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2026-10-14: Bridge of Separation

2026-10-16T20:43:54Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: Bridge of Separation''' *'''Cast:''' Yanagi Nagisa, Tsumugi Kujaku, Kanae Fuyuki, Roger, Kazusa Motojima, Coin, Pernelle, Yuuki Hoshizora, Yoko Hirano, Saika Kikuchi, Misato Fushihara, Kasumi Yoshizawa, Kikuno Kisaragi, Umie Akabane, Penguin Slasher, Shinichi Nagisa, Special Guest: Mifuyu Itami *'''Where:''' Shinichi Nagisa's Atelier *'''OOC Date:''' October 14, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' January 22, 2013..."

*'''Log: Bridge of Separation'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Yanagi Nagisa]], [[Tsumugi Kujaku]], [[Kanae Fuyuki]], [[Roger]], [[Kazusa Motojima]], [[Coin]], [[Pernelle]], [[Yuuki Hoshizora]], [[Yoko Hirano]], [[Saika Kikuchi]], [[Misato Fushihara]], [[Kasumi Yoshizawa]], [[Kikuno Kisaragi]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Penguin Slasher]], [[Shinichi Nagisa]], Special Guest: Mifuyu Itami
*'''Where:''' Shinichi Nagisa's Atelier
*'''OOC Date:''' October 14, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' January 22, 2013
*'''Summary''': ''With the Homunculus, Eshm the Wrath, defeated brother and sister reunite. But for how long? Can any familial bonds survive when one desires 'true freedom'? What will Shinichi do, when faced with the prospect of his sister leaving his life just as swiftly as she reentered it?''

----

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
There is a long, cold moment as Yanagi simply watches the Homunculus shudder, fall, and go still. Just as it is nothing, there is nothing on her face.

Until Pernelle tippy-tappies at her and asks if he sounded forlorn enough. Then she looks at him, a bright smile blossoming onto her face. "Yes! It was very convincing! I don't think it ever suspected." She reaches out to pat his head--but the double-bladed knife is still in her hand, dripping black ichor. She looks down at it. "Hm." Then she smiles again, this time ruefully, at Pernelle. "This would definitely give you a tummy-ache if you tried to eat it!"

She waves jauntily to Saika next, that wicked knife high over her head. Droplets of ichor splatter off it onto her resplendent hair. "Saikaaaa~ I got to claim it this time~~" she cheers. "It really was a different experience! I'm so glad I did it!"

As she lowers her arm, she turns then to the now-wild Tsumugi, her eyes turning tender, smile softening, at the person whose brutal murder she'd cheerfully requested scant moments ago. "Tsumugi..." Her lips move to continue to speak--

'O... Oneesan?'

'Oh, he's awake now.'

Yanagi looks over towards Shinichi as Kikuno limps over to him and the fallen Homunculus. Her eyes widen, and she breathes a soft little sigh that is nonetheless also accompanied by a smile.

"One moment," she tells Tsumugi, and then tup-tup-tups over to her younger brother, supported by both her cane and her reinforced boots.

Though there are several things around him of interest, such as the now-empty Cocoon ripe for harvesting, her peacock green eyes are fixed only on him. As she reaches him, still sprawled on the floor, she settles down onto her knees and sets the knife and her cane to one side with care.

Then she folds her hands on her lap and meets his eyes. "I'm here, Shinichi," she murmurs.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
'Oh, he's awake now. Hurry up, or you'll miss your dear sister a second time.'

If there were any incentive at all for Shinichi Nagisa to snap himself out of it, it's this. It's ''this''. He's conscious, and he tries to force himself to sit up, as Yanagi comes to sit before him on her knees.

He stares at her, perhaps in disbelief as she says the words 'I'm here, Shinichi,' "You really are- you... Neesan... I can't... how...? How could you still be...?"

Everyone has regrets. Moments they wish they could do differently, moments you could take back. But death is finality, the shear that cuts off the point where everyone's relationship with someone will be for the rest of their lives. You can't take it back. You can't apologize.

That would take a miracle.

And right now he's come face to face with the thing he's been wishing for years, picturing what he might say if the impossible should ever happen, or if they came face to face in some grim afterlife as grey shades.

That hardly makes it easier. "I'm sorry." It comes out as a whisper, at first, then louder, much louder as the words you practice but never think you'd get to say face to face spill out, his vision blurring with every passing moment, "I'm so sorry neesan. There's... no excuse for what I said to you. None that matters. It was horrible, telling you that I wished you would just die- I knew what you were going through and all I could think about was myself. I should have been there for you- and I wasn't... I guess you got stuck with just about the worst brother that exists."

He forces himself to take a breath, realizing he's crying- and deciding he doesn't care. "You don't have to forgive me. I won't ask you for that. Just- I'm glad you're okay... I'm glad you're okay! I just- Holy shit- I still don't know how this could be real!?" Even if she survived that day, her disease is a death sentence- it's been years. It doesn't make logical sense to him, but he's so willing to accept it right now. Anything illogical about it just doesn't matter in light of the evidence right before his eyes.

"I mean- better than okay, I saw you walking! You're still- haha- wow-!" He chuckles, even while he's crying, "That outfit looks great on you! You really changed your style up there and wow- look at you!"

It contrasts almost every memory he has of her, it's so much brighter in ways that Yanagi almost never was in the later years they knew each other.

And yet despite it all, despite how badly he wants to, he doesn't actually reach out to hug her- or touch her in any way, as if even right in front of him- he doesn't serve to be presumptuous, after what he did.

Can he really even call himself her little brother anymore?

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsumugi Kujaku has posed.
<poem>
In the exhaustive body of Tsumugi Kujaku's personal experience with the act, there are many reasons why a person may commit violence. Most of the forms they've encountered originate in purely petty reasons.

Money is a primary motivator, more often than not.

Ego, too.

There are some that simply enjoy the act of suffering and what it takes away from the person it inflicts upon them. Control, the most direct cage of choice.

Some people just do it out of boredom. It stopped surprising Tsumugi long ago, how many people will commit violence simply to because they have the opportunity to do so without repercussion, and there is nothing better to do.

But it's moments of violence like this that reminds them of a line they read in a Western science fiction novel one time, long ago:

'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent.'

Arms thrown wide, they accept it. Encourage it, with little regard for their personal safety. If violence is the only medium through which Wrath can communicate, so be it! Let it sing them an epic. Let it claw the truth of its freedom onto their very bones if it must! They'll accept it all to know the answer this creature came to -- what it will do if it can steal this place in the real world from its host! They want to hear the symphony of that truth, even if it must be beaten into their flesh!

They don't try to defend themself. Don't try to get out of the way. But there is no symphony. No profound revelation.

Just frustrated fingers clamping their throat til airways clench off around the mounting pressure.

The wide excitement possessing Tsumugi Kujaku's brilliant, haunting eyes fades. Surprise doesn't take its place, nor alarm or fear or any other satisfying emotion abusers so often want from their abused.

They just hood into a distinct, detached stare of apathy. The kind of stare that bores straight through you. The kind of stare that sees who you are.

"Ah," is the last exhaled sound they manage before hands constrict so painfully tight that no more air can work their vocal cords.

Ah.

((shut up))
Shut up!
((stop talking))
Stop crying!
((forever))
You think I don't see what you are?!
((that is my freedom))
You fucking FREAK!

How familiar.

Not another strangled sound escapes them as they feel the familiar, burning sensations of asphyxia becoming hypoxia. Their head begins to swim as tight fingers rupture the myriad of blood vessels racing along their throat and neck and the hunger for air becomes inescapable in its desperate demand. The tips of their fingers tingle in telltale warmth.

And yet their right hand raises not to try to tear those hands off of them.

It just pats its palm condescendingly on Eshm's plastercast cheek, twice.

pat 'There,'
pat 'there.'

That gaze stays locked on Eshm's gazeless face. It may well be the last thing the Homunculus 'sees' before its precious sight is taken from it. The look of someone who sees how small it is. Who sees right down to the core of it, and isn't amazed, horrified, or even simply surprised.

The demeaning reality of a stare that sees your behavior as expected and predictable.

As that lidded stare begins to unfocus, as neurons fire off wild, confusing signals across their brain in a panic that dredges up so many unwanted memories, as that hand falls limp off Eshm's cheek and their vision starts to go black, a strange thought Tsumugi Kujaku never thought before bubbles towards the surface.

Huh.
'Shinichi Nagisa.'
What a strangely familiar na--

Scarlet-gold eyes snap wide as the first reflexive gulp of oxygen burns its way down their lungs. They fall to the ground on knees and forearms, lurched forward and hacking wet coughs as they reorient themself to the breathing world. That wide-eyed stare turns upward.

Their vision refocuses just in time to see the Homunculus gripping desperately at its slashed throat throat. As those hands fall away, that stare doesn't look away, doesn't even blink. Not even as thick black ichor drools from that open wound on the Homunculus and splatters on their marble-cast features.

They watch until the exact moment Eshm falls and its meaty thump leaves only Yanagi standing there, Eyes-made-weapons in hand. With a look that says that, too, was expected and predictable.

And then they exhale a shuddering, burning breath.

"Hah - h-hkk - haha..."

Hoarse, shivery laughter escapes dark lips, and then fades. Tsumugi's focusing stare drifts unsteadily upward toward Yanagi, watching her for a quiet moment. And then Tsumugi crawls on hands and knees towards that fallen Homunculus. A fingerless (were they always fingerless--?) gloved hand grips the mane of Eshm's darkened hair.

"... Take... your time," Tsumugi says to Yanagi hoarsely, yet unperturbed. "Do... hh... what you want. We already have what we need."

And the Homunculus' face is indifferently ground into the ichor-sluiced floor beneath it as Tsumugi uses that grip as a purchase point to provide the leverage they need to shakily get back onto their feet.

"there,
there."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>
Everyone has regrets. Kanae, though, doesn't regret trusting Yanagi. ...Well, it was bloodier than she imagined, but she doesn't even mind that. She's going to have some emotional scars from this particular Hunt...

Not least will be the sight of Isabeau sacrificing herself for her--she's alive, at least, so Kanae isn't ''too'' traumatized, but she didn't ask for that. She didn't want that. ...And now, she stays near her, to guard her in case anything ''else'' gos wrong.

But she doesn't stand up again to talk. Not at first, anyway; Shinichi and yanagi need to have their moment, right...?

Besides, she's still thinking about what Tsumugi was saying. And about...

'The worst brother that ever exists'.

"..."

Kanae says, mostly to Isabeau, but also to anyone else who comes to check on them:

"...Family's weird, huh?" The orphan shakes her head. "...I don't think I'll ever really understand it."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
<poem> Roger comes down from the exciting battle high of a dangerous dance with a Homunculus that was within a heartbeat from finally overtaking the original Atelier host. A lot of things play out between Yanagi and Shinichi he looks upon with curiosity, quietly.

"Oh... that's why the names were the same," he says at the bit of acknowledgement he can grasp.

Roger does not have a strong sense of what it means to be a sibling. Were all the Humours in the Atelier of his origin his siblings? In retrospect he'd be hard-pressed to put it like that. Maybe it is an experience that simply does not have an equivalent for Shadows.

A lot to be said about the grisly sights of Tsumugi's intensity and the seeming play of Yanagi's bizarre gambit with the Homunculus to that very end.

"Um," Roger looks to the others, "Peacock Silk has only ever asked us for the Eyes of the Homunculi we deal with. I'm happy to see them gone," he snorts, "but... I have no idea what anyone would want with them."

...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa is still reeling from the intensity of that fight, and she will have a lot of complicated emotions to work though, too. The Homunculus may be gone, but it's still been more than a month of her life spent living in fear and hypervigilance. Not to mention all the horrifying things she witnessed in the Atelier.

... she'll just have to add it to the list of her other emotional issues to work through.

She's busy chugging a drink to restore some energy and then tending to the injured with Mina's magic. She inevitably makes her way over to Kanae and Isabeau, looking at the unconscious Witch with some concern before looking to Kanae.

Family's weird...

Kazusa looks over her shoulder to where Shinichi is busy apologizing. Best to give them a moment first, probably. Quietly, she admits to Kanae, "... yeah. I don't always understand mine, either."

There's a quiet sigh as Roger ''finally'' gets the connection. She'll come back to that point about the eyes in a moment, though.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>Once she'd recovered from Tsumugi's... intenseness, and she was pretty sure they were breathing again (humans have to do that pretty much all the time, right? right, she's pretty sure), and Yanagi's sheer violence, which hit her in a way she wasn't entirely comfortable with, Coin had zipped somewhere else in the room.

She'd intended to go over to Kanae's side, but something came up.

Coin found herself derailed, slightly, by the Eyes and the Cocoon. Something about them feels important in a way she doesn't clearly understand. She slows to get a better look at it, even reaching it to poke at it with one finger before she takes a step back and does something complicated with her hands; she interlaces her fingers in such a way that there's a small gap between her hands.

(For her it's an extra-small gap. Paws are not meant for this.)

But she brings it up to her face, her eye just barely visible through the laced fingers. It looks somewhere between perplexing and silly, but it seems to satisfy Coin, because she nods firmly as she lowers her hands afterwards.

"Fascinating!" Coin has been well and truly distracted. She reaches out -

'Peacock Silk has only ever asked us for the Eyes of the Homunculi we deal with'

"Bleh," Coin says when she hears that someone has a prior claim, leaving the Eyes alone but moving her focus to the remnants of the Cocoon furthest away from Yanagi; she does not want to get in the way, but she's certainly close enough to hear. Even if it doesn't entirely make sense to her. Family's weird, as Kanae points out... but Coin doesn't have family.

...does she? She's pretty sure she'd know THAT...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Pernelle leans his head up on his long neck for a pat that never comes, pausing to regard Yanagi's knife. His beak begins to open... ... and quietly shuts when even Yanagi thinks better of letting him make a snack of it.

"Hm, yes, I suppose I see your wisdom in this. Just this once! We've much to do. Celebrating, mostly, I should think!" As Yanagi address Saika and Tsumugi, Pernelle turns to dance back and forth, from one foot to the other, adding a victory dance to go with Yanagi's delightful acquisition.

But as Shinichi stirs, Pernelle quiets and shuffles to Tsumugi's side, addressing them in a lowered voice. "What a glorious evening it has been, and it is young yet! ... Do you require a morsel of Medicine? A Recarm, perhaps?" He absently shakes some ichor from his clawed foot with no further acknowledgment of the Homunculus' remains.

Whatever Tsumugi's response, Pernelle does not make any more of a verbal fuss. There is a reunion to behold... and though it is Shinichi who pours out his heart, Pernelle's gaze drifts to Yanagi, attentive for her reaction.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>Once she'd recovered from Tsumugi's... intenseness, and she was pretty sure they were breathing again (humans have to do that pretty much all the time, right? right, she's pretty sure), and Yanagi's sheer violence, which hit her in a way she wasn't entirely comfortable with, Coin had zipped somewhere else in the room.

She'd intended to go over to Kanae's side, but something came up.

Coin found herself derailed, slightly, by the Eyes and the Cocoon. Something about them feels important in a way she doesn't clearly understand. She slows to get a better look at it, even reaching it to poke at it with one finger before she takes a step back and does something complicated with her hands; she interlaces her fingers in such a way that there's a small gap between her hands.

(For her it's an extra-small gap. Paws are not meant for this.)

But she brings it up to her face, her eye just barely visible through the laced fingers. It looks somewhere between perplexing and silly, but it seems to satisfy Coin, because she nods firmly as she lowers her hands afterwards.

"Fascinating!" Coin has been well and truly distracted. She reaches out -

'Peacock Silk has only ever asked us for the Eyes of the Homunculi we deal with'

"Bleh," Coin says when she hears that someone has a prior claim, leaving the Eyes alone but moving her focus to the remnants of the Cocoon furthest away from Yanagi and giving some of the strands a tug; she does not want to get in the way, but she's certainly close enough to hear. Even if it doesn't entirely make sense to her. Family's weird, as Kanae points out... but Coin doesn't have family.

...does she? She's pretty sure she'd know THAT...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>
Yuuki comes to, slowly.

Her Transmutation slips away from her. ''Should'' it work like that? She doesn't know. But it might say more about her, rather than he concept of Transmutation. Blue hair drains to light brown; with a dull shimmer, her rumpled and dirtied Seven Sisters uniform is visible again.

She swallows, as she looks at Shinichi and Yanagi. She knew, already; she had pieced it together in the Atelier herself.

Her mouth opens. A reunion, between family. Even if it's bittersweet. Even if Tsumugi is--

What ''are'' they doing?

Her green eyes -- duller, now -- turn to them. She regards them for a moment, before she looks back to the siblings. She sits up, wobbily.

And she watches with a drained, exhausted expression.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
The real Shinichi Nagisa can't believe that his sister is alive. He's so different than the Homunculus. Even though Yoko had been told about it, it's still so weird to see it for herself.

''This'' boy probably doesn't have any kind of hit list.

She picks up Bearemy and holds him in her arms, his long arms and claws swaying like some kind of defeated prisoner, or maybe a cat resigned to bathtime. Kikuno (it ''is'' her) has hurt her feelings but she wants to see the Cocoon which means getting closer to her cousin and...!

Kanae is right. Family is weird.

"...What happened?" Yoko tries asking her cousin, because... well they've never gotten along poorly before!! ...But they'd never gotten along very ''well'' either, in that neither one of them had been very good at socializing. Oops.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Saika Kikuchi has posed.
<poem>
Splap.

Drip.

Plep.

Ichor splatters into Saika Kikuchi's hair. She nevertheless is smiling.

It's one of those kind of complicated smiles. There's a lot of *relief* in it. Perhaps *relaxation*, or the calm that comes after the breaking of tension, which has a unique quality of satisfaction to it that many other forms do not. (Don't worry, young Persona Users, it's something adults do for fun.)

"It was perfect," Saika tells Yanagi as she sweeps her chain up, letting it wrap around her arm as she pumps it in the air, a musical tingle-jingle-rattle as it does. "You nailed it. Brava. Brav--"

Her head suddenly turns towards the new voice. Towards the brother, now returned to his proper seat of self-rulership. Will he be a good ruler? That is up to him.

But... he is speaking, and to Yanagi, to whom he has something to say. Saika's attention turns towards Tsumugi then, though it becomes a deep and visibly concerned look that relaxes over the course of a second and a half of assessment. She steps over, her unchained hand slipping out. An offer, but not an insistence. Tsumugi, after all, has their pride.

"Maaa, don't push it~. You know, that's how that actor from those two Western kungfu movies went, the bad guy?"

Kanae speaks and Saika cups her own chin. "Hmmm~. He's laying it on a *little* thick," Saika murmurs, "but he *does* have cause, and maybe he's just naturally eloquent."

Then Roger speaks.

Saika's head turns slowly to look towards Roger. Roger actually has a couple of inches of height on Saika, who is quite diminutive if you measure from crown to sole, despite the additional billowing presence of her long biker jacket and evident superhuman strength. Her face is utterly still and expressionless for a full additional second, and then it warms, lips smiling before her eyes do.

Her eyes don't really smile at all, actually. They pass over the others for several more seconds.

"Well..."

"I guess you could call it a hobby! Don't feel bad if you don't see the appeal!"

NOW the smile reaches her eyes.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>It has been a long, grueling battle. Magus's body still aches, with pains natural and supernatural both. She remains transfixed, for a moment, on the lifeless form of the Homunculus... and then she draws her cloak around herself with a 'hmph'.

She keeps watch over Yuuki carefully - so she's aware, when she starts to stir. She shifts her cloak so she can get a better view.

"Yuuki Hoshizora." She acknowledges quietly. She extends a hand toward her, if she needs the help up - but leaves it up to her whether or not she takes it.

Her attention soon turns to Yanagi and Shinichi. Whatever words she might have for her act die on her lips as he regards her with deserved surprise.

...Even she isn't cold enough to interfere in this reunion. She looks away, briefly - this time to Kanae as she speaks. Family...

"...It can be cruel." She notes. "Purposefully, or unintentionally. ...It doesn't always end like this."

...She doesn't say whether that's for the better or worse.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
Kasumi has been off fighting the humours, to protect everyone else fighting the homunculus. And now, with the terrifying homunculus defeated, Kasumi returns to the group proper, additionally helping with her Diarama. She ends up joining the Kazusa, Kanae, and Isabeau group.

She heard about the sibling complications and having a dead sister herself, she feels for Shinichi. "Oh, I really hope they can patch up their relationship..." 'Belle' says, clutching her hands together to her chest as she watches. "It'd be just awful if Nagisa-san discovered his sister was alive, but there was still hard feelings, you know?" If the same happened to her, Kasumi would be destroyed!

Watching it, Kasumi feels her heart climb into her throat. It's way too tense...

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kikuno Kisaragi has posed.
<poem>
Everyone has one thing they can't take back. Something they'd give almost anything to try again, properly this time. In that sense, Kikuno...

Her gaze flicks downwards on Shinichi as he comes to, and comes to grapple with the situation into which he's awoken. Just like that, his situation has taken a turn for the better. Hasn't it? It might even almost be worth the nightmare he's endured!

After all, he's able to get the closure he's always wanted. Hasn't he?

Even as words tumble as freely as tears, her expression remains as sour as always as she regards him a moment more before she looks away.

"Well. Now what?" she says and not to him.

Her gaze lingers a moment on Yanagi, close at hand. In this one, brief way, they're again akin to one another.

'Peacock Silk has only ever asked us for the Eyes', Roger says.

Kikuno, lost perhaps in her study of Yanagi, does not look his way.

It's only Yoko who breaks her from her apparent reverie; minutely she turns her head her cousin's way.

"I said, get out of here," she tells her again. "This isn't any of your business."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> There are a list of things that land on Umie's priority list.

First is knocking her hood up over the pinkening little bird's nest of broken hair strands, pulling the cords of her hood tight so that the edges of it press against the edges of her face and mask.

The second is assessing everyone. It's not like she's a healer, but this was a creature of another caliber than many are used to, including her. Standing next to Eriko and Tamaki for a while, she murmurs, "I'm going to check on the others."

They don't need the Badb's shroud, and it's hard for the Badb in her to ever feel satisfied standing still, once the promised bloody end has been achieved. Hobbling carefully over to Kanae and Isabeau, she stands a few feet away, then moves on, satisfied. Let them have their motion of peace.

The mere mention of the word 'family' is enough to make her restless in another way, wholly tied to Umie as a person. The person who dared to mention her family is dead now, and good riddance. Meanwhile, the young man whose face the monster wore is waking up, a wholly different person.

Like Roger, she's out of sorts, but unlike him, she does have a family. But, eyes... that's a topic Umie can focus on. "... What's the significance of the eyes?" she asks now, looking to Tsum-- no, let the poor soul recover, nevermind, she'll look to Saik--

She squints. "... riighhhtt. Well.... I suppose I can't argue." They *are* a source of income.

The number list is out of order now, a hopeless attempt to keep an Umie Akabane from focusing on the most important thing in the room here: the reuniting of brother and sister, the former being someone she cannot quite bear to look into the eyes of, and the latter... unsure of what role she intends to play in what could be a heartfelt or heartwrenching encounter.

"Usually it's other people who do kitsune no mado, to see they're being fooled but the kitsune," she says to Coin with a mischevious grin, before moving onto--

Ah.

Yoko will feel someone by her side now; the sharp open grin of Umie Akabane displayed like a subtle display of claws. "My, my... What's this about...? Rather sweet of you to display such concern over a fellow Persona-user's health..."

Yet even Umie has to look back at Yanagi and Shinichi, despite being in the middle of instigating some trouble. Just... what is going to happen next?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Mona's here too, having fought alongside Belle; he eyes Isabeau with suspicion, but she seems to be down for the count, so he stays with Belle as she joins the others. He doesn't weigh in on the matter. He simply keeps his paws folded and watches the unfolding drama.

Joker's also here, along with the rest of The Phantoms who'd come to help fight back the Humors from interfering with the battle for the Atelier's true heart, including Queen. They all keep their distance, however. Everything seems to have been resolved, and Joker (whose masked eyes flick towards Belle and Mona) personally doesn't want to interrupt this reunion with any drama, so... they share a nod with their team, then quietly exits with them. The real Shinichi Nagisa has been saved. The rest is out of their hands.

As for Yanagi...

It was the plan all along, after all. That it makes Yanagi's actions expected and predictable doesn't bother her. That's just another way of saying she has Tsumugi's trust.

She does stroke her leader's cheek with the back of her hand, gaze affectionate and concerned, as they catch their breath amid hacking coughs. (She could have done that with Pernelle, but she hadn't thought of it at the time, half a minute ago.) She doesn't condescend to Tsumugi by offering to heal them, though. That can come later if need be. She nods once when they wave her on and tell her to take her time, and then goes to do precisely that.

When she's in front of Shinichi, Yanagi is quiet but attentive, her vibrant eyes gentle as she watches and listens to her younger brother tearfully apologize. It continues to be clear that this is something that's weighed on him heavily over the past three--no, is it four now?--years, that guilt has wracked him like her disease has wracked her body. Saika might think he's laying it on thick, but Yanagi believes in the sincerity of every word that he says. When he talks about her walking and about her Transmutation costume, she chuckles with him, her cheeks rosy. "Thank you. I like it too," she replies.

Then she pauses. She hears the others murmuring in the background--to each other, to themselves--but she pays them no mind, beyond that Roger kindly informs everyone that the Eyes are theirs. Good. No misunderstandings, then. The Cocoon, they're willing to share, so it's fine if others clusters around it and, in Coin's case, already start to claim threads. Kikuno might be studying Yanagi from close by and considering how the two are similar, and that's fine too. Yanagi's focus remains on her brother.

The two of them had been so close when they were little. And now...

And now, she reaches out to take his hands in hers.

"Shin-chan," she says softly, the nickname she had for them when they were young. "I already forgave you a long time ago. It's okay. You can let this guilt go."

He may not try to hug her, let alone touch her, but she has no such reservations. She leans forward and pulls him into her arms for an embrace between long-lost siblings.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Some in the crowd he has a vague sense of familiarity that he cannot rightly begin to parse. Others he has no idea who- or even what they are.

Shinichi still has little context for what's happening around him. After all, he's still a normal guy, he came out of the cocoon like this. Just like a civilian in the Dark Hour, perhaps tomorrow this is more like a dream.

Then again, he did remember more of Mikage-Cho than most.

Does that mean what happens here matters less, though?

Certainly not.

He lets out a small laugh as she says she likes her outfit too. "I'd hope you do... you've got a fun sense of style, neesan."

Yanagi calls him by his nickname, she takes his hands, he stares at her in a tearful confusion as she outright says she forgives him for that long ago. Then reaches out to hug him. Now, there's no hesitation, as he hugs her back, tightly, before easing up that grip out of worry of causing harm and whispering.

"But I don't... Do I really deserve that...? Neesan... I..." He inhales a breath, then allows a tenuous smile to creep on his face, "... Thank you. ''Thank you''. I think... I don't really know what's going on but... I think you saved me there..."

He thinks a lot of people did, but he can figure that part out after he sorts out what's going on with the sister that was dead - and is now apparently quite alive.

Smiling, he leans back, an arm still loosely around her, a hand dabs at his eyes, "Man... Mom and Dad are going to freak, seeing you again. Like- I still don't know how we're going to explain it to them? But, you know what, it doesn't matter." He takes a deep breath, dabbing at his eyes again, "Let's just... let's just go home, okay? We'll figure it out when we get there."

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsumugi Kujaku has posed.
<poem>
As Tsumugi lifts to one knee, a hand falls into their field of vision.

"..."

They already know who it belongs to without even looking up. Even before she offers those chiding words. Who else but Saika?

Soon enough, Pernelle is there too, offering those murmured words. Tsumugi's answer to both is silence, initially. It's something unsurprising likely, given what just happened, and given who Tsumugi is.

Perhaps it's also unsurprising, too, that their first act? Is to lift themself up without taking Saika up on her unspoken offer, slowly but certainly.

"No," they answer Pernelle with that roughened voice as they rise. "Not... yet. I want to feel it.

"Like you said... it's a glorious evening."

It's only once they're on their feet that their arm slips around Saika's shoulder, the warm weight of them leaning into the smaller as dark lips glide close to her ear.

"So you think I'm a bad guy?" they whisper, conspiratorially hoarse. Is that what they chose to take away from Saika's trivia?

It's the part they liked the most, anyway.

Scarlet-gold eyes drift back toward Yanagi. A brush of the cheek on their hand; no offer of assistance. Just a mutual, unspoken understanding, same as they one that saw Tsumugi let themself be choked near to death for the sake of creating an opening. They watch with muted interest as Yanagi approaches her brother -- but that is as far as their interest takes them. Their gaze drifts towards some distant point in the middle of the others gathered, not focusing on the Nagisas or anyone else who risked their lives here to save Shinichi.

What's the significance of the eyes?

It's a curiosity that both Roger and Umie echo. Umie's attention shifts to Saika for the answer, who provides a simple enough one. Tsumugi's gaze doesn't so much as shift, nor does their marbeled, ichor-smeared features. Their bound chest swells briefly with the intake of a burning breath.

''Don't feel bad if you don't see the appeal!''

Their lips part. As if they have something profound to say.................!

"It's a pun,"

is their revelatory wisdom,

and the sum whole of their contribution to this discussion.

After all, even if their gaze is distant...

''Let's just... let's just go home, okay? We'll figure it out when we get there.''

They're listening.

"'The free bird thinks of another breeze,'" they recite under their breath.

"'And trade winds soft through sighing trees.
And the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn.
... and she names the sky her own.'"

Placid eyes shut. "... Pernelle, Saika. Get ready to get the Eyes. We'll be leaving soon.

"There's nothing left here for us."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yoko Hirano has posed.
<poem>
'Well, now what?'

Yoko staaaaaares at Kikuno with guileless green eyes. "Who are you talking to?" she whispers, frowning slowly. It's genetic, she read. Hereditary. Bearemy squirms in her arms as Yoko very successfully doesn't sulk or scowl at her cousin. "Don't tell me what to do." Said sulkily, yes, but calmly. Like an adult.

Nevermind the tell-tale tail lashing side to side behind her, twitching at the fabric of her obi knot.

Someone she doesn't know stops at her side. Defending her? Bearemy's claws prick into the fabric of Umie's sleeve, as if to get her attention. "....." But Yoko just stares at Kikuno, like she's trying to solve a puzzle.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>
Oh, Roger didn't get it. Kanae remembers that now. She grins, though it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Yep. Humans are funny like that," shet ells him.

The Eyes... why do they want the Eyes? It occurs to Kanae to ask, but frankly just this moment... She's so tired that she barely cares. Her sawtooth gunblade remains on the ground beside her; her hat is... somewhere, and will reappear in time, a Cognitive matter.

Kazusa mentions her own. "...Mm," Kanae answers, because Kausa is her friend, so she's not going to give her immediate response. Misato seems to understand what she's saying, too. "I see..." Cruel.

"I believe that." She glances over to Yuuki in some concern, and back to Coin, as she seems disappointed. "We'll have to find other trophies of our Hunt," she offers Coin. A 'glorious evening', Tsumugi calls it. Kanae glances at arguing cousins. And...

She wishes she could find this reunion sweet. Maybe she just has too much bitterness in her for that.

"...All's well that ends well, huh?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>Coin has always liked her little treasures. She's even She has no idea what she's going to *do* with these strands, or what they represent, but she can feel the power in them. Something she'll have to think about. Something she'll have to learn about! Coming here was worthwhile.

Well, it was anyway, to help Kanae. But now it's extra worthwhile.

"It's *investigation*," Coin insists to Umie, her ears flattening down slightly. And maybe it is; Coin does have some sensitivity beyond most Persona-users, if not as much as a Navigator. "I just don't know what these things are. Perhaps I should ask you, if you don't need to investigate!"

She keeps the fibers in her hand as she steps away. Another look at Tsumugi, and then toward Yanagi and Shinichi. She never met the Homonculus, let alone the real person, and this is her first time meeting Yanagi too, but this is...

It, too, is peculiarly human. She likes to see the meeting. It feels right. They do seem to treasure each other...

"Indeed!" is her response to Kanae, as she marches over to finally meet up with her. "A bond rediscovered, a monster defeated; what's not to like?" She has not, perhaps, yet understood all the fine details that make something like this so *complex*.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yuuki Hoshizora has posed.
<poem>
Yuuki looks up at Magus. Her expression is tense -- but it's distant. She hesitates, almost flinching when that hand is extended towards her. She doesn't know that she has any right to take her hand. But... she does, in the end, and gets up to her feet. It's shakily; she took a hard hit, and it's left her feeling drained.

She glances at Kanae -- she wonders, for a second, at that bitterness. Does this hurt, for her?

It hurts for Yuuki, but not the same reasons.

"I'm glad they found each other again," she says, a little quietly. "That's... that's good."

She glances once at Coin and blinks once at her, before she looks back at the twins.

She frowns, a little, despite her words.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
<poem> Roger tilts his head at Coin's disappointment about the claim over the Eyes.

5t'I guess you could call it a hobby! Don't feel bad if you don't see the appeal!"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh! eyes can see. I see!" Roger smiles guilelessly for a passing moment, and has a snort-laugh at Saika's say of it.

"Okay!" The former Sanguin Humour asserts himself. "Terrific! Wonderful! ...It looks like a mess, but the Flegmat Humours can take it from here!" The kinds of Humours that seem like they're window dressings at best, they're the ones who help set the tone of an Atelier's 'normal' atmosphere. The power of reflecting all the very, very small ways one asserts themselves...

Roger's smile stops. His eyes open sharply. He snorts loudly, and lets out a yelp of alarm.

"Um...!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Misato comments on purposefully or unintentionally... some days Kazusa's not sure which of those applies to her situation.

She nods to Belle as she returns from holding off the Humors, and lends a Diarama to the recovery effort. She gives Belle a small nod and a quiet "Thanks." But as for patching things up... "... that's up to them," she says quietly. Her silver eyes settle on Yanagi for a moment. "...I really don't know how she'll react."

She gives Mona a quiet nod, a moment later, when he joins Belle.

And Yanagi goes for the hug. Kazusa honestly wasn't sure if she would or not, but... she feels like she always has a hard time getting a solid read on anyone in Peacock Silk.

Kazusa knows that if Shinichi doesn't Awaken, that he ''should'' forget all of this... but she had wondered, too, about the Demons represented by Hunmors in the Atelier. Shouldn't he have forgotten those, too?

But she tenses when Shinichi just pleads for Yanagi to go home. She's not sure how long Yanagi's been 'alive', but if she'd wanted to do that, she's had plenty of chances, right? They had to get his address from Kanae (who, in turn, got it from the Homunculus. Her lips are draawn tight in a not-quite-frown as she watches.

She glances at Tsumugi, as they declare Peacock Silk will be leaving soon. She still has some unanswered questions from her last conversation with the Peacock Silk leader, but now is not the time for them. "... you must really want those Eyes to let yourself go through that," she mutters.

It's fine if Kanae doesn't have an answer for her. Kazusa doesn't, either. All's well.. "Yeah. Because this went ''so'' well," she grumbles.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kikuno Kisaragi has posed.
<poem>
Just like that, two siblings are reunited. A long-wished for miracle has finally occured, here in the heart of a young man's personal hell. It's so cute. It's so sweet.

It's enough that, to judge by the expression on her face, Kikuno would rather go be sick somewhere. Her lip curls in marked distate, but here she says nothing, her attention fixed on the two of them as they speak to one another.

Or, that is, until her cousin speaks to her.

"I said, shut up," she tells Yoko, brushing one hand through the air as if to thereby push her aside. "Don't get involved," she tells Umie, her glare just as intense at the girl she's ''not'' related to. "We're busy."

Who's busy? Her and Yoko? Or...

Such a state can't last, though. Not when Tsumugi speaks.

Her gaze turns a moment towards Pernelle, then to Tsumugi. She cocks her head a faint few degrees as if catching a sound that only she can hear.

"Perhaps," she says, and it's likely not clear who she's addressing at all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>Magus looks back at Yuuki - at that tense, distant expression. She meets her eyes, wondering what thoughts run behind that complex emotion. She doesn't retract her hand - and when Yuuki takes it, she helps her to her feet. And if she needs something to support her, she won't push her away.

"...I suppose it is." Magus allows, as Yuuki says it's good they found each other again. She looks back to Shinichi and Yanagi, as Yanagi assures him that she forgave him.

It's been a long time, Magus supposes. Perhaps time does heal all wounds. ...That's what she'd like to say, but it isn't always so easy. And the way he insists on bringing her home...

Magus wonders if a dead woman can really just show up at home like nothing happened.

All's well that ends well...

"...Hm." Magus considers. "The monster has been slain. ...But the scars yet remain."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Tsumugi wants to feel it, and Pernelle gives them a single, firm nod of perfect understanding.

"Most glorious," he affirms twice over.

His whole face lights up with Saika's wordplay and Tsumugi's identification thereof.

"Oh, is it? Marvelous. I love puns!"

But now there's dinner (the eyes are not for eating, Pernelle!) AND a show. Upon the grand stage, Yanagi offers Shinichi what was already his, and the two embrace. Pernelle gives a tippy tap on his feet, though he seems to be ''trying'' to contain it with smaller steps to avoid a percussive interruption.

While not typically in the business of ''moderation'', he makes an exception when that moderation might prevent even greater moderation should those in the spotlight become spooked. Pernelle must choose... the lesser of moderations.

''There's nothing left here for us.''

"Then off we shall go and fly, fly, fly~," he says in his own singsong way, spreading his wings to flap in place, grasping his feet open and closed in the air like an overeager claw machine.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Saika Kikuchi has posed.
<poem>
Saika looks over towards Kikuno as she speaks. "What indeed," Saika echoes back, which is probably not gonna actually address what Kikuno was getting at, like, at all.

(That proffered hand turns away; rises to fold loosely beneath her bandaged bustline. Saika smiles at Tsumugi, because she likes to and she wants to, but then there is no more. At their question, she leans over and replies, in bad but quiet english "<Just because you Bad Guy, does not mean you Bad Guy.>" She definitely bootlegged that movie, or saw a clip. It is still in theaters. She smiles as she does it.)

Saika's grin gets even more coprophagic as Tsumugi reveals the REAL truth.

But there's still work to do. "Man," Saika sighs, "this has been one hell of a long night, hasn't it? Pernelle, you're gonna have to cook tomorrow," she continues as she laces her fingers together and stretches, "cuz the cook is *taking personal time*."

They are already planning dinner?? (Well, Saika is, anyway.)

"Exactly, Buta-san," Saika adds to Roger (how cruel, to emphasize his swinery). "But visiting hours are a little bit flexible, so you should -- hmm?" Her head swivels around to look at Kazusa, her chain-wrapped hand resting on her hip.

"What, were you hoping someone was gonna die? Maybe put their eye out, just t' kind of stay on topic? That's pretty messed up."

But her attention returns to Shinichi and to Yanagi. Her other hand comes up to tap the side of her nose as Shinichi speaks of... re-introducing Yanagi to her mother and her father. Her eyes turn towards Yanagi for a moment, lidded. Is that what *she* wants?

To the assembled, Saika asides, "He can fly, you know. I was shocked at first too."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
As Yanagi voices her forgiveness, Kasumi lets out a big sigh of relief along with the tension she's been feeling. "Oh, thank goodness! That's such a relief!" Not every sibling parting needs to end badly. And Nagisa-san gets a second chance. She sincerely hopes that he's able to make the most of it, if nothing else, then on behalf of the people who don't get that chance.

With that out of the way... Kasumi's about to comment on hoping things go back to normal at school pretty soon, but catches herself just in time. "Did either of you know Nagisa-san before the Homunculus? Is he... You know... Normally nice?" She asks. She might like to help support him too in reality...

All's well? Normally, Kasumi would be thilled to go along with it, but... "Is that really true?" She wonders aloud. "I mean, you were in a twisted relationship, Fuyuki-san... Is that really okay now?" That, and she's worrying about the terrorized female populations of Shuujin... Are the boys really just going to let things fade away? Is that how that works?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> A missing sibling. A family, waiting.
But if that was the case, why did Yanagi keep herself separated from them? For their own protection, or hers?

Maybe, it's to be able for Yanagi to protect the self she is now, without the weight of being the 'sick one', or 'the one who may have little time left to live'. A person like that wouldn't have been allowed to celebrate Seijin no Hi like she did out of concern for her own health, alone.

Coin's flattening ears bring a impish grin to Umie's face. Ahhh, she must be like Mona, and hate being compared to the animal, even mythical, she resembles. "I'm afraid my specialties lie in poking." If it's a pun, as Tsumugi says, "If 'the eyes have it'," she says, "you may very well have this under control."

There can only be room for the Badb to poke around what remains, sometimes instigating something, for better or worse, as Yoko's claws press into her sleeve. Umie missed the part about Kikuno talking to someone; or maybe, her consciousness had considered it so normal that she didn't even think to note it.

Huh. So this is what it's like, to see such an exchange occur outside of herself.

... Is Kikuno... like her? ".... Rather prickly, aren't you?" she muses, with some amusement, trying to catch a glimpse of Kikuno's wrists without being too obvious.

Before Umie can consider it further, Roger seems disturbed(?) by something. "Roger-san," Umie says, frowning. "Something wrong?" The Homunculus is dead, right? Umie can't *sense* anything nearby that fit neatly into the Badb's sense as 'a threat'. Things can and *do* get past it, however, as that sense is merely something co-opted to serve a different purpose, as much as Badb's sense of 'a battlefield', or supernatural space, being nearby when she's in Sumaru City.

She *could* summon Badb, but it's hard to tell, from Roger's expression, whether that would be an overreaction on her part.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi giggles when Shinichi compliments her sense of style. Pernelle's barely-contained excitable flapping and tippy-tappying contributes to that giggle, too. No need for words right now; he hugs her back, and it ''is'' good. This is a good moment. She's glad to have had it, in a different way from how she was glad to have taken the Homunculus's Eyes. She leans her head on his as he hugs her back, unafraid of harm. When he eases up, she lets go--but he doesn't pull away entirely.

Her smile is muted but still there as he asks her if he deserves it, as he thanks her for saving her. It regains its warmth, and she nods once. No need to explain it. He understands what needs to be understood.

At least... that's what she thinks until he asks her to come home. To their parents. To that apartment in Aoyama-Itchome.

Her smile dims fully this time, and a profound sadness shades her brilliantly green eyes.

A bond rediscovered, a monster defeated; so why not go 'home'?

"No."

There's no malice, no grudge, in her voice or demeanor. It's just a delicate yet unyielding refusal.

"I have a new home now, Shinichi. And I might have lived to become an adult after all, but I still have DMD. I'm still going to die young--maybe this year; who knows?"

Despite this fatalistic acknowledgement of her terminal condition, Yanagi smiles anew. It reaches her eyes, in which that sadness lingers. Umie's silent supposition was on the money, it seems, but that doesn't mean she doesn't love Shinichi. It's just...

"Mom and Dad already grieved for me and moved on. It would be cruel to make them do it twice." She pats his hand still resting on her--and gently, gently removes it. "You know you didn't kill me now, Shinichi. I didn't die because of what you said. I've forgiven you, so it's time to forgive yourself and move on too." She squeezes his hand...

...then pulls hers away. "You're free now."

As Tsumugi so eloquently recited, she has named the sky her own. She turns her smile to them and Saika and Pernelle, that sadness blown away. There is indeed nothing left for her here, and once again she conveys that mutual understanding with Tsumugi despite a lack of words. It's time to go to her true home.

"Ooh, I want hot pot!" she says brightly to Saika, regardless of whether she's taking tomorrow night off or not. It is a future Yanagi's looking towards all the same... a future with Peacock Silk, and without Shinichi Nagisa.

Paying no mind to Roger's sudden yelp, she leans over for her cane and the double-bladed knife that was once--and is still--a pair of Homunculus Eyes.

Until she too snaps a sharp, wide-eyed look over her shoulder, far too late.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Slasher has posed.
<poem>
Michael Kills Judith - Halloween OST - https://youtu.be/pW-z037uA1o?si=976AkjncjweEOuX2&t=52

The drama is quite distracting, is it not? As a sister rejects the idea of a lasting bond with family. As she readies to enjoy her future plans with her new home...

A shape melts out of the retreating mist. Look upon the ground, the Homunculus who was laying there, quite dead- now gone. For instead it encircles its enormous arms around Yanagi, lifting her up- and beginning to squeeze with all of his might- with bone snapping force.

His head is lolled at a sideways angle, with that dripping wound still present. His hands have deep pits where its Eyes once were. Even without his Eyes, somehow, he still persists.

((taking you from him))
((taking you with me))
((i will not be nothing))
((i will be your grave))
((we go together))

Still alive, it only thinks of one thing to do with its maimed, dying body. Spiteful- possessive vengeance. Not even to try and take the Eyes back. To kill her. Then die, in triumph, having paid her back for her betrayal in full, with her.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
The 'No.' hits him like a bucket of ice water to the face. For a while, he doesn't even respond, as she speaks to him, his mouth working like he wants to say something, like a gaping fish that was just landed and is suffocating on the air itself.

It's only when she pats his hand, then begins to pull away that he begins to answer in desperation, "What- but- that doesn't matter! Even if you were going to die tomorrow- I don't care! They wouldn't care. I can't just- just- move on? You're my sister!? I don't want to be ''free'' of you!"

His protestations grow weaker, and weaker by the moment, because- even if she forgave him, doesn't she deserve her wishes respected? Why should ''he'' who thinks he's the worst brother in the world to her- who thinks he doesn't deserve her, chase after her? Fight to keep her in his life?

All he can do is hurt her in the attempt. Just like he did before.

It grows worse as she excitedly talks about Hot Pot- with a woman he doesn't even know? With a whole strange group of people- and... weird monster bird!? But... not him. Not her family. Does she really just- not want to be a part of their lives anymore that much? It's so upsetting that he can't even understand yet that he feels more than a little jealous?

Still reeling with shock and confusion from this whole interaction with someone he would have thought he knew only seconds before, he only vaguely sees the shape rise up behind her, as he calls out in horror, "NEESAN!" He knows how frail she was, and almost certainly still is. He can see the monster behind crushing her- and knows, there's nothing he can do.

Nothing. He's entirely helpless to stop what happens next. Even staggering to his feet, he knows there's no way he can pry this creature off her in time- even though he'll try anyway.

Back in his life for a moment, then gone again. Like a rekindled flame of hope, flickering and wavering, then guttering away.

And why does he have the vaguest feeling that this was never supposed to happen at all. That idea, that impression that she's already dead, causes something to be consumed inside of him.

Reborn - Revue Starlight OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ge9LoG6ibw

There's no time, but blessedly, between the ticks of a second- the collective makes time.

Oh loathsome fear that binds you in this cage of passivity.

If she is taken from you again, the fault will lay only in your own cowardice.

Why not alter thy nature into one who would dance instead, and rekindle discarded ambition?

The shreds of fabric from a cocoon begin to glow a ghostly blue as spun potential- nearly lost forever- erupts with threads that attach to his head, his body, the entirety of his being. Boundless on the inside of that cocoon, Shinichi is bathed in the purest scarlet light to the rhythmic clanking of industrial machinery.

To pursue coveted bond with jealous abandon, to be ferocious to one's rivals and to wear conviction nakedly in the face of adversity is what it truly means to live!

A half-cape with a hood forms over him, the outer layer a blue, with a dark purple interior- fluttering down to land upon his shoulders. His torso is encased into a top of double breasted buttons in matching color, with a thin fabric that gives the impression of a scrub top.

I AM THOU,
THOU ART I.

Around his legs the silken threads wind, weaving blue athletic pants, then forming dark boots with metal cleats on each foot- his form constantly surrounded by ephemeral, blue wisps of flame that are ever burning-shifting.

Even should our dance take us to the grave, let our fervor set the underworld ablaze. Now, call to me- and let us have this dance together!

"HILARION!" he screams as he erupts from the cocoon, with the desperation of someone who knows they might lose so much if they don't act ''now''! Blue flames erupt in kind, and something rises out of him.

That ghostly blue flame compresses within a half-circle arc of machinery that constantly rotates around it. It tapers down into the neck of a spindly purple demonic creature armored all over in green and orange plating that is segmented in ways as to give the impression of sporting pads, in the center of which is a medical cross. On one hand, it wields a long staff made up of twisting and winded snakes in the familiar form of the caduceus, but without the wings. Its thin legs are crossed, as if to imply it is mid-dance- or pose.

With a dramatic sweep of its staff downward, it reveals to the Homunculus the lie that his vengeance can be complete. Behind the Homunculus, nuclear flame mushrooms up through him, consuming him so completely as to seemingly disintegrate him outright, leaving only his arms untouched.

Its arms slide off Yanagi, limply- his body ablaze in ever-burning nuclear fire, a shadow of a shadow within that blaze. He takes a step. Then another.

Then he falls over, disintegrating into Shadowy ash before he even hits the floor.

Despite the wonder of this moment, he doesn't even waste any time approaching her to check on her. "Neesan! Hey, are you okay? Just breathe-!" Intention becomes action, as Hilarion, the Persona casts a Diarama spell upon her taking the form of ghostly little wisps of blue light that surround her like an aura. "Somebody call an ambulance!" he calls out, still panicking in the moment.

Not even considering for a moment the adrenaline rush that the last place Yanagi would ever want to be- is in a hospital. Or whether ambulances can even run here.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kikuno Kisaragi has posed.
<poem>
Kikuno pauses, watching Yanagi as she informs her brother precisely why she can't go home again. Ever so slightly, Kikuno's sour frown deepens. In the same moment, Yanagi reaches for the knife and speaks of getting hot pot.

((An Opportunity Arrives)) speaks the voice only she can hear in her skull.

She glances again at Pernelle, at Tsumugi, her attention returning to Yanagi as the seconds seem to slow to a crawl. The one place that Kikuno does not look after all is at the fallen flesh of Eshm.

((He Lives Yet))

((Ware Ye))

Its carcass twitches, solidifying once more to too-solid flesh.

For Eshm is not yet dead. Malice lingers where a chance at life slips from its grasp. Of this, she is also familiar. So it's also petty--

But no, Eshm isn't dead yet. Kikuno, with sudden speed as Yanagi is struck, snatches up the knife.

And then something else happens.

"Ah," she says, tucking the knife away as chaos unwinds about her. "You lucky boy. You don't have a dead sister." She pauses, taking one step back.

"Not tonight, anyway."

One more step. One more step. She turns her gaze up as Eshm is reduced to so much ash under the newly awakened Persona's burst of ultimate flame.
She had limped before. There's no hint of it now as she turns sharply and bolts for the door.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>It's not that Coin minds being called a fox; she's described *herself* as vulpine before. It's just that she knows that kitsune no mado is a thing children do, and that one she does mind. (How does she know it's a childish thing? ...beats her.)

This time, Coin gives someone else a long look.

Pernelle, specifically. Something about him -

He's not like her. But he's not NOT like her, either. She's fascinated by him like she was some of the other things she's seen, though she does not do the peek-through-her-hands or anything else particularly uncanny. She just *looks*, the same way she did at Roger earlier; a little uncomfortably if you're the target, especially when her ears quiver and point forward.

"You! And you!" Coin points directly at Pernelle, and then Roger. "You I will speak with, later! For our time here is short!" Especially with the Peacock Silk crew making plans to move out -

- until -

Coin is not especially familiar with the nature of the Homonculus. She thought that when it was defeated, it was gone; it wasn't something you needed a Silver Bullet for. It was something Else, something Different, and you couldn't integrate it.

Which means it should have the decency to *stay* dead once you kill it.

Coin's tail lashes as she spins around, but she's both way too far away and way too slow to do anything at all. Despite herself she draws her sword, although what she thinks she's going to do with it is a very good question. Even if she was closer it wouldn't be very helpful.

But something new is summoned, in defense of another... Coin's eyes widen. "A power, called by change and need...?" This is the first time she has seen someone Awaken to a Persona (besides her own, that doesn't count) and Transmutation feels so different. She does not have any words for a few moments, which for Coin is unusual, until Shinichi's panic snaps her out of it.

"How?" she asks, baffled. Ambulances don't run here! At least, not any ambulance you'd want to get in; she doesn't know if the place has cognitive ambulances but if it does you couldn't pay her to get in one.

She pushes Kanae forward instead, or at least against her leg. "Go! Help, if you want it to end well after all!"

Coin, after all, is not entirely used to how normal human bodies. She's pretty sure she will be less help than none at all... but at least she realizes that!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>
What's not to like? Kanae likes Coin, for this too. Indeed though; Kanae has no answers for Kazusa, not at the moment. "it went fine," Kanae says, and when Kasumi chimes in, Kanae shrugs. "Whatever," she says of her twisted relationship. "It's done. I'm not worried about it."

...is it really that simple? Maybe it is!

Pause. "He was pretty nice," she adds for Kasumi's benefit. "Too nice."

But Yanagi... says ''no''. Kanae schools her features immedaitely; shock turns to something else, and she doesn't want anyone knowing what she thinks. ...How she kind of admires Yanagi's free spirit, in the moment. She feels a little bad for Shinichi, but... Wow!

"Forgive... yourself, huh...?"

Roger seems alarmed suddenly. Quickly, Kanae sees why--but too late to do anything. "Holy SHIT," Kanae starts, scrambling for her gunblade even though it's far too late--

The scars remain indeed, Magus.

She blinks--and starts to rise to her feet at Coin's push. "Uh!" she starts. "Right!"

With the shattering of another glass, Kanae changes the presence in her mind, and calls forth her own persona as she goes. "Ame-no-Uzume!" The dancing, laughing goddess appears to lend her own healing to Yanagi's body.

"...Sorry dude," she says. "No ambulance is coming ''here''. ...But now that I see, it looks like you already had it taken care of..."

Will it still 'end well'?

...Depends who for, maybe.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Magus speaks of the scars that remain. Kazusa glances at her out the side of her vision. "... the scars don't go away just because the monster is defeated," she says quietly.

She has some experience in the matter. But then again, she didn't get a tidy resolution, either. nor is she convinced yet this one will be quite so tidy yet.

She glares at Saika, bare arms crossed in front of her. "Don't be morbid," she snaps. "... though frankly I'm kind of all mobirded out at the moment."

"He's in my class," Kazusa answers Belle. But when she brings up the ''relationship'' Kanae was in with the Homunculus, Kazusa jabs Belle in the side with her elbow. "Not ''now''," she hisses quietly.

'No.'

Kazusa sucks in a sharp breath, even though she'd half-expected that reaction. But then she gasps, as the Homunculus reforms, and goes after Yanagi in a lat act of revenge. "No!"

She darts forward, her spine whip in hand, instinctively reaching out to call forth the butterfly that would presage her Persona's arrival--only to draw up short as a Cocoon encases Shinichi, followed by flames both blue and nuclear. "Nagisa-san..."

She didn't get to see her Awakening from the outside before. This is the first one she's seen, and she's momentarily taken aback, until--

'Somebody call an ambulance!'

Kazusa's jaw sets, and her whip cracks out as Mina HArker rises again. She'd kept her distance, before--if Shinichi was going to forget, she didn't want to prompt him into remembering. But now that he's Awakened anyway...

A short sprint sees her by Shinichi's side, and the hand that goes to rest on his shoulder may come from one of the least likely sources: a Kazusa Motojima in some sort of strange wolf princess cosplay, looking serious and also... concerned. "Nagisa-san," she says quickly. "A hospital can't help her. But your Persona can."

"And I'll help too. Mina!"

Mina Harker lends her own healing efforts to that of Hilarion and Ame-no-Uzume. Kazusa gives Kanae a grateful nod, but quickly looks back worriedly to Yanagi a moment later.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
It's in the past now, huh? Kasumi nods. "I'm glad to hear it, Fuyuki-san." She says. "You're strong." She says, earnestly.

Then, she gets jabbed. "Huh?!" Kasumi lets out a noise. "(What was that for? She mentioned it earlier...)" She whispers back to Kazusa.

Too nice, huh? Well, now it makes a bit more sense why the humunculus lashed out so hard. She hopes that Shinichi can find more peace now. It's a good start, at least.

Yanagi says no, and something inside Kasumi screams, that she stuffs down hard. Yanagi is completely reasonable, but... it does hurt to hear.

Then, something tragic happens. The humunculus, still alive, attempts to take a life with him. Kasumi lets out an strangled noise, clamping her hands overtop her mouth. She can't move, can't do anything to intervene. She can only watch in horror. As...

Shinichi... Transmutates? Awakens. And finishes off the Homunculus. "Oh. Oh, thank goodness..." Kasumi murmers, as life returns to her. "That was terrifying..." Everyone else runs to check up on Yanagi and Shinichi, but Kasumi can't bring up the energy just yet. So, she sinks down, still covering her mouth with her gloved hand.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
<poem> "The Homunculus is still alive!" Roger brings the sensation of shock to something more verbally sensible when it is too late for him to intervene. He's aghast at this! He should normally be on top of this kind of thing! He's the member of the team they're meant to rely on when it comes to the ins and outs of how an Atelier's denizens and unwanted Homunculus parasites all work!

...The terrible thought that Yanagi will not be able to play anymore with anyone, because of this.

But then...

Shinichi finds it in himself. He finds it in himself to change.

To awaken, to a Transmutation... and his Persona.

Hilarion disintegrates the Homunculus in its entirety, as Roger flails and balances back on one leg in the backwash of that awesome power of nuclear fire.

..And then Kikuno escapes.

"W-Wait! Weren't you going to-- explain... eee." Roger presses his fingers together, hunched over, at the rapid series of events. "Um, Shinichi-kun...!"

Many are, rightfully, coming to crowd around him to come to both his aid and Yanagi's. "D-Don't push it! You'll wear yourself out! You just awakened to something called a 'Persona!' You don't know the rules of that game yet!"

"...But..."

Roger tries to give a reassuring smile. "We're all on your team! We'll do all we can!!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>Magus looks toward Kazusa as she agrees with her. Yes... It is not that easy. She can hear the weight of familiarity in her voice.

Just because the source of the pain is gone, doesn't mean it is over.

She looks back toward Shinichi and Yanagi. ...It is, perhaps, the expected outcome. Of course it isnt so easy as letting her just go home to the family.

What isn't expected, though, is what happens next.

Magus curses under her breath as the Homunculus rises again. How foolish...! This is her first time encountering one of these creatures. She never thought to ask whether or not it was normal for the body to remain - but it was foolish of her to not guarantee the job was finished properly. She starts forward, drawing her saber - but she feels a spike of pain throughout her body, drawing a hiss from her. She isn't fast enough like this. She won't be able to do anything -

- but she doesn't need to. The shed cocoon begins to shine, and scarlet light washes over Shinichi.

"...I see. So this is..." Magus murmurs, trailing off. She lowers her blade - and watches as the Homunculus is consumed by flame.

But, her health...

"...We are currently outside normal reality." Magus states, as Shinichi asks for someone to call an ambulance. "They cannot reach us. We would need to leave this place. If you wish for something to be done, you must do it under your own power."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsumugi Kujaku has posed.
<poem>
They must really want those Eyes to let themself go through all that.

Maybe so. Tsumugi Kujaku doesn't explicitly deny it as they turn to make their exit with the others. All they say is this:

"I wanted to see if it could show me something new." Fingerless gloved hands move through that wild mane of platinum-and-glowing gradient hair, blowing locks back behind them as they walk.

"But it wasn't anything I didn't already know."

The steady click of heels carries them out in Pernelle's wake, ready to leave. They don't look behind them toward Yanagi. They don't tell her to hurry up and come with. Don't question her intentions.

Maybe because she's called the sky her own, and you don't cage a free bird.

Maybe they simply know what's coming next.

Either way...

They don't look back as Yanagi parts with Shinichi to grab the Eyes. They just lift a hand as Saika hands off kitchen duties to Pernelle.

"Ara. Is it time to play Russian roulette again--"

And then they stop. Red-gold eyes snap wide.

Something's wrong--

They spin, a second later, just in time to see the Homunculus gripping Yanagi, fit to crush her if only to deprive its host of the one thing he just took back. Eyes still wide, they take a single step forward -- and then still.

Those widened eyes narrow.

"..."

If Saika and Pernelle try to rush Eshm and Yanagi? They suddenly find a hand on their shoulder, and a high-heeled boot in their path, respectively, as Tsumugi suddenly seeks to preemptively still them.

"Wait," they advise, gaze fixed forward, past Eshm.

They blink. Once.

It's remarkable how much things can change in the blink of an eye? It's a powerful figurative device for a reason, after all. How profound things can just happen right past your notice. In some cases, however, it is very literal. Like now.

Tsumugi Kujaku's eyes shut for a fraction of a second.

And when they open --

Shinichi Nagisa is consuming the parasite that once tried to steal his life away in furious, desperate nuclear fire.

Shinichi Nagisa's chains break for the sake of saving another fetter he thought he'd lost.

"..." Tsumugi Kujaku's eyes hood as they watch Yanagi fall, and watch Shinichi rush to her side.

''Neesan! Hey, are you okay? Just breathe-!''

click
click
click

''Somebody call an ambulance--''

A long dark shadow casts over Shinichi and Yanagi Nagisa as an angelic figure dressed in white and carved of marble crouches down near them...

... and scoops Yanagi into their arms.

"No."

Tsumugi Kujaku lifts slowly. It hurts, with their injuries, but they lift Yanagi up, princess carry in their arms all the same. They don't even bother to look at Shinichi as they turn, fully intent to take his sister away from him.

"She was never yours to take. Shin-chan."

But their words are unmistakably for him.

"She's free now."

They turn, to start to leave once more. "Pernelle, open the--"

And then there is Kikuno, swiping that knife.

Those unnatural scarlet-gold eyes are wider than they've ever been as they fix immediately upon Kikuno. Surprise, for once, grips their gaze, along with something else -- something that makes pupils shrink towards pinpricks. The entire world seems to freeze in that moment.

And then she bolts for the door like a thief in the night.

"Saika, Pernelle--" the leader of Peacock Silk says immediately, their voice level but possessed of a sudden, ineffable ''intensity''.

"''Get her.''"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Coin looks at Pernelle. Pernelle looks back and tilts his head to one side. Then she points, and Pernelle ruffles in surprise. "Me! And he?!" Pernelle glances from Coin to Roger and back again, then straightens up, chest puffed with delight. "If speaking is what you seek, then speak we shall! I will bring snacks."

Later, of course.

Pernelle gasps and looks toward Saika.

"Have my kitchen privileges been restored?! Splendid! I shall whip up a feast the likes of which you have never experienced!" Yanagi chimes in to ignite Pernelle further with ideas. "Oh Yanagi, how I have missed your brilliant mind! We shall have the hotest of pots! The potest of hots!"

The excitement vibrating off of him comes to a sharp halt. Pernelle falls out of the air with his glasses falling from his beak.

"''Yanagi!''"

Scrambling with scratching claws, he makes to hurry toward her --

Only for Tsumugi's hand to fall upon him. He looks back up at them, stilled without resistance, but fear in his beady little eyes. Then he turns to look, burning blue reflected in his gaze. A grand awakening sees Eshm dispatched.

Pernelle watches the dust fall as Tsumugi takes Yanagi into their arms. And then --

"Eeeyaw?!" Pernelle squawks as Kikuno sweeps in.

''Get her.''

Pernelle's next squawk is more of a ''bellow'', terrifyingly resonate and echoing to have come from the throat of such a small creature. He spreads his wings and launches into full flight, casting his massive shadow over everyone in his path as he pursues Kikuno.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Saika Kikuchi has posed.
<poem>
"Oh, well, I'll try to be less gross, then," Saika jabs insouciantishly to Kazusa in reply. But she's not really focusing on her.

It does not quite reach Saika's face, in its stitchwork glory, but her eyes do soften slightly when Yanagi speaks. It must have been hard for her; well, maybe not, thinks Saika, but if I was in her shoes, and I had family that--

-- and it's hurting him, huh. It's hurting a guy who's gone through a lot. Obviously it can't be helped, but he seemed to come along pretty well when the chips were down. Maybe...

... nah: he doesn't seem like the type.

Saika lets out a sigh. Her attention turns to Yanagi, who is, after all, not a stranger to her, and says, "Absolutely, this is the perfect time of year. Actually, Pernelle could probably... hm..."

Her eyes lid for a moment, at the *worst possible* moment, because when something makes that horrible shadow-humor-nightmare-fluid *sound* her eyes snap open. She raises her chain-wrapped hand. "Fucking MONSTER! Go back to Hell already! Fr--" Her doubtless invocation of the Monster of lore is cut off momentarily when something goes *click*.

For a distinct tick, Saika is staring with total consternation at Shinichi.

Just one tick. It's probably for the best.

Because in that tick Tsumugi's hand rests on her shoulder. She knows it by reflex. Saika stays tight, but she doesn't lunge. She exhales. Her own eyes are focused with laser intensity on Yanagi, on where Yanagi is, on where Yanagi *stays*, because with this new resurgence on the part of Shin-chan over there, she's going to have to fight and it's not going to be easy.

Especially since --

Wait.

There was that flash.

She should be doing the heavy lifting, not Tsumugi, they're all beat up, BUT

BUT

Her eyes widen immensely, enough that one of the staples on the edge of her eye gives way, revealing a hint of lurid blood-wet tissue underneath. She seems to rise upwards because she's putting it all together, and Tsumugi's unambiguous. Pernelle has a screeching cry of fury, and Saika speaks with more conventional language.

Her voice sounds notably deeper now.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU GOING?"

Saika strides forwards, towards one of those pieces of heavy machinery on wheels that would be attached to your ailing relation or wounded love; the machine that calmly and coolly sings the sound of heart and lung and blood and brain, making the hidden apparent for the occult scholars society knows as doctors.

Anyway, Saika brings up her right leg and kicks it dead on.

The sensory array does not so much roll as disappear, streaking forwards fast enough to smash through a significant fragment of the wall. The resulting hole is shrouded in dust but Saika has to advance and even with her height she has to duck to get through the hole thus ripped, taking one big step over the edge as she shouts again,

"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

This must be one hell of a hobby.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> To be your own person.
Tick tock, tick tock, Umie.

Umie's clock is broken, but Yanagi's is still brutally shortened. To be the person she wishes to be, she had to cut herself free from the cocoon.

Umie bows her chin, slightly, and nods, closing her eyes.

'You're my sister!? I don't want to be ''free'' of you!'
Shinichi will likely not remember any of this, once enough time has passed. Maybe it's for the best... "..."

Do Umie's parents feel the same about her? She's cut them off for their own safety, just like she's done with almost things. They are the umbilical cord that connected her to the NWO, but also stubbornly ignorant of just how much damage the NWO has done to her.

Ignorance can kill a person, if they aren't careful. "Shit...!" Well, there's yet another flaw in Umie's 'radar': the Badb's radar is selfish, limited to dangers to *Umie*, not someone else, something others like Roger could see past.

The homunculus strikes to take what is his, expressing a deadly possessiveness the real Shinichi lacked.

But what Shinichi has that Homunuculus didn't, however, was the needle to thread the actualization of his True Self: his Persona.

".... amazing..." No matter what type, or situation, to see someone Awaken was like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon; a release of intention and willpower rarely ever given actual form. It's a fitting end, for the beast to be ended by the one who created him.

Still, Yanagi's life is now hanging from yet another thread. But, if Kazusa is correct... "Concentrate," Umie says calmly, excusing Kikuno's exit from her mind. If there's room, she'll stoop down close to the two, intent on trying to coach the newly made Persona User through what is a rough awakening.

Click, click, click.

Tsumugi scoops Yanagi up, much to Umie's dumbfounded shock. "Whoah, be careful," she cautions, but doesn't stop or hinder. Tsumugi has a point, as cruel as it may be for Shinichi to swallow.

Kikuno, meanwhile, has apparently made off like a thief in the night, meanwhile. She sighs, and gets up. "All this over some monster parts," she groans. "I guess it's an exciting life, though..."

Her gaze falls back down to Shinichi now, trying to bite back the wince at possibly seeing that face look up at her. ".... We should probably get going too, eh?" She glances back at Roger. ".... Will this place be stable long enough for us to get everyone stablized first? Including him."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
The Homunculus, returning to non-life like the last sting from a movie monster, snatches Yanagi up and lifts her into its crushing embrace. She cries out in reactionary pain, her cane and even the Eyes forgotten. As Eshm's grip tightens to break her, her cries intensify into ravaged screams.

She accepts that she will die, and die young. She ''does not'' accept that it will be at the filthy paws of the Homunculus she--she!--conned.

The aid that frees her comes not from whom she expects, though. Rather than Tsumugi or Saika or Pernelle, Shinichi is clothed in the red light of Transmutation and awakens to nuclear flame that burns Eshm clean away. As its arms slacken, she falls and stumbles into him, then looks back just in time to see the dying monster finally return to nothing.

(Mona meanwhile was shocked by this sudden sting too, but Yanagi's clearly got plenty of healers on her. He stays by Belle's side, resting a worried paw on her shoulder when she collapses. He'll leave when she does. They're partners, after all.)

Shinichi calls forth his Persona once more to heal her, and she breathes a little more easily, though sweat still beads her beautiful face. She doesn't respond though she also doesn't resist; when he calls for an ambulance in his panic, she grimaces. Kanae and Kazusa heal her as well, but Yanagi doesn't offer gratitude to either of them either. Instead, she twists to shoot a plaintive look over at one person:

Tsumugi.

Saika and Pernelle are dearly important to her too, but it's Tsumugi whom she loves the most. It's Tsumugi who she trusts with her whole heart to not be hurt or bereaved by her inevitable early passing. It's Tsumugi who will move on without hesitation afterwards, who will forget her once she's gone.

It's Tsumugi, and Tsumugi alone, with whom she can enjoy the present without being chained by a past or worrying about a future.

And so when they swoop towards her and sweep her into their arms, even before she appealed to them wordlessly, she breaks into a relieved and adoring smile. Eyelashes fluttering shut, she leans her head on their shoulder and relaxes...

'You lucky boy. You don't have a dead sister. Not tonight, anyway.'

'Saika, Pernelle--''get her''.'

Yanagi's eyes shoot open just in time to see Kikuno exiting stage left, pursued by a peacock. The Eyes are nowhere to be seen; certainly they're not where she left them. "Did she--" she utters.

Then her eyes narrow. A deep breath; she lets it out.

Saika and Pernelle will have it handled. Already they're screaming fury and chasing after Kikuno with violence in their hearts. They, too, are loyal. All four of them are dedicated to their cause. Yanagi settles anew--but this time, she peeks over at Roger. He speaks of the rules of the game that Shinichi doesn't yet know.

"Roger," she says softly, "please help Shinichi understand." Umie, meanwhile, has the right idea. Yanagi looks up at her boss, her friend, her companion, her lover. "Tsumugi, let's go."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
"Just dial One-One-Nine!" Shinichi calls to Coin in a panic, not realizing the actual context of the 'How'.

''... Sorry dude, No ambulance is coming here! ... But now that I see, it looks like you already had it taken care of...''
'Nagisa-san, a hospital can't help her. But your Persona can.'

"Taken care of-?" He can't comprehend that she might be right so easily as he watches Kazusa add more healing magic into the mix, "Is- is that really enough!? He probably broke a few ribs at least...!"

'You lucky boy. You don't have a dead sister.'
'Not tonight, anyway.'

He was too distracted to see what Kikuno did, but his jaw drops at what she said because- isn't this a medical emergency right now? "Yeah I mean- I'm trying to prevent that right now!"

'D-Don't push it! You'll wear yourself out! You just awakened to something called a 'Persona!' You don't know the rules of the game yet!'

"Rules!? My sister almost got murdered! Just give me the quick rundown!"

'No.'

A shape scoops up Yanagi, and he suddenly is on his feet- only to swirl with vertigo, less due to the drain of awakening and more from...

... from...

... the feeling that he knows this person.

"Who- who the-" Whatever hesitation he felt, melts away in the face of his confusion, and jealousy over the life she's chosen to live- with... them?

"-''fuck'' are you to say that!?"

Are they the reason Yanagi is acting like this? Are all of them in this crew the reason?

"This is between her and me- you can stay out of it."

'Saika, Pernelle--'

Two more names, he can now engrave in his brain.

'''Get her.'''

Their priority, right now, after Yanagi almost died- is going after another girl who saved him? For what!?

"Yeah- no. I'm not letting you just have your way here. You wanna get at her, you have to go through me!"

Which is probably more bluster than anything because the exhaustion of newly awakening is settling in and- he definitely wants to lay down for a hundred years.

But he won't until he makes himself have a fist fight with a monster peacock, at least and forces himself to take a step Pernelle's way.

CRASH BANG

or maybe you know that girl over there who suddenly seems like she's pretty mad

Instead his direction changes a half-step further towards Saika, "Hey! You're Saika right? Leave her the hell alone!"

Before he nearly slips and falls on his ass from sheer exhaustion.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Boss Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Soundtrack - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlmQiHClfko

Tak.

Tak.

Tak.

The sound of feet bearing geta, with a measured gait, just the right amount of force- to turn an inelegant 'thok' into a familiar 'tak'. A sound pronounced enough to be heard even over the din.

Familiar to one person in the Atelier's heart, that is. A woman wearing a black kimono, a symbol of calmness, stability... control. A pattern of pine trees: longevity, endurance, strength.

The resonance of her presence is immense- almost suffocating. Like even the awful vertigo of her existing nearby was enough to give many the urge to get on their knees before her rather than try to remain upright. Certainly at least enough to distract people away from the idea of fighting. Even if someone overcomes and gets the impulse to approach her, they'll find they're just unable to.

As if she could part the sea that is 'humanity' with her presence alone.

Her hands laced together, entirely unthreatened, her face that of a middle-aged woman, dark hair pinned up. "Such a lovely scene." She says of the chaos that she's just interrupted, "Just the kind of family reunion I envisioned. Between brother and sister..." A hand gestures towards Yanagi and Shinichi.

"...Mother and-" Another hand moves up, but before pointing at someone, her expression becomes the tiniest of insincere smiles as she looks right at them. "Oh. But I should call you Tsumugi now, shouldn't I? The name you chose for yourself."

She enunciates each word as green eyes, locked with theirs. "Your. Freedom." Rather than gesture at her, she lets a sleeve slide down naturally by gravity, showing a bracelet. It is an unsightly thing. Diamonds in the rough, interspersed with cut ones, mismatched in size and shape. A shogi piece for 'pawn' facing the object of their attention.

Yanagi will recognize it as a very familiar commission. The one she delivered on the day she saw Shinichi, before this whole mess.

"'Family,' 'tradition'... words that bind you- you remember when I said that, do you not? It is because you remain bound by your memory of me. Your freedom, a lie- shaped by your remembrance of our time together." She beckons Tsumugi with a single fingertip. "Let us leave this place, Tsumugi. I will allow you to serve me once more."

The hand drops, as she says with a self-confidence of absolute certainty.

"Just as you always have."

Many in this room may be confused by this. Who this woman is- even the few who know her, are certainly confused. One young man looks at her with eyes wide, staring in shock like he's seen not just one ghost today, but two.

"... Itami-san?" Shinichi whispers. "But you're..."

She does not even bother to look in Shinichi's direction, yet she does at least acknowledge him, "This is my gratitude for helping to take such good care of me, Nagisa-kun. The miracle you always desired. Your sister returned to your side."

Whether she wants to be or not, she does not say. That much is obvious.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>
Kanae can feel for Shinichi in the moment. He's having trouble. He's finally speaking up for something he ''wants'', like she wanted him to a while back... but it's something he's not going to get, plainly.

But she hadn't realized Kikuno was running away with something so important.

"..." 'Give me the quick rundown', he says, but 'no' is more relevant for the moment. Between them...

Tsumugi has started to walk away with Yanagi, and while it was simple while Shinichi was a nonissue to appreciate Yanagi's desire for freedom, seeing the toll it takes on Shinichi is harder, now.

It gets harder and more complex when that ''woman'' appears.

Yanagi has made her decision, but...

"Huh?" Kanae wonders, and suddenly feels ''very'' out of place. A reunion between mother and... someone.

"..."

She didn't expect gratitude, of course. But she didn't expect a ''lot'' of what happened, either. Kanae takes a look back towards Isabeau for a moment--and then steps over to where the Homunuculus was. "Hey, hold on..."

She looks apologetically at Shinichi, and picks up Yanagi's cane. She hurries a few moments after Yanagi and Tsumugi before they can go--and offers it forth.

"This is yours," she says. "Here you go. ...Guess that finishes out our deal."

She steps back, and doesn't stop Yanagi or Tsumugi any further from here.

But she looks back at Shinichi. "So this is freedom, huh...?"

She thinks of Touma, again, and bows her head. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is."

But nervously, Kanae can't help but look to 'mother' once again, uneasy.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa will explain it to Belle later, that she was concerned about Shinichi and what mentioning things that the Homunculus might do, but... that's a moot point now.

Also, just a time and place thing.

(... also, a little bit that Kanae dating the Homunculus, even if for a noble cause, made Kazusa irritable. That probably doesn't mean anything.)

It's okay, Roger. None of this has happened how anybody expected. At least, not how ''Kazusa'' expected. They can talk about it later.

Roger cautions Shinichi on the 'rules' of playing Persona, and Kazusa, for once, agrees with him. (Maybe not with the exact ''phrasing'', but her capacity to nitpick right now is deeply bottomed out.)

Shinichi asks if it's enough. Kazusa nods seriously. "The Homunculus was supernatural. And... so are you, now. Between the three of us... it'll work."

She also doesn't have time to process Tsumugi's wanting to see something new. But she ''does'' react when Tsumugi just... scoops up Yanagi to princess carry her away. "H-hey!" Shinichi can't cage her, and Kazusa ''gets'' that, but also, "You could let us finish healing her!"

She missed what Kikuno did, with her attention focused on Shinichi and Yanagi. But when Tsumugi says to 'Get her' her head cranes around. "Wha-- didn't she come in with you? What the heck!?"

She gets that Shinichi is upset--and she in no way knows how to unpack any of this right now, but when he goes to pick a fight-- "H-hey! You're not going to be in any condition to fight--" He goes down, and this means Kazusa goes to kneel by his side.

Which means she doesn't have to worry about trying to remain standing when that immense presence comes, but she gasps and recoils anyway as she feels that power. "Wha--" She can't help but grit her teeth, but feels in no way willing to try and fight back.

What the heck is going on here!?

'Mother and...' She looks at Tsumugi, then back at the strange woman who just appeared.

She shoots Kanae a concerned look. If another fight breaks out, do any of them have enough left to fight something like ''this''???.

"Nagisa-san, do you ''know'' her?" she asks under her breath to her classmate.
</poem>
[OOC] Kazusa Motojima says, "bluray: Tack that onto my pose."

<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>"On WHAT," Coin calls back to Shinichi. "I do not own a phone, and even if I did, it doesn't work here!"

It is probably not a surprise that the little fox humanoid does not have a phone if Shinichi calms down enough to think about it (and also does not freak out about there being a little fox humanoid, which is an important step).

But Yanagi is alive, and even up, and Coin is pleased by that. She crosses her arms, nodding in a satisfied way -

- which is when Saika smashes down part of a wall, and Pernelle flies overhead. Coin stares after them for a moment, torn between following and not. 'Not' wins, but only by a hair - she wants to see what's going on! Still, she remains at Kanae's side -

Scratch that. She remains *behind* Kanae, having swished around her as soon as the new arrival... arrived. Even before she spoke. Coin doesn't want to be seen, and even she does not know why. Maybe it's that sheer presence. It certainly overpowers Coin's; Coin does not exactly have a small attitude, but she's feeling completely overborne by... 'Itami-san'?

Coin peeks out from around Kanae, but does not step around her. She does give Kazusa a look up at that concern, making a 'please calm down' patting gesture - no, you should not fight someone like this!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Misato Fushihara has posed.
<poem>It seems there's an altercation. ...Past this point, it isn't Magus's place to interfere. They'll have to work it out between themselves. Shinichi, meanwhile, is understandably confused about the situation. This must be a lot for him. She doesn't envy him, to have so much dropped onto him at once. What he does from here, though, is between him, Yanagi, and that group taking her.

But then there's the sound of someone approaching - followed by an overwhelming presence.

Who is this? Just being around her makes it difficult to breathe. It's difficult even to remain ''standing'' - but even in her current state, rebellion roars in Magus's heart against those who would force her down. She forces herself to remain standing - but even that much is difficult to manage. She watches her carefully, but for now that's all she can do.

But whoever this is, Shinichi seems rather surprised to see her...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
Kasumi does not understand at all what's going on. She understands that the kimono clad woman is important with an impressive presence. And Shinichi has seen another ghost.

She also understands that this woman is very, very strong. Not just anyone can say 'I will allow you to serve me once more', and cause a bystander to feel a tug.

Kasumi grabs Mona close. "We need to keep our heads down." She whispers. "This isn't the time to interfere." Even she can tell that much.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
<poem> Roger can completely trust in Kazusa's Persona to help deal with any hurts outright! Which is good, because his ability to sense Homunculi that are still a threat - or rather, the failure to do so - rattles him.

Tsumugi takes hold of Yanagi as all hell breaks loose and the other members of Peacock Silk are running off.

"Roger,' a soft voice. He looks up. Someone gave him a name, some time ago, and he holds onto it like a precious thing. He's someone! Someone to play with. With everyone. 'Please help Shinichi understand.'

"...Oh... okay." He says, a bit taken aback. He doesn't know what game is being played here, but having accustomed himself to 'working a job,' he knows some games you have to play even if they don't seem very fun on the outset. Humans play a lot of games.

"I, I meant it!!" Roger snorts to Shinichi as he tries to hurry to his side as he falls from exhaustion. "You can't hoof it after 'em like this," he stomps his feet, his back turned to something else.

Tak.

Tak.

Tak.

A powerful presence washes through, and Roger's eyes widen to pinpricks. He snorts the once inquisitively, turns about-face. He feels shoved just by being there, an aggressive fight-or-flight better described as a fervent stay-in-place.

He doesn't escape Shinichi's side. Not when Shinichi managed to fight to determine for himself who he is and what he wants, but to call Roger's posture 'defiant' is being generous.

His words, however...

"That's a Homunculus!" He says. "...I'm sure of it, but..." Roger stammers some. It reads more like confusion than out-and-out fear, at a 70-to-30 ratio. "...Never one like this..."

He holds his tennis racquet defensively, but cannot raise it further. He remains by Shinichi's side.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsumugi Kujaku has posed.
<poem>
It's hard to call the look on Tsumugi Kujaku's face, or the pitch of their voice, urgent. It barely seems different from their typical placidity -- and it's certainly a far cry from the wild passion they were demonstrating earlier.

But for those who know them, there's a difference there, as they ask Pernelle and Saika to give Kikuno chase. A subtle shift in body language and voice that adds an underscore of tension to it all, like the way the mood seems to just shift when a storm is on the horizon. Can you call it urgency?

Could you call it anything else?

It's there and gone in a moment, the second Saika and Pernelle pursue. As if content they'll secure the Eyes, the subtle edge dissipates like dirt washed away by the rain. They have nothing to say to the others; not to Shinichi's angry accusations, nor to Kazusa's startled shout. They just turn to leave once more, heals clicking on soiled, cognitive grounds.

click
click
click

t a k .

And then they freeze.

Their head hangs the moment they stop, platinum locks and their glowing, scarlet-gold undersides a veil obscuring their immaculate features from everyone.

Everyone but Yanagi, held in their arms, who can see their eyes widening, and lips pursing to part out a brief, small sound.

"no."

''Such a lovely scene.''

Fingers grip more tightly to Yanagi. They tremble, lightly, against her hip. They don't look behind them to see who has arrived. Maybe they don't need to.

Maybe they don't dare to.

"..."

Kanae approaches. Her words are light the muffled blare of a Peanuts adult in Tsumugi's ears, indistinct and lost as everyone else's confusion and uncertainty is. Like their body was moving of their own accord, they suddenly lower Yanagi as that cane is offered out to her, one hand on the small of her back to but otherwise left to hold herself up by that walking stick Kanae offers up as Tsumugi's other hand falls limp to their side.

''"Family," "tradition"... words that bind you- you remember when I said that, do you not?''

"..."

Their head rolls back. And slowly...

... slowly...

... they pivot on one heel, the entire world feeling like it shifts around them until it inevitably, inexorably draws them face to face with a beautiful vision that once filled them with the most excrutiating and painful of envies.

She looks just like the last time Tsumugi saw her. Exquisite. Unapproachable.

blotted and disgusting

"..."

Let us leave this place, Tsumugi.

I will allow you to serve me once more.

Their eyes are wide. Their entire stance is rigid.

Just as you always have.

Like someone staring down the face of death.

"..."

Your entire life has been as a puppet
whose strings have merely been traded from person to person.

Their eyes widen further.

Furiously.

"...

"''You never taught me anything.''"

shwff

By all accounts, the movement is sudden. Spontaneous. Unhesitating. To most, they'd just see Tsumugi Kujaku's right arm suddenly swing up in a smear of a white sleeve.

And then a knife singing through the cognitive air aimed right for the dead center of the one Shinichi called Itami-san's forehead.

But to the observant, and the ones who know them.

It isn't instant.

It isn't unhesitating.

There's the slightest, critical delay before that knife flies--

the damning sting of uncertain hesitation.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Of course Umie has the right idea! She always has good ideas! Even when they're ones snuck in by a tiny doll-like manifestation of her curse.

"Nagisa-san." It's definitely time to be the adult in the room, now that several adults are now in the process of leaving. "Pretty sure you'll see her again, now that you've got a Persona of your own." As Yanagi surmised, Roger may be a better candidate for this, come to think of it; but that doesn't mean Umie isn't going to *try*.... "First time's always hard summoning, so... you're not going to be able to stop anything." ... Apparently, from what Umie's heard.

Of course, *they* could stop the crew from taking Yanagi, but...

*tak* *tak* *tak*
It's a sound Umie knows well, having had to navigate them not too long ago: geta. "...." Her head snaps to the intrusion ever alert.

'I will allow you to serve me once more.' Even if this person may come in hopes of reunion, the sting of those words are like nails on a chalkboard.

If it's as Roger says...

The Badb is willing, even if Umie's at half her reserves. ".... Yeah, no." Woth a twist, the kyoketsu shoge is slung out of one sleeve, the hoop end grabbed by her other hand. However, she doesn't thrown or move, slightly bared as a threat, much like Roger has chosen to.

.... She'll choose to believe that Roger sees how much of a threat this homunculus is, and follow his lead.

Tsumugi's reaction, however, is something wholly different.

As the knife flies... a crow longs to do the same.

'Don't hesitate, Um-i-e-chan~' Pupils constrict, but Umie stays back.

But her tongue doesn't follow suit. "I don't think you're welcome here, I-ta-mi-san~"

The tone is sweet, playful, almost identical to the one purred against her ear alone moments ago. Umie is too eager to remain ignorant of it.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Another squawk echoes through the area.

Pernelle returns, carried by the same wings that he left on, abandoning his quarry and ignoring his leader's instruction.

"Not today!"

He folds his wings in a twists his body mid flight into a single aileron roll. Long neck outstretched like a needle, he meets sudden and inexplicable resistance.

Yet his momentum is not stopped, merely ''paused'', and with an explosive streak of light he seems to ''puncture'' nothingness, his body threading through reality itself to reveal a shimmering, ovoid gate.

His head pops back out of it, Pernelle now grounded and gesturing with a sweep of his wings to motion through.

"Quickly now, ''quickly!''"

It is Tsumugi he beseeches, but he shall not close the portal on anyone who wants to leave through it, provided they are nimble in their decision.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Shinichi protests Tsumugi taking Yanagi away in rather coarse language. Her eyes narrow. She might love him, but that only makes it irritate her more than he's trying to fight this. "Shinichi," she says reproachfully, "you're being annoying. Please calm down and let us leave." At least Roger has agreed to help him. Yanagi is content to leave it at that, even if he seems confused too.

Kazusa gets a similarly unimpressed look when she says Tsumugi could at least wait for them to finish healing her. "I can heal myself," she tells her, voice clipped. She might be a Navigator rather than a healer, but that doesn't mean she lacks any such magic at all. More importantly, has Kazusa ever seen Yanagi annoyed or angry before?

The elegant footfalls of geta resound then in the ruined hospital room. Yanagi sucks in a sharp little gasp and pulls herself up in Tsumugi's arms, one hand slipping around their neck and clutching their shoulder. She sees the look on their face, hears their smallest refutation, feels their fingers dig into her and shake. It's a reaction even beyond the subtle urgency they had about Kikuno's grand theft.

Her gaze thus ''must'' go to the stately woman in the black pine kimono. To see who could have this kind of effect on them.

She barely needs to, though. She doesn't know Mifuyu by name, but she does know what she is. The Resonance alone makes it obvious, even without her Navigator abilities--at least, it feels that way to her. There's something ''odd'' about it, but even so--

"Homunculus," she whispers. "A fully matured one."

Good thing Roger's here to explain that loudly enough for ''everyone'' to hear, not just Tsumugi. Yanagi's attention is more on what's on the entity's wrist. This isn't just a fully matured Homunculus; it's one wearing the diamond bracelet commission she'd delivered to Shibuya University Hospital--where she and Shinichi reunited, where this entire debacle started.

Yanagi may have never finished high school, but she can still put two and two together before the Homunculus that has become Mifuyu Itami explains this was entirely by design. Her nails dig into Tsumugi's shoulder--all the more so as the one called Mifuyu invites them back under her command, tells Shinichi that all this was its gratitude for his own service.

(Mona meanwhile gets scooped up by a terrified Belle. "Are you serious?!" he hisses at her. "This is ''exactly'' the time to interfere! We can't just let this lady strongarm someone into servitude!!" But with Belle's arms around him, he can't get to any of his tools of the trade to help with a getaway for everyone. After all, even as he says that, he fully agrees that this is not someone they all should fight.)

Kanae picks up and gives Yanagi back her cane. This gets a grateful if steely smile that she didn't get before when she contributed to her healing. It does indeed conclude their deal, in her view.

"Thank you," she says--but before she can do what she wants to do next, Tsumugi sets her down--gently, with care--but leaving her to support herself now that her cane's been returned. They turn away and approach the Homunculus.

"Tsumugi!" Yanagi cries, staggering to one side as she steps toward them, forced to clutch her cane with both hands to stay upright. The Dias and Diaramas mended the worst of her injuries, and she's used to enduring pain, but it's not something she can just shrug off either.

No more than she can shrug off that barest hesitation just as Tsumugi throws their knife.

That confirms it. Whoever this Homunculus is, she is...

...what Shinichi almost became for her.

Pernelle returns, no doubt after sensing Mifuyu's approach and arrival. Yanagi feels the gate as he forms it, and she grabs Tsumugi by the crook of their elbow. "Let's go," she says again, leaning on them--so that she can raise her gun-cane and fire on the Homunculus.

She ''doesn't'' hesitate, but she doesn't have nearly Tsumugi's speed. It's merely something to buy a fraction of time--time enough for Yanagi to use her own weight to drag Tsumugi towards the gate and allow Peacock Silk to run. The rest, too, if they're quick enough. Yanagi won't begrudge it of them.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Boss Penguin has posed.
<poem>
The woman who was once Mifuyu Itami, looks at Tsumugi in that inhuman way one might- as a favorite pet perhaps. So far above them, in control of every aspect of her life.

As Tsumugi yells '''You never taught me anything.''' she says nothing as the dagger flies, straight at her forehead. Only for her to raise a finger.

Only for the blade to stop, in mid-air, the moment it strikes the pad of that finger. Or rather, the Tetrakarn spell protecting that finger. As the backlash causes a searing, migraine like pain in Tsumugi, in the exact spot they had intended for her.

The knife clatters to the floor.

"Are you finished?" She asks, as if they were merely some unruly child, in open rebellion against their mother. "'You must appease the collective, because it is a ravenous beast and will devour you if you let it go hungry. So feed it scraps and pretend it's a feast, while you enjoy the true bounty.'"

As she echoes another lesson, from long ago, as a mockery of their own 'role' within Peacock Silk. As a rejection of the idea she taught her nothing, "Allow me to truly unburden you. Choose one of your allies in Peacock Silk... prove to me, you are free."

A gunshot, from a cane. It strikes dead on, the psychic backlash is just as swift as before.

"Or perhaps I should choose for you, so you can keep up appearances."

A slender hand is raised, in a dismissive gesture towards Yanagi.

The last thing that Yanagi will feel, before entering the portal, is the full force of a Zandyne spell, pure force itself- smashing her through it.

"Run from your past, Tsumugi, as long as you'd like. I can be patient..."

The other side of the bracelet is now in full view, showing the Shogi piece for 'King'.

"...we are not playing chess, after all."

Some may know she's speaking about the long time professional Shogi uses between moves. An eternity, in comparison.

She waits for them to leave, then smiles without even looking at Umie. "What care have I, for the invitation of a rabid beast?" She does not even bother with retribution for her impudence. Instead she turns.

Tak

Tak

Tak

Three footsteps. Blink. Or don't.

Either way, she's still gone.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
'Shinichi, you're being annoying. Please calm down and let us leave.'

Part of him withers under her reproval, like he's a little kid again. However, "Your friend just told all of you to 'Get them!' and tried to jump someone. You're being ''weird''!" Is that the best he can do for what to call Yanagi's behavior?

Well, yes, she's his sister.

Having sent Roger over to Shinichi, he's collapsed on one knee, as he looks at the... pig? The pig who told him he didn't know the rules!? Who says the approaching woman is- a Homunculus?!

His mind clicks things together that it didn't before, the creature he immolated is something like her.

"What- no I mean, how? That doesn't... she's-"

He can't articulate why that sounds wrong, as Roger said, he doesn't know the rules of the game.

"Right, have a rulebook?" He mumbles, nursing both a pounding headache and terrible exhaustion- not to mention the resonance from Tsumugi.

What happens next though-

A knife thrown. "Hey-!" A shot of a gun, "Wait-!" Was THAT A GUN? DID HIS SISTER PUT A GUN IN HER CANE? Before he can protest about his shock at the overwhelming illegality...

A Zandyne spell in retribution, "HEY!" He shouts, in fury at the attempt to kill her, as he tries to rise, then collapses again behind Roger and his tennis racquet. "What is WRONG with-!"

She's no longer there.

"-you?" The fury goes out of his voice, as he deflates. "Some gratitude..." He mumbles, of Mifuyu's exit. His sister was there, and gone. She saved his life. He saved hers- he awakened to some power. And to his very real concerns and confusion...

He was being ''annoying'' to her?

"Anyone care to... fill me in on what's going on?" He says in utter exhaustion, yet still, determined, despite it to try and figure things out. "Who were these people my sister is with?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
<poem>
That overwhelming presence weighs more heavily on Kanae by the moment. But Coin is behind her, hiding there, and Kanae mkkes sure to stay in front of her. She can be a presence herself. Until--

A Homunculus. A mature Homunculus, Yanagi confirms.

"...Good luck," Kanae says, and looks back to Shinichi. She isn't going to go after Yanagi and company. Tsumugi speaks their defiance, and Kanae juzt looks between them and the woman in the kimono. She is not fast enough to get through the portal.

She shivers. "That's messed up," Kanae says to the 'back' of the woman who disappeared. "That's what almost happened...?"

To Shinichi. To Kazusa.

She looks to the others, and then pulls something from her pocket. It is recognizeable as a little talisman called a Goho-M.

"...Nagisa-kun," she says. "That's, ah..."

"You almost got replaced by a monster, we stopped it, your sister's taken up with a group called Peacock Silk that does fashion and apparently likes Homunuculus eyes, and the school thinks you and me are going out because I was kind of dating the Homunuculus?"

Pause.

"Anyway come here because I'm going to get us the hell out of here, we can have a good long talk later. Coin, make sure we've got Isabeau?" she requests. "Kazusa-san, go grab Nagisa-kun. Roger-san..."

"I don't even know. Let's get out of here."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
"No." Kasumi is going to keep Morgana close. So she can take him and run when the time is right. "If..." She hesitates, unsure what pronoun to use for Tsumugi. "If they did it once, they'll reject her again."

As Kasumi predicts, Tsumugi responds to their mother with a tossed knife. She's definitely fooled by how smooth that was. And yet, 'Itami-san' deflects it with a Tetrakarn. And it's revealed, that the mother is a humunculus, casuing Kasumi to shudder. This? Is what happens if the person can't be saved from their Atelier? That's terrifying... Itami-san gave such an uncanny feeling.

Still, the Peacock Silk gang leaves, and Itami-san promises to be patient and disappears into the air herself.

Kasumi, once more, lets the tension back out. They're all okay. They made it through. She lets go of Mona as she rises back to her feet. "It's time to go, Mona." She says, even if she's looking back over to Kazusa. See you back in reality? The pairing will make their own escape.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Coin has posed.
<poem>There's a reason Coin was hiding. She may not have the deep knowledge of Ateliers and Homonculuses that Roger does, nor does she actually know 'Mifuyu Itami' (a lot of the interpersonal byplay has been memorized for her to chew over later), but she recognized enough to know she wanted no part of that woman.

But eventually she goes, and it becomes safe. Safe*r*, anyway. From behind Kanae, Coin sticks her head out. "I've got her!" she says, brightly.

She does sort of got her. Coin is not actually big enough to lift an entire human being. But she's trying, and she's supported, so that's good.

A few moments later, though, Coin realizes something.

"...wait, we're going out? As in, not in the Atelier? You want me to go OUT into the PHYSICAL WORLD? I don't know - "

That's going to be all she gets out before they go, though.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinichi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Shinichi listens to that whole statement, then forces himself to come over to Kanae, slowly, slowly- leaning on Roger some because he has to then.

Coin protests about the physical world, Shinichi though makes a realization in his exhaustion addled brain.

"... ... Wait what do you mean the school thinks we're- ... ... ... those weren't just weird dreams-"

TRAESTO

Crisis averted.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
<poem>
Kazusa hasn't really seen Yanagi annoyed or angry before, no, but she might not be able to appreciate that fully in the moment, considering the rapid-fire sequence of everything that's happened. She huffs angrily. (Which is a very common emotion for her.) "Sure. Heal yourself while you're already half-dead. I'm sure that'll work out ''great''."

Coin makes the 'please calm down' gesture at her, and Kazusa does not look like she's got any ounce of chill in her at the moment. But she does a little roll of her eyes and a nod in what is probably some variation of 'Yeah, yeah, I ''know''.'

Kazusa isn't sure if she should be trusted with important matters yet. But... that's the change she's working towards, isn't it? (She'll reassure Roger later; the not-quite-dead Eshm took ''Yanagi'' by surprise, too.) But when he labels the newcomer a ''Homunculus'' her head whips around to look at him in alarm. "A-are you sure!?"

This time, it's not distrust or skepticism that colors her voice, but simply alarm.

She can only watch, as Mifuyu Itami, Tsumugim, and Yanagi attempt to exchange blows, as Pernelle ''opens a whole in reality''-=- "Wait what!?" Can ''Roger'' do that?

Questions for later.

But she looks to Shinichi with open concern. "I don't know what ''that'' was all about, but..." Kanae provides a summary. "... yeah. What she said. I know it sounds like a lot, but just... it'll make sense in time, promise." Weird dreams. Kazusa looks pained. "... sorry, they weren't."

With the Homunculus gone, Kazusa can get up, and she's got just enough in her to offer a hand and a shoulder for Shinichi to get up. "Roger-san, help me with him." She is a comparatively tiny gymnast girl she is not bearing a male lacrosse player by herself.

"... I'll see you in class tomorrow, Nagisa-san. We can talk then, okay?"

She casts a glance to Belle and gives her a silent nod.

She'll feel good about rescuing Shinichi, but... the feeling of that Homunculus' presence is going to keep her up tonight.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsumugi Kujaku has posed.
<poem>
The knife is let fly.

And then it stops.

The effect is almost like it strikes a wall. And that--

"gk!"

is ''exactly'' what it feels like for Tsumugi as all that momentum rebounds directly into them. The typically graceful tailor's head snaps back like they were just struck, or shot. White hot pain blooms out a flashbang from their temple through to their sinuses through to their quivering jaw until it settles into a tingling agony across their whole face.

By the time their head lurches back forward, scarlet droplets splatter the ground, dripping off the exquisitely marble chin of their face from a stream of blood drooling down their nostril.

Are they finished?

They have no answer but the huff of breath. Their eyes still wide, their expression blank. Unreadable.

But she was always able to read them, wasn't she?

No matter how hard high a wall they thought they had put up--

''Allow me to truly unburden you.''

''Quickly now, '''quickly!'''''

Light punches a hole in nothing. Pearlescent and shimmering, that gate blooms behind Tsumugi, the backdrop of resplendence rendering them a dark silhouette.

Quickly. Quickly!

They don't move.

Their gaze remains wholly fixated on the thing called Mifuyu Itami.

Did they reject her before?

Right now, despite that burst of violence, they seem locked in a standstill as her gentle insinuations paint a picture in which the white space of what goes unsaid provides the full portrait.

Pick one.

A heeled foot starts to step forward--

"You didn't--"

An arm around their elbow. The report of a gun whipcracks at their eardrums.

They are so rarely off their footing. But they are now as Yanagi manages to drag them into that portal with her bodyweight, seconds before that bullet seizes and the force rebounds in cold retribution for the audacity.

And yet...

Yanagi will feel resistance against her tugging right up until the very moment that the two disappear past the gate.

Tsumugi's gaze never leaves Mifuyu's, even for a moment, until they vanish. But it's her move, now. They can do nothing.

... They did nothing. Even after so many years, even after how far they've come, how could they--

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> "Rabid beast, huh? Been definitely called worse," Umie grumbles, as Itami's presence is suddenly gone.

People move to leave; Umie opts not to involve herself with the various ways people get out, wincing with some sympathy as Shinichi, as well as Coin, object, for different reasons.

She looks to Tsumugi and Yanagi, tilting her head. "You'll probably run across them again, you know." Wasn't that what she said to Shinichi? ".... You'll... be okay, right, Kujaku-san?"

There's one other group she wants to make sure of as well, and, even if the threat of Eshm is gone... she realizes she *should* be more careful hinting at any connection she has to the Phantom Thieves.

(Hilariously, this is an assumption, as Belle is freelance, as is Mona. BUT ENOUGH OF THAT.)

She looks Belle and Mona's way as she digs into her coat. "... You two have a way to escape once we all do, right?" she says, quietly, trying not to be noticed. "Just... wanted to check."

She won't move until she has an answer, but once she does, she'll leave in a flash of light.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
<poem>
Umie reaches out quietly to check that the freelance thieves have a way out. "Ah! We always pack a couple Goho-Ms." She pumps her arms, forcing a confidant outlook. "Thank you though, Umie-san. That's sweet of you." A pause. "And sorry, for about earlier..." She means back at the Monad, naturally.

Though, now she wonders. Is Umie friends with Amemiya-senpai?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Kasumi answers in the affirmative; Umie nods, grinning as Kasumi pumps an arm. "Alright~ jussst checking." She takes out her gem, just about to use it, when...

'And sorry, for about earlier...'

It earns Kasumi a soft smirk from Umie, as the hooded blonde chuckles, waving a hand. "I'm the one who can't settle on a codename. There's nothing to apologize for."

Attempting to use the gem *and* put away her weapon, Belle and Mona see Umie just about to do.... *something*, but the gem is just about to fall from from her hand.

In a flash of an Umie Akabane fumbling for the gem, they are left alone.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

File:HomunculusEshm1.png

2026-10-10T18:46:44Z

Eri:

File:HomunculusEshm2.png

2026-10-10T18:46:32Z

Eri:

Ateliers

2026-09-11T20:59:56Z

Eri:

A recent topic entering public (supernatural) conscious via the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side]], Ateliers are not a new concept, but instead one that has been rapidly becoming more relevant as rumors of people falling victim to [[Homunculus||vicious and unsettling bodysnatching incidents]] have begun to circulate.

The cognitive spaces known as Ateliers seem to be central to these rumors. Which begs the question...

==What Are Ateliers?==

An aspect of the Collective Unconscious, Ateliers exist in all people and represent the balance of a person's sense of individuality versus their connections to others and society – they are, essentially, a person's mind palace (but not Palace!). They are usually benign insomuch as they do not intrude on other supernatural spaces nor are they typically harmful to their owner. Ateliers' sole role is to represent - and maintain - a person's sense of individuality within an endless sea of interconnection.

Everyone has an Atelier, but every Atelier is different. As an Atelier is a reflection of its owner, each is as unique as a fingerprint. There are some simple rules that define how they appear however, their ultimately being a reflection of the individual and their connection to others being the most fundamental. A person with a strongly developed sense of individuality, for example, will have an Atelier that is largely reflective of their personality, their history, and the important things of their life. A person who lacks a strong, individual identity, on the other hand, will usually have a more indistinct Atelier that is ultimately more reflective of the culture and area in which they live, and - on occasion - the people who have had the strongest influence over their lives.

Finally: a person who has no sense of self, i.e. a person whose Shadow has been destroyed, consumed, or otherwise removed from the individual, has a barren and monochrome Atelier, having been deprived of the thing sustaining it.

This is the cornerstone for what an Atelier -looks- like. But there's other simple rules fundamental to an Atelier. Like, for example:

How do you ''get into'' one?

==Accessing Ateliers==

Ateliers exist as part of the nature of intelligent life, although they vary widely in their scope and thematics. In nearly all cases, they are simply there, the same as your spleen and the back of your ears. In some cases, they can be more easily found. Individuals who have recently had a sudden, radical change in their behavior leave a way in.

Getting into the Atelier is not a simple matter. First, you must find a Thread: something important to the individual. This is usually an item of specific personal adoration -- and it may not be the most obvious choice. A precious wedding ring might not be a Thread, while a memento of a regretted love or childhood pet might be. In some rare cases, an individual may be a Thread, although in such cases the individual holds the Potential as well. Whether this is a precondition or a side effect is unknown.

After finding the Thread, one must find the Needle (formerly known as the Eye): the Needle will be a location, a lonely one, that is or was important to the individual whose Atelier you seek. This location must be physically visited with the Thread in tow. A subtle change in the Thread's Resonance, usually perceived as an intensification of the Thread's "is-ness," proves that the two have met. (In the exceptional cases of a Thread being an individual, they may visit the location themselves. Typically, they will not notice anything.)

This completes the ritual: at this point, one can enter the Atelier. However, this in turn has its own complexities. You have to find a space where people are "Alone Together." There are nuances here -- it must be an enclosed area, which simultaneously holds the concepts of isolation and interconnection. Such places can be difficult to find, but there is a simple and elegant solution in the modern jungle: a net cafe.

These oases of connected solitude are usually open 24-hours, but it may take some courage to brave one. Here, the traveler enters the net cafe cubicle with the Thread and closes the door. With the Thread in hand, or near to hand, the aspiring traveler logs into a certain website simply called [AtelierNetwork.jp]. After a short wait -- helpfully tracked by the site itself -- the user may step outside of the place where they are, and enter the Fabric of Reality.

The Thread does not travel with you, and once an Atelier is accessed for the first time and a [[https://www.velvetroom.wiki/index.php/Ateliers#AtelierNetwork.jp AtelierNetwork.jp]] has been produced, the Thread is no longer needed. Anyone who has a given Atelier's link, Awakened or otherwise, can potentially use it... though only the Awakened can access the website in the first place, and one still needs to be in an alone-together place to access it.

The intentionality of this ritual effectively limits it to Persona Users or their immediate confederates. Individuals as Threads should be considered a "PC-exclusive" feature -- either as a shocking mischance leading to Transmutations, or as a point of tension and complexity.

==Lesser Shadows - The Humors==

Ateliers are benign. They are not, however, without a way to defend themselves. Known as '''Humors''', these lesser Shadows populate - and are influenced by - the Ateliers they reside in, and serve as something like the white blood cells of an individual's psyche.

Humors can be divided into four separate categories defined by the roles they fulfill within the Atelier:

'''Flegmat (Phlegmatic) -'''
Among Humor Shadows, the Flegmat types are the most passive. They tend to comprise the 'window dressing' of an Atelier's environment and represent the relative baseline of an Atelier owner's psyche. They are sensitive to small worries and disturbances that are usually too remote for one to voice in the real world. Capable of conversation, but not very assertive, they tend to get swept up by events around them. Despite this, their presence helps prevent most Homunculi from forming at all.

It's when a Homunculus does form with enough strength to eat the primary Shadow that they become seemingly helpless to the chaos around them. As a Homunculus' control of the Atelier strengthens, they begin to take on more twisted forms befitting the Homunculus in question. When it happens, they become the bellwethers to how close a Homunculus is to fully consuming the host's Shadow.

'''Sanguin (Sanguine) -'''
Humor Shadows that represent a need for drive, action, or call for help that the Atelier owner struggles to manage, these are the real movers and doers of Humor Shadows. They all unilaterally desire to destroy a Homunculus by their nature, and can be convinced by Atelier visitors that they are there to help.

However, most will usually rouse up other Humors - especially Coleric - against intruders while acting as a 'leader' figure for small groups. Battles where a Sanguin Humor is present can be averted with successful negotiation, in these cases. While they do not fall into the sway of a Homunculus outside of the most dire of circumstances, it is nearly impossible for Sanguin Humors to deal with them naturally unless the emerged Homunculus is incredibly weak.

'''Coleric (Choleric) -'''
Of the four types, these map most closely to basic mindless Shadows like those from the Dark Hour. Outwardly they act as mindless hordes, but a healthy psyche employs Coleric Humors in order to deal with any manner of foreign body intruding within one's Atelier. This means that conflict with numerous Coleric Humors is an inevitable part of exploring Ateliers in any circumstance.

Even if a Homunculus is active - a presence that stirs them to a panicked violent frenzy regardless - those from outside the Atelier register as enemies all the same. They cannot be reasoned with directly, but all Humor Shadows are capable of communication with each other, so a local Sanguin Humor can temporarily call them off. Their numbers replenish endlessly, so fighting them does no lasting harm to an Atelier's host.

'''Melanc (Melancholic) -'''
These Humor Shadows are based on parts of oneself an Atelier owner dislikes. Self-doubt is healthy, in the correct dosage, and having them present is important for growth and self-improvement. They are also important moderating influences for Sanguin Humors in ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the presence of a fully-formed Homunculus outright hijacks and empowers these Humor Shadows to turn them into their direct lieutenants, using their self-criticizing rationales as a weapon against the rest of the Atelier.

Coleric Humors have a bad habit of not targeting them because they read as (and are) native to the Atelier, and thus it requires outside help to subdue them when a Homunculus is consuming the primary Shadow. Bringing them 'into balance' is an important step that needs to be taken en route to reaching and subduing an emergent Homunculus. Once subdued, any healthy Flegmat Humors can help prevent a Homunculus from regaining control of a Melanc Humor so long as the Homunculus is dealt with as soon as possible.

==Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus==

One might suspect that Ateliers function similarly to Palaces when infected by Homunculi, and it's understandable why a Persona User might believe it functions like Security Level. However, it is in fact far simpler than that.

The danger of an Atelier is proportional to the stage of development of the Homunculus.

It's been named 'Instar Stages' because functionally, a Homunculus is a parasite, attempting to subsume control over its host.

===Cocoon===

While it is a Cocoon, there is only the potential of danger.

===First Instar Stage===

After hatching, it enters its first Instar phase. The host will begin to show subtle signs of the takeover, while the Atelier's denizens may attempt to fight off the Homunculus. Nearly always, the humors will lose this battle without outside intervention.

===Second Instar Stage===

Within the second instar stage, the host will begin to show obvious changes as it assumes that aggressively idealized version of itself. During this phase, the humours will typically stop attacking the Homunculus, as they begin to become confused as to which is host and which is Homunculus.

The Coleric Humors are quite likely to attack any Persona User who comes near them as a perceived threat to the Atelier, as they sense some kind of threat. The Melanc Humors will begin to follow the commands of the Homunculus during this phase.

===Third Instar Stage===

During the third instar stage, the Atelier becomes incredibly dangerous. The Homunculus has nearly taken over during this time, and nearly all Humors except the Sanguin will register them as the host. In reality, the signs will be absolutely clear. Something is wrong with the person. Confronting the person in question will always end poorly, as the Homunculus becomes paranoid and erratic in asserting they are the person in question. Outright aggression is quite common.

===Sub-Adult Stage===

The Sub-Adult stage is the final stage before complete takeover of the host. During this stage, the Atelier and most of its denizens are under its complete control, and will rise to defend the Homunculus if threatened. The appearance of the possessed Shadow may show overt signs of degradation, such as distorted features or speaking with a voice that isn't its own.

This is the final chance to save the person in question's Shadow. Ridding the Atelier of the Homunculus will allow it to still recover, but at this stage it's become quite a feat given its ability to wield the humors against the Persona Users. If the Homunculus feels truly threatened, it will shed all pretense and empower itself by consuming Flegmat Humors to empower itself and become the monstrous 'other self'.

===Adult Stage===

At the adult stage, the person's Shadow has been completely consumed, and there is no coming back from it. They are dead, and the body is under the Homunculus' possession, as the husk that was once a person is now a monster in human skin.

As for what it will do with it at that point, well, wouldn't you like to know?

==Fabric of Reality==

Ateliers are all about individuality versus connection. It stands to reason then that there must be something ''connecting'' them. Enter: the Fabric of Reality.

The Fabric of Reality is the name for the metaphysical space on which Ateliers reside; if Ateliers are great-but-isolated pieces, the Fabric of Reality is the thread that binds them all into a far greater tapestry of interconnection. Through the Fabric, Ateliers (individuals) are woven together to the whole, making it both a sort of liminal space of reality and an essential part of the Atelier system.

The Fabric of Reality is a core part of what makes Ateliers function, but it is ''also'' a space unto itself. The Fabric of Reality can be traversed and explored, with all its own wonders and hidden dangers within its sprawling, esoteric spaces. The explorable spaces of the Fabric are the 'threads' that connect Ateliers to one another; due to this, the Fabric isn't representative of any individual person or place, but is the general zeitgeist of humanity in all its myriad forms. As such, traversable spaces in the Fabric of Reality tend to be more aesthetically abstract, surreal, and sometimes downright eerie.

Persona Users can enter the Fabric of Reality through logging in to AtelierNetwork.jp at any given net cafe, just as they would Ateliers. Since the Fabric belongs to everyone in a very technical sense, Threads are not required to access it; those entering are drawn into a generic hub within the Fabric that abstractly represents the cafe they came from, almost always furnished with a door to the Velvet Room for the average Persona Users' convenience. From there, they can freely explore the Fabric. This is, like many other metaphysical spaces, a trying experience. Like Ateliers, the Fabric of Reality is populated by Humors; these Humors tend to be indistinct and much more representative of cultural perspectives than individual ones, and make traversal through the Fabric a dangerous prospect.

While technically a person could eventually reach an Atelier through the Fabric of Space, the network is so unfathomably vast and full of potential dangers that it would be an impractical choice at best, or the last choice you ever make at worst.

===AtelierNetwork.jp===

The mysterious website that enables access to both Ateliers and the Fabric of Reality. Its layout is simple but elegant: the main page is a white log-in button on a black background, and once logged in, there is another single button, this time red-on-gold, marked ACCESS ATELIER. Logging in and hitting this button after one has successfully completed a ritual is the final key to allow one to enter an Atelier.

Once one has successfully entered an Atelier for the first time, a webring-style image link appears at the bottom of AtelierNetwork.jp, and one can re-enter it by clicking on it. The central button is always the Fabric of Reality, which is already automatically linked once one logs into the site for the first time.

'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' AtelierNetwork.jp will ''only'' allow you to access Ateliers that have been compromised by a Homunculus. If there is not a Homunculus in there, it will not provide you a link, and for those Ateliers that were previously accessed, the webring-style image will leave the site.

One may get the website address simply by asking Igor, though Igor claims he has nothing to do with its administration. Igor will explain that you choose your name and your password for yourself--though it's up to the website whether or not it accepts it. (In other words, you need to have a Persona. If you don't, the site will reject your account.) It's not necessary to go through Igor to get website access, though; anyone who has an account already can give out the site address.

For groups of people accessing an Atelier, it's not necessary for every single person to log in one by one. It's enough for the first person to log in, and then every subsequent person can enter the net cafe cubicle and click the ACCESS ATELIER button (or the webring link) for themselves. In this way, the unawakened may potentially enter an Atelier and/or the Fabric of Reality--though for their safety, this is strongly not recommended.

===The Enantiodromia===

There is something off in the Fabric of Reality. Regions of the interconnected Atelier network have begun to warp and darken, twisting the Fabric and its Shadows into something strange and disturbing.

The phenomenon is known as ''the Enantiodromia,'' and it is spreading.

Its origins are unclear but its effects are obvious: areas that have succumbed to the Enantiodromia are a sick echo of what they once were, the abstract architecture of the Fabric becoming something more explicitly abnormal and often dangerous on its own for the people who dare to try to travel through. Humors within these spaces are horrific and often confused and far more violent than its brethren outside of it.

In many ways, regions of the Fabric of Reality are not so dissimilar to Ateliers subjected to the will of a [[Homunculus]]. But most worrisome of all is the fact that the connections between Ateliers in spaces like these seem to be weakening -- as if the Fabric was somehow, in some abstract way, fraying.

It's unclear what is causing this affliction within the Fabric of Space; the most reasonable theory is that it has something to do with the emergence of Homunculi. But it is a real and present danger and, for those brave enough, a mystery that needs to be solved. Exploration of the Enantiodromia is extremely dangerous but potentially rewarding: in the way of all supernatural spaces, it comes with an abundance of treasure and meta-materials the subconscious craves, if someone can navigate its constant and surreal obstacles.

The deeper one delves into the Enantiodromia, the stranger and more unearthly it becomes. Regions of the Enantiodromia are walled off, preventing further passage, barriers that seem to open up the more Homunculi are dealt with.

What is the connection between Homunculi and the Enantiodromia? And just what is waiting at the epicenter of it all?

Well -- there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

==See also…==

*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Persona Syzygy

2026-09-11T20:57:15Z

Eri:

'''Note:''' An Original Theme on Velvet Room MUSH! With a big thanks to everyone in the page credits for their hard work on the integration. Files were primarily written by [[Tsumugi Kujaku]]'s player.

==The Premise==

'''"Only by discovering alchemy have I clearly understood that the Unconscious is a process and that ego's rapport with the Unconscious and its contents initiate an evolution, more precisely, a real metamorphosis of the psyche."'''
::-C.G. Jung

All of us have the capacity for dramatic change.

But very few of us ever actually reach out to claim it.

A great work is afoot. Innocent people are having their lives literally stolen. Rumors abound on the Dark Side of people reporting their friends, family and loved ones being 'replaced' -- that the people in their lives are not who they say they are. They look like them, sound like them, even have the same memories. But there's just something... ''off'' about them. Others claim victims of Apathy Syndrome experience a miraculous recovery, only to act like completely different people.

As is so often the case, these rumors are more true than they know: in the cognitive spaces known as [[Ateliers]], a new and strange form of Shadow has emerged. Referred to as Homunculi, these Shadows make victims of those who grapple with the things they are and the things they ''want'' to be, hijacking their bodies and assuming control of their lives as fictitious facsimiles of the people they yearn to be in their hearts.

This has not gone unnoticed. This was not an accident. Destiny's wheel turns, and with its constant churn, new players in this collective game seek to change humanity's collective fate.

A great work is afoot. Change is difficult. But change must come.

So. Do ''you'' desire change?

==The Concepts==

[[Ateliers]] - A cognitive space that all people possess, Ateliers reflect a person's individuality relative to their bonds to others. A kind of mind palace, Ateliers vary wildly depending on the person (with those who have a weak sense of individuality having very nondescript ones, for example). They are all connected together in a layer of meta-reality colloquially known as the Fabric of Reality.

[[Ateliers#Fabric_of_Reality|Fabric of Reality]] - The interstitial space on which Ateliers reside, the Fabric is also a space unto itself, connecting each Atelier in a vast network. Recently something has been darkening and warping the structure of the Fabric and spreading rapidly; potentially tied to the emergence of Homunculi, and exploring and attempting to solve the mystery behind the Fabric of Reality's changes is an ongoing element of the plot. Welcome... to the Forever Dungeon.

[[Homunculus]] - An unusual and unsettling form of Shadow. Not the Shadow of a person, yet not a Mindless Shadow either, a Homunculus is a kind of parasitic Shadow that can form in the Ateliers of people experiencing varying degrees of cognitive dissonance and displeasure with their place in life. Once formed, a Homunculus will seize control of the body of its host. If not stopped, this will eventually lead to the soul-death of its victim. Homunculi are not natural occurrences, but it's unclear just how they came to be -- or why.

[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]] - A form of Awakening that is achieved by people who have undergone extreme change in their lives... or those who harbor a strong yearning ''to'' change themselves. Transmutation-style awakenings tend to occur in Ateliers and - as the name implies - involves a literal transformation in the individual: physical attributes in the Persona User change - sometimes wildly - in cognitive spaces in ways symbolically representative of their personality and background. It's a wonderful transformation sequence really. Some might say ''magical''.

[[Psience_and_Technology#Cognitive_Alchemy|Cognitive Alchemy]] - Similar but more arcane than the concepts of cognitive psience, ***cognitive alchemy*** refers to a technique used to alter and transform the cognitive world in small ways. Members of Peacock Silk are users of this process.

==The Players==

The hand of fate has pit two groups against each other in the events surrounding Ateliers. They aren't the only ones who've taken an interest in the things going on in this cognitive space, but these two represent a very specific clash of ideals.

[[In Unizone]] - An unadvertised social club with an English name, In Unizone is the brainchild of Hazuki Nakao, a teenage girl with a strange destiny and a strong desire to connect with other people. Ostensibly a club to make new friends, it recruits those in the know about Ateliers to assist her in helping other people in need and clearing out problems in the supernatural space, among other more secretive things. The group could be called meddlers, as they are the type to go to extremes to help even in the mundane world, attempting to bring a semblance of kindness and happiness to those who have little.

[[Peacock Silk]] - Led by Tsumugi Kujaku, Peacock Silk's founding members represent some of the first to encounter Ateliers -- and to achieve the power of Transmutation. They've used these gifts to establish a formidable shadow empire of crime, but they seem to have grander goals than that. Espousing the necessary virtue of absolute freedom from all things, Peacock Silk has been taking an active and intense interest in hunting down Homunculi and seem to be harvesting things from the Shadows for their own purposes. The question is -- what, exactly, do they want them for?

(NOTE: If you're interested in applying for a Transmutation-style OC, while we definitely welcome people hooking into the things going on here, you're also totally free to have one that hooks into other groups and plotlines! Transmutation is - just like the other awakening styles - an open concept, and people can potentially awaken to them while being only tangentially related to the goings-on of the story itself here!)

==The Vibe==

Jungian alchemy meets Ikuhara-grade magical girl meets Zoroastrian dualism.

We're just trying to make things as weird as they can get. It's Persona! If you're not being weird and Jungian, what's the point??

More seriously: the themes of Jung's treatise on psychological alchemy form the major backbone of this theme. Transformation of ourselves and the world around us, for good and for bad, is the throughline of Persona Syzygy. The idea of dualism especially comes into play in this, and Zoroastrianism is a heavy influence on the theme. Those good ol' SMT dichotomies of chaos and law are especially active here, but dualistic forces, whether in contrast or in concert, are generally very prevalent.

That theme of transformation hooks in strongly to the central conceit of magical girl shows and their influences can be found in Syzygy most especially in the aesthetics of Transmutation's awakening, and the physical transformation the individual undergoes when they use their Persona in the cognitive world. Revue Starlight and the works of Kunihiko Ikuhara in particular are a great source of inspiration for characters -- even those that are not explicitly about the magical girl genre all tend to have themes of change in them, and Ikuhara's surrealist and metaphysical style in particular is a great influence on the theme. Just, in general. Utena is pretty great.

At the center of the plot however is a fundamental idea: selfishness vs. selflessness. In the age of the internet it's easier than ever to both connect to people and to completely isolate yourself in your own world. Persona Syzygy is a theme meant to explore that idea -- the strengths and dangers of individualism, and that of the collective. Syzygy is about the allure of solipsism, and the necessity of a social network. Ultimately, it is about one very simple question:

If you could live in a world free of any consequence for your actions -- would you?

===The Personas===

Syzygy-theme Personas can cover a wide berth that includes but is not limited to:

- Alchemy-themed sources.

- Zoroastrian figures.

- Fictional or nonfictional figures having to do with themes of change in general.

'''''Gothic horror''''' in particular is an especially frequent source of Syzygy-theme Personas, given how many of the stories in the genre have to deal with transformation (eg, Mary Shelley's
''Frankenstein'', Bram Stoker's ''Dracula'', Oscar Wilde's ''The Picture of Dorian Grey'', etc).

==THE CONTACTS==

If you have any questions or ideas you'd like to ask-and/or-pitch for the theme, feel free to reach out to any of these fine-and/or-dastardly people!

*[[Tsumugi Kujaku]]

*[[Kikuno Kisaragi]]

==THE CREDITS==

Big thanks to [[Saika Kikuchi]], [[Yanagi Nagisa]], [[Pernelle]], [[Roger]], and [[Hazuki Nakao]]'s players for helping make this theme happen! Their ideas and contributions really helped make all of this a reality.

'''Writing Credits!'''

*[[Saika Kikuchi]] - [[Ateliers#Accessing Ateliers|Accessing Ateliers]]

*[[Roger]] - [[Ateliers#Lesser Shadows - The Humors|Lesser Shadows - The Humors]]

*[[Yanagi Nagisa]] - [[Ateliers#AtelierNetwork.jp|AtelierNetwork.jp]]

==See Also...==

*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]
*[[Ateliers]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Peacock Silk]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Ateliers

2026-09-11T20:56:12Z

Eri:

A recent topic entering public (supernatural) conscious via the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side]], Ateliers are not a new concept, but instead one that has been rapidly becoming more relevant as rumors of people falling victim to [[Homunculus||vicious and unsettling bodysnatching incidents]] have begun to circulate.

The cognitive spaces known as Ateliers seem to be central to these rumors. Which begs the question...

==What Are Ateliers?==

An aspect of the Collective Unconscious, Ateliers exist in all people and represent the balance of a person's sense of individuality versus their connections to others and society – they are, essentially, a person's mind palace (but not Palace!). They are usually benign insomuch as they do not intrude on other supernatural spaces nor are they typically harmful to their owner. Ateliers' sole role is to represent - and maintain - a person's sense of individuality within an endless sea of interconnection.

Everyone has an Atelier, but every Atelier is different. As an Atelier is a reflection of its owner, each is as unique as a fingerprint. There are some simple rules that define how they appear however, their ultimately being a reflection of the individual and their connection to others being the most fundamental. A person with a strongly developed sense of individuality, for example, will have an Atelier that is largely reflective of their personality, their history, and the important things of their life. A person who lacks a strong, individual identity, on the other hand, will usually have a more indistinct Atelier that is ultimately more reflective of the culture and area in which they live, and - on occasion - the people who have had the strongest influence over their lives.

Finally: a person who has no sense of self, i.e. a person whose Shadow has been destroyed, consumed, or otherwise removed from the individual, has a barren and monochrome Atelier, having been deprived of the thing sustaining it.

This is the cornerstone for what an Atelier -looks- like. But there's other simple rules fundamental to an Atelier. Like, for example:

How do you ''get into'' one?

==Accessing Ateliers==

Ateliers exist as part of the nature of intelligent life, although they vary widely in their scope and thematics. In nearly all cases, they are simply there, the same as your spleen and the back of your ears. In some cases, they can be more easily found. Individuals who have recently had a sudden, radical change in their behavior leave a way in.

Getting into the Atelier is not a simple matter. First, you must find a Thread: something important to the individual. This is usually an item of specific personal adoration -- and it may not be the most obvious choice. A precious wedding ring might not be a Thread, while a memento of a regretted love or childhood pet might be. In some rare cases, an individual may be a Thread, although in such cases the individual holds the Potential as well. Whether this is a precondition or a side effect is unknown.

After finding the Thread, one must find the Needle (formerly known as the Eye): the Needle will be a location, a lonely one, that is or was important to the individual whose Atelier you seek. This location must be physically visited with the Thread in tow. A subtle change in the Thread's Resonance, usually perceived as an intensification of the Thread's "is-ness," proves that the two have met. (In the exceptional cases of a Thread being an individual, they may visit the location themselves. Typically, they will not notice anything.)

This completes the ritual: at this point, one can enter the Atelier. However, this in turn has its own complexities. You have to find a space where people are "Alone Together." There are nuances here -- it must be an enclosed area, which simultaneously holds the concepts of isolation and interconnection. Such places can be difficult to find, but there is a simple and elegant solution in the modern jungle: a net cafe.

These oases of connected solitude are usually open 24-hours, but it may take some courage to brave one. Here, the traveler enters the net cafe cubicle with the Thread and closes the door. With the Thread in hand, or near to hand, the aspiring traveler logs into a certain website simply called [AtelierNetwork.jp]. After a short wait -- helpfully tracked by the site itself -- the user may step outside of the place where they are, and enter the Fabric of Reality.

The Thread does not travel with you, and once an Atelier is accessed for the first time and a [[https://www.velvetroom.wiki/index.php/Ateliers#AtelierNetwork.jp link]] has been produced, the Thread is no longer needed. Anyone who has a given Atelier's link, Awakened or otherwise, can potentially use it... though only the Awakened can access the website in the first place, and one still needs to be in an alone-together place to access it.

The intentionality of this ritual effectively limits it to Persona Users or their immediate confederates. Individuals as Threads should be considered a "PC-exclusive" feature -- either as a shocking mischance leading to Transmutations, or as a point of tension and complexity.

==Lesser Shadows - The Humors==

Ateliers are benign. They are not, however, without a way to defend themselves. Known as '''Humors''', these lesser Shadows populate - and are influenced by - the Ateliers they reside in, and serve as something like the white blood cells of an individual's psyche.

Humors can be divided into four separate categories defined by the roles they fulfill within the Atelier:

'''Flegmat (Phlegmatic) -'''
Among Humor Shadows, the Flegmat types are the most passive. They tend to comprise the 'window dressing' of an Atelier's environment and represent the relative baseline of an Atelier owner's psyche. They are sensitive to small worries and disturbances that are usually too remote for one to voice in the real world. Capable of conversation, but not very assertive, they tend to get swept up by events around them. Despite this, their presence helps prevent most Homunculi from forming at all.

It's when a Homunculus does form with enough strength to eat the primary Shadow that they become seemingly helpless to the chaos around them. As a Homunculus' control of the Atelier strengthens, they begin to take on more twisted forms befitting the Homunculus in question. When it happens, they become the bellwethers to how close a Homunculus is to fully consuming the host's Shadow.

'''Sanguin (Sanguine) -'''
Humor Shadows that represent a need for drive, action, or call for help that the Atelier owner struggles to manage, these are the real movers and doers of Humor Shadows. They all unilaterally desire to destroy a Homunculus by their nature, and can be convinced by Atelier visitors that they are there to help.

However, most will usually rouse up other Humors - especially Coleric - against intruders while acting as a 'leader' figure for small groups. Battles where a Sanguin Humor is present can be averted with successful negotiation, in these cases. While they do not fall into the sway of a Homunculus outside of the most dire of circumstances, it is nearly impossible for Sanguin Humors to deal with them naturally unless the emerged Homunculus is incredibly weak.

'''Coleric (Choleric) -'''
Of the four types, these map most closely to basic mindless Shadows like those from the Dark Hour. Outwardly they act as mindless hordes, but a healthy psyche employs Coleric Humors in order to deal with any manner of foreign body intruding within one's Atelier. This means that conflict with numerous Coleric Humors is an inevitable part of exploring Ateliers in any circumstance.

Even if a Homunculus is active - a presence that stirs them to a panicked violent frenzy regardless - those from outside the Atelier register as enemies all the same. They cannot be reasoned with directly, but all Humor Shadows are capable of communication with each other, so a local Sanguin Humor can temporarily call them off. Their numbers replenish endlessly, so fighting them does no lasting harm to an Atelier's host.

'''Melanc (Melancholic) -'''
These Humor Shadows are based on parts of oneself an Atelier owner dislikes. Self-doubt is healthy, in the correct dosage, and having them present is important for growth and self-improvement. They are also important moderating influences for Sanguin Humors in ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the presence of a fully-formed Homunculus outright hijacks and empowers these Humor Shadows to turn them into their direct lieutenants, using their self-criticizing rationales as a weapon against the rest of the Atelier.

Coleric Humors have a bad habit of not targeting them because they read as (and are) native to the Atelier, and thus it requires outside help to subdue them when a Homunculus is consuming the primary Shadow. Bringing them 'into balance' is an important step that needs to be taken en route to reaching and subduing an emergent Homunculus. Once subdued, any healthy Flegmat Humors can help prevent a Homunculus from regaining control of a Melanc Humor so long as the Homunculus is dealt with as soon as possible.

==Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus==

One might suspect that Ateliers function similarly to Palaces when infected by Homunculi, and it's understandable why a Persona User might believe it functions like Security Level. However, it is in fact far simpler than that.

The danger of an Atelier is proportional to the stage of development of the Homunculus.

It's been named 'Instar Stages' because functionally, a Homunculus is a parasite, attempting to subsume control over its host.

===Cocoon===

While it is a Cocoon, there is only the potential of danger.

===First Instar Stage===

After hatching, it enters its first Instar phase. The host will begin to show subtle signs of the takeover, while the Atelier's denizens may attempt to fight off the Homunculus. Nearly always, the humors will lose this battle without outside intervention.

===Second Instar Stage===

Within the second instar stage, the host will begin to show obvious changes as it assumes that aggressively idealized version of itself. During this phase, the humours will typically stop attacking the Homunculus, as they begin to become confused as to which is host and which is Homunculus.

The Coleric Humors are quite likely to attack any Persona User who comes near them as a perceived threat to the Atelier, as they sense some kind of threat. The Melanc Humors will begin to follow the commands of the Homunculus during this phase.

===Third Instar Stage===

During the third instar stage, the Atelier becomes incredibly dangerous. The Homunculus has nearly taken over during this time, and nearly all Humors except the Sanguin will register them as the host. In reality, the signs will be absolutely clear. Something is wrong with the person. Confronting the person in question will always end poorly, as the Homunculus becomes paranoid and erratic in asserting they are the person in question. Outright aggression is quite common.

===Sub-Adult Stage===

The Sub-Adult stage is the final stage before complete takeover of the host. During this stage, the Atelier and most of its denizens are under its complete control, and will rise to defend the Homunculus if threatened. The appearance of the possessed Shadow may show overt signs of degradation, such as distorted features or speaking with a voice that isn't its own.

This is the final chance to save the person in question's Shadow. Ridding the Atelier of the Homunculus will allow it to still recover, but at this stage it's become quite a feat given its ability to wield the humors against the Persona Users. If the Homunculus feels truly threatened, it will shed all pretense and empower itself by consuming Flegmat Humors to empower itself and become the monstrous 'other self'.

===Adult Stage===

At the adult stage, the person's Shadow has been completely consumed, and there is no coming back from it. They are dead, and the body is under the Homunculus' possession, as the husk that was once a person is now a monster in human skin.

As for what it will do with it at that point, well, wouldn't you like to know?

==Fabric of Reality==

Ateliers are all about individuality versus connection. It stands to reason then that there must be something ''connecting'' them. Enter: the Fabric of Reality.

The Fabric of Reality is the name for the metaphysical space on which Ateliers reside; if Ateliers are great-but-isolated pieces, the Fabric of Reality is the thread that binds them all into a far greater tapestry of interconnection. Through the Fabric, Ateliers (individuals) are woven together to the whole, making it both a sort of liminal space of reality and an essential part of the Atelier system.

The Fabric of Reality is a core part of what makes Ateliers function, but it is ''also'' a space unto itself. The Fabric of Reality can be traversed and explored, with all its own wonders and hidden dangers within its sprawling, esoteric spaces. The explorable spaces of the Fabric are the 'threads' that connect Ateliers to one another; due to this, the Fabric isn't representative of any individual person or place, but is the general zeitgeist of humanity in all its myriad forms. As such, traversable spaces in the Fabric of Reality tend to be more aesthetically abstract, surreal, and sometimes downright eerie.

Persona Users can enter the Fabric of Reality through logging in to AtelierNetwork.jp at any given net cafe, just as they would Ateliers. Since the Fabric belongs to everyone in a very technical sense, Threads are not required to access it; those entering are drawn into a generic hub within the Fabric that abstractly represents the cafe they came from, almost always furnished with a door to the Velvet Room for the average Persona Users' convenience. From there, they can freely explore the Fabric. This is, like many other metaphysical spaces, a trying experience. Like Ateliers, the Fabric of Reality is populated by Humors; these Humors tend to be indistinct and much more representative of cultural perspectives than individual ones, and make traversal through the Fabric a dangerous prospect.

While technically a person could eventually reach an Atelier through the Fabric of Space, the network is so unfathomably vast and full of potential dangers that it would be an impractical choice at best, or the last choice you ever make at worst.

===AtelierNetwork.jp===

The mysterious website that enables access to both Ateliers and the Fabric of Reality. Its layout is simple but elegant: the main page is a white log-in button on a black background, and once logged in, there is another single button, this time red-on-gold, marked ACCESS ATELIER. Logging in and hitting this button after one has successfully completed a ritual is the final key to allow one to enter an Atelier.

Once one has successfully entered an Atelier for the first time, a webring-style image link appears at the bottom of AtelierNetwork.jp, and one can re-enter it by clicking on it. The central button is always the Fabric of Reality, which is already automatically linked once one logs into the site for the first time.

'''IMPORTANT NOTE:''' AtelierNetwork.jp will ''only'' allow you to access Ateliers that have been compromised by a Homunculus. If there is not a Homunculus in there, it will not provide you a link, and for those Ateliers that were previously accessed, the webring-style image will leave the site.

One may get the website address simply by asking Igor, though Igor claims he has nothing to do with its administration. Igor will explain that you choose your name and your password for yourself--though it's up to the website whether or not it accepts it. (In other words, you need to have a Persona. If you don't, the site will reject your account.) It's not necessary to go through Igor to get website access, though; anyone who has an account already can give out the site address.

For groups of people accessing an Atelier, it's not necessary for every single person to log in one by one. It's enough for the first person to log in, and then every subsequent person can enter the net cafe cubicle and click the ACCESS ATELIER button (or the webring link) for themselves. In this way, the unawakened may potentially enter an Atelier and/or the Fabric of Reality--though for their safety, this is strongly not recommended.

===The Enantiodromia===

There is something off in the Fabric of Reality. Regions of the interconnected Atelier network have begun to warp and darken, twisting the Fabric and its Shadows into something strange and disturbing.

The phenomenon is known as ''the Enantiodromia,'' and it is spreading.

Its origins are unclear but its effects are obvious: areas that have succumbed to the Enantiodromia are a sick echo of what they once were, the abstract architecture of the Fabric becoming something more explicitly abnormal and often dangerous on its own for the people who dare to try to travel through. Humors within these spaces are horrific and often confused and far more violent than its brethren outside of it.

In many ways, regions of the Fabric of Reality are not so dissimilar to Ateliers subjected to the will of a [[Homunculus]]. But most worrisome of all is the fact that the connections between Ateliers in spaces like these seem to be weakening -- as if the Fabric was somehow, in some abstract way, fraying.

It's unclear what is causing this affliction within the Fabric of Space; the most reasonable theory is that it has something to do with the emergence of Homunculi. But it is a real and present danger and, for those brave enough, a mystery that needs to be solved. Exploration of the Enantiodromia is extremely dangerous but potentially rewarding: in the way of all supernatural spaces, it comes with an abundance of treasure and meta-materials the subconscious craves, if someone can navigate its constant and surreal obstacles.

The deeper one delves into the Enantiodromia, the stranger and more unearthly it becomes. Regions of the Enantiodromia are walled off, preventing further passage, barriers that seem to open up the more Homunculi are dealt with.

What is the connection between Homunculi and the Enantiodromia? And just what is waiting at the epicenter of it all?

Well -- there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

==See also…==

*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]

[[Category: Theme]]

2026-08-21: The Deep End

2026-08-22T01:42:46Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: The Deep End''' *'''Cast:'''Shinichi Nagisa, Takuto Maruki *'''Where:''' Shujin Academy, Practice Building *'''OOC Date:''' 08/21/2026 *'''IC Date:''' 12/18/2026 *'''Summary:''' Called upon to intervene in a bullying incident. Doctor Takuto Maruki takes Shinichi Nagisa into his office as a potential research subject, only to learn that perhaps some curiosities in his field are better left alone…' *'''Note:''' This cutscene immediately follows htt..."

*'''Cutscene: The Deep End'''
*'''Cast:'''[[Shinichi Nagisa]], [[Takuto Maruki]]
*'''Where:''' Shujin Academy, Practice Building
*'''OOC Date:''' 08/21/2026
*'''IC Date:''' 12/18/2026
*'''Summary:''' Called upon to intervene in a bullying incident. Doctor Takuto Maruki takes Shinichi Nagisa into his office as a potential research subject, only to learn that perhaps some curiosities in his field are better left alone…'
*'''Note:''' This cutscene immediately follows https://www.velvetroom.wiki/index.php/2026-08-01:_Right_from_Wrong
*'''CW:''' Homophobia, Assault, Memory Alteration

----

Shinichi Nagisa walked with the relaxed gait of someone confident they'd done nothing wrong into the Shujin Nurse's Office. Alongside him was Doctor Maruki, bespectacled, with the usual calm, friendly demeanor of a professional at his job.

As he shut the door though, there was just a moment, where he eyed the lock on the door before ultimately just letting it shut without latching it.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice." The Doctor began.

"Well I didn't have much of a choice, did I?" His 'patient' said with a shrug and a sharp tone.

"Ahaha... Well, I wouldn't say that." The Doctor chuckled affably, trying to get that ice broken, "You see I've just been meaning to speak to you about recent developments-"

Shinichi interrupted him. "And so this has nothing to do with what happened in the hall?"

"... Mm, let's just say it's related for now. Don't worry, you're not in any trouble." Dr. Maruki gestures for Shinichi to sit down who with an exaggerated eye roll, complied by settling in on one of the couches in the room, looking bored already.

"Before we start, would you like a snack? I have-"

"Do I look like I'm five to you?" Shinichi interrupted him again as he leans back, propping his elbow up on the side, and hand on his cheek, "This is what I hate about shrinks, always so condescending."

Rather than address that, Dr. Maruki blew right by that, "So you've seen mental health professionals before?"

"Every now and then my parents sent me to one because I was such a sad sack. ...I'm over it now, so it's not like I need this shit."

"Yes, I suppose that's the core of what we're here to speak upon. Recently you've had what your classmates describe as a remarkable shift in personality…" "Heh." Shinichi interjected, but Maruki kept going this time. "... you're playing Lacrosse again, socializing extensively with your peers and have shown an interest in going on dates that you previously didn't have."

"Didn't have?" The 'teenage boy' said with a sense of indignation, "I'm not some fucking okama, sensei."

"I'm not saying-" Stumbling past that, Doctor Maruki began again. "What I am saying is that, for better or worse, you've made extensive changes to your life in a very short span of time. Some might call such a turnaround nigh-impossible... but I wonder..."

"Wonder /what/?" Shinichi asked with a note of hostility, as Maruki continued, "... whether this might not instead be called a change in cognition." Doctor Maruki speculated aloud, as the 'boy' in front of him shifted uncomfortably, suddenly seeming- a little apprehensive, "The shit is that supposed to mean?"

"Well- in layman's terms, it's like you've become a completely different per-"

The man suddenly reeled, holding a hand to his head, tinnitus in his ears, head pounding in the throes of a migraine. Rubbing the bridge of his nose under his glasses with both fingers, he looked again at...

... at...

... the thing in the room with him...

"Who... no... /what/ are you?"

And that's when the thing that had taken on Shinichi Nagisa's skin, stared at him at first in incredulity. Then in the space of a fraction of a second, he lurched off the couch towards the man in the chair, the two falling over, as his athlete's hands sought the man's neck.

"Stupid fucking shrink." The creature said, as the grown man, lacking leverage, tried to fend him off, his glances getting knocked askew the whole time. "You couldn't help yourself. You just had to-" His hands had almost found his neck, when Maruki's hand found the creature's head, palming his forehead.

And there was a flash inside the thing's brain, causing his hands to go slack from his aggressive posture, his eyes rolling back for several seconds, giving Dr. Maruki time to drag himself out from under the monster before-

"Heh- ahaha- AhahahahAHAHA!" It began to laugh as it's body began to spasm, fingers twitching, as the thing fought to get back up outright, "What did you do to me? WHAT DID YOU FUCKING DO?! I'll kill you- I'll-"

He tried to get up, but he fell back over the chair.

"It didn't work." Dr. Maruki said, coming down from the adrenaline rush of the experience but in the tone of a scientist receiving an unexpected result, "It really didn't work. Why didn't it work? Alright..."

Stepping up to him, he put his hand on his head again, his thumb against his forehead.

-=-=-

Shinichi Nagisa had a smile on his face, as he left the office. "Ha. Thanks Doc, I guess I was wrong- you're not so bad after all."

Dr. Maruki shuffled his collar up to hide several scratches upon his neck. "I'm glad it was a pleasant experience for you, Nagisa-kun. You take care of yourself and have a good day, alright?"

As the Homunculus strolled off, the man took a deep breath, and shut the door to the nurse's office slash counselor's office he was within, walking to his desk, and fumbling unsteadily for a tape recorder.

Sitting down heavily upon the chair, he hit record. "Cognitive Psience Research Log, De- what day is it again?" He looked up to search for the wall Calendar, "December 18th, 2012. I think I've... I'm rather certain I've encountered a creature of the 'cognitive realm' possessing one of the students of Shujin Academy. A second year student named Shinichi Nagisa. Recently he'd had a profound change in lifestyle in such a short time frame, that I'd speculated it was a complete change in cognition, of the like performed by the Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

Sighing heavily, he took off his glasses, checking to make certain they weren't damaged, before pulling out a wipe and cleaning them as he spoke, "I was wrong. Whatever this creature has done to him, it would seem there are some limits to the abilities I've been granted-" Staring off into the distance for a good half a minute, he finally amended, "Strike that. I believe the only true limitation is my own inexperience..."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Active Rumors

2026-07-12T21:53:34Z

Eri:

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*<s>- If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!</s>

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*<s>Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)</s>

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

*The Joker Curse - Those that perform the Joker Killer Rumor will become Jokers themselves. [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]]

*The Time Count - Can suppress the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] just as Igor can. He'll just be grumpier about it and more likely to cast shade in your direction.

*Haunted Books at Sevens? - There are evil, haunted books in Seven Sisters High's library. If you check them out, they stir the mind. You can learn really fast, but you might end up doing what the evil spirit in the book wants. And if you destroy them, you'll release the evil inside. Apparently, they're going to lend the haunted books to other libraries to minimize the danger at Sevens...

*The Legend of Unohime - The Akabane family of Sumaru has been discovered to be descended from a Princess of a past ninja clan, known as the Ryouhara. Unfortunately, the artifacts of Unohime that were found were later lost on a now vanished ship known as the Mizunagi, leading to speculation about whether Unohime and the entire Akabane family are accursed.

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Active Rumors

2026-07-12T21:47:26Z

Eri:

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*<s>- If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!</s>

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*<s>Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)</s>

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

*The Joker Curse - Those that perform the Joker Killer Rumor will become Jokers themselves. [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]]

*The Time Count - Can suppress the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] just as Igor can. He'll just be grumpier about it and more likely to cast shade in your direction.

*Haunted Books at Sevens? - There are evil, haunted books in Seven Sisters High's library. If you check them out, they stir the mind. You can learn really fast, but you might end up doing what the evil spirit in the book wants. And if you destroy them, you'll release the evil inside. Apparently, they're going to lend the haunted books to other libraries to minimize the danger at Sevens...

*The Legend of Unohime - The Akabane family of Sumaru has been discovered to be descended from a Princess of a past ninja clan, known as the Ryouhara. Unfortunately, the artifacts of Unohime that were found were later lost on a ship known as the Mizunagi, leading to speculation about whether Unohime and the entire Akabane family are accursed.

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

New World Order

2026-06-26T02:51:11Z

Eri:

[[File:NewWorldOrder.png|300px|thumb|right|NWO Leadership. From left to right: Captain Shimazu, General Sugawara, Tatsuzou Sudou, Hisataka Shinjo, Chizuru Ishigami, Chief Togashi]]''"Tatsuzou Sudou... I'm sure you've at least heard the name. A kid like you couldn't even begin to touch a great man like him. The New World Order will create a world without sin!"''
::--XO pilot of the New World Order, moments before his fateful meeting with Tatsuya Suou's fist

The New World Order is a swiftly growing fascist movement within the shadows of the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Liberal_Co-Prosperity_Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] of Japan. Originally formed by the current Foreign Affairs Minister, Tatsuzou Sudou, and his mercenary army, he's been joined by the clandestine governmental conspiracy under Cabinet Minister Masayoshi Shido, which provides the majority of its financial backing.

The New World Order is based out of Sumaru City, and takes full advantage of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] in order to meet its goals of creating a pure world without sin by utilizing rituals that beseech aid from their ancient, fictional mummy of Kiyotada Sumaru, whom they call '[[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Gozen|Gozen]].'
==The Structure of the New World Order==
[[File:ShadowyShido.png|200px|thumb|right|A Shadowy Conspiracy]]The leadership of the New World Order is invested into two figures in command, that of Tatsuzou Sudou, 'The Silver Lion' and his mysterious co-executive, 'The Gold Lion', the title of his anonymous co-conspirator: Masayoshi Shido. Tatsuzou Sudou has ultimate authority within the New World Order for being Gozen's chosen medium, the reality is that Masayoshi Shido has near equivalent power in terms of influence and authority.

This encapsulates the two competing threads within: traditional pseudo-spiritualism for supernatural power and belief thereof in the ideology of a 'pure world without sin' vs. ruthless pragmatism that would take advantage of the supernatural for worldly power.

The unifying element on both sides is certainly absolute loyalty to the people at the top. Your survival within the New World Order as a member is entirely on the whims of your superiors and your ability to convince them of that loyalty. Even the merest, most offhand derisive mutter can be a death sentence if the wrong person overhears.

Punishments are harsh and swift, ranging from being handed over to Hisataka Shinjo's facilities to being 'rewarded' with [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] in a ritual before Gozen himself.

The main base of power for Tatsuzou's faction is Sumaru City, wherein he is quietly building his military power with the political backing of jingoist warhawks in the government who are producing advanced otherworldly technology that can battle Persona Users. This effort is aided by Hisataka Shinjo's laboratory facilities in Narumi Ward, wherein unspeakable experiments are being performed upon subordinates, dissenters and innocents alike, and by Captain Shimazu on the ground. Together, they begin to move events towards the destruction of this impure world of sin.

Masayoshi Shido, meanwhile, has near absolute power within Tokyo due to how his conspiracy has infiltrated every level of law enforcement and governmental institutions. His methods generally rely on blackmailing officials to bring them under his control, utilizing secrets he absolutely should not be able to possess. He has gained significant popular public support by creating disasters through [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Mental_Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Psychotic_Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] in order to blame his opponents and detractors in office for their incompetence.

Currently, he is gradually making plans within the Diet to have his faction break from the ruling [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Liberal_Co-Prosperity_Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] and form his own party to force an election that will give him absolute power as the Prime Minister.

==Major Figures of the New World Order==

*Tatsuzou Sudou - 'The Silver Lion' official head of the New World Order and Foreign Affairs Minister. Though he's getting up there in years and needs a cane to walk, he's still as sharp as ever... for a man who worships a mummy head. He has a calm, dignified bearing, graying leonine hair, and truly believes in his "world without sin"--including that he alone is without sin, no matter what wretched, hateful things he does.

*Masayoshi Shido - 'The Gold Lion' who within the order himself is anonymous, and careful not to leave any clues as to his true identity. He is both Tatsuzou's ally and rival, and as Cabinet Minister for 'Special Missions' technically outranks him in the Japanese government. He's charismatic and passionate, with a stylish bald pate and goatee, but his pro-Japan, pro-governmental responsibility political rhetoric only masks his vicious temper, womanizing, and insatiable thirst for power. Anyone who crosses him goes, no hesitation. The majority of the NWO doesn't know who he is of course, only understanding that Tatsuzou has a very powerful partner that one does not wish to cross.

*Hisataka Shinjo - Tatsuzou's right hand man, in charge of research and development within the New World Order's facilities. Now confirmed after recent events to be Takahisa Kandori, despite his demise three years ago during the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#SEBEC_Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]]. Unfortunately, death seems not to have diminished his godly powers one iota, and most would say he is the most dangerous man in the New World Order when he decides to take action.

*General Sugawara - A cynical, pragmatic general who outwardly commands part of the JSDF, but has committed himself to the New World Order if only for their promise of eternal life as his reward. He has little belief in Tatsuzou's ideals and even less respect for his fellows. The branch of the New World Order he leads is called the Tenchu Army, comprising mostly their unpowered armed forces. While he wields little supernatural power, some of Hisataka Shinjo's secret projects hope to change that soon.

*Chizuru Ishigami - A celebrity Wang Long fortune-teller who makes frequent TV appearances. Within the New World Order, she is a deadly onmyoji and the last of her family line, with a reputation as a woman that one never crosses unless they wish to risk death by a terrible curse.

*Captain Shimazu - A corrupt captain of the Sumaru PD, fully on Sudou and Shido's payroll, who's been busy rooting out 'problems' to the New World Order, starting with police who do not show absolute loyalty to their authority. The New World Order's 'problem-solver' on the ground level, he has several Special Assault Teams ready to go at a moment's notice.

*Yung Pao - A Taiwanese mafia boss of the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who has been strong-armed into serving the New World Order by Tatsuzou holding his younger brother hostage.

*The Black Mask - Most rank and file within the NWO don't even know Shido's assassin exists, but the majority of his backers are aware that one of his subordinates is responsible for the lion's share of the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Mental_Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Psychotic_Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] within Japan--and that these services can be made available to them, for a price. Recently the Persona User community of Sumaru City encountered him when he assassinated the son of the Silver Lion, Tatsuya Sudou.

*SIU Director Mouri - The director of the Special Investigations Unit within Tokyo and one of the top prosecutors within Japan. After initially being coerced by blackmail, he now serves smugly as the middleman for Shido's dirtiest dealings in order to insulate him from scrutiny. (He has no name in canon; staff has given one to him for the purposes of Velvet Room MUSH.)

==The Reality of the New World Order==

The entire leadership of Tatsuzou's branch of the New World Order is currently being deceived by Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, into believing they can purge the world of sin and create a pure one solely for the elite. He uses Gozen as his catspaw to do this; almost no one, not even Tatsuzou himself, is aware Nyarlathotep even exists. They think it's all Gozen.

It is wholesale Law being subverted by Chaos into the delusion that their goals can actually be met using its powers. The reality is that one way or another Nyarlathotep is hoping to win, again, by convincing humanity to destroy their own world.

Not all members of Tatsuzou's arm of the Order are deceived, though this typically takes the form of being skeptical of Gozen. At present, only Hisataka Shinjo, Tatsuzou's right-hand man, is fully aware of the reality of the organization, but he isn't the type to discuss it with his superiors or his subordinates.

Masayoshi Shido's conspiracy, on the other hand, are authoritarian populists who fully believe that the plan to purge the world of sin is utter nonsense. He instead plans to usurp the New World Order and take it under his full control to solidify his coming plans to rule as Japan's Prime Minister. They also don't know about Nyarlathotep.

The difference between the two men ideologically is mostly academic. Tatsuzou Sudou believes the masses should die to create his new world. Masayoshi Shido understands the masses must exist, but only to be continually sacrificed by the strong.

==OOC Notes and Hooks==
*A PC does not need to be a true believer to be a member of the New World Order. Far from it! Most characters absolutely do not believe in Tatsuzou's 'Pure World' ideal. Backstories of being blackmailed, being taken from an orphanage to a New World Order lab, a family member taken hostage or simply using them to your own ends are all appropriate.

*Masayoshi Shido is careful about keeping himself anonymous and using proxies to deliver his orders so as not to expose himself as 'The Gold Lion'. Nevertheless, when his orders come through, they are respected by the rank and file, or else they're quickly disposed of.

*However! True believers are also appropriate. Desperate and groomed teenagers, entitled rich kids and adults who believe the world should be theirs, the disaffected and downtrodden, the people hurt by the world and simply hate the way it is and want to believe it can be better by burning it all down. These characters are quite likely to begin with [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] and can sometimes hear voices that enable them.

*Shido's faction has their own facilities studying [[Psience and Technology|cognitive psience]] and collaborating with Hisataka Shinjo's people. He is absolutely the type to create Persona Users and other supernatural monstrosities to hedge his bets so he's not forever reliant on [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Black_Mask|the Black Mask]].

*While Persona Users are the only ones who can fight Shadows and Demons, that doesn't mean the New World Order's unempowered soldiers in the Tenchu Army are absolute chumps. Among Persona Users' many known weaknesses, one of them is bullets.

*Hisataka Shinjo is at the beginning of organizing a mission to Tatsumi Port Island to attempt to capture one of the Major Arcana Shadows. Not a single member of the NWO is aware of why that might be, only that it is crucial that they prevent [[SEES]] from killing it. Most assume he wants to experiment on it.

==Integration Trivia==

*The SIU Director was given a name on Velvet Room MUSH by staffer Naganaki Shrine. He doesn't have a canonical name in Persona 5, but inspiration was taken from how another NPC was merely The Principal in Japanese but became Principal Kobayakawa in the English localization. We feel he's less confusing all around if he has a name.

== See also... ==

* [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
* [[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
* [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]]
* [[Psience and Technology]]
* [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Liberal_Co-Prosperity_Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]]
* [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Mental_Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]]
* [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Psychotic_Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]]

[[Category: Theme]]
[[Category:Groups]]

Assorted Topics and Events

2026-06-24T20:59:18Z

Eri:

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==Apathy Syndrome==

Sometimes people grapple with long-term feelings of isolation from others. If this persists, then during the Dark Hour, they may wake up without the protection of their coffin. People without [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#The Potential|The Potential]] or a Persona are often drawn to wander, continually caught in a negative self feedback loop of grappling with the idea that they would be better off dead. Those in Tatsumi Port Island are drawn to wander specifically towards Tartarus.

But often people don't make it far. Mindless Shadows prey upon these people, and most Persona users believe it is because the Mindless Shadow has 'devoured' the individual's shadow. While this isn't technically what occurs, the shadow leaves the person's body as a result of the attack. These individuals who survive the attacks by Shadows will inevitably be afflicted by Apathy Syndrome and be unable to function. Mostly these people will stand on the streets and mumble without any drive to care for themselves or do anything else, slowly wasting away. Most politicians and pundits have labeled it a 'social disease' of this generation, and little support has been given to these people by the healthcare community.

Often the media will report that someone with a case of apathy syndrome took action again, only to attempt suicide. However, it's unknown whether these cases accurately reflect apathy syndrome, and if so, why this occurs. It is quite possibly the case that apathy syndrome is misdiagnosed in a great number of people, as mental health professionals have yet to have consensus on the actual criteria for it.

Apathy Syndrome is distinct from a [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdown]] in that sometimes people are known to recover. This can occur when the Shadow that devoured the person's Shadow is defeated quickly after the incident--but not always. Sometimes people are just lost until their body finally gives out and they expire, and there's nothing to be done.

While cases of Apathy Syndrome first began appearing [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]], largely people are unaware that it's been going on for so long. This is in part due to an effort of the Kirijo Group's immediate cover up of the incident, and part how long it took for the medical community took to acknowledge it as a phenomenon. It has only been acknowledged as a medical diagnosis only in the last five years. The [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] saw a spike in cases of Apathy Syndrome worldwide three years ago, but most prominently in Japan, leading to public outcry against the ruling party.

==Change of Heart==

A mysterious phenomenon that's only recently come into the spotlight of the Tokyo media, a change of heart in this context is ostensibly an act performed by the Phantom Thieves through an unknown method that causes an individual to 'confess their sins with their own mouth.' This has always followed a notice sent by The Phantoms declaring their intent to bring about that change of heart by 'stealing their distorted desires.' It's a puzzle to the public and police alike what this even means, but the results are unmistakable.

No matter how vile the person might have been before, those who've undergone changes of heart thus far have ended up publicly confessing their crimes and turning themselves into the police in genuinely dramatic and emotional displays of regret, overwhelmed by the crushing weight of what they've done.

The public is currently divided on this turn of events. Many cheer the [[Phantom Thieves]] on for rooting out corrupt individuals in society, whereas the second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, insists he believes it's criminal brainwashing and has swayed a large segment of the Japanese public and media accordingly.

No matter how it's done, the Change of Heart phenomenon can't help but make the powers that be nervous, especially considering its emergence within an epidemic of [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]]. It begs them all to ask the question...

...Who's next?

==Dark Side of Sumaru==

The Dark Side of Sumaru is a site on the dark web that's run by the infamous Rumormonger of Sumaru City, Baofu, and the central hub of the Rumormonger community on the internet in Japan. Here, people can post everything, from the wildest conspiracy theories to speculation from occult hobbyists to real people trying to be whistleblowers and warn people away from the worst 'Black Companies' throughout Japan.

Normal people tend to roll their eyes and pass by that particular forum discussing 'Personas' as too wild for even the biggest conspiracy theory aficionados to entertain. The home page appears to be shut down due to a host server error, with only the bulletin boards still operational. Within it, the top threads contain manifestos that look like the ravings of particularly over-imaginative middle schoolers who've had way too much caffeine and don't touch grass nearly enough.

But that's by design to act as a filter. Go past the top posts and you'll find where the real online community is, with discussions by the community about [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]], loose efforts to organize against Shadows in various communities every night, supernatural urban explorers making trips to [[Mementos]], discussions of [[Resonance]] and various tips, and the hottest supernatural-related Rumors in Sumaru City.

There's rarely a how-to guide on how Personas work or how to get stronger; most attempts to compose one are fully scorned, because what works for one person often doesn't for many others.

There's almost no moderation on these forums ever. Rumormonger Baofu says it's because he's a generous guy who believes in freedom of expression, but many suspect he just likes encouraging people to say a little too much.

==Ergonomics Research Institute==

A highly secure facility on the island of Yakushima, south of Mainland Japan. Ten years ago it was the site of testing for the majority of the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]]'s most clandestine projects. One test group for [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Artificial Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] was stationed here. The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppressed Weapons were likewise tested here.

One of Takeharu Kirijo's first acts as head of the Kirijo Group was to suspend most operations at the Ergonomics Research Institute. While it is not permanently shuttered per se, the facilities that remain here are heavily supervised by Kirijo Group auditors.

===OOC Minutiae===
*While Shuji Ikutsuki was the head of this institute, he rarely showed his face to his experiments, instead delegating this to other scientists. As a result, if you wish to have had a concept that comes from this institute, please do not make yourself one of his direct personalized projects. Knowing he was in charge is absolutely fine.

*The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons prior to the 7th generation were destroyed here, and their personality module data were absorbed into a certain notable character. As such, even when they open for application, concepts for OC Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons must keep this in mind.

==Gozen==
[[File:Gozen.png|200px|thumb|right|Kneel before Gozen.]]
The legendary warlord of the land that became Sumaru City, Kiyotada Sumaru, more commonly known as Gozen, is fully the creation of a rumor that resulted in the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] within Sumaru City--not that anyone knows it. While he was dug up nearly two decades back by the group that became the [[New World Order]] at the site of Honmaru Park, somewhere along the way, the world amended itself to his presence.

Every child in Sumaru City remembers growing up with a reference to his story, although few know it in any great detail. The historians of Sumaru City have been eager to research the sites found in Honmaru Park and the subway system in Narumi Ward, but without any success due to being mired in red tape by the local authorities.

Gozen's head is enshrined in an elaborate ritual chamber aboard the New World Order's warship, the Nichirinmaru. It is there that many of their more esoteric rituals are conducted, which conveys [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Mark|The Mark]] on both willing and unwilling participants.

Those that receive The Mark from Gozen rarely receive whispers regarding [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Other Side|The Other Side]], instead offering the commandment of fulfilling the New World Order's aims.

==Grand Cross==

An event that took place recently in May 2012, wherein all the planets in the solar system aligned. At the time, vague prophecies alluded to an apocalypse caused by the Grand Cross that would bring about the end of the world. Several small doomsday cults arose in Tatsumi Port Island and Sumaru City in response, though none of them could agree on what exactly that apocalypse would be.

To the embarrassment of all of them, the Grand Cross occurred and nothing happened. Now life continues as normal. What was the big deal, anyway?

==History Boom==

Spurred on by significant archaeological findings in Sumaru City's Honmaru Park and Narumi Ward, the History Boom has been a countrywide phenomenon for the past decade. Politicians and pundits alike have utilized the findings of past eras to spur views of Japanese nationalism, and warhawks that had previously fallen out of favor with the Japanese populace have found more footing.

Feelings of nationalist sentiment predominate as more and more of the elderly agree with the saber-rattlers that perhaps it is time for Japan to form a true military once more. The average child knows the History Boom as a glorification of the era of the samurai, resulting in more and more Japanese period piece media and anime with discreet jingoist messaging.

The [[#Liberal Co-Prosperity Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] has consolidated power in the National Diet from the sentiments of the History Boom, with the Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou benefiting most of all from political headwinds of this time.

==Innocent Sin Online==

A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy MMORPG that's started up ten years ago, in 2002. Currently, the census in game is dwindling due to the ubiquitous presence of gold farmers and scammers, as well as the hesitance of the developers to address the issue due to recent legislation in other Asian countries. Despite this, there is a persistent cult following by gamers who cling to this game for nostalgic comfort despite it going decidedly downhill. Most former players have drifted towards Condemnation of Witchcraft, or CoW, a Western MMORPG that has more modern graphics and debatably better raid content.

===OOC Notes===

*Innocent Sin Online does have Tatsuya and Maya in it as main characters, but they don't have a family name and only look vaguely similar to their real life counterparts. Maya does indeed say the 'Let's think positive!' line. There is definitely not enough evidence as presented that this is a reference to the Other Side.

*... Nevertheless, a Tatsuya Suou player might be suspicious as to where it came from. The Innocent Sin cast playing it would have a few Deja Vu moments along the way.

*Innocent Sin Online place in a ruined Tokyo invaded by demons, the main hub is Shinagawa Dungeon. Most technology no longer functions, demanding that humanity channel the power of Demons to defeat the invading forces of hell.

*Many references in the game are Persona English dub references. Lunarvale is present as a location in game. Dancing Crazy is something characters can do. Super Guido is a raid boss. The Persona 1 cast might double take a bit if they fought Super Guido, but given it's 'Evil Buddha' elements, they'd dismiss it rather quickly as just being an odd coincidence.

==Joker Curse==
[[File:JokerKiller.png|200px|thumb|right|The OG Joker Killer]] [[File:JokerUlala.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ulala Serizawa as a 'Joker']]
A TV broadcast recently by famed psychic and fortuneteller Wang Long Chizuru warned the public that the Joker was in fact 'Joka', the Black Dragon of misfortune within Wang Long Fortunetelling. According to her, as sin and guilt become rife within the public, people who performed the Joker Rumor will become infected with 'Kegare', the conceptual 'spiritual impurity' of Shintoism. As it accumulates, they will lose control and become 'Jokas' themselves.

While this rumor may be the basis of the curse, Persona Users of Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area know that without a doubt it is the legacy of Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer. When he died, the Joker Persona rose up by itself, eerily announcing to all that the fear has been spread, and that the Joker won't die.
While this rumor, and expression of it is brand new, what is known so far is that those who perfomed the Joker Curse will eventually become monstrous versions of themselves with chalk white skin, taut ever-smiling ruby red lips and eyes so sunken as to barely be visible. Furthermore, they will obtain a monstrous version of the Joker Persona that they will summon as Jokers.

Someone affected by it will lash out uncontrollably at the people around them, seeking to harm those they see as the banes of their existence, the architects of their misfortune. Anyone else they murder along the way, is merely collateral damage.

According to Igor of the Velvet Room, the Joker Curse is a 'possession' of sorts by the person's Shadow, tainted by negative feelings of guilt and rage. While he is capable of suppressing the curse through unknown means, he warns that one must take care to keep those feelings in check, lest the Shadow take control again.

For unknown reasons, the [[New World Order]], appears to have a certain interest in these individuals who have become Joker or will become Joker and seem more than willing to sacrifice their people in order to obtain them.

But to what end?

===OOC Minutiae===

*Currently this is only available to PCs or NPCs who performed the Joker Rumor while Tatsuya Sudou was still alive. Eventually it will be opened to everyone, PCs and NPCs alike.

*Comitting to being a Joker is committing to being a one shot 'Monster' or very short term one. Any arcs that request one be a Joker long term will be rejected, as the [[New World Order]] has made it a priority to hunt these individuals down.

*Be aware, it is not possible to have social scenes as a Joker. They are indiscriminate killers who will even try to murder friends and loved ones. Even captured Jokers are near impossible to keep restrained or sedated for more than a very short period of time. This is why the New World Order immediately attempts to transport them to a nearby facility as soon as possible.

*Being captured by the New World Order without immediate rescue before making it to one of their facilities is permanent death of the PC or NPC- period. End of Story. If you have a pitch for an alternate experiment than the canon one that doesn't end in death and removes the 'Monster' status then you may make a pitch to the staff by request.

==The Joker Persona==
[[ File:OriginalJokerPersona.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Joker Persona of Tatsuya Sudou]] [[File:JokerUlalaVersion.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Joker Persona of Ulala Serizawa]]
The Joker Persona was first wielded by Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer, during his spree of murder throughout Sumaru City. Originally, it was a strange figure, wearing an ever-smiling mask, a black button down coat, gloves with a symbol that mirrors [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] and a strange tail that hangs like a pocket watch.

However, it was revealed early on, that under the mask is the visage of Tatsuya Suou the so-called 'Paradox Boy' known by the New World Order. Even glimpsing that face beneath the mask tends to bring about moments of intense Deja Vu.

It has many terrible powers, but it's most deadly seems to be the ability to infect Persona Users in the area, emerging when they call upon their powers to harm them and their friends, in an ability known as the 'Old Maid'.

To those 'in the know' it is almost certainly speculated to be one of the many avatars of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.

Now, it is appearing in those affected by the Joker Curse, and with each iteration, it seems to be growing more and more monstrous in appearance. Why that is the case is unknown, but is certainly disquieting where this metamorphosis may be leading.

===OOC Minutia===

*The Old Maid ability can be done in game! If you app the ability for someone affected by the Joker Curse, then contact the staff before any fight scenes and we'll assist with simulating the ability.

*Joker Cursed individuals most often have elements and resists in reverse to their normal ones. Seldomly, someone may have the exact same. If someone is unawakened in the first place, then their elements and resists are 'dealer's choice' so to speak.

*It is fine to know that the Joker Persona has Tatsuya Suou's face by dint of rumor, but trying to investigate with him while he's unplayed is a dead end. He won't speak on the subject. That doesn't mean it's impossible to investigate why this might be so, but those 'in the know' are highly dangerous individuals.

==Kirijo Group==

A major Japanese conglomerate that began as a part of the [[#Nanjo Group|Nanjo Group]]. Following Kouetsu Kirijo's split with the company, they've managed to maintain amicable relationships. However, there was a period where the company located strange crystals within some Jomon period ruins and what was initially excitement at a find that could revolutionize human life quickly took a darker turn into obsession bordering on religious zealotry.

The result is the tragedy of [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] and the creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]]. In the wake of this incident, the Kirijo Group has covered up its involvement from public knowledge, believing that the best way to atone for its sins is to clean up its mess without interference by a government that will have no concept of what happened in the first place. As a part of working towards this goal, the Kirijo Group created [[SEES]]. Of course, most of [[SEES]] remains mostly unaware of the group's full role in these events.

The current head of the group is Takeharu Kirijo, a serious-minded and seemingly cold individual known for sporting an eyepatch over his right eye; the heiress is his daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo. Given that she's in her final year of high school, a subject of constant discussion within the Group is finding a suitable match for her.

The most well-known branch of it is Kirijo Electronics, which is known ubiquitously as a sponsor on various radio shows and sports teams throughout the area. Many students make use of their electric scooters and motorcycles.

==Liberal Co-Prosperity Party==

A center-right to right leaning party that currently is the ruling party of the National Diet, the Liberal Co-Prosperity Party was originally rocked with scandals during the era of the Kuramoto Children. Soon thereafter, it began it's rise to prominence as a result of the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] that began in Sumaru City.

The party is currently split between it's traditionalist and populist wings, with many understanding implicitly that the current party structure is merely an 'marriage of convenience'. The populist wing spends much of it's time appealing to the masses, and labeling the current ruling party structure as both stagnant and impotent in their inability to handle the fallout of the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] that in their eyes has resulted in the [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]], [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] and [[#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] phenomenon. As a result, they reap the benefits that ordinarily belong to opposition parties by targeting their own within.

With the arrest of Kosei Tawarada, the current party leader, for covering up the activities of his son; the coalition he created has already begun to fracture and many pundits are already warily predicting a messy divorce sooner rather than later.

==Mental Shutdowns==

A wave of incidents throughout Tokyo where people shut down completely out of nowhere. Their eyes go blank and their body ceases to function. A more gruesome detail, mostly hidden from the public due to its graphic nature, is that black ichor begins to leak out of their eyes, ears, and mouth at the moment of death.

These incidents began roughly two years prior to the start of the game, mystifying both law enforcement and medical professionals. While it is much talked about by pundits who would capitalize upon the incidents for political gain, the public is no closer to understanding the cause.

The true cause of mental shutdowns is the death of a Person's Shadow, typically within the Metaverse. Strega has recently discovered this fact by performing several mental shutdowns themselves while exploring Mementos.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts currently are able to speculate that there is a culprit who has been using [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Metaverse|The Metaverse]] to perform mental shutdowns for years, but have little hard evidence thus far.

Some higher-ups within the [[New World Order]] will understand that high-profile mental shutdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce for anyone who isn't a part of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

==Nanjo Group==

A Japanese super-conglomerate that originally got its start during the Meiji Restoration in oil and coal. It has since shifted in the post-war era to energy, chemical research, pharmaceuticals, and applied engineering. Known for its success in finding new markets abroad while maintaining excellent domestic relationships, it has survived multiple splits and been considered stronger for it.

Originally the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] was a part of it, but its founder Kouetsu Kirijo navigated a disagreement with the prior Nanjo Group head into an amicable divorce that ended up paying dividends for both. Following the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], the Nanjo Group ended up acquiring SEBEC, which now no longer exists under that name given how toxic its brand had become. Rumors have followed the group around ever since that they've acquired mysterious occultist technology that they utilize in secret.

Its current heir, Kei Nanjo, doesn't tend to weigh in on Nanjo Group's current activities, though he ''has'' been a bit out of touch after spending two years studying abroad in England. He's still expected to take over once he graduates university, which begs the question of what he's doing spending his time in Tatsumi Port Island in a high school dorm!

==Phan-Site==

The Phantom Aficionado Website or 'Phan-Site' for short, is a website set up for the purpose of spreading support for the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts throughout Japan. The site consists of a front page poll with an anonymous comment feed that allows people to post their thoughts on the doings of the Phantom Thieves. Most pertinent however is the ability to submit heist requests for the Phantom Thieves to change someone's heart.

It should be noted that the Phantom Thieves never post on the site, and have never made the claim of involvement in it's running. Nevertheless, the 'Phan-dom' is quite adamant that hearts have been changed as a result of requests posted on the site.

There have been calls by parental groups to have the website taken down, but as of yet Japanese Law Enforcement seems either unwilling or unable to.

===OOC Minutiae===

*While Yuuki Mishima is the administrator, this isn't known to the public. If there's a player of Yuuki Mishima, they'll control the site. Otherwise any attempts to discern his identity will need to be requested to staff with an intended purpose. It's not especially hard to figure out, but a story that goes beyond just pressing him for their identities would be preferred.

*The Police are not attempting to remove the Phan-Site on orders from the higher ups of the [[New World Order]]. This is not known to the rank and file, as it's considered 'beyond their paygrade.'

==Psychotic Breakdowns==

Often spoken about in the same breath as [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] by pundits and TV personalities alike due to them arising at nearly the same time, psychotic breakdowns are nevertheless distinct in several key ways. Typically a person will, seemingly at random, have an incident of erratic behavior or psychotic violence and go on what appears to be a rampage.

Whether it's stripping naked at their job, crashing the vehicle they're driving, or even a person suddenly committing arson, the lack of an easy pattern has made them seem impenetrable by law enforcement and mental health professionals. The key difference between mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns at this time appears to be that psychotic breakdowns are relatively brief, usually lasting a few hours at most, before the person in question snaps out of it with no memory of the incident. However, the two are easily conflated, because sometimes the psychotic breakdown incidents are quite deadly to the person in question.

Police are often hesitant to prosecute obvious psychotic breakdown incidents given the insanity defense, but for incidents that are more discreet, they're more than willing to claim the perpetrator is simply lying and make any footage of the incidents vanish without a trace. The reason is that rare footage of psychotic breakdowns show the victims with rolled back eyes and alarmingly dark blood pouring from their mouths.

Recently, in April, a high-profile psychotic breakdown occurred in which a subway driver derailed a train, injuring eighty people. This incident forced both the Minister of Transportation and the president of a metro company to take responsibility and resign.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts have enough information to speculate that there's a culprit committing them at this time, but little hard evidence.

The [[New World Order]]'s members may have heard that psychotic breakdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce to anyone who isn't a member of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

===OOC Hooks===

*If characters want a psychotic breakdown to have happened to themselves or an NPC in their life as part of their background, then by all means apply for it. It's a great hook for your character or someone in their family or a friend to be harmed or disgraced as a result of a psychotic breakdown! The only stipulation is that they are always crafted to damage a business or politician's reputation and that the person committing the breakdown is almost always collateral damage, rarely ever the actual target.

==Revenge Request==

A website run by Strega's webmaster Jin Shirato, in which people can request anyone be murdered for a fee. The rates are not available on the site itself. One puts in a request, and the Webmaster sends you an e-mail with the details for delivering their fee. Trying to reply back to the e-mail fails, one either sends the fee, or doesn't.

The URL is hidden to most people, due to a very strong rumor which indicates that keeps the site hidden, spread by the Joker Killer, Tatsuya Sudou. Nevertheless, any Rumormonger worth their salt knows it. Law Enforcement in Japan has put forth no efforts so far to attempt to stop it, chalking it up to an urban legend.

Despite the tension one would think might be caused by the [[#Joker Killer|Joker Killer]] being free, neither Strega's leadership nor the Joker Killer himself seems to mind their coexistence. One might wonder if they know something that everyone else doesn't.

==SEBEC Scandal==

An incident three years ago that occurred at the Mikage-Cho branch of the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation, or SEBEC for short. As far as most of the public knows, an earthquake caused a lab accident, releasing an experimental chemical into the atmosphere of Mikage-Cho.

This caused a report of a mass hysteria incident within Mikage-Cho, though secretly most Persona Users at the time know it extended much further worldwide and was covered up, a fact given credence by an outbreak of a mental health epidemic within Japan immediately following the incident. The [[#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] has entire threads of discussion devoted to this, but without many specifics of the incident as those who were present have yet to weigh in.

With the death of SEBEC's Mikage-Cho branch president, Takahisa Kandori, at the site of the disaster, President Saeki, an old man in cognitive decline, was forced to take responsibility. He resigned on live TV before being quietly ushered away to his retirement. With their stocks tanking in the aftermath, SEBEC was bought out by the Nanjo Group and no longer exists as a publicly traded company.

The fallout of the incident included lingering depression and suicidal ideations within numerous people who had not previously shown any sign of mental illness, which revealed the inadequacies of the Japanese mental health system in being able to care for a crisis of this magnitude.

To this day, some point fingers at the current administration for the problems Japanese society is facing right now, claiming their failure to address the SEBEC Scandal adequately gave rise to the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown phenomena.

==Snow Queen Crisis==

Almost a footnote to the public compared to the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], a revolutionary new central air system in St. Hermelin High School, as donated by the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation to the community, underwent a critical malfunction in its liquid nitrogen tank storage system that caused mass hospitalization for hypothermia and frostbite. Some theorize that the chemical released by SEBEC into the atmosphere was the reason for this malfunction.

This combined with the mass hysteria from the scandal itself caused the students to rave about the Snow Queen, a character from a play that had been performed for decades by the school's drama club, trying to kill them all. Still, journalists enjoyed sensationalizing the idea that there really was a 'Snow Queen' killer until the SEBEC Scandal's fallout eclipsed it.

The few Persona User survivors of St. Hermelin High School don't tend to speak of the reality of the incident, perhaps out of fear that their beloved teacher, Saeko Takami, might be blamed by the public for something they all know was not truly her fault.

==Ten Years Ago==

Ten years ago (relative to the start of Velvet Room MUSH in 2012), an explosion took place at a major [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] facility in Tatsumi Port Island. This resulted in the release of Shadows, numerous deaths amongst the populace, the worldwide creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|the Dark Hour]], and the formation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#Tartarus|Tartarus]] on the site of the former Kirijo lab.

Numerous personal tragedies occurred during this time before the incident inexplicably ended. To this day, no one seems to know how the incident was contained and stabilized. Still, the Dark Hour remains.

Earlier that same day in Sumaru City, a brutal murder of a child occurred at the Alaya Shrine, which has never once burned down. Still, tragic murders happen all the time, so this barely rates a mention in comparison.

===OOC Minutia===

*SEES now knows a number of details about a certain account of the events of ten years ago. Being a part of SEES default allows one to have access to this knowledge.

==Tien Tao Lien==

The Tien Tao Lien is a gang within the Taiwanese mafia and one of the [[New World Order]]'s 'alliances.' Led by a man named Yung Pao, the mafia acts as their arm in the underworld by giving the police plausible deniability about their involvement.

Yung Pao seems to have a grudge against the New World Order's leadership, but still complies obediently with their orders anyhow. One thus might wonder: what do they have on him?

==Wang Long Fortune-telling==

Wang Long fortune-telling is a feng shui-based style of fortune-telling where one uses the movement of the twelve Guardian Dragons sent from the Heavens to predict the future, purported to be highly accurate. It's reported to be an energy flow, somewhat similar to leylines, and the energy you put out into it comes back to you. In other words, if you're good, good things will happen, and if you're bad, you'll get your comeuppance.

"Wang Long" Chizuru popularized it in Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo metropolitan area when she did several readings on a TV show about fortunes. All of her predictions came true, and now the public is chomping at the bit to get their fortunes told, either by her or other fortune-tellers using the same method. People with even a basic understanding of it can attempt to tell their own fortunes, though their results may be mixed.
[[File:WangLongChizuru.png|200px|thumb|right|Wang Long Chizuru, who popularized Wang Long Fortune-Telling.]]
The twelve Guardian Dragons correspond to the months of the year, and have different colors and associations. They govern over those born within that year and supposedly share attributes with them; in this way, it's not unlike the Western Zodiac. Some dragons have an affinity with certain other dragons, while others vibe poorly with each other. This makes Wang Long particularly popular for romantic compatibility readings.

Recently Wang Long Fortune-telling has faced greater scrutiny by the supernatural community due to Chizuru Ishigami linking the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] to ideas within Wang Long Fortune-telling of 'Joka'. Which begs the question of what her angle for doing so might be...

===Guardian Dragons===

''The guardian dragon for each month is the...''

'''January:''' Yellow Dragon, which protects balance. You are responsible and patient.

'''February:''' Blue Dragon, which prefers reform. You are intellectual and calm.

'''March:''' White Dragon, which rules the emotion. You are warm-hearted and easily moved to tears.

'''April:''' Scarlet Dragon, which leads battle. You are rash, hasty, and stubborn.

'''May:''' Gold Dragon, which protects the world. You are realistic and reasonable.

'''June:''' Navy Blue Dragon, which gives rise to liberation. You are lively and witty.

'''July:''' Light Dragon, which values morals. You are sensitive and caring.

'''August:''' Red Dragon, which rules passion. You are confident and adventurous.

'''September:''' Black Dragon, which grants wisdom. You are earnest and enthusiastic.

'''October:''' Silver Dragon, which protects moderation. You are artistic and pacifistic.

'''November:''' Moon Dragon, which creates mysticism. You trap passion inside your heart.

'''December:''' Purple Dragon, which honors justice. You are honest and wish to be free.

=== Affinity Chart ===

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|-
!Dragon !! Good !! Bad
|-
| Yellow Dragon (''January'') || Gold || Silver
|-
| Blue Dragon (''February'') || Navy Blue || --
|-
| White Dragon (''March'') || Moon || --
|-
| Scarlet Dragon (''April'') || -- || --
|-
| Gold Dragon (''May'') || Yellow, Black || --
|-
| Navy Blue Dragon (''June'') || Blue || --
|-
| Light Dragon (''July'') || White, Moon || Red
|-
| Red Dragon (''August'') || -- || Light
|-
| Black Dragon (''September'') || Gold || --
|-
| Silver Dragon (''October'') || Purple || Yellow
|-
| Moon Dragon (''November'') || White, Light || --
|-
| Purple Dragon (''December'') || Silver || --
|}

===Joka===

There is a thirteenth dragon who does not correspond with any month and stands opposed to the twelve guardians. It's known as Joka, the death dragon. It comes and goes on its own schedule and consequently can appear at random on a person's Wang Long chart. When it appears, bad luck and extreme misfortune will infest a person's life, though fortunately not for all eternity. There's nothing they can do about this; they just have to tough it out until the Joka has passed.

While Joka can appear at random, it is also called forth by Kegare--negativity, sin, and other bad energies--and releases it in turn. The other dragons hate Kegare and, according to legend, they will rise up to destroy it where it appears in sufficiently massive quantities.

The Joka was recently declared to be responsible for [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|The Joker Curse]] by causing Kegare to accumulate within those who participated in the Joker Rumor. Once enough gathers, then those people will become 'Jokas' themselves.

And if the world does not repent of such sins that strengthen the Joka, then the Guardian Dragons will eventually become enraged enough with humanity to bring about the end of the world.

</div>

[[Category: Theme]]

Assorted Topics and Events

2026-06-24T20:56:44Z

Eri:

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__TOC__
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==Apathy Syndrome==

Sometimes people grapple with long-term feelings of isolation from others. If this persists, then during the Dark Hour, they may wake up without the protection of their coffin. People without [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#The Potential|The Potential]] or a Persona are often drawn to wander, continually caught in a negative self feedback loop of grappling with the idea that they would be better off dead. Those in Tatsumi Port Island are drawn to wander specifically towards Tartarus.

But often people don't make it far. Mindless Shadows prey upon these people, and most Persona users believe it is because the Mindless Shadow has 'devoured' the individual's shadow. While this isn't technically what occurs, the shadow leaves the person's body as a result of the attack. These individuals who survive the attacks by Shadows will inevitably be afflicted by Apathy Syndrome and be unable to function. Mostly these people will stand on the streets and mumble without any drive to care for themselves or do anything else, slowly wasting away. Most politicians and pundits have labeled it a 'social disease' of this generation, and little support has been given to these people by the healthcare community.

Often the media will report that someone with a case of apathy syndrome took action again, only to attempt suicide. However, it's unknown whether these cases accurately reflect apathy syndrome, and if so, why this occurs. It is quite possibly the case that apathy syndrome is misdiagnosed in a great number of people, as mental health professionals have yet to have consensus on the actual criteria for it.

Apathy Syndrome is distinct from a [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdown]] in that sometimes people are known to recover. This can occur when the Shadow that devoured the person's Shadow is defeated quickly after the incident--but not always. Sometimes people are just lost until their body finally gives out and they expire, and there's nothing to be done.

While cases of Apathy Syndrome first began appearing [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]], largely people are unaware that it's been going on for so long. This is in part due to an effort of the Kirijo Group's immediate cover up of the incident, and part how long it took for the medical community took to acknowledge it as a phenomenon. It has only been acknowledged as a medical diagnosis only in the last five years. The [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] saw a spike in cases of Apathy Syndrome worldwide three years ago, but most prominently in Japan, leading to public outcry against the ruling party.

==Change of Heart==

A mysterious phenomenon that's only recently come into the spotlight of the Tokyo media, a change of heart in this context is ostensibly an act performed by the Phantom Thieves through an unknown method that causes an individual to 'confess their sins with their own mouth.' This has always followed a notice sent by The Phantoms declaring their intent to bring about that change of heart by 'stealing their distorted desires.' It's a puzzle to the public and police alike what this even means, but the results are unmistakable.

No matter how vile the person might have been before, those who've undergone changes of heart thus far have ended up publicly confessing their crimes and turning themselves into the police in genuinely dramatic and emotional displays of regret, overwhelmed by the crushing weight of what they've done.

The public is currently divided on this turn of events. Many cheer the [[Phantom Thieves]] on for rooting out corrupt individuals in society, whereas the second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, insists he believes it's criminal brainwashing and has swayed a large segment of the Japanese public and media accordingly.

No matter how it's done, the Change of Heart phenomenon can't help but make the powers that be nervous, especially considering its emergence within an epidemic of [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]]. It begs them all to ask the question...

...Who's next?

==Dark Side of Sumaru==

The Dark Side of Sumaru is a site on the dark web that's run by the infamous Rumormonger of Sumaru City, Baofu, and the central hub of the Rumormonger community on the internet in Japan. Here, people can post everything, from the wildest conspiracy theories to speculation from occult hobbyists to real people trying to be whistleblowers and warn people away from the worst 'Black Companies' throughout Japan.

Normal people tend to roll their eyes and pass by that particular forum discussing 'Personas' as too wild for even the biggest conspiracy theory aficionados to entertain. The home page appears to be shut down due to a host server error, with only the bulletin boards still operational. Within it, the top threads contain manifestos that look like the ravings of particularly over-imaginative middle schoolers who've had way too much caffeine and don't touch grass nearly enough.

But that's by design to act as a filter. Go past the top posts and you'll find where the real online community is, with discussions by the community about [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]], loose efforts to organize against Shadows in various communities every night, supernatural urban explorers making trips to [[Mementos]], discussions of [[Resonance]] and various tips, and the hottest supernatural-related Rumors in Sumaru City.

There's rarely a how-to guide on how Personas work or how to get stronger; most attempts to compose one are fully scorned, because what works for one person often doesn't for many others.

There's almost no moderation on these forums ever. Rumormonger Baofu says it's because he's a generous guy who believes in freedom of expression, but many suspect he just likes encouraging people to say a little too much.

==Ergonomics Research Institute==

A highly secure facility on the island of Yakushima, south of Mainland Japan. Ten years ago it was the site of testing for the majority of the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]]'s most clandestine projects. One test group for [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Artificial Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] was stationed here. The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppressed Weapons were likewise tested here.

One of Takeharu Kirijo's first acts as head of the Kirijo Group was to suspend most operations at the Ergonomics Research Institute. While it is not permanently shuttered per se, the facilities that remain here are heavily supervised by Kirijo Group auditors.

===OOC Minutiae===
*While Shuji Ikutsuki was the head of this institute, he rarely showed his face to his experiments, instead delegating this to other scientists. As a result, if you wish to have had a concept that comes from this institute, please do not make yourself one of his direct personalized projects. Knowing he was in charge is absolutely fine.

*The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons prior to the 7th generation were destroyed here, and their personality module data were absorbed into a certain notable character. As such, even when they open for application, concepts for OC Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons must keep this in mind.

==Gozen==
[[File:Gozen.png|200px|thumb|right|Kneel before Gozen.]]
The legendary warlord of the land that became Sumaru City, Kiyotada Sumaru, more commonly known as Gozen, is fully the creation of a rumor that resulted in the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] within Sumaru City--not that anyone knows it. While he was dug up nearly two decades back by the group that became the [[New World Order]] at the site of Honmaru Park, somewhere along the way, the world amended itself to his presence.

Every child in Sumaru City remembers growing up with a reference to his story, although few know it in any great detail. The historians of Sumaru City have been eager to research the sites found in Honmaru Park and the subway system in Narumi Ward, but without any success due to being mired in red tape by the local authorities.

Gozen's head is enshrined in an elaborate ritual chamber aboard the New World Order's warship, the Nichirinmaru. It is there that many of their more esoteric rituals are conducted, which conveys [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Mark|The Mark]] on both willing and unwilling participants.

Those that receive The Mark from Gozen rarely receive whispers regarding [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Other Side|The Other Side]], instead offering the commandment of fulfilling the New World Order's aims.

==Grand Cross==

An event that took place recently in May 2012, wherein all the planets in the solar system aligned. At the time, vague prophecies alluded to an apocalypse caused by the Grand Cross that would bring about the end of the world. Several small doomsday cults arose in Tatsumi Port Island and Sumaru City in response, though none of them could agree on what exactly that apocalypse would be.

To the embarrassment of all of them, the Grand Cross occurred and nothing happened. Now life continues as normal. What was the big deal, anyway?

==History Boom==

Spurred on by significant archaeological findings in Sumaru City's Honmaru Park and Narumi Ward, the History Boom has been a countrywide phenomenon for the past decade. Politicians and pundits alike have utilized the findings of past eras to spur views of Japanese nationalism, and warhawks that had previously fallen out of favor with the Japanese populace have found more footing.

Feelings of nationalist sentiment predominate as more and more of the elderly agree with the saber-rattlers that perhaps it is time for Japan to form a true military once more. The average child knows the History Boom as a glorification of the era of the samurai, resulting in more and more Japanese period piece media and anime with discreet jingoist messaging.

The [[#Liberal Co-Prosperity Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] has consolidated power in the National Diet from the sentiments of the History Boom, with the Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou benefiting most of all from political headwinds of this time.

==Innocent Sin Online==

A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy MMORPG that's started up ten years ago, in 2002. Currently, the census in game is dwindling due to the ubiquitous presence of gold farmers and scammers, as well as the hesitance of the developers to address the issue due to recent legislation in other Asian countries. Despite this, there is a persistent cult following by gamers who cling to this game for nostalgic comfort despite it going decidedly downhill. Most former players have drifted towards Condemnation of Witchcraft, or CoW, a Western MMORPG that has more modern graphics and debatably better raid content.

===OOC Notes===

*Innocent Sin Online does have Tatsuya and Maya in it as main characters, but they don't have a family name and only look vaguely similar to their real life counterparts. Maya does indeed say the 'Let's think positive!' line. There is definitely not enough evidence as presented that this is a reference to the Other Side.

*... Nevertheless, a Tatsuya Suou player might be suspicious as to where it came from. The Innocent Sin cast playing it would have a few Deja Vu moments along the way.

*Innocent Sin Online place in a ruined Tokyo invaded by demons, the main hub is Shinagawa Dungeon. Most technology no longer functions, demanding that humanity channel the power of Demons to defeat the invading forces of hell.

*Many references in the game are Persona English dub references. Lunarvale is present as a location in game. Dancing Crazy is something characters can do. Super Guido is a raid boss. The Persona 1 cast might double take a bit if they fought Super Guido, but given it's 'Evil Buddha' elements, they'd dismiss it rather quickly as just being an odd coincidence.

==Joker Curse==
[[File:JokerKiller.png|200px|thumb|right|The OG Joker Killer]] [[File:JokerUlala.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ulala Serizawa as a 'Joker']]
A TV broadcast recently by famed psychic and fortuneteller Wang Long Chizuru warned the public that the Joker was in fact 'Joka', the Black Dragon of misfortune within Wang Long Fortunetelling. According to her, as sin and guilt become rife within the public, people who performed the Joker Rumor will become infected with 'Kegare', the conceptual 'spiritual impurity' of Shintoism. As it accumulates, they will lose control and become 'Jokas' themselves.

While this rumor may be the basis of the curse, Persona Users of Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area know that without a doubt it is the legacy of Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer. When he died, the Joker Persona rose up by itself, eerily announcing to all that the fear has been spread, and that the Joker won't die.
While this rumor, and expression of it is brand new, what is known so far is that those who perfomed the Joker Curse will eventually become monstrous versions of themselves with chalk white skin, taut ever-smiling ruby red lips and eyes so sunken as to barely be visible. Furthermore, they will obtain a monstrous version of the Joker Persona that they will summon as Jokers.

Someone affected by it will lash out uncontrollably at the people around them, seeking to harm those they see as the banes of their existence, the architects of their misfortune. Anyone else they murder along the way, is merely collateral damage.

According to Igor of the Velvet Room, the Joker Curse is a 'possession' of sorts by the person's Shadow, tainted by negative feelings of guilt and rage. While he is capable of suppressing the curse through unknown means, he warns that one must take care to keep those feelings in check, lest the Shadow take control again.

For unknown reasons, the [[New World Order]], appears to have a certain interest in these individuals who have become Joker or will become Joker and seem more than willing to sacrifice their people in order to obtain them.

But to what end?

===OOC Minutiae===

*Currently this is only available to PCs or NPCs who performed the Joker Rumor while Tatsuya Sudou was still alive. Eventually it will be opened to everyone, PCs and NPCs alike.

*Comitting to being a Joker is committing to being a one shot 'Monster' or very short term one. Any arcs that request one be a Joker long term will be rejected, as the [[New World Order]] has made it a priority to hunt these individuals down.

*Be aware, it is not possible to have social scenes as a Joker. They are indiscriminate killers who will even try to murder friends and loved ones. Even captured Jokers are near impossible to keep restrained or sedated for more than a very short period of time. This is why the New World Order immediately attempts to transport them to a nearby facility as soon as possible.

*Being captured by the New World Order without immediate rescue before making it to one of their facilities is permanent death of the PC or NPC- period. End of Story. If you have a pitch for an alternate experiment than the canon one that doesn't end in death and removes the 'Monster' status then you may make a pitch to the staff by request.

==The Joker Persona==
[[ File:OriginalJokerPersona.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Joker Persona of Tatsuya Sudou]] [[File:JokerUlalaVersion.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Joker Persona of Ulala Serizawa]]
The Joker Persona was first wielded by Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer, during his spree of murder throughout Sumaru City. Originally, it was a strange figure, wearing an ever-smiling mask, a black button down coat, gloves with a symbol that mirrors [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] and a strange tail that hangs like a pocket watch.

However, it was revealed early on, that under the mask is the visage of Tatsuya Suou the so-called 'Paradox Boy' known by the New World Order. Even glimpsing that face beneath the mask tends to bring about moments of intense Deja Vu.

It has many terrible powers, but it's most deadly seems to be the ability to infect Persona Users in the area, emerging when they call upon their powers to harm them and their friends, in an ability known as the 'Old Maid'.

To those 'in the know' it is almost certainly speculated to be one of the many avatars of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.

Now, it is appearing in those affected by the Joker Curse, and with each iteration, it seems to be growing more and more monstrous in appearance. Why that is the case is unknown, but is certainly disquieting where this metamorphosis may be leading.

===OOC Minutia===

*The Old Maid ability can be done in game! If you app the ability for someone affected by the Joker Curse, then contact the staff before any fight scenes and we'll assist with simulating the ability.

*Joker Cursed individuals most often have elements and resists in reverse to their normal ones. Seldomly, someone may have the exact same. If someone is unawakened in the first place, then their elements and resists are 'dealer's choice' so to speak.

*It is fine to know that the Joker Persona has Tatsuya Suou's face by dint of rumor, but trying to investigate with him while he's unplayed is a dead end. He won't speak on the subject. That doesn't mean it's impossible to investigate why this might be so, but those 'in the know' are highly dangerous individuals.

==Kirijo Group==

A major Japanese conglomerate that began as a part of the [[#Nanjo Group|Nanjo Group]]. Following Kouetsu Kirijo's split with the company, they've managed to maintain amicable relationships. However, there was a period where the company located strange crystals within some Jomon period ruins and what was initially excitement at a find that could revolutionize human life quickly took a darker turn into obsession bordering on religious zealotry.

The result is the tragedy of [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] and the creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]]. In the wake of this incident, the Kirijo Group has covered up its involvement from public knowledge, believing that the best way to atone for its sins is to clean up its mess without interference by a government that will have no concept of what happened in the first place. As a part of working towards this goal, the Kirijo Group created [[SEES]]. Of course, most of [[SEES]] remains mostly unaware of the group's full role in these events.

The current head of the group is Takeharu Kirijo, a serious-minded and seemingly cold individual known for sporting an eyepatch over his right eye; the heiress is his daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo. Given that she's in her final year of high school, a subject of constant discussion within the Group is finding a suitable match for her.

The most well-known branch of it is Kirijo Electronics, which is known ubiquitously as a sponsor on various radio shows and sports teams throughout the area. Many students make use of their electric scooters and motorcycles.

==Liberal Co-Prosperity Party==

A center-right to right leaning party that currently is the ruling party of the National Diet, the Liberal Co-Prosperity Party was originally rocked with scandals during the era of the Kuramoto Children. Soon thereafter, it began it's rise to prominence as a result of the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] that began in Sumaru City.

The party is currently split between it's traditionalist and populist wings, with many understanding implicitly that the current party structure is merely an 'marriage of convenience'. The populist wing spends much of it's time appealing to the masses, and labeling the current ruling party structure as both stagnant and impotent in their inability to handle the fallout of the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] that in their eyes has resulted in the [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]], [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] and [[#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] phenomenon. As a result, they reap the benefits that ordinarily belong to opposition parties by targeting their own within.

With the arrest of Kosei Tawarada, the current party leader, for covering up the activities of his son; the coalition he created has already begun to fracture and many pundits are already warily predicting a messy divorce sooner rather than later.

==Mental Shutdowns==

A wave of incidents throughout Tokyo where people shut down completely out of nowhere. Their eyes go blank and their body ceases to function. A more gruesome detail, mostly hidden from the public due to its graphic nature, is that black ichor begins to leak out of their eyes, ears, and mouth at the moment of death.

These incidents began roughly two years prior to the start of the game, mystifying both law enforcement and medical professionals. While it is much talked about by pundits who would capitalize upon the incidents for political gain, the public is no closer to understanding the cause.

The true cause of mental shutdowns is the death of a Person's Shadow, typically within the Metaverse. Strega has recently discovered this fact by performing several mental shutdowns themselves while exploring Mementos.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts currently are able to speculate that there is a culprit who has been using [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Metaverse|The Metaverse]] to perform mental shutdowns for years, but have little hard evidence thus far.

Some higher-ups within the [[New World Order]] will understand that high-profile mental shutdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce for anyone who isn't a part of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

==Nanjo Group==

A Japanese super-conglomerate that originally got its start during the Meiji Restoration in oil and coal. It has since shifted in the post-war era to energy, chemical research, pharmaceuticals, and applied engineering. Known for its success in finding new markets abroad while maintaining excellent domestic relationships, it has survived multiple splits and been considered stronger for it.

Originally the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] was a part of it, but its founder Kouetsu Kirijo navigated a disagreement with the prior Nanjo Group head into an amicable divorce that ended up paying dividends for both. Following the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], the Nanjo Group ended up acquiring SEBEC, which now no longer exists under that name given how toxic its brand had become. Rumors have followed the group around ever since that they've acquired mysterious occultist technology that they utilize in secret.

Its current heir, Kei Nanjo, doesn't tend to weigh in on Nanjo Group's current activities, though he ''has'' been a bit out of touch after spending two years studying abroad in England. He's still expected to take over once he graduates university, which begs the question of what he's doing spending his time in Tatsumi Port Island in a high school dorm!

==Phan-Site==

The Phantom Aficionado Website or 'Phan-Site' for short, is a website set up for the purpose of spreading support for the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts throughout Japan. The site consists of a front page poll with an anonymous comment feed that allows people to post their thoughts on the doings of the Phantom Thieves. Most pertinent however is the ability to submit heist requests for the Phantom Thieves to change someone's heart.

It should be noted that the Phantom Thieves never post on the site, and have never made the claim of involvement in it's running. Nevertheless, the 'Phan-dom' is quite adamant that hearts have been changed as a result of requests posted on the site.

There have been calls by parental groups to have the website taken down, but as of yet Japanese Law Enforcement seems either unwilling or unable to.

===OOC Minutiae===

*While Yuuki Mishima is the administrator, this isn't known to the public. If there's a player of Yuuki Mishima, they'll control the site. Otherwise any attempts to discern his identity will need to be requested to staff with an intended purpose. It's not especially hard to figure out, but a story that goes beyond just pressing him for their identities would be preferred.

*The Police are not attempting to remove the Phan-Site on orders from the higher ups of the [[New World Order]]. This is not known to the rank and file, as it's considered 'beyond their paygrade.'

==Psychotic Breakdowns==

Often spoken about in the same breath as [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] by pundits and TV personalities alike due to them arising at nearly the same time, psychotic breakdowns are nevertheless distinct in several key ways. Typically a person will, seemingly at random, have an incident of erratic behavior or psychotic violence and go on what appears to be a rampage.

Whether it's stripping naked at their job, crashing the vehicle they're driving, or even a person suddenly committing arson, the lack of an easy pattern has made them seem impenetrable by law enforcement and mental health professionals. The key difference between mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns at this time appears to be that psychotic breakdowns are relatively brief, usually lasting a few hours at most, before the person in question snaps out of it with no memory of the incident. However, the two are easily conflated, because sometimes the psychotic breakdown incidents are quite deadly to the person in question.

Police are often hesitant to prosecute obvious psychotic breakdown incidents given the insanity defense, but for incidents that are more discreet, they're more than willing to claim the perpetrator is simply lying and make any footage of the incidents vanish without a trace. The reason is that rare footage of psychotic breakdowns show the victims with rolled back eyes and alarmingly dark blood pouring from their mouths.

Recently, in April, a high-profile psychotic breakdown occurred in which a subway driver derailed a train, injuring eighty people. This incident forced both the Minister of Transportation and the president of a metro company to take responsibility and resign.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts have enough information to speculate that there's a culprit committing them at this time, but little hard evidence.

The [[New World Order]]'s members may have heard that psychotic breakdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce to anyone who isn't a member of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

===OOC Hooks===

*If characters want a psychotic breakdown to have happened to themselves or an NPC in their life as part of their background, then by all means apply for it. It's a great hook for your character or someone in their family or a friend to be harmed or disgraced as a result of a psychotic breakdown! The only stipulation is that they are always crafted to damage a business or politician's reputation and that the person committing the breakdown is almost always collateral damage, rarely ever the actual target.

==Revenge Request==

A website run by Strega's webmaster Jin Shirato, in which people can request anyone be murdered for a fee. The rates are not available on the site itself. One puts in a request, and the Webmaster sends you an e-mail with the details for delivering their fee. Trying to reply back to the e-mail fails, one either sends the fee, or doesn't.

The URL is hidden to most people, due to a very strong rumor which indicates that keeps the site hidden, spread by the Joker Killer, Tatsuya Sudou. Nevertheless, any Rumormonger worth their salt knows it. Law Enforcement in Japan has put forth no efforts so far to attempt to stop it, chalking it up to an urban legend.

Despite the tension one would think might be caused by the [[#Joker Killer|Joker Killer]] being free, neither Strega's leadership nor the Joker Killer himself seems to mind their coexistence. One might wonder if they know something that everyone else doesn't.

==SEBEC Scandal==

An incident three years ago that occurred at the Mikage-Cho branch of the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation, or SEBEC for short. As far as most of the public knows, an earthquake caused a lab accident, releasing an experimental chemical into the atmosphere of Mikage-Cho.

This caused a report of a mass hysteria incident within Mikage-Cho, though secretly most Persona Users at the time know it extended much further worldwide and was covered up, a fact given credence by an outbreak of a mental health epidemic within Japan immediately following the incident. The [[#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] has entire threads of discussion devoted to this, but without many specifics of the incident as those who were present have yet to weigh in.

With the death of SEBEC's Mikage-Cho branch president, Takahisa Kandori, at the site of the disaster, President Saeki, an old man in cognitive decline, was forced to take responsibility. He resigned on live TV before being quietly ushered away to his retirement. With their stocks tanking in the aftermath, SEBEC was bought out by the Nanjo Group and no longer exists as a publicly traded company.

The fallout of the incident included lingering depression and suicidal ideations within numerous people who had not previously shown any sign of mental illness, which revealed the inadequacies of the Japanese mental health system in being able to care for a crisis of this magnitude.

To this day, some point fingers at the current administration for the problems Japanese society is facing right now, claiming their failure to address the SEBEC Scandal adequately gave rise to the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown phenomena.

==Snow Queen Crisis==

Almost a footnote to the public compared to the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], a revolutionary new central air system in St. Hermelin High School, as donated by the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation to the community, underwent a critical malfunction in its liquid nitrogen tank storage system that caused mass hospitalization for hypothermia and frostbite. Some theorize that the chemical released by SEBEC into the atmosphere was the reason for this malfunction.

This combined with the mass hysteria from the scandal itself caused the students to rave about the Snow Queen, a character from a play that had been performed for decades by the school's drama club, trying to kill them all. Still, journalists enjoyed sensationalizing the idea that there really was a 'Snow Queen' killer until the SEBEC Scandal's fallout eclipsed it.

The few Persona User survivors of St. Hermelin High School don't tend to speak of the reality of the incident, perhaps out of fear that their beloved teacher, Saeko Takami, might be blamed by the public for something they all know was not truly her fault.

==Ten Years Ago==

Ten years ago (relative to the start of Velvet Room MUSH in 2012), an explosion took place at a major [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] facility in Tatsumi Port Island. This resulted in the release of Shadows, numerous deaths amongst the populace, the worldwide creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|the Dark Hour]], and the formation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#Tartarus|Tartarus]] on the site of the former Kirijo lab.

Numerous personal tragedies occurred during this time before the incident inexplicably ended. To this day, no one seems to know how the incident was contained and stabilized. Still, the Dark Hour remains.

Earlier that same day in Sumaru City, a brutal murder of a child occurred at the Alaya Shrine, which has never once burned down. Still, tragic murders happen all the time, so this barely rates a mention in comparison.

==OOC Minutia===

*SEES now knows a number of details about a certain account of the events of ten years ago. Being a part of SEES default allows one to have access to this knowledge.

==Tien Tao Lien==

The Tien Tao Lien is a gang within the Taiwanese mafia and one of the [[New World Order]]'s 'alliances.' Led by a man named Yung Pao, the mafia acts as their arm in the underworld by giving the police plausible deniability about their involvement.

Yung Pao seems to have a grudge against the New World Order's leadership, but still complies obediently with their orders anyhow. One thus might wonder: what do they have on him?

==Wang Long Fortune-telling==

Wang Long fortune-telling is a feng shui-based style of fortune-telling where one uses the movement of the twelve Guardian Dragons sent from the Heavens to predict the future, purported to be highly accurate. It's reported to be an energy flow, somewhat similar to leylines, and the energy you put out into it comes back to you. In other words, if you're good, good things will happen, and if you're bad, you'll get your comeuppance.

"Wang Long" Chizuru popularized it in Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo metropolitan area when she did several readings on a TV show about fortunes. All of her predictions came true, and now the public is chomping at the bit to get their fortunes told, either by her or other fortune-tellers using the same method. People with even a basic understanding of it can attempt to tell their own fortunes, though their results may be mixed.
[[File:WangLongChizuru.png|200px|thumb|right|Wang Long Chizuru, who popularized Wang Long Fortune-Telling.]]
The twelve Guardian Dragons correspond to the months of the year, and have different colors and associations. They govern over those born within that year and supposedly share attributes with them; in this way, it's not unlike the Western Zodiac. Some dragons have an affinity with certain other dragons, while others vibe poorly with each other. This makes Wang Long particularly popular for romantic compatibility readings.

Recently Wang Long Fortune-telling has faced greater scrutiny by the supernatural community due to Chizuru Ishigami linking the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] to ideas within Wang Long Fortune-telling of 'Joka'. Which begs the question of what her angle for doing so might be...

===Guardian Dragons===

''The guardian dragon for each month is the...''

'''January:''' Yellow Dragon, which protects balance. You are responsible and patient.

'''February:''' Blue Dragon, which prefers reform. You are intellectual and calm.

'''March:''' White Dragon, which rules the emotion. You are warm-hearted and easily moved to tears.

'''April:''' Scarlet Dragon, which leads battle. You are rash, hasty, and stubborn.

'''May:''' Gold Dragon, which protects the world. You are realistic and reasonable.

'''June:''' Navy Blue Dragon, which gives rise to liberation. You are lively and witty.

'''July:''' Light Dragon, which values morals. You are sensitive and caring.

'''August:''' Red Dragon, which rules passion. You are confident and adventurous.

'''September:''' Black Dragon, which grants wisdom. You are earnest and enthusiastic.

'''October:''' Silver Dragon, which protects moderation. You are artistic and pacifistic.

'''November:''' Moon Dragon, which creates mysticism. You trap passion inside your heart.

'''December:''' Purple Dragon, which honors justice. You are honest and wish to be free.

=== Affinity Chart ===

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|-
!Dragon !! Good !! Bad
|-
| Yellow Dragon (''January'') || Gold || Silver
|-
| Blue Dragon (''February'') || Navy Blue || --
|-
| White Dragon (''March'') || Moon || --
|-
| Scarlet Dragon (''April'') || -- || --
|-
| Gold Dragon (''May'') || Yellow, Black || --
|-
| Navy Blue Dragon (''June'') || Blue || --
|-
| Light Dragon (''July'') || White, Moon || Red
|-
| Red Dragon (''August'') || -- || Light
|-
| Black Dragon (''September'') || Gold || --
|-
| Silver Dragon (''October'') || Purple || Yellow
|-
| Moon Dragon (''November'') || White, Light || --
|-
| Purple Dragon (''December'') || Silver || --
|}

===Joka===

There is a thirteenth dragon who does not correspond with any month and stands opposed to the twelve guardians. It's known as Joka, the death dragon. It comes and goes on its own schedule and consequently can appear at random on a person's Wang Long chart. When it appears, bad luck and extreme misfortune will infest a person's life, though fortunately not for all eternity. There's nothing they can do about this; they just have to tough it out until the Joka has passed.

While Joka can appear at random, it is also called forth by Kegare--negativity, sin, and other bad energies--and releases it in turn. The other dragons hate Kegare and, according to legend, they will rise up to destroy it where it appears in sufficiently massive quantities.

The Joka was recently declared to be responsible for [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|The Joker Curse]] by causing Kegare to accumulate within those who participated in the Joker Rumor. Once enough gathers, then those people will become 'Jokas' themselves.

And if the world does not repent of such sins that strengthen the Joka, then the Guardian Dragons will eventually become enraged enough with humanity to bring about the end of the world.

</div>

[[Category: Theme]]

Assorted Topics and Events

2026-06-24T20:54:57Z

Eri:

<div style="float:right; width: 20%;">
__TOC__
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==Apathy Syndrome==

Sometimes people grapple with long-term feelings of isolation from others. If this persists, then during the Dark Hour, they may wake up without the protection of their coffin. People without [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#The Potential|The Potential]] or a Persona are often drawn to wander, continually caught in a negative self feedback loop of grappling with the idea that they would be better off dead. Those in Tatsumi Port Island are drawn to wander specifically towards Tartarus.

But often people don't make it far. Mindless Shadows prey upon these people, and most Persona users believe it is because the Mindless Shadow has 'devoured' the individual's shadow. While this isn't technically what occurs, the shadow leaves the person's body as a result of the attack. These individuals who survive the attacks by Shadows will inevitably be afflicted by Apathy Syndrome and be unable to function. Mostly these people will stand on the streets and mumble without any drive to care for themselves or do anything else, slowly wasting away. Most politicians and pundits have labeled it a 'social disease' of this generation, and little support has been given to these people by the healthcare community.

Often the media will report that someone with a case of apathy syndrome took action again, only to attempt suicide. However, it's unknown whether these cases accurately reflect apathy syndrome, and if so, why this occurs. It is quite possibly the case that apathy syndrome is misdiagnosed in a great number of people, as mental health professionals have yet to have consensus on the actual criteria for it.

Apathy Syndrome is distinct from a [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdown]] in that sometimes people are known to recover. This can occur when the Shadow that devoured the person's Shadow is defeated quickly after the incident--but not always. Sometimes people are just lost until their body finally gives out and they expire, and there's nothing to be done.

While cases of Apathy Syndrome first began appearing [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]], largely people are unaware that it's been going on for so long. This is in part due to an effort of the Kirijo Group's immediate cover up of the incident, and part how long it took for the medical community took to acknowledge it as a phenomenon. It has only been acknowledged as a medical diagnosis only in the last five years. The [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] saw a spike in cases of Apathy Syndrome worldwide three years ago, but most prominently in Japan, leading to public outcry against the ruling party.

==Change of Heart==

A mysterious phenomenon that's only recently come into the spotlight of the Tokyo media, a change of heart in this context is ostensibly an act performed by the Phantom Thieves through an unknown method that causes an individual to 'confess their sins with their own mouth.' This has always followed a notice sent by The Phantoms declaring their intent to bring about that change of heart by 'stealing their distorted desires.' It's a puzzle to the public and police alike what this even means, but the results are unmistakable.

No matter how vile the person might have been before, those who've undergone changes of heart thus far have ended up publicly confessing their crimes and turning themselves into the police in genuinely dramatic and emotional displays of regret, overwhelmed by the crushing weight of what they've done.

The public is currently divided on this turn of events. Many cheer the [[Phantom Thieves]] on for rooting out corrupt individuals in society, whereas the second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, insists he believes it's criminal brainwashing and has swayed a large segment of the Japanese public and media accordingly.

No matter how it's done, the Change of Heart phenomenon can't help but make the powers that be nervous, especially considering its emergence within an epidemic of [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]]. It begs them all to ask the question...

...Who's next?

==Dark Side of Sumaru==

The Dark Side of Sumaru is a site on the dark web that's run by the infamous Rumormonger of Sumaru City, Baofu, and the central hub of the Rumormonger community on the internet in Japan. Here, people can post everything, from the wildest conspiracy theories to speculation from occult hobbyists to real people trying to be whistleblowers and warn people away from the worst 'Black Companies' throughout Japan.

Normal people tend to roll their eyes and pass by that particular forum discussing 'Personas' as too wild for even the biggest conspiracy theory aficionados to entertain. The home page appears to be shut down due to a host server error, with only the bulletin boards still operational. Within it, the top threads contain manifestos that look like the ravings of particularly over-imaginative middle schoolers who've had way too much caffeine and don't touch grass nearly enough.

But that's by design to act as a filter. Go past the top posts and you'll find where the real online community is, with discussions by the community about [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]], loose efforts to organize against Shadows in various communities every night, supernatural urban explorers making trips to [[Mementos]], discussions of [[Resonance]] and various tips, and the hottest supernatural-related Rumors in Sumaru City.

There's rarely a how-to guide on how Personas work or how to get stronger; most attempts to compose one are fully scorned, because what works for one person often doesn't for many others.

There's almost no moderation on these forums ever. Rumormonger Baofu says it's because he's a generous guy who believes in freedom of expression, but many suspect he just likes encouraging people to say a little too much.

==Ergonomics Research Institute==

A highly secure facility on the island of Yakushima, south of Mainland Japan. Ten years ago it was the site of testing for the majority of the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]]'s most clandestine projects. One test group for [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Artificial Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] was stationed here. The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppressed Weapons were likewise tested here.

One of Takeharu Kirijo's first acts as head of the Kirijo Group was to suspend most operations at the Ergonomics Research Institute. While it is not permanently shuttered per se, the facilities that remain here are heavily supervised by Kirijo Group auditors.

===OOC Minutiae===
*While Shuji Ikutsuki was the head of this institute, he rarely showed his face to his experiments, instead delegating this to other scientists. As a result, if you wish to have had a concept that comes from this institute, please do not make yourself one of his direct personalized projects. Knowing he was in charge is absolutely fine.

*The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons prior to the 7th generation were destroyed here, and their personality module data were absorbed into a certain notable character. As such, even when they open for application, concepts for OC Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons must keep this in mind.

==Gozen==
[[File:Gozen.png|200px|thumb|right|Kneel before Gozen.]]
The legendary warlord of the land that became Sumaru City, Kiyotada Sumaru, more commonly known as Gozen, is fully the creation of a rumor that resulted in the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] within Sumaru City--not that anyone knows it. While he was dug up nearly two decades back by the group that became the [[New World Order]] at the site of Honmaru Park, somewhere along the way, the world amended itself to his presence.

Every child in Sumaru City remembers growing up with a reference to his story, although few know it in any great detail. The historians of Sumaru City have been eager to research the sites found in Honmaru Park and the subway system in Narumi Ward, but without any success due to being mired in red tape by the local authorities.

Gozen's head is enshrined in an elaborate ritual chamber aboard the New World Order's warship, the Nichirinmaru. It is there that many of their more esoteric rituals are conducted, which conveys [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Mark|The Mark]] on both willing and unwilling participants.

Those that receive The Mark from Gozen rarely receive whispers regarding [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Other Side|The Other Side]], instead offering the commandment of fulfilling the New World Order's aims.

==Grand Cross==

An event that took place recently in May 2012, wherein all the planets in the solar system aligned. At the time, vague prophecies alluded to an apocalypse caused by the Grand Cross that would bring about the end of the world. Several small doomsday cults arose in Tatsumi Port Island and Sumaru City in response, though none of them could agree on what exactly that apocalypse would be.

To the embarrassment of all of them, the Grand Cross occurred and nothing happened. Now life continues as normal. What was the big deal, anyway?

==History Boom==

Spurred on by significant archaeological findings in Sumaru City's Honmaru Park and Narumi Ward, the History Boom has been a countrywide phenomenon for the past decade. Politicians and pundits alike have utilized the findings of past eras to spur views of Japanese nationalism, and warhawks that had previously fallen out of favor with the Japanese populace have found more footing.

Feelings of nationalist sentiment predominate as more and more of the elderly agree with the saber-rattlers that perhaps it is time for Japan to form a true military once more. The average child knows the History Boom as a glorification of the era of the samurai, resulting in more and more Japanese period piece media and anime with discreet jingoist messaging.

The [[#Liberal Co-Prosperity Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] has consolidated power in the National Diet from the sentiments of the History Boom, with the Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou benefiting most of all from political headwinds of this time.

==Innocent Sin Online==

A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy MMORPG that's started up ten years ago, in 2002. Currently, the census in game is dwindling due to the ubiquitous presence of gold farmers and scammers, as well as the hesitance of the developers to address the issue due to recent legislation in other Asian countries. Despite this, there is a persistent cult following by gamers who cling to this game for nostalgic comfort despite it going decidedly downhill. Most former players have drifted towards Condemnation of Witchcraft, or CoW, a Western MMORPG that has more modern graphics and debatably better raid content.

===OOC Notes===

*Innocent Sin Online does have Tatsuya and Maya in it as main characters, but they don't have a family name and only look vaguely similar to their real life counterparts. Maya does indeed say the 'Let's think positive!' line. There is definitely not enough evidence as presented that this is a reference to the Other Side.

*... Nevertheless, a Tatsuya Suou player might be suspicious as to where it came from. The Innocent Sin cast playing it would have a few Deja Vu moments along the way.

*Innocent Sin Online place in a ruined Tokyo invaded by demons, the main hub is Shinagawa Dungeon. Most technology no longer functions, demanding that humanity channel the power of Demons to defeat the invading forces of hell.

*Many references in the game are Persona English dub references. Lunarvale is present as a location in game. Dancing Crazy is something characters can do. Super Guido is a raid boss. The Persona 1 cast might double take a bit if they fought Super Guido, but given it's 'Evil Buddha' elements, they'd dismiss it rather quickly as just being an odd coincidence.

==Joker Curse==
[[File:JokerKiller.png|200px|thumb|right|The OG Joker Killer]] [[File:JokerUlala.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ulala Serizawa as a 'Joker']]
A TV broadcast recently by famed psychic and fortuneteller Wang Long Chizuru warned the public that the Joker was in fact 'Joka', the Black Dragon of misfortune within Wang Long Fortunetelling. According to her, as sin and guilt become rife within the public, people who performed the Joker Rumor will become infected with 'Kegare', the conceptual 'spiritual impurity' of Shintoism. As it accumulates, they will lose control and become 'Jokas' themselves.

While this rumor may be the basis of the curse, Persona Users of Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area know that without a doubt it is the legacy of Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer. When he died, the Joker Persona rose up by itself, eerily announcing to all that the fear has been spread, and that the Joker won't die.
While this rumor, and expression of it is brand new, what is known so far is that those who perfomed the Joker Curse will eventually become monstrous versions of themselves with chalk white skin, taut ever-smiling ruby red lips and eyes so sunken as to barely be visible. Furthermore, they will obtain a monstrous version of the Joker Persona that they will summon as Jokers.

Someone affected by it will lash out uncontrollably at the people around them, seeking to harm those they see as the banes of their existence, the architects of their misfortune. Anyone else they murder along the way, is merely collateral damage.

According to Igor of the Velvet Room, the Joker Curse is a 'possession' of sorts by the person's Shadow, tainted by negative feelings of guilt and rage. While he is capable of suppressing the curse through unknown means, he warns that one must take care to keep those feelings in check, lest the Shadow take control again.

For unknown reasons, the [[New World Order]], appears to have a certain interest in these individuals who have become Joker or will become Joker and seem more than willing to sacrifice their people in order to obtain them.

But to what end?

===OOC Minutiae===

*Currently this is only available to PCs or NPCs who performed the Joker Rumor while Tatsuya Sudou was still alive. Eventually it will be opened to everyone, PCs and NPCs alike.

*Comitting to being a Joker is committing to being a one shot 'Monster' or very short term one. Any arcs that request one be a Joker long term will be rejected, as the [[New World Order]] has made it a priority to hunt these individuals down.

*Be aware, it is not possible to have social scenes as a Joker. They are indiscriminate killers who will even try to murder friends and loved ones. Even captured Jokers are near impossible to keep restrained or sedated for more than a very short period of time. This is why the New World Order immediately attempts to transport them to a nearby facility as soon as possible.

*Being captured by the New World Order without immediate rescue before making it to one of their facilities is permanent death of the PC or NPC- period. End of Story. If you have a pitch for an alternate experiment than the canon one that doesn't end in death and removes the 'Monster' status then you may make a pitch to the staff by request.

==The Joker Persona==
[[ File:OriginalJokerPersona.jpg|200px|thumb|left|The Joker Persona of Tatsuya Sudou]] [[File:JokerUlalaVersion.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Joker Persona of Ulala Serizawa]]
The Joker Persona was first wielded by Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer, during his spree of murder throughout Sumaru City. Originally, it was a strange figure, wearing an ever-smiling mask, a black button down coat, gloves with a symbol that mirrors [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] and a strange tail that hangs like a pocket watch.

However, it was revealed early on, that under the mask is the visage of Tatsuya Suou the so-called 'Paradox Boy' known by the New World Order. Even glimpsing that face beneath the mask tends to bring about moments of intense Deja Vu.

It has many terrible powers, but it's most deadly seems to be the ability to infect Persona Users in the area, emerging when they call upon their powers to harm them and their friends, in an ability known as the 'Old Maid'.

To those 'in the know' it is almost certainly speculated to be one of the many avatars of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.

Now, it is appearing in those affected by the Joker Curse, and with each iteration, it seems to be growing more and more monstrous in appearance. Why that is the case is unknown, but is certainly disquieting where this metamorphosis may be leading.

===OOC Minutia===

*The Old Maid ability can be done in game! If you app the ability for someone affected by the Joker Curse, then contact the staff before any fight scenes and we'll assist with simulating the ability.

*Joker Cursed individuals most often have elements and resists in reverse to their normal ones. Seldomly, someone may have the exact same. If someone is unawakened in the first place, then their elements and resists are 'dealer's choice' so to speak.

*It is fine to know that the Joker Persona has Tatsuya Suou's face by dint of rumor, but trying to investigate with him while he's unplayed is a dead end. He won't speak on the subject. That doesn't mean it's impossible to investigate why this might be so, but those 'in the know' are highly dangerous individuals.

==Kirijo Group==

A major Japanese conglomerate that began as a part of the [[#Nanjo Group|Nanjo Group]]. Following Kouetsu Kirijo's split with the company, they've managed to maintain amicable relationships. However, there was a period where the company located strange crystals within some Jomon period ruins and what was initially excitement at a find that could revolutionize human life quickly took a darker turn into obsession bordering on religious zealotry.

The result is the tragedy of [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] and the creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]]. In the wake of this incident, the Kirijo Group has covered up its involvement from public knowledge, believing that the best way to atone for its sins is to clean up its mess without interference by a government that will have no concept of what happened in the first place. As a part of working towards this goal, the Kirijo Group created [[SEES]]. Of course, most of [[SEES]] remains mostly unaware of the group's full role in these events.

The current head of the group is Takeharu Kirijo, a serious-minded and seemingly cold individual known for sporting an eyepatch over his right eye; the heiress is his daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo. Given that she's in her final year of high school, a subject of constant discussion within the Group is finding a suitable match for her.

The most well-known branch of it is Kirijo Electronics, which is known ubiquitously as a sponsor on various radio shows and sports teams throughout the area. Many students make use of their electric scooters and motorcycles.

==Liberal Co-Prosperity Party==

A center-right to right leaning party that currently is the ruling party of the National Diet, the Liberal Co-Prosperity Party was originally rocked with scandals during the era of the Kuramoto Children. Soon thereafter, it began it's rise to prominence as a result of the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] that began in Sumaru City.

The party is currently split between it's traditionalist and populist wings, with many understanding implicitly that the current party structure is merely an 'marriage of convenience'. The populist wing spends much of it's time appealing to the masses, and labeling the current ruling party structure as both stagnant and impotent in their inability to handle the fallout of the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] that in their eyes has resulted in the [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]], [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] and [[#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] phenomenon. As a result, they reap the benefits that ordinarily belong to opposition parties by targeting their own within.

With the arrest of Kosei Tawarada, the current party leader, for covering up the activities of his son; the coalition he created has already begun to fracture and many pundits are already warily predicting a messy divorce sooner rather than later.

==Mental Shutdowns==

A wave of incidents throughout Tokyo where people shut down completely out of nowhere. Their eyes go blank and their body ceases to function. A more gruesome detail, mostly hidden from the public due to its graphic nature, is that black ichor begins to leak out of their eyes, ears, and mouth at the moment of death.

These incidents began roughly two years prior to the start of the game, mystifying both law enforcement and medical professionals. While it is much talked about by pundits who would capitalize upon the incidents for political gain, the public is no closer to understanding the cause.

The true cause of mental shutdowns is the death of a Person's Shadow, typically within the Metaverse. Strega has recently discovered this fact by performing several mental shutdowns themselves while exploring Mementos.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts currently are able to speculate that there is a culprit who has been using [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Metaverse|The Metaverse]] to perform mental shutdowns for years, but have little hard evidence thus far.

Some higher-ups within the [[New World Order]] will understand that high-profile mental shutdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce for anyone who isn't a part of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

==Nanjo Group==

A Japanese super-conglomerate that originally got its start during the Meiji Restoration in oil and coal. It has since shifted in the post-war era to energy, chemical research, pharmaceuticals, and applied engineering. Known for its success in finding new markets abroad while maintaining excellent domestic relationships, it has survived multiple splits and been considered stronger for it.

Originally the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] was a part of it, but its founder Kouetsu Kirijo navigated a disagreement with the prior Nanjo Group head into an amicable divorce that ended up paying dividends for both. Following the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], the Nanjo Group ended up acquiring SEBEC, which now no longer exists under that name given how toxic its brand had become. Rumors have followed the group around ever since that they've acquired mysterious occultist technology that they utilize in secret.

Its current heir, Kei Nanjo, doesn't tend to weigh in on Nanjo Group's current activities, though he ''has'' been a bit out of touch after spending two years studying abroad in England. He's still expected to take over once he graduates university, which begs the question of what he's doing spending his time in Tatsumi Port Island in a high school dorm!

==Phan-Site==

The Phantom Aficionado Website or 'Phan-Site' for short, is a website set up for the purpose of spreading support for the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts throughout Japan. The site consists of a front page poll with an anonymous comment feed that allows people to post their thoughts on the doings of the Phantom Thieves. Most pertinent however is the ability to submit heist requests for the Phantom Thieves to change someone's heart.

It should be noted that the Phantom Thieves never post on the site, and have never made the claim of involvement in it's running. Nevertheless, the 'Phan-dom' is quite adamant that hearts have been changed as a result of requests posted on the site.

There have been calls by parental groups to have the website taken down, but as of yet Japanese Law Enforcement seems either unwilling or unable to.

===OOC Minutiae===

*While Yuuki Mishima is the administrator, this isn't known to the public. If there's a player of Yuuki Mishima, they'll control the site. Otherwise any attempts to discern his identity will need to be requested to staff with an intended purpose. It's not especially hard to figure out, but a story that goes beyond just pressing him for their identities would be preferred.

*The Police are not attempting to remove the Phan-Site on orders from the higher ups of the [[New World Order]]. This is not known to the rank and file, as it's considered 'beyond their paygrade.'

==Psychotic Breakdowns==

Often spoken about in the same breath as [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] by pundits and TV personalities alike due to them arising at nearly the same time, psychotic breakdowns are nevertheless distinct in several key ways. Typically a person will, seemingly at random, have an incident of erratic behavior or psychotic violence and go on what appears to be a rampage.

Whether it's stripping naked at their job, crashing the vehicle they're driving, or even a person suddenly committing arson, the lack of an easy pattern has made them seem impenetrable by law enforcement and mental health professionals. The key difference between mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns at this time appears to be that psychotic breakdowns are relatively brief, usually lasting a few hours at most, before the person in question snaps out of it with no memory of the incident. However, the two are easily conflated, because sometimes the psychotic breakdown incidents are quite deadly to the person in question.

Police are often hesitant to prosecute obvious psychotic breakdown incidents given the insanity defense, but for incidents that are more discreet, they're more than willing to claim the perpetrator is simply lying and make any footage of the incidents vanish without a trace. The reason is that rare footage of psychotic breakdowns show the victims with rolled back eyes and alarmingly dark blood pouring from their mouths.

Recently, in April, a high-profile psychotic breakdown occurred in which a subway driver derailed a train, injuring eighty people. This incident forced both the Minister of Transportation and the president of a metro company to take responsibility and resign.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts have enough information to speculate that there's a culprit committing them at this time, but little hard evidence.

The [[New World Order]]'s members may have heard that psychotic breakdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce to anyone who isn't a member of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

===OOC Hooks===

*If characters want a psychotic breakdown to have happened to themselves or an NPC in their life as part of their background, then by all means apply for it. It's a great hook for your character or someone in their family or a friend to be harmed or disgraced as a result of a psychotic breakdown! The only stipulation is that they are always crafted to damage a business or politician's reputation and that the person committing the breakdown is almost always collateral damage, rarely ever the actual target.

==Revenge Request==

A website run by Strega's webmaster Jin Shirato, in which people can request anyone be murdered for a fee. The rates are not available on the site itself. One puts in a request, and the Webmaster sends you an e-mail with the details for delivering their fee. Trying to reply back to the e-mail fails, one either sends the fee, or doesn't.

The URL is hidden to most people, due to a very strong rumor which indicates that keeps the site hidden, spread by the Joker Killer, Tatsuya Sudou. Nevertheless, any Rumormonger worth their salt knows it. Law Enforcement in Japan has put forth no efforts so far to attempt to stop it, chalking it up to an urban legend.

Despite the tension one would think might be caused by the [[#Joker Killer|Joker Killer]] being free, neither Strega's leadership nor the Joker Killer himself seems to mind their coexistence. One might wonder if they know something that everyone else doesn't.

==SEBEC Scandal==

An incident three years ago that occurred at the Mikage-Cho branch of the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation, or SEBEC for short. As far as most of the public knows, an earthquake caused a lab accident, releasing an experimental chemical into the atmosphere of Mikage-Cho.

This caused a report of a mass hysteria incident within Mikage-Cho, though secretly most Persona Users at the time know it extended much further worldwide and was covered up, a fact given credence by an outbreak of a mental health epidemic within Japan immediately following the incident. The [[#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] has entire threads of discussion devoted to this, but without many specifics of the incident as those who were present have yet to weigh in.

With the death of SEBEC's Mikage-Cho branch president, Takahisa Kandori, at the site of the disaster, President Saeki, an old man in cognitive decline, was forced to take responsibility. He resigned on live TV before being quietly ushered away to his retirement. With their stocks tanking in the aftermath, SEBEC was bought out by the Nanjo Group and no longer exists as a publicly traded company.

The fallout of the incident included lingering depression and suicidal ideations within numerous people who had not previously shown any sign of mental illness, which revealed the inadequacies of the Japanese mental health system in being able to care for a crisis of this magnitude.

To this day, some point fingers at the current administration for the problems Japanese society is facing right now, claiming their failure to address the SEBEC Scandal adequately gave rise to the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown phenomena.

==Snow Queen Crisis==

Almost a footnote to the public compared to the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], a revolutionary new central air system in St. Hermelin High School, as donated by the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation to the community, underwent a critical malfunction in its liquid nitrogen tank storage system that caused mass hospitalization for hypothermia and frostbite. Some theorize that the chemical released by SEBEC into the atmosphere was the reason for this malfunction.

This combined with the mass hysteria from the scandal itself caused the students to rave about the Snow Queen, a character from a play that had been performed for decades by the school's drama club, trying to kill them all. Still, journalists enjoyed sensationalizing the idea that there really was a 'Snow Queen' killer until the SEBEC Scandal's fallout eclipsed it.

The few Persona User survivors of St. Hermelin High School don't tend to speak of the reality of the incident, perhaps out of fear that their beloved teacher, Saeko Takami, might be blamed by the public for something they all know was not truly her fault.

==Ten Years Ago==

Ten years ago (relative to the start of Velvet Room MUSH in 2012), an explosion took place at a major [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] facility in Tatsumi Port Island. This resulted in the release of Shadows, numerous deaths amongst the populace, the worldwide creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|the Dark Hour]], and the formation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#Tartarus|Tartarus]] on the site of the former Kirijo lab.

Numerous personal tragedies occurred during this time before the incident inexplicably ended. To this day, no one seems to know how the incident was contained and stabilized. Still, the Dark Hour remains.

Earlier that same day in Sumaru City, a brutal murder of a child occurred at the Alaya Shrine, which has never once burned down. Still, tragic murders happen all the time, so this barely rates a mention in comparison.

==OOC Minutia===

*SEES now knows a number of details about a certain account of the events of ten years ago. Being a part of SEES default allows one to have access to this knowledge.

==Tien Tao Lien==

The Tien Tao Lien is a gang within the Taiwanese mafia and one of the [[New World Order]]'s 'alliances.' Led by a man named Yung Pao, the mafia acts as their arm in the underworld by giving the police plausible deniability about their involvement.

Yung Pao seems to have a grudge against the New World Order's leadership, but still complies obediently with their orders anyhow. One thus might wonder: what do they have on him?

==Wang Long Fortune-telling==

Wang Long fortune-telling is a feng shui-based style of fortune-telling where one uses the movement of the twelve Guardian Dragons sent from the Heavens to predict the future, purported to be highly accurate. It's reported to be an energy flow, somewhat similar to leylines, and the energy you put out into it comes back to you. In other words, if you're good, good things will happen, and if you're bad, you'll get your comeuppance.

"Wang Long" Chizuru popularized it in Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo metropolitan area when she did several readings on a TV show about fortunes. All of her predictions came true, and now the public is chomping at the bit to get their fortunes told, either by her or other fortune-tellers using the same method. People with even a basic understanding of it can attempt to tell their own fortunes, though their results may be mixed.
[[File:WangLongChizuru.png|200px|thumb|right|Wang Long Chizuru, who popularized Wang Long Fortune-Telling.]]
The twelve Guardian Dragons correspond to the months of the year, and have different colors and associations. They govern over those born within that year and supposedly share attributes with them; in this way, it's not unlike the Western Zodiac. Some dragons have an affinity with certain other dragons, while others vibe poorly with each other. This makes Wang Long particularly popular for romantic compatibility readings.

Recently Wang Long Fortune-telling has come into the public eye due to Chizuru Ishigami linking the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] to ideas within Wang Long Fortune-telling of 'Joka'. Which begs the question of what her angle for doing so might be...

===Guardian Dragons===

''The guardian dragon for each month is the...''

'''January:''' Yellow Dragon, which protects balance. You are responsible and patient.

'''February:''' Blue Dragon, which prefers reform. You are intellectual and calm.

'''March:''' White Dragon, which rules the emotion. You are warm-hearted and easily moved to tears.

'''April:''' Scarlet Dragon, which leads battle. You are rash, hasty, and stubborn.

'''May:''' Gold Dragon, which protects the world. You are realistic and reasonable.

'''June:''' Navy Blue Dragon, which gives rise to liberation. You are lively and witty.

'''July:''' Light Dragon, which values morals. You are sensitive and caring.

'''August:''' Red Dragon, which rules passion. You are confident and adventurous.

'''September:''' Black Dragon, which grants wisdom. You are earnest and enthusiastic.

'''October:''' Silver Dragon, which protects moderation. You are artistic and pacifistic.

'''November:''' Moon Dragon, which creates mysticism. You trap passion inside your heart.

'''December:''' Purple Dragon, which honors justice. You are honest and wish to be free.

=== Affinity Chart ===

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|-
!Dragon !! Good !! Bad
|-
| Yellow Dragon (''January'') || Gold || Silver
|-
| Blue Dragon (''February'') || Navy Blue || --
|-
| White Dragon (''March'') || Moon || --
|-
| Scarlet Dragon (''April'') || -- || --
|-
| Gold Dragon (''May'') || Yellow, Black || --
|-
| Navy Blue Dragon (''June'') || Blue || --
|-
| Light Dragon (''July'') || White, Moon || Red
|-
| Red Dragon (''August'') || -- || Light
|-
| Black Dragon (''September'') || Gold || --
|-
| Silver Dragon (''October'') || Purple || Yellow
|-
| Moon Dragon (''November'') || White, Light || --
|-
| Purple Dragon (''December'') || Silver || --
|}

===Joka===

There is a thirteenth dragon who does not correspond with any month and stands opposed to the twelve guardians. It's known as Joka, the death dragon. It comes and goes on its own schedule and consequently can appear at random on a person's Wang Long chart. When it appears, bad luck and extreme misfortune will infest a person's life, though fortunately not for all eternity. There's nothing they can do about this; they just have to tough it out until the Joka has passed.

While Joka can appear at random, it is also called forth by Kegare--negativity, sin, and other bad energies--and releases it in turn. The other dragons hate Kegare and, according to legend, they will rise up to destroy it where it appears in sufficiently massive quantities.

The Joka was recently declared to be responsible for [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|The Joker Curse]] by causing Kegare to accumulate within those who participated in the Joker Rumor. Once enough gathers, then those people will become 'Jokas' themselves.

And if the world does not repent of such sins that strengthen the Joka, then the Guardian Dragons will eventually become enraged enough to bring about the end of the world.

</div>

[[Category: Theme]]

Assorted Supernatural Phenomena

2026-06-24T20:46:15Z

Eri:

<div style="float:right; width: 20%;">
__TOC__
</div>
<div style="float: left; width: 75%;">
==The Black Mask==

[[File:blackmask.png|200px|thumb|Detective Akechi relating his encounter with the Black Mask]]

The true, original culprit behind the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] and [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]], known more fully as "the one in the black mask." Who are they, really? That's a secret known only to select individuals in the top ranks of the [[New World Order]].

What ''is'' known, and only by another select few at that, is that they work for Masayoshi Shido, who both uses them to gain power for himself and sells their services for top dollar to the right clientele. The Demons, Mementos Shadows, and Palace [[#Rulers|Rulers]] they viciously bully all speak their sobriquet with fear.

The act he's currently most well known for was assassinating Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer, after his defeat before making his escape. With his obvious power upon display, many users on [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] question why he's kept himself hidden for so long.

And who his next target might be.

==Cognitions==

Cognitions are the strange residents within [[Palaces]], [[Kingdoms]], and other Cognitive Worlds that are not Shadows. The best explanation the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] community has for them is that they're the version of people that exist within someone's head.

The form cognitions take within Palaces depends entirely on the distortion of the [[#Rulers|Ruler]]. Typically they are people, but the form they take and what they know depends on how the Palace Ruler views them. Some particularly distorted Rulers may not even view them as people and so appear accordingly.

Cognitions for the most part have little supernatural power to speak of and are dispatched quite easily, but that too depends on the distortion of the person in question. For example, someone who sees an abusive parent as an all-powerful source of trauma may have a particularly mighty cognition of them.

If a cognition is dispatched, it reappears naturally within a few hours unless the mind receives evidence--factual or not--that the person is dead in reality.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Player characters are encouraged to think outside the box in using cognitions to their advantage. There are infamous examples in Persona 5 of using them for grand outcomes, and characters can potentially discover or create more if they're willing to experiment. Send a request to staff for anything major in advance, please.

==The Collective Unconscious==

Each person that exists within the Velvet Room MUSH has their own individual psyche, which allows for the concept of consciousness. While these people may exist within the material world, they simultaneously exist within supernatural dimensions wherein all consciousness is connected to each other. Not simply those who are currently alive, but to everyone that has ever existed.

Everything that has ever happened within human history is stored within the Collective Unconsciousness, and while it may not necessarily be acceptable, it would perhaps be a great comfort to many that there is in fact, proof of their existence indelibly written into all the concepts of humanity. Unfortunately, most never come by this knowledge.

The Collective Unconscious is divided into multiple dimensional layers that are cordoned off from one another. The shallowest layers may concern the daily concerns of every day people, while as you go deeper, one might come upon narrative archetypes of myth, or concepts such as 'Fatherhood' and 'Motherhood'. The deepest layers of all regard more abstract concepts such as time, space, memory, life, death and how all of humanity relates to such.

One's personal interaction within the Collective Unconscious is typically 'the Shadow'. To have one's [[Shadows|Shadow]] exist within multiple dimensions is not a contradiction, but a reality. One's Shadow will always reflect the dimension it's in, as part of how it interfaces with the world. As one goes deeper within the realms of the eldritch and abstract, you may not be able to locate one's Shadow, or even perceive the form it takes. In these realms it is difficult for 'individuality' to even be maintained as one is exposed to the great mysteries of human existence.

'''Note:''' it is exceptionally difficult and dangerous to cross into supernatural dimensions by one's own power. The Collective Unconscious is extremely hazardous, and guarded by great powers who can snatch away the lives of the foolhardy within a single instant. While there are Persona Users throughout history who have developed these powers and traversed the boundaries upon their own power, it typically requires decades of meditation upon one's identity and study. As a result, these powers are inappable at the start of the game, and will likely remain so throughout most of the game's running.

So too, at the start of the game is it inappable for a Persona User to have a great breadth of knowledge on the Collective Unconscious itself. Typically the focus of individuals who do scientifically study it is more specialized, rather than academic expertise upon all of these dimensions for the same reason that traversing the dimensions is so difficult.

As more information is made available in character, this section will be updated with more concrete information on the cosmology and metaphysics of the Collective Unconsciousness.

==Jose==
[[File:Jose.png|300px|thumb|right|Hey Mister!]]
A strange child-like being that bears a superficial resemblance to the Wild Card attendants in the Velvet Room in that he has silver "hair" and golden eyes. However, his body has strangely artificial-looking characteristics, with an odd half-egg shape to his hairline, extremely rounded ears, and a Pinocchio-like stub of a nose.

Jose rides around [[Mementos]] in a cartoonish car that's stacked high with his belongings and decorated in starry balloons. His goal is to collect odd flowers that materialize throughout Mementos, turn them into beverages, and drink them, purportedly to better understand the nature of humans. He claims Mementos talks to him and fills him in on things, but rarely clarifies what it's telling him.

Those Metaverse travelers who are willing to help him find his flowers will discover that he can and will use his car to set up shop and offer incredibly useful rewards. He primarily offers services manipulating the 'pressure points' of Mementos that seemingly only he can find, which can net one more money or items or experience while fighting Shadows there, but he can also transform [[#Will Seeds|Will Seeds]] into useful items.

A truly confusing being, but one that tends to endear himself into the hearts of those he meets anyway through earnest curiosity and innocent sincerity.

==Kotodama==

A concept in Japanese mythology about how words possess mystical power that can affect the world around them. While acting as the Joker Killer, Tatsuya Sudou freely shares that Kotodama is responsible for the power of [[Rumors_and_Rumor_Culture|Rumors]] in Sumaru City, but it's unclear whether it's the ravings of a madman or, perhaps more disquietingly, actually true. If Kotodama is responsible for the power of Rumors in Sumaru City, then few understand why or what it means.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Most protagonists haven't yet heard the word 'Kotodama' in connection to rumors at the time of game start.

*[[Strega]] members would know about it because of Tatsuya Sudou's guidance, while [[New World Order]] members might be privy to the fact that the Ritual of Kotodama before [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Gozen|Gozen]] is responsible for a great deal of their supernatural might. The exact specifics would elude both sides.

==The Mark==

[[File:The_Mark.png|Tatsuya Suou's Mark, as seen on his right hand.|alt=Tatsuya's No Good Very Bad Tattoo|thumb]]

While some [[Guides]] do not require fealty from the ones they are guiding, more malevolent entities often require something more from the person in question. Nyarlathotep, also known as the Crawling Chaos, requires an 'invitation.' Contrary to what the term might indicate, this invitation need not be voluntary. He is empowered by delusion, attachment, and hatred, and a grand act of any of these opens the door for him to show himself in. Those unfortunate souls who draw his personal attention are sometimes 'gifted' with a twisted shadowy brand of the outline of a three eyed figure watching them; it appears to slither up to one's arm.

Possession of the Mark is in turn the idea of being possessed. There is an understanding that you belong to Nyarlathotep, whether you defy, fear, or celebrate it. It is an invitation to power and the constant temptation to use it. By invoking the Mark, it creates a link from the Material World to another layer of the Collective Unconscious. Demons commensurate to the power of the person who summoned them begin to appear in not just their immediate area, but in the location where they invoke it entirely. These Demons in general look upon their summoner and their allies with favor for bringing them to this world and are likely to obey them, but it's not absolute control. Upsetting a Demon may have consequences.

Furthermore, invocation of the Mark is like a beacon to any with [[Resonance]], revealing the location of the person to some degree. This can be partially but not fully dulled with interference-type abilities; the use of the Crawling Chaos' power to such a potent degree is antithetical to most Persona users, and they simply feel it. The Mark's powers will last at least until the user leaves the area or is defeated. Afterwards, within a matter of hours, the Demons will begin to vanish back to where they came.

'''Note:''' If one who has not awakened yet receives the Mark; they will then awaken immediately from the event, with Nyarlathotep as their [[Guides|Guide]] and their starting Persona's narrative so affected by his position within their lives. To those individuals who have a Persona already upon receipt, their Persona will not change, but their destiny will thenceforth be guided by the Crawling Chaos.

The [[New World Order]] is the easiest way for a user to receive the Mark. The act of delusion from rituals in the presence of [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Gozen|Gozen]] is enough that Nyarlathotep may be invited into the person without their consent, though they will often have the impression that they let him in to some degree. Possession of the Mark within the NWO is often sold as a method of 'advancement' towards being a part of the World Without Sin to come, and those with it are often given a degree of authority over normal people. Others may catch his eye as individuals, often receiving hallucinatory visions or whispers that are typically half-truths about the presence of the [[#The Other Side|Other Side]] and how much better it would be if the world returned to its proper state.

Possession of the Mark is a ticking time bomb, spiritually. Use of it merely speeds up the clock. Eventually all who possess it will become 'his' so completely that he will decide to 'reward' them for their service. This typically transforms the person into a twisted parody of their fondest wish, forcing them into a demonic form that shatters the psyche altogether.

Getting rid of the Mark is near impossible without assistance from another Guide. This generally takes the form of suppression of the Mark's power, thereby extending the timer, since removal requires the Guide to actively take what is 'his'--something they are all understandably reluctant to do, given the cost to themselves.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Staff on the Velvet Room MUSH will not enforce the timer on the Mark. Since that is mostly up to Nyarlathotep's whim, the timer is thus indefinite in an OOC sense. The end point is permanent death, so it is entirely up to you as the player of the character to decide when or if it happens. The Mark is intended primarily as a narrative tool for antagonists, or rare protagonists, that bear it. Having it is not an indication that you must one day kill your character; far from it. Our desire is to offer you a tool for your antagonist to tell a story with that threat of the Mark's consequences hanging over them. How do they deal with the Mark being voluntarily taken on, or involuntarily conferred to them? Do they resist temptation? Become desperate? Seek the assistance of other characters or a Guide? Descend further into madness? Or do you want to tell a tragedy where the character does, in fact, just succumb? All are valid decisions for your character's stories and we encourage players to explore them. Staff, as always, maintains the ultimate decision over the death of feature characters.

*Those with the Mark should not make their whispers from Nyarlathotep omniscient in regards to other player characters. His focus is destruction of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#This_Side|This Side]] via the New World Order, or the collapse of This Side into the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Other_Side|Other Side]], and the voices are heavily slanted towards that aim. So too are they obfuscated behind layers of deception and various guises that he uses. If you're going to have the Crawling Chaos reveal to your character some secret of another character, make certain to ask for their consent first.

*The Mark did not exist on the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Other_Side|Other Side]]. The method for summoning Nyarlathotep's power was different prior to the creation of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#This_Side|This Side]]. More information will be revealed when the appropriate time comes, though a Tatsuya Suou player may ask the staff for some of the details.

*Use of the Mark not only outright fails in Mementos but enrages the Shadows in the area, causing them to converge in the place it was used. This may still be useful to characters looking for a means of escape from people. In other supernatural spaces, it might have peculiar side effects. Don't use the Mark ICly in a way that might touch upon other supernatural spaces without contacting staff and planning it out with us. You never have to ask permission in real-world spaces so long as it isn't during [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The Dark Hour|The Dark Hour]].

*Use of rumors may significantly extend the effect of the Mark in an area within the bounds of Sumaru City. What rumors take effect for this long, and how long they last, is entirely up to staff. In general, staff will only allow this if we feel it enhances things for Demons to stick around, but submission of an area having Demons around temporarily for a Monad is entirely appropriate. Sometimes part-time retail workers just have to deal with a Jack Frost demanding they crush a rock with their bare hands. Unlike canon, we're not putting Demons permanently in the halls of Seven Sisters or Kasugayama High, the air raid shelter excluded. You must still go to school today.

*The Mark doesn't have to be placed on the character's arm, while that's the most common placement, other possible sites on the body for it can exist, and the form it takes can be a bit flexible. The common features are mostly the 'shadowed hand' and 'three eyes'. If one chooses to do this to your character, please don't be weird about it. Staff won't approve locations for it in application that we deem to be overtly sexual.

==Meta-Nav==

The Metaverse Navigator, or Meta-Nav for short, is a mysterious smartphone application that facilitates access to the [[#Metaverse|The Metaverse]]. Functioning with ultramodern voice activation that seems beyond even most cell phone technologies and a codebase that even the greatest hackers in the world can't access, it is wholly a mystery. Deleting it will never get rid of it, and buying a new phone will only cause it to appear there as well.

By inputting "Mementos" near any place associated with travel, or the name of a Palace Ruler, the form their Palace takes, and the location it's associated with, one can enter the Metaverse, either into Mementos or that specific Palace. By returning to the point where one entered the Metaverse, one then leaves. The Meta-Nav automatically saves locations already visited and deletes them if they no longer exist, such as in the case of a Palace's collapse.

How one gets the Meta-Nav is a mystery. Not even bringing people into a Palace or Mementos with it will consistently grant them the application. Regardless, it remains the simplest method of doing precisely what it says: navigating the Metaverse.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Not all PCs will have the Meta-Nav at the start of the game! For more details on how non-Will of Rebellion characters access the Metaverse, see [[Mementos]] and [[Palaces]].
*The exact details of how one receives the Meta-Nav are a secret, but should one have the potential for an awakening with the [[Will of Rebellion]], then it is likely to appear on your phone at some point as you walk through Tokyo. Circumstances will conspire for that person to be drawn in, either through accidentally voice activating it themselves, finding it and experimenting with it, or being drawn in with someone else nearby.
*Hilariously, not having a smartphone doesn't prevent one from receiving the Meta-Nav! It will appear on a flip phone, even if it makes no technological sense for it to do so. However, we ask that if someone uses this option on a character, they soon after get a smartphone, just to participate in the thematic conceits of Persona 5.
*Should one buy, be gifted, or steal a new phone, the Meta-Nav will vanish from their old phone and appear on their new one. It will exist precisely on one phone in current use that the character associates as their own. Other people can use it; it just can't be replicated onto other phones.
*Attempts to look into the nature of the program's code and how it works fail utterly, even with supernatural assistance.
*Extremely powerful effects can, on rare occasions, draw people into the Metaverse without their consent and conceal aspects of the visit even on the Meta-Nav. Don't do this without staff approval, though. These incidents are rare for a reason.

==Metaverse==

A mysterious cognitive space, so dubbed by the Metaverse Navigator or [[#Meta-Nav|Meta-Nav]] app that facilitates entry into it. Most speculate that it's a part of the Collective Unconscious, but few are able to even guess which part or how it came to be.

As far as most know, the Metaverse is composed of [[Mementos]] and [[Palaces]], distinguished from other cognitive spaces by the unique nature of Metaverse [[Shadows]]. The name 'Metaverse' itself is just as puzzling to those posting on the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] and the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts.

Morgana has backed up that it's called the Metaverse to the Phantom Thieves, which lends it a lot of weight given that he doesn't use the Meta-Nav himself to enter. Unfortunately, his amnesia has made it impossible to know how he got this information.

Some veterans of the Persona communities have quietly posited that it might be related to the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] of three years ago but have been unable to offer any proof, and those survivors of the incident have been close-lipped.

Whatever one may think about it, many mysteries remain that just as many Persona Users continue to investigate, such as: How did the Metaverse and Meta-Nav come to be? What's at the bottom of Mementos? And why are there signs there's been someone utilizing it for years to their own benefit?

==The Other Side==

'The Other Side' is a term that was used by the Joker Killer, as well as several within the [[New World Order]]. What they mean by this is unknown to most, but some have begun to suspect there might be some merit to the claim.

In a more meta sense, it refers to the timeline of Persona 2: Innocent Sin, wherein the majority of humanity save those within the boundaries of Sumaru City was killed by the event known as the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Grand Cross|Grand Cross]]. This term of 'The Other Side' was coined by Nyarlathotep in his whispers to the Joker Killer--Tatsuya Sudou, though at present almost no one ICly knows that--to imply that this world is not as it should be and that things would be better if it returned to this state.

Characters who specifically possess [[#The Mark|The Mark]] without receiving it from Gozen are likely to receive whispers from Nyarlathotep and would have a similar understanding as Sudou: half-truths that lead one to believe everything would be better off if 'This Side' became 'The Other Side.'

Characters that possess this understanding do not know the truth of the Other Side, nor do they have specific recall of events. They only know what Nyarlathotep has told them.

===OOC Minutia===
*The term 'The Other Side' is now well-established on the grid. While PCs definitely don't understand the full meaning, it's okay for your character to have some suspicions about what people mean by this.

==Rulers==

The Shadows of individuals whose cognition and desires are so distorted that they possess a [[Palaces|Palace]]. The Ruler's form depends upon their particular distortion, which is likewise mirrored in the form the Palace takes. For example, if a person saw a certain place as their own personal castle, the Ruler of that castle-themed Palace would likely be a King or Queen; if a person saw a part of town as their own personal bank, the Ruler of that bank-themed Palace might be the bank president. The important thing is that the Ruler is the person in charge of the Palace.

The Ruler draws Metaverse [[Shadows]] into their Palace by their mere existence, and the form those Shadows take depends upon the type of Palace. These Shadows are often more communicative because they are drawn up into the Ruler's narrative and almost always act as a form of security for them.

There's no easy way to deal with a Ruler. Attempting to steal their [[#Treasure|Treasure]] as the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts do nearly always cause them to call upon the power of the unifying narrative of that distortion is. This usually summons an archetype of a great Archdemon to armor them and defend the Treasure.

These are naturally very difficult fights. However, should one win, one has the opportunity to create a [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] by convincing them to live without the distorted desire the Treasure represents.

Of course, one could also just kill their Shadow if one were less inclined to be merciful, an act which [[Rumormongers|Rumormonger Moriae]] speculates would cause a [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Mental Shutdown|Mental Shutdown]] just as their tests within [[Mementos]]--but this has yet to be proven.

==Shadow Cards==

Shadow Cards, so dubbed by [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Jose|Jose]] are cards extracted from the Shadows of the Metaverse to help him better understand the human condition.

Each card is an imprint of the memories of a Shadow's 'distorted desires' and by grasping the card, one becomes privy to such information. Their deepest secrets of what they have done in pursuit of these ambitions is instantly revealed to them.

These Shadow Card appears much like an [[Tarot|Arcana]] tarot card, with an image of the Shadow in question, and a holographic shine which shows the shift to the demonic archetype they draw upon in battle.

Jose has stated that Shadows that have their Shadow Card extracted become fearful and paranoid, but this has yet to be demonstrated...

===OOC Minutia===

*Shadow Cards can only be extracted from a subdued Shadow of a human. This includes Metaverse Shadows in Mementos [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Rulers|Rulers]] and inevitably will lead to a boss battle.

*The ability to extract Shadow Cards is currently only granted by Jose. At this time it is exclusive to characters affiliated with the Cardboard Dragon, but in time it will open up to other characters. Concepts that utilize the [[Will of Rebellion]] in particular may find it easier to justify this ability, but it is not exclusive to these characters.

*If you possess the Shadow Card of a human Shadow, then contact staff and we'll discuss what happens next! Until then, you'll just have to wait and see what happens.

==Shuffle Time==

An event that can occur after [[Shadows]] are defeated, representing both the Shadows' fluid forms and the Collective Unconscious' perception that defeating monsters should carry its own rewards.

On occasion, a series of ephemeral cards appear over their dissolved bodies; selecting one causes rewards to materialize, such as currency, skill cards, or even just receiving a second wind (represented mechanically with HP and/or SP restoration). Some cards may receive additional picks based on the Arcana suit and what it represents, while others might cause rewards to vanish as if they never existed.

Wild Cards in particular can sometimes receive Personas from Shuffle Time, which only appear if they're the ones doing the choosing. This balances itself out by these Personas taking up cards which might offer more lucrative options or more picks.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Shuffle Time is a part of the [[Monad System]]. You're welcome to roleplay out the results as you like. The system doesn't offer pre-made new Persona forms to Wild Cards, only the opportunity to make one. If you want one your character received from Shuffle Time, it needs to be applied for per Wild Card standards in [[Arcana System]].

==This Side==

'This Side' is a term used by the Joker Killer (Tatsuya Sudou, though at present almost no one ICly knows that) and some members of the [[New World Order]]. the context of this is not entirely known, but most PCs would understand that they're referring to our current reality.

In a more meta sense, 'This Side' refers to the timeline the Velvet Room MUSH is currently running on, whereas [[#The Other Side|The Other Side]] refers to the Innocent Sin timeline. Only Tatsuya Suou has a full recall of what occurred in the Innocent Sin timeline among players, and understands perfectly what Sudou means.

Characters who specifically possess [[#The Mark|The Mark]] without receiving it from [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Gozen|Gozen]] are likely to receive whispers from Nyarlathotep and would have a similar understanding as Sudou: half-truths that lead one to believe everything would be better off if 'This Side' became 'The Other Side.'

Characters that possess this understanding do not know the truth of the Other Side, nor do they have specific recall of events. They only know what Nyarlathotep has told them.

===OOC Hooks===

Players may have occasional moments of déjà vu in which they think they hear a distant voice akin to an auditory hallucination when they come near a moment that resonates with them, or feel the pain of prior significant injuries, or experience a sense of familiarity when encountering someone they met previously in the Innocent Sin timeline for the first time in this one.

We encourage these moments; however, it has to be understood that they should be kept incredibly vague. Defining these moments in elaborate detail may accidentally power-pose things from Innocent Sin that players will define later.

==Trish==
[[File:Trish.png|200px|thumb|right|Don't let her cute face fool you. Trish's soul is black as pitch.]]
Trish is one of the more unusual beings that individuals in supernatural spaces encounter sooner or later by virtue of being a demon that runs a healing fountain and sanctuary from the dangers outside. Despite her cute appearance, she was kicked out of the fairy realm for her materialistic ways and can only return once she's done enough good deeds.

It sounds like she has the perfect setup for doing just that, except she's continuing as she always has, with a bad attitude and charging exorbitant, ever-climbing fees for the use of her services. One might be tempted to never use her services at all if she didn't have a mysterious link to the Velvet Room, allowing the entrance of her spring to potentially appear anywhere it can.

Which means more often than not, you're paying her fees, because your party used its last Snuff Soul long ago, didn't you? And this fairy can smell desperation. It's just about her favorite thing.

===OOC Minutiae===

*Trish can appear automatically in Mementos and spaces where [[#The Mark|The Mark]] has been utilized. She nearly always appears near the Velvet Room entrance in these spaces.

*During [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The Dark Hour|The Dark Hour]], Trish appears almost exclusively within Tartarus, since the streets elsewhere are not typically dangerous enough to have much need of her services before the Dark Hour ends.

*Trish will appear in [[Palaces]] upon request, but only if you pay a roaming fee within the Velvet Room to have Igor pick up the hellphone and call her for her spring's entrance to appear. These fees are similarly exorbitant to the subsequent fee she'll then charge to be healed.

*Trish is in fact selling ice cream at exorbitant prices. This ice cream comes with various positive cognitive affects that ensure you'll be lining her pockets for some time.

*Attempting to attack Trish never goes well, partly because she can't seem to be killed, and partly because if provoked to seriousness, she can defeat even powerful Persona Users with ease. More likely one will be evicted with enormous fees applied for reentry. Trish never leaves the confines of her spring that anyone has ever seen; it's unknown if this has anything to do with her toughness and power. However, slapstick comedy with Trish is always fine and even encouraged.

==The Treasure==

An object referred to within the calling cards sent by the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts, who threaten a [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] within the person in question. At this time, no one else currently exploring the [[#Metaverse|Metaverse]] knows what it is or how they do what they do. However, that doesn't stop speculation about its existence, from what they are to if they even truly exist.

===Treasures in Palaces===

The amorphous core of a Palace, hidden at its deepest depths. Currently only the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts know that threatening to steal this object will make it materialize into something physical that can be stolen.

Stealing it will make the Palace collapse, and a Change of Heart is likely to occur. This is easier said than done, though; because the calling card informs a [[#Ruler|Ruler]] ahead of time of the intent to steal their Treasure, Palace security rises to maximum and even the Ruler themself will step up to defend it.

The form a Treasure takes in a given Palace relates to the distortion itself--something representative of the Ruler's endless desire or ambition. Once brought to reality, it becomes a copy of a physical object that represents the context of why they became so warped in the first place.

These objects often have greater value than average Metaverse objects, but one shouldn't expect to become wealthy off of them. The Collective Unconscious tends to rein it in, so to speak, when making the transition to reality.

===Mementos Treasures===

Within the Shadows of individuals that reside within Mementos, the Treasure is internalized and cannot be perceived without sending a calling card. Once one is received, the Shadow's defeat in the Metaverse will trigger its release and cause a Change of Heart in reality once it's taken.

Similar to Palaces, the treasures in Mementos will typically be objects of value, representative of their distortion, but are more likely to take the form of useful items to Metaverse explorers such as weapons or armor related to the person's distortion.

===OOC Minutiae===

*The Persona 1 cast will have a better idea than most that Treasures actually exist for reasons that are obvious to their past history, but still won't understand what form they take or how to manifest them.

==Will Seeds==
[[File:WillSeed.png|200px|thumb|right|A Will Seed]]
Deep within each Palace are hidden chambers off the beaten path, nearly always guarded by powerful Shadows or elaborate cognitive security systems. The reward for those determined enough to find their way inside are Will Seeds.

Will Seeds are glowing skull-like protrusions that grow out of the Palace itself on warped, plant-like vines and growths. The reason why they occur is fully a mystery to the Persona User community at this time, but the following is known.

Those who locate one and pick it from its growths will receive a surge of energy, like a mental second wind. Inside these chambers, one will also hear whispers; if one listens closely and patiently, they'll convey the thoughts and feelings of the Palace Ruler's ego in reality.

While [[#Jose|Jose]] has offered to transform Will Seeds into useful cognitive items for those that bring him enough of them from the same Palace, one may wonder, why do they exist? And is this truly the only use for them?

===OOC Minutiae===

*Despite there only ever being three in canon within a Palace, more can form so long as the Palace exists. It is fully appropriate for Will Seeds to be a Monad Reward for [[Palaces]].

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[[Category: Theme]]

Active Rumors

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'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*<s>- If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!</s>

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*<s>Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)</s>

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

*The Joker Curse - Those that perform the Joker Killer Rumor will become Jokers themselves. [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]]

*The Time Count - Can suppress the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Curse|Joker Curse]] just as Igor can. He'll just be grumpier about it and more likely to cast shade in your direction.

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Assorted Topics and Events

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==Apathy Syndrome==

Sometimes people grapple with long-term feelings of isolation from others. If this persists, then during the Dark Hour, they may wake up without the protection of their coffin. People without [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#The Potential|The Potential]] or a Persona are often drawn to wander, continually caught in a negative self feedback loop of grappling with the idea that they would be better off dead. Those in Tatsumi Port Island are drawn to wander specifically towards Tartarus.

But often people don't make it far. Mindless Shadows prey upon these people, and most Persona users believe it is because the Mindless Shadow has 'devoured' the individual's shadow. While this isn't technically what occurs, the shadow leaves the person's body as a result of the attack. These individuals who survive the attacks by Shadows will inevitably be afflicted by Apathy Syndrome and be unable to function. Mostly these people will stand on the streets and mumble without any drive to care for themselves or do anything else, slowly wasting away. Most politicians and pundits have labeled it a 'social disease' of this generation, and little support has been given to these people by the healthcare community.

Often the media will report that someone with a case of apathy syndrome took action again, only to attempt suicide. However, it's unknown whether these cases accurately reflect apathy syndrome, and if so, why this occurs. It is quite possibly the case that apathy syndrome is misdiagnosed in a great number of people, as mental health professionals have yet to have consensus on the actual criteria for it.

Apathy Syndrome is distinct from a [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdown]] in that sometimes people are known to recover. This can occur when the Shadow that devoured the person's Shadow is defeated quickly after the incident--but not always. Sometimes people are just lost until their body finally gives out and they expire, and there's nothing to be done.

While cases of Apathy Syndrome first began appearing [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]], largely people are unaware that it's been going on for so long. This is in part due to an effort of the Kirijo Group's immediate cover up of the incident, and part how long it took for the medical community took to acknowledge it as a phenomenon. It has only been acknowledged as a medical diagnosis only in the last five years. The [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] saw a spike in cases of Apathy Syndrome worldwide three years ago, but most prominently in Japan, leading to public outcry against the ruling party.

==Change of Heart==

A mysterious phenomenon that's only recently come into the spotlight of the Tokyo media, a change of heart in this context is ostensibly an act performed by the Phantom Thieves through an unknown method that causes an individual to 'confess their sins with their own mouth.' This has always followed a notice sent by The Phantoms declaring their intent to bring about that change of heart by 'stealing their distorted desires.' It's a puzzle to the public and police alike what this even means, but the results are unmistakable.

No matter how vile the person might have been before, those who've undergone changes of heart thus far have ended up publicly confessing their crimes and turning themselves into the police in genuinely dramatic and emotional displays of regret, overwhelmed by the crushing weight of what they've done.

The public is currently divided on this turn of events. Many cheer the [[Phantom Thieves]] on for rooting out corrupt individuals in society, whereas the second Detective Prince, Goro Akechi, insists he believes it's criminal brainwashing and has swayed a large segment of the Japanese public and media accordingly.

No matter how it's done, the Change of Heart phenomenon can't help but make the powers that be nervous, especially considering its emergence within an epidemic of [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] and [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]]. It begs them all to ask the question...

...Who's next?

==Dark Side of Sumaru==

The Dark Side of Sumaru is a site on the dark web that's run by the infamous Rumormonger of Sumaru City, Baofu, and the central hub of the Rumormonger community on the internet in Japan. Here, people can post everything, from the wildest conspiracy theories to speculation from occult hobbyists to real people trying to be whistleblowers and warn people away from the worst 'Black Companies' throughout Japan.

Normal people tend to roll their eyes and pass by that particular forum discussing 'Personas' as too wild for even the biggest conspiracy theory aficionados to entertain. The home page appears to be shut down due to a host server error, with only the bulletin boards still operational. Within it, the top threads contain manifestos that look like the ravings of particularly over-imaginative middle schoolers who've had way too much caffeine and don't touch grass nearly enough.

But that's by design to act as a filter. Go past the top posts and you'll find where the real online community is, with discussions by the community about [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]], loose efforts to organize against Shadows in various communities every night, supernatural urban explorers making trips to [[Mementos]], discussions of [[Resonance]] and various tips, and the hottest supernatural-related Rumors in Sumaru City.

There's rarely a how-to guide on how Personas work or how to get stronger; most attempts to compose one are fully scorned, because what works for one person often doesn't for many others.

There's almost no moderation on these forums ever. Rumormonger Baofu says it's because he's a generous guy who believes in freedom of expression, but many suspect he just likes encouraging people to say a little too much.

==Ergonomics Research Institute==

A highly secure facility on the island of Yakushima, south of Mainland Japan. Ten years ago it was the site of testing for the majority of the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]]'s most clandestine projects. One test group for [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Artificial Persona Users|Artificial Persona Users]] was stationed here. The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppressed Weapons were likewise tested here.

One of Takeharu Kirijo's first acts as head of the Kirijo Group was to suspend most operations at the Ergonomics Research Institute. While it is not permanently shuttered per se, the facilities that remain here are heavily supervised by Kirijo Group auditors.

===OOC Minutiae===
*While Shuji Ikutsuki was the head of this institute, he rarely showed his face to his experiments, instead delegating this to other scientists. As a result, if you wish to have had a concept that comes from this institute, please do not make yourself one of his direct personalized projects. Knowing he was in charge is absolutely fine.

*The majority of the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons prior to the 7th generation were destroyed here, and their personality module data were absorbed into a certain notable character. As such, even when they open for application, concepts for OC Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons must keep this in mind.

==Gozen==
[[File:Gozen.png|200px|thumb|right|Kneel before Gozen.]]
The legendary warlord of the land that became Sumaru City, Kiyotada Sumaru, more commonly known as Gozen, is fully the creation of a rumor that resulted in the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] within Sumaru City--not that anyone knows it. While he was dug up nearly two decades back by the group that became the [[New World Order]] at the site of Honmaru Park, somewhere along the way, the world amended itself to his presence.

Every child in Sumaru City remembers growing up with a reference to his story, although few know it in any great detail. The historians of Sumaru City have been eager to research the sites found in Honmaru Park and the subway system in Narumi Ward, but without any success due to being mired in red tape by the local authorities.

Gozen's head is enshrined in an elaborate ritual chamber aboard the New World Order's warship, the Nichirinmaru. It is there that many of their more esoteric rituals are conducted, which conveys [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Mark|The Mark]] on both willing and unwilling participants.

Those that receive The Mark from Gozen rarely receive whispers regarding [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Other Side|The Other Side]], instead offering the commandment of fulfilling the New World Order's aims.

==Grand Cross==

An event that took place recently in May 2012, wherein all the planets in the solar system aligned. At the time, vague prophecies alluded to an apocalypse caused by the Grand Cross that would bring about the end of the world. Several small doomsday cults arose in Tatsumi Port Island and Sumaru City in response, though none of them could agree on what exactly that apocalypse would be.

To the embarrassment of all of them, the Grand Cross occurred and nothing happened. Now life continues as normal. What was the big deal, anyway?

==History Boom==

Spurred on by significant archaeological findings in Sumaru City's Honmaru Park and Narumi Ward, the History Boom has been a countrywide phenomenon for the past decade. Politicians and pundits alike have utilized the findings of past eras to spur views of Japanese nationalism, and warhawks that had previously fallen out of favor with the Japanese populace have found more footing.

Feelings of nationalist sentiment predominate as more and more of the elderly agree with the saber-rattlers that perhaps it is time for Japan to form a true military once more. The average child knows the History Boom as a glorification of the era of the samurai, resulting in more and more Japanese period piece media and anime with discreet jingoist messaging.

The [[#Liberal Co-Prosperity Party|Liberal Co-Prosperity Party]] has consolidated power in the National Diet from the sentiments of the History Boom, with the Foreign Minister Tatsuzou Sudou benefiting most of all from political headwinds of this time.

==Innocent Sin Online==

A Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy MMORPG that's started up ten years ago, in 2002. Currently, the census in game is dwindling due to the ubiquitous presence of gold farmers and scammers, as well as the hesitance of the developers to address the issue due to recent legislation in other Asian countries. Despite this, there is a persistent cult following by gamers who cling to this game for nostalgic comfort despite it going decidedly downhill. Most former players have drifted towards Condemnation of Witchcraft, or CoW, a Western MMORPG that has more modern graphics and debatably better raid content.

===OOC Notes===

*Innocent Sin Online does have Tatsuya and Maya in it as main characters, but they don't have a family name and only look vaguely similar to their real life counterparts. Maya does indeed say the 'Let's think positive!' line. There is definitely not enough evidence as presented that this is a reference to the Other Side.

*... Nevertheless, a Tatsuya Suou player might be suspicious as to where it came from. The Innocent Sin cast playing it would have a few Deja Vu moments along the way.

*Innocent Sin Online place in a ruined Tokyo invaded by demons, the main hub is Shinagawa Dungeon. Most technology no longer functions, demanding that humanity channel the power of Demons to defeat the invading forces of hell.

*Many references in the game are Persona English dub references. Lunarvale is present as a location in game. Dancing Crazy is something characters can do. Super Guido is a raid boss. The Persona 1 cast might double take a bit if they fought Super Guido, but given it's 'Evil Buddha' elements, they'd dismiss it rather quickly as just being an odd coincidence.

==Joker Curse==
[[File:JokerKiller.png|200px|thumb|right|The OG Joker Killer]] [[File:JokerUlala.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Ulala Serizawa as a 'Joker']]
A TV broadcast recently by famed psychic and fortuneteller Wang Long Chizuru warned the public that the Joker was in fact 'Joka', the Black Dragon of misfortune within Wang Long Fortunetelling. According to her, as sin and guilt become rife within the public, people who performed the Joker Rumor will become infected with 'Kegare', the conceptual 'spiritual impurity' of Shintoism. As it accumulates, they will lose control and become 'Jokas' themselves.

While this rumor may be the basis of the curse, Persona Users of Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo Metropolitan area know that without a doubt it is the legacy of Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer. When he died, the Joker Persona rose up by itself, eerily announcing to all that the fear has been spread, and that the Joker won't die.
While this rumor, and expression of it is brand new, what is known so far is that those who perfomed the Joker Curse will eventually become monstrous versions of themselves with chalk white skin, taut ever-smiling ruby red lips and eyes so sunken as to barely be visible. Furthermore, they will obtain a monstrous version of the Joker Persona that they will summon as Jokers.

Someone affected by it will lash out uncontrollably at the people around them, seeking to harm those they see as the banes of their existence, the architects of their misfortune. Anyone else they murder along the way, is merely collateral damage.

According to Igor of the Velvet Room, the Joker Curse is a 'possession' of sorts by the person's Shadow, tainted by negative feelings of guilt and rage. While he is capable of suppressing the curse through unknown means, he warns that one must take care to keep those feelings in check, lest the Shadow take control again.

For unknown reasons, the [[New World Order]], appears to have a certain interest in these individuals who have become Joker or will become Joker and seem more than willing to sacrifice their people in order to obtain them.

But to what end?

===OOC Minutiae===

*Currently this is only available to PCs or NPCs who performed the Joker Rumor while Tatsuya Sudou was still alive. Eventually it will be opened to everyone, PCs and NPCs alike.

*Comitting to being a Joker is committing to being a one shot 'Monster' or very short term one. Any arcs that request one be a Joker long term will be rejected, as the [[New World Order]] has made it a priority to hunt these individuals down.

*Be aware, it is not possible to have social scenes as a Joker. They are indiscriminate killers who will even try to murder friends and loved ones. Even captured Jokers are near impossible to keep restrained or sedated for more than a very short period of time. This is why the New World Order immediately attempts to transport them to a nearby facility as soon as possible.

*Being captured by the New World Order without immediate rescue before making it to one of their facilities is permanent death of the PC or NPC- period. End of Story. If you have a pitch for an alternate experiment than the canon one that doesn't end in death and removes the 'Monster' status then you may make a pitch to the staff by request.

==The Joker Persona==
[[ File:OriginalJokerPersona.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Joker Persona of Tatsuya Sudou]] [[File:JokerUlalaVersion.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Joker Persona of Ulala Serizawa]]
The Joker Persona was first wielded by Tatsuya Sudou, the original Joker Killer, during his spree of murder throughout Sumaru City. Originally, it was a strange figure, wearing an ever-smiling mask, a black button down coat, gloves with a symbol that mirrors [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Mark|The Mark]] and a strange tail that hangs like a pocket watch.

However, it was revealed early on, that under the mask is the visage of Tatsuya Suou the so-called 'Paradox Boy' known by the New World Order. Even glimpsing that face beneath the mask tends to bring about moments of intense Deja Vu.

It has many terrible powers, but it's most deadly seems to be the ability to infect Persona Users in the area, emerging when they call upon their powers to harm them and their friends, in an ability known as the 'Old Maid'.

To those 'in the know' it is almost certainly speculated to be one of the many avatars of Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos.

Now, it is appearing in those affected by the Joker Curse, and with each iteration, it seems to be growing more and more monstrous in appearance. Why that is the case is unknown, but is certainly disquieting where this metamorphosis may be leading.

===OOC Minutia===

*The Old Maid ability can be done in game! If you app the ability for someone affected by the Joker Curse, then contact the staff before any fight scenes and we'll assist with simulating the ability.

*Joker Cursed individuals most often have elements and resists in reverse to their normal ones. Seldomly, someone may have the exact same. If someone is unawakened in the first place, then their elements and resists are 'dealer's choice' so to speak.

*It is fine to know that the Joker Persona has Tatsuya Suou's face by dint of rumor, but trying to investigate with him while he's unplayed is a dead end. He won't speak on the subject. That doesn't mean it's impossible to investigate why this might be so, but those 'in the know' are highly dangerous individuals.

==Kirijo Group==

A major Japanese conglomerate that began as a part of the [[#Nanjo Group|Nanjo Group]]. Following Kouetsu Kirijo's split with the company, they've managed to maintain amicable relationships. However, there was a period where the company located strange crystals within some Jomon period ruins and what was initially excitement at a find that could revolutionize human life quickly took a darker turn into obsession bordering on religious zealotry.

The result is the tragedy of [[#Ten Years Ago|Ten Years Ago]] and the creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|The Dark Hour]]. In the wake of this incident, the Kirijo Group has covered up its involvement from public knowledge, believing that the best way to atone for its sins is to clean up its mess without interference by a government that will have no concept of what happened in the first place. As a part of working towards this goal, the Kirijo Group created [[SEES]]. Of course, most of [[SEES]] remains mostly unaware of the group's full role in these events.

The current head of the group is Takeharu Kirijo, a serious-minded and seemingly cold individual known for sporting an eyepatch over his right eye; the heiress is his daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo. Given that she's in her final year of high school, a subject of constant discussion within the Group is finding a suitable match for her.

The most well-known branch of it is Kirijo Electronics, which is known ubiquitously as a sponsor on various radio shows and sports teams throughout the area. Many students make use of their electric scooters and motorcycles.

==Liberal Co-Prosperity Party==

A center-right to right leaning party that currently is the ruling party of the National Diet, the Liberal Co-Prosperity Party was originally rocked with scandals during the era of the Kuramoto Children. Soon thereafter, it began it's rise to prominence as a result of the [[#History Boom|History Boom]] that began in Sumaru City.

The party is currently split between it's traditionalist and populist wings, with many understanding implicitly that the current party structure is merely an 'marriage of convenience'. The populist wing spends much of it's time appealing to the masses, and labeling the current ruling party structure as both stagnant and impotent in their inability to handle the fallout of the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]] that in their eyes has resulted in the [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]], [[#Psychotic Breakdowns|Psychotic Breakdowns]] and [[#Change of Heart|Change of Heart]] phenomenon. As a result, they reap the benefits that ordinarily belong to opposition parties by targeting their own within.

Currently it's holding together as a result of the efforts of Kosei Tawarada, the current party leader, but many pundits are already warily predicting a messy divorce sooner rather than later, and elections as a result.

==Mental Shutdowns==

A wave of incidents throughout Tokyo where people shut down completely out of nowhere. Their eyes go blank and their body ceases to function. A more gruesome detail, mostly hidden from the public due to its graphic nature, is that black ichor begins to leak out of their eyes, ears, and mouth at the moment of death.

These incidents began roughly two years prior to the start of the game, mystifying both law enforcement and medical professionals. While it is much talked about by pundits who would capitalize upon the incidents for political gain, the public is no closer to understanding the cause.

The true cause of mental shutdowns is the death of a Person's Shadow, typically within the Metaverse. Strega has recently discovered this fact by performing several mental shutdowns themselves while exploring Mementos.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts currently are able to speculate that there is a culprit who has been using [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The Metaverse|The Metaverse]] to perform mental shutdowns for years, but have little hard evidence thus far.

Some higher-ups within the [[New World Order]] will understand that high-profile mental shutdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce for anyone who isn't a part of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

==Nanjo Group==

A Japanese super-conglomerate that originally got its start during the Meiji Restoration in oil and coal. It has since shifted in the post-war era to energy, chemical research, pharmaceuticals, and applied engineering. Known for its success in finding new markets abroad while maintaining excellent domestic relationships, it has survived multiple splits and been considered stronger for it.

Originally the [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] was a part of it, but its founder Kouetsu Kirijo navigated a disagreement with the prior Nanjo Group head into an amicable divorce that ended up paying dividends for both. Following the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], the Nanjo Group ended up acquiring SEBEC, which now no longer exists under that name given how toxic its brand had become. Rumors have followed the group around ever since that they've acquired mysterious occultist technology that they utilize in secret.

Its current heir, Kei Nanjo, doesn't tend to weigh in on Nanjo Group's current activities, though he ''has'' been a bit out of touch after spending two years studying abroad in England. He's still expected to take over once he graduates university, which begs the question of what he's doing spending his time in Tatsumi Port Island in a high school dorm!

==Phan-Site==

The Phantom Aficionado Website or 'Phan-Site' for short, is a website set up for the purpose of spreading support for the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts throughout Japan. The site consists of a front page poll with an anonymous comment feed that allows people to post their thoughts on the doings of the Phantom Thieves. Most pertinent however is the ability to submit heist requests for the Phantom Thieves to change someone's heart.

It should be noted that the Phantom Thieves never post on the site, and have never made the claim of involvement in it's running. Nevertheless, the 'Phan-dom' is quite adamant that hearts have been changed as a result of requests posted on the site.

There have been calls by parental groups to have the website taken down, but as of yet Japanese Law Enforcement seems either unwilling or unable to.

===OOC Minutiae===

*While Yuuki Mishima is the administrator, this isn't known to the public. If there's a player of Yuuki Mishima, they'll control the site. Otherwise any attempts to discern his identity will need to be requested to staff with an intended purpose. It's not especially hard to figure out, but a story that goes beyond just pressing him for their identities would be preferred.

*The Police are not attempting to remove the Phan-Site on orders from the higher ups of the [[New World Order]]. This is not known to the rank and file, as it's considered 'beyond their paygrade.'

==Psychotic Breakdowns==

Often spoken about in the same breath as [[#Mental Shutdowns|Mental Shutdowns]] by pundits and TV personalities alike due to them arising at nearly the same time, psychotic breakdowns are nevertheless distinct in several key ways. Typically a person will, seemingly at random, have an incident of erratic behavior or psychotic violence and go on what appears to be a rampage.

Whether it's stripping naked at their job, crashing the vehicle they're driving, or even a person suddenly committing arson, the lack of an easy pattern has made them seem impenetrable by law enforcement and mental health professionals. The key difference between mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns at this time appears to be that psychotic breakdowns are relatively brief, usually lasting a few hours at most, before the person in question snaps out of it with no memory of the incident. However, the two are easily conflated, because sometimes the psychotic breakdown incidents are quite deadly to the person in question.

Police are often hesitant to prosecute obvious psychotic breakdown incidents given the insanity defense, but for incidents that are more discreet, they're more than willing to claim the perpetrator is simply lying and make any footage of the incidents vanish without a trace. The reason is that rare footage of psychotic breakdowns show the victims with rolled back eyes and alarmingly dark blood pouring from their mouths.

Recently, in April, a high-profile psychotic breakdown occurred in which a subway driver derailed a train, injuring eighty people. This incident forced both the Minister of Transportation and the president of a metro company to take responsibility and resign.

The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts have enough information to speculate that there's a culprit committing them at this time, but little hard evidence.

The [[New World Order]]'s members may have heard that psychotic breakdowns are available for a price, but concrete details are scarce to anyone who isn't a member of Tatsuzou Sudou or Masayoshi Shido's inner circles.

===OOC Hooks===

*If characters want a psychotic breakdown to have happened to themselves or an NPC in their life as part of their background, then by all means apply for it. It's a great hook for your character or someone in their family or a friend to be harmed or disgraced as a result of a psychotic breakdown! The only stipulation is that they are always crafted to damage a business or politician's reputation and that the person committing the breakdown is almost always collateral damage, rarely ever the actual target.

==Revenge Request==

A website run by Strega's webmaster Jin Shirato, in which people can request anyone be murdered for a fee. The rates are not available on the site itself. One puts in a request, and the Webmaster sends you an e-mail with the details for delivering their fee. Trying to reply back to the e-mail fails, one either sends the fee, or doesn't.

The URL is hidden to most people, due to a very strong rumor which indicates that keeps the site hidden, spread by the Joker Killer, Tatsuya Sudou. Nevertheless, any Rumormonger worth their salt knows it. Law Enforcement in Japan has put forth no efforts so far to attempt to stop it, chalking it up to an urban legend.

Despite the tension one would think might be caused by the [[#Joker Killer|Joker Killer]] being free, neither Strega's leadership nor the Joker Killer himself seems to mind their coexistence. One might wonder if they know something that everyone else doesn't.

==SEBEC Scandal==

An incident three years ago that occurred at the Mikage-Cho branch of the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation, or SEBEC for short. As far as most of the public knows, an earthquake caused a lab accident, releasing an experimental chemical into the atmosphere of Mikage-Cho.

This caused a report of a mass hysteria incident within Mikage-Cho, though secretly most Persona Users at the time know it extended much further worldwide and was covered up, a fact given credence by an outbreak of a mental health epidemic within Japan immediately following the incident. The [[#Dark Side of Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] has entire threads of discussion devoted to this, but without many specifics of the incident as those who were present have yet to weigh in.

With the death of SEBEC's Mikage-Cho branch president, Takahisa Kandori, at the site of the disaster, President Saeki, an old man in cognitive decline, was forced to take responsibility. He resigned on live TV before being quietly ushered away to his retirement. With their stocks tanking in the aftermath, SEBEC was bought out by the Nanjo Group and no longer exists as a publicly traded company.

The fallout of the incident included lingering depression and suicidal ideations within numerous people who had not previously shown any sign of mental illness, which revealed the inadequacies of the Japanese mental health system in being able to care for a crisis of this magnitude.

To this day, some point fingers at the current administration for the problems Japanese society is facing right now, claiming their failure to address the SEBEC Scandal adequately gave rise to the mental shutdown and psychotic breakdown phenomena.

==Snow Queen Crisis==

Almost a footnote to the public compared to the [[#SEBEC Scandal|SEBEC Scandal]], a revolutionary new central air system in St. Hermelin High School, as donated by the Saeki Electronics and Biological and Energy Corporation to the community, underwent a critical malfunction in its liquid nitrogen tank storage system that caused mass hospitalization for hypothermia and frostbite. Some theorize that the chemical released by SEBEC into the atmosphere was the reason for this malfunction.

This combined with the mass hysteria from the scandal itself caused the students to rave about the Snow Queen, a character from a play that had been performed for decades by the school's drama club, trying to kill them all. Still, journalists enjoyed sensationalizing the idea that there really was a 'Snow Queen' killer until the SEBEC Scandal's fallout eclipsed it.

The few Persona User survivors of St. Hermelin High School don't tend to speak of the reality of the incident, perhaps out of fear that their beloved teacher, Saeko Takami, might be blamed by the public for something they all know was not truly her fault.

==Ten Years Ago==

Ten years ago (relative to the start of Velvet Room MUSH in 2012), an explosion took place at a major [[#Kirijo Group|Kirijo Group]] facility in Tatsumi Port Island. This resulted in the release of Shadows, numerous deaths amongst the populace, the worldwide creation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#The_Dark_Hour|the Dark Hour]], and the formation of [[Dark_Hour,_Tartarus,_and_Related#Tartarus|Tartarus]] on the site of the former Kirijo lab.

Numerous personal tragedies occurred during this time before the incident inexplicably ended. To this day, no one seems to know how the incident was contained and stabilized. Still, the Dark Hour remains.

Earlier that same day in Sumaru City, a brutal murder of a child occurred at the Alaya Shrine, which has never once burned down. Still, tragic murders happen all the time, so this barely rates a mention in comparison.

==Tien Tao Lien==

The Tien Tao Lien is a gang within the Taiwanese mafia and one of the [[New World Order]]'s 'alliances.' Led by a man named Yung Pao, the mafia acts as their arm in the underworld by giving the police plausible deniability about their involvement.

Yung Pao seems to have a grudge against the New World Order's leadership, but still complies obediently with their orders anyhow. One thus might wonder: what do they have on him?

==Wang Long Fortune-telling==

Wang Long fortune-telling is a feng shui-based style of fortune-telling where one uses the movement of the twelve Guardian Dragons sent from the Heavens to predict the future, purported to be highly accurate. It's reported to be an energy flow, somewhat similar to leylines, and the energy you put out into it comes back to you. In other words, if you're good, good things will happen, and if you're bad, you'll get your comeuppance.

"Wang Long" Chizuru popularized it in Sumaru City and the greater Tokyo metropolitan area when she did several readings on a TV show about fortunes. All of her predictions came true, and now the public is chomping at the bit to get their fortunes told, either by her or other fortune-tellers using the same method. People with even a basic understanding of it can attempt to tell their own fortunes, though their results may be mixed.
[[File:WangLongChizuru.png|200px|thumb|right|Wang Long Chizuru, who popularized Wang Long Fortune-Telling.]]
The twelve Guardian Dragons correspond to the months of the year, and have different colors and associations. They govern over those born within that year and supposedly share attributes with them; in this way, it's not unlike the Western Zodiac. Some dragons have an affinity with certain other dragons, while others vibe poorly with each other. This makes Wang Long particularly popular for romantic compatibility readings.

===Guardian Dragons===

''The guardian dragon for each month is the...''

'''January:''' Yellow Dragon, which protects balance. You are responsible and patient.

'''February:''' Blue Dragon, which prefers reform. You are intellectual and calm.

'''March:''' White Dragon, which rules the emotion. You are warm-hearted and easily moved to tears.

'''April:''' Scarlet Dragon, which leads battle. You are rash, hasty, and stubborn.

'''May:''' Gold Dragon, which protects the world. You are realistic and reasonable.

'''June:''' Navy Blue Dragon, which gives rise to liberation. You are lively and witty.

'''July:''' Light Dragon, which values morals. You are sensitive and caring.

'''August:''' Red Dragon, which rules passion. You are confident and adventurous.

'''September:''' Black Dragon, which grants wisdom. You are earnest and enthusiastic.

'''October:''' Silver Dragon, which protects moderation. You are artistic and pacifistic.

'''November:''' Moon Dragon, which creates mysticism. You trap passion inside your heart.

'''December:''' Purple Dragon, which honors justice. You are honest and wish to be free.

=== Affinity Chart ===

{| border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
|-
!Dragon !! Good !! Bad
|-
| Yellow Dragon (''January'') || Gold || Silver
|-
| Blue Dragon (''February'') || Navy Blue || --
|-
| White Dragon (''March'') || Moon || --
|-
| Scarlet Dragon (''April'') || -- || --
|-
| Gold Dragon (''May'') || Yellow, Black || --
|-
| Navy Blue Dragon (''June'') || Blue || --
|-
| Light Dragon (''July'') || White, Moon || Red
|-
| Red Dragon (''August'') || -- || Light
|-
| Black Dragon (''September'') || Gold || --
|-
| Silver Dragon (''October'') || Purple || Yellow
|-
| Moon Dragon (''November'') || White, Light || --
|-
| Purple Dragon (''December'') || Silver || --
|}

===Joka===

There is a thirteenth dragon who does not correspond with any month and stands opposed to the twelve guardians. It's known as Joka, the death dragon. It comes and goes on its own schedule and consequently can appear at random on a person's Wang Long chart. When it appears, bad luck and extreme misfortune will infest a person's life, though fortunately not for all eternity. There's nothing they can do about this; they just have to tough it out until the Joka has passed.

While Joka can appear at random, it is also called forth by Kegare--negativity, sin, and other bad energies--and releases it in turn. The other dragons hate Kegare and, according to legend, they will rise up to destroy it where it appears in sufficiently massive quantities.

</div>

[[Category: Theme]]

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Eri:

File:JokerUlala.jpg

2026-06-24T19:56:46Z

Eri:

File:OriginalJokerPersona.jpg

2026-06-24T19:56:27Z

Eri:

2026-06-11: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind

2026-06-12T02:50:01Z

Eri:

*'''Log: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Shinichi Nagisa]], A Monster
*'''Where:''' University of Tokyo Hospital, Taito Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' June 11, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 22, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Working in a Hospital at night takes a lot of Courage. Unfortunately Shinichi Nagisa hasn't been grinding his Guts quite enough for what awaits him..."

----

<span style="color:#5A915A">SEVEN MONTHS AGO</span>

The thud-thud of an enormous hospital bed against the glass doors of the ICU room alerted a young man that someone needed assistance, "Oh, Izawa-san. Let me help you with that." The young man said as he naturally took position at the head of the bed, helping it guide it through, while the woman in her thirties winded some equipment around the way.

"Thank you Shin-chan- but I can take it from here." He looked back at her, puzzling, given the pump laden with drips and other equipment being dragged along to keep the patient alive in the bed. "I couldn't let you do this alone." He remarks, "That's too much, to try and transport all this by yourself."

The nurse, Takako Izawa- shook her head, "No it's really fine- you shouldn't do this one, Shin-chan. Go check who's up next." He kept his hand on the bed, but stood off to the side, as he asked, "Is something going on?"

Izawa froze, then looked around and- then lowered her voice, "This one is a mental shutdown patient, from a Yakuza family, Shin-chan. You shouldn't get involved. None of the nurses like taking her up here- but someone has to and I drew the short straw today." She nervously added, "They often have one of their people here throughout the day. So you shouldn't go near her."

Shinichi gawked, then looked down at the middle-aged woman, eyes shut- with a tube down her throat, breathing at a steady rhythm. Still, she seemed meticulously groomed, almost to the point of obsession. Like they were all afraid of attracting ire if she wasn't always presentable.

"A mental shutdown... huh? I didn't realize we had those kinds of patients."

"Well, we usually don't. Most of the time they die before they ever get to us. Of those who do- usually the family decides to withdraw support right away and they just pass on. But, she's well-off, and they say there's a whole thing about Yakuza succession that they want to keep her alive..."

"Oh. So she's being kept alive just because-"

"... Yeah. That's why we're all so terrified. So, just- stay away from her, from this, alright?"

He looked down upon her insensate form, for a while, and eventually he decided, "No really, I don't mind." He smiled sheepishly at Izawa, "Someone has to right?"

It was only on the way back that he caught a glimpse of the name on the chart.

MIFUYU ITAMI

Despite the efforts to keep him away, he always forced his way into helping when it came to her. No one could ever figure out why.

If he were forced to interrogate it, it's not because he was being selfless- but because he just didn't value his life very much at all. This was his way of punishing himself.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">FIVE MONTHS AGO</span>

He'd helped late enough that he only had time to do his homework if he started it right off. The nurses had let him use the staff lounge for it. He began working through the practice math problems one by one by one-

-until-

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#5A915A">TOCK</span>

Shinichi was jolted awake from his involuntary nap at 12:02 by the sound of an overhead alert.

"Code Yellow- ICU! Code Yellow-!"

Code Yellow, disaster? Emergency? He checked his name badge, then rubbed his eyes and got up.

He was the last person that was ever supposed to respond to these things, I mean. What could he do? He was just a volunteer. But he had an extra set of hands- and could follow instructions, so he made his way up to the ICU.

Only to find numerous personnel, nurses and others beside standing outside a room who belonged to a patient he knew.

"What's... going on?"

He asked, only to catch a glimpse of the inside. A torn out breathing tube. IVs dripped their contents on the floor and monitor alarming that someone was dying.

And an empty hospital bed.

"Where- how!?"

After an incredibly swift investigation the next day it was decided the Kikuchi-Kai must have absconded with her. There was just no other plausible explanation. All of the hospital staff just let out a collective sigh of relief that they no longer had to deal with her.

Eventually he was forced to accept that... but a nagging thought stuck with him, how that could be possible without anyone seeing it?

Either way, she has to be dead. Perhaps it was a mercy.

Perhaps.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">NOW</span>

"No- you know you're not supposed to be here this late Shin-chan. You've been dead on your feet all night- go home and get some real sleep, okay? You're going to miss the train."

"But-"

"Don't argue. You're a student! Enjoy youth while you're young. There will be plenty of time for work when you're actually paid for it."

"... Alright." He finally agreed, "Good night, Izawa-san."

Rubbing his eyes, he hoisted his bag and started down the halls towards the elevators. "Sleep's the last thing I need..."

Nightmares- nightmares of Yanagi, icy rictus fingers closing upon his neck. A whisper in his ear as he suffocated-

He never remembers what was said. Tapping the elevator key for down, he stood there and waited.

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#579E7F">TOCK</span>

Heaven Give Me Say - Silent Hill OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLgRg7DNav0

The elevator ground to a stop so suddenly that he couldn't even perceive it doing so within the peculiar stasis of the Dark Hour.

Dazed- he looked around in confusion at the green atmosphere. The pale moonlight, the puddle of blood on the nearby floor as clarity began to dawn. "What's going on? Who didn't clean this up?" He hit the elevator button again, before muttering, "I don't get it- what's up with the sky? Maybe some storm...? Geez- we're long past typhoon season. If the generator isn't working- that's really bad."

However, instead of chaos from an electrical outage, there was an eerie silence and so he hit up a Janitor's closet to grab a mop. "Might as well- everyone's gonna be busy." The sink didn't work- "Huh the water's out too-? Well, the bucket still has some in it, I guess."

Taking it back, he heard a sound like the wind rattling spookily across the windows, rap-tap-tapping- but he was used to weird sounds in hospitals at night. They didn't faze him anymore.

At least until he got back and saw the emergency stairwell door open, slowly gliding shut- with a loud click as it slid back in place.

He gave it a strange look, but then began trying to sop up the mess, stroking it back and forth over the blood-soaked floor, without making any real progress.

"... Weird..."

"Didn't you know that you're the strangest thing here?" Came the unexpected whisper of a voice against his ear, as he gasped, and toppled over the bucket, soaking his leg. A woman- a familiar woman.

Strode over to him-

"You're- but you're-"

Her smile was just a little too wide, as she grasped him by the throat and lifted him off the floor, nails like claws flexing over his throat as she inspected him, as he gagged down muffled scream after scream from lack of air, thrashing defensively.

"Not yet- disappointing."

Clucking her tongue, she smiled wide at his look of absolute terror as he tried to ineffectually fend her off, "What's the matter, 'Shin-chan'? Weren't you always the one volunteering to spend time with me?"

As everything started to go dark, the last thing he heard- and would absolutely not remember were the words.

"Yanagi Nagisa- such an awful thing you've done to your adorable little brother."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-06-11: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind

2026-06-12T02:49:49Z

Eri:

*'''Log: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Shinichi Nagisa]], The Monster
*'''Where:''' University of Tokyo Hospital, Taito Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' June 11, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 22, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Working in a Hospital at night takes a lot of Courage. Unfortunately Shinichi Nagisa hasn't been grinding his Guts quite enough for what awaits him..."

----

<span style="color:#5A915A">SEVEN MONTHS AGO</span>

The thud-thud of an enormous hospital bed against the glass doors of the ICU room alerted a young man that someone needed assistance, "Oh, Izawa-san. Let me help you with that." The young man said as he naturally took position at the head of the bed, helping it guide it through, while the woman in her thirties winded some equipment around the way.

"Thank you Shin-chan- but I can take it from here." He looked back at her, puzzling, given the pump laden with drips and other equipment being dragged along to keep the patient alive in the bed. "I couldn't let you do this alone." He remarks, "That's too much, to try and transport all this by yourself."

The nurse, Takako Izawa- shook her head, "No it's really fine- you shouldn't do this one, Shin-chan. Go check who's up next." He kept his hand on the bed, but stood off to the side, as he asked, "Is something going on?"

Izawa froze, then looked around and- then lowered her voice, "This one is a mental shutdown patient, from a Yakuza family, Shin-chan. You shouldn't get involved. None of the nurses like taking her up here- but someone has to and I drew the short straw today." She nervously added, "They often have one of their people here throughout the day. So you shouldn't go near her."

Shinichi gawked, then looked down at the middle-aged woman, eyes shut- with a tube down her throat, breathing at a steady rhythm. Still, she seemed meticulously groomed, almost to the point of obsession. Like they were all afraid of attracting ire if she wasn't always presentable.

"A mental shutdown... huh? I didn't realize we had those kinds of patients."

"Well, we usually don't. Most of the time they die before they ever get to us. Of those who do- usually the family decides to withdraw support right away and they just pass on. But, she's well-off, and they say there's a whole thing about Yakuza succession that they want to keep her alive..."

"Oh. So she's being kept alive just because-"

"... Yeah. That's why we're all so terrified. So, just- stay away from her, from this, alright?"

He looked down upon her insensate form, for a while, and eventually he decided, "No really, I don't mind." He smiled sheepishly at Izawa, "Someone has to right?"

It was only on the way back that he caught a glimpse of the name on the chart.

MIFUYU ITAMI

Despite the efforts to keep him away, he always forced his way into helping when it came to her. No one could ever figure out why.

If he were forced to interrogate it, it's not because he was being selfless- but because he just didn't value his life very much at all. This was his way of punishing himself.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">FIVE MONTHS AGO</span>

He'd helped late enough that he only had time to do his homework if he started it right off. The nurses had let him use the staff lounge for it. He began working through the practice math problems one by one by one-

-until-

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#5A915A">TOCK</span>

Shinichi was jolted awake from his involuntary nap at 12:02 by the sound of an overhead alert.

"Code Yellow- ICU! Code Yellow-!"

Code Yellow, disaster? Emergency? He checked his name badge, then rubbed his eyes and got up.

He was the last person that was ever supposed to respond to these things, I mean. What could he do? He was just a volunteer. But he had an extra set of hands- and could follow instructions, so he made his way up to the ICU.

Only to find numerous personnel, nurses and others beside standing outside a room who belonged to a patient he knew.

"What's... going on?"

He asked, only to catch a glimpse of the inside. A torn out breathing tube. IVs dripped their contents on the floor and monitor alarming that someone was dying.

And an empty hospital bed.

"Where- how!?"

After an incredibly swift investigation the next day it was decided the Kikuchi-Kai must have absconded with her. There was just no other plausible explanation. All of the hospital staff just let out a collective sigh of relief that they no longer had to deal with her.

Eventually he was forced to accept that... but a nagging thought stuck with him, how that could be possible without anyone seeing it?

Either way, she has to be dead. Perhaps it was a mercy.

Perhaps.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">NOW</span>

"No- you know you're not supposed to be here this late Shin-chan. You've been dead on your feet all night- go home and get some real sleep, okay? You're going to miss the train."

"But-"

"Don't argue. You're a student! Enjoy youth while you're young. There will be plenty of time for work when you're actually paid for it."

"... Alright." He finally agreed, "Good night, Izawa-san."

Rubbing his eyes, he hoisted his bag and started down the halls towards the elevators. "Sleep's the last thing I need..."

Nightmares- nightmares of Yanagi, icy rictus fingers closing upon his neck. A whisper in his ear as he suffocated-

He never remembers what was said. Tapping the elevator key for down, he stood there and waited.

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#579E7F">TOCK</span>

Heaven Give Me Say - Silent Hill OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLgRg7DNav0

The elevator ground to a stop so suddenly that he couldn't even perceive it doing so within the peculiar stasis of the Dark Hour.

Dazed- he looked around in confusion at the green atmosphere. The pale moonlight, the puddle of blood on the nearby floor as clarity began to dawn. "What's going on? Who didn't clean this up?" He hit the elevator button again, before muttering, "I don't get it- what's up with the sky? Maybe some storm...? Geez- we're long past typhoon season. If the generator isn't working- that's really bad."

However, instead of chaos from an electrical outage, there was an eerie silence and so he hit up a Janitor's closet to grab a mop. "Might as well- everyone's gonna be busy." The sink didn't work- "Huh the water's out too-? Well, the bucket still has some in it, I guess."

Taking it back, he heard a sound like the wind rattling spookily across the windows, rap-tap-tapping- but he was used to weird sounds in hospitals at night. They didn't faze him anymore.

At least until he got back and saw the emergency stairwell door open, slowly gliding shut- with a loud click as it slid back in place.

He gave it a strange look, but then began trying to sop up the mess, stroking it back and forth over the blood-soaked floor, without making any real progress.

"... Weird..."

"Didn't you know that you're the strangest thing here?" Came the unexpected whisper of a voice against his ear, as he gasped, and toppled over the bucket, soaking his leg. A woman- a familiar woman.

Strode over to him-

"You're- but you're-"

Her smile was just a little too wide, as she grasped him by the throat and lifted him off the floor, nails like claws flexing over his throat as she inspected him, as he gagged down muffled scream after scream from lack of air, thrashing defensively.

"Not yet- disappointing."

Clucking her tongue, she smiled wide at his look of absolute terror as he tried to ineffectually fend her off, "What's the matter, 'Shin-chan'? Weren't you always the one volunteering to spend time with me?"

As everything started to go dark, the last thing he heard- and would absolutely not remember were the words.

"Yanagi Nagisa- such an awful thing you've done to your adorable little brother."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-06-11: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind

2026-06-12T02:49:05Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind''' *'''Cast:''' Shinichi Nagisa, The Monster *'''Where:''' University of Tokyo Hospital, Taito Ward *'''OOC Date:''' June 11, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 22, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Working in a Hospital at night takes a lot of Courage. Unfortunately Shinichi Nagisa hasn't been grinding his Guts quite enough for what awaits him..." ---- <span style="color:#5A915A">SEVEN MONTHS AGO</span> The thud-thud of an enormous h..."

*'''Log: The Darkness That Lurks In Our Mind'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Shinichi Nagisa]], The Monster
*'''Where:''' University of Tokyo Hospital, Taito Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' June 11, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 22, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Working in a Hospital at night takes a lot of Courage. Unfortunately Shinichi Nagisa hasn't been grinding his Guts quite enough for what awaits him..."

----

<span style="color:#5A915A">SEVEN MONTHS AGO</span>

The thud-thud of an enormous hospital bed against the glass doors of the ICU room alerted a young man that someone needed assistance, "Oh, Izawa-san. Let me help you with that." The young man said as he naturally took position at the head of the bed, helping it guide it through, while the woman in her thirties winded some equipment around the way.

"Thank you Shin-chan- but I can take it from here." He looked back at her, puzzling, given the pump laden with drips and other equipment being dragged along to keep the patient alive in the bed. "I couldn't let you do this alone." He remarks, "That's too much, to try and transport all this by yourself."

The nurse, Takako Izawa- shook her head, "No it's really fine- you shouldn't do this one, Shin-chan. Go check who's up next." He kept his hand on the bed, but stood off to the side, as he asked, "Is something going on?"

Izawa froze, then looked around and- then lowered her voice, "This one is a mental shutdown patient, from a Yakuza family, Shin-chan. You shouldn't get involved. None of the nurses like taking her up here- but someone has to and I drew the short straw today." She nervously added, "They often have one of their people here throughout the day. So you shouldn't go near her."

Shinichi gawked, then looked down at the middle-aged woman, eyes shut- with a tube down her throat, breathing at a steady rhythm. Still, she seemed meticulously groomed, almost to the point of obsession. Like they were all afraid of attracting ire if she wasn't always presentable.

"A mental shutdown... huh? I didn't realize we had those kinds of patients."

"Well, we usually don't. Most of the time they die before they ever get to us. Of those who do- usually the family decides to withdraw support right away and they just pass on. But, she's well-off, and they say there's a whole thing about Yakuza succession that they want to keep her alive..."

"Oh. So she's being kept alive just because-"

"... Yeah. That's why we're all so terrified. So, just- stay away from her, from this, alright?"

He looked down upon her insensate form, for a while, and eventually he decided, "No really, I don't mind." He smiled sheepishly at Izawa, "Someone has to right?"

It was only on the way back that he caught a glimpse of the name on the chart.

MIFUYU ITAMI

Despite the efforts to keep him away, he always forced his way into helping when it came to her. No one could ever figure out why.

If he were forced to interrogate it, it's not because he was being selfless- but because he just didn't value his life very much at all. This was his way of punishing himself.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">FIVE MONTHS AGO</span>

He'd helped late enough that he only had time to do his homework if he started it right off. The nurses had let him use the staff lounge for it. He began working through the practice math problems one by one by one-

-until-

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#5A915A">TOCK</span>

Shinichi was jolted awake from his involuntary nap at 12:02 by the sound of an overhead alert.

"Code Yellow- ICU! Code Yellow-!"

Code Yellow, disaster? Emergency? He checked his name badge, then rubbed his eyes and got up.

He was the last person that was ever supposed to respond to these things, I mean. What could he do? He was just a volunteer. But he had an extra set of hands- and could follow instructions, so he made his way up to the ICU.

Only to find numerous personnel, nurses and others beside standing outside a room who belonged to a patient he knew.

"What's... going on?"

He asked, only to catch a glimpse of the inside. A torn out breathing tube. IVs dripped their contents on the floor and monitor alarming that someone was dying.

And an empty hospital bed.

"Where- how!?"

After an incredibly swift investigation the next day it was decided the Kikuchi-Kai must have absconded with her. There was just no other plausible explanation. All of the hospital staff just let out a collective sigh of relief that they no longer had to deal with her.

Eventually he was forced to accept that... but a nagging thought stuck with him, how that could be possible without anyone seeing it?

Either way, she has to be dead. Perhaps it was a mercy.

Perhaps.

-=-=-

<span style="color:#5A915A">NOW</span>

"No- you know you're not supposed to be here this late Shin-chan. You've been dead on your feet all night- go home and get some real sleep, okay? You're going to miss the train."

"But-"

"Don't argue. You're a student! Enjoy youth while you're young. There will be plenty of time for work when you're actually paid for it."

"... Alright." He finally agreed, "Good night, Izawa-san."

Rubbing his eyes, he hoisted his bag and started down the halls towards the elevators. "Sleep's the last thing I need..."

Nightmares- nightmares of Yanagi, icy rictus fingers closing upon his neck. A whisper in his ear as he suffocated-

He never remembers what was said. Tapping the elevator key for down, he stood there and waited.

<span style="color:#6090C4">Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick</span> <span style="color:#579E7F">TOCK</span>

Heaven Give Me Say - Silent Hill OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLgRg7DNav0

The elevator ground to a stop so suddenly that he couldn't even perceive it within the stasis of the Dark Hour.

Dazed- he looked around in confusion at the green atmosphere. The pale moonlight, the puddle of blood on the nearby floor as clarity began to dawn. "What's going on? Who didn't clean this up?" He hit the elevator button again, before muttering, "I don't get it- what's up with the sky? Maybe some storm...? Geez- we're long past typhoon season. If the generator isn't working- that's really bad."

However, instead of chaos from an electrical outage, there was an eerie silence and so he hit up a Janitor's closet to grab a mop. "Might as well- everyone's gonna be busy." The sink didn't work- "Huh the water's out too-? Well, the bucket still has some in it, I guess."

Taking it back, he heard a sound like the wind rattling spookily across the windows, rap-tap-tapping- but he was used to weird sounds in hospitals at night. They didn't faze him anymore.

At least until he got back and saw the emergency stairwell door open, slowly gliding shut- with a loud click as it slid back in place.

He gave it a strange look, but then began trying to sop up the mess, stroking it back and forth over the blood-soaked floor, without making any real progress.

"... Weird..."

"Didn't you know that you're the strangest thing here?" Came the unexpected whisper of a voice against his ear, as he gasped, and toppled over the bucket, soaking his leg. A woman- a familiar woman.

Strode over to him-

"You're- but you're-"

Her smile was just a little too wide, as she grasped him by the throat and lifted him off the floor, nails like claws flexing over his throat as she inspected him, as he gagged down muffled scream after scream from lack of air, thrashing defensively.

"Not yet- disappointing."

Clucking her tongue, she smiled wide at his look of absolute terror as he tried to ineffectually fend her off, "What's the matter, 'Shin-chan'? Weren't you always the one volunteering to spend time with me?"

As everything started to go dark, the last thing he heard- and would absolutely not remember were the words.

"Yanagi Nagisa- such an awful thing you've done to your adorable little brother."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-05-16: Revelations: Persona

2026-05-21T19:25:52Z

Eri:

*'''Log: Revelations: Persona'''
*'''Cast:''' [[God Penguin|Penguin Sniper]], [[Maki Sonomura]], [[Minato Arisato]], [[Masao Inaba]], [[Suzume Fukura]], [[Pernelle]], [[Akihiko Sanada]], [[Minako Arisato]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Aigis]], [[Hyousuke Suzuki]], [[Yanagi Nagisa]], [[Mitsuru Kirijo]], [[Julian Marlowe]], [[Eriko Kirishima]], [[Ririka Kawase]], [[Hitomi Mandai]], [[Katsuya Suou]]
*'''Where:'''
*'''OOC Date:''' May 20, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 12, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''The Hierophant Shadow has been taken, stolen away by Hisataka Shinjo, the secretary to Tatsuzou Sudou... but several youths that knew him three years prior know him by another name: Takahisa Kandori. And it seems he's not satisfied with merely taking the Shadow... can anything stop the man who became a god?''

----

AS: Umie Akabane has readied for combat as Badb! She is now fully healed!
AS: Masao Inaba has readied for combat as Ogun! He is now fully healed!
AS: Aigis has readied for combat as Palladion! She is now fully healed!
AS: Hitomi Mandai has readied for combat as Tyche! She is now fully healed!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo has readied for combat as Penthesilea! She is now fully healed!
AS: Minako Arisato has readied for combat as Linos! She is now fully healed!
AS: Maki Sonomura has readied for combat as Taishan Niangniang! She is now fully healed!
AS: Minato Arisato has readied for combat as Orpheus! He is now fully healed!
AS: Akihiko Sanada has readied for combat as Polydeuces! He is now fully healed!
AS: Suzume Fukura has readied for combat as Atalanta! She is now fully healed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki has readied for combat as Achilles! He is now fully healed!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa has readied for combat as Giselle! She is now fully healed!
AS: Pernelle has readied for combat as Anqa! He is now fully healed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima has readied for combat as Nike! She is now fully healed!

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
LAST TIME ON THE VELVET ROOM

The Hierophant Shadow feels like it must be on its last legs. It must be. Its entire form is sagging, like the masculine figure seated upon the feminine throne might fall off if they weren't grafted together.

And then, the Shikigami figures guarding the Shadow divide into two more Shikigami, the distinctions washing away. They encircle the figure, twirling, dancing.

And in the distance a bell rings. Chiming like a Priestess wielding a Kagura Suzu, but there's something wrong with it.

The Shikigami all take positions, their parodies of limbs joining together as they all bend strangely where their waists might be.

"I invoke the power of the Kimon Tonkou. Wander endlessly in your banishment from this realm, Shadow of the Arcana."

A feminine voice, from a figure in a stylish black dress and a veil that simply melts out of the shadows of Aoba Park.

Bringing forth a Paper Talisman, it catches fire in front of them as a gate of gray light opens beneath the Hierophant. Mist pours out from this portal to another realm.

The Hierophant Shadow lets out a burble of protest as it panics, trying to smash against one of the Shikigami, but the blow is deflected. It begins to become translucent. Then it vanishes entirely, the Shikigami do the same soon after.

Then it is gone. The navigators cannot even feel the smallest hint of its presence. Only the lingering absence.

Replaced by something far- different. Far worse.

The click of the footsteps of his well polished shoes sounds just as loudly. A man wearing an off-black business suit and a darker dress shirt, sporting a pair of sunglasses with jagged lines of black trailing down his face from each lens.

The Navigators may wonder if he's a man at all.

The man stops a short distance from the battleworn figures and speaks with a hint of sardonic irony. "The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. It is said that to know the forces that guide one's self is a precious gift."

His smile is just a little too wide as the veiled woman stands behind him.

"It is past time you children learn what a curse it can be."

NOW

With the sunglasses on, one cannot see his eyes, but three in the crowd know he's looking at them.

"It would seem fate has decreed that we stand on the same stage once again." He remarks, "The curtain had fallen, but 'he' has demanded an encore performance."

There's a similar passivity to his words, an ambivalence. As if ambition had been completely stolen from him reaching the pinnacle.

To have the power to reach for the stars and blot them out of the sky, and to feel- nothing. An absence of desire, of drive now that he had achieved all he set out to do.

"And yet, so many new fresh-faced youths stand with you." He looks over the crowd in turn, "So many that have not the slightest concept on where the Fool's journey will take them." Faint amusement creases his lips, "What do you think? Are they worthy successors to your legacy?"

A fingertip adjusts his sunglasses, and it's like he's far away for several long seconds.

"My name is Hisataka Shinjo of the New World Order but it is little more than a nom de guerre for this performance. As for my true name... well..." He smirks, "... far be it from me to say it and steal their opportunity to be your Seniors."

Blink, and you'll miss it, that moment where he is suddenly standing in front of Mitsuru Kirijo, rather than where he was before.

"The pawns of the penitent, they who call themselves 'S.E.E.S.'... We will be taking the Shadow of the Hierophant Arcana. 'He' has decided you cannot be allowed to stumble about in the in-between time any longer, meddling with forces far beyond your ken."

There's a glimmer of cruelty, of malice in what part of his expression that can be seen, a shadow of his past self.

"But that is not all we will be laying claim to. 'He' desires that a certain meddler be dealt with. The Devil you don't know requires no introduction"

Pernelle in that moment gets an odd sense, that he means him. Despite no indication of such, he's not even looking at him. Perhaps it's simply his own tendencies.

Or perhaps it's some deeper survival instinct than that.

He turns to face one Minato Arisato and Minato feels something ''stir'' within him, as what's behind his sunglasses tries to hold his gaze.

"And the Fool- this young Wild Card will be coming with us."

And to those who have faced this man before, Maki Sonomura in particular, the horror of the implications of why they would want him speaks upon itself.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki senses something strange. Just in time--for the ring of the bell. There is something wrong there, and then the Kimon Tonkou is invoked. Maki frowns.

"What...?" It's gone. Not here--instead, there is--

The ichor at least is gone, but maki is not relieved; she sees the man. She does not need to speculate as to what he is, not really.

A curse...

"Takahisa Kandori," Maki manages eventually. "...Kandori-san!" she cries, and she knows him. She knows him perhaps better than ''anyone'' at this point, or at least, anyone living. The horror and dismay and complex ''emotion'' in her voice is plain.

Are they worthy successors? "...They want what my friends wanted, back then. To help. To save people. That's worthy. That means something!"

He moves. And 'he'... has decided.

'This young Wild Card will be coming with us.'

"NO!" Maki shouts suddenly, all the conflict in her heart suddenly channeled into certainty. "You can't! You saw all of this before--you saw how meaningless it was, in the end!"

"...I almost..."

"Wasn't it enough!? What we did before? ...When we almost destroyed everything?" Maki asks.

"Not again. NOT AGAIN!"

"I thought..."

"I thought we both learned. I thought we both learned how empty it was. So why!? Kandori-san, why!?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Five minutes -- though with all this power, they might just make it.

This wouldn't be the first Full Moon Arcana with a time limit, Minato knows. The High Priestess, too, tick, tick, ticked down to oblivion, as the train it had subverted hurtled down the tracks to mass destruction.

That also means... this wouldn't be the first time five minutes became three.

Two.

One...

(As the bell tolls, there is a shift, in the air; as if something no one had quite realised they were being watched by ''flinched.'' In this moment, it becomes easier to find one's way to the park -- a way which had been obscured. The Navigators in this battle might be too occupied to focus on it, but there's ''one'' Navigator SEES has on the back lines who's been trying to scry out the truth...)

Minato isn't focused on that, though.

Minato is looking at the Hierophant, the masculine mystique which matches the High Priestess's time pressure.

'Save us', they'd said; is this what they meant, as they hit the floor? The girl isn't choking on ichor, any more.

And there is a man, in grey and in black...

Are the bodies falling away from him, or did he just know where they'd fall?

Minato looks to him and the woman with him, his blank face betraying no real emotion as that man speaks. (Down to them, he supposes his team might say; Minato doesn't really notice the quality.)

'He'... huh. Passive voice. The boy listening called Minato does recognise that. The head he's in turns, when 'Shinjo' -- Kandori? -- steps before Mitsuru. Strangely, for once, he feels... something might even be stronger than her.

He takes a step forward -- to protect his Ice Queen? But then that man turns to him -- and he pauses. He is quiet, for long moments. It is easy to say that Maki's horror has moved even his dispassionate soul to terror, beneath his blank face. But... no. No: something inside him recognises that silhouette.

Then...

"I have one question for you..." Minato speaks up. What incisive observation has he noticed that will help them succeed?

"... why are you wearing sunglasses at night?"

we're all gonna die

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao, growing exhausted from the usual strains of fighting in the Dark Hour and watching such a grisly thing unfold with those cultists, finds his loud-mouthed self speechless. 'What the fuck,' he mouths, because there's no volume loud enough to really capture the emotion here.

"You're r--" He's about to shout, when Maki cuts him off with her 'not again. NOT AGAIN!' He won't talk over her there. Everything that happened... even if he was one of the ones who fought through that ordeal with the rest, there are some things you just cannot claim to know, or feel, as closely and wholly as Maki does.

He shakes his head, as if he's still trying to sort his own feelings out, but-- not for long.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Masao shouts over to Minato and the others of SEES. "Don't let that guy take you! Get outta here! Get outta here RIGHT NOW!" But could they run from him, with how quickly the once dead man has moved into position?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>This is not the way Suzume has ever seen an Arcana Shadow defeated before. Pulled away to another realm by shikigami and a priestess' bell.

Suzume whirls around to look at the man as he speaks, almost in sync with Minato, though *she* wasn't the one precisely being addressed. She doesn't know him. Her eyes narrow slightly anyway. She's already amped up from the battle, and feeling like she failed from the cultist that collapsed into a Shadow.

She takes one step forward, then another.

"Don't call them fools," she says, perhaps not really getting entirely what he meant by that - because while Minato might not have noticed that he was talking down to them, Suzume certainly did. She's had enough of being talked to like she's an idiot... even if in this case she really is ignorant.

Her hand tightens around the grip of one of her tonfa's grips, clenching into a fist hard enough her knuckles whiten, as she steps forward too. She's supposed to be fighting for the rest of SEES. They're depending on her to keep them safe...

"Who're you, who gets to decide that?" Suzume is very obviously part of SEES - she put on her coat, it has the shoulder band attached - so she knows she was being addressed. "What did you want with the Shadow? And they're not going with you either."

Suzume darts forward, suddenly, as if trying to interpose herself between the man - Shinjo? Kandori? - and the Arisatos. It's Minato she goes toward first - she's closer to him, both physically and socially, he's one of her friends and she's not going to let him get hurt if she can help it. She doesn't *attack* - but she does raise her hands as if she was moving into a boxer's guard, protectively.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
For all of Pernelle's dancing and flame -- to say nothing of the Persona users who were certainly putting in a lot more effort into the battle with the shadow -- it is a strange occurrence that sees the end of the battle. Pernelle goes uncharacteristically quiet, pushing his glasses back up his beak as he observes this man. His feathers ruffle and smooth out.

His long neck lowers, just a touch, as he squints out under the brim of his hat to listen to Hisataka Shinjo speak to the youths and to the Fools, and to...

Pernelle subtly, carefully, scuttles his way back to Yanagi one muffled fall of a clawed foot at a time while attention falls to Minato Arisato, and Minato meets that attention with a perfect question Pernelle would ordinarily be all too eager to bandwagon.

Instead...

"This has become truly ''fascinating''," he whispers to Yanagi. "Wonderful adventure. Fantastic twists all around. The night has peaked beautifully and I have full faith in the ardor of the gathered. ... I think we should leave."

There's a twitch in the way his head turns to look to the man and back to her again.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko isn't at all sure what to expect from this man in the suit, wearing sunglasses during the Dark Hour. There's at least one thing he realizes.

The moment he appears next to Mitsuru, this guy is bad news.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Akihiko lets out a yell.

However, it takes a moment for this 'Hisataka Shinjo' said to sink in. "Wait... You didn't kill that Shadow?" Isn't that bad? Wouldn't that mean the Dark Hour won't end ever now? "Hold on, that Shadow needs to die to end the Dark Hour...!" Will it even matter to the man, claiming to be apart of the New World Order...?

Then, the kicker. He wants to take Minato, their co-leader. Where? For what purposes? It doesn't matter. "Absolutely not! You'll have to go through SEES before taking our co-leader anywhere!" He rushes forward, aiming to get between Minato and this Shiinjo asshole.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
The Hierophant vanishes. But it not defeated; the shikigami around it seem to pull it ''somewhere''. It vanishes before Minako Arisato's very eyes, and she feels her jaw slacken with confusion. She is kneeling from its last blow. She feels, for a moment, like she is somewhere else entirely. Like she is watching herself see this impossibility. This failure on the part of SEES, that they could never have predicted.

The click of footsteps echo hollowly in her ears. Like she is a million miles away -- like she watches it on television. The well-dressed man's words are distant, as if heard from another room. His true name?

She starts to tense, when he appears before Mitsuru, just like that. She feels it distantly; a tension in her neck, the muscles in her jaw starting to set. Then, Kandori turns his attention onto her brother. Maki's screaming is a distant, piercing cry.

LAST NIGHT

"You're back."

Inside of his greenlit room, Pharos looks up. It's a strange, featureless thing -- but the edges of the walls seem to fuzz and blur, and there is a window overlooking placid waters and capturing the reflection of the almost full moon. It is Dark Hour, but it is also a dream.

Minako Arisato knows that well. "It means the moon's almost full, doesn't?"

"Mm," Pharos says. "Yes. I'm surprised you still come to visit me, though..."

Minako tilts her head. There is a moment where she is quiet -- and then she smiles at the boy. "We're friends, right? Besides... it seems like it must be lonely here."

"Lonely... yes, I suppose so," Pharos says. "I never thought of it before. I only go to visit one other person."

"My brother," Minako ventures, her lips drawing into a line.

"...Yes."

"But never me," she says.

"No," Pharos says. "You're different. But... I'm glad you come visit me. And I'm glad I can see him. I worry about him though."

Her red eyes close, and she smiles. She exhales. "Don't," she says. "Everything I do... it's to keep him safe."

NOW

'...will be coming with us,' Kandori says, and the words come into sharp focus. Minako's crimson eyes come into sharp focus, looking straight at Kandori. As Minato steps forward, speaking to the well-dressed man with that flat affectation. And then Minako stands up from where she had been kneeling. Masao calls out in protest, and Suzume shoots forward.

Minako kicks her naginata off where it fell -- and grabs it, point leveled at Kandori. She stalks up, beside her brother. Suzume can see the point of the blade poking just past her shoulder.

Her voice is steel when she speaks. Her eyes blaze red.

"You're not going to lay a fucking finger on my brother."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie should have realized her efforts to ignore everything but the massive shadow, _including the Shikigami_, would bite her in the ass. Shikigami multiply and surround the Hierophant Shadow, and a feminine voice employs the Kimon Tonkou. (Note to Umie Self: ask Shiryuu if he knows what the heck that is, that sounds like one of those archaic things a Shiryuu would know about.)

As the figure reveals themselves, Umie tenses, unsure of whether this is an ally or not. Could it be the Bride? ... Hmm, no, the Bride's never utilized these kind of abilities before. It's just the veil that makes her think of that comparison, really.

At least Umie didn't have to linger in thoughtful silence for long, as another joins in, impeccably dressed, with the confidence that can only come from a man who wears sunglasses at night.

But beyond that... "...." Umie is not a Navigator at all; most of her abilities partial at best, subscribing to a completely opposite philosophy: not being seen. The senses that could be seen as Navigator adjacent, limited in scope as they may be... they fire off with the only information that would have been necessary for Umie to survive, by herself:

'Get the fuck out of here.'

".... You missed it," she says, instead, filled with false confidence, as he strides in.

'Hisataka Shinjo.' Should Umie have been surprised? Her face remains stony, not wanting to give away the secret information that was shared with her from the three gathered here.

.... The three that the man has had his gaze on throughout his introduction, though Umie wouldn't have known, even when Maki cries out, and rips open that collective memory of those three open anew.

Why does it feel even worse that Umie can't feel her at all? No comments, no back-handed praise, not even a coy silence, like the times when Mai-chan punished her by letting her rot in complete isolation without a single snarky comment to hang on.

There's just that novel sensation of a hollow, impersonal vacuum.

"So what do you mean, by 'Wild Card'?" Umie asks, as she, as if freed from stone by Maki's cry, takes a single step towards the man.

But only one. She's still a coward, even in front of all these people.

Minako's own defiance stirs the masked blonde up just a bit further, to take yet another step. "... About what Sonomura-san said. You still feel that way, don't you," Umie says to the man, quietly. "Yet you're still letting your strings be pulled by the Order, and by 'him'."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Earlier, Aigis had brought ''almost'' everything she had to bear to riddle the Hierophant Shadow with holes -- almost. Taking down the Full Moon Shadows is important --

-- but if either of the Arisato twins should fall, then all would be lost. That grim calculus constantly weighs heavy in her mind.

Thus the 'almost.' She needs a contingency plan in case something threatens either of them. There's always a part of her that holds back until an emergency requires the last of her reserves.

The moment that Shinjo's eyes settle on Minato, Aigis' right hand emits that telltale 'clack' of another round of ammunition loading into the chambers. Even as damaged as she is, she burns the rest of her energy into stepping in front of the twins, right alongside Suzume and Akihiko.

Aigis declares a stern warning: "You will not touch him. There will be no trouble if you refrain from doing so." It is not a request, but a statement. She turns her head back to Minato and Minako, then nods at Masao. "You two first. Please do as he says."

She levels her gaze back to Shinjo, keen on watching his every move. "That man ... is dangerous."

To Minato's later question, she tilts her head and quietly offers a possible explanation: "(... perhaps he has light sensitivty from a recent operation?)"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>The pain, the panic, the warping of his mind - all of it had left Hyousuke exhausted. It was not an unfamiliar feeling. It was not even the worst he'd felt. A momentary lull in the action had allowed him to gather what little remained of his strength, and prop himself up on limbs that screamed for rest. He silenced them, and quelled the burning pain that seared his blood, with an unhealthy dose of whatever healing items he could drag from out of his pouches. He would pay for it in the morning, he was sure, but he could worry about that when morning came.

If it came at all.

The pain was not so much dispelled as it was silenced. He could feel a numb ache in his body, but it had been smothered beneath the properties of whatever he'd administered to himself. It wasn't much, and it certainly wasn't healthy, but it was enough for Hyousuke to peer through the black and see what had happened. Unfamiliar figures danced in the gloom, doing away with the foe they had struggled against with every fibre of their being - that he had almost collapsed under the might of - before someone else entered the fray. Or, rather, some*thing* else.

Hyousuke drew his fists into a guard and clenched his jaw, snarling like a guard dog faced with an intruder. He didn't know who the stranger was, or what they wanted, but something deep inside of him triggered an instinct that told him to defend. With rumbling throat and tightly-clenched fist, he drew towards the group, putting his body before theirs, as if the presence of mere flesh could stall for enough time for them to do something about that... thing. It was in vain, of course. They seemed to vanish in a heartbeat, appearing before people he did not recognise before he had the chance to blink. He snapped around in response, ready to summon his Persona, but his body could not match the strength of his mind.

There was still pain, and exhaustion, and fear. The Hierophant Shadow had taken all but the dregs of his energy, and the healing items had not yet given him time to recover. But he could still put on a show. Make a thread display, show this new figure that he meant business, brandish his gun if he had to. Anything to repel them. He did not know what them taking Minato would mean exactly, of course. He was not savvy tot hat kind of thing. But his gut told him it would be bad, and he told himself it would not be allowed to pass.

"Dunno why this asshole's wearing glasses..." Hyousuke snarled, speaking through clenched teeth. "...But I'm gonna knock 'em right off his smug goddamn face if he doesn't step back." That familiar fury began to flare in his eyes, threatening to melt the visor obscuring them with the heat of his gaze alone, and the fibres in his costume creaked with the strain of his grip. "Get away from them, or I'll drag you out of here myself."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
LAST TIME

Pernelle confirmed that he loves Yanagi very much, just before getting blown up by a Mahama spell.

"Aww...!" This bothers Yanagi not at all, for the light truly only lets Pernelle dazzle the stage even more. She hurries over to him with a tup-tup-tup of her cane, drops to her knees, and wraps her arms around him in a squeezy hug that nonetheless remains mindful of his many gorgeous feathers. "I love you too, Pernelle! <3"

The scuttling back to her side will thus have to be in spirit. Everyone can appreciate that right now, surely, because this is when the shikigami encircle the Hierophant, and a woman's voice banishes it to another realm. Yanagi lifts her head, eyebrows furrowing as the powerful creature and its paper escorts simply... vanish, both from sight and from her senses.

They are soon replaced by a dark man in dark glasses with a dark purpose.

NOW

Yanagi's eyes narrow as he introduces himself as being with the New World Order. She sucks in a little breath at his sudden relocation in front of Mitsuru. How he will be 'dealing' with 'the Devil you don't know'--an odd phrase--and that he'll be taking Minato. She'd think little of the former, vague as it is, if Pernelle didn't start whispering to her.

What he suggests, and the way he twitches...

"..."

...is not especially Pernelle-like behavior.

But then Maki re-names this man--and that recontexualization means Yanagi recognizes him. ...and that means this strange, oppressive man also had something to do with what happened to Mikage-cho after she died. That's part of a past that she wasn't even present for. Yet...

She whispers back, "I agree. But slowly. Slowly, yes? Predators track movement." Pernelle, as an avaricious predator of all things he can possibly stuff down his gullet, would no doubt understand. "Let him pay attention to SEES instead of us." Between Minato's blithe question and how his sister and teammates all leap to his defense, he seems like he'll be all right.

As for Yanagi, she just wants to know more, and therefore wants the time to hear what else her former schoolmates have to say--while also getting further away from this... person... who has even her beloved Pernelle intimidated, who has Masao ''screaming'' at SEES to get away. She knows quite well it would benefit her to get away too.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
This is it. It should be over.

It's not.

Mitsuru Kirijo knows there is something wrong before her heels even touch the frosty street beneath her. The Hierophant should be destroyed -- or if not, close enough to it that it the deed should be done by the time she looks back. And yet -- something ''feels'' amiss.

She notices movement from her peripheries. Her eyes widen. Why didn't she notice before??

"Wait! The shikigami--!"

She had assumed they were part of the Shadow.

Stupid. Stupid. ''Stupid''--

The Shikigami surround, imprison, and outright ''vanish'' the Arcana Shadow entirely before Mitsuru can even pivot around, her eyes wide in shock and confusion just as much as her teeth grit and lips peel in self-recriminating anger. She can't even register Fuuka's seemingly much-needed healing in the heat of the moment as her eyes affix -immediately- upon the apparent source:

A single, simple man wearing wrongness as naturally as he wears a suit and shades.

He looks -- familiar. Hisataka Shinjo, he calls himself, but it rings false to her. Who--

''Takahisa Kandori. ...Kandori-san!''

"--Kandori?!" Mitsuru exclaims, eyes widening in recognition if but for the name and the infamy attached to it. How could she not know? The notorious head of S.E.B.E.C., the man behind those events so many years ago that coincided so closely with the birth of the Dark Hour. A man who--

"But -- you should be"

She barely manages to get those four syllables out before

"d"

suddenly

"ea"

she's not alone.

"--gk?!"

Black lenses burrow into her soul. She's stumbling - ''stumbling'' - back before she even realizes what she's doing, a gloved hand falling to her Evoker and expression struck with the shocked alarm of an animal that has received an unexpected sensory overload.

His words, however, help sharpen her focus.

Pawns of the penitent. They'll be taking the Hierophant - the thing they need to eliminate, to right their wrong. Meddling in forces beyond their ken, as if this was his right to deny them, as if - as if--

''And the Fool- this young Wild Card will be coming with us.''

Mitsuru's pride stings. But it's nothing compared to the sudden, protective impulse that surges over her as the man threatens one of her own. Mitsuru shifts, backpedaling from Kandori -- but if one thinks it's a retreat, well--

They only have to look at how her trajectory is ''instantly'' placing her between Minato and Kandori to know it's anything ''but'' that.

"No."

The world comes flat. Tense. She, once more, has no idea what is going on here -- when even ''one'' unknown is too much for someone who has spent their whole life trying to control every possible variable, ''this many'' is existential in its frustration. But she doesn't think about that now.

"You will return the Arcana Shadow to us. I will not allow you to perpetuate this evil one moment longer."

He moved without her even noticing. Something about him screams TERROR into the most primal centers of her brain.

"And on my honor as a Kirijo, you. Will not. TOUCH him."

But she can't afford to lose any more of her people. Not one more.

"Try it, and I promise will make sure the hand that dared never touches a single thing again."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Not all of those who had been surreptitiously keeping watch on the proceedings in Aoba Park had been ready to act, the moment when those events came to a head. By the time a certain white-masked gentleman arrives in the area, he had found his way to the park barred, in a strange, indirect manner.

He'd have suspected it was an effect generated by the threat at hand, if this particular 'lost in the fog' sensation wasn't so eerily familiar. Last time, it just so happened to ensnare him into the very place he wanted to be. This time, it seemed bent on steering him astray. Try as he might - and try he did - forcing his way through was getting him nowhere fast. Until, finally...

For reasons unknown, the sound of a bell heralds the clearing of the way, the latest attempt at breaching through to the center of the 'maze' suddenly proving not only possible, but effortless. Might this be a trap? Regardless, the man proceeds without hesitation.

And so, with calm, methodical footfalls of crisp leather shoes somehow entirely silent, Vesper finally arrives on the scene. Fashionably late? Certainly not. A gentleman always arrives exactly when he means to.

"Hisataka Shinjo... or, Takahisa Kandori, is it?" He just heard those names spoken for the first time from a distance just now, but heck if he's not going to make it sound like he has any idea who this person is. "Rather brazen of the New World Order to act so directly, in the midst of such a large gathering. While I might normally say your business is your own..."

With a flourish, the grey-suited man throws his right arm up, flinging the umbrella resting on it into the air, caught by the handle on the way down. With a following twirl and a dull thud, the opposite end lands in Vesper's open left palm.

"...If I'm not mistaken, you threatened a child just now, did you not? That won't do. That won't do at all."

Vesper never shows any outside indication of anger. That doesn't mean there isn't anything that makes him angry.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
When the Shikigami move, Eriko's eyes widen- she had noted them before but she hadn't realized until now what they meant- the Shikigami weren't part of the Arcana Shadow. They were serving someone else- and when she hears the voice command, Eriko starts to decipher what it means.

"Kimon Tonkou... the Stone Sentinel Maze..." Eriko frowns. Does that mean-

''It would seem fate has decreed that we stand on the same stage once again.''

Her thoughts about the spell are cast completely to the side when she sees what he's replaced with. For a moment, Eriko is frozen in fear, seeing who stands before them. With the scars, you could almost mistake him for someone else- but Reiji's scar is much smaller.

It's Maki's cry that snaps her out of it, and Eriko moves swiftly, stepping between her friend and Kandori, blade drawn- for what little good it will do. "...Kei was right," Eriko says, despite herself. "You were brought back somehow."

But then he declares that they will be taking the fool- but why Minato, and not Minako? They have two, after all.

"...That's assuming his friend there will give us an opportunity." Eriko's eyes drill briefly into the veiled figure who commanded the Shikigami. She has her suspicions, but...

She hears the way that S.E.E.S. declare their resolve, and Eriko smiles- but it's a hollow thing, filled with sorrow. "...Please listen when I tell you this," Eriko announces, keeping her calm compared to Mark's frantic panic. "We are about face the power of a man who transcended his humanity and became a God." There's no excitement in Eriko's voice right now, it's flat. Empty. "A man who has returned from death. I am not exaggerating at in the slightest when I say this. The last time I saw Takahisa Kandori, he was a corpse missing everything below his chest."

Eriko's eyes flit to Mitsuru Kirijo first. "...Kei told you some of it, didn't he?" The time for secrecy is gone now. Anyone with the knowledge to put two and two together could make four, after Maki cried out. "When we last fought him, we were much, much stronger than we were then." It's clear to see the shiver in Eriko's body now, even as she holds her blade. "...and there were more of us."

Kei, Reiji, Yuka, Yukino, Brown... Naoya... and the other Maki.

Seven people who aren't here now.

Pernelle suggests retreating, and Eriko's eyes flick to him. It's a good suggestion.

She'd love it if it were that easy. Minako steps forward with anger, and Eriko waves her blade out to the side. "...Don't jump to his bait. We're nowhere near his level right now, isn't that right, Mr Kandori? It would be a repeat of our encounter in your office right now, wouldn't it?" It's strange- there's not total bitterness behind Eriko's voice. Not the hatred one would expect for their enemy. There's sadness, and anger- but not hatred. "I assume that the Crawling Chaos has a part to play in your reemergence on the stage?"

Masao orders people to run, and Eriko looks to her two friends. "...Mark's right. We'll do what we can to buy you an opening. You all don't know what you're up against." Eriko frowns. "Don't split up, and don't get isolated." She glances briefly to Yanagi and Pernelle- and she doesn't begrudge them their fleeing.

Still, Eriko smiles grimly as Kandori asks his question of their legacy. "...If they're our legacy, it's our job as adults to make sure they can keep going, isn't that right?" Still, Eriko gives a mirthless grin that bares her teeth. "But if you ask me, I think they'll do fine if they have they chance to reach their potential- and I think I can speak for the others who aren't here too. Right, Maki-chan?" She looks to her best friend, and the memories of another in one quick glance.

"...I want us all to survive this," Eriko whispers to Maki and Mark both, "but if it comes down to it... Maki-chan, I want you to get the kids out of here, okay?"

She didn't fight Kandori the first time to free Maki's heart to let it be crushed again now.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Just a little bit more," Ririka urges. She's focused on the civilians present--the ones they might, hopefully, still save.

She isn't ready for the interruption that comes next. When the doorway open she blinks in shock-- "Wait, you can't!" Though the portal it goes, and Ririka franctically tries to extend her senses out to find it. "I-- I can't confirm if it's been defeated" she reports to SEES and the Persona Users more broadly. She's trying to keep her voice calm, but after all the upsetting developments tonight...

She watches as the man approaches, worry etched on her face. "What even..."

Hisataka Shinjio... of the New World Order. Given how tense the fight has been, somehow she still manages to feel a fresh surge of tension to eclipse the old.

Suddenly in front of Mitsuru, and then he lays claim to to the Shadow and to Minato. "No..."

And Maki calls out his true name, which draws Ririka's attention. "Do you know this guy!?"

Minato speaks, and for a moment Ririka is hoping it will be orders of some kind... but it's a question, instead. "Arisato-kun..." This is so not the time. She focuses her attention back on that man. "We won't let you take him!"

She has, indeed, been too focused on on the battle and the civilians to notice the shrouding. SEES' other Navigator will ahve to attend to that.

She might /want Fuuka here in the moment too--she's overtaxed, with fraying nerves, and she's already spent a lot of focus tonight. Luckily, she's not the only Navigator here.

She closes her eyes for a moment and hums to herself to center herself, before opening them and reaching for her keyboard. "I don't know who you think you are, but Arisato-kun is with ''us''! If you think we'd just hand him over without a fight, then you don't know a thing about us!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
As is often the case for Hitomi, she was not greatly distressed physically by the battle. Or rather, she did not have to run around and exert herself -- others, better suited for that, have done that. But she *was* scared semi-shitless; and she did, just now, run, though not far enough for another of her patented slouching and gasping for breath.

It's not that big of a park.

By any measure, it was a harrowing battle, despite that. The shock of that strange world-weary inclination towards passive despair and simply accepting the end, not in the sense of embracing impermanence but just laying down and waiting for death. The horrifying manifestation of the sealed persons, who Hitomi had taken at first for some cognitive illusion thrown at them.

(At least, that's the kind of maneuver she'd probably pull, if she could.)

Instead, they were real -- even if the worst she had done was knock some of them over to get them off of Aigis, they were alive! Alive and with mere minutes to spare before their horrid conversion into Shadows. (And they already lost one; maybe she was predisposed? Hitomi barely saw her. A melting woman on the ground. That is one that will stick with her.)

And there is someone else, now. Someone who has *taken* the Hierophant Shadow. (Did that mean they failed? Is that basically as good? *Where did these people take the Full Moon Shadow?* **HOW CAN THEY DO THAT??** These questions all scream inside of her head.)

Even as that person - if it is a person, as she would understand the term - introduces themselves (kind of) and speaks at length. He speaks to Mitsuru, and Hitomi can hear him even as she herself is breathing heavily. And whatever he says or *does* is making *Mitsuru* flinch!

It is an escalation. He makes a clear demand-- and then one of the others, one of the older people who were joining in (is she with Umie?, thinks Hitomi, though she may not know Umie as Umie, exactly) - she identifies him as someone else.

Someone doing it AGAIN.

AGAIN.
AGAIN.

A thought pops into Hitomi's mind for a moment. Did any of it matter?

A beat passes. For some reason her jaw aches, a single brisk throb. And then Minato answers the man himself, distant but clear in Hitomi's ears.

And then it feels like weight is sliding off her back, a coat of lead she didn't know she was wearing, and Hitomi straightens up. In fact, straighter than she usually is; she brings her hands round to rest on her hips with enough emphasis to make a slight 'pap' sound.

"None of that is going to happen," Hitomi says, quietly, perhaps with a little bit of coaching herself in her tone, but clearly enough. She sucks in a deep breath through her nose; exhales through her mouth. Her mind is simmering over, but somehow all the terror and fear feels like an updraft. Am I having a psychotic break? she wonders, academically, and maybe she is, because she takes one step, two steps forwards with a deliberate theatricality. Even as Suzume steps up, as Minako steps up.

"Arisato-chan~, you shouldn't swear like that," says Hitomi as she walks forwards. She does not move to physically interpose, but she is *there* - she actually moves laterally for several paces, in order to be in a defilade position. (at least that is the word Hitomi remembers for the advanced strategic art of 'shoot from a different direction at the same time as the rest of the force.')

"They might think you're uncouth and crude!" Hitomi continues, clapping her hands together and lacing the fingers. She gives a rather open-mouthed smile that doesn't reach your eyes.

Her eyes are bright, but not in a wholesome way. "Though, you should listen to Kirijo-sempai, and Arisato-chan, and Aigis, honestly, everyone! You seem really scary,"

haha, I am bluffing so hard
this is incredible!
terrifying!
We're probably all going to die, especially me!
What's going to happen!?

"But so are they, so maybe you should try again, Shinjo-san! Or, is it Kandori-san?" Hitomi's fingers unlace and she puts a finger on her chin. She pouts.

I wonder what's behind his glasses.
I can find out! Even if we all die, that's totally doable!
Goal set! Hooray!

"This really is an awful way to meet!"

</poem>
AS: Ririka Kawase has readied for combat as Amphion! She is now fully healed!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
BEFORE

Is such a thing possible? A great monstrous shadow that simply... transmutated from human flesh like that? Katsuya Suou can say that in his rather short (all told: just since late spring) career as a Persona-user, and his even more shallow experience with the Dark Hour, that he's never seen a Shadow quite like this.

Worse yet, there's that familiar sense of bewilderment keeping him from reaching any of the afflicted people, let alone the great Shadow itself. All it seems that he can do is watch, never getting any closer to the point he aims for.

That is, up until the moment when the spell seems to ''break'' with the chiming of a bell.

"Kirishima-kun! Inaba-kun!" He has zeroed in on two of the faces he can identify within the crowd as he bolts forward, finally free of the curse that had bound him at the periphery of the chaos.

He draws his gun, turning it on the great Shadow as it lurches forward

as a woman speaks

and the great Shadow is simply drawn into the depths of a grey gate across the bottom of the park. Fight as it might, it's just ''gone'' in the end.

"What in the..." Katsuya utters, aiming his firearm at the asphalt path of Aoba Park. It's gone. It's just gone.

But that doesn't mean that nothing is here.

"...What is this...?" he utters, speaking of the sensation that crawls across his Persona's awareness of such things.

It's... coming from that man.

NOW

"...Who? Wait," Katsuya says, taking in the man with the fearsome aura. He jolts where he stands, as if he'd been about to start forward only to arrest that in the bud. "Hisataka Shinjo? The secretary to Tatsuzou Sudou?"

Who is, of course, also of the New World Order. He glances over at Maki as she calls out a different name.

"...Takahisa Kandori? But, didn't he die during the SEBEC Incident?" An accident during a prototype equipment test, or something like that, he thinks they'd said, but... ...is it possible he didn't actually die?

No, says Eriko, and Katsuya looks at her in shock. "But that's... that's impossible!" he utters, completely failing to grapple with the 'reality' of the moment. "Surely there's some misunderstanding! Even with a rumor, surely...?

Shinjo, Kandori, says that a certain young man will be coming with him.

Katsuya glances just the once at Minato and shakes his head. "Absolutely not! You-- whoever you are! Abduction of a minor by force is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years!"

His grip on his firearm is white-knuckled, yet he does not yet lift its barrel from where it is currently directed, perhaps in the hope that this need not yet end in violence. But also because... he can already feel it. Fighting this person could be the end.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Maki Sonomura calls his name right on cue. There is an echo of fatherly affection within him. Her desire for a Father made manifest within her, reflected in him. She might even swear he's still fond of her, in a sense.

"Does it?" He replies after a time, "Does it mean anything?" His head tilts high, as he stares at the Full Moon, shining bright reflecting eerily on his sunglasses.

'... Please listen when I tell you this, we are about to face the power of a man who transcended his humanity and became a God.'

He smiles as Eriko Kirishima and Maki Sonomura take him up on his offer, to be the seniors here.

'But -- you should be dea--gk?!'
'But that's... that's impossible!'

"What 'should be' or is 'impossible' matters little within the bounds of Sumaru City." He explains to the pair of them, as his eyes continue to bore into Mitsuru in particular. "What 'is' - was brought into being by the Kotodama."

'Wasn't it enough!? Not again. NOT AGAIN!'

"And that is why it means nothing." He adds quietly. "Again and again and again. You believe this is only the second time that you and your allies have faced me... but you are incorrect, ignorant of the truth of this world."

In Minato, he is looking for signs of Naoya, the Boy with the Earring, and what he says-

"Heh." He smiles, thinly. "All the better to see you with, young Fool." He quips, in regards to the Sunglasses, as if he were the Big Bad Wolf, wearing the skin of a man. Hyousuke's threat, as soon as he makes it, there's suddenly this unsettling feeling, like perhaps he doesn't ''want'' to knock them off.

The consequences might be more than he bargained for.

'Who're you, who gets to decide that?'

He smiles, because Maki Sonomura already spoke his name. Whereas Akihiko tells him the Shadow has to die. "Does it? Far be it from me to argue. Nevertheless, I'll be taking possession of it."

'... If I'm not mistaken, you threatened a child just now, did you not? That won't do. That won't do at all.'

"Heh. To be a child is to always be under threat from forces beyond your control." He says to Vesper, with a Predatorial philosophy that is so human, but so terribly twisted. He then nods to Eriko, "I would expect nothing less of you, Eriko-san. Perhaps you will survive this, but not without taking another scar, to add to the many you have collected since last we met."

'So what do you mean, by 'Wild Card'?'

"The number zero- it is so like infinity, in it's potential. Isn't the answer self-evident?"

'You're not going to lay a fucking finger on my brother.'

"Is that who you believe he is to you?" Kandori says, and there's an unsettling feeling within her. "Even an Empty Fool such as yourself knows better than that."

'You will not touch him. There will be not trouble if you refrain from doing so.'

"You act as if the threat of 'trouble' from you would be any deterrent."

'I don't know who you think you are, but Arisato-kun is with ''us''! If you think we'd just hand him over without a fight, then you don't know a thing about us!'

"'He' knows everything about you- the grieving sister, with so little identity to call her own. I would expect nothing less of you, than to leap to his defense."

'You seem really scary, But so are they, so maybe you should try again, Shinjo-san! Or, is it Kandori-san?'

"You may call me what you'd like." He says, as he stares at her, growing more unsettling by the moment. "As I instruct you on why their bluster means less than nothing to me."

'You will return the Arcana Shadow to us. I will not allow you to perpetuate this evil one moment longer. And on my honor as a Kirijo, you. Will not. TOUCH him. Try it, and I promise will make sure the hand that dared never touches a single thing again.'

"Such fire." He says, as if in admiration, then tips his chin, "Even a god such as myself bows to the arrogance of one who would lay claim to some pretense familial honor, after their family nearly destroyed the world more completely than I." He grins at her, showing so many teeth, "By all means, try to take my hand. Try to protect this young Fool... it will be a sight to see, dashing yourself against the Wheel of Fortune that has already decreed the doom of the one you ''truly'' desire to protect."

Masao shouts that Minato needs to get out of here right now, while Pernelle whispers to Yanagi that he thinks they should leave. Despite the whisper, 'he' hears all. "You're under the impression there is any escape, from what is coming." Indeed, the words may unsettle Eriko and Maki, who are already plotting escape.

And then an arrow flies out of nowhere. A hand that is at his side has caught it in his hand, crushing it in two, the pieces disintegrating before they strike the ground. Follow the trajectory, and you'll see Yukari Takeba kneeling, having aimed one right at his chest, as she shouts, "So you think we're just going to STAND there waiting for you to take him!? Bring back that Shadow ''RIGHT NOW''!"

Hisataka Shinjo's head turns to regard her like a bad kitten. A black aura surrounds her, a grinning effigy of a skull made of smoke, animated and laughing.

Yukari falls to the ground, immediately insensate and pale, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Shinjo frowns at her, murmuring. "It seems without the Father, the Daughter has grown quite impudent in the midst of her own journey. Perhaps 'he' should have seen fit to raise her."

What is he even talking about there? It's unclear.

The Veiled woman has not spoken since she conducted whatever strange occultist ritual she performed, until now.

"Heh. This should be brief enough."

The man standing nearby turns his head fractionally.

"There's no need for your assistance. Attend to the Shadow and I will be right behind you."

The woman behind him hesitates, as if she doesn't want to obey that order. Before she then nods and makes a slight bow. Then a similar grey portal opens beneath her, and she vanishes into the ground below, as if she merely descended into the underworld.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
There is a flash in that moment: a surge of resonance, a heartbeat within heartbeats. A sickening, festering feeling of dread about something beyond humanity. It is the feeling that was present in Tatsuya Sudou, only amplified tenfold.

Perhaps that feeling could even be called that of a 'god,' albeit a malicious one.
The smirk on his face doesn't alter; there is no shift in his stance at all. However, he is certainly not here to talk.

A dark aura descends, momentarily enveloping the entire world in absolute silence. It surrounds each of them, stealing their voices.

He makes a single gesture with his hand, as if predicting their action and welcoming them to attack.

Then a whisper is utteredthe first word each of them hears since the dread silence descended: "Nyarlathotep."

Deadline - P2 EP Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX5Ke5bxNjw

What emerges from him is a tentacled being within a fractured statue-like mass of a desecrated Golden Buddha statue. It is ever-shifting; a green, segmented exoskeleton clicks against itself as each sinewy tentacled limb appears to have joints but undulates as if anatomy matters little. Blue eyes. Far too many blue eyes on each limb look at them.

All of them.

Chains, writhing and golden in hue, descend upon each of them as if to bind them in place. A feeling like reality has fractured within each of their heads breaking the enforced silence and sending them to a realm of madness.

The world around them vanishes, in their perspective, into an oil blot stain of ever-shifting tangible darkness as strong as any barrier as he leads this mad dance, forcing them to follow him.

A tentacled limb caresses the air, and it feels like it slithers across each of their psyches. Each of them feels something snatched from their consciousness, partially sealing away their ability to heal.

The man and the Persona seem to smile in tandem, the Golden Buddha's expression fractures further, showing something resembling a smile. The man smiles and beckons. Towards a certain young man.

Towards Minato Arisato.

"Let us dance, little Wild Card. Show me if you can measure up to him."

</poem>
AS: God Penguin has readied for combat as Nyarlathotep! They are now fully healed! Ready for 17 opponents!
AS: Atk_Up added to your status!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Broad!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: Pressure: God Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Yukari Takeba!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko Sanada!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato Arisato!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko
Sanada!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato
Arisato!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
226 damage!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko Sanada!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato
Arisato!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 111
damage!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill I'll Play With You For A While on God Penguin!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's I'll Play With You For A While.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!), Crt_Up (Critical Up!), Def_Up (Block Improved!), and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
224 damage!
AS: God Penguin: Broad removed! Atk_Up added!
AS: God Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
229 damage!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
228 damage!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 112 damage!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
229 damage!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: God Penguin sets off Yukari Takeba's trigger! 500 damage!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"I don't care what he thinks," Minako says to Hitomi. "I just care what he does." She glances sideways, briefly, at Aigis. There is a moment of hesitation -- but she is glad that Aigis is here to try to stop this too. Maybe, with all of them, they can do this.

But she hesitates even as she thinks it. And then Kandori speaks to her, with that cold dismissal. An empty Fool. Her eyes narrow, before she shouts headedly: "Shut ''up''!"

He dismisses even the veterans -- until Yukari's arrow flies and he catches it out of the air. She looks over her shoulder, back at her, and then she makes a strangled half-scream as Yukari falls to the ground in a heap. She looks back at Shinjo, her eyes widening with rage.

"Yukari-chan!" she shouts. That dark miasma washes over her; then, the tentacled being with so many eyes -- a Persona, maybe, or maybe something worse. She feels its touch on her mind, and then golden chains slam into her. She gets smashed down to her knees, as Nyarlathotep's power shoots through SEES -- through their allies -- through all of them.

Her crimson eyes are less fiery, now. There is a hollow look to them. "He's... he's my brother," she manages to say, weakly.

Her voice catches, as she lifts her Evoker in a shaking hand. The barrel presses against her temple, but it trembles. "Get... get away from him..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki does not answer Ririka's question, in the moment, but it's clear that she knows this guy, all right. Maki should be more circumspect about all of this--more secretive--but Kandori is an open wound in her heart, the father she never had and her tormentor all wrapped up into one man.

And she ''looks'' wounded, the expression on her face surely the same as it would be as if he'd stabbed her instead of just walked up and spoken to all of them. She knew it would hurt, seeing him again... but she had to know. She had to see for herself.

Eriko explains to them. That hollow smile of hers tugs at Maki's heart, too. She feels inadequate to the task of supporting them for a moment--even though that other Maki is a part of her. ...Maki embraces the thought, and dismisses it to be on its way.

"You have to go," Maki agrees, and then looks to Eriko properly. "...Yes," Maki agrees with Elly. "They'll do well."

That whisper gets a nod. "I promise," Maki says. "I will."

Katsuya calls it impossible. The members of SEES assemble to protect their friend. But Maki can only wait for the answer. Why? WHY?

That 'fatherly affection' makes it worse. He asks if it means anything, and Maki insists, "It does. I believe that it does."

The kotodama...

Kandori says again and again, and Maki recoils. "What?" she asks. "...That's..."

There is something of truth in it that she cannot identify, though it too is impossible. Maki has no retort to this.

Kandori seems to know so much. An escape...

"No!" Maki cries as Yukari is brought down. But that aura comes, suffocating and horrid...

'I don't want to be alone! Someone get me out of here! It's so dark in here!'

The cries of her former self resound within Maki Sonomura.

'You and I are the same.'

A different set of words. But Maki presses herself upward, standing to her full height, such as it is, even as the eyes come and stare at them. Maki is ''bound'', but still standing; the realm of madness is all that there is. It is not Maki's first time here. Across her psyche it slithers...

"I... I won't..."

"I won't give up on them," Maki breathes, and has to stop herself hyperventilating. Once again, the fear comes; once again, she tries to embrace it, let it pass. Her fear is just a feeling itself; it is not her, but part of her.

Maki breathes in, and out. "Persona," she calls, and Taishan Niangniang reappears, a figure of white and soft light in the chaos. She sets her hands down on Maki gently. Maki opens her eyes--and for a moment-glows, blue.

"Answer me," she repeats herself. "I have to know."

"Why? Not how... but ''why''?"

Brilliant light shines down at Kandori--the light of truth. The light of knowledge.

Maki will have her answer, one way or another, and communicate what little she can to the others.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Almighty skill Full Analysis on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Maki Sonomura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Maki Sonomura's Full Analysis.
AS: Maki Sonomura's Strength Scan! God Penguin resists Light and Dark!
AS: Maki Sonomura's Weakness Scan! God Penguin is weak against Earth!
AS: Maki Sonomura's Support Scan! God Penguin has passive skills Ailment Boost, Auto-Tarukaja, Break Limit, Dark Amp,
Dark Boost, Explode Boost, Peerless Skill, and Third Eye!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Sick removed! Explosion! 117
damage!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Could it be the Bride? No, Umie, this is worse: It's the Bride's ''boss.'' She'll continue to offer her support from afar, even after Chizuru exits on a chthonic path... though it's far more a ''gesture'' than anything, with a man so powerful.

Before that, though, Chizuru, stands behind that man; the man who Masao pleads with them to flee from. Running away...?

If he notices that the Devil he doesn't know -- that peacock he's so fond of -- is trying to slink away with his delicate companion, he does not look to them; he does not ''betray'' their attempt to escape, with careful, slow movements. And at once two paths are possible, like a cat both living and dead: either Minato's completely failed to notice, or he is ''deliberately'' failing to notice.

Suzume rallies to Minato's defence -- and behind her, Junpei, who got completely ''destroyed'' in that last fight, grits out through clenched teeth: "Ugh... yeah, who you callin' a fool!? I... I'll kick your ass!!" ... but it's one thing to say that, and another thing entirely to rise up, and his anger is framed behind Suzume's protection today.

Minato, meanwhile, looks to Suzume, as she asks that man who he is. (Oh... right... that's the question you ask first, right?) She's standing in front of him... between him and...

And Akihiko brings up something else important, particularly in light of the way Ririka can't confirm the kill. "If you save the Full Moon Shadow, people will continue to slow down and die," Minato fills in, looking past his team to Kandori(?). "Does this mean the New World Order is working with Strega to keep the Dark Hour running?"

His sister is beside him.

His sister is armed.

His hand is lifting, to rest upon her shoulder.

"It's all right," he says, still calm.

"It's not time, yet... he promised me that."

Different 'he', by the by, to the one Kandori(?)'s invoking.

"That's what that man means," Minato says, "when he calls me a 'Fool.'" He has heard what Umie asked. "He's talking about the 'Wild Card'... my ability to summon multiple Personas." 'His', he says. Not 'ours'. Look carefully: he has elided his sister in the speaking.

Some part of him is still aware -- still operating to protect them.

But Mitsuru is operating to protect him, too. Even Ririka...

Hitomi is in motion, and Hyousuke is aggressive.

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? He asks, distantly, inside himself. Everyone... is forming up to protect him. But, he is...

Distantly, he is aware she will die. Perhaps it's Vesper who helps drive that home, as he steps in and underlines the way he's threatened a child. He thinks of Mitsuru, being threatened, and not himself.

Perhaps Aigis would not die. She is stronger than all of them. "If the Full Moon Shadow has been taken somewhere else..." He starts a thought, as Aigis, too, urges them to flee.

But it's too slow. It doesn't get to the finish line.

Eriko makes the implicit explicit: he is a God, or at least was, once.

"A human being who became a God... isn't something like that just a tale?" Minato wonders, and the first shred of emotion -- just a ghost of something, really -- is ''surprise.''

"What would drive someone to that...?"

He's supposed to be dead, Katsuya says. Even so, he's standing right here. Because of the 'Kotodama,' that man says. "Are Rumours that powerful?" Minato asks; he's never been a native.

Abduction... they're going to abduct him.

But it isn't time yet, so... how can that be...?

His friend in the Dark Hour isn't a liar.

The sunglasses... help him to see. "Light sensitivity..." Minato echoes, as that man speaks to him as the wolf who swallowed the rider.

"She is my sister," he says, plainly, when Kandori questions Minako's lineage.

He wonders what doom he has foretold for Mitsuru -- but this, too, is distant.

What is not distant:

Yukari is screaming.

All at once, the potential for harm concentrates into the ''exact:'' Minato's gaze focuses, his eyes widening in fear. "Don't touch her!" He cries, as he steps forward, to meet his fellows in their line. "Get away from them!"

Before he can attack, though, there is a word, and the word was with God. Reality fades into the arena, and tentacles writhe.

"All right," he says, his tone level again, as he lifts his Evoker to his head.

"I'll show you. And once you're impressed... leave us be."

If you're gonna dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight, you gotta cut a deal.

"Persona!"

Orpheus rises, and strums a tune -- daring God himself to blunt his claws.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Loses 73 HP from Poison!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Minato Arisato's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke's threat had been like the snapping jaws of a hound, snarling and barking and growling at someone that should not have been there. Someone that had threatened people he had sworn to guard, or were with those he had sworn that oath to. How appropriate it was that he recoiled like one, then, when that feeling engulfed his entire being. He wanted to fight - to protect those that had been threatened, even should it cost his body and his mind - but something repelled him. A force that sent him stepping backwards like something bigger, stronger, and more powerful had barked back at him.

He had questions. Many questions. Who the man was, what the SEBEC incident had entailed, what had caused a man to rise from the dead and ascend to godhood... But he could speak none of them. They caught in his throat like cement, clinging to him no matter how he tried to force the words past muzzled lips. Even when he did finally speak, it was only out of desperation - and it was in a tone that was more a shriek of instinct than any active attempt to put his thoughts to words.

"TAKEBA-SAN!" He called out, at once furious and scared. He worried that he'd lost an ally. She was not quite a friend, but she was an ally, and someone his shield could have protected. He was furious because someone had seen fit to take her from him. At once, the fear that had gripped his mind was burnt away, like vines in a forest fire, and Hyousuke tensed like a wolf before the hunt. "You piece of shit..." He growled. The straps of his mask shifted with the motion, and changing muscles in his jaw betrayed the bare-toothed snarl that he wore in response. "You're going to pay for that! I'm going to make you pay for that!"

But every fire could be smothered. Even the mighty blaze of his hatred could not stand against the all-consuming power levelled against him. The cold of fear gripped his mind, stabbing into him with frigid knives, carving his mind apart and quaking his body. It did nothing to soothe the burn of poison in his flesh - the searing acid that felt like it would melt him from the inside out, and leave his body sloughing from its own bleached bones. Then, another kind of pain entirely wracked his mind.

The Hierophant had torn his mind apart, but whatever stood before them was nothing like that Shadow. There was power that rent his mind asunder, throwing its tattered pieces to the wind and carving the vitality from his body like a butcher's knife had been heaved through him. Even as he rose, exhaustion plagued him. His lungs heaved to try and feed oxygen into screaming limbs, themselves heaved into a defensive stance as he called upon the might of the general. Achilles rose, struggling under the weight of that battered bronze armour, and stood to attention behind him, awaiting a command.

"What the hell is this guy?!" Hyousuke called out, though his voice was as strained as it was angered. He didn't speak to anyone in particular, though his mind went to those smarter than him that might have had an idea. Minako, Ririka, the adults - anyone that looked like they might have been able to unfurl whatever secrets the god made flesh held. "And how's he so goddamn strong?! I can barely- Ngh!" Another surge of pain cut him off, and Hyousuke almost buckled under the strain. He stood strong, and he stood tall, but how long could it really last?

He didn't care to think about it. He'd consider it when it happened. For now, there was a fight to attend to.
"Achilles!" He bellowed, staggering to the fore and sending the general to his side, shield raised high. "Protect them!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Recovery skill Invincible General on Minako Arisato, Maki Sonomura, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 65 HP from Poison! Exhaust removed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>Suzume's anger rises as Kandori keeps talking to them. They're right - if the Hierophant survives, if they drag it off somewhere so it isn't destroyed, what they're trying to do is doomed to failure, isn't it? If they want to end the Dark Hour, they have to get *all* of them.

And she recognizes the New World Order. They're the ones who must have given Strega the Evokers, she remembers; Mitsuru and her father said as much at Yakushima. So they are working together. They must be planning something -

"I'm not letting you past," she growls, trying to sound steadier than she actually is. She's terrified, but she won't let herself show it; Suzume generally handles her fear by lashing out at the source of it, and she's twitchy now. Her voice threatens to rise up to the squeak it acquires when she's startled, though she fights it down, leaving only a catch to be heard at the end of her sentence. "You're not getting him, or her, or - or any of us!" (Did 'her' mean Minako or Yukari? Or both?)

Based on what Suzume knows (not enough) and how she expects people to ask, she expected to be thrown aside with that man's attempt to get to Minato - or at least for him to try, and her to resist, because that's what she does.

What he actually does is somehow worse.

Something about Nyarlathotep creeps her out more than any Persona she's ever seen before - and any Shadow too, come to think of it. She feels the touch of a psychic tentacle and she shudders -

"Get out of our heads!"

Suzume rushes forward, channeling panic and rage together into a forward rush. At first it looks like she's not even going to summon Atalanta, but at the last moment she fires her Evoker, the lionskin-cloaked woman appearing above her with her arms spread.

A windstorm bursts up around Kandori and Nyarlathotep. Less controlled than an ordinary Garu, a whirling ball of wind rather than the cylinder a tornado should be, churning and whirling in all directions. "I'll fight you if I have to...!"

He might be a man who reached to become a God, but in this moment Suzume is going to try to swing at him anyway, reckless and risky as it is. Consequences can come later. (Consequences *will* come later.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Suzume Fukura has used the Wind skill Vortex Garu on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 25 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Vortex Garu.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He's no sooner said it than Kandori confirms it. It's a rumor. A rumor has brought a dead man back. "That's..." he utters, all but speechless in the wake of such a revelation. How far can a rumor go? What else can happen?

He doesn't have time to consider it much further. An arrow flies through the air. It is itself ultimately the start of hostilities. Kandori responds by snatching it out of the air and rendering it to so much dust.

More immediately, Katsuya takes in first the person who had shot at Kandori. Yukari?! But--

Retaliation comes swiftly. Katsuya calls out in shock as she collapses, looking almost far too pale to still be alive, "Takeba-kun!" He turns his gaze back upon Kandori. "What did you--"

His answer comes in the wash of dread and malice that congeals from the place the man stands. Of all things, he's brought back to a discussion between Jun and Akechi about the nature of the thing in which Tatsuya Sudou and his own brother seemed to acknowledge in their dealings with one another. It was a 'god', perhaps... or maybe instead, a 'devil'.

In his heart, he can feel his Persona recoil at the presence and pressure of this man. In his own way, then, Katsuya has a good idea of how this encounter is about to go. Yet, to back down now and leave that young man to him, of course he can't do that as a public servant...!

So instead, his gaze resting on the man in the dark sunglasses, Katsuya slowly exhales a breath. Then, he says simply, "Persona."

Into this calm before the storm breaks steps Katsuya's own Persona, the well-dressed feline Helios.

It feels like he's been struck. No, not physically, as that chain strikes down. It feels like it's rooted into his soul. When it wraps tighter, tighter yet it feels like something within his heal shatters into a thousand pieces. He staggers and recoils with a grunt, yet he's unwounded: for a moment, all there is for him is a mind awash in chaos, of pieces set adrift on a wild sea.

It's the impression of touch, and the revulsion that follows from it, that bring him back to himself. With a sickening realization he knows that something essential has been taken from him: even the cards he had used with his Persona won't be enough to him or anyone.

Actually, it's worse than that. It's not that it's not 'enough'. Some critical part has been prized away that make it so it won't do anything at ''all''.

"This... this is..." he says, shaking his head as he rallies from such an assault on his soul and senses. His attention shoots over at Minato. "Young man!" he calls out, and perhaps someday he'll learn that this is the person that taught Yoko the secret of cat-luring, "Run, if you must! We'll protect her!" Meaning Yukari, of course. "As an officer of the law-- I promise you that I will protect both of you!"

This is bad. This is all very bad. But it's far too late for him to run.

He's kept his firearm pointed at the ground until now, this point where he makes his own intentions clear. At last, he snaps it upwards, directing it straight at Kandori as he pulls the trigger twice. Dropping back a step on the recoil, he directs the barrel of his gun towards the darkened skies above, watching, waiting. If he can keep him distracted, maybe... there's still a chance.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Handgun - Suppression Fire on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Katsuya Suou takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Loses 71 HP from Poison! Fast Heal! Poison removed!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 21 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Suppression Fire.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 10 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Suppression Fire. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Standing enfilade to Hitomi's defilade, Aigis has no audible response to Shinjo's retort. 'You act as if the threat of 'trouble' from you would be any deterrent.' She remains quiet, staring at him warily with her shining blue eyes as energy thrums through her circuitry.

Trouble, yes, but a threat? No, she's fully aware of just how outmatched they are. Trouble can come in other forms. She starts to formulate a plan --

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gRR8JePfwk Jane Remover - Experimental Skin)

-- and it goes entirely out the window as her sensory input feeds are overwhelmed with garbage, nonsensical data. She grits her teeth in pain as she tries to adjust and recalibrate to these new sights and sounds to the best of her ability. (Her 'best' won't ever, ever be good enough.)

While she's glad on some level that Minato is still well enough to try and impress Shinjo, cold fury drips from her voice in stark contrast to her normally measured tone. "I said. To run. Please do so at the earliest available opportunity."

Between the two of the Arisato twins, Minako appears to be struggling more ... but Shinjo had his eye on Minato from the onset. Here, Aigis makes her stand and plants herself firmly in front of the brother. Even if she's just a speed bump in the face of something incomprehensible, unfathomable, and impossibly larger than herself, she must try. "Commencing defensive maneuvers."

</poem>
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Recovery skill At All Costs on Minato Arisato!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Aigis: Loses 74 HP from Poison!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
''...Kei told you some of it, didn't he?''

Mitsuru Kirijo's gaze never leaves Takahisa Kandori's covered stare burning frigid holes into her soul. Dark reds narrow. Her hand on her Evoker-holster tightens.

"... He told me enough," she answers. "Of a pathetic and short-sighted man, undone by his own slavering, aimless greed."

Should she really be taunting a man who penetrated her defenses without a thought? Who Kei - and the others - described as achieving very literal godhood?

"But it seems you don't deserve death's relief from your own failings."

No; probably not.

But she needs that horrid attention still affixed firmly on ''her'' right now, for as ''long'' as she can.

Eriko mentions that this foe is beyond any of them; she invokes the name 'Crawling Chaos' and that, in turn, inspires a brief furrow of Mitsuru's brow. It's a thoughtful expression that endures, as Kandori continues on.

"..."

The things he says - the implications behind them - Mitsuru Kirijo is too cursed with a sharp and inquisitive mind ''not'' to pick up on the mysterious subtext that laces through every sinister syllable. That the ''exact meaning'' escapes her only serves to vex her further; they're words that she will be chewing over for months to come, presuming she survives that long to.

But in the immediate sense? The only words that matter are these:

''Even an Empty Fool such as yourself knows better than that.'' The way he mocks Minako with that infuriatingly hidden knowledge - one of the very people Mitsuru swore to protect...

''By all means, try to take my hand. Try to protect this young Fool... it will be a sight to see,''

''dashing yourself against the Wheel of Fortune''

''that has already decreed the doom of the one you truly desire to protect.''

... and the way he cuts straight down to the very heart of her.

Mitsuru's eyes widen, livid.

"You're wrong--"

She hears her seconds before her arrow looses, and, wide-eyed, Mitsuru snaps towards Yukari in alarm.

"Takeba! No! This isn't--"

Too late. Blackness surrounds Yukari like a cackling skull. She falls to the ground almost lifeless and limp, and Mitsuru does not even hear the words that Kandori mutters after.

She lunges. The flourish of her rapier shines sickly green in the mockery of the moonlight.

''Nyarlathotep.''

Too late. Always too late.

What came for Yukari comes for all of them. It's a credit to Mitsuru's sense of pride that she manages to choke back a sound of agony as golden chains grip her -- and blotting, oily blackness ''rips'' through her, even as it leaves a slick, clinging feeling in its wake like it was clogging the pores of her soul. Mitsuru is on her knees in the aftermath; she isn't even sure how it happened, when her rapier fell to the ground, when her hands slapped still-cold pavement, but she's already heaving labored breaths, already feeling the pain in her soul radiate outward to every single muscle in her body.

Eriko is right. This enemy is beyond them. Any of them. They don't stand a chance. So why--

"Aigis -- Akihiko--" she calls out over their Navigators' lines of communication. To her family's last line of defense against the Shadows. To one of her only friends. "I... need you... to help me. To get his attention. Whatever it takes."

The ones she trusts to keep the others safe, who never asked for this.

"The second the opportunity arises -- the rest of you need to take Takeba and retreat. This is not a request."

Who never should have had any of this thrust on them.

"This is an order."

She rises, unsteadily. Her eyes track... and then fall on one person in particular. She takes one small, stumbling step forward, before she forces herself into a swift and unfaltering stride. And...

... when Hitomi Mandai looks up, she'll find a gloved hand reaching out for her, offering to take her hand.

"Mandai..." Mitsuru pauses. She hesitates. And, bringing Hitomi up onto her feet, she keeps the following words just for the two of them:

"... The second you see an opening, I need you to take the Arisatos and run as far as you can from this place. Do you understand? They'll try to stay here. We can't let the enemy take them. ... I..."

She hesitates, uncertainty briefly flashing in her features. There's so many things she would ''like'' to say right now. So many things she thinks she should. But instead, all she can think to say is...

"... I need you to do this for me. Please."

And with that? Mitsuru Kirijo's eyes are narrowed and sharper than steel as she draws in a breath.

And then she ''surges'' forward, rapier drawn backwards before ''thrusting''--

--straight for that beckoning hand.

It is far from the most effective tool she could use in terms of damage. But she knows nothing she can do will last. This -- this commands attention. After all.

She swore she'd take that hand.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Pierce skill Full Pike Thrust on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 68 HP from Poison!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 33 Pierce damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Full Pike Thrust.

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
"Mr Suou!" Eriko is surprised to see Katsuya approaching, but Aoba is as much his turf as hers. And an extra ally is always useful- at least, that's what she'd normally think. But right now, with Katsuya's interest in the SEBEC Incident, he may just be exposing himself to more danger.

Minato asks what would drive a man to such a thing, and Eriko frowns. "...Belief in your own superiority," she says, flatly. "And all it does is leave a man empty, doesn't it Mr Kandori?"

Kandori's smile is not one she's happy to receive- and then he says something that gives Eriko a chill. There it is, the hopelessness in his voice, the same emptiness they heard in Kandori's divine kingdom those three years ago. "...Only the second...?"

And there it is again, the sense of loss, of fear... of Deja Vu.

"What can you want with that Shadow?" Eriko in Kandori's refusal to yield the shadow. "Surely... you aren't planning on doing more with that system...?" Eriko's concern for Maki only grows, fear ratcheting up.Still, Kandori yields even more information-

It appears, now, Kandori is on a first name basis with them, if not a friendly one, even as Kandori gives them terms, terms Eriko would want to find out more of. But she grits her teeth, grimly. "...You're awfully well informed for a dead man, Kandori-san." The switch to returning Kandori's Japanese honorifics is small, but not meaningless.

Kandori's words to Mitsuru too give her cause for concern. He's taunting them. All of them- and he dictates there's no escape. She feared as much.

And then someone declares her intent to stop them- "Yukari, don't!" Eriko yells- but it's too late, and Yukari falls. This was exactly what Eriko wanted to stop. She breaks formation. She has to check that the girl is still alive. Kandori could kill her as easy as that, even if she knows the S.E.E.S. members will be checking on her too. Eriko should have warned her more, made sure she knew the threat. As unusual as the circumstances that led to their meeting was, Eriko was eager to see her grow- to see her first steps into modeling, as well as her growth as a persona user.

It's then that God emerges to face them, and Eriko's breath freezes. She remembers.

She remembers the way Kandori's hand driven through Aki's chest, even though Kandori was unaware he was doing. Aki, a child for all her sudden growth, asking her 'Papa' why. The horror on Kandori's face as he realized what he had done to his 'daughter'. The horror they all felt. And now...

"Wh-what... Kandori, what are you doing!? You can't... why would ''you'' ever take on that form willingly?! You... ''you'' can't have forgotten!"

But the Crawling Chaos, it appears, is leaving Kandori lucid again- and she experiences it again. Back then, she had a different Persona. It wasn't Nike- and for all Nike can resist powers like this, she was never meant to face a power like Kandori. Silence, fear, charm and poison.... they all form up on her at once- and knowing the power Nyarlethotep can wield-

...they're going to die. After everything they went to, they're going to die. She's never going to see...

''Let us dance, little Wild Card. Show me if you can measure up to him.''

Eriko falls silent.

"...that's why you want this kid? Because you can't find Him...?" Something cold sears through Eriko all at once. "...after everything you, Aki, and Kazuya put him through, you're still not done?"

Perhaps, for a moment, the veiled figure can sense a similar feeling to her own.

"..You can't have the Wild Card. Not in his own right, and certainly not as a replacement for our leader." She raises her blade again, glaring straight at Kandori's face atop the god before them. "I won't let you near this young man as long as I draw breath." She raises her blade- now is not the time to hold back, or build momentum. Now is the time to survive.

"''O Powerful Victory, by men desir'd, with adverse breasts to dreadful fury fir'd, thee I invoke, whose might alone can quell contending rage and molestation fell: 'tis thine in battle to confer the crown, the victors prize, the mark of sweet renown: for thou rul'st all things, Victory divine! And glorious strife, and joyful shouts are thine! Come, mighty Goddess, and thy suppliant bless, with sparkling eye , elated with success; may deeds illustrious thy protection claim, and find, led on by thee immortal flame!'' Nike, Victory Blessing!"

With a slash of her sword, winds fly outward from Eriko as Nike manifests in the air, the steel angel of victory- and through the winds her blesing is carried- to Masao, to Maki, to Katsuya and to Eriko herself.

"These kids are under our protection, Kandori-san- and through us, Philemon's protection too. I will die before I see one more of them fall."

Now, she looks to her friends and allies- Mark and Maki foremost. "We're protecting all of them. That's what our leader would choose." Her eyes swiftly look to Minako and Mitsuru. "Especially those who think it's their turn to fall."

And she has to hope that they would, even as her hopes reach to her friends- those in Sumaru and beyond.

Even if they aren't here, maybe she can still call on those bonds they had once.

Especially when Maki relays one crucial piece of information. A weakness to Earth...?

"...that wasn't how it was before." She says, the realization coming to mind. She knows they can't win- but maybe they can find a way to get a reprieve?
</poem>

AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Almighty skill Victory Blessing on Masao Inaba, Maki Sonomura, Katsuya Suou,
and Eriko Kirishima!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Eriko Kirishima takes 90 damage!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
There was once a wonderful moment where Pernelle was getting hugs from Yanagi, and why should he mind if she mussed any of his feathers with such a gesture. This is its own form of beauty, like the worn velveteen of a plush rabbit! When he is set down, he tippy taps with his claws in a happy dance.

But the time for tippy taps has ''ended!'' ... Temporarily. A minor tippy tap set back, replaced by spiritual scuttling.

Yanagi, mercifully, agrees to flee the party.

"We were fashionably late at the previous affair. A mysterious early exit behooves us." He nods to her, once and firm. "Slowly," he says, the word itself slow. Would be a shame to vibrate the air too much and startle the predator's hunt.

For Pernelle is a predator, but a peacock can also be prey.

He glances back to SEES and the Arisato twins in particular, but he will simply have to stand by what he said: resolute hearts, brimming with passion to protect each other. A wondrous thing of beauty he is just going to have to hear about ''another time''.

Because yes, Pernelle IS under the impression there is an escape. And he is quite content to let everyone else receive ominous replies until --

Heartbeat within heartbeats, and dread tightens like a noose. If Pernelle squawked, no one would hear it in the shroud of silence. But Pernelle does not squawk in that terrifying realm: he calls out for -- well, it doesn't matter, does it?

No one can hear him.

His little peacock chest heaves rapidly with panicked breathing, and his eyes open, unblinking. The impression that there is escape has just left the building, if the building were a peacock. In this metaphor, it is. Other thoughts are leaving that iridescent building as well. Mediarama is one of them, snatched by a tentacle.

"Aa," he says, rather than screams, every feather ruffled out of place as he finally regains the ability to blink.

"Aaaa," he says again.

"AaaaaAAAAAAAAAA!" he finally cries, his train feathers rustling as they fold open and raise like a shield between Yanagi and Kandori. He raises a clawed foot and ''stamps'' it to the ground, all three feet and ten pounds of him mustering every inch of bravado that such a body could provide.

It's force enough that his tinted glasses fall off, dangling instead by their chain.

"Be. Gone!" he demands with more than words, threatening with his own Persona's aura should he be denied.

... Provided it is not all devoured by the abyss before him.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Almighty skill Precious Peacock on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Pernelle takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Pernelle gains 1 Limit!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 69 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko turns as Eriko starts warning them away and... (Wait, is that ''The'' Kirishima Eriko??? Even Akihiko knows who ''that'' is!) "Do you just want us give up?! Run away, Kirishima-san?!" He can't accept it. "There's more of us right here! We can do this!" Is that blind faith? Or brute force?

Yukari goes down and Akihiko pales. "Yukari!" He yells in a panic, forgetting the honourific.

Then, the dark aura descends. His voice is gone for a moment. The tentacle being descends.

Akihiko Sanada remembers what Fear is. This isn't a test of strength. This isn't improvement. It might just be life or death, for everyone. Right now.

There's only one choice. Akihiko tears his Evoker from his holster, and points it to his temple. His whole body shudders with heavy breathes. He hasn't hesitated like this since he was 14 at least. He grips his handle tight. "You won't hurt any more of my friends!" He yells, like he's a child again, and he pulls the trigger. Polydeuces manifests and launches a Skull Cracker.

Thankfully, the brief feeling of strength that fills Akihiko brings him back. He's okay, it'll be okay. "You got it, Mitsuru."

Really... It's easier said than done. There's so many damn eyes. But it just needs to a moment. One second.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Strike skill Skull Cracker on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Akihiko Sanada takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada: Loses 68 HP from Poison!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Eriko, however, has more to say about this man-including his last known state, and his capabilities. "Are you kidding me!?" Somehow, she knows Eriko isn't. His Resonance doesn't feel like anything she's felt before.

But she also says to stick together. "That's what I'm here for," she says, and she makes sure she has everyone linked up with the Navigator Link--though she might need an assist from those capable of doing so.

The next words she hears from Shinjo--or Kandori--feel like a blow to the gut. The grieving sister, and with no identity to call her own. "I--" she gapes out.

''Don't listen to him, he's just being an asshole.''

But it still hurts.

"I... I... I'm sick of everyone thinking they know my business!" But the bravado is only a shield.

Yukari strikes, and then falls. "Yukari!" She's worried for her teammate--well, no, she's worried for all of them, in the moment. He's speaking of her Father, of Mitsuru's family almost destroying the world. Who ''is'' this guy??

But a dark aura descends, followed by the emergenc of a presence Ririka, unfrotuantely, has too much familiarity with thanks to her senses. When Nyarlathotep emerges, she clutches at her head as that slimey presence intrudes, like something crawling into her ear. "Ahh--!" Her knees buckle and she drops to the ground, as chains and eyes come forth and something is ''taken'' from them.

"Fuck!" Sorry, Hitomi, this is definitely swearing time. Even if the unnatural silence means she can only say it to herself. But when she can pull her thoughts together and find her voice again, she shouts, "This is like the shit the Joker Killer's Persona was made of! It was at that Sanitarium, too!" Maybe that can be a partial answer to Hyousuke's question, but Ririka doesn't ahve the full picture to offer, yet.

But she can't miss the order from Mitsuru, who tells them to run, when they get the chance, especially since she's helping relay the message. Ririka grits her teeth, body shaking as she forces herself to her stand up again. "... If we're not abandoning Arisato-kun, why would we abandon you, senpai!?"

And yet, she is trying to look for an opening to escape, now reaching out to their other Navigator to try and find a path, any path, that might let them flee this place.

She tightens her grip on her Evoker and raises it to her head. "AMPHION!" Blue fire and glass swirl behind her as Amphion surges up from the earth anew, and Ririka reaches out to sweep her hand over her keyboard. "Until we can escape... I'll do my best to support everyone! Amphion! Let's bolster everyoe's spirits!"

Amphion and Ririka both begin to play a fast-spaced tune in tandem, something energetic and pumping. Amphion's magic goes out and settles on Minato, Mitsuru, Ririka, and Suzume, working to rebuild that missing piece Nyarlathotep stole, and to provide more power besides. Meanwhile, Ririka is searching for an opening to escape.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Mitsuru Kirijo, Minato Arisato, Ririka Kawase,
and Suzume Fukura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi stares at the man, if man he is, with two lenses between them. In that moment, despite the horrors, she has enough confidence to actually smile, though it is a false smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

This feels strange.

And then! It's Yukari who takes the first shot! Hitomi's head turns towards her with a widened surprise. Unexpected! But doesn't it make sense? she reasons, before looking back and seeing... crushed arrow - The smile, though false, falters for a moment.

Well, it's an arrow, and whoever this is, he isn't normal. Hitomi reasons: Aigis could probably catch an arrow if she knew it was coming, so this doesn't mean...

Doesn't... mean...

The man, Kandori, Shinjo, whatever his name truly is, dismisses his attendant, the woman who caught the Full Moon Shadow like it was a wandering fighting monster. He looks back to them. And something...

shifts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNcxtWEfPXE

Hitomi Mandai's glasses reflect the rise of the defiled Buddha and the introduction of a corrosive dharma. Her mouth is slack. She fell down, back, falling onto her abundant backside in response. She's making a noise in the back of her throat that's something like 'uuu', a steady plaintive whine. She's staring at the thing as golden chains lash down upon them, binding, restraining. The air slithers, something passes, and --

oh!
so that's what was behind his glasses!!

Hitomi shudders in place, even as the Buddha turns to give a teaching to Minato Arisato *in particular*. Her slack mouth keeps letting out that 'uuuuu' sound.

Uh oh.

Her eyes saccade wildly, focusing finally on the ground to the side for a moment.

This is really bad.

In so far as she can put a finger on the sensation, it is as if she had been in the bridge of a great starship, the JSSDF Hitomi Mandai, sailing through the often-surreal but ultimately manageable seas of an ordinary life that has crested into the extraordinary quite recently. And then, all of a sudden, she was astride a jet ski, just like that one time at that hotel in Lake Suzui!

That's probably bad too.
Come on.
Come ooon, me, you can do this.

That ululation stops, and her mouth closes. She swallows. She moves her right hand to rest on the ground. She's still shaking but she can look in that direction. Her glasses aren't in the way so the Shape is -- is still horrible, but the surprise is over. You can do this, she tells herself. She pushes herself to something nearer to a hunched seated position. She can see IT now.

For a moment she freezes again -- a golden light streaks down, though, shining revoluation. A true dharma even in this depth of corruption. Ah, it was that other adult, thinks that part of Hitomi, clasping hard on the metaphorical jet-ski's throttle. Maybe this is what she saw before. Which means *she* survived, which means survival *is* possible.

Hitomi tries to lurch upright but her body betrays her. The shaking tremble of panic is still there. She makes herself breathe through clenched teeth, swallowing a mouth of saliva. She narrows her eyes. Come on, she thinks, bringing her hands up. Fight sitting down if you have to but one more --

A hand takes hers. Hitomi's head turns to look at the person who did it. For a moment she is in a simple state of total calm. The tremble in her hand stops. She rises upwards, now that that obstacle has been banished. It's probably going to come back in a second. She looks at Mitsuru Kirijo. Her eyes widen. It's an innocent look. If it wasn't for the context, it would be the face of someone who received unexpected good news.

Hitomi begins marshalling a response but even as she's doing it, her mouth closes and she nods to Mitsuru: "I will," she says creakily, and then Mitsuru's lunging in, and the emptied hand curls into a loose fist. Her head rocks forwards.

Ahh.
Is this the opposite?
How absurd.

Then it rocks back and forth. Her eyes track Minako, who is struggling, and Minato seems calm enough to call out his Persona. Hitomi exhales, ending on a ragged little giggle. Her right hand comes up, and it's still shaking, enough she has to do whatever that little card-force she does to draw upon Tyche twice before it quite 'takes'.

The marble statue seems rotten and decayed in the horrid light of the defiled Buddha, but it is intact. Tyche seems imperturbed, although she is in a different posture now. Her hands are held as if to encompass something, perhaps a gift or a box? But there's nothing between her hands. Nothing at all.

What emanates is something hard to see. It looks like a burst of auroral light, perhaps? It is a curse of ill fortune, for even if this corrupt thing dwells from Outside, still it must come into this realm, and blind chance is something beyond realm or world: the same thing that controls the flip of a coin or the decay of an atom can plague the plans of gods and men alike.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Almighty skill Submission on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Tippy taps of love! <3 There will be time for more later. Now is the time for a slow retreat--but also to listen.

Eriko adds a lot more context on just who Kandori is, and what that means for everyone else, including and especially their 'seniors.' Yanagi purses her lips. A God who came back from death after losing half his body thanks to the power of Kotodama... That much is chilling enough, particularly with the ''way'' Eriko conveys it, but it all means a very different thing for her. He indicated no particular interest in Yanagi herself, but she knows agonizingly well what Minato will go through if Kandori ''does'' take him away.

An 'Empty Fool'? Yanagi tilts her head at that. Unlike Eriko, she hadn't initially thought it strange that Kandori seems to want Minato but not Minako; the twin Narcissi earlier made it clear that they aren't the same, so it must be that there's something about Minato specifically that he wants. But what does he mean by an 'Empty Fool'? And the implication that the Arisato siblings are not siblings at all...

Is there any truth to that, or is Kandori psychologically tormenting them, as so many agents of the NWO love to do?

Minato explains something else important, that Akihiko only implied: the Full Moon Shadows need to die in order to dispel the Dark Hour. That Strega is working to keep them alive and protect it. That's very good information to know, and Yanagi will share it with her dearest friends later.

Right now, an arrow flies towards Kandori's chest; the one who shot it, Yukari, is cut down with a Mudo. The veiled woman is sent away--Kandori seems to think he alone is enough, and Yanagi believes him, because Eriko, Masao, and Maki all believe him, and they would clearly know.

There is no escape. At one point, Yanagi would have believed that. Now...

Now, it doesn't really matter what she believes. The sheer psychic pressure of this man and his tentacled Buddha Persona, is like suddenly finding herself in the abyss of the sea. When Nyarlathotep sends forth his tentacles and golden chains, it's crushing, as if it might squeeze the breath out of her just to exist in his presence. She yelps, high and watery, with a frightened agony, and claps her hands to her eyes, dropping her cane at the same time, as if blinding herself might do anything to stop this nightmare. It really only serves to make her crumble to her knees.

At that moment, Maki rallies and calls forth her Persona to shine the light of knowledge on this dark man and expose the truth of him--to ask not how, but ''why''. Yanagi can sense this light even without eyes, and slowly, she pulls her delicate fingers away. Before her, Pernelle screams his own screams and flares his train like a marveling blinking fan to curtain her from Kandori and stand up for both of them. This breaks that moment of terror, and Yanagi sucks in a ragged breath or two--in, out, in, out--and, grasping her cane where she'd dropped it, wobbles back up to her feet with its help.

"Giselle," she intones, before whipping her gun-cane up to shoot down an ephemeral blue butterfly fluttering by. (You love to see it, don't you, Nyarlathotep?)

Above her, the ghostly image of Giselle pirouettes into existence. Paper-like spirits surround her too, but unlike the veiled woman's shikigami, they look more like little origami angels. As Yanagi sets her cane down and sings a pure note into the air, some of those little Wilis carry her song forward to Maki and Eriko while others dance around Pernelle and Yanagi herself. It can't completely counteract the horror that is the Crawling Chaos, but it will at least mend some of the damage done to their souls and bolster them a bit too.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Yanagi Nagisa, Pernelle, Maki Sonomura, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yanagi Nagisa takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 69 HP from Poison!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao is glad that Eriko can put further context eloquently in a time where he has to be clear at just how bad this is by skipping straight to the action in question - they got to go.

'You're under the impression there is any escape, from what is coming.'

"Ah shit," is what he can say as one already suffers the consequences of attempted defiance against the resurrected Kandori, because what else can you do when someone's on the ground. Especially as that Resonance surges, and his heart pounds in his chest. Something of far grander, greater scope than when they stood against the Joker Killer himself.

He grips the axe, and raises it as Nyarlathotep appears, matching far too many blue eyes with the only two eyes he has--

The chains grip, hold, and yank him psychologically from sense and reason. The continued frustration and challenges that come with living the life he's chosen for himself - an artist. A life that has taken some very interesting, even fateful, detours. A few more petty lost bets. A more concerned family that would be happy if he'd just take up the life they'd already set up for him. Being behind some levels.

"Come on," he says aloud, his axe feeling heavier. Maki asks everything he can't say with eloquence in the moment - why? Not how... but why?

The way Eriko remains exasperated on ''why'' he would invoke that form...

Masao fights through those chains as best he can muster, trying to power straight ahead - put himself up front, in center, in that incredibly narrow span of reach he can operate in.

"You think you can just... ask for a re-do on all that's happened?" He asks, as he finds that youthful aggression that defined him throughout that ordeal. Sucking in breath as Eriko finds her momentum and resolve, he knows what he's got to do here after Maki gets her read.

"If there's no escape, then... we're just gonna have to clear the way," in whatever direction that 'way' goes, hoisting the axe over his shoulder as the Victory Blessing is imparted. "Ogun!"

Once more, the blue column rises around Masao as he fights through the psychological and spiritual chains, even as it enervates him further to dare raise it to that Persona and the one who was wielded and overtaken by it.

The familiar form of Ogun, that spear-wielding warrior, touches down in front of Masao - just shy of overlaying - a thrusting motion with the man's axe which gives more to the actual spear of the Persona themselves.

...He knows Yanagi there, in that fancy way she's looking, is going to want to know just how deep into it he was if he's standing alongside Maki and Eriko, those so directly involved as to call the returned monster of a man's name aloud.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Masao Inaba has used the Pierce skill Dual Thrust on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Masao Inaba takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Masao Inaba takes 90 damage!
AS: Masao Inaba: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Pernelle's Precious Peacock.
AS: Bomb (Attacker takes damage on damaging attacks!) and Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 39 Strike damage from Akihiko Sanada's Skull Cracker.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 110 damage!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Hitomi Mandai's Submission.
AS: Crt_Up removed!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 37 Pierce damage from Masao Inaba's Dual Thrust.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 29 Pierce damage from Masao Inaba's Dual Thrust. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem>
"... Kotodama...?" Vesper and Katsuya arrive, drawing Umie's brief attention, as well as a flash of panic. "Guys, this is--!!"

Wasn't it for a moment like this that Umie shared what she did with Vesper, that one fine Dark Hour? So she could look at him and communicate just how dire this situation is.

It really was all for naught, because Yukari collapsing to the ground conveys it so much better, all without even betraying there's the barest connection at all. After all, what is Umie Akabane, in this situation? She's just another piece on the chess board, at this point, unwilling to let go of her self-importance, or the idea that she has the ability to change anything anything at all.

This is the power of Nyarlathotep.
This is the thing that knocked on the doors of reality, that itched and wormed through every thread of her life, only a heartbeat away.
She could have mistaken it for something personal, but it isn't.
She's nothing special at all. Anyone could tell a lie, or open a door-- especially a child.

Oh yes, Umie Akabane should think, like the little genius she is. She could break that resistance against Dark, but will it be worth it, if the next round she'll just succumb? Maybe it'd be better to just let things happen. What the hell could she do? She barely knows anything, hiding away in her little protective bubble. She didn't even know what a Wild Card meant, in this context, just that Minato and Minako possessed that ability, much like some others she has seen before.

All Umie knows is that the thing that slithers through her mind is more familiar than it has any right to be, while remaining alien to the point that it hurts all the same.

Isn't it strange, how Minato didn't mention his sister, like he was trying to protect her, at the same time Minako was trying to protect him.
She hears Maki's plea. She hears Eriko declaring SEES under their protection. Masao, resolving to do everything over again, and face the same God.

Isn't it strange, how her heart is beating? Like hearing about a weird little postcard proclaiming the end of a coach who later confessed his crimes.
Like it's worth it, to breach that bubble.

Isn't it strange, how she thinks of Shiryuu's lonely gaze, as he placed his trust in her to do one simple thing: 'Don't die.'

After all, she's doing something that would be the exact opposite, if she wanted that to be the outcome.

The one who is too late to be an April Fool, an oracle that tells the past and muddies the waters of the future, croaks back. "... You can't hide in the dark anymore."

"Badb."

As her jacket bellows in the spiritual updraft of her regained, if temporary resolve, Umie makes her stand. It's a small, minute step, but its intention paves the way.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Dark Break on God Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 65 HP from Poison!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's At All Costs.
AS: Full_Cover applied!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Dark Break.
AS: Dark_Break (Dark Affinity Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Soon after Vesper speaks, Eriko lays out exactly who this man Kandori is. It doesn't seem to faze the gentleman in the white mask, but few things visibly do. Which only means that he'd be a tough poker opponent. It doesn't at all mean that he isn't experiencing a sinking feeling right about now. There's no reason to assume someone would lie about the threat before them, so... up against the power of a God, then? Fine time to learn about that, moments after having already stuck out his neck.

Not that it ultimately changes anything, other than an adjustment of expectations. He has his principles, after all. Closing his eyes to threats of abduction was never an option. He'll just have to do however much he can manage, in whatever form that might end up taking.

If only this were merely a war of words. He absolutely know what his answer is, in response to the assertion that children have no choice but to be under constant threat.

"And to be an adult is to uphold the protective structure that children depend on to guard against such threats."

Somehow he doubts that this man would agree with him on that being the case. Or even count himself among them. To not just fail to deny claims of godhood but actually affirm them proves that much.

Unfortunately, bluster is not all it is. Before he can even think to react, Yukari has already collapsed. Once he has thought to react, the reaction fails to manifest. What is this overwhelming, dreadful feeling...?

Before he full well realizes it, Vesper is forced to his knees by a force physical and mental, the latter of which far more debilitating still. A bizarre mix of fear and allure fighting over his psyche, urging him to run in all directions at once, and in doing so, robbing him of all ability to move. And among it all, that name, Nyarlathotep, echoing and re-echoing as if taking pride of its handiwork. Until...

"...I... refuse... to listen... to you!"

It takes a herculean effort to force himself to stand up straight, let alone regain a modicum of focus to take stock of the situation. But straighten himself he does, and straighten his tie afterwards. Though somewhat strained, the calm in his voice does remain, in addressing the god in sunglasses.

"...And what does it mean to be a god to you, Kandori-san? Does it mean to define the very forces beyond one's control that constitute the threats that children face? If so... you are a most petty god indeed."

Indeed, there may not be much that be done to stand up to this directly. But that doesn't mean he can't take a stand. And the way he does is directly inferred by one Umie Akabane. She did indeed mention the name Nyarlathotep to him before. He has to assume that she would have more of an idea of what to do here than most. If her words, 'you can't hide in the dark anymore', mean what he thinks they mean, then... he'll take whatever opening he can get.

"Raffles!"

In a blaze of blue, Vesper's Persona takes shape, the mass of dark tendrils that make up its right arm slamming into the ground. From beneath Kandori, similar tendrils erupt, intent on direct restraint. If there is any chance to delay further response for even the shortest of moments...!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Blackroot Curse on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Julian Marlowe takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Julian Marlowe: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
For a moment, Minato's hand was on Minako's shoulder. For a moment, it felt as if everything might be all right. But then golden chains threw her backward -- pulling them apart -- and the promise 'he' made feels like a distant thing, now. Her eyes are wide, as he summons Orpheus.

It's like she is pulled back into the dark once more; like she is watching herself watch this. Watching Suzume rush to defend her brother, while she hasn't gotten to her feet yet. Watching Aigis stand before him, a shield between him and this thing. Watching Mitsuru order Hitomi to get them away, while she rushes in, in the place of the twins.

There are so many others -- those adults who knew who Kandori is. Hyousuke, promising to protect them. A peacock and his companion, even if out of necessity from a foiled escape. (Wait, what?) Vesper, questioning what sort of god Kandori would be.

Umie making her desperate stand.

Minako sees them all from a distance, like she isn't really here. Hitomi's eyes are on her, seeing her struggle. She feels too weighed down to move. Her hand trembles, the Evoker shaking in her hand as she does.

Empty.

Empty...

...Empty.

But she is here. This is happening. And if she doesn't do something, she might lose her brother. And this world... this world isn't one that she wants without him.

Minako pulls the Evoker's trigger. In the last moment, her hand steadies. The trigger squeezes back and there is a ''crack'' of a gunshot, and a burst of blue light and glass that showers out from the side of her head. She sways left, then right. Her eyes, once closed, open.

And they shone red.

Light surges up behind her. For a moment, it seems as though it might be the familiar form of Linos; there is a glint of gold, a hint of red. But then the light and shadow merge together, a veritable whirlwind behind Minako. She stands up, fist trembling around her naginata -- the pole ''slams'' into the ground as she pushes herself to her feet.

"PERSONA!" she shouts.

The light behind her shatters. Revealed is a masculine form, clad in a red and black coat with shiny gold buttons up each breast. A spiked, golden mask -- with an open mouth -- covers the whole of its head, giving the outline of a skull. Golden chains connect a harness around its body, and there are six coffin lids -- white, with relief sculptures of the interred on them -- with black edging. Those six coffin lids flare out like wings.

It is the inverse of the Persona that Minato summoned. Like Linos and Orpheus, and yet different. The sister of that mysterious, but terrible Persona0 rears her head back and ''SCREECHES''.

The name comes to Minako's lips, unbidden; something she knows, instinctively. "Mors!" She stares at Kandori, embers of red light smoking away from her eyes as they lose their glow.

Mors rushes forward, with another screech. The coffins clatter as they rotate around her -- and then her hand goes to the sheathed blade at her side. She flies up -- before the full moon -- and the six coffin-lids form a ring that eclipse much of that moon. Mors draws the blade -- a long, midnight katana -- and ''SLASHES'' downward.

An explosion of force, making the very air ripple, shoots down as a narrow shockwave -- that drives down for Kandori and Nyarlathotep both. When they hit the ground, dirt and debris explode high into the air.

"I said," Minako shouts, then screams, "''YOU CAN'T HAVE MY BROTHER''!"

</poem>
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Slash skill Getsu-ei on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minako Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Minako Arisato: Loses 66 HP from Poison!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Minako Arisato has readied for combat as Mors! She is now fully healed!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 41 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse.
AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 48 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 107 Slash damage from Minako Arisato's Getsu-ei.

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
His expression is patronizing, even in it's ambivalence, at Minako's assurance that he is her brother. "Denial it is. It matters little, what you refuse to acknowledge."

'What would drive someone to that...?' Minato asks. '...Belief in your own superiority,' Eriko answers him. 'And all it does is leave a man empty, doesn't it Mr Kandori?'

That one he doesn't answer from Eriko, like it stung in his current state, instead answering Minato more simply.

"Ambition. Desire. You feel it all around you don't you? 'This Side' has become distorted, twisted by it."

In the chaotic realm of mad darkness, Maki demands an answer. 'Why? Not how... but ''why''?' "Because three years ago, all of you challenged me to understand there was meaning to life- in living."

Minato accepts his challenge, and he actually chuckles, as Orpheus strips the 'Big Bad Wolf' of his sharpened claws. He hardly seems concerned by it. "You'll never be left alone. Yours is a destiny of battle... young Fool."

The disgusting cracked Tentacled Buddha looks at him, it's mouth moving. Within his head he hears nonsensical whispers of something beyond the veil. And he knows that even the very name of Minato Arisato is being cursed.

It's only then that he turns to Eriko again, as she challenges him, so long as she draws breath, "Your words offer the cruel sting of nostalgia. ... So long as you draw breath?" That glowing effigy descends again, that impression of a laughing skull, as if to do just that, steal her breath with smothering darkness that blots out the threads of life. "So be it, 'Goddess of Victory'."

A windstorm from Suzume's Atalanta erupts from Nyarlathotep and Kandori, and what's eerie about the moment is he doesn't even try to move. The terrible wind merely causes his clothing to shift in the breeze, as he casually walks out of the spell, while it's still in progress.

"You have no choice."

The Golden Buddha headed horror raises its tentacles again, and there is a chill in the air, not from any cold. But from a plunge into the depths of darkness. The conceptual end of stars happens as lights twinkle within, then it goes blacker still, into the horror of a universe with nothing else but yourself, lacking bonds, in a liminal state between life and death. A state he thrusts Suzume, Aigis, Maki, Umie and Hyousuke into for two very long, seconds.

Gunfire. Two shots from Katsuya. Two bullets he'll have to account for, if everything in Sumaru City were by the book. One shot vanishes right before it can hit him. No spent casing, nothing. It is as if the bullet ceased to exist. His Persona does not move to protect him. The other- it strikes the man's raised palm. He grips the bullet, and crushes it, but Katsuya might notice a trickle of black from his palm, dripping out as he does so.

Not red. Black.

"Human laws means less than nothing to a god." He remarks, to Katsuya, "Consider this Divine Justice." And the same dark aura, with glowing effigy of a skull descends upon him.

Mitsuru gives orders, trying to organize SEES, to figure out a plan, a distraction, a retreat. Then she lunges forward, and his hand, rises to meet the rapier. The rapier, to its credit, pierces through the center of his left palm. Right before his fingertips clamp down upon it, with a grip harder than steel, he seizes the blade and holds it.

She finds she cannot move the rapier a single millimeter, no matter how hard she tries, as he leans in, still holding the blade and whispers, "If you truly wish to protect him, you must rule as more than just a Queen of Ice, but a Dark Empress- with hands stained black as pitch. Only then might you overturn the verdict of fate."

There is a whispering, a soft susurrus within her mind of alien voice, an offer. An offer of power. And she would ''know''. It is not this god, Takahisa Kandori offering - but another. The hiss of a blade leaves its sheath, and he slices downward across her torso, pivoting and releasing her rapier only then to slide out of his hand with a splatter of black.

Polydeuces comes at him in that moment, as if taking it as an opening. The God takes the blow right to the head, as his head visibly jerks sideways, flinching beneath the assault. To which the Persona responds by wrapping it's tentacles around Polydeuces, time seems to shift- and a Supernova of light erupts from within its cruel flow, detonating violently in the Persona.

Auroral light from Tyche. A curse of ill fortune. Kandori smirks, and responds by withdrawing from his jacket pocket a firearm, and unleashing two shots towards the teenager with eerie accuracy, before three lightning bolts descend upon her head. Then he fires a third shot, purposefully wide, as if playfully missing with just the 'sixth' of his attacks upon her.

Like this were some game, with the stakes being her life.

'You think you can just... ask for a re-do on all that's happened?'

"Of course not, Masao-san. 'He' would be wounded at you thinking this whole event were unoriginal." Kandori's gun bats away the strike of the axe with a shower of sparks, even as Ogun finds its spear unable to pass much further, as if caught on something invisible. "Just like you, 'he' considers himself to be quite the artist."

And then he fires a single shot from his gun, towards his old enemy's axe arm.

And that's the moment that Pernelle tries to cry, only finally managing it, as his Persona's aura threatens retribution upon him. It's not Kandori that looks at him, but the writhing Persona in the air. Alien words enter their brain, undulating about as surely as any tentacle, which somehow he finds meaning to.

You should not have come here

And because Nyarlathotep is like ''that''. He punishes Yanagi instead, drawing her into the blackest, most unperishable depths of the universe for several- far two long seconds. It might feel like validation, if it weren't so mind-wrenchingly painful.

Badb strips away a layer of protection from the all-devouring darkness, and then it feels like it curls around her, then more- then they begin to grow definition, like blackened hands, reminiscent of the Mark upon her. Drawing her down, drawing her ''in''.

Just this idea of possession. No words, just that knowledge that she belongs to something far greater than her, reinforced.

'And what does it mean to be a god to you, Kandori?'

"To have the power to do anything and everything I desire. That is what it means. ...And that is why it is utterly meaningless." His response may unnerve Vesper just from this pervasive sense of ambivalence, as if he hardly even cares what he's doing right now.

Tendrils erupt, and curl around Kandori. He seems momentarily amused, and then, those tendrils are torn asunder by tentacles laden with azure eyes. Eyes staring into Vesper's soul- before two blasts of pure force in a row are launched at them, as if playfully taking him apart.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
He had been paying almost no attention to Minako, as if she were beneath his notice. He called her an Empty Fool, after all. Then- he turns suddenly- "... What?"

Mors slashes at Kandori, and this time, he can't defend in time, it cuts across his face, his actual face, and he grips it with a single hand, staggering backwards, and actually falling forward. This is the first time in this fight it seems that he's truly felt threatened, by the brutality of the Roman narrative of Death made manifest in front of him. Mors.

In that moment, the oily barriers of darkness around them in this dark realm seem to fade, drawing them back into the sickly light of the Dark Hour, as if they cannot be maintained in the presence of Mors. As if something intrinsic to it overrides 'this' realm.

Picking himself up off the ground, his shattered sunglasses are picked off his face, and cast aside. And those who look, will see there is no hollow concavity where eyes should be. There are no eyes with which he might look upon the world, in all of his power.

There are void pits of unperishable black.

"That an empty fool like yourself could bring this incarnation of death into the world..." He murmurs, as if it were indeed unexpected, despite all the knowledge he's shown so far.

And then he smiles, like something about its appearance, its threat has quickened something within him, causing his still heart to actually beat warm blood through his veins.

"But only when the universe itself lies cold and still could death ever be my equal."

Nyarlathotep rises out of him, tentacled hands writhing as they take position on either side of Mors. There is a crackle of energy, the ticking of a clock.

Then it is like a star goes Supernova inside of the creature, as the inexorable flow of time turns once more.

"'He' has decided not to suffer your unnecessary existence any longer."

</poem>
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Cursed Name on Minato Arisato! 3 Hits!
AS: God Penguin takes 180 damage from Bomb and Panic!
AS: Pressure: God Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Eriko Kirishima!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Katsuya Suou!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Slash skill Wolf Fang on Mitsuru Kirijo!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!

AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Pierce skill Firefight on Hitomi Mandai! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Elec skill Rapid Zio on Hitomi Mandai! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Wind skill Duo Zan on Julian Marlowe! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Wheel of Time on Akihiko Sanada and Minako Arisato!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Pierce skill Aimed Shot on Masao Inaba!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!

AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Cursed Name on Pernelle! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 20 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Firefight. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Reach!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 20 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Firefight. Critical Hit!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Unperishable Black on Maki Sonomura, Suzume Fukura, Aigis, Umie
Akabane, Yanagi Nagisa, Ririka Kawase, and Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Neutral! Hitomi Mandai takes 44 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 61 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 88 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: Avoid Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 71 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Eriko Kirishima takes 186 Dark damage from God Penguin's Deathtika. Weak! Avoid Dark!
AS: Eriko Kirishima is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Minako Arisato takes 194 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Wheel of Time.
AS: Block Worst! Yanagi Nagisa takes 149 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: God Penguin: Paralyze and Reach removed! Atk_Up added!
AS: God Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Akihiko Sanada takes 165 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Wheel of Time.
AS: Suzume Fukura spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Best! Suzume Fukura takes 129 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Weak!
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 89 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: Block Worst! Maki Sonomura takes 334 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Maki Sonomura endures with 1 HP!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Eriko Kirishima is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Pernelle takes 45 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Avoid Worst! Pernelle takes 84 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Avoid Best! Pernelle takes 9 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Resist!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Counter Best! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 110 Slash damage from God Penguin's Wolf Fang. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! God Penguin takes 64 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 32 Wind damage from God Penguin's Duo Zan.
AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 47 Wind damage from God Penguin's Duo Zan. Critical Hit!

AS: Block Best! Masao Inaba takes 53 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Aimed Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Masao Inaba is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 95 Dark damage from God Penguin's Deathtika.
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 25 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Resist!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Worst! Ririka Kawase takes 267 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Critical Hit!
AS: Ririka Kawase is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Minato Arisato takes 71 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Minato Arisato takes 128 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Minato Arisato takes 71 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Minato Arisato is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Minato--it's not time. That boy is talking about that. He is wondering what would drive someone to become a God...

Until he talks of 'impressing' Kandori, and Maki does not think that's possible here. And Katsuya speaks as an officer of the law--to protect. It makes Maki's heart hurt more. But still, he tries.

She reminds herself of that. They are ''all'' still trying.

That system, Eriko says. But it's not her that he wants. It's... Minato. No, perhaps it's--'him', as Eriko says.

Eriko is still trying. That matters. And Maki inclines her head. "...It's what he would do," Maki agrees. "Believing in them, and standing with each other... it's our 'true mind'."

'Past, present, future. ...they're but a glittering dream, holding nothing for me. That's why I'm going to...'

Memory. So many. But Maki feels it; the invocation of that name, of Philemon, reminds her. "...Let's be our best selves," Maki says, telepathically again. "That's not nothing."

She doesn't know who that person MItsuru wants to protect is, but she can practically feel her pain. She can see it, despite her stoicism. That anger... That intense, powerful anger--

How much does one have to ''hurt'', to inspire such rage?

But Mark has it said. 'Aw, shit' indeed. But Yanagi... yanagi wobbles, and invokes Giselle. The horror eases, just slightly. Those little angels ameliorate some of that pain.

"Thank you," Maki breathes. But before she can consider thanks--

Mors happens.

Maki recoils, Taishan Niangniang adjusting her posture to step with her protectively. 'Mors', Minako calls it, but there is something different about this Persona. "Death, but... strange, somehow..." She marvels at it. But--Kandori answers.

"...Three years ago..."

"I remember," Maki says. "At the time... I couldn't find it, either. We were... the same."

Were.

Not now. ...Certainly not now, as Maki sees the hollow in Kandori's eyes. With a gasp she brings her hand to her lips, in horror. "What... what happened to you...?"

The darkness comes. The end of stars; a state between life and death. It ''scythes'' into Maki's psyche, and leaves her alone with herself; it nearly, very nearly destroys her on the spot, so focused as she is upon her own bonds; Taishan Niangniang ''shatters'' in an instnat.

Maki screams in pain and sadness. And yet...

'I want to change!'

Maki, where she'd fallen, slowly rises to her feet once again. Through an unknown power she gets up. Her feet settle on the ground; her gun has fallen, useless. But her eyes are still full of life.

"...The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty," Maki repeats. "This is what 'he' said belonged to all of us."

"So I call... PERSONA!"

Despite the venom in her veins, the ache in her mind of charm magic, Maki calls on Taishan Niangniang once again, and the Persona reappears, spreading her arms. The white-clad woman lets sparkles of light shimmer over the group.

Maki almost falls again--but only almost.

"Kandori-san!" she calls. "I won't stop searching for that 'meaning'! If you're here... then maybe you can still change, too!"
</poem>

AS: Maki Sonomura spends Limit on Reach!
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Recovery skill Shining Recarm on Julian Marlowe, Masao Inaba, Yanagi Nagisa,
Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, Eriko Kirishima, Mitsuru Kirijo, Katsuya Suou, Aigis, Suzume Fukura, Hyousuke Suzuki, and
Maki Sonomura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Reach removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Maki Sonomura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 167 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 248 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 191 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Recovery skill Shining Recarm on Julian Marlowe, Masao Inaba, Yanagi Nagisa,
Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, Eriko Kirishima, Mitsuru Kirijo, Katsuya Suou, Aigis, Suzume Fukura, Hyousuke Suzuki, and
Maki Sonomura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Reach removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Maki Sonomura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 167 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 248 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
There is too much going on, and a foe of overwhelming strength who seems ore intent on just playing with them all. Ririka is somehat used to working with a large group, but never under circumstances as dire as this, and she's already being stressed beyond her limits, vainly trying to keep that creepy crawly feeling from

Especially that last part. Nyarlathotep is unpleasant enough in small doses, and this... is far from a small dose.

So when the unperishable blackness of the universe comes crushing down on her it's more than she can handle. No matter how much she tries to pull herself together, to draw on her Persona to reinforce her body--

Her eyes roll up in her head and she drops down to the ground in an ugly heap.

But where there is darkness there can also be light, and Ririka goans as her body twitches, before she can get her hands under herself to get up to her feet. "Ugh... Thank you... Nevigator-senpai." She hasn't met Maki yet, that's the best she can do.

Her head is pounding still, but she forces herself to keep going. "Alright, then... o-one more time. Here goes... Amphion!" Her Evoker comes up, blue fire and glass erupt, and Amphion rises anew. "Let's do what we can-- Healing song!"

Amphion strums his lyre, and once again healing strands of melody are sent out to wrap themselves around herself, Akihiko, Suzume, and Pernelle to give them just that little bit more fight to continue the battle.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Ririka Kawase, Akihiko Sanada, Suzume Fukura, and
Pernelle!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 74 HP from Poison!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He glances at Umie, just once. His eyes narrow.

If it had been possible, he would have been there sooner to take on the great Shadow alongside all of them. Alas, he's arrived late, and that in this case might be worse than never showing up at all. Of course, by the way that Katsuya thinks about such things, even if he'd known it would have been like ''this'' he still would have come. To do otherwise would have meant willingly allowing these kids to face Kandori alone, and even if it should prove ultimately futile, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

'That system'.

"Kirishima-kun... what are you talking about?" he dares to ask, even if this moment is not precisely the best for such revelations.

Again, Eriko says.

This form, again.

'Why', asks Maki.

You think that you can just ask for a re-do on all that's happened, says Masao.

This time, Katsuya doesn't have any questions. They're beyond questions now, flung into a situation where even their best might not see any of them survive.

Run, Mitsuru says to SEES, and though he might not know her in the slightest aside her public persona, Katsuya is of like mind. He would just add one more to the list: Mitsuru herself. "Kirijo-san, you as well!" he calls out. Those winds of victory feel to carry him aloft in the next moment, and briefly, Katsuya has the space to think about just what it is that he's consigning himself to.

This is death in the line of duty. He'd still hoped that he'd... that Tatsuya would... and his father--

It's too late to have regrets. Hasn't he already known that for years?

Which is why he shoots at Kandori. One bullet never connects at all. The other is caught as handily as Yukari's arrow, though, Katsuya realises with a frission of shock, not without a wound. Did it strike his palm in the process of him catching it? Except that doesn't make sense--
Kandori is, regardless, bleeding black. Black as ink, black as pitch. Not red.

'Kotodama', the sole thought burrows through his mind. Kandori has but a few words for him in retribution.

Human laws mean nothing to a god.

"That's wrong," he blurts out, more in instinct than in argument. Kandori has more than a few words for him in retribution: Kandori bestows upon him darkness and death, a pulse darker than midnight. For an instant, Katsuya sees the silhouette of Helios interposed before him: an afterimage against the darklight of the skull that descends towards him. The silhouette blurs. It's ripped to pieces, rendered to dust, reduced to nothing at all.

The destruction of his Persona is agonizing. He staggers backwards only to fall to his knees, his left hand planted on the ground to brace him as he breathes raggedly. His gun hangs limply in his right hand. He's... still alive, but...

Many others are not quite so 'fortunate'.

"Damn it..." he murmurs, his fingers shaking as they close around his gun. "Sorry... Tatsuya." He knew it would come to this.

"But I won't let you," he says to Kandori, pushing himself to his feet. Slowly, he trains his gun on the man. "Run," he says, "I'll cover your--"

But Katsuya isn't the only one here with a brother on his mind. In passing, of course, he had noted what Minako (not that he knows her name) had yelled at Kandori, but it wasn't something that was top of mind. Now it is: he doesn't see it when it first happens, but what he ''does'' see is that Persona tearing itself into reality. As much as Kandori's Persona had drawn him to feel a sense of dread, this Persona...

What Katsuya, still reeling from the disintegration of Helios, does do is stare at it, open-mouthed.

The face of divine love.
The mask of demonic cruelty.
Which of these is Mors?

All he knows is that it's Maki who might have saved him, saved all of them, if just for a moment more. With that spark alighting within him, he can, again hope.

The barrel of his gun swings back at Kandori. Just one shot more rings out in the night. If it can buy them all time, then that's enough.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Tactical Rebuke on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Katsuya Suou takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 121 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Tactical Rebuke.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>"Screw that!"

On seeing that Atalanta's spell did almost nothing, Suzume dismisses her with a snap of her arm to one side, bringing her fists back up to protect herself as she plants her feet just so. They need to find an opening, which means she has to keep him busy long enough for someone - or herself - to do it. Nothing else is going to get through against him.

...but is even that enough? He's more powerful than anyone Suzume has ever fought before. She's not willing to call him a god, but she's not going to deny that he's powerful. He and Nyarlathotep.

Suzume tries for another opening, but this time it's Kandori that sees the opening, not her - or, rather, he's strong enough compared to her that he doesn't really have to wait for one, he can just force it through. A plunge into darkness, the horror of being alone, between life and death -

- and along with it, a terrible sense of deja vu, the feeling of *waiting to die*, the bitter cold of emptiness -

When it clears, Suzume is down. Down on one knee, trying desperately to rise and failing as Mors appears. Maybe she felt *that*, because she aches, somewhere deep inside, without knowing why. Or maybe it's the sheer creepiness of his empty eyes, feeling like they're staring into her with their emptiness. "Arisato-chan - " she gets out.

Suzume slowly pushes herself up. She's so unsteady that she almost falls again, and the only thing that saves her is the light from Taishan Niangniang and Maki. Suzume's head snaps over that way as if magnetized as the feeling inside her fades, giving her a thankful nod, then back toward Kandori.

He's out of her weight class.

But...

*Everyone* is out of Suzume's weight class.

When she showed up, that once, to the boxing club in Gekkoukan, she was turned away. They don't let girls enroll - but even if they had made an exception for her, they didn't have anyone small enough for her to fight, as she fell right off the bottom of the boys' weight classes, down at 153cm and mind-your-own-business kilograms. Everybody outreached her by inches and outweighed her by kilograms. It had been the same with wrestling, and karate. (They'd offered her aikido. She turned it down.)

But she hadn't let that stop her. When she'd joined SEES, she'd gone to punching anyway. She'd picked up tonfa, when she'd found them in Mementos, but she'd persisted anyway, practicing her punches, training as if she was a boxer when nobody was looking, sneaking in to hit the bags.

She'd worked out with Shinjiro, learning to fight people far bigger than she was and make the most of her strength. She'd gotten stronger, too. She'd worked with Reiya, to train her speed, and her technique, and take advantage of her gifts.

But the one thing she had never, ever done was give up. And even in the face of the darkness beyond death, Suzume refuses to surrender.

With another shout, Atalanta appears once again, spreading her arms as wind whips around Suzume. It almost picks her up (though that might be Ririka's song, too) and *does* accelerate her as she rushes toward Kandori, Atalanta running at her side until the two of them overlap, Suzume running *through* Atalanta, bouyed up by her winds.

It's reckless. It's stupid.

And Suzume still does it, driving in with a flurry of punches, every fist accelerated by Atalanta's winds. "Get your hands off them!"

It's the only thing she can do: to give the others the opening they need.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Suzume Fukura has used the Wind skill Race the Wind on God Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Gains 70 HP from Regen! Exhaust removed!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 16 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind. Critical Hit!
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 33 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 59 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
They're upset he isn't running. Aigis... Mitsuru... they want him to escape.

"Against an enemy like this," Minato says, "there isn't anywhere we can run if he won't play along." It's not quite Akihiko's resolve... but the end is the same.

Still... he isn't just fighting to sacrifice himself...?

That man is nostalgic, is what Minato gets from Eriko.

And as Hitomi notes, he still looks... so calm.

Calm, despite the seething statues clawing at him from the inside out...

He's used to it, you see.

Even so, he does not know what Yanagi and Maki know too well.

But he's getting a sense of what he doesn't know, from the way the adults are talking.

Orpheus is not the only musician amongst them; he hears Amphion's song, too, just as he bears witness to Aigis's aegis.

He calls Minako empty, though. Is that fair... when he's the one who's hollowed out?

"There is so much inside of her," Minato says.

And a little more than that.

"...?" Minato's question, on seeing Mors, is voiceless; there is a part of him which doesn't recognise Mors, as she rises.

The same part of him which can't connect with...

Is Minako able to direct that power?

"... I'm here," he tells her.

And he turns to the man they call Kandori, his gaze level.

"A God is powerful enough to claim anything he desires," he says. "There must be some determination other than that... or is that why you've become empty?" There is the ghost of a frown, across his face. "I wonder if that's why you use the word as an insult... instead of a possibility."

He holds his Evoker firm.

"But I'm fighting because I want to," he insists.

"Because I made the decision to be here."

Whisper, whisper...

It's a valid question.

What decisions will Minato make in the dark?

He's not the only one who can see where that man is standing. Maki insists he can still change... is that the power of 'humanity'?

A power which defies God...

But God's power is not so easily defied. The reason that man wears sunglasses at night is to protect their minds.

Minato looks into his eyes...

Somehow, Minato looks into his eyes.

Perhaps he is a Fool -- to look. Time ticks down, and Aigis bears the brunt of Nyarlathotep's power. "-- Aigis-san!" Minato cries, seeing her struck.

If SEES were fighting him alone...

But SEES isn't fighting alone.

Maki's own determination not only calls her back to the fight -- but Aigis, too. Masao is determined to cut a path through for them all. And Eriko, who knows the shape of this unfathomable thing...

"Orpheus," he calls, as his Persona rises anew. "Protect them." He turns, as his Persona strums a Cadenza to bolster the wounded, joining with Amphion's music. Then, he calls to Eriko -- "Go for it."

She's not part of SEES, so he can't really order her to do anything, but perhaps the belief counts for something anyway.

There are some adults, he supposes, as he looks to Vesper and Katsuya, too, who are still reliable... even with the sins of their fathers weighing down.

(On the outside, there is a piece of the Bride who mourns, feeling that pressure which the man they call Shinjo brings against Yanagi, even though she thought she had escaped 'that place'. ... even so, knowing what horror she faces, she does not lift a finger to aid her. No... quite the opposite. It's quite a privilege for Chizuru to have asked her to assist today, and she'll not soon jeopardise it.)

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Recovery skill Cadenza on Ririka Kawase!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Minato Arisato spends Limit on Shift! Eriko Kirishima can use another Weak skill this round! Hyper (Next Attack
Boosted/Incoming Damage Down!) applied to Eriko Kirishima! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Ririka's explanation illuminated much, but at the same time, left him with more questions than he had answers. He was silent as he tried to parse what she'd said, turning the words over in his mind and attempting to understand the wider implications of such things, but it was a futile gesture.
"Shit, so now what do we do about it?!" He asked, hoping she - or anyone else in earshot - had an answer. Because as much as he loved the simplicity of gratuitous violence, it did not seem to be the key against whatever that *thing* was.

In amidst the chaos, he caught snippets and whispers of other conversations. He heard screaming and laments, declarations of protection and vengeance alike, comparisons drawn between man and god... but nothing made sense. Nothing aligned with what he knew or could surmise. Even with the information relayed to him by Ririka, he was in the dark. But why did that matter? He was their sledgehammer. Their attack dog. Their mindless hunting hound, sent to bludgeon problems where a scalpel was too delicate a tool. There was no need for strategy when brute force was all they needed him for.

Hyousuke staggered forward. His fist was raised in readiness, moving to bludgeon that wretched *thing* before him until it was a greasy smear on his fist, or until his hands had been worn down to bloody stumps in the attempt. But the glasses came away, and what stared back at him was nothing. It was not that there was nothing worth nothing there - it was simply the concept of nothing. An absence of life, of colour, of emotion, of anything. In those darkened voids, Hyousuke saw the end of stars snuffed out like candlelight without so much as a wisp of smoke there.

The man was the end, and he had come for them.

"The hell are you...?!" Hyousuke asked, summoning what strength he could to ask that question. He could barely force the words out, much less speak them - it was like they sloughed off his tongue, spilling weakly into the air before vanishing into nothing. "The fuck kind of god is this?!" Hyousuke told himself that he did not fear, and that he could stand against the dark and the obscene. But against that? He could barely stay upright, let alone make some valiant effort at repelling it. His body moved on instinct, twitching into a guard and tensing, but it was like rusted gears turning against each other. The great machine that was his body strained against itself, and only remained like that through great effort.

Yet, amidst the fear - amidst entropy and malice and darkness and the end of all things - some small spark flickered inside of him. Not hope. Things had spiralled too far out of control for that. Hyousuke felt, somewhere deep in his soul, that making it out of there alive was not an option for him. That spark was anger. Rage. FURY. That most human of emotions that send adrenaline burning through his veins, surging alongside the poison that stung at his flesh, repelling the exhaustion that left his body feeling leaden, against the haze that enshrouded his mind and plagued his every action.

And it was that spark that let him weather the blow Kandori levelled against him. He clenched his teeth and cried out from the effort. His skull felt like it would split into fragments as he fought to keep Achilles in the fore, with even that god-wrought shield threatening to buckle under the strain of that blow. A welter of superheated sparks exploded into the air, bursting flare-orange in the night as the great general staggered under the blow, and the canyon that had been carved into the metal was clear for all to see. Yet, though he was battered and panting and burning, Hyousuke stood.

"Hey asshole, guess what?" Hyousuke spat, lifting his head as he growled. "'He' doesn't get to choose if he 'suffers' us or not. You hurt them, so now I'm not gonna stop coming after you until I've got my hands around your GODDAMN THROAT!" It was unclear as to whether Hyousuke had let out a war cry, a threat, or some animalistic bellowing. But his anger was writ clear in the words he let loose, so intense that they threatened to burn the night air cinder-black. Battle-scarred but standing tall, Achilles readied his shield and spear, the red eyes in the black void of his helmet glaring bright.

His body eased as Maki's healing magicks descended upon him. He did not hear her words, and he did not know her as a person - but he had seen her before, fighting on the same side as he. That, in that moment, was enough to earn a glance from him in the middle of his rage.
"Thanks." He said bluntly, though more because it was all he could spare the strength for. "I owe you one." He knew it might not have come off ans genuine, or grateful. But they were on a battlefield. There was no time for bowing and scraping and thanking. That was all he had the time and strength for when faced with *that.*

"If you've got wounded, grab them and leave!" Hyousuke called out, anger in his wavering voice. It didn't falter from fear, though. Emotions surged in him, and no longer able to restrain himself, they forced themselves out and distorted his every word. Not that he had much more use for words. Deeds would speak for him. With an ear-splitting, bestial, roar, he surged forward like lightning, cannoning towards his foe. Heedless of the cost to his own body, mind, or soul, he flung himself into the fray, hoping that he could stall them for just one more moment and give those who mattered a chance to escape.

Achilles drew his spear back as his wielder charged in, and with a thrust that distorted the very air around it, he heaved the weapon's keen tip into the monster.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Pelian Spear Strike on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 70 HP from Poison!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 26 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Pelian Spear Strike.

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Mitsuru relays her order to draw attention to herself and Akihiko. "Understood!" Aigis nods to confirm receipt of the Kirijo heiress' command and starts to rush headlong towards Kandori, her eyes shining blue with the familiar blue glow that comes with Persona summoning.

Palladion doesn't show up, however. Instead, all that Aigis knows for two agonizing seconds (was it really only two? that's what her internal clock claims) is the void past the end of time itself. In theory, with enough repair and maintenance work, she could very well reach this point, outliving her non-robotic creators and friends, just as they routinely outlive the plants on the rooftop garden. Generations could pass by, and the people she's here with today could be nothing more than a distant memory while she still carries on.

Her perception soon catches onto the waking world again, outside of that dark dream, only to recognize the cursing intent that the Tentacled Buddha's mouth has for Minato's very name. In one last-ditch maneuver, she unsteadily lurches forward, her sense of balance thrown off by the damage to her gyroscopic sensors and leg components, and leaps towards the entity to try and cover its mouth with her hands. While this may manage to shield Minato, it does mean she takes the full brunt of the curse for herself as the sound resonates through her chassis.

That was it. That was all she could take. Her joints seize up, her processes freeze, and everything descends into static. "Systems-ems in-inoperational-al." Her head twitches as it turns to view Minato and Minako, to try and see if she managed to buy them some time. Minato's still standing, and Minako ...

...

Aigis beholds the form of Mors with a mixture of relief and horror, with some awareness of where the power that that man wants to see came from. She is somewhat aware of who, at least partially, is to blame.

Then for a few moments, everything goes black, just as it did moments ago, but without any consciousness left in her. This would be where she fell, if it weren't for ...

'... the face of divine love ...' 'PERSONA!'

In what seems like a miracle, Maki calls on Taishan Niangniang and Aigis becomes functional once more. There's no time right now to thank her; she still has to carry out Mitsuru's order. Anything to draw attention, right? Aigis takes advantage of the shimmering light to pull some sleight of hand of her own.

"Persona, actualize!" Palladion's form appears in midair and lands with a heavy 'thud' before it pulses with a faint shimmer in the air, shrouding the people who Mitsuru tasked with a timely getaway. Minato and Minako, of course, are the first two. Hitomi should recognize the sensation from the Strega raid on the SEES dorms. Finally, if anyone can help facilitate their escape, a Navigator can. Ririka's the last one to benefit from this cloaking spell. The four of them grow transparent and more difficult to see, fading further into the darkness. Aigis, in turn, prominently stands in front, still fully opaque, her arms now fully outstretched as if shrugging.

Trouble comes in other forms than 'threat'.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Recovery skill Madoronpa on Minato Arisato, Minako Arisato, Hitomi Mandai, and Ririka
Kawase!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Aigis: Loses 67 HP from Poison!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.
AS: Aigis's Full_Cover tactic expires on Minato Arisato!

AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Madoronpa.
AS: Cloak () added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Madoronpa.
AS: Cloak () added!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi's thoughtfulness on the words being exchanged is not lost on Pernelle, either. Unease grips his instincts. These need to be later questions. But, oh, he does so love gossip! What does it mean, to desire on Fool and not the other? What does it mean, for the other Fool to awaken within the waking world? Alas, he may love existence more than mysteries.

Just a little bit.

Unfortunately, the horrors.

Pernelle has his own resolve deep in his avian heart, and he is steadfast, however delicate a shield for Yanagi he may be. But perhaps it is not so strange he stands guard when Giselle sends dancing shikigami to mend his psyche against the threat of a maddening abyss.

The peacock gazes into Nyarlathotep, and Nyarlathotep gazes back.

''You should not have come here.''

There has never been quite so much panic creeping into Pernelle's voice before:

"''Yanagi!''"

He is at her side, which does never little for either of them when a curse can seize him as long as the eyes ''see'' him. Pernelle's psyche is a wiggly thing, but it only wiggle so much as he reels under the force of it.

"I -- I am remembering that glittery meal we cooked up," he tells her. "My tongue sparkled for a week! ... It is helping, I think..."

This is a terrible situation. She asked him to escort her, and he ought to bring his friend home safely, shouldn't he? What manner of bird can he say he is if he does not? Before Pernelle can call Anqa, Maki and Ririka provide their own light to lift their wounded bodies and souls.

Well! They're all in this together now, aren't they!

Pernelle squints up at Kandori.

"Hm. Desire. Yes. Important thing, desire. ... I am going to light you on fire now."

Another butterfly flits past, and Pernelle devours it with a predator's rage. He refuses to be made prey today before this writhing mass of worms! That is for bird to eat!

Anqa appears in brilliant prismatic light and splits open at the seems, and a giant, suspiciously peacock shaped plume of fire explodes for Kandori with every desire to ruin his suit.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Fire skill Adorable Agilao on God Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Pernelle gains 1 Limit!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 75 HP from Poison! Gains 68 HP from Regen! Poison removed!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 54 Fire damage from Pernelle's Adorable Agilao. Critical Hit!
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 115 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
In a blink of an eye, Akihiko is barely standing.

In a blink of an eye, nearly every one of his allies went down.

It's a sobering moment, and Maki Sonomura must be thanked later. There's no time to hold back. Not if they want to survive to fight another day.

"Sorry to bring you back out again so fast..." Akihiko murmurs to himself, mostly. He brings his Evoker back to his head. With the shattering of glass, the Immortal Hero is once again summoned. "Polydeuces! Bolt of Judgement!"

For the second time tonight, electricity cackles to seek it's target... Then thunder cracks, slamming into the God. He won't go down without a fight.

</poem>
AS: Akihiko Sanada spends Limit on Psych!

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi ''does'' want to know more about all of this. She heard some of it from Maki already, but it really didn't prepare her sufficiently for this encounter.

To be fair, there is a lot going on in this encounter. Yanagi's intrigue in the cult and the power that was behind them led her and Pernelle to something even greater, far greater than that. The Hierophant, as well as the other Full Moon Shadows, are powerful but manageable with enough strength; Kandori is on an entirely other level.

Yet even he seems taken aback when Minako, the supposedly Empty Fool, gives rise to a Persona the likes of which Yanagi has never sensed before--or has she? Her vivid eyes widen at the visage of Death, so familiar to her. "Mors..." she whispers, lips shaping the name as if to caress it. Katsuya may wonder to himself which it is, but Yanagi knows immediately what she believes: a divine love expressed by demonic cruelty. ''That'' is Minako's Mors.

The sunglasses fall from Kandori's face. The black streaks across his face find their source in two voids in miniature where his eyes should be.

Yanagi clutches her chest and makes a sudden anguished noise. She doesn't hear the words that are sent to Pernelle, but she certainly ''feels'' that unperishable blackness. It is the blackness of an empty, uncaring universe that existed for billions of years before her and will exist billions upon billions upon billions of years after. Two seconds may as well be an eternity. Giselle shatters, and Yanagi swoons--

But before she might fall, Maki expresses her defiance again and again, both in words and in the incredible healing that emanates from her Persona. It washes over Yanagi, lets her snap her eyes open, and stabilizes her enough to catch herself with her cane before she can fall.

Pernelle is at her side, speaking of that glittery meal they made. Yanagi, hunched over her gun-cane, smiles as she pants. "A whole week? You must have been so glad. All those little sparkly bits you could still taste for so long after," she murmurs. "I'd like... to do something like that again..." She pushes herself upwards on shaky hands--her arms have been affected more slowly by her DMD, but they could still never be called ''muscular''. "And we ''will''. Tonight, even."

The kitchen of Peacock Silk is in for something in the witching hour tonight. Exactly what, we must leave to the audience's imagination.

"Thank ''you''," she whispers telepathically to Maki. That healing radiances does much to bring her back from the brink, and she's grateful to her friend for it. She's grateful, too, as she sees Ririka call upon her own Persona to help not just her own friends, but Pernelle too. "And thank ''you''!"

One good turn, or rather two, deserve another. Yanagi hadn't been able to reach Masao with her song a moment ago, but as she resummons her Persona with the crush of a butterfly, the shimmering waves of restorative energy wash over him and Yanagi both--then reach further towards Minato and Minako, both Ririka's friends and both targets of Kandori's, and also importantly, two people of interest that Yanagi would rather not see die or disappear just yet.

(Yanagi would appreciate the Bride's sorrow. She would also not hold her inaction against her. Ultimately, when their positions were reversed, she couldn't act either, and even Awakened, has anything meaningfully changed for the Bride?)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Elec skill Bolts of Judgement on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Akihiko Sanada takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Gains 68 HP from Regen! Psych removed!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Healing Wave on Yanagi Nagisa, Masao Inaba, Minako Arisato, and
Minato Arisato!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yanagi Nagisa takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Though Vesper has willed himself to stand, it is a fragile state of being. Enough to ask a question and state his opinion on the matter, but Kandori's reaction to it is... unexpected. Did he just sound... bored, about godhood? Tired, even? Oddly, rather than unnerving, this may be the only thing Vesper has found easy to understand about Kandori's perspective. To have everything anyone could ever want, and yet feel empty inside...

"..."

Even the battle of words is lost with his lack of response there. The actual battle doesn't fare much better, holding back the aggressor for far less time than he'd hoped, and blown back by the following response. He could swear he actually felt the ambivalence there, zero care for how much or how little damage was done.

As it happens, just enough to cause the masked gentleman to stumble, his umbrella the only defense against taking a full tumble. Even so, he is in no shape to act, left to lean on the umbrella as he regards the sister of the boy being targeted go beyond her limits, taking a frightful form. A strong sibling bond is not to be underestimated, indeed.

Unfortunately, he has to acknowledge that he may not have a hand yet to play here... that is, until he is based in light - normally unwelcome to one such as himself, but this particular variety of it fills him with vigor. Head turning towards its source, he thanks Maki with a tip of the bowler hat, before taking a breath, and refocusing his attention where Kandori seems intent on directing his. That boy's words to this man calling himself a god...

"I could not have said it better myself. However..."

With a nod and wordless instruction, Raffles raises the diamond-tipped cane in its left hand, to defensively empower Vesper, the Arisato siblings, and their immediate protector Aigis, who he takes up position to stand side by side with.

"I hope you'll forgive this adult for meddling in your affairs. I simply cannot abide one who attributes so little meaning to anything in life to do as they please. Simply because one lacks the joy of living does not give one the right to rob others of it. I will not allow it!"

With that, Vesper firmly plants his umbrella into the ground before him, and Raffles mimics the gesture with its cane, sending out a weakness-causing ripple in the process.
</poem>

AS: Julian Marlowe spends Limit on Exploit! Julian Marlowe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Shade Revel on Julian Marlowe, Minato Arisato, Minako Arisato,
and Aigis!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on God Penguin!
AS: Julian Marlowe: Loses 69 HP from Poison!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 77 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Bolts of Judgement.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Vesper sees the opening Umie created, and responds, pushing through those chains to use the Dark against the crawling chaos. And not only that...

'PERSONA!' Something is screeching, but it's not Badb. It's at times like this that Umie remembers that seeing the Badb is a bad omen, depending on what side of a myth you were on, and whether it was the Badb, or something else. Umie glances at the once chipper young woman who walked into the Triple 7, who may or may not be dating her co-worker in that way that teenagers can and should be able to have. Does he know, what Minako is doing right now?

She shouldn't have to.

"To.... be an adult..." Umie's lips numbly pantomimes Vesper's words as she collapses to her knees, jacket pooling as she bends further down, lowering her head until she can feel the brush of grass against her mouth.

And it all doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much she hides, or runs, or laughs, or makes grand gestures. No matter how much she rebels, or refuses to give in...
Her soul, the collection of synapses, cause and effect, belongs to this thing far greater than her.

It is a pressure. It is a *weight*, making those blackened hands that curl around her seem like they're simply helping her down, like a noblewoman being helped down from her carriage.

What is there to do?

'Sorry... Tatsuya.' Looking up, Umie sees Katsuya collapse with impassive eyes, followed by others, who all fall, then rise, by Maki's resolve to put things right.

The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty... A love of an older brother, while his younger suffers and struggles against a fate he can't understand.

.... like the hollow, eyeless face of Kandori, and the valiant, beautiful Pernelle supporting Yanagi.

She envies it.
She doesn't want to look at it.
She *hates* it.

Who the fuck cares if there's no use in struggling?!
What sort of Persona does that represent? Something graceful, that finds nobility in quiet suffering, while waiting for the end to come.

No, her Persona is of another caliber entirely, as tied to 'Him' as she is.

"BADB!" Umie shrieks, her call extending to the desperate, delighted, insufferable, violent blackbird in her soul that rises into being, following up on Pernelle's adorable attack with one of her own.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on God Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao grinds his teeth trying to hold that blow against Kandori's gun parrying it, to little avail as the batting sends him staggering away from swinging range. 'Just like you, 'he' considers himself to be quite the artist.'

Before Masao has a retort, the gunshot that rings out is its own artistry as a bullet runs through his arm. Shock and bloodloss sees the young man come to a kneel, quieted by both the immense spiritual pressure and the more mundane issue of 'I just got shot.'

...

There is talk about what 'he' would do. The three of them know about 'him.' What 'he' woul ddo, standing with each other... it's their 'true mind.'

...

Taishan Niangniang comes to the rescue of all here - a reflection of Maki's desire to change, from a time of a truly dark place. One by one, everyone finds that rejuvenating, shining, healing force.

"Tch... ha ha, yeah," Masao laughs a bit, despite it all, the ache in his arm subsiding as he rises up again. "That wasn't that great a showing, huh, right... c'mon." From the depths of an already exhausted spirit, from one staring dangerously into the face of a terrible entity they once triumphed over.

After all, isn't there something Maki found out at a glance, earlier? Mischief spreads on Masao's face, a bit.

"Our best selves, yeah... and not just us!" Masao declares, as the blue light comes around him again. This isn't a matter they can laugh out of, but mischief is just one of those core emotions that help channel Ogun, and so he does, raising the other arm up.

"Ogun! Bring 'em down... let's get funky." Ogun appears, to that little choppy dance, as a larger cluster of purple spheres rush towards Kandori, with yellow ring emanations in which to try and weigh his ambitions back down lower.
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko asks if Eriko wants them to give up and run- and her answer is simple. "Yes. Survive, so you can fight another day- and keep your leader out of his hands. Numbers alone don't mean anything." It may sound cold but...

That constant fear of loss is on her.

She shakes her head as Ririka asks if she's kidding- which is made more obvious as Kandori uses that terrible power upon them. The mysterious Vesper, at least, gives her some confidence that others have the same thoughts she does- it is the job of adults to allow children to reach the future- even a newly minted adult like her knows that.

Katsuya wants answers, and Eriko can't blame him but right now is not the time. "I'm sorry, Mr Suou- I can't explain any more unless we survive." And she's explained so much already...

And then Minako finds her own strength- and even Eriko can feel the strengthened resonance. "Mors, the embodiment of death..." She did not expect to feel a Persona of that strength-

Kandori's silence is telling- it seems that some things haven't changed in the years Kandori has been dead- but then he invokes the cruel sting of nostalgia. The happiest and most dangerous times of her life previously were the same-

And then the Deathtika strikes her, and Eriko screams out as she falls to the ground in agony. Darkness has always been Nike's weakness, and Nyarlethotep doesn't merely wield darkness- he embodies it, he IS it, the chaos and the screaming dark.

Eriko collapses to the ground, her body wracked with drakness, the last of her consciousness leaving her.

''...Another broken promise...''

She looks over at Mark, her vision fading, as he falls too.

...At least... she can go first...

"...I'm sorry..."

Her vision starts to fade-

Until the waves of Recarm wash over her- just like they did long ago.

And with her strength restored, Eriko manages to stand, if painfully. "...thanks, Maki-chan. I don't know how much longer we can last but... I made a promise."

Her eyes settle upon Kandori- and she sees the void. The black void- and what it represents. "...did he even take away your chance to see that...?" It's horrifying, the sort of cruelty that Nyarlethotep could inflict. Back then, Kandori was ready to die- to accept his defeat. "...At least last time, you fought us of your own volition, Kandori-san." Eriko says, her voice quiet.

Then, though, Eriko hears Minato's question, of why Kandori finds the term god to be insulting. Eriko looks to Kandori again. "...because desires are what gives them drive, ambition, hope." It's a paraphrasing of what he said three years ago. "A god forsakes that part of their humanity, and without it those desires- there's no reason to exist. That's what you said back then. Are you truly without any desires left, Kandori-san?"

Eriko looks at him, and for a moment, there is a flash of pity. Minato tells her to 'do it', and Eriko smiles. "A man of few words, aren't you? That's fine. I'm impressed you noticed the trick up my sleeve."

Eriko reaches into a pocket on her outfit, and pulls a spell card from it- a spell card that looks different from any other, except in that it's a card. But the power in it...

"''It's been a while, Michael- but it seems I have to call on our contract once again.''"

The spell card bears not a symbol, but the words of an ancient contract in latin. And as Eriko draws on it's power, Nike appears above her. "Maki-chan, I'm going to make the most of the opportunity you've given us. It won't stop him- but it might grant us the chance we need. Mark, Mr Suou, Akabane-san- if you see an opening, make them take it. Yanagi, Mr Pernelle- "

And then, Nike changes- her colours shift, the silver sheen of her body turning red, her wings a dark blue, and her head a dull gray. Masao might recognize those colours in her. For a moment- a greater energy channels through Nike- not her own power, but the power of something greater. A mask that Eriko no longer wears- but the imprint on her soul remains, and the Totem Philemon granted her allows her to remember how it felt on her face. "I know he's not a god, but prepare to face the power of an archangel, His Right Hand- and His Righteous Sword! Now! Judgment Contract!"

Nike shudders- and then a giant, flaming sword rises from behind her and into the air above her. It hovers there, aflame in the in the air for a moment- and then it swings down, as violent as it is holy, with the divine might of Heaven- setting alight the air with holy flames and scoring the ground as it strikes for Kandori. "I hope you will not mind a little more nostalgia, Kandori-san," Eriko looks at him, and her expression is different. For a moment, it is not the expressions worn by Eriko Kirishima the model, but Eriko Kirishima, the girl in her dangerous wonderland, fighting to save the heart of a girl in suffering. It won't be a finishing blow- but it might be enough to grant them the escape they need.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Gryva on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Masao Inaba takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba: Loses 75 HP from Poison! Gains 71 HP from Regen! Charm, Exhaust, Poison, and Psych removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Eriko Kirishima has used the Light skill Judgement Contract on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Eriko Kirishima takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Eriko Kirishima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Hyper removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem> SHUNK

It's an oddly meaty, oddly dense sound, as the tip of Mitsuru Kirijo's rapier pierces through Takahisa Kandori's palm. She'll remember how it felt tremoring in her arm. How even his flesh felt dense with surrender.

In the moment--

"--Merde--!"

All she knows is that weapon is stuck inside that density at a critical moment.

To her credit, she tries to rip it clean out of his hand -- and in a way that, vindictively, will leave more harm coming out than it did going in. But the twist of her blade never comes, nor does the bloody sound of it exiting its new sheathe. It's like it's stuck into a tar pit of hopelessness, and every yank of her increasingly numb arm just increases the futility of the next gesture.

Deep red eyes glare at him; she does not - ''can'' not - let the terror and uncertainty bleed into her expression.

But that was before ''something'' started whispering to her.

It's not Kandori. It's something -- something Else. Something writing her fate like prophecy etched in Shadows' deepest ink.

"Wh--"

Mitsuru's eyes widen. The gloved fingers struggling with her weapon go briefly slack.

The blade comes down.

Is it defiance or desperation that define her next act? It may not matter to some. But one is a resolve.

The other is contradiction.

Regardless: as soon as Kandori's blade unsheathed, Mitsuru's hand had fallen to her holster. By the time the shining, singing steel starts to drop, an Evoker's barrel presses to her temple. Her answer to that offer, in the heat of the moment, is shouted simply, in three angry syllables:

"PERSONA!"

That blade carves through her with such kinetic force that it knocks her off her feet even as Penthesilea comes to her protection. The warrior woman's own saber sweeps up into Kandori in one flash-freeze of slicing motion before the force of his blow causes the Persona to shatter into a thousand-thousand blue fragments, even as Mitsuru herself hits ground in an ugly, skidding rebound.

She ends up in a crouch, gasping for air, spittle falling from scarlet lips mixed with a touch of bright liquid red. Her entire body quakes. Her right arm feels useless and limp. Every breath burns. She feels nauseous.

But what nauseates her most is not the pain.

It's that she can't stop thinking of those whispered works, seeping into the corners of her thoughts.

It's a thought that is all the more pressing, all the more prevalent, as she looks up and sees--

A familiar, horrifying sight, yet not. Like that day, so many months ago, when Minato Arisato first arrived--

And ''something'' ripped out of him with such terrifying strength that it annihilated an Arcana Shadow, all on its own.

"A-Arisato...?" she exhales, voice hoarse, as she watches the rampage of that ungodly manifestation of Mors. Like Death's Head, brought to hideous life. She possesses that strength too. And yet it is not enough.

Mitsuru is still forced to rely on others, and it's still not enough.

No matter how she plans, no matter how she trains, it's not enough. How can she protect them from this hell she's brought them into like this?

How can she protect ''him'', the whole reason she's here, when she's still so... so...

Inadequate...?

Aigis falls. Akihiko suffers for his attempts. All around her, people drop like flies. She feels like she is one breath away from her eyes slipping shut and never opening again. So how... why...

''Against an enemy like this, there isn't anywhere we can run if he won't play along.''

"Don't," Mitsuru gasps, her voice strained even through that connection, "I gave -- I gave you an o-order... wuh-we can still save you--"

Can they?

... Can they truly?

Mitsuru looks up. And as she does, she sees what lies behind those sunglasses.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And for some reason...

"Nn..."

That fills her with overwhelming, unslakeable...

"... Ça suffit...!"

... spite.

Mitsuru drags herself up onto her feet. Drags. It is not any easy process. It's a stumbling, unsteady one, one that sees her choking a gasp of pain as she feels her left ankle inform her that it, too, has been injured. Gripping at her right arm, she presses forward. One step at a time, inexorably towards that nothing stare.

She refuses to accept something so squalid, so sad. She refuses. Even if she has a sliver of life left in her -- she'll use every ounce of it if only to show she has that much more than that stare.

Her fingers tremble, falling towards her Evoker. And then...

''...The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty. This is what 'he' said belonged to all of us.''

''So I call... PERSONA!''

... something happens.

A drizzle of light falls upon Mitsuru; and dark red eyes flutter out a blink as all her injuries, all her exhaustion, seems to just... melt away within its shimmer.

She still feels the pain.
she still feels the doubt
But...

"... thank you."

It's enough.

Eyes once wide squeeze shut as Katsuya addresses her; she doesn't know the man, but by bearing and words alone she could reasonably guess what, if not who, he is. Despite herself, despite the situation, a wry smile touches the corners of her bloodied lips.

"... Don't worry. I have no intention of losing here," she says, even if she couldn't say if she will really see tomorrow. After all...

"... I have too much I have to see done."

The others mobilize. Others call to flee. And Mitsuru--

Mitsuru presses that Evoker to her temple, one more time, seeing an opening in the midst of the others' offensive.

"PENTHESILEA."

Penthesilea, who fought her doomed battle on the blood-soaked shores of Troy, slices into existence. And once more, the earth flash freezes beneath Mitsuru. Eriko's Nike ignites the air, ignites everything in raw, raging heat. And through the lingering haze of her inferno--

Mitsuru -sprints-. She -dives-. She -slides-.

And as she passes by Kandori, she -snaps- her arm out to grab onto her sizzling rapier and -slice- it across the back of his ankles like he were Achilles of old --

-- just as Penthesilea swings both her blades, erupting a massive cage of ice around the thing that was once a god, the god that was once a man.

Normally, there would be flourishes. She would leap. Snap her fingers. Shatter everything.

This time?

This time, Mitsuru plants gloved hands around that tomb of ice -- and just tries to ''hold'' it.

"RUN! NOW!"

Hold it for as long as she can.

"PLEASE!"

Knowing full well it will shatter all on its own soon enough.

</poem>
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 35 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 112 damage!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 135 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Gryva. Weak!
AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 177 Light damage from Eriko Kirishima's Judgement Contract.
AS: Tandem! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Water skill Blizzard Edge on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Mitsuru Kirijo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 37 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 37 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi sees Kandori.

She hadn't seen him for a minute there. Perhaps understandably, she had assumed he got absorbed into or somehow transformed or just *left* but it would seem that he is still here, and present. And he's pulling out a gun, and looking towards her. The gun's coming around. Oh yes, he's saying hello to her. The giggling devil sees that tiny uttermost-black of a gun barrel.

She stares, and there is another of those moments of peace. If anything it's like a sudden great illumination, everything coming into terrible high-resolution precision for a moment. In that lightning flash she apprehends the situation. Her eyes shift minutely, her head tilting. She is not watching Kandori's gun.

She is watching his hand, and when it tenses, she leans to the left side.

It should not work at all, and it still almost doesn't. It is probably because Hitomi, even in some deranged cursed state of hyper-awareness, is still driving around a meat body and is seeing the world a few milliseconds late. She still topples to the right almost too late; the bullet trims through a few dozen black hairs, blowing like a hot breeze through her still-bound sweat-soaked hair.

The other round just hits. But what would have been a side or torso hit instead strikes the front of the arm-protector shell with the SEES logo on it. The ballistic plastic shatters but it takes a toll out of the round's velocity before it goes through the cloth sleeve. It takes a brief detour through the side of Hitomi's bicep (this, too, fortunate - didn't slow down enough to stop here) and manages to merely crack the back of the arm-guard. It remains lodged there; there is no second hole in the protector.

From Hitomi's perspective, things seem to suddenly slow and fade -- but it's back to normal, not whatever-that-was, and the sensation is as if she'd just gotten a square arm-shot from Akihiko-sempai.

Huh.
That's actually not as bad as the knife was.
Neat.

The pain rolls like a summer stormcloud afterwards but it is clarifying. Hitomi makes fists, and she can, even if she can also feel something wet down her arm. That's good, because she needs her right hand, or this will get *additionally* difficult. Hitomi forces out a breath and raises her head to look at Kandori a moment before the lightning begins to smash downwards. This is somehow more familiar; there is a flinch, Tyche is thrown upwards with that same imploring-offering gesture, struck once, twice, finally cracking and seeming to slough apart at the third as Hitomi staggers back and her legs spread. She hunches, to avoid falling.

But I didn't fall down!

Hitomi raises her eyes just in time to see Minako. For a split moment she wonders - is she about to die?? - but it is instead her Persona. A strange one, perhaps, but - wait, Hitomi thinks, eyes turning upwards, I didn't... is that... Her lips part as the icon of death and smashes downwards with enough force to throw up dirt.

Minako is screaming. Yet the horrifying wave of power from this manifested avatar of death... well, it's on their side, and so Hitomi turns her attention, even as Minako screams. There is a certain luminous tunnel to her vision. The full implications may come later.

She's not the only scream. Hitomi hears herself shrieking for a moment as she sees Mitsuru topple over. Mitsuru doesn't go easily, or quickly, but it wasn't a single mis-step or a brief knock-back. The determination redoubles in that operational center of Hitomi's mind, and then she hears another person's cry. Is all this lucky near-miss just going to let her see everyone die?

Now what will I do?

But that other lady isn't dead yet.

That older lady - the one who first named this man. Kandori. I wonder what *her* name is, thinks Hitomi (who has not met Maki, after all). She wants to change. And her declaration and her *own* call makes another ray of light wash downwards. It feels warm. (Unknown to Hitomi, the wound in her arm stops bleeding immediately. It's not as if it's healed, but perhaps it's eased... stabilized. This may be funny later.)

Her heart hammers once.

She tenses, instead of shivering, for a moment. It hurts, of course, but hurting is low on the list right now. There are other pains than that of the body. She could swear she felt her heart skip when she saw Suzume get hurled back, something she saw moments ago but only *sees* now. Where is Suzume. She's - is she - but she's getting up. It's conscious. Oh, Suzume, Hitomi thinks --

And Hitomi also sees Suzume throw herself into an attack against their implacable foe. Hitomi has other priorities, she can't stare. And perhaps she cannot help. Her heart nearly skips again when she looks finally towards Minato and sees *Aigis* is -- is getting up. Recovering. The same way she did.

So I'll do the best I can.

So Hitomi steps further - and comes up beside *Minato Arisato*. "Arisato," she half-shouts with low urgency. "I'm --" Her eyes flick momentarily towards the Thing, and Hitomi loathes it, so she looks back to Minato. "I'm getting you out but don't stay for me," she says, before her eyes cut back, her head turns, Hitomi looks back at Minako. "-- What happened to your sister??" Because whatever it is, in all of its liveliest awfulness, it *might* be good.

Or at least less bad. But then the rallying Mitsuru storms inwards and snaps her rapier. An Execution is declared, but perhaps all she can do - all *they* can do - is imprison the malefactor for a time, and not a long time at that. At about the please, Hitomi reaches out to try to grab Minato by the forearm, though her grip is poor right about now.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Agilao on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 129 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Agilao. Critical Hit!
AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako wishes she could explain to Maki -- to anyone -- what is happening. The explanations don't come, though. She doesn't know what is happening. She only heard about her brother summoning Thanatos that fateful evening; she wasn't present, then.

Before she can dissociate again, though, Aigis's spell washes over her. The cloaking spell shimmers about her. Minako turns her head to the android, then she nods. "Th-thank you, Aigis-chan."

And another wave, reaching further. The healing magic washes over her -- and the truth is, she is getting ''exhausted'' with trying to manage Mors. Yanagi's magic keeps her on her feet. Minako glances back at her. "Thanks, um--" A pause. A blink. "Friend of peacocks-san!"

Mitsuru calls out. Begging them to run. She looks at her -- and she hesitates. "Senpai, we can't leave you behind," she says. "I-I'm going to try to give us an opportunity to run, all of us! Please, don't... don't throw your life away!"

Minako looks sideways at Minato. She swallows, before she -- somehow -- forces a smile at her brother. It's cheerful. It's radiant. As always, it's also a lie. When she speaks, the exhaustion is apparent; her voice is halfway to a sob. "I know," she says. "I'm not letting him take you, Minato-kun."

Even if it kills me, she thinks.

Mors's slash gains Kandori's attention. She flies backward, just slightly, at the attention of both Kandori and Nyarlathotep. Minako looks at his eyes -- or the pits of utter darkness where his eyes should be -- and her own crimson eyes narrow. "I'm some empty fool," she says. "I don't know what you're on about... but I'm more than you think I am!"

She grits her teeth -- and then she cries out, with sharp pain, as light explodes ''inside'' of Mors. The blast throws her backward; coffins clatter against each other, loudly. Minako forces herself upright, exhaling a deep breath.

"Fukura-chan..." Minako says, quietly, as she sees Suzume rush forth with Atalanta. She makes an opening, though at a cost -- and Minako's teeth grit together. But she has to take it. "Kandori-san!" she shouts. "Death comes for everyone--and if you've come back from it... then it means you're not finished!"

She looks at Mors, hovering next to her. "Mors, open the gates of hell!"

The gold-helmeted Persona screeches. The coffin lids spin on their ring, then all go upright. Then, on each of the six coffins, a steady mixture of black and white energy forms. They cascade together into a spiral -- and then shoot up into the air. They become sweeping parabolas, before they rain destruction down -- all of it centered on Kandori and Nyarlathotep.

The light from the explosions is blinding. But Minako turns to the others and calls out, her breathing ragged. "We--we should go!"

</poem>
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Minako Arisato spends Limit on Exploit! Minako Arisato can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Minako Arisato has used the Almighty skill Gate of Avernus on God Penguin!
AS: Minako Arisato: Gains 71 HP from Regen!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 259 Almighty damage from Minako Arisato's Gate of Avernus.

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
When Maki says they were the same, Kandori doesn't respond, at first, his gaze distant, remembering that aspect of himself that was drawn along with Maki by the Snow Queen.

"To tell me to continue to search for meaning. To offer hope in it's absence. It is less divine love and more demonic cruelty that you offer me Maki-san." And in her works, those who are defeated rise again, "And with a face of divine love, you offer them demonic cruelty in turn. Hope... such a tease."

This time, he touches his forehead and a card of the Arcana rises from his hands. From Nyarlathotep's tentacles, an inky blackness begins to spread, stealing the light from all it touches.

It feels like the preamble to something enormously dreadful. Something that must be avoided ''at all costs''.

Katsuya opens fire to cover them. This time, it's his sword that tries to swing up, but the shot causes him to grunt, as it buries itself into his shoulder, as black blood spills down his suit.

How odd.

Could he be becoming 'more' human- the more he's forced to confront his feelings?

Suzume, newly arisen, comes at Kandori from an angle that he isn't looking, yet the eyes of the Persona ''see'' her. He turns in time, for the wind spell to shove him back two paces, with a look of irritation on his face as Suzume's fists collide against the flat of his blade, the final one striking his chin.

Then with a hand, he roughly shoves her aside, in her barely standing state.

'There must be some determination other than that... or is that why you've become empty? I wonder if that's why you use the word as an insult... instead of a possibility.'

It catches him in something of a logical bind. One that actually stings. He can't say that the context is different, because is it really? An empty existence, an empty god.

"''Silence''." He spits out the word, seeming angry for the first time, perhaps in this fight.

And that's when an adorable prismatic Agilao explodes around Kandori, and despite the best fire resistance his tailor can offer- it ''singes'' his suit even as Badb shrieks darkness upon him.

His baleful look to the two of them could sear them from reality, if he'd placed any of his power behind it, but his Persona will manage it on it's own. Whatever Nyarlathotep is doing seems like it's growing worse, tendrils of darkness snaking as if to utterly close off their presence from the outside world, in a different manner.

'Simply because one lacks the joy of living does not give one the right to rob others of it. I will not allow it!'

"Heh." As he's 'declawed' once again, he comes down from his anger. "You have not the eyes to witness it. The self-destructive spiral of mankind's desires." What is he talking about? "It is not an imposition upon others that I once offered, but freedom from the pointlessness of it all."

Ogun's gravity spell weighs him down, and his knees buckle under the weight. A God does not do well, being forced to grovel upon the Earth. "You should have ''stayed down'', Masao-san." He grimaces, as Eriko calls forth the power of an Archangel. So like the power that brought him low, three years ago.

The searing light of the flaming sword descends, against his katana's sudden parry. Holy Flames surge around him, as he is depressed further and further in the ground between that and his gravity spell.

Even when he's finally getting up from it, Mitsuru slides, and slices it across the back of his ankles, "Nngh-" And then a tomb of ice forms as he tries to stay on his feet. It looks like it might hold- then it simply ''evaporates'' before him. "-then you should have handed him over." He says as he rises again.

And Mitsuru will have the eerie instinct that he doesn't mean her 'dying here today' as a consequence of handing him over. Hitomi tries to cover their exit, with an Agilao- and man his tailor is going to have a rough time today.

"You won't escape-' 'Kandori-san! Death comes for everyone--and if you've come back from it... then it means you're not finished! Mors, open the gates of hell!'

Black and White energy forms from Mors, and this is the only time that the twisted form of Nyarlathotep rises up to meet it. The tentacled monstrosity takes the brunt of the blow head on, as destruction rains down, it's tentacles crossing over its body as it's bombarded by the energy.

Its cracked statue like form seems even worse in many areas, several tentacled limbs distended and scorched and torn beyond their capacity to act. and then it makes an inhuman noise, the halo around its head beginning to whirl, as that blackened energy tries to close off their last escape...

And in the middle of it all, sounds of a motorcycle engine begin to roar through the Dark Hour. An unusual sound to be certain, given that Mitsuru Kirijo is here, fighting.

Yet, when its headlight can be seen in the gloom of the Dark Hour racing down the ramp into Aoba Arc, making a quick turn as rubber burns and shrieks- is, could that be Tatsuya Suou?

No. It's someone else entirely.

A young adult man wearing a white motorcycle helmet, leaps off his bike, wearing goggles over glasses that tears off. A blue scarf with a '1' imprinted upon it tied around his neck. His motorcycle leathers bear the words 'To the Number 1' on his back as well.

Strangely, his mere presence causes a deescalation within the figure in front of them. As he dismisses his Persona, Nyarlathotep snapping out of existence, without ever unleashing what it was trying to do with those devouring tendrils of void stuff- all of his works vanishing within an instant.

"Hnnh- Kei-san." Kandori grunts as he stands straighter, adjusting his suit, "You're late." Kei Nanjo replies with a strange self-assurance as he surveys them. "So you've returned, with all your godlike power, Kandori. ... Only to waste it flexing upon children like some schoolyard bully. Let them go."

Kandori stares at Kei with those void pits, frowning, "To be lectured by you again? There's no dishonor in playing the role I've been assigned."

Kei walks closer, unsheathing a long curved katana from a saya at his side.

"... I'm unpersuaded by your words. When we last met, your ambitions had made you a puppet." He points the Katana at him, "What I see before me now is a spineless one, without honor or purpose to call your own."

His tone takes on a greater heat, "Withdraw! Do so of your own accord. Prove to me there is anything of the man that we bested three years ago within you. ... Or show that in your rebirth that you aren't even worthy of my scorn."

For a time, Kandori's every muscle goes taut, like he's resisting the urge to follow this emotion stirred within him.

And then he reaches within his pocket, withdrawing a new pair of sunglasses, placing them on his face, to cover his eyes anew.

He looks then upon Masao, upon Maki... upon Eriko, from behind his sunglasses, his expression growing more neutral as he considers their words, even Minato's and Minako's- thinking upon it, as if weighing the sum of it all together. "Out of respect to those who defeated me three years ago, I will do as you ask. The young Fool will be allowed to walk freely. ...For now. But I will not return the Shadow of the Hierophant Arcana."

"... I won't thank you for this." Kei notes, as Kandori replies, "I wouldn't expect you to, Kei-san." Strangely enough, he begins to walk away. He doesn't vanish, doesn't transport himself elsewhere, he ''walks''.

Kei Nanjo takes off his helmet, and looks to Mitsuru Kirijo, to Eriko Kirishima, to Maki Sonomura and to Masao Inaba. "Know that I typically take pride in my punctuality... you have my apologies for my tardiness, I can offer no excuse for it."

And just like that, they are gone from the dire situation they are in.

This doesn't solve the problem of several hundred people strewn about in Aoba Park during the Dark Hour, mercifully still insensate. Fortunately the Shadows have grown quiet after the Hierophant was banished.

Some will recover. Some will have a certain degree of apathy syndrome. One man and one w
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>

Some will recover. Some will have a certain degree of apathy syndrome. One man and one woman will be unaccounted for in the aftermath, after their transformations. What's clear though is, despite the Hierophant being currently beyond their reach... if they hadn't been here, this could have been far worse.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako sags as the attack finishes. She stares for a second -- and then realizes, with mounting horror, that Nyarlathotep is still intact. And it's still blocking their escape. But intervention -- and salvation -- comes in a way she didn't expect.

Nanjo...?

She sags a little more -- and Mors vanishes behind her. Then, as exhaustion sets in, Minako topples forward, unconscious.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi thanks her, in that telepathic whisper. Maki hears it, and hearing her friend ''live'' enough to thank her is a reward all its own. Maki smiles, even if it only lasts a bare moment. A tip of Vesper's hat tells her another person feels hope. Suzume looks to her. Katsuya swings his gun. And Ririka... Well, Ririka calls her navigator-senpai, and Maki manages another brief smile to her. Seeing every person who stands up again gives Maki a little more hope. Maybe it won't matter. ...Maybe it can't matter.

But right now, there is something meaningful happening. She believes that.

She believes it while Mark is with her. ...She believes it while Eriko is with her.

"That promise matters," Maki tells Eriko firmly, her voice full of meaning.

"...Elly-chan--"

But she promised, too. She promised that if she could find the opening, she'd get everyone out she could.

And there are so many who are ready to lay themselves down for the others. Mitsuru, for one, rises. Mitsuru thanks her, too. And then--

Hitomi may not know Maki's name, but she may have a chance to learn. Even though... 'don't stay for me.'

Much as she feels hope, Maki feels pain; pain, for each of these people. Each person who seeks to help the others in turn...

Kandori remembers. And Maki hears his answer, in turn. "...Is it so cruel?" she wonders. "To want to hope?"

She sees the card starting to rise. That darkness--

Maki knows she can't do anything against it. She has used up what power she has. And yet...

And yet everyone is trying so hard. ''So'' hard.

"...Yes," Maki says. "Man can be self-destructive." She knows that's true. "...But that's not all we are."

And Minako's sheer ''power''--

But suddenly... Suddenly there is--

"You," Maki says to Kei. No dishonor, and yet...

Kandori offers 'respect'. Maki blinks in surprise. "Kandori-san..."

He walks away. And Nanjo just apologizes for--

"..."

Maki smiles at Kei, but there are tears in her eyes. "..."

She finds that for all she was talkative before, now her feelings are too much for her to express.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
"Arisato-- Minako-- you cannot--!

Why.

Why do they keep...

Ice simply evaporates in seconds, and all she hears is Minako's refusal as she tries in vain to buffer this creature.

Even in this, she falls short.

She sees the familiar silhouette of Kei Nanjo exchanging words with Kandori. His voice is a numb, ringing echo in her ears.

"Nanjo... you..."

She told Hitomi once: 'I cannot allow myself worsts.' She cannot afford weakness. Failure. She has already had to endure it once. Another could cost her everything.

But as the light dimples out of the vision of Mitsuru Kirijo's rolling eyes, the only thing she can think of as she falls to the indifferent earth is,

Have I already failed--?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke wasn't sure whether or not he should have been angry that the god had ignored him. Part of him felt he should have been insulted by it all. Was the truly that weak, that his blow had not warranted a wayward glance, or a single word of dismissal? Was he that pathetic that all his rage and fury had amounted to little more than smoke in the wind? But another part thought that perhaps it was for the best he'd been ignored. If he was that weak, the attention of a being that powerful - man or god or supernatural manifestation - would have erased him from the face of the Earth.

Then tension in the air was thick enough that Hyousuke could have cut it with a knife. He did not know who the one on the motorcycle was - there was only Persona user he knew that rode one of those, and Kei was most certainly not her. But their presence seemed enough to banish the fathomless dark, and save them all from the wrath that had hung over them like a headsman's axe. He didn't know them, their motives, their relation to Kandori... but he was at least quietly grateful that they'd spared the group an ignominious end.

He looked slowly around, making sure there was nothing else to threaten his friends, and theirs besides. Satisfied that they no longer had need of him - if they had ever had need in the first place - Hyousuke dragged his tired, limping, body into the dark beyond. Every twitch of his limbs made it feel like they would give out from under him, or fall away completely. He couldn't conjure a coherent train of thought, and moved almost entirely on instinct. The agony of poison still wracked him like fire in his veins. But to show any of that - to collapse before them - was weakness he could not afford to display.

The steps grew quiet, his form grew distant, and Hyousuke limped out of sight.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-05-16: Revelations: Persona

2026-05-21T19:21:34Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: Revelations: Persona''' *'''Cast:''' Penguin Sniper, Maki Sonomura, Minato Arisato, Masao Inaba, Suzume Fukura, Pernelle, Akihiko Sanada, Minako Arisato, Umie Akabane, Aigis, Hyousuke Suzuki, Yanagi Nagisa, Mitsuru Kirijo, Julian Marlowe, Eriko Kirishima, Ririka Kawase, Hitomi Mandai, Katsuya Suou *'''Where:''' *'''OOC Date:''' May 20, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 12, 2012 *'''..."

*'''Log: Revelations: Persona'''
*'''Cast:''' [[God Penguin|Penguin Sniper]], [[Maki Sonomura]], [[Minato Arisato]], [[Masao Inaba]], [[Suzume Fukura]], [[Pernelle]], [[Akihiko Sanada]], [[Minako Arisato]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Aigis]], [[Hyousuke Suzuki]], [[Yanagi Nagisa]], [[Mitsuru Kirijo]], [[Julian Marlowe]], [[Eriko Kirishima]], [[Ririka Kawase]], [[Hitomi Mandai]], [[Katsuya Suou]]
*'''Where:'''
*'''OOC Date:''' May 20, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 12, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''The Hierophant Shadow has been taken, stolen away by Hisataka Shinjo, the secretary to Tatsuzou Sudou... but several youths that knew him three years prior know him by another name: Takahisa Kandori. And it seems he's not satisfied with merely taking the Shadow... can anything stop the man who became a god?''

----

AS: Umie Akabane has readied for combat as Badb! She is now fully healed!
AS: Masao Inaba has readied for combat as Ogun! He is now fully healed!
AS: Aigis has readied for combat as Palladion! She is now fully healed!
AS: Hitomi Mandai has readied for combat as Tyche! She is now fully healed!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo has readied for combat as Penthesilea! She is now fully healed!
AS: Minako Arisato has readied for combat as Linos! She is now fully healed!
AS: Maki Sonomura has readied for combat as Taishan Niangniang! She is now fully healed!
AS: Minato Arisato has readied for combat as Orpheus! He is now fully healed!
AS: Akihiko Sanada has readied for combat as Polydeuces! He is now fully healed!
AS: Suzume Fukura has readied for combat as Atalanta! She is now fully healed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki has readied for combat as Achilles! He is now fully healed!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa has readied for combat as Giselle! She is now fully healed!
AS: Pernelle has readied for combat as Anqa! He is now fully healed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima has readied for combat as Nike! She is now fully healed!

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
LAST TIME ON THE VELVET ROOM

The Hierophant Shadow feels like it must be on its last legs. It must be. Its entire form is sagging, like the masculine figure seated upon the feminine throne might fall off if they weren't grafted together.

And then, the Shikigami figures guarding the Shadow divide into two more Shikigami, the distinctions washing away. They encircle the figure, twirling, dancing.

And in the distance a bell rings. Chiming like a Priestess wielding a Kagura Suzu, but there's something wrong with it.

The Shikigami all take positions, their parodies of limbs joining together as they all bend strangely where their waists might be.

"I invoke the power of the Kimon Tonkou. Wander endlessly in your banishment from this realm, Shadow of the Arcana."

A feminine voice, from a figure in a stylish black dress and a veil that simply melts out of the shadows of Aoba Park.

Bringing forth a Paper Talisman, it catches fire in front of them as a gate of gray light opens beneath the Hierophant. Mist pours out from this portal to another realm.

The Hierophant Shadow lets out a burble of protest as it panics, trying to smash against one of the Shikigami, but the blow is deflected. It begins to become translucent. Then it vanishes entirely, the Shikigami do the same soon after.

Then it is gone. The navigators cannot even feel the smallest hint of its presence. Only the lingering absence.

Replaced by something far- different. Far worse.

The click of the footsteps of his well polished shoes sounds just as loudly. A man wearing an off-black business suit and a darker dress shirt, sporting a pair of sunglasses with jagged lines of black trailing down his face from each lens.

The Navigators may wonder if he's a man at all.

The man stops a short distance from the battleworn figures and speaks with a hint of sardonic irony. "The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. It is said that to know the forces that guide one's self is a precious gift."

His smile is just a little too wide as the veiled woman stands behind him.

"It is past time you children learn what a curse it can be."

NOW

With the sunglasses on, one cannot see his eyes, but three in the crowd know he's looking at them.

"It would seem fate has decreed that we stand on the same stage once again." He remarks, "The curtain had fallen, but 'he' has demanded an encore performance."

There's a similar passivity to his words, an ambivalence. As if ambition had been completely stolen from him reaching the pinnacle.

To have the power to reach for the stars and blot them out of the sky, and to feel- nothing. An absence of desire, of drive now that he had achieved all he set out to do.

"And yet, so many new fresh-faced youths stand with you." He looks over the crowd in turn, "So many that have not the slightest concept on where the Fool's journey will take them." Faint amusement creases his lips, "What do you think? Are they worthy successors to your legacy?"

A fingertip adjusts his sunglasses, and it's like he's far away for several long seconds.

"My name is Hisataka Shinjo of the New World Order but it is little more than a nom de guerre for this performance. As for my true name... well..." He smirks, "... far be it from me to say it and steal their opportunity to be your Seniors."

Blink, and you'll miss it, that moment where he is suddenly standing in front of Mitsuru Kirijo, rather than where he was before.

"The pawns of the penitent, they who call themselves 'S.E.E.S.'... We will be taking the Shadow of the Hierophant Arcana. 'He' has decided you cannot be allowed to stumble about in the in-between time any longer, meddling with forces far beyond your ken."

There's a glimmer of cruelty, of malice in what part of his expression that can be seen, a shadow of his past self.

"But that is not all we will be laying claim to. 'He' desires that a certain meddler be dealt with. The Devil you don't know requires no introduction"

Pernelle in that moment gets an odd sense, that he means him. Despite no indication of such, he's not even looking at him. Perhaps it's simply his own tendencies.

Or perhaps it's some deeper survival instinct than that.

He turns to face one Minato Arisato and Minato feels something ''stir'' within him, as what's behind his sunglasses tries to hold his gaze.

"And the Fool- this young Wild Card will be coming with us."

And to those who have faced this man before, Maki Sonomura in particular, the horror of the implications of why they would want him speaks upon itself.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki senses something strange. Just in time--for the ring of the bell. There is something wrong there, and then the Kimon Tonkou is invoked. Maki frowns.

"What...?" It's gone. Not here--instead, there is--

The ichor at least is gone, but maki is not relieved; she sees the man. She does not need to speculate as to what he is, not really.

A curse...

"Takahisa Kandori," Maki manages eventually. "...Kandori-san!" she cries, and she knows him. She knows him perhaps better than ''anyone'' at this point, or at least, anyone living. The horror and dismay and complex ''emotion'' in her voice is plain.

Are they worthy successors? "...They want what my friends wanted, back then. To help. To save people. That's worthy. That means something!"

He moves. And 'he'... has decided.

'This young Wild Card will be coming with us.'

"NO!" Maki shouts suddenly, all the conflict in her heart suddenly channeled into certainty. "You can't! You saw all of this before--you saw how meaningless it was, in the end!"

"...I almost..."

"Wasn't it enough!? What we did before? ...When we almost destroyed everything?" Maki asks.

"Not again. NOT AGAIN!"

"I thought..."

"I thought we both learned. I thought we both learned how empty it was. So why!? Kandori-san, why!?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Five minutes -- though with all this power, they might just make it.

This wouldn't be the first Full Moon Arcana with a time limit, Minato knows. The High Priestess, too, tick, tick, ticked down to oblivion, as the train it had subverted hurtled down the tracks to mass destruction.

That also means... this wouldn't be the first time five minutes became three.

Two.

One...

(As the bell tolls, there is a shift, in the air; as if something no one had quite realised they were being watched by ''flinched.'' In this moment, it becomes easier to find one's way to the park -- a way which had been obscured. The Navigators in this battle might be too occupied to focus on it, but there's ''one'' Navigator SEES has on the back lines who's been trying to scry out the truth...)

Minato isn't focused on that, though.

Minato is looking at the Hierophant, the masculine mystique which matches the High Priestess's time pressure.

'Save us', they'd said; is this what they meant, as they hit the floor? The girl isn't choking on ichor, any more.

And there is a man, in grey and in black...

Are the bodies falling away from him, or did he just know where they'd fall?

Minato looks to him and the woman with him, his blank face betraying no real emotion as that man speaks. (Down to them, he supposes his team might say; Minato doesn't really notice the quality.)

'He'... huh. Passive voice. The boy listening called Minato does recognise that. The head he's in turns, when 'Shinjo' -- Kandori? -- steps before Mitsuru. Strangely, for once, he feels... something might even be stronger than her.

He takes a step forward -- to protect his Ice Queen? But then that man turns to him -- and he pauses. He is quiet, for long moments. It is easy to say that Maki's horror has moved even his dispassionate soul to terror, beneath his blank face. But... no. No: something inside him recognises that silhouette.

Then...

"I have one question for you..." Minato speaks up. What incisive observation has he noticed that will help them succeed?

"... why are you wearing sunglasses at night?"

we're all gonna die

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao, growing exhausted from the usual strains of fighting in the Dark Hour and watching such a grisly thing unfold with those cultists, finds his loud-mouthed self speechless. 'What the fuck,' he mouths, because there's no volume loud enough to really capture the emotion here.

"You're r--" He's about to shout, when Maki cuts him off with her 'not again. NOT AGAIN!' He won't talk over her there. Everything that happened... even if he was one of the ones who fought through that ordeal with the rest, there are some things you just cannot claim to know, or feel, as closely and wholly as Maki does.

He shakes his head, as if he's still trying to sort his own feelings out, but-- not for long.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Masao shouts over to Minato and the others of SEES. "Don't let that guy take you! Get outta here! Get outta here RIGHT NOW!" But could they run from him, with how quickly the once dead man has moved into position?
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>This is not the way Suzume has ever seen an Arcana Shadow defeated before. Pulled away to another realm by shikigami and a priestess' bell.

Suzume whirls around to look at the man as he speaks, almost in sync with Minato, though *she* wasn't the one precisely being addressed. She doesn't know him. Her eyes narrow slightly anyway. She's already amped up from the battle, and feeling like she failed from the cultist that collapsed into a Shadow.

She takes one step forward, then another.

"Don't call them fools," she says, perhaps not really getting entirely what he meant by that - because while Minato might not have noticed that he was talking down to them, Suzume certainly did. She's had enough of being talked to like she's an idiot... even if in this case she really is ignorant.

Her hand tightens around the grip of one of her tonfa's grips, clenching into a fist hard enough her knuckles whiten, as she steps forward too. She's supposed to be fighting for the rest of SEES. They're depending on her to keep them safe...

"Who're you, who gets to decide that?" Suzume is very obviously part of SEES - she put on her coat, it has the shoulder band attached - so she knows she was being addressed. "What did you want with the Shadow? And they're not going with you either."

Suzume darts forward, suddenly, as if trying to interpose herself between the man - Shinjo? Kandori? - and the Arisatos. It's Minato she goes toward first - she's closer to him, both physically and socially, he's one of her friends and she's not going to let him get hurt if she can help it. She doesn't *attack* - but she does raise her hands as if she was moving into a boxer's guard, protectively.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
For all of Pernelle's dancing and flame -- to say nothing of the Persona users who were certainly putting in a lot more effort into the battle with the shadow -- it is a strange occurrence that sees the end of the battle. Pernelle goes uncharacteristically quiet, pushing his glasses back up his beak as he observes this man. His feathers ruffle and smooth out.

His long neck lowers, just a touch, as he squints out under the brim of his hat to listen to Hisataka Shinjo speak to the youths and to the Fools, and to...

Pernelle subtly, carefully, scuttles his way back to Yanagi one muffled fall of a clawed foot at a time while attention falls to Minato Arisato, and Minato meets that attention with a perfect question Pernelle would ordinarily be all too eager to bandwagon.

Instead...

"This has become truly ''fascinating''," he whispers to Yanagi. "Wonderful adventure. Fantastic twists all around. The night has peaked beautifully and I have full faith in the ardor of the gathered. ... I think we should leave."

There's a twitch in the way his head turns to look to the man and back to her again.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko isn't at all sure what to expect from this man in the suit, wearing sunglasses during the Dark Hour. There's at least one thing he realizes.

The moment he appears next to Mitsuru, this guy is bad news.

"Hey! Get away from her!" Akihiko lets out a yell.

However, it takes a moment for this 'Hisataka Shinjo' said to sink in. "Wait... You didn't kill that Shadow?" Isn't that bad? Wouldn't that mean the Dark Hour won't end ever now? "Hold on, that Shadow needs to die to end the Dark Hour...!" Will it even matter to the man, claiming to be apart of the New World Order...?

Then, the kicker. He wants to take Minato, their co-leader. Where? For what purposes? It doesn't matter. "Absolutely not! You'll have to go through SEES before taking our co-leader anywhere!" He rushes forward, aiming to get between Minato and this Shiinjo asshole.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
The Hierophant vanishes. But it not defeated; the shikigami around it seem to pull it ''somewhere''. It vanishes before Minako Arisato's very eyes, and she feels her jaw slacken with confusion. She is kneeling from its last blow. She feels, for a moment, like she is somewhere else entirely. Like she is watching herself see this impossibility. This failure on the part of SEES, that they could never have predicted.

The click of footsteps echo hollowly in her ears. Like she is a million miles away -- like she watches it on television. The well-dressed man's words are distant, as if heard from another room. His true name?

She starts to tense, when he appears before Mitsuru, just like that. She feels it distantly; a tension in her neck, the muscles in her jaw starting to set. Then, Kandori turns his attention onto her brother. Maki's screaming is a distant, piercing cry.

LAST NIGHT

"You're back."

Inside of his greenlit room, Pharos looks up. It's a strange, featureless thing -- but the edges of the walls seem to fuzz and blur, and there is a window overlooking placid waters and capturing the reflection of the almost full moon. It is Dark Hour, but it is also a dream.

Minako Arisato knows that well. "It means the moon's almost full, doesn't?"

"Mm," Pharos says. "Yes. I'm surprised you still come to visit me, though..."

Minako tilts her head. There is a moment where she is quiet -- and then she smiles at the boy. "We're friends, right? Besides... it seems like it must be lonely here."

"Lonely... yes, I suppose so," Pharos says. "I never thought of it before. I only go to visit one other person."

"My brother," Minako ventures, her lips drawing into a line.

"...Yes."

"But never me," she says.

"No," Pharos says. "You're different. But... I'm glad you come visit me. And I'm glad I can see him. I worry about him though."

Her red eyes close, and she smiles. She exhales. "Don't," she says. "Everything I do... it's to keep him safe."

NOW

'...will be coming with us,' Kandori says, and the words come into sharp focus. Minako's crimson eyes come into sharp focus, looking straight at Kandori. As Minato steps forward, speaking to the well-dressed man with that flat affectation. And then Minako stands up from where she had been kneeling. Masao calls out in protest, and Suzume shoots forward.

Minako kicks her naginata off where it fell -- and grabs it, point leveled at Kandori. She stalks up, beside her brother. Suzume can see the point of the blade poking just past her shoulder.

Her voice is steel when she speaks. Her eyes blaze red.

"You're not going to lay a fucking finger on my brother."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie should have realized her efforts to ignore everything but the massive shadow, _including the Shikigami_, would bite her in the ass. Shikigami multiply and surround the Hierophant Shadow, and a feminine voice employs the Kimon Tonkou. (Note to Umie Self: ask Shiryuu if he knows what the heck that is, that sounds like one of those archaic things a Shiryuu would know about.)

As the figure reveals themselves, Umie tenses, unsure of whether this is an ally or not. Could it be the Bride? ... Hmm, no, the Bride's never utilized these kind of abilities before. It's just the veil that makes her think of that comparison, really.

At least Umie didn't have to linger in thoughtful silence for long, as another joins in, impeccably dressed, with the confidence that can only come from a man who wears sunglasses at night.

But beyond that... "...." Umie is not a Navigator at all; most of her abilities partial at best, subscribing to a completely opposite philosophy: not being seen. The senses that could be seen as Navigator adjacent, limited in scope as they may be... they fire off with the only information that would have been necessary for Umie to survive, by herself:

'Get the fuck out of here.'

".... You missed it," she says, instead, filled with false confidence, as he strides in.

'Hisataka Shinjo.' Should Umie have been surprised? Her face remains stony, not wanting to give away the secret information that was shared with her from the three gathered here.

.... The three that the man has had his gaze on throughout his introduction, though Umie wouldn't have known, even when Maki cries out, and rips open that collective memory of those three open anew.

Why does it feel even worse that Umie can't feel her at all? No comments, no back-handed praise, not even a coy silence, like the times when Mai-chan punished her by letting her rot in complete isolation without a single snarky comment to hang on.

There's just that novel sensation of a hollow, impersonal vacuum.

"So what do you mean, by 'Wild Card'?" Umie asks, as she, as if freed from stone by Maki's cry, takes a single step towards the man.

But only one. She's still a coward, even in front of all these people.

Minako's own defiance stirs the masked blonde up just a bit further, to take yet another step. "... About what Sonomura-san said. You still feel that way, don't you," Umie says to the man, quietly. "Yet you're still letting your strings be pulled by the Order, and by 'him'."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Earlier, Aigis had brought ''almost'' everything she had to bear to riddle the Hierophant Shadow with holes -- almost. Taking down the Full Moon Shadows is important --

-- but if either of the Arisato twins should fall, then all would be lost. That grim calculus constantly weighs heavy in her mind.

Thus the 'almost.' She needs a contingency plan in case something threatens either of them. There's always a part of her that holds back until an emergency requires the last of her reserves.

The moment that Shinjo's eyes settle on Minato, Aigis' right hand emits that telltale 'clack' of another round of ammunition loading into the chambers. Even as damaged as she is, she burns the rest of her energy into stepping in front of the twins, right alongside Suzume and Akihiko.

Aigis declares a stern warning: "You will not touch him. There will be no trouble if you refrain from doing so." It is not a request, but a statement. She turns her head back to Minato and Minako, then nods at Masao. "You two first. Please do as he says."

She levels her gaze back to Shinjo, keen on watching his every move. "That man ... is dangerous."

To Minato's later question, she tilts her head and quietly offers a possible explanation: "(... perhaps he has light sensitivty from a recent operation?)"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>The pain, the panic, the warping of his mind - all of it had left Hyousuke exhausted. It was not an unfamiliar feeling. It was not even the worst he'd felt. A momentary lull in the action had allowed him to gather what little remained of his strength, and prop himself up on limbs that screamed for rest. He silenced them, and quelled the burning pain that seared his blood, with an unhealthy dose of whatever healing items he could drag from out of his pouches. He would pay for it in the morning, he was sure, but he could worry about that when morning came.

If it came at all.

The pain was not so much dispelled as it was silenced. He could feel a numb ache in his body, but it had been smothered beneath the properties of whatever he'd administered to himself. It wasn't much, and it certainly wasn't healthy, but it was enough for Hyousuke to peer through the black and see what had happened. Unfamiliar figures danced in the gloom, doing away with the foe they had struggled against with every fibre of their being - that he had almost collapsed under the might of - before someone else entered the fray. Or, rather, some*thing* else.

Hyousuke drew his fists into a guard and clenched his jaw, snarling like a guard dog faced with an intruder. He didn't know who the stranger was, or what they wanted, but something deep inside of him triggered an instinct that told him to defend. With rumbling throat and tightly-clenched fist, he drew towards the group, putting his body before theirs, as if the presence of mere flesh could stall for enough time for them to do something about that... thing. It was in vain, of course. They seemed to vanish in a heartbeat, appearing before people he did not recognise before he had the chance to blink. He snapped around in response, ready to summon his Persona, but his body could not match the strength of his mind.

There was still pain, and exhaustion, and fear. The Hierophant Shadow had taken all but the dregs of his energy, and the healing items had not yet given him time to recover. But he could still put on a show. Make a thread display, show this new figure that he meant business, brandish his gun if he had to. Anything to repel them. He did not know what them taking Minato would mean exactly, of course. He was not savvy tot hat kind of thing. But his gut told him it would be bad, and he told himself it would not be allowed to pass.

"Dunno why this asshole's wearing glasses..." Hyousuke snarled, speaking through clenched teeth. "...But I'm gonna knock 'em right off his smug goddamn face if he doesn't step back." That familiar fury began to flare in his eyes, threatening to melt the visor obscuring them with the heat of his gaze alone, and the fibres in his costume creaked with the strain of his grip. "Get away from them, or I'll drag you out of here myself."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
LAST TIME

Pernelle confirmed that he loves Yanagi very much, just before getting blown up by a Mahama spell.

"Aww...!" This bothers Yanagi not at all, for the light truly only lets Pernelle dazzle the stage even more. She hurries over to him with a tup-tup-tup of her cane, drops to her knees, and wraps her arms around him in a squeezy hug that nonetheless remains mindful of his many gorgeous feathers. "I love you too, Pernelle! <3"

The scuttling back to her side will thus have to be in spirit. Everyone can appreciate that right now, surely, because this is when the shikigami encircle the Hierophant, and a woman's voice banishes it to another realm. Yanagi lifts her head, eyebrows furrowing as the powerful creature and its paper escorts simply... vanish, both from sight and from her senses.

They are soon replaced by a dark man in dark glasses with a dark purpose.

NOW

Yanagi's eyes narrow as he introduces himself as being with the New World Order. She sucks in a little breath at his sudden relocation in front of Mitsuru. How he will be 'dealing' with 'the Devil you don't know'--an odd phrase--and that he'll be taking Minato. She'd think little of the former, vague as it is, if Pernelle didn't start whispering to her.

What he suggests, and the way he twitches...

"..."

...is not especially Pernelle-like behavior.

But then Maki re-names this man--and that recontexualization means Yanagi recognizes him. ...and that means this strange, oppressive man also had something to do with what happened to Mikage-cho after she died. That's part of a past that she wasn't even present for. Yet...

She whispers back, "I agree. But slowly. Slowly, yes? Predators track movement." Pernelle, as an avaricious predator of all things he can possibly stuff down his gullet, would no doubt understand. "Let him pay attention to SEES instead of us." Between Minato's blithe question and how his sister and teammates all leap to his defense, he seems like he'll be all right.

As for Yanagi, she just wants to know more, and therefore wants the time to hear what else her former schoolmates have to say--while also getting further away from this... person... who has even her beloved Pernelle intimidated, who has Masao ''screaming'' at SEES to get away. She knows quite well it would benefit her to get away too.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
This is it. It should be over.

It's not.

Mitsuru Kirijo knows there is something wrong before her heels even touch the frosty street beneath her. The Hierophant should be destroyed -- or if not, close enough to it that it the deed should be done by the time she looks back. And yet -- something ''feels'' amiss.

She notices movement from her peripheries. Her eyes widen. Why didn't she notice before??

"Wait! The shikigami--!"

She had assumed they were part of the Shadow.

Stupid. Stupid. ''Stupid''--

The Shikigami surround, imprison, and outright ''vanish'' the Arcana Shadow entirely before Mitsuru can even pivot around, her eyes wide in shock and confusion just as much as her teeth grit and lips peel in self-recriminating anger. She can't even register Fuuka's seemingly much-needed healing in the heat of the moment as her eyes affix -immediately- upon the apparent source:

A single, simple man wearing wrongness as naturally as he wears a suit and shades.

He looks -- familiar. Hisataka Shinjo, he calls himself, but it rings false to her. Who--

''Takahisa Kandori. ...Kandori-san!''

"--Kandori?!" Mitsuru exclaims, eyes widening in recognition if but for the name and the infamy attached to it. How could she not know? The notorious head of S.E.B.E.C., the man behind those events so many years ago that coincided so closely with the birth of the Dark Hour. A man who--

"But -- you should be"

She barely manages to get those four syllables out before

"d"

suddenly

"ea"

she's not alone.

"--gk?!"

Black lenses burrow into her soul. She's stumbling - ''stumbling'' - back before she even realizes what she's doing, a gloved hand falling to her Evoker and expression struck with the shocked alarm of an animal that has received an unexpected sensory overload.

His words, however, help sharpen her focus.

Pawns of the penitent. They'll be taking the Hierophant - the thing they need to eliminate, to right their wrong. Meddling in forces beyond their ken, as if this was his right to deny them, as if - as if--

''And the Fool- this young Wild Card will be coming with us.''

Mitsuru's pride stings. But it's nothing compared to the sudden, protective impulse that surges over her as the man threatens one of her own. Mitsuru shifts, backpedaling from Kandori -- but if one thinks it's a retreat, well--

They only have to look at how her trajectory is ''instantly'' placing her between Minato and Kandori to know it's anything ''but'' that.

"No."

The world comes flat. Tense. She, once more, has no idea what is going on here -- when even ''one'' unknown is too much for someone who has spent their whole life trying to control every possible variable, ''this many'' is existential in its frustration. But she doesn't think about that now.

"You will return the Arcana Shadow to us. I will not allow you to perpetuate this evil one moment longer."

He moved without her even noticing. Something about him screams TERROR into the most primal centers of her brain.

"And on my honor as a Kirijo, you. Will not. TOUCH him."

But she can't afford to lose any more of her people. Not one more.

"Try it, and I promise will make sure the hand that dared never touches a single thing again."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Not all of those who had been surreptitiously keeping watch on the proceedings in Aoba Park had been ready to act, the moment when those events came to a head. By the time a certain white-masked gentleman arrives in the area, he had found his way to the park barred, in a strange, indirect manner.

He'd have suspected it was an effect generated by the threat at hand, if this particular 'lost in the fog' sensation wasn't so eerily familiar. Last time, it just so happened to ensnare him into the very place he wanted to be. This time, it seemed bent on steering him astray. Try as he might - and try he did - forcing his way through was getting him nowhere fast. Until, finally...

For reasons unknown, the sound of a bell heralds the clearing of the way, the latest attempt at breaching through to the center of the 'maze' suddenly proving not only possible, but effortless. Might this be a trap? Regardless, the man proceeds without hesitation.

And so, with calm, methodical footfalls of crisp leather shoes somehow entirely silent, Vesper finally arrives on the scene. Fashionably late? Certainly not. A gentleman always arrives exactly when he means to.

"Hisataka Shinjo... or, Takahisa Kandori, is it?" He just heard those names spoken for the first time from a distance just now, but heck if he's not going to make it sound like he has any idea who this person is. "Rather brazen of the New World Order to act so directly, in the midst of such a large gathering. While I might normally say your business is your own..."

With a flourish, the grey-suited man throws his right arm up, flinging the umbrella resting on it into the air, caught by the handle on the way down. With a following twirl and a dull thud, the opposite end lands in Vesper's open left palm.

"...If I'm not mistaken, you threatened a child just now, did you not? That won't do. That won't do at all."

Vesper never shows any outside indication of anger. That doesn't mean there isn't anything that makes him angry.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
When the Shikigami move, Eriko's eyes widen- she had noted them before but she hadn't realized until now what they meant- the Shikigami weren't part of the Arcana Shadow. They were serving someone else- and when she hears the voice command, Eriko starts to decipher what it means.

"Kimon Tonkou... the Stone Sentinel Maze..." Eriko frowns. Does that mean-

''It would seem fate has decreed that we stand on the same stage once again.''

Her thoughts about the spell are cast completely to the side when she sees what he's replaced with. For a moment, Eriko is frozen in fear, seeing who stands before them. With the scars, you could almost mistake him for someone else- but Reiji's scar is much smaller.

It's Maki's cry that snaps her out of it, and Eriko moves swiftly, stepping between her friend and Kandori, blade drawn- for what little good it will do. "...Kei was right," Eriko says, despite herself. "You were brought back somehow."

But then he declares that they will be taking the fool- but why Minato, and not Minako? They have two, after all.

"...That's assuming his friend there will give us an opportunity." Eriko's eyes drill briefly into the veiled figure who commanded the Shikigami. She has her suspicions, but...

She hears the way that S.E.E.S. declare their resolve, and Eriko smiles- but it's a hollow thing, filled with sorrow. "...Please listen when I tell you this," Eriko announces, keeping her calm compared to Mark's frantic panic. "We are about face the power of a man who transcended his humanity and became a God." There's no excitement in Eriko's voice right now, it's flat. Empty. "A man who has returned from death. I am not exaggerating at in the slightest when I say this. The last time I saw Takahisa Kandori, he was a corpse missing everything below his chest."

Eriko's eyes flit to Mitsuru Kirijo first. "...Kei told you some of it, didn't he?" The time for secrecy is gone now. Anyone with the knowledge to put two and two together could make four, after Maki cried out. "When we last fought him, we were much, much stronger than we were then." It's clear to see the shiver in Eriko's body now, even as she holds her blade. "...and there were more of us."

Kei, Reiji, Yuka, Yukino, Brown... Naoya... and the other Maki.

Seven people who aren't here now.

Pernelle suggests retreating, and Eriko's eyes flick to him. It's a good suggestion.

She'd love it if it were that easy. Minako steps forward with anger, and Eriko waves her blade out to the side. "...Don't jump to his bait. We're nowhere near his level right now, isn't that right, Mr Kandori? It would be a repeat of our encounter in your office right now, wouldn't it?" It's strange- there's not total bitterness behind Eriko's voice. Not the hatred one would expect for their enemy. There's sadness, and anger- but not hatred. "I assume that the Crawling Chaos has a part to play in your reemergence on the stage?"

Masao orders people to run, and Eriko looks to her two friends. "...Mark's right. We'll do what we can to buy you an opening. You all don't know what you're up against." Eriko frowns. "Don't split up, and don't get isolated." She glances briefly to Yanagi and Pernelle- and she doesn't begrudge them their fleeing.

Still, Eriko smiles grimly as Kandori asks his question of their legacy. "...If they're our legacy, it's our job as adults to make sure they can keep going, isn't that right?" Still, Eriko gives a mirthless grin that bares her teeth. "But if you ask me, I think they'll do fine if they have they chance to reach their potential- and I think I can speak for the others who aren't here too. Right, Maki-chan?" She looks to her best friend, and the memories of another in one quick glance.

"...I want us all to survive this," Eriko whispers to Maki and Mark both, "but if it comes down to it... Maki-chan, I want you to get the kids out of here, okay?"

She didn't fight Kandori the first time to free Maki's heart to let it be crushed again now.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Just a little bit more," Ririka urges. She's focused on the civilians present--the ones they might, hopefully, still save.

She isn't ready for the interruption that comes next. When the doorway open she blinks in shock-- "Wait, you can't!" Though the portal it goes, and Ririka franctically tries to extend her senses out to find it. "I-- I can't confirm if it's been defeated" she reports to SEES and the Persona Users more broadly. She's trying to keep her voice calm, but after all the upsetting developments tonight...

She watches as the man approaches, worry etched on her face. "What even..."

Hisataka Shinjio... of the New World Order. Given how tense the fight has been, somehow she still manages to feel a fresh surge of tension to eclipse the old.

Suddenly in front of Mitsuru, and then he lays claim to to the Shadow and to Minato. "No..."

And Maki calls out his true name, which draws Ririka's attention. "Do you know this guy!?"

Minato speaks, and for a moment Ririka is hoping it will be orders of some kind... but it's a question, instead. "Arisato-kun..." This is so not the time. She focuses her attention back on that man. "We won't let you take him!"

She has, indeed, been too focused on on the battle and the civilians to notice the shrouding. SEES' other Navigator will ahve to attend to that.

She might /want Fuuka here in the moment too--she's overtaxed, with fraying nerves, and she's already spent a lot of focus tonight. Luckily, she's not the only Navigator here.

She closes her eyes for a moment and hums to herself to center herself, before opening them and reaching for her keyboard. "I don't know who you think you are, but Arisato-kun is with ''us''! If you think we'd just hand him over without a fight, then you don't know a thing about us!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
As is often the case for Hitomi, she was not greatly distressed physically by the battle. Or rather, she did not have to run around and exert herself -- others, better suited for that, have done that. But she *was* scared semi-shitless; and she did, just now, run, though not far enough for another of her patented slouching and gasping for breath.

It's not that big of a park.

By any measure, it was a harrowing battle, despite that. The shock of that strange world-weary inclination towards passive despair and simply accepting the end, not in the sense of embracing impermanence but just laying down and waiting for death. The horrifying manifestation of the sealed persons, who Hitomi had taken at first for some cognitive illusion thrown at them.

(At least, that's the kind of maneuver she'd probably pull, if she could.)

Instead, they were real -- even if the worst she had done was knock some of them over to get them off of Aigis, they were alive! Alive and with mere minutes to spare before their horrid conversion into Shadows. (And they already lost one; maybe she was predisposed? Hitomi barely saw her. A melting woman on the ground. That is one that will stick with her.)

And there is someone else, now. Someone who has *taken* the Hierophant Shadow. (Did that mean they failed? Is that basically as good? *Where did these people take the Full Moon Shadow?* **HOW CAN THEY DO THAT??** These questions all scream inside of her head.)

Even as that person - if it is a person, as she would understand the term - introduces themselves (kind of) and speaks at length. He speaks to Mitsuru, and Hitomi can hear him even as she herself is breathing heavily. And whatever he says or *does* is making *Mitsuru* flinch!

It is an escalation. He makes a clear demand-- and then one of the others, one of the older people who were joining in (is she with Umie?, thinks Hitomi, though she may not know Umie as Umie, exactly) - she identifies him as someone else.

Someone doing it AGAIN.

AGAIN.
AGAIN.

A thought pops into Hitomi's mind for a moment. Did any of it matter?

A beat passes. For some reason her jaw aches, a single brisk throb. And then Minato answers the man himself, distant but clear in Hitomi's ears.

And then it feels like weight is sliding off her back, a coat of lead she didn't know she was wearing, and Hitomi straightens up. In fact, straighter than she usually is; she brings her hands round to rest on her hips with enough emphasis to make a slight 'pap' sound.

"None of that is going to happen," Hitomi says, quietly, perhaps with a little bit of coaching herself in her tone, but clearly enough. She sucks in a deep breath through her nose; exhales through her mouth. Her mind is simmering over, but somehow all the terror and fear feels like an updraft. Am I having a psychotic break? she wonders, academically, and maybe she is, because she takes one step, two steps forwards with a deliberate theatricality. Even as Suzume steps up, as Minako steps up.

"Arisato-chan~, you shouldn't swear like that," says Hitomi as she walks forwards. She does not move to physically interpose, but she is *there* - she actually moves laterally for several paces, in order to be in a defilade position. (at least that is the word Hitomi remembers for the advanced strategic art of 'shoot from a different direction at the same time as the rest of the force.')

"They might think you're uncouth and crude!" Hitomi continues, clapping her hands together and lacing the fingers. She gives a rather open-mouthed smile that doesn't reach your eyes.

Her eyes are bright, but not in a wholesome way. "Though, you should listen to Kirijo-sempai, and Arisato-chan, and Aigis, honestly, everyone! You seem really scary,"

haha, I am bluffing so hard
this is incredible!
terrifying!
We're probably all going to die, especially me!
What's going to happen!?

"But so are they, so maybe you should try again, Shinjo-san! Or, is it Kandori-san?" Hitomi's fingers unlace and she puts a finger on her chin. She pouts.

I wonder what's behind his glasses.
I can find out! Even if we all die, that's totally doable!
Goal set! Hooray!

"This really is an awful way to meet!"

</poem>
AS: Ririka Kawase has readied for combat as Amphion! She is now fully healed!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
BEFORE

Is such a thing possible? A great monstrous shadow that simply... transmutated from human flesh like that? Katsuya Suou can say that in his rather short (all told: just since late spring) career as a Persona-user, and his even more shallow experience with the Dark Hour, that he's never seen a Shadow quite like this.

Worse yet, there's that familiar sense of bewilderment keeping him from reaching any of the afflicted people, let alone the great Shadow itself. All it seems that he can do is watch, never getting any closer to the point he aims for.

That is, up until the moment when the spell seems to ''break'' with the chiming of a bell.

"Kirishima-kun! Inaba-kun!" He has zeroed in on two of the faces he can identify within the crowd as he bolts forward, finally free of the curse that had bound him at the periphery of the chaos.

He draws his gun, turning it on the great Shadow as it lurches forward

as a woman speaks

and the great Shadow is simply drawn into the depths of a grey gate across the bottom of the park. Fight as it might, it's just ''gone'' in the end.

"What in the..." Katsuya utters, aiming his firearm at the asphalt path of Aoba Park. It's gone. It's just gone.

But that doesn't mean that nothing is here.

"...What is this...?" he utters, speaking of the sensation that crawls across his Persona's awareness of such things.

It's... coming from that man.

NOW

"...Who? Wait," Katsuya says, taking in the man with the fearsome aura. He jolts where he stands, as if he'd been about to start forward only to arrest that in the bud. "Hisataka Shinjo? The secretary to Tatsuzou Sudou?"

Who is, of course, also of the New World Order. He glances over at Maki as she calls out a different name.

"...Takahisa Kandori? But, didn't he die during the SEBEC Incident?" An accident during a prototype equipment test, or something like that, he thinks they'd said, but... ...is it possible he didn't actually die?

No, says Eriko, and Katsuya looks at her in shock. "But that's... that's impossible!" he utters, completely failing to grapple with the 'reality' of the moment. "Surely there's some misunderstanding! Even with a rumor, surely...?

Shinjo, Kandori, says that a certain young man will be coming with him.

Katsuya glances just the once at Minato and shakes his head. "Absolutely not! You-- whoever you are! Abduction of a minor by force is punishable by imprisonment for up to seven years!"

His grip on his firearm is white-knuckled, yet he does not yet lift its barrel from where it is currently directed, perhaps in the hope that this need not yet end in violence. But also because... he can already feel it. Fighting this person could be the end.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Maki Sonomura calls his name right on cue. There is an echo of fatherly affection within him. Her desire for a Father made manifest within her, reflected in him. She might even swear he's still fond of her, in a sense.

"Does it?" He replies after a time, "Does it mean anything?" His head tilts high, as he stares at the Full Moon, shining bright reflecting eerily on his sunglasses.

'... Please listen when I tell you this, we are about to face the power of a man who transcended his humanity and became a God.'

He smiles as Eriko Kirishima and Maki Sonomura take him up on his offer, to be the seniors here.

'But -- you should be dea--gk?!'
'But that's... that's impossible!'

"What 'should be' or is 'impossible' matters little within the bounds of Sumaru City." He explains to the pair of them, as his eyes continue to bore into Mitsuru in particular. "What 'is' - was brought into being by the Kotodama."

'Wasn't it enough!? Not again. NOT AGAIN!'

"And that is why it means nothing." He adds quietly. "Again and again and again. You believe this is only the second time that you and your allies have faced me... but you are incorrect, ignorant of the truth of this world."

In Minato, he is looking for signs of Naoya, the Boy with the Earring, and what he says-

"Heh." He smiles, thinly. "All the better to see you with, young Fool." He quips, in regards to the Sunglasses, as if he were the Big Bad Wolf, wearing the skin of a man. Hyousuke's threat, as soon as he makes it, there's suddenly this unsettling feeling, like perhaps he doesn't ''want'' to knock them off.

The consequences might be more than he bargained for.

'Who're you, who gets to decide that?'

He smiles, because Maki Sonomura already spoke his name. Whereas Akihiko tells him the Shadow has to die. "Does it? Far be it from me to argue. Nevertheless, I'll be taking possession of it."

'... If I'm not mistaken, you threatened a child just now, did you not? That won't do. That won't do at all.'

"Heh. To be a child is to always be under threat from forces beyond your control." He says to Vesper, with a Predatorial philosophy that is so human, but so terribly twisted. He then nods to Eriko, "I would expect nothing less of you, Eriko-san. Perhaps you will survive this, but not without taking another scar, to add to the many you have collected since last we met."

'So what do you mean, by 'Wild Card'?'

"The number zero- it is so like infinity, in it's potential. Isn't the answer self-evident?"

'You're not going to lay a fucking finger on my brother.'

"Is that who you believe he is to you?" Kandori says, and there's an unsettling feeling within her. "Even an Empty Fool such as yourself knows better than that."

'You will not touch him. There will be not trouble if you refrain from doing so.'

"You act as if the threat of 'trouble' from you would be any deterrent."

'I don't know who you think you are, but Arisato-kun is with ''us''! If you think we'd just hand him over without a fight, then you don't know a thing about us!'

"'He' knows everything about you- the grieving sister, with so little identity to call her own. I would expect nothing less of you, than to leap to his defense."

'You seem really scary, But so are they, so maybe you should try again, Shinjo-san! Or, is it Kandori-san?'

"You may call me what you'd like." He says, as he stares at her, growing more unsettling by the moment. "As I instruct you on why their bluster means less than nothing to me."

'You will return the Arcana Shadow to us. I will not allow you to perpetuate this evil one moment longer. And on my honor as a Kirijo, you. Will not. TOUCH him. Try it, and I promise will make sure the hand that dared never touches a single thing again.'

"Such fire." He says, as if in admiration, then tips his chin, "Even a god such as myself bows to the arrogance of one who would lay claim to some pretense familial honor, after their family nearly destroyed the world more completely than I." He grins at her, showing so many teeth, "By all means, try to take my hand. Try to protect this young Fool... it will be a sight to see, dashing yourself against the Wheel of Fortune that has already decreed the doom of the one you ''truly'' desire to protect."

Masao shouts that Minato needs to get out of here right now, while Pernelle whispers to Yanagi that he thinks they should leave. Despite the whisper, 'he' hears all. "You're under the impression there is any escape, from what is coming." Indeed, the words may unsettle Eriko and Maki, who are already plotting escape.

And then an arrow flies out of nowhere. A hand that is at his side has caught it in his hand, crushing it in two, the pieces disintegrating before they strike the ground. Follow the trajectory, and you'll see Yukari Takeba kneeling, having aimed one right at his chest, as she shouts, "So you think we're just going to STAND there waiting for you to take him!? Bring back that Shadow ''RIGHT NOW''!"

Hisataka Shinjo's head turns to regard her like a bad kitten. A black aura surrounds her, a grinning effigy of a skull made of smoke, animated and laughing.

Yukari falls to the ground, immediately insensate and pale, like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Shinjo frowns at her, murmuring. "It seems without the Father, the Daughter has grown quite impudent in the midst of her own journey. Perhaps 'he' should have seen fit to raise her."

What is he even talking about there? It's unclear.

The Veiled woman has not spoken since she conducted whatever strange occultist ritual she performed, until now.

"Heh. This should be brief enough."

The man standing nearby turns his head fractionally.

"There's no need for your assistance. Attend to the Shadow and I will be right behind you."

The woman behind him hesitates, as if she doesn't want to obey that order. Before she then nods and makes a slight bow. Then a similar grey portal opens beneath her, and she vanishes into the ground below, as if she merely descended into the underworld.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
There is a flash in that moment: a surge of resonance, a heartbeat within heartbeats. A sickening, festering feeling of dread about something beyond humanity. It is the feeling that was present in Tatsuya Sudou, only amplified tenfold.

Perhaps that feeling could even be called that of a 'god,' albeit a malicious one.
The smirk on his face doesn't alter; there is no shift in his stance at all. However, he is certainly not here to talk.

A dark aura descends, momentarily enveloping the entire world in absolute silence. It surrounds each of them, stealing their voices.

He makes a single gesture with his hand, as if predicting their action and welcoming them to attack.

Then a whisper is utteredthe first word each of them hears since the dread silence descended: "Nyarlathotep."

Deadline - P2 EP Version - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX5Ke5bxNjw

What emerges from him is a tentacled being within a fractured statue-like mass of a desecrated Golden Buddha statue. It is ever-shifting; a green, segmented exoskeleton clicks against itself as each sinewy tentacled limb appears to have joints but undulates as if anatomy matters little. Blue eyes. Far too many blue eyes on each limb look at them.

All of them.

Chains, writhing and golden in hue, descend upon each of them as if to bind them in place. A feeling like reality has fractured within each of their heads breaking the enforced silence and sending them to a realm of madness.

The world around them vanishes, in their perspective, into an oil blot stain of ever-shifting tangible darkness as strong as any barrier as he leads this mad dance, forcing them to follow him.

A tentacled limb caresses the air, and it feels like it slithers across each of their psyches. Each of them feels something snatched from their consciousness, partially sealing away their ability to heal.

The man and the Persona seem to smile in tandem, the Golden Buddha's expression fractures further, showing something resembling a smile. The man smiles and beckons. Towards a certain young man.

Towards Minato Arisato.

"Let us dance, little Wild Card. Show me if you can measure up to him."

</poem>
AS: God Penguin has readied for combat as Nyarlathotep! They are now fully healed! Ready for 17 opponents!
AS: Atk_Up added to your status!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Broad!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: Pressure: God Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Yukari Takeba!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko Sanada!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato Arisato!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Mafui on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko
Sanada!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato
Arisato!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Shibaboo on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
226 damage!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Katsuya Suou, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Julian Marlowe, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Minako Arisato, and Akihiko Sanada!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Pernelle, Suzume Fukura, Masao Inaba, and Minato
Arisato!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Decover on Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 111
damage!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill I'll Play With You For A While on God Penguin!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's I'll Play With You For A While.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!), Crt_Up (Critical Up!), Def_Up (Block Improved!), and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
224 damage!
AS: God Penguin: Broad removed! Atk_Up added!
AS: God Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
229 damage!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
228 damage!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 112 damage!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
229 damage!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: God Penguin sets off Yukari Takeba's trigger! 500 damage!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
231 damage!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Sick removed! Explosion!
230 damage!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"I don't care what he thinks," Minako says to Hitomi. "I just care what he does." She glances sideways, briefly, at Aigis. There is a moment of hesitation -- but she is glad that Aigis is here to try to stop this too. Maybe, with all of them, they can do this.

But she hesitates even as she thinks it. And then Kandori speaks to her, with that cold dismissal. An empty Fool. Her eyes narrow, before she shouts headedly: "Shut ''up''!"

He dismisses even the veterans -- until Yukari's arrow flies and he catches it out of the air. She looks over her shoulder, back at her, and then she makes a strangled half-scream as Yukari falls to the ground in a heap. She looks back at Shinjo, her eyes widening with rage.

"Yukari-chan!" she shouts. That dark miasma washes over her; then, the tentacled being with so many eyes -- a Persona, maybe, or maybe something worse. She feels its touch on her mind, and then golden chains slam into her. She gets smashed down to her knees, as Nyarlathotep's power shoots through SEES -- through their allies -- through all of them.

Her crimson eyes are less fiery, now. There is a hollow look to them. "He's... he's my brother," she manages to say, weakly.

Her voice catches, as she lifts her Evoker in a shaking hand. The barrel presses against her temple, but it trembles. "Get... get away from him..."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki does not answer Ririka's question, in the moment, but it's clear that she knows this guy, all right. Maki should be more circumspect about all of this--more secretive--but Kandori is an open wound in her heart, the father she never had and her tormentor all wrapped up into one man.

And she ''looks'' wounded, the expression on her face surely the same as it would be as if he'd stabbed her instead of just walked up and spoken to all of them. She knew it would hurt, seeing him again... but she had to know. She had to see for herself.

Eriko explains to them. That hollow smile of hers tugs at Maki's heart, too. She feels inadequate to the task of supporting them for a moment--even though that other Maki is a part of her. ...Maki embraces the thought, and dismisses it to be on its way.

"You have to go," Maki agrees, and then looks to Eriko properly. "...Yes," Maki agrees with Elly. "They'll do well."

That whisper gets a nod. "I promise," Maki says. "I will."

Katsuya calls it impossible. The members of SEES assemble to protect their friend. But Maki can only wait for the answer. Why? WHY?

That 'fatherly affection' makes it worse. He asks if it means anything, and Maki insists, "It does. I believe that it does."

The kotodama...

Kandori says again and again, and Maki recoils. "What?" she asks. "...That's..."

There is something of truth in it that she cannot identify, though it too is impossible. Maki has no retort to this.

Kandori seems to know so much. An escape...

"No!" Maki cries as Yukari is brought down. But that aura comes, suffocating and horrid...

'I don't want to be alone! Someone get me out of here! It's so dark in here!'

The cries of her former self resound within Maki Sonomura.

'You and I are the same.'

A different set of words. But Maki presses herself upward, standing to her full height, such as it is, even as the eyes come and stare at them. Maki is ''bound'', but still standing; the realm of madness is all that there is. It is not Maki's first time here. Across her psyche it slithers...

"I... I won't..."

"I won't give up on them," Maki breathes, and has to stop herself hyperventilating. Once again, the fear comes; once again, she tries to embrace it, let it pass. Her fear is just a feeling itself; it is not her, but part of her.

Maki breathes in, and out. "Persona," she calls, and Taishan Niangniang reappears, a figure of white and soft light in the chaos. She sets her hands down on Maki gently. Maki opens her eyes--and for a moment-glows, blue.

"Answer me," she repeats herself. "I have to know."

"Why? Not how... but ''why''?"

Brilliant light shines down at Kandori--the light of truth. The light of knowledge.

Maki will have her answer, one way or another, and communicate what little she can to the others.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Almighty skill Full Analysis on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Maki Sonomura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Maki Sonomura's Full Analysis.
AS: Maki Sonomura's Strength Scan! God Penguin resists Light and Dark!
AS: Maki Sonomura's Weakness Scan! God Penguin is weak against Earth!
AS: Maki Sonomura's Support Scan! God Penguin has passive skills Ailment Boost, Auto-Tarukaja, Break Limit, Dark Amp,
Dark Boost, Explode Boost, Peerless Skill, and Third Eye!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Mafui.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Shibaboo.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added! Sick removed! Explosion! 117
damage!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) and Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Could it be the Bride? No, Umie, this is worse: It's the Bride's ''boss.'' She'll continue to offer her support from afar, even after Chizuru exits on a chthonic path... though it's far more a ''gesture'' than anything, with a man so powerful.

Before that, though, Chizuru, stands behind that man; the man who Masao pleads with them to flee from. Running away...?

If he notices that the Devil he doesn't know -- that peacock he's so fond of -- is trying to slink away with his delicate companion, he does not look to them; he does not ''betray'' their attempt to escape, with careful, slow movements. And at once two paths are possible, like a cat both living and dead: either Minato's completely failed to notice, or he is ''deliberately'' failing to notice.

Suzume rallies to Minato's defence -- and behind her, Junpei, who got completely ''destroyed'' in that last fight, grits out through clenched teeth: "Ugh... yeah, who you callin' a fool!? I... I'll kick your ass!!" ... but it's one thing to say that, and another thing entirely to rise up, and his anger is framed behind Suzume's protection today.

Minato, meanwhile, looks to Suzume, as she asks that man who he is. (Oh... right... that's the question you ask first, right?) She's standing in front of him... between him and...

And Akihiko brings up something else important, particularly in light of the way Ririka can't confirm the kill. "If you save the Full Moon Shadow, people will continue to slow down and die," Minato fills in, looking past his team to Kandori(?). "Does this mean the New World Order is working with Strega to keep the Dark Hour running?"

His sister is beside him.

His sister is armed.

His hand is lifting, to rest upon her shoulder.

"It's all right," he says, still calm.

"It's not time, yet... he promised me that."

Different 'he', by the by, to the one Kandori(?)'s invoking.

"That's what that man means," Minato says, "when he calls me a 'Fool.'" He has heard what Umie asked. "He's talking about the 'Wild Card'... my ability to summon multiple Personas." 'His', he says. Not 'ours'. Look carefully: he has elided his sister in the speaking.

Some part of him is still aware -- still operating to protect them.

But Mitsuru is operating to protect him, too. Even Ririka...

Hitomi is in motion, and Hyousuke is aggressive.

Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? He asks, distantly, inside himself. Everyone... is forming up to protect him. But, he is...

Distantly, he is aware she will die. Perhaps it's Vesper who helps drive that home, as he steps in and underlines the way he's threatened a child. He thinks of Mitsuru, being threatened, and not himself.

Perhaps Aigis would not die. She is stronger than all of them. "If the Full Moon Shadow has been taken somewhere else..." He starts a thought, as Aigis, too, urges them to flee.

But it's too slow. It doesn't get to the finish line.

Eriko makes the implicit explicit: he is a God, or at least was, once.

"A human being who became a God... isn't something like that just a tale?" Minato wonders, and the first shred of emotion -- just a ghost of something, really -- is ''surprise.''

"What would drive someone to that...?"

He's supposed to be dead, Katsuya says. Even so, he's standing right here. Because of the 'Kotodama,' that man says. "Are Rumours that powerful?" Minato asks; he's never been a native.

Abduction... they're going to abduct him.

But it isn't time yet, so... how can that be...?

His friend in the Dark Hour isn't a liar.

The sunglasses... help him to see. "Light sensitivity..." Minato echoes, as that man speaks to him as the wolf who swallowed the rider.

"She is my sister," he says, plainly, when Kandori questions Minako's lineage.

He wonders what doom he has foretold for Mitsuru -- but this, too, is distant.

What is not distant:

Yukari is screaming.

All at once, the potential for harm concentrates into the ''exact:'' Minato's gaze focuses, his eyes widening in fear. "Don't touch her!" He cries, as he steps forward, to meet his fellows in their line. "Get away from them!"

Before he can attack, though, there is a word, and the word was with God. Reality fades into the arena, and tentacles writhe.

"All right," he says, his tone level again, as he lifts his Evoker to his head.

"I'll show you. And once you're impressed... leave us be."

If you're gonna dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight, you gotta cut a deal.

"Persona!"

Orpheus rises, and strums a tune -- daring God himself to blunt his claws.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Loses 73 HP from Poison!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Minato Arisato's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke's threat had been like the snapping jaws of a hound, snarling and barking and growling at someone that should not have been there. Someone that had threatened people he had sworn to guard, or were with those he had sworn that oath to. How appropriate it was that he recoiled like one, then, when that feeling engulfed his entire being. He wanted to fight - to protect those that had been threatened, even should it cost his body and his mind - but something repelled him. A force that sent him stepping backwards like something bigger, stronger, and more powerful had barked back at him.

He had questions. Many questions. Who the man was, what the SEBEC incident had entailed, what had caused a man to rise from the dead and ascend to godhood... But he could speak none of them. They caught in his throat like cement, clinging to him no matter how he tried to force the words past muzzled lips. Even when he did finally speak, it was only out of desperation - and it was in a tone that was more a shriek of instinct than any active attempt to put his thoughts to words.

"TAKEBA-SAN!" He called out, at once furious and scared. He worried that he'd lost an ally. She was not quite a friend, but she was an ally, and someone his shield could have protected. He was furious because someone had seen fit to take her from him. At once, the fear that had gripped his mind was burnt away, like vines in a forest fire, and Hyousuke tensed like a wolf before the hunt. "You piece of shit..." He growled. The straps of his mask shifted with the motion, and changing muscles in his jaw betrayed the bare-toothed snarl that he wore in response. "You're going to pay for that! I'm going to make you pay for that!"

But every fire could be smothered. Even the mighty blaze of his hatred could not stand against the all-consuming power levelled against him. The cold of fear gripped his mind, stabbing into him with frigid knives, carving his mind apart and quaking his body. It did nothing to soothe the burn of poison in his flesh - the searing acid that felt like it would melt him from the inside out, and leave his body sloughing from its own bleached bones. Then, another kind of pain entirely wracked his mind.

The Hierophant had torn his mind apart, but whatever stood before them was nothing like that Shadow. There was power that rent his mind asunder, throwing its tattered pieces to the wind and carving the vitality from his body like a butcher's knife had been heaved through him. Even as he rose, exhaustion plagued him. His lungs heaved to try and feed oxygen into screaming limbs, themselves heaved into a defensive stance as he called upon the might of the general. Achilles rose, struggling under the weight of that battered bronze armour, and stood to attention behind him, awaiting a command.

"What the hell is this guy?!" Hyousuke called out, though his voice was as strained as it was angered. He didn't speak to anyone in particular, though his mind went to those smarter than him that might have had an idea. Minako, Ririka, the adults - anyone that looked like they might have been able to unfurl whatever secrets the god made flesh held. "And how's he so goddamn strong?! I can barely- Ngh!" Another surge of pain cut him off, and Hyousuke almost buckled under the strain. He stood strong, and he stood tall, but how long could it really last?

He didn't care to think about it. He'd consider it when it happened. For now, there was a fight to attend to.
"Achilles!" He bellowed, staggering to the fore and sending the general to his side, shield raised high. "Protect them!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Recovery skill Invincible General on Minako Arisato, Maki Sonomura, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 65 HP from Poison! Exhaust removed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>Suzume's anger rises as Kandori keeps talking to them. They're right - if the Hierophant survives, if they drag it off somewhere so it isn't destroyed, what they're trying to do is doomed to failure, isn't it? If they want to end the Dark Hour, they have to get *all* of them.

And she recognizes the New World Order. They're the ones who must have given Strega the Evokers, she remembers; Mitsuru and her father said as much at Yakushima. So they are working together. They must be planning something -

"I'm not letting you past," she growls, trying to sound steadier than she actually is. She's terrified, but she won't let herself show it; Suzume generally handles her fear by lashing out at the source of it, and she's twitchy now. Her voice threatens to rise up to the squeak it acquires when she's startled, though she fights it down, leaving only a catch to be heard at the end of her sentence. "You're not getting him, or her, or - or any of us!" (Did 'her' mean Minako or Yukari? Or both?)

Based on what Suzume knows (not enough) and how she expects people to ask, she expected to be thrown aside with that man's attempt to get to Minato - or at least for him to try, and her to resist, because that's what she does.

What he actually does is somehow worse.

Something about Nyarlathotep creeps her out more than any Persona she's ever seen before - and any Shadow too, come to think of it. She feels the touch of a psychic tentacle and she shudders -

"Get out of our heads!"

Suzume rushes forward, channeling panic and rage together into a forward rush. At first it looks like she's not even going to summon Atalanta, but at the last moment she fires her Evoker, the lionskin-cloaked woman appearing above her with her arms spread.

A windstorm bursts up around Kandori and Nyarlathotep. Less controlled than an ordinary Garu, a whirling ball of wind rather than the cylinder a tornado should be, churning and whirling in all directions. "I'll fight you if I have to...!"

He might be a man who reached to become a God, but in this moment Suzume is going to try to swing at him anyway, reckless and risky as it is. Consequences can come later. (Consequences *will* come later.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Suzume Fukura has used the Wind skill Vortex Garu on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 25 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Vortex Garu.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He's no sooner said it than Kandori confirms it. It's a rumor. A rumor has brought a dead man back. "That's..." he utters, all but speechless in the wake of such a revelation. How far can a rumor go? What else can happen?

He doesn't have time to consider it much further. An arrow flies through the air. It is itself ultimately the start of hostilities. Kandori responds by snatching it out of the air and rendering it to so much dust.

More immediately, Katsuya takes in first the person who had shot at Kandori. Yukari?! But--

Retaliation comes swiftly. Katsuya calls out in shock as she collapses, looking almost far too pale to still be alive, "Takeba-kun!" He turns his gaze back upon Kandori. "What did you--"

His answer comes in the wash of dread and malice that congeals from the place the man stands. Of all things, he's brought back to a discussion between Jun and Akechi about the nature of the thing in which Tatsuya Sudou and his own brother seemed to acknowledge in their dealings with one another. It was a 'god', perhaps... or maybe instead, a 'devil'.

In his heart, he can feel his Persona recoil at the presence and pressure of this man. In his own way, then, Katsuya has a good idea of how this encounter is about to go. Yet, to back down now and leave that young man to him, of course he can't do that as a public servant...!

So instead, his gaze resting on the man in the dark sunglasses, Katsuya slowly exhales a breath. Then, he says simply, "Persona."

Into this calm before the storm breaks steps Katsuya's own Persona, the well-dressed feline Helios.

It feels like he's been struck. No, not physically, as that chain strikes down. It feels like it's rooted into his soul. When it wraps tighter, tighter yet it feels like something within his heal shatters into a thousand pieces. He staggers and recoils with a grunt, yet he's unwounded: for a moment, all there is for him is a mind awash in chaos, of pieces set adrift on a wild sea.

It's the impression of touch, and the revulsion that follows from it, that bring him back to himself. With a sickening realization he knows that something essential has been taken from him: even the cards he had used with his Persona won't be enough to him or anyone.

Actually, it's worse than that. It's not that it's not 'enough'. Some critical part has been prized away that make it so it won't do anything at ''all''.

"This... this is..." he says, shaking his head as he rallies from such an assault on his soul and senses. His attention shoots over at Minato. "Young man!" he calls out, and perhaps someday he'll learn that this is the person that taught Yoko the secret of cat-luring, "Run, if you must! We'll protect her!" Meaning Yukari, of course. "As an officer of the law-- I promise you that I will protect both of you!"

This is bad. This is all very bad. But it's far too late for him to run.

He's kept his firearm pointed at the ground until now, this point where he makes his own intentions clear. At last, he snaps it upwards, directing it straight at Kandori as he pulls the trigger twice. Dropping back a step on the recoil, he directs the barrel of his gun towards the darkened skies above, watching, waiting. If he can keep him distracted, maybe... there's still a chance.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Handgun - Suppression Fire on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Katsuya Suou takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Loses 71 HP from Poison! Fast Heal! Poison removed!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 21 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Suppression Fire.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 10 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Suppression Fire. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Standing enfilade to Hitomi's defilade, Aigis has no audible response to Shinjo's retort. 'You act as if the threat of 'trouble' from you would be any deterrent.' She remains quiet, staring at him warily with her shining blue eyes as energy thrums through her circuitry.

Trouble, yes, but a threat? No, she's fully aware of just how outmatched they are. Trouble can come in other forms. She starts to formulate a plan --

(BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gRR8JePfwk Jane Remover - Experimental Skin)

-- and it goes entirely out the window as her sensory input feeds are overwhelmed with garbage, nonsensical data. She grits her teeth in pain as she tries to adjust and recalibrate to these new sights and sounds to the best of her ability. (Her 'best' won't ever, ever be good enough.)

While she's glad on some level that Minato is still well enough to try and impress Shinjo, cold fury drips from her voice in stark contrast to her normally measured tone. "I said. To run. Please do so at the earliest available opportunity."

Between the two of the Arisato twins, Minako appears to be struggling more ... but Shinjo had his eye on Minato from the onset. Here, Aigis makes her stand and plants herself firmly in front of the brother. Even if she's just a speed bump in the face of something incomprehensible, unfathomable, and impossibly larger than herself, she must try. "Commencing defensive maneuvers."

</poem>
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Recovery skill At All Costs on Minato Arisato!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Aigis: Loses 74 HP from Poison!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
''...Kei told you some of it, didn't he?''

Mitsuru Kirijo's gaze never leaves Takahisa Kandori's covered stare burning frigid holes into her soul. Dark reds narrow. Her hand on her Evoker-holster tightens.

"... He told me enough," she answers. "Of a pathetic and short-sighted man, undone by his own slavering, aimless greed."

Should she really be taunting a man who penetrated her defenses without a thought? Who Kei - and the others - described as achieving very literal godhood?

"But it seems you don't deserve death's relief from your own failings."

No; probably not.

But she needs that horrid attention still affixed firmly on ''her'' right now, for as ''long'' as she can.

Eriko mentions that this foe is beyond any of them; she invokes the name 'Crawling Chaos' and that, in turn, inspires a brief furrow of Mitsuru's brow. It's a thoughtful expression that endures, as Kandori continues on.

"..."

The things he says - the implications behind them - Mitsuru Kirijo is too cursed with a sharp and inquisitive mind ''not'' to pick up on the mysterious subtext that laces through every sinister syllable. That the ''exact meaning'' escapes her only serves to vex her further; they're words that she will be chewing over for months to come, presuming she survives that long to.

But in the immediate sense? The only words that matter are these:

''Even an Empty Fool such as yourself knows better than that.'' The way he mocks Minako with that infuriatingly hidden knowledge - one of the very people Mitsuru swore to protect...

''By all means, try to take my hand. Try to protect this young Fool... it will be a sight to see,''

''dashing yourself against the Wheel of Fortune''

''that has already decreed the doom of the one you truly desire to protect.''

... and the way he cuts straight down to the very heart of her.

Mitsuru's eyes widen, livid.

"You're wrong--"

She hears her seconds before her arrow looses, and, wide-eyed, Mitsuru snaps towards Yukari in alarm.

"Takeba! No! This isn't--"

Too late. Blackness surrounds Yukari like a cackling skull. She falls to the ground almost lifeless and limp, and Mitsuru does not even hear the words that Kandori mutters after.

She lunges. The flourish of her rapier shines sickly green in the mockery of the moonlight.

''Nyarlathotep.''

Too late. Always too late.

What came for Yukari comes for all of them. It's a credit to Mitsuru's sense of pride that she manages to choke back a sound of agony as golden chains grip her -- and blotting, oily blackness ''rips'' through her, even as it leaves a slick, clinging feeling in its wake like it was clogging the pores of her soul. Mitsuru is on her knees in the aftermath; she isn't even sure how it happened, when her rapier fell to the ground, when her hands slapped still-cold pavement, but she's already heaving labored breaths, already feeling the pain in her soul radiate outward to every single muscle in her body.

Eriko is right. This enemy is beyond them. Any of them. They don't stand a chance. So why--

"Aigis -- Akihiko--" she calls out over their Navigators' lines of communication. To her family's last line of defense against the Shadows. To one of her only friends. "I... need you... to help me. To get his attention. Whatever it takes."

The ones she trusts to keep the others safe, who never asked for this.

"The second the opportunity arises -- the rest of you need to take Takeba and retreat. This is not a request."

Who never should have had any of this thrust on them.

"This is an order."

She rises, unsteadily. Her eyes track... and then fall on one person in particular. She takes one small, stumbling step forward, before she forces herself into a swift and unfaltering stride. And...

... when Hitomi Mandai looks up, she'll find a gloved hand reaching out for her, offering to take her hand.

"Mandai..." Mitsuru pauses. She hesitates. And, bringing Hitomi up onto her feet, she keeps the following words just for the two of them:

"... The second you see an opening, I need you to take the Arisatos and run as far as you can from this place. Do you understand? They'll try to stay here. We can't let the enemy take them. ... I..."

She hesitates, uncertainty briefly flashing in her features. There's so many things she would ''like'' to say right now. So many things she thinks she should. But instead, all she can think to say is...

"... I need you to do this for me. Please."

And with that? Mitsuru Kirijo's eyes are narrowed and sharper than steel as she draws in a breath.

And then she ''surges'' forward, rapier drawn backwards before ''thrusting''--

--straight for that beckoning hand.

It is far from the most effective tool she could use in terms of damage. But she knows nothing she can do will last. This -- this commands attention. After all.

She swore she'd take that hand.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Pierce skill Full Pike Thrust on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 68 HP from Poison!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 33 Pierce damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Full Pike Thrust.

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
"Mr Suou!" Eriko is surprised to see Katsuya approaching, but Aoba is as much his turf as hers. And an extra ally is always useful- at least, that's what she'd normally think. But right now, with Katsuya's interest in the SEBEC Incident, he may just be exposing himself to more danger.

Minato asks what would drive a man to such a thing, and Eriko frowns. "...Belief in your own superiority," she says, flatly. "And all it does is leave a man empty, doesn't it Mr Kandori?"

Kandori's smile is not one she's happy to receive- and then he says something that gives Eriko a chill. There it is, the hopelessness in his voice, the same emptiness they heard in Kandori's divine kingdom those three years ago. "...Only the second...?"

And there it is again, the sense of loss, of fear... of Deja Vu.

"What can you want with that Shadow?" Eriko in Kandori's refusal to yield the shadow. "Surely... you aren't planning on doing more with that system...?" Eriko's concern for Maki only grows, fear ratcheting up.Still, Kandori yields even more information-

It appears, now, Kandori is on a first name basis with them, if not a friendly one, even as Kandori gives them terms, terms Eriko would want to find out more of. But she grits her teeth, grimly. "...You're awfully well informed for a dead man, Kandori-san." The switch to returning Kandori's Japanese honorifics is small, but not meaningless.

Kandori's words to Mitsuru too give her cause for concern. He's taunting them. All of them- and he dictates there's no escape. She feared as much.

And then someone declares her intent to stop them- "Yukari, don't!" Eriko yells- but it's too late, and Yukari falls. This was exactly what Eriko wanted to stop. She breaks formation. She has to check that the girl is still alive. Kandori could kill her as easy as that, even if she knows the S.E.E.S. members will be checking on her too. Eriko should have warned her more, made sure she knew the threat. As unusual as the circumstances that led to their meeting was, Eriko was eager to see her grow- to see her first steps into modeling, as well as her growth as a persona user.

It's then that God emerges to face them, and Eriko's breath freezes. She remembers.

She remembers the way Kandori's hand driven through Aki's chest, even though Kandori was unaware he was doing. Aki, a child for all her sudden growth, asking her 'Papa' why. The horror on Kandori's face as he realized what he had done to his 'daughter'. The horror they all felt. And now...

"Wh-what... Kandori, what are you doing!? You can't... why would ''you'' ever take on that form willingly?! You... ''you'' can't have forgotten!"

But the Crawling Chaos, it appears, is leaving Kandori lucid again- and she experiences it again. Back then, she had a different Persona. It wasn't Nike- and for all Nike can resist powers like this, she was never meant to face a power like Kandori. Silence, fear, charm and poison.... they all form up on her at once- and knowing the power Nyarlethotep can wield-

...they're going to die. After everything they went to, they're going to die. She's never going to see...

''Let us dance, little Wild Card. Show me if you can measure up to him.''

Eriko falls silent.

"...that's why you want this kid? Because you can't find Him...?" Something cold sears through Eriko all at once. "...after everything you, Aki, and Kazuya put him through, you're still not done?"

Perhaps, for a moment, the veiled figure can sense a similar feeling to her own.

"..You can't have the Wild Card. Not in his own right, and certainly not as a replacement for our leader." She raises her blade again, glaring straight at Kandori's face atop the god before them. "I won't let you near this young man as long as I draw breath." She raises her blade- now is not the time to hold back, or build momentum. Now is the time to survive.

"''O Powerful Victory, by men desir'd, with adverse breasts to dreadful fury fir'd, thee I invoke, whose might alone can quell contending rage and molestation fell: 'tis thine in battle to confer the crown, the victors prize, the mark of sweet renown: for thou rul'st all things, Victory divine! And glorious strife, and joyful shouts are thine! Come, mighty Goddess, and thy suppliant bless, with sparkling eye , elated with success; may deeds illustrious thy protection claim, and find, led on by thee immortal flame!'' Nike, Victory Blessing!"

With a slash of her sword, winds fly outward from Eriko as Nike manifests in the air, the steel angel of victory- and through the winds her blesing is carried- to Masao, to Maki, to Katsuya and to Eriko herself.

"These kids are under our protection, Kandori-san- and through us, Philemon's protection too. I will die before I see one more of them fall."

Now, she looks to her friends and allies- Mark and Maki foremost. "We're protecting all of them. That's what our leader would choose." Her eyes swiftly look to Minako and Mitsuru. "Especially those who think it's their turn to fall."

And she has to hope that they would, even as her hopes reach to her friends- those in Sumaru and beyond.

Even if they aren't here, maybe she can still call on those bonds they had once.

Especially when Maki relays one crucial piece of information. A weakness to Earth...?

"...that wasn't how it was before." She says, the realization coming to mind. She knows they can't win- but maybe they can find a way to get a reprieve?
</poem>

AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Almighty skill Victory Blessing on Masao Inaba, Maki Sonomura, Katsuya Suou,
and Eriko Kirishima!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Eriko Kirishima takes 90 damage!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
There was once a wonderful moment where Pernelle was getting hugs from Yanagi, and why should he mind if she mussed any of his feathers with such a gesture. This is its own form of beauty, like the worn velveteen of a plush rabbit! When he is set down, he tippy taps with his claws in a happy dance.

But the time for tippy taps has ''ended!'' ... Temporarily. A minor tippy tap set back, replaced by spiritual scuttling.

Yanagi, mercifully, agrees to flee the party.

"We were fashionably late at the previous affair. A mysterious early exit behooves us." He nods to her, once and firm. "Slowly," he says, the word itself slow. Would be a shame to vibrate the air too much and startle the predator's hunt.

For Pernelle is a predator, but a peacock can also be prey.

He glances back to SEES and the Arisato twins in particular, but he will simply have to stand by what he said: resolute hearts, brimming with passion to protect each other. A wondrous thing of beauty he is just going to have to hear about ''another time''.

Because yes, Pernelle IS under the impression there is an escape. And he is quite content to let everyone else receive ominous replies until --

Heartbeat within heartbeats, and dread tightens like a noose. If Pernelle squawked, no one would hear it in the shroud of silence. But Pernelle does not squawk in that terrifying realm: he calls out for -- well, it doesn't matter, does it?

No one can hear him.

His little peacock chest heaves rapidly with panicked breathing, and his eyes open, unblinking. The impression that there is escape has just left the building, if the building were a peacock. In this metaphor, it is. Other thoughts are leaving that iridescent building as well. Mediarama is one of them, snatched by a tentacle.

"Aa," he says, rather than screams, every feather ruffled out of place as he finally regains the ability to blink.

"Aaaa," he says again.

"AaaaaAAAAAAAAAA!" he finally cries, his train feathers rustling as they fold open and raise like a shield between Yanagi and Kandori. He raises a clawed foot and ''stamps'' it to the ground, all three feet and ten pounds of him mustering every inch of bravado that such a body could provide.

It's force enough that his tinted glasses fall off, dangling instead by their chain.

"Be. Gone!" he demands with more than words, threatening with his own Persona's aura should he be denied.

... Provided it is not all devoured by the abyss before him.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Almighty skill Precious Peacock on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Pernelle takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Pernelle gains 1 Limit!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 69 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko turns as Eriko starts warning them away and... (Wait, is that ''The'' Kirishima Eriko??? Even Akihiko knows who ''that'' is!) "Do you just want us give up?! Run away, Kirishima-san?!" He can't accept it. "There's more of us right here! We can do this!" Is that blind faith? Or brute force?

Yukari goes down and Akihiko pales. "Yukari!" He yells in a panic, forgetting the honourific.

Then, the dark aura descends. His voice is gone for a moment. The tentacle being descends.

Akihiko Sanada remembers what Fear is. This isn't a test of strength. This isn't improvement. It might just be life or death, for everyone. Right now.

There's only one choice. Akihiko tears his Evoker from his holster, and points it to his temple. His whole body shudders with heavy breathes. He hasn't hesitated like this since he was 14 at least. He grips his handle tight. "You won't hurt any more of my friends!" He yells, like he's a child again, and he pulls the trigger. Polydeuces manifests and launches a Skull Cracker.

Thankfully, the brief feeling of strength that fills Akihiko brings him back. He's okay, it'll be okay. "You got it, Mitsuru."

Really... It's easier said than done. There's so many damn eyes. But it just needs to a moment. One second.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Strike skill Skull Cracker on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Akihiko Sanada takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada: Loses 68 HP from Poison!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Eriko, however, has more to say about this man-including his last known state, and his capabilities. "Are you kidding me!?" Somehow, she knows Eriko isn't. His Resonance doesn't feel like anything she's felt before.

But she also says to stick together. "That's what I'm here for," she says, and she makes sure she has everyone linked up with the Navigator Link--though she might need an assist from those capable of doing so.

The next words she hears from Shinjo--or Kandori--feel like a blow to the gut. The grieving sister, and with no identity to call her own. "I--" she gapes out.

''Don't listen to him, he's just being an asshole.''

But it still hurts.

"I... I... I'm sick of everyone thinking they know my business!" But the bravado is only a shield.

Yukari strikes, and then falls. "Yukari!" She's worried for her teammate--well, no, she's worried for all of them, in the moment. He's speaking of her Father, of Mitsuru's family almost destroying the world. Who ''is'' this guy??

But a dark aura descends, followed by the emergenc of a presence Ririka, unfrotuantely, has too much familiarity with thanks to her senses. When Nyarlathotep emerges, she clutches at her head as that slimey presence intrudes, like something crawling into her ear. "Ahh--!" Her knees buckle and she drops to the ground, as chains and eyes come forth and something is ''taken'' from them.

"Fuck!" Sorry, Hitomi, this is definitely swearing time. Even if the unnatural silence means she can only say it to herself. But when she can pull her thoughts together and find her voice again, she shouts, "This is like the shit the Joker Killer's Persona was made of! It was at that Sanitarium, too!" Maybe that can be a partial answer to Hyousuke's question, but Ririka doesn't ahve the full picture to offer, yet.

But she can't miss the order from Mitsuru, who tells them to run, when they get the chance, especially since she's helping relay the message. Ririka grits her teeth, body shaking as she forces herself to her stand up again. "... If we're not abandoning Arisato-kun, why would we abandon you, senpai!?"

And yet, she is trying to look for an opening to escape, now reaching out to their other Navigator to try and find a path, any path, that might let them flee this place.

She tightens her grip on her Evoker and raises it to her head. "AMPHION!" Blue fire and glass swirl behind her as Amphion surges up from the earth anew, and Ririka reaches out to sweep her hand over her keyboard. "Until we can escape... I'll do my best to support everyone! Amphion! Let's bolster everyoe's spirits!"

Amphion and Ririka both begin to play a fast-spaced tune in tandem, something energetic and pumping. Amphion's magic goes out and settles on Minato, Mitsuru, Ririka, and Suzume, working to rebuild that missing piece Nyarlathotep stole, and to provide more power besides. Meanwhile, Ririka is searching for an opening to escape.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Mitsuru Kirijo, Minato Arisato, Ririka Kawase,
and Suzume Fukura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi stares at the man, if man he is, with two lenses between them. In that moment, despite the horrors, she has enough confidence to actually smile, though it is a false smile that doesn't reach her eyes.

This feels strange.

And then! It's Yukari who takes the first shot! Hitomi's head turns towards her with a widened surprise. Unexpected! But doesn't it make sense? she reasons, before looking back and seeing... crushed arrow - The smile, though false, falters for a moment.

Well, it's an arrow, and whoever this is, he isn't normal. Hitomi reasons: Aigis could probably catch an arrow if she knew it was coming, so this doesn't mean...

Doesn't... mean...

The man, Kandori, Shinjo, whatever his name truly is, dismisses his attendant, the woman who caught the Full Moon Shadow like it was a wandering fighting monster. He looks back to them. And something...

shifts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNcxtWEfPXE

Hitomi Mandai's glasses reflect the rise of the defiled Buddha and the introduction of a corrosive dharma. Her mouth is slack. She fell down, back, falling onto her abundant backside in response. She's making a noise in the back of her throat that's something like 'uuu', a steady plaintive whine. She's staring at the thing as golden chains lash down upon them, binding, restraining. The air slithers, something passes, and --

oh!
so that's what was behind his glasses!!

Hitomi shudders in place, even as the Buddha turns to give a teaching to Minato Arisato *in particular*. Her slack mouth keeps letting out that 'uuuuu' sound.

Uh oh.

Her eyes saccade wildly, focusing finally on the ground to the side for a moment.

This is really bad.

In so far as she can put a finger on the sensation, it is as if she had been in the bridge of a great starship, the JSSDF Hitomi Mandai, sailing through the often-surreal but ultimately manageable seas of an ordinary life that has crested into the extraordinary quite recently. And then, all of a sudden, she was astride a jet ski, just like that one time at that hotel in Lake Suzui!

That's probably bad too.
Come on.
Come ooon, me, you can do this.

That ululation stops, and her mouth closes. She swallows. She moves her right hand to rest on the ground. She's still shaking but she can look in that direction. Her glasses aren't in the way so the Shape is -- is still horrible, but the surprise is over. You can do this, she tells herself. She pushes herself to something nearer to a hunched seated position. She can see IT now.

For a moment she freezes again -- a golden light streaks down, though, shining revoluation. A true dharma even in this depth of corruption. Ah, it was that other adult, thinks that part of Hitomi, clasping hard on the metaphorical jet-ski's throttle. Maybe this is what she saw before. Which means *she* survived, which means survival *is* possible.

Hitomi tries to lurch upright but her body betrays her. The shaking tremble of panic is still there. She makes herself breathe through clenched teeth, swallowing a mouth of saliva. She narrows her eyes. Come on, she thinks, bringing her hands up. Fight sitting down if you have to but one more --

A hand takes hers. Hitomi's head turns to look at the person who did it. For a moment she is in a simple state of total calm. The tremble in her hand stops. She rises upwards, now that that obstacle has been banished. It's probably going to come back in a second. She looks at Mitsuru Kirijo. Her eyes widen. It's an innocent look. If it wasn't for the context, it would be the face of someone who received unexpected good news.

Hitomi begins marshalling a response but even as she's doing it, her mouth closes and she nods to Mitsuru: "I will," she says creakily, and then Mitsuru's lunging in, and the emptied hand curls into a loose fist. Her head rocks forwards.

Ahh.
Is this the opposite?
How absurd.

Then it rocks back and forth. Her eyes track Minako, who is struggling, and Minato seems calm enough to call out his Persona. Hitomi exhales, ending on a ragged little giggle. Her right hand comes up, and it's still shaking, enough she has to do whatever that little card-force she does to draw upon Tyche twice before it quite 'takes'.

The marble statue seems rotten and decayed in the horrid light of the defiled Buddha, but it is intact. Tyche seems imperturbed, although she is in a different posture now. Her hands are held as if to encompass something, perhaps a gift or a box? But there's nothing between her hands. Nothing at all.

What emanates is something hard to see. It looks like a burst of auroral light, perhaps? It is a curse of ill fortune, for even if this corrupt thing dwells from Outside, still it must come into this realm, and blind chance is something beyond realm or world: the same thing that controls the flip of a coin or the decay of an atom can plague the plans of gods and men alike.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Almighty skill Submission on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Tippy taps of love! <3 There will be time for more later. Now is the time for a slow retreat--but also to listen.

Eriko adds a lot more context on just who Kandori is, and what that means for everyone else, including and especially their 'seniors.' Yanagi purses her lips. A God who came back from death after losing half his body thanks to the power of Kotodama... That much is chilling enough, particularly with the ''way'' Eriko conveys it, but it all means a very different thing for her. He indicated no particular interest in Yanagi herself, but she knows agonizingly well what Minato will go through if Kandori ''does'' take him away.

An 'Empty Fool'? Yanagi tilts her head at that. Unlike Eriko, she hadn't initially thought it strange that Kandori seems to want Minato but not Minako; the twin Narcissi earlier made it clear that they aren't the same, so it must be that there's something about Minato specifically that he wants. But what does he mean by an 'Empty Fool'? And the implication that the Arisato siblings are not siblings at all...

Is there any truth to that, or is Kandori psychologically tormenting them, as so many agents of the NWO love to do?

Minato explains something else important, that Akihiko only implied: the Full Moon Shadows need to die in order to dispel the Dark Hour. That Strega is working to keep them alive and protect it. That's very good information to know, and Yanagi will share it with her dearest friends later.

Right now, an arrow flies towards Kandori's chest; the one who shot it, Yukari, is cut down with a Mudo. The veiled woman is sent away--Kandori seems to think he alone is enough, and Yanagi believes him, because Eriko, Masao, and Maki all believe him, and they would clearly know.

There is no escape. At one point, Yanagi would have believed that. Now...

Now, it doesn't really matter what she believes. The sheer psychic pressure of this man and his tentacled Buddha Persona, is like suddenly finding herself in the abyss of the sea. When Nyarlathotep sends forth his tentacles and golden chains, it's crushing, as if it might squeeze the breath out of her just to exist in his presence. She yelps, high and watery, with a frightened agony, and claps her hands to her eyes, dropping her cane at the same time, as if blinding herself might do anything to stop this nightmare. It really only serves to make her crumble to her knees.

At that moment, Maki rallies and calls forth her Persona to shine the light of knowledge on this dark man and expose the truth of him--to ask not how, but ''why''. Yanagi can sense this light even without eyes, and slowly, she pulls her delicate fingers away. Before her, Pernelle screams his own screams and flares his train like a marveling blinking fan to curtain her from Kandori and stand up for both of them. This breaks that moment of terror, and Yanagi sucks in a ragged breath or two--in, out, in, out--and, grasping her cane where she'd dropped it, wobbles back up to her feet with its help.

"Giselle," she intones, before whipping her gun-cane up to shoot down an ephemeral blue butterfly fluttering by. (You love to see it, don't you, Nyarlathotep?)

Above her, the ghostly image of Giselle pirouettes into existence. Paper-like spirits surround her too, but unlike the veiled woman's shikigami, they look more like little origami angels. As Yanagi sets her cane down and sings a pure note into the air, some of those little Wilis carry her song forward to Maki and Eriko while others dance around Pernelle and Yanagi herself. It can't completely counteract the horror that is the Crawling Chaos, but it will at least mend some of the damage done to their souls and bolster them a bit too.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Yanagi Nagisa, Pernelle, Maki Sonomura, and Eriko
Kirishima!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yanagi Nagisa takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 69 HP from Poison!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao is glad that Eriko can put further context eloquently in a time where he has to be clear at just how bad this is by skipping straight to the action in question - they got to go.

'You're under the impression there is any escape, from what is coming.'

"Ah shit," is what he can say as one already suffers the consequences of attempted defiance against the resurrected Kandori, because what else can you do when someone's on the ground. Especially as that Resonance surges, and his heart pounds in his chest. Something of far grander, greater scope than when they stood against the Joker Killer himself.

He grips the axe, and raises it as Nyarlathotep appears, matching far too many blue eyes with the only two eyes he has--

The chains grip, hold, and yank him psychologically from sense and reason. The continued frustration and challenges that come with living the life he's chosen for himself - an artist. A life that has taken some very interesting, even fateful, detours. A few more petty lost bets. A more concerned family that would be happy if he'd just take up the life they'd already set up for him. Being behind some levels.

"Come on," he says aloud, his axe feeling heavier. Maki asks everything he can't say with eloquence in the moment - why? Not how... but why?

The way Eriko remains exasperated on ''why'' he would invoke that form...

Masao fights through those chains as best he can muster, trying to power straight ahead - put himself up front, in center, in that incredibly narrow span of reach he can operate in.

"You think you can just... ask for a re-do on all that's happened?" He asks, as he finds that youthful aggression that defined him throughout that ordeal. Sucking in breath as Eriko finds her momentum and resolve, he knows what he's got to do here after Maki gets her read.

"If there's no escape, then... we're just gonna have to clear the way," in whatever direction that 'way' goes, hoisting the axe over his shoulder as the Victory Blessing is imparted. "Ogun!"

Once more, the blue column rises around Masao as he fights through the psychological and spiritual chains, even as it enervates him further to dare raise it to that Persona and the one who was wielded and overtaken by it.

The familiar form of Ogun, that spear-wielding warrior, touches down in front of Masao - just shy of overlaying - a thrusting motion with the man's axe which gives more to the actual spear of the Persona themselves.

...He knows Yanagi there, in that fancy way she's looking, is going to want to know just how deep into it he was if he's standing alongside Maki and Eriko, those so directly involved as to call the returned monster of a man's name aloud.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Masao Inaba has used the Pierce skill Dual Thrust on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Masao Inaba takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Masao Inaba takes 90 damage!
AS: Masao Inaba: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Pernelle's Precious Peacock.
AS: Bomb (Attacker takes damage on damaging attacks!) and Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 39 Strike damage from Akihiko Sanada's Skull Cracker.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 110 damage!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Hitomi Mandai's Submission.
AS: Crt_Up removed!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 37 Pierce damage from Masao Inaba's Dual Thrust.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 29 Pierce damage from Masao Inaba's Dual Thrust. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem>
"... Kotodama...?" Vesper and Katsuya arrive, drawing Umie's brief attention, as well as a flash of panic. "Guys, this is--!!"

Wasn't it for a moment like this that Umie shared what she did with Vesper, that one fine Dark Hour? So she could look at him and communicate just how dire this situation is.

It really was all for naught, because Yukari collapsing to the ground conveys it so much better, all without even betraying there's the barest connection at all. After all, what is Umie Akabane, in this situation? She's just another piece on the chess board, at this point, unwilling to let go of her self-importance, or the idea that she has the ability to change anything anything at all.

This is the power of Nyarlathotep.
This is the thing that knocked on the doors of reality, that itched and wormed through every thread of her life, only a heartbeat away.
She could have mistaken it for something personal, but it isn't.
She's nothing special at all. Anyone could tell a lie, or open a door-- especially a child.

Oh yes, Umie Akabane should think, like the little genius she is. She could break that resistance against Dark, but will it be worth it, if the next round she'll just succumb? Maybe it'd be better to just let things happen. What the hell could she do? She barely knows anything, hiding away in her little protective bubble. She didn't even know what a Wild Card meant, in this context, just that Minato and Minako possessed that ability, much like some others she has seen before.

All Umie knows is that the thing that slithers through her mind is more familiar than it has any right to be, while remaining alien to the point that it hurts all the same.

Isn't it strange, how Minato didn't mention his sister, like he was trying to protect her, at the same time Minako was trying to protect him.
She hears Maki's plea. She hears Eriko declaring SEES under their protection. Masao, resolving to do everything over again, and face the same God.

Isn't it strange, how her heart is beating? Like hearing about a weird little postcard proclaiming the end of a coach who later confessed his crimes.
Like it's worth it, to breach that bubble.

Isn't it strange, how she thinks of Shiryuu's lonely gaze, as he placed his trust in her to do one simple thing: 'Don't die.'

After all, she's doing something that would be the exact opposite, if she wanted that to be the outcome.

The one who is too late to be an April Fool, an oracle that tells the past and muddies the waters of the future, croaks back. "... You can't hide in the dark anymore."

"Badb."

As her jacket bellows in the spiritual updraft of her regained, if temporary resolve, Umie makes her stand. It's a small, minute step, but its intention paves the way.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Dark Break on God Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 65 HP from Poison!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's At All Costs.
AS: Full_Cover applied!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!

AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Dark Break.
AS: Dark_Break (Dark Affinity Down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Soon after Vesper speaks, Eriko lays out exactly who this man Kandori is. It doesn't seem to faze the gentleman in the white mask, but few things visibly do. Which only means that he'd be a tough poker opponent. It doesn't at all mean that he isn't experiencing a sinking feeling right about now. There's no reason to assume someone would lie about the threat before them, so... up against the power of a God, then? Fine time to learn about that, moments after having already stuck out his neck.

Not that it ultimately changes anything, other than an adjustment of expectations. He has his principles, after all. Closing his eyes to threats of abduction was never an option. He'll just have to do however much he can manage, in whatever form that might end up taking.

If only this were merely a war of words. He absolutely know what his answer is, in response to the assertion that children have no choice but to be under constant threat.

"And to be an adult is to uphold the protective structure that children depend on to guard against such threats."

Somehow he doubts that this man would agree with him on that being the case. Or even count himself among them. To not just fail to deny claims of godhood but actually affirm them proves that much.

Unfortunately, bluster is not all it is. Before he can even think to react, Yukari has already collapsed. Once he has thought to react, the reaction fails to manifest. What is this overwhelming, dreadful feeling...?

Before he full well realizes it, Vesper is forced to his knees by a force physical and mental, the latter of which far more debilitating still. A bizarre mix of fear and allure fighting over his psyche, urging him to run in all directions at once, and in doing so, robbing him of all ability to move. And among it all, that name, Nyarlathotep, echoing and re-echoing as if taking pride of its handiwork. Until...

"...I... refuse... to listen... to you!"

It takes a herculean effort to force himself to stand up straight, let alone regain a modicum of focus to take stock of the situation. But straighten himself he does, and straighten his tie afterwards. Though somewhat strained, the calm in his voice does remain, in addressing the god in sunglasses.

"...And what does it mean to be a god to you, Kandori-san? Does it mean to define the very forces beyond one's control that constitute the threats that children face? If so... you are a most petty god indeed."

Indeed, there may not be much that be done to stand up to this directly. But that doesn't mean he can't take a stand. And the way he does is directly inferred by one Umie Akabane. She did indeed mention the name Nyarlathotep to him before. He has to assume that she would have more of an idea of what to do here than most. If her words, 'you can't hide in the dark anymore', mean what he thinks they mean, then... he'll take whatever opening he can get.

"Raffles!"

In a blaze of blue, Vesper's Persona takes shape, the mass of dark tendrils that make up its right arm slamming into the ground. From beneath Kandori, similar tendrils erupt, intent on direct restraint. If there is any chance to delay further response for even the shortest of moments...!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Blackroot Curse on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Julian Marlowe takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Julian Marlowe: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Charm removed!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
For a moment, Minato's hand was on Minako's shoulder. For a moment, it felt as if everything might be all right. But then golden chains threw her backward -- pulling them apart -- and the promise 'he' made feels like a distant thing, now. Her eyes are wide, as he summons Orpheus.

It's like she is pulled back into the dark once more; like she is watching herself watch this. Watching Suzume rush to defend her brother, while she hasn't gotten to her feet yet. Watching Aigis stand before him, a shield between him and this thing. Watching Mitsuru order Hitomi to get them away, while she rushes in, in the place of the twins.

There are so many others -- those adults who knew who Kandori is. Hyousuke, promising to protect them. A peacock and his companion, even if out of necessity from a foiled escape. (Wait, what?) Vesper, questioning what sort of god Kandori would be.

Umie making her desperate stand.

Minako sees them all from a distance, like she isn't really here. Hitomi's eyes are on her, seeing her struggle. She feels too weighed down to move. Her hand trembles, the Evoker shaking in her hand as she does.

Empty.

Empty...

...Empty.

But she is here. This is happening. And if she doesn't do something, she might lose her brother. And this world... this world isn't one that she wants without him.

Minako pulls the Evoker's trigger. In the last moment, her hand steadies. The trigger squeezes back and there is a ''crack'' of a gunshot, and a burst of blue light and glass that showers out from the side of her head. She sways left, then right. Her eyes, once closed, open.

And they shone red.

Light surges up behind her. For a moment, it seems as though it might be the familiar form of Linos; there is a glint of gold, a hint of red. But then the light and shadow merge together, a veritable whirlwind behind Minako. She stands up, fist trembling around her naginata -- the pole ''slams'' into the ground as she pushes herself to her feet.

"PERSONA!" she shouts.

The light behind her shatters. Revealed is a masculine form, clad in a red and black coat with shiny gold buttons up each breast. A spiked, golden mask -- with an open mouth -- covers the whole of its head, giving the outline of a skull. Golden chains connect a harness around its body, and there are six coffin lids -- white, with relief sculptures of the interred on them -- with black edging. Those six coffin lids flare out like wings.

It is the inverse of the Persona that Minato summoned. Like Linos and Orpheus, and yet different. The sister of that mysterious, but terrible Persona0 rears her head back and ''SCREECHES''.

The name comes to Minako's lips, unbidden; something she knows, instinctively. "Mors!" She stares at Kandori, embers of red light smoking away from her eyes as they lose their glow.

Mors rushes forward, with another screech. The coffins clatter as they rotate around her -- and then her hand goes to the sheathed blade at her side. She flies up -- before the full moon -- and the six coffin-lids form a ring that eclipse much of that moon. Mors draws the blade -- a long, midnight katana -- and ''SLASHES'' downward.

An explosion of force, making the very air ripple, shoots down as a narrow shockwave -- that drives down for Kandori and Nyarlathotep both. When they hit the ground, dirt and debris explode high into the air.

"I said," Minako shouts, then screams, "''YOU CAN'T HAVE MY BROTHER''!"

</poem>
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Decover.
AS: Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Invincible General.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Slash skill Getsu-ei on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minako Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Minako Arisato: Loses 66 HP from Poison!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Minako Arisato has readied for combat as Mors! She is now fully healed!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 41 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse.
AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 48 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 107 Slash damage from Minako Arisato's Getsu-ei.

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
His expression is patronizing, even in it's ambivalence, at Minako's assurance that he is her brother. "Denial it is. It matters little, what you refuse to acknowledge."

'What would drive someone to that...?' Minato asks. '...Belief in your own superiority,' Eriko answers him. 'And all it does is leave a man empty, doesn't it Mr Kandori?'

That one he doesn't answer from Eriko, like it stung in his current state, instead answering Minato more simply.

"Ambition. Desire. You feel it all around you don't you? 'This Side' has become distorted, twisted by it."

In the chaotic realm of mad darkness, Maki demands an answer. 'Why? Not how... but ''why''?' "Because three years ago, all of you challenged me to understand there was meaning to life- in living."

Minato accepts his challenge, and he actually chuckles, as Orpheus strips the 'Big Bad Wolf' of his sharpened claws. He hardly seems concerned by it. "You'll never be left alone. Yours is a destiny of battle... young Fool."

The disgusting cracked Tentacled Buddha looks at him, it's mouth moving. Within his head he hears nonsensical whispers of something beyond the veil. And he knows that even the very name of Minato Arisato is being cursed.

It's only then that he turns to Eriko again, as she challenges him, so long as she draws breath, "Your words offer the cruel sting of nostalgia. ... So long as you draw breath?" That glowing effigy descends again, that impression of a laughing skull, as if to do just that, steal her breath with smothering darkness that blots out the threads of life. "So be it, 'Goddess of Victory'."

A windstorm from Suzume's Atalanta erupts from Nyarlathotep and Kandori, and what's eerie about the moment is he doesn't even try to move. The terrible wind merely causes his clothing to shift in the breeze, as he casually walks out of the spell, while it's still in progress.

"You have no choice."

The Golden Buddha headed horror raises its tentacles again, and there is a chill in the air, not from any cold. But from a plunge into the depths of darkness. The conceptual end of stars happens as lights twinkle within, then it goes blacker still, into the horror of a universe with nothing else but yourself, lacking bonds, in a liminal state between life and death, as it draws Suzume into it.

Gunfire. Two shots from Katsuya. Two bullets he'll have to account for, if everything in Sumaru City were by the book. One shot vanishes right before it can hit him. No spent casing, nothing. It is as if the bullet ceased to exist. His Persona does not move to protect him. The other- it strikes the man's raised palm. He grips the bullet, and crushes it, but Katsuya might notice a trickle of black from his palm, dripping out as he does so.

Not red. Black.

"Human laws means less than nothing to a god." He remarks, to Katsuya, "Consider this Divine Justice." And the same dark aura, with glowing effigy of a skull descends upon him.

The Golden Buddha headed horror raises its tentacles again, and there is a chill in the air, not from any cold. But from a plunge into the depths of darkness. The conceptual end of stars happens as lights twinkle within, then it goes blacker still, into the horror of a universe with nothing else but yourself, lacking bonds, in a liminal state between life and death. A state he thrusts Suzume, Aigis and X into for two very long, seconds.

Mitsuru gives orders, trying to organize SEES, to figure out a plan, a distraction, a retreat. Then she lunges forward, and his hand, rises to meet the rapier. The rapier, to its credit, pierces through the center of his left palm. Right before his fingertips clamp down upon it, with a grip harder than steel, he seizes the blade and holds it.

She finds she cannot move the rapier a single millimeter, no matter how hard she tries, as he leans in, still holding the blade and whispers, "If you truly wish to protect him, you must rule as more than just a Queen of Ice, but a Dark Empress- with hands stained black as pitch. Only then might you overturn the verdict of fate."

There is a whispering, a soft susurrus within her mind of alien voice, an offer. An offer of power. And she would ''know''. It is not this god, Takahisa Kandori offering - but another. The hiss of a blade leaves its sheath, and he slices downward across her torso, pivoting and releasing her rapier only then to slide out of his hand with a splatter of black.

Polydeuces comes at him in that moment, as if taking it as an opening. The God takes the blow right to the head, as his head visibly jerks sideways, flinching beneath the assault. To which the Persona responds by wrapping it's tentacles around Polydeuces, time seems to shift- and a Supernova of light erupts from within its cruel flow, detonating violently in the Persona.

Auroral light from Tyche. A curse of ill fortune. Kandori smirks, and responds by withdrawing from his jacket pocket a firearm, and unleashing two shots towards the teenager with eerie accuracy, before three lightning bolts descend upon her head. Then he fires a third shot, purposefully wide, as if playfully missing with just the 'sixth' of his attacks upon her.

Like this were some game, with the stakes being her life.

'You think you can just... ask for a re-do on all that's happened?'

"Of course not, Masao-san. 'He' would be wounded at you thinking this whole event were unoriginal." Kandori's gun bats away the strike of the axe with a shower of sparks, even as Ogun finds its spear unable to pass much further, as if caught on something invisible. "Just like you, 'he' considers himself to be quite the artist."

And then he fires a single shot from his gun, towards his old enemy's axe arm.

And that's the moment that Pernelle tries to cry, only finally managing it, as his Persona's aura threatens retribution upon him. It's not Kandori that looks at him, but the writhing Persona in the air. Alien words enter their brain, undulating about as surely as any tentacle, which somehow he finds meaning to.

You should not have come here

And because Nyarlathotep is like ''that''. He punishes Yanagi instead, drawing her into the blackest, most unperishable depths of the universe for several- far two long seconds. It might feel like validation, if it weren't so mind-wrenchingly painful.

Badb strips away a layer of protection from the all-devouring darkness, and then it feels like it curls around her, then more- then they begin to grow definition, like blackened hands, reminiscent of the Mark upon her. Drawing her down, drawing her ''in''.

Just this idea of possession. No words, just that knowledge that she belongs to something far greater than her, reinforced.

'And what does it mean to be a god to you, Kandori?'

"To have the power to do anything and everything I desire. That is what it means. ...And that is why it is utterly meaningless." His response may unnerve Vesper just from this pervasive sense of ambivalence, as if he hardly even cares what he's doing right now.

Tendrils erupt, and curl around Kandori. He seems momentarily amused, and then, those tendrils are torn asunder by tentacles laden with azure eyes. Eyes staring into Vesper's soul- before two blasts of pure force in a row are launched at them, as if playfully taking him apart.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
He had been paying almost no attention to Minako, as if she were beneath his notice. He called her an Empty Fool, after all. Then- he turns suddenly- "... What?"

Mors slashes at Kandori, and this time, he can't defend in time, it cuts across his face, his actual face, and he grips it with a single hand, staggering backwards, and actually falling forward. This is the first time in this fight it seems that he's truly felt threatened, by the brutality of the Roman narrative of Death made manifest in front of him. Mors.

In that moment, the oily barriers of darkness around them in this dark realm seem to fade, drawing them back into the sickly light of the Dark Hour, as if they cannot be maintained in the presence of Mors. As if something intrinsic to it overrides 'this' realm.

Picking himself up off the ground, his shattered sunglasses are picked off his face, and cast aside. And those who look, will see there is no hollow concavity where eyes should be. There are no eyes with which he might look upon the world, in all of his power.

There are void pits of unperishable black.

"That an empty fool like yourself could bring this incarnation of death into the world..." He murmurs, as if it were indeed unexpected, despite all the knowledge he's shown so far.

And then he smiles, like something about its appearance, its threat has quickened something within him, causing his still heart to actually beat warm blood through his veins.

"But only when the universe itself lies cold and still could death ever be my equal."

Nyarlathotep rises out of him, tentacled hands writhing as they take position on either side of Mors. There is a crackle of energy, the ticking of a clock.

Then it is like a star goes Supernova inside of the creature, as the inexorable flow of time turns once more.

"'He' has decided not to suffer your unnecessary existence any longer."

</poem>
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Cursed Name on Minato Arisato! 3 Hits!
AS: God Penguin takes 180 damage from Bomb and Panic!
AS: Pressure: God Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Eriko Kirishima!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Deathtika on Katsuya Suou!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 1 bonus Weak actions!
<Big Scene> God Penguin says, "I doubled up on an attack by accident description, my bad. I'll fix it in post"

AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Slash skill Wolf Fang on Mitsuru Kirijo!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! God Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Pierce skill Firefight on Hitomi Mandai! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Elec skill Rapid Zio on Hitomi Mandai! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Wind skill Duo Zan on Julian Marlowe! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Almighty skill Wheel of Time on Akihiko Sanada and Minako Arisato!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! God Penguin has used the Pierce skill Aimed Shot on Masao Inaba!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!

AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Cursed Name on Pernelle! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 20 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Firefight. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added! Recovery_Wall removed!
AS: God Penguin spends Limit on Reach!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 20 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Firefight. Critical Hit!
AS: Persona! God Penguin has used the Dark skill Unperishable Black on Maki Sonomura, Suzume Fukura, Aigis, Umie
Akabane, Yanagi Nagisa, Ririka Kawase, and Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Neutral! Hitomi Mandai takes 44 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 61 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 88 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: Avoid Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 71 Elec damage from God Penguin's Rapid Zio. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Eriko Kirishima takes 186 Dark damage from God Penguin's Deathtika. Weak! Avoid Dark!
AS: Eriko Kirishima is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Minako Arisato takes 194 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Wheel of Time.
AS: Block Worst! Yanagi Nagisa takes 149 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: God Penguin: Paralyze and Reach removed! Atk_Up added!
AS: God Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Akihiko Sanada takes 165 Almighty damage from God Penguin's Wheel of Time.
AS: Suzume Fukura spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Best! Suzume Fukura takes 129 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Weak!
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 89 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black.
AS: Block Worst! Maki Sonomura takes 334 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Maki Sonomura endures with 1 HP!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Eriko Kirishima's Victory Blessing.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Eriko Kirishima is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Pernelle takes 45 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Avoid Worst! Pernelle takes 84 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Avoid Best! Pernelle takes 9 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Resist!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Counter Best! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 110 Slash damage from God Penguin's Wolf Fang. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! God Penguin takes 64 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 32 Wind damage from God Penguin's Duo Zan.
AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 47 Wind damage from God Penguin's Duo Zan. Critical Hit!

AS: Block Best! Masao Inaba takes 53 Pierce damage from God Penguin's Aimed Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Masao Inaba is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 95 Dark damage from God Penguin's Deathtika.
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 25 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Resist!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Block Worst! Ririka Kawase takes 267 Dark damage from God Penguin's Unperishable Black. Critical Hit!
AS: Ririka Kawase is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Minato Arisato takes 71 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Minato Arisato takes 128 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Minato Arisato takes 71 Dark damage from God Penguin's Cursed Name. Critical Hit!
AS: Minato Arisato is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Minato--it's not time. That boy is talking about that. He is wondering what would drive someone to become a God...

Until he talks of 'impressing' Kandori, and Maki does not think that's possible here. And Katsuya speaks as an officer of the law--to protect. It makes Maki's heart hurt more. But still, he tries.

She reminds herself of that. They are ''all'' still trying.

That system, Eriko says. But it's not her that he wants. It's... Minato. No, perhaps it's--'him', as Eriko says.

Eriko is still trying. That matters. And Maki inclines her head. "...It's what he would do," Maki agrees. "Believing in them, and standing with each other... it's our 'true mind'."

'Past, present, future. ...they're but a glittering dream, holding nothing for me. That's why I'm going to...'

Memory. So many. But Maki feels it; the invocation of that name, of Philemon, reminds her. "...Let's be our best selves," Maki says, telepathically again. "That's not nothing."

She doesn't know who that person MItsuru wants to protect is, but she can practically feel her pain. She can see it, despite her stoicism. That anger... That intense, powerful anger--

How much does one have to ''hurt'', to inspire such rage?

But Mark has it said. 'Aw, shit' indeed. But Yanagi... yanagi wobbles, and invokes Giselle. The horror eases, just slightly. Those little angels ameliorate some of that pain.

"Thank you," Maki breathes. But before she can consider thanks--

Mors happens.

Maki recoils, Taishan Niangniang adjusting her posture to step with her protectively. 'Mors', Minako calls it, but there is something different about this Persona. "Death, but... strange, somehow..." She marvels at it. But--Kandori answers.

"...Three years ago..."

"I remember," Maki says. "At the time... I couldn't find it, either. We were... the same."

Were.

Not now. ...Certainly not now, as Maki sees the hollow in Kandori's eyes. With a gasp she brings her hand to her lips, in horror. "What... what happened to you...?"

The darkness comes. The end of stars; a state between life and death. It ''scythes'' into Maki's psyche, and leaves her alone with herself; it nearly, very nearly destroys her on the spot, so focused as she is upon her own bonds; Taishan Niangniang ''shatters'' in an instnat.

Maki screams in pain and sadness. And yet...

'I want to change!'

Maki, where she'd fallen, slowly rises to her feet once again. Through an unknown power she gets up. Her feet settle on the ground; her gun has fallen, useless. But her eyes are still full of life.

"...The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty," Maki repeats. "This is what 'he' said belonged to all of us."

"So I call... PERSONA!"

Despite the venom in her veins, the ache in her mind of charm magic, Maki calls on Taishan Niangniang once again, and the Persona reappears, spreading her arms. The white-clad woman lets sparkles of light shimmer over the group.

Maki almost falls again--but only almost.

"Kandori-san!" she calls. "I won't stop searching for that 'meaning'! If you're here... then maybe you can still change, too!"
</poem>

AS: Maki Sonomura spends Limit on Reach!
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Recovery skill Shining Recarm on Julian Marlowe, Masao Inaba, Yanagi Nagisa,
Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, Eriko Kirishima, Mitsuru Kirijo, Katsuya Suou, Aigis, Suzume Fukura, Hyousuke Suzuki, and
Maki Sonomura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Reach removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Maki Sonomura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 167 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 248 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 191 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Recovery skill Shining Recarm on Julian Marlowe, Masao Inaba, Yanagi Nagisa,
Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, Eriko Kirishima, Mitsuru Kirijo, Katsuya Suou, Aigis, Suzume Fukura, Hyousuke Suzuki, and
Maki Sonomura!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Reach removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Maki Sonomura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 185 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 167 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 248 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 223 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 230 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Shining Recarm.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
There is too much going on, and a foe of overwhelming strength who seems ore intent on just playing with them all. Ririka is somehat used to working with a large group, but never under circumstances as dire as this, and she's already being stressed beyond her limits, vainly trying to keep that creepy crawly feeling from

Especially that last part. Nyarlathotep is unpleasant enough in small doses, and this... is far from a small dose.

So when the unperishable blackness of the universe comes crushing down on her it's more than she can handle. No matter how much she tries to pull herself together, to draw on her Persona to reinforce her body--

Her eyes roll up in her head and she drops down to the ground in an ugly heap.

But where there is darkness there can also be light, and Ririka goans as her body twitches, before she can get her hands under herself to get up to her feet. "Ugh... Thank you... Nevigator-senpai." She hasn't met Maki yet, that's the best she can do.

Her head is pounding still, but she forces herself to keep going. "Alright, then... o-one more time. Here goes... Amphion!" Her Evoker comes up, blue fire and glass erupt, and Amphion rises anew. "Let's do what we can-- Healing song!"

Amphion strums his lyre, and once again healing strands of melody are sent out to wrap themselves around herself, Akihiko, Suzume, and Pernelle to give them just that little bit more fight to continue the battle.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Ririka Kawase, Akihiko Sanada, Suzume Fukura, and
Pernelle!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 74 HP from Poison!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
He glances at Umie, just once. His eyes narrow.

If it had been possible, he would have been there sooner to take on the great Shadow alongside all of them. Alas, he's arrived late, and that in this case might be worse than never showing up at all. Of course, by the way that Katsuya thinks about such things, even if he'd known it would have been like ''this'' he still would have come. To do otherwise would have meant willingly allowing these kids to face Kandori alone, and even if it should prove ultimately futile, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

'That system'.

"Kirishima-kun... what are you talking about?" he dares to ask, even if this moment is not precisely the best for such revelations.

Again, Eriko says.

This form, again.

'Why', asks Maki.

You think that you can just ask for a re-do on all that's happened, says Masao.

This time, Katsuya doesn't have any questions. They're beyond questions now, flung into a situation where even their best might not see any of them survive.

Run, Mitsuru says to SEES, and though he might not know her in the slightest aside her public persona, Katsuya is of like mind. He would just add one more to the list: Mitsuru herself. "Kirijo-san, you as well!" he calls out. Those winds of victory feel to carry him aloft in the next moment, and briefly, Katsuya has the space to think about just what it is that he's consigning himself to.

This is death in the line of duty. He'd still hoped that he'd... that Tatsuya would... and his father--

It's too late to have regrets. Hasn't he already known that for years?

Which is why he shoots at Kandori. One bullet never connects at all. The other is caught as handily as Yukari's arrow, though, Katsuya realises with a frission of shock, not without a wound. Did it strike his palm in the process of him catching it? Except that doesn't make sense--
Kandori is, regardless, bleeding black. Black as ink, black as pitch. Not red.

'Kotodama', the sole thought burrows through his mind. Kandori has but a few words for him in retribution.

Human laws mean nothing to a god.

"That's wrong," he blurts out, more in instinct than in argument. Kandori has more than a few words for him in retribution: Kandori bestows upon him darkness and death, a pulse darker than midnight. For an instant, Katsuya sees the silhouette of Helios interposed before him: an afterimage against the darklight of the skull that descends towards him. The silhouette blurs. It's ripped to pieces, rendered to dust, reduced to nothing at all.

The destruction of his Persona is agonizing. He staggers backwards only to fall to his knees, his left hand planted on the ground to brace him as he breathes raggedly. His gun hangs limply in his right hand. He's... still alive, but...

Many others are not quite so 'fortunate'.

"Damn it..." he murmurs, his fingers shaking as they close around his gun. "Sorry... Tatsuya." He knew it would come to this.

"But I won't let you," he says to Kandori, pushing himself to his feet. Slowly, he trains his gun on the man. "Run," he says, "I'll cover your--"

But Katsuya isn't the only one here with a brother on his mind. In passing, of course, he had noted what Minako (not that he knows her name) had yelled at Kandori, but it wasn't something that was top of mind. Now it is: he doesn't see it when it first happens, but what he ''does'' see is that Persona tearing itself into reality. As much as Kandori's Persona had drawn him to feel a sense of dread, this Persona...

What Katsuya, still reeling from the disintegration of Helios, does do is stare at it, open-mouthed.

The face of divine love.
The mask of demonic cruelty.
Which of these is Mors?

All he knows is that it's Maki who might have saved him, saved all of them, if just for a moment more. With that spark alighting within him, he can, again hope.

The barrel of his gun swings back at Kandori. Just one shot more rings out in the night. If it can buy them all time, then that's enough.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Tactical Rebuke on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Katsuya Suou takes 90 damage!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 121 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Tactical Rebuke.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>"Screw that!"

On seeing that Atalanta's spell did almost nothing, Suzume dismisses her with a snap of her arm to one side, bringing her fists back up to protect herself as she plants her feet just so. They need to find an opening, which means she has to keep him busy long enough for someone - or herself - to do it. Nothing else is going to get through against him.

...but is even that enough? He's more powerful than anyone Suzume has ever fought before. She's not willing to call him a god, but she's not going to deny that he's powerful. He and Nyarlathotep.

Suzume tries for another opening, but this time it's Kandori that sees the opening, not her - or, rather, he's strong enough compared to her that he doesn't really have to wait for one, he can just force it through. A plunge into darkness, the horror of being alone, between life and death -

- and along with it, a terrible sense of deja vu, the feeling of *waiting to die*, the bitter cold of emptiness -

When it clears, Suzume is down. Down on one knee, trying desperately to rise and failing as Mors appears. Maybe she felt *that*, because she aches, somewhere deep inside, without knowing why. Or maybe it's the sheer creepiness of his empty eyes, feeling like they're staring into her with their emptiness. "Arisato-chan - " she gets out.

Suzume slowly pushes herself up. She's so unsteady that she almost falls again, and the only thing that saves her is the light from Taishan Niangniang and Maki. Suzume's head snaps over that way as if magnetized as the feeling inside her fades, giving her a thankful nod, then back toward Kandori.

He's out of her weight class.

But...

*Everyone* is out of Suzume's weight class.

When she showed up, that once, to the boxing club in Gekkoukan, she was turned away. They don't let girls enroll - but even if they had made an exception for her, they didn't have anyone small enough for her to fight, as she fell right off the bottom of the boys' weight classes, down at 153cm and mind-your-own-business kilograms. Everybody outreached her by inches and outweighed her by kilograms. It had been the same with wrestling, and karate. (They'd offered her aikido. She turned it down.)

But she hadn't let that stop her. When she'd joined SEES, she'd gone to punching anyway. She'd picked up tonfa, when she'd found them in Mementos, but she'd persisted anyway, practicing her punches, training as if she was a boxer when nobody was looking, sneaking in to hit the bags.

She'd worked out with Shinjiro, learning to fight people far bigger than she was and make the most of her strength. She'd gotten stronger, too. She'd worked with Reiya, to train her speed, and her technique, and take advantage of her gifts.

But the one thing she had never, ever done was give up. And even in the face of the darkness beyond death, Suzume refuses to surrender.

With another shout, Atalanta appears once again, spreading her arms as wind whips around Suzume. It almost picks her up (though that might be Ririka's song, too) and *does* accelerate her as she rushes toward Kandori, Atalanta running at her side until the two of them overlap, Suzume running *through* Atalanta, bouyed up by her winds.

It's reckless. It's stupid.

And Suzume still does it, driving in with a flurry of punches, every fist accelerated by Atalanta's winds. "Get your hands off them!"

It's the only thing she can do: to give the others the opening they need.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Suzume Fukura has used the Wind skill Race the Wind on God Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Gains 70 HP from Regen! Exhaust removed!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 16 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind. Critical Hit!
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 33 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 59 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Race the Wind.
AS: Suzume Fukura is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
They're upset he isn't running. Aigis... Mitsuru... they want him to escape.

"Against an enemy like this," Minato says, "there isn't anywhere we can run if he won't play along." It's not quite Akihiko's resolve... but the end is the same.

Still... he isn't just fighting to sacrifice himself...?

That man is nostalgic, is what Minato gets from Eriko.

And as Hitomi notes, he still looks... so calm.

Calm, despite the seething statues clawing at him from the inside out...

He's used to it, you see.

Even so, he does not know what Yanagi and Maki know too well.

But he's getting a sense of what he doesn't know, from the way the adults are talking.

Orpheus is not the only musician amongst them; he hears Amphion's song, too, just as he bears witness to Aigis's aegis.

He calls Minako empty, though. Is that fair... when he's the one who's hollowed out?

"There is so much inside of her," Minato says.

And a little more than that.

"...?" Minato's question, on seeing Mors, is voiceless; there is a part of him which doesn't recognise Mors, as she rises.

The same part of him which can't connect with...

Is Minako able to direct that power?

"... I'm here," he tells her.

And he turns to the man they call Kandori, his gaze level.

"A God is powerful enough to claim anything he desires," he says. "There must be some determination other than that... or is that why you've become empty?" There is the ghost of a frown, across his face. "I wonder if that's why you use the word as an insult... instead of a possibility."

He holds his Evoker firm.

"But I'm fighting because I want to," he insists.

"Because I made the decision to be here."

Whisper, whisper...

It's a valid question.

What decisions will Minato make in the dark?

He's not the only one who can see where that man is standing. Maki insists he can still change... is that the power of 'humanity'?

A power which defies God...

But God's power is not so easily defied. The reason that man wears sunglasses at night is to protect their minds.

Minato looks into his eyes...

Somehow, Minato looks into his eyes.

Perhaps he is a Fool -- to look. Time ticks down, and Aigis bears the brunt of Nyarlathotep's power. "-- Aigis-san!" Minato cries, seeing her struck.

If SEES were fighting him alone...

But SEES isn't fighting alone.

Maki's own determination not only calls her back to the fight -- but Aigis, too. Masao is determined to cut a path through for them all. And Eriko, who knows the shape of this unfathomable thing...

"Orpheus," he calls, as his Persona rises anew. "Protect them." He turns, as his Persona strums a Cadenza to bolster the wounded, joining with Amphion's music. Then, he calls to Eriko -- "Go for it."

She's not part of SEES, so he can't really order her to do anything, but perhaps the belief counts for something anyway.

There are some adults, he supposes, as he looks to Vesper and Katsuya, too, who are still reliable... even with the sins of their fathers weighing down.

(On the outside, there is a piece of the Bride who mourns, feeling that pressure which the man they call Shinjo brings against Yanagi, even though she thought she had escaped 'that place'. ... even so, knowing what horror she faces, she does not lift a finger to aid her. No... quite the opposite. It's quite a privilege for Chizuru to have asked her to assist today, and she'll not soon jeopardise it.)

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Recovery skill Cadenza on Ririka Kawase!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Minato Arisato spends Limit on Shift! Eriko Kirishima can use another Weak skill this round! Hyper (Next Attack
Boosted/Incoming Damage Down!) applied to Eriko Kirishima! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Ririka's explanation illuminated much, but at the same time, left him with more questions than he had answers. He was silent as he tried to parse what she'd said, turning the words over in his mind and attempting to understand the wider implications of such things, but it was a futile gesture.
"Shit, so now what do we do about it?!" He asked, hoping she - or anyone else in earshot - had an answer. Because as much as he loved the simplicity of gratuitous violence, it did not seem to be the key against whatever that *thing* was.

In amidst the chaos, he caught snippets and whispers of other conversations. He heard screaming and laments, declarations of protection and vengeance alike, comparisons drawn between man and god... but nothing made sense. Nothing aligned with what he knew or could surmise. Even with the information relayed to him by Ririka, he was in the dark. But why did that matter? He was their sledgehammer. Their attack dog. Their mindless hunting hound, sent to bludgeon problems where a scalpel was too delicate a tool. There was no need for strategy when brute force was all they needed him for.

Hyousuke staggered forward. His fist was raised in readiness, moving to bludgeon that wretched *thing* before him until it was a greasy smear on his fist, or until his hands had been worn down to bloody stumps in the attempt. But the glasses came away, and what stared back at him was nothing. It was not that there was nothing worth nothing there - it was simply the concept of nothing. An absence of life, of colour, of emotion, of anything. In those darkened voids, Hyousuke saw the end of stars snuffed out like candlelight without so much as a wisp of smoke there.

The man was the end, and he had come for them.

"The hell are you...?!" Hyousuke asked, summoning what strength he could to ask that question. He could barely force the words out, much less speak them - it was like they sloughed off his tongue, spilling weakly into the air before vanishing into nothing. "The fuck kind of god is this?!" Hyousuke told himself that he did not fear, and that he could stand against the dark and the obscene. But against that? He could barely stay upright, let alone make some valiant effort at repelling it. His body moved on instinct, twitching into a guard and tensing, but it was like rusted gears turning against each other. The great machine that was his body strained against itself, and only remained like that through great effort.

Yet, amidst the fear - amidst entropy and malice and darkness and the end of all things - some small spark flickered inside of him. Not hope. Things had spiralled too far out of control for that. Hyousuke felt, somewhere deep in his soul, that making it out of there alive was not an option for him. That spark was anger. Rage. FURY. That most human of emotions that send adrenaline burning through his veins, surging alongside the poison that stung at his flesh, repelling the exhaustion that left his body feeling leaden, against the haze that enshrouded his mind and plagued his every action.

And it was that spark that let him weather the blow Kandori levelled against him. He clenched his teeth and cried out from the effort. His skull felt like it would split into fragments as he fought to keep Achilles in the fore, with even that god-wrought shield threatening to buckle under the strain of that blow. A welter of superheated sparks exploded into the air, bursting flare-orange in the night as the great general staggered under the blow, and the canyon that had been carved into the metal was clear for all to see. Yet, though he was battered and panting and burning, Hyousuke stood.

"Hey asshole, guess what?" Hyousuke spat, lifting his head as he growled. "'He' doesn't get to choose if he 'suffers' us or not. You hurt them, so now I'm not gonna stop coming after you until I've got my hands around your GODDAMN THROAT!" It was unclear as to whether Hyousuke had let out a war cry, a threat, or some animalistic bellowing. But his anger was writ clear in the words he let loose, so intense that they threatened to burn the night air cinder-black. Battle-scarred but standing tall, Achilles readied his shield and spear, the red eyes in the black void of his helmet glaring bright.

His body eased as Maki's healing magicks descended upon him. He did not hear her words, and he did not know her as a person - but he had seen her before, fighting on the same side as he. That, in that moment, was enough to earn a glance from him in the middle of his rage.
"Thanks." He said bluntly, though more because it was all he could spare the strength for. "I owe you one." He knew it might not have come off ans genuine, or grateful. But they were on a battlefield. There was no time for bowing and scraping and thanking. That was all he had the time and strength for when faced with *that.*

"If you've got wounded, grab them and leave!" Hyousuke called out, anger in his wavering voice. It didn't falter from fear, though. Emotions surged in him, and no longer able to restrain himself, they forced themselves out and distorted his every word. Not that he had much more use for words. Deeds would speak for him. With an ear-splitting, bestial, roar, he surged forward like lightning, cannoning towards his foe. Heedless of the cost to his own body, mind, or soul, he flung himself into the fray, hoping that he could stall them for just one more moment and give those who mattered a chance to escape.

Achilles drew his spear back as his wielder charged in, and with a thrust that distorted the very air around it, he heaved the weapon's keen tip into the monster.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Pelian Spear Strike on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 70 HP from Poison!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 26 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Pelian Spear Strike.

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Mitsuru relays her order to draw attention to herself and Akihiko. "Understood!" Aigis nods to confirm receipt of the Kirijo heiress' command and starts to rush headlong towards Kandori, her eyes shining blue with the familiar blue glow that comes with Persona summoning.

Palladion doesn't show up, however. Instead, all that Aigis knows for two agonizing seconds (was it really only two? that's what her internal clock claims) is the void past the end of time itself. In theory, with enough repair and maintenance work, she could very well reach this point, outliving her non-robotic creators and friends, just as they routinely outlive the plants on the rooftop garden. Generations could pass by, and the people she's here with today could be nothing more than a distant memory while she still carries on.

Her perception soon catches onto the waking world again, outside of that dark dream, only to recognize the cursing intent that the Tentacled Buddha's mouth has for Minato's very name. In one last-ditch maneuver, she unsteadily lurches forward, her sense of balance thrown off by the damage to her gyroscopic sensors and leg components, and leaps towards the entity to try and cover its mouth with her hands. While this may manage to shield Minato, it does mean she takes the full brunt of the curse for herself as the sound resonates through her chassis.

That was it. That was all she could take. Her joints seize up, her processes freeze, and everything descends into static. "Systems-ems in-inoperational-al." Her head twitches as it turns to view Minato and Minako, to try and see if she managed to buy them some time. Minato's still standing, and Minako ...

...

Aigis beholds the form of Mors with a mixture of relief and horror, with some awareness of where the power that that man wants to see came from. She is somewhat aware of who, at least partially, is to blame.

Then for a few moments, everything goes black, just as it did moments ago, but without any consciousness left in her. This would be where she fell, if it weren't for ...

'... the face of divine love ...' 'PERSONA!'

In what seems like a miracle, Maki calls on Taishan Niangniang and Aigis becomes functional once more. There's no time right now to thank her; she still has to carry out Mitsuru's order. Anything to draw attention, right? Aigis takes advantage of the shimmering light to pull some sleight of hand of her own.

"Persona, actualize!" Palladion's form appears in midair and lands with a heavy 'thud' before it pulses with a faint shimmer in the air, shrouding the people who Mitsuru tasked with a timely getaway. Minato and Minako, of course, are the first two. Hitomi should recognize the sensation from the Strega raid on the SEES dorms. Finally, if anyone can help facilitate their escape, a Navigator can. Ririka's the last one to benefit from this cloaking spell. The four of them grow transparent and more difficult to see, fading further into the darkness. Aigis, in turn, prominently stands in front, still fully opaque, her arms now fully outstretched as if shrugging.

Trouble comes in other forms than 'threat'.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Recovery skill Madoronpa on Minato Arisato, Minako Arisato, Hitomi Mandai, and Ririka
Kawase!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Aigis: Loses 67 HP from Poison!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.
AS: Aigis's Full_Cover tactic expires on Minato Arisato!

AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Madoronpa.
AS: Cloak () added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Madoronpa.
AS: Cloak () added!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi's thoughtfulness on the words being exchanged is not lost on Pernelle, either. Unease grips his instincts. These need to be later questions. But, oh, he does so love gossip! What does it mean, to desire on Fool and not the other? What does it mean, for the other Fool to awaken within the waking world? Alas, he may love existence more than mysteries.

Just a little bit.

Unfortunately, the horrors.

Pernelle has his own resolve deep in his avian heart, and he is steadfast, however delicate a shield for Yanagi he may be. But perhaps it is not so strange he stands guard when Giselle sends dancing shikigami to mend his psyche against the threat of a maddening abyss.

The peacock gazes into Nyarlathotep, and Nyarlathotep gazes back.

''You should not have come here.''

There has never been quite so much panic creeping into Pernelle's voice before:

"''Yanagi!''"

He is at her side, which does never little for either of them when a curse can seize him as long as the eyes ''see'' him. Pernelle's psyche is a wiggly thing, but it only wiggle so much as he reels under the force of it.

"I -- I am remembering that glittery meal we cooked up," he tells her. "My tongue sparkled for a week! ... It is helping, I think..."

This is a terrible situation. She asked him to escort her, and he ought to bring his friend home safely, shouldn't he? What manner of bird can he say he is if he does not? Before Pernelle can call Anqa, Maki and Ririka provide their own light to lift their wounded bodies and souls.

Well! They're all in this together now, aren't they!

Pernelle squints up at Kandori.

"Hm. Desire. Yes. Important thing, desire. ... I am going to light you on fire now."

Another butterfly flits past, and Pernelle devours it with a predator's rage. He refuses to be made prey today before this writhing mass of worms! That is for bird to eat!

Anqa appears in brilliant prismatic light and splits open at the seems, and a giant, suspiciously peacock shaped plume of fire explodes for Kandori with every desire to ruin his suit.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Fire skill Adorable Agilao on God Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Pernelle gains 1 Limit!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 75 HP from Poison! Gains 68 HP from Regen! Poison removed!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! God Penguin takes 54 Fire damage from Pernelle's Adorable Agilao. Critical Hit!
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 115 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
In a blink of an eye, Akihiko is barely standing.

In a blink of an eye, nearly every one of his allies went down.

It's a sobering moment, and Maki Sonomura must be thanked later. There's no time to hold back. Not if they want to survive to fight another day.

"Sorry to bring you back out again so fast..." Akihiko murmurs to himself, mostly. He brings his Evoker back to his head. With the shattering of glass, the Immortal Hero is once again summoned. "Polydeuces! Bolt of Judgement!"

For the second time tonight, electricity cackles to seek it's target... Then thunder cracks, slamming into the God. He won't go down without a fight.

</poem>
AS: Akihiko Sanada spends Limit on Psych!

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi ''does'' want to know more about all of this. She heard some of it from Maki already, but it really didn't prepare her sufficiently for this encounter.

To be fair, there is a lot going on in this encounter. Yanagi's intrigue in the cult and the power that was behind them led her and Pernelle to something even greater, far greater than that. The Hierophant, as well as the other Full Moon Shadows, are powerful but manageable with enough strength; Kandori is on an entirely other level.

Yet even he seems taken aback when Minako, the supposedly Empty Fool, gives rise to a Persona the likes of which Yanagi has never sensed before--or has she? Her vivid eyes widen at the visage of Death, so familiar to her. "Mors..." she whispers, lips shaping the name as if to caress it. Katsuya may wonder to himself which it is, but Yanagi knows immediately what she believes: a divine love expressed by demonic cruelty. ''That'' is Minako's Mors.

The sunglasses fall from Kandori's face. The black streaks across his face find their source in two voids in miniature where his eyes should be.

Yanagi clutches her chest and makes a sudden anguished noise. She doesn't hear the words that are sent to Pernelle, but she certainly ''feels'' that unperishable blackness. It is the blackness of an empty, uncaring universe that existed for billions of years before her and will exist billions upon billions upon billions of years after. Two seconds may as well be an eternity. Giselle shatters, and Yanagi swoons--

But before she might fall, Maki expresses her defiance again and again, both in words and in the incredible healing that emanates from her Persona. It washes over Yanagi, lets her snap her eyes open, and stabilizes her enough to catch herself with her cane before she can fall.

Pernelle is at her side, speaking of that glittery meal they made. Yanagi, hunched over her gun-cane, smiles as she pants. "A whole week? You must have been so glad. All those little sparkly bits you could still taste for so long after," she murmurs. "I'd like... to do something like that again..." She pushes herself upwards on shaky hands--her arms have been affected more slowly by her DMD, but they could still never be called ''muscular''. "And we ''will''. Tonight, even."

The kitchen of Peacock Silk is in for something in the witching hour tonight. Exactly what, we must leave to the audience's imagination.

"Thank ''you''," she whispers telepathically to Maki. That healing radiances does much to bring her back from the brink, and she's grateful to her friend for it. She's grateful, too, as she sees Ririka call upon her own Persona to help not just her own friends, but Pernelle too. "And thank ''you''!"

One good turn, or rather two, deserve another. Yanagi hadn't been able to reach Masao with her song a moment ago, but as she resummons her Persona with the crush of a butterfly, the shimmering waves of restorative energy wash over him and Yanagi both--then reach further towards Minato and Minako, both Ririka's friends and both targets of Kandori's, and also importantly, two people of interest that Yanagi would rather not see die or disappear just yet.

(Yanagi would appreciate the Bride's sorrow. She would also not hold her inaction against her. Ultimately, when their positions were reversed, she couldn't act either, and even Awakened, has anything meaningfully changed for the Bride?)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Elec skill Bolts of Judgement on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Akihiko Sanada takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Gains 68 HP from Regen! Psych removed!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Healing Wave on Yanagi Nagisa, Masao Inaba, Minako Arisato, and
Minato Arisato!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yanagi Nagisa takes 90 damage!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Though Vesper has willed himself to stand, it is a fragile state of being. Enough to ask a question and state his opinion on the matter, but Kandori's reaction to it is... unexpected. Did he just sound... bored, about godhood? Tired, even? Oddly, rather than unnerving, this may be the only thing Vesper has found easy to understand about Kandori's perspective. To have everything anyone could ever want, and yet feel empty inside...

"..."

Even the battle of words is lost with his lack of response there. The actual battle doesn't fare much better, holding back the aggressor for far less time than he'd hoped, and blown back by the following response. He could swear he actually felt the ambivalence there, zero care for how much or how little damage was done.

As it happens, just enough to cause the masked gentleman to stumble, his umbrella the only defense against taking a full tumble. Even so, he is in no shape to act, left to lean on the umbrella as he regards the sister of the boy being targeted go beyond her limits, taking a frightful form. A strong sibling bond is not to be underestimated, indeed.

Unfortunately, he has to acknowledge that he may not have a hand yet to play here... that is, until he is based in light - normally unwelcome to one such as himself, but this particular variety of it fills him with vigor. Head turning towards its source, he thanks Maki with a tip of the bowler hat, before taking a breath, and refocusing his attention where Kandori seems intent on directing his. That boy's words to this man calling himself a god...

"I could not have said it better myself. However..."

With a nod and wordless instruction, Raffles raises the diamond-tipped cane in its left hand, to defensively empower Vesper, the Arisato siblings, and their immediate protector Aigis, who he takes up position to stand side by side with.

"I hope you'll forgive this adult for meddling in your affairs. I simply cannot abide one who attributes so little meaning to anything in life to do as they please. Simply because one lacks the joy of living does not give one the right to rob others of it. I will not allow it!"

With that, Vesper firmly plants his umbrella into the ground before him, and Raffles mimics the gesture with its cane, sending out a weakness-causing ripple in the process.
</poem>

AS: Julian Marlowe spends Limit on Exploit! Julian Marlowe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Shade Revel on Julian Marlowe, Minato Arisato, Minako Arisato,
and Aigis!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on God Penguin!
AS: Julian Marlowe: Loses 69 HP from Poison!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 77 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Bolts of Judgement.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! God Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Vesper sees the opening Umie created, and responds, pushing through those chains to use the Dark against the crawling chaos. And not only that...

'PERSONA!' Something is screeching, but it's not Badb. It's at times like this that Umie remembers that seeing the Badb is a bad omen, depending on what side of a myth you were on, and whether it was the Badb, or something else. Umie glances at the once chipper young woman who walked into the Triple 7, who may or may not be dating her co-worker in that way that teenagers can and should be able to have. Does he know, what Minako is doing right now?

She shouldn't have to.

"To.... be an adult..." Umie's lips numbly pantomimes Vesper's words as she collapses to her knees, jacket pooling as she bends further down, lowering her head until she can feel the brush of grass against her mouth.

And it all doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much she hides, or runs, or laughs, or makes grand gestures. No matter how much she rebels, or refuses to give in...
Her soul, the collection of synapses, cause and effect, belongs to this thing far greater than her.

It is a pressure. It is a *weight*, making those blackened hands that curl around her seem like they're simply helping her down, like a noblewoman being helped down from her carriage.

What is there to do?

'Sorry... Tatsuya.' Looking up, Umie sees Katsuya collapse with impassive eyes, followed by others, who all fall, then rise, by Maki's resolve to put things right.

The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty... A love of an older brother, while his younger suffers and struggles against a fate he can't understand.

.... like the hollow, eyeless face of Kandori, and the valiant, beautiful Pernelle supporting Yanagi.

She envies it.
She doesn't want to look at it.
She *hates* it.

Who the fuck cares if there's no use in struggling?!
What sort of Persona does that represent? Something graceful, that finds nobility in quiet suffering, while waiting for the end to come.

No, her Persona is of another caliber entirely, as tied to 'Him' as she is.

"BADB!" Umie shrieks, her call extending to the desperate, delighted, insufferable, violent blackbird in her soul that rises into being, following up on Pernelle's adorable attack with one of her own.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on God Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 73 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao grinds his teeth trying to hold that blow against Kandori's gun parrying it, to little avail as the batting sends him staggering away from swinging range. 'Just like you, 'he' considers himself to be quite the artist.'

Before Masao has a retort, the gunshot that rings out is its own artistry as a bullet runs through his arm. Shock and bloodloss sees the young man come to a kneel, quieted by both the immense spiritual pressure and the more mundane issue of 'I just got shot.'

...

There is talk about what 'he' would do. The three of them know about 'him.' What 'he' woul ddo, standing with each other... it's their 'true mind.'

...

Taishan Niangniang comes to the rescue of all here - a reflection of Maki's desire to change, from a time of a truly dark place. One by one, everyone finds that rejuvenating, shining, healing force.

"Tch... ha ha, yeah," Masao laughs a bit, despite it all, the ache in his arm subsiding as he rises up again. "That wasn't that great a showing, huh, right... c'mon." From the depths of an already exhausted spirit, from one staring dangerously into the face of a terrible entity they once triumphed over.

After all, isn't there something Maki found out at a glance, earlier? Mischief spreads on Masao's face, a bit.

"Our best selves, yeah... and not just us!" Masao declares, as the blue light comes around him again. This isn't a matter they can laugh out of, but mischief is just one of those core emotions that help channel Ogun, and so he does, raising the other arm up.

"Ogun! Bring 'em down... let's get funky." Ogun appears, to that little choppy dance, as a larger cluster of purple spheres rush towards Kandori, with yellow ring emanations in which to try and weigh his ambitions back down lower.
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Healing Wave.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko asks if Eriko wants them to give up and run- and her answer is simple. "Yes. Survive, so you can fight another day- and keep your leader out of his hands. Numbers alone don't mean anything." It may sound cold but...

That constant fear of loss is on her.

She shakes her head as Ririka asks if she's kidding- which is made more obvious as Kandori uses that terrible power upon them. The mysterious Vesper, at least, gives her some confidence that others have the same thoughts she does- it is the job of adults to allow children to reach the future- even a newly minted adult like her knows that.

Katsuya wants answers, and Eriko can't blame him but right now is not the time. "I'm sorry, Mr Suou- I can't explain any more unless we survive." And she's explained so much already...

And then Minako finds her own strength- and even Eriko can feel the strengthened resonance. "Mors, the embodiment of death..." She did not expect to feel a Persona of that strength-

Kandori's silence is telling- it seems that some things haven't changed in the years Kandori has been dead- but then he invokes the cruel sting of nostalgia. The happiest and most dangerous times of her life previously were the same-

And then the Deathtika strikes her, and Eriko screams out as she falls to the ground in agony. Darkness has always been Nike's weakness, and Nyarlethotep doesn't merely wield darkness- he embodies it, he IS it, the chaos and the screaming dark.

Eriko collapses to the ground, her body wracked with drakness, the last of her consciousness leaving her.

''...Another broken promise...''

She looks over at Mark, her vision fading, as he falls too.

...At least... she can go first...

"...I'm sorry..."

Her vision starts to fade-

Until the waves of Recarm wash over her- just like they did long ago.

And with her strength restored, Eriko manages to stand, if painfully. "...thanks, Maki-chan. I don't know how much longer we can last but... I made a promise."

Her eyes settle upon Kandori- and she sees the void. The black void- and what it represents. "...did he even take away your chance to see that...?" It's horrifying, the sort of cruelty that Nyarlethotep could inflict. Back then, Kandori was ready to die- to accept his defeat. "...At least last time, you fought us of your own volition, Kandori-san." Eriko says, her voice quiet.

Then, though, Eriko hears Minato's question, of why Kandori finds the term god to be insulting. Eriko looks to Kandori again. "...because desires are what gives them drive, ambition, hope." It's a paraphrasing of what he said three years ago. "A god forsakes that part of their humanity, and without it those desires- there's no reason to exist. That's what you said back then. Are you truly without any desires left, Kandori-san?"

Eriko looks at him, and for a moment, there is a flash of pity. Minato tells her to 'do it', and Eriko smiles. "A man of few words, aren't you? That's fine. I'm impressed you noticed the trick up my sleeve."

Eriko reaches into a pocket on her outfit, and pulls a spell card from it- a spell card that looks different from any other, except in that it's a card. But the power in it...

"''It's been a while, Michael- but it seems I have to call on our contract once again.''"

The spell card bears not a symbol, but the words of an ancient contract in latin. And as Eriko draws on it's power, Nike appears above her. "Maki-chan, I'm going to make the most of the opportunity you've given us. It won't stop him- but it might grant us the chance we need. Mark, Mr Suou, Akabane-san- if you see an opening, make them take it. Yanagi, Mr Pernelle- "

And then, Nike changes- her colours shift, the silver sheen of her body turning red, her wings a dark blue, and her head a dull gray. Masao might recognize those colours in her. For a moment- a greater energy channels through Nike- not her own power, but the power of something greater. A mask that Eriko no longer wears- but the imprint on her soul remains, and the Totem Philemon granted her allows her to remember how it felt on her face. "I know he's not a god, but prepare to face the power of an archangel, His Right Hand- and His Righteous Sword! Now! Judgment Contract!"

Nike shudders- and then a giant, flaming sword rises from behind her and into the air above her. It hovers there, aflame in the in the air for a moment- and then it swings down, as violent as it is holy, with the divine might of Heaven- setting alight the air with holy flames and scoring the ground as it strikes for Kandori. "I hope you will not mind a little more nostalgia, Kandori-san," Eriko looks at him, and her expression is different. For a moment, it is not the expressions worn by Eriko Kirishima the model, but Eriko Kirishima, the girl in her dangerous wonderland, fighting to save the heart of a girl in suffering. It won't be a finishing blow- but it might be enough to grant them the escape they need.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Gryva on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Masao Inaba takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba: Loses 75 HP from Poison! Gains 71 HP from Regen! Charm, Exhaust, Poison, and Psych removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Eriko Kirishima has used the Light skill Judgement Contract on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Eriko Kirishima takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Eriko Kirishima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Hyper removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem> SHUNK

It's an oddly meaty, oddly dense sound, as the tip of Mitsuru Kirijo's rapier pierces through Takahisa Kandori's palm. She'll remember how it felt tremoring in her arm. How even his flesh felt dense with surrender.

In the moment--

"--Merde--!"

All she knows is that weapon is stuck inside that density at a critical moment.

To her credit, she tries to rip it clean out of his hand -- and in a way that, vindictively, will leave more harm coming out than it did going in. But the twist of her blade never comes, nor does the bloody sound of it exiting its new sheathe. It's like it's stuck into a tar pit of hopelessness, and every yank of her increasingly numb arm just increases the futility of the next gesture.

Deep red eyes glare at him; she does not - ''can'' not - let the terror and uncertainty bleed into her expression.

But that was before ''something'' started whispering to her.

It's not Kandori. It's something -- something Else. Something writing her fate like prophecy etched in Shadows' deepest ink.

"Wh--"

Mitsuru's eyes widen. The gloved fingers struggling with her weapon go briefly slack.

The blade comes down.

Is it defiance or desperation that define her next act? It may not matter to some. But one is a resolve.

The other is contradiction.

Regardless: as soon as Kandori's blade unsheathed, Mitsuru's hand had fallen to her holster. By the time the shining, singing steel starts to drop, an Evoker's barrel presses to her temple. Her answer to that offer, in the heat of the moment, is shouted simply, in three angry syllables:

"PERSONA!"

That blade carves through her with such kinetic force that it knocks her off her feet even as Penthesilea comes to her protection. The warrior woman's own saber sweeps up into Kandori in one flash-freeze of slicing motion before the force of his blow causes the Persona to shatter into a thousand-thousand blue fragments, even as Mitsuru herself hits ground in an ugly, skidding rebound.

She ends up in a crouch, gasping for air, spittle falling from scarlet lips mixed with a touch of bright liquid red. Her entire body quakes. Her right arm feels useless and limp. Every breath burns. She feels nauseous.

But what nauseates her most is not the pain.

It's that she can't stop thinking of those whispered works, seeping into the corners of her thoughts.

It's a thought that is all the more pressing, all the more prevalent, as she looks up and sees--

A familiar, horrifying sight, yet not. Like that day, so many months ago, when Minato Arisato first arrived--

And ''something'' ripped out of him with such terrifying strength that it annihilated an Arcana Shadow, all on its own.

"A-Arisato...?" she exhales, voice hoarse, as she watches the rampage of that ungodly manifestation of Mors. Like Death's Head, brought to hideous life. She possesses that strength too. And yet it is not enough.

Mitsuru is still forced to rely on others, and it's still not enough.

No matter how she plans, no matter how she trains, it's not enough. How can she protect them from this hell she's brought them into like this?

How can she protect ''him'', the whole reason she's here, when she's still so... so...

Inadequate...?

Aigis falls. Akihiko suffers for his attempts. All around her, people drop like flies. She feels like she is one breath away from her eyes slipping shut and never opening again. So how... why...

''Against an enemy like this, there isn't anywhere we can run if he won't play along.''

"Don't," Mitsuru gasps, her voice strained even through that connection, "I gave -- I gave you an o-order... wuh-we can still save you--"

Can they?

... Can they truly?

Mitsuru looks up. And as she does, she sees what lies behind those sunglasses.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

And for some reason...

"Nn..."

That fills her with overwhelming, unslakeable...

"... Ça suffit...!"

... spite.

Mitsuru drags herself up onto her feet. Drags. It is not any easy process. It's a stumbling, unsteady one, one that sees her choking a gasp of pain as she feels her left ankle inform her that it, too, has been injured. Gripping at her right arm, she presses forward. One step at a time, inexorably towards that nothing stare.

She refuses to accept something so squalid, so sad. She refuses. Even if she has a sliver of life left in her -- she'll use every ounce of it if only to show she has that much more than that stare.

Her fingers tremble, falling towards her Evoker. And then...

''...The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty. This is what 'he' said belonged to all of us.''

''So I call... PERSONA!''

... something happens.

A drizzle of light falls upon Mitsuru; and dark red eyes flutter out a blink as all her injuries, all her exhaustion, seems to just... melt away within its shimmer.

She still feels the pain.
she still feels the doubt
But...

"... thank you."

It's enough.

Eyes once wide squeeze shut as Katsuya addresses her; she doesn't know the man, but by bearing and words alone she could reasonably guess what, if not who, he is. Despite herself, despite the situation, a wry smile touches the corners of her bloodied lips.

"... Don't worry. I have no intention of losing here," she says, even if she couldn't say if she will really see tomorrow. After all...

"... I have too much I have to see done."

The others mobilize. Others call to flee. And Mitsuru--

Mitsuru presses that Evoker to her temple, one more time, seeing an opening in the midst of the others' offensive.

"PENTHESILEA."

Penthesilea, who fought her doomed battle on the blood-soaked shores of Troy, slices into existence. And once more, the earth flash freezes beneath Mitsuru. Eriko's Nike ignites the air, ignites everything in raw, raging heat. And through the lingering haze of her inferno--

Mitsuru -sprints-. She -dives-. She -slides-.

And as she passes by Kandori, she -snaps- her arm out to grab onto her sizzling rapier and -slice- it across the back of his ankles like he were Achilles of old --

-- just as Penthesilea swings both her blades, erupting a massive cage of ice around the thing that was once a god, the god that was once a man.

Normally, there would be flourishes. She would leap. Snap her fingers. Shatter everything.

This time?

This time, Mitsuru plants gloved hands around that tomb of ice -- and just tries to ''hold'' it.

"RUN! NOW!"

Hold it for as long as she can.

"PLEASE!"

Knowing full well it will shatter all on its own soon enough.

</poem>
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 35 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 112 damage!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 135 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Gryva. Weak!
AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 177 Light damage from Eriko Kirishima's Judgement Contract.
AS: Tandem! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Water skill Blizzard Edge on God Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Mitsuru Kirijo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 37 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 37 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi sees Kandori.

She hadn't seen him for a minute there. Perhaps understandably, she had assumed he got absorbed into or somehow transformed or just *left* but it would seem that he is still here, and present. And he's pulling out a gun, and looking towards her. The gun's coming around. Oh yes, he's saying hello to her. The giggling devil sees that tiny uttermost-black of a gun barrel.

She stares, and there is another of those moments of peace. If anything it's like a sudden great illumination, everything coming into terrible high-resolution precision for a moment. In that lightning flash she apprehends the situation. Her eyes shift minutely, her head tilting. She is not watching Kandori's gun.

She is watching his hand, and when it tenses, she leans to the left side.

It should not work at all, and it still almost doesn't. It is probably because Hitomi, even in some deranged cursed state of hyper-awareness, is still driving around a meat body and is seeing the world a few milliseconds late. She still topples to the right almost too late; the bullet trims through a few dozen black hairs, blowing like a hot breeze through her still-bound sweat-soaked hair.

The other round just hits. But what would have been a side or torso hit instead strikes the front of the arm-protector shell with the SEES logo on it. The ballistic plastic shatters but it takes a toll out of the round's velocity before it goes through the cloth sleeve. It takes a brief detour through the side of Hitomi's bicep (this, too, fortunate - didn't slow down enough to stop here) and manages to merely crack the back of the arm-guard. It remains lodged there; there is no second hole in the protector.

From Hitomi's perspective, things seem to suddenly slow and fade -- but it's back to normal, not whatever-that-was, and the sensation is as if she'd just gotten a square arm-shot from Akihiko-sempai.

Huh.
That's actually not as bad as the knife was.
Neat.

The pain rolls like a summer stormcloud afterwards but it is clarifying. Hitomi makes fists, and she can, even if she can also feel something wet down her arm. That's good, because she needs her right hand, or this will get *additionally* difficult. Hitomi forces out a breath and raises her head to look at Kandori a moment before the lightning begins to smash downwards. This is somehow more familiar; there is a flinch, Tyche is thrown upwards with that same imploring-offering gesture, struck once, twice, finally cracking and seeming to slough apart at the third as Hitomi staggers back and her legs spread. She hunches, to avoid falling.

But I didn't fall down!

Hitomi raises her eyes just in time to see Minako. For a split moment she wonders - is she about to die?? - but it is instead her Persona. A strange one, perhaps, but - wait, Hitomi thinks, eyes turning upwards, I didn't... is that... Her lips part as the icon of death and smashes downwards with enough force to throw up dirt.

Minako is screaming. Yet the horrifying wave of power from this manifested avatar of death... well, it's on their side, and so Hitomi turns her attention, even as Minako screams. There is a certain luminous tunnel to her vision. The full implications may come later.

She's not the only scream. Hitomi hears herself shrieking for a moment as she sees Mitsuru topple over. Mitsuru doesn't go easily, or quickly, but it wasn't a single mis-step or a brief knock-back. The determination redoubles in that operational center of Hitomi's mind, and then she hears another person's cry. Is all this lucky near-miss just going to let her see everyone die?

Now what will I do?

But that other lady isn't dead yet.

That older lady - the one who first named this man. Kandori. I wonder what *her* name is, thinks Hitomi (who has not met Maki, after all). She wants to change. And her declaration and her *own* call makes another ray of light wash downwards. It feels warm. (Unknown to Hitomi, the wound in her arm stops bleeding immediately. It's not as if it's healed, but perhaps it's eased... stabilized. This may be funny later.)

Her heart hammers once.

She tenses, instead of shivering, for a moment. It hurts, of course, but hurting is low on the list right now. There are other pains than that of the body. She could swear she felt her heart skip when she saw Suzume get hurled back, something she saw moments ago but only *sees* now. Where is Suzume. She's - is she - but she's getting up. It's conscious. Oh, Suzume, Hitomi thinks --

And Hitomi also sees Suzume throw herself into an attack against their implacable foe. Hitomi has other priorities, she can't stare. And perhaps she cannot help. Her heart nearly skips again when she looks finally towards Minato and sees *Aigis* is -- is getting up. Recovering. The same way she did.

So I'll do the best I can.

So Hitomi steps further - and comes up beside *Minato Arisato*. "Arisato," she half-shouts with low urgency. "I'm --" Her eyes flick momentarily towards the Thing, and Hitomi loathes it, so she looks back to Minato. "I'm getting you out but don't stay for me," she says, before her eyes cut back, her head turns, Hitomi looks back at Minako. "-- What happened to your sister??" Because whatever it is, in all of its liveliest awfulness, it *might* be good.

Or at least less bad. But then the rallying Mitsuru storms inwards and snaps her rapier. An Execution is declared, but perhaps all she can do - all *they* can do - is imprison the malefactor for a time, and not a long time at that. At about the please, Hitomi reaches out to try to grab Minato by the forearm, though her grip is poor right about now.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Agilao on God Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! God Penguin takes 129 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Agilao. Critical Hit!
AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako wishes she could explain to Maki -- to anyone -- what is happening. The explanations don't come, though. She doesn't know what is happening. She only heard about her brother summoning Thanatos that fateful evening; she wasn't present, then.

Before she can dissociate again, though, Aigis's spell washes over her. The cloaking spell shimmers about her. Minako turns her head to the android, then she nods. "Th-thank you, Aigis-chan."

And another wave, reaching further. The healing magic washes over her -- and the truth is, she is getting ''exhausted'' with trying to manage Mors. Yanagi's magic keeps her on her feet. Minako glances back at her. "Thanks, um--" A pause. A blink. "Friend of peacocks-san!"

Mitsuru calls out. Begging them to run. She looks at her -- and she hesitates. "Senpai, we can't leave you behind," she says. "I-I'm going to try to give us an opportunity to run, all of us! Please, don't... don't throw your life away!"

Minako looks sideways at Minato. She swallows, before she -- somehow -- forces a smile at her brother. It's cheerful. It's radiant. As always, it's also a lie. When she speaks, the exhaustion is apparent; her voice is halfway to a sob. "I know," she says. "I'm not letting him take you, Minato-kun."

Even if it kills me, she thinks.

Mors's slash gains Kandori's attention. She flies backward, just slightly, at the attention of both Kandori and Nyarlathotep. Minako looks at his eyes -- or the pits of utter darkness where his eyes should be -- and her own crimson eyes narrow. "I'm some empty fool," she says. "I don't know what you're on about... but I'm more than you think I am!"

She grits her teeth -- and then she cries out, with sharp pain, as light explodes ''inside'' of Mors. The blast throws her backward; coffins clatter against each other, loudly. Minako forces herself upright, exhaling a deep breath.

"Fukura-chan..." Minako says, quietly, as she sees Suzume rush forth with Atalanta. She makes an opening, though at a cost -- and Minako's teeth grit together. But she has to take it. "Kandori-san!" she shouts. "Death comes for everyone--and if you've come back from it... then it means you're not finished!"

She looks at Mors, hovering next to her. "Mors, open the gates of hell!"

The gold-helmeted Persona screeches. The coffin lids spin on their ring, then all go upright. Then, on each of the six coffins, a steady mixture of black and white energy forms. They cascade together into a spiral -- and then shoot up into the air. They become sweeping parabolas, before they rain destruction down -- all of it centered on Kandori and Nyarlathotep.

The light from the explosions is blinding. But Minako turns to the others and calls out, her breathing ragged. "We--we should go!"

</poem>
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Shade Revel.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) and Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Minako Arisato spends Limit on Exploit! Minako Arisato can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Minako Arisato has used the Almighty skill Gate of Avernus on God Penguin!
AS: Minako Arisato: Gains 71 HP from Regen!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! God Penguin takes 259 Almighty damage from Minako Arisato's Gate of Avernus.

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>
When Maki says they were the same, Kandori doesn't respond, at first, his gaze distant, remembering that aspect of himself that was drawn along with Maki by the Snow Queen.

"To tell me to continue to search for meaning. To offer hope in it's absence. It is less divine love and more demonic cruelty that you offer me Maki-san." And in her works, those who are defeated rise again, "And with a face of divine love, you offer them demonic cruelty in turn. Hope... such a tease."

This time, he touches his forehead and a card of the Arcana rises from his hands. From Nyarlathotep's tentacles, an inky blackness begins to spread, stealing the light from all it touches.

It feels like the preamble to something enormously dreadful. Something that must be avoided ''at all costs''.

Katsuya opens fire to cover them. This time, it's his sword that tries to swing up, but the shot causes him to grunt, as it buries itself into his shoulder, as black blood spills down his suit.

How odd.

Could he be becoming 'more' human- the more he's forced to confront his feelings?

Suzume, newly arisen, comes at Kandori from an angle that he isn't looking, yet the eyes of the Persona ''see'' her. He turns in time, for the wind spell to shove him back two paces, with a look of irritation on his face as Suzume's fists collide against the flat of his blade, the final one striking his chin.

Then with a hand, he roughly shoves her aside, in her barely standing state.

'There must be some determination other than that... or is that why you've become empty? I wonder if that's why you use the word as an insult... instead of a possibility.'

It catches him in something of a logical bind. One that actually stings. He can't say that the context is different, because is it really? An empty existence, an empty god.

"''Silence''." He spits out the word, seeming angry for the first time, perhaps in this fight.

And that's when an adorable prismatic Agilao explodes around Kandori, and despite the best fire resistance his tailor can offer- it ''singes'' his suit even as Badb shrieks darkness upon him.

His baleful look to the two of them could sear them from reality, if he'd placed any of his power behind it, but his Persona will manage it on it's own. Whatever Nyarlathotep is doing seems like it's growing worse, tendrils of darkness snaking as if to utterly close off their presence from the outside world, in a different manner.

'Simply because one lacks the joy of living does not give one the right to rob others of it. I will not allow it!'

"Heh." As he's 'declawed' once again, he comes down from his anger. "You have not the eyes to witness it. The self-destructive spiral of mankind's desires." What is he talking about? "It is not an imposition upon others that I once offered, but freedom from the pointlessness of it all."

Ogun's gravity spell weighs him down, and his knees buckle under the weight. A God does not do well, being forced to grovel upon the Earth. "You should have ''stayed down'', Masao-san." He grimaces, as Eriko calls forth the power of an Archangel. So like the power that brought him low, three years ago.

The searing light of the flaming sword descends, against his katana's sudden parry. Holy Flames surge around him, as he is depressed further and further in the ground between that and his gravity spell.

Even when he's finally getting up from it, Mitsuru slides, and slices it across the back of his ankles, "Nngh-" And then a tomb of ice forms as he tries to stay on his feet. It looks like it might hold- then it simply ''evaporates'' before him. "-then you should have handed him over." He says as he rises again.

And Mitsuru will have the eerie instinct that he doesn't mean her 'dying here today' as a consequence of handing him over. Hitomi tries to cover their exit, with an Agilao- and man his tailor is going to have a rough time today.

"You won't escape-' 'Kandori-san! Death comes for everyone--and if you've come back from it... then it means you're not finished! Mors, open the gates of hell!'

Black and White energy forms from Mors, and this is the only time that the twisted form of Nyarlathotep rises up to meet it. The tentacled monstrosity takes the brunt of the blow head on, as destruction rains down, it's tentacles crossing over its body as it's bombarded by the energy.

Its cracked statue like form seems even worse in many areas, several tentacled limbs distended and scorched and torn beyond their capacity to act. and then it makes an inhuman noise, the halo around its head beginning to whirl, as that blackened energy tries to close off their last escape...

And in the middle of it all, sounds of a motorcycle engine begin to roar through the Dark Hour. An unusual sound to be certain, given that Mitsuru Kirijo is here, fighting.

Yet, when its headlight can be seen in the gloom of the Dark Hour racing down the ramp into Aoba Arc, making a quick turn as rubber burns and shrieks- is, could that be Tatsuya Suou?

No. It's someone else entirely.

A young adult man wearing a white motorcycle helmet, leaps off his bike, wearing goggles over glasses that tears off. A blue scarf with a '1' imprinted upon it tied around his neck. His motorcycle leathers bear the words 'To the Number 1' on his back as well.

Strangely, his mere presence causes a deescalation within the figure in front of them. As he dismisses his Persona, Nyarlathotep snapping out of existence, without ever unleashing what it was trying to do with those devouring tendrils of void stuff- all of his works vanishing within an instant.

"Hnnh- Kei-san." Kandori grunts as he stands straighter, adjusting his suit, "You're late." Kei Nanjo replies with a strange self-assurance as he surveys them. "So you've returned, with all your godlike power, Kandori. ... Only to waste it flexing upon children like some schoolyard bully. Let them go."

Kandori stares at Kei with those void pits, frowning, "To be lectured by you again? There's no dishonor in playing the role I've been assigned."

Kei walks closer, unsheathing a long curved katana from a saya at his side.

"... I'm unpersuaded by your words. When we last met, your ambitions had made you a puppet." He points the Katana at him, "What I see before me now is a spineless one, without honor or purpose to call your own."

His tone takes on a greater heat, "Withdraw! Do so of your own accord. Prove to me there is anything of the man that we bested three years ago within you. ... Or show that in your rebirth that you aren't even worthy of my scorn."

For a time, Kandori's every muscle goes taut, like he's resisting the urge to follow this emotion stirred within him.

And then he reaches within his pocket, withdrawing a new pair of sunglasses, placing them on his face, to cover his eyes anew.

He looks then upon Masao, upon Maki... upon Eriko, from behind his sunglasses, his expression growing more neutral as he considers their words, even Minato's and Minako's- thinking upon it, as if weighing the sum of it all together. "Out of respect to those who defeated me three years ago, I will do as you ask. The young Fool will be allowed to walk freely. ...For now. But I will not return the Shadow of the Hierophant Arcana."

"... I won't thank you for this." Kei notes, as Kandori replies, "I wouldn't expect you to, Kei-san." Strangely enough, he begins to walk away. He doesn't vanish, doesn't transport himself elsewhere, he ''walks''.

Kei Nanjo takes off his helmet, and looks to Mitsuru Kirijo, to Eriko Kirishima, to Maki Sonomura and to Masao Inaba. "Know that I typically take pride in my punctuality... you have my apologies for my tardiness, I can offer no excuse for it."

And just like that, they are gone from the dire situation they are in.

This doesn't solve the problem of several hundred people strewn about in Aoba Park during the Dark Hour, mercifully still insensate. Fortunately the Shadows have grown quiet after the Hierophant was banished.

Some will recover. Some will have a certain degree of apathy syndrome. One man and one w
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> God Penguin has posed.
<poem>

Some will recover. Some will have a certain degree of apathy syndrome. One man and one woman will be unaccounted for in the aftermath, after their transformations. What's clear though is, despite the Hierophant being currently beyond their reach... if they hadn't been here, this could have been far worse.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako sags as the attack finishes. She stares for a second -- and then realizes, with mounting horror, that Nyarlathotep is still intact. And it's still blocking their escape. But intervention -- and salvation -- comes in a way she didn't expect.

Nanjo...?

She sags a little more -- and Mors vanishes behind her. Then, as exhaustion sets in, Minako topples forward, unconscious.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi thanks her, in that telepathic whisper. Maki hears it, and hearing her friend ''live'' enough to thank her is a reward all its own. Maki smiles, even if it only lasts a bare moment. A tip of Vesper's hat tells her another person feels hope. Suzume looks to her. Katsuya swings his gun. And Ririka... Well, Ririka calls her navigator-senpai, and Maki manages another brief smile to her. Seeing every person who stands up again gives Maki a little more hope. Maybe it won't matter. ...Maybe it can't matter.

But right now, there is something meaningful happening. She believes that.

She believes it while Mark is with her. ...She believes it while Eriko is with her.

"That promise matters," Maki tells Eriko firmly, her voice full of meaning.

"...Elly-chan--"

But she promised, too. She promised that if she could find the opening, she'd get everyone out she could.

And there are so many who are ready to lay themselves down for the others. Mitsuru, for one, rises. Mitsuru thanks her, too. And then--

Hitomi may not know Maki's name, but she may have a chance to learn. Even though... 'don't stay for me.'

Much as she feels hope, Maki feels pain; pain, for each of these people. Each person who seeks to help the others in turn...

Kandori remembers. And Maki hears his answer, in turn. "...Is it so cruel?" she wonders. "To want to hope?"

She sees the card starting to rise. That darkness--

Maki knows she can't do anything against it. She has used up what power she has. And yet...

And yet everyone is trying so hard. ''So'' hard.

"...Yes," Maki says. "Man can be self-destructive." She knows that's true. "...But that's not all we are."

And Minako's sheer ''power''--

But suddenly... Suddenly there is--

"You," Maki says to Kei. No dishonor, and yet...

Kandori offers 'respect'. Maki blinks in surprise. "Kandori-san..."

He walks away. And Nanjo just apologizes for--

"..."

Maki smiles at Kei, but there are tears in her eyes. "..."

She finds that for all she was talkative before, now her feelings are too much for her to express.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
"Arisato-- Minako-- you cannot--!

Why.

Why do they keep...

Ice simply evaporates in seconds, and all she hears is Minako's refusal as she tries in vain to buffer this creature.

Even in this, she falls short.

She sees the familiar silhouette of Kei Nanjo exchanging words with Kandori. His voice is a numb, ringing echo in her ears.

"Nanjo... you..."

She told Hitomi once: 'I cannot allow myself worsts.' She cannot afford weakness. Failure. She has already had to endure it once. Another could cost her everything.

But as the light dimples out of the vision of Mitsuru Kirijo's rolling eyes, the only thing she can think of as she falls to the indifferent earth is,

Have I already failed--?

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke wasn't sure whether or not he should have been angry that the god had ignored him. Part of him felt he should have been insulted by it all. Was the truly that weak, that his blow had not warranted a wayward glance, or a single word of dismissal? Was he that pathetic that all his rage and fury had amounted to little more than smoke in the wind? But another part thought that perhaps it was for the best he'd been ignored. If he was that weak, the attention of a being that powerful - man or god or supernatural manifestation - would have erased him from the face of the Earth.

Then tension in the air was thick enough that Hyousuke could have cut it with a knife. He did not know who the one on the motorcycle was - there was only Persona user he knew that rode one of those, and Kei was most certainly not her. But their presence seemed enough to banish the fathomless dark, and save them all from the wrath that had hung over them like a headsman's axe. He didn't know them, their motives, their relation to Kandori... but he was at least quietly grateful that they'd spared the group an ignominious end.

He looked slowly around, making sure there was nothing else to threaten his friends, and theirs besides. Satisfied that they no longer had need of him - if they had ever had need in the first place - Hyousuke dragged his tired, limping, body into the dark beyond. Every twitch of his limbs made it feel like they would give out from under him, or fall away completely. He couldn't conjure a coherent train of thought, and moved almost entirely on instinct. The agony of poison still wracked him like fire in his veins. But to show any of that - to collapse before them - was weakness he could not afford to display.

The steps grew quiet, his form grew distant, and Hyousuke limped out of sight.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-05-15: Doomsday Doctrine

2026-05-21T19:16:25Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: Doomsday Doctrine''' *'''Cast:''' Moon Penguin, Minako Arisato, Ririka Kawase, Minato Arisato, Maki Sonomura, Hyousuke Suzuki, Suzume Fukura, Yukari Takeba, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yanagi Nagisa, Hitomi Mandai, Masao Inaba, Akihiko Sanada, Koh Katsuhiro, Pernelle, Aigis, Umie Akabane, Eriko Kirishima *'''Where:''' *'''OOC Date:''' May 16, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' November 10, 2012 *'''Su..."

*'''Log: Doomsday Doctrine'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Penguin Sniper|Moon Penguin]], [[Minako Arisato]], [[Ririka Kawase]], [[Minato Arisato]], [[Maki Sonomura]], [[Hyousuke Suzuki]], [[Suzume Fukura]], [[Yukari Takeba]], [[Mitsuru Kirijo]], [[Yanagi Nagisa]], [[Hitomi Mandai]], [[Masao Inaba]], [[Akihiko Sanada]], [[Koh Katsuhiro]], [[Pernelle]], [[Aigis]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Eriko Kirishima]]
*'''Where:'''
*'''OOC Date:''' May 16, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' November 10, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''The Hierophant Shadow makes its appearance on the Night of the Full Moon, SEES and their allies make way to Aoba Park to fight it but things quickly become complicated as it summons its cult of followers to protect it...''

----

<Pose Tracker> Moon Penguin has posed.
<poem>
The lights of the shops and offices down Aoba way go dark one by one by one. People go home at their own time, trying to make the trains or buses before they would shut down.

SEES and it's allies are staging here as concerned citizens. Several of them have clipbords and tissue packs as some of them half-heartedly ask passers-by...

"Excuse me." Yukari Takeba says, clipboard in hand, "Would you be available to sign our petition on the city doing something about the cult in the park?"

Some sign. Most ignore her. It doesn't matter. It's a cover anyway for them all to seem as they have a legitimate purpose for being here this late. A bunch of students gathering at this hour looks suspicious enough as is. They don't want to get in trouble with the cops.
And then...

Tick Tock Tick Tock TOCK

The in-between time known as the Dark Hour hits, and the world shifts into green skies and pervasive gloom. The light of the Full Moon seems not to dispel this sensation, it only deepens it.

They all put on their equipment.

Across the road, in Aoba Park, the square where the cult has gathered has become a graveyard. Hundreds, in an Amphitheater like semi-circle, surrounding the central point of a man who had spent so long standing upon a wooden crate.

The supposed leader, Toshio.

The navigators, or those with greater resonance sense something is afoot, like the Shadow is around, a predator lurking just beyond their senses, veiled. They have trouble pinpointing it down at first.

Then as one, they all detect it, right atop that Wooden crate. A coffin vanishes, Toshio stands in their midst, and makes a smile that's far too wide. "Salvation. Salvation is HERE-gck-!" A blotch of black ichor spills out of his breath has he chokes on the word, spewing emesis at first, but then the darkness keeps spilling out from every orifice, until it's even bleeding out of his pores. "It's- HERE! NOW-" He halts for a beat, like he's losing his train of thought mid-sentence, before his eyes roll back, and he begins to scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Hierophant OST - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5ulDSRySkk

His form melts, losing all definition, beginning to look like a puddly Maya, limbs shadowy limbs stretching out of it. Those limbs press down upon the ground, and the Shadow bulges, becoming bloated, as it takes form, shape, definition.

An enormous bulbous torso parodying a man sits upon his throne of two fishnet wearing legs that sport heels, giving the impression he's sitting upon a throne made up of the feminine. His masculine form wears vestments that strain to contain the entirety of him, clasps seeming as if they might pop off at any moment, and stretching out from behind to rise behind him, like the back of the throne is a woman's body, yet sprouting from her neck is a bent cross of gold, sporting red jewels.

The milk crate of course does not survive, flattening beneath it. And as it shakes, two outlines of two-dimensional stick figures like representations of people form on each side, bearing crimson emblems of human faith. Sturdy, Shikigami like Paper Dolls.

His form jiggles, then shakes as he lifts his hands high- then behind him forms what looks like a disc of light, like a portal to the beyond, rays of auroral light spill out, washing over the entire park, becoming brighter and brighter until its blinding.

And each of them is instilled with a fear of having glimpsed something beyond human understanding, a panic. The idea that not only has their end of the world arrived, but that they should submit to it. That there is nothing to be done.

The Hierophant Shadow is here.

</poem>
AS: Moon Penguin has readied for combat as Hierophant! They are now fully healed! Ready for 17 opponents!
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Aigis, Akihiko Sanada, Eriko Kirishima, and
Hitomi Mandai!
AS: Ruin: Moon Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Hitomi Mandai, Hyousuke Suzuki, Koh
Katsuhiro, and Maki Sonomura!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Masao Inaba, Minako Arisato, Minato Arisato,
and Mitsuru Kirijo!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Pernelle, Ririka Kawase, Suzume Fukura, and
Umie Akabane!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Yanagi Nagisa and Yukari Takeba!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Moon Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: This is an Area attack and must be cancelled with +cancel/area. Remember to include all your targets or your
returned resources will miscalculate!
AS: Moon Penguin cancels 2 attacks on Hitomi Mandai.
AS: Take! Koh Katsuhiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Doomsday Doctrine on Hitomi Mandai!
AS: Ruin: Moon Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
Minako runs forward, the little earpiece buzzing. "Got it, Fuuka-chan!" she says. "Aoba Park--"

With that damned cult in the park. A frown crosses the red-haired co-leader's face, as she comes running up. She didn't expect to come out all the way to Sumaru; she didn't expect, either, that they would detect something like this in Sumaru. She has her equipment on, just as Dark Hour hits.

The world becomes sickly green. Minako turns, her eyes on Toshio -- as black spills from his mouth. As the cult's leader melts into a Shadow, and she feels a sick feeling in her stomach--

And then she feels little at all. Determination sets in her crimson eyes. Minako reaches over her shoulder. Her naginata's breakaway strap falls to the ground, as the SEES-made weapon is gripped and she steps forward towards the cross-bearing Shadow.

"Don't let it scare you!" she says. "We've faced these before, and we can do it now!"

She runs forward, then -- and rushes for the Hierophant Shadow. As Minako gets in close, her boot-clad heel digs into the park's dirt -- and there is a gleam of silver as the naginata's blade slashes across its body.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Minako Arisato has used the Slash skill Naginata Slash on Moon Penguin!
AS: Aggression: Minako Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minako Arisato: Loses 71 HP from Poison! Panic removed!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Doomsday Doctrine.
AS: Panic (Damage when using Persona/Tandem!) and Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka had been out this way with Minato and Moriko to scope out the issue with the cultists. And unfrotuantely, nothing seems to have changed. She's trying to keep up the cover of gathering petittions, too, but mostly she's keeping an eye on the cultists, in case something changes with their situation.

The Dark Hour hits, and Ririka rushes to get her Evoker out. With an unsteady breath she pulls the trigger. "Amphion!" Her persona forms, and places a pair of headphones on her head. Ririka reaches out and begins to play, casting her senses out. "Scanning... I'm having difficulty..."

And then her gaze snaps to Toshio and she gasps. "There!"

She gasps, hand going to her stomach as she watches what happens. "What in the world--" She feels a little sick to her stomach. And when that wave of panic hits she grabs the side of her head, her breath growing unsteady. The end of the world.

It would be easier to give up.

Hasn't she wanted to give up before?

''That's not what Toshi-nii would want.''

And she hears the call one of their combat leaders and forces herself to focus. She has her team to support. She can't let them down this time.

"R-right, Arisato-chan! Then-- Amphion! Analysis!" Behind her, Amphion strums his lyre, sending sounds of waves crashing at the Heirophant and listening to what comes back.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Full Analysis on Moon Penguin!
AS: Ririka Kawase takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"Please consider our petition," Minato says, atonally. "For the good of public safety."

He has collected four (4) signatures. What a bad omen... four people were convinced by his schtick?!

There aren't generally a bunch of students from Gekkoukan here, no -- not even if one considers that SEES has asked students they know from ''Sumaru,'' like Hyousuke, to help. They have a little booth set up which they return to for flyers; what the people don't realise, of course, is that all their ''weapons'' are hidden inside it.

When the Dark Hour falls -- tick, TOCK -- no one has to know they're here to fight.

(And SEES, in turn, does not have to know... that in Aoba, there are powers always watching. Hidden in the trees of the park and veiled by Anti-Navigation, a Persona in a white gown observes proceedings, alongside the Bride captured in Gretchen's bars... and a flower girl in a deep hooded cowl who keeps the Shadows from pestering her. Today, these two won't interrupt those children... not directly, anyway. Rather, the information they're gathering is for...)

That's how Minato has his sword, when he approaches Toshio -- it was hidden in that booth the whole time. He grasps his blade, as Toshio emerges... and screams.

He does not look upon the scene with panic.

It's just as they said...

Death is near.

"Support row, cleanse the aura of the Full Moon Shadow," is Minato's advice-slash-orders, as he raises his Evoker to his temple. "Orpheus."

That Persona with his lyre appears to strum a song of Tarunda, enervating the Hierophant...!

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on Moon Penguin!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Loses 75 HP from Poison!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
Maki Sonomura is not one of the kids in the park with clipboards. She's here with friends, but they're sitting out of the way at the park, talking amongst themselves. Maki notes the Resonance of many of the assembled people, and quietly relates it to the others. Not only Persona-users, but Persona-users with strong bonds...

That's her impression of SEES.

But the Dark Hour hits... and the group of college students(?) by the way doesn't turn to coffins. Instead, Maki rises to her feet, pulling a handgun from her bag and checking it carefully. She's a fashionable young woman in black and white, with short brown hair and a beauty mark by her mouth.

And she just inserted a magazine into the gun, checking to make sure it's ready to fire like some kind of professional.

And she looks to see hundreds of people in that graveyard, frowning. Until...

She spots it. "The Shadow is here," Maki says. "I can't tell where--"

Suddenly. "No," she says. Toshio is there, with a wide smile--and he starts to ''change''. "My God..." Maki stares in horror at the changes to each of them. It's HERE. NOW.

The Shadow comes, a Shadow more monstrous than any, it would seem. It ''bulges'', it changes shape, it... "Grotesque," Maki says, staring further--and then she feels it. The panic that surges within her, that says that something ''wrong'' is here, that the End has come. "No," Maki says. "I won't submit!"

She puts out her hand. "Persona..."

A woman in white appears, faint phoenixes embroidered in her dress. Her head bowed in prayer, she emerges, and her hands come together. A cleansing light settles down on Maki, Eriko, Mark, and... Minako.

"Take heart, everyone," Maki says, and the woman sets her hands on Maki's shoulders, continuing to remain manifest--a Navigator Persona. Maki's voice echoes telepathically through the area.

"...Remember that you hold the potential to overcome something like this."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Recovery skill Amrita on Maki Sonomura, Eriko Kirishima, Masao Inaba, and Minako
Arisato!
AS: Maki Sonomura takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Loses 66 HP from Poison!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Amrita.
AS: Panic and Poison removed!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Amrita.
AS: Panic and Poison removed!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke had kept an eye on the situation. Such was to be expected - it was his home turf, and to not keep an eye on developments there was abject foolishness. But Yukari had managed to get him to stay his hand, and keep a respectable distance away, never engaging any closer than walking by the park whenever his route somewhere else took by the place. When Akihiko had told him that SEES was executing their assault that night, however, Hyousuke leapt at the chance to take action like a hunting hound that had slipped the leash.

Something streaked through the night. Something clad in violet hues and golden-yellow accents, its face a blank sheet of mirrored plastic. Something had a shotgun strapped to its back, surging forth into the fray, gunning straight for the foe that had manifested itself before him. He took only a moment to study its form and scan it for weaknesses, but even then, he refused to stop. He had caught the scent of his prey, and nothing short of a force of nature could cause him to even slow his pace. So he thought, at least.

Fear and pain set in - one an assault on his mental defences, the other a biting pain in his flesh. Hyousuke clenched his teeth and fought back against both, summoning every fibre of willpower to stand against them, all while he adopted a fighting stance and called his Persona to the fore.
"Achilles!" He called out, despite the gnawing ache in his brain. Another figure dragged itself from the darkness to face the Shadow before them. A titanic amalgamation of bronze armour creaked and clanked out from behind him, rising slowly, as if shackled by the weight of its own defences. It bore a shield in one hand, strong and mighty, while a spear as keen as obsidian gleamed in the other. The invincible general had arisen.

Hyousuke thrust his hand forward, directing Achilles towards the Hierophant with a bellowing warcry.
"Rip that thing apart!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Rending Rush on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 70 HP from Poison!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>Suzume came along for the operation, of course. This is what SEES is for - even her recent work with Mementos and her plans to look deeper into it, recently shared with SEES, doesn't change what she signed up for.

She's actually with Yukari but isn't doing very well at getting signatures. Part of her is annoyed by this because, well, she's not doing anything useful, but another part of her is: why care? It's only an excuse to hang out in the park so they know where to go when it becomes...

THE DARK HOUR.

Suzume doesn't quite kick over the booth in her haste to fetch her tonfa out from inside, but she comes close, pulling on the coat from her combat uniform even if she's not going to change her entire gear while standing out in the park. It makes her feel a little better, like this is a little more *real*.

(It also makes her feel less stupid when she puts the cat-ear headband from Tartarus on too. She really is going to have to replace that eventually...)

"That's creepy as hell," Suzume says, seeing the coffins all facing the central point in a semicircle. It creeps her out - makes her skin crawl her in a way she's not entirely willing to own up to. Better if she just calls it 'creepy' and leaves it at that.

But she wasn't expecting someone to appear out of the coffin, and -

"Ugh!" That's grosser than the rest of it. She hesitates for a moment - does this count as killing somebody's Shadow? Or did the Shadow already eat him...? Either way they're going to have to beat it up, aren't they?

Suzume's hesitation lasts only an instant before she's sprinting, rising up from the half-crouch she'd started in and tearing across the park like a track and fielder. Her legs pump as she accelerates through the auroral light, which makes her skin crawl even worse, a dread building in the pit of her stomach -

But Suzume deals with her fear by lashing out, and that's what she does, attempting to plow right into the Shadow and drive the weird legged throne backwards by sheer impact. Minato wanted the back row to do support, but Suzume - she's the *front* row.

Better it focuses on her than most of the others!
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Suzume Fukura has used the Strike skill Hammer Through on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Poison removed!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
Yukari Takeba arriving at the park in her pink Cardigan and bearing her bow, looks upon Toshio, and- "Hey! Calm down, it's danger-"

She yelps at the transformation, then puts a hand over her mouth.

"... I think I'm going to throw up." She murmurs, at the horror of it. This is what it looks like for a person to become a Shadow? Is he still in there? Can he be saved?

How many people have met this fate because of what her Father did?

The flash of light blinds her, as she begins to tremble and shake, her knees weak, but then-

'Support row, cleanse the aura of the Full Moon Shadow.'

"R-Right! P... Please help... Io!"

The pull of a trigger, Io appears, and raising her hands, she does her best to mitigate those feelings of doom, a spell like a cool breeze blowing through and bracing the senses.

</poem>
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Help Up! Poison removed from Ririka Kawase! Hyper (Next Attack Boosted/Incoming
Damage Down!) appllied to Ririka Kawase! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Me Patra on Minato Arisato, Minako Arisato, and Mitsuru Kirijo!
AS: Yukari Takeba takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yukari Takeba: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Panic removed!
AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Me Patra.
AS: Poison removed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Help Up! Panic removed from Suzume Fukura! Hyper (Next Attack Boosted/Incoming
Damage Down!) appllied to Suzume Fukura! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
They're spreading.

It was always a possibility. There was no reason the Arcanas ''couldn't'' manifest outside of Tatsumi, when the entire country has to bear the weight of the Dark Hour. She had planned for this eventuality.

Mitsuru Kirijo had simply hoped that the threat of her family's sins could at least be contained to the source. But she should know:

There's no kindness they can be afforded in this situation, no matter how laughable calling such a thing a kindness might be.

She's here with the others, handing out flyers, asking in that calm, naturally inspiring voice of hers to sign their petition. She made the flyers herself, of course; they're extremely informative about the cult, but have minimum pictures and almost ''zero'' fancy layout work, meaning many people just sort of inevitably don't bother reading them.

That's hardly her fault; she made sure they were comprehensive.

Regardless -- it's all puppet theater, in the end. The real reason why they're here...

tick tock tick tock tick T O C K

... comes with the tolling of the bell.

The world shifts, in that familiar way that Mitsuru Kirijo has lived with for over a decade now. Dark red eyes narrow.

"Everyone," she says into those open lines of communication. "It is time -- start mobilizing on the square, now!"

She can feel it in her bones. Her Resonance is not nearly on the level of Ririka and Fuuka's, and even ''she'' can feel it.

The Shadow. It's here.

But where--

There. The... cult leader?

Sprinting on the scene, Mitsuru comes to a heel-squealing halt in front of the sight of that normal man, awake during the Dark Hour. Her eyes widen.

"No, you fool!" she shouts, impulsively. "You can't--"

The black. The way it ''leaks'' out of him. The first time she saw such a thing, she was eight years old. It's nothing new to her, now.

But what happens after--

"No -- how is--"

That, very much, is new.

Eyes still wide, Mitsuru takes a single step back as what was once a man, and then a simple Maya, bulges outward into a figure grand in its own strange obscenity. A Shadow. An ''Arcana'' Shadow. The man transformed into... but... how--?

She can feel the panic broiling in her bone marrow. The poisonous fear that festers from this thing that was once a man. It makes her want to despair at her own lack of knowledge, her inability to anticipate this ''completely'' unexpected form of manifestation. She knows so little. And this is why she will always fail--

"No."

Her voice is firm, cutting through the chaos. Unwavering. -=snap=- goes the button of her Evoker holster as she snaps it out with a smooth twirl of a flourish.

"You have no power over me. Nor any of us."

She brings that evoker to her temple, and ''stares'' at the grotesque tumescence of the Hierophant standing before her. Her target. Her quarry.

"You will not escape!"

Her prey.

Click.

In a thousand shattering panels of phantasmal blue glass, Penthesilea forms.

"Arisato-chan is right. Remember why we are here!"

There are other Persona-users congregating here already. Mitsuru will take stock of them later. For now--

"This creature will NOT leave this place alive!"

For now, Penthesilea surges forth, the sweep of her blade lacing spiraling red-white magic into the Hierophant and its high-heeled throne, to eat away at its vaunted defenses -- and leave it all the more vulnerable to her allies, both known and unknown.

</poem>
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Me Patra.
AS: Persona! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Almighty skill Rakunda on Moon Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Mitsuru Kirijo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 87 Slash damage from Minako Arisato's Naginata Slash.
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Full Analysis.
AS: Ririka Kawase's Strength Scan! Moon Penguin resists Light and Dark!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Weakness Scan! Moon Penguin is weak against None!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Support Scan! Moon Penguin has passive skills Ailment Boost, Break Limit, Explode Boost, Fortify
Spirit, Light Amp, and Peerless Skill!
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Minato Arisato's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Dn (Damage down!) added!
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 57 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Rending Rush.
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 14 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Rending Rush.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 13 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Rending Rush. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 24 Strike damage from Suzume Fukura's Hammer Through.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 31 Strike damage from Suzume Fukura's Hammer Through. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 31 Strike damage from Suzume Fukura's Hammer Through. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Amrita.
AS: Poison removed!
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Me Patra.

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Earlier, Yanagi had been at home in Peacock Silk, over in Tokyo. The moon during the Dark Hour has been a curious state of just-past-full--izayoi, they call it in Japan--for the past couple of days. She has seen this a couple times now, and given the recent ruckus in Aoba Park, she has a hunch what it's about--a hunch she'd like very dearly to see to its logical conclusion, right or wrong. She'd made preparations to go out, but sadly, by the time she came downstairs to leave, only one person--pearcockson?--was about.

"Say, Pernelle!" she said to him. "Have you heard about that cult over in Sumaru City?" Whether he has or not: "I've been watching them lately, and I think they're going to do something interesting very soon!" She smiles and extends her non-cane-holding hand. "Won't you escort this fresh young lady tonight? <3"

Now...

The bells of midnight toll. The world transforms. So, too, do Yanagi and Pernelle. Yanagi's gray hair and eyes dazzle in a flash into sunset pink and peacock green as a scintillating magical girl dress with feather-like hair clips, a long stained-glass back train and reinforced thigh-high boots sparkle into being.

In the park, Toshio is already there. He chokes on a foul ink and explodes into a Shadow. This disturbs even Yanagi, who's able to take most things in stride; as she takes a step back, she murmurs, "This presence... It's exactly what I felt before..."

The Hierophant Shadow manifests and sends out radiant, cursed light. It's like looking into the sun at high noon; it's like looking into the face of god. In this moment, Yanagi is reminded of just how small she is, and she clutches at her throat as she struggles to breathe.

However, that isn't the only light here. A familiar voice broadcasts through her mind, and she directs her senses towards a friend.

"Maki..." Yanagi murmurs. Then she brushes a lock of hair back and giggles. "That's true. What's the end of a world or two to us, Pernelle?"

She swings her gun-cane into a blue butterfly flitting past. Behind her, the ghostly gown of Giselle twirls as she pirouettes on catheter needle legs, and as she dances, a soothing light shimmers down upon Pernelle--as well as Maki, Masao, and Eriko, who are also Yanagi's friends--to help restore their spirit and protect them from the Hierophant's aura.

"Now then... shall we see this dance through?" she murmurs, gaze now turning to the organized machine that are the many members of SEES.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Relaxing Wave on Pernelle, Maki Sonomura, Eriko Kirishima, and
Masao Inaba!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Well, it's time to pay the bills; at least that is how Hitomi Mandai thinks of it. Though she does not voice it often with her peers, she has taken a somewhat workmanlike attitude towards the way in which she must conduct herself with SEES. Perhaps it's weary of the world, perhaps it's mature. It's difficult to say.

She had even held a clipboard and solicited passerby, although when none were nearby, she had asked, tentatively, "Can we put our names on this? I never had to do this before. We live here, don't we?" But in a sense, that feels like it was on the other side of the planet.

But active participation in the political life of the community *is* on the other side of the planet, in some ways, from the realms where SEES must go. The Full Moon Shadows are the primary target of SEES, and there is one coming.

No: There is one *here*.

When Hitomi came, she came with SEES. She didn't hasten to get in front - others, faster, stronger, needing to get up close with whatever-it-is, whatever horrors it may be concealing within a contorted cognitive corpus... They can go first. And she does not lag behind, although, perhaps, she's in the back of the middle. She thinks about orders and organizations like that, sometimes. Mostly academic. They have a word for it in Blade World: 'marching order.'

It means she misses a lot of the puking, but she still hears what the man said, and she hears him scream, and she can see him melt, and she can see what laid within emerge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbI79e5iZKs

Hitomi stares blankly for several long seconds. The feeling washes over her, and it really is a lot like a wave coming in from the sea. A huge wave, a tsunami wave born from some subterranean upheaval barely within the scope of their explanation and far beyond her control. Her lips part for a moment, as if to say something. Her eyes get a little glassy for a moment.

But -- others are speaking. Suzume's exclamation of disgust. The two co-commanders speaking with authority. Hitomi shakes her head for a moment. "Guh - I don't blame you," she answers Yukari, even as her eyes track Suzume for a moment. She takes a deep breath... and her right hand twists in the air as she pulls out, not one card from thin air, but two: one luminous blue, which soon enough evanesceces, and the other one an electric yellow. That one she raises upwards with another twist of her wrist.

"Tyche," Hitomi says. (This is a waste of time, she thinks.)

The Grecian statue appears even so, one imploring hand held outwards in the approximate direction of the Full Moon Shadow. It seems to mirror just how Hitomi's holding her hand, give or take a card. Surging light gathers, along with a rolling tension for a moment before there is a CRACK as the electricity discharges from the un-sky of the Dark Hour towards the Shadow.

(Haha, thinks Hitomi. I'm completely useless here. I'm just going to stand here like an idiot, aren't I? Wait, she thinks further. Wait, though, whatever it did --)

</poem>
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Elec skill Zio on Moon Penguin!
AS: Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Loses 72 HP from Poison!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Maki Sonomura's Amrita.
AS: Panic and Poison removed!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao's at the park with the others. In truth, the day was hectic enough that he might've only heard half the total conversation other than being aware they were going to be out when the Dark Hour hit. Sometimes life is just like that, even when you are one of those living that awakened double lives by necessity. Sometimes, he looks over to Yanagi over there. Her with the peacock (?!) and the other young woman hanging near the activist kids.

When Maki is moving with urgency and assurance, Masao's not far behind. The whole of the scene has him all bug-eyed as to what happens to Toshio, and...

"Aw shit!" This is understated. The panic, the gut-wrenching twisting that's making him feel like something's sapping him alive (that's 'poison,' by the way). With Maki's call to action, for those near her to take heart, he takes in that restorative blessing, a few vigorous nods.

"Yeah, yeah... all right." He's going to consider it a good thing that he's not too jaded to be freaked out by the most awful thing he's ever seen in the Dark Hour. The way those red armband kids (that's SEES) approach it like they were ready and expectant for the idea of it - as far as anyone can be in the Hierophant's panic-inducing presence - well.

Can't leave anyone here hanging. After all, as Maki says... they all hold the potential to overcome something like this.

"I got ya!" Masao calls, as he finds himself rushing into the range of the soothing, shimmering light cast by Giselle over from Yanagi. He's moving towards the front, gaudy diamond-studded axe in hand with a zeal and recklessness SEES might attribute more to the likes of Junpei - Masao is not quite the mountain of presence or strength that Shinjiro is. (Masao is also on the shorter side for an adult Japanese man, at that.)

"Let's pin 'em down, Elly!" He calls to his classmate, swinging that axe into the Emperor. "Woo!"
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Masao Inaba has used the Slash skill Melee - Axe on Moon Penguin!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba: Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
EARLIER

Akihiko Sanada: yo, suzuki-san

Akihiko Sanada: we think there's gonna be a big shadow near Aoba

Akihiko Sanada: it's your backyard, so i thought you should know

NOW

Akihiko is one of those handing out tissue packets half-heartedly. It's a little awkward... "Why couldn't we have just postered up in a ramen shop or something...?" He groans, but, well. There's not very many ramen shops that run into midnight.

In any case. The Dark Hour dawns. Finally, Aki thinks, as he digs into his school bag for his equipment, including his pick for Jack Frost themed gloves. He straps them into his fists, and pats them together. Time for some action!

The supposed leader is consumed by the shadow, and Akihiko...is a little less than thrilled. Seeing a guy go like that...

Maybe it's best not to focus on it too much. The Maya grows bloated, turning into a twisted reflection of the supposed salvation everyone was looking for. It then unleashes it's attack. Akihiko dodges, escaping the wave with nothing but a glimpse.

The silver-haired boy grits his teeth. "You won't get me like that!" Akihiko brings his Evoker to his temple. "Polydeuces! Carve a path!" He pulls the trigger, and the man in the silver bullet proof vest manifests. Polydeuces points his needle-arm at the Hierophant Shadow and fires a Sonic Punch!

</poem>
AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Moon Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Rakunda.
AS: Def_Dn (Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 42 Elec damage from Hitomi Mandai's Zio.
AS: Paralyze (Physical and Avoid Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 90 Slash damage from Masao Inaba's Melee - Axe.

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>Koh enjoys handing out the flyers probably more than more than most might. First because it's the easiest thing he's going to do today.

Also because for some reason he's always talking to girls. The lack of signatures indicates the cult probably didn't come up in the conversation.

Eventually, though, it's time to get to work.

His weapon, the big knife, dangles at his side as SEES makes for the park. He nearly drops it when the cult's leader makes his appearance and the Arcana does the same in more spectacular fashion.

"Shit, that's-" He doesn't finish, hand rising to shield his eyes from the light.

His teeth are clenched when he lowers it, his heart feeling like it's beating twice as fast. But he hears their leader's orders and complies.

"Zagreus!" The evoker fires.

The ragged rainbow cloak of Koh's persona billows out behind him, its beaming golden mask spewing out an invigorating fountain of wine-red mist across SEES' front line.
</poem>

AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 75 Strike damage from Akihiko Sanada's Sonic Punch.
AS: Persona! Koh Katsuhiro has used the Recovery skill Bacchanalia: Revelry on Minato Arisato, Suzume Fukura, and
Akihiko Sanada!
AS: Support: Koh Katsuhiro gains 1 Limit!
AS: Koh Katsuhiro's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
When Yanagi comes to Pernelle, he pries his head straight out of a pumpkin and gives a hop of excited interest before kicking it aside as if it now means nothing to him. "Dearest Yanagi, you needn't even ask. It would be an honor to accompany you on such a fascinating venture."

And so, off they go...

Within the Dark Hour, the once simple peacock becomes... a peacock wearing a snappy indigo vest and a matching tricorn. Oh, it's not quite so mundane as a bird in ''clothes''. There's a cartoonish expressiveness now, and all the eyes of his train feathers blink occasionally -- including the one adorning the brim of his hat.

A grotesque transformation occurs, and Pernelle might ordinarily think it little different from what it's like to tear open a crab until he is struck by the auroral ray like a spotlight.

Not only is this experience beyond human understanding, it is beyond peacock understanding.

He stares into forever, his pupils dilating until his eyes are a large, shiny black. If only, like Yanagi, this fear stole his breath. Instead, Pernelle throws his head back and he S C R E A M S an unbridled and extended ''EEEEEEEYAAAAAAAA'' of a peacock's signature honk.

It ends abruptly as Pernelle blinks. The full nuance behind the fear sinks in, and he ruffles his feathers. Nothing to be done! Well, then, what is there to ''worry'' about?

"Goodness, for an instant that felt irresistibly important." He nods to Yanagi with firm agreement. "Just so! It is no matter. If the world is ending, you can but smile... for it has not ended just ''yet''."

Giselle washes away the horrifying light with her own soothing wave, and Pernelle spreads his wings. Something metallic glints between his feathers in the light.

"Oh, Yanagi, you know me far too well. I would never turn down an invitation to dance. Enchante~!"

He launches at the shadow, aided by gliding wings as he pivots and spins in an aerial dance, cutting with the blades hidden in his feathers.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Pernelle has used the Slash skill Wing Waltz on Moon Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Pernelle gains 1 Limit!
AS: Pernelle: Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Bacchanalia: Revelry. 12 SP regained!
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
Aigis mostly remains among the crowd of SEES students, but refrains from interacting with anyone so directly while they're all collectively trying to avoid suspicion. Even she has enough self-awareness to realize that she doesn't quite have the social grace to survive scrutiny, especially when she's made out of various synthetic materials. Once the appointed Hour arrives, she has no equipment but herself to bring out.

At first, there's a faint flicker of ... ''some'' emotion in Aigis as she stares on the Hierophant Shadow's form. She raises her arm and her hand spins on its wrist as she takes deadly aim ...

Then its malevolent light reaches her. "Circuitry eroding -- !" Aigis relays to the rest of the group as thoughts of the inevitable flood her mind.

That emotion was ''recognition.'' Something about this reminds her of that night so long ago. Her failures. Her insufficiency. How can one improve on perfection, designed to the Kirijo Group's exact specifications? And yet, she must if she has any hope to emerge victorious.

She turns her head to Maki and blankly stares in doubt -- Aigis wonders how she can have the temerity to suggest that they can prevail where she had failed. They may win today, but they don't know what's coming! They don't know the enormity of it!

(Granted, Aigis has absolutely no idea what Maki has endured, herself. Little does she know.)

Aigis scans the crowd for her charges: the Arisato twins. Yukari has them covered. They're in good hands with her. It's only now that she notices her automatic self-repair systems kicking in.

''Two in harmony surpass one in perfection.'' That's how she exceeds her limitations. That's the root cause of her ancient failure: they had sent her off alone. She turns to look at Maki again and nods, taking her cue in earnest now.

She steps beside Hitomi. "Mandai-san. We've got this," she asserts, before she cries out the name of "Palladion!" Twin pulses of red and blue spread out and cover herself and several SEES members in protective wards.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Recovery skill Spear and Shield on Aigis, Hitomi Mandai, Koh Katsuhiro, and Suzume
Fukura!
AS: Aigis takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit!
AS: Aigis: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Fast Heal! Poison removed!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Spear and Shield.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Spear and Shield.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Koh Katsuhiro takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Spear and Shield.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Spear and Shield.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 49 Slash damage from Pernelle's Wing Waltz.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> 'She might yet be saved.'
'Oblivion awaits.'

Red sneakers tread with purpose towards Aoba Park, a duffle bag slung over one shoulder as she crosses the last crosswalk, one gloved hand in the the pockets of her jacket, the other grasping her hood, which she pulls over her head, the reinforced fabric propped over the two blonde hair buns as they're hidden from view. In the next second, to everyone mundane around her, she'd just be gone. However, that is the future, and in the now of the Dark Hour, there is just her...

... and a lot of other people?? She felt *some* resonances in the noise, but there being so many... Watching across the street, Umie's expression turns thoughtful until she notices the SEES logos on many of the uniforms. "... So word's gotten out that far," she murmurs to herself, as she jaywalks (which is legal during the Dark Hour) right across the street. Added to that are the familiar faces of Maki, Eriko, Masao, as well as Hyousuki, Pernelle, and Yanagi.

.... There's another presence, as well. Umie can feel it, like a vibration felt through the ground, a presence that is *known*, but vague on all the other details.

Dropping her dufflebag next to a tree, Umie unzips it and retrieves a mask, painted a checkboard pattern with yellow peonies over one eye, as well as the rope, bifurcated blade and hoop of her kyoketsu-shoge. Looping the rubber band ties of the mask over each ear, the blonde barely has enough time to look up, register that Toshio is still standing there.

And black ichor is
coming out of his
mouth

'How can you be scared? You've seen it before~' Cool, smal hands trace delicate trails against the back of Umie's ears and neck, snapping Umie from her shocked quiet. 'You've *always* known.'

Umie makes a single erratic swat at empty air, swallowing the bile collecting in her mouth.

Which is how she enters the fray for those who were paying attention to Toshio's unfortunate transformation: without fanfare, suddenly, and roughly, with splayed fingers calling out a single command:

"Badb!!"

The crow goddess of death and war smoothly glides into being behind her, pointing a long clawed lace-covered finger towards the giant shadow.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Warrior's Bell on Moon Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane: Loses 71 HP from Poison!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Warrior's Bell. Resist!
AS: Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Some people, when presented with the presence of a cult forming near to where they work would have the good sense to avoid the area, adjust their routes, be careful on their way home, etc.

Those people are not Eriko Kirishima, who is lured to the supernatural like a moth to the flame, with her biggest precaution being, well, prior experience.

So for tonight, she's hanging out in the park with friends, her sports bag slung over her shoulder and wearing her highly fashionable adventuring gear. "Well, something tells me we're in the right place," Eriko murmurs to her group of friends- having recognized more than a few faces in the crowd handing out fliers and getting signatures. Sure it could be coincidence- but, well, Eriko has a hunch.

And certainly, Eriko is at risk of getting recognized herself, this close to the TV Station. But so be it. She is with people, so only the very rude or careless are likely to approach her tonight. Still, that's not to say she's rude about it. Yukari certainly gets a little wave, but Eriko's not going to interrupt her while she's 'working', and if she spots Yanagi before the transformation, so too will she and Pernelle. (Eriko doesn't know Pernelle but she can appreciate a cool and glamorous peacock, as all should be able to.)

But mostly, she's killing time, watching the cult from afar and waiting for the world to change-

And a familiar, comfortable sensation washes over her as the Dark Hour does and her connection to Nike strengthens to the point she can manifest her other self directly. She unzips her sports bag in one swift movement and from it comes her blade- a rapier reminiscent of the Emperor's Sword from the last arcana shadow, and the audacious gold and onyx garterbelt on her left leg glints briefly in the half light of the Dark Hour. Yanagi does good work.

-And then, something foul spills out of the man as his body contorts, and Eriko does not look away. "How horrible," Eriko says- and for all the nightmarish creatures she has seen in her time, this is no less upsetting. She looks upon the transformation into a grotesque mockery with a terrible curiousity, as the throne froms and the Hierophant rises.

And then from it comes it's wave of panic and fear- and Eriko Kirishima is certain she is facing her death. Not just hers, but the death of everyone around her. The end of things. Her eyes widen, her pupils become pinpricks, and she can just feel it.

A spectre of deja vu. A reminder of the penalty for facing gods.

"No!" Eriko screams, her hand reaching out for her friends. Her family, helpless against the threat. So many people she'll never see again. "No! Don't-"

And then, a calming voice reaches her, and soothes her spirit with magic and bonds both. "...Maki-chan..." She murmurs, looking to her friend, pulling from the wells of bravery she found in herself as her persona clears the terror. "Thank you." She says, more quietly, before standing up and brandishing her blade again. Masao calls for her support, and Eriko grins. "Of course," Elly replies to the St Hermelin Alumni's resident hooligan (affectionate). "''I'll set it up, you knock it down!'' Nike! Kouha!"

The cross of holy light flies for the face of the grotesque pope, as Eriko feels Giselle's light fall upon, and Eriko looks to Yanagi and sights her persona for the first time. The implications line up in Eriko's head. But still, she smiles to her friend. "Now, are you here by chance or did you want to see how your work looked in action?" Eriko says. "Oh, and what a wonderful friend you have with you, you'll have to introduce us later."

Yes of course she wants to talk to the peacock, he's a talking peacock person.

Eriko waves toward Umie- and indeed, waves for her to fall in with her group. "I seem to recall saying something about how you didn't have to go this your own, Ms Mitsuhide."

Still, it's hard for her eyes to not fall upon Aigis- now what on earth is she. She's certainly not human but her Persona, well... one hardly has to be human to have a persona.

tEven Shadows can have them, after all.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Light skill Kouha on Moon Penguin!
AS: Pressure: Eriko Kirishima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 120 Light damage from Eriko Kirishima's Kouha. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Moon Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Minako rushes forward, and the Shikigami to the left leans over strangely, balancing on a single foot, trying to intercept, but Minako's Naginata strike cuts through, gouging the Shadow in the chest.

It burbles in indignation, as Ririka gains a sense of what this Shadow is about, however there is an odd feeling, like something is missing, something is hidden here.

Minato and Mitsuru strike in Tandem, Penthesilea and Orpheus weakening the creature.

SEES' leadership is truly something to behold. Teenagers standing firm against this, even in the face of such horror. Mitsuru's firm resolution to ''kill'' this thing ringing in all of their ears.

It's strange isn't it Maki? So far outside of what happened in Mikage-Cho. Why? Why would something like this happen? And yet one can only recall it's not so strange at all. After all, one man influenced so many, with the powers of a god.

Suzume lashes out, and this time a Shikigami does lean in the way, taking the brunt of each blow. Yet, each hammering strike causes it to contort weirdly, dealing damage to the things, even as that strange Star of David like symbol glows eerily red.

The next moment, the symbol is gone? Did her fist do that?

What is the end of the world to someone like the two of you, Yanagi-? Death is something you've been anticipating your entire life. So why not go with everyone else? What irony... that you would not die young of a terminal disease after all.

Lightning descends from Tyche, the Zio spell suddenly meeting the strange cross like protrusion of the feminine figure embracing the Shadow, like a lightning rod, it spares the main mass of the Shadow, at cost to itself.

But as it turns to Hitomi, it leaves an opening for Masao, who swings the axe hard enough to cut into the side of one fishnet covered leg, which limps, ever so slightly. And Akihiko comes out of nowhere, his punch being met with a second Shikigami, which is knocked away from the sheer force of it, needing a moment to recover.

And Pernelle comes in, gliding in a swift aerial dance, wings cutting. How could you end the world when such a beautiful creature exists? Have you no soul, Shadow?

Well it apparently looks transfixed by the display, momentarily enthralled, as Nike's spell of light burns at them. It seems, resistant - and yet, it harms it still.

It all seems manageable despite the unsettling atmosphere. Just another Shadow fight in an impromptu graveyard of hundreds of people. And then the first coffin

... vanishes ...

What comes of Despair - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWxxr4W3-hg

To deposit a person, a woman, whose smile grows a little too large. "Our savior. Our savior is here." She drones as if in a trance. Most of them understand how dangerous it is for any person to be here during the Dark Hour.

She coughs, and black ichor splatters on the ground, she heaves, and spasms- then turns to the crowd, her face, leaking from her eyes, out of her mouth. "Why... why would you try to take this from us? Why? Why?"

Another coffin opens. And another. Then two dozen, who begin to heave their guts out, as the ground becomes stained with black. And some might swear the Hierophant looks... bigger?

The mob advances upon the Persona Users. They walk with a slow, shuffling gait, moving to overwhelm. Some grasp. They're normal people, but only slightly less dangerous than being overrun by a rioting mob.

"The unbelievers must be saved-"
"Hold them down..."
"Why?"
"Come... find peace with us."

There is no longer the chorus in sync with the leader. They each speak with a certain eerie individuality, all united in one purpose.

They all saw what happened to Toshio, the leader. Who knows how many of them will be left, before the night's end?

The Hierophant Shadow's face feels like a grotesque parody of a person, smiling, smirking, as if conveying some truth of the world that is obvious to it, that none of them are aware of.

That smile reaches down in the spirit, and seizes at those feelings of hopelessness and despair. An invitation to join, a desire to join, reaching down into each of their souls.

They begin to close ranks around Eriko, Maki, Koh, Mitsuru, Minato, Umie, Pernelle and Aigis. Grasping, while some begin to clumsily attempt to strike them.

"Save us." One of them pleads to Minato, with inky darkness leaking out of their eyes. "Let death come to us..."
"You have to stop..." Another demands of Maki, while trying to drag her off her feet, their mouth full of something far darker than blood. "... Just accept it, like the rest of us."
"Don't... Don't do this." One asks of Aigis, as a half dozen cling to her, her robotic chassis making it more difficult to gain purchase.
"We just want to be saved..." A teenage girl says to Koh with a smile, that doesn't carry with the ichor leaking out of her, "Can't we be saved together?"
"No... no... it's too much." An middle-aged man, her father's age, says to Mitsuru wearily, like he's waiting to die. Does it remind you of when you were eight, Mitsuru? When you saw men become Shadows...
"Please..." A young adult wearing an earring, about 'his' age says to Eriko. "... I just need it all to end."
"If you can't understand... then just go away. Go away...!" A college aged girl says as she tries to grab Minako's polearm, and wrest it away from her.
"Full of sin." An older woman hisses in Umie's ear, and she might swear that it's the same woman as before.
"You're so beautiful. Stay with us?" A teenage girl asks Pernelle, as she tries to wrap her arms around him a little ''too'' tightly, and others try to take possession of him too. "Stay with us until the end."

What do you even do with this!? How can you fight this grinning papal monstrosity, while a mob of people are trying to enclose around you.

</poem>
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Reach!

AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Almighty skill Evil Smile on Eriko Kirishima, Umie Akabane, Aigis, Pernelle, Koh
Katsuhiro, Masao Inaba, Hitomi Mandai, Yanagi Nagisa, Mitsuru Kirijo, Yukari Takeba, Suzume Fukura, Hyousuke Suzuki,
Maki Sonomura, Minato Arisato, Ririka Kawase, and Minako Arisato!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Moon Penguin takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Moon Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! Moon Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Broad!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 117 damage!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Eriko Kirishima, Umie Akabane, Aigis, and
Pernelle! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Mitsuru Kirijo! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Maki Sonomura! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Minato Arisato! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Minako Arisato! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin: Broad and Reach removed!
AS: Moon Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 12 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 17 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand.
AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Aigis takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Poison removed!
Explosion! 232 damage!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 ??? damage from #-1 NO SUCH OBJECT VISIBLE's .
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Bacchanalia: Revelry. 12 SP regained!
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added! Panic removed! Explosion! 114 damage!
AS: Block Best! Minato Arisato takes 8 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand.
AS: Block Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 12 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Worst! Eriko Kirishima takes 94 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Moon Penguin takes 30 Strike damage in return for their attack!
AS: Counter Neutral! Eriko Kirishima takes 69 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Moon Penguin takes 42 Strike damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Best! Maki Sonomura takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Maki Sonomura takes 44 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand.
AS: Take! Koh Katsuhiro takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Poison removed!
Explosion! 227 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"Thanks, Kawase-san," Minako tells Ririka. She glances back at her brother. She nods at Minato; she'll stick with the front line. Then, she breathes out as Maki's healing spell washes over her. She gives her a surprised look.

"Thanks for the assist!"

And--Hyousuke, too. She glances at him, nods, and looks back at Hierophant. "No kidding," she tells Suzume. "We've got this, Fukura-chan!" Then, a glance backwards. "Thanks, Yukari-chan!"

She looks sideways at Mitsuru for just a second. The support is welcome, even if she hesitates for a second -- this is the sort of thing that has been on her mind, ever since she split up with Ren. The part of her life she can't tell others about. She exhales. She can't let herself focus on that.

Especially with how that shikigami tried to intercept. Landing a hit won't be easy. She takes a step backward -- and that's when the coffins start to open. SHe turns, her eyes widening -- at the people spitting out of them, accusing them, and threatening to become Shadows. One of them, a college student, grips at her naginata. Minako doesn't hesitate.

She kicks the girl away from her. "Hey, I'm trying to save your ass here!" she snaps. She pulls her Evoker out, with her other hand, and puts it to her temple. Then, she fires.

Blue light and glass explode from her temple, as she cries out: "Narcissus!"

And a mostly nude, muscled, beautiful man with long blond tresses and a flower blooming from his head -- and a scarlet cloth covering his dignity -- appears nearby. "Go on, people! Go ogle the super sexy guy while we handle this Shadow!"

Narcissus does a Sexy Dance!

</poem>
AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Minako Arisato takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Minako Arisato takes 8 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Resist!
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Almighty skill Sexy Dance on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minako Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Minako Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minako Arisato: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Minako Arisato regains 6 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Pernelle takes 23 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Pernelle takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! Panic and Poison removed!
Explosion! 231 damage!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 51 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 7 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Anytime!"

It's a Shadow fight. It's what they're used to.

As the first coffin opens, she realizes they're not used to ''this''.

"What? What do we do!? We can't hurt them!"

Then Minako acts and-

"Th-That's your Persona?!" Yukari says, as if startled by the ''beautiful'' form of the man, before tearing her eyes away, mumbling, "Well... ''I guess'' that's one way to handle this." Does she seem a little flustered?

Some are looking pretty bad out there as the Shadow smiles, so Yukari places the Evoker to her temple again, and pulls the trigger, "Io!" And a healing sea-scented breeze wafts in to try and mitigate the worst of the damage as chaos erupts among them.

And then she pulls the trigger and does it again because- IT'S BAD! And this is her best response when things are HORRIBLE!

</poem>

AS: Yukari Takeba spends Limit on Exploit! Yukari Takeba can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Moon Penguin's Evil Smile.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! Poison removed! Explosion! 116
damage!
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Naiad Mediarama on Umie Akabane, Aigis, Hitomi Mandai, and Yanagi
Nagisa!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yukari Takeba takes 90 damage!
AS: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 145 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 140 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 143 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 113 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Media on Hyousuke Suzuki, Maki Sonomura, Ririka Kawase, and
Yukari Takeba!
AS: Yukari Takeba: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 103 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 101 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 120 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.
AS: Suzume Fukura spends Limit on Exploit! Suzume Fukura can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 90 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka takes note when Minato goes offers the order-slash-advice, though she can't act on it immediately--and she has her part to play, anyway. But she glances over when she hears Maki's voice spread through the area. Another Navigator... she sends her own thought out. "I'm analyzing the Shadow. Please stand bye!"

And ''there'' it is. She listens, as reflected Resonance filters through her senses. She sends the thought to all of the Persona users in the park. "The Shadow resists Light and Dark attacks--" A soft gasp. "And it doesn't have any weaknesses! It's skilled at afflicting others and has strong light attacks, too." She sends the rest of the data she got, too.

But then she pauses, frowning as something else reaches her. "... is something missing...?" she muses to herself for a moment, before sharing the impression she got with Yanagi and Maki. "Do either of you know what this could mean?" This isn't the time to be withholding.

But there is a shocked gasp as the first coffin vanishes. "No-- you can't!" But then there are more, and Ririka calls out, "Everyone, please be careful-- some people are out of their coffins! Try not to injure them or you could kill them!" Then again, will there be anything left if they don't act?

And the unsettling panic from earlier hasn't exactly gone away, not with the innocent people out and grabbing for all of them.

This is a rapidly worsening situation, and Ririka devotes herself to trying to track the civilians and help steer people away from them, and as she does that she calls on Amphion. "Amphion! Healing Song!" She's pushing herself hard, trying to reach as many people as she can to keep them up through the battle. Strands of melody drift out to encircle a number of the Persona Users present and work to continually knit their wounds.
</poem>

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Umie Akabane, Aigis, Yanagi Nagisa, and Hyousuke
Suzuki!
AS: Ririka Kawase takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Hitomi Mandai, Maki Sonomura, Eriko Kirishima,
and Ririka Kawase!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Hyper removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Maki Sonomura! Hyper (Next Attack Boosted/Incoming Damage
Down!) appllied to Maki Sonomura! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Bacchanalia: Revelry. 12 SP regained!
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Umie Akabane! Hyper (Next Attack Boosted/Incoming Damage
Down!) appllied to Umie Akabane! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!
AS: Eriko Kirishima spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Yanagi Nagisa!
AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Help Up! Sick removed from Umie Akabane!
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Minako Arisato's Sexy Dance.
AS: Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi naturally waves gaily at Masao whenever he looks over her way. He's a kind person! So nice of him to rush out to the front like that. Eriko of course gets a wave too!

"Oh, I'm here on purpose, but I didn't come here for you," she tells Eriko with a bright smile. "Though you do wear it splendidly--I'm so happy to see it!" Eriko's desire for introductions, though, get an even brighter, "Why wait? Eriko, this is my dear friend, Pernelle. Pernelle, this is my friend Eriko! And that's Masao, and that's Maki! We should all have tea and cookies together sometime!"

And who wouldn't want to have tea and cookies with Pernelle, with how gracefully he soars into a sky-dance with those blinking tailfeathers and hidden blades? Yanagi waves to him too--but before she can call further encouragement...

A coffin vanishes. And a woman staggers out, retching ichor. Yanagi stops to stare at her and the others emerging from their death boxes.

She tilts her head.

"It isn't about you," she says plainly.

It ''would'' be ironic if she died to something other than her terminal illness. That's conveyed keenly well by the Hierophant's grotesque smile that wrenches at Yanagi's soul--and feels as though it rips something from her. Giselle opens her mouth in a soundless wail, and Yanagi staggers, clutching her gun-cane for support as she nearly faints outright. If someone or something else wants to take the card that's been reserved all her existence, though, she won't go quiet into that good night--much like Pernelle's SCREMES from before.

A sea breeze wafts around her, bringing with it healing energy that strengthens Yanagi and firms her step. She's mildly surprised that the source is Yukari, but not ungrateful, as her smile indicates. Ririka sends out her a psychic message with the analysis she made--but there ''is'' something else there. Or not there. Yanagi raises her chin as she sends a message back to her and Maki.

"I don't really know, but... there have been a few of these types of Shadows before in Port Island, haven't there? Perhaps it's lost..." Her gaze sinks to the crowd now zombie-ing towards so many of them. "...searching for its flock."

It's not just Pernelle in that group; it's not even just Maki and Eriko. There's also Minato, that boy with the ability to hold multiple Personas, just like Tsumugi... Yanagi certainly can't let him fall before she's had a chance to get to know him better. She reaches forward as she sings a high, clear note in tandem with her Persona and Ririka's, and an invisible wind delivers her song to the four. Listen to her song, to the ends of the galaxy!!
</poem>

AS: Yanagi Nagisa spends Limit on Shift! Eriko Kirishima can use another Weak skill this round! Hyper (Next Attack
Boosted/Incoming Damage Down!) applied to Eriko Kirishima! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!
AS: Take! Yanagi Nagisa takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
They're distressed...

The Shadow is distressing.

But there's a peacock fighting the Shadow...

Minato takes a moment to focus on Pernelle. Thankfully, that's when Yukari's Patra comes in to heal the poison that Shadow leeched into his veins. "Thanks," he nods, to her. With the power of Yukari's healing, a peacock's dance may stand against the horror, for a moment.

So there is a Shadow with a throne made from women's legs, where the man sits, and that man who is a Shadow poured from the mouth of a man who preached the Shadow, and that's fine.

"All right," Minato says, as he steps forward --

-- and another coffin opens.

Even though he told them...

Was he playing into their hands all this time?

He looks at the girl, grasping him. "I," he starts, when she pleads.

''Save us.'' Isn't that what he's trying to do?

Isn't that why he's fighting?

Minako, in the end, is what breaks through his frozen core. Narcissus --

"That's right," he nods, to her, freeing one arm from the girl pleading with him to bring his Evoker to his head.

"Narcissus."

And there, rising up --

-- is ANOTHER beautiful man --

-- and are those Personas ''admiring each other?!''

The sheer force of their beauty and passion for themselves... it's captivating!

</poem>
AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Pernelle, Maki Sonomura, Eriko Kirishima, and
Minato Arisato!
AS: Insight: Yanagi Nagisa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 72 HP from Regen!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen (HP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Almighty skill Submission on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Minato Arisato's Submission.
AS: Crt_Dn (Critical down!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
"Yanagi-chan," Maki realizes, is here. She looks towards her, needing not sight to spot her with her Persona out. She feels better immediately for her help, more able to focus.

But when Aigis turns to stare blankly, Maki insists telepathically to all, "The power of Persona is the power to stand against these horrors. The face of divine love... the mask of demonic cruelty. All belong to us."

If nothing else, she sounds certain, despite the fear at the back of her mind. 'They' can do it...

But it's true that victory rarely comes without sacrifice. What will they pay for this victory, should they attain it?

But Aigis seems to get it as she speaks to her friend Hitomi, and Maki smiles. Then, she returns her focus to the battle, Taishan Niangniang still standing behind her, a goddess with her hands on Maki's shoulders. It is so strange, but...

Eriko says her name, and Maki smiles gently at her. "...Together this time," she says. "I want to support you like you all did me."

But soon there is no call for smiles. To 'save' them', these people emerge from their coffins...

They all speak on their own. So many--

Maki tastes nausea. She sees them going, grasping, striking--

"I won't--"

Maki's Persona shields her. Hands slide off of Maki's shoulders and create a barrier before her, off of which that one person with ichor in their mouth bounces. This is too much. It's--

No.

"Remember... the reasons you chose to come here," Maki says. "Remember that resolve!"

It's hard for ''her'' to remember it, though. The monster is bigger than it was. She feels sick. It's hard to think straight. Even trying ''hurts''. But...

But Ririka's presence helps her some, another Navigator to steady herself against, and the pain abates. "I don't know," Maki admits of what it could mean. "But we'll find out."

And then she realizes--

"...It's influencing them," she says. "If we can defeat the Shadow, we'll defeat its influence over them!" She trusts in her Persona's ability to shield her for the moment and focuses in on the Hierophant, instead. Taishan Niangniang raises her head, opening her mouth as if to sing--and ''flames'' burst forth, cascading forward in a rush of heat towards the Shadow in three distinct waves.

She feels ''faster'' with Yanagi's power, too. Maki will thank her later--right now--

She stares at the people before her. "...This isn't salvation," she tells them.

"'There's no meaning in life. There's no reason to live.' These things are poison to you--they're what your mind says when you're in pain. But ti's not true."

"...You can change. I did."

The twins summon twin Personas. "...So you're both like 'him'," Maki marvels, looking to them a moment rather than to the horror. "They're the same, but... unique. Just like twins. Just like you."

"Elly-chan, maybe I can tell you about it later..."

She puts on a brave face; she wants to be able to think of 'after' a fight like this.

"I'll rely on both of you, for now."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 73 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Sick and Hyper
removed!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Recovery healing from Yanagi Nagisa's Victory Song.
AS: Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>Suzume swings like she's trying to pummel through the shikigami by sheer repeated effort. She's doing SOMETHING to it and that's enough for her to want to push it - keep it off-balance and maybe it won't be able to use its better techniques, right?

She doesn't realize there are quite as many people who aren't part of SEES here until a bird whips past her and she reflexively looks up at the movement, and sees Pernelle. Then she actually half-turns - well, they're not on Port Island so maybe it shouldn't be a surprise, especially since she's seen some of these people at Tartarus before too. But it still is a little unexpected.

"C'mon, big guy," Suzume says, focusing up again just as Hierophant lurches further upright. "Look over here..." She raises her tonfa defensively in front of her. Energy surges through her - from Hyousuke, from Koh, from Aigis - and Suzume reaches for her Evoker, trading one of her tonfa for it while her other remains raised.

Of course, she wasn't expecting him to call for help...

"What - hey!" Suzume isn't being swarmed (yet) by the cultists, but their presence alone has knocked her off her game. She evades around the Hierophant, circling like a boxer looking for an opening, and it gives her a good view of the others too.

And of Minako summoning Narcissus. Suzume's expression to *that* can be best summarized as :|

Still, she can't *punch* them. They're not swarming her, so she doesn't have to shove yet, but it gives her an idea, a flash of insight. What if she did... "I got it! Atalanta!"

Suzume's Evoker fires, and Atalanta appears: a woman in a short tunic and a decorative breastplate, a bowgun mounted on one bracer. Her blonde hair tumbles into her lionskin cloak, somehow being nearly indistinguishable in places, and her eyes are cat-slit green.

She doesn't appear near Suzume. She appears near *Yukari*, rising up above her like she was her Persona and not Suzume's, whipping winds appearing around her to keep the worst of the attacks away from the healer. They may not be close friends, though they apparently hate each other less these days (maybe? Suzume thinks so) but this goes beyond any personal feelings anyway. "I got you!" Of course, manifesting a Persona like that is hard, and she's risking having Atalanta's summoning broken...

...but Suzume doesn't let that stop her, letting Atalanta raise her bowgun-arm and fire a pair of purple-pulsing arrows over most of the crowd toward the Hierophant!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Suzume Fukura has used the Recovery skill Protective Winds on Yukari Takeba!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Suzume Fukura has used the Pierce skill Poison Arrow on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Hyper removed!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.

AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 73 Fire damage from Maki Sonomura's Fire Breath.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 57 Fire damage from Maki Sonomura's Fire Breath.
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 109 Fire damage from Maki Sonomura's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 185 Pierce damage from Suzume Fukura's Poison Arrow. Critical Hit!
AS: Poison (Damage on end of turn!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 121 Pierce damage from Suzume Fukura's Poison Arrow.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao twirls the once as he overcommits to the swing, staggering off a few steps to give space for that incoming Akihiko. He pumps a fist to the younger man, and takes a step back because okay that's a peacock man coming in. Right. Was that the peacock he saw with Yanagi - that is Yanagi! She looks so different in this space, like a fundamental change was made.

...There's more to worry about than that.

"Huh WHOA," he's uncomfortably close to that coffin that suddenly vanishes. "Guys? Hey, we got--"

Masao doesn't have to say, when coffins start opening ''everywhere''. He looks up towards that horrible Shadow's smiling face, as that sickness twists in his gut anew. That second or two he stays transfixed, the droning of those pleading for salvation - and company - seem to go around him.

"These are just people," he says, with some horror, seeing an older woman creep up on Umie. "Hey! Don't let 'em get to you," he shouts.

When he looks back, he sees someone trying to take Maki. His eyes widen. He sees how she holds strong against this emotional poison of masses whose seeming slavish devotion to this singular ''idea'' is about as horrifying as what he and the others saw in the realized world of Takahisa Kandori.

Still. Elly's setting it up - and it'll be his to knock it down, soon.

"'Elly-chan! Give me a moment!'" He shouts in very good English. (The more formal 'moment' instead of slang-like 'sec' is how you know it's a second language.) Maki is a stronger mind, heart, and soul than almost anyone he knows, but...

He's not going to leave her to be eroded by what this Shadow is doing to these people, and these people to ''her'', by proxy.

"Ogun!" He calls, a blue column around him as the familiar masked spear-wielding Persona comes down, raises and lowers their limbs in a somewhat choppy fashion, and a rejuvenating droplet of liquid energy washes down to cleanse the spiritual ickiness on a dear friend.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Recovery skill Energy Drop on Maki Sonomura!
AS: Masao Inaba: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Sick removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Recovery healing from Masao Inaba's Energy Drop.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Poison raced through Hyousuke's veins like wildfire. Every scrap of flesh it touched, every inch of vein it tainted, the toxin left him with a pain that felt as though everything was being burnt and rotted away. Every movement made it feel like his very body would slough from his bones like the rotting meat of a carcass left to decay. But the physical pain was nothing. It hurt, and it left him tense, but he could push through it. The assault on his mind, however, was another beast entirely.

The ichor flooding from the cult leader's mouth had shaken him, but rage and momentum had carried him forward with single-minded hatred and determination. The transformation of the man had been cause for concern, but a hound did not concern itself with questions when there was prey to be hunted, and there would be time to consider the implications later. That momentum had even carried him past the first few assaults the *thing* had made against his psyche, his instincts overriding any active thought that might have rooted him in place or stayed his hand. But it couldn't last forever.

Even the brightest of flames were fated to wane against a storm. The cold would smother them, the dark would engulf them, and only cinders would remain of what had once been a beacon in the black. He could rage and lash out and fight and hate - but his strength would falter. His body would cave in on itself, his mind would collapse beneath the strain, and even the might of one of Greece's foremost heroes would not save him. He could feel it laughing at him. He could feel it mocking him, belittling him, showing him and everyone else just how powerless he truly was...

And something *snapped.*

A cry ripped itself from his throat, like an explosion ripping from a cannon. It was equal parts a cry of pain wrought from the conditions that plagued his mind as surely as his flesh, and incandescent rage. He saw red. he felt fire. He felt his psyche turn to brittle glass and shatter over and over and OVER again, until his legs gave way beneath an utterly monstrous surge of damage. He could feel his lungs scream for air, his short and pained gasps barely enough to keep him conscious, let alone in fighting shape. He could feel the scattered fragments of his mind attempt to pull themselves together, then fall away again as he struggled to stand beneath the agony. The healing magicks bestowed on him by Yukari and Ririka achieved little - a single look behind his mask would have proved that immediately.

His eyes had grown wide and were left gleaming from the tears he barely held back. He heaved breaths through clenched teeth, themselves gnashing against each other with such force they threatened to shatter under the pressure. His skin had gone pale, wracked by sweat and pain and fear, and colour was slow to return to it. When he stood to fight, it was more on instinct than willpower. Something had shaken it, even if it had only been for a moment, and he rose more from an urge to fight than anything else.

When he finally did speak, he attempted to sound brave. Like he hadn't just suffered a surge of some emotion so strong and incomprehensible that it had left his mind in tatters.
"Kawase-san, Takeba-san, thanks for the help!" There was a shake to his voice. Something that hadn't been there before, and something that he was immediately ashamed of letting out. He clenched his fists hard enough to turn the knuckles bone-white, and steeled himself again. He couldn't show weakness - not again. Not in front of them. Not with a horde advancing.

The hordes shambled from their coffins, tar-like fluid seeping from them like spilled blood. His first instinct was to throw a punch, give a command, fire a shot - anything to force them away, and remove the threat entirely. They were the only things that he, that sledgehammer of a man, could think to do. It was only Ririka's instruction that stayed his hand, but even she could not hold back the indignant cry that followed.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell's going on?!" He called out, mostly speaking to the gathered members of SEES, but silently hoping anyone at all would sheld light on things. Achilles stood between him and the crowd, his mighty bulwark more like a riot shield used to hold back an unruly mob, while he himself shoved a few back that tried to claw at his face. None seemed to have a personal vendetta against him, though he was certain that would not have stifled their attempts to assimilate him.

"Son of a- get the hell off us!" Hyousuke cried out, indignation beginning to scour away whatever uncertainty or fear or shame might have plagued him. "Damn it, I can't get close! Screw this, I'm shooting the freak!"
Hyousuke made good on his word, and with barely more than a second taken to aim, he levelled his shotgun at the Shadow and fired off a burst of buckshot.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Shrapnel Shredder on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 72 HP from Regen!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>
The battle grows somehow more horrific.

Any relief that Koh might have had about SEES unexpected reinforcements is outweighed by the fact that the Shadow also brought an army.

"What the hell, they can do that?" His eyes dart across the ring of people that crowd in around them, backing up as he does. Their voices rise, drawing his attention.

Oh. A girl needs him.

...

"Uwaah!" It's only as she's drawing in close, close enough that he can't ignore the black stream running for her eyes, that he manages to shove her away. His hand is stained with ichor.

"Sorry!" He feels compelled to say, "I'm sorry!"

He tries to focus, one hand on the grasping girl's forehead to keep her at arms length and another pulling the trigger of his evoker again.

"Takeba, Kawase-san, keep it up!" Another flood of rejuvenating wine--blood?--washes over his allies.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Koh Katsuhiro has used the Recovery skill Relaxing Wave on Yukari Takeba, Ririka Kawase, Koh Katsuhiro, and
Aigis!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Koh Katsuhiro takes 90 damage!
AS: Support: Koh Katsuhiro gains 1 Limit!
AS: Koh Katsuhiro: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Koh Katsuhiro's turn has ended.

AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 43 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Shrapnel Shredder.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 80 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Shrapnel Shredder.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Koh Katsuhiro takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Pernelle sweeps out a wing and brings the other under his chest as he bows in greeting to Eriko with Yanagi's introduction. "Delighted to meet your acquaintance, Eriko. Yanagi is quite right: you are a perfect match for such a piece of art. Ah, and well met to Masao and Maki. Friends of Yanagi are friends of mine."

He bounces up and down in place, eyes practically sparkling as Yanagi mentions tea and cookies. "Just so! The wisest suggestion I have ever heard!"

But the ''battle''...

Minato gets a wink when stares at Pernelle's dancing a little too long.

There is one thing Pernelle must always be, no matter the fear, no matter the oncoming end: beautiful. His feathers shine iridescent in even this sickly light as he loops around to land on the front lines, yet positioned still between Yanagi and the Hierophant. For, regardless of his diminutive size, he is her escort, and she, the navigator!

"Immaculate performance, one and all!" Pernelle encourages of the group with a delighted ruffle of his feathers. "I dare say, we should have this sticky wicket wrapped up within the --"

Pernelle's pupils shrink. He whips his head around to the vanished coffin as its occupant appears to speak of her savior.

"Hmm."

Then, shortly, there are many more.

"... Hmmmmmm."

He subtly tries to scoot his fluffy peacock rump back nearer Yanagi, sensing that being nearby may behoove them both in a moment. Unfortunately, he finds himself ''encircled'' as the people grasp and plead.

And Pernelle is, well, a three foot tall peacock, scooped and grabbed.

"Human fledgling, I implore you to unhand me...!" He flails his wings and squawks, managing to tumble to the ground in a roll, where he must push his glasses back up his beak with a particularly articulated pinion. "My own pulchritudinous plumage delivers me to a precarious predicament... A cruel irony...!"

He shoves up onto his clawed feet. Yanagi!" Pernelle calls as he feels the song on the wind. "Fear not! Even an offering of potato crisps would not see me abandoning you for their cultish ways!" He turns to the people. "Off with you, shoo, shoo...!"

Pernelle brushes his wings out at them in one such gesture.

"Anqa! Let us buy some time!"

A butterfly glimmers inexplicably before Pernelle. He chomps it out of the air with a flap of his wings, and his golden, stitched doll of a bird persona appears. Her stitches break open as she explodes in sparkling, healing light over some of those trapped in this cult circle with him.

</poem>
AS: Pernelle spends Limit on Help Up! Sick removed from Yanagi Nagisa!
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Recovery skill Mediarama on Aigis, Umie Akabane, Eriko Kirishima, and Minato Arisato!
AS: Pernelle takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Aigis takes 153 Recovery healing from Pernelle's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Well, introductions are coming early and Eriko smiles in return. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Pernelle!" Indeed, Yanagi suggests tea and cookies and Eriko looks briefly delighted. "Oh my, I haven't had a tea party in some time. It sounds like a wonderful evening!"

Pernelle, too, is wonderfully polite. "Aha, as gentlemanly as you are fashionable!" Eriko responds, joyfully. "I should love to get to know you more."

Maki reassures her that she wants to repay their support, and Eriko nods. "Of course. As the crowd surrounds them, Eriko starts to find herself hemmed in, along with others. The cultists start to surround them, reaching out for them. Flailing like zombies. "...Are they even still alive?" Eriko asks, her eyes looking on them. Unfortunately, without the pale pallor or lust for flesh, it's hard to tell a zombie from the living in the heat of combat.

At least these one's don't look like people she-

'Please... I just need it all to end.'

"Nao-"

''You're just obsessed as that man was. Seeing any man with a superficial resemblance as ''him''.''

For a moment, Eriko is completely paralyzed as the mob starts to grab her. Pull at her. Tear at her, in desperation. Her eyes fixate on the man with the earring. He's not him, but...

''Tasted sweet, didn't it?''

"...Get away from me!" Eriko yells, her eyes wide with anger. Suddenly and mercilessly she slams the pommel of her sword into the temple of the man grabbing her, and then delivers another strike in quick succession to the back of his head, as he grabs at her.

"No angel would grant your twisted salvation!" Eriko yells, voice full of pain and anger as she swipes outward, heedless of the 'normal' humans pinning them in. "Nike!" She calls, lifting her sword in a salute. "Blow them all away!"

The metallic angel of victory manifests above Eriko, and from her engines come rapid gusts of wind- blasting into the crowd, toward the twisted Hierophant, at anything too close to her right now, and there's a frenzy in her eyes.

"...You're not him," Eriko says- mostly to herself, voice shaky. "He would feel more alive than ever right now."

Still, in the crush of people, it's hard not to see the damage that has gone out, and moving defensively with her sword in front of her- more than ready to slash at anyone who comes close, she wordlessly extends a hand to Yanagi. That thing hit her, and hit her hard, and with the fear for everyone she cares about recently put in her, she's worried. If Yanagi grabs it, she'll pull the other woman to her feet and get ready to return to the fight.

And she sees, too, how much of a hit Umie has taken, and frowns. "Nike, support our friends with your blessing! Diarama!" She calls, and the jet engine angel bursts across the field, a trail of green light falling over 'Mitsuhide', as she readies.

And as angry as she is right now... "I feel alive, too," she murmurs, to the memory of a boy, to a memory of his 'brother'. "I refuse your salvation. I have too much left to do- I'm not prepared to die today."

Not like she was once.

As Mark moves to take care of Maki, Eriko nods to his response in English. "Good work-" Still, they're just people, are they?

y"''...This isn't the first time we've fought 'just people', Mark.''" She says, switching to English. Or something as close to them. "...I'll try to make sure they live through it," Eriko says, a few moments later. "But there's no knowing if they'll be normal or if they'll transform like that... thing." It sounds awful, but also practical.

And frankly, there are times when she's been trapped in a room with 'just a person', and she would have had Nike's winds strip the flesh from his bones, if she could.

Still, she gazes, eyes wide as Minato and Minako summon the same persona. "Narcissus, the son of a nymph and a god, a man of such unbridled beauty that all who saw him would fall in love- even himself. When he saw his own reflection, he could never look away- until he realized he could not receive his own love and melted away into a flower."

"Still, both of you are like our leader...?" Maki says that the Narcissi (Narcissodes?) are similar, but not the same, and Eriko frowns. "...So... they're not the same Persona, but they are?" Eriko asks Maki- though that might be an explanation for later.

Either way, she remains certain: the resonance she felt facing the Joker Killer- that was the same as that man's. If these two personas feel different, then... "...I should like to talk to you both later, sometime when things are calmer, if you don't mind!"
</poem>

AS: Take! Eriko Kirishima takes 128 Recovery healing from Pernelle's Mediarama.
AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Wind skill Consecutive Garu on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Eriko Kirishima takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Eriko Kirishima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Recovery skill Diarama on Umie Akabane!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 67 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Hyper removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
There are other familiar voices, ringing outwards. Most of them are calls, statements, but man, what's the point, thinks Hitomi, a shiver running through her back. Something else does stand out, and it's - circuit--

Hitomi feels herself telescope back inside slightly. Focus increases, even if that lingering sense of fatalism remains. But something about that sense of futility is tugging at the edge of her mouth here. With multiple other problems (the Shadow, that sense of rising futility, whether or not her leggings got bunched up) conflicting, she is less hesitant than she might have been to...

It's a sensation like she's passing something to a confederate, a secret maneuver. And that tug at her lips turns into a small if rueful smile as Aigis comes up to her. "Aah, we do, don't we?" She brings up that hand which held the card, which is now empty, up to toss back a stray lock of hair that had escaped its binding clip.

"It's doing something, huh? I wonder if that's how he got a cult together... that's the kind of thing you need a compound to do, right?" It's easier to talk, even as the pulsating red and blue lights wash outwards. She takes in a deep breath through her nose - and then groans for a moment.

"Oh god, he *did* puke."

A lighthearted comment. Perhaps, one might even say, a *quip*. If her tone had some shakiness in the timbre, that's just to be expected. Her eyes stay on the Shadow, but that part of her that's somehow relishing it all notices that one of the coffins disappeared. Dislodged and knocked somewhere? Is that even possible?

Her eyes widen as the question is revealed. Somehow...

... Someone else has joined them. And the look is not wholesome. Hitomi stares for several long seconds as they stagger forwards. Begging. Pleading. *Imploring* them to join them, to let it happen, to just - just - just - They're coming *towards* her, and Hitomi raises an arm as if to shield herself from an assault...

... that...

Doesn't come, as the people, the victims, the manifestations, whatever they are, mostly just focus on Aigis's implacable robotic body.

For a fleeting moment, Hitomi is cringing at absolutely nothing.

Just a moment, though. Thoughts cross her mind. The first one is a sort of muted pique; what's wrong with ''her''? But it is a thought that usually leads into a defeated bitterness that she's felt strangely less often these days. Her eyes turn to track the swarm on Aigis for a moment, even as she hears Yukari, and a beat later feels the touch of Io's beneficence upon her.

Which makes her think of another possibility... and so, Hitomi laughs.

Pivoting around, Hitomi raises up one leg as she says with an air of recitation, "By the merit of His infinite light, when we attain until that divine and omnipotent faith, the ice of illusion -- unfh!!" That part wasn't a quote. Hitomi, taking advantage of her relative freedom of motion, swung up one leg to plant her foot on the side of a congregant... and *push*. It takes two heaves to do it, and as some of them sprawl to the side, Hitomi lurches forwards, finishing her thought:

"Shall melt into the water of perfect wisdom, GET LOST!"

Coming down into a heavy and off balance crouch, Hitomi takes a moment to recover her stance, speaking as she does: "Typical cult! The big leader's hiding behind his victims... he's scared, I bet you," this last to Aigis as she finishes getting upright.

Amphion's song rings outwards, filling Hitomi's ears even as her head snaps to look back towards the Full Moon Shadow. Her right hand slides into the hip pouch on her gear belt. Her eyes swing briefly up to Narcissus and Narcissus gaze upon themselves. There is more mirin' in that moment than a restaurant's latest crate of industrial-strength sweet rice wine.

Something rattles skeletally. Hitomi's hand draws out...

She lets out a brief two-note shrill whistle, pressing her tongue against her teeth and blowing. "Now we'll get snakes," she says (also probably to Aigis), before straightening up and *hurling* her hand of three dice, glittering pieces of plastic that let out a rather underwhelming *clack* as they ricochet off the floor of the Dark Hour and rise again towards the sheltered Hierophant. They are tiny things, really.

Except that they explode.

</poem>
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 104 Recovery healing from Pernelle's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 103 Recovery healing from Eriko Kirishima's Diarama.
AS: Umie Akabane has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Weapon! Hitomi Mandai has used the Strike skill Exploding Sixes on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Gains 73 HP from Regen!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 69 Wind damage from Eriko Kirishima's Consecutive Garu.
AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 89 Wind damage from Eriko Kirishima's Consecutive Garu.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 73 Strike damage from Hitomi Mandai's Exploding Sixes. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 65 Strike damage from Hitomi Mandai's Exploding Sixes.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 73 Strike damage from Hitomi Mandai's Exploding Sixes. Critical Hit!

AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Help Up! Panic removed from Ririka Kawase! Hyper (Next Attack Boosted/Incoming
Damage Down!) appllied to Ririka Kawase! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
With a moment to herself, Mitsuru Kirijo can take stock of the unknown agents that have joined the fray against the Hierophant.

There are several familiar faces. Eriko, for example, and her companions -- several of which match descriptions she's heard from Kei about his friends. She regrets, for a moment, that he couldn't be here with them.

Others, like Umie -- she remembers them, but she does not ''know'' them, or of them. Which makes her wonder... why ''are'' they here? What have they to gain? Especially so of Yanagi and her... pet? ... talking peacock... who she remembers to a ''certainty'' simply stayed in the backlines playing commentor and spectator when they struggled for their lives against the Priestess. Why would they help now? ...

She hates that she must look at assistance with such a suspicious eye, but... what has this past year taught her, if not the necessity of skepticism? ...

These thoughts roll through the Kirijo heiress' mind even as Minato and Minako queue up their dueling Narcissi. That is enough to earn a ''slightly alarmed side-eye'' which from ''Mitsuru'', queen of understatement, should be ''alarming'' --

but there's more dangerous things to be concerned about.

"The coffins -- they're opening--!"

One after the other, they burst open, releasing a chorus of zombified zealots all subsumed by the sweet siren song of the Hierophant. To embrace the sweet release from thought - to only be expected to believe, even in the end of all things - is this what humanity is?

Mitsuru's gaze narrows as she steps back, a gloved hand falling to her rapier. "Listen! We must end this, swiftly! The longer these people linger like this, the greater the odds they will--"

_No... no..._

"--be consumed--"

_... it's too much._

A man looks at her like he is on death's door, simply waiting for it to open to him. In his middle years. Just like her father.

The wicked, warped smile of the masked Hierophant sears into her brain as she takes a single step back.

"N-no," she murmurs. "Stop. I can save you."

She has to. She _has to_.

but what if it's not enough?

what if it was never enough.

from the very beginning.

what if the best she can do is embrace the end with him--

"........ enough."

It's a whisper at first. A hiss.

"ENOUGH."

And then it is a roar.

The temperature around Mitsuru Kirijo ''PLUMMETS'' with dangerous rapidity as blue light bursts around her, royal red hair fluttering upward and outward within the screaming gale of her winter wind. Her eyes are wide, possessed not of terror but WRATH.

"How dare you. How dare you use these cheap parlor tricks."

Her rapier snaps outward, pointing at the Hierophant.

"How dare you warp these people."

Moisture rapidly condenses and solidifies, until a half-moon of glowing white-blue ice surrounds that man and anyone else around him like a shell. The chill, she hopes, lock some of them down -- slow or shock them enough to keep them from transforming.

But even if not, it doesn't stop what comes next.

"HOW DARE YOU."

As that half-shell of ice unspools shard after shard of magicked ice from its surface, fired DIRECTLY into the Hierophant's bloated corpus like a relentless broadside cannonade.

How dare they.

How dare they make her doubt herself.

</poem>
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo spends Limit on Exploit! Mitsuru Kirijo can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Water skill Bufula on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Mitsuru Kirijo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Water skill Bufu on Moon Penguin!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 210 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Bufula.
AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added! Haze removed! Explosion! 73 damage!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 190 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Bufu. Critical Hit!
AS: Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
While Aigis has managed to put on a brave face, she's only put the fear-thought process to sleep. Such is the thrill and terror of acting in such an 'off-label' manner working in concert together. The former carries her through the latter, keeping her just barely mentally afloat for now, but this mindset, this departure from the stable branch into an experimental one, is all admittedly uncharted territory for her.

"A compound ..?" Aigis tilts her head at Hitomi in mild confusion. An explanation on cults is perhaps best saved for a less chaotic situation. Even so, Aigis is glad to see that Hitomi seems to have found some measure of boldness again.

Fiercely glaring at their opponent, Aigis raises her arm towards the Shadow once again. With the approaching crowd, however, she hesitates and lowers her arm as she tries to scramble away from being surrounded. "Keep back! It is not safe to be so close -- " -- to her and her live ammunition, she means.

"You ... you ''want'' this?" The shock of the realization -- as much physical as it is mental -- is enough for her to briefly stop struggling. "I do not comprehend." Ririka shouts instructions to avoid harming them, but ...

Aigis has her own priorities. Whether she's conscious of the memory or not, she made this decision long ago, under circumstances very similar to these. She raises her arm again and coldly stares at those blocking her way, warning them, "I must proceed. I must. I am sorry."

She tries her absolute best to aim around them, to find a good angle, but when push comes to shove, her mission comes first. She can't hesitate.

Fortunately for everyone involved, she doesn't have to. Hitomi kicks the crowd aside. Ririka, Koh, and Yukari all send their assistance, turning a bad situation into a more favorable one. Both Aigis' outstretched arm and Palladion's extended drill-bit of a cannon swivel towards Hierophant, finally unhindered --

'He's scared.'

Aigis gives the temporarily-unsteaded Hitomi a brief glance. "He should be," she states matter-of-factly, just before she and her Persona each emit three reports of heavy ordinance.

</poem>
AS: Tandem! Aigis has used the Pierce skill Six Shot on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit!
AS: Aigis: Gains 72 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 105 Pierce damage from Aigis's Six Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 105 Pierce damage from Aigis's Six Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 173 Pierce damage from Aigis's Six Shot. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko pumps a Jack Frost-clad fist towards Koh. "Thanks, Katsuhiro-san!"

Similarly, Akihiko waves at the older boy - Masao. "Nice coordination!" He beams.

And... "Good to see you again, Suzuki-san!

People start leaving their coffins on mass- "What?!" That's bad! That's really bad! Akihiko really, really hopes that no further shadows join the party. That could make this mission extremely messy. He almost wants to shout an order to Ririka about checking the area, but that might be...overstepping.

He might as well make a request though. "Arisato-san!" Akihiko yells at either one of the twins. "We're gonna be in trouble if any other Shadows get our scent, with all of the civilians! We might need a radar going around!"

Though, it's difficult to take his eyes off of the big Shadow in front of them. As the civilians attempt to swarm some of the others, it leaves Akihiko free to maneuver at the very least. Best take the chance to draw the big guy's attention then!

He summons Polydeuces once more, who offers the loosening, strengthening energy of a buff. Then, Akihiko charges. Dodging and weaving through the people, he makes it to the Shadow and starts wailing on it with his fists.

</poem>
AS: Tandem! Akihiko Sanada has used the Elec skill Polydeuces, to me! on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> The SEES twins are summoning two nearly naked, beautiful blonde men that admire each other, like mirrors of one another.

Umie stares, for a moment, before her gaze is grabbed by the melting cultists.

So many souls that will disappear with the light. Did they have families? How many will have kids, wondering where they went?
'Full of sin.'
Murderer.

At another time, Eriko's polite quip and use of Umie's codename would have caused Umie to quip back, and Mark's call to bolster her spirits would have been met with a prideful (but well-meaning) comment. She would have met Mitsuru's doubt with a quick bark of support, understanding a little of where that horror may be stemming from.

Instead, all there is in the pit of Umie's stomach is denial, helplessness, and *anger*.

"I've done this for years _without any help_," Umie, wild-eyed, snaps at Eriko and Masao. Then, in a softer, mocking tone meant to be loud enough for the three of them, she adds, with a spreading, open-mouthed smile, "Besides, all of you'd probably breathe a sigh of relief to not have my *tainted soul* around all of you, wouldn't you? Reminding you of your *failure*--"

She would have said more, but when Ririka's healing magic settles over her, Umie's manner immediately changes. Pernelle's and Eriko's own further bolster her health.

.... Well, at least she's snapped out of the spell, but there can only be complications when someone who is Marked enters the fray. ... as opposed to Mark, who is valid in being Mark. Instead, cheeks flush with shame, Umie turns her face away, as simultaneously Badb's form emerges, her red smile standing out over the pale white of her flesh.

".... This is what potentially happens to people exposed to the Dark Hour, without a Persona," she says, without a break, raising her voice for those still confused, like Hyousuke. "But I've never seen it happen like this. Just focus on the big shadow. You can't help those who've already turned."

Murderer.
'HOW DARE YOU.'

"Just get back up and _curse them back_," she hisses, pointing a finger at the Hierophant Shadow, Badb's red lips casting a ghastly wail.

"So how does that feel... to be cursed?!" Umie yells. "Your clock is running out!!"

</poem>
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 84 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Polydeuces, to me!.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 101 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Polydeuces, to me!. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 84 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Polydeuces, to me!.
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Eriko Kirishima!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Bad Moon Rising on Moon Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 45 damage from Stress!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 70 HP from Regen! Hyper removed!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like #1 must be responded to with +take.
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Bad Moon Rising. Resist!
AS: Omen (Damage in 2 rounds!) added!
AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 144 Recovery healing from Pernelle's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Moon Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Eriko refuses the poisoned salvation of the mob, blasting some of them over as they come at her, traumatized as she is by their past experiences.

The gusts of wind blast them over, causing some to just ''stay down''- while others, bruised and battered, try to rise. Whatever the case, it delays them long enough to give the others more time.

Mitsuru asks the Shadow how dare it? Can the Shadow truly be responsible for its own actions? Does it have a will to be responsible with? Such are questions the greatest Kirijo scientists were divided upon, the possibility of such Shadows ever developing a will.

Whatever the answer though, she demands it to be ''ENOUGH''. And for a moment, the icy shell encases several, preventing them from coming forward.

Before the Shadow, is struck with a storm of ice shards like razor hail. It's form looks shredded in multiple places, one shard even embedding right in it's very mask.

HOW DARE YOU

The Shadow lets out a wail of agony, as its execution becomes close at hand. A 'Dead Shadow Walking' so to speak.

Narcissus, such a beautiful youth, captivated by their own image. Certainly it can captivate others as well. The Sexy Dance causes a number of the unruly mob of victims to be captivated, giving up their own assault in order to simply admire him.

(And also their twin, which soon enough comes forward)

The Hierophant's body jiggles as Minato's Persona tries to enforce submission, as if the Shadow were attempting to resist being captivated by it as well. And the flames of Maki's Persona try to incinerate it, as the Shikigami cross themselves to overlap, trying to brunt the worst of it, with limited success.

Right as the Poison Arrow from Suzume's Atlanta strikes the feminine figure's torso, sprouting an arrow right where it's heart would be, as greenish hues begin to criss cross it. The woman in the back rears her head in agony, as she has no mouth by which to scream.

A shotgun from Hyousuke fills it with lead, and the Shikigami on the second shot does what looks like a cart-wheel, flipping end over end to take the blast head on, falling over.

Before rising again, wobbly. This same Shikigami has to hastily whip around to fend off the exploding dice from Hitomi. Even with this, even with parts of itself, it feels like it's hiding behind its members, its minions. They explode.

One explosion comes far too close to the Shadow for its comfort, as it burbles horribly.

Fortunately for Koh, you don't have to ghost a girl when another boy has now captured their attention. (That boy is Narcissus.)

Pernelle is less fortunate, being hugged like an oversized plushy, but at least they acknowledge how beautiful they are. "Unhand...? Oh-" She's no longer looking at Pernelle, instead, and without any gentleness, she simply lets go, dumping the Peacock back on the ground.

Pernelle, you may be in competition with the beauty of a Persona, GASPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Maki speaks to some of the people who are only barely enthralled by Minako's spell...

And for a moment, just a flicker of a moment, it's like those words actually reach the those people. Then one of them asks, "Aren't you just fooling yourself...?"
"Nobody can truly change..."
"The end is coming anyway..."

There must be a spell they're under, after all, several of them are still coughing and hacking that terrible black out, leaking out of them slowly, by inches. And some few will see the black on the ground is not immobile, it's slowly moving, moving- creeping towards the ever-swelling Hierophant.

Aigis, freed from the Shadows surrounding them by the efforts of Hitomi and Minako- shows everyone ''why'' she's called an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, when Palladion's cannon fires three times. The Hierophant is blown off one side of its fish legs, sideways with its corpulent form.

Which is then struck again. Sending it careening over, unbalanced, the third shot hitting it in the air, knocking it over with a thunderous detonation.

Eerily, the fishnet legged limbs of its throne just ''spring'' back up, moving like nothing could of that mass and weight, as it comes back to its feet, right as Akihiko charges in, punching once, twice, thrice with electrified fists, tazing the Shadow repeatedly, before a Shikigami's quick movement forces him to back off.

Whereas Badb curses it, spelling its coming doom. She asks, the Shadow answers by raising its arms, as a lance of light forms - sending it across the way to attempt to stab into Badb, imbuing it with a 'Curse' of its own. It then raises its arms to the sky anew, and Paper Talismans begin to swirl around the crowd of the Persona Users, for a spell all of them would recognize well.

Mahama. Light shines, criss-crossing between the sealing talismans, attempting to take each of them to 'Heaven' so to speak, that being the salvation it offers. What comes after this life? Will today be the day each of you learn the answer?

More coffins spill out their contents. The number of people is fast becoming overwhelming, people meeting a slow death at the hands of this Shadow's influence, a transfiguration.

It's hard to expect it, when the first person in the oncoming crowd pulls a knife, and tries to jam it into Masao's side. Who in Japan carries weapons? They're illegal, after all. So many wouldn't even have access.

But the cult has ensnared so many, it was only a matter of time.

So too does someone else, with a long, sturdy hair pin trying to push it into Akihiko Sanada's back. More finally reach Ririka, and try to grab her from every which way, another attempting to pull her Evoker out of her hands.

"Don't take this from us."
"The bloodied... the bloodied won't know salvation, nor will the bloodless..."
"Their-gck-punishment."
"Justice."
"It'll be just like-just like going to sleep."

And then a single person wordlessly collapses fully, the woman who first came out of the coffin, vanishing into inky goop, as limbs... limbs begin to crawl out.

Will all of their fates be to become Shadows? Or a part of the Greater Whole that is the Hierophant?

This is getting worse with every passing moment. They must end this quickly, or no amount of Persona usage will be able to deal with the coming tide of people.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Light skill End of Days on Umie Akabane!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Moon Penguin takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Moon Penguin gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Reach!

AS: Persona! Moon Penguin has used the Light skill Mahama on Akihiko Sanada, Aigis, Mitsuru Kirijo, Hitomi Mandai, Eriko
Kirishima, Pernelle, Koh Katsuhiro, Hyousuke Suzuki, Masao Inaba, Suzume Fukura, Maki Sonomura, Minato Arisato, Yanagi
Nagisa, Ririka Kawase, and Minako Arisato!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Exploit! Moon Penguin can use another Weak skill this round!
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

AS: You already have Reach active.
AS: Avoid Worst! Minako Arisato takes 79 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama.
AS: Moon Penguin spends Limit on Broad!
AS: Avoid Best! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 16 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Pierce skill A World Full Of Sin on Akihiko Sanada and Masao Inaba!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Moon Penguin has used the Strike skill Salvation Is At Hand on Ririka Kawase! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Moon Penguin: Loses 72 HP from Poison! Charm, Broad, Paralyze, and Reach removed!
AS: Moon Penguin's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Koh Katsuhiro takes 28 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 25 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Eriko Kirishima takes 24 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Maki Sonomura takes 57 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama.
AS: Avoid Worst! Akihiko Sanada takes 105 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Akihiko Sanada takes 9 Pierce damage from Moon Penguin's A World Full Of Sin.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 67 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 80 Light damage from Moon Penguin's End of Days. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Pain (Attacker takes damage on healing and PL 0 attacks!) added!
AS: Block Neutral! Suzume Fukura takes 24 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Counter Best! Masao Inaba takes 85 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit! Counter Light!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: COUNTER! Moon Penguin takes 117 Light damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 24 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Recovery healing from Suzume Fukura's Protective Winds.
AS: Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
AS: Cover applied!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Recovery healing from Koh Katsuhiro's Relaxing Wave.
AS: Vigor (SP restored on end of turn!) added!
AS: Block Best! Masao Inaba takes 32 Pierce damage from Moon Penguin's A World Full Of Sin.
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 11 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 18 Strike damage from Moon Penguin's Salvation Is At Hand.

AS: Counter Best! Aigis takes 111 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Moon Penguin takes 113 Pierce damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Worst! Pernelle takes 75 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
<poem>
"...One of them?" Minako says, with a little laugh, in Yukari's direction. Then, she turns. She looks at her brother -- and she stares as he also summons Narcissus. But then, she nods once.

"Good thinking, Minato-kun!"

Then, she looks at Maki -- and there is a moment's hesitation, a brief look of confusion, and ''then'' realization. "Someone else... like us?" she asks. "I--I didn't realize--things to figure out later!"

Then she shoots a sidelong glance at Suzume -- and gives her an apologetic grin. Her eyes turn towards Hyousuke; she hesitates, before she calls out: "There's some very powerful Shadows out here! We don't the whole story, really, but--they're something we've got to stop!"

She looks towards Aigis and calls out: "They're--they're not themselves, I think! Someone's... fooled them, or hurt them, or--" She hesitates. She realizes she might be hoping that, instead of knowing that. Akihiko calls out a suggestion; Minako nods, immediately.

"Right," she says. "Kawase-san, Katsuhiro-san! If either of you sense more Shadows coming--let us know!"

She looks back in tme to see Aigis send the Hierophant flying -- and a grin splits across her face. Until, of course, she spots the swirling paper talismans. She tries to dive to the side -- but the blast of light slams into her. She is hurled back, and she lands while skidding over the ground. Her eyes shift left, then right.

All around, the cultists are becoming Shadows. It might not ''matter'' if more come. She exhales, raggedly. Then she looks up at the Hierophant. "Stop it," she says. "This--this isn't what they want! You're just... twisting their thoughts into--into wanting this!"

She puts her Evoker to her temple again. With a ''bang'', light swirls behind her -- "LINOS!" -- and the golden form of her Persona appears, scarf and red hair fluttering, as she spins her harp around. Her fingers strum across the strings.

And then, beads of blue-white flame appear. Like tiny marbles, they glimmer, but with their own light. Then, each explodes outward -- fireballs of blue-white nuclear fire erupting across the terrible Shadow.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Minako Arisato has used the Fire skill Trio Freila on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minako Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Minako Arisato: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Minako Arisato's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Yanagi Nagisa takes 38 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 73 Fire damage from Minako Arisato's Trio Freila.
AS: Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 84 Fire damage from Minako Arisato's Trio Freila.
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 91 Fire damage from Minako Arisato's Trio Freila. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
<poem>
"Of course!" Yukari says, smiling tiredly, anxiety causing her eyes to dart side to side as she watches the crowd.

Before Minako laughs at her comment and she blurts out, "Oh come on! You know what you're doing!" Before the sight of someone bringing out that long hair pin fills her with dread, "Sanada-senpai! Behind you!"

It's Koh that puts her mind back on what she's doing. "On... on it Katsuhiro!" Yukari says, shakily as she tries to let herself Relax. Sure it's healing magic but- there's something about it that's calming all the same.

The press of the crowd is becoming worse, even as she becomes increasingly alarmed by their reactions.

Does being strong mean even standing against this?

What kind of standard should one set for themselves? Suzume lands near her, and she back peddles to give her room.

"A-Appreciated!" She says to her protective winds, "I was worried what would happen if they got too close."

She admits that much at least. It's not like a bow is an ideal weapon for crowd control.

Placing the Evoker to her forehead, she calls out again, "Io!" And yet again, she brings forth healing energy that wafts through herself, Minako, Suzume and Akihiko for good measure.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Yukari Takeba has used the Recovery skill Naiad Mediarama on Yukari Takeba, Minako Arisato, Suzume Fukura,
and Akihiko Sanada!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Yukari Takeba takes 90 damage!
AS: Support: Yukari Takeba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yukari Takeba: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Yukari Takeba regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yukari Takeba's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 140 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Take! Suzume Fukura takes 137 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Yanagi Nagisa has posed.
<poem>
A hand stretches out towards Yanagi; she looks up it at Eriko. She smiles again and accepts it, and her help; it does quite a bit to stabilize her, and she especially appreciates Eriko's discretion in offering it. Pernelle of course is her escort and guardian first and foremost, as seen by the position he takes in between her and the Hierophant, but there's always a chance for more friends--especially with tea and cookies!

There is still a battle, though. First they'll need to deal with this. And on that mark, when the crowd bemoans Maki's attempted encouragement...

"Does it matter if the end is coming anyway? Does life even need a meaning or a reason behind it?" she muses, tapping a finger on her cheek. It's in response to Maki's call to the crowd, but her words are really meant for everyone--the crowd and all. "No matter what someone accomplishes in life, everyone dies one day. Over time, empires fall to ruin, and planets are blasted to ash. The more you zoom out into the big picture, the more you realize that an individual life is cosmically insignificant."

She beams, hair cascading as she tilts her head the other way. "So forget about the big picture and do whatever brings you joy! What is 'meaning' in the face of the pursuit of happiness? Be free!"

Not unlike the twin Narcissi, who are free to admire how ~*handsome*~ the other is. Yanagi gasps with delight, eyes sparkling as she is reminded there is not just one but ''two'' Wild Cards here tonight. That's right, the twins! And seeing them now, it's fascinating how these two Personas, though superficially the same, have subtle differences to her senses... But that lasts only for a moment before Minako re-summons Linos. Alas, another time, she'll bask in that beauty...!

The way the crowd would part Pernelle from Yanagi remains troubling--but Pernelle is ''the best'' at lifting spirits. Yanagi gasps, lifting one hand in front of her mouth. "N-not even for potato crisps...?! Pernelle...! You really do love me!"

She is deeply, genuinely touched.

Her gaze turns then towards the heiress of SEES in all her icy wrath, contrasting her ferocious outrage. There are many here performing splendidly, but the lakes of drowning and the frost of the grave are parts of her soul. Seeing such annihilating frigidity can't help but capture Yanagi's awed attention.

Perhaps not the best moment for it, given the searing, killing light of that Mahama... The talismans rise up and float and pierce her through--but as Yanagi would collapse, Giselle reaches down to support her with her needle arms. Yanagi's pink eyelashes flutter as she gazes up at her other self.

Yes... She's always been a ghost. She won't be easily banished from this plane. It is her role to linger.

Which means they really must be done with this Shadow. From the crowds--is it Yukari? Is it someone else? The voices melt together for a moment--she thinks she hears someone say that they need to take down the Hierophant directly and ignore the crowds.

"As ever, the stage exists for the primadonna..." she coos in a lilting sing-song. "Giselle, let us sing, let us dance...!"

That light illuminates Giselle in her pas du deux with Yanagi, taking on that Mahama and transmuting its killing power into one her allies can use. That brightness shines on Pernelle to fan his flames, on Masao to shine on his crazy diamond axe, on Maki to make her even more heavenly on earth, and even on Mitsuru--for surely her ice makes them kindred spirits, like the Wilis.
</poem>

AS: Take! Minako Arisato takes 137 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.
AS: Persona! Yanagi Nagisa has used the Almighty skill Bright Revel on Pernelle, Masao Inaba, Maki Sonomura, and Mitsuru
Kirijo!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa: Gains 74 HP from Regen!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Yanagi Nagisa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Pernelle takes 0 Almighty damage from Yanagi Nagisa's Bright Revel.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
AS: Eriko Kirishima spends Limit on Shift! Masao Inaba can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Yanagi Nagisa's Bright Revel.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
AS: Take! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 0 Almighty damage from Yanagi Nagisa's Bright Revel.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!

AS: Take! Maki Sonomura takes 0 Almighty damage from Yanagi Nagisa's Bright Revel.
AS: Atk_Up (Damage Up!) and Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
AS: Hitomi Mandai spends Limit on Shift! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Yukari Takeba spends Limit on Shift! Suzume Fukura can use another Weak skill this round! Hyper (Next Attack
Boosted/Incoming Damage Down!) applied to Suzume Fukura! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Pernelle has posed.
<poem>
Pernelle is ''dropped'' like a sack of potatoes, which he could probably interpret as some kind of compliment, but also distressing in context. There, he looks up to the beautiful dancing Narcissi, and his beak falls open. He raises his wings in the air and begins hopping back and forth from one foot to the other. "Yes! YES! Such poise! Such pizazz! Your souls cry out to be beheld! Know that you are witnessed, in all your glory...!"

Unfortunately for the Arisato twins, Pernelle will remember this.

But his sincerity in his loyalty? As pure as the snack food he would reject for Yanagi's sake. "Without doubt or hesitation!" he cries, which would be more dignified if he was not promptly blown up by Mahama talismans.

The light fades, and Pernelle's head does circles on his long neck. Maybe he sees heaven... a distant whisper of what lies for him when he squawks his final squawk, and honks his final honk...

Giselle and Yanagi dance, providing a beautiful shine that puts fire into Pernelle's eyes.

Pernelle did say he could never pass up and invitation to dance, didn't he?

"ANQA!"

His shouts for his Persona, launching into the air with a single, powerful flap. With shattering light, Anqa appears in the air beside him. They grab each other, spiraling to the ground in their own twirling dance. And each time Anqa is spun to face the Hierophant, her head rips open at the seams and

EXPLODES

"ONE!"

"TWO!"

"AND AGAIN!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Pernelle has used the Fire skill Freila Freila Freila on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Pernelle takes 90 damage from Panic!
AS: Pernelle: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Vigor removed!
AS: Pernelle's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao just kind of waves a hand at Akihiko for the praise, and side-eyes the fanciness and formal politeness that is Pernelle. Okay, sure, he internalizes. "Y-yeah, nice to meet you," awkward, but he gets that there.

Also because he feels his blood run cold by Mitsuru's icy defiance. She might be scarier than when his mother is mad. That is one hell of a bar to clear. That may be a new world record.

Not so frightening that he will be pulled from the Shadow, and the way people turn into Shadows themselves. He feels it, that urgency, as that light comes down in that invitation to accept an eternal peace by cessation.

He ''swings'' into it, whole-hearted. The Big Apple Necklace - the jewelry that Yanagi had made for him out of labradorite - refracts and redirects much of the heavenly light that invites those within to come to their peaceful rest (or otherwuse be expelled from the place, either or).

It stings, it blinds, it burns as much as it should becalm on some spiritual level - but it is ''denied'', with all his being, back towards the Hierophant. His will, further enhanced by the handiwork of a good friend at Peacock Silk.

He owes Yanagi one for sure. This is a happy customer (also an angry and frustrated one). This is a happier one when Giselle's power takes that light and entrusts him with more strength.

"We're stayin' right here! Alive!" Masao shouts over the spiritual noise and the gloom of the cultists released into their annihilation. "Yeah, a lot of stuff's gone to complete shit!" He clenches his teeth. "I'm not done bein' an artist yet! Hell! A lot of you're too young to give up on all of--"

Someone's coming at him with a knife, and that's enough to shut him up.

It's a bit of a clumsy shoving match, but that knife doesn't find greater purchase than a single shallow slice through his hoodie before he hauls off and shoves that cultist off. They're not going to listen.

Eriko reminds him this isn't the first time they'd been put up against normal people, twisted and turned against them by whatever influence (shady company employment, divine manipulation, or otherwise). She trusts him to clear the way, implicitly, and hey... that's what Ogun does.

"Ogun!" He calls again, raising an axe high as that spear-wielding figure appears again in a narrow colorful line that unfurls horizontally to their full stature. In tandem, that axe is also wielded. Masao's righteous anger gives way to that impish youthful smile he's known for, and with that...

"Let's get funky!" He swings that axe down - Ogun his spear - in a cutting motion as one, towards the immense Shadow whose influence may yet stand to overpower them.

And that's not all, hoisting that axe back over his shoulder as he throws a hand up. "You're not takin' these people to wherever either," even if it's only a rapidly shrinking number of coffins. "Magry!"

Ogun gestures anew in a little dance, and a wave of purple spheres with yellow emission rings fly forward. (It feels like it should hit more around the Hierophant, but the SEBEC incident survivors are all too aware how often Magry missed.)
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Masao Inaba has used the Slash skill Flurry Stab on Moon Penguin!
AS: Masao Inaba takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Magry on Moon Penguin!
AS: Masao Inaba: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Vigor removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Yanagi remarks on there being others. "Yes, there have... this is the first one we've seen outside Port Island," she sends back. Lost... "Maybe... I wonder if a rumor rumor was involved somehow..." But Maki responds, that she doesn't know what that absence means either. "I see. Thank you both for your input!"

Ririka must have seen Minato and Minako's Narcissi Personas before, but... has she seen them both out at once? She gives the interacting pair a very confused look. Is that supposed to happen...?

She nods in Hyousuke's direction. "You're welcome, Suzuke-san!" She calls back. She's glad her warning kept Hyousuke from harming anyone, but... "I think she's right--" She meaning Maki--Ririka doesn't know her name. "If we can take out the Shadow, hopefully it will release the people."

But Koh uses his own skills to provide energy, something Ririka needs after pushing herself so much. "Thank you, Katsuhiro-san!"

Ririka feels an increasing sense of dread as more people spil;spill from their coffins, hher hand clutching her headphones to her ears as she keeps trying to track the situation of the innocents.

But she spent so much time watching everyone else she couldn't get away herself, and her eyes snap open as she's beset. "H-hey--!" She ''yanks'' her Evoker hand back, but then has to try and pull herself free, backing away from the crowd. "You can break free-- That Shadow is just-- is just ''using'' you--don't you ahve hopes? Dreams? People that are precious to you? Do you--ngh--really want to leave them behind?"

Another sickened gasp as she sees the woman collapse. And with the black ichor moving... Ririka gasps. "Everyone!" she transmits. "Earlier I sensed something missing in the Shadow-- it's-- I think it's ''absorbing'' something from the people! If we don't defeat it fast, it might take all of them with it!"

Ririka looks around. The situation is getting desperate, and more people are at risk of being injured or worse--both Persona Users and civilians alike. "Everyone, please hold on-- I know we can make it through this! Amphion!"

Amphion strums again, but not for healing winds, this time to stir the power of the earth beneanth their feet. It is a twinking, multi-facted blessing--like the shining surfaces of a gem reflecting the short-term possibilities ahead, building up to more power later. It flows into into Minako, Hitomi, Hyousuke, and Yukari, to help any lagging defenses.

Minako calls for them to sense shadows. "Hai, Arisato-chan!" There's already so much to track, but... adding more Dark Hour shadows to the situation will just make things worse.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Lithomancy on Minako Arisato, Hitomi Mandai, Hyousuke Suzuki, and
Yukari Takeba!
AS: Ririka Kawase takes 45 damage from Stress!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 67 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Hyper removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.
<poem>Suzume's perfect :| face remains in place for long enough for Minato to *also* summon Narcissus. Because...

...well, come on.

Really, though, she has more urgent things to pay attention to than the twins deciding to summon underdressed men to try to distract Shadows and people (and that is not a sentence Suzume ever expected to put together before, but there we have it).

Summoning Atalanta like this is more difficult than Suzume expected. It was an instinctive thing, not something she's ever practiced or even thought about doing before, and keeping her in place to keep Yukari protected while she heals is *hard*.

But she gives Yukari a thumbs-up anyway while she keeps Atalanta in place. "I gotta take on the big one," she says, "but I'll give you what I can if you can keep me up!"

So when Io heals her, Suzume takes that, letting the power flow through her. It helps even though she's kind of battered already, and it's only going to get worse from here, especially as one of the people...

Collapses. Falls into a glob, arms reaching - a Maya, or something, Suzume doesn't get a good look at it. She freezes for a moment. Is that what happens to people here? She swore she'd protect them, and they're still -

Does this mean SEES is failing? Does this mean *she* is failing? She can't allow it. She has to do better. They have to do better.

Suzume lets out a roar, a battle cry really, though her voice threatens to crack near the end of it. She rushes forward again, the light from the Mahama burning along her body, pulling a fountain of little shards and sparkles off of Atalanta as she wavers for a moment.

But as she runs she gathers wind to her tonfa - to her hands, like she was gripping wind itself and pulling it along with her. It streams down her arms as it intensifies, her arms pulling more with her as Atalanta guides the winds. If one of the people gets in her way, well - they might find themselves blown to the side like a sharp shove as Suzume rushes the Hierophant.

"Tornado..."

Suzume punches. Her fist is wreathed in green-glowing winds, Atalanta reaching along with her, and it impacts with a dull thud... then silence, the calm before the storm.

"CROSS!"

And a tornado *erupts* from Suzume's fist, a slightly delayed blast of wind sufficient to launch Suzume herself backwards, stumbling as she tries to keep her feet. And that's with most of it aimed the *other* way - at the great Shadow!
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Suzume Fukura has used the Wind skill Tornado Cross on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Suzume Fukura takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Suzume Fukura gains 1 Limit!
AS: Suzume Fukura: Hyper removed!
AS: Suzume Fukura's turn has ended.
AS: Suzume Fukura's Cover tactic expires on Yukari Takeba!
AS: Take! Yukari Takeba takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Lithomancy.
AS: Prophecy (Healing in 2 rounds!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Maki Sonomura has posed.
<poem>
"Hi, Pernelle," Maki says, though she can't manage the same cheer as Eriko in the moment. "It's nice to meet you." It's a little strained.

Mark helps her. Mark is always there, isn't he? ...Not that it's like that, of course. "Thanks," Maki says. "You're right--they're just people. We have to be careful."

"...You're right. I don't know if they'll change. The others seem to think they can be saved, still..."

But she doesn't blame Eriko for striking back, either; they ''have'' fought 'just people' before.

Maki feels stronger thanks to Mark, anyway. But she sees the apparent leader of the ones with the armbands--

How dare you, she says. And Mitsuru confirms--they have to end it quickly. "Right!" Maki's telepathic voice calls. "I'll do what I can!"

Umie... snaps. And that mocking tone of hers--

"What failure?" Maki wonders of Umie. "Were you there, back then? Then why didn't we find you...?"

Maki has entirely the wrong idea. But she shakes her head. "It wouldn't be a relief to not have you around," she says. "I don't know what you've been doing on your own all these years, but we can help you now."

Minako is confused for a second--"Right! I'll tell you later!" Maki won't try to focus on that just now. Instead...

She focuses on what happens here, and now. The light of the grave shines--but Maki doesn't fear the Light anymore. It hurts, but not nearly as much as it would otherwise. But as the people bring out their weapons...

Maki's teeth clench together. Is this their fate?

...No.

But Yanagi has things to say, too. Does it need that? Hmm. No matter what they accomplish...

"It's because of that transient nature," Maki says, seeing the people she ''almost'' started to reach start to succumb again, "Because of the fact that it doesn't last... that life is so precious. I think it matters. I think ''each'' life matters, is a whole world unto itself."

She looks to Yanagi, "...But being happy isn't so bad, either," she says with a quirk of her lips into not quite a smile. "...Maybe multiple perspectives can help them resist better. Or maybe not. But I'm glad neither of us is here alone."

Either way, she feels stronger with Giselle's dance. She feels brighter, more vibrant.

And she needs that, because it's about to be time to end this as best she can.

"My Persona is primarily best at support, but..."

"You learn to improvise, now and then."

Taishan Niangniang raises her hands from Maki's shoulders, setting them out in front of her, palms-out. She takes a breath, and lifts her eyes once more where she'd bowed her head again.

As a bright blue column of light bursts around Maki's feet, encompassing her and her Persona both. Mark invokes the idea of getting funky--

And flames bubble up at the same time as those purple spheres come down. Great flames ''explode'' all around the Hierophant at Maki's direction, flames of life and light to stand against Shadow.
</poem>

AS: Maki Sonomura spends Limit on Exploit! Maki Sonomura can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 65 Fire damage from Pernelle's Freila Freila Freila.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 65 Fire damage from Pernelle's Freila Freila Freila.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 105 Fire damage from Pernelle's Freila Freila Freila. Critical Hit!
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Fire skill Agilao on Moon Penguin!
AS: Persona! Maki Sonomura has used the Fire skill Maragi on Moon Penguin!
AS: Maki Sonomura: Gains 67 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Maki Sonomura's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 308 Slash damage from Masao Inaba's Flurry Stab.
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 123 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Magry. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 215 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Tornado Cross.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 215 Wind damage from Suzume Fukura's Tornado Cross.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Lithomancy.
AS: Prophecy (Healing in 2 rounds!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
<poem>
A beautiful peacock...

And a beautiful Persona!!

If only that were all that were here. Someone -- Minato -- hears Mitsuru suffering. Sees Aigis tearing through. Hears Akihiko give a senpai's wisdom about the situation.

"Understood," is what he answers, to that last one.

There are five more beats of silence, as he deals with the situation, before he looks to Eriko -- "I didn't know that Narcissus was a Leader's Persona," he explains, as if he hadn't left that gap of silence at all.

"Actually, we both created him on a dare."

Why does that matter, right now?

They're crawling from the coffins, even though that boy said it wasn't yet time.

'Even so,' he said, 'somehow, I feel like it's inevitable... isn't that a nostalgic feeling?'

A nostalgic feeling...

"This Arcana Shadow is operating under a time limit," is what Minato says.

"If we don't defeat it within the next five minutes, every normal person here will turn."

He says it so confidently. So clinically.

He raises his Evoker to his head.

"Orpheus."

And he enacts a grievous assault.

</poem>
AS: Minato Arisato spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Minato Arisato spends Limit on Exploit! Minato Arisato can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Minato Arisato has used the Fire skill Blazing Soul on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Minato Arisato takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit!
AS: Minato Arisato: Psych removed!
AS: Minato Arisato's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 339 Fire damage from Minato Arisato's Blazing Soul.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 248 Fire damage from Maki Sonomura's Agilao.
AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added! Bind removed! Explosion! 74 damage!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 174 Fire damage from Maki Sonomura's Maragi. Critical Hit!

AS: Take! Akihiko Sanada takes 137 Recovery healing from Yukari Takeba's Naiad Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.
<poem>
Koh is saved by oneno, two Narcissi.

God I wish that were me, he might think. If he had less to worry about.

"Here to help!" Koh calls to Akihiko and Ririka, the words less confident than he'd like. Minako get's an: "I'll try!"

"....But I think this is only going to get worse!" The woman melting into a Shadow proves his point.

Minato states the situation matter-of-factly, as their leader does.

"Leave these people alone!" They don't deserve it. They didn't do anything. It's not fair."It's not fair! YOU die! Zagreus!" The ragged shape appears again, lunging madly for the Hierophant. It only has one arm, but that's enough to tear something open.
</poem>

AS: Koh Katsuhiro spends Limit on Exploit! Koh Katsuhiro can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Koh Katsuhiro has used the Earth skill Sparagmos on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Koh Katsuhiro takes 90 damage!
AS: Koh Katsuhiro: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
AS: Koh Katsuhiro's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Akihiko Sanada has posed.
<poem>
Akihiko gets grappled from the back as someone tries to stab him. The hair pin luckily doesn't find purchase, instead tearing through the back of his vest as Akihiko judo-flips the person over him. "Hey! Lie down for a bit, lady!"

All things give and take however, and Akihiko takes a nasty hit from the beast's Mahama. Then, Yukari's healing light reaches him. He lets out a heavy sigh of relief and pumps his fist up. "Thanks, Takaba-senpai! All good here!"

Mostly. Akihiko spots the first lady turn into a Shadow and grimaces. Shit. This can get real bad, real soon. Time to kick up the pressure. Time to bring the thunder. "Polydeuces! Bolts of Judgement!" He brings his Evoker to his temple, and Polydeuces manifests once more. There's a crackle of electricity that seeks it's target. Then, the heavy lightning bolt descends, much harder. Only afterwards, the rumble of thunder could be heard.

</poem>
AS: Akihiko Sanada spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Akihiko Sanada has used the Elec skill Bolts of Judgement on Moon Penguin!
AS: Ruin: Akihiko Sanada gains 1 Limit!
AS: Akihiko Sanada: Psych removed!
AS: Akihiko Sanada's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Eriko Kirishima has posed.
<poem>
Mitsuru's not the only one wishing Kei could be here- Eriko even tried to contact her investigative partner beforehand. Unfortunately, Japan's #1 Man can't devote himself purely to battling shadows and there's the matter of security that Matsuoka so insists upon.

But it's hard for Eriko not see that grief sneaking into the young woman's voice, the look of terror as she declares her intent to save someone. "Miss Kirijo-"

Fortunately, Mitsuru finds her wrath and anger, and the execution begins. It seems an adult doesn't need to step in for her right now. That's both a good thing- and kind of worrying in it's own way.

Umie's sudden ferocity catches Eriko completely off guard. "Ms Akabane...?" She asks, shocked. She knew Umie worked on her own but- this venom is different. Nothing she expressed before. "What are you talking about?" She stares for a bit. "What failure?"

Eriko Kirishima may not be known for her discretion- which just makes her ability to be discreet all the stronger. And well... she can intuit why Yanagi might be a little particular about how help might be offered.

Eriko realizes she has confused matters. "Oh, it wasn't- Narcissus wasn't his persona, it's..." Minako seems to put together what Maki said, and Eriko nods. "Right..." No wonder she wants to talk to them both- but she lets out a giggle at the idea of creating Narcissus as a dare. "Oh my, is that how it works?" Persona 'creation', is that what he did?

The Hierophant, on the other hand, appears to have chosen it's method of dealing with them: the holy might of Mahama, the exorcism spell. "Hmph. I'm not going to ''Heaven'' today, especially not to the hands of such a wicked clergyman as you!" She darts with Nike's speed, the light that crashes against her is mitigated greatly, even if the spell's lingering effects weaken her weapon arm- and then she can only watch, that grim fascination, as a woman melts away into a shadow... It's horrible, and yet a part of Eriko can't help but wonder what it would feel like, if it weren't so dangerous...

But they're on a time limit. Mark and Maki prepare for the offense, and Eriko looks serious for once. "If we don't act quickly, more people will become like her. We have to put an end to this as soon as we can. Nike! Rid us of this meddlesome priest!"

With a slash of her sword, Nike comes to life behind Makoto and summons her mighty cutting winds, aiming to shred apart the Hierophant and his twisted throne.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Eriko Kirishima has used the Wind skill Garula on Moon Penguin!
AS: Pressure: Eriko Kirishima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Eriko Kirishima: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 73 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Vigor removed!
AS: Eriko Kirishima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
<poem>
'Someone's ... fooled them, or hurt them, or --' Aigis gives Minako a sidelong glance, more than willing to call her bluff, and replies, "How do you know for certain? I do not think it changes what action we should take, regardless."

Minato, on the other hand, relays some information which underscores the urgency of the situation. The servos in her right hand spin up and whir as they wind up. "Understood," she answers to Minato.

Aigis makes no motion to defend herself from the golden light of Mahama. She grits her teeth and winces through the pain of it as she doggedly fights to keep her right arm steadily locked on to the Hierophant Shadow and struggles to hold it in place with her left hand. Undeterred, but not undamaged in the process, a hairline fracture forms in the side of Aigis' torso as she fires back simultaneously, vindictively, defiantly.

After all, neither Heaven nor Hell waits for someone like herself. Only oblivion, should she ever finally fall into a state of disrepair ... but that's the thing. She can always be repaired. It's everyone else that she has to worry about. The transient nature that Maki speaks of, that which makes life so precious -- that doesn't apply to Aigis herself, or so she presently believes.

In-between rounds of gunfire, the woman collapses fully into the form of a Shadow. Aigis pauses briefly to curiously regard her, then dashes at full speed to meet the Hierophant Shadow head-on, call out for "Palladion!", and tilt it forward so that both her hands and her Persona's cannon fire into it point-blank.

</poem>
AS: Aigis spends Limit on Exploit! Aigis can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! Aigis has used the Pierce skill Suppressive Fire on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Aigis takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit!

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.
<poem>
It's affecting them.

It's something that Mitsuru had clocked even before the Navigators and those with more keen resonance glean the truth. Even ''without'' that knowledge, these many people, released into the Dark Hour? ... It was unbelievably dangerous, for the people released, and for the Persona-Users fighting.

Every second they waste risks another turning to Shadow. And what can she expect the people here to do about that? To eliminate what was once an innocent - if manipulated and indoctrinated - human life? ...

If it comes down to it, she will do what she has to in order to protect them all, like she did back then, too. They shouldn't have to bear that burden.

But until that moment comes, she will fight to the end to prevent it.

With everything on the line, with such a horrifically slim margin of error - these are the circumstances in which Mitsuru Kirijo excels. Anger already focusing and sharpening her senses, the bone-chill around her desaturates slightly but does not entirely dissipate as she turns her attention towards the Hierophant -- just in time to see the flashing build up of would-be holy light emanating from its talismans. Her eyes widen - and then narrow to knife-sharp points as she -LUNGES- rightward. Light sears at the fringe of her shoulder, and the blaze of its radiance alone is enough to make her wince. She pushes through, landing in a controlled tumble-slide across the frosted streets until she skids out into a three-point crouch.

Past the veil of her royal red bangs, Mitsuru snaps her stare ''up''.

Just in time to see the influence this Shadow has upon its would-be followers in the most visceral way as that one tumbling cultist lunges towards the back of one of her precious few friends with a hairpin.

"AKIHIKO--!"

Too late. Her words of warning come too late. She can only feel fortunate the hairpin did not find purchase, a fact that does little to assuage the rage in her stare as it affixes on the Hierophant once more--

--only for a blink to flutter at long lashes, as she feels bolstering magic from an unknown and ''unexpected'' source wash over her. Surprise and alarm are writ large for a second on those fair features before it all settles down anew and that dark red gaze casts an impassive, inquisitive stare towards the source: Giselle, and her User. Yanagi. One of the duo who had been so content to sit on the sidelines during the fight with the Priestess.

"..."

That look is a questioning but brief thing: right now, Mitsuru does not have ''time'' to question the actual generosity of a boon anymore than she could look a gift horse in the mouth. Her attention is ''instantly'' back upon the Shadow, as its would-be followers start sowing dazed, dangerous havoc on the battlefield. Her eyes shut tight.

Another cultist falls, subsumed into Shadow. Another failure.

No. Not one more of them. Not ''one more''.

She will protect these cultists. She will protect the people here.

She will protect Akihiko.
she will protect her father
"... Did you not hear me?"

She will protect them all.

"I said: ENOUGH."

Eyes snap open wide. Her evoker trigger is squeezed.

And it's a blinding, cold light that bursts across the battlefield as the entirety of the street is flash-frozen into a great, glimmering field of ice.

Mitsuru is instantly on her feet, sprinting. She builds up exactly the momentum she needs so that when she drops into a controlled slide, she ''glides'' like a shot across the ice field, her saber drawn back.

"Your fate was decided before you were born! Now--"

One slash. Two. She slices the literal legs of the Hierophant's throne, even as Penthesilea snaps her blades forward, causing the icy ground beneath the Shadow's feet to ERUPT into massive pillars of ice. To trap it.

Still working off all that momentum, Mitsuru leaps; onto the first craggy outcropping of ice crystal, and then with another leap, to the very peak of it. She lands seated, prim, perfect.

Gloved fingers pinched.

"--face your EXECUTION."

-=snap=-

And with a single snap of her fingers, Mitsuru falls away as all that ice simply EXPLODES into fragmenting boulders of frost and crystal, intent to violently rupture the Shadow within.

She must end this.

She must end this ''now''.

</poem>
AS: Tandem! Aigis has used the Pierce skill Dual Thrust on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Aigis has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Aigis: Gains 74 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Charm removed!
AS: Aigis regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Aigis's turn has ended.
AS: Tandem! Mitsuru Kirijo has used the Water skill Blizzard Edge on Moon Penguin! 2 Hits!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage from Exhaust!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Mitsuru Kirijo takes 90 damage!
AS: Ruin: Mitsuru Kirijo gains 1 Limit!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Mitsuru Kirijo's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 256 Earth damage from Koh Katsuhiro's Sparagmos. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 236 Elec damage from Akihiko Sanada's Bolts of Judgement.
AS: Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added! Poison removed! Explosion! 109 damage!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 206 Wind damage from Eriko Kirishima's Garula.
AS: Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!
AS: Block Best! Moon Penguin takes 81 Pierce damage from Aigis's Suppressive Fire.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 137 Pierce damage from Aigis's Suppressive Fire.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 132 Pierce damage from Aigis's Dual Thrust.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 182 Pierce damage from Aigis's Dual Thrust. Critical Hit!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 133 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge. Critical Hit!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 104 Water damage from Mitsuru Kirijo's Blizzard Edge.
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi's head lifts slightly and she gives Aigis a wordless sidewise look. It seems fond.

Mitsuru's voice rings out over the space -- they're all engaged, I'm not alone at all. Were people being weirdly quiet, or was I just not hearing them? Was it really messing with me more than I thought? (wonders Hitomi) -- and as Penthesilea sweeps upwards and joins the barrage, a cool wind blows, stirring a lock of hair. "... They're the actual people?"

Her tone's one of dull surprise, perhaps, or at least muted from horror. Shock or something. Maybe it's lingering emotional numbness from swinging around. Her head nonetheless turns as she looks, with concern, towards the people she just kicked over. There isn't time for more than an inward 'oops' even as Akihiko-sempai and -- ah, her from the asylum. Huh?

Hitomi also briefly glimpses a peacock.

Well, I knew I was insane already, she muses inwardly as the dice clatter improbably near to her, scooped up and pocketed with a brief dipping kneel.

Alarm is in Hitomi's voice as she says to Aigis, "We have to move, he'll kill them if he starts blasting!" The thought of what would become of someone in the Dark Hour without the power of Persona flits through her mind's eye, along with a momentary memory of Ikutsuki in the Yakushima meeting room, the night they learned the truth. It's a brief flash of thought: shortly thereafter, three rounds rapid fly into the Shadow, bowling it over.

Hitomi moves a step or so to the side but seems momentarily uncertain. Maybe this is their opening-- but perhaps not quite. The Shadow is getting back up... and it's not just the Shadow. The others seem to be asking. Speaking weary but fatalistic words. Hitomi looks away from the Shadow, towards the dazed -- people. They're not cognitive phantoms or some kind of sub-body. It's people.

"... did the Shadow do this to all of you?" Hitomi says, eyes widening behind the lens of her glasses.

Then light dawns.

It's warm.
Gentle, almost.
Detaching. Soothing. Somewhere, water is running.
You could get off here.

It'd be alright.

No.
I'm not tired of any of it yet.

Oh, it hurts --

-- and it seems that Hitomi's luck has held up, because while she reels she does not fall over, either stunned or deliquescing horribly like that poor one woman is doing. Or did. Through the chaos as Hitomi reels from the sheer incinerating paradoxically-pure light, she can hear other people. Cries of battle, but also Minato's steady deadpan: Five minutes. Her ears are ringing, but at that, Hitomi lifts her head without straightening up.

She looks straight at the Shadow.

"Disgusting," Hitomi says, and she rises up the rest of the way while swinging her right arm around, bringing it up short to where the luminous blue card can be glimpsed *just* flying out of her sleeve as her head tilts up. Hitomi tilts her head up a great deal; wherever it came from, it seems to just be a minor tic, most of the time. (Is her family even taller than her??)

This time she is not giving a fond glance from the side. It is perhaps not enough of an angle to properly look down one's nose, but she is giving it the level try. As the jeweled light of Amphion shines up around her, her eyes remain fixed on her target. The card is flipped upwards. Tyche forms above her, and this time their poses don't exactly match. Where Hitomi is raising her hand up with a dramatic flourish, Tyche has only raised her right hand enough to turn the palm just-so outwards, as if to dismiss what is before her.

The lights of other hearts flicker on the blank stone eyes of Tyche for an instant, and then the bombardment begins. Whistling, screaming, the burning rockets fly downwards. Each of them bursts in a shower of shimmering golden sparks, impossibly bright and metallic, a steady walking bombardment with teakettle shrieks aimed from the Shadow's lower half up with a single grand finale towards the upper body, which bursts emerald green.

Hitomi's remorseless expression fades as she sees (as it were) Akihiko wind up for a great blow. Then, with another ominous-but-not-for-them chill, Mitsuru surges inwards. Hitomi calls out, "SenPAAAI~, execute the shit out of this fake priest!" Her hand comes down, swinging in an arc that abruptly tightens when Aigis surges forwards. Which means Hitomi - who, despite her earlier comments, *has remained in the exact same place* - is now standing alone surrounded by several of these unfortunates, who may unfortunate be, yes, but one of them firmly grasps at Hitomi's leggings, nails tearing at the reinforced fabric.

"kuh!" And with that *she* runs closer as well. "... hope the spell breaks-" It is a spell, right? (She hopes it's a spell.)

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Explosion of Fortune on Moon Penguin! 3 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hitomi Mandai takes 90 damage!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Loses 74 HP from Poison! Gains 72 HP from Regen! Charm removed!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 69 Light damage from Moon Penguin's Mahama. Critical Hit!
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Another night, Umie was laughing and soaring through the night as she attacked a Gourd King, not every night can be like that, can it? For every high, there must be a low.

Light sears through her, snapping painfully and making her understand just what kind of creature she is, and for every upside of being one with shadows, one can't make light of the downsides.

It could have been a lot worse, but her own venom... she'll have to deal with that, as Maki and Eriko are understandably confused. "I meant--" Wait. Umie palms her face. "It happened before that," she clarifies, discreetly communicating about the SEBEC Incident. "It's... yeah, I was just being needlessly petty. There's nothing any of you are at fault for-- if I was being honest, I could've been the one helping you, at that time." She just wanted something sharp to attack someone, anyone, with. Only, she's attacking with words, trying to find purchase wherever she can like a frightened, cornered cat.

Did it matter that it didn't even make sense?

... Just like how one of the cultists attack Masao, just now. "Watch out!" Umie stammers, but Masao is quicker.

'Nobody can truly change...'
'The end is coming anyway...'

It makes Umie angry all over again, for an entirely different reason.
.....
..... Ah, that *may* be a tactic. If understanding can't work, might as well aim for the gut, right?

"Did any of you actually listen to them?" Umie yells now, at the remaining cultists. "Or are you all so wrapped up in yourselves that you can't see straight?"

She points a finger out, the coin-fringed cape of the Badb manifesting behind her in a spiritual wind.

"I'll crush your sleep. I'll scream and ruin that peace of yours. I'll make you stay awake, so you'll listen to the people trying to save you!!"

Badb shrieks again, with red-tinged lips stretched wide.

"We'll all take your salvation right from you." The words don't bear the heavy iciness of Mitsuru's, but the threat remains the same, as Badb issues out a blast of dark.
</poem>

AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Lithomancy.
AS: Prophecy (Healing in 2 rounds!) added!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Soul Break on Moon Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane takes 90 damage from Pain!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Moon Penguin!
AS: Umie Akabane has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 75 HP from Regen! Brace removed!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 117 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune.
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 117 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune.
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Moon Penguin takes 143 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune. Critical Hit!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break.
AS: Exhaust (Damage when using Weapon/Tandem!) added! Rage removed! Explosion! 110 damage!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Moon Penguin takes 121 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Resist!
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Something gnawed at Hyousuke's mind. A sickly, overpowering, thought that mocked him from the darkness, speaking of the peace of death and how much simpler it would be to just *stop.* How much rest had been earnt, how easy it would have been to simply lay down and allow the cold and the dark to spill over one's being, how little the fight mattered no matter what Minako or Ririka told him to do. He could not tell whether it was the Shadow's doing, or something deeper, darker, and more personal. It mattered little. He had a job to do, and the darkness could be held at bay with the fires of his fury.

"On it!" He called out to those that relied upon him, and he turned his attention back to the Hierophant... as well as his hatred. He straightened himself, heedless of the pain that left his muscles screaming for relief and his head wracked by splitting pain. He clenched his teeth against the haze, and with whatever strength he had left, he summoned the mighty general to cast down those that would send the hordes of civilians against them.
"No more..." He snarled, like some bare-toothed animal in the closing moments of a hunt. "NO MORE! You don't get to hurt any more of these people! PERSONA!"

Something surged from the darkness. Something wreathed in tattered bronze, heaving its spear forward with such force as to send a ripple through the air when it made contact, and an ear-splitting shriek of colliding metal.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Pelian Spear Strike on Moon Penguin!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 90 damage!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Gains 68 HP from Regen!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Moon Penguin takes 205 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Pelian Spear Strike.
AS: Moon Penguin is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Moon Penguin has posed.
<poem>
How many ways can one kill a Shadow?

With nuclear flame, tripled from Linos, twinned with Orpheus' great expression of emotion, the flames detonate, mushrooming into the sky. While a jealous Pernelle, not one to LET THIS SLIGHT GO- also tries Nuclear Fire. Nine Freilas! Such beauty, such grace, such atomic fire in your face. By detonation from Hitomi's die- perhaps fortune itself, a bombardment of rockets building up the terrible explosion.

By axe and by spear- impaling and cutting as Masao and Ogun act in tandem. As gravity itself presses down upon it, its fishnet covered throne legs buckling under the weight. A spear joined by yet another spear from the raging youth that is Hyousuke By fist and by storm, a Tornado erupting from Suzume's fist causing a great wind to billow in the sky, fortunately only knocking a few people in the crowd over thanks to her aim.

Perhaps if it had to perish twice, it might prefer ice. But this time, this first time? It doesn't like it at all, as Mitsuru consigns it to its execution, a craggy icy tomb. A finger snap, a roiling shock to its entire integrity.

Right as rounds of heavy ordnance from Palladion's cannons try to shatter it apart completely, and Zagreus tries to make certain it dies, lunging madly, one arm ripping and tearing. If it had blood, Zagreus would be covered in it right now.

Lightning descends from Polydeuces, one bolt after another. Nike sends great gusts of wind to try and send it not to Heaven, but to Hell.

Through the darkness itself, shrieking its curses from Badb's call.

The Hierophant Shadow feels like it must be on its last legs. It must be. Its entire form is sagging, like the masculine figure seated upon the feminine throne might fall off if they weren't grafted together.

And then, the Shikigami figures guarding the Shadow divide into two more Shikigami in an odd mitosis, the distinctions washing away. They encircle the figure, twirling, dancing.

And in the distance a bell rings, interrupting its death knell. Chiming like a Priestess wielding a Kagura Suzu, but there's something wrong with it.

The Shikigami all take positions, their parodies of limbs joining together as they all bend strangely where their waists might be in one grand bow.

"I invoke the power of the Kimon Tonkou. Wander endlessly in your banishment from this realm, Shadow of the Arcana."

A feminine voice splits the night, from a figure in a stylish black dress and a veil that simply melts out of the shadows of Aoba Park.

Bringing forth a Paper Talisman, it catches fire in front of them as a gate of gray light opens beneath the Hierophant. Mist pours out from this portal to another realm.

The Hierophant Shadow lets out a burble of protest as it panics, trying to smash against one of the Shikigami, but the blow is deflected. It begins to become translucent. Then it vanishes entirely, the Shikigami do the same soon after.

Then it is gone. The navigators cannot even feel the smallest hint of its presence. Only the lingering absence.

Replaced by something far- different. Far worse.

The click of the footsteps of a man's well polished shoes sounds louder than that of the people beginning to collapse, hitting the ground like dominos, insensate, eyes rolled back, the ichor... gone, completely.

That man is wearing an off-black business suit with an even darker dress shirt, sporting a pair of sunglasses with jagged lines of black trailing down his face from each lens.

The Navigators may speculate if he's a man at all, if he's not the some god or devil incarnate here to make a deal for their souls. He certainly looks the part. Maki Sonomura, Eriko Kirishima and Masao Inaba, all ''know'' he isn't a man, not really anymore.

He doesn't have to step over the bodies. The path he takes is a straight line, and not a single one bars his way. The man stops a short distance from the battleworn figures and speaks with a hint of sardonic irony. "The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed. It is said that to know the forces that guide one's self is a precious gift."

His smile is just a little too wide as the veiled woman walks to stand just behind him.

"It is past time you children learn what a curse it can be."

TO BE CONTINUED

</poem>
AS: Moon Penguin has readied for combat as Nyarlathotep! They are now fully healed!
AS: Atk_Up added to your status!
AS: Moon Penguin has readied for combat as Nyarlathotep! They are now fully healed! Ready for 12 opponents!
AS: Atk_Up added to your status!

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-04-10: The Time of Joka

2026-04-10T22:55:39Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: The Time of Joka''' *'''Cast:''' Chizuru Ishigami *'''Where:''' Sumaru TV *'''OOC Date:''' April 10th, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Want Long Chizuru makes a grave pronouncement as to who is truly responsible for the Joker Killings... and offers a warning about what comes after." ---- Everyone who's anyone in Sumaru City knows that when Wang Long Chizuru speaks, you need to sit up and listen. Her predictions are a..."

*'''Cutscene: The Time of Joka'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Chizuru Ishigami]]
*'''Where:''' Sumaru TV
*'''OOC Date:''' April 10th, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Want Long Chizuru makes a grave pronouncement as to who is truly responsible for the Joker Killings... and offers a warning about what comes after."
----

Everyone who's anyone in Sumaru City knows that when Wang Long Chizuru speaks, you need to sit up and listen. Her predictions are after all, always correct. That's why this morning's episode of 'Sumaru Today' is inevitably tuned into by almost everyone in the city.

But it's also because she has stated that today she will reveal the true identity of the 'Joker'.

A host in a suit smiles at her, "Ishigami-san. The police put out a statement that the suspect's body was unidentifiable, yet you told our producers that you have come today to unveil the true identity of the 'Joker'."

Across from him sits a raven haired woman with Magatama earrings, smartly dressed in a stylish black pantsuit, "That's correct. Though it seems that you are under a misapprehension of what the 'Joker' actually is."

The TV host, looking puzzled, asks her, "... So then... Who exactly is the Joker?" And she begins to patiently explain, like an expert imparting wisdom on her specialty, "In Wang Long, the Joker is in fact 'Joka'. A term that denotes a human possessed by Kegare, a negative energy that accumulates when one commits grave sins. It is also a dragon that is steeped in this negative energy. So to answer your question..."

She pauses, as if considering the phrasing.

"The 'Joker' is a great many people. These crimes cannot be attributed to any one person." The TV host appears even more flabbergasted at her revelation, "But... are you suggesting that the serial killings have been carried out by a great many people?"

"I am." She responds gravely, "This entire world was made to punish humans for their sinful pasts within the endless samsara. Those that called out to the 'Joka' inevitably draw its gaze, accumulating Kegare as they perpetuate the gravest of crimes. Kegare calls forth more Kegare- so as people commit crime, this dyes the souls of more people black with corruption. While the Guardian Dragons protect people by reabsorbing Kegare, they will tolerate the depravity of mankind for only so long, before they will become enraged - and their wrath will threaten to consume this entire sinful world."

She stands up now, and walks closer towards the camera.

"Good people of Sumaru! Do not be overpowered by jealousy and hatred, and above all do not call upon 'Joka' by using the Joker Curse! If you ignore my warning, you will be possessed by Joka, and thus become a Joker yourself...!"

Following this dire pronouncement, the host clears his throat, then states, "Well you heard it here first. The Joker is not any one person. One should listen to Ishigami-san if they wish to avoid this terrible outcome-"

In the back, there's a sudden shout- "Call the police! Fumihiro-san has gone crazy!" The host looks around as if aggravated by the interruption, and begins to stand up before the camera feed cuts into a test pattern at the sound of a piercing scream...

... and a final look at Wang Long Chizuru's face, with an ominous look of warning, cut by jagged lines of static.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

Active Rumors

2026-04-10T22:49:22Z

Eri:

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*[[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] - If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

*The Joker Curse - Those that perform the Joker Killer Rumor will become Jokers themselves...

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

2026-03-29: Episode 2 Prologue: The Divine Comedy

2026-03-29T13:09:13Z

Eri:

*'''Cutscene: Episode 2 Prologue: The Divine Comedy'''
*'''Cast:''' Hisataka Shinjo, with guest comedians Caroline and Justine
*'''Where:''' Futaba's Palace
*'''OOC Date:''' March 29,2026
*'''IC Date:''' Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Hisataka Shinjo decides to pay a so-called Palace a visit, given his recent dealings with Masayoshi Shinjo. Certain individuals who rule over power take offense to this..."
----
A speck, in a vast wasteland of sand, heading towards an antique pyramid.

Look closer. No closer than even that.

Do you see now, how he is bigger than that pyramid?
Do you see now, how he is larger than the entire world?

Look behind him, and you'll see no footprints in the sand. Patiently he walks anyway, no bead of sweat gracing his forehead, as he finally stands in the shadow of the great pyramid.

A smirk graces his lips, as he chuckles, "How shameless. You truly couldn't do anything but help yourselves, could you?"

If he were still a mortal he might feel outrage over this. Or perhaps the crushing despair of knowing that what took mortal hands years to create, another being can do with but a thought.

Instead, he felt only mild mirth, before the ambivalence set in. This was merely a task. He was a supernatural errand boy. Adjusting his sunglasses, he looked beyond the realm, into its metaphysical underpinnings. He smiles thinly, "Child of psience, hermit of sorrow... from whence does such wrath bloom?"

He clucks his tongue, before he extends a hand, and within the Palace, three doors shudder, and shake, as yellow police tape begins to buckle, then shear off. The doors burst open, and three streaks of blue, green and red spill out of the pyramid, arcing in trails of light towards the figure in the sands.

Three skull-like seeds fall into his hands, each still aglow and before he took so much as a glance. There was the sound...

... of a chainsaw motor revving.

And a young girl heatedly and loudly addressing it over that sound. "Hey! You! Thief! We caught you red-handed!" The garb of a prison guard upon someone of small stature, while brandishing an enormous chainsaw as large as the person wielding it may look ridiculous to the untrained eye, however...

The other was merely shaking her head, in similar garb, but brandishing a clipboard, as she spoke in a voice that barely could be heard over the motor. "How brazen..."

"This is a clear violation of the pact you've made with our Master!"

"We are to give you one chance to put back what you've taken and leave."

The revived god turned around to regard the pair. "...I was wondering when the one winged butterflies would show. I have taken nothing but what is allowed to all who explore this 'Palace' your master presides over."

"You are not supposed to be in this realm at all!" Caroline shouted back at him.

"And yet, it was not the power of the Crawling Chaos which I used to acquire them. See for yourself. The realm has been in no way touched by 'Him'."

"You think you can mouth off to us on a /technicality/? That's it! I'm teaching you a lesson you'll not soon forget!"

A shadow fell over the man's face, deeper than the pyramid itself, "What lesson do you think it is that you can teach me?" He asked with both mirth and menace in equal measure.

"You-! Just for that! YOUR HEAD IS GOING TO ROLL!" Justine, who had been more silent, speculative, eventually proclaims. "Caroline... he's right. His pact with the master was only that 'he' will not touch these realms."

"But- that's just! It's not in the spirit of things." Caroline protested, as Justine sighed, and shook her head from side to side, "If we held him to account now, it would be our side breaking the agreement and bringing shame to our Master."

"EuuuoOOOHHHHH THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!" Caroline shouted, stomping her foot so as to kick up a cloud of sand, as she turned off the chainsaw in annoyance.

"I'll be taking my leave of this realm now. I've had quite enough of this 'Oxymoron' of a comedy show."

As Shinjo vanished from the world in a shadowy haze, Caroline was already revving her Chainsaw again, "COME BACK AND SAY THAT AGAIN!" As Justine pointed out, "Why are you so upset? He's merely reading it off our hats..." Turning off her Chainsaw again in disgust, she protests, "Well because that's our thing! He's not allowed to just /say/ it."

A moment later though, Caroline follows up with, "Hey Justine, what's a comedy show anyway?"

Justine looks stumped, despite her placid mannerisms, before replying, "I'm not quite certain... perhaps we should ask the inmate the next time he visits."

"We can't just ASK him. We're supposed to be guiding him. We'll have him uh, take us to one I guess!"
"That would be a pleasing way to find out what one is, certainly."

A blue-hued door of bars appeared, and as if the two were simply walking back to work, the pair opened it and entered, leaving the sun-baked wasteland to its own devices.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-03-29: Episode 2 Prologue: The Divine Comedy

2026-03-29T13:03:41Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: Episode 2 Prologue: The Divine Comedy''' *'''Cast:''' Hisataka Shinjo, with guest comedians Caroline and Justine *'''Where:''' Futaba's Palace *'''OOC Date:''' March 29,2026 *'''IC Date:''' Wednesday, October 17th, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Hisataka Shinjo decides to pay a so-called Palace a visit, given his recent dealings with Masayoshi Shinjo. Certain individuals who rule over power take offense to this..." ---- A speck, in a vast wasteland of sand, headin..."

*'''Cutscene: Episode 2 Prologue: The Divine Comedy'''
*'''Cast:''' Hisataka Shinjo, with guest comedians Caroline and Justine
*'''Where:''' Futaba's Palace
*'''OOC Date:''' March 29,2026
*'''IC Date:''' Wednesday, October 17th, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Hisataka Shinjo decides to pay a so-called Palace a visit, given his recent dealings with Masayoshi Shinjo. Certain individuals who rule over power take offense to this..."
----
A speck, in a vast wasteland of sand, heading towards an antique pyramid.

Look closer. No closer than even that.

Do you see now, how he is bigger than that pyramid?
Do you see now, how he is larger than the entire world?

Look behind him, and you'll see no footprints in the sand. Patiently he walks anyway, no bead of sweat gracing his forehead, as he finally stands in the shadow of the great pyramid.

A smirk graces his lips, as he chuckles, "How shameless. You truly couldn't do anything but help yourselves, could you?"

If he were still a mortal he might feel outrage over this. Or perhaps the crushing despair of knowing that what took mortal hands years to create, another being can do with but a thought.

Instead, he felt only mild mirth, before the ambivalence set in. This was merely a task. He was a supernatural errand boy. Adjusting his sunglasses, he looked beyond the realm, into its metaphysical underpinnings. He smiles thinly, "Child of psience, hermit of sorrow... from whence does such wrath bloom?"

He clucks his tongue, before he extends a hand, and within the Palace, three doors shudder, and shake, as yellow police tape begins to buckle, then shear off. The doors burst open, and three streaks of blue, green and red spill out of the pyramid, arcing in trails of light towards the figure in the sands.

Three skull-like seeds fall into his hands, each still aglow and before he took so much as a glance. There was the sound...

[ansi(+dodgerblue2,... of a chainsaw motor revving.)]

And a young girl heatedly and loudly addressing it over that sound. "Hey! You! Thief! We caught you red-handed!" The garb of a prison guard upon someone of small stature, while brandishing an enormous chainsaw as large as the person wielding it may look ridiculous to the untrained eye, however...

The other was merely shaking her head, in similar garb, but brandishing a clipboard, as she spoke in a voice that barely could be heard over the motor. "How brazen..."

"This is a clear violation of the pact you've made with our Master!"

"We are to give you one chance to put back what you've taken and leave."

The revived god turned around to regard the pair. "...I was wondering when the one winged butterflies would show. I have taken nothing but what is allowed to all who explore this 'Palace' your master presides over."

"You are not supposed to be in this realm at all!" Caroline shouted back at him.

"And yet, it was not the power of the Crawling Chaos which I used to acquire them. See for yourself. The realm has been in no way touched by 'Him'."

"You think you can mouth off to us on a /technicality/? That's it! I'm teaching you a lesson you'll not soon forget!"

A shadow fell over the man's face, deeper than the pyramid itself, "What lesson do you think it is that you can teach me?" He asked with both mirth and menace in equal measure.

"You-! Just for that! YOUR HEAD IS GOING TO ROLL!" Justine, who had been more silent, speculative, eventually proclaims. "Caroline... he's right. His pact with the master was only that 'he' will not touch these realms."

"But- that's just! It's not in the spirit of things." Caroline protested, as Justine sighed, and shook her head from side to side, "If we held him to account now, it would be our side breaking the agreement and bringing shame to our Master."

"EuuuoOOOHHHHH THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!" Caroline shouted, stomping her foot so as to kick up a cloud of sand, as she turned off the chainsaw in annoyance.

"I'll be taking my leave of this realm now. I've had quite enough of this 'Oxymoron' of a comedy show."

As Shinjo vanished from the world in a shadowy haze, Caroline was already revving her Chainsaw again, "COME BACK AND SAY THAT AGAIN!" As Justine pointed out, "Why are you so upset? He's merely reading it off our hats..." Turning off her Chainsaw again in disgust, she protests, "Well because that's our thing! He's not allowed to just /say/ it."

A moment later though, Caroline follows up with, "Hey Justine, what's a comedy show anyway?"

Justine looks stumped, despite her placid mannerisms, before replying, "I'm not quite certain... perhaps we should ask the inmate the next time he visits."

"We can't just ASK him. We're supposed to be guiding him. We'll have him uh, take us to one I guess!"
"That would be a pleasing way to find out what one is, certainly."

A blue-hued door of bars appeared, and as if the two were simply walking back to work, the pair opened it and entered, leaving the sun-baked wasteland to its own devices.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 2]]

2026-03-27: You Can(not) Escape Destiny

2026-03-27T20:17:40Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: You Can(not) Escape Destiny''' *'''Cast:''' Maya Amano, Tatsuya Sudou, Jun Kashihara, Ayame Watanabe, Katsuya Suou, Eikichi Mishina, Ulala Serizawa, Tatsuya Suou *'''Where:''' Konan Ward, Aerospace Museum Roof *'''OOC Date:''' March 27, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' October 16, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Over and over again... on the Rooftop of the Aerospace Museum, Deja Vu becomes more than just a feeling.'' ---- A sickening wrongness, fla..."

*'''Log: You Can(not) Escape Destiny'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Maya Amano]], [[Tatsuya Sudou]], [[Jun Kashihara]], [[Ayame Watanabe]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Eikichi Mishina]], [[Ulala Serizawa]], [[Tatsuya Suou]]
*'''Where:''' Konan Ward, Aerospace Museum Roof
*'''OOC Date:''' March 27, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' October 16, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Over and over again... on the Rooftop of the Aerospace Museum, Deja Vu becomes more than just a feeling.''

----

A sickening wrongness, flashes of light, palpitating like a heartbeat, sound and fury. The rooftop door opens, and the stage unveils itself. The rooftop is a wide space made of white square tile, caged in by a fence and coin operated binoculars, shrubbery and tables arranged in order to call people into the enormous authentic Zeppelin that's affixed to the building.

A model that's been converted into an upscale restaurant. No one would seriously think it could fly, that would be absurd.

Near the coin-operated binoculars are a number of elementary school children, cowering and huddled, out of the way, but not out of danger, as smoke curls up each side of the building from ruptured windows. A few Persona-users stay back to protect them, but they aren't in a position to stop what comes next.

Despite the view above, eyes cannot fail to be drawn to the Old Maid, with flowing mane like unkempt lion, holding a blade to Jun Kashihara's throat.

Only a few paces from him is another in motorcycle leathers of red and black, and sweat-drenched expression, his own blade held at his side, tense but lowered, understanding the life at threat in front of him.

Tatsuya Suou.

"Let go of Jun." He demands, "He won't remember. And there's nothing you can do to make him remember. He has nothing to do with your plans any longer."

"It's over, Sudou." The Death Boss glares at the Joker killer, wanting to blow a hole through him with his 'guitar case' but the hostage gives Eikichi pause.

"Tch, goes to show what kind of man you are! Taking Kashihara hostage instead of fighting us!" Eikichi growls, holding the strap on his weapon as he keeps his eyes locked on Sudou.

"Let the boy go, Sudou!" calls out Katsuya, positioned near one of the groups of school children. He has his gun drawn, but he keeps it directed at the ground; with the current situation, it's a shot he doesn't dare take.

The Old Maid keeps the blade near Jun's neck, positioning himself to use the poor lad as a human shield. Jun's beautiful features are twisted in a grimace; Sudou had caught him off guard when he'd arrived on the roof with the children, and Jun had pushed the kids away rather than let them get harmed. A glance is given to the other hostages before he looks at his good ole buddy, Tatsuya.

"You say he won't remember, he says he won't remember, I say he won't remember, but you know the voice. The voice says otherwise. The voice even made promises if I can just get things back on track. Oh the promise to be king again." Sudou throws his head back and laughs.

Suou's eyes narrow in response, his entire body tensing, as if he were readying himself to act.

"My friend even sent a flower." Tatsuya Sudou holds his hand out and from nowhere produces a sprig of bushy lavender blossoms. "He promises to help you prune your garden if you just be his friend."

Teeth gritted, Jun nonetheless instinctively peeks down at it. "A thoroughwort... 'Remember that day'... You won't stop until you get your way, will you, Sudou-san? How like a Leo..."

Sudou grins before looking at Tatsuya, "It will be just like old times. Jun guiding us, and Tatsuya failing, though if you ask nicely maybe you can join this time." Sudou laughs again at his own joke.

"I don't think any friend of yours is worth having," Ayame Watanabe says as she steps up. Her daughter is with the other elementary schoolers now--she, in slightly singed blue dress, holds out a darkly glowing sword point-first. "And we don't want your 'old times'!"

"Kashihara-kun, look out! PERSONA!" The housewife's Persona emerges, her hooded cloak concealing her, her great shears gleaming amidst blue flames. Her sharp, golden eyes flash--and gravity /slams/ down against that sword, dragging it down from Jun's neck towards Sudou himself, before the purple-gray Force slams against Sudou himself to knock him free. In that instant, Jun, thanks to her warning, ducks down and scrambles a short but healthy distance away from that deadly blade.

"No more!" Ayame calls.

As Jun gets knocked free by Ayame's spell, there's relief in Suou's posture at the sudden lack of a hostage, "Stop this…!" His stance shifts, like he's readying himself to charge.

Sudou has had enough of this, enough with words, the time for action was at hand, or at foot in this moment. A cackle is given as Sudou looks at the flames. "Enjoy your express trip to hell." Slamming his foot on the ground, a crack forms. Slowly the crack spreads before the inevitable moment when a chunk of the roof disappears, obviously trying to drop the entire group of rabble rousers down into the fiery depths below.

Suou was so focused on Jun, that he doesn't remember this part, at least, until it's too late. "JUMP!" He warns the others, but he is square in the center of the predestined hole, and when it gives way, he begins to fall and with a sudden lurch, only makes it to the edge, dangling with a single hand. Even now, in this situation, his other hand does not let go of his sword.

"Tatsuya! Amano-kun!" Katsuya shouts, his stance betraying the way he just about lunges forward before checking himself. He can't forget the children behind him, but--

Maya jumps back just in time to narrowly avoid the gaping hole on the rooftop. Tatsuya, however, isn't quite as lucky. Maya drops to her knees and snatches Tatsuya's arm by the wrist. Her second hand snaps into place just beneath the first.

"Hang on!" she shouts, clutching his arm with all of her strength. If déjà-vu boy falls here, there's no guarantee he'll survive the drop.

"Amano--!" Katsuya calls out and in this her name might well be a prayer. Don't let her lose her grip, but... with Sudou so close, is this the right place for her to be?

"Tatsuya! Amano-san!" Jun shouts in alarm--but Sudou is still in between him and the others.

Suou looks up at Maya with an intense frustration written on his features, "Idiot! Let go!" And it may not be obvious why he says that at first, until he adds, "He's after YOU!"

Eikichi jumps backwards from the sudden crack in the roof, falling backwards right on his ass. The future rock star growls as he moves to stand back up, moving to try to hold on to Maya holding Tatsuya.

"Tch...The only guy who is going to die here is the freakin' Joker," Eikichi says, mostly to himself, straining to keep Maya from going over with Tatsuya.

"He's right, Ma-ya!" calls Ulala, ducking back away, ranged out of combat. "Be careful!"

Sudou grins as he looks at Maya then Tatsuya, "You're the type that gives away the movie too aren't you." Stepping towards the duo as the Old Maid grips his sword, "With this we are one more step closer to the other side." Raising his sword he grins, "Unfortunately you will not see it Ma-ya. Time to die, again…."

"NOOO!!" In a panic, Jun launches himself at him. Instinctively, Argeiphontes materializes at his back, mirroring his outstretched arms as he strikes Sudou with that sprig of lilac in a desperate shove--right into the hole dropping directly down into a hellish inferno.

Sudou's focus is on Maya, and surely deep down the real Joker would never attack his faithful follower. Of course this denial is what causes Sudou to be slow to process what is happening, Jun strikes out at him, his footing slips, Maya and Tatsuya seem to be moving upward at a rate approaching 9.8 m/s/s. Is he falling? Did Jun push him? All he can do is look at Jun as he falls into his own personally made hell, "Why?"

Jun watches him fall with his own look of horror, hands trembling. It seems unthinkable that even the Old Maid could survive that conflagration. "I-I pushed him in... I /killed/ him... I..."

Tatsuya is hauled up off of the edge by Maya and Eikichi, and he glances at them both briefly, before looking down at the pit. Moving over towards Jun, he says the only thing he can, to his distress.

"Don't worry. Whatever you're thinking right now... It's not your fault."

Jun looks up at him with plaintive eyes and takes a half-step towards him too, as if wanting to ask for the reassurance of his arms but knowing he cannot. "Tatsuya..."

Nonetheless, Tatsuya reaches out a hand, then hesitates, and lets it fall back to his side. Because, he knows whose fault it truly is.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2026-03-11: The Freedom of Choice

2026-03-12T02:56:33Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Log: The Freedom of Choice''' *'''Cast:''' Tatsuya Sudou, Tatsuzou Sudou (As played by Penguin Sniper) and a Special Guest *'''Where:''' The Nichirinmaru, Sumaru City *'''OOC Date:''' March 11, 2026 *'''IC Date:''' October 08, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Tatsuya Sudou decides to have a long-awaited talk with his Father...'' ---- <Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed. <poem> The diet is going back into legislative session soon, which means tonight is the night fo..."

*'''Log: The Freedom of Choice'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Tatsuya Sudou]], Tatsuzou Sudou (As played by Penguin Sniper) and a Special Guest
*'''Where:''' The Nichirinmaru, Sumaru City
*'''OOC Date:''' March 11, 2026
*'''IC Date:''' October 08, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Tatsuya Sudou decides to have a long-awaited talk with his Father...''

----

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
The diet is going back into legislative session soon, which means tonight is the night for the Silver Lion, Tatsuzou Sudou, to leave the Nichirinmaru - their ocean liner base to head back to Tokyo.

The Shrine Hall where Gozen rests is sealed by two men in the garb of a Shrine Priest, as an honor guard of Tenchu soldier elites in berets and blue uniforms that call to mind the Imperial Army flank him. Others stand at attention and salute him.

Tap.
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They will be doing so for a long time. Tatsuzou Sudou is the picture of a frail old man that needs a cane, walking deliberately. Most whisper that he's never fallen in front of them. Some of the bolder soldiers wonder if perhaps today will be the day they see it.

Tap.
Tap.
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There are four men with assault rifles surrounding him, at the ready to engage any threat at a moment's notice. Another two are standing at attention, hands away from their guns.

Even if they're not Persona Users, this is an incredible gamble to go after one of the leaders of the New World Order, even for one with powers like Sudou's.

However, this is the only time he'll be wide open for ages. In Tokyo, the powers of Rumors will avail him very little. No, it has to be here, in Sumaru City's bay, and it has to be tonight as he makes his way to the Nichirinmaru's Heliport.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Tatsuya Sudou, the cub of the Silver Lion, had been planning this meeting for ages. Which is to say he talked it up, constantly out talked the hype and only now was realizing he only had step 1 of the plan solved. Show up. Now he would have to do the rest of the planning on the fly.

A few important things are noticed, the first is that old pops is keeping his mummy all sealed away. Terribly rude to seal away ones mummy. The second thing is that the grumpy emo brat wearing all black who liked to shoot him was no where that Sudou could see. Nor were any of the others who were sent to kill him recently. Seems they didn't listen, shame on them.

The only other thing he had planned was to put the dock and the area of the bay into a supernatural pocket so he could operate at full power. As the tapping of his father's cane begins an echo appears on the third set.

Tap

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From the other end is Tatsuya Sudou himself, using the recent Claymore he acquired as the cane walking towards the group. He does not have four assault men only a pair of hell hounds, how Sudou got the hell hounds to help him out again is anyones guess.

Sudou stares forwards, "Hello, father. Did you miss me?"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Tatsuya Sudou's cane stops for only a single moment, as a second tapping introduces a note of disharmony, and then begins anew. The moment he appears with the Hellhounds, is the same moment that all four of the men suddenly take a formation, with said rifles at the ready.

"Protect the Silver Lion!"
"He's got Demons. I'm calling for backup."

Tatsuya Sudou asks his Father a question. And his Father continues to walk, even as the two other saluting men join up.

"This is your only warning! Put down the ordnance slowly and get those hands where I can see them!"

"You would have to be my son, to have the right to call me Father." Tatsuzou Sudou remarks, as he continues walking away at the same pace, completely unhurried, "And you are no son of mine, merely a curse who happens to share my blood."

Tap.
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Tap.

"Tenchu... Once you're finished with him, send in our rawest recruits to have this deck mopped."

The implicit order there. 'Kill him.' All of them begin to open fire, as muzzle flashes begin to obscure vision, like strobing lights flickering, the echo of gunfire ringing against the bulkheads.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
"Oooh dad~" Sudou chimes, " there's the cold shoulder that mom fell for. " Stepping forward as the hellshounds growl, and Sudou smiles, "Oh is it curses you want to speak about? Then let me show you mine." The Joker Persona rises forth from Sudou's shadow and gives a bow. When it rises up the Joker persona has a flourish of knives in each of it's hands ready to go when things start to fly. Sudou however just keeps walking forward, "What do you think of my curse. My friends say it is the next big thing."

Shadow stepping behind his father he looks at the boat that they disembarked from and whistles, "That thing sure is nice. It must cost like four times the amount it costs to cover up an ex son's crimes or is five times? Sorry pops I lost my sense for guessing the value of things." Sudou stares at it for a moment longer, "You know, I know a girl with buns of steel that would probably want to kill me a little less if I blew that thing up. Still if I wanted to be a hero I would have worn a cape, and a top hat."

Hefting up the Claymore on to his shoulder Sudou turns to the one that spoke to him, "You want me to put down my ordnance huh? Well ok. " Sudou smiles and gives the giant claymore a fancy spin and then stabs it into the ground as fire erupts from under neath the one that told him to put things down.

This of course starts a chain reaction, the hellhounds attack, the Joker persona attacks, and Sudou with the claymore being lifted up he walks towards his father.

"Come on, dad. Lets really open up, and put our heart out there for each other." Raising the sword he adds, "Let me help you find it!" The sword comes down to cleave his father in half.

</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Tap.
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Even the invocation of Tatsuzou's wife doesn't cause him to slow down. Nor does he turn to watch as the Joker Persona appears. They do fire at the Hellhounds, and the Persona. The Joker Persona is pock marked, with shards flying off. The Hellhounds are unscathed.

The younger teleports behind him.

Tap.
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An explosion from the Claymore finishes off the other soldiers as only one has the wherewithal to scream before even that is smothered. The Elder does not slow down, nor even look.

The Hellhounds though are currently wrestling a strange creature that just appear, more cloak and mask than anything. The first Hellhound becomes a desiccated husk at the hands of it when it is blue, while the other has all of his skin ripped cleanly off when it shifts to be red in hue.

Whatever these creatures are though, they seem to ignore either the Elder, and the younger Sudou.

Tap.
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The younger raises his blade, as if to cleave him in half. He has all the strength in the world to do so. This is a frail old man, his back is turned.

Unfortunately, that blade never reaches him. There's a glint from the cane in his hand, and Sudou finds himself slashed from his waist almost cleanly up to his neck with a speed that doesn't suit a 'frail old man'. The cut is more than just 'shallow' but not deep enough to be fatal on his own. The straight down cleaving blow missed the old man completely. The Father looks into the eyes of his son for the first time.

He is not some frail old man. It is a gambit for all to underestimate him. Even his own son. He stands straighter, stronger. The blade has only narrowly missed him.

"Are you quite finished? This is the tantrum of a sniveling brat. You are my blood, so I took responsibility for your indulgences. But I will never acknowledge the sickness of spirit within you. Do you think a twisted creature of childish impulse like yourself could ever be a threat to a man like me?"

He is wide open now. And Sudou knows the threat, certainly. His father is strong for a person, deceptively quick, but he's shown no sign of wielding the powers of the Persona. That deception is no longer going to save the Elder Sudou, should the Younger attack him again.

"Are you going to cry again, as I discipline you for the last time?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Sudou charges in and swings for the fences, and whiffs. The sheer insanity that he missed is what delays his understanding of being cut. In fact it is not till he raises his hand to touch the wetness under the neck before he notices the blood and then looks down. The persona rushes to it's user and then points and laughs at Sudou for getting cut by an old man.

Sudou glares at the persona and uses healing magic to stop the bleeding, and if that doesn't work there is always fire magic. Staring at the old man who suddenly isn't looking like an old man in front of him and young Sudou's face is twisting up and his dad ask the killing question, "NO! I'm not gonna cry... I have a bit of your sword in the eye but ...but... but I am the one with all the power so I am gonna kill you and be done with you. " Sudou gives a whistle for the hellhounds and then looks over at the two not living hellhounds and Sudou frowns while paling a little.

Sudou brushes himself off, "That's fine. Totally fine. Pops always said if I want something done right I better do it myself, which given how this guy is built makes me think he was just being lazy sending all those assassins. "

Sudou doesn't make the same mistake twice of going with the sword, obviously the answer is magic. A wave of heat to help keep the good soldiers down while launching a ball of fire at pops, " Feel the heat old man!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
His father is wide open, and Sudou's flames, as they erupt obscure his vision of him. Certainly he's about to be a crispy critter.

Only, when the flames die...

There is a man in sunglasses who is standing just in front of his Father. He takes a single step forward, and reaches out to grasp Sudou's blade with his bare hands. His grip is like a Vice, try as the Joker might, he can't move his sword even a millimeter.

Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9tlqukSn5U

The Old Man, doesn't even blink, like he fully expected this. "I trust you have this well in hand, Shinjo?"

"You can be on your way."

Tatsuzou Sudou turns, sheathes his blade, still stained in his son's blood, takes out a handkerchief and wipes it clean before sheathing it in his cane.

Tap.
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What's even more maddening is that the Old Maid realizes now that his Father doesn't need the cane at all. He's using it now as a gesture of contempt. That even though he got so close as to nearly murder him if not for this man's intervention, his son still remains nothing more than a stain on the family name to him.

A waste of time and money.

Still holding onto the Old Maid's blade, Sudou may realize in short order. For the first time in such a long time, the Voices are quiet. No more than that. They're ''not there''. Call out to them, and they do not respond.

Because...

"Isn't there somewhere else you're supposed to be, false Joker?" His opposite hand, reaches up, and takes off his sunglasses, with a sickening smile on his face, jagged lines descending from void pits as black as pitch, staring at him. "You've racked yourself upon the Wheel of Fortune, reverse son. You cannot so easily shirk what destiny has allotted you."

... the Voices, are right in front of him.

"What ''he'' has allotted to you."

Try as he might, he cannot summon his Persona, cannot break free, cannot call on any of his powers. He is but a young man in the grip of something ancient, and far bigger than him.

Even the body he's currently dwelling within, is bigger than him.

"The flames of expiation. The only way you may become King once more is for them to remember 'The Other Side.'"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Sudou grins and is about to tell his dead to rest in hell but then the smoke clears and the old man is still there. A man in glasses has appeared to be his father's savior. That's fine though, just another body to cut through. All he needed to do was to raise his sword, and yet the sword would not raise. It was being held by this new player.

Sudou glares at the man, and his own father going forward as if this is all over. "Oh no you don't! I am going to blow you both to hell. PERSONA!" Sudou looks up over his shoulder to the Joker persona, and the Joker persona is no where. That's not a good sign. Still he can just ...well nothing. So he looks for advice, and gets another 404 error. For this very moment Sudou is alone.

Sudou has shown many expressions on his face, but this is the only time he shows fear, as he is utterly alone and worse, he can feel the presence of everything that he has believed defined him standing in front of him. He looks up at the man and can't even form words.

At no point since the Joker Killer has appeared has he ever been so defeated. He has nothing to do but cow to that which is before him.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
'PERSONA!'

The man in front of him smiles, his expression almost ''patient'' as a sort of maliciousness tugs at the edge of his lips.

"You can try again, if you'd like."

It's almost like he's daring him to do it.

"We all have our roles on 'This Side'. This is my own. If it makes your decision easier-" He leans forward to whisper into his ear, "-your Father will be consigned to a fate worse than being burned alive in the flames of the son, if you leave him to me. For now, he must live."

He lets go of him, taking a step back. "And should you succeed in what you must do, returning this world to 'The Other Side'. I will give unto you dominion over him as the King of the Leonine Heavens."

In the distance, there is a sound of a helicopter revving up.

"Should you continue towards him, Oh False Joker. You may yet reach him in time." Alarms are beginning to blare, footsteps can be heard pounding on metal in the distance.

Light erupts from his feet, a gout of crimson flames, and two Personas appear. One is a fractured effigy of a Golden Buddha, completely with halo, tentacles swarming out of the cracks, insectoid like segments along a strange exoskeleton, and blue eyes.

The Other, is the Joker. ''Sudou's'' Joker. Mask off again, grinning at him with Tatsuya Suou's face.

"But it will be without the Exalted One at your side. The Wheel of Fortune turns yet again and I offer you..." The man, unfolds his sunglasses and puts them back on over the void pits that are his eyes, as he smirks at him.

"... The Freedom of Choice."

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Tatsuya Sudou has posed.
<poem>
Sudou watches and listens to probably the first person he has listened to, in a very long time. At the same time it feels like he is listening to his best friend all the same. The freedom of choice is put in front of Sudou and he looks at the Persona wearing Suou's face. If only the other one was so nice to him.

Sudou hefts his sword up and rests it on his shoulders, the blade traveling along the back of his own neck. " King of Leonine Heavens. " Sudou glances down the path the old man walks, towards the siren and the sound of a helicopter. Then he smiles. " It's good to be the King."

Decision made, Sudou calms himself and lets his dad walk away. Yeah, totally his victory today and he got job security to.

"To the other side we go." Sudou steps back and waits for the presence of the Joker and more importantly his get out of jail free powers to return. Waiting for a moment Sudou can't help but look at the man while not cowering in fear, his eyes focusing on the sunglasses for the moment. He decides the paper bag was much cooler before he begins to trudge to the nearest blindspot so he can disappear but interruptible if needed.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Silver Penguin has posed.
<poem>
Hisataka Shinjo adjusts his sunglasses, still smirking. "The choice is made."

The Joker, his Powers, they all return right on time. Unusually, the Joker just floats over from Shinjo, right into Sudou himself, like it was a living - independent thing.

Definitely not anything to dwell upon.

"Do give my regards to his son, when you see him next."

He means Jun of course, after all, Nyarlathotep put in a great deal of effort raising that boy- only for that boy to waste it all on the transience of 'This Side'.

By the time the soldiers arrive, Shinjo is gone.

</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

Active Rumors

2026-02-28T23:19:58Z

Eri:

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*[[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] - If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

*Hazardous Situation - 'The Morimoto Sanitarium is currently uninhabitable due to a terrible accident.' While confined solely to the premises of the Sanitarium proper, the whole mountain has been cordoned off by the authorities coordinating the Hazmat cleanup.

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Active Rumors

2026-01-30T00:04:47Z

Eri:

'''OOC Foreword:''' This page is a staff curated list of active rumors. Anything on this list has taken long-term effect through the power of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]] and is public for characters to know. This does not mean that players cannot create rumors in game and/or even spread them ICly, just that those rumors won't have Kotodama backing them up. For Kotodama to work its 'magic' on a given rumor, you must submit a request to staff by email. If the request is approved, then it will be posted on this list. Rumors that cause a [[Monad System|Monad]] to exist for a one-shot will be handled on submission of the Monad.

The only type of Kotodama Rumors that will be accepted by the staff that aren't on this list or within a Monad are those that are one-shot jokes that do not heavily alter either reality or the status quo and are brief enough as to end with the scene in which they feature.

If you're not sure, then ask!

'''Note:''' This list is not all inclusive. The [[New World Order]] for example has many secret rumors they are currently utilizing. Their organization is large enough and has enough supernatural backing that they don't require the spread of Rumors the normal way. We still encourage players of the NWO to submit active rumors for post on this page so players can know the cool stuff you're doing ICly.

==Active Rumors==

*[[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] - If you call your own phone number and give a name to the person who answers, then the Joker Killer will show up and murder them. Scary!

*<s>Power that Emblem Holds - The Seven Sisters School Emblem will protect someone from the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Joker_Killer|Joker Killer]] so long as they have it on them.</s>

*Parabellum's Shady Business! - Parabellum Bar in Aoba Ward sells weapons. Don't talk about gun control in front of this bartender.

*Rosa Candida's Shady Business! - The boutique Rosa Candida in Aoba Ward now sells quality armor. The proprietor is still a little snooty.

*New Service Available at the Time Castle - The Time Count will both sells and duplicate cards for Persona Users. One may have to endure a creepier vibe than the Velvet Room.

*The Sumaru Genie's Ill Luck - The Sumaru Genie's fortune-telling is terrible; they always get it wrong. Perhaps they'd have more luck if they tried Wang Long fortune-telling.

*Battlemaster Prizes - The Battlemaster Magazine has a sweepstakes for quality accessories.

*Miracle Magazines Prizes - The Miracle Magazine has a sweepstakes for spell cards!? Perhaps they think they're a new CCG trend...

*No Smoking For Delinquents - The Leader at Kasugayama High has forbidden smoking. Anyone who tries to light up on campus always regrets it before they even take the first puff, as the Leader somehow always knows... no matter the hour.

*Club Zodiac is Like a Maze! - The back rooms of Club Zodiac are like a confusing labyrinth. The only people that seem to understand the way through are the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Tien_Tao_Lien|Tien Tao Lien]] who have set up shop there.

*No Personas at the Giga Macho - This is the worst: the Demons at the Giga Macho have spread a rumor so that Persona can't be summoned there. Retail work has never been more dangerous.

*There's a Casino at Mu - The Mu Continent game center has become a casino! How can that even happen? Aren't casinos illegal in Japan? Oh wait, so are guns... Rumors sure are a thing.

*[[Mementos]] - The latest hot test of courage among school kids is to say 'Mementos' five times into a bathroom mirror at a train or bus station. It's said if you can manage it, then you'll be spirited away, but most people can't get past three before chickening out! Wait, are you saying that there have been a lot of missing person's reports related to this? Scary!

*[[Peacock Silk]] is On Fire! - Not literally. The hottest new boutique in Shimokitozawa Tokyo, [[Peacock Silk]], offers secret services to Persona Users of all stripes, and can even manage that cognitive junk that's been building up. Rumormonger Toro gives Peacock Silk 5 out of 5 stars for service - 'They even have a REAL talking Peacock! He stole my fish fin sashimi and I didn't even mind!' Glorious.

*Lucky Sevens!?! - It's said that the Joker Killer is repelled not only from the Seven Sisters Emblem, but maybe even the employee badge at the 777 convenience store! But hey isn't 777 a really rare result when you're playing slots? Maybe not a sure thing... (OOC Note: Power That Emblem Holds is now Deprecated! All representations of 'Sevens' have a luck based chance to protect you if someone calls the Joker, but it's not a certain thing.)

*<s>Eiji Kamiya is Kidnapping people!? - Rumor has it, Eiji Kamiya is running a human trafficking operation for 'the conspiracy' in Sumaru City out of Tatsumi Port Island. His Palace can be accessed through a very complicated sequence of going to the Akiyoshi building's carpark, finding a car that's open, tuning the radio to 700, and reciting lines 17-20 of a Midsummer Night's Dream.</s>

*The Purple Mirror - People have reported the image of a ghostly woman surrounded in lilac-colored smoke appearing in reflective surfaces across Sumaru City, mostly in Rengedai Ward, and a rash of bad luck seems to follow in her wake. Got an important milestone coming up? A birthday, a wedding, a major test, a promotion, graduation? Well, if you know the words "purple mirror," then you'd better forget them before that event comes up, or else you'll experience the worst kind of tragic misfortune that you fear. Such a feat is easier said than done when she keeps popping up to serve as a constant reminder, however ..! (OOC Note: If you're curious, feel free to +finger Murasaki Kagami to find out more about the story! But reader beware if you choose to do so.)

==See Also...==
*[[Rumormongers]]
*[[Rumors and Rumor Culture]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Kotodama|Kotodama]]
*[[Monad System]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Foraines

2026-01-21T19:35:16Z

Eri:

A Foraine -- French for 'fairground' -- is a phenomenon that traps people and causes their Shadow to be trapped within a supernatural space within their cognitive selves, manifesting as a space that reflects that individual's desires: what they want, what they crave, what they miss and long for, and what shields them from the world. A Foraine, just like its name, typically appears as a deceptively positive and pleasant place; it is the escape from reality, often but not always viewed with rose-tinted glasses with powerful draws of nostalgia and comfort.

A victim trapped in a Foraine retains full functional behaviour in the real world, but they are manic and deliriously happy, to the point where they may hurt themself through carelessness or excesses, not to mention lacking any judgements or cautions within their role in society that may cause other people harm as a result.

If left alone for too long, a Foraine will ultimately collapse in on itself, consuming the victim's Shadow and leaving the host body in a Shadow-less state not dissimilar to that observed in people with Apathy Syndrome.

The difference from [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Apathy_Syndrome|Apathy Syndrome]] is that in physical reality, the victim's body instead presents as being trapped in nostalgic bliss, barely functional, as if they were playing the greatest day of their life on repeat.

It is also noteworthy that unlike other spaces like Ateliers and Palaces, Foraines do not possess other [[Shadows]] or [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Cognitions|Cognitions]] within them. A victim isn't capable of simply creating an ideal, fond clone of a person they're attracted to in a Foraine -- but are inevitably drawn to the idea that if they want that person there, they should lure them in. Indeed, in this sense, Foraines are dangerous spaces, as they have the capability to lure unawakened bystanders close to the victim in. As a space that represents the victim's cravings and desires, they have the tendency to play on the wants of those close to them as well, appearing as inviting and appealing -- until it is too late for them to back away.

Foraines have the tendency to draw in Demonic archetypes that feed on the intense emotions that they generate. These [[Demons]] are typically themed to suit the Foraine that they become part of, and become part and parcel as the defence system of the Foraine itself as the victim asserts control over lesser archetypes and weaves them into their blissful narrative.

Bystanders that enter a Foraine typically become ensnared in the Foraine, forced to play out a part of the victim's desires or nostalgia, and are jealously guarded by the Demons that will do everything in their power to keep them there until rescued. A Bystander that stays in a Foraine when it collapses will ultimately suffer the same fate, their Shadows consumed and leaving them in a state of repetitive bliss.

Notably, Foraines are not naturally occurring spaces -- though they're ultimately constructed from the natural cognitive fabrics within the victim, the manifestation and population of one is inflicted by external forces. Foraines move along with the victim in material reality.

A Foraine is typically labelled by a trait relevant to the victim -- Foraine du/de/de la <trait>.

==Accessing Foraines==

If you are awakened as a Persona User, you can spot cognitive "tracks" (that vary and are personally relevant to the person afflicted by a Foraine) in material reality within roughly a half-kilometre radius of the victim that, if followed, will lead you to a Foraine. While they are colloquially called "tracks", they do not need to be literal tracks -- the image of a deceased loved one suddenly appearing before a bystander and convincing them to follow, or one's nostalgic song that they associate with the death of a family member, for instance, is one such instance of a "track."

These tracks also appear to those close to the person, as discussed above, even though they are unawakened, as Foraines represent an individual's cravings and desires, and thus have a tendency to appear very inviting and appealing to those close to them as well. This does mean that Foraines cause danger to the unawakened by being able to snare them into danger. Indeed, Foraines have a tendency to catch bystanders in their wake and put them at risk.

A Persona-User typically has enough integrity of self to not be lured into a Foraine unless they wish it; they'll be able to identify the threshold that they need to cross in order to actually enter said supernatural space. This is prudent, since even to experienced Persona-Users and Hunters, it's a dangerous idea to simply follow cognitive tracks without preparation. This is because…

==Quarries==

Above and beyond the Demons that populate a Foraine, the person's Shadow manifests an Armoured archetype to defend its territory in the form of a beast known as a Quarry. The Quarry typically is a type of beast or creature of legend, though not always, depending on what suits the person in question.

A Persona-User or bystander that enters a Foraine without preparation typically immediately alerts the Quarry of the Foraine, which is how Bystanders typically get caught and trapped within the Foraine. In order to enter a Foraine without alerting the Quarry in question, one has to have a solid idea of the victim of the Foraine, via gathering information about them through mundane methods. The more complete the picture of one's profile of the victim, the better chance one has of safely entering into a Foraine.

The most effective information, as might make sense, relates to what the victim longs for or craves most -- the very things that created the Foraine in the first place, which is not always something that one may reason out without insight from those close to them. It's also why it's a bit of a race against time -- with Foraines naturally drawing those close to the victim in, those that can explain best are also at highest risk.

Even after safe entry into a Foraine and navigating the obstacles and defeating the Demons within, one will ultimately come to the innermost sanctum of the Foraine where the victim's sense of bliss and avoidance is at its greatest. At this point, even if one engages the Quarry, they'll find that it's virtually indestructible in its sanctum of power: A Quarry, more than anything else, represents the Shadow's avoidance mechanism, as reinforced by the Foraine in question. As an archetype forged from the emotions created from this avoidance, it has supreme power over other cognitive beings within the Foraine.

Another, final step of investigation is required in order to make the Quarry vulnerable.

==The Silver Bullet==

This step involves a Silver Bullet, a metaphor for an item, argument or fact of direct evidence that contradicts the very existence of the Foraine. The Silver Bullet needs to be produced to pierce the victim and correspondingly the Quarry's veil of bliss and avoidance. For instance, a Foraine centered around the idea of someone's mother still being alive may have a Silver Bullet of evidence and an argument that their mother, in fact, died in a car crash.

The act of "breaking the glass" by firing said metaphorical bullet agitates the person's Shadow to a massive degree, sending the Quarry into a frenzy -- but this same frenzy also makes the Quarry vulnerable, as the fury and agitation causes them to drop their guard.

Inevitably, an agitated Quarry needs to be confronted in battle and hunted. Upon the completion of a successful Hunt, the Shadow will be vulnerable to negotiation and dialogue, having been exposed to the Silver Bullet. What follows is typically an integration of the Shadow back into the self, and from there, the process of healing is a simply mundane one that involves the hard work of having to accept that what one believed as blissful was, in fact, not reality.

This, then, ties into how the Wild Hunt have been doing it, through Laurent's special Capture ability, which forcibly brings the Shadow out of the Foraine and into his own in order to be released from the effects of their own cognitive bliss. While on the surface, this looks like a much easier and cleaner process, it does miss the confrontation of one's reality and ultimately has a much weaker process of allowing oneself to heal from what caused the distortion of the Foraine in the first place.

==Wariness Level==

Within a Foraine, there exists the hunter and the hunted. Who is in what position often depends upon the wariness of the Quarry, the beast of myth that a Shadow has armored itself with.

One must take care within a Foraine not to alert the Quarry. Fighting Demons recklessly as to give them enough time to cry out for help is the quickest way to do so, but even taking as much care as possible, killing enough Demons to leave an eerie quiet within parts of the foraine will be noticed by the quarry.

As wariness level rises, the Demons of the Foraine begin to draw upon skills that camouflage resonance. They no longer wander in predictable patterns, instead they hide, they seek to ambush.

And worse yet, the Quarry begins to stalk the hunters encroaching upon its territory.

The Quarry, with its form disguised to appear as a dark blur, will begin to ambush Persona Users mid-battle with other Demons unexpectedly, attacking with savage speed and efficiency, before running back into cover and vanishing using Anti-Navigator abilities. (For more on these abilities, see: [[Resonance]])

These attrition tactics will begin to wear upon the Persona Users hunting the Quarry, forcing them to withdraw lest they be overwhelmed.

It takes at least a day for Wariness levels of the Quarry to drop, usually until the person in question is able to sleep next. Until then, they'll often experience extreme anxiety and paranoia that someone is out to get them.

At the lowest level of wariness, the Quarry is not aware of Persona Users, and Demons will appear throughout the Foraine without trying to conceal themselves overmuch.

At Wariness Level: Apprehension, the Quarry begins to wander the foraine outside of its center, searching for the signs of what is wrong. At this level, it does not ambush Persona Users unless they are careless and spotted out in the open. Demons of the Foraine will only occasionally ambush Persona Users.

When it reaches Wariness Level: Hypervigilance, the Quarry begins to stalk the party personally. There's roughly a 20% chance that it will interrupt any encounter with other Demons to attack the party, before then running into cover again with hit and run attrition tactics. Not only that, but the majority of Demons will lay in wait to ambush the party themselves.

Once the Quarry reaches Wariness Level: Frenzy, it not only knows of the party's presence, but it understands its prey implicitly. The Foraine is eerily quiet with only the illusion of being empty, and an ambush awaits Persona Users around every corner. The Quarry is not only actively aware of all Persona Users within its domain, but it's empowered by its knowledge of them from reading their resonance during their clumsy exploration.

It will jump the party in roughly half of all encounters with demons, and not only that target, it will target weaknesses nearly exclusively. If it does not have attacks that target someone's weakness, it gains them from some facet of their domain while it is at this wariness level.

There's no way to get around 'Frenzy'. To remain isn't possible without potentially paying the ultimate price.

==Credits==
'''Writing Credits:'''

*[[Ruzica Crvena]]
*Penguin Sniper - Wariness Levels

==See Also...==

*[[Persona: Wild Hunt]]
*[[Hunters]]

Ateliers

2026-01-21T19:21:10Z

Eri:

A recent topic entering public (supernatural) conscious via the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side]], Ateliers are not a new concept, but instead one that has been rapidly becoming more relevant as rumors of people falling victim to [[Homunculus||vicious and unsettling bodysnatching incidents]] have begun to circulate.

The cognitive spaces known as Ateliers seem to be central to these rumors. Which begs the question...

==What Are Ateliers?==

An aspect of the Collective Unconscious, Ateliers exist in all people and represent the balance of a person's sense of individuality versus their connections to others and society – they are, essentially, a person's mind palace (but not Palace!). They are usually benign insomuch as they do not intrude on other supernatural spaces nor are they typically harmful to their owner. Ateliers' sole role is to represent - and maintain - a person's sense of individuality within an endless sea of interconnection.

Everyone has an Atelier, but every Atelier is different. As an Atelier is a reflection of its owner, each is as unique as a fingerprint. There are some simple rules that define how they appear however, their ultimately being a reflection of the individual and their connection to others being the most fundamental. A person with a strongly developed sense of individuality, for example, will have an Atelier that is largely reflective of their personality, their history, and the important things of their life. A person who lacks a strong, individual identity, on the other hand, will usually have a more indistinct Atelier that is ultimately more reflective of the culture and area in which they live, and - on occasion - the people who have had the strongest influence over their lives.

Finally: a person who has no sense of self, i.e. a person whose Shadow has been destroyed, consumed, or otherwise removed from the individual, has a barren and monochrome Atelier, having been deprived of the thing sustaining it.

This is the cornerstone for what an Atelier -looks- like. But there's other simple rules fundamental to an Atelier. Like, for example:

How do you ''get into'' one?

==Accessing Ateliers==

Ateliers exist as part of the nature of intelligent life, although they vary widely in their scope and thematics. In nearly all cases, they are simply there, the same as your spleen and the back of your ears. In some cases, they can be more easily found. Individuals who have recently had a sudden, radical change in their behavior leave a way in.

Getting into the Atelier is not a simple matter. First, you must find a Thread: something important to the individual. This is usually an item of specific personal adoration -- and it may not be the most obvious choice. A precious wedding ring might not be a Thread, while a memento of a regretted love or childhood pet might be. In some rare cases, an individual may be a Thread, although in such cases the individual holds the Potential as well. Whether this is a precondition or a side effect is unknown.

After finding the Thread, one must find the Eye: the Eye will be a location, a lonely one, that is or was important to the individual whose Atelier you seek. This location must be physically visited with the Thread in tow. A subtle change in the Thread's Resonance, usually perceived as an intensification of the Thread's "is-ness," proves that the two have met. (In the exceptional cases of a Thread being an individual, they may visit the location themselves. Typically, they will not notice anything.)

This completes the ritual: at this point, one can enter the Atelier. However, this in turn has its own complexities. You have to find a space where people are "Alone Together." There are nuances here -- it must be an enclosed area, which simultaneously holds the concepts of isolation and interconnection. Such places can be difficult to find, but there is a simple and elegant solution in the modern jungle: a net cafe.

These oases of connected solitude are usually open 24-hours, but it may take some courage to brave one. Here, the traveler enters the net cafe cubicle with the Thread and closes the door. With the Thread in hand, or near to hand, the aspiring traveler logs into a certain website simply called [AtelierNetwork.jp]. After a short wait -- helpfully tracked by the site itself -- the user may step outside of the place where they are, and enter the Fabric of Reality.

The Thread does not travel with you, and so the group can share one by one... though you may still need everyone to rent a cubicle. Otherwise, they might get wise.

The intentionality of this ritual effectively limits it to Persona Users or their immediate confederates. Individuals as Threads should be considered a "PC-exclusive" feature -- either as a shocking mischance leading to Transmutations, or as a point of tension and complexity.

==Lesser Shadows - The Humors==

Ateliers are benign. They are not, however, without a way to defend themselves. Known as '''Humors''', these lesser Shadows populate - and are influenced by - the Ateliers they reside in, and serve as something like the white blood cells of an individual's psyche.

Humors can be divided into four separate categories defined by the roles they fulfill within the Atelier:

'''Flegmat (Phlegmatic) -'''
Among Humor Shadows, the Flegmat types are the most passive. They tend to comprise the 'window dressing' of an Atelier's environment and represent the relative baseline of an Atelier owner's psyche. They are sensitive to small worries and disturbances that are usually too remote for one to voice in the real world. Capable of conversation, but not very assertive, they tend to get swept up by events around them. Despite this, their presence helps prevent most Homunculi from forming at all.

It's when a Homunculus does form with enough strength to eat the primary Shadow that they become seemingly helpless to the chaos around them. As a Homunculus' control of the Atelier strengthens, they begin to take on more twisted forms befitting the Homunculus in question. When it happens, they become the bellwethers to how close a Homunculus is to fully consuming the host's Shadow.

'''Sanguin (Sanguine) -'''
Humor Shadows that represent a need for drive, action, or call for help that the Atelier owner struggles to manage, these are the real movers and doers of Humor Shadows. They all unilaterally desire to destroy a Homunculus by their nature, and can be convinced by Atelier visitors that they are there to help.

However, most will usually rouse up other Humors - especially Coleric - against intruders while acting as a 'leader' figure for small groups. Battles where a Sanguin Humor is present can be averted with successful negotiation, in these cases. While they do not fall into the sway of a Homunculus outside of the most dire of circumstances, it is nearly impossible for Sanguin Humors to deal with them naturally unless the emerged Homunculus is incredibly weak.

'''Coleric (Choleric) -'''
Of the four types, these map most closely to basic mindless Shadows like those from the Dark Hour. Outwardly they act as mindless hordes, but a healthy psyche employs Coleric Humors in order to deal with any manner of foreign body intruding within one's Atelier. This means that conflict with numerous Coleric Humors is an inevitable part of exploring Ateliers in any circumstance.

Even if a Homunculus is active - a presence that stirs them to a panicked violent frenzy regardless - those from outside the Atelier register as enemies all the same. They cannot be reasoned with directly, but all Humor Shadows are capable of communication with each other, so a local Sanguin Humor can temporarily call them off. Their numbers replenish endlessly, so fighting them does no lasting harm to an Atelier's host.

'''Melanc (Melancholic) -'''
These Humor Shadows are based on parts of oneself an Atelier owner dislikes. Self-doubt is healthy, in the correct dosage, and having them present is important for growth and self-improvement. They are also important moderating influences for Sanguin Humors in ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the presence of a fully-formed Homunculus outright hijacks and empowers these Humor Shadows to turn them into their direct lieutenants, using their self-criticizing rationales as a weapon against the rest of the Atelier.

Coleric Humors have a bad habit of not targeting them because they read as (and are) native to the Atelier, and thus it requires outside help to subdue them when a Homunculus is consuming the primary Shadow. Bringing them 'into balance' is an important step that needs to be taken en route to reaching and subduing an emergent Homunculus. Once subdued, any healthy Flegmat Humors can help prevent a Homunculus from regaining control of a Melanc Humor so long as the Homunculus is dealt with as soon as possible.

==Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus==

One might suspect that Ateliers function similarly to Palaces when infected by Homunculi, and it's understandable why a Persona User might believe it functions like Security Level. However, it is in fact far simpler than that.

The danger of an Atelier is proportional to the stage of development of the Homunculus.

It's been named 'Instar Stages' because functionally, a Homunculus is a parasite, attempting to subsume control over its host.

While it is a Cocoon, there is only the potential of danger. After hatching, it enters its first Instar phase. The host will begin to show subtle signs of the takeover, while the Atelier's denizens may attempt to fight off the Homunculus. Nearly always, the humors will lose this battle without outside intervention.

Within the second instar stage, the host will begin to show obvious changes as it assumes that aggressively idealized version of itself. During this phase, the humours will typically stop attacking the Homunculus, as they begin to become confused as to which is host and which is Homunculus.

The Coleric Humors are quite likely to attack any Persona User who comes near them as a perceived threat to the Atelier, as they sense some kind of threat. The Melanc Humors will begin to follow the commands of the Homunculus during this phase.

During the third instar stage, the Atelier becomes incredibly dangerous. The Homunculus has nearly taken over during this time, and nearly all Humors except the Sanguin will register them as the host. In reality, the signs will be absolutely clear. Something is wrong with the person. Confronting the person in question will always end poorly, as the Homunculus becomes paranoid and erratic in asserting they are the person in question. Outright aggression is quite common.

The Sub-Adult stage is the final stage before complete takeover of the host. During this stage, the Atelier and most of its denizens are under its complete control, and will rise to defend the Homunculus if threatened. The appearance of the possessed Shadow may show overt signs of degradation, such as distorted features or speaking with a voice that isn't its own.

This is the final chance to save the person in question's Shadow. Ridding the Atelier of the Homunculus will allow it to still recover, but at this stage it's become quite a feat given its ability to wield the humors against the Persona Users. If the Homunculus feels truly threatened, it will shed all pretense and empower itself by consuming Flegmat Humors to empower itself and become the monstrous 'other self'.

At the adult stage, the person's Shadow has been completely consumed, and there is no coming back from it. They are dead, and the body is under the Homunculus' possession, as the husk that was once a person is now a monster in human skin.

As for what it will do with it at that point, well, wouldn't you like to know?

==Fabric of Reality==

Ateliers are all about individuality versus connection. It stands to reason then that there must be something ''connecting'' them. Enter: the Fabric of Reality.

The Fabric of Reality is the name for the metaphysical space on which Ateliers reside; if Ateliers are great-but-isolated pieces, the Fabric of Reality is the thread that binds them all into a far greater tapestry of interconnection. Through the Fabric, Ateliers (individuals) are woven together to the whole, making it both a sort of liminal space of reality and an essential part of the Atelier system.

The Fabric of Reality is a core part of what makes Ateliers function, but it is ''also'' a space unto itself. The Fabric of Reality can be traversed and explored, with all its own wonders and hidden dangers within its sprawling, esoteric spaces. The explorable spaces of the Fabric are the 'threads' that connect Ateliers to one another; due to this, the Fabric isn't representative of any individual person or place, but is the general zeitgeist of humanity in all its myriad forms. As such, traversable spaces in the Fabric of Reality tend to be more aesthetically abstract, surreal, and sometimes downright eerie.

Persona Users can enter the Fabric of Reality through logging in to AtelierNetwork.jp at any given net cafe, just as they would Ateliers. Since the Fabric belongs to everyone in a very technical sense, Threads are not required to access it; those entering are drawn into a generic hub within the Fabric that abstractly represents the cafe they came from, almost always furnished with a door to the Velvet Room for the average Persona Users' convenience. From there, they can freely explore the Fabric. This is, like many other metaphysical spaces, a trying experience. Like Ateliers, the Fabric of Reality is populated by Humors; these Humors tend to be indistinct and much more representative of cultural perspectives than individual ones, and make traversal through the Fabric a dangerous prospect.

While technically a person could eventually reach an Atelier through the Fabric of Space, the network is so unfathomably vast and full of potential dangers that it would be an impractical choice at best, or the last choice you ever make at worst.

===AtelierNetwork.jp===

The mysterious website that enables access to both Ateliers and the Fabric of Reality. Its layout is simple but elegant: the main page is a white log-in button on a black background, and once logged in, there is another single button, this time red-on-gold, marked ACCESS ATELIER. Logging in and hitting this button after one has successfully completed a ritual is the final key to allow one to enter an Atelier.

Once one has successfully entered an Atelier for the first time, a webring-style image link appears at the bottom of AtelierNetwork.jp, and one can re-enter it by clicking on it. The central button is always the Fabric of Reality, which is already automatically linked once one logs into the site for the first time.

One may get the website address simply by asking Igor, though Igor claims he has nothing to do with its administration. Igor will explain that you choose your name and your password for yourself--though it's up to the website whether or not it accepts it. (In other words, you need to have a Persona. If you don't, the site will reject your account.) It's not necessary to go through Igor to get website access, though; anyone who has an account already can give out the site address.

For groups of people accessing an Atelier, it's not necessary for every single person to log in one by one. It's enough for the first person to log in, and then every subsequent person can enter the net cafe cubicle and click the ACCESS ATELIER button (or the webring link) for themselves. In this way, the unawakened may potentially enter an Atelier and/or the Fabric of Reality--though for their safety, this is strongly not recommended.

===The Enantiodromia===

There is something off in the Fabric of Reality. Regions of the interconnected Atelier network have begun to warp and darken, twisting the Fabric and its Shadows into something strange and disturbing.

The phenomenon is known as ''the Enantiodromia,'' and it is spreading.

Its origins are unclear but its effects are obvious: areas that have succumbed to the Enantiodromia are a sick echo of what they once were, the abstract architecture of the Fabric becoming something more explicitly abnormal and often dangerous on its own for the people who dare to try to travel through. Humors within these spaces are horrific and often confused and far more violent than its brethren outside of it.

In many ways, regions of the Fabric of Reality are not so dissimilar to Ateliers subjected to the will of a [[Homunculus]]. But most worrisome of all is the fact that the connections between Ateliers in spaces like these seem to be weakening -- as if the Fabric was somehow, in some abstract way, fraying.

It's unclear what is causing this affliction within the Fabric of Space; the most reasonable theory is that it has something to do with the emergence of Homunculi. But it is a real and present danger and, for those brave enough, a mystery that needs to be solved. Exploration of the Enantiodromia is extremely dangerous but potentially rewarding: in the way of all supernatural spaces, it comes with an abundance of treasure and meta-materials the subconscious craves, if someone can navigate its constant and surreal obstacles.

The deeper one delves into the Enantiodromia, the stranger and more unearthly it becomes. Regions of the Enantiodromia are walled off, preventing further passage, barriers that seem to open up the more Homunculi are dealt with.

What is the connection between Homunculi and the Enantiodromia? And just what is waiting at the epicenter of it all?

Well -- there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

==See also…==

*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Homunculus

2026-01-21T19:19:27Z

Eri:

That person you know is not the person you know anymore.

Maybe it was a subtle change. Maybe it was immediately noticeable. But whether over a period of days or months, you realize: '''the person you knew has been replaced.'''

It's not your imagination. You aren't going mad. Across Sumaru, Tokyo, Tatsumi and beyond Rumormongers have reported strange incidents of people being replaced by sinister beings that wear their face like their own personal mask to fool the world.

People call these monsters '''Homunculus'''.

==What is a Homunculus?==

'''A Homunculus is a Shadow'''. It is ''not'' a human Shadow. It is not a Mindless Shadow either, or even one of the countless Shadows native to the Metaverse. The Homunculus is a Shadow entirely unique to itself -- an anomaly, a wrinkle in the metaphysical fabric that manifests inside a human's psyche in a special cognitive space known as an [[Ateliers|Atelier]].

And it is from there they take over.

Essentially, Homunculi are a form of '''cognitive parasite'''. They are a seed of Something Else that wraps itself in the idea of Another, Potential You (like a version of you that did not pan out because of the trajectory of your life) and builds off it, like how a grain of sand in an oyster eventually becomes a pearl. People have lots of different masks and different ways their pasts could have turned out and personalities have formed, but generally a solid sense of self lets them stay internally coherent. People who have a very scattered, disturbed, or torn sense of self due to things like trauma or cognitive dissonance may end up attracting the seed of a Homunculus that uses the layers of someone’s alternate masks and other potential selves to make a new "them."

The life cycle of a Homunculus is insidious and subtle. A Homunculus will take root unobtrusively in a person's Atelier; once they have infiltrated, the Homunculus requires a period of gestation in something called a ''Cocoon'' before it is truly 'born' (visually, the Cocoon looks more or less like a Schiffli cocoon bobbin, with threads spooling out of the Cocoon and lacing into the structure of the Atelier, indicating how the gestating Homunculus is gradually usurping the Atelier from within). However, once a Homunculus is formed, they will '''always and immediately''' attempt to subsume and replace their host, seizing the host Shadow and sealing it into the Cocoon, essentially replacing - and usurping - the Shadow's place within the Atelier and, subsequently, assuming control over the person's body in the real world. (For more on the Life Cycle of a Homunculus and their effect on an Atelier, see: [[#Instar_Stages:_The_Life_Cycle_of_a_Homunculus|Instar Stages]])

There are a variety of circumstances that can give birth to a Homunculus, but for the most part it is fundamentally about a cognitive dissonance between what a person is, was, or wants to be. If a person has a weak or disturbed sense of self-identity, a Homunculus is very likely to take root to assert an aggressively "idealized" version of its host (it's important to note 'idealized' doesn't necessarily mean 'better' and most Homunculi are dangerous and aggressive; most people divorced of self-restraint tend not to be healthy). Discrepancies between a person in this timeline and their selves from the Other Side can also cause a Homunculus to form; individuals that did not exist in the Other Side can also be at risk.

There is one last situation where a Homunculus can form: in people who have been inflicted with Mental Shutdowns or Apathy Syndrome. Provided the victim of a Mental Shutdown didn't simply die, both of these circumstances lead to an Atelier devoid of a Shadow, letting a Homunculus essentially slip into the husk of the person unopposed. A person "miraculously" recovering from Apathy Syndrome may well not be someone saved by the destruction of a Major Arcana Shadow, but a Homunculus who has essentially claimed squatters' rights on their body.

==What Happens When a Homunculus Takes Over?==

Once the switch has completed itself, the Homunculus effectively rules the roost. Due to their abnormal nature and ability to simply 'form' within the core of an Atelier without notice, Homunculi do not immediately register as a threat to the lesser Shadows (known as [[Ateliers#Lesser Shadows - The Humors|Humors]]). By the time a Homunculus might be perceived as a threat, it is far too late: the Homunculus becomes the undisputed ruler of the Atelier after it is born and the switch is complete, and the entire rules and structures of the cognitive space bend to its will. Homunculus-warped Ateliers are - of course - very dangerous to traverse, being particularly responsive to its master's aggressive, distorted will, and the Humors within will typically warp to suit its new vision.

In the real world? The Homunculus has essentially taken over the life of the host.

A Homunculus seizing control of an Atelier after being born is unavoidable outside of extreme, extenuating circumstances, but does not result in the immediate death of the host; instead the Shadow is sealed away and gradually discorporated within the Atelier as the Homunculus asserts further and further control. After a period of time, the Shadow of the host will be fully absorbed back into the Collective Unconscious and the Homunculus will have completely replaced the host, resulting in what is, effectively, the host's death... unless they are saved from that grisly fate, that is.

==Detecting a Homunculus==

Homunculi have the knowledge and memories of its host, but are aware of their nature and origins. It makes them sometimes uncannily good at avoiding detection until it's too late. All that matters to a Homunculus is existing; a Homunculus is almost entirely focused on itself and its own survival. Outside of that, an individual Homunculus behaves like a version of its host unmoored by self-restraint or societal mores. How this expresses can vary wildly, and some might even seem like better, more positive people than the individuals they're replacing...

... But there is always something about a Homunculus that is - fundamentally - off. And this is the key to finding one that has become active.

No matter how alike to their host a Homunuclus might seem, they are not: and a person with a genuine Shadow who is close to the person can usually subconsciously sense something is amiss even if the Homunculus is not acting outrageously disruptive. They are - oftentimes - just dismissed by others, but that feeling is unmistakable, like a shiver of the senses -- ''a feeling like someone is wearing the other person's skin.''

This is especially true of Persona Users thanks to how naturally attuned they are to the supernatural, to the point that a Persona-User can sense a Homunculus ''regardless'' of how close or not they are to the person being parasitized. A Homunculus does not just feel wrong – it gives off a simple, visceral feeling that this person standing across from you ''is not a real human''.

It is deeply unsettling, like a predator-prey response. Among Persona-Users it is by far most pronounced with Navigators, who are naturally inclined towards sensing these things. A Navigator ''aware'' that Homunculi exist could, theoretically, try to focus and purposefully search for them within a limited radius -- but if they are even ''reasonably'' near one, the Navigator will know instantly.

==Dealing With a Homunculus==

The first and most essential step to saving a person from a Homunculus is finding a route to their Atelier. (See [[Ateliers#Accessing Ateliers|Accessing Ateliers]] for more!). Once a way in has been established, there are two major parts to handling a Homunculus:

1. Subduing the Ateliers' Melanc Humors
2. Freeing the Host Shadow from the Cocoon

The Homunculus is the absolute (hijacked) ruler of its respective Atelier; confronting it directly in the seat of its cognitive power, directly empowered by the strength of the host, would almost certainly be a doomed enterprise -- and even if it was possible, would put the host Shadow at extreme risk in the process for as long as it is bound within the Cocoon. Thus, freeing the host and destroying the Cocoon are essential to eliminating the Homunculus.

An integral part of this process is confronting and resolving a special sort of Shadow within the Atelier called Melanc Humors. Natural parts of the Atelier's self-defense systems, the Melanc represent the parts of the host that they most dislike. By utilizing and amplifying these Humors, the Homunculus both creates a cadre of guardians for its own use, and further subordinates the will of the Atelier's owner, weaponizing their own self-critique to further weaken their will within the Cocoon. By confronting and defeating these Humors, a person can help weaken the Homunculus' hold on the Atelier, and in turn weaken the Cocoon, making it much more possible to free the person within.

Once the Melanc Humors have been dealt with and the Cocoon is found within the Atelier, the next step before confronting the Homunculus is to destroy the Cocoon, and free the Shadow within. Note that this process is different and has different results depending on if a person has the potential to awaken or not (see the next segment for more information!), but the broad strokes remain fundamentally the same: when the Cocoon is destroyed, the true Atelier owner is freed, and the Homunculus' grip on the Atelier weakens to a point that it becomes vulnerable to attack. When a Homunculus' has lost its grip on the Atelier, '''its eyes change from the typical Shadow yellow to a bright ruby red''', a visual indicator that it is no longer the master of this cognitive space.

Even without its hold over an Atelier, a Homunculus is still a dangerous and powerful Shadow, and destroying one is still a fundamentally risky action. Once destroyed, though, the host is truly free and safe; when the Homunculus is eliminated, the entire Shadow parasite will discorporate save for its eyes, which tend to transform into an abstract form symbolic of both the Homunculus and the Atelier it had possessed.

NOTE: in the case of Homunculus possessing victims of Mental Shutdowns and Apathy Syndrome, the process is different in some key ways, but fundamentally the same. Since there is no host Shadow in these situations, the Homunculus is the undisputed ruler of the Atelier; the Humor Shadows within are even more directly lashed to its will, and dealing with Melanc Humors is less a matter of helping the Shadow, and more a matter of simple survival for the infiltrators. While it's ultimately simpler to 'free' an Atelier from a Homunculus in these situations - one only needs to destroy the Cocoon to relinquish the Homunculus' hold - it is in many ways significantly more dangerous, as the Atelier is wholly perverted to the Homunculus' will.

When a Homunculus is removed in these situations, the body will typically resume its catatonic state, being once more deprived of a Shadow to move it.

===What Happens to the Possessed?===

Upon seizing the Shadow, a Homunculus effectively replaces the person they are parasitizing. This process, called '''Pupation''', sees the host essentially imprisoned within their own Atelier with their Shadow, their self-doubts exacerbated and weaponized to keep them from trying to resist as the Homunculus slowly absorbs them and their life from within.

The possessed are, on some level, aware of what the Homunculus is doing in the real world. How much they remember when or if they are freed depends greatly on the person in question, but even in those who can't remember at all, some subconscious impression of the incident still lingers.

While within the Cocoon, a person is made a prisoner of their own negativity, bombarded with their doubts and the reality that they have been replaced by the "better" version of themselves - a version they perhaps on some level always wished they could be. To free them is a process of confronting and resolving those self-doubts and weakening the fetters binding them down until it is weak enough they can be freed from the Cocoon.

The last step of the process is as much up to the person as it is to those freeing them; the destruction of the Cocoon is a symbolic action that requires a resolve from the person within to liberate themselves from their regrets and doubts and seek freedom. Only by doing so, can they truly become free from the Homunculus' sway, and can the Homunculus itself be made vulnerable, making the host's personal liberation a crucial cornerstone.

This can play out one of two ways: in most cases, when the person is freed from the Homunculus thanks to their perspective shift, those who helped liberate them will protect them and destroy the Homunculus, returning the Atelier to their (subconscious) control.

However, things are different if someone parasitized by a Homunculus has undergone - or harbors a strong desire for - personal change within them -- in other words, if someone has the Potential to undergo Transmutation. Upon being freed from the Cocoon, a person has the capacity to undergo Awakening. Many do not. But for those that do, the process of destroying the Cocoon becomes much more active: as the person within unites in common purpose with their Shadow in realizing and embraces their desire for change, they undergo their own personal metamorphosis within the Cocoon, breaking its hold on them and achieving their first [[Transmutation]].

Upon gaining their Persona, the Homunculus completely loses any hold it held over the Atelier, and the confrontation with the parasite can truly begin.

===What Happens After?===

Those who have achieved Transmutation during their possession by a Homunculus will remember everything that took place -- both the actions of the Homunculus while controlling them, and the events within the Atelier itself. They, like all Persona Users, have awakened to the hidden realms of the human condition, and no longer have the luxury of looking away.

What they do after this, of course, is entirely up to them. After all -- they're free now.

Those who do ''not'' awaken will have no real memories of how they were freed or what even occurred, but that doesn't mean they are unaffected. Events in the cognitive world echo into the real world: there's no escaping that, even if you are unaware of what has transpired. Someone freed from a Homunculus' grip may only have vague impressions of what happened while they were imprisoned, but being confronted by a (warped) possibility of what they could have been, and finding the strength within them to reject that so-called better them and overcome their regrets, influence them on a profound and subconscious level.

Whether they awaken to a Persona or not, a person freed from a Homunculus will experience a positive perspective shift in their lives, and usually attempt to change the circumstances of their life for the better afterward.

An Atelier freed from a Homunculus typically has nothing to fear from a repeat possession; the process, after all, goes a long way in resolving the very issues that made them vulnerable to begin with.

==OOC Notes==

* The conditions in which a Homunculus spawns covers a very wide gamut mostly to accommodate player creativity and provide a lot of potential avenues for someone to explore this concept if they want to. The emphasis is on ''if they want to'' however: all of these conditions just increase the likelihood of a Homunculus forming and ''no one should feel obligated to have to deal with a Homunculus just because they meet the criteria''. But if you want to -- awesome!

* Outside extreme extenuating circumstances, Persona Users are immune to Homunculus possession, as they have an extremely developed sense of self by dint of their nature.

* Being able to access and explore Ateliers is a relatively recent and unexpected occurrence and Rumormongers and various other, seedier individuals would be very happy to have information on them. Look at that -- it's hooks for you to snag on!

* The material of a Homunculus' Cocoon - known as ''filum regium'' - is a potent meta material that can be harvested after its destruction; filum regium can be used to greatly enhance or even forge new gear and weapons at your various friendly meta purveyors such as Peacock Silk or Mayoido Antiques.

* The Eyes don't seem to have the same potential as filum regium but Peacock Silk is still extremely interested in them anyway. What a bunch of weirdos.

==See Also...==
*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Ateliers]]

Homunculus

2026-01-21T19:19:08Z

Eri:

That person you know is not the person you know anymore.

Maybe it was a subtle change. Maybe it was immediately noticeable. But whether over a period of days or months, you realize: '''the person you knew has been replaced.'''

It's not your imagination. You aren't going mad. Across Sumaru, Tokyo, Tatsumi and beyond Rumormongers have reported strange incidents of people being replaced by sinister beings that wear their face like their own personal mask to fool the world.

People call these monsters '''Homunculus'''.

==What is a Homunculus?==

'''A Homunculus is a Shadow'''. It is ''not'' a human Shadow. It is not a Mindless Shadow either, or even one of the countless Shadows native to the Metaverse. The Homunculus is a Shadow entirely unique to itself -- an anomaly, a wrinkle in the metaphysical fabric that manifests inside a human's psyche in a special cognitive space known as an [[Ateliers|Atelier]].

And it is from there they take over.

Essentially, Homunculi are a form of '''cognitive parasite'''. They are a seed of Something Else that wraps itself in the idea of Another, Potential You (like a version of you that did not pan out because of the trajectory of your life) and builds off it, like how a grain of sand in an oyster eventually becomes a pearl. People have lots of different masks and different ways their pasts could have turned out and personalities have formed, but generally a solid sense of self lets them stay internally coherent. People who have a very scattered, disturbed, or torn sense of self due to things like trauma or cognitive dissonance may end up attracting the seed of a Homunculus that uses the layers of someone’s alternate masks and other potential selves to make a new "them."

The life cycle of a Homunculus is insidious and subtle. A Homunculus will take root unobtrusively in a person's Atelier; once they have infiltrated, the Homunculus requires a period of gestation in something called a ''Cocoon'' before it is truly 'born' (visually, the Cocoon looks more or less like a Schiffli cocoon bobbin, with threads spooling out of the Cocoon and lacing into the structure of the Atelier, indicating how the gestating Homunculus is gradually usurping the Atelier from within). However, once a Homunculus is formed, they will '''always and immediately''' attempt to subsume and replace their host, seizing the host Shadow and sealing it into the Cocoon, essentially replacing - and usurping - the Shadow's place within the Atelier and, subsequently, assuming control over the person's body in the real world. (For more on the Life Cycle of a Homunculus and their effect on an Atelier, see: [[#Instar_Stages:_The_Life_Cycle_of_a_Homunculus|Instar Stages]]

There are a variety of circumstances that can give birth to a Homunculus, but for the most part it is fundamentally about a cognitive dissonance between what a person is, was, or wants to be. If a person has a weak or disturbed sense of self-identity, a Homunculus is very likely to take root to assert an aggressively "idealized" version of its host (it's important to note 'idealized' doesn't necessarily mean 'better' and most Homunculi are dangerous and aggressive; most people divorced of self-restraint tend not to be healthy). Discrepancies between a person in this timeline and their selves from the Other Side can also cause a Homunculus to form; individuals that did not exist in the Other Side can also be at risk.

There is one last situation where a Homunculus can form: in people who have been inflicted with Mental Shutdowns or Apathy Syndrome. Provided the victim of a Mental Shutdown didn't simply die, both of these circumstances lead to an Atelier devoid of a Shadow, letting a Homunculus essentially slip into the husk of the person unopposed. A person "miraculously" recovering from Apathy Syndrome may well not be someone saved by the destruction of a Major Arcana Shadow, but a Homunculus who has essentially claimed squatters' rights on their body.

==What Happens When a Homunculus Takes Over?==

Once the switch has completed itself, the Homunculus effectively rules the roost. Due to their abnormal nature and ability to simply 'form' within the core of an Atelier without notice, Homunculi do not immediately register as a threat to the lesser Shadows (known as [[Ateliers#Lesser Shadows - The Humors|Humors]]). By the time a Homunculus might be perceived as a threat, it is far too late: the Homunculus becomes the undisputed ruler of the Atelier after it is born and the switch is complete, and the entire rules and structures of the cognitive space bend to its will. Homunculus-warped Ateliers are - of course - very dangerous to traverse, being particularly responsive to its master's aggressive, distorted will, and the Humors within will typically warp to suit its new vision.

In the real world? The Homunculus has essentially taken over the life of the host.

A Homunculus seizing control of an Atelier after being born is unavoidable outside of extreme, extenuating circumstances, but does not result in the immediate death of the host; instead the Shadow is sealed away and gradually discorporated within the Atelier as the Homunculus asserts further and further control. After a period of time, the Shadow of the host will be fully absorbed back into the Collective Unconscious and the Homunculus will have completely replaced the host, resulting in what is, effectively, the host's death... unless they are saved from that grisly fate, that is.

==Detecting a Homunculus==

Homunculi have the knowledge and memories of its host, but are aware of their nature and origins. It makes them sometimes uncannily good at avoiding detection until it's too late. All that matters to a Homunculus is existing; a Homunculus is almost entirely focused on itself and its own survival. Outside of that, an individual Homunculus behaves like a version of its host unmoored by self-restraint or societal mores. How this expresses can vary wildly, and some might even seem like better, more positive people than the individuals they're replacing...

... But there is always something about a Homunculus that is - fundamentally - off. And this is the key to finding one that has become active.

No matter how alike to their host a Homunuclus might seem, they are not: and a person with a genuine Shadow who is close to the person can usually subconsciously sense something is amiss even if the Homunculus is not acting outrageously disruptive. They are - oftentimes - just dismissed by others, but that feeling is unmistakable, like a shiver of the senses -- ''a feeling like someone is wearing the other person's skin.''

This is especially true of Persona Users thanks to how naturally attuned they are to the supernatural, to the point that a Persona-User can sense a Homunculus ''regardless'' of how close or not they are to the person being parasitized. A Homunculus does not just feel wrong – it gives off a simple, visceral feeling that this person standing across from you ''is not a real human''.

It is deeply unsettling, like a predator-prey response. Among Persona-Users it is by far most pronounced with Navigators, who are naturally inclined towards sensing these things. A Navigator ''aware'' that Homunculi exist could, theoretically, try to focus and purposefully search for them within a limited radius -- but if they are even ''reasonably'' near one, the Navigator will know instantly.

==Dealing With a Homunculus==

The first and most essential step to saving a person from a Homunculus is finding a route to their Atelier. (See [[Ateliers#Accessing Ateliers|Accessing Ateliers]] for more!). Once a way in has been established, there are two major parts to handling a Homunculus:

1. Subduing the Ateliers' Melanc Humors
2. Freeing the Host Shadow from the Cocoon

The Homunculus is the absolute (hijacked) ruler of its respective Atelier; confronting it directly in the seat of its cognitive power, directly empowered by the strength of the host, would almost certainly be a doomed enterprise -- and even if it was possible, would put the host Shadow at extreme risk in the process for as long as it is bound within the Cocoon. Thus, freeing the host and destroying the Cocoon are essential to eliminating the Homunculus.

An integral part of this process is confronting and resolving a special sort of Shadow within the Atelier called Melanc Humors. Natural parts of the Atelier's self-defense systems, the Melanc represent the parts of the host that they most dislike. By utilizing and amplifying these Humors, the Homunculus both creates a cadre of guardians for its own use, and further subordinates the will of the Atelier's owner, weaponizing their own self-critique to further weaken their will within the Cocoon. By confronting and defeating these Humors, a person can help weaken the Homunculus' hold on the Atelier, and in turn weaken the Cocoon, making it much more possible to free the person within.

Once the Melanc Humors have been dealt with and the Cocoon is found within the Atelier, the next step before confronting the Homunculus is to destroy the Cocoon, and free the Shadow within. Note that this process is different and has different results depending on if a person has the potential to awaken or not (see the next segment for more information!), but the broad strokes remain fundamentally the same: when the Cocoon is destroyed, the true Atelier owner is freed, and the Homunculus' grip on the Atelier weakens to a point that it becomes vulnerable to attack. When a Homunculus' has lost its grip on the Atelier, '''its eyes change from the typical Shadow yellow to a bright ruby red''', a visual indicator that it is no longer the master of this cognitive space.

Even without its hold over an Atelier, a Homunculus is still a dangerous and powerful Shadow, and destroying one is still a fundamentally risky action. Once destroyed, though, the host is truly free and safe; when the Homunculus is eliminated, the entire Shadow parasite will discorporate save for its eyes, which tend to transform into an abstract form symbolic of both the Homunculus and the Atelier it had possessed.

NOTE: in the case of Homunculus possessing victims of Mental Shutdowns and Apathy Syndrome, the process is different in some key ways, but fundamentally the same. Since there is no host Shadow in these situations, the Homunculus is the undisputed ruler of the Atelier; the Humor Shadows within are even more directly lashed to its will, and dealing with Melanc Humors is less a matter of helping the Shadow, and more a matter of simple survival for the infiltrators. While it's ultimately simpler to 'free' an Atelier from a Homunculus in these situations - one only needs to destroy the Cocoon to relinquish the Homunculus' hold - it is in many ways significantly more dangerous, as the Atelier is wholly perverted to the Homunculus' will.

When a Homunculus is removed in these situations, the body will typically resume its catatonic state, being once more deprived of a Shadow to move it.

===What Happens to the Possessed?===

Upon seizing the Shadow, a Homunculus effectively replaces the person they are parasitizing. This process, called '''Pupation''', sees the host essentially imprisoned within their own Atelier with their Shadow, their self-doubts exacerbated and weaponized to keep them from trying to resist as the Homunculus slowly absorbs them and their life from within.

The possessed are, on some level, aware of what the Homunculus is doing in the real world. How much they remember when or if they are freed depends greatly on the person in question, but even in those who can't remember at all, some subconscious impression of the incident still lingers.

While within the Cocoon, a person is made a prisoner of their own negativity, bombarded with their doubts and the reality that they have been replaced by the "better" version of themselves - a version they perhaps on some level always wished they could be. To free them is a process of confronting and resolving those self-doubts and weakening the fetters binding them down until it is weak enough they can be freed from the Cocoon.

The last step of the process is as much up to the person as it is to those freeing them; the destruction of the Cocoon is a symbolic action that requires a resolve from the person within to liberate themselves from their regrets and doubts and seek freedom. Only by doing so, can they truly become free from the Homunculus' sway, and can the Homunculus itself be made vulnerable, making the host's personal liberation a crucial cornerstone.

This can play out one of two ways: in most cases, when the person is freed from the Homunculus thanks to their perspective shift, those who helped liberate them will protect them and destroy the Homunculus, returning the Atelier to their (subconscious) control.

However, things are different if someone parasitized by a Homunculus has undergone - or harbors a strong desire for - personal change within them -- in other words, if someone has the Potential to undergo Transmutation. Upon being freed from the Cocoon, a person has the capacity to undergo Awakening. Many do not. But for those that do, the process of destroying the Cocoon becomes much more active: as the person within unites in common purpose with their Shadow in realizing and embraces their desire for change, they undergo their own personal metamorphosis within the Cocoon, breaking its hold on them and achieving their first [[Transmutation]].

Upon gaining their Persona, the Homunculus completely loses any hold it held over the Atelier, and the confrontation with the parasite can truly begin.

===What Happens After?===

Those who have achieved Transmutation during their possession by a Homunculus will remember everything that took place -- both the actions of the Homunculus while controlling them, and the events within the Atelier itself. They, like all Persona Users, have awakened to the hidden realms of the human condition, and no longer have the luxury of looking away.

What they do after this, of course, is entirely up to them. After all -- they're free now.

Those who do ''not'' awaken will have no real memories of how they were freed or what even occurred, but that doesn't mean they are unaffected. Events in the cognitive world echo into the real world: there's no escaping that, even if you are unaware of what has transpired. Someone freed from a Homunculus' grip may only have vague impressions of what happened while they were imprisoned, but being confronted by a (warped) possibility of what they could have been, and finding the strength within them to reject that so-called better them and overcome their regrets, influence them on a profound and subconscious level.

Whether they awaken to a Persona or not, a person freed from a Homunculus will experience a positive perspective shift in their lives, and usually attempt to change the circumstances of their life for the better afterward.

An Atelier freed from a Homunculus typically has nothing to fear from a repeat possession; the process, after all, goes a long way in resolving the very issues that made them vulnerable to begin with.

==OOC Notes==

* The conditions in which a Homunculus spawns covers a very wide gamut mostly to accommodate player creativity and provide a lot of potential avenues for someone to explore this concept if they want to. The emphasis is on ''if they want to'' however: all of these conditions just increase the likelihood of a Homunculus forming and ''no one should feel obligated to have to deal with a Homunculus just because they meet the criteria''. But if you want to -- awesome!

* Outside extreme extenuating circumstances, Persona Users are immune to Homunculus possession, as they have an extremely developed sense of self by dint of their nature.

* Being able to access and explore Ateliers is a relatively recent and unexpected occurrence and Rumormongers and various other, seedier individuals would be very happy to have information on them. Look at that -- it's hooks for you to snag on!

* The material of a Homunculus' Cocoon - known as ''filum regium'' - is a potent meta material that can be harvested after its destruction; filum regium can be used to greatly enhance or even forge new gear and weapons at your various friendly meta purveyors such as Peacock Silk or Mayoido Antiques.

* The Eyes don't seem to have the same potential as filum regium but Peacock Silk is still extremely interested in them anyway. What a bunch of weirdos.

==See Also...==
*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Ateliers]]

Ateliers

2026-01-21T19:17:04Z

Eri:

A recent topic entering public (supernatural) conscious via the [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side]], Ateliers are not a new concept, but instead one that has been rapidly becoming more relevant as rumors of people falling victim to [[Homunculus||vicious and unsettling bodysnatching incidents]] have begun to circulate.

The cognitive spaces known as Ateliers seem to be central to these rumors. Which begs the question...

==What Are Ateliers?==

An aspect of the Collective Unconscious, Ateliers exist in all people and represent the balance of a person's sense of individuality versus their connections to others and society – they are, essentially, a person's mind palace (but not Palace!). They are usually benign insomuch as they do not intrude on other supernatural spaces nor are they typically harmful to their owner. Ateliers' sole role is to represent - and maintain - a person's sense of individuality within an endless sea of interconnection.

Everyone has an Atelier, but every Atelier is different. As an Atelier is a reflection of its owner, each is as unique as a fingerprint. There are some simple rules that define how they appear however, their ultimately being a reflection of the individual and their connection to others being the most fundamental. A person with a strongly developed sense of individuality, for example, will have an Atelier that is largely reflective of their personality, their history, and the important things of their life. A person who lacks a strong, individual identity, on the other hand, will usually have a more indistinct Atelier that is ultimately more reflective of the culture and area in which they live, and - on occasion - the people who have had the strongest influence over their lives.

Finally: a person who has no sense of self, i.e. a person whose Shadow has been destroyed, consumed, or otherwise removed from the individual, has a barren and monochrome Atelier, having been deprived of the thing sustaining it.

This is the cornerstone for what an Atelier -looks- like. But there's other simple rules fundamental to an Atelier. Like, for example:

How do you ''get into'' one?

==Accessing Ateliers==

Ateliers exist as part of the nature of intelligent life, although they vary widely in their scope and thematics. In nearly all cases, they are simply there, the same as your spleen and the back of your ears. In some cases, they can be more easily found. Individuals who have recently had a sudden, radical change in their behavior leave a way in.

Getting into the Atelier is not a simple matter. First, you must find a Thread: something important to the individual. This is usually an item of specific personal adoration -- and it may not be the most obvious choice. A precious wedding ring might not be a Thread, while a memento of a regretted love or childhood pet might be. In some rare cases, an individual may be a Thread, although in such cases the individual holds the Potential as well. Whether this is a precondition or a side effect is unknown.

After finding the Thread, one must find the Eye: the Eye will be a location, a lonely one, that is or was important to the individual whose Atelier you seek. This location must be physically visited with the Thread in tow. A subtle change in the Thread's Resonance, usually perceived as an intensification of the Thread's "is-ness," proves that the two have met. (In the exceptional cases of a Thread being an individual, they may visit the location themselves. Typically, they will not notice anything.)

This completes the ritual: at this point, one can enter the Atelier. However, this in turn has its own complexities. You have to find a space where people are "Alone Together." There are nuances here -- it must be an enclosed area, which simultaneously holds the concepts of isolation and interconnection. Such places can be difficult to find, but there is a simple and elegant solution in the modern jungle: a net cafe.

These oases of connected solitude are usually open 24-hours, but it may take some courage to brave one. Here, the traveler enters the net cafe cubicle with the Thread and closes the door. With the Thread in hand, or near to hand, the aspiring traveler logs into a certain website simply called [AtelierNetwork.jp]. After a short wait -- helpfully tracked by the site itself -- the user may step outside of the place where they are, and enter the Fabric of Reality.

The Thread does not travel with you, and so the group can share one by one... though you may still need everyone to rent a cubicle. Otherwise, they might get wise.

The intentionality of this ritual effectively limits it to Persona Users or their immediate confederates. Individuals as Threads should be considered a "PC-exclusive" feature -- either as a shocking mischance leading to Transmutations, or as a point of tension and complexity.

==Lesser Shadows - The Humors==

Ateliers are benign. They are not, however, without a way to defend themselves. Known as '''Humors''', these lesser Shadows populate - and are influenced by - the Ateliers they reside in, and serve as something like the white blood cells of an individual's psyche.

Humors can be divided into four separate categories defined by the roles they fulfill within the Atelier:

'''Flegmat (Phlegmatic) -'''
Among Humor Shadows, the Flegmat types are the most passive. They tend to comprise the 'window dressing' of an Atelier's environment and represent the relative baseline of an Atelier owner's psyche. They are sensitive to small worries and disturbances that are usually too remote for one to voice in the real world. Capable of conversation, but not very assertive, they tend to get swept up by events around them. Despite this, their presence helps prevent most Homunculi from forming at all.

It's when a Homunculus does form with enough strength to eat the primary Shadow that they become seemingly helpless to the chaos around them. As a Homunculus' control of the Atelier strengthens, they begin to take on more twisted forms befitting the Homunculus in question. When it happens, they become the bellwethers to how close a Homunculus is to fully consuming the host's Shadow.

'''Sanguin (Sanguine) -'''
Humor Shadows that represent a need for drive, action, or call for help that the Atelier owner struggles to manage, these are the real movers and doers of Humor Shadows. They all unilaterally desire to destroy a Homunculus by their nature, and can be convinced by Atelier visitors that they are there to help.

However, most will usually rouse up other Humors - especially Coleric - against intruders while acting as a 'leader' figure for small groups. Battles where a Sanguin Humor is present can be averted with successful negotiation, in these cases. While they do not fall into the sway of a Homunculus outside of the most dire of circumstances, it is nearly impossible for Sanguin Humors to deal with them naturally unless the emerged Homunculus is incredibly weak.

'''Coleric (Choleric) -'''
Of the four types, these map most closely to basic mindless Shadows like those from the Dark Hour. Outwardly they act as mindless hordes, but a healthy psyche employs Coleric Humors in order to deal with any manner of foreign body intruding within one's Atelier. This means that conflict with numerous Coleric Humors is an inevitable part of exploring Ateliers in any circumstance.

Even if a Homunculus is active - a presence that stirs them to a panicked violent frenzy regardless - those from outside the Atelier register as enemies all the same. They cannot be reasoned with directly, but all Humor Shadows are capable of communication with each other, so a local Sanguin Humor can temporarily call them off. Their numbers replenish endlessly, so fighting them does no lasting harm to an Atelier's host.

'''Melanc (Melancholic) -'''
These Humor Shadows are based on parts of oneself an Atelier owner dislikes. Self-doubt is healthy, in the correct dosage, and having them present is important for growth and self-improvement. They are also important moderating influences for Sanguin Humors in ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, the presence of a fully-formed Homunculus outright hijacks and empowers these Humor Shadows to turn them into their direct lieutenants, using their self-criticizing rationales as a weapon against the rest of the Atelier.

Coleric Humors have a bad habit of not targeting them because they read as (and are) native to the Atelier, and thus it requires outside help to subdue them when a Homunculus is consuming the primary Shadow. Bringing them 'into balance' is an important step that needs to be taken en route to reaching and subduing an emergent Homunculus. Once subdued, any healthy Flegmat Humors can help prevent a Homunculus from regaining control of a Melanc Humor so long as the Homunculus is dealt with as soon as possible.

==Instar Stages: The Life Cycle of a Homunculus==

One might suspect that Ateliers function similarly to Palaces when infected by Homunculi, and it's understandable why a Persona User might believe it functions like Security Level. However, it is in fact far simpler than that.

The danger of an Atelier is proportional to the stage of development of the Homunculus.

It's been named 'Instar Stages' because functionally, a Homunculus is a parasite, attempting to subsume control over its host.

While it is a Cocoon, there is only the potential of danger. After hatching, it enters its first instar phase. The host will begin to show subtle signs of the takeover, while the Atelier's denizens may attempt to fight off the Homunculus. Nearly always, the humors will lose this battle without outside intervention.

Within the second instar stage, the host will begin to show obvious changes as it assumes that aggressively idealized version of itself. During this phase, the humours will typically stop attacking the Homunculus, as they begin to become confused as to which is host and which is Homunculus.

The Coleric Humors are quite likely to attack any Persona User who comes near them as a perceived threat to the Atelier, as they sense some kind of threat. The Melanc Humors will begin to follow the commands of the Homunculus during this phase.

During the third instar stage, the Atelier becomes incredibly dangerous. The Homunculus has nearly taken over during this time, and nearly all Humors except the Sanguin will register them as the host. In reality, the signs will be absolutely clear. Something is wrong with the person. Confronting the person in question will always end poorly, as the Homunculus becomes paranoid and erratic in asserting they are the person in question. Outright aggression is quite common.

The Sub-Adult stage is the final stage before complete takeover of the host. During this stage, the Atelier and most of its denizens are under its complete control, and will rise to defend the Homunculus if threatened. The appearance of the possessed Shadow may show overt signs of degradation, such as distorted features or speaking with a voice that isn't its own.

This is the final chance to save the person in question's Shadow. Ridding the Atelier of the Homunculus will allow it to still recover, but at this stage it's become quite a feat given its ability to wield the humors against the Persona Users. If the Homunculus feels truly threatened, it will shed all pretense and empower itself by consuming Flegmat Humors to empower itself and become the monstrous 'other self'.

At the adult stage, the person's Shadow has been completely consumed, and there is no coming back from it. They are dead, and the body is under the Homunculus' possession, as the husk that was once a person is now a monster in human skin.

As for what it will do with it at that point, well, wouldn't you like to know?

==Fabric of Reality==

Ateliers are all about individuality versus connection. It stands to reason then that there must be something ''connecting'' them. Enter: the Fabric of Reality.

The Fabric of Reality is the name for the metaphysical space on which Ateliers reside; if Ateliers are great-but-isolated pieces, the Fabric of Reality is the thread that binds them all into a far greater tapestry of interconnection. Through the Fabric, Ateliers (individuals) are woven together to the whole, making it both a sort of liminal space of reality and an essential part of the Atelier system.

The Fabric of Reality is a core part of what makes Ateliers function, but it is ''also'' a space unto itself. The Fabric of Reality can be traversed and explored, with all its own wonders and hidden dangers within its sprawling, esoteric spaces. The explorable spaces of the Fabric are the 'threads' that connect Ateliers to one another; due to this, the Fabric isn't representative of any individual person or place, but is the general zeitgeist of humanity in all its myriad forms. As such, traversable spaces in the Fabric of Reality tend to be more aesthetically abstract, surreal, and sometimes downright eerie.

Persona Users can enter the Fabric of Reality through logging in to AtelierNetwork.jp at any given net cafe, just as they would Ateliers. Since the Fabric belongs to everyone in a very technical sense, Threads are not required to access it; those entering are drawn into a generic hub within the Fabric that abstractly represents the cafe they came from, almost always furnished with a door to the Velvet Room for the average Persona Users' convenience. From there, they can freely explore the Fabric. This is, like many other metaphysical spaces, a trying experience. Like Ateliers, the Fabric of Reality is populated by Humors; these Humors tend to be indistinct and much more representative of cultural perspectives than individual ones, and make traversal through the Fabric a dangerous prospect.

While technically a person could eventually reach an Atelier through the Fabric of Space, the network is so unfathomably vast and full of potential dangers that it would be an impractical choice at best, or the last choice you ever make at worst.

===AtelierNetwork.jp===

The mysterious website that enables access to both Ateliers and the Fabric of Reality. Its layout is simple but elegant: the main page is a white log-in button on a black background, and once logged in, there is another single button, this time red-on-gold, marked ACCESS ATELIER. Logging in and hitting this button after one has successfully completed a ritual is the final key to allow one to enter an Atelier.

Once one has successfully entered an Atelier for the first time, a webring-style image link appears at the bottom of AtelierNetwork.jp, and one can re-enter it by clicking on it. The central button is always the Fabric of Reality, which is already automatically linked once one logs into the site for the first time.

One may get the website address simply by asking Igor, though Igor claims he has nothing to do with its administration. Igor will explain that you choose your name and your password for yourself--though it's up to the website whether or not it accepts it. (In other words, you need to have a Persona. If you don't, the site will reject your account.) It's not necessary to go through Igor to get website access, though; anyone who has an account already can give out the site address.

For groups of people accessing an Atelier, it's not necessary for every single person to log in one by one. It's enough for the first person to log in, and then every subsequent person can enter the net cafe cubicle and click the ACCESS ATELIER button (or the webring link) for themselves. In this way, the unawakened may potentially enter an Atelier and/or the Fabric of Reality--though for their safety, this is strongly not recommended.

===The Enantiodromia===

There is something off in the Fabric of Reality. Regions of the interconnected Atelier network have begun to warp and darken, twisting the Fabric and its Shadows into something strange and disturbing.

The phenomenon is known as ''the Enantiodromia,'' and it is spreading.

Its origins are unclear but its effects are obvious: areas that have succumbed to the Enantiodromia are a sick echo of what they once were, the abstract architecture of the Fabric becoming something more explicitly abnormal and often dangerous on its own for the people who dare to try to travel through. Humors within these spaces are horrific and often confused and far more violent than its brethren outside of it.

In many ways, regions of the Fabric of Reality are not so dissimilar to Ateliers subjected to the will of a [[Homunculus]]. But most worrisome of all is the fact that the connections between Ateliers in spaces like these seem to be weakening -- as if the Fabric was somehow, in some abstract way, fraying.

It's unclear what is causing this affliction within the Fabric of Space; the most reasonable theory is that it has something to do with the emergence of Homunculi. But it is a real and present danger and, for those brave enough, a mystery that needs to be solved. Exploration of the Enantiodromia is extremely dangerous but potentially rewarding: in the way of all supernatural spaces, it comes with an abundance of treasure and meta-materials the subconscious craves, if someone can navigate its constant and surreal obstacles.

The deeper one delves into the Enantiodromia, the stranger and more unearthly it becomes. Regions of the Enantiodromia are walled off, preventing further passage, barriers that seem to open up the more Homunculi are dealt with.

What is the connection between Homunculi and the Enantiodromia? And just what is waiting at the epicenter of it all?

Well -- there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

==See also…==

*[[Persona Syzygy]]
*[[Homunculus]]
*[[Assorted_Persona_Topics#Transmutation|Transmutation]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Palaces

2026-01-21T19:05:48Z

Eri:

The latest hot topic on The [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]] are Palaces, personalized cognitive worlds ruled over by distorted individuals known as Rulers. News of them began circulating shortly after the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts made a splash in the Tokyo news media.

Where the rumor originally came from is unknown at this time, and some Rumormongers speculate the Phantom Thieves, cool and elegant as they must surely all be, started it themselves as a taunt to "Catch us if you can~!" How true this is gets hotly contended among them as they attempt to locate the original source.

Ever since, the supernatural community has been doing their best to investigate, but has had considerably more difficulty figuring access to Palaces out than Mementos. After weeks of scouting by various urban explorers and involved discussions on how one might enter, eventually several facts have come to light.

==Getting In To Palaces==

The original rumor spoke of a mysterious app known as the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Meta-Nav|Meta-Nav]], but so far the Rumor community hasn't figured out how to obtain it. Access to a smartphone definitely doesn't guarantee it, it's not available for download, and there's no hints of its presence online.

After combing the newly erected Phantom Thieves Aficionado Website for clues on their next potential target, and much time spent on misses, the online personality known only as Baofu has stated he's been inside of a Palace. "It's just a matter of harnessing your chi to see the signs," he claims.

What he's discovered is that:
:When a Palace is in the area, the area feels wrong to the spirit. By following the trail closer to the signs, you can sometimes hear echoes of cognitive world signs of whose Palace it is and what form it takes.

The rumormonger community then followed up with information after much trial and error.
:By then spreading a rumor that has the format of the name of the person, the location of the area, and the form the Palace takes, you can create a route of entry into the Palace that persists. Note: the Kuzunoha Detective Agency won't spread a rumor that will potentially get normal people trapped inside, and require you pick a method that's off the beaten path.

And then the mysterious Rumormonger Moriae of Strega posted a cryptic message:
:"There's an easier way, if you've got the guts and the talent." It's an enticing breadcrumb without further hints.

===OOC Notes: Getting In!===

*Palaces only register to [[Resonance]] if you're within about half a kilometer of the area where they're associated with and if someone with the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Meta-Nav|Meta-Nav]] has been inside recently. After they have, the Palace is typically connected spiritually to the material world for roughly a week after and can be sensed. If a rumor is spread strongly enough, the path inside will remain so long as the Palace does, even if the signs fade to your Resonance.

*There may be a way to prevent those signs from appearing in the real world, but at this time it's unclear how one does so. The [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts upon investigation may find no further Palaces they can detect in Tokyo using these methods, which may indicate there is a way. After all, 'the one in the Black Mask' is supposedly out there.

*Strega has found that trying to summon a Persona through use of an Evoker, or through Takaya summoning his Persona while concentrating on both the person in question and the form the Palace takes, will get them in. They're not sharing. For some reason, this is only available for those with this form of [[Assorted_Persona_Topics#The_Potential|The Potential]].

*The [[Phantom Thieves]] know internally they did not spread this rumor! At least, they're pretty sure. You can never tell with Skull being such a loudmouth all the time.

*There may be other ways to get in! If you want to figure out/suggest alternatives, then staff can tell you if it works. Warning: other methods may be much less safe than this.

==Once inside...==

In the days that followed confirmation of gaining access, the [[Rumors and Rumor Culture|Rumor]] community noted that Palaces are extremely dangerous even to veteran Persona Users. The cognitive world inside takes strange forms that appear to fit the personality of the [[Shadows|Shadow]] of the person in question. Some have started calling them the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Rulers|Rulers]] of those Palaces because, in all the (admittedly scant) examples seen so far, they command all the other local Shadows. It's not clear who used the word first, only that it's caught on quickly.

The other Shadows within fit the theme of the Palace in the form they take, but otherwise function much like the Shadows in Mementos by taking on other forms when provoked--with a single caveat. "If you're not careful, then most of the time other Shadows start converging, and more appear all over! I barely escaped with my life! It's like they're all working together as security guards!"

Stealth seems to be the only way to navigate a Palace safely. The few Rumormongers who have managed to get in far enough undetected have noted there's people inside--or what look and act like people when talked to. They're not Shadows, but they're not exactly human beings, either... Currently, most of them are not sure what to make of the phenomenon known as [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Cognitions|Cognitions]], but recently Rumormonger Moriae of Strega posted their disappointment that "killing these 'people' inside the Palaces seems to have no effect on them in reality. It only stirs up the Shadows."

The rumormonger community has had a heated debate ever since on the morality of testing things in Palaces like that, but with more than you might expect coming out on the side of Strega. "You can't make an omelette without cracking a few eggs." It appears much of the rumormonger community is quick to set aside moral outrage if it means that juicier rumors might flow through.

===OOC Notes: Once Inside!===

*There is a dedicated sector of the rumormonger community that will reward characters for information regarding Palaces. This has been a motivating factor for many Persona Users to band together and explore. The Persona 1 characters are particularly alarmed and have all been monitoring Palace rumors with increasing scrutiny. There's been some talk of getting the band back together to look into it.

*Most non-Will of Rebellion PCs haven't had much opportunity yet to figure Cognitions out by the start of the Velvet Room MUSH. After all, they don't have a Morgana, and haven't had a great deal of time to figure it out.

*No one without a [[Will of Rebellion]] has yet been far enough to see the amorphous form of [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Treasure|The Treasure]]. Only the [[Phantom Thieves]] currently understand its significance or what it's called. That doesn't mean that getting that far within a Palace doesn't carry its own rewards, however.

*Only PCs with the [[Will of Rebellion]] may have had the opportunity to already understand that you can alter cognition in real life to change the internal form of the Palace. Ordinarily this kind of speculation takes guidance, like Morgana's, or some trial and error.

*There are numerous opportunities to do things in or to Palaces that neither the [[Phantom Thieves]] or Morgana would think of, much less the 'one in the [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#The_Black_Mask|black mask]].' If you want your [[Will of Rebellion]] PC to have figured out a hook with Palaces prior to the start of the game, especially if they have their own PC group, then contact staff with the thing you want to do and we'll discuss with you if it's possible. Understand that some things just may not be, but there are a lot more aspects to the psyche than Persona 5 ever touches upon that have been integrated here.

*For non-Will of Rebellion characters, we'll handle it after the start of the game. Some groups just have more resources and the motivation to try the experiments that one would need to carry out to do certain things, while membership in other groups might just give you a leg up information-wise.

==Safe Rooms==

Safe Rooms are liminal areas that serve to anchor a Palace to a location in reality. In essence, think of them as a place where the veil is thin enough to see the flickering between a place in reality and the cognitive dimension of the Palace.

It should be made abundantly clear. Each Palace has many safe rooms, but in a sense, they're all anchored to the exact same fixed point in reality. Because of this, you're able to transition between different safe rooms as a very simple form of Cognitive Psience by willing it to occur. This can only happen if all of the people in the Safe Room currently have been there before. If even one person hasn't, then you won't be able to transition to a Safe Room deeper in the Palace than everyone has been.

Conversely, if a second party were to enter a safe room while a first party is present, you'd all be in the same room together. The same rules of transitioning apply. If one party there has never been to any safe rooms deeper within the Palace, then that person would have to leave the room for the others to make that trip.

A Safe Room truly is a Safe Room. In the liminal state present within, powers which would attack others won't function properly. While it's technically possible to still attack others with Weapons in these places, your Personas won't work to their full capability due to everyone perceiving this as a 'safe space.' They will however, arise to /defend/ you, making attempts to ambush others with weapons an exercise in futility. If Persona Users want to brawl due to a heated argument, they simply gain the instinct to 'take it outside'.

===OOC Minutia===

*There may be tricks for interacting with Safe Rooms that aren't presented within Persona 5. If you want to try something, then make a [[Requests|Request]] to staff and we can tell you what happens.

*Feel free to use the 'It's the same room' as a scene hook to multiple parties exploring a Palace to interact with each other. It's a good excuse for why two parties come into contact!

==Security Level==

Anyone who's tried to get through a Palace without some degree of subterfuge runs into a problem nearly immediately. As the Shadows within the Palace notice your presence, more will appear, sometimes even while you're tied up fighting them.

What gives?

Security Level represents the 'anxiety' of the Palace ruler towards an invasion within the Palace. As the Ruler becomes more paranoid, anxious or fearful more Shadows are summoned from the Metaverse in order to come to their defense. They continue to appear until the situation becomes untenable and the Persona Users must flee. This can be a problem even for two separate groups exploring a Palace simultaneously. If one isn't as deft as the other, it threatens both of them!

This anxiety manifests even within the ego in reality. The person the Ruler is will consequently grow more anxious or fearful that someone is out to get them. Observant Persona Users can thus predict when someone is potentially invading this individual's Palace if they witness more erratic behavior than usual.

Due to the nature of a Palace, when the Treasure is directly threatened as if by 'Calling Cards' of the Phantom Thieves, the Security Level will rise to maximum for the next day as the object manifests as something tangible. This is the only time when a maximum security level will not make entering a Palace a doomed affair, typically the problem of endless Shadows are 'skipped' by having the Palace mapped out and using Safe Rooms as above to transport yourself near the Treasure.

As for why those Shadows are absent when fighting a Ruler, rather than overwhelming the Persona Users the answer is.

They aren't absent at all.

The great horde of Shadows are typically summoned as part of the 'armor' that a [[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Rulers|Ruler]] summons to take on a monstrous, Arch-demonic form. Sometimes there are some left over. When Shadows /do/ appear, they simply weren't all needed for the form the Ruler took.

===OOC Minutia===

*Unless otherwise specified, Security Level is primarily a roleplay tool when going through Palace Monads. If you want to represent failure to a challenge by Security Level going up, or Security Level reaching Maximum by the 'Escape' result, then feel free!

==See also…==

*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Metaverse|Metaverse]]
*[[Assorted_Supernatural_Phenomena#Meta-Nav|Meta-Nav]]
*[[Mementos]]
*[[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Dark_Side_of_Sumaru|Dark Side of Sumaru]]
*[[Rumormongers]]

[[Category: Theme]]

Arcana System

2026-01-18T21:18:49Z

Eri:

The Arcana System is Velvet Room MUSH's primary coded combat system. It encompasses combat among player characters as well as versus monsters and bosses run by other players or staff.

== Basics ==

The basic object of play in the Arcana System is to reduce one's opponents to 0 HP before being reduced to 0 HP yourself. While sometimes this will be influenced or replaced by the needs of drama and ultimately 'winning' is less important than telling an interesting story, that is how one 'wins'.

The following concepts are vital to understanding the system.

=== Pools ===

'''HP''': ''Hit Points''. These reflect one's health fatigue, and ability to continue fighting. While the loss of HP can reflect literal bleeding wounds, it usually doesn't. Generally taking damage in combat results in increased fatigue. This is illustrated more in [[Respect#Violence|Respect]]. They are reduced by taking damage from attacks and restored via healing. Some attacks cost HP to use.

'''TP:''' ''Treatment Points''. These points reflect how much more healing a character can receive before healing ceases to have effect. Think of it as reserve health which is accessed via healing moves. It is primarily reduced by receiving healing. When TP reaches 0, healing has no further effect. Note that these points are never wasted--if you're only healed 50 damage from a 100-damage heal, you only lose 50 TP. Countering an attack also costs 30 TP. The purpose of this system is to allow healing as useful and effective without allowing fights to stretch indefinitely.

'''SP''': ''Spirit Points''. These reflect one's mental focus and energy. Most attacks cost SP to use, and rare effects can lower one's SP directly. Lower SP ICly reflects a greater difficulty focusing on using Persona abilities. SP cannot go below 0 and cannot go above one's maximum. At 0 SP, one can no longer use attacks which cost SP. SP can be restored like HP without limit otherwise. Your SP pool is based on your attacks, with more Magical attacks leading to more SP and more Physical attacks leading to less.

'''Limit''': ''Limit''. These points reflect an overall advantage during battle, be it luck or superior positioning. Limit is spent to use higher-level attacks and perform ''Limit Actions'', which are covered later in this page. Limit is gained primarily through using lower-tier attacks. In a typical battle, Limit starts at 0 and can be gathered up to a given cap. Limit is bounded between 0 and the cap. It is best to use limit rather than store it; there are no benefits to holding max Limit besides the opportunity to use it.

Pools such as HP, TP, SP, and Limit are all reset to their starting amounts upon using +heal/full. This is typically done before each new battle. Stats do not affect one's pools.

=== Stats ===

Characters have five 'stats' for the Arcana System, which are detailed in [[Arcana System#Stats_2|Character Statistics]]. These basic statistics affect most aspects of combat, and are set per form.

=== Actions and Reactions ===

One can take both active moves and responsive moves in the combat system. Typically, one receives one action per turn, and any number of reactions per turn. Actions are used for attacks, which are explained below. Reactions are responses to incoming attacks. Finally, there is a third type of action that can be used on one's turn, the '''bonus action'''. Granted by some effects, a bonus action allows you to take limited additional actions on your turn. (Typically, one additional Weak action per bonus action.) Note that limit can be '''spent''' but is not '''received''' for bonus actions. Bonus actions are preferentially used when possible; if you have a regular action and a bonus action available and use a Weak attack, it will take the bonus action rather than the regular action.

=== Attacks ===

The primary action one can take in the Arcana System is to assign and enact ''attacks'', which include both offensive moves and healing spells. Buffs and debuffs are also attacks; examples include Agi, Cleave, Tarukaja, Tarunda, and Dia. Attacks come in multiple tiers: Weak, Strong, Fierce, Severe, and Divine. An attack's components and construction are detailed in [[Arcana_System#Attacks_2|this section]].

=== Effects ===

Buffs, debuffs, and ailments are all effects that can modify one's attacks, reactions, or combat status in some way. Buffs increase statistical values; debuffs decrease statistical values; ailments impose conditions on your character not directly related to your stats. The difference between buffs, debuffs, and ailments is elaborated upon in [[Arcana System#Flag_Listing|this section]].

=== Limit Actions ===

Limit Actions are a way of turning the tide of a battle in one's favor. They spend the Limit resource to achieve effects that could not typically be done through attacks or reactions. Notably, some Limit Actions can be used '''regardless of turn order'''. The limit actions to which one has access vary depending on character attributes. Antagonists and bosses have a different set of Limit Actions from standard characters. Limit Actions include the following:

*'''Help Up''' - Removes Omen or one Ailment from target character (never yourself). On or off your turn. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All.''
**''Priority'': In order, it will remove: Omen, Pain, Bomb, Charm, Exhaust, Poison, Panic, Rage, Sick, Blast, Bind, Paralyze, and Haze.
*'''Shift''' - Grants one ''bonus action'' to target character (never yourself). On or off your turn. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''All.''
*'''Recover''' - Converts Bonus Actions to Limit, at a rate of 1:1. Will clear all bonus actions. Costs '''0''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Exploit''' - Grants yourself one Bonus Action. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Psych''' - Enhances this round's attacks. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All''.
*'''Brace''' - Enhances your defenses against all attacks this round. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''All''
*'''Blood''' - Grants the Blood status to self, which increases incoming and outgoing damage. Mutually exclusive with Aegis and Favor. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Aegis''' - Grants the Aegis status to self, which decreases incoming and outgoing damage. Mutually exclusive with Aegis and Favor. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Favor''' - Grants the Favor status to self, which increases outgoing and decreases incoming damage. Mutually exclusive with Blood and Aegis. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Salve''' - Removes one ailment from self. Costs ''2'' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Broad''' - Allows one to attack up to 4 targets with one attack, regardless of Area flags. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss''
*'''Reach''' - Allows an Area attack to reach up to 30 targets. Costs '''3''' Limit. ''Boss'' ''(Note: Please do not fight 30 people. Also, Reach only applies to attacks that have the Area flag, not those that are temporarily Area thanks to Broad.)''
*'''Break''' - Grants the Break status to self and grants 3 Limit to self. The Break status grants a Bonus Action to each target attacked while it lasts. This is meant to encourage 'all-out attacks', and is a fine way to end a last round. Costs '''0''' Limit. ''Boss''

==== Exclusive Limit Actions ====

These limit actions require a passive to unlock. They are generally for Navigators and Anti-Navigators.

*'''X Soul''' - Grants a random buff to the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Spotlight passive to use.''
*'''Shock Noise''' - Inflicts a random debuff onto the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Jamming passive to use.''
*'''Life Mend''' - Grants +75 HP to the target. Can be used on self. Costs '''2''' Limit. ''Requires the Sneak Guide passive to use.''

=== Combat Rounds ===

At the end of one's turn, the combat round ticks over. At this point, various operations are performed: regenerative healing-per-turn effects happen, as do damage-per-turn effects. Rounds tick down for effects, and ailments may resolve by random chance. Your 'action count' also resets, allowing your next turn to take the appropriate amount of actions. More on this in combat flow.

=== Elements and Affinity ===

Each attack has an ''element'', which describes the sort of damage (or healing) it does. Each character has Affinities for each element: you may be Neutral to, Resistant to, or Weak to an element. Resistance means less damage from attacks of that element, while Weakness means more damage from attacks of that element. Neutrality applies no modifier.

Elements for which characters may have Affinity include ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. ''Almighty'' and ''Recovery'' are additional elements, but a character cannot have affinity for either.

*'''Pierce''': Pinpoint physical attacks; most ranged physical attacks.
*'''Slash''': Cutting physical attacks.
*'''Strike''': Bashing physical attacks.
*'''Fire''': Attacks based on heat and combustion. Agi/Frei lines.
*'''Water''': Attacks based on cold and liquid. Bufu/Aqua lines.
*'''Elec''': Attacks based on volatile energy. Zio/Psi lines.
*'''Earth''': Attacks based on rock, compression, or weight. Magna/Gry lines.
*'''Wind''': Attacks based on kinetic energy. Garu/Zan lines.
*'''Light''': Attacks based on holiness, sacred power, or exorcism. Kouha/Hama lines.
*'''Dark''': Attacks based on curses and dark forces. Eiha/Mudo lines.
*'''Recovery''': Healing and restorative attacks. Dia line.
*'''Almighty''': Attacks which bypass elemental affinity. Poisma or Megido.

=== Forms ===

Typically, a character has one combat mode in Arcana System: that of their character and Persona. However, some characters can hold multiple Personas, and occasionally one might use a character bit to run a boss separately from one's own character. To shift modes, one will use '''+mode #''' where # is the number of the desired mode.

The most common way to have multiple forms is either to be a Wild Card or to have a form to reflect one's minions separately from oneself, as if for a Marked character summoning generic Demons.

== Combat, Reactions, and Battle Flow ==

A typical battle run through the Arcana System is started with the +heal/full command for all given participants. If one is a boss, they will use +heal/boss #, where # is the amount of targets they intend to fight.

===Action===

From there, it proceeds in turns. On a turn, one takes an action, assigning one attack per action to the targets of one's choice. These can be healing moves, damaging attacks, or anything else on your list. One also takes one's bonus action attacks, typically Weak-tier attacks that may be assigned before or after one's main attacks. Note that bonus action attacks do not gain Limit except for that gained from Passives such as Supporter.

If the attacker has finished their actions and bonus actions, +round will be automatically engaged to progress to the end of their turn. If you want to continue the battle without engaging all of your actions, use the command ''+round''.

This is accomplished via the '''+attack''' command. The syntax is ''+attack <target>=<attackname>'', for example ''+attack bel=dia''. Multiple targets are comma-separated. For example, ''+attack bel,leb=media''.

=== Reaction ===

When attacked, a player character has the option of various '''reactions''', each of which impact the incoming attack in some way. It is expected to react to an attack (including heals and buff attacks) as soon as is possible and reasonable. For example: in a group fight, you're targeted by an attack. By reacting at the time of the attack rather than later while you're writing, someone who might want to heal your character will know what you need!

=== Reactions ===
*'''+Avoid''' - Attempts to defend via speed and evasion. Affected by Agility. Can also be performed with '''+evade'''.
*'''+Block''' - Attempts to defend via toughness or parrying. Affected by Vitality. Can also be performed with '''+guard'''.
*'''+Counter''' - Refuses defense in order to return damage to the attacker. Affected by Agility, Vitality, and Luck. Can also be performed with '''+repel'''.
*'''+Take''' - A final reaction which reflects 'no contest' to the attack. This is typically used for heals and buffs. If you wish to fail a roll deliberately, use the /fail switch on one of the other reactions, rather than +take. '''+accept''' is another alias for +take.

Each reaction has three possible states:

*''Success'' - The most favorable result. Reduces the most damage, or returns the most damage in the case of Counter.
*''Neutral'' - A moderate result. Reduces some damage, or returns some damage in the case of Counter.
*''Failure'' - The worst result. Takes the most damage, or returns the least damage in the case of Counter.

Stats impact both one's rate of success and base damage reduction from attacks for a given reaction. Reaction modifiers are also affected by certain abilities and statuses. More on that in [[#Passives|Passives]] and [[#Effects|Effects]].

**'''Attack Type''' has effects on Reactions. Avoid is slightly more advantageous against Magical attacks, while Block is somewhat more advantageous against Physical attacks. In addition, Physical attacks will deal more damage on Failure and less on Success, whereas Magical attacks will deal less on Failure and more on Success.

You can see attacks in your queue as well as data on that attack to help you decide how to react. You do this with the commands '''+queue''' or '''+health'''. When choosing a reaction, use the number in your queue or the name or alias of your attacker to react to the topmost attack from them in your queue.

'''Note that some attacks are multi-hit attacks''', which means that you will have multiple +queue entries against which to defend from a given attack. This is noted in the attack readout but also in +queue. ''You cannot act again until you have reacted to all attacks in your +queue.'' You can react to every attack at once if you want to use the same type of reaction against them. Do this by presenting multiple arguments in your +react string, such as ''+block junes junes'' or ''+block 1 2''.

Further note that there is no such thing as perfect mitigation in this system; all attacks that deal damage will deal some damage.

=== Summary ===

So, one acts, their opponent reacts to each attack. Then, the opponent acts, and the original attacker reacts. Battle progresses this way in turns. In large fights against a single boss, the boss acts up to once per target, and each target reacts, followed by a poseround in which everyone takes their own actions. One never acts again before one's opponent has acted.

When someone's HP reaches 0, ''or when a dramatic end is agreed upon by all parties'', the battle is over. Note that a character does not die when reduced to 0 HP; they must merely stop the battle. This can be due to unconsciousness, needing to flee, or any number of other reactions, but ''consent still applies'' to defeated characters.

===Attack/Pose Conventions===

Finally, there's the matter of which attacks to use. We encourage variety in pose, especially in combat. However, Persona is a series where sometimes you just spam the same thing to win! We prefer a balance of these approaches; in general, you shouldn't re-use the same attack consecutively, but you're welcome to re-use said attack another time in the fight. While many games discourage such re-use, we're cool with it. Just remember that it's not only about winning, but about providing an interesting fight to both sides. For bosses, all repetition bets are off, becuase there's only so many attacks and a lot of opponents to go around. However, a boss should only attack each target once per round in most circumstances; if you want to attack twice, use a bonus action for the second! If it's narratively interesting to break these rules, go for it! But they should generally be followed in most circumstances.

== Character Statistics ==

=== Stats ===

Each 'stat' is a numerical representation of one's relative power in a given field of combat. Their scale is between 1 and 100. The stats and their effects are as follows:

*'''Strength''' - ''St'', this stat reflects one's physical offense. It empowers Physical attacks.
*'''Magic''' - ''Ma'', this stat reflects one's mystical offense. It empowers Magical attacks.
*'''Agility'''- ''Ag'', this stat reflects one's ability to move and dodge. It benefits Avoid and Counter reactions.
*'''Vitality''' - ''Vi'', this stat reflects one's toughness and guarding abilities. It benefits Block and Counter reactions.
*'''Luck''' - ''Lu'', this stat reflects happenstance, chance, and general favor of the divine. It primarily impacts critical rate and damage, both incoming and outgoing. It also affects debuff odds, incoming and outgoing, as well as Counter reactions.

While it can be fun to play these for IC reality, they are ultimately combat abstractions; a character who can deadlift a great amount is probably but not necessarily possessed of high mechanical Strength. For non-combat statistical generalities, see [[Monad System]].

===Stat Guidelines===

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Form Type
! scope="col" | Stat Pool
! scope="col" | Stat Minimum
! scope="col" | Stat Maximum
! scope="col" | Passive Points
! scope="col" | Passive Rank
! scope="col" | Strong/Weak Affinities
! scope="col" | Weak/Strong/Fierce Attacks
! scope="col" | Weapon Attacks
! scope="col" | Signature Attacks
|-
| Standard
| 75
| 10
| 25
| 4
| 2
| 1/1
| 5/3/0
| 2
| 1
|-
| Veteran
| 75
| 10
| 25
| 5
| 3
| 1/1
| 5/3/0
| 2
| 1
|-
| Adversary
| 90
| 15
| 30
| 6
| 2
| 1/1
| 6/4/0
| 3
| 1
|-
| Veteran Adversary
| 90
| 15
| 30
| 7
| 3
| 1/1
| 6/4/0
| 3
| 1
|-
| Mythic
| 135
| 20
| 40
| 12
| 4
| 2/1
| 6/6/3
| 4
| 1
|}

* Note that all of the attacks listed are additive; a standard statblock has two weak Weapon attacks and an additional Signature attack on top of their starting 5/3.
* A Standard Persona is that of a normal character in the midst of their plot. Mitsuru Kirijo and Ryuji Sakamato are both Standard characters, even though Kirijo has been at it a while.
* A Veteran Persona is that of someone who has completed at least one major, world-shaking plot in the past. They don't retain their full power outside the narrative focus they had, but they have some extra tricks still. The Persona 1 cast are Veterans.
* An Adversary Persona is an antagonist's Persona. They have a certain narrative role and have a little more power to back that up.
* A Mythic Persona meanwhile is someone at the top of their game--a powerful Persona-user well beyond the standard, either through destiny or some other means. Being Mythic is not normal, and it tends to draw the attention of powerful enemies. Tatsuya Suou is a Mythic character, as is Goro Akechi.

Meanwhile, Wild Cards and certain other characters may have more than one Persona. If a form is meant for use during an entire battle, it can be built as per the usual rules. If, however, that form is designed for switching between, such as a Wild Card's Personas, it will use the following rules:

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Form Type
! scope="col" | Stat Pool
! scope="col" | Stat Minimum
! scope="col" | Stat Maximum
! scope="col" | Passive Points
! scope="col" | Passive Rank
! scope="col" | Strong/Weak Affinities
! scope="col" | Weak/Strong/Fierce Attacks
! scope="col" | Weapon Attacks
! scope="col" | Signature Attacks
|-
| Additional (Standard)
| 70
| 10
| 25
| 3
| 2
| 1/1, 2/2, or 3/3
| 4/3/0
| 2
| 0
|-
| Additional (Adversary)
| 80
| 10
| 25
| 4
| 2
| 1/1, 2/2, or 3/3
| 4/3/0
| 3
| 0
|-
| Additional (Mythic)
| 125
| 15
| 40
| 11
| 3
| 3/2 or 2/1
| 4/4/1
| 4
| 0
|}

Passives and Attacks are explained in more detail at [[Arcana System#Passives|here]] and [[Arcana System#Attacks_2|here]]. Note that a character who foregoes a weapon can instead take two additional Weak Persona attacks, and some passives grant extra Navigator attacks. Otherwise, only 6 attacks per tier are allowable.

Our current scale is between 10 and 40, with 10 being a serious weakness, 15-16 being solid, and 20 being a highly notable strength. Values above 20 are mostly for Mythic characters and Adversaries, or exist as room to grow as characters gather XP. Having a stat of even 20 at chargen is very powerful, and we encourage a more even statistical spread. Some characters are lopsided in stats, and that's fine--but it's not necessary to keep up.

=== Personality ===

Form ''Personalities'', meanwhile, reflect ways to gain extra Limit based on a general approach to combat. These are set per-form, and include the following:

*'''Aggression''' - Issue an attack with SP/TP under 50%; use Weapon moves; use Critical or All_Out flags.
*'''Defense''' - Issue an attack with HP/TP under 50%; issue an attack while suffering a debuff or ailment; use the Masochism, Hunted, or Area flags.
*'''Support''' - Use heal/support attacks.
*'''Pressure''' - Issue an attack with HP over 80%; issue attack while buffed; use the Wild, Still, Sadism, or Seeker flags.
*'''Ruin''' - Use Ailments or Debuffs, or the Seeker/Sadism flags.
*'''Insight''' - Use Navigator-flagged attacks.

They add Limit once per round for any character, on the character's attack.

== Bosses and Boss Fights ==

=== Boss Stats ===

Ordinarily, one will simply use their own stats to boss! However, for a dedicated bossform, either for single use or multiple use...

Bosses are, essentially, 'whatever you feel like' in terms of statting; they exist to be a challenge, not to follow XP rules and standards. However, there are strong guidelines to be followed, and we recommend that you go as follows:

Compared to starting characters (75 XP)...

+8 stat points: an ordinary fight.

+23 stat points: a standard, challenging bossfight. +2 passive points; +1 rank of passives.

+38 stat points: a rare, occasional bossfight; best for plot arc ends. +4 passive points; +1 rank of passives.

+40 or more stat points: the PCs are expected to lose. +5 or more passive points; any rank.

Attacks are however many you need, though i do not recommend taking more than 6 per tier as a rule. Use Adversary as a baseline, but add 1-2 Fierce for a particularly challening fight (30 points or more). Bosses do not usually gain Signature attacks. Their elemental affinities can be whatever you want, but note that a boss with more than a 1:1 Resist:Weak ratio becomes kind of a puzzle boss, and season accordingly.

=== Bossing ===

Sometimes, a player takes on the role of a Boss for other players to fight. This can reflect a single big monster, a group of enemies, or even a single character who is empowered by their cornered state. In other words, don't worry too much about whether a boss should rightly be able to handle a group of people ICly; we're based on a JRPG, and that's just part of the milieu. More importantly, here's how it's done:

*'''+heal/boss <number>''' - Number refers to the number of opponents you intend to fight.
*'''+heal/adjust <number>''' - Something went funny and someone had to leave, or someone new joined the fight? Adjust your boss value with this command.

With this command, a player can empower their character or other boss to take on a group! A boss has increased HP, SP, Limit maximum, and Action count in order to pose a challenge to more than one player. The expectation is that a boss will take their actions on their turn, attacking everyone not more than once with the same action, and in turn everyone else will react, pose, and attack the boss in turn. The boss may react to attacks in any order they choose, but the default is first-in, first-out. Bosses gain various special tools to help them provide interesting challenges.

Note that in most cases, the object of a bossfight for the boss is not to win, but to ''provide an interesting experience''. A boss might well be able to overcome the entire group by using only their strongest and most ruthless tactics! This is usually not desirable. Accordingly, a boss need not be fought to 0 HP; when the group and/or the bossrunner agree that the fight has reached an interesting conclusion, that's good enough.

One tool to which bosses have access is the +trigger system. Sometimes, a fight may involve environmental or other narrative elements that are useful to simulate. For this purpose, the boss may designate a trigger with the +boss/trigger command. By fulfilling the requirements the boss sets forth, the players unlock a special command; this allows them to deal extra damage to the boss without having to use their own attack. The commands for this sytem are as follows:

*'''+boss/trigger <character>[ <character2>, etc.]=<damage value>''' - Designate one or more characters with the ability to deal <damage> to the target. It may be a flat value or a percentage of HP. So, 1000 points, or 10% of your max HP.
*'''+trigger <bossname>''' - Sets off the trigger, dealing damage.
*'''+trigger/reset''' - Something gone wrong, or the action didn't get taken after all? Reset your triggers with this command.

All triggers are reset upon +heal/full or +heal/boss.

In addition, note that the HP costs for boss attacks are based on the Boss HP Modifier value, rather than on their current max HP.

=== Buckets ===

Buckets refers to not literal buckets but instead is a mechanism for organizing boss fights when there are multiple bosses in the scene. Using buckets allows players to 'sign up' to fight a particular boss and for the boss to keep track of who they're targeting.

Keep in mind, using buckets doesn't mean that a player is restricted to a given target -- the key is to ask first if you would like to temporarily target someone else. Neither are you restricted to aiding people also in your bucket! Buckets are simply an organizational tool.

For bosses, characters in your bucket are starred with an asterisk in +pot and +scan.

Boss bucket commands are:
* '''+bucket/place #''' - Places a new bucket with # slots.
* '''+bucket/adjust #''' - Only works if you have a bucket. Adjusts slots to #.
* '''+bucket/clear''' - Clears your current bucket.

To check buckets for the room, use '''+buckets'''.

For non-boss players, their bucket commands are:
* '''+bjoin <Bossname>''' - Joins an extant bucket. (+bucket/join <bossname> also works.)
* '''+bleave <Bossname>''' - Leaves the relevant bucket. (+bucket/leave <bossname> also works.)
Certain effects work differently when there are Buckets. For instance, the Charm ailment deals damage to yourself normally, but might instead deal damage to a party member, as designated by non-bosses in your +bucket!

=== Triggers ===

The '''+trigger''' system is a mode by which a boss can establish narrative conditions for inflicting some damage or effect.

By establishing a trigger with the +trigger/set command, the boss hangs damage or a debuff or ailment on themselves, which they can then set off with +trigger when a player takes the narrative action required.

Commands:

*'''+trigger/set <Damage, Percentage, or Effect>''' - Set a trigger. Can be damage, a percentage of max HP, or a debuff or ailment. If multiple debuffs and/or ailments, separate with commas. Note that explosion exclusions apply.
*'''+trigger <Playername>''' - Activate the trigger on behalf of player.
*'''+trigger/reset''' - To reset all triggers on your person.

== Passives ==

Each form has a number of '''Passive''' abilities, each of which has an impact on battles. Passives are applied per-form--each Persona has its own. Some impact the parameters of the form, while others affect statistics, actions, and reactions more directly. The same Passive cannot be stacked, but different and similar passives may.

Passives are gated by Rank. Each form may take passives up to and including a given Rank, which is noted at the end of the passive's description. For example, a form has access to four points of passives, up to rank 2: they may take 4 rank one passives, 2 rank 2 passives, or any other combination which adds up to 4 made up of 1 and 2 Rank passives.

Passives are as follows:

=== Defensive Passives ===
*'''Avoid <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Avoiding <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Defense. '''(1)'''
*'''Block <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Blocking <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Defense. '''(1)'''
*'''Counter <Element>''': Reduces damage taken when Countering <Element> regardless of roll. +2 Attack. '''(1)'''
*'''<Element> Riposte''': Your counters deal <Element> damage instead of the incoming attack's element. Note that only one of these passives can take effect per form.'''(1)'''
*'''Apt Pupil''': - Increases outgoing Counter backlash damage. '''(1)''' (That is, the damage that you deal when you counter /them/.)
*'''Sharp Student''': Decreases incoming Counter backlash damage. '''(1)''' (That is, the damage you take when someone counters /you/.) Also, reduces incoming critical hit damage.
*'''Fortify Spirit''': You take less backlash damage from effects such as Panic and Exhaust. '''(1)'''
*'''Mind Shield''': Decreases odds that Rage, Charm, Poison, Haze, and Bind will land by 25%. '''(2)'''
*'''Nerve Shield''': Decreases odds that Exhaust, Panic, Sick, Blast, and Paralyze will land by 25%. '''(2)'''
*'''Null <Ailment>''': Prevents <Ailment> from applying to the user. '''(2)'''
**''Note that Mind Shield and Nerve Shield are usually a better deal than Null Ailment, which is included for cases when a character should really be immune to just the one.''
*'''Back Row''': You take less damage from all attacks except Area attacks, but deal less damage with all attacks but Area attacks. This does apply to healing. '''(2)'''
*'''<Element> Resist''': Adds a Resistance to <Element> above and beyond one's usual selections. Cannot be applied over a Weakness. '''(3)'''
*'''Endure''': Once per battle, withstands an attack that would KO the user with 1 HP. '''(3)'''
*'''Ali Dance''': Reduces damage taken when Avoiding any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
*'''Firm Stance''': Reduces damage taken when Blocking any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
*'''High Counter''': Reduces damage taken when Countering any element, regardless of roll. '''(4)'''
**''Ali Dance'', ''Firm Stance'', and ''High Counter'' are mutually exclusive.

For this purpose, the elements selectable are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. Ailments include ''Bind'', ''Blast'', ''Charm'', ''Exhaust'', ''Haze'', ''Panic'', ''Paralyze'', ''Poison'', ''Rage'', and ''Sick''.

=== Offensive Passives ===

*'''Heavy Weapon''': Increases damage inflicted by the user's Weapon and Tandem attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Quick Weapon''': Gives an extra hit (maximum 3) to the user's Weapon and Tandem attacks. '''(1)'''
**''Note: You can take one of Heavy Weapon or Quick Weapon, but not both; they're mutually exclusive.''
*'''Weapon Specialist''': Grants the user 2 additional Weapon attacks at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Explode Boost''': Increases ailment explosion damage slightly. '''(1)'''
*'''<Element> Boost''': Increases base damage for the user's <Element> attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Ailment Boost''': Increases all ailment infliction odds for the user by 20%. '''(2)'''
*'''<Element> Amp''': Increases critical rate and critical damage for the user's <Element> attacks. Also boosts outgoing Counter damage of that element. '''(2)'''

For this purpose, the elements selectable are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', and ''Dark''. ''Recovery'' can be Boosted but not Amped. Ailments include ''Bind'', ''Blast'', ''Charm'', ''Exhaust'', ''Haze'', ''Panic'', ''Paralyze'', ''Poison'', ''Rage'', and ''Sick''.

=== Resource Passives ===

*'''Break Limit''': Gain 1 Limit at +heal/full and +1 maximum Limit. '''(1)''' ''Unavailable to extra Personas, but available to bossforms.''
*'''Comeback''': Gain 1 Limit when the user is critically hit. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Mind Up''':Gain 8 SP when reacting to Rage, Poison, Charm, Haze, and Bind, but the effects landing are more likely. '''(1)'''
*'''Momentum''': Gain 1 Limit when critically hitting an opponent. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Nerve Up''':Gain 8 SP when reacting to Exhaust, Sick, Panic, Blast, and Paralyze, but the effects landing are more likely. '''(1)'''
*'''Schadenfreude''': Chance to gain 1 Limit when inflicting a debuff or ailment on an opponent. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Supporter''': Chance to gain 1 Limit when using a buff or healing attack. '''(1)''' ''(Deprecated; replaced by Personality.)''
*'''Team Player''':Grant and receive 8 SP and 25 HP of healing when using the Shift Limit Action. '''(1)'''
*'''Tough Love''': Grant and receive 8 SP and 25 HP of healing when using the Help Up Limit Action. '''(1)'''
*'''Invigorate 1''': Gain 3 SP when completing a +round. '''(1)'''
*'''Regenerate 1''': Gain 5 HP when completing a +round. '''(1)'''
*'''Invigorate 2''': Gain 6 SP when completing a +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Regenerate 2''': Gain 10 HP when completing a +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Invigorate 3''': Gain 10 SP when completing a +round. '''(3)'''
*'''Regenerate 3''': Gain 20 HP when completing a +round. '''(3)'''

=== Other Passives ===

*'''Defender''': Bonus to HP, malus to Damage, +2 Weak Defender Attacks. '''(1)'''
*'''Peerless Skill''': Grants the user an additional Strong Signature attack. Can be taken once per form. '''(1)'''
*'''Skill Card Affinity''': Allows the user to equip 3 Skill Cards instead of 1. Grants +12 SP to the user's pool. '''(1)'''
*'''Third Eye''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants +12 SP to the user's pool. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Jamming''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the Shock Noise Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Sneak Guide''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the Life Mend Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Spotlight''': Allows the user to take Navigator-flag attacks. Grants the X Soul Limit Action. Adds 2 Weak Navigator attacks to the user's attack list at chargen. '''(1)'''
*'''Fast Heal''': Increases the chance of recovering from ailments on +round. '''(2)'''
*'''Auto-Rakukaja''': Starts battle with Def_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Rebellion''': Starts battle with Crt_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Sukukaja''': Starts battle with Spd_Up at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''
*'''Auto-Tarukaja''': Starts battle with Atk_UP at 3 rounds. '''(3)'''

Navigator flags include Curse, Eclipse, Fortune, Regen, Strength_Scan, Support_Scan, Vigor, Weakness_Scan. Navigator Flags always go on Magical attacks. Third Eye, Jamming, Sneak Guide, and Spotlight are mutually exclusive. A full Navigator-type Persona both has one of these four passives /and/ devotes at least a third of their list (excluding Weapon attacks) at chargen to Navigator-flag attacks. Less than that indicates some special talent for Resonance but not the full abilities of a Navigator.

Defender flags include Cover, Full_Cover, Phys_Safety, Magi_Safety, and All_Safety.

For Skill Cards, see [[Arcana_System#Equipment|Equipment]]. For Navigator type Personas, see [[Navigator Personas]]. For buffs, see [[Arcana_System#Buffs|Buffs]].

Note that for best results with the Auto-skills, it is important to switch to the correct form '''before''' using +heal/full.

== Attacks ==

Attacks are the primary actions taken in the Arcana System.

There are two ways to generate attacks. One is to use the point buy system to name, develop, and design one's own attacks. The second is to take an attack from the [[Attack Database]], which may be renamed as desired. The Attack Database is a listing of nearly 300 attacks patterned after the attacks in the games, including those such as Agi, Bufula, and Tarukaja.

Either is valid, but the Attack Database is likely to save a lot of time in attack building. The rules for building your own attacks and the explanations of an attack's components and flags follow.

In any case, ''every attack must have a different name from the others on a given list''.

=== Free Attacks ===

Free attacks are special +attacks that may be set without regard to ordinary limits. They are a preset list, and they may be renamed to whatever one might wish within reason. They include basic attacks of each elements, an ailment remover, a heal, and an SP heal. They have no cost, but otherwise follow the same rules as other attacks.

*'''+view/frees'''
*'''+free/set''' ''<freename>=<chosenname>''

=== Signature Attacks ===

Signature attacks are attacks which have the Signature flag--you may have a number based on your statistical tier designation, and they are designed accordingly on 10 more points than a standard attack. Only Signature attacks may have the Signature flag. In addition, this attack must be of a tier to which you have access: for most characters, this means that your Signature attack must be '''Weak''' or '''Strong'''. Unlike regular attacks, a Signature attack may be a Strong weapon attack.

=== Theurgy ===

''Theurgies'' are a special type of attack found only on 'main' Personas and forms. They have the 'Theurgy' tag, and are built as attacks of one tier '''higher''' than is typical for the form. In other words, a standard form will have a single Fierce Theurgy attack, and a Mythic form will have a single Severe Theurgy attack.

They are meant to be used once per battle, and pay a reduced limit cost in exchange for requiring one action and one bonus action both in order to be used.

The ''Item'' and ''Weapon'' flags are unavailable for Theurgy attacks; use ''Tandem'' instead.

All Theurgies are offensive attacks at this time; if you don't want an offensive Theurgy, you can take a regular Strong (for most forms) or Fierce (for Mythic forms).

=== Power Level ===

An attack has a power level ranging from 0-9, which dictates its base damage value. Attack levels cost 10 points each, with a surcharge of 10 points for Almighty and Recovery attacks with PLs above 0.

=== Hits ===

An attack can issue multiple '''hits''', up to three. This means that more than one entry is entered into the queue for a given attack. Each hit is weaker than a standard attack, but in aggregate the multiple hits are an advantage, even before considering separate critical chance and so on. Only the first hit has a chance of delivering status effects. A two-hit attack is 4 additional BP, 4 additional SP, and 0.01% extra HP; a three-hit attack is 10 additional BP, 10 additional SP, and 0.025% extra HP.

When dealing additional hits, an attack '''always''' deals additional hits if they are designated in its statistics.

=== Tiers ===

Attacks are divided into tiers. Each tier denotes the relative power of the attack when compared to others, and dictates its BP ('''Build Points''') and Limit value. Weak attacks may be used for Bonus Actions.

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width: 90%; text-align: center;"
|-
! scope="col" | Tier
! scope="col" | Power Levels
! scope="col" | Limit Value
! scope="col" | BP
|-
| Weak
| 0 or 1-2
| +2
| 30
|-
| Strong
| 0 or 3-4
| +1
| 50
|-
| Fierce
| 0 or 5-6
| -3
| 70
|-
| Severe
| 0 or 7-8
| -4
| 90
|-
| Divine
| 0 or 9-10
| -6
| 110
|}

=== Type and Element ===

Each attack has a '''type''' and an '''element'''al affinity. Types are Magical and Physical; they refer to attacks primarily using mystical forces and more direct, corporeal attacks. Elements, explained above, refer to the nature of the attack's damage.

Repeated here, elements are ''Pierce'', ''Slash'', ''Strike'', ''Fire'', ''Water'', ''Electricity'', ''Earth'', ''Wind'', ''Light'', ''Dark'', ''Recovery'', and ''Almighty''.

Recovery and Almighty attacks cannot score critical hits, but Almighty attacks have increased base damage.

Unless another rule allows it, Pierce/Slash/Strike are always Physical, while Fire/Water/Elec/Earth/Wind/Light/Dark/Recovery are always Magical.

=== Flags ===

An attack has up to five '''Flags''', which are attributes that either modify the attack or apply an effect to the target. ''All attacks with effect flags affect the target, not the user, with those flags''. Each flag has a cost in BP and modifies the attack's SP or HP cost. Flags of the same type (Ailment1/Ailment2) do not stack. '''Effects''' are often applied by flags, including '''Buffs''', '''Debuffs''', and '''Ailments'''. In most cases, these effects can be extended in duration with reapplication; however, certain effects cannot. Omen and Prophecy cannot be extended by repeated application.

=== Cost ===

An attack has a cost, as all things must. Magical attacks cost SP, while Physical attacks cost HP. SP costs are static, while HP costs are fractional compared to one's max HP. These costs are modified by power level and flags. They also have Limit values, which are the Limit required to use them; Weak and Strong attacks typically generate Limit, while attacks of higher Tier expend it.

==== Flag Listing ====

===== Attack Modifiers =====

*'''Ailment1''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack slightly. 4 BP, 0 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Ailment2''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack more. 10 BP, 0 SP, 0 HP.
*'''Ailment3''': Boosts ailment chances for this attack significantly. 20 BP, -2 SP, -0.5% HP.
*'''All_Out1''': Boosts critical damage for this attack slightly. 4 BP, 1 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''All_Out2''': Boosts critical damage for this attack more. 6 BP, 2 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''All_Out3''': Boosts critical damage for this attack significantly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Anti_Avoid''': This attack deals much more damage against Avoid reactions, and reduces Counter backlash. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Anti_Block''': This attack deals much more damage against Block reactions and reduces Counter backlash. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
**''Anti_Avoid and Anti_Block are mutually exclusive.''
*'''Area''': This attack can target up to 4 characters. 10 BP, 8 SP, .15% HP. Area attacks deal additional damage inversely commensurate with number of targets. There is no surcharge for targets on area attacks.
*'''Breach''': Deals extra damage if the user has an active Safety or Cover Tactic. (Doesn't apply to Full_Cover.) 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP
*'''Boost''': This attack is made with a +2 bonus to the attacker's Strength, Magic, and Luck. 2 BP, 1 SP, 0.2% HP.
*'''Critical1''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased. 4 BP, 1 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Critical2''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased further. 6 BP, 2 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''Critical3''': This attack's critical hit chance is increased significantly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Extend''': Extends the duration of an attached tactic (that is, one on the attack) by 1 round (to 2 rounds). 10 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Hinder''': This attack is made with a -2 penalty to the defender's Vitality, Agility, and Luck. 2 BP, 1 SP, 0.2% HP.
*'''Hunted''': This attack deals more damage if the user has a Debuff. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Item''': This attack reflects an external source of damage from the user, typically an item that casts a spell or inflicts environmental damage. Offensive stats do not apply to the damage of this attack. 10 BP, - HP, - SP. +1 Limit cost.
**''Item attacks are always Weak attacks, unless specifically allowed such as by Signature attacks.
*'''Masochism''': This attack deals more damage if the user has an Ailment. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Mystic''': - This attack grants 1 extra Limit. 10 BP, 8 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Sadism''': This attack deals more damage if the target has an Ailment. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Seeker''': This attack deals more damage if the target has one or more debuffs. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP.
*'''Signature''': This attack gains more BP, but costs 1 more Limit. -10 BP, -4 SP, -1% HP. ''Only valid for designated Signature attacks. Cannot be used on ordinary attacks.''
*'''Still''': This attack deals more damage scaling with spent SP. Kicks in at 75% SP. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP. Specifically, it does a percentage of '2 PLs' based on your spent SP, to a maximum extra damage of 'your spent SP in points'.
*'''Tandem''': This attack reflects the user and their Persona attacking at the same time. It allows the benefits of Weapon attack and passives. Tandem attacks may be Physical or Magical, regardless of element. Tandem attacks use the better of Magic or Strength regardless of type, though they defend as normal for an attack of their type. 6 BP, 3 SP, 0.6% HP.
*'''Weapon''': This attack reflects a user's weapon without active Persona use. Gains the benefit of Weapon attack and passives and costs 0 HP or SP. Weapon attacks are always physical. 6 BP, - HP, - SP. +1 Limit cost.
**''Incompatibility'': Weapon attacks may not have debuffs, such as Atk_Dn or Slash_Break, but may have Ailments such as Sick or Paralyze.
**''Tier'': Except for Signature attacks, Weapon attacks must always be Weak attacks unless specifically allowed as Strong.
*'''Wild''': This attack deals more damage scaling with how much damage the user has taken. Kicks in at 75% hp. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.4% HP. Specifically, it does a percentage of '2 PLs' based on your lost HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Stress''': Adds an HP cost to an attack in return for more BP. Stacks with Signature. -10 BP, -4 SP, -0.5% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Severe tier attacks or higher:

*'''Panacea''': allows 10 extra BP on a heal move. (That is to say, a move with Recovery PLs, Purify, Nervundi, or Patra.) -10 BP, 10 SP.

===== Buffs =====

Each of these flags grants a buff to the target for 3 rounds. Only Magical attacks may have these flags.

*'''Atk_Up''': Attacks deal more damage. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Crt_Up''': Attacks' critical rate and critical damage are increased. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Def_Up''': Block and Counter reactions reduce damage more. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Spd_Up''': Avoid and Counter reactions reduce damage more. 20 BP, 12 SP.
*'''<Element>_Wall''': Affinity changes as follows: Weakness becomes Neutral, Neutral becomes Resist. Resist is unchanged. Can apply to Recovery attacks as a debuff. Almighty Wall is not allowed. 30 BP, 12 SP, 0.015% hp (For Recovery Wall).
*'''Reflect_Magi''': Boosts the Counter reaction against Magical attacks significantly in damage reduction and backlash. 40 BP, 16 SP.
*'''Reflect_Phys''': Boosts the Counter reaction against Physical attacks significantly in damage reduction and backlash. 40 BP, 16 SP.
**''These two flags are mutually exclusive and cannot be set on the same attack. Adding one will remove the other.''

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Cloak''': Defense up against attacks without the Area flag. 30 BP, 15 SP.

===== Debuffs =====

Each of these flags inflicts a debuff on the target for 3 rounds. Weapon attacks may not have these flags.

*'''Atk_Dn''': Attacks deal less damage. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Crt_Dn''': Attacks' critical rate and critical damage are decreased. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Def_Dn''': Block and Counter reactions reduce damage less. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Spd_Dn''': Avoid and Counter reactions reduce damage less. 20 BP, 12 SP, 1% HP.
*'''<Element>_Break''' : Affinity changes as follows: Resist becomes Neutral, Neutral becomes Weak. Weak is unchanged. Can apply to Recovery attacks as a buff. Almighty Break is not allowed. 30 BP, 12 SP, 15% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Mag_DN''': Reduces outgoing magic damage and increases incoming magic damage. 40 BP, 20 SP, 1% HP.
*'''Phy_DN''': Reduces outgoing phys damage and increases incoming phys damage. 40 BP, 20 SP, 1% HP.

===== Ailments =====

Each of these flags inflicts an ailment on the target for a variable number of rounds. Bind, Blast, Haze, and Paralyze last 2 rounds; the others last 5 rounds by default. However, Ailments have a chance of expiring each +round they are on the target.

*'''Bind''': Decreases outgoing Magic damage and increases incoming Avoid damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Blast''': Decreases outgoing Magic damage and increases incoming Block damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Charm''': Damage on +attack to self or +bucket party, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Exhaust''': Damage on +attack to self for Tandem or Weapon attacks, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Haze''': Decreases outgoing Physical damage and increases incoming Block damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Panic''': Damage on +attack to self for Tandem or Persona attacks, 1/round. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Paralyze''': Decreases outgoing Physical damage and increases incoming Avoid damage. 6 BP, 0 SP 0 HP.
*'''Poison''': Damage on +round to HP. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Rage''': Weapon attack up; all defenses down. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Sick''': Damage on +round to SP. Reduces ailment resistance slightly. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Pain''': Explodes the next time the target uses healing or PL 0 attacks. 20 BP, 10 SP, 0.75% HP.
*'''Bomb''': Explodes the next time the target uses damaging attacks. 20 BP, 10 SP, 0.75% HP.

Additionally, certain Ailment pairs cancel one another out for an '''explosion''' of damage commensurate with the number of ailment pairs cancelled. The pairs are as follows: Charm/Panic, Exhaust/Rage, Poison/Sick, Blast/Paralyze, Bind/Haze, Pain/Bomb. When this happens, the new ailment remains, but the previous ailment that was on the target is removed.
*''Incompatibility'' - These pairs are accordingly unavailable to have on the same attack.

===== Status Removers =====

These flags remove status on the target according to type. They are always on Magical attacks, except for Ruin which may be on Physical attacks.

*'''Nervundi''': Removes some ailments (Exhaust, Panic, Sick, Blast, and Paralyze) without explosions. 30 BP, 6 SP.
*'''Patra''': Removes some ailments (Rage, Charm, Poison, Haze, and Bind) without explosions. 30 BP, 6 SP.
*'''Renew''': Removes debuffs. 30 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Ruin''': Removes buffs. 30 BP, 10 SP, 1% HP.

The following tags may only be placed on Severe tier attacks or higher:

*'''Purify''': removes all ailments. 10 BP, 20 SP.

===== Tactica =====

*'''Cover''': Applies the Cover tactic to the target, which takes half the target's damage from attacks. No Area, must target someone else. 10 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Full_Cover''': Applies the Full_Cover tactic to the target, which takes all incoming damaging attacks onto the giver instead of the original target as long as it lasts. No Area, must target someone else. 30 BP, 8 SP. This should not be generally used cross-bucket.
*'''Phys_Safety''': Applies the Physical Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from Physical attacks for one round. 30 BP, 12 SP.
*'''Magi_Safety''': Applies the Magical Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from Magical attacks for one round. 30 BP, 12 SP.
*'''All_Safety''': Applies the All Safety tactic to the target. Reduces damage from all attacks for one round. 40 BP, 16 SP. (Strong+ only).

===== Miscellaneous Flags =====

*'''Efficient''': This attack costs fewer SP or HP. 10 BP, -6 SP, -0.75% HP.
*'''Revive''': Bonus to heal PL under 15% hp; starts heal at 0 instead of negative health value. 10 BP, 4 SP.
*'''SP_Heal1''': Restores a small amount of SP to the target. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''HP_Drain''': Deals -50% base damage, but drains that damage as HP. 10 BP, 4 SP.
*'''SP_Drain''': Deals 15% base damage, but targets and drains SP. 10 BP, 0 SP (Zeroes out cost).
**''SP_Drain can only be placed on Almighty attacks.''
**''Drains are currently unavailable to custom attacks. HP_Drain will open to them later.''

The following tag is not for general use, and its effect is listed here for reference:

*'''Pierce''': Ignores elemental Strength.

===== Navigator-Only Flags =====

*'''Regen''': Restore some HP each round. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Vigor''': Restore some SP each round. Boosts ailment resistance slightly. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP.
*'''Eclipse''': Turns one weakness hit into a Resisted hit. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 5 SP.

*'''Curse''': Inflicts a random debuff on the target. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Worry''': Random ailments (two) on target. Both ailments will be either Mind or Nerve. There is also a slight bonus to application chance. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Fortune''': Grants a random buff to the target. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 10 SP.
*'''Melody''': Extends buff durations by 3 rounds. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 5 SP.
*'''Strength_Scan''': Announces the target's Resist affinities to the room. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Support_Scan''': Announces the target's Passives to the room. Navigator-only. 10 BP, 4 SP, 0.5% HP.
*'''Weakness_Scan''': Announces the target's Weak affinities to the room. Navigator-only. 20 BP, 8 SP, 1% HP.
**''All Scan abilities are incompatible with the Area flag.''

The following tags may only be placed on Strong tier attacks or higher:

*'''Omen''': Small debuff to all defenses; after 2 rounds, target takes damage. 50 BP, 24 SP.
*'''Prophecy''': Small buff to all defences; after 2 rounds, target receives healing. 50 BP, 24 SP.
*'''Inner_Strength''': Gives a bonus to damage for the target's Strong affinity attacks. Stacks with X Boost. 30 BP, 15 SP.

==Fusion Spells==

Fusion spells are types of combination attacks between two or more Persona Users that require a combination of lesser attacks for one of far greater effect. Fusion Spells are always Fierce Spells of Power Level 5 or 6, and possess the Pierce Flag, which allows them to ignore elemental resistances.

*'''+view/fusions''' In order to view a list of available Fusion Spells. (+view/fusions 2 for the second page.)

'''Note:''' This system has attacks on the list to represent Showtimes. These are on page 2!

Each fusion has a list of requirements as shown. Participants must be able to contribute one of the required types of elements for the attacks on the list. '''Str''' denotes that attacks that are at least Strong must be used to meet requirements, while '''Wk''' denotes that weak attacks can be used for meeting the requirements.

In order to initiate a Fusion Attack, the person in question would start with:

*'''+fusion/start <attackname>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>'''

The limit cost is the total cost, which any participant may contribute. This does not have to be the individual that began the attack!

In order to join a Fusion Attack, the Second or Third Persona Users would then use the command:

*'''+fusion/join <attacker>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>

To rephrase, if the cost is 1, only one person would need to bid a limit! Everyone else can enter the value as 0 for bidded limit.

When enough people have joined to meet the requirements, the system will tell you the attack is ready. At that point, the initial attacker must enter the command:

*'''+fusion/attack <target>'''

And the attack will fire!

If an error is made and the Fusion needs to be cancelled for any reason, then the command to use is:

*'''+fusion/clear'''

The attack will then be cancelled.

==Equipment==

Equipment is a system unto itself within Arcana, for more on this: see [[Equipment]].

== Command Glossary ==

*'''+attack''' <target>=<attackname> - Directs an attack at opponent(s). Targets are separated by commas. The same target cannot be targeted multiple times per +attack.
*'''+react''' ('''+avoid|+block|+counter|+take''') <name or number> - Reacts to an attack. Note that if you have more attacks in your +queue when finished, the system will give you a message stating as much. Can take multiple arguments if you want to use the same reaction against multiple incoming attacks.
*'''*+health''' - Shows a basic screen of combat information relevant to a fight.
*'''*+queue''' - Shows the attacks in your queue.
*'''*+heal/full''' - Resets your status and pools, initializing you for combat.
*'''*+cancel''' <target> and +cancel/area <targets> - Cancels an attack on <target>. Use +cancel/area with a list of targets for an area attack to ensure your resources are recalculated appropriately.
*'''*+view/fusions''' or '''+view/fusions 2''' - Shows a list of available Fusion Spells
*'''*+fusion/start <attackname>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>''' - Initiates a Fusion Spell from the available list.
*'''*+fusion/join <attacker>=<bidded attack>/<bidded limit>''' - Joins a Fusion Spell initiated by another player.
*'''*+fusion/attack <target>''' - Complete a Fusion Spell after all requirements are met.
*'''*+fusion/clear''' - Cancel a Fusion Spell in progress.
*'''*+trigger/set''' <damage> OR <percentage> OR <debuff> - Sets up a 'boss trigger' that allows a character to deal <damage> to you as a boss during the fight for a narrative or environmental reason.
*'''*+trigger/reset''' - Resets all triggers on you and your targets.
*'''*+trigger''' <playername> - Triggers damage from a player's narrative actions as a boss.
*'''*+limit''' <action>[=<target>] - Performs a limit actions.
*'''*+round''' - Concludes one's combat round. Automatic when out of actions and bonus actions.
*'''*+stats [#]''' - Shows full data on one's combat statistics, excepting attacks. An optional argument indicates a specific form.
*'''*+attacks [#]''' - Shows full data on one's attacks. An optional argument indicates a specific form.
*'''+inventory''' will show you your currently-equipped items.
*'''+weapons''' - Shows a list of available weaponry.
*'''+weapon/equip''' or '''+equip/weapon''' <name>=<desired name> - Selects a weapon from the database and gives it a desired name. Does not take ansi.
*'''+weapon/clear''' - Clears your current weapon in favor of the Default value.
*'''+armors''' - Shows a list of available armors.
*'''+armor/equip''' or '''+equip/armor''' <name>=<desired name> - Selects an armor from the database and gives it a desired name. Does not take ansi.
*'''+armors/clear''' - Clears your current armor in favor of the Default value.
*'''+cards''' - Shows a list of available Skill Cards for your character. This list can be expanded piecemeal or with category unlocks.
*'''+card/equip <Card>''' - Equips a Card to your current form. This adds the attack to that form's attack list.
*'''+card/unequip <Card>''' - Unequips a Card from your current form. This removes the attack from that form's attack list.
*'''+cards/clear''' - Clears all cards from your current form's list. This will remove all card attacks from your current form.
*'''+view/frees'''
*'''+free/set''' ''<freename>=<chosenname>''
*'''+frees/clear''' - Clears all freeattacks on a form.
*'''+heal/full''' - Fully heals and readies for combat.
*'''+heal/boss <X>''' - Fully heals and readies for combat as a boss for X opponents.
*'''+heal/adjust <X>''' - Adjusts boss health for a different number of combatants.
*'''+help cheatsheet''' - Displays some useful combat system data for easy reference.
*'''+explain''' - Displays a longform list of passives and current effects on your character, with descriptions.
===See Also...===
*[[Equipment]]
*[[Attack Database]]
[[Category: Systems]]

Shujin Academy

2026-01-16T20:03:24Z

Eri:

[[File:Shujinlogo.png|200px|thumb|Wear it with pride, or else.]]

Image is everything.

The students at Shujin Academy learn quickly that its administration cares little for their futures as individuals, only how their talents may best be exploited to elevate the school's status in the public eye. Honors students who can't meet heavy expectations quickly lose their scholarships and support from the administration, and clubs can be disbanded purely on the whims of teachers who don't like them.

No one illustrated this better than Suguru Kamoshida. A former Olympic gold medalist and Shujin alumnus, he was hired on as a volleyball coach and had the respect of teachers, students, and parents alike. Unknown to the public, though, he treated the school as his own castle and was guilty of the worst power abuses, from crippling students he didn't like, to abusing his own team to force performance, to sexually assaulting students that he desired.

This all came out after a member of the volleyball team attempted suicide by jumping off the school roof; during a school assembly about it, he got up on stage and remorsefully confessed his wicked deeds. Students were quick to notice this came right after notices were posted on the school board from the so-called [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts saying they'd make him admit to his crimes with his own mouth, something that had initially been dismissed as a weird prank. Afterwards, Kamoshida was summarily arrested and fired.

Now Kamoshida is on record as the first [[Assorted_Topics_and_Events#Change_of_Heart|Change of Heart]], and Shujin has gained notoriety as the site of the first target of The Phantoms. While the tension has been somewhat alleviated by his confession and dismissal, it still hasn't fully lifted. While a guidance counselor was recently hired to give emotional support to the student body, that hire is strictly temporary. The administration otherwise still makes it clear it's business as usual, and no one else has been punished for the conduct that enabled Kamoshida's abuses.

Instead, Principal Kobayakawa is conducting an investigation of where the [[Phantom Thieves]] came from and who they are, not only because they caused a scandal that tarnished the school's image but secretly also at the behest of his contacts within the [[New World Order]].

Why the [[New World Order]] has interest in Shujin Academy is unclear, but it certainly goes beyond merely the possibility that the [[Phantom Thieves]] of Hearts come from this school.

==School Uniform==
[[File:ShujinFemaleWinter.png|200px|thumb|Female Winter Uniform]]
[[File:ShujinAcademyMaleWinter.png|200px|thumb|Male Winter Uniform]]
[[File:ShujinSummerUniform.png|200px|thumb|Summer Uniform]]

==Primary Schooling==

Shujin Academy has a middle school associated with it, though it isn't in the same building. It's also known as Shujin Academy; it's simply the middle school section. People who apply for a character who attends Shujin Academy are free to establish in the app that they've been attending since the start of middle school or that they transferred in from a different school system at some point.

==Campus==

Located in the Aoyama-Itchome district of Tokyo, Shujin Academy consists of a three-story classroom building linked to a two-story practice building by a lush courtyard. Cherry blossom trees abound, making certain the students witness the atmosphere of spring during that season. There's an adjoining gymnasium that also serves as an auditorium, and until recently, this was the exclusive domain of the volleyball team.

Other amenities include a school store where the yakisoba bread is almost always sold out and a cafeteria that few students choose to be regulars of, instead opting to bring lunch or buy from the school store and/or the various vending machines around campus. The library is a popular study spot for students who aren't leaving for cram school after classes.

The school rooftop is strictly off-limits by order of the Student Council to deter delinquent activity. This rule does not necessarily get respected, especially since rumor has it there's at least one exemption.

==Classes==

There are up to six classes per grade, proceeding from 1-A to 1-F, 2-A to 2-F, and 3-A to 3-F; only classes with known students are listed here. Contact staff to have your character listed in a specific class!

===2-A===
* [[Kanae Fuyuki]]
* [[Isabeau Fontaine]]
* [[Ruzica Crvena|Ryuzaki Kurama]]
* '''Homeroom Advisor:''' Ms. Chouno

===2-D===
* [[Ren Amamiya]]
* [[Ann Takamaki]]
* [[Yuuki Mishima]]
* '''Homeroom Advisor:''' Ms. [[Sadayo Kawakami]]

===2-E===
* [[Ryuji Sakamoto]]
* [[Hazuki Nakao]]
* [[Kazusa Motojima]]
* [[Shinichi Nagisa]]

==Prominent Students==

*Makoto Niijima - The third-year Student Council President, often held up to the other students as a role model for how they ought to act. The top of her class, but with an image of being so strait-laced and obedient to authority that it can be off-putting to her classmates. Some even make fun of her for being a "robot"--never to her face, of course.

*Kasumi Yoshizawa - A first-year honors student on a rhythmic gymnastics scholarship. Known for having a bright, positive attitude and an athletic grace to match, she has many admirers amongst even her upperclassmen and the envy of more shy, introverted girls who believe they could never be her. Gossip about her thus is either effusive or bitter with little in between.

*Ryuji Sakamoto - A second year who was once a track star with a promising future but supposedly tried to assault his substitute coach, Kamoshida, and ended up with a broken leg. Ever since, he's become a consummate delinquent, dying his hair blonde and violating so many school rules. Even the recent scandal surrounding Kamoshida hasn't been enough to restore his reputation among his former teammates on the track team, who blame him for it being disbanded.

*Ann Takamaki - A 'hafu' or "half"-Japanese girl (more accurately of mixed ancestry, specifically Finnish and American), second-year Ann had a troubled reputation at Shujin for both standing out as a model--her flashy beauty makes the popular kids hate her and the shy kids avoid her--and for rumors that she was sleeping with Kamoshida. Fortunately, those rumors were dispelled by his recent confession, leading to some girls apologizing for thinking the worst of her, but not before things took a dark turn with her best friend Shiho Suzui attempting suicide as a result of Kamoshida's mistreatment.

*Ren Amamiya - A transfer second-year student from the sticks with a criminal record of assault. Most students give him a wide berth, especially as he was said to be picking fights with the former volleyball coach Kamoshida. Terrified rumors of his many crimes ran rampant early in the year, and while they've slowed down ever since Kamoshida's confession, Ren still bears the stigma of being a juvenile criminal.

==Known Clubs==

*Student Council - Led by Student Council President, Makoto Niijima
*Volleyball Team
*Track Team (currently disbanded)
*Rhythmic Gymnastics Team - Members: Kasumi Yoshizawa, Kazusa Motojima
*Basketball Team
*Lacrosse Team
*Dance Club
*Newspaper Club
*Home Economics
*Literature Club
*Science Club
*Science Fiction and Fantasy Club (disbanded since 2008)

==Prominent Faculty==

*Principal Kobayakawa - A petty, small-minded authoritarian that jumps to threatening anyone who he believes would tarnish the school's image and isn't above extorting students to do his dirty work. Secretly on one of the lowest rungs in the [[New World Order]], and is currently in hot water with them due to the Phantom Thieves.

*Vice Principal Kawazu - Kobayakawa's heir-apparent in every way, he holds the reins on the various scholarship programs at Shujin and is quick to try to snatch them away if students don't perform up to his expectations. Has particular interest right now in trying to find a "star" sports team to replace volleyball after the scandal that tarnished Shujin's image. (He has no name in canon; staff has given one to him for the purposes of Velvet Room MUSH.)

*Sadayo Kawakami - A Japanese language teacher and homeroom teacher for Class 2-D. Ms. Kawakami strikes most people who pay attention to her as chronically fatigued and detached from the lives of her students. There are suspicions among the faculty (mostly Chouno-sensei) that she has a secret second job, but no one has confronted her on this yet.

*Takuto Maruki - A clumsily charming temporary school counselor whose good looks and quirkiness immediately shot up his popularity. Brought on in the wake of the Kamoshida scandal, it's been made clear to the students that while the administration doesn't care about them, he certainly does. He always keeps his door open to students with sweet and salty snacks at the ready, and shows great interest in and compassion for their personal struggles.

*Ushimaru-sensei - An ill-tempered social studies teacher who is known mostly for his refusal to give up his old-fashioned teaching style, i.e. throwing chalk at students that annoy him. This reputation for being strict, combined with his use of corporal punishment, tends to make him one of the least popular teachers in the school.

*Chouno-sensei - Shujin's dark-skinned and accented English teacher is well-known for having her nose in everyone's business, but despite how it might seem, it appears to be out of genuine passion for teaching and belief that students should receive an educator's undivided attention.

*Hiruta-sensei - Shujin's biology teacher is known for his flamboyant teaching style with fashion to match, wearing an ascot to school each and every day. For all of his eccentricity though, he seems to truly love the material he teaches to his students. While students might roll their eyes at his earnest passion for science, they leave his classes more often smiling than not.

*Inui-sensei - Never meet your heroes. Shujin's history teacher has a reputation for trying to guide his students through modern life in Tokyo by holding up contemporary figures as examples for their daily life. He's currently batting a thousand on the people he idealizes getting targeted for a change of heart courtesy of the [[Phantom Thieves]].

*Usami-sensei - Shujin's math teacher might seem like a severe figure at first by her style of dress, but is often appreciated by her students through her ability to communicate mathematical concepts through very memorable visual aids in her class lectures.

==OC Guidance==

While Shujin is a school meant to fit in with Persona 5's "outcast" themes, the way it fits is by being an environment where the leads are, well, outcasts. In other words, Shujin can be a very good environment for consistent high achievers who have no problems with the authority of a prestigious prep school. While many students can feel isolated for various reasons, very few are the rebels the [[Phantom Thieves]] are and go about their daily lives like normal, diligent students. Even some of The Phantoms appear superficially like good little children!

As such, while some members of The Phantoms may not join any clubs in canon, there are many clubs to join for the greater student body. Characters need not feel like being part of the 'Go Home' club is necessarily the spirit of Shujin, as clubs enhance many concepts by showing a character's participation in one's daily life. So one should not feel pigeonholed into making their characters disenfranchised loners if that's not what you're looking for!

But if your character burns to rebel against society, then Shujin can make the perfect backdrop for generational tension between adults with power and children without.

As noted earlier, [[New World Order]] has a presence at Shujin Academy, and sends a good number of its teenaged Persona Users here. They're told to remain model members of society, and the school itself does not grant them special privileges. Nevertheless, they're a source of considerable stress for Principal Kobayakawa.

[[Category: Theme]]
[[Category: Schools]]

Fictional Pop Culture and Brands

2026-01-09T02:09:11Z

Eri:

This is a non-exhaustive list of various in-universe pieces of pop culture, brands, celebrities, places, items, and so on. Entries may be added as we think of them or as they get ICly released. Players may add entries of their own, but please don't edit already existing entries. If you see something that you think is wrong or should be changed, please send a request to staff.

== Fashion ==

; Rosa Candida (Persona 2)
: A fashionable boutique in Sumaru City's Aoba Ward that sells a variety of stylish clothes and accessories. Rumor has it they also sell quality armor.

; Croco Fur (Persona 4)
: A clothing store in Okina City that offers a wide range of outfits and accessories, from bags to boots, swimsuits to Halloween costumes. Run by Reiko Osa, charismatic fashionista.

; Tsurukame Diamond (Persona 5)
: A jewelry store in the Shibuya Underground Mall.

; Furugi no Neuchi (Persona 5)
: A vintage clothing store in Kichijoji. The perfect place to do some thrifting or sell old, unwanted clothes.

; Adios Shoes (Persona 3)
: A cheap knock-off of a more popular brand; sold by Tanaka's Amazing Commodities. Say "goodbye" to your foes.

; Baipas (Persona 4)
: A brand of sports bags that's similar to Adidas, right up to the logo.

== Entertainment ==

=== Music ===

; Giga Macho CD (Persona 2)
: Hosts a big CD store, production studio, and flamboyant radio DJ wearing a red hoodie and shades known as 'Meteor Masa,' who hosts 'Meteor Masa to the Max.'

; Kenneth Arnold (Persona 3)
: A CD and DVD chain store that has a location within Paulownia Mall.

; Babel Records Music Store (Persona 5)
: A CD and DVD store in the Shibuya Underground Mall.

; Gas Chamber (Persona 2)
: The band of Kasugayama High's Leader, Eikichi Mishina, who is the lead singer. Not yet fully formed, as Eikichi is still scouting members... and getting the members he does have to learn how to play instruments. It's not a failure, it's pre-successful.

; Muses (Persona 2)
: A hot new three-member idol group that's been successfully hyped by their manager, Ginji Sasaki. Many people are very excited for their upcoming debut.

; Hug-My-Heart (Persona 5)
: Debut single by a boy band.

; 3SHINE
: An idol trio from the 90's known briefly for the bittersweet hit 「ＡＮＯＴＨＥＲ♩ＬＩＦＥ」, but disbanded in 2007 after the lead singer died in a car crash.

; Hatsune Kiku (Persona 4 Dancing All Night)
: The Vocaloid Virtual Idol is one of the most recognizable Japanese Pop Culture Icons of the past few years.

=== Video/Computer Games ===

; Groove On Fight (Persona 1)
: Atlus fighting game.

; Innocent Sin Online (Persona 3)
: A mysterious MMO that's been running for years, it tells a fictionalized larger than life version of the Innocent Story version with Tatsuya and Maya. How it came about in this world is a mystery. (Don't use this to establish knowing things about the Other Side. Just don't.)

; Condemnation of Witchcraft (Persona 3 - Original)
: The new biggest MMO that everyone is leaving Innocent Sin Online for due to all the gold farmers and dupers. Affectionately known as CoW by its fans, it's a game wherein the Holy Empire of Sturmward fights the Witch Queen and her coven of 'The Abhorred'. A PvE game with PvP elements.

; Game Parade Games
: House of the Deceased - A horror game with terrifying zombies. Raises Guts.
: Real Wheel Racing - An intense racing game. Raises the equipped Persona's agility.
: Print Club - A purikura-style booth. Raises charm.
: High School of Youth - Dating sim game. Raises Charm.
: You're the Answer - Quiz show-style arcade game. Raises Academics.
: Punch Boxer - Fighting Arcade game. Raises the equipped Persona's strength.
: Edgar's House of Fortunes - Fortune-telling tarot game. Raise the equipped Persona's Magic.
: Super Game Spaceshot - Space shooter.

; Computer Software
:Lessons in Etiquette - PC software for learning manners that will charm others.
:Virtual Diet - PC software for helping you attain a beautiful body via watching videos.
:Language Made Easy - PC Software for learning English through pictures and images.
:Animal Othello - PC software for children. Adults need courage to play this.
:TypinGhoul - PC software that requires courage to defeat zombies through typing.
:Muscle Boot Camp - PC Software for learning how to effectively strengthen your muscles.
:Mindful Boot Camp - PC Software for growing your mind through meditation.
:Umiushi Fan Book - For those who love beef bowls. Has a membership code for the official site.

; Photochop (Persona Q)
: Graphics editor that has become the most used digital art software in the world. Due to image manipulation that is then posted online becoming so ubiquitous, the program has popularized the slang term 'Photochopped' worldwide.

; Star Forneus (Persona 5)
: Retro console shooting game with a space theme.

; Super Bash Bros. (Persona 5)
: Long-running crossover Versus Battle game. 'Challenger Approaching!'

; Gambla Goemon (Persona 5)
: A game about a notorious thief who fell into the depths of hell… Demons make you gamble with games of chance to pass through gates in hell and move on to further challenges.

; Stray Sheep Dolls (Persona 5)
: A puzzle game about sheep. Now with more off-kilter gender commentary! Procreate or else!

; Featherman Seeker (Persona 5)
: A retro game based on the popular long-running tokusatsu show, Phoenix Rangers Featherman. It follows the story of Gray Pigeon and their mentor-guided training to acquire power that will rival the Phoenix Rangers.

; Matador <nowiki>re:fancio</nowiki> (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A video game about a skeletal bullfighter who must find a way to fancy up his life. May or may not be looking for a nice candelabra.

; Drake Adventure (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A massively popular and influential JRPG series, with cute monsters and a cartoonish medieval fantasy vibe. It is currently on its ninth entry.

; Night Parade (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A classic fighting game series by the Motojima Corporation, known for its theme of supernatural yokai and their hunters as the fighters. Latest release is Ultimate Night Parade 4 Remix Lightning Edition.

; Stiletta (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A much-beloved urban fantasy action-adventure game about a stylish succubus who fights to find her lost memories using her transforming hair and weaponized heels. Utterly fabulous. The hotly-anticipated sequel has recently been announced.

; The Epic of Zerta (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: An action roleplaying/puzzle game series centred around the Triangular Force, made up of the Angle of Strength, the Angle of Knowledge, and the Angle of Bravery. These games follow the hero, Tie, as he eternally saves Princess Zerta from the evil King Gammon. (In some entries, he's King Gammonturf. Using the wrong name can and has caused epic flame wars.)

; Tetraitis (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A puzzle game where you need to match four blocks to clear them. Apparently, it was named because the creator was so feverishly invested in playing an alpha build he almost didn't finish the game at all.

=== Other Games ===
; Hammerstrike - War in the 42nd Millenium (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A grimdark franchise originating from the west, centring around numerous spacefaring factions warring for control over the galaxy. While it started as a tabletop wargame using handpainted miniatures, a multitude of books, animations, and games have come out for it since its inception the late 1980s.

; Faerie<nowiki>:</nowiki> The Beckoning (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: A card game centred around lands, creatures, and magical spells, with a great amount of depth. The lore centres around the Seelie and Unseelie courts of the Fae and their various adventures. New card sets are released each year!

=== Books and Manga ===

; Bookworms (Persona 3)
: A small but robust bookstore in the Iwatodai Strip Mall, owned and run by an elderly married couple, Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura.

; Taiheido Bookstore (Persona 5)
: A bookstore on Shibuya Central Street with shelves also available outside the entrance.

; Rubber-Armed Pitcher Hero (Persona 4)
: Sports shounen manga about baseball.

; Witch Detective (Persona 4)
: A ploddingly written romantic comedy manga about a girl on her first day of school in a new town. Vampires are involved.

; The Great Thief (Persona 5)
: The story of Arsène Lupin, greatest thief of all time.

; Zorro the Outlaw (Persona 5)
: The story of Zorro, the dashing masked vigilante.

; Pirate Legend (Persona 5)
: The story of Captain Kidd, a Scottish-American privateer.

; The Alluring Dancer (Persona 5)
: The story of Carmen, an opera about a seductive Romani woman.

; The Gallant Rogue (Persona 5)
: The story of Goemon Ishikawa, a legendary outlaw hero.

; Speed Reader (Persona 5)
: A book that gives the reader tips on how to read more quickly and efficiently.

;The Whimsy of Orange Streets (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:An older romantic comedy manga about a old fashioned high school student in a love triangle with two delinquents. Reading it might help you understand relationships better.

;Dragon Sphere X (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:A martial arts manga that takes inspiration from Journey to the West. Probably helps your Guts.

; Titanomachy (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
: An enormously popular mecha franchise that draws heavily from Greek mythology for inspiration. Having been around for close to 30 years, it has spawned numerous films, anime, and manga series, as well as a plethora of different model kits.

=== TV Shows ===

; Scarlet (Persona 5)
: DVD/Blu-Ray rental store. Has a very generous membership plan for students.

; Phoenix Ranger Featherman (Persona 2)
: Long-running tokusatsu franchise with tons of seasons, movies, and extensive merchandising. Much beloved by the Japanese youth.

; Tanaka's Amazing Commodities (Persona 3)
: A home shopping program hosted by Tanaka, who is also the CEO of the company. Its jingle: "Here comes Tanakaaaaa~ Over the airwaves to youuuuu~ Granter of your desires!" Sells a wide range of products, from high quality to possibly less-than-stellar knock-offs. Things go quick, so buy buy buy!

; Wraith (Persona 5)
: TV show about a woman who can speak to ghosts.

; The X-Folders (Persona 5)
: Sci-fi investigation TV show. The opening theme involves a spooky whistle.

; Bubbly Hills 90210 (Persona 5)
: A Western teen romantic drama TV show set in the ritzy upscale neighborhood of Bubbly Hills.

; ICU (Persona 5)
: Medical drama show about high stakes saves in the emergency ward.

; The Running Dead (Persona 5)
: Zombie drama about fast zombies. Humans in this drama are the real monsters.

; Mouse M.D. (Persona 5)
: A maverick rodent's medical heroics. Learn about true kindness.

; D. Housewives (Persona 5)
: Women's stories of love and passion.

; 31 (Persona 5)
: A writer and editor battle looming deadlines. Praised for its gutsy tension.

; Tee (Persona 5)
: A teacher helps revive a near defunct high school golf team.

; Not-so-hot Betsy (Persona 5)
: A TV show that tells the story of a homely girl who captivates people with her inner charm.

; Jail Break (Persona 5)
: A jailbreak TV drama.

; Fist of the Phantom Star (Persona 5)
: A post apocalyptic martial arts retro anime that codified a lot of Shounen tropes. Contains numerous beefy men rescuing beautiful women from their rivals.

;Yureka Six (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:An anime about growing up in a war torn world of robots, aliens, and flying skateboards. The main character starts off as rather childish but grows mature through facing the shortcomings of adults.

=== Movies ===

; Climax Theater (Persona 2)
: Sumaru City movie theater where rumors have made the films occasionally quite strange.

; Screen Shot (Persona 3)
: Movie theater chain throughout Japan.

; Friday in a certain day (Persona 3)
: A film starring Catherine Billey. Its tagline is, "Fans of a Dutch soccer team, Americans heading off to war are facing." Yes, just that.

; The more than dreamin (Persona 3)
: A film about an alien visitor.

; Detonator (Persona 3)
: Starring Sharon Waxman and Craig.S.Smith. Its tagline is, "A troubling trend for a Dutch." It's a film about boxing! (It references Lennox Lewis and Andrew Golata's boxing match.)

; Worst Detective (Persona 3)
: A film noir about a detective who is terrible at his job.

; Loan of the Rings (Persona 4)
: Fantasy epic film.

; Dumminator II (Persona 4)
: Film on… Why?

; Trial of the Dragon (Persona 4)
: Kung fu epic film.

; My Neighbor Dodoro (Persona 5 - Original)
: A classic heartwarming children's movie about two young sisters meeting a big yellow bird and having adventures together. Includes a cat that is also a large vehicle.

; Tanktop Millionaire (Persona 5)
: Movie about a scrappy kid who came from the slums to win big on a quiz show.

; The Cake Knight Rises (Persona 5)
: A cake-themed vigilante avenges a friend who was wronged by a psychopathic baker. It's a ridiculous film, but the protagonist's passion to fight for his friend is touching.

; Like a Dragon (Persona 5)
: Yakuza action film.

; Mes Miserables (Persona 5)
: Apparently just like the real work except with even more theological commentary. (A bishop is the antagonist rather than Javert.)

; Pach-Saw (Persona 5)
: Horror film involving an elephant and torture elements.

; Wild Max (Persona Q2)
: Post-Apocalyptic film series praised for it's fight choreography in vehicles.

; [[SMILE (2012)]] (Velvet Room MUSH - Persona 2/Original)
: A slasher movie released at the end of August 2012, starring Junko Kurosu as the killer. Part crime movie, part suspense horror, part slasher, noted for it's well executed twists in an otherwise kind of schlocky but fun slasher.

== Food and Drink ==

=== Vending Machine Beverages ===
; First Appeared in Persona 3
: Aguafeena - Extensively purified tap water.
: BauerBar - Keeps you going for 24 hours straight.
: Cielo Mist - Beverage imported from Jamaica.
: Cylon Tea - Comes in 12 different varieties.
: Definitely Lemonade - A fresh, lemon-based drink. A bit watery.
: Dr. Salt - Salty soda. Popular, but an acquired taste.
: Fountain Dew - A disturbingly yellow soft drink.
: Happiness Water - Water that tastes like happiness.
: Mad Bull - A mildly bitter beverage with a flavorful kick.
: Moonkist - Soda with the slogan, "Kist my full moon!"
: Nastea - Tea that tastes great, despite its name.
: SoBay - Popular tea often auctioned online.
: Starvicks - Famous coffee, mixed with cough syrup.
: 1UP - Soft drink coveted by old-school gamers.
: 4biotic Pack - A set of 4 probiotic drinks.

; First Appeared in Persona 4
: Dokudami Tea - An herbal tea good for detoxes.
: Dr. Salt NEO - An intensely carbonated beverage.
: Orange Smash - A refreshing citrus beverage.
: Second Maid - A cold beverage that got heated.
: TaP Soda - Old-fashioned fizzy beverage.

; First Appeared in Persona 5
: Arginade - Contains arginine.
: Chunky Potage - You can never drink all the kernels.
: Creature - A drink that blows away sleepiness.
: Durian-au-Lait - Made from the king of fruits.
: Earl Green - A blend of Eastern and Western tea.
: Joylent - Unsettlingly nutritious.
: Manta - Makes you want to dance all night.
: Muscle Tea - Popular tea often sold online.
: Oh! Shiruko - So good it makes you say, "Oh!"
: Udagawa Soda - Triple-filtered carbonated Shibuya water.
: Udagawa Water - Triple-filtered Shibuya river water.
: Ultimate Amazake - Makes you think you're drunk.
: Water of Rebirth - Blended with placenta.

=== Dining Out ===

; Peace Diner (Persona 1/Persona 2)
: Franchise that serves mostly fast food; there's a branch in Yumezaki's Yumezaki Center. Rumormonger Chikarin can be found here almost daily working on the Sevens school newspaper. The part timer at the register loves Japanese period dramas, and so talks like a ninja. Menu: Peace Burger, Chicken Sandwich, Grilled Burger, Peace Double Meat, Big Peace Burger, Fries, Peace Shake, Value Meal.

; Gatten Sushi (Persona 2)
: Popular sushi shop in Rengedai's Lotus Mall, run by the Mishina family. Head chef is Kankichi Mishina. It's the popular hangout of Rumormonger Kenta "Toro" Yokouchi, whose favorite sushi is the olive flounder fish fin, despite his nickname meaning Fatty Tuna. Menu: Tuna, Squid, Sweet Shrimp, Eel, Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe, Fish Fin, Fatty Tuna.

; Double Slash (Persona 2)
: Internet cafe in Aoba's Aoba Way that offers a surprisingly robust menu of drinks, snacks and even meals. The teenager who mans the counter is pretty lazy. Menu: Coffee, Cafe au Lait, Milk Tea, Herbal Tea, Double Sandwich, Pizza Toast, Spaghetti, Curry Rice.

; Jolly Roger (Persona 2)
: Pirate-themed restaurant in Konan's Seaside Mall. The rumormongering proprietor is sad and trades in rumors as a balm for the sea, to which he can no longer return. Menu: Coffee Blend, Tea Blend, Veggie Juice, Special Cocoa, Baked Apple Pie, Chocolate Cookie, Brown Rice Curry, Pirate’s Set.

; Clair De Lune (Persona 2)
: Classy French restaurant in Narumi's Hotel Pleiades, served by Garçon Soejima. May or may not also sell top-notch armor on the sly. Menu: Vichyssoise, Escabèche, Cassoulet, Brochette, Brandade, Bouillabaisse, Ballotine, Navarin.

; Wilduck Burger (Persona 3)
: A fast food burger chain with a location in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. The mainline item is the Mystery Burger for those with the Guts to try it.

; Hagakure Ramen (Persona 3)
: A ramen restaurant in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. Their mainline item, the Pork Ramen, is full of collagen to make the eater's skin silky smooth and Charming.

; Wakatsu Kitchen (Persona 3)
: A sushi restaurant in the Iwatodai Strip Mall. The seafood in their Prodigy Platter is healthy and full of omega-3s--the perfect brain food to help the Academically challenged.

; Yon-Germain Bakery (Persona 5)
: A small bakery located at the Ginza Line Gate at Shibuya Station. Perfect for when you need to grab a snack in between train transfers. Menu: Sandwich, Fruit Danish, Moist Katsu Bun (rainy day special), Melon Pan (summer-only; limited product).

; Bikkuri Boy (Persona 5)
: A spacious family diner located up a stairwell off Central Street in Shibuya. Practically deserted when it rains, so you can concentrate extra-well for study sessions in between meals. Menu: Hot Coffee (coffee with free refills), Surprise Sando (crayfish paste sandwich), Nostalgic Steak (salisbury steak like grandma made), Frui-Tea (tea made with lots of fruit), Totem Pole (tower of ice cream).

; Big Bang Burger (Persona 5)
: A fast food chain with a location on Shibuya Central Street that holds the Big Bang Challenge, wherein people can become a 2nd Mate, 1st Mate, or Captain by completing various stages. Menu: Big Bang Burger, Saturn Fries, Venus Salad (fruit salad), Earth Burger (seasonal spring offering with veggies), Moon Burger (seasonal autumn offering where the egg looks like the moon).

; Ore no Beko (Persona 5)
: Beef bowl restaurant on Shibuya Central Street. The beef part is pre-made so a worker only has to assemble and serve a bowl.

; Wilton Hotel (Persona 5)
: Upscale hotel chain with a location in Shibuya. Known for its high-priced gourmet buffet.

; Melty Donut (Persona 5)
: A donut franchise popular with cops, lawyers, and security guards.

; Katsuo Shokudo (Original)
: A mom-and-pop restaurant in Inaba, well-known to locals for its excellent food. Or it was, as with the declining Inaban economy, it finally had to close its doors in early 2010. The owner and primary cook, Hideji Aoki, moved away to the big city with his daughter Hibari.

=== Bars and Pubs ===

; Izakaya Shiraishi (Persona 2)
: An Izakaya bar in Hirasaka's Kameya Alley that absolutely doesn't serve ramen--except for banana ramen. Rumor has it the proprietress, Ma'am, is a former spy that can give tips on finding anyone. Hangout of Rumormonger Toku-san. Menu: Edamame, Yakitori, Sesame Chicken, Oden, Red Bean Gyoza, Banana Ramen, Beer, Sake.

; Parabellum (Persona 2)
: A noir-ish bar in Aoba's Aoba Way with an elderly gentleman barkeeper who makes firearms-themed cocktails. Rumor has it they also secretly sell weapons. Menu: Revolver, Double Action, Magnum, Bullet Core, Browning Power, Angel Trigger, Tilt Barrel, Derringer.

; Ebony (Persona 2)
: Classy bar in Narumi's Hotel Pleiades, run by a rumor-lovin' bartender who's as quick with a rumor or a story as she is with a cocktail. Menu: On the Rocks, Between the Sheets, Gimlet, Blue Lagoon, Green Eyes, Mockingbird, Angel's Kiss, Spritzer.

; Crossroads Bar (Persona 5)
: An adult entertainment bar in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The bartender and owner is Lala Escargot; the shop logo includes a snail. On top of wines, beers, and cocktails, there are a few snacks and non-alcoholic drinks available.

; Izakaya Nichinan (Original)
: An izakaya in Konan Ward. Known more for its beer selection than its food, it gets most of its business from younger office workers who live in the ward.

== Pharmacies and Convenience Stores ==

; Yin and Yang (Persona 1)
: Convenience store chain. They'll sell you medicine, and if you get friendly with the owner, they might let you see their collection of airsoft guns too. Yin and Yang stores operate in supernatural spaces, too -- and under those conditions, they'll sell you ''real'' weapons.

; Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy (Persona 1)
: Vibes less like they're gonna conquer the world, unlike the Sumaru City branch. Has an infectious theme song explaining what each item they sell does.

; Satomi Tadashi Pharmacy (Persona 2)
: Drugstore chain throughout Sumaru City. All the shopkeepers look the same, and are open about being sisters. Don't worry about the music overhead or why it has a different style in each store, just don't.

; Mayo Mart (Persona 4)
: A 24-hour konbini (Japanese convenience store) in Inaba.

; 777 (Persona 5)
: Convenience store chain with special sales on all days ending in 7. Pronounced 'Triple Seven.'

== Other Notable Shops ==

; GOLD Gym (Persona 2)
: Major gym workout chain with locations throughout the world.

; Kaori (Persona 2)
: Perfume and aromatherapy shop in Rengedai; scents that cleanse the soul, perhaps more literally than you'd think...

; Padparadscha (Persona 2)
: Jewelry store in Hotel Pleiades in Narumi.

; Rafflesia (Persona 3)
: Floral shop franchise throughout Japan; has various smaller branches everywhere. Sometimes includes services where they'll grow and nurture your plants for you.

; Junes Department Store (Persona 4)
: Department megastore chain. The jingle goes: 'Every day's great at your Junes!' A new store is presently being built in Inaba -- look forward to the grand opening!

; Moel Gas Station (Persona 4)
: A gas station chain where one can go to fuel up one’s vehicle. May or may not have a grey-haired gas station attendant, or job openings.

; Untouchable Airsoft Shop (Persona 5)
: A military-esque airsoft shop in a back alley off Shibuya Central Street. Although all their goods are models, the proprietor, Iwai, has a scary look.

; Electronics Superstore Akindo (Persona 5)
: A huge electronics store in Akihabara.

; De La Mancha (Inspired by Soul Hackers 2)
: Or just Mancha. A chain discount store that sells just about everything, from groceries to electronics to clothing. Notorious for overloaded shelves so they can offer more products. Very lucky shoppers may occasionally find a cognitively useful item buried in there, whether a consumable, equipment, or even a card!

== Services and Appointments ==

; Hiiragi Psychotherapy (Persona 2)
: Run by Dr. Reiko, located in Seaside Mall.

; Sumaru Genie (Persona 2)
: Fortune-teller based in Seaside Mall who goes by the same name as the store. Her fortunes stopped coming true after Wang Long fortune-telling rose into prominence.

; Time Castle (Persona 2)
: Clock shop run by the eclectic Time Count, a man who acts the part of a Victorian gentleman who gets a little intense sometimes. Offers Skill Card services.

; Tominaga Chiropractic (Persona 2)
: Run by Mr. Tomi, a bombastic chiropractor trained in the US who has a US-themed 'flair' to his personality. He utilizes his ultimate technique, the Gold Finger, to adjust any spine, satisfaction guaranteed.

== Housing ==

; Lunar Palace (Persona 2)
: Apartment complex chain; there's one such apartment building in Konan. Maya Amano, Ulala Serizawa, and Shiori Miyashiro live there.

== Famous People ==

; Eriko "Elly" Kirishima (Persona 1)
: Popular rising model. Her hobby is the occult and she gives no comment on any potential boyfriend situation.

; Hidehiko "Brown" Uesugi (Persona 1)
: Talk show host. He's known for his boisterous laughter and nonstop jokes.

; Junko Kurosu (Persona 2)
: Veteran actress who's been in the profession for decades. She doesn't get quite as many roles now that she's in her 40s with a son who's nearly an adult, but she's still going strong.

; President Tanaka (Persona 3)
: CEO of and host to a TV home shopping show every Sunday morning, both of which are called Tanaka's Amazing Commodities.

; Naoto Shirogane (Persona 4)
: The first Detective Prince, who comes from a famous detective family and has been solving crimes across the country for years from a very young age.

; Rise Kujikawa (Persona 4)
: A popular middle school-aged rookie idol who's appeared in a few commercials so far.

; Goro Akechi (Persona 5)
: The second Detective Prince, sometimes called the Second Coming of the Detective Prince. A rookie compared to Naoto Shirogane, but nonetheless a high schooler who solves crimes for the police and gets consulted all the time.

; Ann Takamaki (Persona 5)
: An exotically beautiful model of mixed Japanese, American, and Finnish descent.

; Mika (Persona 5)
: A budding model, just starting out in the industry.

; Suguru Kamoshida (Persona 5)
: A professional athlete who won the gold medal for volleyball in the 2008 Summer Olympics and was teaching gym at Shujin Academy until recently. He turned himself in for abusing his students after he received a strange calling card from someone(s) calling themselves the "Phantom Thieves of Hearts."

; Ichiryusai Madarame (Persona 5)
: A famous artist celebrated for his incredibly broad range of styles. He recently confessed that his "range" was actually plagiarized from his various students, again after receiving a strange calling card from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.

; Subaru Amamiya (Persona 5 - Original)
: The soft-spoken and stern Mayor of Inaba, elected for four terms and presently trying for a fifth. He doesn't speak of [[Ren Amamiya|his son]] often. It's rumoured that he has greater politicial ambitions than being the Mayor of a small town. His wife Akira often acts as his unofficial assistant.

;Gozaburou "Zabu" Gessou (Velvet Room MUSH - Original)
:Talk show host and media personality. "Good Evening, Sumaru" is his show focusing on the weird rumors and happenings of Sumaru. He is also the son of a once influential political family whose patriarch died under mysterious circumstances.

[[Category: Setting]]

2025-12-14: No Good Deed

2025-12-14T19:01:08Z

Eri:

*'''Cutscene: No Good Deed'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Goro Akechi]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Sae Niijima]], Eiji Kamiya
*'''Where:''' Sumaru City, Konan PD; Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' December 14, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 25, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Eiji Kamiya's heart was changed by the Phantom Thieves and his human trafficking operations were shut down. However, the corruption runs deep enough that there are always people that will take advantage of the good that others do.''

----

"Our top story tonight, Eiji Kamiya, recent recipient of a calling card from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts has turned himself in, promising a full confession for crimes of sexual assault, rape, murder and running a human trafficking operation out of Iwatodai City."

"Unfortunately for Kamiya-san, it seems as if a plea bargain for his cooperation and full confession will be impossible. Mere hours before his 'Change of Heart' occurred a series of police raids conducted by the Special Investigations Unit and the Sumaru Police Department have shut down the majority of his criminal operations in Iwatodai City and the Konan District of Sumaru City."

"These images were taken of the pair who spear-headed the investigations, media darling and Second Coming of the Detective Prince, Goro Akechi and rising star of the Sumaru City Police Department, Sergeant Katsuya Suou... who managed to become a Detective at such a young age!"

"Not as young as Akechi-kun though, haha!"

-=-=-

Captain Shimazu's eyes were glued to the screen of the TV within his office, with a tense expression. "... This changes nothing. You're simply going to have to redouble your efforts to meet your quotas."

A scar-faced man, wearing a white cheongsam complained casually from his current seat on the couch, "Hou? How is this my job when it's your own subordinate's fault? If you kept your own house in order, wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

"Because this is what your people were brought in for." Captain Shimazu retorted with a hard edge of authority, "Perhaps you've forgotten who's life is on the line."

Yung Pao looked across the room at him like he'd already figured out five ways to kill him before he ever drew his gun, then smiled, "Of course not. I just think not reasonable to expect me to work harder because your man is disobedient."

Shimazu inhaled, then looked at the screen again, that image of Goro Akechi and Katsuya Suou being caught by the reporters, "Yes, I do agree at least that young Suou is becoming a bit of a problem..."

-=-=-

"I took my orders from... an organization called the New World Order. They're - a group of people who control nearly everything in Japan from behind the scenes." Eiji Kamiya, said, dispirited in tone. "Or at least that's what I was told. I never actually met the people who gave the orders... they always contacted me over the phone."

"Your phone records indicated no unusual activity." Sae Niijima said, impatiently. "Are you /really/ offering your full cooperation?"

"We used- burners. You know, those cheap cell phones that-"

"I know what a burner phone is." Sae interrupted him, tersely, "I just find it hard to believe that a hardened criminal such as yourself actually believes there's an organization that runs this country."

"My father- he knows more, I guess."

"You /GUESS/?" She snapped at him, and the once proud criminal now flinched and shrank before the prosecutor, "Well, he always indicated it was off limits... like you know- he used that old expression about not wanting to know how the sausage gets made..."

"And you expect me to believe he thought his son, engaging in human trafficking- and numerous other crimes would be too /squeamish/ to learn such a truth?"

"I... don't know, he never really explained more than that."

Sae Niijima stood up abruptly, "I don't have time for this nonsense." Taking hold of her briefcase, she looked over to the other figure in the interrogation room, leaning against the wall. Goro Akechi, his arms crossed, each hand sporting a black glove.

"You can take it from here, right?"

Goro Akechi smiled, "I'm honored by your trust." Sae rolled her eyes, "Just get the rest of his statement straight, if he breathes even a word of this in court, the defense might actually make a viable argument for an insanity plea."

As she left the room, closing the door behind her, someone in the room behind a one-way mirror flipped a switch, turning off the cameras and the recording.

Akechi then took several steps, pulling out the chair Sae was sitting in previously, and settling down, elbows on the table, fingers together. As he said, with a sharp edge of menace.

"Now that we're alone... let's have a /conversation/."

-=-=-

"Extradited!? What do you mean he's being EXTRADITED? We're a national jurisdiction here!" Sae all but yelled at the Director, Mouri. As the man calmly replied to her.

"It's an election year, coming up. You know how this works. Evidence has come to light that Eiji Kamiya's operations were far more extensive than we knew, targeting native communities in Hokkaido."

"And so you're giving away our prosecution so some politician in the boonies can get a PR Boost!?"

"Orders from the Commissioner General. Native rights are a hot button issue this year... given our country's checkered past. Don't worry Niijima-san, you'll still be given credit for every conviction of his subordinates - but this has to happen."

Sae looked disgusted, briefly, as Mouri continued, "Perhaps look at this as a positive. Taking a high profile case off your plate will offer you time for a long overdue vacation."

"I'll think about it." She said tersely, before leaving his office. Mouri watched her leave, then sat back in his chair, folding his hands, "This couldn't have gone better for our side... still, another Change of Heart for someone even on the fringes of the organization /is/ concerning."

The man paused for a time, considering how best to handle this, before coming to his own conclusion.

"Perhaps a change of approach towards these so-called Phantom Thieves is in order..."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-08-27: In Other News...

2025-12-14T18:34:25Z

Eri:

*'''Cutscene: In Other News...'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Goro Akechi]], Masayoshi Shido, Tatsuzou Sudou
*'''Where:''' Shinjuku, Tokyo
*'''OOC Date:''' August 27, 2025
*'''IC Date:'''July 2, 2025
*'''Summary''': ''In the wake of Kaneshiro's arrest, comes another high profile arrest that rocks Japan's political sphere...''

----

On the same day of Kaneshiro's dramatic confession, capturing the hearts and minds of the youth of Tokyo, there is news of another, far quieter but nevertheless still high profile arrest.

"He's coming out! Koichi Tawarada!"

The police station in Shinjuku was suddenly swarmed by reporters, and flashing camera lights. As a man in a hoodie, with a ball cap beneath it walked out, his face sporting an unshaven, bedraggled beard, as two cops perp walked him forward to a car.

And a woman on the evening news reports to their viewers what is going on, calmly, but with a rising drama, "Suspected of being involved in three murders, Tawarada is the son of the leader of the conservative Liberal Co-Prosperity party, Kosei Tawarada, who is himself suspected of destroying evidence."

"Get your hands off me. Do you know who I am?" An elder statesman in a suit soon followed behind the younger man, wispy white hair and glasses one familiar to people who actually followed the political news, "I'll have you all /sued/ for this treatment."

And behind him, came Goro Akechi, with a grave expression, as the police perp walked the two forward, one of them came forward to Goro, feeling he'd be more /receptive/ to their questioning.

"Akechi-kun! I heard these arrests came about because of something you said!"

"Merely a coincidence. I got lucky." He told them with a certain air of practiced humility, as he kept walking.

"So what'll happen now?"

"I hear the suspect will plead insanity. I doubt that his father will take the same approach due to his position."

As it zoomed out back to the news, the reporter continued, "Cabinet Minister Masayoshi Shido had this to say on the allegations." The view changes, to one of the balding Cabinet Minister with a goatee, "It surprises me very little that even the head of my own party would be responsible for such crimes. Truly the /rot/ in this administration festers unseen. That is why I will do everything in my power to uncover the corruption, and see those responsible punished. Only then may these wounds begin to heal."

"Whereas foreign minister Tatsuzou Sudou, an ally of Tawarada prepared this statement for the press:" Picking up a paper, she reads from it, "It is disappointing that while our country suffers from it's current migrant crisis that some would decide to play politics to try and stir up greater scandal, which is the last thing this country requires. Naturally my office will cooperate fully with this investigation."

It is a quiet thing for those who care little for politics, compared to the arrest of Junya Kaneshiro... but Goro Akechi's reputation suffers very little repercussions as a result in the public eye, despite the 'Phantom Thieves' hitting such a high profile target.

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-12-14: No Good Deed

2025-12-14T18:31:04Z

Eri: Created page with "*'''Cutscene: No Good Deed''' *'''Cast:''' Goro Akechi, Katsuya Suou, Sae Niijima, Eiji Kamiya *'''Where:''' Sumaru City, Konan PD; Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward *'''OOC Date:''' December 14, 2025 *'''IC Date:''' August 25, 2012 *'''Summary''': ''Eiji Kamiya's heart was changed by the Phantom Thieves and his human trafficking operations were shut down. However, the corruption runs deep enough that there are always people that will take advantage of the good that othe..."

*'''Cutscene: No Good Deed'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Goro Akechi]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Sae Niijima]], Eiji Kamiya
*'''Where:''' Sumaru City, Konan PD; Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward
*'''OOC Date:''' December 14, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 25, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''Eiji Kamiya's heart was changed by the Phantom Thieves and his human trafficking operations were shut down. However, the corruption runs deep enough that there are always people that will take advantage of the good that others do.''

----

"Our top story tonight, Eiji Kamiya, recent recipient of a calling card from the Phantom Thieves of Hearts has turned himself in, promising a full confession for crimes of sexual assault, rape, murder and running a human trafficking operation out of Iwatodai City."

"Unfortunately for Kamiya-san, it seems as if a plea bargain for his cooperation and full confession will be impossible. Mere hours before his 'Change of Heart' occurred a series of police raids conducted by the Special Investigations Unit and the Sumaru Police Department have shut down the majority of his criminal operations in Iwatodai City and the Konan District of Sumaru City."

"These images were taken of the pair who spear-headed the investigations, media darling and Second Coming of the Detective Prince, Goro Akechi and rising star of the Sumaru City Police Department, Sergeant Katsuya Suou... who managed to become a Detective at such a young age!"

"Not as young as Akechi-kun though, haha!"

-=-=-

Captain Shimazu's eyes were glued to the screen of the TV within his office, with a tense expression. "... This changes nothing. You're simply going to have to redouble your efforts to meet your quotas."

A scar-faced man, wearing a white cheongsam complained casually from his current seat on the couch, "Hou? How is this my job when it's your own subordinate's fault? If you kept your own house in order, wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

"Because this is what your people were brought in for." Captain Shimazu retorted with a hard edge of authority, "Perhaps you've forgotten who's life is on the line."

Yung Pao looked across the room at him like he'd already figured out five ways to kill him before he ever drew his gun, then smiled, "Of course not. I just think not reasonable to expect me to work harder because your man is disobedient."

Shimazu inhaled, then looked at the screen again, that image of Goro Akechi and Katsuya Suou being caught by the reporters, "Yes, I do agree at least that young Suou is becoming a bit of a problem..."

-=-=-

"I took my orders from... an organization called the New World Order. They're - a group of people who control nearly everything in Japan from behind the scenes." Eiji Kamiya, said, dispirited in tone. "Or at least that's what I was told. I never actually met anyone from it... they always contacted me over the phone."

"Your phone records indicated no unusual activity." Sae Niijima said, impatiently. "Are you /really/ offering your full cooperation?"

"We used- burners. You know, those cheap cell phones that-"

"I know what a burner phone is." Sae interrupted him, tersely, "I just find it hard to believe that a hardened criminal such as yourself actually believes there's an organization that runs this country."

"My father- he knows more, I guess."

"You /GUESS/?" She snapped at him, and the once proud criminal now flinched and shrank before the prosecutor, "Well, he always indicated it was off limits... like you know- he used that old expression about not wanting to know how the sausage gets made..."

"And you expect me to believe he thought his son, engaging in human trafficking- and numerous other crimes would be too /squeamish/ to learn such a truth?"

"I... don't know, he never really explained more than that."

Sae Niijima stood up abruptly, "I don't have time for this nonsense." Taking hold of her briefcase, she looked over to the other figure in the interrogation room, leaning against the wall. Goro Akechi, his arms crossed, each hand sporting a black glove.

"You can take it from here, right?"

Goro Akechi smiled, "I'm honored by your trust." Sae rolled her eyes, "Just get the rest of his statement straight, if he breathes even a word of this in court, the defense might actually make a viable argument for an insanity plea."

As she left the room, closing the door behind her, someone in the room behind a one-way mirror flipped a switch, turning off the cameras and the recording.

Akechi then took several steps, pulling out the chair Sae was sitting in previously, and settling down, elbows on the table, fingers together. As he said, with a sharp edge of menace.

"Now that we're alone... let's have a /conversation/."

-=-=-

"Extradited!? What do you mean he's being EXTRADITED? We're a national jurisdiction here!" Sae all but yelled at the Director, Mouri. As the man calmly replied to her.

"It's an election year, coming up. You know how this works. Evidence has come to light that Eiji Kamiya's operations were far more extensive than we knew, targeting native communities in Hokkaido."

"And so you're giving away our prosecution so some politician in the boonies can get a PR Boost!?"

"Orders from the Commissioner General. Native rights are a hot button issue this year... given our country's checkered past. Don't worry Niijima-san, you'll still be given credit for every conviction of his subordinates - but this has to happen."

Sae looked disgusted, briefly, as Mouri continued, "Perhaps look at this as a positive. Taking a high profile case off your plate will offer you time for a long overdue vacation."

"I'll think about it." She said tersely, before leaving his office. Mouri watched her leave, then sat back in his chair, folding his hands, "This couldn't have gone better for our side... still, another Change of Heart for someone even on the fringes of the organization /is/ concerning."

The man paused for a time, considering how best to handle this, before coming to his own conclusion.

"Perhaps a change of approach towards these so-called Phantom Thieves is in order..."

[[Category:Cutscenes]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-12-13: At the Altar

2025-12-14T17:16:50Z

Eri:

*'''Log: At the Altar'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Penguin Sniper]], [[Ren Amamiya]], [[Ichika Kawase]], [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Ryuji Sakamoto]], [[Yusuke Kitagawa]], [[Makoto Niijima]], [[Ririka Kawase]], [[Hibari Aoki]], [[Hyousuke Suzuki]], [[Masao Inaba]], [[Hitomi Mandai]], [[Tamaki Uchida]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]], [[Julian Marlowe]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Haru Okumura]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Eiji Kamiya's Palace, Iwatodai City
*'''OOC Date:''' December 13, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 25, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''The Phantom Thieves have sent their Calling Card to Eiji Kamiya, Ichika Kawase's ex-fiancé and abuser, announcing to the world their intent to steal his desires and change his heart. Many have rushed to his Palace to aid them or for their own ends... but will it truly be a simple matter?''
*'''TW''': Rape, Sexual Assault, Murder, Human Trafficking, Dead Naming, Transphobia.

----

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
At the top of the wedding venue, is the heart of the Palace, only accessible to Eiji's family and most inner circle. Or- thieves and invaders that have managed to get this far. Push open the heavy wooden doors and you'll see the angular beams and rafters above mark the high ceiling of this Western chapel, dark black velvet petals of the Kuroyuri drifting down gently like cherry blossoms. A red carpet extends from the entrance to the altar, and behind it are curtains saturated in reflective sequins.

One shouldn't be fooled to think this chapel is ''Christian'' however. The iconography on the altar is all wrong. Carved upon it is a disturbing tableau of unclad women being pulled along by beasts. Up high is a single circular pane of red and violet stained glass that drenches the place in the imagery of a smaller hand being forcefully grasped by a larger one, as another holds a ring to place it upon the more feminine hand's finger.

There's flashing ahead, neon signs with the Calligraphy for 'Kamiya' with the characters for 'God' and 'Family' and 'Eiji' with the characters for 'Eternity' and 'Kindness' that light up on either side in sequence with a gaudy display of something straight out of Vegas, while atop the altar is all the Goshugi - pile upon pile of envelopes, gold coins, and jewelry, gifts to the bride and groom.

The Groom's Side of the chapel is filled with pews, currently empty of guests- the Bride's side has no seating at all. Instead having more tables devoted to the Goshugi given unto them both for the coming nuptials. More disturbing, some of the gifts aren't money, but items that would be useful when bringing a newborn child into the world.

And floating above the altar, is an enormous ring, with an even larger purple diamond, too large to fit any person's finger. The Treasure, pregnant with distorted desire. Irresistible to a certain someone- almost like catnip.

If they were actually a cat that is.

OOC Note: Please hold poses for the Phantoms. I'll pose again after. That pose will specify the point where everyone else can come in. Please be sure to heal to full before that point and be in the bucket, as there will be attacks!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Mona's NOT a cat though! He is a human, with a very human obsession with Treasure!

So obviously it's irresistible like ''silvervine'', emphasis on "silver." Very different from catnip!!!

"Myahaaaa~! Treasure, Treasure!" he sing-songs, launching himself directly at the enormous diamond ring, latching on to one side of it, and swinging and spinning around until both of them fall to the altar and Goshugi below, still laughing and cheek-rubbing the Treasure giddily.

"...This is normal for him," Joker explains to Ogre and Phoenix. "Don't mind it too much." They, at least, remain stoic; they pulled a brief, disgusted face at the Goshugi a moment ago, but have reasserted their calm neutrality. "We should assume Kamiya's Shadow, or other Persona Users, or both, will try to block the way out, so let's get out of here right away. Mona?" ... "Mona." ... "Mona!"

"Gah! R-right!" the cartoonish bandit cat yelps, blue eyes snapping wide. "Trans...form!!"

In a puff of smoke, he transforms into a small truck. There's plenty of space in the back to load up the giant ring, though it'll be a tight squeeze for everyone else--some of them will have to ride on top. Joker will keep an eye out to make sure everyone's on board one way or another, and entrust keeping an eye out for any enemies to their friends. Once they're all loaded up and Joker's at the wheel, though...

They'll hit the gas pedal and spin the wheel for the exit regardless of anything that might be in the way. Joker doesn't believe that it'll be an easy getaway, but it's not showtime ''just'' yet, either.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ogre looks with distaste upon the iconography at play, until she sees the stained glass that hardens her expression. "Ugh," she says. "I'm so tired of this asshole."

It's a bit of bravado, but it's also true. Soon, she'll be done with him for good. Right? That's what this is for. For her, and fo all the people he's hurt...

She looks to Phoenix for a moment, and then back to the chapel. No room on the Bride's side...

She spits on the ground. "I remember how he was about Toshiaki. And this is how he really felt?"

But the Treasure...

Mona gets weird about it, and Ogre looks, baffled, to Joker. Joker explains it though. Kind of. "...Normal," Ogre repeats. "Well, OK."

"Right," Ogre says. "We probably have some backup coming if it comes to that..."

But while it's a tight squeeze, they can all get in. She stays in front, this time. She wants to see this place and know it's for the last time, on the way out.

Onward!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
So, which one is Phoenix? They battered down Eiji's front door, so they're certainly an ''invader,'' but the person under that mask is undeniably a ''thief,'' even leaving aside how they're a ''Phantom Thief'' now...

Plus, they're wearing the vestiges of a ''bird'' alongside those ninja robes, and everyone ''knows'' birds are evil.

Those women claimed by beasts turn Phoenix's blue lips to a sneer, as they look over the decorations here -- the women dragged forth by ''beasts.'' 'God', 'Family', 'Eternity', 'Kindness'...

Phoenix reflects, for a moment, on the bird escaping through the border-pass, and then turns their attention back to the chapel. To the groom, allowed to have guests -- the bride, given none. ... the crib, fashioned with jail bars.

"Hey," they say, quietly, reaching over to squeeze Ogre's hand for a minute. "He's a piece a shit. Yeah?"

And Mona, going nuts over that sick treasure...

"Dude, you're gonna catch somethin' if you glomp on that creepy shit," Phoenix warns him, with a sceptical expression somehow carried ''through'' their mask. They share that scepticism with Skull, their teeth grit and lips slightly part as they meet his eyes, as if to ask: '????'

And then, again, when Mona ''turns into a car,'' jumping backwards as their arms jerk up. "What the hell?!" They actually ''vocalise'' that, this time. A moment later: "... damn, that's cool."

They help load that horrible ring up into the back of -- Mona??? -- and then move to cram ''themself'' into the back of -- MONA????? -- kind of crammed against the wall by that horrible gross diamond.

"Ugh, I hate this guy," they grumble, planting a hand against the precious gem to try and get some breathing room.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull is a little better than usual in this Palace. He is mostly remaining strong for Ichika and Tsubasa, regarding every sight and surface as if it had a layer of slime.

He fights the urge to smash the revolting stained glass just squinting as he passes it. Instead, he just taps his pipe a little more rapidly against his shoulder to cope.

The sight of the treasure is somewhat exciting to Skull as it means this place was closer to donezo. No more nightmare sleaziness! Plus she'd be happy so...Ryuji smiles a little at the thought.

But for now, Skull needed to focus up and get the job done. Which is about when he perceives Mona hugging onto the treasure, exchanging a look with Phoenix. "Come on, man...this isn't a good look."

Once that is helped with, Skull helps haul out the treasure and gets it to where it needs to go.

Once everything was loaded up, he gives Ichika a reassuring thumbs up before he goes back to scoping the area out for Eiji's stupid shadow. Knowing how these things went, it would be here sooner or later.

</poem>
AS: Makoto Niijima has joined Penguin Sniper's bucket! 16 out of 25 slots filled!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>"My word," Fox remarks, dryly. "Tasteless, chauvinistic, and insulting all at once - a crude pastiche of Hieronymous Bosch filtered through a Seagram Mural with all the depth and complexity of a crayon scrawl. Allusions to the Old Masters and modern greats, rendered base and obscene." He looks up at the neon kanji, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "A twisted, shameless ego indeed."

Ogre spits, and Fox would not do anything so graceless personally, but he agrees with the sentiment. "At least when we're done here all this will crumble into nothing."

Mona and Joker begin the crucial task of retrieving the treasure, and Fox puts himself on watch for any signs of Shadow - or, as the Phantoms' leader reminds them, other Persona users - as his rifle appears in his hands. "The coast appears clear, Joker."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
This farce of a wedding ceremony is a disgusting enough site, without already knowing what lies in the back rooms and the groom's suite. Even here, at the altar, the bride is a prop and her family profit, and the child a prisoner.

Of course that's where the Treasure is.

"Mona says it's because humans have a strong cognition of cats turnings into vehicles," Queen explains to Phoenix and Ogre, while Skull and Phoenix manhandle the giant ring into the back of the Monabus. It's maybe not as space consuming as the gold bars from Kaneshiro's palace, but it's going to be awkward fitting folks in. Someone on the roof has often been an option, if someone wants to be taking the exciting and dangerous route. Queen gives one last sweep of the area, making sure no shadows come out of the woodwork.

"Will your backup know that we're on their side, Ogre?" It's a reasonable concern, given the nature of the will of rebellion, but that's a problem for... probably like thirty seconds from now.

"Alright, everyone in, let's get moving." Queen calls, moving to slip into the front row of the three seats. Usually Joker can handle the driving, but, well. Queen likes to be in position to take over in case they need to do something stupid.

(Also unlike *most* phantom thieves, Queen actually has her license!!)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
The art critic in the room certainly isn't wrong. Everyone would be better off if this place crumbled to dust.

The curtains behind the altar flutter, as a man in a tuxedo of crimson and gold covered in sequins barrels out, bellowing in outrage. He grasps hold of Monabus right as Joker hits the gas, and with one mighty heave, flips Mona on his side, the trunk popping open from the force of impact.

Blood of Villain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFiO3a0_oo

Fortunately, Mona probably transforms back relatively quickly, freeing them from the predicament of getting out in this state.

This is the view everyone else sees as they enter the room, Eiji Kamiya, the Ruler of this Palace reaching for an engagement ring the size of a Hula Hoop, with an enormous purple diamond upon it.

"You brazen ''insects''. You thought you could crash my wedding and steal ''my'' desire?"

Roughly grabbing the treasure back, he holds it over his head while he looks straight at Ogre with an expression of smug triumph.

"You brought it right to me!"

Desire is attractive, potent. It draws people to you, unites them under your banner, your ambition. More so for Shadows than anyone else.

Shadows swarm and surge to him, amassing to become one with him, a union within his desire. And in a sudden explosion of power, they summon unto them a great Archetype.

What one may notice first are the wings surrounding him, each feather shaped like a repulsive like so many enormous feather sized diamonds. They unfurl slowly as he stands, in a flashy tuxedo of crimson and gold, gemstones speckling it like gaudy sequins.

A corsage of Kuroyuri flowers is pinned to his right lapel and his now feline head is spotted like a leopard's, even if his fur is a deep royal purple. On each hand, the finger sports a multitude of gleaming promise rings that each look similar to a brass knuckle, like a bludgeon, save for the fourth finger on his right clawed hand. An enormous wedding band, with a purple diamond bigger than most of their heads.

And he laughs, laughs flush with his newfound power, his terrible desire. Euphoric in this moment of transcendence.

"Ahaha-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eiji Sitri Kamiya

As he ceases laughing his cat's eyes become slits as they focus on Ogre, "This is our ''WEDDING DAY'' and you come here dressed like that, as some ''PHANTOM THIEF''? You've truly fallen so far without me to decide things for you"

He raises his right, taloned hand, as the diamond on his fourth finger gleams with the light of his treasure- his desire.

Ring Of Eternal Bondage

The Treasure has become a gleaming symbol of their past relationship, emblematic of his desire for family. Desire for a wife that will give everything unto her husband.

This won't end, not while this Treasure Exists. Her entire life will remain smothered beneath the weight of this lascivious distortion, a need to make her submit, to dominate her - to take away

Shadows begin to appear on the Groom's side of the chapel, so many of them, as well as cognitions of Eiji's friends, and family. There's a leering Hajime leading a group of groomsmen. While so many of the Wedding Guests begin to bleed ichor as they burst into demonic figures and turn towards the 'Wedding Crashers'.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
And as this all occurs, a more demure presence steps out from behind the other curtain to stand a small distance behind the monstrous Ruler. Cognitive Ichika Kawase, visibly quite pregnant, in contrast to his gaudy Western Tuxedo, she's wearing an over the shoulder white wedding dress with a long train, sleeves encircling her upper arms, with a neckline to emphasize how large her bosom is given her current pregnancy. Her hands clasp together as if fretting over this moment.

Submissive Bride

"Be careful..." She murmurs instead, eyes distant, abstracted, as the Ruler remonstrates her in a domineering tone, "Just be silent and do your duty - you counterfeit, while I deal with this."

She shrinks back a step, at his degradation, his accusation of being a counterfeit compared to the real thing. It's unusual in a sense. Different from Kamoshida, where a Cognition of Ann was more than enough for him. while he focuses back upon Ogre, and there's something like a sigh, like men often do when they're speaking of 'women' and their foolishness.

"I kindly allowed you so much time away... to grieve and come to terms with your guilt from killing our daughter. It was your fault for provoking me so... had you only been carrying a son for me instead, I would have been so much gentler, so much kinder in the face of your cruelty. But now I see my patience - my kindness. It was truly wasted upon you, since you allowed yourself to be so easily misled into this rebellion."

Raising his ring aloft into the air, there's a sudden sparkle of unholy light and an aura of 'untouchability' that extends from him to the Submissive Bride to fulfill his role as protector.

"I'm taking you back. I'm taking you back and I'll ''never'' let you go again! I'll mold you into something truly wonderful - something that will offer EVERYTHING that you are to the family you'll bear for me. You see, the wonderful thing about children, my love, is that once I've dealt with these miscreants." His grin spreads, with an (ab)normal amount of teeth, "We can always. Make. ''More''."

Blooming Villain (Strikers Ver.) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jERcvK8Sb90

And the colossal Ruler raises his hand and begins to smash it repeatedly, brutally to the floor of the Palace, cracking it with tremendous force, sending out battering shock wave after shock wave.

"ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU OF WHERE YOU REALLY BELONG!"

His wings flare in the unholy light of the room, each gem sparkling, as he flaps them twice, lifting off before diving right towards Phoenix. "You think I don't see you there!? TSUBAKI!" Drawing his arm back, he tries to brutally back-hand Phoenix into a row of pews. "This is YOUR FAULT! Putting all sorts of ideas in my bride-to-be's head!"

Landing, his Shadow looms over them, "I'll make sure this time, once I'm finished with you, that the only place left for you is a Carnival FREAK SHOW!"

IC Note: Eiji Sitri Kamiya and Ring of Eternal Bondage are both valid targets you should specify in your pose if you're attacking. Attacks to either will be fielded by the Eiji/Penguin Sniper bit. Actions taken upon Submissive Bride will be fielded by the Junes bit. The 'Shadows' in the room are for off camera fights with any alts people desire to be here, and will not be featured. Everyone has 45 minutes to pose their character's entrance and involvement in the fight at this point.

Due to coming csys updates, Recarm will be treated as a revive tonight. Any PC downed who has anything from the Recarm line cast upon them will be revived with 15% health, even if it has different flags. If your character would feasibly have it- then we're willing to discuss you subbing in 'Help Up' for tonight only. Just please ask first.

OOC Note: Please note, as per the Will of Rebellion's protection as outlined on the Resonance section of the wiki, it does not matter if you have close intimate knowledge of Ichika Kawase and her situation. Your psyche will not be able to connect Ichika Kawase to Ogre, no matter what, unless she's previously directly told you her identity prior to this scene. Furthermore, any incongruence such as Eiji calling her Ichika will not stick out as something to investigate. It will be seen as your mind believing it's another different Ichika unconnected to Ichika Kawase or hearing 'Ogre' instead. Please respect this.

</poem>
AS: Penguin Sniper has readied for combat as Eiji Sitri Kamiya! They are now fully healed! Ready for 16 opponents!
AS: Junes has readied for combat as Submissive Bride! She is now fully healed! Ready for 2 opponents!
AS: Persona! Junes has used the Almighty skill Dance of Protection on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Support: Junes gains 1 Limit!
AS: Junes's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Junes's Dance of Protection.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!

AS: Penguin Sniper has readied for combat with Eiji Sitri Kamiya! They are adjusted! Ready for 17 opponents!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ren Amamiya, Ririka Kawase, Yusuke
Kitagawa, and Umie Akabane! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Julian Marlowe, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi
Mandai, and Hyousuke Suzuki! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Katsuya Suou, Makoto Niijima, Shinobu
Shimizu, and Tamaki Uchida! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ryuji Sakamoto, Masao Inaba, Hibari Aoki,
and Tsubasa Seki! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ichika Kawase! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Best! Tamaki Uchida takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Tamaki Uchida takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Recovery skill Untouchable on Penguin Sniper and Junes!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: You can't attack while you have an attack in your queue.

AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Counter Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 61 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Ichika Kawase takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Ichika Kawase takes 65 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Ichika Kawase takes 35 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 41 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 54 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 57 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 38 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 29 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 20 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 76 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 19 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Disciplinary Backhand on Tsubasa Seki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 10 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Shinobu Shimizu takes 62 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 24 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 24 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 25 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 50 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 68 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Ririka Kawase takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 27 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 20 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Block Strike!

AS: Block Best! Julian Marlowe takes 48 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Makoto Niijima takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Neutral! Julian Marlowe takes 55 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 38 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 18 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 15 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 39 ??? damage from #-1 NO SUCH OBJECT VISIBLE's .
AS: Block Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 36 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Counter Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 38 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
"I-it's not like I'm into this Treasure in particular! I'm like this with all Treasures!" Mona protests to Skull, tail frizzing. As a defense, it's pretty weak... That must be what Joker meant, though.

Joker nods to Fox when he gives the all clear (and also smirks at his scathing critique); everyone piles into the Monabus. They begin to drive forward, and--!

Someone grabs the rear bumper and ''yanks''. Mona SCREECHES, caught by surprise, and POOFs back into a regular cat, sending everyone inside sprawling. Shadow Eiji snatches the gaudy, hula hoop-sized ring out of the air and transforms into a much more demonic form to wear it along with several other rings, and Joker comes up from a three-point landing with a low 'tch.'

Their masked eyes turn to Cognitive Ichika when she steps forward--but to their mute surprise, Shadow Eiji calls ''her'' the counterfeit and tells the ''real'' Ichika he wants ''her''. That sure wasn't the case with Shadow Kamoshida, who saw his cognition of Ann, the one who dressed and behaved the way he wanted her to, to be the 'real' one. Does the fact that Shadow Eiji acknowledges Ogre as the true Ichika Kawase mean...

...dominating her is part of his desire?

This really is beyond distorted. Joker summons their rainbow-edged dagger with a flick of the wrist as the pews burst with Shadows and Cognitions, and Shadow Eiji makes a barrier for himself and Cognitive Ichika. "This is going to be a tough fight. Mona, Panther, Noir, you three deal with the enemies in the pews. The rest of us will take care of Kamiya's Shadow and his... support."

"Got it! We'll protect your backs!" Mona declares, flipping back up onto his feet with his scimitar in hand. He'll lead the charge into an off-screen fight until the others have reclaimed the Treasure.

That's the most important thing right now, after all. Without the Treasure, they can't steal Eiji Kamiya's heart. Shadow Eiji says a whole lot of shit to Ogre and Phoenix both. Joker fixes him with a look of contempt. "We've already heard all that nonsense. Shut up and fight," they state, cold as the Arctic.

They're REALLY over other people's bullshit right now. Thanks, Akechi.

Joker gets their wish, too: Shadow Eiji pounds the floor, creating an earthquake of shockwaves to smash out towards them and their friends. It's a hell of an attack, and once Joker can only ride out until it's over; when it's done, they're heaving with effort from the dizzying pain they're left with. Even so, they look around at their companions.

"Showtime, everyone. We're taking his heart!" they declare, projecting their deep voice into a boom. Rising to their feet, Joker's gloved hand rises to their face as their mask blazes blue. "Arsène!!" they call as their other half arises, flapping dark wings and spreading clawed hands as they grin red-luminescent on a dark paneled face. With a twirl of their wrist, green-yellow light glitters around Eiji Sitri, potentially sapping him of speed and accuracy.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Sukunda on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Sukunda.
AS: Spd_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Skull's reassuance goes a long way for Ogre. He gives her a thumbs-up, and Ogre gives him a V-sign. She really is doing better than she was before the other day, at least--able to stand strong in here despite the awfulness. And Phoenix squeezes her hand, prompting a nod from the taller Thief. "Yeah. He is."

But Queen has a good question. "Yeah," she says. "They should--they'll recognize me, if nothing else."

But Ogre falls with the others, tumbling to a stop when Mona changes form and hitting a bench hard. "Ugh-"

Shadow Eiji looks straight at her--and Ogre narrows her eyes, her mask's long horns glinting in the light of the Shadows' explosion.

"Back then," Ogre says, "All I could do is bust up a few Shadows and run away. ...That's what I was doing, for so long. Running away. Through boys, through thinking about anything else at all..."

"Anything, to get rid of the ''stain'' you left on me." She throws out her hand to the side, staring at the terrible monster before her, the shuddering power that suffuses him fluttering her long hair behind her back. And then, he stops laughing. Their wedding day...

"Fallen my ass! I'm MINE! Nobody else's! And I'll never be held back again!"

But that's when she sees Cognitive Ichika again. She says 'be careful', and he ''snaps'' at her. He calls her a counterfeit. "Asshole," Ogre says. "You made her, you can damned well take RESPONSIBILITY!"

Before, talk of their daughter enraged Ogre beyond reason. Now, she narrows her eyes as she stares at him. "...That's it," she says. "You're not molding me into anything. You're not touching one more woman like that! I'LL CRUSH YOU!"

The Shadow smashes shock wave after shock wave into the floor, and is jostled and thrown back by the sheer force of his rage. One hits her especially hard--the critical hit sees her knocked back into another bench, which cracks on impact. "Ugh!"

"...What you fail to realize," Ogre says, "Is I've learned a few new tricks since back then."

"PERSONA!"

Momiji whirls into being in blue light and shattering glass, a beautiful oni in a maple-patterned kimono, with long horns and long hair. She laughs, cheerfully, as she raises her hands and healing sparkles dance over some of the Phantom Thieves.

"I couldn't save her," Ogre says. "But I can protect them!"

She hefts her shield before herself, and adopts a ready stance, shield-forward. "Right, Joker! I'm on it!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Ryuji Sakamoto, and
Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ichika had told Ririka she'd know when it was time to move.

She hadn't expected to wake up that morning to texts about the ''Calling Card'' for Eiji Kamiya.

And so she'd gotten moving as fast as she could. The first time she was here, her and her group had to beat a hasty exit. ''This'' time, though... well. There's no keeping a determined Navigator out.

BGM: It's Going Down Now (Piano arr.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcap71UQkrE

Ririka bursts through the door, Evoker and katana in hand, her red eyes angry and determined.

She scans the room as she bursts in. That disturbing imagery, the hand forcing a ring on, no seating on the bride's side of the chapel...

She hardly knows which thing to let her rile up more.

No, she does know--it's that Submissive Bride, that fake image of her ''sister'', one cowed by Eiji's domineering streak. "That ''asshole''..." she mutters under her breath.

And the things Eiji says-- "Hey! Kamiya! You're some kinda sicko, you know that? My sister's doing a ''lot'' better without you, and I'm not letting you get your hands on her again!"

Shockwaves come, and she raises her katana, blocking some of the hits but one gets through her guard, knocking her back. "Guh..."

"Alright. Let's see what you're made of." She raises her Evoker to her head. Her hand trembles for a moment, but she grips it tighter and pulls the trigger.

Broken glass and blue flame form into the shape of a giant stone man holding a lyre, and Ririka points her Katana at Shadow Eiji. "Amphion! Analysis!"

Amphion places a large pair of headphones on Ririka's head before beginning to strum, sending soundwaves at the Shadow while Ririka listens to how they reflect back.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Full Analysis on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Full Analysis.
AS: Ririka Kawase's Strength Scan! Penguin Sniper resists Strike and Dark!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Weakness Scan! Penguin Sniper is weak against Earth and Light!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Support Scan! Penguin Sniper has passive skills Apt Pupil, Avoid Earth, Sharp Student, Strike Amp,
Strike Boost, and Strike Riposte!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"You're real smart 'bout this art shit," Phoenix says, to Fox, complimentary. "Do me a solid an' explain that insult to me later, I wanna appreciate it right." They're more sceptical when Mona insists they're like this with ''all'' Treasures, though. "C'mon, man..." Restraint isn't that hard, according to Phoenix, the master of self-control. (Mostly.) Phoenix cocks their head, akin to their namesake, as Queen explains the meaning of the Catvan. "Like... that one picture a that cat loafin' on a railin' that everyone decided were a monorail?" It seems Monorail Cat has a ''far reach.'' They appreciate Skull's strength right about now, too, seeing his pipe increase in beats-per-minute like any decent song; given the things they've faced, here, their ''own'' strength is far from absolute. Still... they need to see this through. "... we good?" They call out to Skull, knowing he's keeping an eye on the altar in their escape.

They are not good.

"SHIT!" Phoenix yells, suddenly finding themself having to brace against the wall of Mona's -- ''Mona???'' -- to avoid being thrown out of the van entirely. Mona transforming back into not-a-cat form at least dumps them on the ground a little more ''gently,'' and what everyone will see as they enter is Phoenix springing backwards to rejoin the Phantom Thieves, massive greatsword appearing in their hands.

They step up, beside Ogre, when Eiji declares that they brought his treasure right ''to'' him. "I'll die before you lay a hand on her, you SON OF A PRICK!" They yell, swiping a hand. He's got some real sick shit to say as he takes the stage -- those are ''too'' many fucking diamonds -- but...

They see the Shadows swarming in -- including Hajime, who Phoenix grunts, ''ugh,'' on seeing the cognition of their own abusive partner leering at them. It's better if they ''don't'' engage him. Cognitive Ichika sends an entirely different pit down into their stomach; they never met ''her,'' running through this hellscape. "Leave her alone!" They snap, to him, even though Cognitive Ichika isn't ''real'' -- but telling Eiji to leave the version of Ichika in his ''head'' alone isn't as dissociated from telling him to leave the ''real one'' alone as it might look.

He keeps ''talking,'' though, and Tsubasa's lips twist alongside their gut. "YOU SICK FUCK!" They yell, taking another bold step forward. "STEP OFFA OUR PARTNER, YOU PIECE A SHIT!"

('Our' has nothing to do with Eiji, here, and everything to do with ''Skull.'')

Perhaps ''that's'' what gets Eiji noticing them. His wings ''flare,'' and Phoenix springs forward to charge ''him'' --

-- only to get ''slammed,'' midair, into the Groom's aisle. "That... ain't my name," they rasp out, coughing with the impact, as they plant one orange-gloved hand on the fine wood to shove themself up. "That ain't... MY NAME... YOU ASSHOLE! I'M THE FUCKIN' ''PHOENIX!!''" With the yell they manage a second time, they get a knee up under them, to slice at him with that massive blade. (Though, satisfyingly, he may note a touch of ''fear'' to the anger twisting their lips, as he looms over them like that.) "Don't you fuckin' touch me again! An' don't put Ogre DOWN like that! The ideas she got are HER IDEAS, YOU FUCKASS! You -- you don't fuckin' ''scare'' me!" The way ''they'' understand what he's doing... well, they can have some sympathy for those people busting in with information-gathering Personas.

But there's a way their voice hitches on the word... he may very well scare them a ''little.'' Perhaps that's the only reasonable answer... to a man looming over them like ''this.'' Phoenix is at least able to slice their way out of his shadow, though, thanks to Ogre -- whose healing protection settles over them, as they spring back to her and the others. "You got me," they smile, to her, briefly. And then, to Joker, they call: "Right! Let's do this--!!"

</poem>
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 63 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Disciplinary Backhand. Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 34 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull stops dead when Phoenix calls out to him, turning with a forced smile. "Just gonna be glad to see this...fucking nightmare behind us..." He knowingly meets eyes with them briefly before going back to his pipe work. It was good that his attempts at looking strong were working because he was a tightly wound bomb just waiting for Eiji's Shadow to show up.

THERE HE IS.

Ryuji is actually smiling as he strolls closer to the swarmy POS, tapping his pipe with a jaunty little rhythm. He lets him talk. They really did love to talk. "Wow...This is the first time I'm hearing your voice and I really hate it. Lot less important sounding than your fucking rep implies..."

Then he turns into a winged kitty cat and Ryuji is just pleased as punch. This guy was hilariously awful. Like a Cartoon. "Hey Garfield, step off of her. She's with -Us-." Giving a nod over to Tsubasa and then a grin at Ichika. He tilts his head back, holding it at crooked angle as he looks at Eiji's shadow again. "So--Mondays do suck but I'm gonna show you what sucks worse. I'm gonna LOOOOOOOVE kickin' your teeth in hehe--PERSONA!"

Captain Kidd manifests into reality, rocking with the waves of a nonexistent sea. The Skeleton opens its jaws, letting out a otherworldly smoke.

Skull chuckles and points toward Eiji's distorted form. "ZIO!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Ichika says she has backup coming.

She is, of course, completely right.

Hibari Aoki, Ichika Kawase's friend and sometime gang member, had sworn to see this through ever since she'd first heard about Eiji - and what he'd done. Even before she knew that Ichika was Ogre. She'd done her best to interfere subtly: to sneak out papers and pass them to people who can deal with them, like Myunghon, and to delve the depths of Eiji's wickedness even as she became more and more unsettled.

But Hibari is, of course, just a rumourmonger. She doesn't get involved in things like this.

Fortunately, there is someone who is.

Mujina, the mysterious Persona-user; a figure in a long coat, belted around her waist, hanging open below that and accompanied by black leggings and high boots. The Phantom Thieves look like - well, thieves. She looks like a spy.

And she has a mask. It's not Fox's mask but it looks like it's of the same aesthetic: traditional Japanese, red and white. Except instead of a fox this is a broader shape, with stripes that go up from the cheeks and over the eyes in a wide arc, and wider, more triangular ears with red along the outside; it's a (very) stylized animal that is either a tanuki-ish badger or a badger-ish tanuki.

Mujina had thought she'd seen the worst of Eiji and his friends already. That was before she burst in on this - this - she couldn't even think of it as a wedding. Weddings are happy. This was disgusting in a way she struggled to put into words, backed up by an equally disgusting man -

- and, as she'd guessed privately to Ichika, a cognition. Though not the cognition she'd expected.

It being 'Ichika', and a pregnant Ichika at that, actually slows her down for a moment. It's a Cognition - it's not real - but it's still someone she is here to protect, not someone she came to fight, and it interrupts Mujina's mental stride.

Just long enough for her to be an easy target for the shockwaves. They smash, and she goes down, stumbling, tumbling into one of the benches with a painful-sounding crack, what was about to be the calling of her Persona interrupted. She can pick herself up quickly, at least, though she uses the bench itself for support, as if she wasn't sure of her balance.

"Ogre!" she calls. "I'm here, as promised!" Ogre's brought the Phantom Thieves, but they're not the only ones coming in either. There's a moment of hesitation, because Mujina doesn't really *fight* all that much, she generally takes a more subtle approach, but: "Got you covered!"

"DANZABUROU!"

Her Persona appears this time in burning blue, a short rotund humanoid animal - a bake-danuki - wearing a rich haori, its round belly bare and carrying a gunbai made of precious metals and rare woods. A golden leaf is perched behind one ear, almost like a hairpin.

It thumps its belly, and Ogre...

...fades. Not all the way out, but she becomes difficult to see clearly, hazy and ill-defined and hard to get a magical grip on, and a rush of energy fills her as Danzaburou's power surges.

"I'm here to help!" Mujina calls to the others, focusing on the Phantom Thieves - Joker, Queen, Phoenix, Fox and his so-similar mask, Skull. "I'm with Ogre; I'll back you up!"
</poem>

AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Elec skill Zio on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Recovery skill Doronparama on Ichika Kawase!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 99 Recovery healing from Hibari Aoki's Doronparama.
AS: Eclipse added!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke was glad for the mask. Not just because of its protection, and not just because of it shielding his identity. He was glad for the fact that it hid his expression - one he could hardly control, no matter how he tried. Rage, alertness, uncertainty, focus - he shifted from one to the other in a heartbeat, then was caught between two before settling on another entirely. Yet, despite his emotions running high, and the utter contempt he held for the Palace's boss, he had nothing to say. He was silent until addressed, simply following Ogre and Phoenix, waiting for his orders.

Keen eyes darted around the chapel, his back to the gathered thieves as he watched for any potential threats. He scanned the shadows, seeking any movement. He noted the entrances, the exits, the blind spots - everything that could be used by them, or against them. Above all else, he tried to ignore the drumbeat in his chest. The place felt wrong to him, and not just in the sense of it being a supernatural construct. The wretched art wrought in glass, the glaring neon signs that stung at his eyes, the treasure taking pride of place in the venue... It all sent his stomach churning with just a glance.

Keen eyes darted around the chapel, his back to the gathered thieves as he watched for any potential threats. He scanned the shadows, seeking any movement. He noted the entrances, the exits, the blind spots - everything that could be used by them, or against them. Above all else, he tried to ignore the drumbeat in his chest. The place felt wrong to him, and not just in the sense of it being a supernatural construct. The thought of what it all meant, and the knowledge that it was how Eiji saw the world - how Eiji saw his dear friends - would have made him sick, were it not for the festering rage it inspired in him too.

Every fibre in his body yearned to throw something at those windows. At the signs. At anything that so much as dared to represent Eiji's monstrous will. His jaw clenched, and he breathed, trying to restrain himself just enough to keep from kicking down doors and finding that damned Shadow himself. He wanted to hurt it. He wanted to END it. He wanted to make it suffer for everything it had inflicted on others, then grant it the single most painful and humiliating end he could give. Then, as if in mocking response to his blood-boiling rage, the Shadow of the man in question descended upon them.

Hyousuke spoke no words, but not out of single-minded focus on assessing the situation. His silence was rage. Sheer, unfettered, unbound *fury.* Every word that spilled from the Shadow's mouth was like acid, burning him and seeping into his mind while his stomach turned. Every movement it made left him tenser and tenser, until his teeth felt like they would crack from the strain, and his muscles coiled like some savage beast lunging for the kill. He snarled, his mask barely hiding the low growl that rumbled from his throat. Then, the strike.

Hyousuke was ready for it. He squared his feet, he stood his ground, and with a roar that ripped into the air like an explosion, he summoned his Persona to the fore.
"ACHILLES!" He bellowed, and that titan wreathed in gleaming bronze surged into the fray. His shield, hewn from the same shining metal as his armour, rang out as the blows rained upon it. Each one landed like a hammerstrike, but Hyousuke remained firm against the onslaught. He was not shaken by them. He was *enraged* by them.

"You piece of fucking SHIT!" Hyousuke roared. His voice was raw and primal, his eyes wide and blazing with fury that threatened to burn him from the inside out. There was no sense of preserving his identity, nor any inclination to maintain some kind of cool. There was only anger. "You think you can do this to people?! To my FRIENDS?! To the people I care about?! You ASSHOLE?!" Achilles' guard dropped, and a fourth came through, but Hyousuke took it without so much as flinching. He staggered back, but his eyes remained focussed - a slavering hound, focussed on tearing apart its target.

"They're not yours! THEY NEVER WERE!"
Hyousuke surged forwards, his Persona a blur of bronze and red as he called out his order. "GIVE THIS PIECE OF SHIT HELL!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao saw that calling card.

In a vacuum... he was impressed, had a good laugh, took some pictures... and found some of the technique very interesting, but he didn't have much time to muse over it. He knows how this Palace rattles his friends... he's doing his best to make sure they're okay after the fact, and prepare himself to go the distance.

He had to battle a few of his own demons over how this 'Phantom Thieves' stuff upended his life, even if it was for the best given Madarame's crimes. This, and some uncomfortable likenesses of a Palace to... uh, previous experience.

This man's reach stands to hurt - and has hurt - so many people, but there's at least one especially that he's not going to let go unanswered. He's just going to have to trust whatever process is in pay here is going to work, as he comes in alongside Tamaki.

He's stunned into silence through that initial bout of blathering, coming along as some of the last to gather. Uncharacteristic of Masao 'Mark' Inaba, it's hard to notice he's there (outside of Resonance detection) until the explosive shockwaves come.

"Dammit!" He holds his axe up as he braces against the first. The second throws him on his rear, dropping that axe on the ground. He grits his teeth, balls up a fist...

With a defiant yell and a faint shimmer of blue where the last shockwave collides against one's will, Masao runs forward, picks up that axe, ''swings'' that axe wide to redirect some of that noise back towards Eiji's empowered Shadow, staggering forward as he sucks in breath.

His ears are ringing after that. He misses a lot of what Ogre has to say - by serendipity - while his hearing comes back. After that he's already poised to just raise his voice over a lot of the gathering intrigue.

"You listen right here, jackass!" Calls the street artist. To hear this man talk about starting a family just for him, his purposes... it does lead into some of the darker thoughts he had about being pressured into taking up the dry cleaning business.

Man, this guy's just spouting names and putting them to faces that aren't them, by his measure. He shakes his head. (Wait, he can't see their faces either with those masks, so this statement kind of falls apart. Nevertheless...)

"Kids grow up to become their own people, man! You don't respect that, no amount of 'em will ever make you happy." Despite how much they harp on him, his parents do love him and want him to have a stable job in these uncertain lost years of the economy, but, he knows who he is and what he wants out of life.

He looks over to Cognitive Ichika. He remembers the sadness this mental construct tried to hide under duty and submission. He hopes the Congition remembers, even if they aren't real, how they reacted to him stenciling that rose graffiti before them.

Taking the axe in hand again, he grins.

"I'm goin' after the ring," he asides to Tamaki and anyone else in earshot as he runs forward, takes that axe one-handed, and ''slams'' it into the ring.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Masao Inaba has used the Slash skill Melee - Axe on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Recovery skill Phalanx on Ichika Kawase, Ren Amamiya, Tsubasa Seki, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Fox nods to Phoenix. "Once we're done here," he agrees. Then, however -

Movement - red and gold, glittering. He whirls, squeezing his trigger and volleying a burst of gunfire towards the blur, but the shots fly wild as Shadow Eiji heaves and ''flips'' Mona in one awful feat of strength, the treasure all too easy to reclaim as their anthropomorphic not-feline comrade is knocked out of his transportation form.

"Damn!" Fox snarls, as the Ruler reclaims the thing binding its twisted self-distortion to the cognitive space. "Joker, Phoenix, look out!"

He moves to sprint to his friends' aid, but crowing triumphantly as the Shadows of the Palace flock to and engorge his form, Shadow Eiji becomes something ''wholly other'', lashing out with terrible diamond wings and mighty arms to shake the very foundation of the chapel here about them. Fox is knocked over, crashing through the tables of the bride's side of the chapel in a most ungainly fashion.

A cloud of dust and splinters surrounds where he landed, and there is silence for a moment, before: "Persona."

Goemon rises like ink on wood, clearing away the rubble with a mighty sweep of his pipe, and Fox clambers to his feet, mask burning blue. Cold grey eyes regard Eiji 'Sitri' Kamiya - and the cognitive doppelganger of Ichika who comes to his side.

"A puerile coward," he decries the Ruler, crimson saya suddenly in hand as he grasps his sword's hilt. The scent of mint surrounds him as Ogre calls out her Persona, and the scratches and bruises he's already suffered ease. "Is that your justification? To blame ''her'' for your petty rage? For the wounds inflicted by your hand?"

The sibilant sound of his sword being drawn seems to echo as the ink-black steel drinks in the obscene red light, hungrily. "You are a murderer."

Goemon points stoically with his pipe, as Fox sweeps his sword to the side, and a rushing wind lifts the feet of himself, Ogre, Phoenix and Joker. "And you will pay."
</poem>

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 19 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 37 Elec damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Zio.
AS: Paralyze added!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Almighty skill Masukukaja on Ren Amamiya, Ichika Kawase, Tsubasa Seki, and
Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Masao Inaba's Melee - Axe.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Shadows are pouring into the mirror of Eiji Kamiya. The man of the hour, unfortunately, even if it might not 'really' be him. It is certainly something LIKE the real live man -- but that's not the problem of Hitomi Mandai.

Hitomi came back here, despite everything, despite an irrational fit that she had shut herself up into her dorm room to deal with so as not to bother people. ("I was just really tired" is accurate, but not complete.) It's for Ririka. Hitomi has people to care about now.

At least it was *marginally* easier to get back in.

Her eyes turn towards Ririka as she speaks her mind to the Shadow. "Yeah," she says, before she is washed over by the shockwave which throws her off of anything more eloquent she might have been about to say --

But though she is shaken, even staggered, she doesn't pitch over. The shockwaves end because the great Thing is, in all its majesty, not quite such an overwhelming force as to blast through -- "Are those the Phantom Thieves?" Hitomi says, as she regains her footing. It is, perhaps, the first time she's so much as glimpsed them (as far as she knows, anyway). But...

Her eyes turn over towards the looming Eiji.

One hand comes up to push up her glasses. "Tyche," she says, before snapping a hand out to grasp something from the air - and a moment later the looming marble statue that is Tyche's form appears, extending one hand plaintively towards Eiji. A possible mistress, someone raising an objection in the chapel?

Maybe.

"Get him," Hitomi says, and several searing bursts of flame snap out towards him!

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Double Agi on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
It was quite a surprise to see the Phantom Thieves' calling card already plastered all over where the St. Hermelin alumni group of Tamaki, Masao, Maki, and Eriko had exited the Palace. The trip was rough, especially for the latter two, and ended in their early exit. That little venture isn't going to be enough for Tamaki, though.

After getting some rest, Tamaki arrives on the scene along with Masao for round two, this time to see what this Change of Heart business is firsthand. Before the pair takes the Rumor entrance to the Palace proper, she tells him, "Seki-kun said that the Phantom Thieves were responsible for causing their Psychotic Breakdown, so keep an eye out for any funny business, but for the time being, we're taking this jerk out, right?"

Inside the Palace, she tries to take in the entirety of the scene -- the Phantom Thieves, Eiji and the Bride's Shadows, and the other scuffle involving other Persona-users and Hajime. The gaudy decor feels like a smack in the face to her.

And the quip about dress attire ... Tamaki gestures to her usual everyday business attire, then waves dismissively at Eiji's Shadow. "Nahhh, if anything, I'm overdressed for this occasion."

Tamaki scowls as she listens to Eiji's Shadow yell about 'never letting her go again.' This pain comes from somewhere, but that's only an explanation, not an excuse. "... Desire can be a good thing, and there's nothing wrong with wanting a family ''per se'', but yours has been left unchecked for far too long, trampling over the wishes of other people whose desires matter just as much as yours!"

Confusion registers on her face as she sees Eiji's Shadow backhand Phoenix -- who seems to be in league with the Phantom Thieves. Does Tsubasa know????? How would they react to this betrayal? But that's a problem for later -- there's more important things to consider, like those shock waves. Tamaki manifests Arianrhod in front of her, and holds once, twice -- but the third inflicts a Persona Break, dizzying her slightly and preventing her from making any further approach herself.

Mark says he's going after the ring. Tamaki nods firmly at him and raises her sword, pommel forward first, holding it instead like a scepter instead of a blade. "Got it. I'll back you up." She clutches at her necklace with her other hand, manifesting Arianrhod once more, who sends a wave of healing in an area out to patch up the damage from the shock waves.
</poem>

AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Media on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Katsuya Suou, and Umie
Akabane!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 74 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 79 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 74 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>News of the Calling Card spread quickly - even to Sumaru City. Shinobu reads it over once, and then again.

...It's finally time, huh? She still remembers her first ill-fated attempt at the Palace - even with such a large group, they had to fall back... She remembers well how it felt.

Ever since, it's been on the back of her mind, especially after their second attempt at the palace, and the information they obtained and did what they could to folllow up on. So when the Phantom Thieves make their announcement... of course she'll be there.

Shinobu bursts into the wedding chapel, and the first thing she sees is Eiji reclaiming a massive ring.

...The second, is the actual ''design'' of the horrific architecture of the place. She grimaces.

"...The hell kind of taste is that? You make me sick." Shinobu mutters, drawing her staff. There's a lot to make her sick, here - but right now, she focuses on what's important.

"We're here to back you up. Hope you don't mind." Shinobu says with a nod toward the Phantom Thieves. She looks, briefly, toward Ogre and Phoenix. Ogre is no surprise, since she's the one who first brought her attention to this place, but Phoenix? ...Seems like they're a package deal. And Phoenix was with Joker yesterday, too...

She turns her attention back to Eiji - and the monster he's become.

He slams his hand onto the ground, unleashing brutal shockwaves - the first catches her off-guard and she's sent flying back, but she manages to catch her footing and stabilises herself.

"Think you can just lay claim to people, asshole...? Think you're so great... Time to face reality." Shinobu says.

She's always been the straight forward type - so she lunges forward toward Eiji himself, her staff jabbing forward in a flurry of strikes.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Jab Flurry on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 83 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Double Agi. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Double Agi. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Any Mysterious Figure worth their salt knows that one should only reveal their presence at an opportune, dramatic moment. Vesper had thus made sure to be present for the Phantoms' telegraphed big moment - he may not have known their exact plan, but he knew the general area where he would need to be.

Getting in position wasn't the difficult part, not for him. After all, Vesper is not an unfamiliar man to Shadow Eiji, having visited a few times before... playing the role of someone entirely on board with what he was doing, appealing to the ego in order to ingratiate himself. All fully an act, as a means to an end, allowing him to infiltrate the Palace non-violently. It had certainly been helpful when he last visited some time ago, allowing him to extract a captive female student, merely having had to express an... interest, to be able to leave with her.

Not everybody could compromise their principles for the sake of such an act. Vesper is not exactly proud of that skill. Even if it was all for a good cause, telling himself that doesn't do anything to make him feel less disgusted with himself. Nor does he feel satisfied with what he's been able to accomplish, acting on his own. Playing a part in this today is how he hopes to make up for it, even if it were to only be in his own eyes.

Still, he would never have been able to just waltz up anywhere close to where the Treasure was being kept. He had to bide his time among the guests, until the moment of Showtime arrived. The noise of a car being flipped (??) was enough of a tip-off in that regard, prompting the opera-masked man who certainly looks dressed fancily enough for a wedding to come running.

Whatever he had planned for his big entrance doesn't come to fruition, as he rushes straight into what one might call a warzone. Stopping in his tracks to brace himself against the shockwave, he doesn't quite manage to keep his footing. The tumble is at least short-lived enough - and somehow that bowler hat of his stays on his head even though it rightly shouldn't have.

Straightening up, Vesper wipes a speck of dust off the shoulder of his otherwise unblemished fancy suit, clearing his throat before raising his voice. "So, Eiji Kamiya! You have finally revealed yourself for the monster you truly are! In that case, there is no reason to hold back! Phantom Thieves, once more we stand with you!" And, once more, he's putting words in everyone's mouth.

He also brings a hand to his mask, and with the word 'Persona', calls forth the iron masked gentleman/cricket hybrid that is Raffles. With a wave of its diamond-tipped cane, a pillar of darkness appears underneath the creature that Eiji's transformed into.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Eiha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Damnit, had the shadow been waiting for them? In a second, what should have been a successful heist is disrupted by the monstrous groom reaching out and toppling Mona with the rest of them inside- and moments later, Queen is one of many sprawled across the ground as the ring is taken. Queen grimaces as she gets to her feet. "This is going to be harder than I thought. We need to get that ring off him, and make sure no-one else takes it!" Queen hisses, just before the cavalry, such as it is, arrives.

But she can understand that rage pouring off Ichika. That pure, righteous fury. That same level of fury coming off Phoenix. Earned fury, with a target deserving to receive it.

Unfortunately, the shockwaves that come off of Eiji slam into Queen ''hard''. The first slams through her defenses, and while she hastily manages to block the second, the third sends her flying, slamming bodily into one of the walls of the venue, marble cracking under the impact and sending out a scream of pain before hitting the ground.

Young women submit to fathers, married women to their husbands and older women to their sons, so the saying goes. And it seems Eiji is very intent on making that clear to every woman in the arena.

...Maybe there are different ones, when there are no men in the equation.

Queen doesn't really want to think about that anymore, as Ogre's healing washes over her, enabling her to stand again. "Thanks, Ogre." She manages, as her hand sweeps to her hip, and suddenly a revolver- looking somewhere between a cowboy's gun and a stylized service weapon- is in her hands- and Queen lines up her shot. Not for Eiji's shadow, but the ring itself. They need to get rid of that thing, right? Maybe the next time he raises his hand, she can try and loosen it. Bullets aren't the typical technique, but with something that size, one uses what they can.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> -----EARLIER-----

The pleasantly nosy neighbor next door to Umie has a story. It is irrelevant to this one, save that it is an example of how normal lives still happen in complete separation and ignorance of the darker elements of the world many present here have had to deal with.

... Well, except for one: the neighbor has Umie next door.

She is a quiet, polite enough neighbor: she keeps to herself, says hello and thank you when passing in the hallways, and keeps up on her mail.

And yet, every once in a while, there's a loud noise in the middle of the night, or a splotch of something suspiciously dark red on the carpet outside.

Then, there was today.
"IT'S TONIGHT?!" cried a voice from next door.

By the time the neighbor timed opening her door to 'coincidentally take out the trash', she spots the back of a light grey jacket, black leggings, red sneakers, and two blonde buns as her neighbor, Umie Akabane, walks away at a hurried clip towards the stairwell.

What in the world could someone be in such a hurry for?

-----NOW-----

How could this place feel even *worse* than it did before? Umie had left a message for Katsuya to come along (with the added instruction of not inviting Akechi, for reasons she was sure she didn't have to elaborate on); whether or not he'd be able to show up, she'd be going through the only way she knows how: Shakespeare and crime.

For Itsuki and Tsubasa, Umie will be there. And, in a way, she owes Joker and Phoenix for, once again, intervening yesterday.

But whatever justifications Umie feels upon being here, the last and strongest is the the rage she feels at seeing Eiji's shadow, remembering Akechi's explanation of what had happened; even with the details stripped down, it was painful to hear.=

This is what a person can do to another, when their delusion is this powerful.

If Umie was beside Katsuya, she's gone, presumably to make a sneak attack, as is her usual style.

Instead, Umie's letting herself be Perceived as Eiji's pounding fists make her presence known.

Oh, but she's so *happy* to be looked at, right now, if the widening smile on her lips indicates anything about what's going through the hooded red-masked young woman's mind right now.

"If there's one thing a prideful man hates, it's a woman he can't make his own," Umie starts. "And look at you... so full of useless anger that you thrash around like a *toddler*. I'd say the only child you're capable of producing is your own impotent self.

She points a red nail at Eiji. "Don't you know it's a bad omen to see the Badb before a big event?" Battle, wedding, same thing. It's the opposite of how Umie was yesterday following the battle against Sudou, folded down into a rapidly compressing ball. The Badb's ragged sleeves stretch in a widening length over Umie's still small form as she's summoned, likewise pointing towards Eiji.

"You brought this on yourself. Settle down and think about what you've done, Eiji Kamiya-_kun_, and let these nice people have what they've come for."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
<poem>
Even compared to Kaneshiro's bank of gluttony, making it to Eiji's Treasure was no walk in the park. It took their combined strength as Phantom Thieves to make it this far, with the help of their new allies, Ichika, and now Tsubasa. The sight that awaits them once they reach the Treasure is no less sickening than the rest of the sights this horrid Palace had to offer.

The wedding imagery hits just as close to home as it has throughout the rest of the Palace, but Haru tries her best to steel herself for what's to come, for Ichika's sake. "For a man who fancies himself a 'protector', the only person an abuser of women like yourself is concerned with protecting is yourself. You won't lay another hand on her!" Noir brandishes her axe as an executioner would as they approach Shadow Eiji - the only thing giving her pause being the uncharacteristic congition of Ichika.

As much as she would relish in sinking her axe into a man like Eiji, the pews bursting with Shadows presents another problem, and someone's going to have to take the backline. "Understood, Joker! We'll back you up!" She affirms, summoning Milady to her side. "Good luck, team! And... be sure to make him suffer." She adds. "Now then... shall we let loose, Milady?" As the others begin laying their attacks on Shadow Eiji and his ring, Haru joins Mona and Panther by unleashing a psychic blast against his posse.

</poem>
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 14 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 9 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Resist!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 25 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Eiha. Resist!
AS: Blast added! Paralyze removed! Explosion! 50 damage!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Warrior's Bell on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Warrior's Bell.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 79 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Days prior, Katsuya, because Umie had said she was going in, had called on the aid of one Goro Akechi and together, the three of them had infiltrated the Palace of Eiji Kamiya.

They had a very bad time. The only 'good news', if it could be called that, was some of the information they had found, which appeared to correlate with installations in the real world. But that didn't mean that the situation was over. The Phantom Thieves were going to attempt to change his heart, weren't they.

He might have come even if Umie hadn't invited him. But since she had, of course he had no choice but to go.
It's just as well that she asks him not to ask Akechi along: Akechi had contacted him about after the calling card had been delivered and had said that he was too far to make it there. So that was that.

It was just a matter of finding the right card (still awkward) and practicing his thespian skills (even more awkward). Oh, and making their way through the palace again.

"Stop!" Katsuya shouts, bursting into the room. "I cannot allow you to--"

To whom he is speaking -- the Ruler or the Phantom Thieves in process of stealing his heart -- is an exercise best left to the viewer. What happens instead is that Eiji undergoes a rapid and substantial transformation the moment Katsuya enters and he's left to gaze in shock upon the being looming above them.

"Is this... the face of a Palace's Ruler?" he wonders aloud.

He's seen the inside of a Palace before, after all. What he hasn't seen is a Ruler. So that means that... is the Treasure?

Of course, Eiji 'Sitri' Kamiya is none-too-pleased to have his wedding interrupted. Katsuya's gaze falls on the cognition of Ichika Kawase, dressed up for her wedding and heavily pregnant, as Eiji says it was her fault for provoking him. That he promises that he'll mold her into something 'truly wonderful'. That she'll bear more children for him.
Akechi had told him what he'd done to her. And what had happened after.

It's sufficient to wind Katsuya Suou up fully. He quite rudely points a finger right at the thing Eiji has become. "...Enough!! Eiji Kamiya! Sexual assault, physical violence, and human trafficking-- the evidence against you is quite strong! Are you going to come along quietly?!"

Considering the response from the Ruler, sources say no.

The hand slams again and again against the floor of the Palace, and it's all that Katsuya can do to stay on his feet.

But he notices, on the recovery, that there are a few other faces he knows here. "Uchida-kun! And Inaba-kun!" They're allies, as it were, of... Team Whoop-Ass (he didn't pick the name). Tamaki bestows upon him some much-needed healing after that opening salvo from the Ruler.

He pays it forward in kind, using one of the skill cards he'd obtained from the Cardboard Dragon. "Here, allow me to back you up!" He has the ability now to heal as well with Helios, which manifests before him in all its finery, but--
Given Helios' 'talents', it's probably best left as a last resort.

The emblem of a shield manifests before Tamaki, before dissolving away into light.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Almighty skill Rakukaja on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Katsuya Suou's Rakukaja.
AS: Def_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Joker tells him they've already heard that nonsense, and he grins, "You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves, huh? Well... I was hoping you'd say that." If anything, an aura of bloodlust begins to surround him all the more.

Arsene however is quick to counter his bride's support for him, and he snarls. "Is that all you've got?" The Ruler leers at Ogre, and her resolution. "The only ''stain'' is the stain you left or your reputation by going to the police over a little ARGUMENT!"

Before he dismisses the Cognitive Ichika, "She's served her purpose. But now that you came here of your own accord- I have little need for her any longer." He cocks his feline head at her Ogre, and her healing the Thieves, "How cute. Well, looks like you'll be ''far'' more use to me than this one."

The Submissive Bride shrinks back a step further, before Eiji looks at Ririka as she calls him a sicko. "Oh look - it's the bratty imouto-chan who thinks she's so important with her stupid little band who couldn't carry a tune to save their lives. Do you really think anyone actually comes out to listen to women play ''rock music''? If you were trying to be an idol you'd have some use at least showing off your assets on stage."

He gives her a disdainful look, "After the wedding I was planning to get rid of you, sell you off to someone who'd teach you what chicks are really good for. Oh - Ichika would cry a bit when you went missing, but then I'd be there to comfort her. Hey - guess I'll get the opportunity to handle that ''now''."

Amphion's analysis can feel through the reflection of soundwaves that he's a creature of violence and darkness - his chapel sits far above ground level for a reason, and he shrinks away from the light.

He's fresh off of back-handing Phoenix, when they protest the dead-naming, and he grins, "Gonna cry about it? How about I help you with that?" The Greatsword is swung once, and it clangs off his rings, before the next bites into his arm, as shadowstuff bleeds off of him. "Oh I'm going to make you HURT for that, bitch."

There's a strange effect that permeates the battlefield. It's like it gets into everyone's heads...

Which is right as Captain Kidd's Zio spell strikes him, and his hair stands on end, looking his way with a growl. "Not as much as I'm gonna love teaching you a lesson, PUNK!" Hyousuke yells at him from a place of raw emotion, "You know I ''can''. You know why?" His eyes become slits upon Achilles, "Because you're nothing. Nobody. You're gonna die here kid - or wish you did."

... a crawling emotional sensation. His desires, twisted and distorted are just so vile as to make everyone feel tainted by it, stained like Ogre said before.

"Babe, tell me why I should give a damn about anyone else's desires?" He says toothily at Tamaki's comment. "You look out for your own, and fuck everyone else. That's the way of this world."

'You listen right here, jackass!'

And he ''does''. Whether he ''hears'' it is another matter, "She'll be happy enough, when she accepts the way things are." His axe comes down one-handed, and clangs against the diamond, "ASSHOLE! This ring is worth more than A HUNDRED OF YOU!"

'You are a murderer.'

"I'm justifying nothing. That was her fault, her fault for provoking me but won't say you're wrong about being a murderer. I'm about to carve another ''notch''." He tries to weave out of Tyche's flames, but gets scorched for his effort.

Right as Queen fires, and in alarm, he tries to twist his hand to catch the shot against his knuckles, "BITCH! You brought a GUN to my WEDDING? What's the matter? Didn't think you could take on a real man without one?"

'Don't you know it's a bad omen?'

"Don't you know what a bad idea it is to cross me, sweetheart?" And as the compressing ball strikes him, his eyes go a deep red, with a bloodlust. Before his eyes dart to Katsuya, in incredulity, "Come quietly? You some kind of ''cop''? Ahahaha-AHAHAHAHAHA! Must be some stupid rookie! Everyone in this town knows they can't touch me?

It's the ring. The Navigators can feel it now! But they can't stop it! And with a sudden flash of power, something about his whole presence changes.

The Ruler flashes a winning smile with far too many teeth and it's like whatever anger the women were feeling before, is temporarily smothered, "Hey ladies-? Couldn't help but notice how gorgeous you all are. Would you like a job? Can get you a real lucrative one- actual modeling work. It's the fiscally responsible thing to do in this economy to secure your futures, am I right?"

And that smile carries the weight of irresistible charm/ as they all feel compelled to do what he says, "Just ditch those losers and line up over here for an interview, alright?"

As he gestures towards a spot, and anyone influenced by this finds they can't help but move there at least. Even if they're strong enough to resist the emotional influence to see him favorably, they can't help but move in that direction, their legs just disobey them. And as they reach that spot, he suddenly sweeps both his wings of gemstones forward, trying to strike them all with brutal crushing force which breaks the spell instantly.

"Ahahaha! You stupid bitches! Always falling for that bullshit. You think you can fight ''me''? I make a LIVING off of gullible hussies like you!"

Before he turns, and smirks at the men so smugly, that they all feel a compulsion towards ''rage''. Incomprehensible rage instead. The kind that makes people get set up, make mistakes, take a swing when someone is ready for them.

It's easy enough, when it's someone as vile as this.

"Now I'd appreciate it if you chicks would just stay the fuck down? Don't want to have to ruin your pretty faces while I finish things up with the men over there. If you're too ugly to get married - I don't get paid."

"HYAH!" And leaping forth, he brings up his fist, and dives down into the fray of men now that those he categorizes are 'women' are separated from them. "Come at me! Let me show you what a REAL MAN is!" And in this, he wades into the fray, punching and claw striking with wild abandon, as he walks up to Katsuya, smashing into Helios again, and again, and again with tremendous force. "You? You I gotta make an example of. Idiots like you might give the other cops out there ''bright ideas''."

And the Submissive Bride simply clasps her hands together as if both fretting and praying, her support - quietly empowering him all the more, his wounds beginning to knit.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Makoto Niijima, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase, and
Ririka Kawase!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Umie Akabane, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi Mandai, and
Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Makoto Niijima, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika
Kawase, and Ririka Kawase!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Umie Akabane, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi
Mandai, and Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack doesn't seem to match one on your list.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Julian Marlowe, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ren Amamiya,
and Masao Inaba!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Hyousuke Suzuki and Katsuya Suou!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Hyousuke Suzuki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Man of the House on Katsuya Suou! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Julian Marlowe! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ryuji Sakamoto! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Mind Up! Tsubasa Seki's SP +8!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Masao Inaba! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Resist!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Recovery skill Untouchable on Penguin Sniper and Junes!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 125 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Block Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 109 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Block
Strike!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 78 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 20 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: You can't attack while you have an attack in your queue.
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 99 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 22 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 52 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House.
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 67 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Avoid Best! Tamaki Uchida takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Hitomi Mandai takes 113 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Yusuke Kitagawa! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Persona! Junes has used the Recovery skill Devotion on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Support: Junes gains 1 Limit!
AS: Junes's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Ririka Kawase takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 70 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Counter Best! Makoto Niijima takes 159 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Earth damage in return for their attack! Eclipsed!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 154 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Worst! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 79 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 49 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 109 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 42 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Julian Marlowe takes 95 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 106 Recovery healing from Junes's Devotion.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
As Queen and Ogre mentioned, Persona Users rush in--but it looks like, unlike last time with Kaneshiro, these ones are to help them--no enemies from Strega or the New World Order to oppose their heist. Joker waits a moment to mark everyone's move to be certain of this--they know full well if the Black Mask shows up, they won't be able to sense his Resonance, so visual cues are all any of them have--then crooks a smirk at their incoming allies.

Mujina is expected, and Joker gives her a decisive little nod. "Your help is welcome, Mujina," they call to her, making note of her bake-danuki Persona, Danzaburou.

Magic trickles down over Joker, not just from Fox with his typical opening Masukukaja but also from Hyousuke, howling rage against Kamiya's Shadow but choosing to boost the strength and defense of several of those here, including them. Joker gives them both a nod of gratitude. Fox already knows the score, and Hyousuke is clearly here to help Ogre... or rather, Ichika. They know that of everyone here, only Mujina knows Ogre's true identity.

Shinobu also gets a nod of acknowledgement. "Made up your mind, hmm? Is that as an individual or as a group?" they ask her. Myunghon pretty much told them less than a week ago that they'd be taking cooperation as individuals, but they're in bad shape right now, from what they hear... After yesterday's fight, they have to hide their concern that Shinobu's here and not at their side.

Fortunately, Vesper's theatrics give them something else to focus on. He says "we" stand with them--is he a member of Cardboard Dragon too and simply didn't appear for the meeting, just as several members of The Phantoms hadn't? Something to ponder later. Vesper too gets a nod--and Umie, debasing Shadow Eiji as child himself, gets an ''extra-special'' smirk. The extra familiarity means extra expressiveness... and Joker has an idea of why Umie takes extra Umbridge to this piece of shit.

Queen reminds them all that they need to get back the ring. Joker frowns as they see and hear Masao explicitly say he's going for the ring. They remember him from the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival and from a shift at the Ore no Beko, but... Who'd have imagined he'd show up here with his own friends? Do he and Tamaki already understand its significance? Worse yet, does Katsuya, someone Joker knows to be a police officer in the real world? Even if he's helping ''now'', something made obvious by how he yells at Shadow Eiji, that's no guarantee for later... Especially since Joker doesn't yet see ''Akechi'' anywhere. He didn't decide to sit this one out, did he? Joker's frown deepens.

"We can let the others help," they murmur to Queen, Phoenix, Ogre, Fox, and Skull, gesturing subtly towards Masao and anyone else going for the ring. "But yes--it's just as Queen says. Be prepared to make a move at the last second."

He chuckles when Noir encourages them all to make Shadow Eiji suffer. "We'll make a point of it," Joker replies. No need to tell Skull or Phoenix that--they've both been chomping at the bit for ages to exercise violence on this scumbag. Ogre... Joker doesn't know if she wants Shadow Eiji to ''suffer'', considering why she asked for their help in changing his heart in the first place. At the same time, they have no doubt that she won't cower before him anymore. She's shown the ferocity of her will in spades now.

Ririka they remember from just yesterday, though they don't know her friend Hitomi, for all that she wonders about the fabled Phantom Thieves. No time to discuss that now, or to delineate who is and isn't an official part of the team. Ririka's analysis is a boon either way, as is when she announces her findings. Once that happens, they'll know there's no need to waste an attack on darkness. Instead--weak to Earth, hmm... Joker has just the thing.

Before they can make good on that, though, Shadow Eiji spreads his influence. It's--incredibly gross. There isn't any other word for it. Joker's skin crawls, and all of a sudden they understand with deeply unwanted intimacy how Ogre's felt about him all this time. It's so off-putting that when Shadow Eiji's ring flashes and his presence changes, they're caught off guard. Maybe it's only the fact that Shadow Eiji doesn't acknowledge them as anything but male that saves them from the betrayal of their own legs. Joker snarls, half in anger and half in concern for the women of the group--but that turns to ''just'' answer at the infuriating grin Shadow Eiji gives the rest of them.

They don't bother to ask why Shadow Eiji is glad they said anything. They simply leap up as Shadow Eiji punches down at them and their male compatriots, taking the blows even in between instinctually evading direct hits, sweeping around that massive furry arm and going for the thing that matters most here: the Treasure. In this state of mind, they don't even notice Cognitive Ichika healing his wounds.

Fortunately, there's one thing that stuck in their mind before they lost themself to rage. Once they've got a good perch, they stand.

"IXTAB!" they call, coat whirling around them as they spin, changing masks under the curl of their gloved fingers. At their back rises a woman hanging from a noose, long hair pouring down over her face and over her striped garments. Despite her dire image, she raises both arms, fingers curled up in a pair of claws, in an act of will against what should be the vision of her death. It's death that she represents, after all--and though The Phantoms don't kill, Joker will certainly contribute to the end of Shadow Eiji's delusions. They splay gloved fingers at him and in particular his ringed finger, and conclude, "RAVAGE HIM!!"

Uttering a haunting keen, Ixtab casts her magic and brings down a landslide down upon the feline Shadow. Or, in other words: rocks fall; Sitri dies.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Landslide on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ren Amamiya regains 10 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 82 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Landslide. Eclipsed! Avoid Earth!
AS: Eclipse removed!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Thanks, Noir!" Ogre calls to Haru. Haru, who helped remind her what it was to be allowed a ''dream''. ...Ogre won't disappoint her.

The cavalry arrives. Ogre looks back in satisfaction to see Ririka and Mujina and many others approaching. But she's busy now too. Ogre hears Tsubasa shout to defend her--

Calls her 'our partner'. Ogre smiles--it's grim, but it's real--and looks to Tsubasa, then nods to Skull, too. "That's right. I'm with them!"

"Mujina!" Ogre calls, as she feels her Persona's power make her ''fade'', make her hazy and energetic both. "Thanks! I knew I could count on you!"

Hyousuke is scary like this... but Ichika knows where his anger rests--where his anger ''targets''. And she knows that he'll help. "YEAH I will!"

Mark talks about kids--and shows an insight that's worthy of an adult. Ogre calls, "He's damned right!"

Yusuke and Goemon up her speed, too, and Achilles and Hyousuke up her toughness, her ''might''. She feels both. And Yusuke speaks the words--A murderer. It's true. And Ogre won't let him get away with it again. Members of SEES (like Hitomi), and even Uchida. There's more backup than even she expected. They're going to need it.

"Don't mind at all!" Ogre calls to Shinobu. "Fuck him up with us!"

"Vesper!" Ogre calls, and grins. "You made it." Then in surprise, she looks at Officer Suou, the kind policeman who helped Tsubasa. She considers for a moment, then, "Yeah! Beat his ass, Suou! You can arrest the shit out of him when we're done!"

But Eiji has more to say. And so does Ogre: "Fuck my reputation!" Ogre shouts back at Eiji. "You're the one who blew that up, and I made better friends anyway! Better friends than the assholes who abandoned me to YOU!"

Little need...

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ogre snaps about Cognitive Ichika. "All she wanted was love! And you gave her misery!"

"I won't be used by you anymore."

"Hey, Ichika!" Ogre calls. "You always wanted a family! But he's not going to give you that--he's going to hurt your kids! If you don't leave him--''you'll'' hurt them too! So kick him to the curb!"

She knows that Ichika isn't real. ...But somehow, it resonates for her, to say it. "You've got so many friends, a good family--they'll help you!"

But she feels it. Htat strange... attraction. Ogre long felt stained about it. Gorgeous, though... Ogre finds herself walking over despite her best wishes. She feels nauseous for a moment, remembering that ''this'' world is where for a long time she was sure she'd end up.

And suddenly--

Ogre throws up her shield and takes the attack head-on, blasted back but intact. "Dirty trick, asshole!" Ogre calls. "But even with shit like that, you'll never get it!"

She nods then to Joker. "Right. That ring is ''ours''."

She rises to her feet again, and stows her shield. "Momiji!"

As Joker tees her up, she sends out a quick Mediarama to the group--to Hibari, Ryuji, Julian, and Makoto--and then...

Well. Then she pulls a HUNTING RIFLE of all things, loads it up in both hands, and takes aim through the scope at Shadow Eiji. "Fuck all the way off," she tells him. Momiji lovingly cradles Ogre and her rifle as they take aim--and when she fires, a huge ROCK comes with the bullet, exploding on impact into a shower of debris!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Hibari Aoki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Julian Marlowe, and Makoto
Niijima!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Chthonic Wrath on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 156 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Another notch.

''He's proud of it.''

That spiritual darkness closes around them, and from under the kitsune mask breath hisses in fury.

"How dare you?" Fox barks, and is ''moving'', a blur of shadow towards Sitri's maddening smirk. The Ruler's fists fly at him, and he seems heedless - until Goemon rises to deflect those furious punches once, twice with his pipe, and just about maintains his cohesion.

A moment's lucidity enters Fox's mind as he closes to truly ''dangerous'' proximity, and instead of swinging, he plants his feet and assumes a kendo ready stance, Goemon in turn assuming something similar to an ox guard with his pipe held high at his shoulder.

He takes a deep breath... exhales... and waits, though the trembling of his katana gives away the fury still crackling through his veins.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Almighty skill Iaijutsu Stance on Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 48 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Iaijutsu Stance.
AS: Atk_Up and Reflect_Phys added!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Phoenix is ''deeply'' glad to hear Skull sassing Eiji so confidently; he's saying the words they're too mad to come up with. Fuckin' ace material, man. They usually get as far as 'eat shit, shithead', and...

... look, there's a ''reason'' Ichika's the Boss and she's the one who does all the ''talking'' before a beatdown, when they're at Kasugayama.

Phoenix isn't quite able to look out as quickly as Fox yells, but his bolstering breeze lifts them up, anyway, a few beats later. (''Fuck'' yeah.) They're glad to hear him say it -- to ''call'' him what he is -- a murderer. His naming of these truths make them as quick as his spell.

"Wait, someone ''else'' can take his Treasure?!" Phoenix hisses back, in alarm, when Queen warns them. "Wha--what happens then?!" Queen's revolver sure is stylish, though... it reminds Phoenix that ''they'' have something in the wings, too.

"We're countin' on ya!" Phoenix calls out to Noir, as she, Panther and Mona assault the Shadows backing him up. They even have a sacred task of their own, as Phoenix adds, hollering: "KICK THAT FUCKIN' HAJIME IN THE TEETH FOR ME!"

There's a girl in a tanuki mask, though -- and Phoenix doesn't ''know'' that this is their dear friend Hibari, who has rumourmongered them through untold trials at school, who they have stepped in front of to defend ''almost'' as much. They ''do,'' however... think the tanuki mask is slick as hell. "Sweet!" They yell out, to her. "Name's Phoenix! Thanks for th' cover!"

They recognise Achilles, though -- and Hyousuke is one of the only guys around who, in turn, knows ''them.'' Who knows... just how much his friend's in trouble, here. And they know, in turn -- how hard it must be for Hyousuke to ''speak'' that anger, to Eiji-Sitri. "FUCKIN' A!" They holler back, to him, as the Phalanx courses over their feathered hood and into their veins. "Knew we could count on you, man!"

But it's not just their friends from Kasugayama they can count on. Tsubasa's faith in adults was shaken, yesterday -- enough, at least, that they're ''surprised'' to see Mark and his axe bursting into the scene. Mark might not ''know'' how important it is that he's here, but... "Too right! Holler that shit!!" They yell, when Mark insists that kids ''grow up'' to be their own ''people.''

It's a similar kind of relief they're gripped by when Tamaki and Shinobu and Katsuya enter the scene; they ''don't'' recognise Vesper, but if they ''did,'' they'd surely be reassured to see him too. "Don't mind one bit!" They yell to Shinobu, a fist smacking to their chest in salute, when she hopes they don't mind the backup. (They do worry, a little, that she's ''here'' instead of with ''Myunghon,'' but... Shinobu's an adult. She's surely sorted things out.)

Phoenix isn't acquainted with much of SEES -- though there might be ''more'' of them, in the background, helping to deal with those waves of Shadows -- but they recognise that Hitomi's with Ririka, at least, and they're glad she had backup too.

The woman in the red mask is here again, too -- and if she's going to bring bad luck to Eiji, she's welcome in ''Phoenix's'' book. ... plus, that's a sweet bird.

"Fuckin' -- ''served her purpose?!'' Fuck you!" Phoenix yells, when Eiji-Sitra puts down Cognitive Ichika again. "You know how obvious it is you a piece a shit when you invent people in ya head jus' to abuse 'em?! Oi -- Ichika!" They call out, to the Cognition. "I know it fuckin' sucks for you right now... you fake, but you still got feelins'. Felt it when that prick made me get how ''she'' felt. But look -- I'm promisin' ya this -- the kids you're gonna have, goin' forward, they're gonna have so much fuckin' support, man. I get you can't imagine a world where that ain't with this fuckin' prick... but just get that much, alright?!"

They swipe a hand, as they add: "Don't fuck with Ririka, man! At least she's makin' somethin' people WANT in their lives, unlike your entire, fuckin' -- FUCK!"

But when Eiji-Sitra turns his attention on ''them,'' when they assault him, Phoenix grits their teeth against his taunts. They know ''full well'' what Eiji hurting them amounts to...

... and perhaps that's why that horrible feeling, at the backbone of everything, sinks into them so easily.

Phoenix isn't a ''lady,'' and is not, in their eyes, particularly ''beautiful.'' "Leave 'em alone!" They yell, stepping in front of Mujina protectively --

-- only to find themself ''still walking,'' as he makes his supernatural ''suggestion.'' "Wh--what th' fuck?!" They yelp, as they find themself standing beside the girls and women, here. "I ain't... no, fuck! What are you doin'?! You -- you're lyin'! Jus' like..."

Phoenix looks ''harrowed,'' beneath their mask. "Jus' like you lied to ''her,'' down in them Back Rooms..." ... to Cognitive Tsubasa, that is, that metaphor of an allegory who Cognitive Hajime ''tried'' to turn them into.

''SLAM,'' Eiji's feathers knock Phoenix to the ground where he'd be so quick to say they ''belong,'' too gripped by the horror of his methods that they don't even strike into his strike. They don't even have the mental wherewithall to realise that the rage he's throwing at the ''men'' is a neighbour to the swing ''they'' took at him, in real life, unable to even land the hit. "You jus'... get in their heads, an'... FUCK!"

Phoenix pushes themself up, grasping their head. "GET ''OUT'' OF ''MY'' HEAD, YOU FUCKIN' PRICK! YOU DON'T WANT GUNS AT YOUR WEDDIN'?! THEN ''EAT THIS!!!''"

With that, they pull -- A FUCKING ROCKET LAUNCHER -- out from under their feathered hood. It ''definitely'' didn't fit in there, but cognitively, who's to argue with them? "EAT SHIT, ASSHOLE!" They yell, as they slam a rocket into the tube and take aim, firing it off at Eiji-Sutra. The recoil knocks them back down, again -- but they're ''laughing.'' "Hahaha...hahahaha... FUCK, THAT WAS SO FUCKIN' COOL! ''ALRIGHT!'' SKULL, GET HIS ASS!"

</poem>
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Ryuji Sakamoto can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 124 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Chthonic Wrath. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 129 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Chthonic Wrath. Critical Hit! Weak! Avoid
Earth!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Pierce skill Rocket Launcher on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Tsubasa Seki takes 60 damage!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 170 Pierce damage from Tsubasa Seki's Rocket Launcher.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>"Jokes on you---I'm terrible at school" Skull says with some amount of pride...It really shouldn't be.

As the Tiger Man Shadow continues to talk, Skull feels his jaw clench tighter. This guy never stops getting worse and worse. It was like a curse.

The aura of the battlefield is just so gross that its starting to stick in Ryuji's psyche. He reaches for his head, feeling just so disgusted. Like the slime was crawling up his leg.

Then the fight starts and Eiji admittedly swings pretty hard. Skull parries with his pipe, feeling himself get pressed back further and further. The blonde grits his teeth as he finds a way to disengage momentarily to get his barrings.

Skull gives Ren a nod when he mentions the others. For the moment, he has been focused on dealing with Eiji that he missed his surroundings.

Skull takes in a sharp but deep breath. "ALRIGHT FUCKO---I'm done playing around." He stops when he feels the cooling energy heal his founds. This prompts the punk to squat lower, dragging his pipe along the ground. Skull begins to spin as they move closer, building up not speed but force. More and power behind his swing. Build further and further....At one point the pipe swing wild and clips the Cognitive Hajime in the nose.**

**He meant to do that.

The spinning punk finally unleashes a powerful swing toward Eiji's shadow, aiming for the Tiger Man's center of mass to just hit and overwhelm.

He then hears Tsubasa and smirks. "Sure thing. CAPTAIN KIDD! LIGHT HIS ASS UP!"

The Skeleton Pirate appears next to Skull, sending a SWIFT STRIKE toward Eiji Kitty Cat Man's center of Mass as well.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Riot Culture on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Ichika Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Ryuji Sakamoto can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Swift Strike on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 24 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 42 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 17 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 17 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 18 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Resist!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao can't read that young man in the black trenchcoat particularly well (that's Joker, hi Joker), but he catches the gesturing. They're not pointing weapons at him or yelling at him go stop or go away, but would that do any good? Probably not.

Not when a younger budding artist's life and happiness is on the line! (Among so many others, too.) Phoenix there gets it! Whoever they are.

He mentally braces himself for the wave of all-encompassing envy. Just because he once stood tall against a dear friend's fervent nihilism from years of helplessness, loneliness, and frustration does not make it any easier to withstand this.

Just that he can, does, and has to, when he makes that call to strike at the ring the way he does.

"Worth more than a hundred of us, huh," he works up a smile despite all this, "everybody else really does get in your head if you're gonna put a number on it..."

He's preparing to gather his strength for another attack, when The Shadow Of The Hour flirts with the women here (or, those perceived by the Palace Ruler to be them). "Get a load of this guy, Uchi... da."

He just made all of them line up. When he turns that grin on him, and the guys...

"For real." Masao gives a blank look to that bewitching, enraging grin. "Why're you givin' me that look? I don't think you're a playboy stud, I ain't impressed, I'm not playin' that game with an overgrown kid, man--"

And then Eiji-Sitra, indeed, steps up with his fists. The first swing twits his upper body to the left in a spray of spittle, the second takes him straight off his feet in a cartoonish corkscrew as he crashes bodily into some of the decor. There's a little splash of red to add to the aesthetic of the scene.

"Did this asshole just hit me," Masao asks, "yeah he did." The time it takes for him to pull himself out of his own heap gives the stage for the Phantom Thieves to air their grievances, hissing and shaking his head as he pulls himself up.

"Uchida! Hey!" He snaps his fingers loudly a few times, in an attempt to dispel whatever compulsion Eiji-Sitra inflicted to try and compel her to get in line. "Don't let that guy get to you. He's not worth shit," he wipes some blood from his face. Somewhere in all this, he's heard the talk about Earth magic being effective.

"Tch... don't let this guy hold you down," he asides to Cognitive Ichika as he raises his free arm to a column of blue light. "...Let's get funky."

Ogun appears, the leafy masked man in brown appearing to a little shimmy before multiple waves of small purple orbs float gradually Eiji-Sitra's way with yellow energy ring emanatings and a kind of aggravating humming noise.
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Magry on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 60 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Magry. Weak!
AS: Paralyze added! Blast removed! Explosion! 50 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Danzaburou, the bake-danuki lord of Sado Island, known both for tricking humans with illusions and mirages, but helping those who struggle and ask him for their assistance. It's a bit of an unexpected Persona to see, but it suits Hibari in her own way.

(Also known for tricking kitsune to their death. Don't worry about that; she doesn't have anything out for Fox.)

And while Mujina knows Ogre's true identity, she does *not* know Phoenix's, only that Eiji is reeeeally focusing on pounding them down. She steps forward, preparing some other defense, as other Persona-users strike.

"You're disgusting," she says to Eiji, her voice tightly controlled so that she doesn't scream. "You get your hands off of Ichika, and get your hands off of Ogre and - " shit did she hear the name? wait, yes she did " - Phoenix!"

"I hate people like you," she snarls, losing some of her control. "People who think they can get away with anything because they know people. Because they're 'special' - not because of anything they did, but because of who their family is. I knew someone like you, once. And if there's one thing you need to learn - "

"It's that you don't own the world, and people don't belong to you!"

Mujina is suddenly holding things in her hand - two things, smallish, round. Grenades? No, just metal balls, which she spins in her hand, making a faint chiming sound as power builds around her, her Persona reasserting itself -

- and she finds herself walking over in a direction she didn't intend to.

Hibari is under no delusions as to whether Eiji would find her attractive. He would not; she is fairly heavyset, even if her long coat goes a good way to obscure it (unintentionally; it's not chosen to be, it's just not exactly figure-hugging) and while it doesn't bother *her* he's exactly shallow enough that it would bother *him*. So she knows that his desire is neither authentic nor, ultimately, aimed at her. It's just a generic feeling of ownership, of dominance. Which she already knew he was into.

Doesn't stop her from walking at least part of the way, though, until she does something she will regret a moment later: she very deliberately plants one of her heels on top of the other foot's toes and, on trying to lift said foot, pitches forward onto her face.

The charm does not allow her to catch herself on the way down, just keep walking, so it really *is* onto her face; she's momentarily stunned from smacking her forehead against the floor, and ends up not really getting up so much as rolling over in a messy heap with a grunt of pain. It *does* mean that she doesn't get the full force of his blow, instead catching only a glancing one, but given she just faceplanted she isn't actually sure she came out ahead there... Maybe she isn't quite as clever as she thinks she is.

But afterwards she can push herself up. "Thanks, Ogre," she gets out, feeling a little thick-tongued, as the healing energy washes over her. She still has the balls in her hand, though, and she spins them, faster and faster, the ringing picking up in speed...

And a matching ringing sound starts to emanate from the ring as Danzaburou's spell becomes manifest. The ringing is secondary, though; the real attack is a beat of Danzaburou's hand against its stomach, drum-like, and with every pulse gravity twists around the ring as Hibari tries to crush it, drag it off, or both.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Earth skill Tanuki Bayashi on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 53 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Tanuki Bayashi. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Panic added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 82 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Tanuki Bayashi. Weak! Avoid Earth!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Bullshit. Everything he said was bullshit. Everything he said to everyone there, every word that fell out of his mouth, every action he took against them - it was all bullshit. Hyousuke tried to maintain some level of focus on what was happening, and keep his discipline at the forefront. He tried his level best not to lose sight of the bigger picture... But it was of little use. His fists tightened yet harder, balling into a grip so vicious that it threatened to split the skin over his knuckles, while a roar - a vicious, rending, predator roar - tore itself from his mouth and exploded into the air.

"YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME?!" The mask could do nothing to muffle the fury that burst from him. He thrust his hand forward, pointing at Eiji as if that singular digit could lance through his blackened heart. "I'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THEM OUT OF THIS! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WITH MY FUCKING TEETH IF I HAVE TO!" Bloodlust stained his every word, while his lips curled into a bestial snarl. Every breath sounded out as an animal growl, every movement one that strained against his tensing muscles. Even before the counter, rage became him.

He glanced at each of the gathered strangers in the few split seconds that he could force some sense of lucidity into his mind. He recognised almost none of them. Vesper was perhaps the most familiar of all, being someone that he had patrolled with once, though he was the only figure out of all gathered that stood out. However, strangers though they might have been, they had the trust of Ogre and Phoenix, and thus they had Hyousuke's by extension. Joker's nod was acknowledged with one returned, but he said nothing. There was nothing that needed to be said. They had a target, and they had a strategy. All they needed was the will to pull it off. However, when he turned his attention briefly to Phoenix, he could not settle for just a brief nod to them.

"Always."

A single word, delivered in a low growl, but with conviction enough to turn it from some pithy response to a sworn oath.

Before he could move in for the kill, Hyousuke felt something seep into his mind. Just a glance of that smirk had been enough to have him rage before, but now? It was a frenzy. A feral, mindless, frenzy. His blood boiled in his veins like magma, ripping through his body alongside a surge of fury-induced adrenaline. His head pounded. His fists clenched to the point that he could swear there was blood seeping into his gloves. His breathing grew laboured, his body twitched, his eyes shuddered and saw red. This was no mundane anger.

And it drove him wild.

The blows he took did not knock him out of the rage. They did not knock sense into him, nor did they instil any sense of caution. Even as the first sent him tumbling backwards, and the second was only barely blocked by Achilles' shield, all it did was stoke the flames from a blaze into a wildfire, consuming every facet of his being until the only thing he could think of was to rend Eiji's head from its shoulders. With a bellowing warcry, he barrelled forwards, surging forth like a lightning bolt across the battlefield.

But he was not the one to attack. He was desperate to strike - to put his boot through the monster's face, and strike with his heel until all that was left was a fine, red, paste. But that towering thing he had manifested as was too tall for him to strike effectively. Even in the throes of blind rage, he could see that. Achilles, however, was under no such restraints.
"RIP HIM APART!" He commanded, gesturing towards Eiji again, standing before that behemoth Shadow with defiance in his eyes that blazed past even the mirrored lens of his mask.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Pelian Spear Strike on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"We're still thinking things over. But right now... we can't let the things this guy's doing slide." Shinobu replies to Joker with a shake of her head. "We've done what we can on the outside, but those girls won't truly be safe until he goes down for good... and if that means doing things your way this time, then fine by me."

Practical and straight-forward - that's something she can be counted on to be.

Ogre, though, doesn't mind, so Shinobu offers her a nod and a smirk.

"Couldn't have put it better myself. Let's do it." She replies. Phoenix gets a nod, too. "Glad to hear it. Let's give 'im hell."

Shinobu is still worried about Myunghon, of course, especially being here instead of there... but she made sure to tag someone else in before she left, because leaving ''this'' unattended would weigh on all of their minds if someone didn't go.

Eiji's eyes turn toward her, and to others, too - and suddenly, Shinobu feels ''something'' fall over her. Like her emotions are suddenly hidden over a sheet - and Shinobu ''seethes'', her anger flaring up further.

"This is how you do it, huh? You think just because you ''can'' prey on people, you're allowed to..." Shinobu mutters. She feels a pull - as much as she tries to resist it, her legs move on their own, pulled by that force. She grits her teeth - tries to force herself to stop, to will herself to slow down. "You think I haven't seen men with knives in their smile before...?"

She can't make herself stop - but she's able to resist that supernatural influence enough that, once she's on the spot, she can react quickly - her staff swinging out to divert his strike. It glances, but still hits with enough force to knock her away. And as he tells them all to stay down... Shinobu forces herself to her feet with her staff, rolling her neck.

"...Like hell I can't. Think you can just say all that shit and keep getting away with it? ...Nah. I'm going to make you ''scream''." Shinobu says.

She reaches out.

"Lachesis. It's time." Shinobu says. At her word, Lachesis appears behind her, staff at the ready. Shinobu rushes forward, with Lachesis right behind her. She leaps - and is caught by Lachesis's staff and sent flying upward. With a wave of her hand, Shinobu's staff is wreathed in light - which is then driven downward toward Eiji with the added force of a falling star.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Comet Drop on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 134 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Pelian Spear Strike.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 94 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Noir leads the assault against Eiji's supporters and Queen nods. "Noir, Panther, we're counting on you to mow them down. Mona, you need to make sure you all can keep fighting as a priority, got it!?" Even now, she's acting her position as advisor. "Hajime's weak to fire! Don't bother with earth!"

Phoenix's question gets a terse answer from Queen, however. "We're not going to give anyone else a chance to find out, got it? Don't waste time speculating, we've got a damn job to do!" Tsubasa saw her enraged at her enemy, but this might be the first time experience her sharpness towards her friends.

A detective bursts in, threatening to arrest everyone, and Queen is darkly amused. "...There's no legislation you can arrest a shadow under, Detective," she calls to Katsuya. "Or us. I've checked- you'd need places like this recognized as part of Japan, before any other legislation about it can be passed. It's going to be more hopeless than trying to prosecute Yakuza was. There's no by the book method for shadows- just make sure you're ready to catch the real thing before he turns himself in. The Eiji Kamiya in the real world has no such protection." On top of that, there's no credit if Eiji Kamiya confesses before he's charged- and there's a prosecutor real obsessed with credit in Port Island right now.

But then red flashes in her eyes as Eiji threatens Ichika's sister. "Tsk... You're just as much of a pig as Kaneshiro." Queen growls, her eyes looking to Ririka, then Ogre. "And it seems like you're both as full of shit. You don't go after someone's family, you two-bit scum!"

And then, Eiji's smile washes over the room.

'Would you like a job? ... Actual modeling work.'

Queen notices as the others are moved, whether they want to be or not- and so do Queen's. It's horrible... she's moving against her will into that position, silently, obediently. Like a good housewife. Or at least, she's not yelling out-

But that means someone might not notice the way her feet move, into a simple Aikido defensive stance, right foot forward. And when the swing comes-

"Too bad, asshole!"

Instead of waiting for the attack, Queen *launches* herself into it, trying to beat the impact that sweeps down on the other women, he scarf acting as a shield as it becomes coated in a layer of jagged, spiky rocks as she rams bodily into Eiji's arm. It hurts, oh it hurts like a motherfucker- but Queen has the satisfaction of interrupting Eiji's effort. "Sorry, but my dad taught me all about your type. You think you're a real man, but all you can do is find women who are too vulnerable to fight back, and profit off them. What's the next scam you're gonna run? 'You could be an idol', maybe? 'Pretend to be a host that's broken a million yen bottle'? You're so pathetic that you'd try a damn bump scam if you thought it'd work. All for what? Money, control, power?" Queen grins, teeth feeling sharp, despite how much she's bleeding after taking that hit. "I bet you get so much respect from your daddy's friends," She remembers what Hajime's shadow, and his cognition, said. "Only being able to torment people you think are weaker than you. I'm sure they're definitely not laughing behind your back about how 'real' a man you are."

It's a guess, but based on her life experience, well... Eiji might be as fragile as every other man challenged by a woman. And she's had time to learn a lot about that sort of man.

Ogre's healing washes over her again, and Queen starts moving as the worst of the damaged is staved off by that magic. Fox, Phoenix, and even Joker are caught in a rage, not even counting Ichika's mysterious backup. Whatever that was that Eiji used on the men and women here, the effect on the women worked on Tsubasa as well...? Does that mean it's based on how Eiji sees them?

Never mind. The Phantoms leader is out of control- even as Joker calls forth a new persona. A hanged woman, here for blood. And as much as blood is deserved, Joker needs to keep his head on/

"Johanna!" She yells out, and the motorcycle persona is under her and Queen is bursting toward Joker, reaching for something in the air. "Joker! Snap the hell out of it!" She yells, as a harisen is suddenly in her hand, drawing her arm back to slap Joker across the face with it at speed, as Johanna goes full tilt past him. "You're the leader, remember! We need your head in the game, no matter how much this scum deserves it!"

And she's just in time to see Phoenix pull a rocket launcher from nowhere, and Queen boggles briefly- but more importantly, she sees how much Phoenix is hurting. Johanna skids to a halt near them, as she extends her hand. "Damnit Phoenix, you fought him before. You can still fight him, I know you can! Johanna, grant them strength! Diarama!"

She revs her engine, and instead of nuclear flame, it's a calming green light that emits from her engine, washing over Phoenix. "Come on! Keep fighting, you and Ogre deserve to bash this idiot's head in!"
</poem>

AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Ren Amamiya!
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Recovery skill Diarama on Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka listens as the Analysis comes in, one hand clutching the large earcup to her ear. She closes her eyes, sifting through all of the information... there! To everyone present, she announces, "Shadow Eiji is... strong against..." There's the sound of a fist beating against a drum. "... strike and dark attacks. Weak against..." The rumbling of the ground, shaking beneath ones' feet. "... Earth and Light attacks."

No, there's footsteps, fast ones, moving quickly across the shaking ground. "... he'll try to avoid Earth attacks... and he's got a mean counter, so be ready for that! Her stomach churns as she makes the final call. "... and... his ''Strike'' attacks will be stronger than normal," she finishes with a snarl. She'll never tell anyone what ''that'' sound was.

Ririka is a little heartened, though, to hear the sheer number of people here to tell Eiji off. And glad that so many people showed up to help, even if there's more at stake here than just her sister. (She is also worried about Tsubasa still, too.)

Hitomi takes a hit, and Ririka turns to track her. "Mandai-san, you okay?" But when she wonders about the Phantom Thieves, and Ririka glances back to her. "Yeah, I think so--they match what Takeba-san said about them. I've run into them fighting the Joker Killer twice now." Beat. "... didn't know Ogre and Phoenix were with them, though," she admits quietly. But that's something to sort out later.

Eiji gets ''personal'' with the insults, and Ririka just stares him down in defiance. But her grip on both her Evoker and her katana tightens, knuckles turning white as Eiji outlines exactly what he was going to do to her. "You... you sick ''BASTARD''!" Anger seethes in her voice, and her entire body trembles. It's exactly what he was going to do to Tsubasa, wasn't it? Just... get rid of the people in Ichika's life that matter to her to keep her under control.

"Like ''hell'' I'm gonna let you do that! To me or ''anybody else''! You hear me!?"

But she's noticing something distracting insinuating itself into her thoughts, clutching at her head as she tries to localize it amongst everything else going on. "... the ring!" she says with a gasp right before the effect hit. Her body goes slack, and she blinks a little. Somethnig's nagging at her, but...

She finds herself walking over there, all the same, arms hanging loose by her sides. But right as those wings lift up, she blinks--and the yanks herself back to avoid the worst of the attack, though it still strikes her. "Fuck!"

Eiji asks them to stay down, and Ririka retorts. "Like HELL I will!" She looks to everyone else gathered. "It's that fucking ''RING'' doing this to us! We gotta take that thing out!" But Ogre calls out that the ring is ''theirs''. "Wait what? No, you destroy that thing before he ues it on us again!"

If she gets a chance, later, she'll thank Phoenix for their words. But right ''now'' is not the time for that discussion.

(They might also ask where the hell they got a rocket launcher???)

But she can't just ignore Cognitive Ichika over there. Last time, she tried gentleness and understanding, but that didn't seem to get through--it took Reiya and Hitomi being much more direct to get a response. So... "Hey. If you're anything at ''all'' like the real Ichika--you shouldn't stand for his bullshit! He doesn't give a damn about ''you''--he just wants you to make him look good and give him kids. That's ''all'' he cares about."

There is ''so'' much going on, but all she can do is focus on what's happening right now. "Alright--" She closes her eyes, sifting through the nose. "I can't heal anyone--Amphion, help those most in need! Healing song!"

Amphion strums his lyre, lines of melody encircling Hitomi, Umie, Katsuya, and Tsubasa to start continuously mending their wounds.

And then Ririka sets her sights on the giant ring."And now--Magnara!" Amphion's song shifts, as a large stone tears itself out of the ground (don't worry where it came from) and hurls itself at the giant ring.
</poem>

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Hitomi Mandai, Umie Akabane, Katsuya Suou, and
Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Vesper responds to Joker's nod and Ogre's calling out to him with a nod of his own, displaying a confident grin. Even though he'd much rather not be flying by the seat of his pants like this, it's important to keep projecting the illusion that you know exactly what you're doing.

''At all times, you are to remain a source of strength and stability to those around you. Never show weakness, for others will be quick to capitalise.''

Why are those words coming back to him now? So he would question, but... he knows. He's known ever since he first started his charade at this Palace, convincingly acting as if he belonged there. There are elements to all of this that are far too familiar, elements that he was made to be prepared for, once upon a time. Elements that he knows exactly how to mingle in, in spite of any personal feelings. And oh, there are personal feelings, even though they don't slip into Vesper's voice, nor his bearing.

"My thanks," is the simple response to Ogre's subsequent healing, offering an additional tip of the hat before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. Observing carefully the dynamic, such as it is, between Eiji and the Submissive Bride. Only if one were to look very carefully at Vesper's eyes, they might be able to tell there is a deep frown behind the mask. Even though he knows he's looking at nothing but a Cognition, he too feels that impulse, the wish for 'that' Ichika to see reason. To stop supporting one who is so clearly abusing her. He is, after all, still a counselor at heart.

Perhaps most would be too enraged by Shadow Eiji's treatment of the women and taunting of the men to keep their cool. It would be a natural response. Vesper doesn't have that response. Oh, he is most certainly angry, make no mistake of that. He just doesn't let his anger control him. It's what allowed him to mingle in this Palace, in spite of his many misgivings. After all... that's the way he was raised.

''There will come a day when you must deal with disreputable, dishonorable, flatly reprehensible men. And you must do so while keeping a stiff upper lip.''

As Eiji comes out swinging, Vesper quickly darts aside with an "I think not," a wave of his hand followed by a similar wave from his Persona, Raffles sending out an aura of weakness. "A gentleman acts with poise and grace, not... whatever sort of tantrum this is." He is immediately swatted to the ground for his trouble, but he made his point, that's worth something.

Besides, that put some distance between Eiji and the Submissive Bride, while putting him in closer proximity to her. As he gets back to his feet, he has the perfect opportunity to address ''her'', as well.

"...Listen to how he speaks of you. How easily he would cast you aside, as if you were less than nothing to him. You deserve better, Ichika. Do not give your love to one who will not show you love in return. You needn't feel any sort of obligation, and you needn't feel any fear. I promise you, we will not let him harm you and yours any further."

He only wishes he could have spoken those words to the real Ichika, during their counseling sessions. Having to stay professional feels like a curse at times. But here, he can speak his mind freely. And perhaps a little extra mental nudge from his Persona will aid in getting across the point that he and others are trying to make.
</poem>

AS: Julian Marlowe spends Limit on Exploit! Julian Marlowe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Marin Karin on Junes!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki drops into to a proper fencing stance, her sabre now held point-in-line at Eiji's Shadow, then she smirks at Katsuya. "We've got to stop meeting like this, Suou-san. We should catch up sometime, yeah?"

As for Joker's silent musings, Tamaki doesn't have any idea of the ring's full significance as a capital-T Treasure. Anyone with eyes can tell that it's the main object being contested by Eiji and the Phantom Thieves, though -- the fact that Eiji wants it so badly is reason enough to deny him his prize. Doesn't matter to her who gets it. At least that's her perception.

Her eyes widen and a scowl flashes on her face like she just smelled something ''terrible.'' Eiji's vile aura gets to her. While she's had reason to doubt her initial feelings of revulsion for other people, those are victims -- this disgusting man has well and truly earned the full extent of her ire.

In reply to the 'babe' comment directed at her, a dangerous glint flashes in her eyes and she offers him a sardonic grin right back. "Well, well, well. If those are the rules you want to play by, then don't come crying to me when you end up losing to the swarm of people you've pissed off." In a sing-song voice, she taunts, "Fair's fair, right~?"

The ring's dazzling flash of light ... seemingly ''works'' on Tamaki, for reasons currently unclear to her but ''possibly'' ones involving her own recently-ended engagement. Try as she might to physically resist the urge, Tamaki does feel her head swim with confusion and fury as her feet make their way over to the 'interview lineup'. To her own relief, she still retains the rest of her mental faculties, so she does one thing she does exceptionally well: ''appear'' like she's keeping her head down and seeming respectable with her true intent veiled in her heart. Do everything by the book for the most part, watch and wait for her moment, keep an eye on his motions, and then ...

''THERE.'' As Eiji's wings slam down on them, Tamaki manifests Arianrhod once more and leaps onto the flat of her Persona's broadsword before she leaps away from the main center of the impact as Arianrhod blinks out of existence again. It's the best she can do in those circumstances, with her sense of direction being screwed with. She counts her lucky stars as she only gets clipped during her escape and staggers away instead of suffering the full brunt of the blow from where she stood mere seconds ago.

'Uchida! Hey! He's not worth shit.' Mark's callout to Tamaki fully snaps her out of her senses and she gives herself two slaps to both sides of her face and about-faces back towards Eiji.

Katsuya's shield also helped matters greatly. She flashes him a distant thumbs-up from her side of the battlefield in thanks. One good turn deserves another as she calls out to him: "Detective! Keep your cool, he's trying to unbalance you!"

If there's anything else that Tamaki excels at, it's at NOT 'staying the fuck down.' She'll draw on that wellspring of hers to make sure the rest of her group can stay standing as she rubs the coins on her necklace once more as Arianrhod sends out another wave of healing.
</poem>

AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Katsuya Suou!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Media on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Katsuya Suou, and Umie
Akabane!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 77 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi watches the Shadow. She has been drilled on this. Don't take your eye off of them. She's regretted it a couple of times already, and she's regretting it now because the play on display is bringing back that gut-clenching stomach-roiling feeling of disgust and terror that led her mind to pinball between numbing horror and --

Something else that she doesn't really like.

That something else is squirming around in the back of her head. It feels like a greased snake, Hitomi thinks, in so far as she's thinking at all. The cruel words of the Shadow hit her ears, travel through her brain, but they don't sink deep into her mind. Her eyes flick momentarily towards Ririka, as if anxious she'll have died in her momentary distraction.

She didn't. "I'm fine," Hitomi answers Ririka with her best sempai-adjacent smile, which probably gives her an opportunity to return focus. "Fighting the 'Joker Killer'? - I'm not sure who they even are, but I guess we're all combining forces, huh," Hitomi continues, free associating as she tries to ignore a sense in the air, something that isn't a scent so much as a *vibe.)

That slick greasy feeling here reminds her of somewhere she went before all of this.

The Shadow is laughing. Hitomi looks at the Shadow as that smile washes out over her and --

-- just sort of keeps going. Hitomi blinks several times. She felt something, but the intention, the drawing-off, just... slid off. The rest of it - the self-justification, the cursing, everything he says afterwards. Asserting he lives off of them. Telling them to stay the fuck down. Hitomi's right hand comes up to palm her face, resting on top of her glasses, even as the force pulls at her legs. She steps forwards several paces.

Huh, Hitomi thinks, looking downwards at her legs. Around five steps she tries to exert her will to stop the next step from happening and the *good* news is that it keeps her from walking directly into the path of peril. The *bad* news is that she was nearly there and the sudden shift in her muscular impulses twists her around with an involuntary gasp of pain. Something goes 'pop' in her lower back.

The ordinary part of her flails in desperation. The unmentionable space where 'she' exists, the nexus of that process, is bounced along by the pain and lands in an interior space that is momentarily clear, except for the total pain in her leg and hip, not helped by her *not* falling down. It's like her tendons are hot wires... and that's before she stiffens involuntarily when the shockwave of the smash hits her, on that same side that she just twisted. She reels. It hurts and it's chaos and she wants it to stop and she wishes, wishes dearly -- and rarely -- that this was JUST Tartarus.

Why do I think that place is better? Hitomi wonders, with desperation and despair.

She says aloud, not very loudly, "Oh. Oh right."

Then Hitomi's hand slides down and she bites on her thumb. She's stifling something. It's not a scream, though, when she finally exhales and her body relaxes. It's a giggle, even as the sudden end of that locked tension makes her reel again, ending up in a half-squat and trembling for a moment.

"This is such a bad idea," Hitomi giggles to herself in that pained half-crouch, and then she breathes in sharply.

To the Tiger-man, she calls out, "You REALLY are the WORST!" And then she laughs again, before pushing out the rest of the air from her lungs, as if it felt good to say that. Simple, perhaps, and strange to say while making that happy sounding voice.

Hitomi pulls herself up straighter with a grit of her teeth; and then she speaks just as loudly, but more flatly.

"You offend me," Hitomi says, snapping her hand up through the momentary evanescence of a card. Above and behind her the shape of Tyche rises, again in a slightly different position. Arms loosely folded, marble fingers touching marble forearms, a white-eyed face looking out towards the Shadow.

"Die," Hitomi concludes, and this is when a festival must be starting because what happens is a lot louder and a lot hotter than the paired Agi she popped off a moment ago. The shrieking whistle descending closer might be familiar, as might the white-hot bursts once you're around the edges, because they burn blue and gold and green: it is fireworks, something to celebrate or to chase away ghosts.

Here, the latter; there is little to celebrate in this place. Though there might be in a minute.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Explosion of Fortune on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Gains 47 HP from Regen!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 162 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Dn added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 77 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 77 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 77 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 82 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marin Karin.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 82 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 101 Recovery healing from Makoto Niijima's Diarama.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie, in the selfish bubble of her apartment following Sudou's attack, hadn't yet cottoned onto what happened to Myunghon. It's likely for the best right now, as she's not in the most solid of emotional states right now herself.

She'll be plenty conflicted once she finds out.

For now, Umie's attention turns to Katsuya, a visual cue to anyone who notices that she may have been the one to invite him, as she shakes her head, about to say something when she also notices Tamaki. Ah, that must have been who healed her earlier. Vesper is likewise given a nod, as she gives them both a casual salute.

Casting her attention back towards the Phantom Thieves, Umie catches Joker's smirk, and answers back with a cheeky one of her own.

Oh, this will be gratifying in a way that Kaneshiro wasn't.

... Until it isn't, and Umie's face grimaces, forced to recall Tsubasa's earlier conversation in the back of her mind.

'You feel like that?' Tsubasa had asked. 'Like -- tainted.'
'... Yes,' Umie had let herself say. 'Many, many times. For different reasons, but it leads to the same place.'

'Hey ladies-? Couldn't help but notice how gorgeous you all are.'

Oh, no, this feeling won't do at all. No, no.

For a moment, Umie's hand snakes towards her mask, intent on revealing herself and displaying her full face.

It *is* the one quality people complimented on. The only thing she was good at, in a competition where the qualifiers were subjective. To someone else, she'd be okay, but to others, a classic beauty.

A true yamato nadeshiko, the wild dianthus, elegant, full of quiet restrain and strength. A wonderful choice for a wife to build your empire.

Red fingernails clutch into her palm, and Umie looks up, finding herself in a line, and Eiji's gleeful violence being bestowed onto them like a generous groom.

Ririka and Tamaki's gifts are much more preferred, by comparison, giving Umie a chance to stand back up.

Eiji focuses in on Katsuya-- "Katsuya-san!"

And Umie lets the Badb answer with the sort of dark she has inside her-- a shadow that is her, and in her, that bites and shrieks back.

(There is only bloodshed here, no treasure.)

"You *think* you can make someone like me feel that way, Kamiya-kun?" Tainted, that is. Not in love.

Umie adjusts the mask over her upper face, gritting her teeth. "Maybe if you paid more attention to your 'wares', you'd see just how dangerous some of them can be to a man at his most vulnerable."

And the Badb shrieks, as if adding to a symphony with all the others that scream.
</poem>

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Katsuya slouches his shoulders just a touch. "Yes... it is unfortunate," he admits to Tamaki.

"Arrest the 'shit' out of him...?" Katsuya echoes, apparently bewildered, when Ogre calls out her support of his attempt to bring the law into this. Her teammate, though, appears to have a different take. He can't arrest a Shadow. Which is, well, true. "No, the arrest of a Shadow does not carry weight in the courts. But as you say, the same does not apply to his real self! If I can convince him to turn himself in, then the effort is not wasted!" ...Is that what he's thinking, that he could implore Eiji, somehow, to be the better person and give himself up? ...It probably doesn't work that way.

But it's probably worth a shot.

As for the rest of them, well, that may be a conversation or altercation best left for another time. Probably when they're not getting subjected to the fury and whims of the Palace's Ruler.

Eiji outright says he was plotting on selling Ririka off once he married her sister, and here Katsuya interjects. "'Sell her off'--? I won't permit it! Prepare yourself--" he shouts, adding on to his earlier threat. This all serves to get him the Ruler's attention, for good or for ill, though.

Which is to say, he gets laughed at.

Everything that Akechi had said about the Aoba Station comes to mind immediately. As if to push past that and the Ruler's mockery alike, Katsuya shakes his head. "I am Sergeant Katsuya Suou of the Aoba Police Department in Sumaru City! Eiji Kamiya, several of your crimes fall under our jurisdiction! You are under arrest--!"

He's all of twenty-five. He's been on the force for about three years. Rookie isn't... wrong, actually.

Something sickening is crawling into his head, though. Katsuya grimaces faintly, as if attempting to shake off the first touch of that sensation. It's persistant, though: try as he might, he can't--

The women are directed to one side, and to his horror, he sees that many of them do just that. It doesn't seem like they have control. Is it that sensation that's crawled its way over him, too? Is it forcing them to move? What is it going to do with...

...

He'd already been mad. Now he finds himself furious with rage. "That's-- enough! This ends here!" he shouts at the Ruler, drawing his officer's sidearm and aiming it directly towards him. 'Sitri' is faster, though: he closes on Katsuya and Helios, leveling blow after blow against his Persona. Helios doesn't 'break', but, Katsuya's just found himself on his backfoot.
And still burning with terrible, unnatural anger.

Healing power that swells into him from Ririka's Amphion is just the first glint of light at the end of the brilliant red tunnel of emotion he's found himself engulfed within. "What is--"

The other is Tamaki's voice. "Uchida-kun, this is--?" And just like that, he's able to haul himself the rest of the way through and slam the iron lid back on the kettle of his heart once again.

Furiously, he shakes his head and more importantly, directs the muzzle of his sidearm towards the floor. More healing power washes over him, directed again from Tamaki. "That was dangerous," he chides himself, "Of all the times to get--!" But there are more pressing matters than his own regrets. "Uchida-kun. Thank you!"

So he says before, summoning forth Helios, he directs his Persona to return in kind what he'd received moments ago. Surging ahead of him, Helios jukes left in a feint before moving suddenly in a flurry of clawed strikes for the Ruler of this Palace.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Soul Break on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Slash skill Scratch on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 48 HP from Regen!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 46 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break.
AS: Exhaust added! Rage removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Slash damage from Katsuya Suou's Scratch.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Queen manages to block his assault with a strong root in her defensive stance, and he smirks, "Cute. You know how many girls I've shipped off that thought because they took a little karate they could handle themselves?" Before his head twists in a way that no human neck can, to grin at Ririka, "And you think you can stop me, I~mou~to~chan? Sorry, but you ain't gonna be there for our anniversary parties."

Whereas Julian casts off his Rage casually, and he looks downright Perplexed, as Raffles sends out a wave of weakness, "What the shit? You came here and crashed MY wedding- what kind of ''gentleman'' does that?"

Anger - rage, it's a pure chaotic melee. And this Eiji? He thinks he's won already, he thinks he's outmaneuvered everyone. 'RAVAGE HIM!!' Rocks Fall, and despite the aura of untouchability surrounding him, he staggers. "Ugh!"

'Don't talk to her like that!'

"You've gotten real mouthy in your time away I'll talk to her how I like." The Ruler says to Ogre, "And you know I can be ''very'' loving she's gotten plenty of it. If you're so concerned about her, how about you two ''share''?"

But Ogre reaches out to the Submissive Bride, '--he's going to hurt your kids!' She looks up, in shock, "H-He'd only do that if I- if I-" She frets, even as Ogre fires the Hunting Rifle, and a rock strikes his feline head, causing him to stagger back, with a shotgun shower of debris that causes him to fall right down on one knee. "You... TOO!? You think a gun's gonna be enough to keep me from what I want!?"

The submissive bride comes upon Eiji, as if to touch him in support, right as Tsubasa shouts 'Fuck you!' and she flinches. "I'm... not an invention. I'm- his bride. That's who I am."
And then she shrieks as Phoenix's Rocket Launcher explodes in Eiji's face and he roars in pain, as the smoke clears, with charred whiskers. "Ever wonder why I'm in your head, Tsubaki? It's 'cause you can say whatever shit you want - but you know you're a girl deep down. Can pretend - but the evidence is always there." He then reaches back and lightly shoves the Submissive Bride, "Get back you stupid fool. You're risking MY son with your useless gestures." And she stumbles, and falls with a gasp.

Meanwhile Cognitive Hajime leers at Noir off to the far side of the chapel - but what he's saying, can't be heard this far away. That's probably better for everyone.

He gets up just in time for the Spinning Punk to try and strike his torso again and again and again, and he puts his guard up, as each blow he tries to block with meaty forearms, or shove away. "Feeling's real mutual. The fuck's your problem? Jealous I can get a real woman?"

The gravity orbs then press against him, the floor of the chapel beginning to shatter under the weight, "... I don't get funky with DUDES!" He growls, as he takes one step, after another pulling himself out of the Magry's gravity effects.

'You're disgusting!' And he looks at Mujina, his lip curling off to the side like he just encountered a bad smell, "Really, fatty? You're gonna call ''ME'' disgusting? I'd have to put you on a diet for six months before any client would even take you!" And then another gravity attack from Hibari threatens the ring, and he clamps his opposite hand over it, trying to tug it away. "Maybe it'll even be worth the effort, just to show you your ''place''."

'YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME?!'

"Heh. That a promise?" And he smiles, to show rows of teeth, each one longer than one of his fingers as Achilles manifests to jam a SPEAR right in his forearm, "I'm gonna use you as a goddamn toothpick." He picks it out, and breaks it in twain.

'You think I haven't seen men with knives in their smile before?'

Lachesis manifests, and Shinobu comes at him, as he starts moving with a sort of feline agility, quick footwork to avoid the worst of her strikes. "Heh, kinda stings, babe. Sounds like if you have, then you didn't really learn the real lesson there." And right as he says that, Ririka's Magnara launches a rock that clips him upside the head. "Fuck!" 'Fair's fair, right~'

Tamaki's words cause him to bristle suddenly, like a thought had occurred to him. 'You offend me. Die,' Blue, and Gold, and Green Fire descends upon him like fireworks, and he cries out in pain and rage.

"That... the way you wanna play it? Fine... FINE!" Badb's shriek drowns out his initial response to Umie, as he staggers back, and a burst of cursed energy envelops his gaudy Tuxedo. Then Helios comes at him, and rips a gouge right down his Tuxedo, "Damnit! THIS IS A RENTAL! Stupid fucking cop!"

The Submissive Bride is laying on the ground while Julian reaches out to her. "But- he's- he's..." 'We will not let him harm you and yours.' and her eyes flare open as if she had a sudden thought.

She looks more and more distraught by what's going on, and then downright freaked. "No no no! If he - If I lose his son! NO!" She takes a few steps backwards, nearly stumbling before, "I can't! Not again! NOT AGAIN!" And then she turns and begins to flee to the back of the chapel.

And Eiji's feline eyes dilate subtly, his fists trembling with sheer rage. "You dare? YOU DARE!? Fine-" He makes a motion to adjust the rings on his fingers, "-I'm not above calling upon family to deal with threats to our future."

As he spreads his arms and begins to shout in a way that shakes the very chapel.

"OTOU-SAMA!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Step. Step. Step. Step. A middle aged man with graying hair in an expensive three piece suit comes out, adjusting his tie with one hand, a brown leather briefcase held in his other. "Even at your own wedding, you can't take care of business? And here I thought you were truly on your way to becoming a man."

The man looks at the Phantom Thieves like they are ''truly'' beneath concern.

"I'm sorry, Father... I promise, I'll make it up to you." Eiji says, deferential in tone for the first time, as the Cognition of other man says gruffly, "Just make certain my Grandson doesn't grow up with his mother's ''lip''."

The Kamiya Patriarch

"You think you can threaten my family without consequences, you pathetic criminals?" And he unclasps the brief case, pulling out a small stack of papers, and throws them. One appears in front of Joker, another upon Skull- before he glances at Ogre. "You? You should know better than anyone." As he tosses another one out at her, then at Phoenix.

Restraining Order

They vanish in a sparkle of light, and they each feel something is different about them. Trying to approach Eiji results in them running into something as solid as any wall. Yet there's nothing there they can see! The same holds true for their Persona. No attack, no spell - everything makes contact with a space a short distance from them just vanishes.

"I'll see you all BEHIND BARS!"

More papers flutter, more stamped paperwork - restraining orders appear around Masao, Tamaki, Julian, Umie and Shinobu.

"Adults - coming here to gang up on my son. ''Pathetic''."

Even worse, anyone who tries to attack the Cognition of Eiji's father finds they just ''can't''. Any spell, any attack just dissipates before they can touch the patriarch, like that same wall is there.

"You can't even TOUCH my Father!" Eiji says, with a sneer, "He has connections! Friends in places you can only dream of... THIS IS THE END FOR ALL OF YOU!"

The Ruler's enormous clawed hands are placed together, as he cracks his knuckles, and then surges at Ryuji, slamming his fist into him full force, before turning around and back-handing Joker. It seems the rules don't hold true for them attacking back.

"Cool your heels for a bit..." He asides to Ogre and Phoenix. "... I'll get to you two after I take care of business."

The Patriarch seems almost bored, as he reaches into his brief case and pulls out another stack of legal paperwork, tossing it overhead as the Red Sun of Japan's flag appears. And suddenly Queen, Mujina feel the searing weight of the entire country's legal system searing them with tremendous power.

When everything settles after the explosion, he peers at Katsuya in a condescending, paternalistic way, "Was something wrong with my compensation package, Officer? It's rather unwise to take up your disputes this way... you wouldn't want me to air out your department's dirty laundry in public."

Taking out a stack of Yen bills from his briefcase, he tosses it down in front of Katsuya, "Perhaps this might be enough to persuade you to rethink this?"

Eiji, as this is happening, simply strolls up to Ririka, and rudely tries to backhand her with a casualness of violence that's shocking, "Anything else you want to say? Go on." He grins at her, like he's going to devour her whole, "Say it."

IC Note: Anyone hit by Restraining Order is incapable of attacking Eiji in any way. ''Everyone'' is incapable of attacking the Kamiya Patriarch. Invisible walls like in P4 Arena are just there and can't be circumvented, even if the debuffs are removed. Those hit with Restraining Orders are welcome to buff others, shift, heal. If you want to pose trying to attack to get through, it won't waste your turn, just make your csys action something else.

Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Ren Amamiya, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase,
and Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Masao Inaba, Tamaki Uchida, Julian Marlowe,
and Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Umie Akabane!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Exhaust!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ryuji Sakamoto! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!

AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Makoto Niijima!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Hibari Aoki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 38 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Umie Akabane!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Counter Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 94 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 66 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak! Block Strike!
AS: Penguin Sniper: Def_Up removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 58 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 61 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 56 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 30 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 47 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Makoto Niijima takes 82 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Shift! Hitomi Mandai can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Shift! Hyousuke Suzuki can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>

Hi Masao! Hopefully there won't be any Problems regarding the Treasure later. Tamaki's willingness to let the Phantoms have it is appreciated; it'll all be appreciated more later when everyone gets a chance to talk about it. Right now, there is still violence to be doled out. Level-headed violence, though, like Vesper's--Skull, Phoenix and Hyousuke are already taking care of the wild, feral kind.

Queen smacks Joker clean across the face with that harisen, an act that leaves them flailing for a moment before they shake their head and focus. This time, she's the one keeping her cool--good for all of them, especially Mona and the others. "...Thanks," they call to their compatriot. "I needed that." Luckily that she and Umie are still in it--and ''viciously'' tearing Shadow Eiji down about his supposed 'manliness.' They smirk; good for them both.

They look to Shinobu as she professes that the need to take Eiji Kamiya down is big enough to be worth doing things their way. Joker nods once. "Take your time, then. For now, your help is much appreciated," they call back.

Ririka shouts that they need to destroy the ring before Shadow Eiji uses it on them again. Joker shoots her a sharp stare. They don't know for sure what would happen if they destroyed someone's Treasure--but that could well be how one does a mental shutdown or psychotic breakdown. Without knowing for sure... "Do NOT destroy the ring!" they call, just as sharply--and when Hitomi quite understandably tells the Shadow to die, adds, "And do NOT kill Kamiya's Shadow, as utterly tempting as it is! The consequences will be far worse!"

They're immediately tested. Shadow Eiji continues to deadname and disrespect Phoenix, and Joker's dark eyes flash with a more natural sort of anger. Trying to appeal to Cognitive Ichika isn't something they would have tried, even without supernatural rage, but they leave Ogre and Phoenix to it; given her support role here, maybe it ''will'' be effective. ...That thought costs him, for when Cognitive Ichika flees from Vesper, Shadow Eiji calls on some truly abominable support:

The father who taught him to be this way.

Joker takes up a defensive posture, unsure of what's about to happen next as Shadow Eiji literally calls on Daddy to take care of his problems for him. They certainly weren't expecting a Restraining Order--and when that paper comes down and strikes them, paralyzing them from taking another attack--they snarl in frustration and fury as they take a knee. This helplessness and the despair that follows in its wake...

They know it agonizingly well. "Ixtab!" they call--but their Persona, while she appears, is only caught in the Restraining Order too. She struggles like a fly in a cobweb before shattering under the force of Cognitive Father's fists. The backblow knocks Joker down too, though they'll get more of a raging headache over it than any bruises. They cough and wheeze, and lift their head, teeth grit as they glare at Shadow Eiji and his father.

No.

They refuse.

If the Black Mask shows up--or worse, Akechi--they won't be found unable to act at all.

With great effort, Joker lifts a hand to their mask--and chances it once more. "Cait Sith! Get us the strength for a comeback!" they call to another aspect of themselves. He, too, is caught in the Restraining Order as he materializes, a Puss-in-Boots sort of creature with a sword--but that doesn't stop him from raining vitalizing energy down over several of Joker's friends and allies. Queen's still free to move, so she'll get the first of it--then Hitomi, Ririka, and even Katsuya. He might be a cop, but Joker can acknowledge that they're up against a wall here, quite literally.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Matarukaja on Makoto Niijima, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and
Katsuya Suou!
AS: Pressure: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"You really do have more than one of those!" Ogre exclaims at Koker. "Kickass!" Not only another Persona--one with the right elements. His strategy is top-tier... She's reassured to have him leading the heist, and to have Queen backing him up. "You got Joker?" she calls, making sure. While Katsuya answers and--he is apparently a little surprised, but that doesn't slow Ogre down any. Instead, she hears his own plan, and... "Queen's right. But once he does..."

Mujina thanks her, and Ogre nods. "We'll handle this!"

Then to Phoenix, "He's not gonna stay there!" In their head. "We're gonna take him out, here and now!"

She worries at Skull taking a big hit, too--but he does just fine, it seems. Even clipping Hajime again. Who deserves it.

"Go!"

Hyousuke ''roars'', and cries out that he doesn't care what happens to him. But while thats something Ichika doesn't love... She knows she can rely on him here and now, at least. And if they all live, she can try and get her friend to value himself later.

"Hang in there!" She calls to Hyousuke.

And Ririka calls to destroy the ring--but Ogre just looks back at her for a moment. "Careful," she tells Ririka. "You get too mad, and you'll get sloppy. You gotta hang on."

But she hears Vesper say something she doesn't expect--speak to the cognitive Ichika, even as the 'real' Ichika is secretly here. They won't let him...

"I'm sure she can hear you," Ogre says quietly--so quietly that Vesper may not even hear it. But it's enough that she heard it, maybe.

But Hitomi surprises her--that ''laughter'' with it. Apparently she's really into this...

"Yeah!" Ogre calls to her. "Get him!"

But he keeps talking. Shipping off girls, and Ririka--"Fuck off, leave them alone!"

But then he talks to ''her'', and Ogre's lip curls. She stands there in her roses-and-thorns armor and spits back. "I've had better since you," Ogre tells him. "And a lot more considerate, too."

She doesn't dignify his talk of 'sharing' with a response--mostly because she's busy with how Cognitive Ichika reacts. "...I remember you," she tells her. She smirks at the matter of a gun when it knocks him down,

"They're not a girl you fuckhead!" Ogre retorts eloquently. "You don't know a damn thing about what's in their head!"

"And Skull got a real woman all right--he's got me! Him and Phoenix both!"

But it ''hurts'', watching the Submissive Bride freak. She starts to run, and Ogre's heart seizes. "Let her go!" Ogre shouts. But suddenly-

"Oh, shit." Dad. She of all people should know better--someone studying Ogre's body language will note real fear, before she seizes herself up and stands through it. ...It's not gone; she's just pushing ahead anyway.

Or rather, she's trying--she throws out another spell, "MOMIJI!" as rock hurtles towards Eiji--But it doesn't connect. She steps forward to try to use her weapon, and runs into an invisible wall. "What the--"

They can't touch his father. "No, no, no," Ogre starts, her breath catching and then speeding up--before Skull gets her. Even while he's getting his ass kicked, he can have sass. Ogre takes a deep breath. "Joker," she calls, kseeing him rise with difficulty. "I'm still good! I'll heal if I can't reach him!"

Momiji whirls out again, and lifts her clawed hands. Brilliant witchlight washes over Ririka, Hibari, Fox, Joker, Queen, Shinbou, Hitomi, and Hyousuke, settling in green radiance and mending hurts.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Makoto Niijima, Shinobu Shimizu, Hitomi Mandai, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 116 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Mediarama on Ririka Kawase, Hibari Aoki, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Ren
Amamiya!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 165 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 123 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Mujina's anger over people who ''know'' people resonates strongly with Phoenix -- as they think of their ''father.'' If she knows Ogre, too, she must know the score... and they feel, for a moment, for the way this must be personal for the tanuki-masked girl too.

Skull might be terrible at ''school,'' but he's got more strength than ''Phoenix'' when it comes to these Persona battles. Being fair: Phoenix only ''started'' doing this sort of thing a month ago. And they only got a real party to team up with a couple of ''days'' ago!!

(Which explains why they haven't been able to clear up things with Tamaki yet... oops...)

All that to say: that's why Phoenix is counting on ''him'' to follow up their raw native strength with his synergistic force. (And thank ''God'' he meant to do that.) Spin, spin, spin, Skull spins right into Eiji-Sitri, and Phoenix yells: "YEAH! GET ''FUCKED!''"

Skull's not the only one who's been doing this longer, though. Joker's pulled out a ''new Persona,'' and Phoenix double-takes, when they realiseit. "Wait a sec -- you can ''do'' that?!"

Queen's sharpness takes them aback, their head jerking back -- before they nod, firmly. "R--right!" Man, their childhood friend is scary... when did that happen?! (With steel like that in her tone, they're just glad she's on ''their'' side...)

Yusuke's elegant skill with his own long blade isn't something that escapes their notice, either -- or their gratitude; they're glad someone else gets how it feels to SHOVE A SWORD DOWN THIS GUY'S THROAT.

Cognitive Ichika says she's not an invention, though, and Phoenix frowns, glancing aside. "Sorry." ''She'' gets a sincere apology, even if she's part of Eiji's head, because -- fuck, man, her life sucks ''enough.''

It neatly informs the way they glare at Eiji-Sitri a few moments later, his whiskers all charred. "S--shut up!" They snap, from the ground they've landed on again. (The recoil on that rocket launcher is ''fierce.'') One of their hands grasps their greatsword -- but the other crosses over their (presently ''flat'') chest, for reasons that may be obvious. "I ain't... I ain't no girl! You don't know me! You don't know shit! Y--you think you can jus' -- beat me into it?! Ain't the first one to try, asshole! You don't know me! You ain't ''seen'' me! FUCK!" They're at least living, walking proof that Umie is ''right:'' Eiji's ''wares'' are dangerous as ''fuck.''

Luckily, Queen is COMPLELELY on their side -- as she pulls up to give Phoenix a hand up. "Chh-- hhhrk-- thanks," they cough, and manage to cough out, the volume on their last invective apparently having blown out their vocal chords a little. (No, that's... not quite why they're coughing.) Luckily, the fumes from Johanna's ''engine'' aren't the kind to get lodged in their lungs, and Phoenix stands straighter as the Diarama washes over them. "You're right. We gotta send this prick to hell!"

But they're not the only one facing up to him, today. They hear Hyousuke's declarations, and boy, do they feel it -- even if they feel a little worried about him, too. But he promises, ''always,'' and they'll just have to hold him to that... because 'always' means he'll show up tomorrow, too, right?

'Big Sis' Shinobu being here is really more of a relief than Phoenix could have estimated at first glance; she might be someone Tsubasa talks about like a gangster, but that makes her ''more'' reliable, not less. Hearing her respond to Joker's question with such a thought-out response... there's no way they can ask her directly if Myunghon's okay, not without spreading it to ''everyone,'' but they feel more secure in the idea that Shinobu definitely took care of everything.

Ririka warns Phoenix, though, that Eiji-Sitri resists ''strike'' -- and that's important information for them to know. "Got it!" They call, back to her. "Slice him open!" They hear her, a few beats later, angry at what Eiji plans to do to the people in Ichika's life... and they hate that they can imagine how she might feel. Still -- she wants to destroy the ring, and -- "We got it handled, man! We know what we doin'!" Phoenix... is ''trying'' to be reassuring, but they know they can't tell the people who've come to help just what their plan ''is,'' either. Still -- "Thanks!!" They call, as the music wraps around then. "Don't listen to this prick, ya music's cool!"

When Vesper speaks to Cognitive Ichika, Phoenix calls out: "He's right, y'know?! Love ain't an ''obligation!'' An' it shouldn't make you feel scared, neither! Love's about -- bein' able to count on someone, an' always havin' their back, too! Havin' a place beside them -- bein' ''welcome'' there! It's... it's about ''givin' a shit,'' goddamnit! That's what she means to me...!" When Cognitive Ichika runs away, Phoenix breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank fuck for that..."

They're impressed at the skill Tamaki shows with Arianrhod -- they're five games too early to beat her, so it's a good thing she's fighting ''Eiji.'' When they realise that Hitomi's hurt, though, it's concern they're feeling. Is Ririka's friend, like... okay...? "Fuck, man," they breathe out, as she commands him to ''die.'' "Can't blame ya for that one bit... was a long time I thought I was gonna kill him if I saw him, too. But our Boss is right, yo?" It's fine, they talked to Ichika about this beforehand at some point, they have two bosses now too. "Much as you think ya wanna... you really don't wanna kill a guy's Shadow."

When they register what ''Katsuya'' said, they -- they actually laugh, again, a touch disbelieving. "Holy shit, man, that rules! You want him to turn himself in, too!! Goddamn, for a cop, you're alright!"

Unfortunately, their good feelings don't last long. The Kamiya Patriarch takes the field -- and Phoenix looks to Ogre, as she warns them. "Fuck," they hiss, through grit teeth.

The stack of papers isn't something they can ignore, though.

"You... you prick! I only tried to hit your son of a prick son 'cuz he was tryin' to fuck with Ichika!" It's ''really'' a good thing Phoenix has never met the real thing; they're running their mouth off ''immediately,'' confessing to ''all their crimes.'' (Katsuya's seen how easy it is to get Tsubasa to crack... not that they're ''here,'' of course.)

Phoenix steps up, beside Ogre, when Eiji addresses them. "Fuck you!" They snap, to him, in turn. "You think I'm gonna let some stupid papers stop me?!" They tear their mask from their face in a shower of blood and blue flame. "IZBUSHKA NA KUR'IH NOZHKAH!" They scream, as their veritable ''house'' of a Persona manifests, far more massive than they are behind them. Its chicken legs alone as at least as big as Tsubasa -- let alone the thatched-roof hut of its body, with a skirt of bones like a fence around it, flapping hatch windows like little chicken wings.

It's huge. It's STRONG. If anything could break through the Restraining Order -- it's Tsubasa's massive Persona.

But it just charges forward, only to ''SLAM'' into that barrier, with a dazed little flutter of its window-wings. You can ''feel'' the '?' above its head, as it kicks at the force field around Eiji, as it tries to pound the ground with its claws to hit both him and his father only for the shockwaves to slam uselessly against Eiji's protection and STRAIGHT FUCKIN' DISSIPATE?! when they get close to Eiji's ''father.''

"What... what the fuck?!" Phoenix yells, gesturing sharply. "What gives?! Ugh... fuck! Hey, MUJINA!" They call, turning to the girl in a tanuki mask. "You know what it's like for fucks like this to show up, right?! FUCK HIM UP! Persona!"

And Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah flutters its little window-wings, and disappears as a red haze falls over Mujina, empowering her strikes.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Tsubasa Seki has used the Almighty skill Tarukaja on Hibari Aoki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Tsubasa Seki takes 60 damage!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki: Gains 47 HP from Regen! Charm removed!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Tsubasa Seki's Tarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Hibari Aoki spends Limit on Exploit! Hibari Aoki can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 169 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 114 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Makoto Niijima has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Things seem to be going well until Eiji calls his dad to come solve things. As Skull watches things, he slumps over with a big exaggerated "SERIOUSLY?!"

The magic Restraining Order doesn't phase Ryuji. He's going to run over that and beat that stupid---Skull hits a wall, eyes widening.

And thats when the kitty comes back and starts beating the snot out of him. He looks pretty pathetic, being boxed by a cartoon Tiger man.

Still upon the beat downs end, Skull manages to look over at Ichika and grin, winking at her to show he's ok.

Skull gets back to his feet, stumbling from the pain for a second but widening his stance to brace himself. "Oh I'm gonna just wait to hit ya." He grins and taps his pipe against his shoulder as Captain Kidd appears again to shower some power on Ryuji.

"Tick Tock, Garfield."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>The crowing of the Badb incites warriors to battle. For Fox, it helps soothe the reckless fury and allow focus to return to the swordsman - in time to see the Ruler call out for more aid as his bride flees into the shadows.

Fox remains silent as he watches the Kamiya Patriarch lay down crooked law at his comrades and the others who have come to support them. Inexplicably, however, that gilded paperwork does not touch him.

He remains statue-still as he listens to the two Kamiya men talk of these matters... and a gut-churning familiarity strikes him.

Fox lowers his sword, and begins to walk slowly towards Shadow Eiji.

"This is your father, then," he says. "Someone you feel you have to call on when your own strength fails. Someone you desperately want to respect you, just as much as you respect him."

His gaze turns to rest on the cognitive image of the Kamiya Patriarch - noting, even in this twisted world where Eiji's cognition shapes these figures around him according to his desires, that his father's gaze holds no love, only disdain and condescension. Yusuke Kitagawa sees the shade of a man wearing a lord's facepaint and a golden kimono, and Fox returns his gray gaze to Sitri, making eye contact with that feline glare.

"... In the end, he will cast you aside, too. GOEMON, TO ME!"

Perhaps this truth buys him only a moment; he'll have to make it enough. He twists his katana so that its edge points upwards, steps backwards onto Goemon's lowered pipe, and lets himself be ''flung'' towards Eiji's wrist. An icy mist trails behind his blade as he soars up and over Sitri's shoulder, tucking and flipping forwards for a three-point landing.

His blade clicks home, and ''suddenly'' a gash carves open in Sitri's wrist, ice rapidly filling in the wound.

"ANYONE WHO CAN, SMASH THE ICE!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Almighty skill Tarukaja on Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto: Rage removed!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Yusuke Kitagawa can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Sublime Cut on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Yusuke Kitagawa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 48 Almighty damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Tarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> '... I don't get funky with DUDES!'

"Can't take a man-to-man talk like that, huh--" Masao lets his mouth run in contrast to having been one-two sucker-punched mere moments before. (He's a shorter than average guy, this seems to correspond to having a greater chip on one's shoulder.)

"Aw hell," he looks up as the Submissive Bride flees, but the Palace Ruler's rage makes manifest... their father.

He only looks like an ordinary middle-aged man, but in the moment there's that deferrential presence that feels imparted on everyone. Papers fly. What's written catches an otherwise defiant young man's eye.

The young Masao 'Mark' Inaba sure had a lot of run-ins with the police with his... well, being Masao 'Mark' Inaba, what with all the trespassing and the vandalism and the noise ordinance violations and whatnot. It got to the point he was on a nickname basis with a guy who ultimately did not survive a particular tragedy. The realities of the law and what it imposes cannot be so casually ignored, in his adulthood.

A restraining order.

Through the Palace Ruler's Cognition, their father figure's presence feels absolute and inalienable, and he ''chafes''.

He takes note of how the young-looking guy in the black trenchcoat just pulls out what looks like a completely different Persona, like... man. It reminds him of a promise he made a certain someone before they all graduated.

"Tch." They're both unapproachable, there's a feeling of a wall but there's nothing to bang an angry fist upon as Eiji gets to take free swings unimpeded...

"Even... they're kids, right?" He says of the trenchcoat-bearing Joker and the leather-clad bank robber-like Skull. Putting aside the whole severity of violent crimes and convictions, and all, unaware of how on the nose this line of thinking is for at least one of them.

He asides in Hyousuke's direction, more coincidentally, having seen that guy just go completely off the cuff. "Yeah, I kinda, echo that sentiment." Even Reiji would have probably paused before some of that, and Reiji damn well nearly dashed himself against the rocks to his death metaphorically in his crusade against a vile man.

"...He's that scared of his own old man, huh," Masao grumbles as he looks down. This is the young man who would've rather been turned to stone than lie about who the better painter was, in the depths of the Black Market.

He shakes his head. This guy doesn't deserve to get away with anything he's done, but something leaves a bad enough taste in his mouth here, and by golly he's going to keep driving that chariot forward.

"YO! Kamiya!" Masao calls. "I got a question for you. Speakin' as one guy who got bore down on by their own old man growin' up."

"Who'd you want to be before he told you who you'd be?"
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Mujina's face is difficult to read behind her mask. That is, after all, the whole point of a mask like this. Her voice is a *lot* easier to read, though.

"Please," Mujina says, actually dismissive of Eiji. "You're not telling me anything people haven't tried to hurt me with before - and it doesn't work. If you're trying to insult me, you'll have to get more creative than that! Maybe try mocking my hair," she says, tossing it - it's long and currently dyed, striking ombre shading from her natural brown to vivid red. "At least that means something to me - I work to keep it this way!"

(Mujina's hair is the same as Hibari's, though freshly dyed, but alas, the mask makes it impossible to put two and two together - what sticks in the mind about Mujina's is that her hair is deliberately, artificially striking, an act of rebellion against what's considered 'normal'.)

"And maybe I'm a little heavy," she says, just a hair defensive - she's still slightly nettled even if she's pretty good at covering it, because she's heard it so many times in her life from people trying to just be a little cruel, or even just because she stands out a bit. "But at least I authentically enjoy *something*. Cooking is a gift you can share with people and enjoy together, and cooking *for* someone can be a way to connect with them! I wouldn't expect you to understand. You don't seem to enjoy anything or anyone - you're always reaching for something but you're never happy when you get it, and you don't care about making a connection. Honestly, I pity you!"

The Cognitive Ichika runs, and Hibari is grateful - she couldn't bring herself to hit her, even if she knew perfectly well that it wasn't *actually* Ichika - the real Ichika is over there, after all. Better for her to flee than to stay -

But Eiji calls for his dad, and Hibari gets goosebumps.

If Eiji reminded her of someone else before - someone who Hibari rarely speaks about, but Ichika at least knows - the resemblance is stronger now. He really does lean on his untouchable parent, with the contacts. They can't touch him. They can't *touch* him!

No! Mujina shouts in her own mind. Calm down!

And it's in that state of mind that she is assaulted by the cognitive force of the Japanese legal system... something that Hibari has familiarity with. This, too, is a strong resemblance - but this time she can fight back in her own way, instead of being forced to suffer and take it. It makes her feel stronger rather than weaker, even if the blast knocks her back several yards, one arm raised to cover her face from the blast -

And simultaneously, Ogre heals her and Phoenix empowers her. What was already burning blazes brighter. "Right!" she calls back to the Phantom Thieves; she sounds like she's grinning. Then she turns toward Eiji and his father: "If you thought that was going to convince me to back off - you made one BIG MISTAKE! Once was enough! And you made another one, if you left me free because you thought I was weak!"

Mujina reaches up - and yanks off her mask, something that takes a surge of strength. Blue flame burns where she pulled it away. "Danzaburou!" she calls again, her Persona reappearing as she looks through the burning light: "Show everyone our power!"

A surging, pulsing wave of telekinetic power wraps around both Eiji and his ring, rippling with unearthly colours as the energy twists in eye-watering ways. But that's not all Hibari is doing, because Danzaburou remains present, gathering a paler energy on his gunbai - a little signaling fan - before snapping it at Eiji himself.

Blue-white energy whirls around him, spiraling faster and faster before *bursting* in a chaotic eruption. Lesser Shadows simply disintegrate under it; in Eiji's case, he'll probably withstand it, but the wild magic penetrates his Shadowy body, weakening him.

And simultaneously, a rippling sphere of pink flies directly toward the Patriarch before the stunning ball flattens against the wall and vanishes in a crackle of mental energy. Well, they can't all be winners.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Elec skill Mapsi on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Almighty skill Mystery Megido on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Joker says that the help is appreciated, and Shinobu nods.

"Glad to hear it. Same to you." She replies.

Eiji, though... He's surprisingly fast, despite how big he is... Shinobu frowns with a 'tsk' - and then he calls her 'babe', and she has to hold back a spike of anger.

"And what lesson's that, that I should just let you do what you want? Nah. To hell with that." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head.

And after further attacks, Eiji calls from help - and a man appears. A cognition of his father...? He sends papers flying out. At the Phantom Thieves - and at her and some of the adults, as well.

"'Pathetic'? This ain't just boys being boys, old man. Your son's done some serious crimes, and now they're catching up to him." Shinobu retorts. Eiji sneers, and Shinobu frowns. She really wants to wipe that smirk off his face... She rushes forward again, staff at the ready, and swings -

- and her staff strikes an invisible surface, bouncing back. She swings again - and the same thing happens.

"The hell...?" She mutters. ...It takes a second for her to register what happened. His father... "...You think he's untouchable, huh? What a big man, hiding behind dear ol' dad... Hiding from consequences. I bet you go crying to daddy if you so much as stub your toe, don't you? Gonna slap a restraining order on the table next?"

She can't hit him, but that doesn't mean she can't ''goad'' him, and he's riled her up enough with his words that she doesn't feel bad about it. It might not have any effect, but it makes her ''feel'' better about her current situation.

"The rest of you... give 'im hell for us, yeah?" Shinobu calls out. Right now, though, there's not much more ''she'' can do but pace tensely like an animal caught in an enclosure, staff at the ready...

But there's still things they can do, even barred from attacking him directly - Ogre proves that, as Momiji calls upon healing light. The green radiance eases her wounds and Shinobu rolls her shoulders.

"Thanks, Ogre." Shinobu nods her way. What can ''she'' do...? ...Well, there's one thing she hasn't tried.

"Lachesis... Make sure nothing too bad happens to them, alright?" Shinobu requests. Lachesis appears again, and briefly inclines her head. Her attention turns, then, to Shinobu's allies. Her staff is leveled, framing some of them one after the other - Skull, Mujina, Vesper, and Katsuya. It's the same gesture for that aura that induces fragility - but in the moment, it instead provides protection from harm.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Protected Fate on Ryuji Sakamoto, Hibari Aoki, Julian Marlowe,
and Katsuya Suou!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
While it's still on her mind, she snaps her fingers and points at Phoenix. She's smiling brightly ... but there's an air of menace behind it that Phoenix may recognize. "You and me should have a talk after this." They've got some explaining to do. Little does Tamaki know the true situation, however ...

Joker's use of multiple Personas doesn't go unnoticed by Tamaki either. ''So it's not limited to that girl from the other night ...'' she thinks, meaning Kanae.

Tamaki's defiant smirk widens to a toothy grin as Eiji's Shadow shudders at her earlier words. ''That'' landed. "You may yet prove clever and hardy enough to endure the trials placed before you, but ... I have a very good feeling that you'll be found ''wanting''."

Just as Tamaki and Arianrhod level their swords in unison towards Eiji as an impending Hama's column of light begins to glow underneath the Shadow's feet ... The Patriarch responds to his son's summons and places a wall between them. As Hama's light dissipates, a deeply frustrated scowl forms on Tamaki's face. As much as she wants to join in the beatdown, it looks like she won't get in any blows, herself.

Tamaki looks to one of the women trapped behind the barrier with her. That mask and that crow ... and her earlier proximity to Katsuya. She had an inkling before, but being this up-close now lets her confirm that her earlier silent assessment was correct. Tamaki narrows her eyes and gives Umie a nod of her own in recognition, but avoids any mention of her out loud.

These are the limits of working within the system as she does. Even as a private investigator and not a proper member of law enforcement, the extra room to maneuver and the greater access to information still does require her to comply with the law, lest she ruin her own career prospects. Tamaki finds her own path forward barred, preventing any use of the talents she had learned at a much younger age during a much simpler time when she could barrel through everything trusting in only herself and her partner.

No, this predicament demands a shift in her own thinking. She's not out of the game entirely, she's just relegated to support. It's her turn to trust others instead of herself. "Inaba-san, Suou-san ... give him hell for us."

Tamaki's eyes widen as she realizes that their defenses have been compromised. "Brace yourselves!"

Arianrhod holds her broadsword in front of her and spins it around, leaving behind the afterimage of the moon, turning through its various phases, surrounded by several stars. With each revolution, new stars form and others burn out, but the silver wheel remains. More afterimages appear in front of Masao, the masked Umie, and the distant Skull, who
seems like he's incredibly close to his limit,' then they dissolve, invigorating their senses with the alertness that comes from a good night's rest, leaving them better able to handle the worst trials of the day to come.
</poem>

AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up added! Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Silver Wheel on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Umie Akabane, and
Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Defense: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Masao Inaba can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Katsuya Suou can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Your childhood friend has finally gotten sick of being a doormat, Tsubasa-kun. Can you blame her? You sat in those interminably long student council meetings where nothing happened. You had those boring meetings with faculty. She's sick of people screwing around! "That's right. We're not letting him walk away to hurt anyone else."

"Joker gets a thumbs up in return to his thanks. It's what she's here for. They're all here for it, really: to watch each other's backs and support each other.

"Probably plenty," Queen growls back, angrily. "But you won't ever again after today. No, after today, you're going to be reuniting every person you've 'disappeared' with their families- the ones you haven't killed with your cruelty, that is. The ones you killed... you'll answer for them." Just like she swore Kaneshiro would, in that palace. A place where she was so close to being the sort of victim that Eiji wants Ririka and Tsubasa to be.

A place where those victims her father died trying to save are now.

What she did not expect was the weight of the law to be dropped on her. The law her father, her grandfather, her family pledged to protect. The law that her sister administers, and enforces.

The law that is helpless against men like Kaneshiro, the law that is weaponized against people like Ren, and Ryuji, and Tsubasa.

Even as the Rising Sun of Japan glares at her, and try as she might, she can't evade the searing spotlight of Japan's broken law and twisted system, and it burns against her- but not as badly as she expected, able to avoid the worst of it. It still hurts, though.

"Joker!?" She calls, seeing them thrust behind the bars of a restraining order, and sees so many others. "Skull!? Phoenix, Ogre!?" But it's Fox who seems suddenly enraged. "Fox... Are you okay?"

She wasn't there for what Madarame did to fox, only seeing the aftermath. But it seems to be able to summon a fury she didn't expect- and yet totally supports. "...Got it! We'll shatter him." There's a fire in Queen's own eyes.

She looks to the others here who aren't restrained. Detective Suou, Umie Akabane, someone called Mujina- who must be part of Ogre's backup- and another woman she doesn't know, wielding a sword and Arianhrod. It's only six of them still able to fight.

"...Maybe we don't see eye to eye, but right now- Eiji Kamiya is our mutual enemy. No matter the side of the law we're on, we agree we can't let him get away with this, right? Him, or his family. These people are twisting justice itself toward evil- and we can't let them. If we want to make sure he faces justice, we need that ring off him- and we need Eiji alive and the ring intact." Joker's incapacitated, but maybe, just maybe, Queen has her own form of idealism as she stands up.

"...Your dad and his connections, they're that NWO, right? Let me guess, the Furudate guy you planned to sell to is one of them, too? Sloppy. You left a trail to that father of yours, didn't you."

And Makoto shoots a glare at the Patriarch. "And you! You call yourself a father, acting like that?" Makoto steps forward, and one might think it was calm if not for the ground cracking underneath her. "My father... he believed in the law. He fought for it. He died for it, trying to stop wannabe gangsters like your pathetic son from doing exactly what he's doing. He died trying to save people- but all you'll do to protect your son is a half assed job. You're too much of a coward to take a blow for anyone else- let alone die for your family."

Queen's cruel grin returns, as she glares towards Eiji again. "How does it feel, 'Kamiya-chan', knowing that your dad won't lift a finger to stop us breaking your ugly face- He'll just try to get rid of you once you tell us everything about him and his friends. We can extract a confession, right here, right now! Johanna!" That sharpness in her eyes looks like it could cut- as does the sudden aura coming off her Persona. She's fully intent on following through, and Johanna seems to convey her intent as threat.

Her persona's engine roars, and Makoto goes full speed. streaks of nuclear fire trailing in the air behind Johanna as she leaves the ground- Queen is planning not only to shatter that ice as Fox asks, but a burst of nuclear flame emits behind her midair- she's going for his hand, and the Ring of Eternal Bondage attached to it. If she can grab onto the ring, she can gun Johanna's enginje and maybe rip it off. If it breaks and tears off Eiji's finger in the process, that's fine. That's more than fine, actually.

The bastard doesn't deserve to wear a wedding ring, let alone that one.
</poem>

AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Shock Noise! Elec_Break applied to Penguin Sniper!

AS: Tandem! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Full Throttle on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 127 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Sublime Cut.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 80 Elec damage from Hibari Aoki's Mapsi. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 93 Almighty damage from Hibari Aoki's Mystery Megido.
AS: Spd_Dn added!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi's not sure who the Joker Killer is. "Messed up rumor thing. I'll explain later." ''So'' not enough time right now. Teaming up, though. "Yeah, looks that way. ... I'm backing Ogre up on this."

Why that arrangement? Well,it's what her sister wanted.

It's fine.

But Ririka tenses as something shifts within Hitomi, and she looks to her fellow SEES member. She recalls what Hitomi said in the elevator ride the other night. She can't just ''slap'' her, but... "Hey. Mandai-san. I got your back, okay?"

Queen remarks that you don't go after someone's family. "What she said!" seconds Ririka. Katsuya reacts to the idea of her being sold off. "Don't worry--there's not gonna ''be'' any wedding for this sicko."

Ririka scowls as Eiji calls her imouto-chan. ''Again''. "Hey, fuck off, creep! I'm not your imouto-chan or anything else!"

The first time she went into Eiji's palace with everyone, through the front door, she heard how Shadow Eiji talked down to others, and more importantly, what he talked down to them ''for'', like Myunghon and Shinobu. that cuts personally, though there's only two people who know why. (And she doesn't know one of them is here, in a mask.)

So when she hears him make that insinuation to Phoenix, of them being a girl deep down, no matter what, even though she doesn't know who's under that mask it still chafes. "Hey! That's for them to decide, not anybody else!"

But she tenses as she senses the cognition of Eiji's father approaching. He does something so the Phantoms can't touch him--and then he offers a ''bribe'' to Katsuya. "If they've got any dirty laundry it's 'cause ''you'' helped them make it! Is that what you did last time, so they won't even look into what your sicko son did to my sister!?"

But Joker has a retort to destroying the ring, and Ririka shoots him a glance. "What, you're just gonna let him use that ''thing'' on us again!?" Phoenix pitches in, too, and Ririka glances at them. "Hey, I know what my senses are telling me. I can ''hear'' that damn thing trying to whisper bullshit into our minds as we argue about it!"

But the Shadow-- that one she can agree with. "Right--"

She looks to Hitomi. "Mandai-san--if you kill the Shadow you'll kill the real guy. We can't do that."

And while she's distracted arguing with Joker, Eiji comes right up to her to backhand her, catching her by surprise and sending her reeling. She drops to a knee, bringing the back of her hand up to press at the spot where he hit. "Ngh!"

Joker calls upno another Persona to send energy through her, and she takes a deep, stabilizing breath as she feels power flow into her. "Thanks."

She glances up at Ogre, as she cautions about getting too mad. "... you're one to talk," is her retort. Ogre was the one that flew off the handle the first time, but... to be fare, she'd beaten Ririka to it by a matter of moments. "But point taken." But with Momiji's witchlight she feels steadier still, pushing herself to her feet as she offers a nod. "Thanks, Ogre."

But Eiji asked if she had anything else to say, and Ririka just stares at him before a slow grin spreads across her face. "Yeah. What kind of a ''man'' calls their ~daddy~ to do their dirty work for them, huh? You're kind of pathetic, you know that?"

She shoves her Evoker into its holster, gripping the katana in both hands. She charges forward, going for a low attack first--and then using the momentum of the first attack to raise her katana and bring it down for a second strike.

And then she darts back. "Magnara!" she shouts, and Amphion is already strumming his lyre, ripping another giant boulder from the ground to drop it right on Eiji's head.
</poem>

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! Ririka Kawase has used the Slash skill Ni-Dan Waza on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
As the fireworks of Tyche finish their celebration, there are some afterimages. Common for fireworks, really. The light's intense on a dark night, and if you watch you can often see some lingering smoke trails, hanging like a fading ghost in the air. So the lingering sprinklings of gold and blue and green flame are just that: Ghosts.

Cognitive echoes.

Hitomi exhales afterwards. Her focus stays on the Shadow Eiji, perhaps to the neglect of Ririka, and she bites on her thumb again as the Shadow screams. But then Ririka's telling her something important. "Oh," Hitomi answers Ririka, her tone of voice different. Her eyes squeeze shit in a way that suggests she's smiling and she's just not been able to really show it while engaging in a nervous tic.

"Got it~ I know just the thing, don't worry!" And with that, Hitomi straightens up, returning her gaze to the

"'If I lose his son,' 'not again,' 'you dare,' and then you call for your father, huh?" Hitomi continues, and her voice is animated and somehow oddly gentle. It's almost *too* gentle, pitch-perfect coaxing femininity, as if she's about to wipe his forehead with a wet cloth and make him tea. Her eyes turn to the side.

"Oh... and Father actually came, too. It was that serious... Are you surprised, or did you know it was bad enough that he'd want to help?" Hitomi's eyes rest on the Patriarch as papers roll outwards. Eiji proclaims triumph, and Hitomi's lips purse into a pout.

"Still, hiding behind your father's powers... That's not very cool or manly, is it, Kamiya-san?" Hitomi continues. Ririka may have cause to be concerned at this point. Though she has bigger problems, because Eiji's Shadow is coming towards them. Towards her. Hitomi isn't close enough to get in the way, and given that she's already standing in a less than perfectly OK way, that might be for the better.

Others put faith into her. Others she doesn't know. That person with the Phantom Thieves -- Hitomi finds her head turning and for a moment her eyes cross over those of Joker as they call upon Cait Sith. Enthusiasm rolls through her. Hitomi breathes outwards as the pain fades, and as that capering gleeful feeling in the back of her mind grows stronger.

Hitomi winks at Joker. It makes a tiny chiming sound.

Unfortunately, while this is happening, Shadow Eiji strikes Ririka. Hitomi's eyes flick to the side. Alright, she thinks with a thrill: I'll have to use those cartridges! Hitomi thrusts a hand into her hip pocket...

... except that where most of SEES has an Evoker there, Hitomi has a small pouch which holds, at the moment, five red sharp-edged casino dice and one of the cartridges provided to them. Hitomi grasps the cartridge and a moment later she twists her fingers a little accidentally and feels the seam separate.

Oh god, thinks Hitomi, even if that greased-snake feeling exults in this. What horrible luck! She smiles at nothing in particular, even as the Ogre calls on Momiji and places her faith in her - in Hitomi Mandai. She smiles back, and she turns, and perhaps the light seems to have gotten darker because Hitomi is standing directly behind Shadow Eiji, with only a red gleam behind her glasses. Then a small slash of dark ivory as she smiles. "Excuse me, Kamiya-san~. Sorry to interrupt!"

That same treacley voice keeps speaking. "You're really getting yourself into a pinch, huh? I guess maybe it wouldn't be that macho of you to admit it... but you're calling in your father like this. It's getting down to the wire, huh? Well... I'm not doing so great myself. I suppose it's not your business, but Kawase there's an important person to me, you know? But fair's fair, given your big impressive Palace. I think there's a way you can regain the initative. What do you say?"

And Hitomi's hand comes up, holding a pair of those curiously wet dice, laying in the palm of her hand.

"I'll take even and you'll take odds... that's fair, right? Let's put it all on the line," she says, starting to rattle them together.

"A man's got courage, right?" The sweetness is turning into razors.

"You've got the guts, right?" The rattling gets louder, the dice shaken in Hitomi's loosely-cupped hand.

"You're definitely going to win, right?" They're glowing enough to put faint light through the gaps in Hitomi's fingers.

"You're not afraid... right?"

The dice in her hand are like thundering boulders smashing down a slope for a moment.

"This is the best part."

Hitomi flings the dice down on the ground, hard, so that they bounce back up. Because whatever weird little hang up in her head makes it happen, she knows with an iron-clad certainty comparable to 'the sun coming up in the east' that it doesn't *count* if you don't bounce them off of something.

Which means, whatever number they rolled in the purportedly fair game Hitomi sketched out a moment ago - whether SHE lost or HE lost (which, perhaps, encapsulates Eiji's approach to romance and forming a relationship) - they're going to

explode.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill You're Burning for Me on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 123 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Full Throttle. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 51 Slash damage from Ririka Kawase's Ni-Dan Waza. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 51 Slash damage from Ririka Kawase's Ni-Dan Waza. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 159 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 136 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's You're Burning for Me.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>That spear - that instrument of destruction, that routed armies and slayed a prince in grief-stricken rage - was snapped. Broken apart, splintered, and cast aside. It was only a construct of the cognitive realm, and even if there was no way to retrieve it, Achilles was not bereft of options. Such thoughts tried to grace Hyousuke's mind, and instil in him a sense of calm and rationality. They did nothing. So clouded was his mind with rage that the very fundamentals of combat in the supernatural realm seemed to escape him. All he knew was that Eiji had shrugged off his blow, destroyed his weapon, and would need to pay for his transgressions in blood.

Eiji was not the only one to flash his fangs. Though hidden by the mask, Hyousuke bared his own teeth in a brutal snarl. His lips curled and creased, his brow tightened, and that growling that shook his throat grew ever louder. He was a savage, feral, thing, gnashing and threatening to bite. His had not been an idle threat. Were his mask to be removed, Hyousuke might well have clambered to Eiji's throat, if it brought with it the promise of tearing him into bloody chunks. But before he could even think to lash out once more, the battlefield changed once again.

He knew the cognitive Ichika was not real. A short glance over was enough to make sure of that fact. He could see Ogre fighting, and even his rage-addled mind knew that the thing wearing her face was not real. But he couldn't stop a sense of sadness - fleeting as it was - from inflicting itself upon him when she ran. Cognition or not, Ichika was his friend, and to see her in such a state stunned him out of his rage, if only for a moment. To hear how Vesper spoke of her too, while he could only bellow out in animalistic rage, hammering away until his fists were bloody and his vision red... He shook his head. There would be time to think on such things later. He could address his grief, his confusion, and any lingering sadness once the day was won. But his rage? That, he held onto. He had great need of it.

The sight of Ichika might have dulled Hyousuke's anger, but when Eiji's father strode onto the scene, it burnt just as bright and hot as before. Even before the man opened his mouth, he could feel something was wrong. Stomach in knots, hair standing on end, and jaw tense, he was the very picture of a hound on alert. The fact that he managed to restrain himself enough to keep from lashing out in anger was nothing short of a miracle, but that miracle was extremely short-lived once he saw how callously Eiji attacked the others gathered - and how they could not retaliate. Not just Ogre, not just Phoenix, but their allies too. Eiji could attack with impunity. Eiji could strike them down, while he stood there powerless.

For the briefest of moments, a memory invaded his mind, piercing through the fog like a spear. He felt the water rushing to his lungs, he saw the red smeared across a pillar, he felt the despair at being so utterly helpless, he felt...
Rage.
Everything else was shut out. It was all superfluous. The enemy had to be defeated, and his friends had to live through it. That was all that mattered. Even through the mask, one might have felt that furious resolve within him, to put down his enemy no matter what it cost him. Ogre in particular, perhaps.

He turned quickly to face her, and gave a wordless nod. Again, no words needed to be exchanged. He knew what she had done, and he was grateful for it, but there was no hiding the fire that raged in his veins, and turned him into some nigh-mindless beast. As quickly as he had faced Ogre, he snapped his head around, and bolted towards Eiji. But it was not him that collided with the Shadow taunting his allies, and striking at his friends. It was the general. An armoured behemoth of a man, wreathed in unyielding metal, brought his sword down with tremendous force. The blow was not a precise strike against the heart, nor a masterful stroke of his shield. It was a wild and frenzied arc downwards, one seeking to cleave flesh from bone - even if it meant carving through a solid block of ice in the process.

"COWARD!" He shouted. It was an accusation as much as it was an insult, with Hyousuke aiming to taunt Eiji into focussing on him, and him alone. "Gotta get daddy in here to clean up after you shit yourself, do you? Can't do anything without him throwing his fucking weight around?! Then I hope he's got a whole lot of fucking paper, because none of us are gonna stop until you're a RED FUCKING SMEAR ON THE GROUND!" He hefted his fist upwards, then struck his fist against the ice, the blow coming down with the force of a forge hammer. He ignored the pain that rippled through his arm in response - his job was not yet done. "You think I give a shit if I go down here?! Huh?! A great, guttural, roar poured from his throat, and his fist struck out again.

"You, your piece of shit father, every one of your asshole friends... I'll drag you all to hell with me if I have to!" He and Achilles prepared for another strike, but before the blows could land, he spotted Queen in the corner of his eye. Enraged though he was, even Hyousuke wasn't foolish enough to stand there and take it. He darted back, and watched her unleash hell upon their foe, smiling all the while.
"You don't know a goddamn thing about my friends. About what they want, who they are, any-fucking-thing! And you think you can just come back and take whatever the hell you want from them?! They're better than you ever were! Don't you EVER fucking speak about them like that!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Slash skill Fleshrend on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up added! Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Shift! Suzume Fukura can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
What kind of gentleman crashes a wedding indeed? Vesper's response comes readily, with the same infuriating calm as any other. "The kind of gentleman who refuses to let vows be spoken under false pretenses. Was I mistaken in thinking that 'speak now or forever hold your peace' was an invitation?"

As much as he seems at home in battles of wits, the effect when he tries to reason with the Ichika Cognition is... not quite the one Vesper was aiming for. "Ichika, wait!" he finds himself saying, momentarily overpowered by his genuine wish to help her with her problems. It's not unlike how the first counseling session with Tsubasa went.

Only then will it come to mind that this is only a Cognition. It should be considered a good thing for her to be removed as a factor from the battle, regardless of the means.... right? The thought still doesn't sit quite right with him. In the end, he's taking the practical view of matters again. 'It's good enough as long as the problem at hand is solved', is it...? He would have been heartened by the real Ichika's words, spoken much closer by than he knows.

But Eiji's assistance doesn't end there. If anything, it becomes that much worse. It only takes one look at that man, the father, for Vesper to understand instinctively the power that he represents. Everything about his bearing commands respect... just like That Man.

In spite of himself, he freezes up entirely. He can't even think before the Restraining Order hits, cementing what deep down he already knew. This is a man that he cannot touch, cannot oppose.

''There will be times when you have to recognize your own weakness. But remember this. Those who have power will always have one fear. The fear of losing that power.''

...That's right. What he cannot oppose, he can still defy. With that realization, Vesper straightens, adjusting the tie of his own immaculate suit, and calmly corrects the older man, "...On the contrary. It's quite heartening to me to see that there are some adults who will not stand idly by, while injustice is happening right in front of them."

He glances over to the others who were called out. He's not exceptionally familiar with Shinobu, and has not seen Masao and Tamaki at all, so it's only natural that his gaze lingers on Umie, who he addresses a final nod to. But his words are meant for all of them in equal measure.

"Take heart, and carry on. This will not break you. And what does not break you makes you stronger. Isn't that right, Raffles?"

In response, the yellow light shining within the Persona's iron mask grows brighter. Fancy cane and savage bat are crossed in front, and a purple light cascades across each of the other adults that Vesper was grouped in with, offering protection and acuity. Though they might not be able to act now, they will not fall, if he has anything to say about it.

With that, he directs his attention back to the Patriarch. Piercing blue eyes behind the mask meet his gaze, only displaying the strength he was once taught to display at times such as this.

"You, however, have chosen to try and hide the clearly visible crimes being committed, right under your nose. But do you truly believe a few pieces of paper will still be enough to protect your son now? Why don't you ask him how many pieces of paper exist that prove the connection to his crimes... and where all those papers are now?"

He knows that evidence of Eiji Kamiya's crimes has been found. Maybe this man has the power to make it all go away. But such things do add up, and have a way of inviting incriminating fingers to point in a different direction. At what point will it become too much?

"...I know you. I was going to BE you, once. So I know exactly what the one and only logical response would be, if my son were to dig a hole this deep for himself."

"Cut him loose. Before he drags me down with him."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Twilight Revelation on Masao Inaba, Tamaki Uchida, Shinobu
Shimizu, and Umie Akabane!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added! Eclipse, Spd_Dn, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Slash damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Fleshrend. Critical Hit!
AS: Def_Dn added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 34 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Resist!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie's way of attacking and battle strategy has been honed over several years. Experienced, calm, and hardy, she can have a cool head about things, and formulate a plan to weather through many situations.

The problem comes in that she's learned from and fought with demons, all while surviving; selfish aliies and enemies lend themselves to similar styles and ways of thinking. The goal was to hide and survive; a helped demon may help you, but would just as likely kick you the moment your back was turned.

Put Umie Akabane in a cage with no lock to pick or weak point to focus on, and she'll scrape at the edges trying to make one herself. The idea to remain calm flies out the window.

(Such is the battle plan of a coward named Umie Akabane.)

She can't ignore it now when violence is done in front of her, in more ways than one: many others are likewise caged in, Joker and Skull get thrashed without being able to fight back, and Katsuya is presented with suitcase.

"Katsuya-san...."

That's where it starts, right? Finding out someone you know is now a Persona User, and dumbly staring at them in the Triple 7 as you display all that knowledge you've accrued in those years of pointless squabbles and fighting and ask,

'What's a Persona?'

Red nails point towards Katsuya, expression beginning to calm in open faith in Katsuya's resolve, helped along with Tamaki's own balm.

'What does it mean, when several groups of Persona Users appear? What's around the corner?'

A question she formed from talking to Tamaki, that she posed to Fox.

And then, a nod back towards Vesper and his wisdom, as she passes back what was given: wisdom from someone who truly knows what it means to be on their own, rather than hide and pretend.

It wasn't until recently that Umie even thought about thinking about what it meant to help other people, rather than just survive.

Little thoughts like those are what brought new possibilities.

"Badb."

The Badb grows with Umie, becoming not just a tool for survival and desperation, but a means to push -- sometimes forcefully -- the wish to believe in what can lie at the end.

But until then, let there be a Bloody Revolution.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Recovery skill Bloody Revolution on Katsuya Suou, Umie Akabane, Julian Marlowe,
and Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 48 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Def_Up, Eclipse, Regen, Spd_Dn, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Def_Up, Regen, and Spd_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Don't kill the Shadow. That's right. Because Akechi had told him himself what happens then. So even the treasure being damaged could cause unforeseen consequences. That, Katsuya makes careful note of: even a criminal shouldn't have their mind destroyed. Or die, before they face justice, if such is possible.

Wait.

It takes Katsuya a moment to understand what Phoenix is putting down. He shakes his head, as if to dispel the notion that he's entirely on 'their' side. "Wait-- no, I do not mean to say--" he starts to protest, "A confession produced by altering their psyche is not-- I mean only to suggest the option in his mind!" Is that really that much of a difference, though?

And, for that matter, just what does he think that he's attempting right now, fighting the Ruler alongside everyone else? ...well, given the sort of person Eiji Kamiya appears to be, perhaps it can't be helped...

As Queen says, he's their mutual enemy right now. "...I agree," he says at last, nodding at her summary of the situation. "There are... too many lives at stake from his actions!" The more they can get him to talk about freely, the more people they can save. He just wishes it didn't come at such a high cost.

Tamaki, taking into consideration Umie's presence with Katsuya and who Katsuya has been known to know herself, puts two and two together: as expected of a private investigator. If he knew, he'd be impressed.

The cognition of Ichika Kawase flees, but furious, the Ruler has summoned another. His father. "He's called upon his... I see, so that's why..." remarks Katsuya, the pieces of how Eiji has managed to accomplish so much in spite of his young age made quite plain. Even here -- especially here -- the extrajudicial authority the elder Kamiya commands holds sway. Of course, his son relies on his father so much in real life, so naturally...
Now, though, is not the time for such considerations.

Katsuya, on the defensive, finds that no such attack is lobbed his way. Rather, while he's been spared the bulk of the effects the cognition can bring to the fore (unlike Tamaki), he finds himself approached by the mental projection with a very... different sort of offer.

The money, of course, isn't real. But that's not the thing that Katsuya latches onto first and foremost. Instead, visibly affronted, he shakes his head vehemently. "Wh-what do you take me for? Are you trying to get me to look the other way?! This is bribery! This is clearly illegal!!" he shouts back. "Do what you will, but I refuse!" ...one of these days, Akechi's lesson on cognitions and their 'reality' will actually sink in.

Ririka chimes in and, remembering what Akechi had said about what had happened to Ichika afterwards, Katsuya's offense at being so blatantly bribed takes on a different cast. "Turning their eye from an attack on a girl in exchange for money was inexcusable... but so is using one's influence in society to encourage them to do it in the first place!" he declares.

As Tamaki had said, give him hell.

Power, bestowed upon him through Joker's own kitty-cat Persona (in the moment there's no space for anything more than the recognition of the Persona's form), flows potent within him. Power is quickly joined with protection: Lachesis bestows her benediction upon him, perhaps shielding him from whatever trickery the Ruler maintains up his sleeve.

Chance, itself, twists in his favor. He's been put on the spot. With others unable to act, he must...

An idea comes to him.

"This is over! You won't be able to twist society to grant you your sick desires any longer, Eiji Kamiya! Persona!"

What he's actually done is lift his firearm and direct it at the Ruler. What he hasn't done is pull the trigger.
Not yet.

Helios, as if it had erupted from the barrel of his gun, begins to rocket towards 'Sitri', wreathed in flame. A report of the gun follows but scarcely a moment later: a single bullet follows after the blazing trail of his own Persona.
</poem>

AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Tandem! Katsuya Suou has used the Fire skill Midnight Sun on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 46 HP from Regen! Psych removed!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 175 Fire damage from Katsuya Suou's Midnight Sun.
AS: You now have a trigger set for 15% damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper has set a trigger!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji looks at Mujina as she calls him uncreative, talks about how much she enjoys cooking- is he going to get creative with his insults!?

"Enjoys it a little too much, if you ask me." Nope. He is not. "You? Pity me? Ahahaha-! Today's my wedding day, fatso. With an attitude like that, there ain't no man who would ever marry you."

Ririka meanwhile stands up to him, and he responds by simply arcing a back hand at her, right as the Magnara slams into his jaw with a crack.

"Fucking- bitch! You only wish your Daddy had half the clout mine did! Maybe if he did, your brother would ''still be alive''."

The hell??? What does he MEAN by that!?

The helplessness of that day, where the system betrayed Ren Amamiya in favor of a corrupt man. It's there again. Struggle as he might, he can feel it there, like the bars of his cell.

Is this the point where his rehabilitation will end?

Phoenix shouts at the Patriarch, and he looks at them as he might a speck on his suit, ready to brush off, "And now you never will again. I always knew that him marrying her was a terrible idea... look at the people she associates with."

'Look at you.' He might have said.

'Even... they're kids, right?'

"Hardly. They're delinquents. Thugs. A few trivial transactions and they'll be tried as adults. They'll enter the system- and never see the light of day again."

'This ain't just boys being boys, old man. Your son's done some serious crimes.'

"You seem to be under the impression I care." He tells her, bluntly, "It's a father's duty to protect and provide for his son, even when he is foolish, or loses his temper in some trivial argument."

But Eiji hears something that gives him pause, from Ogre. "Eh?" And his head turns to look right at Skull. Then back at Ichika, "Very funny- I know very well you ain't a rezubian. And that guy...?" He looks dismissive at first, but then a thought overtakes him. As a savage fury clouds his eyes right as he slowly stalks up to Skull again, "I hear her right? You trying to steal MY bride?"

His hand lowers, as if to reach around Skull, right as Fox opens up a gash with his blade at that moment, and ice sprouts from his wound. Clutching his wrist, he roars in pain and abandons that action, rearing up in agony.

The Kamiya Patriarch gives Fox, a look that seems- a little bored, "Abandon him? Even if my son often fails to meet expectations. He is my son. My ''legacy''. Nothing is more important than that."

And there's a coldness in his gaze, as he rejects even Fox's argument. And he may realize, to his shock, that if this cognition is an accurate depiction?

Eiji is more valued by his own Father, than he was by Madarame.

Whereas Vesper makes an appeal to him being the 'Lord' of the family so to speak, to logic. "And perhaps there would be logic to that if there were a second son, or a third... but he is my only child, my heir. Cut him loose? I'd sooner sever my own hand."

Bashing his wrist against the ground to try and shatter the ice, Masao asks a question and- "A firefighter, or some stupid shit. What's it fucking matter?" He levels his gaze on him, snarling, "He set me straight. I'm the man I am today because of him."

The Patriarch scoffs at Queen's evaluation, "Little girl, you're playing with fire, invoking that organization so casually." Which, might as well be an admission that Eiji at least knows who the NWO are. However, has her bluff done anything? Has it shaken his idea of his father's untouchability?

The heat of her passion in regards to her father, causes him to look at Queen, "So what you're telling me is that he failed at the most basic duty of being a father, preparing his daughter for her future role as a wife and mother... if his daughter is here, dressed like that."

Johanna rockets towards Eiji at full speed, trailing Nuclear Fire, right as Hyousuke leaps, with his bellowing rage, the fist slams in, right as the ice burns him. In the aftermath, his fur is burned away, ichor dripping from the wound, "BITCH! Who cares if I was careless or not!? Enough money and all our problems GO AWAY!"

Right as he steps back and bats away Hyousuke's chain, once, twice with his uninjured things, "You don't even know what hell IS! I'm gonna show you that it's fucking closer than you think!"

Which is when Hitomi demands his attention, and he furrows his brow at her, "What, you think you're some kind of gambler? Chicks are supposed to blow on the dice, not roll 'em themselves. But sure Babe, you wanna challenge me-? Odds. If it comes up odds, your life belongs to me."

He watches her hands, as the dice grow louder and louder, even as she flings them down, and his eyes follow them. "Heh looks like it came up-"

And then the ground around him explodes.

"BITCH!" He howls, as the smoke dissipates to show his fur now has many many more spots - scorch marks.

Katsuya however refuses the bribe, "Ah. You're that type- truly you must be new to these parts. Every man has his price Officer." As he then takes out another stack of bills, "What's yours?"

A single bullet, a blazing trail, a spoken resolution. The man puts the money away. "Regrettable. A short career it is."

And Sitri - Eiji, howls as he's wreathed in flame.

Unfortunately, the Kamiya Patriarch has now turned this into a battle of attrition. If no one can attack him, and he's whittling down who can attack the Ruler, what can be done?

"You're running out of time." The cognition of the man observes. "The truth is though, the moment you came after my family, on the day of my son's wedding- you had none left to begin with."

The man says, as he throws out more of those papers each one taking form in front of everyone that it hadn't yet affected. In a matter of seconds - nobody will be able to do a single thing to harm Eiji.

Which means his victory is assured.

"I assume you can take care of things from here."

The man turns, as if to just walk away and leave his son to 'clean up this mess' on his own.

Goro Akechi has arrived from Shujin Academy - Classroom Building.
GRID: Goro Akechi has joined Katsuya Suou.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
And at the moment he turns, is the same moment there's a bright flash of a blue laser beam from the rafters, as a smoking hole appears in the Kamiya Patriarch's chest. The Cognition of the Man stares at it as if stunned.

"Who How!?"

A shaking hand touches the hole, before the Cognition falls over on the floor, instantly dissolving into nothing. While Eiji screams in disbelief and rage at the sight of his father, even a cognition of him, dying in front of him.

"OTOU-SAMAAAAAA!"

"Sorry I'm late, Sergeant Suou." Follow the Trajectory, and you'll see a Princely figure standing in the rafters, leaning against one with his left, with a ray gun extended with his right. "But that should rather even the odds, don't you think?"

Goro Akechi says, with a certain gravity despite the underlying smugness. "I heard your own wedding party spreading the rumor that his only fear was an attack by an unseen enemy." He casually gesticulates with his gun. "I surmised that an ambush like this would be enough to qualify."

Eiji's eyes narrow into slits, as his whole body shakes, trembling with a fury, as power flares up all around him, "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"

And as he looks to make good on that threat, everyone will realize that the barriers - the invisible walls are gone.

And the Ruler is quite distracted.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
The wall in front of Ogre... Breaks. And that man--that odious man, who once told her to 'take good care' of his son--

The smoking hole in the Patriarch's chest says why. "...So you still helped us out, huh?" Ogre wonders of Akechi. "...Well, thanks."

Then she ''charges'', stowing her rifle and pulling her shield. Ogre's high-tech shoes thud against the chapel flooors; the thorns of her armor cut through the air. Her long, bleached hair streams behind her like a cloak. And when she gets there--

"Fuck...!" Her shield moves. She swings it not like a shield but like a ''chair'', ''slamming'' it up into Eiji's face and then, when his hands come up to guard or counterattack, ''swinging'' the edge straight ''down'' for the finger wearing his engagement ring. "OFF!"

The finger ''shears'' off, and the ring flies, glittering in the air as she looks up at Eiji. "We're done. For good."

The ring falls, falls, falls--towards Joker.
</poem>

AS: Ichika Kawase sets off Penguin Sniper's trigger! 765 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji howls as his engagement ring is knocked right off of his now broken hand, shock, panic and desperation overtaking him as he's brought to his knees, clutching his mauled hand.

"We're... we're done?! How could-How could you even say that!? You promised- you promised to be mine! You promised we'd be together forever! Why!?! Why would you do this to me?"

His outrage is a palpable thing as he realizes now for the first time... that there's no outcome where she becomes his bride. No outcome where he gets the family he wants.

"We were going to start a family... ''together''. I-!"

And suddenly, trembling as both of his hands strike the ground, he lets out an animalistic scream. His wings flare out, and suddenly every single enormous diamond his wings are decorated with becomes a missile, shot at them at high speed to try and bludgeon everyone to death.

"CURSE YOU! CURSE ALL OF YOU!"

And then accursed energy erupts beneath all of them trying to overwhelm them with shadowy power. It seems like he simply intends now to overwhelm them all. If he doesn't get what he wants - then... neither do they.

"NONE OF YOU ARE LEAVING THIS PLACE!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Oni's Annulment on Ichika Kawase!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Oni's Annulment.
AS: Atk_Up, Crt_Up, Def_Up, and Spd_Up added! Def_Up, Eclipse, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper spends Limit on Break!

AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Reflect_Phys and Spd_Up removed!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ichika Kawase! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Exhaust!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Katsuya Suou! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hyousuke Suzuki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hitomi Mandai! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Makoto Niijima! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Shinobu Shimizu! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Masao Inaba! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Yusuke Kitagawa! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Tsubasa Seki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hibari Aoki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ririka Kawase! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Julian Marlowe, Hyousuke Suzuki, Hitomi Mandai, and Ririka
Kawase!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Makoto Niijima, Tamaki Uchida, Shinobu Shimizu, and Hibari
Aoki!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Masao Inaba, Yusuke Kitagawa, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Tsubasa
Seki!
AS: Penguin Sniper: Break and Paralyze removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended. It's time for an All-Out Attack!
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ichika Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ichika Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 79 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Umie Akabane can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 22 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Nerve Up! Tamaki Uchida's SP +8!
AS: Block Neutral! Tamaki Uchida takes 12 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Critical Hit! Eclipsed!
AS: Eclipse removed!
AS: Break! Tamaki Uchida can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 34 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 52 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Umie Akabane can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 18 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 55 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 98 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 53 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 18 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 33 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Break! Ren Amamiya can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Weak!
AS: Break! Ren Amamiya can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 110 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 110 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 50 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 13 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Katsuya Suou can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 21 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Penguin Sniper takes 124 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Best! Katsuya Suou takes 14 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 43 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Katsuya Suou can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 14 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Penguin Sniper takes 90 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Makoto Niijima takes 41 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 5 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Makoto Niijima takes 36 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Critical Hit!
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 29 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Dark damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Ryuji Sakamoto can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 16 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Resist!
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 19 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 13 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Eclipsed!
AS: Eclipse removed!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Masao Inaba takes 27 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Weak!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 16 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 23 Dark damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 71 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 30 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 16 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 6 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Resist!
AS: Break! Julian Marlowe can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Ogre and Phoenix both double-take at their Persona-switching. Right--they haven't swapped Personas in front of either of them yet, have they? Arsène is always reliable, but having alternatives is the heart of strategy... After all, that's what lets Joker support their allies who ''can'' still attack while they're bound. Joker gives them both a tight but sincere smile and a nod.

Masao and Fox both have ''things'' to say about the Kamiya patriarch. Joker already knows Fox's trauma, but what's Masao's story? Joker's eyes linger on him for a moment, before Mujina boasts about her hair and draws their eye anew. Her bright red hair ''is'' quite familiar... Must be a popular dye.

Ririka argues about the ring. Her perspective is fully understandable, considering what it's done to all of them already. However, they don't have time to fight about this. "Do you want to be a murderer?" Joker asks bluntly, looking her in the eye. It's a half-bluff--they don't know for sure that's what'll happen, it's only a possibility--but still, they conclude, "If you do, then by all means, destroy it."

Given Hitomi's bloodthirst, that might have not been the ''best'' bluff... Even if Hitomi seems to appreciate the boost to her strength. That tiny chiming sound is actually rather fascinating... How did she do that? ...Focus. Joker shakes their head, then looks from her to Ririka. "You're welcome," they tell both of them.

Then they shoot a look at Vesper--who claims he'd cut ''his'' son off if he were like Eiji. That's... understandable, and yet... "...."

The Cognitive Patriarch dismisses Joker and their friends as a delinquent, a thug--and that's bad enough, but then... even a man as horrible as that, for all that he's merely the perception Eiji has of his own father... he says that he would never abandon his only son.

WHAM. Joker slams a fist into the floor, teeth grit in a broad grimace.

A blue laser cuts through the air then, piercing through the Cognitive Patriarch and reducing him to ash, as cognitions are wont to do when attacked. Joker's eyes widen behind their mask when they realize who shot it.

Think of the devil, and he appears...

...and for all that Joker just thought it'd be even worse for Akechi to appear, they look around wildly for any sign of the Black Mask.

He isn't here. There's no visual sign of him anywhere. Is he hiding that well? He has to be--if he works for that New World Order, surely there's no way he ''wouldn't'' show up to defend him--especially after Akechi just took out Shadow Eiji's biggest protector. For an instant, Joker's seized with the fear that he'll appear to run Akechi through, just like he tried to back in Kobayakawa's Palace--

--but when he stares back at Akechi in fear... nothing like that happens.

Why?

And why is he helping them, when he made it agonizing clear before how he sees The Phantoms' Justice as anything but?

(if he's doing this just to make joker talk to him again they're going to be ''so pissed'')

But there's no getting around this ''without'' talking to him, so: "What are you doing here all of a sudden...?" (Very close to how the Black Mask had in Kaneshiro's Palace, even.) Their gloved hands tighten with anger and suspicion. Ogre might be willing to accept it at face value, but they have to ask, "Why did you help us?"

There won't be time to talk about it either way. Ogre LEAPS at Shadow Eiji, using her shield to SLAM into that frozen finger and shear it off, leaving both it and the ring to fall--towards then. Joker leaps to their feet and dives into a forward roll for it. It's huge and solid gold and diamond, and they already gauged its weight earlier. Catching it thus takes both arms, and pins them in place for a moment.

More diamonds fly as Eiji-Sitri flies into a temper tantrum. Joker can only curl over the Treasure to protect it--they won't let Shadow Eiji take it back again. They're left beaten and battered--but when those diamond missiles have subsided, they're still there, panting in pain.

They glare back up at Akechi for an instant. Then they turn towards Shadow Eiji, holding the Treasure protectively tight until Mona's able to rejoin the party and take it on board again.

"Enough," they intone, switching masks again--back to Ixtab. She rises at their back, hanging in power. "This is your end."

The hanged Persona cries out hoarsely, just before a massive stone of her own falls down to bludgeon the poster boy of the Leopards Eating People's Faces party.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Great Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Sequence Magna on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Landslide on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ren Amamiya: Atk_Up and Def_Up removed!
AS: Ren Amamiya regains 10 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 151 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Great Magnara. Weak!
AS: Panic added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 60 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Sequence Magna. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 103 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Sequence Magna. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 87 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Landslide. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull continues to smirk at Eiji's Shadow, rolling his arm in its socket as Shinobu and Tamakis spells hit him. He is pretty banged up. It really hurt to stand to be honest.

But he isn't going down yet.

Skull walks toward the invisible wall and kicks against it, resting the bent pipe on his shoulder. He looks like exactly the kind of hoodlum who steals your wallet and your girl. Skull is at least guilty of one of those things as he mean mugs Eiji from his "court mandated distance" away. "Tick tock..."

Skull watches as Eiji realizes whats going on with Ichika, Tsubasa, and him and makes a kissy face at Eiji. This smug behavior only grows when Eiji stalks right over to him and tries to get in his face.

"Yeah. Aw, does that bother you, pal? And on your wedding day too." Skull fake pouts real big for Eiji's Shadow.

Spite was about the only thing keeping Ryuji up.

Skull watches as the events start to get real chaotic. Eiji's dad is shot by a sniper. Ichika cuts that large Ring off the hand of Eiji.

In truth, Skull is pretty surprised but he doesn't let it show. Instead he keeps smiling at Eiji's Shadow mourning his fallen father. "Aw, for real?! That seems to be a real bummer for your wedding day, dude." Skull just grins wider and wider, even as dark energy gathers around him. Even as it starts to hurt again, Skull just takes it and starts walking to meet up with Eiji. "Btw, dude...I hope you have a nightmare about this."

Skull lifts pipe, batters up a little, and then lets a nice true swing counter attack Eiji's Shadow's junk.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>The treasure is severed from its owner. Akechi's timely intervention puts a beam of light straight through the Ruler's protection.

All pretense abandoned, Eiji Kamiya throws a mighty tantrum, thrashing around at all of them.

Fox turns to face the oncoming fist, barely scratched by the wave of darkness that lashes out at him.

"No grace. No dignity."

He draws his sword in a flash to meet the flailing strikes.

"All of it an embarrassment to 'manhood'. Goemon: Cut his delusions asunder."

The woodcut ronin rises up once more, and his pipe nigh vanishes with the speed he swings it, as Fox joins his blade to the assault that falls upon what remains of Sitri - until nothing remains but the pathetic husk of the Ruler.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Street Justice on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Atk_Dn added! Bind, Def_Dn, Elec_Break, Exhaust, Panic, and Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 12 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Tandem! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Frigid Wrath on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Yusuke Kitagawa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Flurry Bufu on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Katana Slash on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Katana Combo on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Frigid Wrath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Frigid Wrath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 21 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 10 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 12 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Slash.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Combo.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Combo.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Skull gets beat down, but he gets right back up again... "How are you ''so'' cool, dude," Phoenix says, and it's not ironic or anything, they really do think he's COOL AS HELL.

Queen is ''cool as hell,'' too, even if she's ten times sharper now. (Or maybe she was always sharp, and they just didn't see it...? Questions for later.)

Underestimating Fox comes at Eiji's father's peril, though. "Fox, I can't do shit--!" Phoenix called, to him, and there was just an ''edge'' of distress to that one; just because they can ask ''other'' people to do shit for them, that doesn't mean ''they're'' pulling their own weight punch by punch. Fox's logic, as he steps forward, speaks to the depths of his own experiences... something Phoenix was on the outside of, only hearing about Madarame on the news.

... still, they can tell it's real personal.

Masao is right, though: they ''are'' kids. Phoenix has been grappling with that, the last few days, but -- even the oldest of them still have a few years to go before they hit 20.

The things Mujina says about cooking, though... it tracks with everything Phoenix has been trying to learn, even if it will take them years to reach someone like Jun or Hibari's level. (Those are two independent thoughts; there's no way ''Mujina's'' dyed hair resembles ''Hibari's.'' Hibari's just one of the first people they think of when cooking comes up!) "Fuck him, man! You look great!" They yell back, to Mujina. "Sweet hair! Sick-ass mask, too!"

... they're admiring Shinobu's verbal retort game, too. Speaking of being five years too early... "Yeah!" They call out, after her. "Go cry about it!!"

Now, does this count as ''Phoenix'' getting backed up by an adult? Maybe, but also, shut up.

With all their rage like a bird in a cage, they're left to turn to Tamaki. "... aight. I'll have a friend arrange a meetin'... you get it, right? Thief's gotta be careful." (Crap, crap, crap! Okay, brain. You have until that meeting happens to think of a brilliant explanation...)

They're at least glad to hear ''Ririka'' support their gender, even if Eiji-Sitri sure ''isn't.'' The way Eiji backhands her, though... Phoenix grimaces. "I ain't gon' let ya make her know what it's like," they insist, to Eiji, their hands tightening around the hilt of their blade.

Phoenix takes a step back, when the Patriarch brushes them off so carelessly. "F-fuck you, man! She WANTS to be 'round us! An' if you really thought that, why'd you tell Ichika to ''take good care a him?!''"

But then -- "SHE AIN'T A BIAN 'CUZ SHE WITH ME, YOU PRICK!" Phoenix yells, when Eiji dismisses Ichika's connection to ''them.'' "We're different genders, that makes her straight! Fuck you!" A dark pit settles in their stomach, as he turns on ''Ryuji'' as the threat, but more importantly -- "Fuck offa Skull, shithead!"

Hitomi rolls her dice, though, and Phoenix is wholly distracted staring at ''that'' for a second. "Holy shit. That's, like... some real-ass weaponised casino shit." Could Ririka's friends, in fact... be straight badass?

Hyousuke speaks in their defence, though, and Phoenix feels the terrible weight of an ''emotion'' settling in their throat. "Ya reckon...? Fuck, man... you right! Who th' fuck does this guy think he is?!"

Vesper, as well, talks about the adults who aren't just standing around. "Yeah!" Phoenix yells, gesturing sharply. "Even when they're hurtin' impossible fuckin' bad, there's adults what ain't gon' let ya pull this SHIT! It's adults like that who saved those girls from your BULLSHIT, man! Fuckin'... like Yeo-sama!" They remember Myunghon telling them the girls that the Cardboard Dragon rescued were okay, in the middle of their heart pouring out. That much -- that much still matters. "An' these guys, here... they really give a shit 'bout Ichika-chan an' Tsubasa-kun, right?! So fuck you, you lost to begin with! Even if Tsubasa-kun disappeared -- women like HER would bash ya fuckin' door down with a baseball bat to get them!" They gesture, with the hilt of their greatsword, in Shinobu's direction.

(... even if it's kind of scary that Vesper was going to be the same kind of guy as Eiji's dad, once. But, then... can they really condemn him for that, when ''they're'' trying so hard to avoid becoming ''their'' father?)

It's nice, at least... that ''Katsuya'' isn't so easily swayed by dirty money. Phoenix will remember that. And they'll remember Badb's fury, too, though they don't know it's Umie beneath that mask.

But then -- the Patriarch ends it.

And --

"You're..." Phoenix takes a step back, when they see the Prince, up above. "But, you... I... why?" Their baffled brain settles on, mouth quite agape, even if it's impossible to see what the rest of their face is doing under that witch-hat mask. Ogre thanks him, though, and Phoenix swallows. "Y--yeah. Thanks."

Ogre moves forward, first -- to ''slam'' Eiji-Sitri's face into next week. "GET HIS ASS, BOSS!" Phoenix yells, and hey, didn't they just call ''Joker'' their boss? What's with this two-Boss arrangement?! Don't worry about it. When she issues him that stern conclusion, Phoenix grins, a touch savage. "You fuckin' tell him," they say, though they're quieter, now.

Eiji rages, and Phoenix watches, their teeth grit. "Any promise you make -- any fuckin' promise at all -- you get to break that shit at no damn penalty if the fuck you loved ends up torturin' you. No matter what." And it's that kind of empowerment which might explain why Ichika felt comfortable with ''them,'' in those long months of piecing herself back together.

His curses become as animalistic as Hyousuke or Phoenix's, though, as he ''curses'' them --

-- and Phoenix, seeing the opening Akechi and Ogre made, ''takes it.''

"HRRAAAHHHHH--!" They scream, as they launch themself ''into'' that hail of missiles, Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah appearing behind them. They ''slice'' a diamond-missile open, as it sails for them -- as ten more land in that hut on chicken's legs, sending it staggering back a step, even as Phoenix ''keeps going.'' "YOU! FUCKIN'! ''PRICK!'' GET UNDER MY SKIN, STRIP ME DOWN, ''BEAT'' ME DOWN, ''ARRANGE!'' A FUCKIN'! ''BUYER!''" More of those diamonds hail out, and Phoenix is knocked back -- but only briefly, skidding against the floor before they launch themself forward ''again.'' (And, again, it's Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah who absorbs a dozen more missiles.) "LIKE I'M SOME KINDA PIECE A ''MEAT?!'' FUUUUCK! YOOOOU!! YOU THINK I'M COOL WITH IT JUS' 'CUZ YOU DIDN'T GET TO DO IT IN REAL LIFE?! I KNOW YOU WOULD HAVE, ''ASSHOLE!''" They plunge straight THROUGH that pool of darkness, flecks of Eiha sloughing away from their blazing hood as they reach him --

And swing.

And swing.

And swing.

Again, again, again -- the rage of their own treatment building, and building, until it hits Ichika's own, and they scream, "AN' YOU'D DO ALL THAT -- JUS' TO CONTROL ICHIKA?! JUS' TO HURT HER MORE?! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! ''FUCK YOU!!!''"

And ''SWING.''

Their final, overhead blow is so titanic, the ground shudders in a shockwave to either side of them.

Man, the newest Phantom Thief has neither chill ''nor'' any fuse left to burn.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatest Sword on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tsubasa Seki has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Tsubasa Seki: Gains 48 HP from Regen! Atk_Up and Def_Up removed!
AS: Tsubasa Seki has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 141 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatest Sword.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 44 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Ren isn't the only one who's been betrayed by the system. Oh, it's different for Hibari, but she still feels it keenly, even if the number of people who know the full story is about one and a half (Tsubasa knows fragments of it, Ren at least knows it exists, and Ichika knows most of it, but Tsubasa and Ren don't know Hibari is *here*).

It's still enough to keep her fired up, especially assisted by her allies - her friends, though just like not all of them know she's here, she doesn't know all of them *are* her friends.

She needs to figure out how to get past that barrier. How to stop the Patriarch. How to fight the system - it's still not something she's entirely come to terms with how to do. So far her justice has been a small thing. "You - "

*bang*

Well. Okay. It's not a gunshot. It's an actual *ray gun*, something that Hibari didn't know you could do inside a Palace even if you had a Persona. Her head jerks up as she looks up toward the source of that shot, seeing a princely figure she does not recognize. More information for later; something to look into on her own time. She'll ask Ichika - when they're home and safe and recovered.

Because she can *feel* the barriers drop. "He's open!" Mujina calls, finally fulfilling her duty as a Navigator. "Get him, get in! He can't call the support back up!" Maybe that's how you take out people like that. Separate them from the system, so they can't call it in... But that means she can act, too. He's not invincible, and he can't abuse his power to stop her.

And as the others go in, she grins, her face suddenly... not quite visible under the flames, but you can tell what expression she's making. "Backing you up!" she calls to the Phantom Thieves, before giving the *non*-Phantom Thieves the same grin. They're all in this together, except maybe the Prince; she's not sure what to make of him, but at least he's helping.

Her face is already burning with blue flames, but it surges *brighter* as her Rebellion waxes, Mujina's efforts becoming more tangible. Danzaburou appears again, raising his gunbei as pillars of light erupt from the ground beneath the fallen Eiji even as waves of darkness wash over her. She hunkers down against it and is placed well to absorb both the darkness and the diamond missiles -

She can't help herself. When one of them catches on her coat and fails to penetrate, she grabs it, dropping it into one of her pockets. Maybe someone else is going to take the biggest diamond (she saw Ogre shear the ring off), but she can at least take a souvenir with her.

And then... Mujina whistles.

There's a rustling from the piles of goshugi, a surge of the blue light of a Persona-summoning...

And eyes, in the darkness. Shining eyes, catching the light, before a tiny tanuki rushes out. And then another, and another, and *another*, more and more coming from all over the room as they charge toward Eiji, literally burying the Shadow beneath their combined weight. They're not Shadows, nor cognitions; they're something lesser, little more than a spell.

Mujina is a Navigator first. Some Navigators hear, like Ririka; some watch, like Fuuka. But Hibari - Mujina, the spy, rather than the thief - has always been best at talking, and putting bits of information together that way; rumours, little scraps of information. And so she has little scouts, little spies, little reporters to bring her their knowledge so she can assemble it into something complete. Normally, they're harmless; they're Hibari's eyes and ears, but not her hands.

But today, they pile onto Eiji, squashing him under a wave of tiny tanuki that explode in a gravitational shockwave, just as Hibari raises up one of her little orbs she was spinning before. Baoding balls, which she uses as a fidget tool, usually, or in a Palace, as something to help her focus. Right now she pitches it like a fastball, aimed directly at Shadow Eiji's forehead. On impact, it chimes like a bell.

(Also, every one of the shugi-bukuro have been opened and scattered around into a huge mess on that side of the room. Thanks, tanuki.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Earth skill Eight Hundred and Eight on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Hibari Aoki has used the Strike skill Knockout Weight on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 74 Light damage from Hibari Aoki's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 66 Light damage from Hibari Aoki's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 117 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Eight Hundred and Eight. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 140 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Eight Hundred and Eight. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 18 Strike damage from Hibari Aoki's Knockout Weight. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> 'A firefighter, or some stupid shit. What's it fucking matter?' Masao grimaces at that. 'He set me straight. I'm the man I am today because of him.'

He's going to concede in silence it doesn't matter now - this man chose otherwise. But this was a guy who once wanted to be a hero. This guy's father probably took what could've been a brave person who gave a lot in times of crisis - like Katsuya over there is, speaking clear about his feelings of pursuing his duty and the right thing.

He reminds himself he had the strength to choose and pursue. Eiji Kamiya didn't, and he's not going to let that hold him back. (The restraining order is already doing a fine job of that!)

Even with help from Tamaki and that masked gentleman, he can't hurl himself through that metaphorical legal barrier--

A lot of things happen in short order. Hey, has he not seen that guy on TV that just shot the... oh, the ring, that's what they're all after, right...

There's not a lot of time to process the events - but that sense of being restrained fades. That's for the best, because the Palace Ruler's bringing down diamonds on everyone. The first salvo smashes head-on, magical protection being the difference between a hard shove and, uh, something worse.

He picks up the slack with grit teeth as he braces for the next, battering it away with his elbow and forearm despite feeling a greater weight than he ought to. As the darkness erupts around them...

"Stop tryin' to drag all of us down with you, man!" Masao swings his axe outward to deflect some of that dark power with a faint blue light around him. It grows into a greater column that defies the stifling darkness. "Ogun!!"

Once more, the visage of Masao's Persona, that masked spear-wielding man with leafy, grassy details, summoning forth a much larger purple orb threatening to press down with yellow energy rings against the panicking, increasingly powerless Shadow - as if trying to pack all that noise down upon him with the power of gravity.

Others... have so much to say, so much fury and emotion, and the street artist presses his lips together and shakes his head. He's not going to take that platform from them. He leaves the retribution at that singular Gryva, leaving that way.

He can tell, by those two masked figures over there (Phoenix and Ogre), they've got their grievances, their grudges, their reasons.

He can't get a single read of any of 'em by Resonance, but just from the raw soul they're putting out... he knows they're people who must've been silenced for far too long by the likes of him.

He won't gainsay either of them, as Ogun recedes as the Gryva spell's influence wanes, standing by and watching a new round of Persona-users declare and decide who they are (barring a sudden unpleasant surprise) with a big ol' smile on his face.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
In spite of everything, the Patriarch doesn't budge. Vesper was told of this possibility also. How was it phrased again? 'Too set in their ways to do anything but dig their own grave?'

Be that as it may, it doesn't help anyone right now. All he can do is double down, when the man says that he'd sooner sever his own hand. "I see. Well then. In your persistence in supporting a lost cause, perhaps you are doing just that."

Vesper can feel the bile rising to his throat. Playing this role is quicker than anything to become more than he can stomach. Didn't he leave all this behind? Why does it still come so easy?

...Will it even matter, if they can't finish things here? All seems lost when everyone is similarly disabled. Until there is an intervention. One unexpected even by the leader of the Phantom Thieves, so he observes, even though they do seem familiar with each other. Curious.

Far be it from him to look a gift horse in the mouth, however. With the removal of the Patriarch, and the literal severing of Eiji's marriage prospects, it's frankly shocking how little impact those desperate final flailings have. It's time to end this, indeed. But he's not going to be the one to do it, not directly. Instead--

"Raffles! Make certain he gets what he so richly deserves!"

The bat the Persona holds in its right hand vanishes - making it that much clear that there is no hand on that side. It's a mass of shadowy tendrils, which it proceeds to slam into the ground. A mass of similar tendrils emerges from around Shadow Eiji, wrapping around and binding the creature where they can, so as to not let him escape all due punishment that is to come his way.

"...This doesn't even compare to the toxic bond you sought to impose," he muses, planting his umbrella down as he watches on from there.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Blackroot Curse on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba spends bonus actions on Recover! Masao Inaba converts bonus actions into Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Gryva on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba: Blast and Psych removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 24 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse. Resist!
AS: Bind and Paralyze added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 110 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Gryva. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Paralyze added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
The diamonds spray, but Ogre holds up her shield. The diamonds batter off again and again--but in the end, her shield ''cracks'', and Ogre looks down at the broken weapon that has thus far protected her from this Palace. "..." She's some yards away from where she started, forced back scraping inch by inch--but she's intact. So Ogre throws away the remains of her weapon.

"...I don't owe you any more answers," Ogre says to Shadow Eiji as she rises to her fullo height again. She looks between Joker and Akechi and Phoenix, and then watches Akechi for a few more moments. "...It's important to keep your promises," she agrees. There's nothing else for her to say, for now; she doesn't understand everything in play.

Then, Ogre looks to the Phantom Thieves first. To Ryuji and Yusuke. And Phoenix.

Then she looks to Mujina, who she asked to come too. ...With...

"Cool," Ogre concludes of Mujina's attack.

Everyone is doing their best here. And still, he won't let her go. She knows. If they don't finish this...

Ogre breathes out slowly, the world around her seeming to fall away. She closes her eyes. Everything is quiet.

She opens them, atop the ''mountain'' of gilt and gold and jeweled ''gifts'', including that barred crib, numerous boxes, gems just spilling out, money in coins loose everywhere--a veritable summit of treasure. And she stands atop it, calmly. Her hair blows in the wind. Below, Phoenix and more are battering away, but up here, there is only the serenity of the shot as Ogre takes aim through the scope of her hunting rifle. She takes half a crouch, holding the weapon in both hands, eyes forward.

"There you are," she murmurs, her sights lining up, center-mass.

"Got you."

|
|
---- o ----
|
|

BANG!

The mountain of treasure starts to shudder and shake. In moments, it lists--and starts, a bit at a time, tumbling down the side. In moments there is an ''avalanche'' of wedding gifts crashing towards Shadow Eiji, his person set to be overwhelmed with money and presents and gems, as Ogre surfs the ridge like it's a wave. When the wave crashes down, she smoothly rises to her feet, continuing to fire, each shot now bringing with it brown rock that ''explodes'' on impact. There's barely any recoil to look at her, her technique perfectly smooth as shoots, shoots, shoots--

Until she's ''right'' in melee with the Shadow again, standing there pointing her rifle right at him.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Mountain Drift on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 126 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Mountain Drift. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 205 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Mountain Drift. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 113 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 65 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 134 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Phoenix seems to appreciate her comments, at least. Shinobu sends an approxing smirk their way as they go for the follow-up, before looking back toward the cognition of Eiji's father.

"Sounds like a shit father, if he doesn't follow that up by teaching him what's right and wrong." Shinobu replies, as the older Kamiya replies bluntly to her. "You let him get this bad. You could've stopped this... but you never cared to, did you? Bet he got it from you, even."

She doesn't expect this to help - it isn't the real deal, presumably. Just Eiji's cognition of him.

Phoenix gestures with their greatsword to her, as they say that she'd bash his door down with a baseball bat if Tsubasa disappeared.

"Damn right. Think I'd let the ''law'' stop me?" Shinobu agrees. "Nah. If it can't protect them, then to hell with it. I'd do it myself."

...And then, a blue light pierces him through the chest. Shinobu stares through the hole left behind, then looks up toward the rafters. Isn't that the guy in white from yesterday that the Joker Killer was upset about...?

"Good night, old man." Shinobu says, as the cognition dissipates - and then turns her attention toward Eiji himself. Mujina calls out that the protection is down - which means there's nothing stopping her anymore.

"...Just you, now. No old man to hide behind anymore. What do you have to say for yourself, now that all the walls are down? Still feel all big and strong?" Shinobu asks.

His response is fury - which is only magnified when Ogre says they're done, and slices his ring clean off.

"Damn. Nice shot." Shinobu compliments with an appreciative whistle. She can't quite make the connection between her words and Eiji's, her cognitive protection causing her to glide over the joining thought, but she can still appreciate that much.

Eiji ''screams'' - sending diamonds flying out at high speeds. Shinobu whirls her staff in front of her like a shield to try and deflect some of them, but she's still vulnerable. The diamonds hit, and they hit hard, but she fights through it. The eruption of shadow, however, manages to blast her off her feet. She flies back - and drives her staff into the chapel floor to retain her balance.

"Throwin' a tantrum now, huh? Told you you'd be screaming... though, I guess it wasn't me this time." Shinobu comments with a smirk. "That's good enough for me. Keep screaming."

Others closest to what's happening have already said their piece more eloquently. She doesn't need to try.

"Lachesis - let's seal his fate." Shinobu says. Lachesis levels her staff at Eiji, this time - and returns the favor from earlier, to invoke fragility in him.

Shinobu rushes in, staff spinning - throwing in a kick in the middle of the assault - and Lachesis follows it up with a blast of light before rushing toward him from the other side.

"You ready, Lachesis?" Shinobu asks. Lachesis offers a quiet nod. "...Then let's do it!"

What follows is a vicious flurry of staff strikes from Shinobu and Lachesis both, interlaced with kicks as each moves into position to complement the other.

She remembers the Phantom Thieves declaring that they don't kill. She'll honor that - it's not her call to make now, when there are others who've suffered more at his hands.

But she can at least make him ''hurt''. She's earned that much, at least.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Strike Break on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tandem! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Measured Fate on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Spinning Staff on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like #1 must be responded to with +take.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Strike Break.
AS: Strike_Break added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 52 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Haze added! Bind removed! Explosion! 50 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 75 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 32 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Getting an agreement out of Katsuya is useful- and his refusal to the bribe heartening. "Thank you."

It's good that some cops believe in justic.

So that's a yes. It's a good thing Queen gets that much out of the Patriarch, before he insults her family. "...You shut your damn mouth." Makoto's voice becomes an angry snarl, at calling her father a failure. A failure at turning her into some obedient housewife.

''That's not where he failed.''

''Besides, Sis did a good enough job of that.''

Makoto presses down thouse thoughts, even as Johanna slams hard into Eiji- but not well enough to get that damn ring loose. At least she hurt him, if she can't do anything about the man walking away-

When a shot rings out, just like when Kaneshiro was at their mercy- but this one hits it's target. Queen looks up, tracing the path of the bullet-

And sees someone she didn't expect. "You...?" Indeed, Queen did not expect to be saved, of all people, by Akechi's intervention. Her eyes cast to Joker- Joker, who has the ring and thus the key to changing his heart. Johanna skids across the ground, coming to a halt in front of Joker, aiming to act as a barrier between her leader and anyone who might want that ring back. The storm of diamonds slams into her over and over again, and it hurts. She's pretty sure she's not got a lot of energy left in her, and she needs to save what she has left to get out.

She revs Johanna's engine as she comes to a halt, a second protection in the form of a Rakukaja washing over Joker, and as she does so she draws her revolver again, and fans the hammer as she halts, bullets aiming to rain into Eiji.

"Phoenix, Ogre- keep him alive! The Phantoms don't kill!" She knows the temptation, so strong and powerful, and maybe Phoenix and Ogre are better, more controlled people than her. "...You can beat him to a bloody pulp, though. Just make sure he doesn't die."

Being crushed under a landslide of 'gifts' seems rather appropriate, in the end.

She looks down to Joker- Akechi is their enemy, but they're way too ragged to engage in another battle at this point. Especially since he's buying them an opening. "...Do you think he's trying to balance his debt from Kobayakawa?" She whispers, quietly, even as she looks around. It would be so easy to jump in right now, as everyone else is- but that's not Queen's job. She's laid enough hits on Eiji for now.

"Mona, get it ready!" She yells, still watching Joker. If Akechi's here, they need to be ready to get out as soon as Ogre and Phoenix have got their closure.

"Detective-" She call out, but whether she's talking to Akechi or Katsuya it's hard to say. "Don't you dare let this bastard's father get him out of the fate he deserves. Consider this a test of your justice!"

A Phantom Thief challenging the law to do what they're supposed to do? ...Well, that's narratively appropriate, isn't it?
</poem>

AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Almighty skill Rakukaja on Ren Amamiya!
AS: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 67 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 29 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 75 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke struck. he hammered. He raged. He mustered every mote of strength he could, ordered his Persona to strike the Shadow down, but that wall - that damned wall - foiled him time and again. Like some ravening beast howling against its captors, he threw himself against the wall, time and again trying to reach his target. He wouldn't stand for it, not again - he refused to let victory slip through his fingers when he was so goddamn close. Even should it cost him everything, he had to see the job through.

His voice left him in a scream of primal anger. Hyousuke refused to accept the reality that he was helpless, and that his strength had failed him once again. He refused that reality with every fibre of willpower in his being, and it achieved nothing. he could only watch on in impotent rage as someone - a stranger to him that Ogre no doubt recognised - descended upon them, dispelling the cognition with a bolt from the blue. His gaze snapped to them, squinting a little to try and figure out just who it was that had saved them, but his investigation was cut short.

For a few glorious moments, Hyousuke's rage lifted, and his heart soared at the sight of Ogre's vengeance. Her shield colliding against his face like a freight train, his finger being severed by its edge, the ring scraping against the chapel floor as it fell towards Joker... It was like nothing he had witnessed before. It was vengeance, and it was hers. Hyousuke said nothing in the moment, only looking to her with lens-veiled eyes, but he could not have been prouder of her. She had earnt this a thousand times over.

Thoughts of celebrating their victory were short-lived. In some final, desperate act, Eiji seemed to have taken whatever strength he had left, and lashed out at everyone he could reach.
The rage returned with a vengeance.
They were so close to winning, and he would not suffer to see them fail at the last hurdle.
"No! No more!" Achilles once more returned the fray, his shield a bulwark against the storm of diamonds hurled at him. He clenched his teeth, staggering forward, his own shoulder against the shield as he pushed towards the epicentre, summoning whatever strength he could in return.

The onslaught kept coming. It dented the shield, scraped against whatever pieces of him the metal could not cover, and sent him staggering back, but he did not relent. For every step back he took, two more sent him forward. He would not be denied their victory, no matter how it hurt.
"You don't get to control them any more! You don't get to take anyone else! Everything you've done, it ends NOW!" With one last surge of power, Hyousuke leapt to the side, throwing himself out of the way of the blast that came next. He did not dodge it - not completely - but he pain was irrelevant. They were close, and he would not be denied.

Achilles hurtled across what little of a gap remained, and in the blink of an eye, the chapel was filled with the sound of clanging bronze. He had slammed into Eiji like a cannonball, his unstoppable charge heaving the shield into the Shadow's body with every mote of force that could be mustered, only for Hyousuke to slip back in again. The strikes he levelled at Eiji were not the trained ones of a martial artist, nor the savage ones of a street brawler. What Hyousuke did... It was nothing short of animalistic brutality.

"DON'T! YOU! EVER! THREATEN! MY! FRIENDS! AGAIN!"
His voice was raw and pained, with every word a Herculean task to utter. He could feel his throat burn with the strain, threatening to split apart with every shout made. But he wouldn't stop. He couldn't. Haymakers with the strength of a sledgehammer. Heavy kicks that planted his boots deep into Eiji's flesh. A headbutt that threatened to crack the lens of his mask down the middle. Spoken or struck, Hyousuke exhibited savagery unbound. Achilles might have been stronger, more precise, or more agile - but he wanted the satisfaction of beating Eiji into a bloody pulp himself.

He stood back, panting, trembling, and *hating.*
"Achilles. Finish it."
Energy radiated out from the spear. Divinity surged through its length, forcing it to glow with the sheer power that it contained. Even Achilles, the man destined to wield it, had to tighten his grip to keep the thing from ripping itself from his grasp. To behold it was to behold something imbued with the favour of the gods themselves... and the wrath of a man lost to grief and fury. The scantest hint of a second passed, and that spear was in the air, its wielder leaping to the highest point of the chapel's interior.

Then he descended.

Falling like a bolt of lightning, Achilles descended with such force that the air itself distorted around him, displaced into a shockwave that hurtled across the breadth of the room. Hyousuke stood firm against it, even as it lashed against his eyes, determined to see it through - this was what he'd wanted for so long, and so much. With eager eyes, he watched as the speartip carved apart Eiji's flesh, its divine strength rending meat and bone and sinew and muscle in less time than a blink. Achilles lingered, then wrenched the thing free, standing back with his wielder before dissipating into the ether once again.

It was done.
It was finally done.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Ichika Kawase - Ogre - stands atop the mountain of gifts Eiji Kamiya believed would be festooned upon him. She begins an avalanche with a single bullet, and rides it down, planting shot after perfect shot into the Sitri shadow's body.

As he steps back from the aftermath of his own flurry of violence closer to Skull and Phoenix, Fox cannot help himself - he lifts both his hands, in ice-blue motorcycle gloves, and makes a picture frame of his fingers to capture this ''spectacular'' moment, as the avalanche of gold buries the Ruler of this twisted mockery of a matrimonal Palace.

"She's ''magnificent''," he says to Ogre's metamours, in full approval.
</poem>

AS: Ichika Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Hyousuke Suzuki can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Princeslayer on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Atk_Up, Def_Up, and Psych removed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 58 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 49 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 52 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 154 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Princeslayer.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Makoto Niijima's Rakukaja.
AS: Def_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka is... well, concerned about Hitomi. She's not sure 'slap her' is the solution, but... Hitomi stuck it out through that failed foray into the Palace her team took, and she's here ''now'' backing her up during this time.

So she can't help but worry about someone like that, and hearing that Ririka is important to her... "Mandai-chan..."

Still, those dice--however they work--are pretty dang cool.

But... Ririka was confident she'd found a sore spot she could needle Eiji over. She's not a ''spiteful'' person. Normally. But calling upon his father, even in Cognition form, is a weakness she doesn't need her Navigator talents to spot.

She's readying a retort when Eiji suddenly says something that makes ''no'' sense, and her blood runs cold as her entire body freezes. "... ''what''." Her voice is flat and deadly serious for a moment. And then it suddenly boils over. "What's ''that'' supposed to mean!?" Her grip tightens on her katana so much her hands start to ache. "YOU LEAVE TOSHIKUN OUT OF THIS!"

Sorry, Ogre. She's kinda losing her cool a bit after all. But she's so mad over the comment about her brother she's not going to react about that 'rezubian' line. Which might be better for her in the moment.

But even she has to notice when more of those restraining orders go out. "Crap. Amphion, Analysis-- We gotta figure out a way past--" Her hand is going up to press the cup of the headphone to her ear when something ''else'' catches her attention.

The bright flash of a laser beam, and a hole in the elder Kamiya's chest. Ririka's head snaps up. "What the--!?"

And a moment later it snaps up to the rafters to behold Akechi. "When--" Did she just miss him in all the chaos? She's had to filter out all the other battles happening on the side...

But she watches as that ring (and finger) come flying off, and only ''now'' does his confidence seem to waver. Or was it because the Cognition of his Father got taken out?

Ririka stares down the Shadow as it launches its assault, as diamonds come flying for her, she lifts her katana and cuts through them, grunting through the strain of deflecting that power. And she manages to take a step back, deflecting that shadowy power away from her feet with the same katana.

Ririka freezes as Joker asks her ''that'' question. "Wha-- of ''course'' not! How could you even ''ask'' me something like that!?" She's not in the know--and her Navigator senses can't tell her ''everything'', sadly. She doesn't even know what the Treasure is ''for'', here.

Ririka ''definitely'' supports Phoenix's gender. (And Tsubasa's, even if she doesn't know the two are the same.) And her friends... yeah, they're pretty cool.

"Hey... you don't like guns? Sorry, but I've got another one. Mine's a bit different though." The katana goes in her scabbard, and she draws out her Evoker again and lifts it to her head. "AMPHION!"

There's a slitchest hitch still as she pulls the trigger, and Amphion surges with renewed strength before Ririka gestures with her free hand. "You hurt my sister--and I'll ''never'' forgive you for that. But you came after her friends--you were gonna come after ''me''-- and all those other people! You're the lowest of the low."

"And if you don't like my music, that's too bad--'cause I got a special number to play! Amphion! Let's pump the crowd!" Amphion begins strumming quickly, a bright, fast-tempo number that sends strands of music out to coil around herself, Tamaki, Hitomi, and Umie to give them all a boost.

Then she points directly at Eiji. "You're a despicable, human being, a real low creep. You're riding on your daddy's coattails and that's gonna end! This is for my SISTER!" Ririka raises her free hand up. Amphion is still playing, and as she slams her hand down, like a conductor marking time for an orchestra, a levitating rock goes flying right for Eiji.

A hand raises, and slams down again, bringing another rock hurting past her for its target. "And everyone she cares about!"

"Now tell me--" Hand raises a third time, tension making it tremble for a moment before she slams it down again to launch the final attack. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY BROTHER!?"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Ririka Kawase, Hitomi Mandai, Tamaki Uchida, and
Umie Akabane!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up added!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Psych removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 85 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 91 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 94 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
After the blast Hitomi is already there with her nose in the air and giving the Shadow a sidelong look. After he speaks, she replies, "Takes one to know one," before making a simperingly sweet and completely fake smile. Soon enough the Shadow isn't *right there* and she gives the Phoenix a glance and a smile -- having perhaps heard the word 'casino' and assumed it was about her (which may, at some future point, be a problem - but even so).

Hitomi's hands fold behind her back as she turns, and that means that instead of being able to continue looking smug and exulting in whatever triumph she, presumably, won -- the explosion didn't hurt her at all, after all -- she witnesses that shot that spears Eiji's father.

"Kawase-kun," Hitomi continues, leaning back to pivot her upper body around and turn while spinning on one heel, "does that mean his father's going to die now? We're not in his father's Palace, right? Unless he's the real master because this is all his fault? He did raise a pretty shitty kid," Hitomi considers, and after that she's being bombarded with high-velocity jewels...

Which is covering her face. It's hard to seem exultant when you're being struck. Several of them smash into her arm enough for her to hiss and when the storm momentarily abates, or at least turns into a pulsing wave of darkness, she huffs out:

"Sore losers should just shut up already!" The arm that she'd been covering her face with comes down; the other raises with a twist of the wrist and a glimpse of a card, saying, "Tyche! Roast him until he accepts his loss!~" Still that weird elation even if it is somewhat muted by pain.

Tyche appears for the third time, and she's turned her face away from the tiger-man. The flames aren't, though; an ongoing searing tongue of flame instead of the burst or streak or fireball that the dreams and concepts of Fire tend to assume. The heat's quite palpable, although the Persona does seem to be sweeping it -- less likely, perhaps, to be fatal, but that's not necessarily for the better.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!

AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Gains 49 HP from Regen!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 87 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 41 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 41 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 74 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 36 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 37 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 72 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 79 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Queen lets on that if the Shadow's killed, the person it belongs to dies, as well. Tamaki catches that tidbit and mentally files it away for later, right alongside the other questions she's got for Phoenix that Tsubasa had planted in her head.

Phoenix offers a meeting arranged by a 'friend'. Tamaki raises a skeptical eyebrow, but otherwise seems mollified. "Looking forward to it!"

Tamaki raises her sabre in a salute and gives a hearty cry in reply back out to Julian after he provides his advice about 'what does not break you makes you stronger,': "Preaching to the choir! They do not break us, they break UPON us!" She has lost count of the number of times she's had to stand back up after some kind of defeat.

Katsuya vigorously declines the bribe. She already thought he was a man of principle, and this only reaffirms her prior notions of him. There's a reason she specifically went into private work instead of law enforcement proper, herself, but ... if there were more guys like him on the force, maybe she would have gone down a different career path, instead. At Queen's further behest, she gives Katsuya a meaningful glance and points up at Queen. "I'm in agreement with her, for what it's worth."

The ray gun blast from above causes Tamaki to look up in the rafters. She can't quite make him out, but given that princely silhouette and how he referred to Katsuya as 'Sergeant,' she figures that's probably Akechi. Entirely ''blissfull''y unaware of how he's mired in the intrigue of the various Persona-users present (among other things), she's simply glad for his assistance! Putting together Queen's mention of killing Shadows earlier, she quietly hopes that the figure of the Patriarch was instead a Cognition.

And with that -- the restraining order has ended. Mujina's call confirms it, and she flashes her a thumbs-up. "On it!" While she had not expected this moment to come, Julian had the foresight for it, and she now plans to make the best use of what he had entrusted her with. It's with great aplomb that she dashes forward together with Arianrhod to finally launch her first strike in this fight -- and her last. This is long overdue, and she has been holding back all the offense that she's capable of.

After all, as she had said earlier: fair's fair.

She gives Ririka a thumbs-up at Ririka for the victory song. "Thanks! Last number before curtain call!"

Tamaki stops and holds her necklace, fervently urging Arianrhod forward to lay down more impediments. First, a series of pink and yellow shimmering rings surround Eiji's Shadow and converge on him. Then, like before, both Tamaki and Arianrhod point their swords to the ground, causing a circle of light to appear on the ground underneath his feet, then -- during an opportune moment when none of her allies would be caught in the blast radius (take a step back, Phoenix!!) -- they raise them high as a wellspring of blinding light erupts, briefly consuming him, the laser light show to accompany Amphion's rock concert.

For one brief moment, the desperate young hero she once was five years ago shines through before fading back into memory.

With that, she dusts off her hands, steps back out of focus and stands back, next to Masao. "Nice work out there." After Phoenix finishes their berserker assault, after Ogre gives him his comeuppance, literally burying him with the weaponized weight of wedding gifts and wealth, after Queen's fanning of the hammer, after Hyousuke's Achilles descends with the force of the heavens, she gives a low whistle in admiration and inclines her head to Masao again to remark, "... The new kids are alright, yeah?"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Elec skill Psi on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Light skill Hama on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Elec damage from Tamaki Uchida's Psi.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 120 Light damage from Tamaki Uchida's Hama. Weak!
AS: Exhaust added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> 'Sorry I'm late, Sergeant Suou.'

Umie glances towards Katsuya, lips spread in a thin, neutral line that threatens to extend past the confines of her cheeks.

And then, Umie just shrugs, tilting her head. Yeah, just go with it. Pride's for people who haven't been trying to scratch themselves out of an invisible box like a raccoon trapped in a trashcan.

(Yeah, for all of the build-up in the earlier pose, Umie is just another person making things up as she goes along.)

Joker, likewise, has questions, but Umie, finally turning towards Joker, can't offer anything but the same thin lined expression of someone who has egg on their face.

(Sure, Akechi was in Umie's party, but it's not like Akechi *wouldn't* investigate on his own, and he provided the information Umie needed to understand Eiji's crimes against Ichika. _But still_.)

Even in a party she thought to not invite him, -A K E C H I-.

Eiji's rage at losing his father seeps to the surface, and with it, comes Umie's own rage.

"You'd cry over your father, but not over all the lives you've ruined? Your legacy is done."

Like the crone pointing a crooked finger at a man about to fall from his prime, Umie points at Eiji moments before disaster strikes...

.... this time for everyone except Eiji. (Oops.)

All this diamonds would have done much better lining Umie's pockets than slicing her skin, leaving her bruised and collapsed on the ground.

Clenching her fists, Umie shoves herself onto her feet, her line of sight now focused on Joker, who looks even worse, in some ways, on account of having to protect that Treasure.

...

It forces Umie to realize just how much Joker will put up with just to hold himself to his Justice. Could she even do begin to do the same?

Giving him her hand isn't going to help anything but let Akechi understand just how fully Umie's own 'justice' (lower case) is derived.

"For Ichika Kawase-san and Tsubasa Seki-san," Umie mumurs, raising half-sleeved hands. The walls are down. Ririka's outburst draws Umie in-- again, having Akechi there to fill in the background of the Kawases proved fruitful. "... For those who have questions."

"From 'that girl' who refuses to go off and properly die, now that there's too much she wants to see."

The ghostly wraith floats above Umie, floating balls of dark circling around the pair like a cloud of circling blackbirds, ready to strip the grounds bare of what's left.
</poem>

AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Warrior's Bell on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like #1 must be responded to with +take.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Warrior's Bell.
AS: Rage added! Exhaust removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 51 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
So even Tamaki agrees with Queen on this. "I see..." Katsuya says, because what else can he say or do? A man like this has many sins, no matter how young he is, and perhaps-- as much as it rankles him to do so, he...

Every man has his price. There's something that someone, for whatever reason, would bend or break their code to attain. As for Katsuya--

This isn't it. Not ''money'', whatever might happen to it in the real world, were he to accept. He makes his terms quite clear, attacking the Ruler, and for his pains--

"I-- I can't attack again!" he calls out, slapped himself with a restraining order from the Kamiya elder with rest of them. Like this, they'll be forced to receive attacks and do what they can to mitigate and heal, but it's a war of attrition if they can't strike back.

But in their darkest moment, there is light.

Katsuya stares at the wound on the cognition's chest. "What?! --Akechi-kun!" Katsuya shouts, jerking his head in the direction that shot had come from. "You had said you were too far away...?" Realization, after a sort, dawns over yonder rockface. "--I see, so this was planned!" Is he a little put out that he wasn't in on this, though?
...maybe. He's also not meeting Umie's gaze.

But it's a matter for another time as, again, the calculus shifts: Ichika, freed from the bonds of the restraining order, lunges to take the ring from the Ruler's hand, and in so doing, force an annulment.

The wedding is off.

In his rage, it seems like the Ruler is fit to bring the Palace down around all of them, though. "Stop him!" he calls out. "If he continues like this--!" Well, honestly, Katsuya doesn't know what would precisely happen, but it can't be good, can it?

Instead, as his Persona takes one diamond missile solidly enough to send it reeling a distance back, it then retaliates in kind and launches the large and sparkling stone from whence it came.

'He's open', someone calls, and Katsuya can see that they're not wrong. Taking one step backwards to steady himself amidst the shaking of the Palace as it threatens to come undone, he again levels his sidearm at the Ruler. "Helios!" he calls out, "this is it!" To his left, Helios manifests.

He shoots twice in rapid succession, aimed at the Ruler's center mass. Helios, though, surges on ahead, flying to the Ruler's right to pepper at him with a single shot of its own. One would be gravely mistaken to think that single grazing shot was it: as before, the Persona attempts a feint. Archaic firearm in hand, it circles in a blur for the Ruler's left, as quick as it can, and there, Helios unloads upon 'Sitri' in truth.

'Don't you dare let this bastard's father...' starts Queen, as Katsuya directs his firearm back towards the floor. He glances her way without turning his head. Consider it a test of his justice.

"I won't let him escape justice," he vows. "Not this time...!"
</poem>

AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 72 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning. Resist!
AS: Panic added! Charm removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 131 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Handgun - Shot on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Single Shot on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Torrent Shot on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 52 HP from Regen!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 80 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 114 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Single Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 62 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji Kamiya's downfall is not the result of any one person. Any single attack. It comes now from many angles.

From being battered by the hanged Persona's boulders repeatedly, again, and again - until one of his wings of diamonds ''breaks'' - twisted at a wrong angle. At Skull, committing street justice that might make any man here wince, as he smashes him in the crotch. "FUCK!"

Yeah that's several octaves higher than his normal. "Bastard... you don't steal a man's girl- you don't... all the others I knew... wasn't... serious." He clutches at his crotch, as he tries to drag himself forward. "But you? Gonna wring - your goddamn-"

Which is when a flurry of sword strikes and icy doom overtakes him from Fox. In waves of light, an army of Tanuki that detonate into gravity and... Baoding Balls that smack him right in the head!?

Shinobu brings his fate that much closer to a close, with a spell that makes him far more vulnerable, right before the woman and Persona act in twain to strike him with light spells and strikes of the staff.

He definitely is made to hurt. "Fuck... gotta mob me... to take me down. No way- no way at all for a man to..." He feebly tries to bring up what's left of a hand to catch Queen's bullets, but one lodges into his arm. And another his hip.

Chained fury lashes at him again and again, before that spear like a bolt of lightning, falls, and into his shoulder, he makes a pathetic roar... the wound bleeding ichor.

Right as a Magna - two Magnas - three Magnas batter the side of his head and he huffs, dry heaving pathetically.

"... You don't... really... wanna know... women... never wanna hear the truth..." Psychokinetic force blasts him into a table, before a circle of light causes him to vanish in a flare of light, just for a moment.

And Badb's darkness drowns out even his own, as a creature of the dark.

He won't escape Justice. as Helios fires shot, after shot, causing him to have to crawl away from his fellow feline. A mess of Shadow stuff, "... Justice... what a load of..."

And then, whatever he tries to say next is drowned out by the fury (and swearing) of Phoenix, as they wail on him, again, and again, and again.

And as they bring it up one last time for one final tremendous blow. At the same moment, does a shot get lined up, as a mountain of Goshugi batters him repeatedly, his head jerking to the side from the impact of a particularly large jewel.

Exposing his neck to Tsubasa's blade.

Silhouette shot!

Ichor sprays from Sitri's neck.

The Shadows suddenly leave Eiji, and there's just a bloodied Shadow, with yellowed eyes and a ripped Tuxedo. His corsage lacking petals now after how injured he is. The man kneeling on the ground.

Regret - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjqs3h367sQ

"I guess... this is it. You emasculate a man like this in public... he'll just never recover." He seems, resigned? "If he can't even keep his house in order... what kind of man is he?"

He looks up towards Ichika, pathetically, "... I loved you. I... love you." He corrects, because even with her rejection, it hasn't changed, "Why couldn't that be enough?" He pleads, "I know I have a temper... that I hurt you... that I hurt... our daughter... but- we love each other."

And now, his Shadow? From its yellowed eyes, tears fall, pitter-patting on the ground beneath him.

"I just wanted what any man wants. A wife who loves and supports him. A son to carry on the family name... people to protect and provide for... why couldn't you just... give me what I wanted!? Why?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ogre holds her rifle still as the battle ends, ready for a final surprise or last-minute twist. But instead, Eiji looks up to her, like she once looked up to him. ...She lowers her rifle, pointing it towards the ground beside her and letting it hang in both hands.

"I loved you," Ogre agrees with Shadow Eiji. "Maybe a part of me still does. And I would've given you everything you wanted. ...All of it. If you'd just let me, instead of ''taking'' it."

"But I can't forgive what you've done. You're the one who broke our family, Eiji. By killing our little girl. ...By hurting all those people. That love is just one of the many things you've destroyed with your ego."

Her finger wavers near the trigger of her rifle--not ''on'' it, but in position to get there--before she sighs, and looks down to Shadow Eiji, trying to meet his yellow eyes.

"You're the reason you didn't get what you want. And you're going to have to live with that. For the rest of your life." Ogre stows her rifle. Her horns glint in the chandelier's light as she turns from Shadow Eiji, to Phoenix. "Give me your sword."

Queen warned her not to kill him, but she accepts the greatsword anyway when she asks for it. She extends her arm, hefting it--and then reaches back, gathering up her hair, and ''chops'' off her bleached locks at the shoulder and ''stabs'' it down into the Palace floor.

"You're going to live a long time, Eiji. You'd better. ...And in that time..."

"I won't forget. Ever. ...And I don't think you will, either."

Ogre's shorn hair blows away in an unseen breeze.

"Now... Tell me what the fuck you meant about Toshiaki. Then, I never want to see you again."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu wouldn't let the law stop her from doing what's right -- and it's deeply reassuring.

"Those other fucks, they 'Cognitions!'" Phoenix finds the space to call out to Hitomi, hearing her wonder if Eiji's father is soon to die. "You can kill as many fuckin' ''Cognitions'' as ya like, high roller! So it's cool! Or, uh... sorry ta disappoint ya?!" They're stealing Queen's tutorialising crown momentarily, but don't worry, Phoenix is ''much'' worse at it, they'll definitely give it back.

That's the thing, about support, Hibari: you don't always know where it's coming from.

Or how much you really ''have.''

Phoenix has a pretty good idea that they and Ogre have more than they might have thought, though, given everyone who's shown up today. (And it's not just them, is it? The girl with the dice -- she showed up to protect ''Ririka.'' Phoenix is glad for Hitomi, too.) They're too enraged to take much note of what other people are doing, but to note that they're all giving their all to this -- but to note how strong they ''are.''

(... they did hear Hyousuke screaming, though. Perhaps that's the true strength of the berserker's bond...)

Where Phoenix is a raging fire, Ogre is still and untouched, up there on her mountain of offerings; and even as it starts tumbling ''down,'' none of those gifts end up hurting ''them.'' Their rage is consuming and unfocused; it's Ogre's perfectly-timed shot which sets them up to destroy the Shadow around Eiji, bleeding 'Sitri' like so many pigs he ''butchered.''

They breathe heavily, grasping their blade as they stand over the human-Shadow form of Eiji Kamiya... but they are not so far gone that they don't remember Queen's words, ringing in their ears. Still... does ''Eiji'' realise that, as they stare down at him, teeth grit and lips pulled back in an aggressive, disgusted grimace? Their hands tremble, slightly, at their hilt of their blade, their nostrils flaring with breath that stings, but not enough to wrack their body. The things he says... even now...

But when Ichika asks them to hand over their sword, they take a step back so that they ''can'' lower it without bisecting him, shifting their grip so that they can offer the hilt to her. "You got it," they say, with a stern nod.

Even if she wants to plunge it into his heart...

There's enough of Phoenix that still wants to, despite how they feel about ''killing,'' that they couldn't fault her at all.

But what Ichika does instead -- carving through her hair, changing herself in an instant -- Phoenix realises, in that moment, that Ogre has the right of it. (And she ''is'' magnificent, just as Fox says. To have the strength to lift their blade in one hand -- the ''control'' to bring it up to her own neck without beheading herself -- they just gasp, in their stoic expressiveness, but it's that very noise which suggests just how affected they are.)

"Suffer a long life, asshole," they snarl, waiting just long enough to hear his response to Ogre's demand before they turn their back to him, back to Ogre and the others.

... they ''do'' hear Tamaki asiding to Mark how the new kids are alright though, and... well, they feel pretty good about that. And, did Katsuya say he'd make his father pay...? ... they're not sure they remember it right through their blood rage, but they can ''believe'' he said it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Well maybe he doesn't need teammates or friends ANYWAY, Umie! When you're your only party member you can do whatever you want!

'--I see, so this was planned!'

"Aha... why yes. I surmised it was possible that this could happen, based on my own investigation. Unfortunately it relied upon no one else knowing that there was an unseen 'enemy'. If he had any clue as to my presence, he would have been just as untouchable to me as well."

'So you still helped us out, huh?'

"Well, I did promise a certain someone that I would make this scum's downfall my priority."

Which would perhaps be enough of a response, if Joker and Phoenix didn't ask as well, and Akechi looks down from the rafters their way. Strangely, there's no smugness at him addressing him, breaking the silent treatment. There's just a more serious expression, because he saw something that Joker did when things were at their most grim.

"I'll explain later if you'd like. For now, call it... an apology of sorts. I don't intend to make a habit of this."

'Don't you dare let this bastard's father get him out of the fate he deserves. Consider this a test of your justice!'

"Funny you should mention that..." He says, cryptically, perhaps not wanting to show his entire hand on that matter ''quite yet''.

As for contributing to Eiji Kamiya's end, he does not take any shots at him. He just watches him be made to hurt, be made to suffer.

And then his confession, afterwards.

Is it Justice?

He does not say.

No matter what he feels, he allowed the Phantoms to have their way this time. Even if it's just one time, it's not his place to complain about the result.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao squares up with Tamaki as she asides to him. He nods solemnly, though... the way 'Ogre' there is talking, uhh, hold up, wait-- he's not really sure he can put the pieces together in the moment as he digs through his pocket for the key that the Cognition of the would-be bride entrusted to him, back turned to the quiet intrigue going on with the Detective Prince and others.

"So, uh, I dunno how soon we're gonna have to get outta here," oh no, "you wanna see where this might've went--"

(insert timely inevitability here as appropriate)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Ririka's umbrage at being asked if she wants to be a murderer gives Joker pause; given that the Treasure is in their possession at this point, they decide to leave it be. "A fine answer, Ririka Kawase," they say instead. "Remember that."

A bit overly mysterious? Maybe. That's something that Joker has come to accept as a Phantom Thief. If they and their compatriots can steal the Treasure, and keep everyone else from outright murdering the Shadow (there's certainly been enough warnings not to), then that's good enough.

They appreciate Hitomi's concern about the cognition, at least. Someone will have to explain to the Persona User community at large that ''that's'' okay, at least. For now, Phoenix does well to explain it to Hitomi and those present who're paying attention. Joker meanwhile crooks a smile at Queen as she casts a Rakukaja on them and comes up to defend them more directly.

By now, the enemies in the pews have been taken out too. Mona rejoins Joker, Panther and Noir somewhere behind him, putting his sword away as Shadow Eiji sobs at Ogre. They'll share a quiet nod and let her handle sending the Shadow back to his real form; Mona will re-transform into bus mode, and Joker will load the Treasure back up with, possibly, the help of Panther and Noir.

They do pause to look over their shoulder and nod approvingly at Ogre's dramatic haircut. Very cool. (A shame about all that hair, but... the power of a symbol can't be underestimated.)

Their demeanor darkens when they look back up at Akechi, up in the rafters, offering an explanation to Katsuya about why the surprise assassination--and then to them and Phoenix about why he helped now. An apology... that he doesn't plan to make a habit of.

He'll explain later, if they'd like.

"....."

They don't say yes.

But they also don't say no. Joker will simply watch Akechi until it's time to go. They'll see what his Justice is this time around... later.

And while there's still some time until that happens, they call to everyone, "When Ogre's done with the Shadow, the Palace will crumble. All of you, make sure you're ready to run for the exit." Conveniently timed for right after Masao wonders about that very thing!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> 'When Ogre's done with the Shadow, the Palace will crumble. All of you, make sure you're ready to run for the exit.'

"Huh?"

"AW SHIT YOU REALLY MEANT RUN!!" Masao clutches his hand over his hat when that promised moment comes.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>As all the other Rulers before him - without his Treasure, without the strength of the Palace's Shadows bolstering him - Eiji Kamiya's Shadow is nothing more than a pathetic soul. Fox turns his gaze aside for a moment as the being before them bleats to ask why 'love' could not be enough, turning to Skull to silently query if his comrade has anything to say on this matter.

Ogre's grand gesture with Phoenix's blade has Fox place a hand over his heart, wounded to see that beautiful hair cut loose - but the capacity to change is a human privilege, and that too is beauty, for transience gives things meaning.

Eiji Kamiya has many thoughts about what it means to be 'a man' in his head. Yusuke Kitagawa isn't sure what to make of any of them save to be uncomfortable.

It is probably something he'll have to at least think about eventually.

...

... probably later rather than sooner. It's a big and messy thing, after all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
From here, Queen is worried. This is the true test of will, after all.

When she stood in front of Kaneshiro's shadow, she'd almost let her rage win, almost killed him. And he'd only ''threatened'' Makoto and her sister.

Eiji Kamiya had killed Ichika's daughter. Had tried to sell Tsubasa. It's hard to resist a vengeance that strong. If Kaneshiro had actually touched Sae, Makoto couldn't have held back.

Her revolver is still in her hand, just in case. Just in case she needs to stop her childhood friend, or her new ally, from crossing that line. The Phantoms don't kill, and they don't stand by and let someone die.

And when Ichika takes the blade, Queen feels her heart jump into her throat. She starts to raise her pistol, not firing from the hip like before, but closer to the stance they train Tokyo Metro's officers to have, with their 36 bullets a year. It's not perfect, more like someone trying to practice it without being trained.

...But she doesn't need to. The Ogre and the Phoenix sentence Eiji Kamiya to life.

Her eyes flit to the others, as Joker takes charge of the treasure. (Nobody pay attention to how the not a cat is gone and a bus is there now, it's fine. Don't worry about it, it was always there in the background.

"...The police are going to be coming for you soon." Queen says, given that Akechi seems to have plans in mind, and Katsuya has accepted her challenge. "You're going to give them everything they need to save or give closure to every person you've sold, or hurt, or anything else." It's an important addition to the sentence, at least in Makoto's mind. The Phantom Thieves do this to save people, not just for their own justice. And Ogre and Phoenix might not be in a state to remember that part, given how much they've been through tonight already.

She's simply waiting by the Monabus now, letting the newest thieves get their resolution, prepared to jump in as soon as the time comes to go.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
With its Ruler fallen, this Palace's time is short, Vesper understands. In his eyes, Ogre is standing in for her close personal friend Ichika, which appears to be an appropriate enough conclusion to the matter. Which means it's time to take his leave. Before the inevitable collapse begins, his footsteps can be heard already walking away, hand raised over his shoulder for anyone who might be watching him leave.

"Job well done. Take care of yourselves, Phantom Thieves. Should the need arise... Ogre knows how to reach me."

More needs not be said, by his reckoning. Not that much more could be, before the ominous rumbling begins. Managed to get his dramatic exit in this time before needing to start running for his life, score!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Together, they bring everything they have against Eiji's monstrous form - and this proves too much to bear. The monstrous form disperses, leaving behind just the Shadow, kneeling on the ground.

...His words cause a look of disgust to cross over Shinobu's face. He still doesn't get it? Even after all of this? She taps the butt of her staff against the floor out of frustration and raises it up - before slinging it across her shoulders, resting her arms on it.

This fight's over. From here, she'll leave it up to them to deal with the Shadow.

"Good work, everyone." She says with a nod to everyone. She looks toward Joker, then. "...So that wasn't just Kaneshiro's, huh? Good to know."

She looks around at the others.

"If anyone needs a hand up and out of here, let me know." She offers. For now, though - she witnesses the events before her.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Hibari retrieves the baoding ball as it rolls back to her, stopping it with one booted foot and then crouching down to pick it up.

This is Ogre - Ichika's - moment. She's not going to interrupt it, not when she takes the sword... though she almost speaks for the same reason as Queen, because Mujina knows just as well what happens when you kill someone's Shadow.

But she does not, and so Mujina steps back again. She gives the Phantom Thieves a long, thoughtful look that trails into a gaze on Ichika as she cuts her hair. Hibari gives a very short nod. That's justice, she thinks, assuming that this is how the Phantom Thieves do what they do. She doesn't realize it's the treasure, which she thinks is just a way of making money, but clearly they have SOME plan... Ichika told her they were going to Change his Heart, even before the calling cards went out.

"I've some of those notes," she adds, to Queen. "Copies. I'll pass them back to Ogre, if she needs them." Because Ogre knows how to contact the Phantom Thieves, and she doesn't - and Hibari knows who Ogre is. "He'll have more, of course, but..."

She doesn't want to leave that hanging.

Mujina speaks once more to Ogre: "I'm glad," she says, with a smile just visible under the fading flames. "We'll talk soon," and she leaves it at that.

Because for Mujina, it may be time to make her exit. She does one last summoning of Danzaburou, putting on her mask again as the flames finally subside - and she fades along with it, her own Doronpa coming back up.

Why? Because she doesn't want to be seen leaving the same way as the others. She has an identity to keep secret, after all!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke said nothing. It was not his decision to make. Eiji's fate was Ichika's decision, and hers alone - he knew that, and would not deny it. But as she took that blade and held it aloft, he could not help but feel his muscles tense, and his gaze grow harder. Nor could he help the relief he felt as he saw the blade cleave through her hair, rather than the Shadow before them all. The sigh that came with that feeling he perhaps could have held in, but he was exhausted, and simply hoped that the mask would keep it from being heard.

His relief fled quicker than it had arrived, however, and Hyousuke cast his eyes about the place. He did not think much of the disappearance of the cat - the thing was surely nimble enough to escape without their assistance. He did not question the appearance of the bus either, chalking it up to supernatural phenomena he, frankly speaking, did not have the time nor energy to question. Even if he were to question such things, now was not the time. The Palace was crumbling around them, and there was only one thing on his mind - and on his lips.

"MOVE!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
So even just knowing about it could have jeopardized it from working. ...A Palace is a formidable place, Katsuya decides.

A flurry of shots from various angles is his own contribution to the end, here: the rest is up to the one called 'Ogre', here to enact a final sentence in the place of Ichika. Katsuya tenses when she asks for Phoenix's sword, but, instead what she does with it is to shear off her locks. A severance from what had been, he supposes, watching on.

Eiji Kamiya will have a long life to reflect on his sins. But, what had that been about Toshiaki? And, perhaps more immediately, are...

Joker confirms the very thing that Katsuya feared.

"Ah," he says simply, the light catching his red sunglasses in a way that obscures his eyes. "Then... we will need to get out of here in hurry..."

That's putting it mildly!! But it isn't as if panicking now will help...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> 'Just understand this much: even with what I said, justice is justice, for me right now," Umie had said to Akechi and Katsuya, as they rested in the safe room. 'Whatever gets this to stop.'

Whoever Akechi meant by 'a certain person', Umie doubts she was the only person he's had to make some semblance of acknowledging that use, the Palace Ruler needs to be taken down, please, also the crime rings

(speaking of rings please ignore Umie trying to grab bloody diamonds off the ground to stuff in her jacket pockets up until when everyone is absolutely about ready to bolt)

Umie nods towards Shinobu. "I'm okay myself, but other people might not be." She takes a final look towards Eiji, and frowns. ".... Be thankful. Maybe you'll be able to make something of yourself, now that you're no longer blinded by your own desires." Even from jail.

Tapping those rather nice red sneakers against the ground (and a final pass at grabbing some dirt and, again, diamonds) Umie looks over to Katsuya. "Ready?" When he goes, so does she.

She has to ensure Katsuya gets out, after all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka shakes her head at Hitomi. "No, I don't think that was his Shadow--just a figment of Kamiya's imagination." She's... ''pretty'' sure about that, anyway. "... at least I hope not." She glances over at Phoenix as they speak up. "A 'Cognition', huh...." She'll file that away for later.

But a pretty shitty kid. "... yeah, can't argue on ''that'' one."

Ririka flashes a thumbs-up back to Tamaki. She doesn't know her that well, but, if she's helping Tsubasa, she can't be that bad, right?

She glances at Joker as he accepts her answer. Ririka just nods. "If Ogre's working with you, then... I'll trust your judgment." Seeing the sniveling mess the Shadow's become, though. "... might be a moot point now anyway."

Toshiaki Kawase was, for various reasons, one of the most important people in Ririka's life. Someone else who understood the pressures and expectations of being exceptionally gifted, who was her deepest confidant and cheerleader. His death had come as a shock--but there was nothing to be done about it.

A freak medical accident, and a fall. That's all there was too it. A fluke.

It's been almost two years and she ''still'' hasn't made peace with her grief. Not really. She's... starting, but it's slow going. It's still hard to talk about it, even now.

But to have some nugget of information just ''dangled'' in front of her like that--She doesn't really want to know, says the Shadow. Ririka's red eyes are cold and furious as she steps forward. "''Try me'', you bastard! TALK!"

She glances sidelong at Ogre as she asks for the sword, tensing for a moment... but then a haircut comes a moment later and she relaxes. (She'll have more of a reaction to this later, when she sees Ichika, whom Ogre is clearly not.)

But Joker calls out the Palace will collapse. "Aw, shit--" Yukari had said something about that, hadn't she? She can't remember. Right now her attention is on making sure she's got the fastest route out.

Head down, headphones on, playing her keyboard for all its worth as she maps out through the palace, creating a trail of music for people to follow if they wish. And she'll make sure to grab Hitomi and usher her out with her as she takes off running.
</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Ogre has her say, and the Shadow of Eiji - the Ruler, trembles just crying, as he makes some hiccuping sobs, but he doesn't interrupt her. He lets her say it all she wants to say. And it's only then... that he speaks.

"You're right." Then he clears his throat, " ... You're right. I just... I thought that that was what being a man was." One can imagine how his Father treated him, to make him grow up thinking this is what masculinity truly is, with his mother having left them when he was young.

"But... I always knew it was wrong. ... I always knew." More tears fall, "... I killed our daughter. I drove you away. And ruined your life because I thought it'd force you to come back to me."

He looks up at Ichika in the eyes, wretchedly, "Turns out... I'm no man at all." And he bows, placing his forehead to the floor in Dogeza. "I don't... deserve to be forgiven anyway. I'm sorry... ''I'm sorry''. Could say it for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't be enough. I should- I should..." He fumbles for the words, like some feudal lord, ready to take his own life rather than live in disgrace but-

'Suffer a long life, asshole.'

And muffled, his apologies, as he begins to change color, becoming light, motes drifting off of him. He closes his eyes, flinching at her and Ririka's demand but more - the idea that Ogre never wants to see him again, "I don't know much. I can tell you at least... It wasn't a hiking accident. It was a Mental Shutdown... they once told me, if I didn't meet all their quotas, I'd end up like him."

'Be thankful. Maybe you'll be able to make something of yourself, now that you're no longer blinded by your own desires.'

"Heh. ... Doubt it."

He sags as the weight of all he's done grows that much heavier in the space of a few seconds, more than he can bear as he replies to Makoto, "... I'll confess. I'll tell them..." everything." Before he again looks to Ogre knowing this is the last time he'll ever see her. "You deserve better than living for someone like me... you always did. I'll... fix this. I'll make amends, best as I can. Only wish... that I could..." His voice falters, implying he was going to say 'fix things between us' but- "... but I can't."

And then he vanishes. The Treasure - in its original form returns, as the Palace begins to rumble. And Masao, upon witnessing it again, now with all that distortion fading, will gain a distinct sense of- Deja Vu?

When the Phantoms make it back to the real world, they'll learn that it was a family photo, of his Father, his Mother, and himself- when he was a child no older than eight. Which doesn't seem worth all that much until someone realizes the frame is ''real gold''.

While extravagant, perhaps it only says how much this truly meant to him.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Also by complete coincidence...!

There's already a blinking dotted outline of Akechi before the first stone of the Palace even begins to fall.

Surely he's securing them all an exit.

Surely.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Queen remembers what Phoenix is too angry to say, and they're immensely grateful to her, for that. ... luckily, they were too occupied to notice her pulling out her ''gun;'' it's only when they look over to her when she prompts him that they realise it was in her hand the whole time.

Prince calls it an apology -- of sorts -- and Phoenix inclines their head.

"... sure. I'll accept that."

Maybe they're easily-misled. But...

"You did honour that promise... I respect that."

But what ''Shadow Eiji'' has to say... they scowl, deeply. "I don't forgive you," they say, tone closed off, when he insists he had to meet ''quotas'' or face the same fate as Toshiaki. "What you've done is unforgivable."

Joker reminds ''Phoenix'' about the place crumbling too, though -- and so they pile into the back of the Monabus just in time for him to speed off.

"Uh, fuck -- hey, Joker, do you even have your ''licence --''"

STOP COMPLAINING PHOENIX DO YOU WANNA GET CRUSHED BY A CHANDELIER OR NOT

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> That sense of deja vu may well be fueling Masao's comical streak of profanity in the mad dash to get out, something to be spoken with certain trusted friends rationally when he isn't re-enacting that popular movie scene.

(you know the one)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka lets out a strangled sound as Eiji's Ahdow ''finally'' speaks, her expression slack with shock. "Wh-- a Mental... Shutdown..." She ''asked''...

... and she still wasn't ready for it, staring at Eiji's Shadow in disbelief. "I don't..." Something wet and hot is building up in the corners of her eyes, as she just asks "... why..." in a tiny voice.

"... why would someone..."

It doesn't make any sense. They got closer after he died--did ''Eiji'' do it to make that happen? But he said he didn't know much... did his father arrange it, then...?

HEr mind is swirling with questions and precious few answers, and precious little time to grill Eiji for more information as he fades away.

She barely has a moment to rub away the tears with the back of her hand as she turns to run.

Those questions will have to wait for later.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]

2025-12-13: At the Altar

2025-12-14T17:01:01Z

Eri: Created page with " *'''Log: At the Altar''' *'''Cast:''' Penguin Sniper, Ren Amamiya, Ichika Kawase, Tsubasa Seki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Ririka Kawase, Hibari Aoki, Hyousuke Suzuki, Masao Inaba, Hitomi Mandai, Tamaki Uchida, Shinobu Shimizu, Julian Marlowe, Umie Akabane, Haru Okumura, Katsuya Suou, Goro Akechi *'''Where:''' Eiji Kamiya's Palace, Iwatodai City *'''OOC Date:''' December..."

*'''Log: At the Altar'''
*'''Cast:''' [[Penguin Sniper]], [[Ren Amamiya]], [[Ichika Kawase]], [[Tsubasa Seki]], [[Ryuji Sakamoto]], [[Yusuke Kitagawa]], [[Makoto Niijima]], [[Ririka Kawase]], [[Hibari Aoki]], [[Hyousuke Suzuki]], [[Masao Inaba]], [[Hitomi Mandai]], [[Tamaki Uchida]], [[Shinobu Shimizu]], [[Julian Marlowe]], [[Umie Akabane]], [[Haru Okumura]], [[Katsuya Suou]], [[Goro Akechi]]
*'''Where:''' Eiji Kamiya's Palace, Iwatodai City
*'''OOC Date:''' December 13, 2025
*'''IC Date:''' August 25, 2012
*'''Summary''': ''The Phantom Thieves have sent their Calling Card to Eiji Kamiya, Ichika Kawase's ex-fiancé and abuser, announcing to the world their intent to steal his desires and change his heart. Many have rushed to his Palace to aid them or for their own ends... but will it truly be a simple matter?''

----

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
At the top of the wedding venue, is the heart of the Palace, only accessible to Eiji's family and most inner circle. Or- thieves and invaders that have managed to get this far. Push open the heavy wooden doors and you'll see the angular beams and rafters above mark the high ceiling of this Western chapel, dark black velvet petals of the Kuroyuri drifting down gently like cherry blossoms. A red carpet extends from the entrance to the altar, and behind it are curtains saturated in reflective sequins.

One shouldn't be fooled to think this chapel is ''Christian'' however. The iconography on the altar is all wrong. Carved upon it is a disturbing tableau of unclad women being pulled along by beasts. Up high is a single circular pane of red and violet stained glass that drenches the place in the imagery of a smaller hand being forcefully grasped by a larger one, as another holds a ring to place it upon the more feminine hand's finger.

There's flashing ahead, neon signs with the Calligraphy for 'Kamiya' with the characters for 'God' and 'Family' and 'Eiji' with the characters for 'Eternity' and 'Kindness' that light up on either side in sequence with a gaudy display of something straight out of Vegas, while atop the altar is all the Goshugi - pile upon pile of envelopes, gold coins, and jewelry, gifts to the bride and groom.

The Groom's Side of the chapel is filled with pews, currently empty of guests- the Bride's side has no seating at all. Instead having more tables devoted to the Goshugi given unto them both for the coming nuptials. More disturbing, some of the gifts aren't money, but items that would be useful when bringing a newborn child into the world.

And floating above the altar, is an enormous ring, with an even larger purple diamond, too large to fit any person's finger. The Treasure, pregnant with distorted desire. Irresistible to a certain someone- almost like catnip.

If they were actually a cat that is.

OOC Note: Please hold poses for the Phantoms. I'll pose again after. That pose will specify the point where everyone else can come in. Please be sure to heal to full before that point and be in the bucket, as there will be attacks!

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Mona's NOT a cat though! He is a human, with a very human obsession with Treasure!

So obviously it's irresistible like ''silvervine'', emphasis on "silver." Very different from catnip!!!

"Myahaaaa~! Treasure, Treasure!" he sing-songs, launching himself directly at the enormous diamond ring, latching on to one side of it, and swinging and spinning around until both of them fall to the altar and Goshugi below, still laughing and cheek-rubbing the Treasure giddily.

"...This is normal for him," Joker explains to Ogre and Phoenix. "Don't mind it too much." They, at least, remain stoic; they pulled a brief, disgusted face at the Goshugi a moment ago, but have reasserted their calm neutrality. "We should assume Kamiya's Shadow, or other Persona Users, or both, will try to block the way out, so let's get out of here right away. Mona?" ... "Mona." ... "Mona!"

"Gah! R-right!" the cartoonish bandit cat yelps, blue eyes snapping wide. "Trans...form!!"

In a puff of smoke, he transforms into a small truck. There's plenty of space in the back to load up the giant ring, though it'll be a tight squeeze for everyone else--some of them will have to ride on top. Joker will keep an eye out to make sure everyone's on board one way or another, and entrust keeping an eye out for any enemies to their friends. Once they're all loaded up and Joker's at the wheel, though...

They'll hit the gas pedal and spin the wheel for the exit regardless of anything that might be in the way. Joker doesn't believe that it'll be an easy getaway, but it's not showtime ''just'' yet, either.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ogre looks with distaste upon the iconography at play, until she sees the stained glass that hardens her expression. "Ugh," she says. "I'm so tired of this asshole."

It's a bit of bravado, but it's also true. Soon, she'll be done with him for good. Right? That's what this is for. For her, and fo all the people he's hurt...

She looks to Phoenix for a moment, and then back to the chapel. No room on the Bride's side...

She spits on the ground. "I remember how he was about Toshiaki. And this is how he really felt?"

But the Treasure...

Mona gets weird about it, and Ogre looks, baffled, to Joker. Joker explains it though. Kind of. "...Normal," Ogre repeats. "Well, OK."

"Right," Ogre says. "We probably have some backup coming if it comes to that..."

But while it's a tight squeeze, they can all get in. She stays in front, this time. She wants to see this place and know it's for the last time, on the way out.

Onward!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
So, which one is Phoenix? They battered down Eiji's front door, so they're certainly an ''invader,'' but the person under that mask is undeniably a ''thief,'' even leaving aside how they're a ''Phantom Thief'' now...

Plus, they're wearing the vestiges of a ''bird'' alongside those ninja robes, and everyone ''knows'' birds are evil.

Those women claimed by beasts turn Phoenix's blue lips to a sneer, as they look over the decorations here -- the women dragged forth by ''beasts.'' 'God', 'Family', 'Eternity', 'Kindness'...

Phoenix reflects, for a moment, on the bird escaping through the border-pass, and then turns their attention back to the chapel. To the groom, allowed to have guests -- the bride, given none. ... the crib, fashioned with jail bars.

"Hey," they say, quietly, reaching over to squeeze Ogre's hand for a minute. "He's a piece a shit. Yeah?"

And Mona, going nuts over that sick treasure...

"Dude, you're gonna catch somethin' if you glomp on that creepy shit," Phoenix warns him, with a sceptical expression somehow carried ''through'' their mask. They share that scepticism with Skull, their teeth grit and lips slightly part as they meet his eyes, as if to ask: '????'

And then, again, when Mona ''turns into a car,'' jumping backwards as their arms jerk up. "What the hell?!" They actually ''vocalise'' that, this time. A moment later: "... damn, that's cool."

They help load that horrible ring up into the back of -- Mona??? -- and then move to cram ''themself'' into the back of -- MONA????? -- kind of crammed against the wall by that horrible gross diamond.

"Ugh, I hate this guy," they grumble, planting a hand against the precious gem to try and get some breathing room.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull is a little better than usual in this Palace. He is mostly remaining strong for Ichika and Tsubasa, regarding every sight and surface as if it had a layer of slime.

He fights the urge to smash the revolting stained glass just squinting as he passes it. Instead, he just taps his pipe a little more rapidly against his shoulder to cope.

The sight of the treasure is somewhat exciting to Skull as it means this place was closer to donezo. No more nightmare sleaziness! Plus she'd be happy so...Ryuji smiles a little at the thought.

But for now, Skull needed to focus up and get the job done. Which is about when he perceives Mona hugging onto the treasure, exchanging a look with Phoenix. "Come on, man...this isn't a good look."

Once that is helped with, Skull helps haul out the treasure and gets it to where it needs to go.

Once everything was loaded up, he gives Ichika a reassuring thumbs up before he goes back to scoping the area out for Eiji's stupid shadow. Knowing how these things went, it would be here sooner or later.

</poem>
AS: Makoto Niijima has joined Penguin Sniper's bucket! 16 out of 25 slots filled!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>"My word," Fox remarks, dryly. "Tasteless, chauvinistic, and insulting all at once - a crude pastiche of Hieronymous Bosch filtered through a Seagram Mural with all the depth and complexity of a crayon scrawl. Allusions to the Old Masters and modern greats, rendered base and obscene." He looks up at the neon kanji, clicking his tongue in disapproval. "A twisted, shameless ego indeed."

Ogre spits, and Fox would not do anything so graceless personally, but he agrees with the sentiment. "At least when we're done here all this will crumble into nothing."

Mona and Joker begin the crucial task of retrieving the treasure, and Fox puts himself on watch for any signs of Shadow - or, as the Phantoms' leader reminds them, other Persona users - as his rifle appears in his hands. "The coast appears clear, Joker."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
This farce of a wedding ceremony is a disgusting enough site, without already knowing what lies in the back rooms and the groom's suite. Even here, at the altar, the bride is a prop and her family profit, and the child a prisoner.

Of course that's where the Treasure is.

"Mona says it's because humans have a strong cognition of cats turnings into vehicles," Queen explains to Phoenix and Ogre, while Skull and Phoenix manhandle the giant ring into the back of the Monabus. It's maybe not as space consuming as the gold bars from Kaneshiro's palace, but it's going to be awkward fitting folks in. Someone on the roof has often been an option, if someone wants to be taking the exciting and dangerous route. Queen gives one last sweep of the area, making sure no shadows come out of the woodwork.

"Will your backup know that we're on their side, Ogre?" It's a reasonable concern, given the nature of the will of rebellion, but that's a problem for... probably like thirty seconds from now.

"Alright, everyone in, let's get moving." Queen calls, moving to slip into the front row of the three seats. Usually Joker can handle the driving, but, well. Queen likes to be in position to take over in case they need to do something stupid.

(Also unlike *most* phantom thieves, Queen actually has her license!!)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
The art critic in the room certainly isn't wrong. Everyone would be better off if this place crumbled to dust.

The curtains behind the altar flutter, as a man in a tuxedo of crimson and gold covered in sequins barrels out, bellowing in outrage. He grasps hold of Monabus right as Joker hits the gas, and with one mighty heave, flips Mona on his side, the trunk popping open from the force of impact.

Blood of Villain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOFiO3a0_oo

Fortunately, Mona probably transforms back relatively quickly, freeing them from the predicament of getting out in this state.

This is the view everyone else sees as they enter the room, Eiji Kamiya, the Ruler of this Palace reaching for an engagement ring the size of a Hula Hoop, with an enormous purple diamond upon it.

"You brazen ''insects''. You thought you could crash my wedding and steal ''my'' desire?"

Roughly grabbing the treasure back, he holds it over his head while he looks straight at Ogre with an expression of smug triumph.

"You brought it right to me!"

Desire is attractive, potent. It draws people to you, unites them under your banner, your ambition. More so for Shadows than anyone else.

Shadows swarm and surge to him, amassing to become one with him, a union within his desire. And in a sudden explosion of power, they summon unto them a great Archetype.

What one may notice first are the wings surrounding him, each feather shaped like a repulsive like so many enormous feather sized diamonds. They unfurl slowly as he stands, in a flashy tuxedo of crimson and gold, gemstones speckling it like gaudy sequins.

A corsage of Kuroyuri flowers is pinned to his right lapel and his now feline head is spotted like a leopard's, even if his fur is a deep royal purple. On each hand, the finger sports a multitude of gleaming promise rings that each look similar to a brass knuckle, like a bludgeon, save for the fourth finger on his right clawed hand. An enormous wedding band, with a purple diamond bigger than most of their heads.

And he laughs, laughs flush with his newfound power, his terrible desire. Euphoric in this moment of transcendence.

"Ahaha-AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Eiji Sitri Kamiya

As he ceases laughing his cat's eyes become slits as they focus on Ogre, "This is our ''WEDDING DAY'' and you come here dressed like that, as some ''PHANTOM THIEF''? You've truly fallen so far without me to decide things for you"

He raises his right, taloned hand, as the diamond on his fourth finger gleams with the light of his treasure- his desire.

Ring Of Eternal Bondage

The Treasure has become a gleaming symbol of their past relationship, emblematic of his desire for family. Desire for a wife that will give everything unto her husband.

This won't end, not while this Treasure Exists. Her entire life will remain smothered beneath the weight of this lascivious distortion, a need to make her submit, to dominate her - to take away

Shadows begin to appear on the Groom's side of the chapel, so many of them, as well as cognitions of Eiji's friends, and family. There's a leering Hajime leading a group of groomsmen. While so many of the Wedding Guests begin to bleed ichor as they burst into demonic figures and turn towards the 'Wedding Crashers'.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
And as this all occurs, a more demure presence steps out from behind the other curtain to stand a small distance behind the monstrous Ruler. Cognitive Ichika Kawase, visibly quite pregnant, in contrast to his gaudy Western Tuxedo, she's wearing an over the shoulder white wedding dress with a long train, sleeves encircling her upper arms, with a neckline to emphasize how large her bosom is given her current pregnancy. Her hands clasp together as if fretting over this moment.

Submissive Bride

"Be careful..." She murmurs instead, eyes distant, abstracted, as the Ruler remonstrates her in a domineering tone, "Just be silent and do your duty - you counterfeit, while I deal with this."

She shrinks back a step, at his degradation, his accusation of being a counterfeit compared to the real thing. It's unusual in a sense. Different from Kamoshida, where a Cognition of Ann was more than enough for him. while he focuses back upon Ogre, and there's something like a sigh, like men often do when they're speaking of 'women' and their foolishness.

"I kindly allowed you so much time away... to grieve and come to terms with your guilt from killing our daughter. It was your fault for provoking me so... had you only been carrying a son for me instead, I would have been so much gentler, so much kinder in the face of your cruelty. But now I see my patience - my kindness. It was truly wasted upon you, since you allowed yourself to be so easily misled into this rebellion."

Raising his ring aloft into the air, there's a sudden sparkle of unholy light and an aura of 'untouchability' that extends from him to the Submissive Bride to fulfill his role as protector.

"I'm taking you back. I'm taking you back and I'll ''never'' let you go again! I'll mold you into something truly wonderful - something that will offer EVERYTHING that you are to the family you'll bear for me. You see, the wonderful thing about children, my love, is that once I've dealt with these miscreants." His grin spreads, with an (ab)normal amount of teeth, "We can always. Make. ''More''."

Blooming Villain (Strikers Ver.) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jERcvK8Sb90

And the colossal Ruler raises his hand and begins to smash it repeatedly, brutally to the floor of the Palace, cracking it with tremendous force, sending out battering shock wave after shock wave.

"ALLOW ME TO REMIND YOU OF WHERE YOU REALLY BELONG!"

His wings flare in the unholy light of the room, each gem sparkling, as he flaps them twice, lifting off before diving right towards Phoenix. "You think I don't see you there!? TSUBAKI!" Drawing his arm back, he tries to brutally back-hand Phoenix into a row of pews. "This is YOUR FAULT! Putting all sorts of ideas in my bride-to-be's head!"

Landing, his Shadow looms over them, "I'll make sure this time, once I'm finished with you, that the only place left for you is a Carnival FREAK SHOW!"

IC Note: Eiji Sitri Kamiya and Ring of Eternal Bondage are both valid targets you should specify in your pose if you're attacking. Attacks to either will be fielded by the Eiji/Penguin Sniper bit. Actions taken upon Submissive Bride will be fielded by the Junes bit. The 'Shadows' in the room are for off camera fights with any alts people desire to be here, and will not be featured. Everyone has 45 minutes to pose their character's entrance and involvement in the fight at this point.

Due to coming csys updates, Recarm will be treated as a revive tonight. Any PC downed who has anything from the Recarm line cast upon them will be revived with 15% health, even if it has different flags. If your character would feasibly have it- then we're willing to discuss you subbing in 'Help Up' for tonight only. Just please ask first.

OOC Note: Please note, as per the Will of Rebellion's protection as outlined on the Resonance section of the wiki, it does not matter if you have close intimate knowledge of Ichika Kawase and her situation. Your psyche will not be able to connect Ichika Kawase to Ogre, no matter what, unless she's previously directly told you her identity prior to this scene. Furthermore, any incongruence such as Eiji calling her Ichika will not stick out as something to investigate. It will be seen as your mind believing it's another different Ichika unconnected to Ichika Kawase or hearing 'Ogre' instead. Please respect this.

</poem>
AS: Penguin Sniper has readied for combat as Eiji Sitri Kamiya! They are now fully healed! Ready for 16 opponents!
AS: Junes has readied for combat as Submissive Bride! She is now fully healed! Ready for 2 opponents!
AS: Persona! Junes has used the Almighty skill Dance of Protection on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Support: Junes gains 1 Limit!
AS: Junes's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Junes's Dance of Protection.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!

AS: Penguin Sniper has readied for combat with Eiji Sitri Kamiya! They are adjusted! Ready for 17 opponents!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ren Amamiya, Ririka Kawase, Yusuke
Kitagawa, and Umie Akabane! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Julian Marlowe, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi
Mandai, and Hyousuke Suzuki! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Katsuya Suou, Makoto Niijima, Shinobu
Shimizu, and Tamaki Uchida! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ryuji Sakamoto, Masao Inaba, Hibari Aoki,
and Tsubasa Seki! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill The Second Submission on Ichika Kawase! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Best! Tamaki Uchida takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Tamaki Uchida takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Recovery skill Untouchable on Penguin Sniper and Junes!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: You can't attack while you have an attack in your queue.

AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Counter Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 61 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Ichika Kawase takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Ichika Kawase takes 65 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Ichika Kawase takes 35 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 41 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 54 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 57 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 38 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 29 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 20 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 76 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 19 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Disciplinary Backhand on Tsubasa Seki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 10 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Shinobu Shimizu takes 62 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 24 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 24 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 25 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 50 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 68 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Ririka Kawase takes 66 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 27 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 20 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Block Strike!

AS: Block Best! Julian Marlowe takes 48 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 31 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Best! Makoto Niijima takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Block Neutral! Julian Marlowe takes 55 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 38 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 18 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 15 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Resist!
AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 39 ??? damage from #-1 NO SUCH OBJECT VISIBLE's .
AS: Block Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 36 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: Counter Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 38 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's The Second Submission.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
"I-it's not like I'm into this Treasure in particular! I'm like this with all Treasures!" Mona protests to Skull, tail frizzing. As a defense, it's pretty weak... That must be what Joker meant, though.

Joker nods to Fox when he gives the all clear (and also smirks at his scathing critique); everyone piles into the Monabus. They begin to drive forward, and--!

Someone grabs the rear bumper and ''yanks''. Mona SCREECHES, caught by surprise, and POOFs back into a regular cat, sending everyone inside sprawling. Shadow Eiji snatches the gaudy, hula hoop-sized ring out of the air and transforms into a much more demonic form to wear it along with several other rings, and Joker comes up from a three-point landing with a low 'tch.'

Their masked eyes turn to Cognitive Ichika when she steps forward--but to their mute surprise, Shadow Eiji calls ''her'' the counterfeit and tells the ''real'' Ichika he wants ''her''. That sure wasn't the case with Shadow Kamoshida, who saw his cognition of Ann, the one who dressed and behaved the way he wanted her to, to be the 'real' one. Does the fact that Shadow Eiji acknowledges Ogre as the true Ichika Kawase mean...

...dominating her is part of his desire?

This really is beyond distorted. Joker summons their rainbow-edged dagger with a flick of the wrist as the pews burst with Shadows and Cognitions, and Shadow Eiji makes a barrier for himself and Cognitive Ichika. "This is going to be a tough fight. Mona, Panther, Noir, you three deal with the enemies in the pews. The rest of us will take care of Kamiya's Shadow and his... support."

"Got it! We'll protect your backs!" Mona declares, flipping back up onto his feet with his scimitar in hand. He'll lead the charge into an off-screen fight until the others have reclaimed the Treasure.

That's the most important thing right now, after all. Without the Treasure, they can't steal Eiji Kamiya's heart. Shadow Eiji says a whole lot of shit to Ogre and Phoenix both. Joker fixes him with a look of contempt. "We've already heard all that nonsense. Shut up and fight," they state, cold as the Arctic.

They're REALLY over other people's bullshit right now. Thanks, Akechi.

Joker gets their wish, too: Shadow Eiji pounds the floor, creating an earthquake of shockwaves to smash out towards them and their friends. It's a hell of an attack, and once Joker can only ride out until it's over; when it's done, they're heaving with effort from the dizzying pain they're left with. Even so, they look around at their companions.

"Showtime, everyone. We're taking his heart!" they declare, projecting their deep voice into a boom. Rising to their feet, Joker's gloved hand rises to their face as their mask blazes blue. "Arsène!!" they call as their other half arises, flapping dark wings and spreading clawed hands as they grin red-luminescent on a dark paneled face. With a twirl of their wrist, green-yellow light glitters around Eiji Sitri, potentially sapping him of speed and accuracy.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Sukunda on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Sukunda.
AS: Spd_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Skull's reassuance goes a long way for Ogre. He gives her a thumbs-up, and Ogre gives him a V-sign. She really is doing better than she was before the other day, at least--able to stand strong in here despite the awfulness. And Phoenix squeezes her hand, prompting a nod from the taller Thief. "Yeah. He is."

But Queen has a good question. "Yeah," she says. "They should--they'll recognize me, if nothing else."

But Ogre falls with the others, tumbling to a stop when Mona changes form and hitting a bench hard. "Ugh-"

Shadow Eiji looks straight at her--and Ogre narrows her eyes, her mask's long horns glinting in the light of the Shadows' explosion.

"Back then," Ogre says, "All I could do is bust up a few Shadows and run away. ...That's what I was doing, for so long. Running away. Through boys, through thinking about anything else at all..."

"Anything, to get rid of the ''stain'' you left on me." She throws out her hand to the side, staring at the terrible monster before her, the shuddering power that suffuses him fluttering her long hair behind her back. And then, he stops laughing. Their wedding day...

"Fallen my ass! I'm MINE! Nobody else's! And I'll never be held back again!"

But that's when she sees Cognitive Ichika again. She says 'be careful', and he ''snaps'' at her. He calls her a counterfeit. "Asshole," Ogre says. "You made her, you can damned well take RESPONSIBILITY!"

Before, talk of their daughter enraged Ogre beyond reason. Now, she narrows her eyes as she stares at him. "...That's it," she says. "You're not molding me into anything. You're not touching one more woman like that! I'LL CRUSH YOU!"

The Shadow smashes shock wave after shock wave into the floor, and is jostled and thrown back by the sheer force of his rage. One hits her especially hard--the critical hit sees her knocked back into another bench, which cracks on impact. "Ugh!"

"...What you fail to realize," Ogre says, "Is I've learned a few new tricks since back then."

"PERSONA!"

Momiji whirls into being in blue light and shattering glass, a beautiful oni in a maple-patterned kimono, with long horns and long hair. She laughs, cheerfully, as she raises her hands and healing sparkles dance over some of the Phantom Thieves.

"I couldn't save her," Ogre says. "But I can protect them!"

She hefts her shield before herself, and adopts a ready stance, shield-forward. "Right, Joker! I'm on it!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Yusuke Kitagawa, Makoto Niijima, Ryuji Sakamoto, and
Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ichika had told Ririka she'd know when it was time to move.

She hadn't expected to wake up that morning to texts about the ''Calling Card'' for Eiji Kamiya.

And so she'd gotten moving as fast as she could. The first time she was here, her and her group had to beat a hasty exit. ''This'' time, though... well. There's no keeping a determined Navigator out.

BGM: It's Going Down Now (Piano arr.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcap71UQkrE

Ririka bursts through the door, Evoker and katana in hand, her red eyes angry and determined.

She scans the room as she bursts in. That disturbing imagery, the hand forcing a ring on, no seating on the bride's side of the chapel...

She hardly knows which thing to let her rile up more.

No, she does know--it's that Submissive Bride, that fake image of her ''sister'', one cowed by Eiji's domineering streak. "That ''asshole''..." she mutters under her breath.

And the things Eiji says-- "Hey! Kamiya! You're some kinda sicko, you know that? My sister's doing a ''lot'' better without you, and I'm not letting you get your hands on her again!"

Shockwaves come, and she raises her katana, blocking some of the hits but one gets through her guard, knocking her back. "Guh..."

"Alright. Let's see what you're made of." She raises her Evoker to her head. Her hand trembles for a moment, but she grips it tighter and pulls the trigger.

Broken glass and blue flame form into the shape of a giant stone man holding a lyre, and Ririka points her Katana at Shadow Eiji. "Amphion! Analysis!"

Amphion places a large pair of headphones on Ririka's head before beginning to strum, sending soundwaves at the Shadow while Ririka listens to how they reflect back.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Full Analysis on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Full Analysis.
AS: Ririka Kawase's Strength Scan! Penguin Sniper resists Strike and Dark!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Weakness Scan! Penguin Sniper is weak against Earth and Light!
AS: Ririka Kawase's Support Scan! Penguin Sniper has passive skills Apt Pupil, Avoid Earth, Sharp Student, Strike Amp,
Strike Boost, and Strike Riposte!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
"You're real smart 'bout this art shit," Phoenix says, to Fox, complimentary. "Do me a solid an' explain that insult to me later, I wanna appreciate it right." They're more sceptical when Mona insists they're like this with ''all'' Treasures, though. "C'mon, man..." Restraint isn't that hard, according to Phoenix, the master of self-control. (Mostly.) Phoenix cocks their head, akin to their namesake, as Queen explains the meaning of the Catvan. "Like... that one picture a that cat loafin' on a railin' that everyone decided were a monorail?" It seems Monorail Cat has a ''far reach.'' They appreciate Skull's strength right about now, too, seeing his pipe increase in beats-per-minute like any decent song; given the things they've faced, here, their ''own'' strength is far from absolute. Still... they need to see this through. "... we good?" They call out to Skull, knowing he's keeping an eye on the altar in their escape.

They are not good.

"SHIT!" Phoenix yells, suddenly finding themself having to brace against the wall of Mona's -- ''Mona???'' -- to avoid being thrown out of the van entirely. Mona transforming back into not-a-cat form at least dumps them on the ground a little more ''gently,'' and what everyone will see as they enter is Phoenix springing backwards to rejoin the Phantom Thieves, massive greatsword appearing in their hands.

They step up, beside Ogre, when Eiji declares that they brought his treasure right ''to'' him. "I'll die before you lay a hand on her, you SON OF A PRICK!" They yell, swiping a hand. He's got some real sick shit to say as he takes the stage -- those are ''too'' many fucking diamonds -- but...

They see the Shadows swarming in -- including Hajime, who Phoenix grunts, ''ugh,'' on seeing the cognition of their own abusive partner leering at them. It's better if they ''don't'' engage him. Cognitive Ichika sends an entirely different pit down into their stomach; they never met ''her,'' running through this hellscape. "Leave her alone!" They snap, to him, even though Cognitive Ichika isn't ''real'' -- but telling Eiji to leave the version of Ichika in his ''head'' alone isn't as dissociated from telling him to leave the ''real one'' alone as it might look.

He keeps ''talking,'' though, and Tsubasa's lips twist alongside their gut. "YOU SICK FUCK!" They yell, taking another bold step forward. "STEP OFFA OUR PARTNER, YOU PIECE A SHIT!"

('Our' has nothing to do with Eiji, here, and everything to do with ''Skull.'')

Perhaps ''that's'' what gets Eiji noticing them. His wings ''flare,'' and Phoenix springs forward to charge ''him'' --

-- only to get ''slammed,'' midair, into the Groom's aisle. "That... ain't my name," they rasp out, coughing with the impact, as they plant one orange-gloved hand on the fine wood to shove themself up. "That ain't... MY NAME... YOU ASSHOLE! I'M THE FUCKIN' ''PHOENIX!!''" With the yell they manage a second time, they get a knee up under them, to slice at him with that massive blade. (Though, satisfyingly, he may note a touch of ''fear'' to the anger twisting their lips, as he looms over them like that.) "Don't you fuckin' touch me again! An' don't put Ogre DOWN like that! The ideas she got are HER IDEAS, YOU FUCKASS! You -- you don't fuckin' ''scare'' me!" The way ''they'' understand what he's doing... well, they can have some sympathy for those people busting in with information-gathering Personas.

But there's a way their voice hitches on the word... he may very well scare them a ''little.'' Perhaps that's the only reasonable answer... to a man looming over them like ''this.'' Phoenix is at least able to slice their way out of his shadow, though, thanks to Ogre -- whose healing protection settles over them, as they spring back to her and the others. "You got me," they smile, to her, briefly. And then, to Joker, they call: "Right! Let's do this--!!"

</poem>
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 63 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Disciplinary Backhand. Resist!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 34 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull stops dead when Phoenix calls out to him, turning with a forced smile. "Just gonna be glad to see this...fucking nightmare behind us..." He knowingly meets eyes with them briefly before going back to his pipe work. It was good that his attempts at looking strong were working because he was a tightly wound bomb just waiting for Eiji's Shadow to show up.

THERE HE IS.

Ryuji is actually smiling as he strolls closer to the swarmy POS, tapping his pipe with a jaunty little rhythm. He lets him talk. They really did love to talk. "Wow...This is the first time I'm hearing your voice and I really hate it. Lot less important sounding than your fucking rep implies..."

Then he turns into a winged kitty cat and Ryuji is just pleased as punch. This guy was hilariously awful. Like a Cartoon. "Hey Garfield, step off of her. She's with -Us-." Giving a nod over to Tsubasa and then a grin at Ichika. He tilts his head back, holding it at crooked angle as he looks at Eiji's shadow again. "So--Mondays do suck but I'm gonna show you what sucks worse. I'm gonna LOOOOOOOVE kickin' your teeth in hehe--PERSONA!"

Captain Kidd manifests into reality, rocking with the waves of a nonexistent sea. The Skeleton opens its jaws, letting out a otherworldly smoke.

Skull chuckles and points toward Eiji's distorted form. "ZIO!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Ichika says she has backup coming.

She is, of course, completely right.

Hibari Aoki, Ichika Kawase's friend and sometime gang member, had sworn to see this through ever since she'd first heard about Eiji - and what he'd done. Even before she knew that Ichika was Ogre. She'd done her best to interfere subtly: to sneak out papers and pass them to people who can deal with them, like Myunghon, and to delve the depths of Eiji's wickedness even as she became more and more unsettled.

But Hibari is, of course, just a rumourmonger. She doesn't get involved in things like this.

Fortunately, there is someone who is.

Mujina, the mysterious Persona-user; a figure in a long coat, belted around her waist, hanging open below that and accompanied by black leggings and high boots. The Phantom Thieves look like - well, thieves. She looks like a spy.

And she has a mask. It's not Fox's mask but it looks like it's of the same aesthetic: traditional Japanese, red and white. Except instead of a fox this is a broader shape, with stripes that go up from the cheeks and over the eyes in a wide arc, and wider, more triangular ears with red along the outside; it's a (very) stylized animal that is either a tanuki-ish badger or a badger-ish tanuki.

Mujina had thought she'd seen the worst of Eiji and his friends already. That was before she burst in on this - this - she couldn't even think of it as a wedding. Weddings are happy. This was disgusting in a way she struggled to put into words, backed up by an equally disgusting man -

- and, as she'd guessed privately to Ichika, a cognition. Though not the cognition she'd expected.

It being 'Ichika', and a pregnant Ichika at that, actually slows her down for a moment. It's a Cognition - it's not real - but it's still someone she is here to protect, not someone she came to fight, and it interrupts Mujina's mental stride.

Just long enough for her to be an easy target for the shockwaves. They smash, and she goes down, stumbling, tumbling into one of the benches with a painful-sounding crack, what was about to be the calling of her Persona interrupted. She can pick herself up quickly, at least, though she uses the bench itself for support, as if she wasn't sure of her balance.

"Ogre!" she calls. "I'm here, as promised!" Ogre's brought the Phantom Thieves, but they're not the only ones coming in either. There's a moment of hesitation, because Mujina doesn't really *fight* all that much, she generally takes a more subtle approach, but: "Got you covered!"

"DANZABUROU!"

Her Persona appears this time in burning blue, a short rotund humanoid animal - a bake-danuki - wearing a rich haori, its round belly bare and carrying a gunbai made of precious metals and rare woods. A golden leaf is perched behind one ear, almost like a hairpin.

It thumps its belly, and Ogre...

...fades. Not all the way out, but she becomes difficult to see clearly, hazy and ill-defined and hard to get a magical grip on, and a rush of energy fills her as Danzaburou's power surges.

"I'm here to help!" Mujina calls to the others, focusing on the Phantom Thieves - Joker, Queen, Phoenix, Fox and his so-similar mask, Skull. "I'm with Ogre; I'll back you up!"
</poem>

AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 86 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Elec skill Zio on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Recovery skill Doronparama on Ichika Kawase!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 99 Recovery healing from Hibari Aoki's Doronparama.
AS: Eclipse added!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke was glad for the mask. Not just because of its protection, and not just because of it shielding his identity. He was glad for the fact that it hid his expression - one he could hardly control, no matter how he tried. Rage, alertness, uncertainty, focus - he shifted from one to the other in a heartbeat, then was caught between two before settling on another entirely. Yet, despite his emotions running high, and the utter contempt he held for the Palace's boss, he had nothing to say. He was silent until addressed, simply following Ogre and Phoenix, waiting for his orders.

Keen eyes darted around the chapel, his back to the gathered thieves as he watched for any potential threats. He scanned the shadows, seeking any movement. He noted the entrances, the exits, the blind spots - everything that could be used by them, or against them. Above all else, he tried to ignore the drumbeat in his chest. The place felt wrong to him, and not just in the sense of it being a supernatural construct. The wretched art wrought in glass, the glaring neon signs that stung at his eyes, the treasure taking pride of place in the venue... It all sent his stomach churning with just a glance.

Keen eyes darted around the chapel, his back to the gathered thieves as he watched for any potential threats. He scanned the shadows, seeking any movement. He noted the entrances, the exits, the blind spots - everything that could be used by them, or against them. Above all else, he tried to ignore the drumbeat in his chest. The place felt wrong to him, and not just in the sense of it being a supernatural construct. The thought of what it all meant, and the knowledge that it was how Eiji saw the world - how Eiji saw his dear friends - would have made him sick, were it not for the festering rage it inspired in him too.

Every fibre in his body yearned to throw something at those windows. At the signs. At anything that so much as dared to represent Eiji's monstrous will. His jaw clenched, and he breathed, trying to restrain himself just enough to keep from kicking down doors and finding that damned Shadow himself. He wanted to hurt it. He wanted to END it. He wanted to make it suffer for everything it had inflicted on others, then grant it the single most painful and humiliating end he could give. Then, as if in mocking response to his blood-boiling rage, the Shadow of the man in question descended upon them.

Hyousuke spoke no words, but not out of single-minded focus on assessing the situation. His silence was rage. Sheer, unfettered, unbound *fury.* Every word that spilled from the Shadow's mouth was like acid, burning him and seeping into his mind while his stomach turned. Every movement it made left him tenser and tenser, until his teeth felt like they would crack from the strain, and his muscles coiled like some savage beast lunging for the kill. He snarled, his mask barely hiding the low growl that rumbled from his throat. Then, the strike.

Hyousuke was ready for it. He squared his feet, he stood his ground, and with a roar that ripped into the air like an explosion, he summoned his Persona to the fore.
"ACHILLES!" He bellowed, and that titan wreathed in gleaming bronze surged into the fray. His shield, hewn from the same shining metal as his armour, rang out as the blows rained upon it. Each one landed like a hammerstrike, but Hyousuke remained firm against the onslaught. He was not shaken by them. He was *enraged* by them.

"You piece of fucking SHIT!" Hyousuke roared. His voice was raw and primal, his eyes wide and blazing with fury that threatened to burn him from the inside out. There was no sense of preserving his identity, nor any inclination to maintain some kind of cool. There was only anger. "You think you can do this to people?! To my FRIENDS?! To the people I care about?! You ASSHOLE?!" Achilles' guard dropped, and a fourth came through, but Hyousuke took it without so much as flinching. He staggered back, but his eyes remained focussed - a slavering hound, focussed on tearing apart its target.

"They're not yours! THEY NEVER WERE!"
Hyousuke surged forwards, his Persona a blur of bronze and red as he called out his order. "GIVE THIS PIECE OF SHIT HELL!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao saw that calling card.

In a vacuum... he was impressed, had a good laugh, took some pictures... and found some of the technique very interesting, but he didn't have much time to muse over it. He knows how this Palace rattles his friends... he's doing his best to make sure they're okay after the fact, and prepare himself to go the distance.

He had to battle a few of his own demons over how this 'Phantom Thieves' stuff upended his life, even if it was for the best given Madarame's crimes. This, and some uncomfortable likenesses of a Palace to... uh, previous experience.

This man's reach stands to hurt - and has hurt - so many people, but there's at least one especially that he's not going to let go unanswered. He's just going to have to trust whatever process is in pay here is going to work, as he comes in alongside Tamaki.

He's stunned into silence through that initial bout of blathering, coming along as some of the last to gather. Uncharacteristic of Masao 'Mark' Inaba, it's hard to notice he's there (outside of Resonance detection) until the explosive shockwaves come.

"Dammit!" He holds his axe up as he braces against the first. The second throws him on his rear, dropping that axe on the ground. He grits his teeth, balls up a fist...

With a defiant yell and a faint shimmer of blue where the last shockwave collides against one's will, Masao runs forward, picks up that axe, ''swings'' that axe wide to redirect some of that noise back towards Eiji's empowered Shadow, staggering forward as he sucks in breath.

His ears are ringing after that. He misses a lot of what Ogre has to say - by serendipity - while his hearing comes back. After that he's already poised to just raise his voice over a lot of the gathering intrigue.

"You listen right here, jackass!" Calls the street artist. To hear this man talk about starting a family just for him, his purposes... it does lead into some of the darker thoughts he had about being pressured into taking up the dry cleaning business.

Man, this guy's just spouting names and putting them to faces that aren't them, by his measure. He shakes his head. (Wait, he can't see their faces either with those masks, so this statement kind of falls apart. Nevertheless...)

"Kids grow up to become their own people, man! You don't respect that, no amount of 'em will ever make you happy." Despite how much they harp on him, his parents do love him and want him to have a stable job in these uncertain lost years of the economy, but, he knows who he is and what he wants out of life.

He looks over to Cognitive Ichika. He remembers the sadness this mental construct tried to hide under duty and submission. He hopes the Congition remembers, even if they aren't real, how they reacted to him stenciling that rose graffiti before them.

Taking the axe in hand again, he grins.

"I'm goin' after the ring," he asides to Tamaki and anyone else in earshot as he runs forward, takes that axe one-handed, and ''slams'' it into the ring.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Masao Inaba has used the Slash skill Melee - Axe on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Recovery skill Phalanx on Ichika Kawase, Ren Amamiya, Tsubasa Seki, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Fox nods to Phoenix. "Once we're done here," he agrees. Then, however -

Movement - red and gold, glittering. He whirls, squeezing his trigger and volleying a burst of gunfire towards the blur, but the shots fly wild as Shadow Eiji heaves and ''flips'' Mona in one awful feat of strength, the treasure all too easy to reclaim as their anthropomorphic not-feline comrade is knocked out of his transportation form.

"Damn!" Fox snarls, as the Ruler reclaims the thing binding its twisted self-distortion to the cognitive space. "Joker, Phoenix, look out!"

He moves to sprint to his friends' aid, but crowing triumphantly as the Shadows of the Palace flock to and engorge his form, Shadow Eiji becomes something ''wholly other'', lashing out with terrible diamond wings and mighty arms to shake the very foundation of the chapel here about them. Fox is knocked over, crashing through the tables of the bride's side of the chapel in a most ungainly fashion.

A cloud of dust and splinters surrounds where he landed, and there is silence for a moment, before: "Persona."

Goemon rises like ink on wood, clearing away the rubble with a mighty sweep of his pipe, and Fox clambers to his feet, mask burning blue. Cold grey eyes regard Eiji 'Sitri' Kamiya - and the cognitive doppelganger of Ichika who comes to his side.

"A puerile coward," he decries the Ruler, crimson saya suddenly in hand as he grasps his sword's hilt. The scent of mint surrounds him as Ogre calls out her Persona, and the scratches and bruises he's already suffered ease. "Is that your justification? To blame ''her'' for your petty rage? For the wounds inflicted by your hand?"

The sibilant sound of his sword being drawn seems to echo as the ink-black steel drinks in the obscene red light, hungrily. "You are a murderer."

Goemon points stoically with his pipe, as Fox sweeps his sword to the side, and a rushing wind lifts the feet of himself, Ogre, Phoenix and Joker. "And you will pay."
</poem>

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 19 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 37 Elec damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Zio.
AS: Paralyze added!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Almighty skill Masukukaja on Ren Amamiya, Ichika Kawase, Tsubasa Seki, and
Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Masao Inaba's Melee - Axe.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Shadows are pouring into the mirror of Eiji Kamiya. The man of the hour, unfortunately, even if it might not 'really' be him. It is certainly something LIKE the real live man -- but that's not the problem of Hitomi Mandai.

Hitomi came back here, despite everything, despite an irrational fit that she had shut herself up into her dorm room to deal with so as not to bother people. ("I was just really tired" is accurate, but not complete.) It's for Ririka. Hitomi has people to care about now.

At least it was *marginally* easier to get back in.

Her eyes turn towards Ririka as she speaks her mind to the Shadow. "Yeah," she says, before she is washed over by the shockwave which throws her off of anything more eloquent she might have been about to say --

But though she is shaken, even staggered, she doesn't pitch over. The shockwaves end because the great Thing is, in all its majesty, not quite such an overwhelming force as to blast through -- "Are those the Phantom Thieves?" Hitomi says, as she regains her footing. It is, perhaps, the first time she's so much as glimpsed them (as far as she knows, anyway). But...

Her eyes turn over towards the looming Eiji.

One hand comes up to push up her glasses. "Tyche," she says, before snapping a hand out to grasp something from the air - and a moment later the looming marble statue that is Tyche's form appears, extending one hand plaintively towards Eiji. A possible mistress, someone raising an objection in the chapel?

Maybe.

"Get him," Hitomi says, and several searing bursts of flame snap out towards him!

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Double Agi on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
It was quite a surprise to see the Phantom Thieves' calling card already plastered all over where the St. Hermelin alumni group of Tamaki, Masao, Maki, and Eriko had exited the Palace. The trip was rough, especially for the latter two, and ended in their early exit. That little venture isn't going to be enough for Tamaki, though.

After getting some rest, Tamaki arrives on the scene along with Masao for round two, this time to see what this Change of Heart business is firsthand. Before the pair takes the Rumor entrance to the Palace proper, she tells him, "Seki-kun said that the Phantom Thieves were responsible for causing their Psychotic Breakdown, so keep an eye out for any funny business, but for the time being, we're taking this jerk out, right?"

Inside the Palace, she tries to take in the entirety of the scene -- the Phantom Thieves, Eiji and the Bride's Shadows, and the other scuffle involving other Persona-users and Hajime. The gaudy decor feels like a smack in the face to her.

And the quip about dress attire ... Tamaki gestures to her usual everyday business attire, then waves dismissively at Eiji's Shadow. "Nahhh, if anything, I'm overdressed for this occasion."

Tamaki scowls as she listens to Eiji's Shadow yell about 'never letting her go again.' This pain comes from somewhere, but that's only an explanation, not an excuse. "... Desire can be a good thing, and there's nothing wrong with wanting a family ''per se'', but yours has been left unchecked for far too long, trampling over the wishes of other people whose desires matter just as much as yours!"

Confusion registers on her face as she sees Eiji's Shadow backhand Phoenix -- who seems to be in league with the Phantom Thieves. Does Tsubasa know????? How would they react to this betrayal? But that's a problem for later -- there's more important things to consider, like those shock waves. Tamaki manifests Arianrhod in front of her, and holds once, twice -- but the third inflicts a Persona Break, dizzying her slightly and preventing her from making any further approach herself.

Mark says he's going after the ring. Tamaki nods firmly at him and raises her sword, pommel forward first, holding it instead like a scepter instead of a blade. "Got it. I'll back you up." She clutches at her necklace with her other hand, manifesting Arianrhod once more, who sends a wave of healing in an area out to patch up the damage from the shock waves.
</poem>

AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Media on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Katsuya Suou, and Umie
Akabane!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 74 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 79 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 74 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>News of the Calling Card spread quickly - even to Sumaru City. Shinobu reads it over once, and then again.

...It's finally time, huh? She still remembers her first ill-fated attempt at the Palace - even with such a large group, they had to fall back... She remembers well how it felt.

Ever since, it's been on the back of her mind, especially after their second attempt at the palace, and the information they obtained and did what they could to folllow up on. So when the Phantom Thieves make their announcement... of course she'll be there.

Shinobu bursts into the wedding chapel, and the first thing she sees is Eiji reclaiming a massive ring.

...The second, is the actual ''design'' of the horrific architecture of the place. She grimaces.

"...The hell kind of taste is that? You make me sick." Shinobu mutters, drawing her staff. There's a lot to make her sick, here - but right now, she focuses on what's important.

"We're here to back you up. Hope you don't mind." Shinobu says with a nod toward the Phantom Thieves. She looks, briefly, toward Ogre and Phoenix. Ogre is no surprise, since she's the one who first brought her attention to this place, but Phoenix? ...Seems like they're a package deal. And Phoenix was with Joker yesterday, too...

She turns her attention back to Eiji - and the monster he's become.

He slams his hand onto the ground, unleashing brutal shockwaves - the first catches her off-guard and she's sent flying back, but she manages to catch her footing and stabilises herself.

"Think you can just lay claim to people, asshole...? Think you're so great... Time to face reality." Shinobu says.

She's always been the straight forward type - so she lunges forward toward Eiji himself, her staff jabbing forward in a flurry of strikes.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Jab Flurry on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 83 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Double Agi. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Double Agi. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Any Mysterious Figure worth their salt knows that one should only reveal their presence at an opportune, dramatic moment. Vesper had thus made sure to be present for the Phantoms' telegraphed big moment - he may not have known their exact plan, but he knew the general area where he would need to be.

Getting in position wasn't the difficult part, not for him. After all, Vesper is not an unfamiliar man to Shadow Eiji, having visited a few times before... playing the role of someone entirely on board with what he was doing, appealing to the ego in order to ingratiate himself. All fully an act, as a means to an end, allowing him to infiltrate the Palace non-violently. It had certainly been helpful when he last visited some time ago, allowing him to extract a captive female student, merely having had to express an... interest, to be able to leave with her.

Not everybody could compromise their principles for the sake of such an act. Vesper is not exactly proud of that skill. Even if it was all for a good cause, telling himself that doesn't do anything to make him feel less disgusted with himself. Nor does he feel satisfied with what he's been able to accomplish, acting on his own. Playing a part in this today is how he hopes to make up for it, even if it were to only be in his own eyes.

Still, he would never have been able to just waltz up anywhere close to where the Treasure was being kept. He had to bide his time among the guests, until the moment of Showtime arrived. The noise of a car being flipped (??) was enough of a tip-off in that regard, prompting the opera-masked man who certainly looks dressed fancily enough for a wedding to come running.

Whatever he had planned for his big entrance doesn't come to fruition, as he rushes straight into what one might call a warzone. Stopping in his tracks to brace himself against the shockwave, he doesn't quite manage to keep his footing. The tumble is at least short-lived enough - and somehow that bowler hat of his stays on his head even though it rightly shouldn't have.

Straightening up, Vesper wipes a speck of dust off the shoulder of his otherwise unblemished fancy suit, clearing his throat before raising his voice. "So, Eiji Kamiya! You have finally revealed yourself for the monster you truly are! In that case, there is no reason to hold back! Phantom Thieves, once more we stand with you!" And, once more, he's putting words in everyone's mouth.

He also brings a hand to his mask, and with the word 'Persona', calls forth the iron masked gentleman/cricket hybrid that is Raffles. With a wave of its diamond-tipped cane, a pillar of darkness appears underneath the creature that Eiji's transformed into.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Eiha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Damnit, had the shadow been waiting for them? In a second, what should have been a successful heist is disrupted by the monstrous groom reaching out and toppling Mona with the rest of them inside- and moments later, Queen is one of many sprawled across the ground as the ring is taken. Queen grimaces as she gets to her feet. "This is going to be harder than I thought. We need to get that ring off him, and make sure no-one else takes it!" Queen hisses, just before the cavalry, such as it is, arrives.

But she can understand that rage pouring off Ichika. That pure, righteous fury. That same level of fury coming off Phoenix. Earned fury, with a target deserving to receive it.

Unfortunately, the shockwaves that come off of Eiji slam into Queen ''hard''. The first slams through her defenses, and while she hastily manages to block the second, the third sends her flying, slamming bodily into one of the walls of the venue, marble cracking under the impact and sending out a scream of pain before hitting the ground.

Young women submit to fathers, married women to their husbands and older women to their sons, so the saying goes. And it seems Eiji is very intent on making that clear to every woman in the arena.

...Maybe there are different ones, when there are no men in the equation.

Queen doesn't really want to think about that anymore, as Ogre's healing washes over her, enabling her to stand again. "Thanks, Ogre." She manages, as her hand sweeps to her hip, and suddenly a revolver- looking somewhere between a cowboy's gun and a stylized service weapon- is in her hands- and Queen lines up her shot. Not for Eiji's shadow, but the ring itself. They need to get rid of that thing, right? Maybe the next time he raises his hand, she can try and loosen it. Bullets aren't the typical technique, but with something that size, one uses what they can.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Recovery healing from Hyousuke Suzuki's Phalanx.
AS: Atk_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Masukukaja.
AS: Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> -----EARLIER-----

The pleasantly nosy neighbor next door to Umie has a story. It is irrelevant to this one, save that it is an example of how normal lives still happen in complete separation and ignorance of the darker elements of the world many present here have had to deal with.

... Well, except for one: the neighbor has Umie next door.

She is a quiet, polite enough neighbor: she keeps to herself, says hello and thank you when passing in the hallways, and keeps up on her mail.

And yet, every once in a while, there's a loud noise in the middle of the night, or a splotch of something suspiciously dark red on the carpet outside.

Then, there was today.
"IT'S TONIGHT?!" cried a voice from next door.

By the time the neighbor timed opening her door to 'coincidentally take out the trash', she spots the back of a light grey jacket, black leggings, red sneakers, and two blonde buns as her neighbor, Umie Akabane, walks away at a hurried clip towards the stairwell.

What in the world could someone be in such a hurry for?

-----NOW-----

How could this place feel even *worse* than it did before? Umie had left a message for Katsuya to come along (with the added instruction of not inviting Akechi, for reasons she was sure she didn't have to elaborate on); whether or not he'd be able to show up, she'd be going through the only way she knows how: Shakespeare and crime.

For Itsuki and Tsubasa, Umie will be there. And, in a way, she owes Joker and Phoenix for, once again, intervening yesterday.

But whatever justifications Umie feels upon being here, the last and strongest is the the rage she feels at seeing Eiji's shadow, remembering Akechi's explanation of what had happened; even with the details stripped down, it was painful to hear.=

This is what a person can do to another, when their delusion is this powerful.

If Umie was beside Katsuya, she's gone, presumably to make a sneak attack, as is her usual style.

Instead, Umie's letting herself be Perceived as Eiji's pounding fists make her presence known.

Oh, but she's so *happy* to be looked at, right now, if the widening smile on her lips indicates anything about what's going through the hooded red-masked young woman's mind right now.

"If there's one thing a prideful man hates, it's a woman he can't make his own," Umie starts. "And look at you... so full of useless anger that you thrash around like a *toddler*. I'd say the only child you're capable of producing is your own impotent self.

She points a red nail at Eiji. "Don't you know it's a bad omen to see the Badb before a big event?" Battle, wedding, same thing. It's the opposite of how Umie was yesterday following the battle against Sudou, folded down into a rapidly compressing ball. The Badb's ragged sleeves stretch in a widening length over Umie's still small form as she's summoned, likewise pointing towards Eiji.

"You brought this on yourself. Settle down and think about what you've done, Eiji Kamiya-_kun_, and let these nice people have what they've come for."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Haru Okumura has posed.
<poem>
Even compared to Kaneshiro's bank of gluttony, making it to Eiji's Treasure was no walk in the park. It took their combined strength as Phantom Thieves to make it this far, with the help of their new allies, Ichika, and now Tsubasa. The sight that awaits them once they reach the Treasure is no less sickening than the rest of the sights this horrid Palace had to offer.

The wedding imagery hits just as close to home as it has throughout the rest of the Palace, but Haru tries her best to steel herself for what's to come, for Ichika's sake. "For a man who fancies himself a 'protector', the only person an abuser of women like yourself is concerned with protecting is yourself. You won't lay another hand on her!" Noir brandishes her axe as an executioner would as they approach Shadow Eiji - the only thing giving her pause being the uncharacteristic congition of Ichika.

As much as she would relish in sinking her axe into a man like Eiji, the pews bursting with Shadows presents another problem, and someone's going to have to take the backline. "Understood, Joker! We'll back you up!" She affirms, summoning Milady to her side. "Good luck, team! And... be sure to make him suffer." She adds. "Now then... shall we let loose, Milady?" As the others begin laying their attacks on Shadow Eiji and his ring, Haru joins Mona and Panther by unleashing a psychic blast against his posse.

</poem>
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 14 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 9 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Jab Flurry. Resist!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 25 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Eiha. Resist!
AS: Blast added! Paralyze removed! Explosion! 50 damage!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Warrior's Bell on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Warrior's Bell.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 79 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Days prior, Katsuya, because Umie had said she was going in, had called on the aid of one Goro Akechi and together, the three of them had infiltrated the Palace of Eiji Kamiya.

They had a very bad time. The only 'good news', if it could be called that, was some of the information they had found, which appeared to correlate with installations in the real world. But that didn't mean that the situation was over. The Phantom Thieves were going to attempt to change his heart, weren't they.

He might have come even if Umie hadn't invited him. But since she had, of course he had no choice but to go.
It's just as well that she asks him not to ask Akechi along: Akechi had contacted him about after the calling card had been delivered and had said that he was too far to make it there. So that was that.

It was just a matter of finding the right card (still awkward) and practicing his thespian skills (even more awkward). Oh, and making their way through the palace again.

"Stop!" Katsuya shouts, bursting into the room. "I cannot allow you to--"

To whom he is speaking -- the Ruler or the Phantom Thieves in process of stealing his heart -- is an exercise best left to the viewer. What happens instead is that Eiji undergoes a rapid and substantial transformation the moment Katsuya enters and he's left to gaze in shock upon the being looming above them.

"Is this... the face of a Palace's Ruler?" he wonders aloud.

He's seen the inside of a Palace before, after all. What he hasn't seen is a Ruler. So that means that... is the Treasure?

Of course, Eiji 'Sitri' Kamiya is none-too-pleased to have his wedding interrupted. Katsuya's gaze falls on the cognition of Ichika Kawase, dressed up for her wedding and heavily pregnant, as Eiji says it was her fault for provoking him. That he promises that he'll mold her into something 'truly wonderful'. That she'll bear more children for him.
Akechi had told him what he'd done to her. And what had happened after.

It's sufficient to wind Katsuya Suou up fully. He quite rudely points a finger right at the thing Eiji has become. "...Enough!! Eiji Kamiya! Sexual assault, physical violence, and human trafficking-- the evidence against you is quite strong! Are you going to come along quietly?!"

Considering the response from the Ruler, sources say no.

The hand slams again and again against the floor of the Palace, and it's all that Katsuya can do to stay on his feet.

But he notices, on the recovery, that there are a few other faces he knows here. "Uchida-kun! And Inaba-kun!" They're allies, as it were, of... Team Whoop-Ass (he didn't pick the name). Tamaki bestows upon him some much-needed healing after that opening salvo from the Ruler.

He pays it forward in kind, using one of the skill cards he'd obtained from the Cardboard Dragon. "Here, allow me to back you up!" He has the ability now to heal as well with Helios, which manifests before him in all its finery, but--
Given Helios' 'talents', it's probably best left as a last resort.

The emblem of a shield manifests before Tamaki, before dissolving away into light.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Almighty skill Rakukaja on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Katsuya Suou's Rakukaja.
AS: Def_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Joker tells him they've already heard that nonsense, and he grins, "You're the leader of the Phantom Thieves, huh? Well... I was hoping you'd say that." If anything, an aura of bloodlust begins to surround him all the more.

Arsene however is quick to counter his bride's support for him, and he snarls. "Is that all you've got?" The Ruler leers at Ogre, and her resolution. "The only ''stain'' is the stain you left or your reputation by going to the police over a little ARGUMENT!"

Before he dismisses the Cognitive Ichika, "She's served her purpose. But now that you came here of your own accord- I have little need for her any longer." He cocks his feline head at her Ogre, and her healing the Thieves, "How cute. Well, looks like you'll be ''far'' more use to me than this one."

The Submissive Bride shrinks back a step further, before Eiji looks at Ririka as she calls him a sicko. "Oh look - it's the bratty imouto-chan who thinks she's so important with her stupid little band who couldn't carry a tune to save their lives. Do you really think anyone actually comes out to listen to women play ''rock music''? If you were trying to be an idol you'd have some use at least showing off your assets on stage."

He gives her a disdainful look, "After the wedding I was planning to get rid of you, sell you off to someone who'd teach you what chicks are really good for. Oh - Ichika would cry a bit when you went missing, but then I'd be there to comfort her. Hey - guess I'll get the opportunity to handle that ''now''."

Amphion's analysis can feel through the reflection of soundwaves that he's a creature of violence and darkness - his chapel sits far above ground level for a reason, and he shrinks away from the light.

He's fresh off of back-handing Phoenix, when they protest the dead-naming, and he grins, "Gonna cry about it? How about I help you with that?" The Greatsword is swung once, and it clangs off his rings, before the next bites into his arm, as shadowstuff bleeds off of him. "Oh I'm going to make you HURT for that, bitch."

There's a strange effect that permeates the battlefield. It's like it gets into everyone's heads...

Which is right as Captain Kidd's Zio spell strikes him, and his hair stands on end, looking his way with a growl. "Not as much as I'm gonna love teaching you a lesson, PUNK!" Hyousuke yells at him from a place of raw emotion, "You know I ''can''. You know why?" His eyes become slits upon Achilles, "Because you're nothing. Nobody. You're gonna die here kid - or wish you did."

... a crawling emotional sensation. His desires, twisted and distorted are just so vile as to make everyone feel tainted by it, stained like Ogre said before.

"Babe, tell me why I should give a damn about anyone else's desires?" He says toothily at Tamaki's comment. "You look out for your own, and fuck everyone else. That's the way of this world."

'You listen right here, jackass!'

And he ''does''. Whether he ''hears'' it is another matter, "She'll be happy enough, when she accepts the way things are." His axe comes down one-handed, and clangs against the diamond, "ASSHOLE! This ring is worth more than A HUNDRED OF YOU!"

'You are a murderer.'

"I'm justifying nothing. That was her fault, her fault for provoking me but won't say you're wrong about being a murderer. I'm about to carve another ''notch''." He tries to weave out of Tyche's flames, but gets scorched for his effort.

Right as Queen fires, and in alarm, he tries to twist his hand to catch the shot against his knuckles, "BITCH! You brought a GUN to my WEDDING? What's the matter? Didn't think you could take on a real man without one?"

'Don't you know it's a bad omen?'

"Don't you know what a bad idea it is to cross me, sweetheart?" And as the compressing ball strikes him, his eyes go a deep red, with a bloodlust. Before his eyes dart to Katsuya, in incredulity, "Come quietly? You some kind of ''cop''? Ahahaha-AHAHAHAHAHA! Must be some stupid rookie! Everyone in this town knows they can't touch me?

It's the ring. The Navigators can feel it now! But they can't stop it! And with a sudden flash of power, something about his whole presence changes.

The Ruler flashes a winning smile with far too many teeth and it's like whatever anger the women were feeling before, is temporarily smothered, "Hey ladies-? Couldn't help but notice how gorgeous you all are. Would you like a job? Can get you a real lucrative one- actual modeling work. It's the fiscally responsible thing to do in this economy to secure your futures, am I right?"

And that smile carries the weight of irresistible charm/ as they all feel compelled to do what he says, "Just ditch those losers and line up over here for an interview, alright?"

As he gestures towards a spot, and anyone influenced by this finds they can't help but move there at least. Even if they're strong enough to resist the emotional influence to see him favorably, they can't help but move in that direction, their legs just disobey them. And as they reach that spot, he suddenly sweeps both his wings of gemstones forward, trying to strike them all with brutal crushing force which breaks the spell instantly.

"Ahahaha! You stupid bitches! Always falling for that bullshit. You think you can fight ''me''? I make a LIVING off of gullible hussies like you!"

Before he turns, and smirks at the men so smugly, that they all feel a compulsion towards ''rage''. Incomprehensible rage instead. The kind that makes people get set up, make mistakes, take a swing when someone is ready for them.

It's easy enough, when it's someone as vile as this.

"Now I'd appreciate it if you chicks would just stay the fuck down? Don't want to have to ruin your pretty faces while I finish things up with the men over there. If you're too ugly to get married - I don't get paid."

"HYAH!" And leaping forth, he brings up his fist, and dives down into the fray of men now that those he categorizes are 'women' are separated from them. "Come at me! Let me show you what a REAL MAN is!" And in this, he wades into the fray, punching and claw striking with wild abandon, as he walks up to Katsuya, smashing into Helios again, and again, and again with tremendous force. "You? You I gotta make an example of. Idiots like you might give the other cops out there ''bright ideas''."

And the Submissive Bride simply clasps her hands together as if both fretting and praying, her support - quietly empowering him all the more, his wounds beginning to knit.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Makoto Niijima, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase, and
Ririka Kawase!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Umie Akabane, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi Mandai, and
Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Sweet Talk on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Makoto Niijima, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika
Kawase, and Ririka Kawase!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Umie Akabane, Hibari Aoki, Hitomi
Mandai, and Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack doesn't seem to match one on your list.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Julian Marlowe, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ren Amamiya,
and Masao Inaba!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Hyousuke Suzuki and Katsuya Suou!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Hyousuke Suzuki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Man of the House on Katsuya Suou! 3 Hits!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Julian Marlowe! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ryuji Sakamoto! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Mind Up! Tsubasa Seki's SP +8!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Masao Inaba! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Block Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Resist!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Recovery skill Untouchable on Penguin Sniper and Junes!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 125 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Block Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 109 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Block
Strike!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 78 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 20 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: You can't attack while you have an attack in your queue.
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 99 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 22 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Treacherous Subjugation on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Recovery healing from Penguin Sniper's Untouchable.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Block Best! Katsuya Suou takes 52 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House.
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Block Worst! Katsuya Suou takes 67 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Man of the House.
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Goading Smirk on Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Avoid Best! Tamaki Uchida takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Hitomi Mandai takes 113 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Yusuke Kitagawa! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Persona! Junes has used the Recovery skill Devotion on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Support: Junes gains 1 Limit!
AS: Junes's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Ririka Kawase takes 72 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 70 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Avoid Best! Shinobu Shimizu takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Sweet Talk.
AS: Counter Best! Makoto Niijima takes 159 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Earth damage in return for their attack! Eclipsed!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 154 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Treacherous Subjugation. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Worst! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 51 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Rage added!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 79 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 49 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 109 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 42 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Goading Smirk.
AS: Avoid Best! Julian Marlowe takes 28 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back.
AS: Avoid Neutral! Julian Marlowe takes 95 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 106 Recovery healing from Junes's Devotion.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
As Queen and Ogre mentioned, Persona Users rush in--but it looks like, unlike last time with Kaneshiro, these ones are to help them--no enemies from Strega or the New World Order to oppose their heist. Joker waits a moment to mark everyone's move to be certain of this--they know full well if the Black Mask shows up, they won't be able to sense his Resonance, so visual cues are all any of them have--then crooks a smirk at their incoming allies.

Mujina is expected, and Joker gives her a decisive little nod. "Your help is welcome, Mujina," they call to her, making note of her bake-danuki Persona, Danzaburou.

Magic trickles down over Joker, not just from Fox with his typical opening Masukukaja but also from Hyousuke, howling rage against Kamiya's Shadow but choosing to boost the strength and defense of several of those here, including them. Joker gives them both a nod of gratitude. Fox already knows the score, and Hyousuke is clearly here to help Ogre... or rather, Ichika. They know that of everyone here, only Mujina knows Ogre's true identity.

Shinobu also gets a nod of acknowledgement. "Made up your mind, hmm? Is that as an individual or as a group?" they ask her. Myunghon pretty much told them less than a week ago that they'd be taking cooperation as individuals, but they're in bad shape right now, from what they hear... After yesterday's fight, they have to hide their concern that Shinobu's here and not at their side.

Fortunately, Vesper's theatrics give them something else to focus on. He says "we" stand with them--is he a member of Cardboard Dragon too and simply didn't appear for the meeting, just as several members of The Phantoms hadn't? Something to ponder later. Vesper too gets a nod--and Umie, debasing Shadow Eiji as child himself, gets an ''extra-special'' smirk. The extra familiarity means extra expressiveness... and Joker has an idea of why Umie takes extra Umbridge to this piece of shit.

Queen reminds them all that they need to get back the ring. Joker frowns as they see and hear Masao explicitly say he's going for the ring. They remember him from the Sumaru Hyakumanzeki Festival and from a shift at the Ore no Beko, but... Who'd have imagined he'd show up here with his own friends? Do he and Tamaki already understand its significance? Worse yet, does Katsuya, someone Joker knows to be a police officer in the real world? Even if he's helping ''now'', something made obvious by how he yells at Shadow Eiji, that's no guarantee for later... Especially since Joker doesn't yet see ''Akechi'' anywhere. He didn't decide to sit this one out, did he? Joker's frown deepens.

"We can let the others help," they murmur to Queen, Phoenix, Ogre, Fox, and Skull, gesturing subtly towards Masao and anyone else going for the ring. "But yes--it's just as Queen says. Be prepared to make a move at the last second."

He chuckles when Noir encourages them all to make Shadow Eiji suffer. "We'll make a point of it," Joker replies. No need to tell Skull or Phoenix that--they've both been chomping at the bit for ages to exercise violence on this scumbag. Ogre... Joker doesn't know if she wants Shadow Eiji to ''suffer'', considering why she asked for their help in changing his heart in the first place. At the same time, they have no doubt that she won't cower before him anymore. She's shown the ferocity of her will in spades now.

Ririka they remember from just yesterday, though they don't know her friend Hitomi, for all that she wonders about the fabled Phantom Thieves. No time to discuss that now, or to delineate who is and isn't an official part of the team. Ririka's analysis is a boon either way, as is when she announces her findings. Once that happens, they'll know there's no need to waste an attack on darkness. Instead--weak to Earth, hmm... Joker has just the thing.

Before they can make good on that, though, Shadow Eiji spreads his influence. It's--incredibly gross. There isn't any other word for it. Joker's skin crawls, and all of a sudden they understand with deeply unwanted intimacy how Ogre's felt about him all this time. It's so off-putting that when Shadow Eiji's ring flashes and his presence changes, they're caught off guard. Maybe it's only the fact that Shadow Eiji doesn't acknowledge them as anything but male that saves them from the betrayal of their own legs. Joker snarls, half in anger and half in concern for the women of the group--but that turns to ''just'' answer at the infuriating grin Shadow Eiji gives the rest of them.

They don't bother to ask why Shadow Eiji is glad they said anything. They simply leap up as Shadow Eiji punches down at them and their male compatriots, taking the blows even in between instinctually evading direct hits, sweeping around that massive furry arm and going for the thing that matters most here: the Treasure. In this state of mind, they don't even notice Cognitive Ichika healing his wounds.

Fortunately, there's one thing that stuck in their mind before they lost themself to rage. Once they've got a good perch, they stand.

"IXTAB!" they call, coat whirling around them as they spin, changing masks under the curl of their gloved fingers. At their back rises a woman hanging from a noose, long hair pouring down over her face and over her striped garments. Despite her dire image, she raises both arms, fingers curled up in a pair of claws, in an act of will against what should be the vision of her death. It's death that she represents, after all--and though The Phantoms don't kill, Joker will certainly contribute to the end of Shadow Eiji's delusions. They splay gloved fingers at him and in particular his ringed finger, and conclude, "RAVAGE HIM!!"

Uttering a haunting keen, Ixtab casts her magic and brings down a landslide down upon the feline Shadow. Or, in other words: rocks fall; Sitri dies.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Landslide on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ren Amamiya regains 10 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Ren Amamiya spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 82 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Landslide. Eclipsed! Avoid Earth!
AS: Eclipse removed!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"Thanks, Noir!" Ogre calls to Haru. Haru, who helped remind her what it was to be allowed a ''dream''. ...Ogre won't disappoint her.

The cavalry arrives. Ogre looks back in satisfaction to see Ririka and Mujina and many others approaching. But she's busy now too. Ogre hears Tsubasa shout to defend her--

Calls her 'our partner'. Ogre smiles--it's grim, but it's real--and looks to Tsubasa, then nods to Skull, too. "That's right. I'm with them!"

"Mujina!" Ogre calls, as she feels her Persona's power make her ''fade'', make her hazy and energetic both. "Thanks! I knew I could count on you!"

Hyousuke is scary like this... but Ichika knows where his anger rests--where his anger ''targets''. And she knows that he'll help. "YEAH I will!"

Mark talks about kids--and shows an insight that's worthy of an adult. Ogre calls, "He's damned right!"

Yusuke and Goemon up her speed, too, and Achilles and Hyousuke up her toughness, her ''might''. She feels both. And Yusuke speaks the words--A murderer. It's true. And Ogre won't let him get away with it again. Members of SEES (like Hitomi), and even Uchida. There's more backup than even she expected. They're going to need it.

"Don't mind at all!" Ogre calls to Shinobu. "Fuck him up with us!"

"Vesper!" Ogre calls, and grins. "You made it." Then in surprise, she looks at Officer Suou, the kind policeman who helped Tsubasa. She considers for a moment, then, "Yeah! Beat his ass, Suou! You can arrest the shit out of him when we're done!"

But Eiji has more to say. And so does Ogre: "Fuck my reputation!" Ogre shouts back at Eiji. "You're the one who blew that up, and I made better friends anyway! Better friends than the assholes who abandoned me to YOU!"

Little need...

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ogre snaps about Cognitive Ichika. "All she wanted was love! And you gave her misery!"

"I won't be used by you anymore."

"Hey, Ichika!" Ogre calls. "You always wanted a family! But he's not going to give you that--he's going to hurt your kids! If you don't leave him--''you'll'' hurt them too! So kick him to the curb!"

She knows that Ichika isn't real. ...But somehow, it resonates for her, to say it. "You've got so many friends, a good family--they'll help you!"

But she feels it. Htat strange... attraction. Ogre long felt stained about it. Gorgeous, though... Ogre finds herself walking over despite her best wishes. She feels nauseous for a moment, remembering that ''this'' world is where for a long time she was sure she'd end up.

And suddenly--

Ogre throws up her shield and takes the attack head-on, blasted back but intact. "Dirty trick, asshole!" Ogre calls. "But even with shit like that, you'll never get it!"

She nods then to Joker. "Right. That ring is ''ours''."

She rises to her feet again, and stows her shield. "Momiji!"

As Joker tees her up, she sends out a quick Mediarama to the group--to Hibari, Ryuji, Julian, and Makoto--and then...

Well. Then she pulls a HUNTING RIFLE of all things, loads it up in both hands, and takes aim through the scope at Shadow Eiji. "Fuck all the way off," she tells him. Momiji lovingly cradles Ogre and her rifle as they take aim--and when she fires, a huge ROCK comes with the bullet, exploding on impact into a shower of debris!
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Hibari Aoki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Julian Marlowe, and Makoto
Niijima!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Chthonic Wrath on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 156 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Another notch.

''He's proud of it.''

That spiritual darkness closes around them, and from under the kitsune mask breath hisses in fury.

"How dare you?" Fox barks, and is ''moving'', a blur of shadow towards Sitri's maddening smirk. The Ruler's fists fly at him, and he seems heedless - until Goemon rises to deflect those furious punches once, twice with his pipe, and just about maintains his cohesion.

A moment's lucidity enters Fox's mind as he closes to truly ''dangerous'' proximity, and instead of swinging, he plants his feet and assumes a kendo ready stance, Goemon in turn assuming something similar to an ox guard with his pipe held high at his shoulder.

He takes a deep breath... exhales... and waits, though the trembling of his katana gives away the fury still crackling through his veins.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Almighty skill Iaijutsu Stance on Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 48 Almighty damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Iaijutsu Stance.
AS: Atk_Up and Reflect_Phys added!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Phoenix is ''deeply'' glad to hear Skull sassing Eiji so confidently; he's saying the words they're too mad to come up with. Fuckin' ace material, man. They usually get as far as 'eat shit, shithead', and...

... look, there's a ''reason'' Ichika's the Boss and she's the one who does all the ''talking'' before a beatdown, when they're at Kasugayama.

Phoenix isn't quite able to look out as quickly as Fox yells, but his bolstering breeze lifts them up, anyway, a few beats later. (''Fuck'' yeah.) They're glad to hear him say it -- to ''call'' him what he is -- a murderer. His naming of these truths make them as quick as his spell.

"Wait, someone ''else'' can take his Treasure?!" Phoenix hisses back, in alarm, when Queen warns them. "Wha--what happens then?!" Queen's revolver sure is stylish, though... it reminds Phoenix that ''they'' have something in the wings, too.

"We're countin' on ya!" Phoenix calls out to Noir, as she, Panther and Mona assault the Shadows backing him up. They even have a sacred task of their own, as Phoenix adds, hollering: "KICK THAT FUCKIN' HAJIME IN THE TEETH FOR ME!"

There's a girl in a tanuki mask, though -- and Phoenix doesn't ''know'' that this is their dear friend Hibari, who has rumourmongered them through untold trials at school, who they have stepped in front of to defend ''almost'' as much. They ''do,'' however... think the tanuki mask is slick as hell. "Sweet!" They yell out, to her. "Name's Phoenix! Thanks for th' cover!"

They recognise Achilles, though -- and Hyousuke is one of the only guys around who, in turn, knows ''them.'' Who knows... just how much his friend's in trouble, here. And they know, in turn -- how hard it must be for Hyousuke to ''speak'' that anger, to Eiji-Sitri. "FUCKIN' A!" They holler back, to him, as the Phalanx courses over their feathered hood and into their veins. "Knew we could count on you, man!"

But it's not just their friends from Kasugayama they can count on. Tsubasa's faith in adults was shaken, yesterday -- enough, at least, that they're ''surprised'' to see Mark and his axe bursting into the scene. Mark might not ''know'' how important it is that he's here, but... "Too right! Holler that shit!!" They yell, when Mark insists that kids ''grow up'' to be their own ''people.''

It's a similar kind of relief they're gripped by when Tamaki and Shinobu and Katsuya enter the scene; they ''don't'' recognise Vesper, but if they ''did,'' they'd surely be reassured to see him too. "Don't mind one bit!" They yell to Shinobu, a fist smacking to their chest in salute, when she hopes they don't mind the backup. (They do worry, a little, that she's ''here'' instead of with ''Myunghon,'' but... Shinobu's an adult. She's surely sorted things out.)

Phoenix isn't acquainted with much of SEES -- though there might be ''more'' of them, in the background, helping to deal with those waves of Shadows -- but they recognise that Hitomi's with Ririka, at least, and they're glad she had backup too.

The woman in the red mask is here again, too -- and if she's going to bring bad luck to Eiji, she's welcome in ''Phoenix's'' book. ... plus, that's a sweet bird.

"Fuckin' -- ''served her purpose?!'' Fuck you!" Phoenix yells, when Eiji-Sitra puts down Cognitive Ichika again. "You know how obvious it is you a piece a shit when you invent people in ya head jus' to abuse 'em?! Oi -- Ichika!" They call out, to the Cognition. "I know it fuckin' sucks for you right now... you fake, but you still got feelins'. Felt it when that prick made me get how ''she'' felt. But look -- I'm promisin' ya this -- the kids you're gonna have, goin' forward, they're gonna have so much fuckin' support, man. I get you can't imagine a world where that ain't with this fuckin' prick... but just get that much, alright?!"

They swipe a hand, as they add: "Don't fuck with Ririka, man! At least she's makin' somethin' people WANT in their lives, unlike your entire, fuckin' -- FUCK!"

But when Eiji-Sitra turns his attention on ''them,'' when they assault him, Phoenix grits their teeth against his taunts. They know ''full well'' what Eiji hurting them amounts to...

... and perhaps that's why that horrible feeling, at the backbone of everything, sinks into them so easily.

Phoenix isn't a ''lady,'' and is not, in their eyes, particularly ''beautiful.'' "Leave 'em alone!" They yell, stepping in front of Mujina protectively --

-- only to find themself ''still walking,'' as he makes his supernatural ''suggestion.'' "Wh--what th' fuck?!" They yelp, as they find themself standing beside the girls and women, here. "I ain't... no, fuck! What are you doin'?! You -- you're lyin'! Jus' like..."

Phoenix looks ''harrowed,'' beneath their mask. "Jus' like you lied to ''her,'' down in them Back Rooms..." ... to Cognitive Tsubasa, that is, that metaphor of an allegory who Cognitive Hajime ''tried'' to turn them into.

''SLAM,'' Eiji's feathers knock Phoenix to the ground where he'd be so quick to say they ''belong,'' too gripped by the horror of his methods that they don't even strike into his strike. They don't even have the mental wherewithall to realise that the rage he's throwing at the ''men'' is a neighbour to the swing ''they'' took at him, in real life, unable to even land the hit. "You jus'... get in their heads, an'... FUCK!"

Phoenix pushes themself up, grasping their head. "GET ''OUT'' OF ''MY'' HEAD, YOU FUCKIN' PRICK! YOU DON'T WANT GUNS AT YOUR WEDDIN'?! THEN ''EAT THIS!!!''"

With that, they pull -- A FUCKING ROCKET LAUNCHER -- out from under their feathered hood. It ''definitely'' didn't fit in there, but cognitively, who's to argue with them? "EAT SHIT, ASSHOLE!" They yell, as they slam a rocket into the tube and take aim, firing it off at Eiji-Sutra. The recoil knocks them back down, again -- but they're ''laughing.'' "Hahaha...hahahaha... FUCK, THAT WAS SO FUCKIN' COOL! ''ALRIGHT!'' SKULL, GET HIS ASS!"

</poem>
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Ryuji Sakamoto can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 124 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Chthonic Wrath. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 129 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Chthonic Wrath. Critical Hit! Weak! Avoid
Earth!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Pierce skill Rocket Launcher on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Tsubasa Seki takes 60 damage!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 170 Pierce damage from Tsubasa Seki's Rocket Launcher.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>"Jokes on you---I'm terrible at school" Skull says with some amount of pride...It really shouldn't be.

As the Tiger Man Shadow continues to talk, Skull feels his jaw clench tighter. This guy never stops getting worse and worse. It was like a curse.

The aura of the battlefield is just so gross that its starting to stick in Ryuji's psyche. He reaches for his head, feeling just so disgusted. Like the slime was crawling up his leg.

Then the fight starts and Eiji admittedly swings pretty hard. Skull parries with his pipe, feeling himself get pressed back further and further. The blonde grits his teeth as he finds a way to disengage momentarily to get his barrings.

Skull gives Ren a nod when he mentions the others. For the moment, he has been focused on dealing with Eiji that he missed his surroundings.

Skull takes in a sharp but deep breath. "ALRIGHT FUCKO---I'm done playing around." He stops when he feels the cooling energy heal his founds. This prompts the punk to squat lower, dragging his pipe along the ground. Skull begins to spin as they move closer, building up not speed but force. More and power behind his swing. Build further and further....At one point the pipe swing wild and clips the Cognitive Hajime in the nose.**

**He meant to do that.

The spinning punk finally unleashes a powerful swing toward Eiji's shadow, aiming for the Tiger Man's center of mass to just hit and overwhelm.

He then hears Tsubasa and smirks. "Sure thing. CAPTAIN KIDD! LIGHT HIS ASS UP!"

The Skeleton Pirate appears next to Skull, sending a SWIFT STRIKE toward Eiji Kitty Cat Man's center of Mass as well.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Riot Culture on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Ichika Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Ryuji Sakamoto can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Swift Strike on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 24 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Resist!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 42 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Riot Culture. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 17 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 17 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 18 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Swift Strike. Resist!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 118 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao can't read that young man in the black trenchcoat particularly well (that's Joker, hi Joker), but he catches the gesturing. They're not pointing weapons at him or yelling at him go stop or go away, but would that do any good? Probably not.

Not when a younger budding artist's life and happiness is on the line! (Among so many others, too.) Phoenix there gets it! Whoever they are.

He mentally braces himself for the wave of all-encompassing envy. Just because he once stood tall against a dear friend's fervent nihilism from years of helplessness, loneliness, and frustration does not make it any easier to withstand this.

Just that he can, does, and has to, when he makes that call to strike at the ring the way he does.

"Worth more than a hundred of us, huh," he works up a smile despite all this, "everybody else really does get in your head if you're gonna put a number on it..."

He's preparing to gather his strength for another attack, when The Shadow Of The Hour flirts with the women here (or, those perceived by the Palace Ruler to be them). "Get a load of this guy, Uchi... da."

He just made all of them line up. When he turns that grin on him, and the guys...

"For real." Masao gives a blank look to that bewitching, enraging grin. "Why're you givin' me that look? I don't think you're a playboy stud, I ain't impressed, I'm not playin' that game with an overgrown kid, man--"

And then Eiji-Sitra, indeed, steps up with his fists. The first swing twits his upper body to the left in a spray of spittle, the second takes him straight off his feet in a cartoonish corkscrew as he crashes bodily into some of the decor. There's a little splash of red to add to the aesthetic of the scene.

"Did this asshole just hit me," Masao asks, "yeah he did." The time it takes for him to pull himself out of his own heap gives the stage for the Phantom Thieves to air their grievances, hissing and shaking his head as he pulls himself up.

"Uchida! Hey!" He snaps his fingers loudly a few times, in an attempt to dispel whatever compulsion Eiji-Sitra inflicted to try and compel her to get in line. "Don't let that guy get to you. He's not worth shit," he wipes some blood from his face. Somewhere in all this, he's heard the talk about Earth magic being effective.

"Tch... don't let this guy hold you down," he asides to Cognitive Ichika as he raises his free arm to a column of blue light. "...Let's get funky."

Ogun appears, the leafy masked man in brown appearing to a little shimmy before multiple waves of small purple orbs float gradually Eiji-Sitra's way with yellow energy ring emanatings and a kind of aggravating humming noise.
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Tamaki Uchida!
AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Magry on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 60 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Magry. Weak!
AS: Paralyze added! Blast removed! Explosion! 50 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Danzaburou, the bake-danuki lord of Sado Island, known both for tricking humans with illusions and mirages, but helping those who struggle and ask him for their assistance. It's a bit of an unexpected Persona to see, but it suits Hibari in her own way.

(Also known for tricking kitsune to their death. Don't worry about that; she doesn't have anything out for Fox.)

And while Mujina knows Ogre's true identity, she does *not* know Phoenix's, only that Eiji is reeeeally focusing on pounding them down. She steps forward, preparing some other defense, as other Persona-users strike.

"You're disgusting," she says to Eiji, her voice tightly controlled so that she doesn't scream. "You get your hands off of Ichika, and get your hands off of Ogre and - " shit did she hear the name? wait, yes she did " - Phoenix!"

"I hate people like you," she snarls, losing some of her control. "People who think they can get away with anything because they know people. Because they're 'special' - not because of anything they did, but because of who their family is. I knew someone like you, once. And if there's one thing you need to learn - "

"It's that you don't own the world, and people don't belong to you!"

Mujina is suddenly holding things in her hand - two things, smallish, round. Grenades? No, just metal balls, which she spins in her hand, making a faint chiming sound as power builds around her, her Persona reasserting itself -

- and she finds herself walking over in a direction she didn't intend to.

Hibari is under no delusions as to whether Eiji would find her attractive. He would not; she is fairly heavyset, even if her long coat goes a good way to obscure it (unintentionally; it's not chosen to be, it's just not exactly figure-hugging) and while it doesn't bother *her* he's exactly shallow enough that it would bother *him*. So she knows that his desire is neither authentic nor, ultimately, aimed at her. It's just a generic feeling of ownership, of dominance. Which she already knew he was into.

Doesn't stop her from walking at least part of the way, though, until she does something she will regret a moment later: she very deliberately plants one of her heels on top of the other foot's toes and, on trying to lift said foot, pitches forward onto her face.

The charm does not allow her to catch herself on the way down, just keep walking, so it really *is* onto her face; she's momentarily stunned from smacking her forehead against the floor, and ends up not really getting up so much as rolling over in a messy heap with a grunt of pain. It *does* mean that she doesn't get the full force of his blow, instead catching only a glancing one, but given she just faceplanted she isn't actually sure she came out ahead there... Maybe she isn't quite as clever as she thinks she is.

But afterwards she can push herself up. "Thanks, Ogre," she gets out, feeling a little thick-tongued, as the healing energy washes over her. She still has the balls in her hand, though, and she spins them, faster and faster, the ringing picking up in speed...

And a matching ringing sound starts to emanate from the ring as Danzaburou's spell becomes manifest. The ringing is secondary, though; the real attack is a beat of Danzaburou's hand against its stomach, drum-like, and with every pulse gravity twists around the ring as Hibari tries to crush it, drag it off, or both.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Earth skill Tanuki Bayashi on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 53 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Tanuki Bayashi. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Panic added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 82 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Tanuki Bayashi. Weak! Avoid Earth!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Bullshit. Everything he said was bullshit. Everything he said to everyone there, every word that fell out of his mouth, every action he took against them - it was all bullshit. Hyousuke tried to maintain some level of focus on what was happening, and keep his discipline at the forefront. He tried his level best not to lose sight of the bigger picture... But it was of little use. His fists tightened yet harder, balling into a grip so vicious that it threatened to split the skin over his knuckles, while a roar - a vicious, rending, predator roar - tore itself from his mouth and exploded into the air.

"YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME?!" The mask could do nothing to muffle the fury that burst from him. He thrust his hand forward, pointing at Eiji as if that singular digit could lance through his blackened heart. "I'LL DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THEM OUT OF THIS! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT WITH MY FUCKING TEETH IF I HAVE TO!" Bloodlust stained his every word, while his lips curled into a bestial snarl. Every breath sounded out as an animal growl, every movement one that strained against his tensing muscles. Even before the counter, rage became him.

He glanced at each of the gathered strangers in the few split seconds that he could force some sense of lucidity into his mind. He recognised almost none of them. Vesper was perhaps the most familiar of all, being someone that he had patrolled with once, though he was the only figure out of all gathered that stood out. However, strangers though they might have been, they had the trust of Ogre and Phoenix, and thus they had Hyousuke's by extension. Joker's nod was acknowledged with one returned, but he said nothing. There was nothing that needed to be said. They had a target, and they had a strategy. All they needed was the will to pull it off. However, when he turned his attention briefly to Phoenix, he could not settle for just a brief nod to them.

"Always."

A single word, delivered in a low growl, but with conviction enough to turn it from some pithy response to a sworn oath.

Before he could move in for the kill, Hyousuke felt something seep into his mind. Just a glance of that smirk had been enough to have him rage before, but now? It was a frenzy. A feral, mindless, frenzy. His blood boiled in his veins like magma, ripping through his body alongside a surge of fury-induced adrenaline. His head pounded. His fists clenched to the point that he could swear there was blood seeping into his gloves. His breathing grew laboured, his body twitched, his eyes shuddered and saw red. This was no mundane anger.

And it drove him wild.

The blows he took did not knock him out of the rage. They did not knock sense into him, nor did they instil any sense of caution. Even as the first sent him tumbling backwards, and the second was only barely blocked by Achilles' shield, all it did was stoke the flames from a blaze into a wildfire, consuming every facet of his being until the only thing he could think of was to rend Eiji's head from its shoulders. With a bellowing warcry, he barrelled forwards, surging forth like a lightning bolt across the battlefield.

But he was not the one to attack. He was desperate to strike - to put his boot through the monster's face, and strike with his heel until all that was left was a fine, red, paste. But that towering thing he had manifested as was too tall for him to strike effectively. Even in the throes of blind rage, he could see that. Achilles, however, was under no such restraints.
"RIP HIM APART!" He commanded, gesturing towards Eiji again, standing before that behemoth Shadow with defiance in his eyes that blazed past even the mirrored lens of his mask.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Pelian Spear Strike on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>"We're still thinking things over. But right now... we can't let the things this guy's doing slide." Shinobu replies to Joker with a shake of her head. "We've done what we can on the outside, but those girls won't truly be safe until he goes down for good... and if that means doing things your way this time, then fine by me."

Practical and straight-forward - that's something she can be counted on to be.

Ogre, though, doesn't mind, so Shinobu offers her a nod and a smirk.

"Couldn't have put it better myself. Let's do it." She replies. Phoenix gets a nod, too. "Glad to hear it. Let's give 'im hell."

Shinobu is still worried about Myunghon, of course, especially being here instead of there... but she made sure to tag someone else in before she left, because leaving ''this'' unattended would weigh on all of their minds if someone didn't go.

Eiji's eyes turn toward her, and to others, too - and suddenly, Shinobu feels ''something'' fall over her. Like her emotions are suddenly hidden over a sheet - and Shinobu ''seethes'', her anger flaring up further.

"This is how you do it, huh? You think just because you ''can'' prey on people, you're allowed to..." Shinobu mutters. She feels a pull - as much as she tries to resist it, her legs move on their own, pulled by that force. She grits her teeth - tries to force herself to stop, to will herself to slow down. "You think I haven't seen men with knives in their smile before...?"

She can't make herself stop - but she's able to resist that supernatural influence enough that, once she's on the spot, she can react quickly - her staff swinging out to divert his strike. It glances, but still hits with enough force to knock her away. And as he tells them all to stay down... Shinobu forces herself to her feet with her staff, rolling her neck.

"...Like hell I can't. Think you can just say all that shit and keep getting away with it? ...Nah. I'm going to make you ''scream''." Shinobu says.

She reaches out.

"Lachesis. It's time." Shinobu says. At her word, Lachesis appears behind her, staff at the ready. Shinobu rushes forward, with Lachesis right behind her. She leaps - and is caught by Lachesis's staff and sent flying upward. With a wave of her hand, Shinobu's staff is wreathed in light - which is then driven downward toward Eiji with the added force of a falling star.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Comet Drop on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 134 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Pelian Spear Strike.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 94 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Comet Drop . Critical Hit! Weak!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Noir leads the assault against Eiji's supporters and Queen nods. "Noir, Panther, we're counting on you to mow them down. Mona, you need to make sure you all can keep fighting as a priority, got it!?" Even now, she's acting her position as advisor. "Hajime's weak to fire! Don't bother with earth!"

Phoenix's question gets a terse answer from Queen, however. "We're not going to give anyone else a chance to find out, got it? Don't waste time speculating, we've got a damn job to do!" Tsubasa saw her enraged at her enemy, but this might be the first time experience her sharpness towards her friends.

A detective bursts in, threatening to arrest everyone, and Queen is darkly amused. "...There's no legislation you can arrest a shadow under, Detective," she calls to Katsuya. "Or us. I've checked- you'd need places like this recognized as part of Japan, before any other legislation about it can be passed. It's going to be more hopeless than trying to prosecute Yakuza was. There's no by the book method for shadows- just make sure you're ready to catch the real thing before he turns himself in. The Eiji Kamiya in the real world has no such protection." On top of that, there's no credit if Eiji Kamiya confesses before he's charged- and there's a prosecutor real obsessed with credit in Port Island right now.

But then red flashes in her eyes as Eiji threatens Ichika's sister. "Tsk... You're just as much of a pig as Kaneshiro." Queen growls, her eyes looking to Ririka, then Ogre. "And it seems like you're both as full of shit. You don't go after someone's family, you two-bit scum!"

And then, Eiji's smile washes over the room.

'Would you like a job? ... Actual modeling work.'

Queen notices as the others are moved, whether they want to be or not- and so do Queen's. It's horrible... she's moving against her will into that position, silently, obediently. Like a good housewife. Or at least, she's not yelling out-

But that means someone might not notice the way her feet move, into a simple Aikido defensive stance, right foot forward. And when the swing comes-

"Too bad, asshole!"

Instead of waiting for the attack, Queen *launches* herself into it, trying to beat the impact that sweeps down on the other women, he scarf acting as a shield as it becomes coated in a layer of jagged, spiky rocks as she rams bodily into Eiji's arm. It hurts, oh it hurts like a motherfucker- but Queen has the satisfaction of interrupting Eiji's effort. "Sorry, but my dad taught me all about your type. You think you're a real man, but all you can do is find women who are too vulnerable to fight back, and profit off them. What's the next scam you're gonna run? 'You could be an idol', maybe? 'Pretend to be a host that's broken a million yen bottle'? You're so pathetic that you'd try a damn bump scam if you thought it'd work. All for what? Money, control, power?" Queen grins, teeth feeling sharp, despite how much she's bleeding after taking that hit. "I bet you get so much respect from your daddy's friends," She remembers what Hajime's shadow, and his cognition, said. "Only being able to torment people you think are weaker than you. I'm sure they're definitely not laughing behind your back about how 'real' a man you are."

It's a guess, but based on her life experience, well... Eiji might be as fragile as every other man challenged by a woman. And she's had time to learn a lot about that sort of man.

Ogre's healing washes over her again, and Queen starts moving as the worst of the damaged is staved off by that magic. Fox, Phoenix, and even Joker are caught in a rage, not even counting Ichika's mysterious backup. Whatever that was that Eiji used on the men and women here, the effect on the women worked on Tsubasa as well...? Does that mean it's based on how Eiji sees them?

Never mind. The Phantoms leader is out of control- even as Joker calls forth a new persona. A hanged woman, here for blood. And as much as blood is deserved, Joker needs to keep his head on/

"Johanna!" She yells out, and the motorcycle persona is under her and Queen is bursting toward Joker, reaching for something in the air. "Joker! Snap the hell out of it!" She yells, as a harisen is suddenly in her hand, drawing her arm back to slap Joker across the face with it at speed, as Johanna goes full tilt past him. "You're the leader, remember! We need your head in the game, no matter how much this scum deserves it!"

And she's just in time to see Phoenix pull a rocket launcher from nowhere, and Queen boggles briefly- but more importantly, she sees how much Phoenix is hurting. Johanna skids to a halt near them, as she extends her hand. "Damnit Phoenix, you fought him before. You can still fight him, I know you can! Johanna, grant them strength! Diarama!"

She revs her engine, and instead of nuclear flame, it's a calming green light that emits from her engine, washing over Phoenix. "Come on! Keep fighting, you and Ogre deserve to bash this idiot's head in!"
</poem>

AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Ren Amamiya!
AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Recovery skill Diarama on Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka listens as the Analysis comes in, one hand clutching the large earcup to her ear. She closes her eyes, sifting through all of the information... there! To everyone present, she announces, "Shadow Eiji is... strong against..." There's the sound of a fist beating against a drum. "... strike and dark attacks. Weak against..." The rumbling of the ground, shaking beneath ones' feet. "... Earth and Light attacks."

No, there's footsteps, fast ones, moving quickly across the shaking ground. "... he'll try to avoid Earth attacks... and he's got a mean counter, so be ready for that! Her stomach churns as she makes the final call. "... and... his ''Strike'' attacks will be stronger than normal," she finishes with a snarl. She'll never tell anyone what ''that'' sound was.

Ririka is a little heartened, though, to hear the sheer number of people here to tell Eiji off. And glad that so many people showed up to help, even if there's more at stake here than just her sister. (She is also worried about Tsubasa still, too.)

Hitomi takes a hit, and Ririka turns to track her. "Mandai-san, you okay?" But when she wonders about the Phantom Thieves, and Ririka glances back to her. "Yeah, I think so--they match what Takeba-san said about them. I've run into them fighting the Joker Killer twice now." Beat. "... didn't know Ogre and Phoenix were with them, though," she admits quietly. But that's something to sort out later.

Eiji gets ''personal'' with the insults, and Ririka just stares him down in defiance. But her grip on both her Evoker and her katana tightens, knuckles turning white as Eiji outlines exactly what he was going to do to her. "You... you sick ''BASTARD''!" Anger seethes in her voice, and her entire body trembles. It's exactly what he was going to do to Tsubasa, wasn't it? Just... get rid of the people in Ichika's life that matter to her to keep her under control.

"Like ''hell'' I'm gonna let you do that! To me or ''anybody else''! You hear me!?"

But she's noticing something distracting insinuating itself into her thoughts, clutching at her head as she tries to localize it amongst everything else going on. "... the ring!" she says with a gasp right before the effect hit. Her body goes slack, and she blinks a little. Somethnig's nagging at her, but...

She finds herself walking over there, all the same, arms hanging loose by her sides. But right as those wings lift up, she blinks--and the yanks herself back to avoid the worst of the attack, though it still strikes her. "Fuck!"

Eiji asks them to stay down, and Ririka retorts. "Like HELL I will!" She looks to everyone else gathered. "It's that fucking ''RING'' doing this to us! We gotta take that thing out!" But Ogre calls out that the ring is ''theirs''. "Wait what? No, you destroy that thing before he ues it on us again!"

If she gets a chance, later, she'll thank Phoenix for their words. But right ''now'' is not the time for that discussion.

(They might also ask where the hell they got a rocket launcher???)

But she can't just ignore Cognitive Ichika over there. Last time, she tried gentleness and understanding, but that didn't seem to get through--it took Reiya and Hitomi being much more direct to get a response. So... "Hey. If you're anything at ''all'' like the real Ichika--you shouldn't stand for his bullshit! He doesn't give a damn about ''you''--he just wants you to make him look good and give him kids. That's ''all'' he cares about."

There is ''so'' much going on, but all she can do is focus on what's happening right now. "Alright--" She closes her eyes, sifting through the nose. "I can't heal anyone--Amphion, help those most in need! Healing song!"

Amphion strums his lyre, lines of melody encircling Hitomi, Umie, Katsuya, and Tsubasa to start continuously mending their wounds.

And then Ririka sets her sights on the giant ring."And now--Magnara!" Amphion's song shifts, as a large stone tears itself out of the ground (don't worry where it came from) and hurls itself at the giant ring.
</poem>

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Healing Song on Hitomi Mandai, Umie Akabane, Katsuya Suou, and
Tsubasa Seki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
Vesper responds to Joker's nod and Ogre's calling out to him with a nod of his own, displaying a confident grin. Even though he'd much rather not be flying by the seat of his pants like this, it's important to keep projecting the illusion that you know exactly what you're doing.

''At all times, you are to remain a source of strength and stability to those around you. Never show weakness, for others will be quick to capitalise.''

Why are those words coming back to him now? So he would question, but... he knows. He's known ever since he first started his charade at this Palace, convincingly acting as if he belonged there. There are elements to all of this that are far too familiar, elements that he was made to be prepared for, once upon a time. Elements that he knows exactly how to mingle in, in spite of any personal feelings. And oh, there are personal feelings, even though they don't slip into Vesper's voice, nor his bearing.

"My thanks," is the simple response to Ogre's subsequent healing, offering an additional tip of the hat before turning his attention back to the matter at hand. Observing carefully the dynamic, such as it is, between Eiji and the Submissive Bride. Only if one were to look very carefully at Vesper's eyes, they might be able to tell there is a deep frown behind the mask. Even though he knows he's looking at nothing but a Cognition, he too feels that impulse, the wish for 'that' Ichika to see reason. To stop supporting one who is so clearly abusing her. He is, after all, still a counselor at heart.

Perhaps most would be too enraged by Shadow Eiji's treatment of the women and taunting of the men to keep their cool. It would be a natural response. Vesper doesn't have that response. Oh, he is most certainly angry, make no mistake of that. He just doesn't let his anger control him. It's what allowed him to mingle in this Palace, in spite of his many misgivings. After all... that's the way he was raised.

''There will come a day when you must deal with disreputable, dishonorable, flatly reprehensible men. And you must do so while keeping a stiff upper lip.''

As Eiji comes out swinging, Vesper quickly darts aside with an "I think not," a wave of his hand followed by a similar wave from his Persona, Raffles sending out an aura of weakness. "A gentleman acts with poise and grace, not... whatever sort of tantrum this is." He is immediately swatted to the ground for his trouble, but he made his point, that's worth something.

Besides, that put some distance between Eiji and the Submissive Bride, while putting him in closer proximity to her. As he gets back to his feet, he has the perfect opportunity to address ''her'', as well.

"...Listen to how he speaks of you. How easily he would cast you aside, as if you were less than nothing to him. You deserve better, Ichika. Do not give your love to one who will not show you love in return. You needn't feel any sort of obligation, and you needn't feel any fear. I promise you, we will not let him harm you and yours any further."

He only wishes he could have spoken those words to the real Ichika, during their counseling sessions. Having to stay professional feels like a curse at times. But here, he can speak his mind freely. And perhaps a little extra mental nudge from his Persona will aid in getting across the point that he and others are trying to make.
</poem>

AS: Julian Marlowe spends Limit on Exploit! Julian Marlowe can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Tarunda on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Marin Karin on Junes!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Tamaki drops into to a proper fencing stance, her sabre now held point-in-line at Eiji's Shadow, then she smirks at Katsuya. "We've got to stop meeting like this, Suou-san. We should catch up sometime, yeah?"

As for Joker's silent musings, Tamaki doesn't have any idea of the ring's full significance as a capital-T Treasure. Anyone with eyes can tell that it's the main object being contested by Eiji and the Phantom Thieves, though -- the fact that Eiji wants it so badly is reason enough to deny him his prize. Doesn't matter to her who gets it. At least that's her perception.

Her eyes widen and a scowl flashes on her face like she just smelled something ''terrible.'' Eiji's vile aura gets to her. While she's had reason to doubt her initial feelings of revulsion for other people, those are victims -- this disgusting man has well and truly earned the full extent of her ire.

In reply to the 'babe' comment directed at her, a dangerous glint flashes in her eyes and she offers him a sardonic grin right back. "Well, well, well. If those are the rules you want to play by, then don't come crying to me when you end up losing to the swarm of people you've pissed off." In a sing-song voice, she taunts, "Fair's fair, right~?"

The ring's dazzling flash of light ... seemingly ''works'' on Tamaki, for reasons currently unclear to her but ''possibly'' ones involving her own recently-ended engagement. Try as she might to physically resist the urge, Tamaki does feel her head swim with confusion and fury as her feet make their way over to the 'interview lineup'. To her own relief, she still retains the rest of her mental faculties, so she does one thing she does exceptionally well: ''appear'' like she's keeping her head down and seeming respectable with her true intent veiled in her heart. Do everything by the book for the most part, watch and wait for her moment, keep an eye on his motions, and then ...

''THERE.'' As Eiji's wings slam down on them, Tamaki manifests Arianrhod once more and leaps onto the flat of her Persona's broadsword before she leaps away from the main center of the impact as Arianrhod blinks out of existence again. It's the best she can do in those circumstances, with her sense of direction being screwed with. She counts her lucky stars as she only gets clipped during her escape and staggers away instead of suffering the full brunt of the blow from where she stood mere seconds ago.

'Uchida! Hey! He's not worth shit.' Mark's callout to Tamaki fully snaps her out of her senses and she gives herself two slaps to both sides of her face and about-faces back towards Eiji.

Katsuya's shield also helped matters greatly. She flashes him a distant thumbs-up from her side of the battlefield in thanks. One good turn deserves another as she calls out to him: "Detective! Keep your cool, he's trying to unbalance you!"

If there's anything else that Tamaki excels at, it's at NOT 'staying the fuck down.' She'll draw on that wellspring of hers to make sure the rest of her group can stay standing as she rubs the coins on her necklace once more as Arianrhod sends out another wave of healing.
</poem>

AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Katsuya Suou!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Media on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Katsuya Suou, and Umie
Akabane!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 77 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi watches the Shadow. She has been drilled on this. Don't take your eye off of them. She's regretted it a couple of times already, and she's regretting it now because the play on display is bringing back that gut-clenching stomach-roiling feeling of disgust and terror that led her mind to pinball between numbing horror and --

Something else that she doesn't really like.

That something else is squirming around in the back of her head. It feels like a greased snake, Hitomi thinks, in so far as she's thinking at all. The cruel words of the Shadow hit her ears, travel through her brain, but they don't sink deep into her mind. Her eyes flick momentarily towards Ririka, as if anxious she'll have died in her momentary distraction.

She didn't. "I'm fine," Hitomi answers Ririka with her best sempai-adjacent smile, which probably gives her an opportunity to return focus. "Fighting the 'Joker Killer'? - I'm not sure who they even are, but I guess we're all combining forces, huh," Hitomi continues, free associating as she tries to ignore a sense in the air, something that isn't a scent so much as a *vibe.)

That slick greasy feeling here reminds her of somewhere she went before all of this.

The Shadow is laughing. Hitomi looks at the Shadow as that smile washes out over her and --

-- just sort of keeps going. Hitomi blinks several times. She felt something, but the intention, the drawing-off, just... slid off. The rest of it - the self-justification, the cursing, everything he says afterwards. Asserting he lives off of them. Telling them to stay the fuck down. Hitomi's right hand comes up to palm her face, resting on top of her glasses, even as the force pulls at her legs. She steps forwards several paces.

Huh, Hitomi thinks, looking downwards at her legs. Around five steps she tries to exert her will to stop the next step from happening and the *good* news is that it keeps her from walking directly into the path of peril. The *bad* news is that she was nearly there and the sudden shift in her muscular impulses twists her around with an involuntary gasp of pain. Something goes 'pop' in her lower back.

The ordinary part of her flails in desperation. The unmentionable space where 'she' exists, the nexus of that process, is bounced along by the pain and lands in an interior space that is momentarily clear, except for the total pain in her leg and hip, not helped by her *not* falling down. It's like her tendons are hot wires... and that's before she stiffens involuntarily when the shockwave of the smash hits her, on that same side that she just twisted. She reels. It hurts and it's chaos and she wants it to stop and she wishes, wishes dearly -- and rarely -- that this was JUST Tartarus.

Why do I think that place is better? Hitomi wonders, with desperation and despair.

She says aloud, not very loudly, "Oh. Oh right."

Then Hitomi's hand slides down and she bites on her thumb. She's stifling something. It's not a scream, though, when she finally exhales and her body relaxes. It's a giggle, even as the sudden end of that locked tension makes her reel again, ending up in a half-squat and trembling for a moment.

"This is such a bad idea," Hitomi giggles to herself in that pained half-crouch, and then she breathes in sharply.

To the Tiger-man, she calls out, "You REALLY are the WORST!" And then she laughs again, before pushing out the rest of the air from her lungs, as if it felt good to say that. Simple, perhaps, and strange to say while making that happy sounding voice.

Hitomi pulls herself up straighter with a grit of her teeth; and then she speaks just as loudly, but more flatly.

"You offend me," Hitomi says, snapping her hand up through the momentary evanescence of a card. Above and behind her the shape of Tyche rises, again in a slightly different position. Arms loosely folded, marble fingers touching marble forearms, a white-eyed face looking out towards the Shadow.

"Die," Hitomi concludes, and this is when a festival must be starting because what happens is a lot louder and a lot hotter than the paired Agi she popped off a moment ago. The shrieking whistle descending closer might be familiar, as might the white-hot bursts once you're around the edges, because they burn blue and gold and green: it is fireworks, something to celebrate or to chase away ghosts.

Here, the latter; there is little to celebrate in this place. Though there might be in a minute.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Explosion of Fortune on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Gains 47 HP from Regen!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 162 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Tarunda.
AS: Atk_Dn added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 77 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 77 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune. Critical Hit!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 77 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Explosion of Fortune. Critical Hit!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 82 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Junes takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Marin Karin.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 82 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Media.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 101 Recovery healing from Makoto Niijima's Diarama.
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Healing Song.
AS: Regen added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie, in the selfish bubble of her apartment following Sudou's attack, hadn't yet cottoned onto what happened to Myunghon. It's likely for the best right now, as she's not in the most solid of emotional states right now herself.

She'll be plenty conflicted once she finds out.

For now, Umie's attention turns to Katsuya, a visual cue to anyone who notices that she may have been the one to invite him, as she shakes her head, about to say something when she also notices Tamaki. Ah, that must have been who healed her earlier. Vesper is likewise given a nod, as she gives them both a casual salute.

Casting her attention back towards the Phantom Thieves, Umie catches Joker's smirk, and answers back with a cheeky one of her own.

Oh, this will be gratifying in a way that Kaneshiro wasn't.

... Until it isn't, and Umie's face grimaces, forced to recall Tsubasa's earlier conversation in the back of her mind.

'You feel like that?' Tsubasa had asked. 'Like -- tainted.'
'... Yes,' Umie had let herself say. 'Many, many times. For different reasons, but it leads to the same place.'

'Hey ladies-? Couldn't help but notice how gorgeous you all are.'

Oh, no, this feeling won't do at all. No, no.

For a moment, Umie's hand snakes towards her mask, intent on revealing herself and displaying her full face.

It *is* the one quality people complimented on. The only thing she was good at, in a competition where the qualifiers were subjective. To someone else, she'd be okay, but to others, a classic beauty.

A true yamato nadeshiko, the wild dianthus, elegant, full of quiet restrain and strength. A wonderful choice for a wife to build your empire.

Red fingernails clutch into her palm, and Umie looks up, finding herself in a line, and Eiji's gleeful violence being bestowed onto them like a generous groom.

Ririka and Tamaki's gifts are much more preferred, by comparison, giving Umie a chance to stand back up.

Eiji focuses in on Katsuya-- "Katsuya-san!"

And Umie lets the Badb answer with the sort of dark she has inside her-- a shadow that is her, and in her, that bites and shrieks back.

(There is only bloodshed here, no treasure.)

"You *think* you can make someone like me feel that way, Kamiya-kun?" Tainted, that is. Not in love.

Umie adjusts the mask over her upper face, gritting her teeth. "Maybe if you paid more attention to your 'wares', you'd see just how dangerous some of them can be to a man at his most vulnerable."

And the Badb shrieks, as if adding to a symphony with all the others that scream.
</poem>

AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Katsuya slouches his shoulders just a touch. "Yes... it is unfortunate," he admits to Tamaki.

"Arrest the 'shit' out of him...?" Katsuya echoes, apparently bewildered, when Ogre calls out her support of his attempt to bring the law into this. Her teammate, though, appears to have a different take. He can't arrest a Shadow. Which is, well, true. "No, the arrest of a Shadow does not carry weight in the courts. But as you say, the same does not apply to his real self! If I can convince him to turn himself in, then the effort is not wasted!" ...Is that what he's thinking, that he could implore Eiji, somehow, to be the better person and give himself up? ...It probably doesn't work that way.

But it's probably worth a shot.

As for the rest of them, well, that may be a conversation or altercation best left for another time. Probably when they're not getting subjected to the fury and whims of the Palace's Ruler.

Eiji outright says he was plotting on selling Ririka off once he married her sister, and here Katsuya interjects. "'Sell her off'--? I won't permit it! Prepare yourself--" he shouts, adding on to his earlier threat. This all serves to get him the Ruler's attention, for good or for ill, though.

Which is to say, he gets laughed at.

Everything that Akechi had said about the Aoba Station comes to mind immediately. As if to push past that and the Ruler's mockery alike, Katsuya shakes his head. "I am Sergeant Katsuya Suou of the Aoba Police Department in Sumaru City! Eiji Kamiya, several of your crimes fall under our jurisdiction! You are under arrest--!"

He's all of twenty-five. He's been on the force for about three years. Rookie isn't... wrong, actually.

Something sickening is crawling into his head, though. Katsuya grimaces faintly, as if attempting to shake off the first touch of that sensation. It's persistant, though: try as he might, he can't--

The women are directed to one side, and to his horror, he sees that many of them do just that. It doesn't seem like they have control. Is it that sensation that's crawled its way over him, too? Is it forcing them to move? What is it going to do with...

...

He'd already been mad. Now he finds himself furious with rage. "That's-- enough! This ends here!" he shouts at the Ruler, drawing his officer's sidearm and aiming it directly towards him. 'Sitri' is faster, though: he closes on Katsuya and Helios, leveling blow after blow against his Persona. Helios doesn't 'break', but, Katsuya's just found himself on his backfoot.
And still burning with terrible, unnatural anger.

Healing power that swells into him from Ririka's Amphion is just the first glint of light at the end of the brilliant red tunnel of emotion he's found himself engulfed within. "What is--"

The other is Tamaki's voice. "Uchida-kun, this is--?" And just like that, he's able to haul himself the rest of the way through and slam the iron lid back on the kettle of his heart once again.

Furiously, he shakes his head and more importantly, directs the muzzle of his sidearm towards the floor. More healing power washes over him, directed again from Tamaki. "That was dangerous," he chides himself, "Of all the times to get--!" But there are more pressing matters than his own regrets. "Uchida-kun. Thank you!"

So he says before, summoning forth Helios, he directs his Persona to return in kind what he'd received moments ago. Surging ahead of him, Helios jukes left in a feint before moving suddenly in a flurry of clawed strikes for the Ruler of this Palace.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Soul Break on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Slash skill Scratch on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 48 HP from Regen!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 46 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break.
AS: Exhaust added! Rage removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Slash damage from Katsuya Suou's Scratch.
AS: Avoid Best! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Queen manages to block his assault with a strong root in her defensive stance, and he smirks, "Cute. You know how many girls I've shipped off that thought because they took a little karate they could handle themselves?" Before his head twists in a way that no human neck can, to grin at Ririka, "And you think you can stop me, I~mou~to~chan? Sorry, but you ain't gonna be there for our anniversary parties."

Whereas Julian casts off his Rage casually, and he looks downright Perplexed, as Raffles sends out a wave of weakness, "What the shit? You came here and crashed MY wedding- what kind of ''gentleman'' does that?"

Anger - rage, it's a pure chaotic melee. And this Eiji? He thinks he's won already, he thinks he's outmaneuvered everyone. 'RAVAGE HIM!!' Rocks Fall, and despite the aura of untouchability surrounding him, he staggers. "Ugh!"

'Don't talk to her like that!'

"You've gotten real mouthy in your time away I'll talk to her how I like." The Ruler says to Ogre, "And you know I can be ''very'' loving she's gotten plenty of it. If you're so concerned about her, how about you two ''share''?"

But Ogre reaches out to the Submissive Bride, '--he's going to hurt your kids!' She looks up, in shock, "H-He'd only do that if I- if I-" She frets, even as Ogre fires the Hunting Rifle, and a rock strikes his feline head, causing him to stagger back, with a shotgun shower of debris that causes him to fall right down on one knee. "You... TOO!? You think a gun's gonna be enough to keep me from what I want!?"

The submissive bride comes upon Eiji, as if to touch him in support, right as Tsubasa shouts 'Fuck you!' and she flinches. "I'm... not an invention. I'm- his bride. That's who I am."
And then she shrieks as Phoenix's Rocket Launcher explodes in Eiji's face and he roars in pain, as the smoke clears, with charred whiskers. "Ever wonder why I'm in your head, Tsubaki? It's 'cause you can say whatever shit you want - but you know you're a girl deep down. Can pretend - but the evidence is always there." He then reaches back and lightly shoves the Submissive Bride, "Get back you stupid fool. You're risking MY son with your useless gestures." And she stumbles, and falls with a gasp.

Meanwhile Cognitive Hajime leers at Noir off to the far side of the chapel - but what he's saying, can't be heard this far away. That's probably better for everyone.

He gets up just in time for the Spinning Punk to try and strike his torso again and again and again, and he puts his guard up, as each blow he tries to block with meaty forearms, or shove away. "Feeling's real mutual. The fuck's your problem? Jealous I can get a real woman?"

The gravity orbs then press against him, the floor of the chapel beginning to shatter under the weight, "... I don't get funky with DUDES!" He growls, as he takes one step, after another pulling himself out of the Magry's gravity effects.

'You're disgusting!' And he looks at Mujina, his lip curling off to the side like he just encountered a bad smell, "Really, fatty? You're gonna call ''ME'' disgusting? I'd have to put you on a diet for six months before any client would even take you!" And then another gravity attack from Hibari threatens the ring, and he clamps his opposite hand over it, trying to tug it away. "Maybe it'll even be worth the effort, just to show you your ''place''."

'YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHAT HAPPENS TO ME?!'

"Heh. That a promise?" And he smiles, to show rows of teeth, each one longer than one of his fingers as Achilles manifests to jam a SPEAR right in his forearm, "I'm gonna use you as a goddamn toothpick." He picks it out, and breaks it in twain.

'You think I haven't seen men with knives in their smile before?'

Lachesis manifests, and Shinobu comes at him, as he starts moving with a sort of feline agility, quick footwork to avoid the worst of her strikes. "Heh, kinda stings, babe. Sounds like if you have, then you didn't really learn the real lesson there." And right as he says that, Ririka's Magnara launches a rock that clips him upside the head. "Fuck!" 'Fair's fair, right~'

Tamaki's words cause him to bristle suddenly, like a thought had occurred to him. 'You offend me. Die,' Blue, and Gold, and Green Fire descends upon him like fireworks, and he cries out in pain and rage.

"That... the way you wanna play it? Fine... FINE!" Badb's shriek drowns out his initial response to Umie, as he staggers back, and a burst of cursed energy envelops his gaudy Tuxedo. Then Helios comes at him, and rips a gouge right down his Tuxedo, "Damnit! THIS IS A RENTAL! Stupid fucking cop!"

The Submissive Bride is laying on the ground while Julian reaches out to her. "But- he's- he's..." 'We will not let him harm you and yours.' and her eyes flare open as if she had a sudden thought.

She looks more and more distraught by what's going on, and then downright freaked. "No no no! If he - If I lose his son! NO!" She takes a few steps backwards, nearly stumbling before, "I can't! Not again! NOT AGAIN!" And then she turns and begins to flee to the back of the chapel.

And Eiji's feline eyes dilate subtly, his fists trembling with sheer rage. "You dare? YOU DARE!? Fine-" He makes a motion to adjust the rings on his fingers, "-I'm not above calling upon family to deal with threats to our future."

As he spreads his arms and begins to shout in a way that shakes the very chapel.

"OTOU-SAMA!"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Step. Step. Step. Step. A middle aged man with graying hair in an expensive three piece suit comes out, adjusting his tie with one hand, a brown leather briefcase held in his other. "Even at your own wedding, you can't take care of business? And here I thought you were truly on your way to becoming a man."

The man looks at the Phantom Thieves like they are ''truly'' beneath concern.

"I'm sorry, Father... I promise, I'll make it up to you." Eiji says, deferential in tone for the first time, as the Cognition of other man says gruffly, "Just make certain my Grandson doesn't grow up with his mother's ''lip''."

The Kamiya Patriarch

"You think you can threaten my family without consequences, you pathetic criminals?" And he unclasps the brief case, pulling out a small stack of papers, and throws them. One appears in front of Joker, another upon Skull- before he glances at Ogre. "You? You should know better than anyone." As he tosses another one out at her, then at Phoenix.

Restraining Order

They vanish in a sparkle of light, and they each feel something is different about them. Trying to approach Eiji results in them running into something as solid as any wall. Yet there's nothing there they can see! The same holds true for their Persona. No attack, no spell - everything makes contact with a space a short distance from them just vanishes.

"I'll see you all BEHIND BARS!"

More papers flutter, more stamped paperwork - restraining orders appear around Masao, Tamaki, Julian, Umie and Shinobu.

"Adults - coming here to gang up on my son. ''Pathetic''."

Even worse, anyone who tries to attack the Cognition of Eiji's father finds they just ''can't''. Any spell, any attack just dissipates before they can touch the patriarch, like that same wall is there.

"You can't even TOUCH my Father!" Eiji says, with a sneer, "He has connections! Friends in places you can only dream of... THIS IS THE END FOR ALL OF YOU!"

The Ruler's enormous clawed hands are placed together, as he cracks his knuckles, and then surges at Ryuji, slamming his fist into him full force, before turning around and back-handing Joker. It seems the rules don't hold true for them attacking back.

"Cool your heels for a bit..." He asides to Ogre and Phoenix. "... I'll get to you two after I take care of business."

The Patriarch seems almost bored, as he reaches into his brief case and pulls out another stack of legal paperwork, tossing it overhead as the Red Sun of Japan's flag appears. And suddenly Queen, Mujina feel the searing weight of the entire country's legal system searing them with tremendous power.

When everything settles after the explosion, he peers at Katsuya in a condescending, paternalistic way, "Was something wrong with my compensation package, Officer? It's rather unwise to take up your disputes this way... you wouldn't want me to air out your department's dirty laundry in public."

Taking out a stack of Yen bills from his briefcase, he tosses it down in front of Katsuya, "Perhaps this might be enough to persuade you to rethink this?"

Eiji, as this is happening, simply strolls up to Ririka, and rudely tries to backhand her with a casualness of violence that's shocking, "Anything else you want to say? Go on." He grins at her, like he's going to devour her whole, "Say it."

IC Note: Anyone hit by Restraining Order is incapable of attacking Eiji in any way. ''Everyone'' is incapable of attacking the Kamiya Patriarch. Invisible walls like in P4 Arena are just there and can't be circumvented, even if the debuffs are removed. Those hit with Restraining Orders are welcome to buff others, shift, heal. If you want to pose trying to attack to get through, it won't waste your turn, just make your csys action something else.

Huh? (Type "help" for help.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Ren Amamiya, Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase,
and Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Masao Inaba, Tamaki Uchida, Julian Marlowe,
and Shinobu Shimizu!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Restraining Order on Umie Akabane!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Exhaust!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill No Holding Back on Ryuji Sakamoto! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: That attack can't hit that many targets.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!

AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Makoto Niijima!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Hibari Aoki!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Tamaki Uchida!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 38 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Corrupt Lawfare on Umie Akabane!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Counter Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 94 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 66 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Block Best! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 32 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak! Block Strike!
AS: Penguin Sniper: Def_Up removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Block Worst! Tamaki Uchida takes 58 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Block Best! Hibari Aoki takes 61 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 56 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 30 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's No Holding Back. Weak!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Avoid Best! Umie Akabane takes 47 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Spd_Dn and Strike_Break added!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Help Up! Rage removed from Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Take! Tsubasa Seki takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Restraining Order.
AS: Strike_Break added! Spd_Up removed!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Makoto Niijima takes 82 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Corrupt Lawfare.
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Shift! Hitomi Mandai can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Shift! Hyousuke Suzuki can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>

Hi Masao! Hopefully there won't be any Problems regarding the Treasure later. Tamaki's willingness to let the Phantoms have it is appreciated; it'll all be appreciated more later when everyone gets a chance to talk about it. Right now, there is still violence to be doled out. Level-headed violence, though, like Vesper's--Skull, Phoenix and Hyousuke are already taking care of the wild, feral kind.

Queen smacks Joker clean across the face with that harisen, an act that leaves them flailing for a moment before they shake their head and focus. This time, she's the one keeping her cool--good for all of them, especially Mona and the others. "...Thanks," they call to their compatriot. "I needed that." Luckily that she and Umie are still in it--and ''viciously'' tearing Shadow Eiji down about his supposed 'manliness.' They smirk; good for them both.

They look to Shinobu as she professes that the need to take Eiji Kamiya down is big enough to be worth doing things their way. Joker nods once. "Take your time, then. For now, your help is much appreciated," they call back.

Ririka shouts that they need to destroy the ring before Shadow Eiji uses it on them again. Joker shoots her a sharp stare. They don't know for sure what would happen if they destroyed someone's Treasure--but that could well be how one does a mental shutdown or psychotic breakdown. Without knowing for sure... "Do NOT destroy the ring!" they call, just as sharply--and when Hitomi quite understandably tells the Shadow to die, adds, "And do NOT kill Kamiya's Shadow, as utterly tempting as it is! The consequences will be far worse!"

They're immediately tested. Shadow Eiji continues to deadname and disrespect Phoenix, and Joker's dark eyes flash with a more natural sort of anger. Trying to appeal to Cognitive Ichika isn't something they would have tried, even without supernatural rage, but they leave Ogre and Phoenix to it; given her support role here, maybe it ''will'' be effective. ...That thought costs him, for when Cognitive Ichika flees from Vesper, Shadow Eiji calls on some truly abominable support:

The father who taught him to be this way.

Joker takes up a defensive posture, unsure of what's about to happen next as Shadow Eiji literally calls on Daddy to take care of his problems for him. They certainly weren't expecting a Restraining Order--and when that paper comes down and strikes them, paralyzing them from taking another attack--they snarl in frustration and fury as they take a knee. This helplessness and the despair that follows in its wake...

They know it agonizingly well. "Ixtab!" they call--but their Persona, while she appears, is only caught in the Restraining Order too. She struggles like a fly in a cobweb before shattering under the force of Cognitive Father's fists. The backblow knocks Joker down too, though they'll get more of a raging headache over it than any bruises. They cough and wheeze, and lift their head, teeth grit as they glare at Shadow Eiji and his father.

No.

They refuse.

If the Black Mask shows up--or worse, Akechi--they won't be found unable to act at all.

With great effort, Joker lifts a hand to their mask--and chances it once more. "Cait Sith! Get us the strength for a comeback!" they call to another aspect of themselves. He, too, is caught in the Restraining Order as he materializes, a Puss-in-Boots sort of creature with a sword--but that doesn't stop him from raining vitalizing energy down over several of Joker's friends and allies. Queen's still free to move, so she'll get the first of it--then Hitomi, Ririka, and even Katsuya. He might be a cop, but Joker can acknowledge that they're up against a wall here, quite literally.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Almighty skill Matarukaja on Makoto Niijima, Hitomi Mandai, Ririka Kawase, and
Katsuya Suou!
AS: Pressure: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
"You really do have more than one of those!" Ogre exclaims at Koker. "Kickass!" Not only another Persona--one with the right elements. His strategy is top-tier... She's reassured to have him leading the heist, and to have Queen backing him up. "You got Joker?" she calls, making sure. While Katsuya answers and--he is apparently a little surprised, but that doesn't slow Ogre down any. Instead, she hears his own plan, and... "Queen's right. But once he does..."

Mujina thanks her, and Ogre nods. "We'll handle this!"

Then to Phoenix, "He's not gonna stay there!" In their head. "We're gonna take him out, here and now!"

She worries at Skull taking a big hit, too--but he does just fine, it seems. Even clipping Hajime again. Who deserves it.

"Go!"

Hyousuke ''roars'', and cries out that he doesn't care what happens to him. But while thats something Ichika doesn't love... She knows she can rely on him here and now, at least. And if they all live, she can try and get her friend to value himself later.

"Hang in there!" She calls to Hyousuke.

And Ririka calls to destroy the ring--but Ogre just looks back at her for a moment. "Careful," she tells Ririka. "You get too mad, and you'll get sloppy. You gotta hang on."

But she hears Vesper say something she doesn't expect--speak to the cognitive Ichika, even as the 'real' Ichika is secretly here. They won't let him...

"I'm sure she can hear you," Ogre says quietly--so quietly that Vesper may not even hear it. But it's enough that she heard it, maybe.

But Hitomi surprises her--that ''laughter'' with it. Apparently she's really into this...

"Yeah!" Ogre calls to her. "Get him!"

But he keeps talking. Shipping off girls, and Ririka--"Fuck off, leave them alone!"

But then he talks to ''her'', and Ogre's lip curls. She stands there in her roses-and-thorns armor and spits back. "I've had better since you," Ogre tells him. "And a lot more considerate, too."

She doesn't dignify his talk of 'sharing' with a response--mostly because she's busy with how Cognitive Ichika reacts. "...I remember you," she tells her. She smirks at the matter of a gun when it knocks him down,

"They're not a girl you fuckhead!" Ogre retorts eloquently. "You don't know a damn thing about what's in their head!"

"And Skull got a real woman all right--he's got me! Him and Phoenix both!"

But it ''hurts'', watching the Submissive Bride freak. She starts to run, and Ogre's heart seizes. "Let her go!" Ogre shouts. But suddenly-

"Oh, shit." Dad. She of all people should know better--someone studying Ogre's body language will note real fear, before she seizes herself up and stands through it. ...It's not gone; she's just pushing ahead anyway.

Or rather, she's trying--she throws out another spell, "MOMIJI!" as rock hurtles towards Eiji--But it doesn't connect. She steps forward to try to use her weapon, and runs into an invisible wall. "What the--"

They can't touch his father. "No, no, no," Ogre starts, her breath catching and then speeding up--before Skull gets her. Even while he's getting his ass kicked, he can have sass. Ogre takes a deep breath. "Joker," she calls, kseeing him rise with difficulty. "I'm still good! I'll heal if I can't reach him!"

Momiji whirls out again, and lifts her clawed hands. Brilliant witchlight washes over Ririka, Hibari, Fox, Joker, Queen, Shinbou, Hitomi, and Hyousuke, settling in green radiance and mending hurts.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Media on Makoto Niijima, Shinobu Shimizu, Hitomi Mandai, and
Hyousuke Suzuki!
AS: Support: Ichika Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 116 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Persona! Ichika Kawase has used the Recovery skill Mediarama on Ririka Kawase, Hibari Aoki, Yusuke Kitagawa, and Ren
Amamiya!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 165 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 123 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Mujina's anger over people who ''know'' people resonates strongly with Phoenix -- as they think of their ''father.'' If she knows Ogre, too, she must know the score... and they feel, for a moment, for the way this must be personal for the tanuki-masked girl too.

Skull might be terrible at ''school,'' but he's got more strength than ''Phoenix'' when it comes to these Persona battles. Being fair: Phoenix only ''started'' doing this sort of thing a month ago. And they only got a real party to team up with a couple of ''days'' ago!!

(Which explains why they haven't been able to clear up things with Tamaki yet... oops...)

All that to say: that's why Phoenix is counting on ''him'' to follow up their raw native strength with his synergistic force. (And thank ''God'' he meant to do that.) Spin, spin, spin, Skull spins right into Eiji-Sitri, and Phoenix yells: "YEAH! GET ''FUCKED!''"

Skull's not the only one who's been doing this longer, though. Joker's pulled out a ''new Persona,'' and Phoenix double-takes, when they realiseit. "Wait a sec -- you can ''do'' that?!"

Queen's sharpness takes them aback, their head jerking back -- before they nod, firmly. "R--right!" Man, their childhood friend is scary... when did that happen?! (With steel like that in her tone, they're just glad she's on ''their'' side...)

Yusuke's elegant skill with his own long blade isn't something that escapes their notice, either -- or their gratitude; they're glad someone else gets how it feels to SHOVE A SWORD DOWN THIS GUY'S THROAT.

Cognitive Ichika says she's not an invention, though, and Phoenix frowns, glancing aside. "Sorry." ''She'' gets a sincere apology, even if she's part of Eiji's head, because -- fuck, man, her life sucks ''enough.''

It neatly informs the way they glare at Eiji-Sitri a few moments later, his whiskers all charred. "S--shut up!" They snap, from the ground they've landed on again. (The recoil on that rocket launcher is ''fierce.'') One of their hands grasps their greatsword -- but the other crosses over their (presently ''flat'') chest, for reasons that may be obvious. "I ain't... I ain't no girl! You don't know me! You don't know shit! Y--you think you can jus' -- beat me into it?! Ain't the first one to try, asshole! You don't know me! You ain't ''seen'' me! FUCK!" They're at least living, walking proof that Umie is ''right:'' Eiji's ''wares'' are dangerous as ''fuck.''

Luckily, Queen is COMPLELELY on their side -- as she pulls up to give Phoenix a hand up. "Chh-- hhhrk-- thanks," they cough, and manage to cough out, the volume on their last invective apparently having blown out their vocal chords a little. (No, that's... not quite why they're coughing.) Luckily, the fumes from Johanna's ''engine'' aren't the kind to get lodged in their lungs, and Phoenix stands straighter as the Diarama washes over them. "You're right. We gotta send this prick to hell!"

But they're not the only one facing up to him, today. They hear Hyousuke's declarations, and boy, do they feel it -- even if they feel a little worried about him, too. But he promises, ''always,'' and they'll just have to hold him to that... because 'always' means he'll show up tomorrow, too, right?

'Big Sis' Shinobu being here is really more of a relief than Phoenix could have estimated at first glance; she might be someone Tsubasa talks about like a gangster, but that makes her ''more'' reliable, not less. Hearing her respond to Joker's question with such a thought-out response... there's no way they can ask her directly if Myunghon's okay, not without spreading it to ''everyone,'' but they feel more secure in the idea that Shinobu definitely took care of everything.

Ririka warns Phoenix, though, that Eiji-Sitri resists ''strike'' -- and that's important information for them to know. "Got it!" They call, back to her. "Slice him open!" They hear her, a few beats later, angry at what Eiji plans to do to the people in Ichika's life... and they hate that they can imagine how she might feel. Still -- she wants to destroy the ring, and -- "We got it handled, man! We know what we doin'!" Phoenix... is ''trying'' to be reassuring, but they know they can't tell the people who've come to help just what their plan ''is,'' either. Still -- "Thanks!!" They call, as the music wraps around then. "Don't listen to this prick, ya music's cool!"

When Vesper speaks to Cognitive Ichika, Phoenix calls out: "He's right, y'know?! Love ain't an ''obligation!'' An' it shouldn't make you feel scared, neither! Love's about -- bein' able to count on someone, an' always havin' their back, too! Havin' a place beside them -- bein' ''welcome'' there! It's... it's about ''givin' a shit,'' goddamnit! That's what she means to me...!" When Cognitive Ichika runs away, Phoenix breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank fuck for that..."

They're impressed at the skill Tamaki shows with Arianrhod -- they're five games too early to beat her, so it's a good thing she's fighting ''Eiji.'' When they realise that Hitomi's hurt, though, it's concern they're feeling. Is Ririka's friend, like... okay...? "Fuck, man," they breathe out, as she commands him to ''die.'' "Can't blame ya for that one bit... was a long time I thought I was gonna kill him if I saw him, too. But our Boss is right, yo?" It's fine, they talked to Ichika about this beforehand at some point, they have two bosses now too. "Much as you think ya wanna... you really don't wanna kill a guy's Shadow."

When they register what ''Katsuya'' said, they -- they actually laugh, again, a touch disbelieving. "Holy shit, man, that rules! You want him to turn himself in, too!! Goddamn, for a cop, you're alright!"

Unfortunately, their good feelings don't last long. The Kamiya Patriarch takes the field -- and Phoenix looks to Ogre, as she warns them. "Fuck," they hiss, through grit teeth.

The stack of papers isn't something they can ignore, though.

"You... you prick! I only tried to hit your son of a prick son 'cuz he was tryin' to fuck with Ichika!" It's ''really'' a good thing Phoenix has never met the real thing; they're running their mouth off ''immediately,'' confessing to ''all their crimes.'' (Katsuya's seen how easy it is to get Tsubasa to crack... not that they're ''here,'' of course.)

Phoenix steps up, beside Ogre, when Eiji addresses them. "Fuck you!" They snap, to him, in turn. "You think I'm gonna let some stupid papers stop me?!" They tear their mask from their face in a shower of blood and blue flame. "IZBUSHKA NA KUR'IH NOZHKAH!" They scream, as their veritable ''house'' of a Persona manifests, far more massive than they are behind them. Its chicken legs alone as at least as big as Tsubasa -- let alone the thatched-roof hut of its body, with a skirt of bones like a fence around it, flapping hatch windows like little chicken wings.

It's huge. It's STRONG. If anything could break through the Restraining Order -- it's Tsubasa's massive Persona.

But it just charges forward, only to ''SLAM'' into that barrier, with a dazed little flutter of its window-wings. You can ''feel'' the '?' above its head, as it kicks at the force field around Eiji, as it tries to pound the ground with its claws to hit both him and his father only for the shockwaves to slam uselessly against Eiji's protection and STRAIGHT FUCKIN' DISSIPATE?! when they get close to Eiji's ''father.''

"What... what the fuck?!" Phoenix yells, gesturing sharply. "What gives?! Ugh... fuck! Hey, MUJINA!" They call, turning to the girl in a tanuki mask. "You know what it's like for fucks like this to show up, right?! FUCK HIM UP! Persona!"

And Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah flutters its little window-wings, and disappears as a red haze falls over Mujina, empowering her strikes.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Tsubasa Seki has used the Almighty skill Tarukaja on Hibari Aoki!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Tsubasa Seki takes 60 damage!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tsubasa Seki: Gains 47 HP from Regen! Charm removed!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Tsubasa Seki's Tarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Hibari Aoki spends Limit on Exploit! Hibari Aoki can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 169 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Take! Makoto Niijima takes 114 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Media.
AS: Makoto Niijima has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Things seem to be going well until Eiji calls his dad to come solve things. As Skull watches things, he slumps over with a big exaggerated "SERIOUSLY?!"

The magic Restraining Order doesn't phase Ryuji. He's going to run over that and beat that stupid---Skull hits a wall, eyes widening.

And thats when the kitty comes back and starts beating the snot out of him. He looks pretty pathetic, being boxed by a cartoon Tiger man.

Still upon the beat downs end, Skull manages to look over at Ichika and grin, winking at her to show he's ok.

Skull gets back to his feet, stumbling from the pain for a second but widening his stance to brace himself. "Oh I'm gonna just wait to hit ya." He grins and taps his pipe against his shoulder as Captain Kidd appears again to shower some power on Ryuji.

"Tick Tock, Garfield."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>The crowing of the Badb incites warriors to battle. For Fox, it helps soothe the reckless fury and allow focus to return to the swordsman - in time to see the Ruler call out for more aid as his bride flees into the shadows.

Fox remains silent as he watches the Kamiya Patriarch lay down crooked law at his comrades and the others who have come to support them. Inexplicably, however, that gilded paperwork does not touch him.

He remains statue-still as he listens to the two Kamiya men talk of these matters... and a gut-churning familiarity strikes him.

Fox lowers his sword, and begins to walk slowly towards Shadow Eiji.

"This is your father, then," he says. "Someone you feel you have to call on when your own strength fails. Someone you desperately want to respect you, just as much as you respect him."

His gaze turns to rest on the cognitive image of the Kamiya Patriarch - noting, even in this twisted world where Eiji's cognition shapes these figures around him according to his desires, that his father's gaze holds no love, only disdain and condescension. Yusuke Kitagawa sees the shade of a man wearing a lord's facepaint and a golden kimono, and Fox returns his gray gaze to Sitri, making eye contact with that feline glare.

"... In the end, he will cast you aside, too. GOEMON, TO ME!"

Perhaps this truth buys him only a moment; he'll have to make it enough. He twists his katana so that its edge points upwards, steps backwards onto Goemon's lowered pipe, and lets himself be ''flung'' towards Eiji's wrist. An icy mist trails behind his blade as he soars up and over Sitri's shoulder, tucking and flipping forwards for a three-point landing.

His blade clicks home, and ''suddenly'' a gash carves open in Sitri's wrist, ice rapidly filling in the wound.

"ANYONE WHO CAN, SMASH THE ICE!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Almighty skill Tarukaja on Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto: Rage removed!
AS: Ryuji Sakamoto's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 159 Recovery healing from Ichika Kawase's Mediarama.
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Yusuke Kitagawa can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Sublime Cut on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Yusuke Kitagawa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 48 Almighty damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Tarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> '... I don't get funky with DUDES!'

"Can't take a man-to-man talk like that, huh--" Masao lets his mouth run in contrast to having been one-two sucker-punched mere moments before. (He's a shorter than average guy, this seems to correspond to having a greater chip on one's shoulder.)

"Aw hell," he looks up as the Submissive Bride flees, but the Palace Ruler's rage makes manifest... their father.

He only looks like an ordinary middle-aged man, but in the moment there's that deferrential presence that feels imparted on everyone. Papers fly. What's written catches an otherwise defiant young man's eye.

The young Masao 'Mark' Inaba sure had a lot of run-ins with the police with his... well, being Masao 'Mark' Inaba, what with all the trespassing and the vandalism and the noise ordinance violations and whatnot. It got to the point he was on a nickname basis with a guy who ultimately did not survive a particular tragedy. The realities of the law and what it imposes cannot be so casually ignored, in his adulthood.

A restraining order.

Through the Palace Ruler's Cognition, their father figure's presence feels absolute and inalienable, and he ''chafes''.

He takes note of how the young-looking guy in the black trenchcoat just pulls out what looks like a completely different Persona, like... man. It reminds him of a promise he made a certain someone before they all graduated.

"Tch." They're both unapproachable, there's a feeling of a wall but there's nothing to bang an angry fist upon as Eiji gets to take free swings unimpeded...

"Even... they're kids, right?" He says of the trenchcoat-bearing Joker and the leather-clad bank robber-like Skull. Putting aside the whole severity of violent crimes and convictions, and all, unaware of how on the nose this line of thinking is for at least one of them.

He asides in Hyousuke's direction, more coincidentally, having seen that guy just go completely off the cuff. "Yeah, I kinda, echo that sentiment." Even Reiji would have probably paused before some of that, and Reiji damn well nearly dashed himself against the rocks to his death metaphorically in his crusade against a vile man.

"...He's that scared of his own old man, huh," Masao grumbles as he looks down. This is the young man who would've rather been turned to stone than lie about who the better painter was, in the depths of the Black Market.

He shakes his head. This guy doesn't deserve to get away with anything he's done, but something leaves a bad enough taste in his mouth here, and by golly he's going to keep driving that chariot forward.

"YO! Kamiya!" Masao calls. "I got a question for you. Speakin' as one guy who got bore down on by their own old man growin' up."

"Who'd you want to be before he told you who you'd be?"
</poem>

AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Mujina's face is difficult to read behind her mask. That is, after all, the whole point of a mask like this. Her voice is a *lot* easier to read, though.

"Please," Mujina says, actually dismissive of Eiji. "You're not telling me anything people haven't tried to hurt me with before - and it doesn't work. If you're trying to insult me, you'll have to get more creative than that! Maybe try mocking my hair," she says, tossing it - it's long and currently dyed, striking ombre shading from her natural brown to vivid red. "At least that means something to me - I work to keep it this way!"

(Mujina's hair is the same as Hibari's, though freshly dyed, but alas, the mask makes it impossible to put two and two together - what sticks in the mind about Mujina's is that her hair is deliberately, artificially striking, an act of rebellion against what's considered 'normal'.)

"And maybe I'm a little heavy," she says, just a hair defensive - she's still slightly nettled even if she's pretty good at covering it, because she's heard it so many times in her life from people trying to just be a little cruel, or even just because she stands out a bit. "But at least I authentically enjoy *something*. Cooking is a gift you can share with people and enjoy together, and cooking *for* someone can be a way to connect with them! I wouldn't expect you to understand. You don't seem to enjoy anything or anyone - you're always reaching for something but you're never happy when you get it, and you don't care about making a connection. Honestly, I pity you!"

The Cognitive Ichika runs, and Hibari is grateful - she couldn't bring herself to hit her, even if she knew perfectly well that it wasn't *actually* Ichika - the real Ichika is over there, after all. Better for her to flee than to stay -

But Eiji calls for his dad, and Hibari gets goosebumps.

If Eiji reminded her of someone else before - someone who Hibari rarely speaks about, but Ichika at least knows - the resemblance is stronger now. He really does lean on his untouchable parent, with the contacts. They can't touch him. They can't *touch* him!

No! Mujina shouts in her own mind. Calm down!

And it's in that state of mind that she is assaulted by the cognitive force of the Japanese legal system... something that Hibari has familiarity with. This, too, is a strong resemblance - but this time she can fight back in her own way, instead of being forced to suffer and take it. It makes her feel stronger rather than weaker, even if the blast knocks her back several yards, one arm raised to cover her face from the blast -

And simultaneously, Ogre heals her and Phoenix empowers her. What was already burning blazes brighter. "Right!" she calls back to the Phantom Thieves; she sounds like she's grinning. Then she turns toward Eiji and his father: "If you thought that was going to convince me to back off - you made one BIG MISTAKE! Once was enough! And you made another one, if you left me free because you thought I was weak!"

Mujina reaches up - and yanks off her mask, something that takes a surge of strength. Blue flame burns where she pulled it away. "Danzaburou!" she calls again, her Persona reappearing as she looks through the burning light: "Show everyone our power!"

A surging, pulsing wave of telekinetic power wraps around both Eiji and his ring, rippling with unearthly colours as the energy twists in eye-watering ways. But that's not all Hibari is doing, because Danzaburou remains present, gathering a paler energy on his gunbai - a little signaling fan - before snapping it at Eiji himself.

Blue-white energy whirls around him, spiraling faster and faster before *bursting* in a chaotic eruption. Lesser Shadows simply disintegrate under it; in Eiji's case, he'll probably withstand it, but the wild magic penetrates his Shadowy body, weakening him.

And simultaneously, a rippling sphere of pink flies directly toward the Patriarch before the stunning ball flattens against the wall and vanishes in a crackle of mental energy. Well, they can't all be winners.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Elec skill Mapsi on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Almighty skill Mystery Megido on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Joker says that the help is appreciated, and Shinobu nods.

"Glad to hear it. Same to you." She replies.

Eiji, though... He's surprisingly fast, despite how big he is... Shinobu frowns with a 'tsk' - and then he calls her 'babe', and she has to hold back a spike of anger.

"And what lesson's that, that I should just let you do what you want? Nah. To hell with that." Shinobu replies with a shake of her head.

And after further attacks, Eiji calls from help - and a man appears. A cognition of his father...? He sends papers flying out. At the Phantom Thieves - and at her and some of the adults, as well.

"'Pathetic'? This ain't just boys being boys, old man. Your son's done some serious crimes, and now they're catching up to him." Shinobu retorts. Eiji sneers, and Shinobu frowns. She really wants to wipe that smirk off his face... She rushes forward again, staff at the ready, and swings -

- and her staff strikes an invisible surface, bouncing back. She swings again - and the same thing happens.

"The hell...?" She mutters. ...It takes a second for her to register what happened. His father... "...You think he's untouchable, huh? What a big man, hiding behind dear ol' dad... Hiding from consequences. I bet you go crying to daddy if you so much as stub your toe, don't you? Gonna slap a restraining order on the table next?"

She can't hit him, but that doesn't mean she can't ''goad'' him, and he's riled her up enough with his words that she doesn't feel bad about it. It might not have any effect, but it makes her ''feel'' better about her current situation.

"The rest of you... give 'im hell for us, yeah?" Shinobu calls out. Right now, though, there's not much more ''she'' can do but pace tensely like an animal caught in an enclosure, staff at the ready...

But there's still things they can do, even barred from attacking him directly - Ogre proves that, as Momiji calls upon healing light. The green radiance eases her wounds and Shinobu rolls her shoulders.

"Thanks, Ogre." Shinobu nods her way. What can ''she'' do...? ...Well, there's one thing she hasn't tried.

"Lachesis... Make sure nothing too bad happens to them, alright?" Shinobu requests. Lachesis appears again, and briefly inclines her head. Her attention turns, then, to Shinobu's allies. Her staff is leveled, framing some of them one after the other - Skull, Mujina, Vesper, and Katsuya. It's the same gesture for that aura that induces fragility - but in the moment, it instead provides protection from harm.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Protected Fate on Ryuji Sakamoto, Hibari Aoki, Julian Marlowe,
and Katsuya Suou!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Hibari Aoki takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
While it's still on her mind, she snaps her fingers and points at Phoenix. She's smiling brightly ... but there's an air of menace behind it that Phoenix may recognize. "You and me should have a talk after this." They've got some explaining to do. Little does Tamaki know the true situation, however ...

Joker's use of multiple Personas doesn't go unnoticed by Tamaki either. ''So it's not limited to that girl from the other night ...'' she thinks, meaning Kanae.

Tamaki's defiant smirk widens to a toothy grin as Eiji's Shadow shudders at her earlier words. ''That'' landed. "You may yet prove clever and hardy enough to endure the trials placed before you, but ... I have a very good feeling that you'll be found ''wanting''."

Just as Tamaki and Arianrhod level their swords in unison towards Eiji as an impending Hama's column of light begins to glow underneath the Shadow's feet ... The Patriarch responds to his son's summons and places a wall between them. As Hama's light dissipates, a deeply frustrated scowl forms on Tamaki's face. As much as she wants to join in the beatdown, it looks like she won't get in any blows, herself.

Tamaki looks to one of the women trapped behind the barrier with her. That mask and that crow ... and her earlier proximity to Katsuya. She had an inkling before, but being this up-close now lets her confirm that her earlier silent assessment was correct. Tamaki narrows her eyes and gives Umie a nod of her own in recognition, but avoids any mention of her out loud.

These are the limits of working within the system as she does. Even as a private investigator and not a proper member of law enforcement, the extra room to maneuver and the greater access to information still does require her to comply with the law, lest she ruin her own career prospects. Tamaki finds her own path forward barred, preventing any use of the talents she had learned at a much younger age during a much simpler time when she could barrel through everything trusting in only herself and her partner.

No, this predicament demands a shift in her own thinking. She's not out of the game entirely, she's just relegated to support. It's her turn to trust others instead of herself. "Inaba-san, Suou-san ... give him hell for us."

Tamaki's eyes widen as she realizes that their defenses have been compromised. "Brace yourselves!"

Arianrhod holds her broadsword in front of her and spins it around, leaving behind the afterimage of the moon, turning through its various phases, surrounded by several stars. With each revolution, new stars form and others burn out, but the silver wheel remains. More afterimages appear in front of Masao, the masked Umie, and the distant Skull, who
seems like he's incredibly close to his limit,' then they dissolve, invigorating their senses with the alertness that comes from a good night's rest, leaving them better able to handle the worst trials of the day to come.
</poem>

AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up added! Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Recovery skill Silver Wheel on Tamaki Uchida, Masao Inaba, Umie Akabane, and
Ryuji Sakamoto!
AS: Defense: Tamaki Uchida gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Masao Inaba can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Tamaki Uchida spends Limit on Shift! Katsuya Suou can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Your childhood friend has finally gotten sick of being a doormat, Tsubasa-kun. Can you blame her? You sat in those interminably long student council meetings where nothing happened. You had those boring meetings with faculty. She's sick of people screwing around! "That's right. We're not letting him walk away to hurt anyone else."

"Joker gets a thumbs up in return to his thanks. It's what she's here for. They're all here for it, really: to watch each other's backs and support each other.

"Probably plenty," Queen growls back, angrily. "But you won't ever again after today. No, after today, you're going to be reuniting every person you've 'disappeared' with their families- the ones you haven't killed with your cruelty, that is. The ones you killed... you'll answer for them." Just like she swore Kaneshiro would, in that palace. A place where she was so close to being the sort of victim that Eiji wants Ririka and Tsubasa to be.

A place where those victims her father died trying to save are now.

What she did not expect was the weight of the law to be dropped on her. The law her father, her grandfather, her family pledged to protect. The law that her sister administers, and enforces.

The law that is helpless against men like Kaneshiro, the law that is weaponized against people like Ren, and Ryuji, and Tsubasa.

Even as the Rising Sun of Japan glares at her, and try as she might, she can't evade the searing spotlight of Japan's broken law and twisted system, and it burns against her- but not as badly as she expected, able to avoid the worst of it. It still hurts, though.

"Joker!?" She calls, seeing them thrust behind the bars of a restraining order, and sees so many others. "Skull!? Phoenix, Ogre!?" But it's Fox who seems suddenly enraged. "Fox... Are you okay?"

She wasn't there for what Madarame did to fox, only seeing the aftermath. But it seems to be able to summon a fury she didn't expect- and yet totally supports. "...Got it! We'll shatter him." There's a fire in Queen's own eyes.

She looks to the others here who aren't restrained. Detective Suou, Umie Akabane, someone called Mujina- who must be part of Ogre's backup- and another woman she doesn't know, wielding a sword and Arianhrod. It's only six of them still able to fight.

"...Maybe we don't see eye to eye, but right now- Eiji Kamiya is our mutual enemy. No matter the side of the law we're on, we agree we can't let him get away with this, right? Him, or his family. These people are twisting justice itself toward evil- and we can't let them. If we want to make sure he faces justice, we need that ring off him- and we need Eiji alive and the ring intact." Joker's incapacitated, but maybe, just maybe, Queen has her own form of idealism as she stands up.

"...Your dad and his connections, they're that NWO, right? Let me guess, the Furudate guy you planned to sell to is one of them, too? Sloppy. You left a trail to that father of yours, didn't you."

And Makoto shoots a glare at the Patriarch. "And you! You call yourself a father, acting like that?" Makoto steps forward, and one might think it was calm if not for the ground cracking underneath her. "My father... he believed in the law. He fought for it. He died for it, trying to stop wannabe gangsters like your pathetic son from doing exactly what he's doing. He died trying to save people- but all you'll do to protect your son is a half assed job. You're too much of a coward to take a blow for anyone else- let alone die for your family."

Queen's cruel grin returns, as she glares towards Eiji again. "How does it feel, 'Kamiya-chan', knowing that your dad won't lift a finger to stop us breaking your ugly face- He'll just try to get rid of you once you tell us everything about him and his friends. We can extract a confession, right here, right now! Johanna!" That sharpness in her eyes looks like it could cut- as does the sudden aura coming off her Persona. She's fully intent on following through, and Johanna seems to convey her intent as threat.

Her persona's engine roars, and Makoto goes full speed. streaks of nuclear fire trailing in the air behind Johanna as she leaves the ground- Queen is planning not only to shatter that ice as Fox asks, but a burst of nuclear flame emits behind her midair- she's going for his hand, and the Ring of Eternal Bondage attached to it. If she can grab onto the ring, she can gun Johanna's enginje and maybe rip it off. If it breaks and tears off Eiji's finger in the process, that's fine. That's more than fine, actually.

The bastard doesn't deserve to wear a wedding ring, let alone that one.
</poem>

AS: Makoto Niijima spends Limit on Shock Noise! Elec_Break applied to Penguin Sniper!

AS: Tandem! Makoto Niijima has used the Fire skill Full Throttle on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 127 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Sublime Cut.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 80 Elec damage from Hibari Aoki's Mapsi. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 93 Almighty damage from Hibari Aoki's Mystery Megido.
AS: Spd_Dn added!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Hitomi's not sure who the Joker Killer is. "Messed up rumor thing. I'll explain later." ''So'' not enough time right now. Teaming up, though. "Yeah, looks that way. ... I'm backing Ogre up on this."

Why that arrangement? Well,it's what her sister wanted.

It's fine.

But Ririka tenses as something shifts within Hitomi, and she looks to her fellow SEES member. She recalls what Hitomi said in the elevator ride the other night. She can't just ''slap'' her, but... "Hey. Mandai-san. I got your back, okay?"

Queen remarks that you don't go after someone's family. "What she said!" seconds Ririka. Katsuya reacts to the idea of her being sold off. "Don't worry--there's not gonna ''be'' any wedding for this sicko."

Ririka scowls as Eiji calls her imouto-chan. ''Again''. "Hey, fuck off, creep! I'm not your imouto-chan or anything else!"

The first time she went into Eiji's palace with everyone, through the front door, she heard how Shadow Eiji talked down to others, and more importantly, what he talked down to them ''for'', like Myunghon and Shinobu. that cuts personally, though there's only two people who know why. (And she doesn't know one of them is here, in a mask.)

So when she hears him make that insinuation to Phoenix, of them being a girl deep down, no matter what, even though she doesn't know who's under that mask it still chafes. "Hey! That's for them to decide, not anybody else!"

But she tenses as she senses the cognition of Eiji's father approaching. He does something so the Phantoms can't touch him--and then he offers a ''bribe'' to Katsuya. "If they've got any dirty laundry it's 'cause ''you'' helped them make it! Is that what you did last time, so they won't even look into what your sicko son did to my sister!?"

But Joker has a retort to destroying the ring, and Ririka shoots him a glance. "What, you're just gonna let him use that ''thing'' on us again!?" Phoenix pitches in, too, and Ririka glances at them. "Hey, I know what my senses are telling me. I can ''hear'' that damn thing trying to whisper bullshit into our minds as we argue about it!"

But the Shadow-- that one she can agree with. "Right--"

She looks to Hitomi. "Mandai-san--if you kill the Shadow you'll kill the real guy. We can't do that."

And while she's distracted arguing with Joker, Eiji comes right up to her to backhand her, catching her by surprise and sending her reeling. She drops to a knee, bringing the back of her hand up to press at the spot where he hit. "Ngh!"

Joker calls upno another Persona to send energy through her, and she takes a deep, stabilizing breath as she feels power flow into her. "Thanks."

She glances up at Ogre, as she cautions about getting too mad. "... you're one to talk," is her retort. Ogre was the one that flew off the handle the first time, but... to be fare, she'd beaten Ririka to it by a matter of moments. "But point taken." But with Momiji's witchlight she feels steadier still, pushing herself to her feet as she offers a nod. "Thanks, Ogre."

But Eiji asked if she had anything else to say, and Ririka just stares at him before a slow grin spreads across her face. "Yeah. What kind of a ''man'' calls their ~daddy~ to do their dirty work for them, huh? You're kind of pathetic, you know that?"

She shoves her Evoker into its holster, gripping the katana in both hands. She charges forward, going for a low attack first--and then using the momentum of the first attack to raise her katana and bring it down for a second strike.

And then she darts back. "Magnara!" she shouts, and Amphion is already strumming his lyre, ripping another giant boulder from the ground to drop it right on Eiji's head.
</poem>

AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Weapon! Ririka Kawase has used the Slash skill Ni-Dan Waza on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
As the fireworks of Tyche finish their celebration, there are some afterimages. Common for fireworks, really. The light's intense on a dark night, and if you watch you can often see some lingering smoke trails, hanging like a fading ghost in the air. So the lingering sprinklings of gold and blue and green flame are just that: Ghosts.

Cognitive echoes.

Hitomi exhales afterwards. Her focus stays on the Shadow Eiji, perhaps to the neglect of Ririka, and she bites on her thumb again as the Shadow screams. But then Ririka's telling her something important. "Oh," Hitomi answers Ririka, her tone of voice different. Her eyes squeeze shit in a way that suggests she's smiling and she's just not been able to really show it while engaging in a nervous tic.

"Got it~ I know just the thing, don't worry!" And with that, Hitomi straightens up, returning her gaze to the

"'If I lose his son,' 'not again,' 'you dare,' and then you call for your father, huh?" Hitomi continues, and her voice is animated and somehow oddly gentle. It's almost *too* gentle, pitch-perfect coaxing femininity, as if she's about to wipe his forehead with a wet cloth and make him tea. Her eyes turn to the side.

"Oh... and Father actually came, too. It was that serious... Are you surprised, or did you know it was bad enough that he'd want to help?" Hitomi's eyes rest on the Patriarch as papers roll outwards. Eiji proclaims triumph, and Hitomi's lips purse into a pout.

"Still, hiding behind your father's powers... That's not very cool or manly, is it, Kamiya-san?" Hitomi continues. Ririka may have cause to be concerned at this point. Though she has bigger problems, because Eiji's Shadow is coming towards them. Towards her. Hitomi isn't close enough to get in the way, and given that she's already standing in a less than perfectly OK way, that might be for the better.

Others put faith into her. Others she doesn't know. That person with the Phantom Thieves -- Hitomi finds her head turning and for a moment her eyes cross over those of Joker as they call upon Cait Sith. Enthusiasm rolls through her. Hitomi breathes outwards as the pain fades, and as that capering gleeful feeling in the back of her mind grows stronger.

Hitomi winks at Joker. It makes a tiny chiming sound.

Unfortunately, while this is happening, Shadow Eiji strikes Ririka. Hitomi's eyes flick to the side. Alright, she thinks with a thrill: I'll have to use those cartridges! Hitomi thrusts a hand into her hip pocket...

... except that where most of SEES has an Evoker there, Hitomi has a small pouch which holds, at the moment, five red sharp-edged casino dice and one of the cartridges provided to them. Hitomi grasps the cartridge and a moment later she twists her fingers a little accidentally and feels the seam separate.

Oh god, thinks Hitomi, even if that greased-snake feeling exults in this. What horrible luck! She smiles at nothing in particular, even as the Ogre calls on Momiji and places her faith in her - in Hitomi Mandai. She smiles back, and she turns, and perhaps the light seems to have gotten darker because Hitomi is standing directly behind Shadow Eiji, with only a red gleam behind her glasses. Then a small slash of dark ivory as she smiles. "Excuse me, Kamiya-san~. Sorry to interrupt!"

That same treacley voice keeps speaking. "You're really getting yourself into a pinch, huh? I guess maybe it wouldn't be that macho of you to admit it... but you're calling in your father like this. It's getting down to the wire, huh? Well... I'm not doing so great myself. I suppose it's not your business, but Kawase there's an important person to me, you know? But fair's fair, given your big impressive Palace. I think there's a way you can regain the initative. What do you say?"

And Hitomi's hand comes up, holding a pair of those curiously wet dice, laying in the palm of her hand.

"I'll take even and you'll take odds... that's fair, right? Let's put it all on the line," she says, starting to rattle them together.

"A man's got courage, right?" The sweetness is turning into razors.

"You've got the guts, right?" The rattling gets louder, the dice shaken in Hitomi's loosely-cupped hand.

"You're definitely going to win, right?" They're glowing enough to put faint light through the gaps in Hitomi's fingers.

"You're not afraid... right?"

The dice in her hand are like thundering boulders smashing down a slope for a moment.

"This is the best part."

Hitomi flings the dice down on the ground, hard, so that they bounce back up. Because whatever weird little hang up in her head makes it happen, she knows with an iron-clad certainty comparable to 'the sun coming up in the east' that it doesn't *count* if you don't bounce them off of something.

Which means, whatever number they rolled in the purportedly fair game Hitomi sketched out a moment ago - whether SHE lost or HE lost (which, perhaps, encapsulates Eiji's approach to romance and forming a relationship) - they're going to

explode.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill You're Burning for Me on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Hitomi Mandai gains 1 Limit!
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 123 Fire damage from Makoto Niijima's Full Throttle. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 51 Slash damage from Ririka Kawase's Ni-Dan Waza. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 51 Slash damage from Ririka Kawase's Ni-Dan Waza. Critical Hit!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 159 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara. Weak! Avoid Earth!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 136 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's You're Burning for Me.

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>That spear - that instrument of destruction, that routed armies and slayed a prince in grief-stricken rage - was snapped. Broken apart, splintered, and cast aside. It was only a construct of the cognitive realm, and even if there was no way to retrieve it, Achilles was not bereft of options. Such thoughts tried to grace Hyousuke's mind, and instil in him a sense of calm and rationality. They did nothing. So clouded was his mind with rage that the very fundamentals of combat in the supernatural realm seemed to escape him. All he knew was that Eiji had shrugged off his blow, destroyed his weapon, and would need to pay for his transgressions in blood.

Eiji was not the only one to flash his fangs. Though hidden by the mask, Hyousuke bared his own teeth in a brutal snarl. His lips curled and creased, his brow tightened, and that growling that shook his throat grew ever louder. He was a savage, feral, thing, gnashing and threatening to bite. His had not been an idle threat. Were his mask to be removed, Hyousuke might well have clambered to Eiji's throat, if it brought with it the promise of tearing him into bloody chunks. But before he could even think to lash out once more, the battlefield changed once again.

He knew the cognitive Ichika was not real. A short glance over was enough to make sure of that fact. He could see Ogre fighting, and even his rage-addled mind knew that the thing wearing her face was not real. But he couldn't stop a sense of sadness - fleeting as it was - from inflicting itself upon him when she ran. Cognition or not, Ichika was his friend, and to see her in such a state stunned him out of his rage, if only for a moment. To hear how Vesper spoke of her too, while he could only bellow out in animalistic rage, hammering away until his fists were bloody and his vision red... He shook his head. There would be time to think on such things later. He could address his grief, his confusion, and any lingering sadness once the day was won. But his rage? That, he held onto. He had great need of it.

The sight of Ichika might have dulled Hyousuke's anger, but when Eiji's father strode onto the scene, it burnt just as bright and hot as before. Even before the man opened his mouth, he could feel something was wrong. Stomach in knots, hair standing on end, and jaw tense, he was the very picture of a hound on alert. The fact that he managed to restrain himself enough to keep from lashing out in anger was nothing short of a miracle, but that miracle was extremely short-lived once he saw how callously Eiji attacked the others gathered - and how they could not retaliate. Not just Ogre, not just Phoenix, but their allies too. Eiji could attack with impunity. Eiji could strike them down, while he stood there powerless.

For the briefest of moments, a memory invaded his mind, piercing through the fog like a spear. He felt the water rushing to his lungs, he saw the red smeared across a pillar, he felt the despair at being so utterly helpless, he felt...
Rage.
Everything else was shut out. It was all superfluous. The enemy had to be defeated, and his friends had to live through it. That was all that mattered. Even through the mask, one might have felt that furious resolve within him, to put down his enemy no matter what it cost him. Ogre in particular, perhaps.

He turned quickly to face her, and gave a wordless nod. Again, no words needed to be exchanged. He knew what she had done, and he was grateful for it, but there was no hiding the fire that raged in his veins, and turned him into some nigh-mindless beast. As quickly as he had faced Ogre, he snapped his head around, and bolted towards Eiji. But it was not him that collided with the Shadow taunting his allies, and striking at his friends. It was the general. An armoured behemoth of a man, wreathed in unyielding metal, brought his sword down with tremendous force. The blow was not a precise strike against the heart, nor a masterful stroke of his shield. It was a wild and frenzied arc downwards, one seeking to cleave flesh from bone - even if it meant carving through a solid block of ice in the process.

"COWARD!" He shouted. It was an accusation as much as it was an insult, with Hyousuke aiming to taunt Eiji into focussing on him, and him alone. "Gotta get daddy in here to clean up after you shit yourself, do you? Can't do anything without him throwing his fucking weight around?! Then I hope he's got a whole lot of fucking paper, because none of us are gonna stop until you're a RED FUCKING SMEAR ON THE GROUND!" He hefted his fist upwards, then struck his fist against the ice, the blow coming down with the force of a forge hammer. He ignored the pain that rippled through his arm in response - his job was not yet done. "You think I give a shit if I go down here?! Huh?! A great, guttural, roar poured from his throat, and his fist struck out again.

"You, your piece of shit father, every one of your asshole friends... I'll drag you all to hell with me if I have to!" He and Achilles prepared for another strike, but before the blows could land, he spotted Queen in the corner of his eye. Enraged though he was, even Hyousuke wasn't foolish enough to stand there and take it. He darted back, and watched her unleash hell upon their foe, smiling all the while.
"You don't know a goddamn thing about my friends. About what they want, who they are, any-fucking-thing! And you think you can just come back and take whatever the hell you want from them?! They're better than you ever were! Don't you EVER fucking speak about them like that!"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Slash skill Fleshrend on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up added! Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Take! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Shift! Suzume Fukura can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
What kind of gentleman crashes a wedding indeed? Vesper's response comes readily, with the same infuriating calm as any other. "The kind of gentleman who refuses to let vows be spoken under false pretenses. Was I mistaken in thinking that 'speak now or forever hold your peace' was an invitation?"

As much as he seems at home in battles of wits, the effect when he tries to reason with the Ichika Cognition is... not quite the one Vesper was aiming for. "Ichika, wait!" he finds himself saying, momentarily overpowered by his genuine wish to help her with her problems. It's not unlike how the first counseling session with Tsubasa went.

Only then will it come to mind that this is only a Cognition. It should be considered a good thing for her to be removed as a factor from the battle, regardless of the means.... right? The thought still doesn't sit quite right with him. In the end, he's taking the practical view of matters again. 'It's good enough as long as the problem at hand is solved', is it...? He would have been heartened by the real Ichika's words, spoken much closer by than he knows.

But Eiji's assistance doesn't end there. If anything, it becomes that much worse. It only takes one look at that man, the father, for Vesper to understand instinctively the power that he represents. Everything about his bearing commands respect... just like That Man.

In spite of himself, he freezes up entirely. He can't even think before the Restraining Order hits, cementing what deep down he already knew. This is a man that he cannot touch, cannot oppose.

''There will be times when you have to recognize your own weakness. But remember this. Those who have power will always have one fear. The fear of losing that power.''

...That's right. What he cannot oppose, he can still defy. With that realization, Vesper straightens, adjusting the tie of his own immaculate suit, and calmly corrects the older man, "...On the contrary. It's quite heartening to me to see that there are some adults who will not stand idly by, while injustice is happening right in front of them."

He glances over to the others who were called out. He's not exceptionally familiar with Shinobu, and has not seen Masao and Tamaki at all, so it's only natural that his gaze lingers on Umie, who he addresses a final nod to. But his words are meant for all of them in equal measure.

"Take heart, and carry on. This will not break you. And what does not break you makes you stronger. Isn't that right, Raffles?"

In response, the yellow light shining within the Persona's iron mask grows brighter. Fancy cane and savage bat are crossed in front, and a purple light cascades across each of the other adults that Vesper was grouped in with, offering protection and acuity. Though they might not be able to act now, they will not fall, if he has anything to say about it.

With that, he directs his attention back to the Patriarch. Piercing blue eyes behind the mask meet his gaze, only displaying the strength he was once taught to display at times such as this.

"You, however, have chosen to try and hide the clearly visible crimes being committed, right under your nose. But do you truly believe a few pieces of paper will still be enough to protect your son now? Why don't you ask him how many pieces of paper exist that prove the connection to his crimes... and where all those papers are now?"

He knows that evidence of Eiji Kamiya's crimes has been found. Maybe this man has the power to make it all go away. But such things do add up, and have a way of inviting incriminating fingers to point in a different direction. At what point will it become too much?

"...I know you. I was going to BE you, once. So I know exactly what the one and only logical response would be, if my son were to dig a hole this deep for himself."

"Cut him loose. Before he drags me down with him."
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Almighty skill Twilight Revelation on Masao Inaba, Tamaki Uchida, Shinobu
Shimizu, and Umie Akabane!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Julian Marlowe's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added! Eclipse, Spd_Dn, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Take! Masao Inaba takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Tamaki Uchida's Silver Wheel.
AS: Eclipse added!
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Shinobu Shimizu takes 0 Almighty damage from Julian Marlowe's Twilight Revelation.
AS: Crt_Up and Def_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Ren Amamiya's Matarukaja.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Slash damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Fleshrend. Critical Hit!
AS: Def_Dn added!
AS: Avoid Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 34 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Resist!
AS: Avoid Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Resist!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> Umie's way of attacking and battle strategy has been honed over several years. Experienced, calm, and hardy, she can have a cool head about things, and formulate a plan to weather through many situations.

The problem comes in that she's learned from and fought with demons, all while surviving; selfish aliies and enemies lend themselves to similar styles and ways of thinking. The goal was to hide and survive; a helped demon may help you, but would just as likely kick you the moment your back was turned.

Put Umie Akabane in a cage with no lock to pick or weak point to focus on, and she'll scrape at the edges trying to make one herself. The idea to remain calm flies out the window.

(Such is the battle plan of a coward named Umie Akabane.)

She can't ignore it now when violence is done in front of her, in more ways than one: many others are likewise caged in, Joker and Skull get thrashed without being able to fight back, and Katsuya is presented with suitcase.

"Katsuya-san...."

That's where it starts, right? Finding out someone you know is now a Persona User, and dumbly staring at them in the Triple 7 as you display all that knowledge you've accrued in those years of pointless squabbles and fighting and ask,

'What's a Persona?'

Red nails point towards Katsuya, expression beginning to calm in open faith in Katsuya's resolve, helped along with Tamaki's own balm.

'What does it mean, when several groups of Persona Users appear? What's around the corner?'

A question she formed from talking to Tamaki, that she posed to Fox.

And then, a nod back towards Vesper and his wisdom, as she passes back what was given: wisdom from someone who truly knows what it means to be on their own, rather than hide and pretend.

It wasn't until recently that Umie even thought about thinking about what it meant to help other people, rather than just survive.

Little thoughts like those are what brought new possibilities.

"Badb."

The Badb grows with Umie, becoming not just a tool for survival and desperation, but a means to push -- sometimes forcefully -- the wish to believe in what can lie at the end.

But until then, let there be a Bloody Revolution.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Recovery skill Bloody Revolution on Katsuya Suou, Umie Akabane, Julian Marlowe,
and Yusuke Kitagawa!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 48 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Def_Up, Eclipse, Regen, Spd_Dn, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Take! Julian Marlowe takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Protected Fate.
AS: Def_Up and Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Katsuya Suou takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Def_Up, Regen, and Spd_Up removed!

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
Don't kill the Shadow. That's right. Because Akechi had told him himself what happens then. So even the treasure being damaged could cause unforeseen consequences. That, Katsuya makes careful note of: even a criminal shouldn't have their mind destroyed. Or die, before they face justice, if such is possible.

Wait.

It takes Katsuya a moment to understand what Phoenix is putting down. He shakes his head, as if to dispel the notion that he's entirely on 'their' side. "Wait-- no, I do not mean to say--" he starts to protest, "A confession produced by altering their psyche is not-- I mean only to suggest the option in his mind!" Is that really that much of a difference, though?

And, for that matter, just what does he think that he's attempting right now, fighting the Ruler alongside everyone else? ...well, given the sort of person Eiji Kamiya appears to be, perhaps it can't be helped...

As Queen says, he's their mutual enemy right now. "...I agree," he says at last, nodding at her summary of the situation. "There are... too many lives at stake from his actions!" The more they can get him to talk about freely, the more people they can save. He just wishes it didn't come at such a high cost.

Tamaki, taking into consideration Umie's presence with Katsuya and who Katsuya has been known to know herself, puts two and two together: as expected of a private investigator. If he knew, he'd be impressed.

The cognition of Ichika Kawase flees, but furious, the Ruler has summoned another. His father. "He's called upon his... I see, so that's why..." remarks Katsuya, the pieces of how Eiji has managed to accomplish so much in spite of his young age made quite plain. Even here -- especially here -- the extrajudicial authority the elder Kamiya commands holds sway. Of course, his son relies on his father so much in real life, so naturally...
Now, though, is not the time for such considerations.

Katsuya, on the defensive, finds that no such attack is lobbed his way. Rather, while he's been spared the bulk of the effects the cognition can bring to the fore (unlike Tamaki), he finds himself approached by the mental projection with a very... different sort of offer.

The money, of course, isn't real. But that's not the thing that Katsuya latches onto first and foremost. Instead, visibly affronted, he shakes his head vehemently. "Wh-what do you take me for? Are you trying to get me to look the other way?! This is bribery! This is clearly illegal!!" he shouts back. "Do what you will, but I refuse!" ...one of these days, Akechi's lesson on cognitions and their 'reality' will actually sink in.

Ririka chimes in and, remembering what Akechi had said about what had happened to Ichika afterwards, Katsuya's offense at being so blatantly bribed takes on a different cast. "Turning their eye from an attack on a girl in exchange for money was inexcusable... but so is using one's influence in society to encourage them to do it in the first place!" he declares.

As Tamaki had said, give him hell.

Power, bestowed upon him through Joker's own kitty-cat Persona (in the moment there's no space for anything more than the recognition of the Persona's form), flows potent within him. Power is quickly joined with protection: Lachesis bestows her benediction upon him, perhaps shielding him from whatever trickery the Ruler maintains up his sleeve.

Chance, itself, twists in his favor. He's been put on the spot. With others unable to act, he must...

An idea comes to him.

"This is over! You won't be able to twist society to grant you your sick desires any longer, Eiji Kamiya! Persona!"

What he's actually done is lift his firearm and direct it at the Ruler. What he hasn't done is pull the trigger.
Not yet.

Helios, as if it had erupted from the barrel of his gun, begins to rocket towards 'Sitri', wreathed in flame. A report of the gun follows but scarcely a moment later: a single bullet follows after the blazing trail of his own Persona.
</poem>

AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Tandem! Katsuya Suou has used the Fire skill Midnight Sun on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 46 HP from Regen! Psych removed!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 175 Fire damage from Katsuya Suou's Midnight Sun.
AS: You now have a trigger set for 15% damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper has set a trigger!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji looks at Mujina as she calls him uncreative, talks about how much she enjoys cooking- is he going to get creative with his insults!?

"Enjoys it a little too much, if you ask me." Nope. He is not. "You? Pity me? Ahahaha-! Today's my wedding day, fatso. With an attitude like that, there ain't no man who would ever marry you."

Ririka meanwhile stands up to him, and he responds by simply arcing a back hand at her, right as the Magnara slams into his jaw with a crack.

"Fucking- bitch! You only wish your Daddy had half the clout mine did! Maybe if he did, your brother would ''still be alive''."

The hell??? What does he MEAN by that!?

The helplessness of that day, where the system betrayed Ren Amamiya in favor of a corrupt man. It's there again. Struggle as he might, he can feel it there, like the bars of his cell.

Is this the point where his rehabilitation will end?

Phoenix shouts at the Patriarch, and he looks at them as he might a speck on his suit, ready to brush off, "And now you never will again. I always knew that him marrying her was a terrible idea... look at the people she associates with."

'Look at you.' He might have said.

'Even... they're kids, right?'

"Hardly. They're delinquents. Thugs. A few trivial transactions and they'll be tried as adults. They'll enter the system- and never see the light of day again."

'This ain't just boys being boys, old man. Your son's done some serious crimes.'

"You seem to be under the impression I care." He tells her, bluntly, "It's a father's duty to protect and provide for his son, even when he is foolish, or loses his temper in some trivial argument."

But Eiji hears something that gives him pause, from Ogre. "Eh?" And his head turns to look right at Skull. Then back at Ichika, "Very funny- I know very well you ain't a rezubian. And that guy...?" He looks dismissive at first, but then a thought overtakes him. As a savage fury clouds his eyes right as he slowly stalks up to Skull again, "I hear her right? You trying to steal MY bride?"

His hand lowers, as if to reach around Skull, right as Fox opens up a gash with his blade at that moment, and ice sprouts from his wound. Clutching his wrist, he roars in pain and abandons that action, rearing up in agony.

The Kamiya Patriarch gives Fox, a look that seems- a little bored, "Abandon him? Even if my son often fails to meet expectations. He is my son. My ''legacy''. Nothing is more important than that."

And there's a coldness in his gaze, as he rejects even Fox's argument. And he may realize, to his shock, that if this cognition is an accurate depiction?

Eiji is more valued by his own Father, than he was by Madarame.

Whereas Vesper makes an appeal to him being the 'Lord' of the family so to speak, to logic. "And perhaps there would be logic to that if there were a second son, or a third... but he is my only child, my heir. Cut him loose? I'd sooner sever my own hand."

Bashing his wrist against the ground to try and shatter the ice, Masao asks a question and- "A firefighter, or some stupid shit. What's it fucking matter?" He levels his gaze on him, snarling, "He set me straight. I'm the man I am today because of him."

The Patriarch scoffs at Queen's evaluation, "Little girl, you're playing with fire, invoking that organization so casually." Which, might as well be an admission that Eiji at least knows who the NWO are. However, has her bluff done anything? Has it shaken his idea of his father's untouchability?

The heat of her passion in regards to her father, causes him to look at Queen, "So what you're telling me is that he failed at the most basic duty of being a father, preparing his daughter for her future role as a wife and mother... if his daughter is here, dressed like that."

Johanna rockets towards Eiji at full speed, trailing Nuclear Fire, right as Hyousuke leaps, with his bellowing rage, the fist slams in, right as the ice burns him. In the aftermath, his fur is burned away, ichor dripping from the wound, "BITCH! Who cares if I was careless or not!? Enough money and all our problems GO AWAY!"

Right as he steps back and bats away Hyousuke's chain, once, twice with his uninjured things, "You don't even know what hell IS! I'm gonna show you that it's fucking closer than you think!"

Which is when Hitomi demands his attention, and he furrows his brow at her, "What, you think you're some kind of gambler? Chicks are supposed to blow on the dice, not roll 'em themselves. But sure Babe, you wanna challenge me-? Odds. If it comes up odds, your life belongs to me."

He watches her hands, as the dice grow louder and louder, even as she flings them down, and his eyes follow them. "Heh looks like it came up-"

And then the ground around him explodes.

"BITCH!" He howls, as the smoke dissipates to show his fur now has many many more spots - scorch marks.

Katsuya however refuses the bribe, "Ah. You're that type- truly you must be new to these parts. Every man has his price Officer." As he then takes out another stack of bills, "What's yours?"

A single bullet, a blazing trail, a spoken resolution. The man puts the money away. "Regrettable. A short career it is."

And Sitri - Eiji, howls as he's wreathed in flame.

Unfortunately, the Kamiya Patriarch has now turned this into a battle of attrition. If no one can attack him, and he's whittling down who can attack the Ruler, what can be done?

"You're running out of time." The cognition of the man observes. "The truth is though, the moment you came after my family, on the day of my son's wedding- you had none left to begin with."

The man says, as he throws out more of those papers each one taking form in front of everyone that it hadn't yet affected. In a matter of seconds - nobody will be able to do a single thing to harm Eiji.

Which means his victory is assured.

"I assume you can take care of things from here."

The man turns, as if to just walk away and leave his son to 'clean up this mess' on his own.

Goro Akechi has arrived from Shujin Academy - Classroom Building.
GRID: Goro Akechi has joined Katsuya Suou.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
And at the moment he turns, is the same moment there's a bright flash of a blue laser beam from the rafters, as a smoking hole appears in the Kamiya Patriarch's chest. The Cognition of the Man stares at it as if stunned.

"Who How!?"

A shaking hand touches the hole, before the Cognition falls over on the floor, instantly dissolving into nothing. While Eiji screams in disbelief and rage at the sight of his father, even a cognition of him, dying in front of him.

"OTOU-SAMAAAAAA!"

"Sorry I'm late, Sergeant Suou." Follow the Trajectory, and you'll see a Princely figure standing in the rafters, leaning against one with his left, with a ray gun extended with his right. "But that should rather even the odds, don't you think?"

Goro Akechi says, with a certain gravity despite the underlying smugness. "I heard your own wedding party spreading the rumor that his only fear was an attack by an unseen enemy." He casually gesticulates with his gun. "I surmised that an ambush like this would be enough to qualify."

Eiji's eyes narrow into slits, as his whole body shakes, trembling with a fury, as power flares up all around him, "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU!"

And as he looks to make good on that threat, everyone will realize that the barriers - the invisible walls are gone.

And the Ruler is quite distracted.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
The wall in front of Ogre... Breaks. And that man--that odious man, who once told her to 'take good care' of his son--

The smoking hole in the Patriarch's chest says why. "...So you still helped us out, huh?" Ogre wonders of Akechi. "...Well, thanks."

Then she ''charges'', stowing her rifle and pulling her shield. Ogre's high-tech shoes thud against the chapel flooors; the thorns of her armor cut through the air. Her long, bleached hair streams behind her like a cloak. And when she gets there--

"Fuck...!" Her shield moves. She swings it not like a shield but like a ''chair'', ''slamming'' it up into Eiji's face and then, when his hands come up to guard or counterattack, ''swinging'' the edge straight ''down'' for the finger wearing his engagement ring. "OFF!"

The finger ''shears'' off, and the ring flies, glittering in the air as she looks up at Eiji. "We're done. For good."

The ring falls, falls, falls--towards Joker.
</poem>

AS: Ichika Kawase sets off Penguin Sniper's trigger! 765 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji howls as his engagement ring is knocked right off of his now broken hand, shock, panic and desperation overtaking him as he's brought to his knees, clutching his mauled hand.

"We're... we're done?! How could-How could you even say that!? You promised- you promised to be mine! You promised we'd be together forever! Why!?! Why would you do this to me?"

His outrage is a palpable thing as he realizes now for the first time... that there's no outcome where she becomes his bride. No outcome where he gets the family he wants.

"We were going to start a family... ''together''. I-!"

And suddenly, trembling as both of his hands strike the ground, he lets out an animalistic scream. His wings flare out, and suddenly every single enormous diamond his wings are decorated with becomes a missile, shot at them at high speed to try and bludgeon everyone to death.

"CURSE YOU! CURSE ALL OF YOU!"

And then accursed energy erupts beneath all of them trying to overwhelm them with shadowy power. It seems like he simply intends now to overwhelm them all. If he doesn't get what he wants - then... neither do they.

"NONE OF YOU ARE LEAVING THIS PLACE!"

</poem>
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Almighty skill Oni's Annulment on Ichika Kawase!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Panic!
AS: Aggression: Penguin Sniper gains 1 Limit!
AS: You still have 16 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Take! Ichika Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Penguin Sniper's Oni's Annulment.
AS: Atk_Up, Crt_Up, Def_Up, and Spd_Up added! Def_Up, Eclipse, and Strike_Break removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper spends Limit on Break!

AS: Take! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 0 Recovery healing from Umie Akabane's Bloody Revolution.
AS: Atk_Up and Crt_Up added! Reflect_Phys and Spd_Up removed!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ichika Kawase! 2 Hits!
AS: Penguin Sniper takes 60 damage from Exhaust!
AS: You still have 15 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Katsuya Suou! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 14 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Umie Akabane! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 13 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hyousuke Suzuki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 12 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hitomi Mandai! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 11 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Makoto Niijima! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 10 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Shinobu Shimizu! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 9 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Masao Inaba! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 8 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Yusuke Kitagawa! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Tsubasa Seki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ren Amamiya! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Hibari Aoki! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Weapon! Penguin Sniper has used the Strike skill Diamonds Mean Forever on Ririka Kawase! 2 Hits!
AS: You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Julian Marlowe, Hyousuke Suzuki, Hitomi Mandai, and Ririka
Kawase!
AS: You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Makoto Niijima, Tamaki Uchida, Shinobu Shimizu, and Hibari
Aoki!
AS: You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
AS: Persona! Penguin Sniper has used the Dark skill Maeiha on Masao Inaba, Yusuke Kitagawa, Ryuji Sakamoto, and Tsubasa
Seki!
AS: Penguin Sniper: Break and Paralyze removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper's turn has ended. It's time for an All-Out Attack!
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ichika Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Best! Ichika Kawase takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ichika Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 79 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Umie Akabane can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 22 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Nerve Up! Tamaki Uchida's SP +8!
AS: Block Neutral! Tamaki Uchida takes 12 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Critical Hit! Eclipsed!
AS: Eclipse removed!
AS: Break! Tamaki Uchida can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 34 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 52 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Umie Akabane can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Hibari Aoki takes 18 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hibari Aoki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu spends Limit on Brace!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 55 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 98 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Worst! Tsubasa Seki takes 53 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Best! Tsubasa Seki takes 18 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 33 Slash damage in return for their attack!
AS: Break! Tsubasa Seki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 60 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Break! Ren Amamiya can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Best! Ren Amamiya takes 39 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Weak!
AS: Break! Ren Amamiya can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 110 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 110 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Avoid Worst! Shinobu Shimizu takes 50 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Weak!
AS: Break! Shinobu Shimizu can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Block Neutral! Katsuya Suou takes 13 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Katsuya Suou can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Neutral! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 21 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Penguin Sniper takes 124 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Counter Best! Katsuya Suou takes 14 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 43 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Katsuya Suou can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 14 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: COUNTER! Reflect Phys! Penguin Sniper takes 90 Strike damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Makoto Niijima takes 41 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Makoto Niijima takes 69 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Best! Yusuke Kitagawa takes 5 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Yusuke Kitagawa can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Makoto Niijima takes 36 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Critical Hit!
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Makoto Niijima can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Worst! Ryuji Sakamoto takes 29 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Dark damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Ryuji Sakamoto can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Block Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 16 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Resist!
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 23 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
Resist!
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Avoid Best! Hyousuke Suzuki takes 19 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hyousuke Suzuki can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Masao Inaba takes 13 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Eclipsed!
AS: Eclipse removed!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Masao Inaba takes 27 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Weak!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Counter Neutral! Masao Inaba takes 16 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: COUNTER! Penguin Sniper takes 23 Dark damage in return for their attack! Resist!
AS: Break! Masao Inaba can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Hitomi Mandai takes 71 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 30 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever.
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Hitomi Mandai takes 16 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Break! Hitomi Mandai can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Julian Marlowe takes 6 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha. Resist!
AS: Break! Julian Marlowe can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Katsuya Suou spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Ogre and Phoenix both double-take at their Persona-switching. Right--they haven't swapped Personas in front of either of them yet, have they? Arsène is always reliable, but having alternatives is the heart of strategy... After all, that's what lets Joker support their allies who ''can'' still attack while they're bound. Joker gives them both a tight but sincere smile and a nod.

Masao and Fox both have ''things'' to say about the Kamiya patriarch. Joker already knows Fox's trauma, but what's Masao's story? Joker's eyes linger on him for a moment, before Mujina boasts about her hair and draws their eye anew. Her bright red hair ''is'' quite familiar... Must be a popular dye.

Ririka argues about the ring. Her perspective is fully understandable, considering what it's done to all of them already. However, they don't have time to fight about this. "Do you want to be a murderer?" Joker asks bluntly, looking her in the eye. It's a half-bluff--they don't know for sure that's what'll happen, it's only a possibility--but still, they conclude, "If you do, then by all means, destroy it."

Given Hitomi's bloodthirst, that might have not been the ''best'' bluff... Even if Hitomi seems to appreciate the boost to her strength. That tiny chiming sound is actually rather fascinating... How did she do that? ...Focus. Joker shakes their head, then looks from her to Ririka. "You're welcome," they tell both of them.

Then they shoot a look at Vesper--who claims he'd cut ''his'' son off if he were like Eiji. That's... understandable, and yet... "...."

The Cognitive Patriarch dismisses Joker and their friends as a delinquent, a thug--and that's bad enough, but then... even a man as horrible as that, for all that he's merely the perception Eiji has of his own father... he says that he would never abandon his only son.

WHAM. Joker slams a fist into the floor, teeth grit in a broad grimace.

A blue laser cuts through the air then, piercing through the Cognitive Patriarch and reducing him to ash, as cognitions are wont to do when attacked. Joker's eyes widen behind their mask when they realize who shot it.

Think of the devil, and he appears...

...and for all that Joker just thought it'd be even worse for Akechi to appear, they look around wildly for any sign of the Black Mask.

He isn't here. There's no visual sign of him anywhere. Is he hiding that well? He has to be--if he works for that New World Order, surely there's no way he ''wouldn't'' show up to defend him--especially after Akechi just took out Shadow Eiji's biggest protector. For an instant, Joker's seized with the fear that he'll appear to run Akechi through, just like he tried to back in Kobayakawa's Palace--

--but when he stares back at Akechi in fear... nothing like that happens.

Why?

And why is he helping them, when he made it agonizing clear before how he sees The Phantoms' Justice as anything but?

(if he's doing this just to make joker talk to him again they're going to be ''so pissed'')

But there's no getting around this ''without'' talking to him, so: "What are you doing here all of a sudden...?" (Very close to how the Black Mask had in Kaneshiro's Palace, even.) Their gloved hands tighten with anger and suspicion. Ogre might be willing to accept it at face value, but they have to ask, "Why did you help us?"

There won't be time to talk about it either way. Ogre LEAPS at Shadow Eiji, using her shield to SLAM into that frozen finger and shear it off, leaving both it and the ring to fall--towards then. Joker leaps to their feet and dives into a forward roll for it. It's huge and solid gold and diamond, and they already gauged its weight earlier. Catching it thus takes both arms, and pins them in place for a moment.

More diamonds fly as Eiji-Sitri flies into a temper tantrum. Joker can only curl over the Treasure to protect it--they won't let Shadow Eiji take it back again. They're left beaten and battered--but when those diamond missiles have subsided, they're still there, panting in pain.

They glare back up at Akechi for an instant. Then they turn towards Shadow Eiji, holding the Treasure protectively tight until Mona's able to rejoin the party and take it on board again.

"Enough," they intone, switching masks again--back to Ixtab. She rises at their back, hanging in power. "This is your end."

The hanged Persona cries out hoarsely, just before a massive stone of her own falls down to bludgeon the poster boy of the Leopards Eating People's Faces party.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Great Magnara on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Sequence Magna on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Earth skill Landslide on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ren Amamiya: Atk_Up and Def_Up removed!
AS: Ren Amamiya regains 10 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 151 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Great Magnara. Weak!
AS: Panic added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 60 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Sequence Magna. Weak!
AS: Bind added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 103 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Sequence Magna. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 87 Earth damage from Ren Amamiya's Landslide. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
<poem>Skull continues to smirk at Eiji's Shadow, rolling his arm in its socket as Shinobu and Tamakis spells hit him. He is pretty banged up. It really hurt to stand to be honest.

But he isn't going down yet.

Skull walks toward the invisible wall and kicks against it, resting the bent pipe on his shoulder. He looks like exactly the kind of hoodlum who steals your wallet and your girl. Skull is at least guilty of one of those things as he mean mugs Eiji from his "court mandated distance" away. "Tick tock..."

Skull watches as Eiji realizes whats going on with Ichika, Tsubasa, and him and makes a kissy face at Eiji. This smug behavior only grows when Eiji stalks right over to him and tries to get in his face.

"Yeah. Aw, does that bother you, pal? And on your wedding day too." Skull fake pouts real big for Eiji's Shadow.

Spite was about the only thing keeping Ryuji up.

Skull watches as the events start to get real chaotic. Eiji's dad is shot by a sniper. Ichika cuts that large Ring off the hand of Eiji.

In truth, Skull is pretty surprised but he doesn't let it show. Instead he keeps smiling at Eiji's Shadow mourning his fallen father. "Aw, for real?! That seems to be a real bummer for your wedding day, dude." Skull just grins wider and wider, even as dark energy gathers around him. Even as it starts to hurt again, Skull just takes it and starts walking to meet up with Eiji. "Btw, dude...I hope you have a nightmare about this."

Skull lifts pipe, batters up a little, and then lets a nice true swing counter attack Eiji's Shadow's junk.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>The treasure is severed from its owner. Akechi's timely intervention puts a beam of light straight through the Ruler's protection.

All pretense abandoned, Eiji Kamiya throws a mighty tantrum, thrashing around at all of them.

Fox turns to face the oncoming fist, barely scratched by the wave of darkness that lashes out at him.

"No grace. No dignity."

He draws his sword in a flash to meet the flailing strikes.

"All of it an embarrassment to 'manhood'. Goemon: Cut his delusions asunder."

The woodcut ronin rises up once more, and his pipe nigh vanishes with the speed he swings it, as Fox joins his blade to the assault that falls upon what remains of Sitri - until nothing remains but the pathetic husk of the Ruler.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Ryuji Sakamoto has used the Strike skill Street Justice on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Ryuji Sakamoto gains 1 Limit!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Atk_Dn added! Bind, Def_Dn, Elec_Break, Exhaust, Panic, and Spd_Dn removed!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 12 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 16 Strike damage from Ryuji Sakamoto's Street Justice. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Tandem! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Frigid Wrath on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Aggression: Yusuke Kitagawa gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Water skill Flurry Bufu on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Katana Slash on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Yusuke Kitagawa has used the Slash skill Katana Combo on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Yusuke Kitagawa's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Frigid Wrath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Frigid Wrath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 21 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 10 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 40 Strike damage from Penguin Sniper's Diamonds Mean Forever. Critical Hit!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 12 Dark damage from Penguin Sniper's Maeiha.
AS: Blast added!
AS: Break! Ririka Kawase can take another Weak action this round!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 13 Water damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Flurry Bufu.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Slash.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 30 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Combo.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 27 Slash damage from Yusuke Kitagawa's Katana Combo.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Skull gets beat down, but he gets right back up again... "How are you ''so'' cool, dude," Phoenix says, and it's not ironic or anything, they really do think he's COOL AS HELL.

Queen is ''cool as hell,'' too, even if she's ten times sharper now. (Or maybe she was always sharp, and they just didn't see it...? Questions for later.)

Underestimating Fox comes at Eiji's father's peril, though. "Fox, I can't do shit--!" Phoenix called, to him, and there was just an ''edge'' of distress to that one; just because they can ask ''other'' people to do shit for them, that doesn't mean ''they're'' pulling their own weight punch by punch. Fox's logic, as he steps forward, speaks to the depths of his own experiences... something Phoenix was on the outside of, only hearing about Madarame on the news.

... still, they can tell it's real personal.

Masao is right, though: they ''are'' kids. Phoenix has been grappling with that, the last few days, but -- even the oldest of them still have a few years to go before they hit 20.

The things Mujina says about cooking, though... it tracks with everything Phoenix has been trying to learn, even if it will take them years to reach someone like Jun or Hibari's level. (Those are two independent thoughts; there's no way ''Mujina's'' dyed hair resembles ''Hibari's.'' Hibari's just one of the first people they think of when cooking comes up!) "Fuck him, man! You look great!" They yell back, to Mujina. "Sweet hair! Sick-ass mask, too!"

... they're admiring Shinobu's verbal retort game, too. Speaking of being five years too early... "Yeah!" They call out, after her. "Go cry about it!!"

Now, does this count as ''Phoenix'' getting backed up by an adult? Maybe, but also, shut up.

With all their rage like a bird in a cage, they're left to turn to Tamaki. "... aight. I'll have a friend arrange a meetin'... you get it, right? Thief's gotta be careful." (Crap, crap, crap! Okay, brain. You have until that meeting happens to think of a brilliant explanation...)

They're at least glad to hear ''Ririka'' support their gender, even if Eiji-Sitri sure ''isn't.'' The way Eiji backhands her, though... Phoenix grimaces. "I ain't gon' let ya make her know what it's like," they insist, to Eiji, their hands tightening around the hilt of their blade.

Phoenix takes a step back, when the Patriarch brushes them off so carelessly. "F-fuck you, man! She WANTS to be 'round us! An' if you really thought that, why'd you tell Ichika to ''take good care a him?!''"

But then -- "SHE AIN'T A BIAN 'CUZ SHE WITH ME, YOU PRICK!" Phoenix yells, when Eiji dismisses Ichika's connection to ''them.'' "We're different genders, that makes her straight! Fuck you!" A dark pit settles in their stomach, as he turns on ''Ryuji'' as the threat, but more importantly -- "Fuck offa Skull, shithead!"

Hitomi rolls her dice, though, and Phoenix is wholly distracted staring at ''that'' for a second. "Holy shit. That's, like... some real-ass weaponised casino shit." Could Ririka's friends, in fact... be straight badass?

Hyousuke speaks in their defence, though, and Phoenix feels the terrible weight of an ''emotion'' settling in their throat. "Ya reckon...? Fuck, man... you right! Who th' fuck does this guy think he is?!"

Vesper, as well, talks about the adults who aren't just standing around. "Yeah!" Phoenix yells, gesturing sharply. "Even when they're hurtin' impossible fuckin' bad, there's adults what ain't gon' let ya pull this SHIT! It's adults like that who saved those girls from your BULLSHIT, man! Fuckin'... like Yeo-sama!" They remember Myunghon telling them the girls that the Cardboard Dragon rescued were okay, in the middle of their heart pouring out. That much -- that much still matters. "An' these guys, here... they really give a shit 'bout Ichika-chan an' Tsubasa-kun, right?! So fuck you, you lost to begin with! Even if Tsubasa-kun disappeared -- women like HER would bash ya fuckin' door down with a baseball bat to get them!" They gesture, with the hilt of their greatsword, in Shinobu's direction.

(... even if it's kind of scary that Vesper was going to be the same kind of guy as Eiji's dad, once. But, then... can they really condemn him for that, when ''they're'' trying so hard to avoid becoming ''their'' father?)

It's nice, at least... that ''Katsuya'' isn't so easily swayed by dirty money. Phoenix will remember that. And they'll remember Badb's fury, too, though they don't know it's Umie beneath that mask.

But then -- the Patriarch ends it.

And --

"You're..." Phoenix takes a step back, when they see the Prince, up above. "But, you... I... why?" Their baffled brain settles on, mouth quite agape, even if it's impossible to see what the rest of their face is doing under that witch-hat mask. Ogre thanks him, though, and Phoenix swallows. "Y--yeah. Thanks."

Ogre moves forward, first -- to ''slam'' Eiji-Sitri's face into next week. "GET HIS ASS, BOSS!" Phoenix yells, and hey, didn't they just call ''Joker'' their boss? What's with this two-Boss arrangement?! Don't worry about it. When she issues him that stern conclusion, Phoenix grins, a touch savage. "You fuckin' tell him," they say, though they're quieter, now.

Eiji rages, and Phoenix watches, their teeth grit. "Any promise you make -- any fuckin' promise at all -- you get to break that shit at no damn penalty if the fuck you loved ends up torturin' you. No matter what." And it's that kind of empowerment which might explain why Ichika felt comfortable with ''them,'' in those long months of piecing herself back together.

His curses become as animalistic as Hyousuke or Phoenix's, though, as he ''curses'' them --

-- and Phoenix, seeing the opening Akechi and Ogre made, ''takes it.''

"HRRAAAHHHHH--!" They scream, as they launch themself ''into'' that hail of missiles, Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah appearing behind them. They ''slice'' a diamond-missile open, as it sails for them -- as ten more land in that hut on chicken's legs, sending it staggering back a step, even as Phoenix ''keeps going.'' "YOU! FUCKIN'! ''PRICK!'' GET UNDER MY SKIN, STRIP ME DOWN, ''BEAT'' ME DOWN, ''ARRANGE!'' A FUCKIN'! ''BUYER!''" More of those diamonds hail out, and Phoenix is knocked back -- but only briefly, skidding against the floor before they launch themself forward ''again.'' (And, again, it's Izbushka na Kur'ih Nozhkah who absorbs a dozen more missiles.) "LIKE I'M SOME KINDA PIECE A ''MEAT?!'' FUUUUCK! YOOOOU!! YOU THINK I'M COOL WITH IT JUS' 'CUZ YOU DIDN'T GET TO DO IT IN REAL LIFE?! I KNOW YOU WOULD HAVE, ''ASSHOLE!''" They plunge straight THROUGH that pool of darkness, flecks of Eiha sloughing away from their blazing hood as they reach him --

And swing.

And swing.

And swing.

Again, again, again -- the rage of their own treatment building, and building, until it hits Ichika's own, and they scream, "AN' YOU'D DO ALL THAT -- JUS' TO CONTROL ICHIKA?! JUS' TO HURT HER MORE?! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU! ''FUCK YOU!!!''"

And ''SWING.''

Their final, overhead blow is so titanic, the ground shudders in a shockwave to either side of them.

Man, the newest Phantom Thief has neither chill ''nor'' any fuse left to burn.

</poem>
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatest Sword on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Tsubasa Seki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Tsubasa Seki has used the Slash skill Greatsword Assault on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tsubasa Seki has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Tsubasa Seki: Gains 48 HP from Regen! Atk_Up and Def_Up removed!
AS: Tsubasa Seki has no more TP available for healing!
AS: Tsubasa Seki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Tsubasa Seki's turn has ended.
AS: Tsubasa Seki spends Limit on Shift! Ichika Kawase can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 141 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatest Sword.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 46 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 44 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 48 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Slash damage from Tsubasa Seki's Greatsword Assault. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Ren isn't the only one who's been betrayed by the system. Oh, it's different for Hibari, but she still feels it keenly, even if the number of people who know the full story is about one and a half (Tsubasa knows fragments of it, Ren at least knows it exists, and Ichika knows most of it, but Tsubasa and Ren don't know Hibari is *here*).

It's still enough to keep her fired up, especially assisted by her allies - her friends, though just like not all of them know she's here, she doesn't know all of them *are* her friends.

She needs to figure out how to get past that barrier. How to stop the Patriarch. How to fight the system - it's still not something she's entirely come to terms with how to do. So far her justice has been a small thing. "You - "

*bang*

Well. Okay. It's not a gunshot. It's an actual *ray gun*, something that Hibari didn't know you could do inside a Palace even if you had a Persona. Her head jerks up as she looks up toward the source of that shot, seeing a princely figure she does not recognize. More information for later; something to look into on her own time. She'll ask Ichika - when they're home and safe and recovered.

Because she can *feel* the barriers drop. "He's open!" Mujina calls, finally fulfilling her duty as a Navigator. "Get him, get in! He can't call the support back up!" Maybe that's how you take out people like that. Separate them from the system, so they can't call it in... But that means she can act, too. He's not invincible, and he can't abuse his power to stop her.

And as the others go in, she grins, her face suddenly... not quite visible under the flames, but you can tell what expression she's making. "Backing you up!" she calls to the Phantom Thieves, before giving the *non*-Phantom Thieves the same grin. They're all in this together, except maybe the Prince; she's not sure what to make of him, but at least he's helping.

Her face is already burning with blue flames, but it surges *brighter* as her Rebellion waxes, Mujina's efforts becoming more tangible. Danzaburou appears again, raising his gunbei as pillars of light erupt from the ground beneath the fallen Eiji even as waves of darkness wash over her. She hunkers down against it and is placed well to absorb both the darkness and the diamond missiles -

She can't help herself. When one of them catches on her coat and fails to penetrate, she grabs it, dropping it into one of her pockets. Maybe someone else is going to take the biggest diamond (she saw Ogre shear the ring off), but she can at least take a souvenir with her.

And then... Mujina whistles.

There's a rustling from the piles of goshugi, a surge of the blue light of a Persona-summoning...

And eyes, in the darkness. Shining eyes, catching the light, before a tiny tanuki rushes out. And then another, and another, and *another*, more and more coming from all over the room as they charge toward Eiji, literally burying the Shadow beneath their combined weight. They're not Shadows, nor cognitions; they're something lesser, little more than a spell.

Mujina is a Navigator first. Some Navigators hear, like Ririka; some watch, like Fuuka. But Hibari - Mujina, the spy, rather than the thief - has always been best at talking, and putting bits of information together that way; rumours, little scraps of information. And so she has little scouts, little spies, little reporters to bring her their knowledge so she can assemble it into something complete. Normally, they're harmless; they're Hibari's eyes and ears, but not her hands.

But today, they pile onto Eiji, squashing him under a wave of tiny tanuki that explode in a gravitational shockwave, just as Hibari raises up one of her little orbs she was spinning before. Baoding balls, which she uses as a fidget tool, usually, or in a Palace, as something to help her focus. Right now she pitches it like a fastball, aimed directly at Shadow Eiji's forehead. On impact, it chimes like a bell.

(Also, every one of the shugi-bukuro have been opened and scattered around into a huge mess on that side of the room. Thanks, tanuki.)
</poem>

AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Hibari Aoki takes 60 damage!
AS: Ruin: Hibari Aoki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Hibari Aoki has used the Earth skill Eight Hundred and Eight on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Hibari Aoki has used the Strike skill Knockout Weight on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hibari Aoki's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 74 Light damage from Hibari Aoki's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 66 Light damage from Hibari Aoki's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 117 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Eight Hundred and Eight. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 140 Earth damage from Hibari Aoki's Eight Hundred and Eight. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 18 Strike damage from Hibari Aoki's Knockout Weight. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> 'A firefighter, or some stupid shit. What's it fucking matter?' Masao grimaces at that. 'He set me straight. I'm the man I am today because of him.'

He's going to concede in silence it doesn't matter now - this man chose otherwise. But this was a guy who once wanted to be a hero. This guy's father probably took what could've been a brave person who gave a lot in times of crisis - like Katsuya over there is, speaking clear about his feelings of pursuing his duty and the right thing.

He reminds himself he had the strength to choose and pursue. Eiji Kamiya didn't, and he's not going to let that hold him back. (The restraining order is already doing a fine job of that!)

Even with help from Tamaki and that masked gentleman, he can't hurl himself through that metaphorical legal barrier--

A lot of things happen in short order. Hey, has he not seen that guy on TV that just shot the... oh, the ring, that's what they're all after, right...

There's not a lot of time to process the events - but that sense of being restrained fades. That's for the best, because the Palace Ruler's bringing down diamonds on everyone. The first salvo smashes head-on, magical protection being the difference between a hard shove and, uh, something worse.

He picks up the slack with grit teeth as he braces for the next, battering it away with his elbow and forearm despite feeling a greater weight than he ought to. As the darkness erupts around them...

"Stop tryin' to drag all of us down with you, man!" Masao swings his axe outward to deflect some of that dark power with a faint blue light around him. It grows into a greater column that defies the stifling darkness. "Ogun!!"

Once more, the visage of Masao's Persona, that masked spear-wielding man with leafy, grassy details, summoning forth a much larger purple orb threatening to press down with yellow energy rings against the panicking, increasingly powerless Shadow - as if trying to pack all that noise down upon him with the power of gravity.

Others... have so much to say, so much fury and emotion, and the street artist presses his lips together and shakes his head. He's not going to take that platform from them. He leaves the retribution at that singular Gryva, leaving that way.

He can tell, by those two masked figures over there (Phoenix and Ogre), they've got their grievances, their grudges, their reasons.

He can't get a single read of any of 'em by Resonance, but just from the raw soul they're putting out... he knows they're people who must've been silenced for far too long by the likes of him.

He won't gainsay either of them, as Ogun recedes as the Gryva spell's influence wanes, standing by and watching a new round of Persona-users declare and decide who they are (barring a sudden unpleasant surprise) with a big ol' smile on his face.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
In spite of everything, the Patriarch doesn't budge. Vesper was told of this possibility also. How was it phrased again? 'Too set in their ways to do anything but dig their own grave?'

Be that as it may, it doesn't help anyone right now. All he can do is double down, when the man says that he'd sooner sever his own hand. "I see. Well then. In your persistence in supporting a lost cause, perhaps you are doing just that."

Vesper can feel the bile rising to his throat. Playing this role is quicker than anything to become more than he can stomach. Didn't he leave all this behind? Why does it still come so easy?

...Will it even matter, if they can't finish things here? All seems lost when everyone is similarly disabled. Until there is an intervention. One unexpected even by the leader of the Phantom Thieves, so he observes, even though they do seem familiar with each other. Curious.

Far be it from him to look a gift horse in the mouth, however. With the removal of the Patriarch, and the literal severing of Eiji's marriage prospects, it's frankly shocking how little impact those desperate final flailings have. It's time to end this, indeed. But he's not going to be the one to do it, not directly. Instead--

"Raffles! Make certain he gets what he so richly deserves!"

The bat the Persona holds in its right hand vanishes - making it that much clear that there is no hand on that side. It's a mass of shadowy tendrils, which it proceeds to slam into the ground. A mass of similar tendrils emerges from around Shadow Eiji, wrapping around and binding the creature where they can, so as to not let him escape all due punishment that is to come his way.

"...This doesn't even compare to the toxic bond you sought to impose," he muses, planting his umbrella down as he watches on from there.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Julian Marlowe has used the Dark skill Blackroot Curse on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Defense: Julian Marlowe gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba spends bonus actions on Recover! Masao Inaba converts bonus actions into Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Masao Inaba has used the Earth skill Gryva on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Masao Inaba gains 1 Limit!
AS: Masao Inaba: Blast and Psych removed!
AS: Masao Inaba's turn has ended.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 24 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse. Resist!
AS: Bind and Paralyze added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Dark damage from Julian Marlowe's Blackroot Curse. Critical Hit! Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 110 Earth damage from Masao Inaba's Gryva. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Paralyze added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
The diamonds spray, but Ogre holds up her shield. The diamonds batter off again and again--but in the end, her shield ''cracks'', and Ogre looks down at the broken weapon that has thus far protected her from this Palace. "..." She's some yards away from where she started, forced back scraping inch by inch--but she's intact. So Ogre throws away the remains of her weapon.

"...I don't owe you any more answers," Ogre says to Shadow Eiji as she rises to her fullo height again. She looks between Joker and Akechi and Phoenix, and then watches Akechi for a few more moments. "...It's important to keep your promises," she agrees. There's nothing else for her to say, for now; she doesn't understand everything in play.

Then, Ogre looks to the Phantom Thieves first. To Ryuji and Yusuke. And Phoenix.

Then she looks to Mujina, who she asked to come too. ...With...

"Cool," Ogre concludes of Mujina's attack.

Everyone is doing their best here. And still, he won't let her go. She knows. If they don't finish this...

Ogre breathes out slowly, the world around her seeming to fall away. She closes her eyes. Everything is quiet.

She opens them, atop the ''mountain'' of gilt and gold and jeweled ''gifts'', including that barred crib, numerous boxes, gems just spilling out, money in coins loose everywhere--a veritable summit of treasure. And she stands atop it, calmly. Her hair blows in the wind. Below, Phoenix and more are battering away, but up here, there is only the serenity of the shot as Ogre takes aim through the scope of her hunting rifle. She takes half a crouch, holding the weapon in both hands, eyes forward.

"There you are," she murmurs, her sights lining up, center-mass.

"Got you."

|
|
---- o ----
|
|

BANG!

The mountain of treasure starts to shudder and shake. In moments, it lists--and starts, a bit at a time, tumbling down the side. In moments there is an ''avalanche'' of wedding gifts crashing towards Shadow Eiji, his person set to be overwhelmed with money and presents and gems, as Ogre surfs the ridge like it's a wave. When the wave crashes down, she smoothly rises to her feet, continuing to fire, each shot now bringing with it brown rock that ''explodes'' on impact. There's barely any recoil to look at her, her technique perfectly smooth as shoots, shoots, shoots--

Until she's ''right'' in melee with the Shadow again, standing there pointing her rifle right at him.
</poem>

AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Mountain Drift on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Tandem! Ichika Kawase has used the Earth skill Smashbrand on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Ichika Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 126 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Mountain Drift. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 205 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Mountain Drift. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 56 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 113 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 65 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 134 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Critical Hit! Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 69 Earth damage from Ichika Kawase's Smashbrand. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Phoenix seems to appreciate her comments, at least. Shinobu sends an approxing smirk their way as they go for the follow-up, before looking back toward the cognition of Eiji's father.

"Sounds like a shit father, if he doesn't follow that up by teaching him what's right and wrong." Shinobu replies, as the older Kamiya replies bluntly to her. "You let him get this bad. You could've stopped this... but you never cared to, did you? Bet he got it from you, even."

She doesn't expect this to help - it isn't the real deal, presumably. Just Eiji's cognition of him.

Phoenix gestures with their greatsword to her, as they say that she'd bash his door down with a baseball bat if Tsubasa disappeared.

"Damn right. Think I'd let the ''law'' stop me?" Shinobu agrees. "Nah. If it can't protect them, then to hell with it. I'd do it myself."

...And then, a blue light pierces him through the chest. Shinobu stares through the hole left behind, then looks up toward the rafters. Isn't that the guy in white from yesterday that the Joker Killer was upset about...?

"Good night, old man." Shinobu says, as the cognition dissipates - and then turns her attention toward Eiji himself. Mujina calls out that the protection is down - which means there's nothing stopping her anymore.

"...Just you, now. No old man to hide behind anymore. What do you have to say for yourself, now that all the walls are down? Still feel all big and strong?" Shinobu asks.

His response is fury - which is only magnified when Ogre says they're done, and slices his ring clean off.

"Damn. Nice shot." Shinobu compliments with an appreciative whistle. She can't quite make the connection between her words and Eiji's, her cognitive protection causing her to glide over the joining thought, but she can still appreciate that much.

Eiji ''screams'' - sending diamonds flying out at high speeds. Shinobu whirls her staff in front of her like a shield to try and deflect some of them, but she's still vulnerable. The diamonds hit, and they hit hard, but she fights through it. The eruption of shadow, however, manages to blast her off her feet. She flies back - and drives her staff into the chapel floor to retain her balance.

"Throwin' a tantrum now, huh? Told you you'd be screaming... though, I guess it wasn't me this time." Shinobu comments with a smirk. "That's good enough for me. Keep screaming."

Others closest to what's happening have already said their piece more eloquently. She doesn't need to try.

"Lachesis - let's seal his fate." Shinobu says. Lachesis levels her staff at Eiji, this time - and returns the favor from earlier, to invoke fragility in him.

Shinobu rushes in, staff spinning - throwing in a kick in the middle of the assault - and Lachesis follows it up with a blast of light before rushing toward him from the other side.

"You ready, Lachesis?" Shinobu asks. Lachesis offers a quiet nod. "...Then let's do it!"

What follows is a vicious flurry of staff strikes from Shinobu and Lachesis both, interlaced with kicks as each moves into position to complement the other.

She remembers the Phantom Thieves declaring that they don't kill. She'll honor that - it's not her call to make now, when there are others who've suffered more at his hands.

But she can at least make him ''hurt''. She's earned that much, at least.
</poem>

AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Almighty skill Strike Break on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Light skill Kouha on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Aggression: Shinobu Shimizu gains 1 Limit!
AS: Tandem! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Measured Fate on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Shinobu Shimizu has used the Strike skill Spinning Staff on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Shinobu Shimizu's turn has ended.
AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like #1 must be responded to with +take.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Strike Break.
AS: Strike_Break added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 52 Light damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Kouha. Weak!
AS: Haze added! Bind removed! Explosion! 50 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 75 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Measured Fate.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 35 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 32 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Strike damage from Shinobu Shimizu's Spinning Staff. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
Getting an agreement out of Katsuya is useful- and his refusal to the bribe heartening. "Thank you."

It's good that some cops believe in justic.

So that's a yes. It's a good thing Queen gets that much out of the Patriarch, before he insults her family. "...You shut your damn mouth." Makoto's voice becomes an angry snarl, at calling her father a failure. A failure at turning her into some obedient housewife.

''That's not where he failed.''

''Besides, Sis did a good enough job of that.''

Makoto presses down thouse thoughts, even as Johanna slams hard into Eiji- but not well enough to get that damn ring loose. At least she hurt him, if she can't do anything about the man walking away-

When a shot rings out, just like when Kaneshiro was at their mercy- but this one hits it's target. Queen looks up, tracing the path of the bullet-

And sees someone she didn't expect. "You...?" Indeed, Queen did not expect to be saved, of all people, by Akechi's intervention. Her eyes cast to Joker- Joker, who has the ring and thus the key to changing his heart. Johanna skids across the ground, coming to a halt in front of Joker, aiming to act as a barrier between her leader and anyone who might want that ring back. The storm of diamonds slams into her over and over again, and it hurts. She's pretty sure she's not got a lot of energy left in her, and she needs to save what she has left to get out.

She revs Johanna's engine as she comes to a halt, a second protection in the form of a Rakukaja washing over Joker, and as she does so she draws her revolver again, and fans the hammer as she halts, bullets aiming to rain into Eiji.

"Phoenix, Ogre- keep him alive! The Phantoms don't kill!" She knows the temptation, so strong and powerful, and maybe Phoenix and Ogre are better, more controlled people than her. "...You can beat him to a bloody pulp, though. Just make sure he doesn't die."

Being crushed under a landslide of 'gifts' seems rather appropriate, in the end.

She looks down to Joker- Akechi is their enemy, but they're way too ragged to engage in another battle at this point. Especially since he's buying them an opening. "...Do you think he's trying to balance his debt from Kobayakawa?" She whispers, quietly, even as she looks around. It would be so easy to jump in right now, as everyone else is- but that's not Queen's job. She's laid enough hits on Eiji for now.

"Mona, get it ready!" She yells, still watching Joker. If Akechi's here, they need to be ready to get out as soon as Ogre and Phoenix have got their closure.

"Detective-" She call out, but whether she's talking to Akechi or Katsuya it's hard to say. "Don't you dare let this bastard's father get him out of the fate he deserves. Consider this a test of your justice!"

A Phantom Thief challenging the law to do what they're supposed to do? ...Well, that's narratively appropriate, isn't it?
</poem>

AS: Persona! Makoto Niijima has used the Almighty skill Rakukaja on Ren Amamiya!
AS: Support: Makoto Niijima gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Weapon! Makoto Niijima has used the Pierce skill Fast Draw on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Makoto Niijima's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 67 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 29 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 75 Pierce damage from Makoto Niijima's Fast Draw. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke struck. he hammered. He raged. He mustered every mote of strength he could, ordered his Persona to strike the Shadow down, but that wall - that damned wall - foiled him time and again. Like some ravening beast howling against its captors, he threw himself against the wall, time and again trying to reach his target. He wouldn't stand for it, not again - he refused to let victory slip through his fingers when he was so goddamn close. Even should it cost him everything, he had to see the job through.

His voice left him in a scream of primal anger. Hyousuke refused to accept the reality that he was helpless, and that his strength had failed him once again. He refused that reality with every fibre of willpower in his being, and it achieved nothing. he could only watch on in impotent rage as someone - a stranger to him that Ogre no doubt recognised - descended upon them, dispelling the cognition with a bolt from the blue. His gaze snapped to them, squinting a little to try and figure out just who it was that had saved them, but his investigation was cut short.

For a few glorious moments, Hyousuke's rage lifted, and his heart soared at the sight of Ogre's vengeance. Her shield colliding against his face like a freight train, his finger being severed by its edge, the ring scraping against the chapel floor as it fell towards Joker... It was like nothing he had witnessed before. It was vengeance, and it was hers. Hyousuke said nothing in the moment, only looking to her with lens-veiled eyes, but he could not have been prouder of her. She had earnt this a thousand times over.

Thoughts of celebrating their victory were short-lived. In some final, desperate act, Eiji seemed to have taken whatever strength he had left, and lashed out at everyone he could reach.
The rage returned with a vengeance.
They were so close to winning, and he would not suffer to see them fail at the last hurdle.
"No! No more!" Achilles once more returned the fray, his shield a bulwark against the storm of diamonds hurled at him. He clenched his teeth, staggering forward, his own shoulder against the shield as he pushed towards the epicentre, summoning whatever strength he could in return.

The onslaught kept coming. It dented the shield, scraped against whatever pieces of him the metal could not cover, and sent him staggering back, but he did not relent. For every step back he took, two more sent him forward. He would not be denied their victory, no matter how it hurt.
"You don't get to control them any more! You don't get to take anyone else! Everything you've done, it ends NOW!" With one last surge of power, Hyousuke leapt to the side, throwing himself out of the way of the blast that came next. He did not dodge it - not completely - but he pain was irrelevant. They were close, and he would not be denied.

Achilles hurtled across what little of a gap remained, and in the blink of an eye, the chapel was filled with the sound of clanging bronze. He had slammed into Eiji like a cannonball, his unstoppable charge heaving the shield into the Shadow's body with every mote of force that could be mustered, only for Hyousuke to slip back in again. The strikes he levelled at Eiji were not the trained ones of a martial artist, nor the savage ones of a street brawler. What Hyousuke did... It was nothing short of animalistic brutality.

"DON'T! YOU! EVER! THREATEN! MY! FRIENDS! AGAIN!"
His voice was raw and pained, with every word a Herculean task to utter. He could feel his throat burn with the strain, threatening to split apart with every shout made. But he wouldn't stop. He couldn't. Haymakers with the strength of a sledgehammer. Heavy kicks that planted his boots deep into Eiji's flesh. A headbutt that threatened to crack the lens of his mask down the middle. Spoken or struck, Hyousuke exhibited savagery unbound. Achilles might have been stronger, more precise, or more agile - but he wanted the satisfaction of beating Eiji into a bloody pulp himself.

He stood back, panting, trembling, and *hating.*
"Achilles. Finish it."
Energy radiated out from the spear. Divinity surged through its length, forcing it to glow with the sheer power that it contained. Even Achilles, the man destined to wield it, had to tighten his grip to keep the thing from ripping itself from his grasp. To behold it was to behold something imbued with the favour of the gods themselves... and the wrath of a man lost to grief and fury. The scantest hint of a second passed, and that spear was in the air, its wielder leaping to the highest point of the chapel's interior.

Then he descended.

Falling like a bolt of lightning, Achilles descended with such force that the air itself distorted around him, displaced into a shockwave that hurtled across the breadth of the room. Hyousuke stood firm against it, even as it lashed against his eyes, determined to see it through - this was what he'd wanted for so long, and so much. With eager eyes, he watched as the speartip carved apart Eiji's flesh, its divine strength rending meat and bone and sinew and muscle in less time than a blink. Achilles lingered, then wrenched the thing free, standing back with his wielder before dissipating into the ether once again.

It was done.
It was finally done.
</poem>

AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Pressure: Hyousuke Suzuki gains 1 Limit!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Weapon! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Strike skill Chained Strikes on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>Ichika Kawase - Ogre - stands atop the mountain of gifts Eiji Kamiya believed would be festooned upon him. She begins an avalanche with a single bullet, and rides it down, planting shot after perfect shot into the Sitri shadow's body.

As he steps back from the aftermath of his own flurry of violence closer to Skull and Phoenix, Fox cannot help himself - he lifts both his hands, in ice-blue motorcycle gloves, and makes a picture frame of his fingers to capture this ''spectacular'' moment, as the avalanche of gold buries the Ruler of this twisted mockery of a matrimonal Palace.

"She's ''magnificent''," he says to Ogre's metamours, in full approval.
</poem>

AS: Ichika Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Hyousuke Suzuki can use another Weak skill this round! SP +8! Healed 20!
AS: Persona! Hyousuke Suzuki has used the Pierce skill Princeslayer on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki: Atk_Up, Def_Up, and Psych removed!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki regains 5 HP from Regenerate!
AS: Hyousuke Suzuki's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 70 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 58 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 49 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 52 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 61 Strike damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Chained Strikes.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 154 Pierce damage from Hyousuke Suzuki's Princeslayer.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Makoto Niijima's Rakukaja.
AS: Def_Up added!

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka is... well, concerned about Hitomi. She's not sure 'slap her' is the solution, but... Hitomi stuck it out through that failed foray into the Palace her team took, and she's here ''now'' backing her up during this time.

So she can't help but worry about someone like that, and hearing that Ririka is important to her... "Mandai-chan..."

Still, those dice--however they work--are pretty dang cool.

But... Ririka was confident she'd found a sore spot she could needle Eiji over. She's not a ''spiteful'' person. Normally. But calling upon his father, even in Cognition form, is a weakness she doesn't need her Navigator talents to spot.

She's readying a retort when Eiji suddenly says something that makes ''no'' sense, and her blood runs cold as her entire body freezes. "... ''what''." Her voice is flat and deadly serious for a moment. And then it suddenly boils over. "What's ''that'' supposed to mean!?" Her grip tightens on her katana so much her hands start to ache. "YOU LEAVE TOSHIKUN OUT OF THIS!"

Sorry, Ogre. She's kinda losing her cool a bit after all. But she's so mad over the comment about her brother she's not going to react about that 'rezubian' line. Which might be better for her in the moment.

But even she has to notice when more of those restraining orders go out. "Crap. Amphion, Analysis-- We gotta figure out a way past--" Her hand is going up to press the cup of the headphone to her ear when something ''else'' catches her attention.

The bright flash of a laser beam, and a hole in the elder Kamiya's chest. Ririka's head snaps up. "What the--!?"

And a moment later it snaps up to the rafters to behold Akechi. "When--" Did she just miss him in all the chaos? She's had to filter out all the other battles happening on the side...

But she watches as that ring (and finger) come flying off, and only ''now'' does his confidence seem to waver. Or was it because the Cognition of his Father got taken out?

Ririka stares down the Shadow as it launches its assault, as diamonds come flying for her, she lifts her katana and cuts through them, grunting through the strain of deflecting that power. And she manages to take a step back, deflecting that shadowy power away from her feet with the same katana.

Ririka freezes as Joker asks her ''that'' question. "Wha-- of ''course'' not! How could you even ''ask'' me something like that!?" She's not in the know--and her Navigator senses can't tell her ''everything'', sadly. She doesn't even know what the Treasure is ''for'', here.

Ririka ''definitely'' supports Phoenix's gender. (And Tsubasa's, even if she doesn't know the two are the same.) And her friends... yeah, they're pretty cool.

"Hey... you don't like guns? Sorry, but I've got another one. Mine's a bit different though." The katana goes in her scabbard, and she draws out her Evoker again and lifts it to her head. "AMPHION!"

There's a slitchest hitch still as she pulls the trigger, and Amphion surges with renewed strength before Ririka gestures with her free hand. "You hurt my sister--and I'll ''never'' forgive you for that. But you came after her friends--you were gonna come after ''me''-- and all those other people! You're the lowest of the low."

"And if you don't like my music, that's too bad--'cause I got a special number to play! Amphion! Let's pump the crowd!" Amphion begins strumming quickly, a bright, fast-tempo number that sends strands of music out to coil around herself, Tamaki, Hitomi, and Umie to give them all a boost.

Then she points directly at Eiji. "You're a despicable, human being, a real low creep. You're riding on your daddy's coattails and that's gonna end! This is for my SISTER!" Ririka raises her free hand up. Amphion is still playing, and as she slams her hand down, like a conductor marking time for an orchestra, a levitating rock goes flying right for Eiji.

A hand raises, and slams down again, bringing another rock hurting past her for its target. "And everyone she cares about!"

"Now tell me--" Hand raises a third time, tension making it tremble for a moment before she slams it down again to launch the final attack. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY BROTHER!?"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Victory Song on Ririka Kawase, Hitomi Mandai, Tamaki Uchida, and
Umie Akabane!
AS: Charm results in party damage! Ririka Kawase takes 60 damage!
AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
AS: Take! Tamaki Uchida takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Atk_Up added!
AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Take! Hitomi Mandai takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Crt_Up added!
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Psych!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magna on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ririka Kawase: Psych removed!
AS: Ririka Kawase's turn has ended.

AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 85 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 91 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 94 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magna. Weak!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.
<poem>
After the blast Hitomi is already there with her nose in the air and giving the Shadow a sidelong look. After he speaks, she replies, "Takes one to know one," before making a simperingly sweet and completely fake smile. Soon enough the Shadow isn't *right there* and she gives the Phoenix a glance and a smile -- having perhaps heard the word 'casino' and assumed it was about her (which may, at some future point, be a problem - but even so).

Hitomi's hands fold behind her back as she turns, and that means that instead of being able to continue looking smug and exulting in whatever triumph she, presumably, won -- the explosion didn't hurt her at all, after all -- she witnesses that shot that spears Eiji's father.

"Kawase-kun," Hitomi continues, leaning back to pivot her upper body around and turn while spinning on one heel, "does that mean his father's going to die now? We're not in his father's Palace, right? Unless he's the real master because this is all his fault? He did raise a pretty shitty kid," Hitomi considers, and after that she's being bombarded with high-velocity jewels...

Which is covering her face. It's hard to seem exultant when you're being struck. Several of them smash into her arm enough for her to hiss and when the storm momentarily abates, or at least turns into a pulsing wave of darkness, she huffs out:

"Sore losers should just shut up already!" The arm that she'd been covering her face with comes down; the other raises with a twist of the wrist and a glimpse of a card, saying, "Tyche! Roast him until he accepts his loss!~" Still that weird elation even if it is somewhat muted by pain.

Tyche appears for the third time, and she's turned her face away from the tiger-man. The flames aren't, though; an ongoing searing tongue of flame instead of the burst or streak or fireball that the dreams and concepts of Fire tend to assume. The heat's quite palpable, although the Persona does seem to be sweeping it -- less likely, perhaps, to be fatal, but that's not necessarily for the better.

</poem>
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!

AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Persona! Hitomi Mandai has used the Fire skill Fire Breath on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Hitomi Mandai: Gains 49 HP from Regen!
AS: Hitomi Mandai's turn has ended.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 87 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 41 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 41 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 74 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 36 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 81 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 37 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 72 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 79 Fire damage from Hitomi Mandai's Fire Breath. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Tamaki Uchida has posed.
<poem>
Queen lets on that if the Shadow's killed, the person it belongs to dies, as well. Tamaki catches that tidbit and mentally files it away for later, right alongside the other questions she's got for Phoenix that Tsubasa had planted in her head.

Phoenix offers a meeting arranged by a 'friend'. Tamaki raises a skeptical eyebrow, but otherwise seems mollified. "Looking forward to it!"

Tamaki raises her sabre in a salute and gives a hearty cry in reply back out to Julian after he provides his advice about 'what does not break you makes you stronger,': "Preaching to the choir! They do not break us, they break UPON us!" She has lost count of the number of times she's had to stand back up after some kind of defeat.

Katsuya vigorously declines the bribe. She already thought he was a man of principle, and this only reaffirms her prior notions of him. There's a reason she specifically went into private work instead of law enforcement proper, herself, but ... if there were more guys like him on the force, maybe she would have gone down a different career path, instead. At Queen's further behest, she gives Katsuya a meaningful glance and points up at Queen. "I'm in agreement with her, for what it's worth."

The ray gun blast from above causes Tamaki to look up in the rafters. She can't quite make him out, but given that princely silhouette and how he referred to Katsuya as 'Sergeant,' she figures that's probably Akechi. Entirely ''blissfull''y unaware of how he's mired in the intrigue of the various Persona-users present (among other things), she's simply glad for his assistance! Putting together Queen's mention of killing Shadows earlier, she quietly hopes that the figure of the Patriarch was instead a Cognition.

And with that -- the restraining order has ended. Mujina's call confirms it, and she flashes her a thumbs-up. "On it!" While she had not expected this moment to come, Julian had the foresight for it, and she now plans to make the best use of what he had entrusted her with. It's with great aplomb that she dashes forward together with Arianrhod to finally launch her first strike in this fight -- and her last. This is long overdue, and she has been holding back all the offense that she's capable of.

After all, as she had said earlier: fair's fair.

She gives Ririka a thumbs-up at Ririka for the victory song. "Thanks! Last number before curtain call!"

Tamaki stops and holds her necklace, fervently urging Arianrhod forward to lay down more impediments. First, a series of pink and yellow shimmering rings surround Eiji's Shadow and converge on him. Then, like before, both Tamaki and Arianrhod point their swords to the ground, causing a circle of light to appear on the ground underneath his feet, then -- during an opportune moment when none of her allies would be caught in the blast radius (take a step back, Phoenix!!) -- they raise them high as a wellspring of blinding light erupts, briefly consuming him, the laser light show to accompany Amphion's rock concert.

For one brief moment, the desperate young hero she once was five years ago shines through before fading back into memory.

With that, she dusts off her hands, steps back out of focus and stands back, next to Masao. "Nice work out there." After Phoenix finishes their berserker assault, after Ogre gives him his comeuppance, literally burying him with the weaponized weight of wedding gifts and wealth, after Queen's fanning of the hammer, after Hyousuke's Achilles descends with the force of the heavens, she gives a low whistle in admiration and inclines her head to Masao again to remark, "... The new kids are alright, yeah?"
</poem>

AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Elec skill Psi on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Tamaki Uchida has used the Light skill Hama on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Tamaki Uchida's turn has ended.
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 45 Elec damage from Tamaki Uchida's Psi.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 120 Light damage from Tamaki Uchida's Hama. Weak!
AS: Exhaust added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> 'Sorry I'm late, Sergeant Suou.'

Umie glances towards Katsuya, lips spread in a thin, neutral line that threatens to extend past the confines of her cheeks.

And then, Umie just shrugs, tilting her head. Yeah, just go with it. Pride's for people who haven't been trying to scratch themselves out of an invisible box like a raccoon trapped in a trashcan.

(Yeah, for all of the build-up in the earlier pose, Umie is just another person making things up as she goes along.)

Joker, likewise, has questions, but Umie, finally turning towards Joker, can't offer anything but the same thin lined expression of someone who has egg on their face.

(Sure, Akechi was in Umie's party, but it's not like Akechi *wouldn't* investigate on his own, and he provided the information Umie needed to understand Eiji's crimes against Ichika. _But still_.)

Even in a party she thought to not invite him, -A K E C H I-.

Eiji's rage at losing his father seeps to the surface, and with it, comes Umie's own rage.

"You'd cry over your father, but not over all the lives you've ruined? Your legacy is done."

Like the crone pointing a crooked finger at a man about to fall from his prime, Umie points at Eiji moments before disaster strikes...

.... this time for everyone except Eiji. (Oops.)

All this diamonds would have done much better lining Umie's pockets than slicing her skin, leaving her bruised and collapsed on the ground.

Clenching her fists, Umie shoves herself onto her feet, her line of sight now focused on Joker, who looks even worse, in some ways, on account of having to protect that Treasure.

...

It forces Umie to realize just how much Joker will put up with just to hold himself to his Justice. Could she even do begin to do the same?

Giving him her hand isn't going to help anything but let Akechi understand just how fully Umie's own 'justice' (lower case) is derived.

"For Ichika Kawase-san and Tsubasa Seki-san," Umie mumurs, raising half-sleeved hands. The walls are down. Ririka's outburst draws Umie in-- again, having Akechi there to fill in the background of the Kawases proved fruitful. "... For those who have questions."

"From 'that girl' who refuses to go off and properly die, now that there's too much she wants to see."

The ghostly wraith floats above Umie, floating balls of dark circling around the pair like a cloud of circling blackbirds, ready to strip the grounds bare of what's left.
</poem>

AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Victory Song.
AS: Spd_Up added!
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Hooded Smile on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Almighty skill Warrior's Bell on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Note that 0-damage attacks like #1 must be responded to with +take.
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Hooded Smile.
AS: Charm added!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Take! Penguin Sniper takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Warrior's Bell.
AS: Rage added! Exhaust removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 51 HP from Regen!
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
So even Tamaki agrees with Queen on this. "I see..." Katsuya says, because what else can he say or do? A man like this has many sins, no matter how young he is, and perhaps-- as much as it rankles him to do so, he...

Every man has his price. There's something that someone, for whatever reason, would bend or break their code to attain. As for Katsuya--

This isn't it. Not ''money'', whatever might happen to it in the real world, were he to accept. He makes his terms quite clear, attacking the Ruler, and for his pains--

"I-- I can't attack again!" he calls out, slapped himself with a restraining order from the Kamiya elder with rest of them. Like this, they'll be forced to receive attacks and do what they can to mitigate and heal, but it's a war of attrition if they can't strike back.

But in their darkest moment, there is light.

Katsuya stares at the wound on the cognition's chest. "What?! --Akechi-kun!" Katsuya shouts, jerking his head in the direction that shot had come from. "You had said you were too far away...?" Realization, after a sort, dawns over yonder rockface. "--I see, so this was planned!" Is he a little put out that he wasn't in on this, though?
...maybe. He's also not meeting Umie's gaze.

But it's a matter for another time as, again, the calculus shifts: Ichika, freed from the bonds of the restraining order, lunges to take the ring from the Ruler's hand, and in so doing, force an annulment.

The wedding is off.

In his rage, it seems like the Ruler is fit to bring the Palace down around all of them, though. "Stop him!" he calls out. "If he continues like this--!" Well, honestly, Katsuya doesn't know what would precisely happen, but it can't be good, can it?

Instead, as his Persona takes one diamond missile solidly enough to send it reeling a distance back, it then retaliates in kind and launches the large and sparkling stone from whence it came.

'He's open', someone calls, and Katsuya can see that they're not wrong. Taking one step backwards to steady himself amidst the shaking of the Palace as it threatens to come undone, he again levels his sidearm at the Ruler. "Helios!" he calls out, "this is it!" To his left, Helios manifests.

He shoots twice in rapid succession, aimed at the Ruler's center mass. Helios, though, surges on ahead, flying to the Ruler's right to pepper at him with a single shot of its own. One would be gravely mistaken to think that single grazing shot was it: as before, the Persona attempts a feint. Archaic firearm in hand, it circles in a blur for the Ruler's left, as quick as it can, and there, Helios unloads upon 'Sitri' in truth.

'Don't you dare let this bastard's father...' starts Queen, as Katsuya directs his firearm back towards the floor. He glances her way without turning his head. Consider it a test of his justice.

"I won't let him escape justice," he vows. "Not this time...!"
</poem>

AS: There's nothing in your queue by that number or attacker.

AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 72 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning. Resist!
AS: Panic added! Charm removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 131 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Resist!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Weapon! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Handgun - Shot on Penguin Sniper! 2 Hits!
AS: Defense: Katsuya Suou gains 1 Limit!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Single Shot on Penguin Sniper!
AS: Persona! Katsuya Suou has used the Pierce skill Torrent Shot on Penguin Sniper! 3 Hits!
AS: Katsuya Suou: Gains 52 HP from Regen!
AS: Katsuya Suou's turn has ended.
AS: Block Neutral! Penguin Sniper takes 80 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 73 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Handgun - Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Worst! Penguin Sniper takes 114 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Single Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 88 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot. Critical Hit!
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!
AS: Block Best! Penguin Sniper takes 62 Pierce damage from Katsuya Suou's Torrent Shot.
AS: Penguin Sniper is unable to continue fighting!

<Pose Tracker> Penguin Sniper has posed.
<poem>
Eiji Kamiya's downfall is not the result of any one person. Any single attack. It comes now from many angles.

From being battered by the hanged Persona's boulders repeatedly, again, and again - until one of his wings of diamonds ''breaks'' - twisted at a wrong angle. At Skull, committing street justice that might make any man here wince, as he smashes him in the crotch. "FUCK!"

Yeah that's several octaves higher than his normal. "Bastard... you don't steal a man's girl- you don't... all the others I knew... wasn't... serious." He clutches at his crotch, as he tries to drag himself forward. "But you? Gonna wring - your goddamn-"

Which is when a flurry of sword strikes and icy doom overtakes him from Fox. In waves of light, an army of Tanuki that detonate into gravity and... Baoding Balls that smack him right in the head!?

Shinobu brings his fate that much closer to a close, with a spell that makes him far more vulnerable, right before the woman and Persona act in twain to strike him with light spells and strikes of the staff.

He definitely is made to hurt. "Fuck... gotta mob me... to take me down. No way- no way at all for a man to..." He feebly tries to bring up what's left of a hand to catch Queen's bullets, but one lodges into his arm. And another his hip.

Chained fury lashes at him again and again, before that spear like a bolt of lightning, falls, and into his shoulder, he makes a pathetic roar... the wound bleeding ichor.

Right as a Magna - two Magnas - three Magnas batter the side of his head and he huffs, dry heaving pathetically.

"... You don't... really... wanna know... women... never wanna hear the truth..." Psychokinetic force blasts him into a table, before a circle of light causes him to vanish in a flare of light, just for a moment.

And Badb's darkness drowns out even his own, as a creature of the dark.

He won't escape Justice. as Helios fires shot, after shot, causing him to have to crawl away from his fellow feline. A mess of Shadow stuff, "... Justice... what a load of..."

And then, whatever he tries to say next is drowned out by the fury (and swearing) of Phoenix, as they wail on him, again, and again, and again.

And as they bring it up one last time for one final tremendous blow. At the same moment, does a shot get lined up, as a mountain of Goshugi batters him repeatedly, his head jerking to the side from the impact of a particularly large jewel.

Exposing his neck to Tsubasa's blade.

Silhouette shot!

Ichor sprays from Sitri's neck.

The Shadows suddenly leave Eiji, and there's just a bloodied Shadow, with yellowed eyes and a ripped Tuxedo. His corsage lacking petals now after how injured he is. The man kneeling on the ground.

Regret - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjqs3h367sQ

"I guess... this is it. You emasculate a man like this in public... he'll just never recover." He seems, resigned? "If he can't even keep his house in order... what kind of man is he?"

He looks up towards Ichika, pathetically, "... I loved you. I... love you." He corrects, because even with her rejection, it hasn't changed, "Why couldn't that be enough?" He pleads, "I know I have a temper... that I hurt you... that I hurt... our daughter... but- we love each other."

And now, his Shadow? From its yellowed eyes, tears fall, pitter-patting on the ground beneath him.

"I just wanted what any man wants. A wife who loves and supports him. A son to carry on the family name... people to protect and provide for... why couldn't you just... give me what I wanted!? Why?"

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ogre holds her rifle still as the battle ends, ready for a final surprise or last-minute twist. But instead, Eiji looks up to her, like she once looked up to him. ...She lowers her rifle, pointing it towards the ground beside her and letting it hang in both hands.

"I loved you," Ogre agrees with Shadow Eiji. "Maybe a part of me still does. And I would've given you everything you wanted. ...All of it. If you'd just let me, instead of ''taking'' it."

"But I can't forgive what you've done. You're the one who broke our family, Eiji. By killing our little girl. ...By hurting all those people. That love is just one of the many things you've destroyed with your ego."

Her finger wavers near the trigger of her rifle--not ''on'' it, but in position to get there--before she sighs, and looks down to Shadow Eiji, trying to meet his yellow eyes.

"You're the reason you didn't get what you want. And you're going to have to live with that. For the rest of your life." Ogre stows her rifle. Her horns glint in the chandelier's light as she turns from Shadow Eiji, to Phoenix. "Give me your sword."

Queen warned her not to kill him, but she accepts the greatsword anyway when she asks for it. She extends her arm, hefting it--and then reaches back, gathering up her hair, and ''chops'' off her bleached locks at the shoulder and ''stabs'' it down into the Palace floor.

"You're going to live a long time, Eiji. You'd better. ...And in that time..."

"I won't forget. Ever. ...And I don't think you will, either."

Ogre's shorn hair blows away in an unseen breeze.

"Now... Tell me what the fuck you meant about Toshiaki. Then, I never want to see you again."
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Shinobu wouldn't let the law stop her from doing what's right -- and it's deeply reassuring.

"Those other fucks, they 'Cognitions!'" Phoenix finds the space to call out to Hitomi, hearing her wonder if Eiji's father is soon to die. "You can kill as many fuckin' ''Cognitions'' as ya like, high roller! So it's cool! Or, uh... sorry ta disappoint ya?!" They're stealing Queen's tutorialising crown momentarily, but don't worry, Phoenix is ''much'' worse at it, they'll definitely give it back.

That's the thing, about support, Hibari: you don't always know where it's coming from.

Or how much you really ''have.''

Phoenix has a pretty good idea that they and Ogre have more than they might have thought, though, given everyone who's shown up today. (And it's not just them, is it? The girl with the dice -- she showed up to protect ''Ririka.'' Phoenix is glad for Hitomi, too.) They're too enraged to take much note of what other people are doing, but to note that they're all giving their all to this -- but to note how strong they ''are.''

(... they did hear Hyousuke screaming, though. Perhaps that's the true strength of the berserker's bond...)

Where Phoenix is a raging fire, Ogre is still and untouched, up there on her mountain of offerings; and even as it starts tumbling ''down,'' none of those gifts end up hurting ''them.'' Their rage is consuming and unfocused; it's Ogre's perfectly-timed shot which sets them up to destroy the Shadow around Eiji, bleeding 'Sitri' like so many pigs he ''butchered.''

They breathe heavily, grasping their blade as they stand over the human-Shadow form of Eiji Kamiya... but they are not so far gone that they don't remember Queen's words, ringing in their ears. Still... does ''Eiji'' realise that, as they stare down at him, teeth grit and lips pulled back in an aggressive, disgusted grimace? Their hands tremble, slightly, at their hilt of their blade, their nostrils flaring with breath that stings, but not enough to wrack their body. The things he says... even now...

But when Ichika asks them to hand over their sword, they take a step back so that they ''can'' lower it without bisecting him, shifting their grip so that they can offer the hilt to her. "You got it," they say, with a stern nod.

Even if she wants to plunge it into his heart...

There's enough of Phoenix that still wants to, despite how they feel about ''killing,'' that they couldn't fault her at all.

But what Ichika does instead -- carving through her hair, changing herself in an instant -- Phoenix realises, in that moment, that Ogre has the right of it. (And she ''is'' magnificent, just as Fox says. To have the strength to lift their blade in one hand -- the ''control'' to bring it up to her own neck without beheading herself -- they just gasp, in their stoic expressiveness, but it's that very noise which suggests just how affected they are.)

"Suffer a long life, asshole," they snarl, waiting just long enough to hear his response to Ogre's demand before they turn their back to him, back to Ogre and the others.

... they ''do'' hear Tamaki asiding to Mark how the new kids are alright though, and... well, they feel pretty good about that. And, did Katsuya say he'd make his father pay...? ... they're not sure they remember it right through their blood rage, but they can ''believe'' he said it.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Well maybe he doesn't need teammates or friends ANYWAY, Umie! When you're your only party member you can do whatever you want!

'--I see, so this was planned!'

"Aha... why yes. I surmised it was possible that this could happen, based on my own investigation. Unfortunately it relied upon no one else knowing that there was an unseen 'enemy'. If he had any clue as to my presence, he would have been just as untouchable to me as well."

'So you still helped us out, huh?'

"Well, I did promise a certain someone that I would make this scum's downfall my priority."

Which would perhaps be enough of a response, if Joker and Phoenix didn't ask as well, and Akechi looks down from the rafters their way. Strangely, there's no smugness at him addressing him, breaking the silent treatment. There's just a more serious expression, because he saw something that Joker did when things were at their most grim.

"I'll explain later if you'd like. For now, call it... an apology of sorts. I don't intend to make a habit of this."

'Don't you dare let this bastard's father get him out of the fate he deserves. Consider this a test of your justice!'

"Funny you should mention that..." He says, cryptically, perhaps not wanting to show his entire hand on that matter ''quite yet''.

As for contributing to Eiji Kamiya's end, he does not take any shots at him. He just watches him be made to hurt, be made to suffer.

And then his confession, afterwards.

Is it Justice?

He does not say.

No matter what he feels, he allowed the Phantoms to have their way this time. Even if it's just one time, it's not his place to complain about the result.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> Masao squares up with Tamaki as she asides to him. He nods solemnly, though... the way 'Ogre' there is talking, uhh, hold up, wait-- he's not really sure he can put the pieces together in the moment as he digs through his pocket for the key that the Cognition of the would-be bride entrusted to him, back turned to the quiet intrigue going on with the Detective Prince and others.

"So, uh, I dunno how soon we're gonna have to get outta here," oh no, "you wanna see where this might've went--"

(insert timely inevitability here as appropriate)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
<poem>
Ririka's umbrage at being asked if she wants to be a murderer gives Joker pause; given that the Treasure is in their possession at this point, they decide to leave it be. "A fine answer, Ririka Kawase," they say instead. "Remember that."

A bit overly mysterious? Maybe. That's something that Joker has come to accept as a Phantom Thief. If they and their compatriots can steal the Treasure, and keep everyone else from outright murdering the Shadow (there's certainly been enough warnings not to), then that's good enough.

They appreciate Hitomi's concern about the cognition, at least. Someone will have to explain to the Persona User community at large that ''that's'' okay, at least. For now, Phoenix does well to explain it to Hitomi and those present who're paying attention. Joker meanwhile crooks a smile at Queen as she casts a Rakukaja on them and comes up to defend them more directly.

By now, the enemies in the pews have been taken out too. Mona rejoins Joker, Panther and Noir somewhere behind him, putting his sword away as Shadow Eiji sobs at Ogre. They'll share a quiet nod and let her handle sending the Shadow back to his real form; Mona will re-transform into bus mode, and Joker will load the Treasure back up with, possibly, the help of Panther and Noir.

They do pause to look over their shoulder and nod approvingly at Ogre's dramatic haircut. Very cool. (A shame about all that hair, but... the power of a symbol can't be underestimated.)

Their demeanor darkens when they look back up at Akechi, up in the rafters, offering an explanation to Katsuya about why the surprise assassination--and then to them and Phoenix about why he helped now. An apology... that he doesn't plan to make a habit of.

He'll explain later, if they'd like.

"....."

They don't say yes.

But they also don't say no. Joker will simply watch Akechi until it's time to go. They'll see what his Justice is this time around... later.

And while there's still some time until that happens, they call to everyone, "When Ogre's done with the Shadow, the Palace will crumble. All of you, make sure you're ready to run for the exit." Conveniently timed for right after Masao wonders about that very thing!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> 'When Ogre's done with the Shadow, the Palace will crumble. All of you, make sure you're ready to run for the exit.'

"Huh?"

"AW SHIT YOU REALLY MEANT RUN!!" Masao clutches his hand over his hat when that promised moment comes.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
<poem>As all the other Rulers before him - without his Treasure, without the strength of the Palace's Shadows bolstering him - Eiji Kamiya's Shadow is nothing more than a pathetic soul. Fox turns his gaze aside for a moment as the being before them bleats to ask why 'love' could not be enough, turning to Skull to silently query if his comrade has anything to say on this matter.

Ogre's grand gesture with Phoenix's blade has Fox place a hand over his heart, wounded to see that beautiful hair cut loose - but the capacity to change is a human privilege, and that too is beauty, for transience gives things meaning.

Eiji Kamiya has many thoughts about what it means to be 'a man' in his head. Yusuke Kitagawa isn't sure what to make of any of them save to be uncomfortable.

It is probably something he'll have to at least think about eventually.

...

... probably later rather than sooner. It's a big and messy thing, after all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
<poem>
From here, Queen is worried. This is the true test of will, after all.

When she stood in front of Kaneshiro's shadow, she'd almost let her rage win, almost killed him. And he'd only ''threatened'' Makoto and her sister.

Eiji Kamiya had killed Ichika's daughter. Had tried to sell Tsubasa. It's hard to resist a vengeance that strong. If Kaneshiro had actually touched Sae, Makoto couldn't have held back.

Her revolver is still in her hand, just in case. Just in case she needs to stop her childhood friend, or her new ally, from crossing that line. The Phantoms don't kill, and they don't stand by and let someone die.

And when Ichika takes the blade, Queen feels her heart jump into her throat. She starts to raise her pistol, not firing from the hip like before, but closer to the stance they train Tokyo Metro's officers to have, with their 36 bullets a year. It's not perfect, more like someone trying to practice it without being trained.

...But she doesn't need to. The Ogre and the Phoenix sentence Eiji Kamiya to life.

Her eyes flit to the others, as Joker takes charge of the treasure. (Nobody pay attention to how the not a cat is gone and a bus is there now, it's fine. Don't worry about it, it was always there in the background.

"...The police are going to be coming for you soon." Queen says, given that Akechi seems to have plans in mind, and Katsuya has accepted her challenge. "You're going to give them everything they need to save or give closure to every person you've sold, or hurt, or anything else." It's an important addition to the sentence, at least in Makoto's mind. The Phantom Thieves do this to save people, not just for their own justice. And Ogre and Phoenix might not be in a state to remember that part, given how much they've been through tonight already.

She's simply waiting by the Monabus now, letting the newest thieves get their resolution, prepared to jump in as soon as the time comes to go.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Julian Marlowe has posed.
<poem>
With its Ruler fallen, this Palace's time is short, Vesper understands. In his eyes, Ogre is standing in for her close personal friend Ichika, which appears to be an appropriate enough conclusion to the matter. Which means it's time to take his leave. Before the inevitable collapse begins, his footsteps can be heard already walking away, hand raised over his shoulder for anyone who might be watching him leave.

"Job well done. Take care of yourselves, Phantom Thieves. Should the need arise... Ogre knows how to reach me."

More needs not be said, by his reckoning. Not that much more could be, before the ominous rumbling begins. Managed to get his dramatic exit in this time before needing to start running for his life, score!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Shinobu Shimizu has posed.
<poem>Together, they bring everything they have against Eiji's monstrous form - and this proves too much to bear. The monstrous form disperses, leaving behind just the Shadow, kneeling on the ground.

...His words cause a look of disgust to cross over Shinobu's face. He still doesn't get it? Even after all of this? She taps the butt of her staff against the floor out of frustration and raises it up - before slinging it across her shoulders, resting her arms on it.

This fight's over. From here, she'll leave it up to them to deal with the Shadow.

"Good work, everyone." She says with a nod to everyone. She looks toward Joker, then. "...So that wasn't just Kaneshiro's, huh? Good to know."

She looks around at the others.

"If anyone needs a hand up and out of here, let me know." She offers. For now, though - she witnesses the events before her.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
<poem>Hibari retrieves the baoding ball as it rolls back to her, stopping it with one booted foot and then crouching down to pick it up.

This is Ogre - Ichika's - moment. She's not going to interrupt it, not when she takes the sword... though she almost speaks for the same reason as Queen, because Mujina knows just as well what happens when you kill someone's Shadow.

But she does not, and so Mujina steps back again. She gives the Phantom Thieves a long, thoughtful look that trails into a gaze on Ichika as she cuts her hair. Hibari gives a very short nod. That's justice, she thinks, assuming that this is how the Phantom Thieves do what they do. She doesn't realize it's the treasure, which she thinks is just a way of making money, but clearly they have SOME plan... Ichika told her they were going to Change his Heart, even before the calling cards went out.

"I've some of those notes," she adds, to Queen. "Copies. I'll pass them back to Ogre, if she needs them." Because Ogre knows how to contact the Phantom Thieves, and she doesn't - and Hibari knows who Ogre is. "He'll have more, of course, but..."

She doesn't want to leave that hanging.

Mujina speaks once more to Ogre: "I'm glad," she says, with a smile just visible under the fading flames. "We'll talk soon," and she leaves it at that.

Because for Mujina, it may be time to make her exit. She does one last summoning of Danzaburou, putting on her mask again as the flames finally subside - and she fades along with it, her own Doronpa coming back up.

Why? Because she doesn't want to be seen leaving the same way as the others. She has an identity to keep secret, after all!
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
<poem>Hyousuke said nothing. It was not his decision to make. Eiji's fate was Ichika's decision, and hers alone - he knew that, and would not deny it. But as she took that blade and held it aloft, he could not help but feel his muscles tense, and his gaze grow harder. Nor could he help the relief he felt as he saw the blade cleave through her hair, rather than the Shadow before them all. The sigh that came with that feeling he perhaps could have held in, but he was exhausted, and simply hoped that the mask would keep it from being heard.

His relief fled quicker than it had arrived, however, and Hyousuke cast his eyes about the place. He did not think much of the disappearance of the cat - the thing was surely nimble enough to escape without their assistance. He did not question the appearance of the bus either, chalking it up to supernatural phenomena he, frankly speaking, did not have the time nor energy to question. Even if he were to question such things, now was not the time. The Palace was crumbling around them, and there was only one thing on his mind - and on his lips.

"MOVE!"
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Katsuya Suou has posed.
<poem>
So even just knowing about it could have jeopardized it from working. ...A Palace is a formidable place, Katsuya decides.

A flurry of shots from various angles is his own contribution to the end, here: the rest is up to the one called 'Ogre', here to enact a final sentence in the place of Ichika. Katsuya tenses when she asks for Phoenix's sword, but, instead what she does with it is to shear off her locks. A severance from what had been, he supposes, watching on.

Eiji Kamiya will have a long life to reflect on his sins. But, what had that been about Toshiaki? And, perhaps more immediately, are...

Joker confirms the very thing that Katsuya feared.

"Ah," he says simply, the light catching his red sunglasses in a way that obscures his eyes. "Then... we will need to get out of here in hurry..."

That's putting it mildly!! But it isn't as if panicking now will help...
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
<poem> 'Just understand this much: even with what I said, justice is justice, for me right now," Umie had said to Akechi and Katsuya, as they rested in the safe room. 'Whatever gets this to stop.'

Whoever Akechi meant by 'a certain person', Umie doubts she was the only person he's had to make some semblance of acknowledging that use, the Palace Ruler needs to be taken down, please, also the crime rings

(speaking of rings please ignore Umie trying to grab bloody diamonds off the ground to stuff in her jacket pockets up until when everyone is absolutely about ready to bolt)

Umie nods towards Shinobu. "I'm okay myself, but other people might not be." She takes a final look towards Eiji, and frowns. ".... Be thankful. Maybe you'll be able to make something of yourself, now that you're no longer blinded by your own desires." Even from jail.

Tapping those rather nice red sneakers against the ground (and a final pass at grabbing some dirt and, again, diamonds) Umie looks over to Katsuya. "Ready?" When he goes, so does she.

She has to ensure Katsuya gets out, after all.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka shakes her head at Hitomi. "No, I don't think that was his Shadow--just a figment of Kamiya's imagination." She's... ''pretty'' sure about that, anyway. "... at least I hope not." She glances over at Phoenix as they speak up. "A 'Cognition', huh...." She'll file that away for later.

But a pretty shitty kid. "... yeah, can't argue on ''that'' one."

Ririka flashes a thumbs-up back to Tamaki. She doesn't know her that well, but, if she's helping Tsubasa, she can't be that bad, right?

She glances at Joker as he accepts her answer. Ririka just nods. "If Ogre's working with you, then... I'll trust your judgment." Seeing the sniveling mess the Shadow's become, though. "... might be a moot point now anyway."

Toshiaki Kawase was, for various reasons, one of the most important people in Ririka's life. Someone else who understood the pressures and expectations of being exceptionally gifted, who was her deepest confidant and cheerleader. His death had come as a shock--but there was nothing to be done about it.

A freak medical accident, and a fall. That's all there was too it. A fluke.

It's been almost two years and she ''still'' hasn't made peace with her grief. Not really. She's... starting, but it's slow going. It's still hard to talk about it, even now.

But to have some nugget of information just ''dangled'' in front of her like that--She doesn't really want to know, says the Shadow. Ririka's red eyes are cold and furious as she steps forward. "''Try me'', you bastard! TALK!"

She glances sidelong at Ogre as she asks for the sword, tensing for a moment... but then a haircut comes a moment later and she relaxes. (She'll have more of a reaction to this later, when she sees Ichika, whom Ogre is clearly not.)

But Joker calls out the Palace will collapse. "Aw, shit--" Yukari had said something about that, hadn't she? She can't remember. Right now her attention is on making sure she's got the fastest route out.

Head down, headphones on, playing her keyboard for all its worth as she maps out through the palace, creating a trail of music for people to follow if they wish. And she'll make sure to grab Hitomi and usher her out with her as she takes off running.
</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Ogre has her say, and the Shadow of Eiji - the Ruler, trembles just crying, as he makes some hiccuping sobs, but he doesn't interrupt her. He lets her say it all she wants to say. And it's only then... that he speaks.

"You're right." Then he clears his throat, " ... You're right. I just... I thought that that was what being a man was." One can imagine how his Father treated him, to make him grow up thinking this is what masculinity truly is, with his mother having left them when he was young.

"But... I always knew it was wrong. ... I always knew." More tears fall, "... I killed our daughter. I drove you away. And ruined your life because I thought it'd force you to come back to me."

He looks up at Ichika in the eyes, wretchedly, "Turns out... I'm no man at all." And he bows, placing his forehead to the floor in Dogeza. "I don't... deserve to be forgiven anyway. I'm sorry... ''I'm sorry''. Could say it for the rest of my life, and it wouldn't be enough. I should- I should..." He fumbles for the words, like some feudal lord, ready to take his own life rather than live in disgrace but-

'Suffer a long life, asshole.'

And muffled, his apologies, as he begins to change color, becoming light, motes drifting off of him. He closes his eyes, flinching at her and Ririka's demand but more - the idea that Ogre never wants to see him again, "I don't know much. I can tell you at least... It wasn't a hiking accident. It was a Mental Shutdown... they once told me, if I didn't meet all their quotas, I'd end up like him."

'Be thankful. Maybe you'll be able to make something of yourself, now that you're no longer blinded by your own desires.'

"Heh. ... Doubt it."

He sags as the weight of all he's done grows that much heavier in the space of a few seconds, more than he can bear as he replies to Makoto, "... I'll confess. I'll tell them..." everything." Before he again looks to Ogre knowing this is the last time he'll ever see her. "You deserve better than living for someone like me... you always did. I'll... fix this. I'll make amends, best as I can. Only wish... that I could..." His voice falters, implying he was going to say 'fix things between us' but- "... but I can't."

And then he vanishes. The Treasure - in its original form returns, as the Palace begins to rumble. And Masao, upon witnessing it again, now with all that distortion fading, will gain a distinct sense of- Deja Vu?

When the Phantoms make it back to the real world, they'll learn that it was a family photo, of his Father, his Mother, and himself- when he was a child no older than eight. Which doesn't seem worth all that much until someone realizes the frame is ''real gold''.

While extravagant, perhaps it only says how much this truly meant to him.

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Goro Akechi has posed.
<poem>
Also by complete coincidence...!

There's already a blinking dotted outline of Akechi before the first stone of the Palace even begins to fall.

Surely he's securing them all an exit.

Surely.
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
<poem>
Queen remembers what Phoenix is too angry to say, and they're immensely grateful to her, for that. ... luckily, they were too occupied to notice her pulling out her ''gun;'' it's only when they look over to her when she prompts him that they realise it was in her hand the whole time.

Prince calls it an apology -- of sorts -- and Phoenix inclines their head.

"... sure. I'll accept that."

Maybe they're easily-misled. But...

"You did honour that promise... I respect that."

But what ''Shadow Eiji'' has to say... they scowl, deeply. "I don't forgive you," they say, tone closed off, when he insists he had to meet ''quotas'' or face the same fate as Toshiaki. "What you've done is unforgivable."

Joker reminds ''Phoenix'' about the place crumbling too, though -- and so they pile into the back of the Monabus just in time for him to speed off.

"Uh, fuck -- hey, Joker, do you even have your ''licence --''"

STOP COMPLAINING PHOENIX DO YOU WANNA GET CRUSHED BY A CHANDELIER OR NOT

</poem>
<Pose Tracker> Masao Inaba has posed.
<poem> That sense of deja vu may well be fueling Masao's comical streak of profanity in the mad dash to get out, something to be spoken with certain trusted friends rationally when he isn't re-enacting that popular movie scene.

(you know the one)
</poem>

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
<poem>
Ririka lets out a strangled sound as Eiji's Ahdow ''finally'' speaks, her expression slack with shock. "Wh-- a Mental... Shutdown..." She ''asked''...

... and she still wasn't ready for it, staring at Eiji's Shadow in disbelief. "I don't..." Something wet and hot is building up in the corners of her eyes, as she just asks "... why..." in a tiny voice.

"... why would someone..."

It doesn't make any sense. They got closer after he died--did ''Eiji'' do it to make that happen? But he said he didn't know much... did his father arrange it, then...?

HEr mind is swirling with questions and precious few answers, and precious little time to grill Eiji for more information as he fades away.

She barely has a moment to rub away the tears with the back of her hand as she turns to run.

Those questions will have to wait for later.
</poem>

[[Category:Logs]]
[[Category:Season 1]]
[[Category:Season 1, Episode 1]]