010 | my reflection wraps and pulls me under

[mortal_son]

(( OOC: Please read the warning post for this plot before tagging.

This one is especially heavy on the suicidal ideation, the negative self-talk, and themes of abandonment. ))


[ ACTION ]
[ Catch-all for the TV World ]

(( OOC: Please note for the dungeons I DO NOT expect these to be threaded out blow-by-blow. Tags can be about the aftermath of the dungeons, or reactions going in, if you want to use those prompts at all. Handwaving is encouraged. ))



[ OUTSIDE THE ARCHWAY ]

There are probably a Guardian and some deputies here. They might have some issues with people gathering here, or trying to get in.



[ INSIDE THE ARCHWAY - CROSSROADS ]

In the fog, there's a crossroads with four paths branching off.

The widest path leads to a building, which kind of looks like the apartment Shinjiro and Akihiko share right now in Genessia. That door is locked with three keys.

The path to the left leads to a building Akihiko would find familiar. It's an orphanage.

The path to the right leads to a structure which seems to be a mashup between the highschool in Iwatodai and the dorms that SEES lived in.

The narrowest path leads right past the building. It appears to go into a warren of alleyways.



[ INSIDE THE ORPHANAGE ]

Right when you get in, you hear a woman's voice saying, "You're just too much trouble." It's not a voice Akihiko would recognize.

The first floor is filled with whispering adult voices, harsh and judgmental. They're not clear enough to be heard right away. When you find the stairs, they've resolved themselves at last. "Undesirable." "Troublemaker." "Thief." "Bully." "Too aggressive." "Looks suspicious." "Not that one."

The second floor is distinctly hotter than the first. The rooms begin to fill with smoke. There's crying of children in the corridors, and by the final room - which has the first key - the whole dungeon is on fire.

In that last room, when the chest is opened, they can hear Shinjiro's very young voice. "I didn't really want this to happen. I didn't. It wasn't my fault!"

This dungeon drops a lot of Goho-M and Revival Beads.



[ INSIDE THE SCHOOL + DORM ]

When you open the door, you hear the principal say, "Delinquent."

The first floor appears to be just the school. But the corridors are tight, growing tighter, and the ceilings seem to get lower and lower. A shadow eventually can easily block the entire hallway. All around are whispers and snickering, and disapproving coughing. This building doesn't appear to have any distinct voices, one way or another.

By the time you get to the stairs, you almost need to crouch.

The second floor is the dorm. These appear to be spaced just like the actual dorm hallways, and the ceilings are the right height, too. But there are shadows everywhere.

Eventually, one will knock you into a wall. The wall completely collapses, and the sound it makes is a mix of Mrs. Amada and Ken Amada's screams.

After the first wall, the corridors seem to narrow exponentially. Knocking down more walls causes repeats of those screams, but. At least it's easier to move around over rubble?

The final room has the voice of Shadow!Shinji call out - "No, no it's not possible - no -"

This dungeon drops a lot of Goho-M and Revival Beads. It also drops an axe. (Not funny, TV World.)



[ INSIDE THE ALLEYWAYS ]

This is a straight-up labyrinth, single floor.

It's freezing in the alleys. Shadows seem to come out of nowhere and ambush the party easily. There aren't distinct voices here - just shouts, and laughter, and indistinct pleading.

As they go through the alleys, it gets colder and colder. It also grows darker. It gets even harder to see the shadows, and eventually, you'll need to find the light of your cell phone to get by.

This dungeon drops a lot of Goho-M and Revival Beads. The shadows also seem unusually fond of casting Marin Karin on the party.



[ INSIDE THE SAFEHOUSE ]

This is Shinjiro and Akihiko's apartment, all right. Except the floor is littered with empty prescription pill bottles, hundreds of them. It's hard not to step on them. The door to Akihiko's room is locked. The bathroom is trashed, the mirror smashed.

Shinjiro's room is where you find them both, Shadow and Persona-user. This room is also pretty wrecked. Here the empty prescription bottle count is highest.

Shinjiro is tied up, back against the wall, sitting on his bed. The Shadow is pacing the room, kicking about empty bottles as he goes. His eyes are red, like he'd been crying, but he looks furious. He's holding an axe, and gesturing with it at Shinjiro.

"I'm not going to let you! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not!" the Shadow shouts, sounding a mix between anguished and furious.

As a counterpoint, Shinjiro almost looks bored, slumped in his bindings against the wall. He doesn't look at the Shadow. "Can you just get it over with?"

But then he notices you all there, in the doorway, and his eyes go wide. "Shit."

The Shadow turns, looks at you, and almost looks ... hopeful?

Or maybe he just hopes to use his axe. He runs a thumb over it, thoughtfully.

(( OOC: The boss fight will be "unlocked" in this thread after a) a character calls out what Shinjiro is denying about himself, and b) Shinjiro denies it. Actual fight can be handwaved. ))



[ AFTER THE BOSS FIGHT ]

(( OOC: Descriptive text will be unlocked in a post below after the boss fight. ))

Comments

[southpaw_senpai]

[As soon as Kay moved into the way, Akihiko leaned forward, breaking into a full sprint, fists tucked in close to his chest.]

I don't have time for this...

[As he got close to Kay, he sprung into the air, much higher than would be expected of someone of his size. One foot made contact with the droid's shoulder with the intent of launching him further into the air.]

[k2so]

[Why can't anybody in this weird city hold a proper conversation? Kay is reminded of his first meeting with Jyn as he watches Akihiko move.

His processor analyzes the curve of the jump in milliseconds, appreciates the kid's brute force...and his hand flies up to wrap strong metal fingers around Akihiko's angle to stop him.]

[southpaw_senpai]

[As Akihiko's momentum comes to an abrupt halt, his hand swiftly pulls the silver handgun holstered at his side before hitting the ground.]

I didn't want to have to do this, but... [He puts the barrel of the gun to his forehead and pulls the trigger as a blast of blue energy erupts out of the back of his head.]

Caesar! Zio! [On command, a 10-foot tall ivory roman appears out of nowhere, raising the globe it held in one hand into the air before lightning shoots down at Kay's shoulder, hoping to at least slow the droid down.]

[k2so]

Don't...! [Kay optics shifts, startled not because of the gun but because the kid is aiming it at his own head. It pulls the trigger before Kay can reach out for his hand but instead of blood and grey matter everywhere, there's...something. A creature like nothing he's seen before.

The droid doesn't get a lot of time to wonder what the hell is that and where it came from before it zaps his shoulder. Kay's vocoder lets out a mangled sound, like static, and he takes a step back. Annoyed, he decides to fix both problems in one single movement and sends Akihiko flying towards Caesar.]

[southpaw_senpai]

[Once in the air, Ceasar floats forward, using the flat of the gladius to catch Akihiko. However, in doing so, he turns toward the gate and flings Akihiko toward it before fading into nothingness as Akihiko hits the ground running once more.]

[shelteringwings]

[Sorry, Akihiko, but Kay wasn't the only obstacle you have here. There's a little bat Pokemon flapping its wings into a gust attack, aiming to do two things- to slow Akihiko down and for Mobius to use that momentum to speed up and get into the other man's path. He skids to a stop and, despite his personal annoyance, has a bit of a cocky tone to his voice.]

Sorry there buddy, but I'm gonna have to see if your name's on the reservations list. We got a very exclusive place here and we've got two names unaccounted for.

[All Mobius asks is that you make this easy for him. He may even let the whole "electrocuting a deputy" thing slide if you do!]

[southpaw_senpai]

[Thankfully for Akihiko - less so for Mobius - he still had his Evoker out. One more blast to the head and Caesar materializes again. This time, however he's behind Mobius and the Noibat. The ivory Roman brings the gladius down hard to the ground just behind the Noibat, intentionally missing. It was a move to startle the Pokemon rather than harm it. As for Mobius, he's getting a fist aimed straight for his jaw.]

You can check the list later, I don't have time for this!

[shelteringwings]

[Spooking Noibat was easy, causing it to let out a startled squeak and quickly moving to get out of the way. Staying to battle Pokemon was one thing, but being attacked by something like Caesar? Not so much.

Mobius, however, was quick on his feet, thanks to both the agility of his race and his specialized training. Not that his training covered "attacks from angry hobos" but genocidal androids were arguably more dangerous. He skipped backwards, trying to keep himself ahead of Akihiko while blue lightning briefly arced around his hands.]

Yeah, and I can't let people go running into this damn place to get themselves killed! We've got a damn detailed report warning about this place for a reason!

[And then a chirpy female metallic voice chimes in, much to Mobius' immediate frustration.]

Allow me- What he means to ask is if your name is by any chance Blaze or Akihiko. These are two names on file as being permitted.

[southpaw_senpai]

[Caesar raised the globe again, this time the lightning struck Akihiko. However, instead of damaging him, it seemed to charge him with a blue glow, an occasional arc of electricity jumping between the studs on the knuckles of his gloves.]

Akihiko Sanada. Now get out of my way!

[shelteringwings]

[Welp, if that display told him anything, it's that his own lightning magic clearly wouldn't do shit to this guy. He grit his teeth, but when he actually heard Akihiko say his name he didn't need Stardust to confirm it. He knows what's on that list.

This time Mobius actually listens to Akihiko's demand and leaps to the side out of the way. Only now he's running alongside Akihiko.]

This would've gone a lot smoother if you'd said that in the first place. [There's an annoyed edge to his tone but he's at least far more willing to cooperate.] If you've got friends coming you better tell me now, so we don't have to do this song and dance again with them.

[southpaw_senpai]

Would've gone a lot smoother if you people had stayed out of my way. And yes, I do. None of us have time for this BS so just stay out of their way.

[He glares a bit, the static dispersing around him as Caesar fades and he dashes into the gate.]

[shelteringwings]

It's almost like we have a job to do, asshole.

[He gets that snide remark out before stopping in front of the gate, glaring at Akihiko with a snarl as he watches him go into it.]

Tough shit. You didn't give us names, so they're getting the same treatment.

[He'll just storm away to get back in his position. Lovely, he gets to do this bullshit over again.]

[door_kun]

Minato's just barely managed to catch up with Akihiko's mad dash for the archway gate. Seeing that he only caught the tail-end of the battle between his friend and the droid, he advances towards Kay. First, he calls out, as loudly as his register allows.

"Sanada-senpai, you don't want to go in there alone, do you? As mad as you are about it...you can't do this alone."

And this time, Kay doesn't get a fight, he actually gets a conversation. He turns to the robotic guardian and slips a hand to his pockets, though with one of them hovering a little over the holster on his hip. Another one of those silver gun-like objects.

"Akihiko's with me, but like hell if he listens. Our friend's trapped in there and something's wrong. To be honest, we're probably the best suited to fight whatever's got hold of him. And for him, it's personal..."

While he's talking, he's quietly eyeing up the best way to get in, in case something goes wrong. He isn't quite an athletic powerhouse like Akihiko is, but he's probably athletic enough to rush the gate, himself. "...I'm guessing Kirijo-senpai's on the way, too." Sooner or later, Mitsuru's probably going to have to deal with the red tape. But Minato? He's always been best in the thick of things.

"There's a lot of lives on the line, but I don't want either of them to die, y'know."

[southpaw_senpai]

Akihiko doesn't slow down but does call over his shoulder, acknowledging Minato's presence at the least.

"That's why I'm holding back. Nobody is dying today, no matter how hard they try."

[door_kun]

"That's why I'm going with you. We're sticking together."

Minato lets out a tired little sigh. He starts stepping closer to the archway at a leisurely pace. As if none of this mess is going on around him. And he's intending to walk right past the droid and any other pursuers to Akihiko, his hand still gripped on his Evoker. He sure is brazen, that Arisato boy.

He keeps speaking as he keeps up his all-too-calm pace towards his goal.

"...Seriously, I don't want to fight you guys if I don't have to. I'd rather not be a criminal after so long of good behaviour. And if I can't catch up to him, nobody will."

[shelteringwings]

After dealing with Akihiko and his personal lack of sleep, Mobius is pretty well pissed. He only briefly caught what Akihiko said to the kid who happens to be sauntering back, so he's going straight over to Minato.

"If you're one of that guy's friends, then I want names of who's going in. He may not have the decency to make the Guardians' lives easier, but I'll at least try to make it easy for you and your ragtag team to get in without issue."

If he doesn't start getting names, then there may be some lightning flying, and that will do nobody good.

"We can deal with the legality after that idiot is pulled from that place."

[door_kun]

By the time Mobius catches up with him, he finally decides to stop. A lot of this person's comments really made Minato feel more than a little annoyed, as well. But really, this isn't the time to shout at what's basically a cop.

He points to himself, then looks away, counting up.

"Minato Arisato. Junpei Iori. And we're waiting on someone else: Mitsuru Kirijo. Knowing her, she's probably trying to see if she can get the two of us out of any bigger mess."

Minato just chuckles a bit, taking his hands out of his pockets and extending them, showing he's not really in the mood for fighting. Not with these guys, anyway.

"Just so you know, we're not in this to bother you guys. We can fight Shadows a lot easier than you guys can, that's all. Smoothing out legal problems isn't really what I'm good at. But you're right: worry later."

And he takes another step forward, his body language suggesting it's more than a bit defiant. But at the same time, he's fairly harmless, at first glance.

"Is that all? I'm getting a bit tired of this."

[shelteringwings]

Not yelling at him was probably a good idea, because Mobius was very much not in the mood to deal with any further headaches, especially ones that could incite violence out of him. If nothing else, he was thankful that this kid was at least willing to cooperate, unlike Captain Shirtless back there. He knew his AI companion had already recorded the names of those involved, so he wouldn't bother acknowledging that.

"And you wouldn't be bothering us if that guy-" He jabbed his thumb in the direction Akihiko went, "-had actually told us what you just did instead of assaulting two deputies."

If he were in a better mood, he wouldn't have been putting any emphasis on the "assault" thing, but right now he has no intention of letting that slide. With that last comment from Minato, Mobius gives him a sharp glare.

"You're tired of this? Oh, I'm so sorry that doing our jobs to keep the squads of network idiots from running head first into danger is such an inconvenience to you."

He spat, turning his heel and starting to walk away.

"Move it. Try not to die in there. I need to make sure your friend didn't critically damage a deputy."