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

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Guarding the archway, first trying to figure out what do, and then once the team is inside the long wait being unable to do anything. Except for his short Moonbucks run, which is of course exactly when all the action happens.

Caution: Care and feeding of your Guardian is harder while he's grumpy. ]

[leekspins]

[After speaking with Scott, Orihime is far less tense and anxious about the whole situation than before. She's also got a coat. She picks her way through the area, nodding her thanks to the policemen that have instructions to let her pass, so she can find Cassian.]

[When she spots him, she can see the same rigidity in his form that she carried. Maybe he should talk to Scott and score a free jacket too.]

Andor-san?

[She's tipped slightly to one side, as if she wants to be clear she's addressing the right person first. Once it's confirmed, she smiles and straightens.]

I just wanted to let you know I was here in case you needed my help. Reporting for duty!

[No one looks hurt so far, but there are probably other tasks she can assist with. And who knows, someone might be nursing a broken nose or something where she can't see.]

[captain_by_the_book]

You're here. Good.

[ He doesn't exactly give her a smile, but a look that is a lot friendlier than what anyone else here has been getting, especially after that incident with the fight earlier. ]

We might have use of you yet, there are people who are very forceful about demanding passage.

[ He'll probably have her check on Mobius, once he feels comfortable letting her use her magic on a deputy. ]

[leekspins]

It's understandable.

[She looks toward the gate with a worried wrinkle of her brow.]

Shinjiro-san was gruff, but he was nice to people. He's going to have a lot of friends that are desperate to help him, and prove he's not alone.

[That's what she intended to do, and would have done, if Cassian hadn't posted his notice while she was en route.]

I'll try to talk to them so they understand why it's important to wait out here. Thank you for telling me, too. I would have charged in recklessly if you hadn't.

[captain_by_the_book]

Well, you've been reasonable about it, and I appreciate it. If we are attacked we will fight back, and I'd rather we avoid battles. But I'm also not telling my people that they shouldn't defend themselves with the best of their skill.

[ Cassian gives the subarchway a disgruntled look, he huffs in annoyance. ]

I understand preferring to work outside the proper structures, I've been there myself, but I'm on the other side now, and I'll enforce the law. That's my duty now.

[ Weird, weird duty still, having spent all his life rebelling against the authorities. ]

[leekspins]

[Orihime nods once, understanding. It's tough, because both sides have a good point, but that just makes reconciling them a lot more difficult.]

Later...if people who are trained in accessing this archway are agreeable to it...maybe they could offer some guided training?

[It depends on whether or not they'd be up for that, but Cassian is the guardian, so it would ultimately be his call if that would be allowed.]

I don't know how often this kind of thing happens, so maybe it isn't really an urgent need.

[She rubs the back of her neck for a moment before glancing at him somewhat curiously.]

Were you a vigilante?

[captain_by_the_book]

It's something to consider, though I would rather find more effective ways to prevent breaches at all. And if there is training, it would be for law enforcement only. Nobody else has a good reason to go in there. If there was a way to permanently close this subarchway, we would take it.

[ Sorry, Orihime, this is not the best day to approach him about getting permission for more people to enter.

He gives the troublesome subarchway another dark look, if only they could close it for good... ]

And I wasn't quite a vigilante, I was... [ His lips quirk bitterly. ] I suppose you missed Emperor Palpatine's speech decrying me as a terrorist trying to bring down civilised society.

[leekspins]

[Orihime falls silent. His words sting. There's no way he could know why, but getting forced out of a fight, denying her the chance to protect what she cares about, has happened before. And just like before, she doesn't argue, or protest. It just hurts.]

Ah...no...I wasn't here for any of that.

[The speech doesn't seem to have affected much. Palpatine isn't here as far as she knows, and Cassian is the guardian of this section of the world. She hugs her arms and looks at him to see if there's more he wants to expand on since she's feeling somewhat wounded.]

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Cassian meanwhile doesn't even consider that his words may come across as harsh, too caught up in the tasks, the mission, in seeing people as harmful or helpful, but not particularly as people right now. Mission mindset isn't very kind on his environment, or even on himself. ]

You didn't miss much, just his lies and propaganda. We were lucky that he didn't manage to turn public opinion, though I'm sure there are some who have been wary of us ever since. I'm military. Rebel Alliance.

[leekspins]

[It sounds like she missed out on a LOT! But she knows better than to call that kind of thing exciting when his reputation was at stake.]

Your people wanted to overthrow the monarchy, then?

[Because military and emperor kind of make it sound like there was a great war over hotly disputed territory. She's not thinking SPACE WARS just yet.]

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Yeah, good choice, he wouldn't be all too enthused about having it called exciting. More like nerve-wrecking and horrifying. ]

A tyranny, actually. The Empire is a ruthless dictatorship oppressing the better part of the known galaxy. My group, the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance for short, tries to overthrow them. K-2SO and I serve in the rebel forces.

[ Sorry, Orihime, it is SPACE WARS. ]

[leekspins]

The galaxy?!

[Orihime gapes at him. Wow, so cool...!]

Anou, I don't think I've met Katy Esso before.

[But if he's implying that the two of them work together as a dynamic duo, she can only guess that they're space-dating.]

Do you have laser battles, and starship fights?

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Very accurate guess, Orihime, though they hadn't been at the time of these laser battles happening. ]

We call them blasters, actually. [ He pulls out his weapon and shows it to her, though he pointedly doesn't offer to let her hold it. That's a little bit too much excitement for that. ] And yes, starship fights. We have a lot of these, though more with one or two man fighters than with capital ships. And before you get too excited, I can fly, but I'm not a fighter pilot.

[leekspins]

[Orihime blinks, and gives herself a small shake, because why yes she IS getting too excited. Seems wrong, considering that her friend is in trouble. She glances at the gate, rubbing the side of her neck for a moment, to bring herself back to the moment.]

Well, still...it's pretty amazing. I've never flown a spaceship before. We're not really developed enough to have gone further than our moon.

[Heaven and Limbo don't really count, since that's more of a supernatural thing than a technological thing.]

[captain_by_the_book]

[ He gives an awkward little shrug. ]

It's just space? It's not a big deal. Flying a spaceship isn't that hard once you have figured out the basics. My partner is the better pilot between us but I could teach you, if we had ships here.

[ Now if she talked about Heaven and Limbo, that would wow him. ]

[leekspins]

Not a big deal?! No, it's a huge deal! I've always wanted to go to outer space, I'm working really hard to get good grades so I can go to the right college that might someday train me to be an astronaut! Ahhhhh, I'm so envious!

[At least the talk about space seems to have shaken off her feelings of helplessness and worry, albeit temporarily.]

I wish I could open a gateway for you, I would love to experience something like that!

[spacepeterpan]

[Don't worry, you won't get bored, because this guy's come to investigate. Of course, he's not one to pick a fight to get by. Why pick a fight, when you can just walk right up to the front door (metaphorically speaking) and talk your way through nine times in ten?]

Oh, hello, Captain Andor, wasn't it? So it said on your announcement, anyway, we spoke briefly, pleased to meet you properly, though, I'm sure, Captain-

[He casually whisks something from his jacket pocket that almost looks like a slightly midgety lightsaber, but it just makes a chirping sound and lights up the tip when he points it at the arch apparently harmlessly--maybe some sort of scanning device?--then chirps it at Cassian indicatively.]

-sorry, what sort of Captain was it, again? Guessing not a pirate.

[The question's deliberately just a bit personal and prying yet offhanded to buy a couple of seconds as he waves his device back at the archway, pointing in an arc from one side of the base, upward, and down to the base of the other leg, then peers at the side of his widget.]

OMG I'm sorry this got lost in my inbox!

[captain_by_the_book]

Well, you got here fast.

[ An expert of the weird being drawn to yet one more source of the weird in the towns isn't to be unexpected, but Cassian does give the beeping device a slightly suspicious look before he shakes his head, addressing the question. ]

No, not pirate. Certainly not. Military, actually, but I'm here in my function as Guardian, so you're welcome to think of me just as such.

[ There's a hint of steel to his voice at that. Not a good day for chitchat, or anyone else trying to tamper with the subarchway at that. ]

You're welcome to scan or inspect it, but no trespassing.

No worries, I'm still digging my way down/up through mine!

[spacepeterpan]

...ah. Milit'ry.

[He tosses a sort of enigmatic smile at Cassian as though he might have preferred a pirate, although at a glance the only sort of trouble he looks like he'd get into with the law is flipping off the fashion police.]

No, trespassing, 'course not, wouldn't dream of it, what's this, then, some sort of spacey-wacey gateway, it looks like, I gather you lot already know what's on the other side, yeah? Two-way, I presume, always hard to be sure from a glance, what've you got in mind, exactly, no one goes inside, got that part, but that's not exactly a plan, by itself, is it. Let's see, portals to other worlds, or more likely facsimiles thereof, so you, what, round up anyone else from a similar world and toss them in as tour guides?

[captain_by_the_book]

[ He does take note of the smile, but chooses not to comment on it, though his own professional politeness becomes a touch more so. ]

A little bit of all of that. Best as we understand the subarchways they are a kind of pocket dimension, or a faithful simulation anyway. This one's dangerous since the world beyond is, so we're only letting people with prior experience in this specific world pass. They'll be able to deal with the situation.

[ And if not, well, he would rather not think of that. ]

But you're welcome to study it, or speak to them later.

[spacepeterpan]

Ooh, dangerous, well, ev'ry rose has its thorns, eh?

[He gives his sonic a flick, extending it and peering at the side with a sort of wry smile. He does peek over at Cassian regularly--either keeping an eye on him out of wariness or politeness, or in case he leaves an opening to slip past him and get at the archway.]

The int'resting ones, at any rate, you mind if I ask what makes it so dangerous, then? Guessing it's something special about the environment, you don't keep everyone out just because a world's got tigers, I'd hope, Rome's on a world with tigers, and it's brilliant to visit.

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Oh yes, and he doesn't like these little looks very much, so he keeps himself firmly planted. ]

But this is a world where letting anyone go inside will just feed them to the... tigers. Everybody who goes inside brings their own fears and this place thrives on fears. Thus, only those from that world who have been trained in the use of this portal are permitted passage. It would be lethal for near anyone else.

You see, it's not that I don't believe in letting people make their own bad decisions, but law enforcement is expected to save people from themselves if need be. So that's what I will do.

[spacepeterpan]

...thrives on fears, really, like psychic pollen, I s'pose, not so bad if you know you're getting into it, just when it surprises you it's a problem, have you considered putting a sign up?

[He pauses a tick, considering that, and glancing off to the side.]

Not just "warning, fears inside," that wouldn't make sense to anyone, and it's not very compelling, needs something snappier, what about "Abandon all Nope, Ye who Enter Here"?

[He holds up his hands and spreads them apart as though envisioning a sign hung from the top of the archway, brightening a little, obviously a bit pleased with himself.]

[captain_by_the_book]

[ Cassian tries very hard to keep up the scowl, but... Yeah, there is a twitch of his lips, and the tiniest snort. ]

I'm going to bring it up with the mayor. It would be something different, for sure.

If we do go for such a sign I'll come to you for advice on the proper snappy wording.

[spacepeterpan]

Oh, brilliant, well, yes, please do, I'm here to help.