Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
Surges of dark energy coursed through the Moon. Strands of feint light traveled throughout its body, towards the sun and within the area they had sanctioned off for their final action. Together, their energies had merged to form a grey area between the opposites that the two represented. The dance was at its end. All around them, the world became gray as color seemed to fade from it all.
However, as this power formed, something had gone wrong. The feint lights that coursed through the Moon grew dull until they were completely gone. Turning towards its partner who had all but disappeared, the Moon began to fade away as well. Slowly, the dancers dissolved, leaving an empty stage. And yet, not too far off in the distance, the silhouette of a figure with strange, tentacle-like appendages disappeared into the night as color returned to the world.
Post by Akira Nakajima on Mar 23, 2014 15:27:46 GMT -5
”Good work, guys! Good work indeed. That's the third incident beaten back, and four major Shadows down. Got a good run going. Let's keep it up for next month!” The boy cheered for them before standing over the fainted boy. He didn't know Crux's name. Then again, the crossdresser didn't know several of these newcomers' names. All the same, this boy fought alongside of them, and that made him an ally. He looked to Alma Elma and nodded. The succubus landed beside the boy, crouching, and whipped her tail around. Then, the three-pronged appendage split open and dripped. . . some fluid over the boy's face. Before planting itself over it and producing healing magic. The spell was “Samarecarm”. Despite its strange and perhaps lewd exhibition, it was actually a healing skill, and one that revived the targets.
”Oh, uh, not to distract people from the merrymaking, but was there anyone else knocked out on this end? If someone could bring them to me, I'll get to them after this kid.” The crossdresser announced as Alma's tail continued. . . doing it's thing to the boy's face. Well, it might have been messy, he realized, as the tail retracted, leaving sticky clear fluids all over his face, but one could not argue with survival! Oh well! The boy and his succubus stood straight, not even waiting for their recovery victim to stir. ”Any others?”
Post by Tristan Carter on Mar 23, 2014 15:59:55 GMT -5
Tristan watched as the shadows killed themselves using the very attack the planned on using. He doubted that it was the intended result, but he was okay with it. After all, it spared him the trouble of having to attack again. This was fine and dandy, but something was bothering him.
Tristan turned to the giant tiger shadow. It knew Phoebe, and had mostly assisted; but it was still a shadow. It still needed to die. Sadly, Tristan was in no condition to fight it now. With a sigh, he gestured to it. "You... I'm too exhausted to fight you. Just know this: next time I see you, I will kill you. Got it? Good." He then turned to look around at the people. "Anyone willing to buy me some food? I'm broke, and after that I'm starving." He chuckled a bit, unsure if anyone would be willing to or not.
Post by Phoebe Minola on Mar 23, 2014 16:10:04 GMT -5
The Shadows were dead. It was over. Phoebe could hardly believe it. They'd done it! They'd survived too. She blurted a long, weary sigh and dropped to her knee for a moment, rubbing her face.
Thank God. Thank you so much. Hypatia.
Her Persona faded, almost casting Phoebe a gentle look and she stood up. There was damage control to be done and she expected having to do quite a lot of it.
"Kyle! Grab CJ please! Get him over to the girl with the succubus," she called to her friend, and wearily walked towards her herself. "Hey... thank you. I'm sorry I messed up."
Yeah. Even though she'd been thoroughly insulted, Phoebe knew better than to make a fuss. No matter what she got for her bungling, she wasn't gonna talk. She didn't really have anything to say, or other apologies to make. She also had other fish to fry. She strode over to Gin and almost grabbed him by the whiskers of his Shadow form.
"Do me a favor. Get the heck out of here before they all recover from this mess," she said to him lowly. "We can talk some other time. Go. I'll... uh, deal with the fallout."
And the insanity. Not to forget the oncoming insanity.
With that, she actually put her hands on the furry surface of the Shadow and gave him a little shove to get him going. Then she turned back around and looked around. Nobody seemed to have suffered fatal injuries and in her book, that was awesome. She gave a tired and weary smile to everyone.
"Thanks for your help everyone. You guys are awesome," she said reluctantly. "Uh, so... I'm... I'm gonna go get something to eat. Really late dinner. And maybe a drink. If, uh, anyone wants to come with, I don't mind," she added. "Yeah, Tristan. You can come with."
Last Edit: Mar 23, 2014 16:10:59 GMT -5 by Phoebe Minola
"Better to write for yourself and have no public than to write for the public and have no self."
Cyrril Connolly
Post by Maria Stark on Mar 23, 2014 16:36:05 GMT -5
Maria noticed it dropped some nice amulet. She wondered what it was for, but it could be useful. Last time she got a nice item it boosted her wind attacks. Guess she could ask the strange blonde woman if this was too such an item. She fell on the ground and sat down for a while resting. "Wow, that was a large fight. Thanks everyone if you all weren't here..." She said loudly to every user, or whatever was fighting with them. She didn't care now, she was to tired to care. She could fall asleep in the middle of the shopping center here. She resisted the argue though, and went home. Hoping she would be well rested for work tomorrow.
Post by Kyle Shibata on Mar 23, 2014 16:40:38 GMT -5
Kyle had been dreading a really powerful attack... but the Shadows just died. He watched them explode and something flung at him from them.
"Aw yeah!" he blurted and thrust his fist in the air.
He was pretty damn pleased with himself. He'd survived this mess (barely) and he'd gotten a taste of a bigger fight. He looked around. Nobody seemed to have died, either. Good enough for him. He bent down and picked up what had landed at his feet. It looked like a ring, carved with blades. For some reason he started thinking about sharpness and that his axe would be as sharp as anything. Weird. He shrugged and put it on.
"Hey man, thanks for the support!" he called to the blue-haired boy.
He heard Phoebe calling him, telling him to get CJ over to a girl with a succubus Persona. Really? Okay... Yeah, he never was one to argue much. He figured Phoebe knew what she was doing. He went over to CJ, hauled him up with one arm under his shoulder and carried him over to the girlie. He unceremoniously dropped him at her feet.
"Hey. Mind waking him up?" he asked her.
Then he took to glaring at Phoebe who was busy shooing away the tiger Shadow. Probably making sure her little fuzzy pet didn't get attacked -- although he wasn't sure who exactly had the stamina to pick another fight right now. He sure didn't - and for all intents and purposes, neither did Tristan, it seemed. He clapped the kid on the back.
"S'up man," he said. "I'm in for that plan."
He wasn't gonna say no to the excuse for getting dinner and booze.
Last Edit: Mar 23, 2014 16:43:06 GMT -5 by Kyle Shibata
"We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves."
François de la Rochefoucauld
Post by John Nicholson on Mar 23, 2014 16:46:34 GMT -5
As the shadows were consumed by the power they tried to wield, John felt a strong sense of accomplishment. The other people present seemed to loosen up and celebrate victory as well. He had something left to do though. He turned to the snake lady now standing next to a young caucasian woman. He had vaguely seen the both of them share some friendly banter during the battle. He had no idea what the woman's disposition to John would be, especiall considering he was aproaching them with hostile intent.
It seemed like a good time to call the snake lad out. Here, surrounded by allies. "Hey! Remember me?" He stood a fair distance away from her His shotgun lowered though ready to fire at a moments notice. He was quite tense. the last time he confronted this monster it had batted him aside like an insignificant insect. He was ready to try his luck again though. Especially with the currently much more favorable conditions.
Last Edit: Mar 23, 2014 16:54:36 GMT -5 by John Nicholson
Post by Ringo Shiro on Mar 23, 2014 16:56:36 GMT -5
Ringo watched as the surging energy was stopped just in time...though he can't help but to notice as the two shadows finally died something slithered away as the world turned back to normal. He arched an eyebrow as he slowly started to place his sword away. Ringo decided to place it in the back of his mind for now. He walked over to check on Crux. Ringo might despise his general disregard for life but he doesn't want him dead. Ringo looked over at the girl with the giant scissors.
"Is he going to be ok-" Ringo was distracted by the utterly disturbing method of healing that the girl's persona decided to employ. "I'm fine..." Ringo decided to take a few steps back. He looked over at Phoebe as she made her announcement.
"Uh, so... I'm... I'm gonna go get something to eat. Really late dinner. And maybe a drink. If, uh, anyone wants to come with, I don't mind,"
"I'll come along. I can help cook and even make coffee so..." Plus Ringo could use a bit of a small meal after that battle.
Emptiness. Blackness. It is said that robots cannot dream. They were right. Yet, Crux isn't just a robot; he's a robot designed to have an ego. He has emotions, emotions that are barely displayed on the outside. Inside, they wreak the greatest havoc upon him. Death? Hopelessness and despair. Life? Hope and joy. There was never a minute when he wasn't in mental pain. The android laid himself out in a bed of black flowers, these negative things circulating as dragons floating around the glow of the moon.
Parallel to him was a man, whom he could also feel this negativity from. His sister hated him, and his brother has gone off to who-knows-where. He was totally and utterly alone with only the stars to keep him company. Has anyone ever wondered if the moon, gazing down at the Earth, can feel light shining upon him? Do the stars illuminate the area around him? Or, is he perpetually smothered by the darkness of the sky without the sun?
Just then, the sun came up. Everything was brighter, and everything burned up in the sun's power. All he saw was white.
As in, glare. Fuzziness. Where was he? His face felt... odd? The 'boy', fully recovered, sat himself up and made a circle on his cheek. When he removed his finger, he saw... strangeness incarnate. This mysterious fluid was of an unknown origin. Crux wiped his eyes to see a girl and succubi, if his myth was correct. She was a Persona... he hoped.
Keeping himself steady and while wiping his face clean of the liquid, he gave the girl and her Persona a bow and an audible 'thank you' before looking around. He saw Ringo nearby, and he chuckled just a little bit. "A User. So the chances weren't as non-existent as I initially believed-" The sound of an angry man. An aged voice. What was going on?
Conflict in a place where more conflict would jeopardize more lives.
"One moment." Crux moved on over to John, and attempted to place a hand on his shoulder. If he looked to the side, he'd be able to see a blade slowly slide out from his forearm. Slowly. Centimeter by centimeter. "Seeking more battle to sate some kind of thirst? It would be safe to say that some of us are too tired for this. I beseech you: stop. Please."
He knew that she was a Shadow, but provoking it would be absolutely horrible. He could tell by how.... irritated she seemed. Another fight would be terrible. Ah, he could recall her words. Kind of. Crux was too damaged to tell completely, but he was sure he heard:
'...if any of you goddamn Persona Users get in my way... gonna get it coming... STAY OUT OF MY WAY!'
Post by Gin Takemoto on Mar 23, 2014 17:38:03 GMT -5
The shadows destroyed themselves... Gin was not expecting this, yet knew it was a possibility. Turning away, he turned to see what the others were doing.
Gin watched as the girl revived the robot by... He shuddered when he saw it. It was just creepy, if a bit fitting for a succubi. Not going to watch that, he turned to be pushed by Phoebe. As sudden as that was, Gin took notice of the incident between the old man and Sakuya. The robot, covered in slime, even stepped in to help soothe relations.
The tiger wasn't just going to stand by and watch. He strolled up to the old man and growled. "You shoot, and you make multiple enemies. Old man, I like you. You're pretty cool. However, this isn't something you should do. I won't attack you openly tonight if you do, but the first time I see you without some powerful backup I will bite your head off. This isn't your smartest move." He then went to the two that seemed to wish that they remained enemies.
"I won't fight you tonight. Just be prepared that when you do attack, I'll hit back hard. You understand?"
In a spectacular display, both shadows took enough hits that they lost control of the energy they were charging up, and were destroyed by it. It was over. And on top of that, one of their allies was ready and able to assist the wounded. With that knowledge, Pyxis let out an artificial sigh of relief. As the world slowly started to return to normal and time resumed its slow progression, Pyxis turned to the others. She nodded to the girl (girl? She was getting some fuzzy readings there) who had congratulated them and gotten to work on reviving everyone, then to Vice. She wanted to say something, but her attention was soon occupied instead by the sound of an angry man and telltale signs of a fight about to start.
The fellow Anti-shadow weapon who had fallen during the fight was already back on his feet and trying to talk him down. Pyxis couldn't help but agree. While the one about to be on the receiving end of the shotgun was the same shadow who had angrily attacked the one on their side of the barrier when it went up...there was no way they could start another fight right now. Even if their Personas remained usable for the rest of the night, nobody present was in any condition for more fighting. But the world was returning to normal, and there was little doubt that local authorities would soon show up to investigate the damage to the shopping center. In their eyes, all they'd see is an old man shooting a young woman, not a human attacking a shadow. "Stand down," Pyxis said. It wasn't a plea, like what her brother had said, but an order. "None of us can afford another fight right now. She turned to the shadow, committing her appearance to memory, then to the other shadow that had been present from the beginning to do the same, then looked around at the others still present. "That goes for the rest of you too. If anyone tries to start a fight, I will restrain you. And yes, I can back that up." After all, once the power of Persona was taken out of the equation, she was probably one of the strongest people present.
Her mission was to destroy shadows. And, in time, she would accomplish it. But ending the threat of Heaven's Gate and protecting the survivors inside was, for now, a greater priority. If these shadows were willing to fight against the more immediate threats then they were, for the moment, less important. They could be dealt with later, as necessary. For now, it was neither necessary nor a good idea to try.
There was a thing with fighting and something about never being over until all possible threads to one have been properly secured to ensure that nothing stupid happens. Letting your guard down before then wasn't exactly the most intelligent of answers. However, trying to instigate a fight for a reason borne through revenge and expecting others to help you just like that despite not having been able to prove anything substantial, well, Vice would call it stupid. Thankfully though, there were enough of that going around which basically meant that he wasn't going to need to say the whole 'you're a little shit for thinking that' out loud.
"Much as I'd love to repeat what Pyxis said, I'll just settle for a reminder. Witnesses, Risk, and Jeopardy. Every Participant here, when these coffins vanish, will turn into suspects if they see these." As if to emphasise, Vice raised his rather threatening firearm as if it was some kind of display in an art auction. "That said, I'm sure you all know what needs to be done. Anyone else who disagrees, well, we've seen what happens when we choose unnecessary fights." With his part done, the young man strode on over to the robotic maid. They needed a precaution, some kind of insurance to ensure nothing stupid happened and that everyone can at least go back to their lives before the next battle. They were losing focus, morale, and whatever inner workings they had going due to all the potential bullshit that was getting kicked up.
He wasn't going to leave just quite though, things were still tense and until it diffused. They might need a helping hand still.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 23, 2014 19:41:59 GMT -5
Whew. The two dancers were down for the count. Sakuya had not cared for the spectacular fashion in which they fell, but rather she just wanted to see how Jaelyn was doing, and then leave quickly with her to avoid further incident. However, she soon saw the old man with the shotgun who Sakuya could tell had become stronger. Yet, Sakuya felt she could debilitate this old man with a single attack if he had dared come up to her again. Fortunately for her, there were already attempts to diffuse the situation - even a young boy had the smarts to know that it was a dangerous idea to try and engage. Turning to the old man firstly, Sakuya scowled. "I would listen to the advice of your companions if I were you, old man. I don't think you want to be on the receiving end of my blade again. I went easy on you last time - I just wanted to disarm you. Get in my way or provoke me, and you might face certain death. I'm leaving." Sakuya glared before going back to Jaelyn.
"Whew... Jaelyn, we should talk... Come on, let's leave... We're both probably tired as hell."
Profile || City Home Null: Dark/Fire/Ice/Lightning/Wind/Pierce
Wk: Light, Strike
--> Heaven's Blade, Bufudyne, Mediarama, Allure
--> Unshaken Will, Passionate Inferno
P-> Kiss of Lilith
Post by Ayakura Alisa on Mar 23, 2014 19:53:13 GMT -5
Oy vey... In the heat of the battle I had completely forgotten that there was not only one 'sentient Shadow', but rather, there were two?! I did not want to associate myself with Little Miss Snake over there, she seemed terrifying as hell... Meanwhile, the other one, the one who seemed to be all tiger-like, was being addressed by Phoebe? Hmm... Interesting. I'll have to talk to her about that sometime. But not now though. That can wait. If Phoebe knows that Shadow, it's only safe to assume that he's either a regular patron or... he's acting as a student. I noticed that the old man, who I didn't actually know, seemed to threaten the snake lady, who by now, due to the disappearance of the Shadow dancers - in strangely flashy fashion, I might add - had seemingly reverted to... The guise of a young teenaged girl. The old man probably wanted to blow her brains out judging by his expression.
Pyxis and some others quickly attempted to diffuse the situation. I'm sure that situation will take care of itself. Meanwhile, I made my way to Phoebe who seemed legitimately bummed about something in particular. She mentioned she was going to go out for some late night meal and booze or something. Strangely enough, I hadn't felt particularly tired or anything. Just... confused about the situation. Shadows joining forces with other Users? Just what was happening? This simply reinforced my theory that the existence of sentient Shadows pointed to the existence of a separate agenda. They may not necessarily be behind the lockdown - they may not even have originated from Mosaic City. "Hi, Phoebe. Let me join you. I 'ave some things to talk about..."
Post by Jaelyn Callahan on Mar 23, 2014 19:56:52 GMT -5
And then...the dancers of light and darkness were done. With that, the immediate threat was done with, and they were free to get the hell out before the cops or some idiot bystanders showed up. And Jaelyn desperately wanted to do just that. There didn't seem to be an open invitation for a bar run this time, and with Sakuya around, she wasn't all that keen on running off with a group instead. She was just going to leave with Sakuya and let that lead wherever it was going to. But before that, there was one other matter to take care of.
Some old man soon approached Sakuya, clearly not happy with how a previous encounter had gone. Unsurprising, given Sakuya's hated of men. That needed to be dealt with before she left, though. A few others approached, trying to call him off, but Jaelyn had her own two cents to add. "Let me make one thing perfectly clear, old man,"she said in as threatening a voice as she could manage in her worn state. "You will not hurt her. Ever. Or I will fucking kill you." She then took a deep breath, and spoke again in her normal, if exhausted, tone. "That's all." She turned to Sakuya and nodded. "I agree, let's get out of here." With that, she turned and started walking off.