Bring Down The Sky [Mod]

[Seiji Dalton]

A strange sound whistled past Seiji's ears, like the howling of the wind. Despite it being nighttime, he still wore his school uniform, whether out of lazyness or habit. Blankly, he gazed at the landscape around him. When he had first arrived in Mosaic City, he had passed through this part of the city. It had been beautiful then, the building a few blocks away looming like a sentinel, a symbol for the whole city to admire. To the innocent mass still sleeping soundly at night, it remained that symbol. A few knew the truth of what lay beyond the blockade. One of those few (unfortunately) was Seiji. Checking his watch, he saw that the hour was 9 P.M. He had about two hours to explore before he turned back for home. He liked to shower and get into bed before 1 A.M. if at all possible. Chewing on the side of his cheeks, he breathed heavily as he approached the building proper. The executive building pierced the sky, looming like a dark tower overhead in its downtrodden form. Perhaps some clue as to what was going on waited for him in the building above. Tensing his hands, he began searching for a way into the building.

The front entrance was locked. Whatever kind of being had morphed this place, it certainly had a sense of humor. It was quite...game-like how the obvious way inside was blocked off. Circling the building while constantly on the lookout for shadows, he noticed that there was nothing past any of the windows except darkness. They weren't the way inside but he still checked to see if they were locked all the same. It wasn't long before he found a window that was already open. Several, actually. The windows were slightly elevated, meaning Seiji had to pull himself up. Crawling inside, he took a bottle of water from his backpack and had a nice, deep drink. There was no use in exploring this place while being dehydrated. He had no idea what the building had been used for before the blockade, but the ground floor seemed pretty standard for a skyscraper. The room he was in resembled some sort of manager's office with an important looking desk and chair. Turning back, he gave one last look up at the ominous purple sky before stepping outside, finding himself in a side hall by the lobby.

Seiji wasn't nervous, per se, but he didn't like the idea of being ambushed by shadows when he didn't even have a weapon. He had to trust in his Persona. As if on cue, a card appeared out of the air, hovering above his hand as it had done on the first night he awakened to his power. On one side was a mask, half black, half white, and on the other was a picture of Sir Gareth. To this day, he didn't know how he knew the name. The knowledge was just...there. Each footstep echoed through the hall. As he moved, the card constantly stayed above his hand, ready to be summoned at a moment's notice. His instincts told him that summoning the Persona would probably arouse the attention of the shadows. Perhaps they were already there, watching. Waiting for him to let his guard down. It wasn't long before he'd found his way to the lobby, setting his sights on a set of stairs leading to the second floor, he set off immediately. It was only then that he felt the presence of something drawing closer...

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

A pack of Shadows appeared!

Haughty Maya

• Cleave
• Dia

Rs: Strike, Slash Wk: Pierce
Positive Maya

• Bufu

Rs: Ice Wk: Fire

[Seiji Dalton]

A pair of shadows appeared, draining down into two muddy black puddles before him. From their shallow depths emerged a pair of masks, forming on a head and gazing at Seiji with blank expressions. Both of the creatures started crawling towards him. The card above Seiji's hand fell and shattered, a sound not dissimilar to a wine glass breaking ringing through the area. A quick flash of blue light appeared. From the midst of the light emerged Sir Gareth. Slashing his sword threateningly, the shadows backed off momentarily, whether out of instinct or intelligent fear. Holding out his hand right hand and watching Gareth do the same, the floating great knight launching off a barrage of light that lit the area up. It hit one of the shadow creatures, causing it to fall and make a groaning noise. A flash of green light ran through its shadowy form not a moment after his Hama hit. Any damage the attack had done disappeared almost instantly. Gritting his teeth but staying calm, Seiji watched as the shadows moved to Gareth and him. Ice shards shot from the creature's grasp, heading right for him. Two things happened in roughly the same time. Seiji dashed for the lobby's welcome desk, jumping up and crashing down the other side. Gareth moved to block the ice attack, taking the full brunt of the attack. From within his cover, Seiji winced and clenched his chest.

Looking up, he saw an ice shard sticking through Gareth's armor. The Persona stood stoic despite that, diving at the Shadow with healing capabilities valiantly, pushing it back with his sword. Despite lacking a wound, his chest throbbed from the pain of the attack. Again acting on instinct, he focused on his Persona and concentrated intensely. A moment later, the shadows were gone. Seiji was all alone with the shadows again. The creatures initially appeared confused, obviously scanning the area for signs of the human in their territory. Looking behind the destroyed desk for anything he could throw, he found a nameplate sitting on the desk. Grabbing it down, he saw the name 'Jonas Sawyer' engraved on the front. Saying a silent 'thank you' for the receptionist whose nameplate was being sacrificed, he chucked it down a far hall. The shadows screeched and bolted for the source of the sound. Breaking cover, Seiji made a run for the stairs. The idea forming in his head was just the right mixture of crafty and stupid to work. The stairs led to a second floor overview of the reception area. Down the hall, he saw a sign indicating there might be a flight of stairs that went farther up the building proper.

For now, his focus was on the shadows that were returning to their original positions near the stairs. Cupping two fingers within his mouth, the fool closed his eyes and whistled. The piercing, high-pitched sound echoed and soon reached the ears(?) of the shadows. The creatures broke into what was approaching a sprint for black puddles with arms. They were soon in place for Seiji's idea. Straightening himself, he took a deep breath and said a word that erupted from within his soul with confidence. "Persona!" Another card shattered and Sir Gareth once again emerged from the sea of his soul. Standing his feet on the railing, the Persona quickly observed the two shadows down below and jumped, raising his sword high. The blade broke through the shadow's form, slashing deeply into its skin. If it hadn't been for factors Seiji had no possible way of knowing, his plan might have worked. A deep, haughty laugh came from the creature's mask as the shadowy substance on its body slowly began to cover the knight. The other shadow was barraging his Persona with ice in its preoccupied state, causing wave after wave of pain within Seiji. Slumping, he breathed heavily. It seemed as if his power would not save him. Trying not to give up hope in the face of defeat was a difficult thing. Looking over the railings, he saw Gareth wince in pain. His inner self was breaking under the assault of the two shadows. If these two minions were defeating him so easily, what would happen as he climbed higher up the tower.

Upon reflection after the fact, Seiji would be unable to think of what sparked him to think of what he did next. Closing his eyes, he thought of one of the few people who had been a constant in his life for the years that he had been in Okinawa, his father. He thought back to his childhood, the good times. There was no better way to spend your last few moments, was there? A memory emerged, a memory of him lying in bed with his father reading a very important book, the bible. "And behold, a light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness could not overcome it." A light shining in the darkness. Seiji still had another card left to play. Looking down at Gareth, the Persona looked back as it was nearly consumed by the shadow. From within the shadow, a heavy light emerged. It was a slow thing at first, but burst through the creature, light streaming through the whole room. The other shadow recoiled from the light. Seiji could only assume the defeat of the first shadow was due to the slight damage done by Sir Gareth's sword and how the attack came from within. His Persona looked remarkably clean as it stood up. Just as Seiji had given himself a second wind with his memory, so too did his inner self seem temporarily reinvigorated. It flew towards the other shadow, slashing wildly at the creature and pushing it back. Further and further it went, the ice attacks it launched off being deflected by his sword.

The shadow was soon up against a wall, a high scream replacing its deep baritone from earlier. Gareth stood on solid ground for a moment, grabbing the creature up, observing how grained it looked before cutting off its mask, tossing the rest of the thing aside and cutting its body apart before launching another barrage of light to seal the deal. The battle was over, but Seiji had to know that his search would prove fruitless. Mustering his endurance, he walked down the hall and turned the corner. Despite the sudden exhaustion he felt, a slight smile found itself perched into his face. An open doorway revealed stairs, the kind often seen in high buildings that went far up. Takeda would be pleased to hear about that. Turning towards Sir Gareth, he saw that the Persona had floated up to the second floor, standing vigil in case there were more shadows. Something about his inner self being a true knight made Seiji happy. Perhaps he could stand true and find some answers about the strange occurrences later, but for now...he needed to rest, and berate himself for getting so worked up over two shadows later...

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

Success!

You defeated the enemy!

[Seiji Dalton]

Clenching his side, Seiji heaved a sigh of relief. The stairs had been found and he felt like he'd grown just a little from that battle. Despite how the battle hadn't gone exactly in his favor, he couldn't help but consider the turn of events a success. His body ached from where the ice attacks had hit Gareth. Taking out his water bottle, he drank deeply and drained it down. The water helped, if only a little. Feeling refreshed, the fool set off down the stairs. Finding his way back to the entry point was easy now, and he jumped out the window and found himself in the streets. The fall, slight as it was, still caused Seiji's exhausted form to fall to its knees. He needed Takeda to come with him on these explorations. Two people would be able to make more process than just one. Getting in and out of the area via the sewers proved easy, and then he was back in the 'safe' part of the city.

From there, it was a simple matter of making his way home and having a good home cooked meal slice of leftover pizza. Now, he just hoped no one would notice how exhausted he was at school the next day.