will… else she would have never asked for his help. In fact, she never truly did ask him to do anything for her.

This whole situation and debating left and right going on made her extremely uneasy. Perhaps August would have noticed this upon small hands reaching for his arms and wrapping them around her waist. Ashley even tried backing up into August as much as she could. She said nothing, but to her: This scene was completely horrible.

Sigh...

So this was the direction things were heading in. It was bound to happen; the unrestricted reoccurring segregation and dehumanization of those considered to be abnormal. Of course they had no voice in the matter- no that right was reserved to the sixty-seven percent of America's population held as the "ordinary" people. Only their voice- their fears, would reach the ears of the government. Once more the country begins to reseed into an act of oppression. Such was natural for the wave which seeks to reach rather than any other just to be recalled into the vast, unrelenting embrace of the ocean.

The tan-skinned teen had been relaxing on the main staircase when the bodies and convoluted minds swarmed in. His mind had wandered off, dwelling on the day's earlier lessons. His head looked toward the sky as thoughts flowed and grey eyes playfully assessed the ever-changing figures of white puff. Such peacefulness was suffocated with the smothering weight of conflicting voices. Zeek's head tilted downwards in the direction of the voices, unintentionally causing his vision to be cluttered with a veil of silver strands.

From beyond the curtain of hair his gaze fell upon the crowd, his ears also focusing on the increasing amount of voices. Still he remain sprawled along several steps in such a casual manner that none would have assume he had taken an interest in such a controversial topic.

But of course he would.

He like so many others gathered, were weapons; the tools used to bring down all whom Shinigami deemed a threat to the order he had worked so hard to establish. It was him who had employed the use of those brought into existence as a result of he and Eibon's research. Which they say carelessly allowed to fall into the hands of the witch, Arachne. They were to blame. The actions and curiosity of those the beings had brought the world to the state it was in.

There it was, he had formulated his opinion on the matter. He waited for his opportunity to interject, taking hold of a moment of silence Zeek spoke."The world will do what it always does..." He paused a short moment, allowing people to locate the source of his voice. "People will always turn against what is different. In this country alone turned oppression of the minorities into a regular task. Whether its race, sexual orientation, gender, or wealth. If you fall short of the majority you will face an indifference."

He heaved deeply, transitioning to a standing position and whisking away the hair before his eyes. " But in reality we are no different from meisters in terms of uniqueness. Yes we can transform into various weapons, but how many meisters have existed with far above average traits. At least with us, what you see is what you get. Meisters possess a whole array of abilities, yet they have nothing that defines them as being different. Nothing that can be tracked. That makes the far more of a threat should the fall to madness. Imagine facing dear Doctor Stein while he is in a fit of madness. Him without madness can easily take down a weapon, and even a meister with a weapon."

With each passing word the fire within Zeek was being fed. The passion was growing and his interest expanding. "That aside, the blame for the current state of things can only be applied to three people; Arachne, who led to the existence of us demon weapons, as well as Eibon and Shinigami who were the ones who created the blueprints and allowed them to be stolen by the witch. Furthermore, out of the three of them Lord Shinigami holds the most influence within the world, and somehow allowed a classification such as Demon Weapon to be applied to our kind. What ordinary person wouldn't fear something known as a demon. If anything he is responsible for all of this and should be the main one defending us."

Yes he did it. He openly suggested that their supposed Lord and savior was to be held accountable. After all Shinigami is older than the American Government that now threatened the rights of his "precious students" and there hadn't been a single word from him as of yet. If he didn't wish to meet with them, Zeek would later seek the man out himself. But for now he maintained his position on the steps awaiting the reaction of the crowd. Would they agree in awe, or grimace in disgust questioning his right to accuse Shinigami.

Either way he was fully prepared for the repercussions.

Hey you, Out there in the cold, getting lonely,getting old, Can you hear me?Cyrus sang to himself as he walked down one of the numerous alleyways he had found, guitar case in hand, a tune on his tongue. He was looking for one of the essential most important things a guitar needs-Strings. Something he couldn’t find for the life of him.Which was starting to frustrate him, making him start start sighing as he walked from store to store, asking, pleading with the gods for release. Someone had to carry them right?

A cry cut through that fog, causing him to raise his head and perk his ears up. He knew that sound well, though usually not in that magnitude, and usually it was inside. It was the sound of a crowd, A large group of people stomping their feet, shaking their fist. He heard someone say something, though whatever it was was quickly drowned out by the audience yelling in...anger? He wondered what was causing such a ruckus, and Whoever was doing it better retune their guitar. He laughed a little at his music joke as he began to follow the sound.

“Ow! damn it.” He muttered under his breath.He had just come through a small alley, but his guitar had smacked into the back of his knees. He had ended up at the steps of the Academy, a decent sized group of people assembled around one very well-dressed, very blonde man whipping the group into a frenzy over the new bill being addressed by congress. Though from the way he and a meister from the crowd had gone at it, it sounded like an attack on meisters than a discussion about the bill in question. He propped up his square case vertically, leaning on it in a relaxed fashion, While He agreed that the Registration was pretty unfair, along with making solo weapons like his oh-so-good friends Zeek and drake flat out illegal, this speaker sounded more like he was more worried about having to deal with meisters than anything else.

This was getting out of hand quickly, he thought to himself, as blame was being tossed back and forth, from Society to Shinigame to Weapons. Instead of being a discussion, this was transforming into small groups of people shouting at each other.And instead of a group of people standing together against fear, it was quickly turning into a bunch of people pointing fingers at each other. He sighed. He really didn't want to jump into the proverbial frying pan, but he couldn't just do nothing

Excuseme...excuse me. He tried to get their attention without being obstructive...Obviously unsuccsessful. He took a deep breath.

OI!!!! he yelled at the top of his lungs, finally forcing everyone to shut up. He began walking towards the steps, talking amongst the crowd instead of from above them

Has anyone here heard of the term "We must all hang together, or we will all hang seperaitely". Benjamin Franklin, look it up. Cause instead of standing together against this descriminaition, cause by definition thats what it is, We are all here, Bickering amongst ourselves like little schoolchildren over candy. Right now there is nothing we can do about who caused it, regardless of who it was. The question should Be, What do we do about it? In my personal opinion the madness detection isn't such a huge Idea THe crowd began to speak, But he silenced them quickly For EVERYONE, Not just a few. Lord knows we try our hardest not to descriminaite against arabic people in airports, and Demon Weapons didn't crash planes into buildingsI mean, I trust my partner with my life, and I trust her, and all of you, to not go nuts and kill me. And everyone who goes on a mission with me or anyone else goes through the exact same thing.We have to, or else more people like Asura would run rampant 'round the world. So how about we all Quit pointing fingers at out friends and start trying to fix the damn thing!

(BTW-Any show-boating, or derailment of the plot will be acted upon with extreme prejudice, and you might lose your life. If it poses a danger to the plot, and this is leading to a bigger event, just keep that in mind)

A decent portion of the crowd took a turn, but incidentally a large amount of those who did were Meisters. How was it, exactly, that only the Meisters felt so strongly about this situation that they decided that they would play the role of the "bigger person," and speak against what the government is doing. Is it because they cared about the Demon Weapons? Surely, some of them did, but this didn't affect them, and most of them were only arguing to save their own skin from the obvious negative image they were given. One of them had even gone as far as to say "Meister is the name given to us," as if that did anything more than reinforce the fact that they were ignorant, and compliant to a flawed, and corrupted system, because it didn't directly affect them. Because they were still deemed the heroes, even though the Weapon obviously sacrifices more. The blonde haired Weapon smirked at this, and even though two already autonomous Weapons had spoken against them as well, the boy would be more focused on the Meisters. They were arrogant, and their little damage control, "I'll play hero, and help defend you," act would cost them their victory in this debate.

"Ah yes...Words, words, words. Even the first two people to speak hardly offered anything! Andrew Fischer...I recognize you...You're used to having to pass tests like that, right?" Some of the people who knew what he was referring to began to snicker, and someone near the tall Weapon smacked his shoulder lightly. "All in good fun, Andrew...but that's not my point. Your Wavelength itself, and other Wavelengths like it would be great defense against something like that...Quieting the Madness, until the person left the testing. I'm not saying that having country-wide testing for everyone isn't a good idea...but they're specifically targeting Weapons,for no good reason. Let's say Andrew found a way, hypothetically, to quiet the madness in someone for a longer period of time-then what? If he can do it, ANY OTHER PERSON WITH A WAVELENGTH LIKE HIS COULD MANAGE THAT. The difference between a Meister, and a Weapon at that point, you ask? Their classification. No matter what you Meisters say about this bill, you all still have it so much easier than the rest of us. No one is going to be judging you on the street, like they would to a Demon Weapon who has passed the test a million times...If a Meister, who used Andrew to get off clean, and a Weapon, who passed by simply not giving way to Madness were both on the street-The Weapon would be in the same spot as he was before. That is what this is mostly about."

The student looked out at the crowd, and there was a mixture of nodding agreement, and obviously awestruck Meisters. Their mouths gaped open. What could you really say to that, other than "But we're partners, we'll always help each other" No one would fall for that Care-bears, power of love bull-crap. "No one here is going to fall for that Care-bear, power of love bull-crap. We all know how the world works, and how harsh it can be. You Meisters obviously have such a high opinion of yourselves, that you can't even shut up, and let the Demon Weapons have a conversation, ABOUT SOMETHING THAT DIRECTLY AFFECTS THEM. What are you worried about? Having to walk your tool to the airport? The only thing that you all are doing right now, is covering for yourself, because someone has exposed the corruption in our school system, and in the portrayal of DW versus Meisters." The blonde raked his hand through his hair, and then flipped it back. He might have gotten a little too excited, but the crowd didn't seem to notice. The Demon Weapons were listening, and pretty much anything the Meisters had to say could be easily dismissed. "Expressing your sympathies isn't going to stop the bill? But possibly, if we can somehow prove to even Shinigami, who not to mention has done nothing to stop this, that we can work without you, and not give in to Madness, doesn't that prove our worth? That we deserve better treatment? You're just talking, but you're not seeing how you're at fault. This has been going on for years, and most of your families want you to come to DWMA for glory...While the Weapons are usually sent for something like-Oh, I don't know-This will be good for you, and you might benefit one of the Meisters. As for the bloke with the accent...Umm..." An older man's shouted out the name "Silas McDonald!", and the blonde shrugged. "Silas...How do you propose we deal with this, together? March on Washington? Even if we do it peacefully, we're only going to draw attention to ourselves, and be seen as hostile. That surely won't work...and not all of us are old enough to vote. You're just the same as the other Meisters-Only talking." The Demon Weapons in the crowd erupted into applause, and yelled things similar to what he had just said, mostly involving how planning for something like that would only cause more Witch, or Kishin Egg activity in their absence. Everything would be blamed on the Weapons at that point, because it was their cause. They would be seen as the enemies, while the Meisters would be made martyrs by the sheer fact that they were willing to sacrifice their time, and effort for them.

What was this guy's problem? Cyrus thought as the guy couldn't even get his name right. Probably that damn doctor. He shook his head, annoyed by the turn of events this blond-haired guy was orchestrating. It seemed like he was trying to throw this into chaos, and sadly it looked like it was working. He had the weapons in the audience hook, line and sinker, while at the same time alienating the meisters here, like him, who were just trying to help. This might very well end in a riot, though whether his involvement would help or hurt he couldnt tell. He let himself go full Tchu, a lot more of his acquired cajun accent bleeding through Ah well. No rest for the wicked.

Hey, asswipe, first of all my name is Cyrus, Not Silas. Get it right. Secondly, I thought this was just an open discussion about a bill that affects everyone at the academy. Everyone. And what, Do you just want me to stand by as my friends are treated unfairly for who they are? By my count that would make me no better than those who are passing this. So excuse me for sticking my nose in where it doesnt belong. And excuse me for trying to figure out a solution to all this. So far all Ive heard you do is talk about the bill for five minutes, then spend the rest of this making Meisters who are trying to help, even though it may not directly influence us as much, the enemy. Everyone here is trying to make sure that this bill doesn't become a reality. You get mad at me for trying to figure out a solution, yet you have done nothing but Insult people. So put on your big-boy pants and either lead, follow, or get the hell outta the way so we can Actually do something about this!

By principle, rabble rousing activity was something she took near and dear to her heart. Now, rabble rousing on behalf of something that had the potential to change the lives of kith and kin, that went beyond any sort of interest to really being a moral duty of sorts. Eva had been quick to leap to social media, long the modern outlet for the voice of the people to ring aloud, preferring to jockey with the voices online even as she stood in the midst of the crowd gathered at the stairs. Strange how it was that even at a rally by Demon Weapons, for Demon Weapons, that much of their voiced discontent was still done not directly in person within earshot of dozens of meisters, but online. Stranger still that their severe disapproval of the unreasonably vocal meisters was still yet expressed not to the faces of those who continued to insist on unloading their unwanted, and frankly useless, opinions. Such was the power of the dynamics that had been drilled into their minds the moment they entered the academy, the weapon follows the meister, the meister's word is final. No, it took the boldness of that besuited Demon Weapon standing before them, finally saying aloud what many may have traitorously (though only in a certain context) pondered to themselves in private, for them to gather the boldness to do the same. Lord, what kind of disgusting sickness was it that had them all too frightened to speak out for while they were being crushed underfoot?

"Oh, shut up already!" she called out to the irritating speaker who managed to miss the point spectacularly. "Get your Meister Guilt out of here! We don't care about your opinions, we don't want them. Way to take something about us Demon Weapons and turn it around to make it about how self-sacrificing and understanding and moral you are. If you really cared about us, you would have just shut up the minute he told you to and listened instead of trying to talk over us still."

Other voices quickly chimed in after hers.

"Hey check this out, this dude wants to solve the problem by completely ignoring what caused the problem in the first place! Perfect logic, yo."

"Man, get the fuck outta here, we don't need any of that bleeding heart crap. Boohoo, I'm going to solve all the problems that people like me caused with my tears but I'm conveniently not going to mention how I benefited from your oppression."

"Hahaha, you wanna talk quotes? Here's one for you, Jean-Paul Marat, 'Man has the right to deal with his oppressors by devouring their palpitating hearts.'"

"I got another one for you. 'If you are silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed it,' Zora Neale Hurtston. What, you expect us to feel sorry for you that hearing all this makes you uncomfortable? That you don't like to hear about all the suffering that we go through that you benefit from?"

"There we have it folks! That's all they're really saying, 'It makes me feel bad that you're actually talking about this, so you should shut up for my benefit.' And they say that we're useless without them and can't take anything!"

"Truth hurts, don't it?!"