Mystic Haze Stalking (Pyxis)

[Pyxis]

Pyxis turned her sensors up to their maximum sensitivity again, just in case. They had been turned down while she talked, almost as though they had done it on their own. Was this what humans called an involuntary action? If she had left them all the way up the constant input would have distracted her but instead, because they hadn't been, they didn't. Curious. Now, however, they were necessary again, both as a routine check for shadow activity in the immediate area and to ensure nobody was listening in. Satisfied that they were the only two present and that any shadows were once again at the very edge of her sensor range, she turned them down again and stood up. "Very well, then. I will accept that," she said. Still serious. "First, the 'impossible' answer I first gave you for what I was?" She tucked her shoulder in as far as her joints would allow, then undid the top of her maid uniform and pulled the neck down just enough to expose the mechanical joint there. Robot maid. "Every word of it was true." She concentrated for a second, then summoned her Persona. As Pandora appeared, she held her hands up and slid back the covers over her weapon ports. Finger guns and a magic box. "I am what is called an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon: a machine built for the purpose of combating shadows."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I looked a little incredulously at the person in front of me as she seemed to take my word for it. She then explained to me that she literally was a robotic maid. She even showed me proof, by exposing (rather peculiarly I might admit. Definitely not lewd at all. Nope) a mechanical joint right around her neck area, around that region. Furthermore, she summoned her Persona, which exposed the girl's weaponry... ports, it seemed. As she said, finger guns, and I guess the Persona also handled the magic box. Judging by the appearance of the Persona and the presence of a magic box, one well-versed in mythology might wager it had something to do with Pandora's box, but I would be high to presume that was true.

Then again, a robot maid was bloody serious in telling me that she was, in fact, basically a robot maid with a magic box. And finger guns. Can't forget those. Finally, she explained what exactly she was - an "Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon." So, a machine built for the express purpose of defeating these monstrosities. I definitely couldn't let anybody know about this. I solemnly nodded. "I... I see," I was a little incredulous, still. I can't really believe what I just saw. "...Then, you must have been sent by your organization to combat the Shadow threat here. I guess you aren't alone either, but that's not my place nor my business to ask anymore. I've already made a grave commitment to making the vow of secrecy," I crossed my arms.

"Meanwhile, if you have any questions about the local situation here, I should be able to answer a good deal of them."

[Pyxis]

Pyxis covered herself back up and dismissed her Persona, then sat back down again. "Correct. I'm not alone, but I'm not at liberty to say any more about them," she answered. "Not that I was supposed to say anything about my true nature, either, but that at least was my own secret as much as theirs." That explanation would have to do. She was still going against orders by saying anything but so long as she wasn't dragging anyone else in it would be fine, right? She did have the list of names stored in memory, but so long as this woman didn't ask specifically about any of them, it had no reason to be brought up.

Then, the woman offered to ask any questions Pyxis had. That was...oddly easy, but fair. Would it be one for one, then? Or had she dropped a large enough metaphorical bomb (was that the right expression?) that she could ask anything now? "Let's start with the cemetery, then," Pyxis said. "I've heard reports that a large hole appeared their overnight, leading into a series of catacombs, but nobody can say when or how it happened that night. It sounds like you know more, though."

[Ayakura Alisa]

The robot maid exclaimed, and rightfully so, that she wasn't particularly in any position herself to divulge information on the folks she was deployed with. Of course, that she even decided to tell me her true nature to begin with was a big leap of faith in my ability to keep my damn mouth shut, but for my own safety, and the safety of others, I'd need to keep this to myself. She decided to take my bait on the cemetery. Good, because I was there when it happened. She told me that she had received reports about a large hole that appeared there overnight, leading into a series of catacombs. I recall the girl, Ran, wanting to explore that place, and the fact I saw her to conduct business means she probably survived that ordeal. I could answer with confidence this question, being as I had the vivacity from my mind to back it up.

"That night, there was a strange phenomenon that occurred. I couldn't place any scientific logic or basis on it, I'm not exactly a forensic scientist, after all, but regular citizens who had no interactions out here in the outer circle were completely frozen during the hour. Meanwhile, a giant Shadow, reminiscent of the grim reaper in some way, had risen from the mausoleum at the cemetary and attempted to terrorize the area, drawing in other Persona users who had attempted to combat the threat. The mere fact I was present, without any ability myself, proves that it seems that only those who had tangled with Shadows by being out here were the only ones capable of operating. There were at least ten of us there that night, doing battle with the Shadow. After a long time, we were able to defeat the threat and put it to rest. That's what left the giant hole leading to the catacombs," I coughed.

"I wonder if the Shadows want to create some kind of hegemony sometimes, because why would they keep regular citizens suspended in time...?"

[Pyxis]

Pyxis listened to the woman's explanation, committing every detail of it that sounded important to memory. Regular citizens were 'frozen'. A giant shadow that invoked the image of a 'grim reaper'. Persona users were 'drawn in'. Only those with contact with shadows were not 'frozen'. And, slightly less important, but still useful for her current knowledge of the situation, there had been at least ten of them. Everything she said was consistent with what knowledge of shadows Pyxis had been able to acquire before deploying. There had been some capable of creating spatial and temporal anomalies, or at least creating the illusion of such. The current state of 'Heaven's Gate' was proof enough of that. Shadows took on appearances drawn from people's thoughts. Anything from simple toys to an exact visual copy of a person encountering them. A pop cultural icon like the grim reaper was not outside the realm of possibility. And some persona users, including her 'partners', reported being drawn to shadow activity in the past. But all of them occurring together...this would be something she needed to either experience herself or find a way to obtain more information on. And with communications still cut off, the latter was unlikely at the moment.

As for the former...well, it stood to reason that it wouldn't be a one-time event. Otherwise, 'Heaven's Gate' would have disappeared with this reaper shadow's defeat. "I can't answer that yet," Pyxis finally said once the woman finished. "I don't know enough yet about the current situation or about shadow activity in the past. This is...actually my first mission." For now, though, that was a satisfactory answer. If she wanted anything else...well, she would probably have to give something else of her own first. "All I can say for certain is that this city was most likely specifically targeted. As far as I was informed, this is the only current case of shadow activity on such a scale. Now then, I believe it's my turn. There is a way in and out of the affected area. We entered through an abandoned tunnel. It's caved in not too far inside the barrier, but otherwise it is accessible from both inside and outside. Or...it was. While we entered through it, I attempted to search for it recently and couldn't find it anymore."

[Ayakura Alisa]

The robot maid seemed to take my information well enough, didn't seem to question its validity, which only made me think that she probably had some prior knowledge about Shadows before her deployment which allowed her to swallow the information a little more easily than I had anticipated, and my doubts were kind of cleared once she mentioned that this was actually her very first mission. I see, so she was created with the express purpose of eliminating shadows, yet this was her first deployment. Furthermore, she said that this city was most likely a specific target. But as for why, she didn't seem to have an answer. Which makes logical sense; I had experienced these attacks firsthand and I didn't have the slightest clue as to why this city would be targeted.

However, what she said next alarmed me - there WAS a way in and out of the affected area. My parents might not be dead after all. However, my hopes were dashed when she also added that it WAS there, but she could no longer find it after retracing her steps. That was a bummer. "Well, doesn't that just beat all..." I sighed, looking back up to the sky. "I see. ...Thank you for the information you have provided. Surely, there will be ways to get to the bottom of this. By the way, you'll definitely know if a situation like what went down in the cemetery happened again. And I'm sure what happened there, though it was a first for me, won't certainly be the last I personally experienced."

[Pyxis]

"No doubt," Pyxis answered. Knowing when it happened would be easy. If even an ordinary human (one who had contact with shadows, but ordinary nonetheless) would know it, then it would be something her sensors would pick up on immediately. And, of course, the woman seemed to have drawn a similar conclusion to what she had just drawn. "In a situation like this, there's no way something of that scale would be a one-time occurrence. Not unless it was the final boss, so to speak, in which case everything would already be over. Although, since there's only been one such incident according to you, there's not much to go on to find a pattern. Unless...was there anything significant about that night?" If there was some other event that could be tied to the appearance of such a shadow, then predicting the next would be much easier. Otherwise, there wasn't much left to do but always be prepared and hope that everyone else was as well.

Rallying other Persona users within the city wasn't a bad idea, now that she thought about it. But doing so without compromising her orders any more than she already had would be difficult, to say the least. "And while I'm thinking about it," she added, "How many Persona-users would you estimate are in the city? Excluding those of my organization, of course." Hopefully, the woman would be able to answer that much. Pyxis wasn't expecting names, of course, but a general number would be very useful when planning for the future.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Come to think of it, was there something significant about that night? Now that I think about it, the moon was unusually full during that time. I was about to answer her with what I had known back then, until she also asked me to give me an estimate of how many Persona-users I would estimate are in the city. Alright, let me think. There was Chidori, the tall woman, Ran, Luka, weird princess girl, Seiji, Takeda... Uh, the Chinese kid who was with the princess girl, the Indian girl... Er, hmm, was I missing anyone? That counts to... 9, but if I remember correctly, there may be other Persona users as well who I didn't know. Oh, and I almost forgot Jonathon. That makes 10. I guess Vice recently obtained the power, that would be 11... Yeah, I think 15 is a good estimate.

"Well, I'll answer your second question first, since that's easier. I'd estimate there are around fifteen users currently in the city. Of those fifteen, I know eleven of them. Some in passing, some are friends, and, well, yeah," I coughed. "Now, on to the matter of the night... Well, I do recall that night at the cemetery it was a full moon. I hadn't recalled if it was really coincidental with the date of an actual full moon, but the moon was shining brightly that night and I wouldn't be surprised if that had something to do with it."

[Pyxis]

Eleven known, fifteen estimated. More possible. Pyxis committed that answer to memory as well. More than she had expected, although perhaps this incident having more obvious effects than usual and a (comparatively) easy area and means of access than what she usually read in reports had something to do with it. Still, that fact was worth mentioning. "Fifteen...that's more than I've read about happening at once," she said. "I don't have access to everything, but what I have read only ever reported groups of less than ten."

Then, the woman answered her other question. The full moon...that one hadn't come up before. At least, not in anything except the potentially crazy ramblings of some human who believed that criminal activity was controlled by the phases of the moon. Probably crazy, at least. Oh, and there was the one demon-fighting game with the moon phases where all the demons acted even stranger during the full moon. "That's...a possibility, at least. But I don't have anything to back it up except crack theories and video game logic at the moment. And that's about as reliable as...well, make up your own simile. They're not my strong point. Still, it's something to pay attention to, next time it happens."

[Ayakura Alisa]

At this rate, given the situation the area was in, I wouldn't put past crack theories and video game logic to be able to explain what was going on. "I don't know, miss. Something tells me that video game logic may just be outlandish enough to explain the outrageousness of the situation. Think of it that way. There's no real logical explanation as to why psychic manifestations would materialize, encapsulate an entire city into a fake illusory boundary, and then proceed to lurk and guard their newfound treasure doggedly. It just happened," I shrugged, spouting what seemed like nonsense to any sane human being. "By the way, I almost forgot, but since we had a deal, it would be incredibly rude of me to let you go without a name. Alisa Ayakura, sole owner of the Ayakura Information Network. Well, now I was the sole owner." I shrugged.

[Pyxis]

"I guess I'm in the right place then," Pyxis said. A place where video game logic actually made sense...well, game logic was a product of the human mind and so too, in a roundabout way, were shadows. It was entirely possible that there was some crossover there. As for the nature of the incident...well, there was one possibility at least. Something that had occurred to her from the moment she reached the safe zone and saw just how many survivors were still inside.

"Maybe they're laying siege to it," she said. "Block off the city, cut it off from the outside world, and people with the potential will eventually wander into the outer circle, encounter shadows, and possibly awaken. Then the incident draws enough attention from the outside for one or more alliances of existing Persona-users to investigate, as we have. Now that there's a large number of Persona-users in one place, powerful shadows start to appear to eliminate them. Then, once enough of them are gone, they overrun the city to eliminate the rest." The particulars of it, she had come up with on the spot given the information the woman had given her. But it was still, at best, a guess. Taking a deep breath, or at least miming one, Pyxis continued. "It is merely a theory derived from currently acquired data. However, it cannot be ruled out."

Crap, she'd done it again. Returning to her normal, lighthearted tone, she said "Sorry, I slipped into robospeak for a moment there. Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Alisa. I am called Pyxis."

[Ayakura Alisa]

The robot seemed to agree with my initial assessment that perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance that crazy, nonsense logic might prevail in such a situation. Then, she came up with her own theory on the matter, mentioning that the relative peace inside the city was an elaborate ruse meant to draw out threats to the Shadows, in other words, us, and then attempt to eliminate the threat, in other words, try to kill us. Once we were dead, then they could theoretically go on their rampage and take over the city to use for their own purposes, whatever they may be. Did they even have such a reason to come ou and do such things? Was wanton killing a part of the agenda? That was a part of the mystery I needed to solve. My parents, dead or alive, were testament to the fact they wanted to find out what really happened.

"It makes sense, I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss your theory anyway." I nodded in agreement. She also seemed to speak a bit like the robot she actually was - a lapse in judgment? Perhaps it was involuntary, it didn't matter to me much now that I knew her true nature. On top of that, she called it 'robospeak.' Following that, she introduced herself as Pyxis. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, Pyxis. I hope we can cooperate to get to the bottom of this," I followed. "...By the way, you mentioned 'robospeak.' I think I met a kid around your imminent age who talked a lot using this 'robospeak.' Maybe he's one of you, too, but I can't be so sure. He asked me what I knew about Shadows. Anyway, we should still be vigilant as always."

[Pyxis]

Pyxis nodded. Whatever Alisa thought of her theory, she was willing to give it weight. It left several things out: why this city, for instance. The only thing Pyxis could think of was the abnormally high number of Persona-users. If something about this city, perhaps the mixing of cultural backgrounds for instance, was responsible that, then that would be a possible explanation. In addition, there was the fact that the theory that shadows recognized Persona-users as their natural enemy on more than just an instinctual level. Which, too, was possible, but beyond Pyxis's knowledge. But was that all? There had to be more to it.

Likewise," she responded when Alisa mentioned cooperating. "It sounds like your Information Network could be a very valuable resource." She didn't go into details, and wouldn't unless asked, but she already had a few ideas for how such a thing could be used. Gathering information, of course, was one of them, but also spreading it. But she wasn't going that far just yet. Then she mentioned a kid who also used the same technical, detached language she had come to call 'robospeak'. "It's possible. I'm certainly not the only one, although I didn't know they made any of us with male designs. Maybe he's a later model. Did he mention his name? And...wait, did he just straight-up ask you about shadows?!" What in the world? If Alisa hadn't confronted her in the shadow-infested zone and mentioned Personas, she would never have let the subject come up at all. Why was another Anti-Shadow Weapon speaking about it so freely?

[Ayakura Alisa]

I shrugged, as he didn't seem to be in liberty to have given his name to me at all. I recall he literally just walked up to me and inquired me about Shadows. "Yes, to my knowledge, he literally made eye-contact with me, waltzed up to me, and asked me about Shadows. Of course, no normal person who hadn't already come out here and survived an encounter with a Shadow would know, so I simply indulged the kid. ...Then he told me it was his mission or something to eliminate them. Which I would suppose makes him one of you, come to think of it. He seemed to be gathering preliminary information? I am sure if I had told him I knew nothing about Shadows, he would have ignored me and continued on his way."

Yes, that seemed like the most plausible explanation to provide Pyxis. At least, Pyxis had a better head drilled to her shoulders than the other kid I saw who seemed very detached and... well, with a little screws loose, to play with the potential of the pun here. "Anyway, it strikes me as a bit odd how open he was with the topic and how secretive you were with the topic, which leads me to believe that you seemed to be more adaptable to the environment of human beings than he was." I shrugged.

[Pyxis]

Subtlety? None. Discretion? Also none. The description Alisa gave certainly sounded like an Anti-Shadow Weapon, but...it sounded more like one of her sisters in the early stages of their development rather than anyone who would be deployed for a mission like this. "Well...I am told I am a rare case," Pyxis said, continuing on that line of thought. "My personality is more...human-like than that of my sisters. Or...brothers too now, I guess. But all of us have a developed sense of 'self' of some sort, otherwise we wouldn't be able to summon a Persona. I would have thought that basic common sense would come with that, but...evidently not." She sighed, turning away for a moment to look in the direction of the safe zone. So there was one of her siblings somewhere in there, who thought nothing of just walking straight up to people and asking about shadows. That...was trouble. Familiar, but still trouble. "I have, in the past, asked why we don't just make the existence of shadows public. But my handlers and partners both said it was a bad idea. They seem to have their reasons, even if I'm not sure of them."

She turned back to Alisa. "If you happen to meet him again, send him in my direction."