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.
Pyxis breathed another sigh of relief as the round ended in her victory. Her combo with Ticket to the Netherworld had turned the fight irreversibly in her favor, and no amount of guarding from her opponent was going to prevent the inevitable. Still, the circumstances of that combo may well have been too perfect even for her to repeat. On the same computer, absolutely. But over a network, even a local network, it was probably a one-time deal. In fact, she was just as likely to have screwed up the timing, only for the slight amount of lag to correct it for her.
Would she have to correct for it in the next match? Or was she already unconsciously accounting for it in the first place? "Crap, now I'm overthinking this and am just going to screw it up," she said. This was why she preferred to keep online play to RTSes like Starcraft. There, at least, overthinking things rarely interfered with the game.
Still, maybe this was good for her once in awhile. Practicing a style that used no wasted movements in a game didn't translate perfectly to the real world, but it at least kept her in that mindset.
As the next round started, Pyxis opened by dashing toward her opponent then switching into a basic melee attack, then proceeded to attempt to put on pressure to back her opponent into a corner. She could keep the pressure on for most opponents, but as the last couple rounds had shown her current opponent had some crafty ways to get out of bad situations. Even if they didn't always work.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 5:34:43 GMT -5
Sakuya sighed and flexed her fingers again. The next round was about to begin and she was starting to seriously wonder about the capabilities of her opponent. She was very good at this game. Now, Sakuya herself was not tournament-level, but she was no slouch herself and was able to keep top-tier players on their toes and occasionally get rounds off them even if she ended up losing usually. But something was definitely off about the opponent's play. Regardless, Sakuya brushed these thoughts off aside and went back to game-face. "Right, right, new slate. Let's try this again." Sakuya noticed that as the round started...
Immediately, the opponent opted to try and force Sakuya into a corner with mostly normals and probably sprinkling in projectiles as well. Sakuya knew that the character she was facing off against had some deadly corner setups, so it was of the utmost importance that she got out. As if reflexively, Sakuya had invoked Watch "Luna Dial" once she had been pushed a fair back distance into the corner; the ghost girl herself had poor grounded mobility so even if Sakuya would be pushed into the corner, Luna Dial would force the opponent either to guard to stop it and thus reduce their momentum slightly, or if they were shooting bullets at the same time they would eat the stopwatch.
Regardless of what the opponent did, guarding or not, Sakuya could jump over her opponent and attempt to zone them out by flinging knives into the upper corners while trying to mash normals of her own against the pink-haired girl.
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
"Oh for fuck-," Pyxis started, seeing a spellcard activation and a stopwatch fly at her character while she was in the middle of firing off several projectiles. She tried to cancel out of it with a high jump, but the ghost girl she controlled just plain wasn't fast enough to avoid it in time. As a result, she was momentarily frozen and ended up eating quite a bit of damage from her opponent's knives.
That action, it seemed, had already decided the match. Pyxis managed to regain momentum a few times, and ate away a lot of her opponent's health with counterattacks and an invocation of Ageless Dream, but the sheer amount of damage she took early on ended up being her downfall. She finally fell in what, if not for that, would have been an incredibly close match.
"Whew," Pyxis said as her opponent's character said some quip and the match ended. "I really did start overthinking things there." She was no tournament player herself, although her ability to react instantaneously and make such precise moves had been the envy of many she'd ended up matched against. She was a machine, but she was a machine designed to have a heart, not to be unstoppable at video games (and even if she had been, it wouldn't have been worth it to be unable to enjoy them the same way). She could make mistakes just like any human, and that was exactly what had happened.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 6:02:59 GMT -5
"Whew, somehow... That actually worked," Sakuya said. "They're really good. Whatever they are. I thought I was going to lose..." Sakuya watched as the match had ended; Sakuya was able to capitalize on the advantage gained from punishing her opponent's aggression with "Luna Dial". Even as she fought back with her poison attack "Ageless Dream" and her valiant attempts at regaining control of the driver's seat, Sakuya had was able to balance zoning with pressure so as she ate damage she was dealing more back. And so, Sakuya won the match.
At its conclusion, Sakuya had sent the other player a message.
BrideKnight: Hey, Machine. That was a really good match there. Your Yuyu is really something. You have very good mechanics... I honestly thought you really WERE a machine.
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
If Pyxis were human, she might have let out a very long breath as they were kicked back to the character select screen. Instead, she could only emulate the act, which...really didn't have the same charm. What now? Should she ask for a rematch? The first fight had served its purpose well, save for the fact that she didn't win it. And the focus she had that allowed her to take the second round of it in a near flawless victory just wasn't there anymore.
Before she could come to a conclusion, her opponent messaged her, congratulating her on the fight and making...well, the obvious comment. If they had been in a real fight, there would have been very little doubt. It was hard to claim to be human after showing off the finger guns, at least. But, the people who had and would show up while she was fighting shadows aside, she hoped that kind of thing would never happen.
Still, there was no harm in teasing this 'BrideKnight' a bit.
PhantasmMachine: Maybe I am. PhantasmMachine: You never know with the internet. Maybe I'm a robot created to be amazing at games. PhantasmMachine: But now that I've lost, I've failed my purpose and will now self-terminate. PhantasmMachine: Just kidding.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 6:22:53 GMT -5
BrideKnight: lol, that's cute BrideKnight: The "Internet" anyway, considering that I can only find people online who also live in the city... BrideKnight: The freaking thing outside cutting off communications with the rest of the world, didn't you notice?
Sakuya smiled at her opponent's response. That sounded like something a real person would actually say in response to her initial comment. But soon she remembered that the word 'Internet' was mentioned and... Well, communications for the most part was limited. Sakuya could literally only access networks available within the city. It looked like underwater cables weren't free from the barrier either. Sakuya was actually weirded out by this, and instead decided to see if she could talk to somebody about it. And this 'PhantasmMachine' person seemed smart enough.
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
BrideKnight was right, of course. The 'internet' as she knew it didn't exist within the anomaly. The barrier had completely cut off communication with the outside. Even wireless communication went dead after a short distance, as the teams who had gone in before her had demonstrated. But there had still been plenty of servers based within Mosaic City, and all of those were still active. The city still had its own 'internet', even if it was entirely local. Most people she'd talked to even still used the term. Although it seemed like this person didn't.
Now that she thought about it, maybe this would be a good chance for a bit more information gathering.
PhantasmMachine: I wonder if anyone outside knows what's going on here.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 7:00:11 GMT -5
"Okay, okay! So she's familiar with the situation..." Sakuya mused upon reading what user 'PhantasmMachine' had replied. It was brisk and to the point, but there was a lot of heavy implications to be made there. In fact, Sakuya did have a home outside, so she'd know it best, theoretically. However, she would be lying if she said she knew best because the barrier had been set up while she was inside. She only established the home a week since that time.
BrideKnight: You probably have some friends who know it... But I wouldn't count on many of them playing this game haha BrideKnight: Sorry, I've only moved in to the city a couple years ago, and the situation with the boundary only happened recently, right? BrideKnight: I'm kinda new here... But if you wanna know some stuff about it, I could probably try to help? I mean I've been out there...
That much was true, she was kind of new to the place, but she had gotten well used to it. She DID have experience outside as well, after all. Then again, if the user was asking about it, they had probably been outside too.
BrideKnight: But I'm not sure if I could tell you anything you didn't already know.
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
Something about the way BrideKnight had answered sounded a bit suspicious. She wasn't sure whether it was the vagueness, or the implication that Pyxis already knew more than she did (the probable truth of that aside), but something was off. Was this just the sign of a Persona user who wasn't good at keeping secrets? Or perhaps she'd accidentally run into one the members of the organization that had designed and employed her?
Or was she just reading too far into what was actually an innocent statement?
She needed more information. There were things that could be said to Persona users but not civilians, and things that could be said to members of the organization but not to Persona users who had awakened after the anomaly appeared. Before she could say much of anything at all, she needed to know what category this person fit into.
Fortunately, nobody else seemed to be online at the moment, so whatever she did say would end up being private. At least, until someone else signed on.
PhantasmMachine: What do you mean when you say 'out there'? PhantasmMachine: Outside the lockdown or outside the city?
Ahh, plausible ignorance. Communications being cut off aside, there was no reason for anyone who'd never even gotten past the lockdown to know that an impenetrable barrier kept anyone from getting past the outskirts of the city.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 7:26:24 GMT -5
"Okay, this conversation is getting awkward. Was it just the two of us on?" Sakuya scratched her head. Well it was rather late. So it made sense. She wondered what the other person was thinking, she wondered who the other person even was. But it would be rude to ask out of the blue. So, she proceeded with just indulging the other person with what she knew, maybe she could try to erase any hints of suspicion this PhantasmMachine may have had about Sakuya. Let's try it.
BrideKnight: I mean like, outside the lockdown? Is there even any way to get out of the city at this point? BrideKnight: Isn't there like some sorta thing keeping all of us trapped inside? BrideKnight: Or maybe I'm just high or something
Sakuya decided to play it like she didn't know what she was talking about. She didn't know who this person was and for Sakuya it was much easier to divulge important information like this in person than on the Internet, as it was very possible for things to get misconstrued or misinterpreted.
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
Bingo. If this BrideKnight wasn't a Persona user, she was at least someone who knew the truth about the lockdown. Nobody who hadn't been out there would actually know about the barrier at the edge of the anomaly. Most of them didn't actually realize that there was anything wrong. Sure, they would know sooner or later, once supplies started to become scarce. But for now, everyone Pyxis had asked who wasn't already proven to be a Persona user said all the same things.
The implication that something other than the lockdown itself was keeping everyone trapped inside was not one of them.
PhantasmMachine: I see. PhantasmMachine: So you've seen what it's like out there, then.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 5, 2014 7:44:32 GMT -5
Sakuya scratched her head. Okay, that actually worked.
BrideKnight: Well, yeah. I do know what it's like out there. Shady things lurking out there, you know? Honestly, I don't know why it came to that... Do you have an idea? BrideKnight: Sounds like being holed up in here would lead to bad things sooner or later.
Actually, Sakuya really didn't know the rationale behind the situation occurring in Mosaic City despite being a Shadow herself. She wasn't that interested in finding out more about it though, but at least she might as well take the opportunity to chat this person up. Interesting conversation was always a plus for Sakuya.
BrideKnight: Come to think of it, don't you think it's funny that we happen to be talking about this in the wee hours of the morning? Haha... I think it's quite interesting. I didn't expect to see someone else who knew about the situation, let alone have a tight match against them.
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
Chances of this person being a Persona-user were high. Of course, some humans were exposed to the outside and survived, but never manifested a Persona. Alisa had been one of those, although she too had awakened at some point between their first and second meeting. This person could be one too...although that was less likely. Alisa's estimates of around fifteen Persona-users in the city had also been disproved, since quite a few more had showed up at the school.
PhantasmMachine: So are you PhantasmMachine: .... PhantasmMachine: Actually, a public chatroom is probably not a good place for this.
Pyxis posted these messages in quick succession, then saw another, longer message from BrideKnight show up soon after. Pyxis had to read it over a couple times to figure out what she was trying to say. Her first thought was that she was trying to laugh off a coincidence, but on a second glance there seemed to be something more there. After thinking for a few seconds, Pyxis posted a short response.
PhantasmMachine: It's not that surprising. PhantasmMachine: This late at night is the only time I get to do this kind of thing lately.
Post by Sakuya Kyoudou on Mar 6, 2014 3:19:02 GMT -5
Sakuya cracked her knuckles and sent the fellow user a private chat message just in case anybody suddelny joined the lobby while they were chatting, but Sakuya doubted that someone would actually join. However, there was really no harm in trying to be careful. So she hit the button and sent her private message.
Qmsg BrideKnight: Yeah, I figured you would say that. Qmsg BrideKnight: Right, yeah, what you say does make sense. So I take it you see the things called Shadows. Well they're pretty dangerous things. Fortunately the majority of them seem to be more instinctual and less civilized, so they're easier to deal with
Sakuya had said something incredibly suspicious, but she did it deliberately. At the same time, being a civilized (for some definition of the word civilized) Shadow herself, Sakuya wasn't necessarily lying. It was true, because she did have to fight other Shadows who didn't like Sakuya's presence as she had a human form.
Qmsg BrideKnight: Sorry if I sound kinda weird or anything...
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
Much better. A private message with someone already demonstrated to know about the outer circle would not be a violation of her orders. Granted, Pyxis had forgotten that such a feature existed on this particular software. Chalk it up to being so busy. But, since BrideKnight clearly hadn't forgotten, it was of little concern.
Qmsg PhantasmMachine: Yes. I have encountered and fought shadows.
Was the simple answer she gave. The fact that fighting them was the reason she was created was, of course, not necessary for BrideKnight to know. Unless BrideKnight happened to meet Pyxis in a situation where her true nature became evident, there was no reason to say even that much. She could be just another Persona-user for now.
And speaking of which, now that they were in a private chat, she might as well ask the question she had been getting ready to ask before.
Qmsg PhantasmMachine: Are you a Persona-user, then?