All I Know Is That I Know Nothing [CJ/Gin] [Awakening]

[Phoebe Minola]

"T...Takemoto?!" Phoebe croaked.

It was the longest five seconds of Phoebe Minola's life. One moment, she's knocking back a huge tiger Shadow and swinging back her hammer for a second blow... and the next she's poised to crush the head of one of her students. The world may as well have stood still. She stood there, hammer raised to strike down, staring, trying to convince herself that this was all an awful dream. This could not be real. She did not just see a monstrous tiger Shadow suddenly shrink into the form of a young man. A student. Her student.

Finish him.

She tried to wake herself up, force herself out of this bad dream. This could not be happening. This couldn't be real. The implications were too much to take in. Shadows who could assume human forms and walk among regular humans with impunity, completely undetected by Users, free to do whatever they wanted, even attend school... the situation was just too much for her.

Finish him. Now.

She stared down stupidly as she realized who she was hearing. Antiope was poised beside her with her spear raised, as if she was frozen in the motion of delivering a coup de grace. Phoebe just stared down at the Shadow... at her student. Her arms, still holding her sledgehammer overhead, were shaking. Her mouth was hanging slack and her face was frozen in an expression of shock that was slowly darkening into a look of utter horror.

Finish him!

She looked at the Shadow-- no, she looked at Gin, and suddenly she saw... something else. Not a Shadow. Not something that just moments ago was trying to kill her. Not the source of pain. Not an enemy. Not even a threat. All she could see was Gin's face where shock, disbelief and fear were mixing together.

Finish him!! Now, while you can! Strike him down!

But he's...

Don't hold back! He's a Shadow! A SHADOW! Finish him!

He's just...

If you don't strike him down now he will just turn around and kill you! He's but a Shadow!

Antiope was roaring now. She stood over Gin menacingly, shivering as if straining against invisible binds, caught in Phoebe's conflict.

FINISH HIM OFF! HE'S THE ENEMY! YOU HAVE HIM!

NO!

Phoebe swung the hammer down and it hit the ground with a loud thunk just as she crashed to her knees and elbows. Antiope tensed, arching her spine backwards. A large crack breached her form, spewing light, and then she simply shattered just as Phoebe started screaming, face buried in her arms as she practically huddled on the ground and shook her head, whimpering.

No. No. No, this... this can't be. This is not how the world works. There's Shadows and there's people and there's Users. The line... the line doesn't blur... right? This isn't real. This isn't right.

She was lost, then. She was just gone from there. She'd run away screaming into her head, trying to run away from this unfathomable situation. To run away from having to accept a world that made no sense, that she simply couldn't believe was there, right in front of her, as plain as the midday sun. To avoid the thought that she'd almost done something she couldn't reconcile herself with.

Does not the world change, child?

That voice was different. In her mind alone, Phoebe looked up, shaking like a dog about to get beaten. The woman stood without touching the ground, in form and poise like Antiope, armed just like her, but her countenance and presence, even under the great helmet was different. It was gentler, wiser. Her white chiton contrasted sharply with her black thigh-high boots and the light blue peplos worn about her shoulders. The plume of her helmet was black, long and waved around like water, flaring proudly on her head. Her shield bore a stylized meander labyrinth. She glowed in a soothing soft light.

Phoebe stared mutely at her. She... felt she knew this figure, the way you known an old friend, but not how or why.

I can't... I can't do it. I can't kill him.

Then don't. The quality of mercy... is not strained.

She had a wonderful voice. Firm and clear like Antiope's but all together calmer and gentler. She spoke... well, like a teacher, not a warrior.

Who... who are you?

She Persona inclined her head. I stood for reason and knowledge in a world gripped by change and uncertainty. I sought answers to the questions of the world. I protected what needed saving. Now I will do it again. With you.

The Persona stooped gracefully, stretching out her hand to her.

I am thou. Thou art I. I am Hypatia of Alexandria. I'm with you. Let's go.

The moment of eternity was gone. Phoebe pulled herself off the ground, on her knees and suddenly grasped Gin by the shoulders.

"No. Nobody is dying today. Not while I have a pulse."

Hypatia stood over her, protective rather than menacing, and silent instead of baying for blood. Phoebe knew instinctively what this change meant. Antiope had been a brave warrior who stood for truth but she didn't actively seek it. Hypatia was a philosopher; truth and questioning everything was her way and now it had to be Phoebe's way. She had to doubt everything. Even herself.

"Takemoto Gin, this is really you, isn't it?"

[Gin Takemoto]

Gin watched on, dumbstruck. He had no idea what he was witnessing. One moment he's in the middle of battle, but the next he's hurting and in his human body. His teacher had just been standing over him, but she had cast her hammer down. What this caused amazed Gin, as he watched Phoebe's Persona... Shatter. There was no other word for it.

However, the Persona was replaced just as quickly as it had disappeared. The new creature stood and looked similar to the previous. It did, oddly enough, seem to carry itself differently. Gin was still trying to figure out what had happened when Phoebe addressed him.

"Yes, ma'am," he said while still inspecting the Persona. "I am. What... what just happened? What the hell happened to your Persona?"

[CJ Jackson (TechChris)]

CJ saw Phoebe scream, collapse, and curl into a ball. He saw her Persona shatter! He tried to rush over to her at the shuffling pace he could manage. His legs gave way, yet he still crawled towards her. He could only imagine what it was like, fighting a monster only to discover it bore an all-too-familiar face. At least with the whole business involving his own father, CJ's choice only affected himself. He couldn't blame her when she did not deliver the final blow.

He's a kid... Her student...

'He' is a Shadow. 'He' most likely replaced the original. 'He' cannot be trusted.

Shut up, you! he commanded his Persona.

CJ was glad that Uroboros spoke little. He felt they shared an understanding that transcended words. When it spoke, though, it chose to be the opposition. For every conflict in his mind, his Persona took the side that was most... Machiavellian. The tail-eating serpent's argument was always the most logical and least morally bound one. And yet the journalist knew it to be what he was thinking himself.

We don't know that. We don't know if that kid wasn't born a Shadow.

It is unlikely. Shadows are born from the wickedness of mankind, just as Personae are born from human inner strength. For a shadow to be this human, it must consume a human, or come from a human's very heart.

You don't know that. You're as clueless as I am. How can you be me otherwise?

The Persona spoke no more. CJ had assumed it was his thought towards it that silenced it. But then he looked at Phoebe, rejuvenated, standing--well, kneeling--strong, promising that no lives will be taken tonight as she put her hands on the Shadow-kid's shoulders. The fact that Phoebe's resolve returned did not surprise him. Phoebe always struck him as a strong, dependable lady, and her Persona was a testament to that. Speaking of which, it was her Persona that surprised him. It looked similar to the one she had before, but it had a different air about it, more like a reserved scholar than a bloodthirsty warrior.

"What... What just happened? Feebs... Your Persona..."

It seemed like the Shadow-kid--Gin, she called him--was just as clueless as he was.

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe breathed out and slumped on her knees, not letting go of Gin.

"So, you're a Shadow, for real," she said and stared at Gin sideways. "...This is definitely going to affect your grades, mister."

She brought her hand to her face. She had to compromise this, deal with the wild thoughts still racing through her head and what she was going to do now. Because now everything had changed.

"My Persona has changed," she said. "The old one shattered with my previous conceptions of the world and...a new one rose in it's place. I... I'm not sure why. It's probably because people change. We change. Things'll never be the same for me now, so my Persona... changed to reflect that, I think. But this is good. Change is good. Nothing happens without change. Without out the world grinds to a halt and everything becomes stale. And that's not how the world works."

She let go of Gin and slumped back, on her knees and arse and stared at nothing, lost in thought. Yes, this certainly changed a lot of things. In fact, it changed everything. How exactly, she wasn't sure yet because she still didn't have the entire picture. But she made an important decision.

"CJ, I'm sorry this turned out to be such a bungle," she said quietly. "But I need to ask you a favor. Keep this quiet, for the time being. Until I understand what this means. And Gin," she added, turning towards him.

She reached out and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, pulling him closer and staring him in the eye. "I hope you understand what this means. I know about you now. CJ does too. And I'm your teacher. That means you're my bitch now. I'm taking responsibility for your stripey ass. I'll be watching you. If you so much as hurt another person from now on, so help me God I'm going to hammer your head flat into the floor and then set it on fire. In exchange... I won't let anyone have a go at you. Are we clear?"

She stared right into his eyes with a steely, determined gaze. Hypatia stood with her and shared her gaze. They were dead serious.

[Gin Takemoto]

Gin looked at the teacher. She was giving him an option: He could live with her watch, or he could continue the fight. This would be a normal choice for him, but something told him to agree to her terms. After all, she had just spared his life. Well, she probably saw it as that.

He smiled, climbing to his feet. He nodded in agreement to Phoebe to show that he understood. He then changed back to his tiger form and left her with her choice. He felt she would rather have him leave then give her time to try to change her mind. He would be keeping an eye on her as well, watching to see how she grew with her new Persona.

After all, it was the least he could do.

[CJ Jackson (TechChris)]

"Alright, Feebs," CJ uttered, with a reassuring smile, "I can keep my lips sealed."

He was in full agreement with her choice. Any of the other Persona users wouldn't have thought twice before axing the Shadow-kid. Phoebe has become far wiser than that, and her new Persona certainly reflected that, as he would find out later.

It was the morally right choice, given that to execute the kid right there and then would have been barbaric and inhuman.

Compassion isn't a weakness.

It was the scientifically right choice, since neither of them had met another Shadow like this, and to destroy such a specimen before studying it would be a waste.

Shadows disguised as humans... Another mystery to explore, another piece of the puzzle...

It was the strategically right choice, given how little Gin's injuries showed once it returned to its Shadow form and left. There was a large possibility that Phoebe's hammer wouldn't have finished him off. He still had fight in him, and he would have finished both of them off.

Hope we see ya again, kid... As allies, though. I really don't wanna fight you again.

With considerable strain and effort, CJ forced himself back on his feet. He still felt terribly hurt, but he could walk again. It was nothing a good night's rest wouldn't fix.

"Nice going, Feebs," he said, smiling in his usual chipper manner, "What do we do now? Call it a night?"

[Phoebe Minola]

Phoebe slumped back on the ground when Gin nodded and then left. She... wasn't completely sure that he'd understood what she meant but she was too exhausted to follow him or make a big deal out of it. She felt drained. She propped her elbows on her knees and rested her forehead on them, breathing out deeply.

What's done, is done.

Hypatia bent down and touched her shoulder gently. Will you be well?

I...I think so. Thank you, Hypatia. Thank you for coming to me.

I have always been part of you.

She faded slowly, never taking her eyes of Phoebe, who then got up on her knee first and then picked up her hammer and used that to push herself up. She smiled tiredly at CJ. Bless his heart, he wasn't asking questions and he wasn't freaking out. Just plugged right on. She was glad he was there.

"Yeah. We're both shattered. I've got... thinking to do. And you look quite awful, are you okay? Nevermind, let's just get out of here. Come on, let me help you," she said and went over to him, passing his arm over her shoulders. "It's a good thing I've parked nearby. This is the second time we've done this kind of thing, heh."

[END THREAD]