Sewer Alligator [Boss]

[Vice Ysal]

Today was not another day, it wash;t just another day that much Vice could tell. He refused to believe that everything he's seen before that these places would be something akin to a playground. In some senses, they still were for him but there was a definite change, not a complete shift, but something noticeable with how the world seemed to work for him right now. He didn't carry himself with the same aura as before, whereas he'd want to flare his presence in a form of pride, a form of bravery in order to attract the strongest shadows in order to test his mettle…well, the event back at the graveyard placed a pretty big damper to that one.

So now here he was, cautious as ever when it came to mapping the place out. His weapon at the ready, and his substitute were always in reach for the case when something unexpected came up. Still though, today felt off. Heavier even. Then again, this was a goddamn sewer. All the heavy shit, both figurative and literal at that, usually fell in here. Shaking the shivers away, the disgusting feeling slowly settling off, Vice continued on his little trip to the deeper areas of the shadow infested area.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Cough, cough. I still wasn't fully recovered from that fight, but I wouldn't let it get in the way of this expedition. I had not expected anything particularly new from this venture, after all, I had witnessed some of the footage from the camcorder that my parents left behind before their mysterious disappearance. I had rushed in from a different entrance this time, I kept my knife and bow with me of course, I must have looked silly, looking like a warrior from the Dark Ages. That battle back at the Graveyard was certainly eye-opening, though... There were bigger, badder shadows out on the loose and there was no telling if there would be one of the same strength down here. I certainly had hoped that was not the case. I had dropped down rather unceremoniously, having tripped on something as I was climbing down the ladder, making a rather loud thud. I shook and dusted myself off, eyeing the environs before continuing my not-so-merry way down this sewer path.

On the way, I thought I saw someone also venturing about. I hailed them, even if they might have been a stranger, but I don't think they heard me. I started to follow them. "Might be dangerous to be there alone!" I said.

[Chidori Tsukino]

After three forays into the sewers previously, she'd made a decent dent in mapping the initial area, but she suspected there was a good deal left to go. That being said, she'd come across numerous shadows in her expeditions, and none of them had given off the heavy presence she felt weighing her down today. Something else was going on here, and it made the mute wary as she descended into the subterranean tunnels.

Cautiously advancing, Chidori had one hand at the ready by her widened sleeve, where needles lay in waiting for use. Lucia was present in the back of her mind, giving her the calm she needed to push on and take on whatever it was that lay in wait. Even so, when she rounded a corner and spotted something moving, the mute had to quell the reflexive instinct to attack it because for once, the figure was humanoid - it was someone else exploring the sewers!  In fact, looking closer, it seemed there was actually another person even further ahead. The first one she'd seen called out, and she recognised the voice as being very familiar. Alisa...? Blinking, Chidori picked up her pace to try and catch up.

Unfortunately, she couldn't just call out either, so the mute did the next best thing she could for attracting attention - she clapped firmly, twice, and then waved to the familiar looking explorers up ahead.

[Za Bossu!]

A loud growl could be heard in the distance. It was just barely audible. And again, it was heard coming from the other direction. Something could be heard coming from one of the nearby pipes in the sewer. It sounded like normal feet, but it was fast. Where was it coming from though?

A loud bang could be heard from a nearby grate. It was dented slightly now. And then another, denting it further. And then finally, the grate flung open with tremendous force, revealing a large reptilian shadow. Your first time wasn't with an alligator. . . It was with me! Crocodile!

An evil laughter came from the crocodile as it taunted the humans that had decided to come and fight.

Shadow Crocodile 

• Razor Bite
• Rakunda
• Mazinga
• Sewer Special

Absorb: ?  Repel: ?  Null: ?  Rs: ?  Wk: ?

[Rakunda]

Immediately, the shadow decided to lower the defense of the enemies. He would taunt them, lower their guard, and kill them all at once!

[Vice Ysal]

Vice had been moving on alone, making sure to be careful of where his next foot was going to land mostly because that step may be the difference between him getting squished by some debris caused by the lurking shadows. He was about go forward again when a familiar voice rang through the sewers insides. It almost made his skin crawl with how creepy the echo sounded like but that was probably just the bundle of nerves and tension he had in his shoulders right now. The red eyed youth turned around quickly, body readied to snap at the incoming potential enemy when his eyes registered who had called out to him.

"Alisa?"

He called out, slightly unsure due to the darkness that permeated the place. He was also hoping that the darkness would've hidden him already half way ready when it came to shooting down the pseudo detective. Then the sound of clapping suddenly echoed out and that totally got his attention next. When the figure had finally managed to arrive in a distance that could allow Vice to make out just who she was, no words left his mouth and the surprise he felt was simply expressed through a raised eyebrow. He wasn't even gonna ask what they were doing here anymore. Really, what other reason was there for people to be here.

"It's Vice."

The young man called out loud enough to make sure both the girls would be able to hear him. Not long after that however came the impending sounds of a battle. Yes, he was probably being paranoid about it, but the moment the crashing sound echoed out twice and the much more ominous crash that followed after it had more or less confirmed his suspicions. The reptilian like voice, assuming that's how all sewer crocodiles sounded like, taunted them.

Seriously though. Crocodile, Alligator, does it really matter?

"Son of a…"

Vice's swore was torn as he swished around towards the dimly lit sewers which then allowed him to get a better view of the monster's profile. The off sensation that went down his spine was reminiscent of the battle back in the cemetery but…somewhat in reverse?

"The thing just casted something at us! You guys have any idea on how to deal with this thing?!"

The young man shouted through the sound of his new firearm shooting lead at the figure of the opponent.

[Ayakura Alisa]

I continued on my way, coughing slightly and wondering how I had managed to get into a state where I could actually get up around and move. Anyway, I was confident about being able to chase up to the figure who went ahead. Soon, the figure stopped, probably in response to my voice, which echoed and reverberated throughout the sewers. Soon, it turned and I could easily see who it was. Not to mention the person also knew my name. So, it was Vice, and my suspicions were confirmed when he said it was, in fact, him. He didn't look very enthused to see me here. Of course, I needed to collect dirt on the shadows and collect information. Why would I not be here? At the same time, I heard someone clap their hands. I turned around and saw someone waving. There could only be one other person down here who needed to clap to get one's attention instead of just calling out. It had to be Chidori. I'm glad she was here. She's done a lot for everyone and if something dangerous occurred, it would be good to have someone specialized in supportive abilities behind us. Especially considering between Vice and myself, we only had mundane weaponry to work with.

Speaking of danger, there was a rattling from a nearby grate. The grate dented and got smashed up by something. I held onto my knife tightly and cautiously, soon we could see a large reptilian shadow ooze and materialize from the grate. It laughed evilly, taunting us - Your first time wasn't with an alligator... It was with me! Crocodile! - Well, whatever the hell that meant, we needed to handle it with caution.　Alligator... crocodile... Same thing to me! Dangerous reptiles that needed detoothing! As it taunted at us, I could feel my body burning up with a compulsion to fight harder, loosening my body and relaxing it... No, this is wrong... This is a hex designed to lower down our guards! This must be the hex the tall woman from the fight at the graveyard cast at that big shadow! ...Minus the taunting, of course.

"Vice, watch out! It's making us lower our defenses. Cover me with fire! I'll distract it!" Not really thinking this through, I grabbed my knife and blitzed towards the croc, blade pointing forward, as I attempted to strike it down. "I can handle a beating or two, so just keep me covered!"

[Chidori Tsukino]

Like a set of dominoes they all stopped in a line, hearing each other approaching and calling out. Her first instinct had been right - Alisa was ahead of her, and apparently, further on ahead was Vice. Well well, she'd run into two civilians whilst exploring. As long as they didn't get too foolhardy down here, perhaps it would be okay, though the ominous presence in the air perturbed her greatly.

Sadly, that sense of unease only strengthened when the mysterious noises of a grate bending and then being smashed open altogether reached her ears. Rushing forward to catch up with the other two, the mute didn't hesitate to summon her persona; she very much doubted it would be anything other than a Shadow causing the disturbance. Unfortunately, she was right, and it was a big one at that, taunting them as it bared its teeth. Strangely, despite her battle-induced calm, her body began to weaken, feeling looser and less in control than before. That's when she realised it was the same kind of debuffing spell that one of the others had used during the fight at the graveyard - that was not a good sign at all.

Given that both her companions could only use mundane weapons, Chidori now had a hard job before her; she had to both heal and strike with magic alternatively, picking the right moments for each and hoping that her magical attacks would be effective. The memory of the Reaper-thing absorbing Vice's bullets was still fresh in her mind - what if this one could absorb, repel or even just flat-out nullify their attacks? Only way to find out was to try.

Encapsulated by the protective bubble at Lucia's hem, she sent out a single command, to which the princess persona unleashed a burst of light upon the creature; the star-shaped hairpin she'd picked up at the graveyard seemed to glint and then glow with the attack, brightening the flash.

Action: Hama with 25% boost~

[Za Bossu!]

The shadow sized up the individuals attacking him. Of course, the first thing he felt were the pounding of bullets against him. They didn't pass through his body, but a few ended up getting lodged into him. The knife that the girl happened to be stabbing him with did just that though, managing to break past its "skin." They hurt all the same. The light attack that the other girl seemed to use was quite annoying though. She wasn't really within range yet though. She would focus on the girl close by for now.

[Razor Bite]

The shadow lunged at Alisa, slashing her side for moderate slash damage.

Then the gator turned to the girl in the back of the fight. You're next, girlie!

[Vice Ysal]

"Alisa! Move!"

Vice shouted as he began reload his magnum for the next volley. With the attention drawn off of him, placing the lead bullets back into the chamber wasn't an issue. It was pretty much done in no time. The first salvo, however, was not enough to hinder the thing's movements despite how many of the bullets struck him. He was damn providing cover fire for Alisa who had charged head first but even then that wasn't enough to get the aggro on him. He refused to shout at when the monster had sent a rather nasty attack towards Alisa and instead took note of the words that hissed/came out of its mouth.

!

"Chidori, move back!"

Vice ordered, his voice tight and his eyes never leaving the moving profile of the sewer crocodile who had just announced his plans for what it was gonna do next. Whether it was some kind of subterfuge, or if he was telling the truth, the team couldn't allow their only User to fall. If that were to happen, then they might as well sign a death warrant. And so, with the pathway more or less linear, Vice tried to block the Crocodile by moving to the path it'd probably take to get to Chidori while peppering the goddamn shadow with another salvo from his revolver. He'd most likely draw aggro, which was the point, and he'd probably get a few new nasty scars but that'd be better than dying altogether.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Snap, snap! The damn thing tried to bite me after I struck it with my knife. Trying to fall back and evade the attack, I ended up letting my leg get caught in between its gnashing teeth; it was an odd sensation indeed, but that didn't stop the damn thing from hurting like crazy! The teeth were probably razor sharp as I ended up stumbling back and kneeling to quickly tend to my wound... Wait, I have nothing to treat this thing. Groaning, I bring myself up to my feet again and charge forward back again, realizing that his next target was Chidori once he taunted us yet again. "Guh... No, can't let that happen!" Not only was Chidori our only Persona-user, but for some reason, I couldn't let her fall into any sort of imminent danger. I charged forward again with my knife in hand to strike the croc, though I was already injured, I didn't really care at that point.

Chidori could be in danger and I don't think Vice and I were going to take our chances. I knew just as much as he did that we needed her to stick around. And... Well, I... I guess I had a deep compulsion inside to keep her safe... Something about the energy and desire to want to protect someone; is that what those two boys felt towards Little Miss Princess? ...I don't know. But what I do know is that I can't allow any risk of Chidori being injured to go unchecked. I will let myself get battered if I have to! Brandishing my knife once more I leaped in for another strike at the crocodile. Chidori's light spell had been dealing significant damage, more than what Vice and I were doing with our weapons, though it seemed that our attacks weren't absorbed. That was a relief at least.

[Chidori Tsukino]

Chidori could only watch as Alisa's leg got caught in the crocodile's mouth, where she knew some very sharp teeth lay waiting to sink into flesh. However, as their only Persona-user, she couldn't comply with the urge that welled up to instantly heal Alisa - her spell affected all of them after all, and it would be a waste to use, only for one of them to get hurt next round. And it meant giving up the chance to pelt the shadow with magic, too.

Gritting her teeth as she made the decision, the taunt coming her way did little to frighten her, though she much appreciated the efforts of her two companions to keep her safe. Keeping herself light on her feet, the mute raised her hand again, commanding Lucia with a silent thought as she decided to test the only other element she could utilise presently - Darkness. It wafted out of the air around the large Shadow, enveloping it in a veil of suffocating nothingness; perhaps Lady Luck would look kindly upon them today.

Of course, how often did that ever really happen to her?

Action: Mudo

[Za Bossu!]

More bullets were fired at the shadow's tough skin. And again, he was being stabbed by that rather annoying knife. And then there was that girl in the back firing off spells. They were doing the most harm to him, so it was probably a good idea to take care of her. And yet, he couldn't seem to shake these guys off yet. It was time for a back up plan before running over at the girl over there.

[Mazinga]

MAZINGA! The boss yelled a rather odd word, sending moderate electric damage on all enemy characters. Well, doesn't that just suck?

[Vice Ysal]

The thing didn't exactly follow up on it's taunt the moment it had been delivered. It, however, at least gave Vice a reason to further help though. Still, the gunner had been expecting the thing to lunge again but this time aimed towards the only user they had on the group. When it just stood there instead, the young man was about to aim again and unleash another salvo of lead bullets when out of no where, lightning struck him.

That odd word was probably some kind of incantation, for an electric attack that hit all of them suddenly. Whatever those words exactly mean, along with the minute details of the available language of the shadows, would have to wait however as Vice felt the electricity course in his veins. The strike hurt, much more than the battle in the cemetery. It was enough to send him kneeling to the floor as he felt his entire body emit smoke from the sudden onslaught of pain.

Stars were appearing in his vision but the young man simply grit his teeth and pushed on forward. That wouldn't be enough to incapacitate him, much less actually put him down for the count. Raising the revolver once more, standing tall again, Vice took aim and fired off another volley towards the crocodile's face. Maybe that could deal more damage rather than blindly firing at the thing's torso.

[Ayakura Alisa]

The skin of the beast was way too tough for my dinky weapons to properly handle. To complicate matters, Vice's bullets seemed not to have a great effect on it. I suppose, the only logical conclusion to come to is that this crocodile thing had a resistance to physical attacks thanks to its composition. Not that I could be surprised by it, after all, it was a rather large croc. Anyway, I had to limp back a bit after my attack, as Chidori let out yet another powerful blast of... some kind of dark magic, which dealt some moderate damage. Soon, the croc yelled out something unintelligible and afterwards, great bolts of lightning fell on us.

Vice and I, being non-Persona users, probably felt significantly more damage than what Chidori felt, though naturally, it still hurt like an utter bitch. The lightning strike singed me and sent me rolling back a bit, I ended up stopping by Chidori's feet. I shook and kneeled down, wincing and feeling smoke erupt from my body, as I groaned and picked up my bow to shoot arrows at the crocodile, wondering if some would stick to its back. That would be funny to watch.

[Chidori Tsukino]

Damnit! It looked like Dark attacks weren't overly effective either, which meant she was better off using her enhanced Hama to blast this thing away. Or she would have, anyway, until the Croc-Shadow attacked all of them. The word it shouted was mostly unintelligible, though it sounded vaguely familiar to something else she'd heard. Nevertheless, when her chocolate brown eyes spotted the crackling sparks being generated above them, she knew what was coming - her mind flashed back to the cemetery, where a bolt of veritable lightning had struck her.

Even that didn't give her enough time to react however, and the full force of the attack hit her. Not quite as badly as her two non-Persona user companions, but still pretty hard. Gritting her teeth to bare with the pain, Chidori knew she couldn't put off healing any longer - not when they had all been struck like that. Hopefully her healing would be enough to cope for now, whilst the other two kept attacking.

As she gave the silent mental command, warmth spread throughout her body, as it would through both Vice and Alisa. Compassion flooded her expression briefly as she watched the two of them struggle to recover from the attack - especially Alisa, whom she'd formed somewhat of a bond with. Still...they needed some luck here, or else this fight would drag downhill slowly but surely.

Action: Media