2026-07-04: As Grindstone to Spearknife

• Log: As Grindstone to Spearknife
• Cast: Isabeau Fontaine, Vivienne Sournois, Kanae Fuyuki, Ren Amamiya, Roger, Katsuko Yoshinaga, Noriaki Okaga, Niko Kirisaki, Kazusa Motojima, Umie Akabane
• Where: Mementos - Path of Chemdah
• OOC Date: 2026-07-04
• IC Date: Tue, Dec 04 2012
• Summary: Isabeau lays a trap for the Shadows of Mementos to help the Wild Hunt farm materials, but all those enemies collecting in one location is bound to attract the attention of our heroes, too -- and when they come to check it out, Isabeau decides the Wild Hunt can take THEM all on, too! Unfortunately, trapping in Mementos attracts greater hunters than the Hunters, too... and Vivienne can only cover her back so much before they all need to get out of there.

---

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.

        The depths of Mementos typically team with Shadows. Here in Chemdah, where it isn't visibly the evening even though the sun's gone down in the real world, pigtailed fairies called Hua Po hunt alongside flat Makami dog-ribbons and the mounted knights, Eligor; paper golem shikigami, the Shiki-Ouji, serve as particularly dangerous foes. One might find Snuff Souls to restore their MP in chests, or Balms of Life to rouse those who have fought to exhaustion, or even small lumps of gold which can be sold for a pretty penny.

        Those chests, in this area, are startlingly easy to find... because all the Shadows nearby are missing. Ame-no-Uzume Shadows no longer perform their fan dances; featureless Sudama Shadows no longer crawl about the walls. There is not even a single Koppa Tengu left to bear a message...

        ... where have they all gone?

        Navigators figure it out first -- but with a little searching around, any old Persona-User can hear the sounds of them, teeming in the distance.

        And not just the sound of angry Shadows, but --

        "`Ha HA! You see? My trap worked!`" To understand those cocky words, of course, one must speak `French`: but the self-assured arrogance is audible tonally. "`I knew it! I knew it! I knew 'Mystery Meat' was what I was missing! Ha ha, they're all trapped! Look at them wriggling around in there! Moooo-rooons!`"

        Hurry forward, and one will realise --

        -- that somehow --

        -- Isabeau Fontaine has dug a pit trap in the tunnel.

        Inside it are all the Shadows which should have been nearby, clustered in their pit. "`Now for my masterpiece!`" Isabeau declares, and 'pièce de résistance' might make sense even for those without a lick of French. "`Goodnight, monsters!` MIELIKKI!"

        Isabeau crushes a vial of bronze, and there is a swell of power, as an itty-bitty forest fairy wearing a bear's coat and a golden dress rises up to flutter her wings and summon down the impossible might of Megido on those trapped Shadows.

        Some of them make coin sounds when they're executed! Profitable!

        If the rest of this didn't tip you off -- that explosion definitely told you where the action's at.

        Isabeau wears her Hunter's garb, her white longcoat hanging off of one shoulder to reveal the bronze vest beneath it, one strong arm left bare but for a targe decorated with the eye of Ra strapped to it. A belt of vials and pouches ties that coat to her body, over leathered trousers and shining boots. Her spear's blade is shaped like an arched sliver of moon, sharp on both sides of its hook, a feminine ribbon tied about the neck. In her right hand, she holds a long, shaped woodwind; it resembles a duck call, except, of course, there are no ducks nearby...

        ... wait a sec, does Isabeau have a Shadow Whistle for luring out Shadows?!

        OOC: This is a SITUATING ROUND! You're free to either ATTACK or NEGOTIATE in this opening volley -- but the baddies' attacks will be going out in 45 minutes!

<Pose Tracker> Vivienne Sournois has posed.

Isabeau has a Plan. As an adult, it wouldn't do to discourage the whims of the youth. She doesn't want to interfere, either, of course. It's Isabeau's plan, therefore, Isabeau has the honor of executing it. Which must explain why, in view of the Shadow pit trap, Vivienne Sournois is draped over a nearby bench, laying with her head propped up by one hand. She, too, is in her Hunter's Garb - a long, dark blue tight-fitting coat with a light blue formal shirt underneath and a white muffler about her shoulders. Her white pants and black boots are sleek and spotless, and perched atop her head is a tricorne hat. Just beneath that, she wears a pair of large, round glasses, peering out as she observes the experiment currently underway.

And sure enough... the Shadows are drawn into the pit, clumped up for easy elimination.

"`Magnificent work, darling Isabeau!`" Vivienne approves in her own French where she lay, shifting her hand out from under her hand just long enough to applaud. "`My, who thought it would be so malleable?`"

Isabeau makes her declaration - and, knowingly, Vivienne tips the brim of her hat downward to shield her eyes as the scathing light of Megido erupts from the pit trap. Once she's met with the rewarding sounds of Loot, bounds to her feet with a bounce, peering over the edge to see the results of Isabeau's grim work.

"`Marvelous~!`" She declares.

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.

Kanae Fuyuki has been meaning to get some more time in Mementos, to practice and to explore--and Kazusa Motojima just happened to be willing to go with her. But...

There's not a lot of Shadows. Kanae frowns, looking around. She's in her Hunter's garb, mage's robes under a greatcoat with a heavy, gilt gunblade at her back and a dashing wide-brimmed hat. She looks around dubiously. "Something's wrong," she says. "And when something's wrong, people get hurt..."

She is not a Navigator, but she hears the sounds soon enough--until--

"...Oh, come on." The French gives it away. "She's saying that her 'trap' worked," she says. "Something about Mystery Meat..."

Kanae Fuyuki steps up to the other side of the pit, looking over at Isabeau in the wake of her destructive spell.

"Isabeau you `dumb asshole`'," Kanae pronounces in mixed Japanese and French. She lifts up her gunblade, pointing the golden-tipped weapon straight at Isabeau. "You're going to get somebody killed like that! And it might be somebody someone actually likes!"

She is not ever going to admit that that was kind of impressive. Not ever.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

        Joker didn't come here for a fight. Joker didn't even come here with any of the other Phantom Thieves at all--they're here because Umie called them on their burner phone asking for them to meet up at Mementos to discuss a Ryouhara-related issue. Mona opted to stay at Futaba's after the cleaning was done, and Ichika went home; after all, this is supposed to be a discussion and Umie is... more or less trusted, so they all figured it'd be fine.
        
        Irony of ironies... When Joker and Umie met at the entrance of Mementos, it felt like there was a ruckus deeper in, and the two of them agreed to cautiously investigate. Now they're here at the site of a cackling Frenchwoman and her absurdly chill auntie as they destroy a whole bunch of Shadows.
        
        Ugh, Joker thinks, lips thinning to avoid an outright scowl. They don't know French, but tone of voice is universal. "The Wild Hunt," they murmur to Umie from their hiding spot, a corner away from where Isabeau and Vivienne are celebrating. "Two members of it. They're enemies of the Phantom Thieves. Dangerous, too." A beat. "What do you want to do? We aren't here for this."
        
        These are regular Shadows of Mementos, too. It doesn't really matter if the Wild Hunt slaughters them. For all that Joker keeps their tone neutral, though, if Umie indicates she wants a piece of the action, they sure won't back down either.
        
        However, not everyone is inclined to lurk and scope out the situation before engaging. Kanae brazenly yells at Isabeau, and Joker's eyes widen behind their mask. It isn't really surprising, though. Kanae and Isabeau have long been at each other's throats. Of course Kanae would tell her off.
        
        They don't know French, so they can't know she just cussed her out, either.

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.

        Roger is kind of just following along when Kanae and Kazusa decide to go check out Mementos. It sounded fun! (This is somewhat innocently insensitive, but he is a legitimately capable Persona-user and a stalwart ally of humanity besides, despite his strange origins.)
 
         He's in his Transmutation form, which is some manner of amalgamation of sports team player and coach all at once. While he has some (some!) Navigator chops in Ateliers, especially owing to having been from one to start, Mementos is its own beast and a lot of advantages he'd have in the supernatural space of which he's most accustomed don't apply here.
 
         "Wow... where's all the Colerics?" This is an inaccurate term, but the closest relation by his reckoning. "You know, when there aren't any of those around, something's very, very wrong... it means anything could have the run of the place! It could get really mucked up."
 
         This concern isn't wrong! Especially when weird things are heard, and he finds himself following Kanae because she sounds like she better understands what's going on than he does. (This is not a hard bar to clear.)
 
         "Eh?! How did you get all those in one place?!" Roger exclaims, as a round-up pit-trapped pile of Shadows are, well, dealt with. "Is that really a good idea, here...?" He pushes his fingers together. Kanae sounds very angry and she's lifting a weapon, and she says it's going to get someone killed like this. Somebody someone actually likes.
 
         "Ah! Fuyuki-chan..." He tilts his head. "Are any of these your friends?" He says this while he's holding his tennis racquet and matching ball behind him. Is it possible to befriend Colerics in this place? (He might need a more thorough review of Metaverse Shadows later.)

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.

        "Hrn."

        It's another night in Mementos. Strega, as it so happens, is here in (partial) force, too. One can't resign themselves to the Dark Hour alone, and there are interesting things indeed scattered throughout the depths of Mementos. It's just that, tonight...

        There's almost nothing here.

        "Slim pickings," Noriaki remarks to his colleague-in-arms, Niko. He straightens, just for the moment, and rolls his shoulders and cracks his neck.

        "...Looks like some asshole's beaten us to the punch."

        There's a voice, excitedly talking in a language that Noriaki neither understands, nor cares to understand. But he does get that tone of voice, alright. Jerking his head in the direction of the sound, he draws his machete and indicates that Niko should head in about the same direction.

        A pit trap, huh... and it's full of shadows. His gaze appears to settle on Isabeau, then leaps towards Vivienne.

        "Tch. So that's where all the prey went," he says, his mouth tugging into a frown. "Leave some for the rest of us, girly," he tells Isabeau, though his attention fast returns to Vivienne. "Ain't fair, you two stealing all the kills."

        He's silent a moment, as if thinking, a slight turn of his head betraying that he's well-aware that this isn't simply them versus Strega now.

        "...Tell you what, though," he says, his grip tightening on his machete's grip. "Let's make a deal. To the victors go the spoils-- eh??"

        And he lunges, without much other warning, at Vivienne. He snaps all two feet of battered steel up at her as he closes.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.

Katsuko was no stranger to Mementos. She was familiar with its various traps, enemies, and the rewards both stood in front of. She was also familiar with there being a large amount of both traps AND enemies standing between her and the best loot in the dungeon. So when she came across a few chests rather conspicuously unguarded, she suddenly felt as though she was in more danger than she would have been if she knew there were enemies lurking nearby and watching her. Suddenly aware of this strange discrepancy, Grim's pace slowed to a cautious crawl until she could figure out what was going on.

Someone sensible might have turned back and left until the problem resolved itself, given that their life could have been in grave danger. But Grim was not someone else. Grim saw something that intrigued her, and against her better judgement, stalked into the depths of Mementos to figure out just what was going on.
"Just a peek." She told herself quietly, her voice so low that even her near-silent footsteps were enough to drown it out. "I just need to know if this is going to be a problem later."

What Grim saw when she arrived on the scene - shrouded in shadow and hidden from view, of course - left her with rather conflicted feelings. She stood there, still as a statue and near-invisible in the total blackness of that one specific spot, peering through the scope of her rifle as she tried to figure out just how she was supposed to feel about someone digging a hole into Mementos and luring a horde of Shadows into it. It was impossible to ascertain an expression past the half-skull mask on her mouth and the unshifting shadow cast over her face from her hood, but the way she kept looking at the group ahead showed at least one thing: Intrigue.

"I don't think this is creating more danger than you'd normally get down here." Grim said to Kanae, as she emerged from a nearby patch of darkness. How had she seemingly teleported from one end of the room to the other? How had she done so without making so much as a whisper? It was hard to say, and Grim herself was unwilling to divulge such information. Standing a fair distance away from the others - though still lingering close enough to be heard clearly - she held her rifle across the front of her stygian outfit, her talon-ended fingers away from the trigger as the barrel was lowered. Like the wings of some roosting bird, her great coat hung loose behind her and at her sides, rustling only slightly when she moved.

"I'm more worried about my loot." Grim continued. That much was addressed to both Kanae and Roger - two people she stood between, but behind. It was always useful to have meatshields, especially when one wielded a rifle like hers. "Time's money, and the chests aren't cutting it. So how about a little friendly competition?" She turned to Isabeau, and though her words made it seem like she was asking, there was just enough of a lilt to her voice to turn that into goading. "You versus us. We win, you split the loot."

<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.

Last time on Strega Does Mementos...

...Actually we don't need to talk about what happened last time, it was bad. Suffice it to say that Niko has plenty of reason to be a bit more careful down here, especially in regards to the sound of chains that don't belong to her.

However, there is also a lot of valuable stuff to be had, be it from the seemingly endless supply of treasure-holding containers that keeps turning up, or from beating down Shadows. That's plenty of reason to risk another venture from time to time, though Niko would prefer not to do so alone. It's more fun to do these things with company along, anyway.

"Hmmm. You think?" she wonders in regards to the reason for the slim pickings, casually stretching herself out. "Well then, if we beat up whoever took it that means the stuff's ours anyway, right? They basically asked for it, getting rid of everything else to fight."

Though she appears unconcerned as usual as she toddles after Noriaki, she did come better prepared this time. Aside from having some emergency healing items stuffed in her pockets, she's also equipped another very useful item. Last time, things got problematic because the surroundings got covered in total darkness all of a sudden. That won't be a problem this time, thanks to the handy-dandy night vision goggles she brought, currently resting on her brow for easy deployment.

Now, wherever did she get those? It is a mystery, even to her fellows in Strega. One which might just get cleared up today.

An appreciative whistle is the first sound that comes from Strega's junior member, still casually strolling into the thick of things, not in as much of a hurry as Noriaki to start swinging. "That's pretty smart, luring 'em in like that. Or well, it would've been, if we hadn't been around. Now you've got more problems than before. Whoopsie~"

She looks about, with a mildly confused expression. "What's with the cosplay y'all are rockin'?" She squints at Isabeau, in particular. "...Waaaait a sec, don't I know you from somewhere?"

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

For some reason, instead of Snuff Souls, Kazusa's Persona can drain the energy of her foes. Let's not think too much on the personal implications of that.

Kazusa isn't an expert but she knows there should be more Shadows here than she and Kanae are currently finding. "Yeah..." she agrees with Kanae. "I feel like I shouldn't complain about not getting attacked by creepy monsters, but... this is a bit much." Beat. "... or not enough, I suppose."

She's in her Transmtuation, the true expression of her personal self. Which is apparently an ookamimimi princess? Long, pale blue hair, silver eyes, fluffy white-furred wolf ears and a tail, garbed in a purple tunic, skirt, boots and black stockings, with silver bracers and a cloak full of drifting stars pulled around her shoulders.

Kanae provides a translation for Isabeau, and Kazusa sighs. "... we ahven't even seen her yet and I'm already tired."

"This doesn't work like an Atelier," she tells Roger. "... AI think." Look, she was only in the one but was rather distracted for most of her time there.

She takes a peek over the pit, too, eyes widening. There definitely isn't an impressed wag of a wolf tail under that cloak. "What the... it really did work," she mutters.

Kazusa eyes that gunblade and then Isabeau. "... you know what, Fuyuki-san, I'll go cover that other woman over there, just in case."

And so she approaches Vivienne. She crosses her arms, staring the older woman down. "... and I suppose you're just... allowing this reckless behavior to proceed, are you? Shouldn't you be more responsible?"

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        "Well... *something* is happening here," Umie mutters to Joker, as Badb and her gift of sight condenses back into the blonde. "... Shadows aren't scattered like they should be." She frowns, adjusting the red checkboard half mask.
        
        Shadows, all converging to a point? That's a bad sign. "We should investigate, at least. Someone might be having a bad night of things." Which is a tamer way of saying 'someone might be fighting for their life'.
        
        ----NOW----
        
        Huddling with Joker as they look over the situation, Joker informs her about the Wild Hunt, and Umie smirks and shakes her head. "... Doesn't surprise me, given their track record of acting like they always know best."
        
        For the record, Joker, Umie is always trustworthy. You can always trust her to be Umie. "... My call is 'round two'," she says, with a merry glint in her eyes. "I'm not at all fond of them either. You can always blame me for enabling you later."
        
        You can always trust Umie to be Umie, and you can always be sure Umie's Persona is the Badb.
        
        The thrill of combat is detered as a certain Dirt Man enters the picture, however. ".... not that asshole..." she hisses. "That's a member of Strega, right there." Wait. Didn't she fight alongside Noriaki down here last time, too?!
        
        Ahem. Umie composes herself. "Alright then, Joker. Shall we?" She'll even wait, this time, instead of just jumping in~

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.

        Isabeau, of course, is perfecting her pit trap to get materials for Vivienne, so naturally Vivienne is here! It's because they're working together, not because Viv's keeping an eye out for her when she's doing a crazy scheme or anything.

        Duh.

        "`Oh, who dragged the skank in?`" Isabeau sniffs, haughtily, and still in French, as Kanae steps up. Luckily, she at least deigns to switch to Japanese when more people show up -- though she doesn't immediately clue into the fact that Joker's there, in the shadows. "I am farming materials. When has this ever gained a man to die?" Don't look now, Isabeau, you're careening straight towards a brick wall at a hundred miles an hour --

        But that's later. Now, her scornful green eyes fall on Roger, deciding in that moment just how this is going to go. Her attention snaps back up to Kanae, as she says, in that more stilted Japanese: "If you are so concerned with their safety, though, I have had an idea..."

        ... as she pouts her Shadow Whistle away on her belt, flourishing out with her spear. "You will save not one single soul if you cannot here best ME!"

        OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgHpI39CyO8 P!nk - 'Cuz I Can

        Noriaki makes the first move. "All that is fair is love and war!" Isabeau declares, hearing him bemoan the fairness of it all, and -- she's definitely butchered that idiom, but somehow, there's kind of logic to it. "For my taste? You are too old. We make war!" She doesn't seem all that worried about Vivienne getting STRAIGHT UP STABBED!, though -- for reasons her own adult ally might make perfectly obvious.

        Grim makes her wager, and Isabeau laughs, a booming, overpowering sound which makes full use of her big lungs secondary to the big rest of her. "Ha HA! Very well! If you win, we will reward you with the riches I did harvest! And, if we win..."

        Her attention falls on Roger, again.

        "... the abomination returns with us."

        Her tone drops, as she stakes her side of the wager, and one might wonder what kind of twisted game she's playing.

        Is Roger in danger--?!

        One thing's for sure: Niko is. Because she's waltzed in here with her night-vision goggles, and Isabeau snaps: "That is delicate technology you have brought here! You... YOU DO NOT REMEMBER ME?!"

        She slams her spearbutt into the cracked concrete, thumping a targe-decorated arm to her chest. "I am ISABEAU FONTAINE, daughter of LAURENT FONTAINE! I scout for the WILD HUNT, and my traps can stop any Shadow, Demon, or Quarry! In my spare time, I hunt ghosts instead of monsters! And you! Stole! Those! GOGGLES!"

        Dear God, no wonder there's a hole in the tracks when she eats the scenery that hard.

        She takes a moment to add, to Kazusa, beaming with self-stuffed pride: "Évidemment it worked! Just because I cannot reach my full potential in places which change each moment like the Tartarus or the Mementos, that does not mean I cannot place a simple pit trap!" Isabeau just told them all that for free, just so she could boast to her new -- person she doesn't hate as much as the others...

        Luckily, Vivienne's handling that. Isabeau is free to twirl her spear, grasping it in both hands as she leaps upwards, clearing that pit trap in a single spring of her powerful legs as she crashes down to land spear-first on Kanae. She tosses her weapon to one side to clear her out of her space -- and it could have been a fatal blow, Strega might note, except for the fact that Isabeau wasn't aiming for anything vital.

        "Mielikki!" She invokes, again, crushing another of those bronze vials to summon her Persona for the new fight -- and that fairy rises up again, with her blue wasp's wings, spruce hair and golden dress, a skinned fairy-sized bear across her back and serving as her oversized claws. Roger will feel a terrible feeling, as that fairy flutters over him... like it's going to be harder to help him.

        Niko, meanwhile, learns something else cool, as Isabeau presses a lever on the edge of her spear --

        -- and the shaft collapses up into it, the weapon becoming a scytheish knife.

        It's not a spear. It's a spearknife. And just like Noriaki, Isabeau darts forward to stab at Niko with it -- though unlike Noriaki, Isabeau's not looking to take her heart or liver out.

        Grim, meanwhile, is trying to avoid the crowd. But -- "Mielikki!" -- that fairy rises up again to prove just why she can't hide behind her rifle: the Hunter's got Magaru, too.

 AS: Weapon! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Slash skill Cold-blooded Strike on Kanae Fuyuki! 2 Hits!
 AS: >>> You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Almighty skill Heal Block on Roger!
 AS: >>> You still have 2 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Weapon! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Slash skill Hunter's Blade on Niko Kirisaki! 2 Hits!
 AS: >>> You still have 1 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Wind skill Magaru on Katsuko Yoshinaga!
  | Defense: Isabeau Fontaine gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Isabeau Fontaine's turn has ended.
 AS: Take! Roger takes 0 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Heal Block.
  | Recovery_Wall (Healing Down!) added!
 AS: Block Best! Kanae Fuyuki takes 14 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Cold-blooded Strike.
 AS: Block Worst! Kanae Fuyuki takes 63 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Cold-blooded Strike. Critical Hit!
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 52 Wind damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Magaru.
  | Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!
 AS: Counter Neutral! Niko Kirisaki takes 64 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Hunter's Blade.
  | COUNTER! Isabeau Fontaine takes 27 Strike damage in return for her attack!
 AS: Counter Neutral! Niko Kirisaki takes 64 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Hunter's Blade.
  | COUNTER! Isabeau Fontaine takes 27 Strike damage in return for her attack!

<Pose Tracker> Vivienne Sournois has posed.

It isn't unexpected that someone would take note of something strange happening in Mementos. It must be an ill omen, for the tunnels to be completely clear of Shadows... Though Vivienne has to give them credit - she didn't expect people to catch on so quickly.

"Bonjour! I'm afraid you've caught us in the middle of something. My, there are so many of you!" Vivienne greets with a sweeping bow. She looks up, upon hearing Kanae, and chuckles. "Do play nicely with your little friend, Isabeau, hm?"

A little bit of intense rivalry is healthy for a growing girl. She doesn't see any reason to discourage this. ...Does she hear what they're saying to each other, or does she think that's just banter?

Her attention turns then to a man older than the rest. It's not fair, hm? Vivienne chuckles, then glances toward Isabeau as she offers her opinion.

"Indeed, as she says." Vivienne replies to Noriaki. "I invoke the ancient maxim... 'finder's keepers'!"

He wants to make a deal, though - and he isn't the only one... but Noriaki doesn't wait for an answer. He charges at her with a machete and in an instant, Vivienne's weapons are drawn - a pair of long, hooked swords. They fly out to meet the machete, redirecting its path to mitigate the harm. It catches her side, but doesn't slow her down.

"Is there any other way? " Vivienne asks. "Such is the law of these things. A reward worth having is one the clashing of steel."

Isabeau agrees - and even ups the ante, as she declares that if they win, Roger will be leaving with them. Vivienne considers her thoughtfully for a moment - but she doesn't gainsay her.

Her attention turns to Kazusa, then. She regards her outfit thoughtfully - and nods in approval. It's ostentatious, certainly... but a bearing of the inner self should be! She offers Kazusa a smile.

"Miss Kazusa. Delightful to see you again." She offers. As for her accusation...

"Am I not supervising?" Vivienne asks. "I do appreciate your concern, dear, but I assure you, should anything go wrong, I am here to step in. But until then... an adult should not discourage the growth and creativity of the youth, hm?"

She pauses for a moment.

"Ah, don't worry, dear, I don't believe that was directed at you." She assures Kazusa. "Lovely outfit, by the way, you've quite the dazzling aesthetic!"

She looks toward Niko, then.

"I suppose you could say it's a symbol of our resolve - our decision to cease being the hunted and, instead, the Hunter." Vivienne explains. "One must always me mindful of the message they're presenting to the world, hm?

...It seems as if she and Isabeau have history - as an adult, Vivienne should be concerned about that... but Isabeau is handling it her own way, so she sees no reason to interfere.

Noriaki and Kazusa are the only ones who approach her directly... but her eyes scan her surroundings, glasses gleaming in Mementos's dull red light. Vivienne smiles - and Umie and Joker might get the feeling that it's meant for them.

She responds to Noriaki's approach in kind - she steps forward with a dance of blades, slicing in on both sides. And for those who haven't attack her directly...

"Let's force their hands, Skadi, darling!" Vivienne says, drawing a vial of frosty liquid from her coat. She crushes it in her hands, and mist emanates outward, suffusing her - and behind her, a giant blue-skinned woman appears, clad in winter wear with skis on her feet and equipped with combat gear. With a gesture, the temperature in the immediate area begins to drop rapidly - there's time to retreat if one would rather avoid a fight, but the chill that settles in will force the decision one way or the other...


 AS: Weapon! Vivienne Sournois has used the Slash skill Swift Blades on Noriaki Okaga! 3 Hits!
 AS: Persona! Vivienne Sournois has used the Almighty skill Winter's Chill on Kazusa Motojima, Umie Akabane, and Ren Amamiya!
  | Ruin: Vivienne Sournois gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Vivienne Sournois's turn has ended.
  | Vivienne Sournois regains 6 SP from Invigorate!
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Vivienne Sournois's Winter's Chill.
  | Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.

"No," Kanae says to Roger, "It's just a bad idea on principle." She lifts an eyebrow at Grim. "A lot of Shadows all together are a lot more dangerous than a number of scattered Shadows. That's just basic sense."

Roger seems not to think of it is a good idea... which is another good reason to believe in Roger! All the same, they are not her friends; they're just Shadows.

Kanae doesn't spot Joker at first. She's too busy dealing with 'friendly competition'. "Tch," Kanae says. "You're about as bad as she is, acting like this is some game."

"Sounds good," she says to Kazusa, "But don't underestimate her. The Wild Hunt doesn't play around."

But--there it is. "Ugh," Kanae says, rolling her eyes at being called a French skank again. (Or just a regular skank, in French? Either way).

"Fine!" Kanae shouts back at Isabeau. "I'll kick your ass and keep everyone safe!" Pause. "...Except that guy," she says, tilting her head at Noriaki. "He seems to be doing fine on his own."

She narrows her eyes. "...But you're not getting Roger-kun. No matter what."

Isabeau goes for Kanae, and Kanae blocks the first slash with her gunblade, their weapons clashing with sparks and loud noise--but the second cuts through, hitting her side and making her wince. "Tch," Kanae says. "I'm not done yet."

"I have a surprise for you, you know. Something just for you that I cooked up, knowing you'd pull one of your dumbass tricks again."

But not yet. "LESHY!" Kanae calls, throwing up her vial of gold dust and crushing it, sparkles flitting all around her as a wall of magic bears up in front of Roger, Grim, Kanae, and Niko.

"I got your back, guys. Kick her ass!"

Vivienne may have said to play nicely, but... kanae doesn't want to play nicely!!!
 AS: Persona! Kanae Fuyuki has used the Recovery skill Marakukaja on Kanae Fuyuki, Roger, Katsuko Yoshinaga, and Niko Kirisaki!
  | Defense: Kanae Fuyuki gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Kanae Fuyuki's turn has ended.
  | Kanae Fuyuki regains 8 HP from Regenerate!
 AS: Take! Kanae Fuyuki takes 0 Recovery healing from Kanae Fuyuki's Marakukaja.
  | Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!


 AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Vivienne Sournois's Winter's Chill.
  | Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!
 AS: Take! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 0 Recovery healing from Kanae Fuyuki's Marakukaja.
  | Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

        Joker smirks at Umie when she grins and encourages them to throw down. "Aren't you supposed to be a responsible adult?" they tease. It figures that she's run afoul of them too--and that she's had the exact same goddamn negative experience. "Very well. Whatever they're doing here, I trust it not."
        
        Their smirk fades when Umie points out Noriaki, a member of Strega--and their eyes go to his companion, Niko. "Mm. I could tell. His companion is with Strega also. I hardly relish teaming up with an enemy to fight an enemy, but..."
        
        Not only that, but Kanae came in with Kazusa--and Kazusa approaches Vivienne, lecturing her about responsibility for someone else's reckless behavior. Another person they'd really rather not fight alongside--but the other option is fighting Isabeau, and Joker would rather not even look at her right now.
        
        Besides. They already know Isabeau fairly well, for good or ill. Fighting Vivienne directly might help them get a better gauge on her as a person--and maybe she would answer why Isabeau called Morgana and now that pig-looking fellow 'abominations.' God knows Isabeau would never willingly be helpful.
        
        As people engage in battle, Joker emerges from their hiding spot with Umie, striding up to Vivienne. "Vivienne Sournois, as I recall," they state, giving her a curt nod of greeting. "Such interesting activities you and your young 'friend' are getting up to." (Joker is still not convinced that the adults of Wild Hunt actually think of Isabeau as a friend and aren't just using her. God also knows she is chomping at the bit to be used by her asshole of a father--or that's how it sounds to them, with her grandiose self-introduction over there.)
        
        "Mind if we join the festivities?" they conclude, drawing their Harpe Knife in one hand and PMF-84W in the other.
        
        Vivienne indicates her consent by calling down that freezing chill on them and Umie via her Persona, Skadi. The skis are an interesting look, now that they've got the time to pay attention to her directly... Laurent's Persona seemed fairly straightforward in its symbolism to Joker, but this one is rather more opaque to them.
        
        Regardless, that chill limns their jacket with frost, adding a bite to their body. It is absolutely awful, but Joker takes care to keep that off their stoic face. It's that silver pistol they use first in response, aiming at Vivienne and opening fire with a rapid barrage of scattered shots, meant to be more difficult for the apparent Persona veteran to fully dodge.
        
        "Whom of their number did you fight before, out of curiosity?" they aside to Umie.
 AS: Weapon! Ren Amamiya has used the Pierce skill PMF-84W Scatter Shot on Vivienne Sournois! 3 Hits!
 AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
  | Ren Amamiya: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
 AS: Avoid Worst! Kazusa Motojima takes 0 Almighty damage from Vivienne Sournois's Winter's Chill.
  | Sick (SP Damage on end of turn!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.

        'What's with the cosplay y'all are rockin'?'
 
         "Eh? Cosplay?" Roger tilts his head. "Oh! You mean our Transmutation! Motojima-chan and I take these forms in places like this!" He promptly puffs out his heavy-set body with hands on his hips with a shiny set of sparkles. (Roger is not considered physically attractive by human terms. He is just happy to be analogous to humanity at all! Being able to play with others as someone is the cornerstone of the change he wants to make with his being!)
 
         (still sparkles though)
 
         Kanae sets the record straight on the Shadows. "Oh... that does make sense."
 
         "Huh?" Roger's eyes widen as Kazusa decides to deal with the other party here. "...Okay! Then I guess I'm playing with you all today!" He says to Kanae, Grim (a.k.a. Katsuko), and Niko alike, as Isabeau goes strictly to business, flinching momentarily as that spear gets flourished. And then, the wager...
 
         "Abomination? With you? Um." He tilts his head. "I don't see one."
 
         Chaos erupts as the battle is joined in earnest, as Mielikki expresses their fae magicks and those dramatic sparkles give away to some manner of negative sparkles and a very, very cold sweat forming.
 
         "...She did something! I feel... vlunerable?"
 
         He doesn't quite shake it off, but with a boar-like snort, he puts something of a game face on. "All right... if you're playin' for keeps... then this one's for all the marbles!"
 
         A blue butterfly starts to flit along. Roger takes his tennis racquet and swats at it, dispersing it into blue sparkle-stuff as the visage of the seemingly sports uniform-clad Kamapua'a rises behind him.
 
         "Revolution!"
 
         A fierce dance by the figure follows, violent and angry, throwing his arms up and then giving those on the same team against Isabeau today the impetus to throw down a bit harder.
 
         "...Oh!" Roger comes down from that high a moment later. "I'm Roger."
 
         No heroic lineage and family destiny to uphold. He is just happy to say 'I'm' and attach something to that, like it's the greatest thing he's ever accomplished.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.

"It's not cosplay. It's armour." Said the girl wearing a cognitive outfit that bore a *striking* resemblance to the archetypal night-themed superhero. A cognitive outfit that also bore a striking resemblance to birds of prey, given the swooping silhouette that her clothing lent her, and the sharp ends of both her boots and gloves resembling the talons of some hunting bird. Kanae, meanwhile, drew a remark that was delivered with markedly less sharpness, but no less dismissiveness. "If they're smart, they'll know to avoid them. If they're strong, they'll be able to take care of themselves." Came the pitiless remark, though no clarification on whether Katsuko thought herself (or the others) strong, stupid, or both.

Isabeau took the wager - or, as some might have interpreted it, bait - only to retort with a demand of her own. Grim took a moment to consider the offer before turning her head head quietly towards the person in question, before speaking quietly enough that only the two of them stood any realistic chance of hearing her.
"Good luck, Roger." Was all she deigned to say before retreating back into cover. Flat ground was all that was immediately near her - nowhere to hide behind to dampen the impact of any incoming attacks, in other words. All that was left for her was the cover of darkness - but that proved largely ineffective as well, even as she darted away from her fellow combatants.

Biting winds struck at Grim as she tried to evade Isabeau's prying eyes, sending her staggering back even as she searched for somewhere to vanish into. A grunt of shock was followed by a hiss of pain, but fortunately for her, it wasn't quite enough to knock her off balance. It certainly wasn't enough to shake her focus and keep from launching a counterattack.
"Dantes!" She called out, leaping behind a concrete pillar while the form of her Persona emerged from the shadows like a revenant from the grave. Dressed in blacks and charcoal greys, the man in the mask of tarnished iron stood amidst a fog of black, his vengeful gaze levelled against Isabeau, piercing as the blade in his hand.

"Hunt's over, Fontaine. He's coming back with us." Grim uttered. Moments later, whatever darkness hung around the group was cast away, if only for a moment, by a hellish burst of flame. Dantes levelled his wrath at Isabeau, channelling it into a blazing gout of hellfire roaring from his sabre. The glow of magic galvanising her defences covered her once the orange of fire had subsided, however, and Grim nodded back to Kanae. "Thanks. And don't worry. I'll make sure she doesn't forget this for a *long* time."

If one did not know Grim better, they might have sworn there was little eagerness in her tone at the thought of beating some humility into Isabeau. Surely not, though.
 AS: Take! Roger takes 0 Recovery healing from Kanae Fuyuki's Marakukaja. Resist!
  | Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
 AS: Persona! Roger has used the Almighty skill Revolution on Niko Kirisaki, Katsuko Yoshinaga, Kanae Fuyuki, and Roger!
  | Support: Roger gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Roger's turn has ended.
  | Roger regains 8 HP from Regenerate! and 3 SP from Invigorate!
 AS: Take! Kanae Fuyuki takes 0 Almighty damage from Roger's Revolution.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
 AS: Take! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Roger's Revolution.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
 AS: Counter Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 95 Slash damage from Vivienne Sournois's Swift Blades. Critical Hit!
  | COUNTER! Vivienne Sournois takes 23 Strike damage in return for her attack!
 AS: Persona! Katsuko Yoshinaga has used the Fire skill Hell to Your Doorstep on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 45 damage from Stress!
  | Ruin: Katsuko Yoshinaga gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga's turn has ended.
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
 AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 27 Slash damage from Vivienne Sournois's Swift Blades.
 AS: Counter Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 76 Slash damage from Vivienne Sournois's Swift Blades. Critical Hit!
  | COUNTER! Vivienne Sournois takes 32 Strike damage in return for her attack!
 AS: Take! Roger takes 0 Almighty damage from Roger's Revolution.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!

 AS: Persona! Katsuko Yoshinaga has used the Fire skill Hell to Your Doorstep on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 45 damage from Stress!
  | Ruin: Katsuko Yoshinaga gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga's turn has ended.
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
 AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 27 Slash damage from Vivienne Sournois's Swift Blades.
 AS: Counter Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 76 Slash damage from Vivienne Sournois's Swift Blades. Critical Hit!
  | COUNTER! Vivienne Sournois takes 32 Strike damage in return for her attack!
 AS: Take! Roger takes 0 Almighty damage from Roger's Revolution.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
 AS: Take! Niko Kirisaki takes 0 Recovery healing from Kanae Fuyuki's Marakukaja.
  | Def_Up (Block Improved!) added!
 AS: Take! Niko Kirisaki takes 0 Almighty damage from Roger's Revolution.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.

        Last time wasn't particularly great, sure. But it's all the more reason to come back. Noriaki hasn't had an experience that he'll admit to running from for good yet.

        "Yeah," he tells Niko. His lips split into a grin. "Read my mind exactly. If they're still around, we'll take what we're owed."

        Then the sound of voices (and subsequently, explosions) ring out across this part of Mementos, and they both must know that the one responsible isn't that far off at all.

        There's a funny thing though, now that he considers it. Hasn't he seen Isabeau before?
        Oh well, it's not his problem. Not when the present moment affords more problem than that.

        "Brat," he spits out at Isabeau, his lips curling in distaste. "I ain't interested in kids. War, though... you want a battle, you've got one!"

        'Finders Keepers', says Vivienne, as he directs his attention at her, instead. He scowls, yet says still, "Fair. Fair enough, lady... but only if you can keep it!"

        Ever so slightly, he turns his head towards Umie, and then he grins at her. As if to say, without speaking a word, 'I see you...'

        ...before he goes out swinging at Vivienne.

        Is there any other way, she appears to wonder, but is met only with a fierce shake of Noriaki's head. "I'll have what I'm owed," he promises her. "One way or another!" And he laughs, even as she returns his attack on her piece for piece: his own edge snaps out to furthermore exchange blows beat for beat, moving to catch one swing of hers with a singing ring with the machete's battered blade.

        "Not bad, lady," he tells her, dropping back even as his own allies of the moment drop in. He's seen at least one of them before, and Umie, well.

        "Been a minute, crow-girl," he greets her, snearing in her direction and all.

        This is when he produces his Evoker and snaps it up under his chin. Without hesitating, he pulls the trigger, and in a blaze of red light, there is the form of Efnysien.

        It's not much more than shadow, lurking in the steaming depths of the cauldron's haze. Far more visible are the metallic skeletons crammed into the soup around the thing. In one hand, it grips a long cord.

        It whips the end of it at Vivienne, the battered toy horse on wheels rocketing towards her. But it won't hit her... directly.

        "Ha! Let's soften ya up a little!" he chortles, eyeing Vivienne with intent.
 AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Almighty skill Strike Break on Vivienne Sournois!
 AS: Noriaki Okaga's turn has ended.

 AS: Avoid Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 156 Fire damage from Katsuko Yoshinaga's Hell to Your Doorstep. Critical Hit!
  | Def_Dn (Block Penalized!) and Spd_Dn (Avoid Penalized!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.

"Then you got a pretty wild sense of casual clothes, sis," Niko casually tosses a metaphorical rock from her metaphorical glass house at Kazusa. She'll give it to Vivienne, at least, hunting gear is pretty fitting for a statement like that. "Oh, okay. Makes decent enough sense." The superhero garb of Grim's, too. ...Those 'transmutations', however. "Dunno what statements those two are trying to make, but whatever."

That matter is ultimately of no real concern. Isabeau demands her attention, and Niko... is visibly wholly unimpressed by the yelling, only starting to react when there is a pause in it, lazily raising a finger. "Oh yeeeeah, I remember now. The weirdly well-prepared ghost hunter." Just glossing right over all the other stuff Isabeau just called herself. But not over the last part.

"What I don't remember is you saying I was supposed to give 'em back. You gave me those goggles, they're mine now." She thumbs towards the device resting on her head. "You just told me not to break 'em. Ain't broken, so didn't break any conditions."

Niko looks gratingly smug about that loophole she found, too. Of course, she knows exactly what she's doing, she's provoking on purpose. Isabeau charging her was fully expected, that's exactly what she wanted.

She wasn't expecting that weapon to hold hidden secrets, however. She'd prepared to deal with a normal spear, not some kind of... swiss army spear. Predictably...

"Ow! Shit!" Already she's glad she packed some recovery items this time. But in the heat of the moment, obviously she's going to swing back, using her bare fists. They're kind of wild swings, but even so, those muscles aren't just for show.

Backing off a bit, her eyes widen when defensive and offensive enhancements are sent her way. She doesn't vocalize it, but it's clear enough that she's baffled that perfect strangers would help her. Must be the common foe thing, she supposes.

"Alright, shit, if it's gonna be like that, guess I better not play around. Let's fucking go! ATE!"

In no time flat, she's holding an Evoker, wasting no time in discharging it through her temple. In a burst of blue light, the giant, stone-faced, blue-tinted spectral head that makes up the entirety of her Persona appears behind her, copious hair whipping about chaotically. The empty sockets it has for eyes briefly flash red, then it charges, in a blur of motion, directly for Isabeau. Much like Niko herself, it's straightforward, but it packs a mean punch.
 AS: Persona! Niko Kirisaki has used the Strike skill Brutal Skull Cracker on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Niko Kirisaki gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Niko Kirisaki's turn has ended.

 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 94 Strike damage from Niko Kirisaki's Brutal Skull Cracker. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

"I'll be careful," Kazusa reassures Kanae.

Kazusa's head snaps around at the mention of Isabeau taking an 'abomination' with her, scowling. "I don't really care what you do to all these shadows, but you're not leaving here with Roger-san." Too bad Kazusa already went all the way over here in this part of the battlefield.

'And you! Stole! Those! GOGGLES!"'

Kazusa blinks, her gaze slowly swiveling over to lookat Niko. More blinking. "... wait, it's you--" Something long dormant in the back of her mind suddenly demands her attention, in the light of new context and new awareness. to no one in particular she shouts, "Wait-- was that thing REAL!?"

Focus, Kazusa. You've got more important things to worry about!

Kazusa can't deny that Isabeau did, in fact, put a pit trap in the middle of mementos. Kazusa looks at her, then at the ground. "... how did you even dig into the ground...? I didn't even think that was possible." She's actually a little impressed, in a weird way, though she's not about to say that.

But her attention is dragged back to Vivienne. And then surprised recognition hits her. "Oh--you're the woman from the movie theater. ... Hello." She frowns a little. "'Supervising.' I'm sure." She crosses her arms again. The creativity of the youth... "... Yeah, I wish the world worked that way."

That has not, traditionally, been her experience. At least not with certain adults.

She blushes at the compliment to her outfit though, glancing away for a moment. "... thanks," she utters quietly. "It just sort of... happened." It's a bit extra, isn't it?

She will never admit to herself this is exactly like the stuff she drew when she was younger.

"It's--" She doesn't really have a good retort for Niko. Roger explains, at least. "... what he said," she reluctantly admits."

Kazua tries to dart back away from that chill, but it settles in deep, and she gives a violent shiver as she feels something afflict her. "D-dammit-- Fine! If you're going to be that way--1"

She just stares at Noriaki as he pulls out a gun and points it up under his chin. "W-wait what are you--!?" She takes a few defensive steps back as his Persona appears. "What the hell!?"

"Okay, okay. focus," she mutters to herself. She holds out her hand, and a blue butterfly alights on it for a moment before she tosses it up into the air-- only for a pink whip to shatter it into sparkles a moment later, which reform into the half-and-half visage of Mina Harker. "Mina!" she shouts. "Masukukaja!"

Mina Harker raises her right, uncorrupted hand, gesturing as a lightness is added to everyone's steps.
 AS: Persona! Kazusa Motojima has used the Almighty skill Masukukaja on Kazusa Motojima, Noriaki Okaga, Umie Akabane, and Ren Amamiya!
  | Support: Kazusa Motojima gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Kazusa Motojima's turn has ended.
  | Kazusa Motojima: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
 AS: Take! Kazusa Motojima takes 0 Almighty damage from Kazusa Motojima's Masukukaja.
  | Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

 AS: Isabeau Fontaine has readied for combat with Mielikki! She is adjusted! Ready for 8 opponents!

 AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 0 Almighty damage from Kazusa Motojima's Masukukaja.
  | Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
 AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Kazusa Motojima's Masukukaja.
  | Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        Listening to Isabeau is a great way for Umie to go from 'playfully neutral' to 'downright livid'.
        
        And Joker, for better or worse, is witness to it. ".... more like 'hasn't killed someone *yet*'," she grumbles beneath her breath, her expression growing more and more flattened by the second.

        'Aren't you the responsible adult?' draws a brief look of surprise from Umie, but she eases into it, her mouth ready with a retort and a wag of her finger. "Well, *someone's* got to be the bearer of bad news."

        (Huh. He must see her as older. ... Makes sense. Wait, does that mean Joker is...?)
        
        As Umie considers this, Isabeau's next comment rudely bypasses it by rubbing against a core part of Umie's outlook. '... the abomination returns with us.' Roger's alternate form may be in a different size class than Mona, or even Umie's beloved childhood friend, but size isn't what matters, it's heart. (.... also, whether or not Umie finds you endearing.)

        "... ...." Her attention moves, because it *has* to, to Vivienne, who is just about to flush them out of the brush like pheasants.
        
        As Joker energes to join in the festivities, Umie moves.
        
        Who's we? The moment Vivienne had her focus shifted to anyone besides Umie, she's just not there.
        
        Isabeau, if she isn't careful, may soon hear a voice behind her, as the ring of the kyoketsu shoge whips out to attempt to wrap around her. "No one's going to expect a pit like this in this space. You'll be lucky if the space resets itself before someone falls in it, and even so, considering the Reaper... It's a terrible plan."
        
        If Umie manages to grab a limb or part, she'll jerk if back, in order to attempt to make Isabeau fall back.
        
        "... For the last time," Umie shoots at Noriaki. "Do I look like I go through trashbags?!" (Somewhere, Shiryuu might be sneezing.)
        
        ("Her," she says simply, to Joker, nodding to Vivienne, while shooting a thankful nod to Kazusa.)


 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 94 Strike damage from Niko Kirisaki's Brutal Skull Cracker. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        Listening to Isabeau is a great way for Umie to go from 'playfully neutral' to 'downright livid'.
        
        And Joker, for better or worse, is witness to it. ".... more like 'hasn't killed someone *yet*'," she grumbles beneath her breath, her expression growing more and more flattened by the second.

        'Aren't you the responsible adult?' draws a brief look of surprise from Umie, but she eases into it, her mouth ready with a retort and a wag of her finger. "Well, *someone's* got to be the bearer of bad news."

        (Huh. He must see her as older. ... Makes sense. Wait, does that mean Joker is...?)
        
        As Umie considers this, Isabeau's next comment rudely bypasses it by rubbing against a core part of Umie's outlook. '... the abomination returns with us.' Roger's alternate form may be in a different size class than Mona, or even Umie's beloved childhood friend, but size isn't what matters, it's heart. (.... also, whether or not Umie finds you endearing.)

        "... ...." Her attention moves, because it *has* to, to Vivienne, who is just about to flush them out of the brush like pheasants.
        
        As Joker energes to join in the festivities, Umie moves.
        
        Who's we? The moment Vivienne had her focus shifted to anyone besides Umie, she's just not there.
        
        Isabeau, if she isn't careful, may soon hear a voice behind her, as the ring of the kyoketsu shoge whips out to attempt to wrap around her. "No one's going to expect a pit like this in this space. You'll be lucky if the space resets itself before someone falls in it, and even so, considering the Reaper... It's a terrible plan."
        
        If Umie manages to grab a limb or part, she'll jerk if back, in order to attempt to make Isabeau fall back.
        
        "... For the last time," Umie shoots at Noriaki. "Do I look like I go through trashbags?!" (Somewhere, Shiryuu might be sneezing.)
        
        ("Her," she says simply, to Joker, nodding to Vivienne, while shooting a thankful nod to Kazusa.)

 AS: Weapon! Umie Akabane has used the Strike skill Strike Weapon E on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
  | Umie Akabane: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Sick removed!
  | Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.

        It's still totally normal for allies to be fighting together, this isn't a babysitting gig, it's fine!!!

        "It is a game," Isabeau informs Kanae, though, thankfully, she at least informs her in Japanese. "Or as it is said better: sport. We are not the ones who will die, placed life and death into these places. What better life than to toy with prey?"

        She's talking like she's some sadistic cat who's caught a mouse and will neither kill it nor let it go...

        ... but of course, those mice tend to die, anyway, out of fright and injuries.

        "He does, does not he?" Isabeau wonders, glancing back to Noriaki. "Still, he is still so dirty... Viv, do not be overwhelmed by a homeless!" She meant to say 'vagrant'. Her lack of vocabulary really reveals the underlying horror...

        And Isabeau's devotion to her father is not something she would discuss with Joker, no.

        "You will not," she informs Roger, a chilliness to her tone, "until you look into the mirror." He can't see any abominations around here... but it's because Isabeau's calling him the abomination. He says he's got the marbles, though, and pulls out Revolution --

        "Oh yeah?! I can do that, TOO!"

        Joker's seen this, by the way. This exact version of it, too. Isabeau sees a spell cast around her, and she has to one-up it with her version! Her version, though, is a Skill Card she raises up, Mielikki twirling as she's summoned to invoke Rebellion down on herself.

        Dantes summons hellfire to burn Isabeau, though. She leaps away from the flames unleashed by that sword, but not even she can outrun them, and she's smoking as she rolls across the tracks of Mementos. The momentum puts out the flames, but she scowls as she rises, feeling the way that broiling flame ate at her defenses. "The Hunt has scarcely begun," she insists, as she pats herself off. "You think you can leave us defenceless? Think again. Mielikki!"

        That blue-winged waspish Persona rises again, fluttering, fluttering... and a shimmering paling wall descends, around Vivienne and Isabeau. Magic attacks won't work, now!

        It's a good thing she's shielded Vivienne, though -- because here's the thing about Isabeau's Shadow Whistle.

        It lures Shadows into a trap...

        ... which means...

        ... it lures Shadows.

        More of them have come from further reaches of the floor, now, still seeking that noise they heard. Vivienne smiles, shaking her head. "I'd hate for dear Isabeau's little wager to be interrupted... so you'll excuse me! It's time to do some back-stage reorganisation...!"

        She backflips away from Noriaki's enervating spell -- and goes to take on those Shadows all personally.

        How strong is she that she can respond to all of them herself...?

        ... how strong is Isabeau, that Vivienne can confidently leave fighting all these Persona-Users to her?!

        Niko's strong blow is one which Mielikki meets, that little waspish fairy crossing her big bear claws together to take the clash. "It was assumed!" Isabeau insists, of not telling her to give them back. Kazusa asks if the ghost was real, though, and Isabeau insists: "Ghosts are real!"

        And to Kazusa, she explains: "Hunters often have tricks of their own... mine is the ability to shape traps in these high-vibration areas!"

        Umie lashes out with her weapon, though, and for a moment she does entangle Isabeau -- until she gets the hook of her knife in between the weave and frees herself. "Why should I fear the Reaper?" She huffs, grandoise. "I am strong! I will show you all just how strong I am..."

        Oh, no.

        Isabeau presses a button on her knife, and it expands back out into a spear, as she leaps onto a subway platform. "I will show you... MEGIDO!" She declares, as Mielikki rises, to summon two massive white explosions, the lesser birth of a star.

 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Almighty skill Rebellion on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Defense: Isabeau Fontaine gains 1 Limit!
 AS: >>> You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Take! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Rebellion.
  | Crt_Up (Critical Up!) added!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Recovery skill Spell Guard on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: >>> You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Take! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Recovery healing from Isabeau Fontaine's Spell Guard. Safety! Magical damage reduced!
  | Magi_Safety applied!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Almighty skill Megido on Umie Akabane, Ren Amamiya, Kazusa Motojima, and Noriaki Okaga!
 AS: >>> You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Almighty skill Megido on Kanae Fuyuki, Roger, Niko Kirisaki, and Katsuko Yoshinaga!
 AS: >>> You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Isabeau Fontaine's turn has ended.

 AS: Avoid Worst! Umie Akabane takes 126 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 130 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Block Best! Kanae Fuyuki takes 57 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Ren Amamiya takes 73 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Niko Kirisaki takes 120 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Kazusa Motojima's Masukukaja.
  | Spd_Up (Avoid Improved!) added!
 AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 84 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.

"And that's exactly why I don't believe in you or your Hunt!" Kanae snaps at Isabeau. "You treat people's lives like abstracts--treat dangerous things like fun! And then, when people need help, you deny it to them for your 'ideals'!"

"I hate it!"

Vivienne--Well, Kanae's not too worried about her. She'll manage--the power of the Wild Hunt was never the problem Kanae had with them. Instead, she actually smirks at Niko and Isabeau's exchange. she doesn't comment at the moment--because--

Set traps.

"Definitely don't play around," she agrees with Niko. "as for me," since she also has a special outfit, "i'm a Hunter. That's the deal there."

"just not with them."

"...I'm not into torture," Kanae says to Grim, dubiously. "Just drive her off."

She feels Roger's power, at least. And then--"Phantom Thieves?" Kanae looks to Joker, and blinks. "...You're not here to change her Heart, are you?"

She's not sure how she feels about that.

But Megido happens, and Kanae takes up a defensive position. "Tch," she says, holding out her blade to try to cut off some of the almighty assault. It still hurts, but... Then, she sees it--that defensive maneuver.

"Isabeau," Kanae says. "Remmeber how I said I have a surprise for you?"

She passes a hand over her eyes, and the tink of broken glass announces something--the shifting of the mask that Kanae uses to face the world. "I'm not done yet! AME-NO-UZUME!"

A new Persona comes out, a beautiful dancer, her face covered by a fan. She twirls. "Two can play that game, Isabeau. Now--"

Ame-no-Uzume twirls again, beginning a frenzied dance--as a pale green light starts to build before her, that explodes into a beam directly planned for Isabeau herself, not too dissimilar for Megido.

"I fused this Persona just for you! See if you can break my defenses NOW!"
GAME: Kanae Fuyuki has assumed form 3, Ame-no-Uzume!
 AS: Kanae Fuyuki spends Limit on Psych!
 AS: Persona! Kanae Fuyuki has used the Almighty skill Irresistible Force on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Kanae Fuyuki's turn has ended.
  | Kanae Fuyuki: Psych removed!

 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 139 Almighty damage from Kanae Fuyuki's Irresistible Force. Safety! Magical damage reduced!
 AS: Avoid Best! Kazusa Motojima takes 42 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.
 AS: Avoid Worst! Roger takes 162 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Megido.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.

When Kanae responded, Grim simply nodded, though not without a heartbeat's worth of hesitation.
"Fine. I'll make this quick." She said, seeming just a little bit disappointed that she wouldn't have the chance to toy with her prey a little longer.

Niko's comment drew a lingering, faceless, look from Grim. With no facial features visible, save for the rictus grin of that silver-hued mask clinging to the lower half of her face, nothing specific could be gleaned by any but the most perceptive of individuals. But with how the look lingered, and how she said nothing, it gave off the distinct impression that she wasn't best pleased by the remark, even if she'd not been the target of the barb.
"We'll talk fashion later. Got more important things to deal with now." She eventually said, though the 'later' in that statement did a lot of heavy lifting.

Privately, Katsuko wondered if the outfit was ridiculous, or if it was only ridiculous because Isabeau wore it. A question that would no doubt keep her up the rest of the night, she supposed.

Grim had her thoughts on the strange little dance that Roger performed, and she counted herself fortunate that the mask kept her from showing where her eyes were looking. Otherwise, she would not have been able to deny the fact that she'd let her eyes linger on it for longer than she'd have cared to admit.
"Thanks. I'll put that to good use." She said, her statement terse, but no less genuine. She could feel the power surging through her mind, after all - who wouldn't be grateful for such a boon in a fight like this?

Before she had the chance to put it to more use than with the scorching hellblaze of Dantes's fury, yet more hordes borne from humanity's collective consciousness surged forth into the arena. Briefly, Grim turned to see if it was best to escape or turn her attention on thinning their numbers, but Vivienne solved that problem handily. She did not share whether she thought the woman to be strong or stupid, based on her actions, but the way she focussed on Isabeau with her rifle made it clear that she at least took *her* as a threat.

It was a good thing she did as well. Katsuko had not seen a Megido before, much less taken one, but it was not hard to tell that the area-spanning attack was bad news. Stealth and discretion were discarded in favour of finding cover and creating distance, and Katsuko - with every fibre of strength she could muster - threw herself as far as she could. But even then, and even with Dantes recalled to shield her, the blow sent her flying backwards, flinging her like a ragdoll into the deep, dark, depths of Mementos' shadows.

Katsuko did not reemerge from the dark. One might have thought that she'd fled. Discretion was the better part of valour, after all, and she'd been tossed around like a sheet of paper in a storm. There was no sign of her for a disconcerting number of seconds... until Dantes' spectral form surged out from the shadows near Isabeau, his hand swinging down to strike her with a bludgeon of dark force. No damage was inflicted - not by that. He condemned her, sentenced her to execution by his hand, but there was no damage from it.

That came from the far end of the room, signalled by the echoing THWIP of suppressed gunfire and the dimmed orange flash of a rifle round bursting forth.
"You're unfocussed." Came a voice, clearly Grim's, clearly coming from where the shot had been fired, but still seeming disembodied from how little could be seen of the girl herself. "Undisciplined. Annoying. This hunt was over before it started."
 AS: Persona! Katsuko Yoshinaga has used the Recovery skill Judge on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Katsuko Yoshinaga gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga's turn has ended.
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga: Haze removed!
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga regains 10 SP from Invigorate!
 AS: Take! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Recovery healing from Katsuko Yoshinaga's Judge. Safety! Magical damage reduced!
  | Dark_Break (Dark Affinity Down!) added!
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga spends Limit on Exploit! Katsuko Yoshinaga can use another Weak skill this round!
 AS: Weapon! Katsuko Yoshinaga has used the Pierce skill Skullsplitter on Isabeau Fontaine!

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Kazusa gives Umie a quick nod back in recognition.

"Hey--!" Kazusa stares as Vivienne just backflips away to go and take on a large group of shadows by herself. "You call this supervising!? Ugh. I swear she's going to get herself killed."

... Kazusa's not exactly in any rush to go join her, though.

Instead she turns around to stare at Isabeau as she confirms that ghosts are, in fact, real. There is a long, blank stare and then Kazusa presses the palm of her hand to her forehead. "... Sure. Why not. I hate that that actually makes some kind of sense."

And this is a particular trick of hers, Isabeau explains. "... huh." She glances at the pit again. "... maybe I need to figure out some tricks of my own," she mutters to herself.

"Megi-- Oh no." Kazusa throws herself to the side, acting a lot faster this time, but still the edges of the explosion catch the edge of her clock. "Well if you're going to be like that--" She reaches for the silver clasp around her neck and dramatically throws the cloak off.

She snaps her whip out, wielding with with a grace and dexterity that might be atypical, tracing an elegant pattern in the air in several loops before snapping it out and trying to ensnare Isabeau with it to slow her down. "Now settle down!"
 AS: Weapon! Kazusa Motojima has used the Slash skill Spiral Wrap on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Kazusa Motojima's turn has ended.
  | Kazusa Motojima: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.

        Even if there's a feeling of vlunerability he can't quite describe, Roger is appreciative of the boost given by Kanae with a quick bow.
 
         'You will not, until you look into the mirror.'
 
         "Oh! I can see myself in mirrors," Roger says cheerfully and guilelessly. "I've never seen anything weird or dangerous inside one." Snort. "Should I?"
 
         He looks delighted at the Skill Card invoked. "Oh! I have plenty of those myself. They're a lot of fun!" 'Plenty of those?' There's a handful of those out there who seem to be able to handle more than others. If he's of a Shadow origin, maybe his very being has a bit more wiggle room for that sort of thing...
 
         His eyes widen as he sees more Shadows pass by towards the source of the lure, which is the other one - Vivienne. Will they be okay?
 
         With that Megido manifested, a truly potent spell as Roger tries to squirm and flee. There's a high-pitched 'eeee' as he is promptly blown up and thrown ass-over-teakettle onto his back by that explosion.
 
         When he sits up...
 
         "Huh? Oh! You can use more than one Persona?" His eyes widen to seeing such an incredible sight. "And she really wants to play with everyone now... she's really good!" He says of Isabeau, who will not have it of the 'abomination.'
 
         "Right! My turn!" He says, stepping forward as he leaps and waves his racquet at the passing butterfly, misses, and leaps again with added effort and whirling limbs, smashing it into supernatural stuff as Kamapua'a reappears anew.
 
         "Sonic Punch! Go!"
 
         A cartoonish punching motion - a whirling of an arm, a telegraphed strike by any means - before launching themselves headlong in said punch towards Isabeau with playful impact.
 AS: Persona! Roger has used the Strike skill Sonic Punch on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Roger's turn has ended.
  | Roger regains 8 HP from Regenerate! and 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

        As Noriaki and Kazusa summon their Personas, Joker gives them the side-eye too. Noriaki's an unknown to them, beyond what little they're experiencing in real time and what Umie just told them, but Kazusa... well, it's complicated. Noriaki's is a monster of darkness roiling in a cauldron, while Kazusa's is a woman of half darkness, half light. And Kazusa has a cognitive costume, too...
        
        What's more, Noriaki uses an Evoker, but Kazusa uses a summoning style Joker's never seen before that involves smashing a butterfly. This also appears to be Kazusa's first unhappy encounter with the Evoker style of summoning. When Joker first saw that, they were too caught up in battle to process immediately, but afterwards, they had to sit down a minute about it. They don't envy her this particular new experience.
        
        Kazusa seems to recognize Vivienne--but as a 'woman from the movie theatre.' Interesting. As she calls her Persona to speed her allies, Joekr feels that magic settle into them and their Persona(s). "My thanks," they tell her with another curt nod.
        
        So Umie also fought Vivienne. Well, with Shadows incoming and Vivienne peeling off to hold them at bay, now they'll all get a chance to fight Isabeau after all. How lucky. They may have seen her Rebellion before, but it's her Megido that really puts them off. The explosion strikes, and they're forced to face her rather than go after Vivienne, if they'd been so inclined.
        
        Isabeau claims she has no reason to fear the Reaper. So not only is she strong, she's unfathomably arrogant and short-sighted, Joker interprets it. Just like everyone else in the Wild Hunt, to their view. Maybe they do see her as one of them. Either way, they expect she gets that specifically from her father--much like the Megido, honestly.
        
        Kanae asks Joker if they're here to change Isabeau's heart. "First she would need a heart to change," they quip. But... so she's also a 'Hunter'... just not with the Wild Hunt. Interesting. Even more interesting is when she calls up Ame-no-Uzume. Now there's a nostalgic sight...
        
        Joker's mask lights in blue flame, and Arsène arises to soar in their wake as they charge Isabeau. Their blade erupts with darkness, summoned by their Persona's hand, and they slash it towards her; if it strikes true, that darkness will shoot forth and form a devastating plume of power around her, aiming to take advantage of her compromised Curse defenses, courtesy of Katsuko. (Not that they know that's Katsuko. Also very interesting: how some people in cognitive costumes are easily recognizable as their real-world counterparts, and some just... aren't. That's something to talk to Morgana about later.)
 AS: Tandem! Ren Amamiya has used the Dark skill Unholy Wrath on Isabeau Fontaine! 3 Hits!
 AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
  | Ren Amamiya: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick!
 AS: Kazusa Motojima spends Limit on Help Up! Sick removed from Ren Amamiya! Hyper (Next Attack BoostedIncoming Damage Down!) applied to Ren Amamiya! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!


 AS: Avoid Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 48 Pierce damage from Katsuko Yoshinaga's Skullsplitter.

<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.

Niko makes a sputtering noise when Ate's giant form is repelled by a tiny little fairy. "Oh come on, are you kidding me, that's bullshit!" Not that any of these powers they have make a lick of logical sense, but some things are just... cheating!

As if in response to that word coming to mind, Niko's head suddenly turns sharply to Umie, hearing her mention the Reaper. "Holy shit, shut up! Last thing we need is THAT thing showing up, are you trying to jinx us!?" Spoken like someone who quite obviously has personal experience.

Worse, she would have to admit it's a good point. Everything on this floor clustered together in one place, making this much noise... she's not so sure that makes them the hunters anymore, no matter what Isabeau says. It's only more minor Shadows appearing for now, but... better make sure this fight doesn't go on too long.

Easier said than done, looks like. That fairy Persona is far stronger than it looks in multiple ways, the explosion of Megido impossible to outrun, though Niko gives that her best effort. Knocked to the ground by it in the end, she grits her teeth as she she rises back up. "Nrrgh... I'll teach you to assume things about me!"

That had nothing to do with the original point, but ask her if she cares.

Taking a moment to reply to Kanae's instance on being a Hunter 'not with them', she comes up with a name for that on the fly. "Didn't sound like you were on the same side. In that case, got any plans here, Counter-Hunter?"

As it happens, Kanae does have one. Which is followed by Niko briefly pointing, starting, "That's not--" before lowering her hand. Persona Users with multiple Personas... that's a matter that's Of Interest, but this isn't a time to get distracted. Brute force hasn't been going well for her, so it's time to try something else.

"Hey, you!" she starts, purposely not using Isabeau's name, "You look angry, but I dunno, maybe I'm not getting the message you're trying to send. How about this--"

In the middle of speaking, she fires the Evoker through the side of her head once more. In response, a multitude of colors swirls in Ate's eye sockets as the giant head appears behind Niko again, as she demands, "Tell me how you REALLY feel!"

This may be a challenge, as the mental assault Ate deploys is meant to throw one's emotions into disarray.
 AS: Persona! Niko Kirisaki has used the Almighty skill Illuzone on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Niko Kirisaki gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Niko Kirisaki's turn has ended.

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.

        He is so dirty, is it? "Eh, squeaky-clean's overrated," says the man in the ratty hoodie and the worn jeans and shoes. He shrugs, as if to suggest that the rest of what she's said doesn't so much as hit home: sure, he doesn't have place he owns, just wherever he can put up for the night. It's fair enough.

        Umie calls out to Noriaki and he turns his head in her direction. ...Does she look like the sort to go through trashbags? "Why, you sayin' you ain't been, girly? Seems I recall seeing ya in some dark places!" And he laughs again as if to underline his own sentiment here.

        Like Niko, though, he grows more tight-lipped and sober in the face of the mention of the Reaper. "Cut that shit out, crow-girl," he says, slicing his left hand through the air in Umie's direction.

        He guffaws all the same as Kazusa gapes at his summoning routine. "Just another way of the same, sister! Watch, and learn!" That she goes and gives him a boost soon after has him respond in type with a nod of his hooded head: he doesn't mind if he does receive a little bit of an 'assist'.

        "Tch. Playing dirty, are we?" he remarks, of the spell that Isabeau brings about herself and Vivienne. "I've seen the like before. Niko, magic won't cut it!" And while it means that some of Noriaki's own dirty tricks won't quite cut it, he's hardly out of the running, either.

        But something plucks at the edge of his awareness. "Eh? I didn't call out--"

        There are Shadows here. Lots of them. "Tch. Now here they come!" he grouses, shrugging as the horde makes their route inbound. "Well, so be it! I'll take you all on--"

        And Vivienne backflips out of the way before his spell can touch her, the toy horse flail hitting nothing but air. "Hey, sister, get back here!" he shouts after her, but it's already too late: she's drawing the Shadows and kiting them rather expertly away...

        Noriaki instead rounds towards Isabeau, rolling his right shoulder experimentally. "...Well, fine, then. Girly, you're mine!"

        But Isabeau has a trick up her sleeve. Oh, does she have a trick up her sleeve.

        There is light. There is force. Before him, Efnysien stands a sentinel, and though he and his Persona are both scalded by that otherworldly light, he still stands.

        "Nice trick," he tells her, glancing once in the direction Vivienne had fled into. "...Ya little brat," he finishes, his smile tight-lipped. "Don't think I'm the like to turn and run, just 'cause you broke out the artillery some. Now--"

        "--Efnysien--"

        "--Mess her up!"

        The Persona whirls his flail about overhead, the toy-horse just about singing as the speed picks up. One he looses it, it falls like a meteor towards Isabeau and her Persona.
 AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Strike skill Skull Cracker on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Noriaki Okaga's turn has ended.
 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 32 Strike damage from Roger's Sonic Punch.
  | Haze (Physical and Block Penalized!) added!
 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 52 Dark damage from Ren Amamiya's Unholy Wrath. Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 52 Dark damage from Ren Amamiya's Unholy Wrath. Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 89 Dark damage from Ren Amamiya's Unholy Wrath. Weak! Block Dark!

 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 65 Slash damage from Kazusa Motojima's Spiral Wrap. Critical Hit!
  | Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added! Haze removed! Explosion! 90 damage!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        Unfortunately, like the last time Umie did this trick, it meant being temporarily tied to one person. All Vivienne needed to do was give Umie's weapon a sharp tug before Umie could manipulate her hold, and Umie paid for it.
        
        Here, it's much the same, just with a megido, with the added insult of Isabeau slipping out from Umie's hold..
        
        The white hood of Umie's jacket briefly dips over her eyesight as she gets launched back from Isabeau, falling back in a roll.
        
        There's no question that it isn't power that Isabeau lacks; if Umie holds back, she'll definitely pay for it.
        
        It just means she needs to keep at it.
        
        "... Shall I continue with my critique, as a fellow Persona User?" she murmurs. However, hearing Grim's words, Umie's expression relents, cooling her efforts. She sighs, her expression softening. "... Before you do something you regret. The space between life and death is very short." She remembers the way those doors felt, when they denied her entry, completely uprooting her hasty plan last Sunday. Ren could have died. The idea that she almost did feels like a distant afterthought.
        
        Her eyelids lower, slightly, her eyes flicking to Joker, making sure he's okay. She's the one who brought him into this, in a sense, after all...
        
        Niko's interjection, however, is enough to draw Umie back, as she offers Niko a slowly spreading smile.... which is cut short by Noriaki's interjection. "Why are you getting mad at me for?! She's the one saying she's not afraid" Umie yells. "And what do you mean, 'dark places'?!"
        
        She sighs, and points towards Isabeau, her figure haloed in blue light, the cursed silhouette of the Badb forming behind her. "Yeah, so."
        
        She's... really not at her best, not now, for all she hoped this would get her mind off things. She grimaces.
        
        "There."

 AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Bad Moon Rising on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Umie Akabane takes 45 damage from Stress!
  | Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
  | Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!


 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Almighty damage from Niko Kirisaki's Illuzone. Safety! Magical damage reduced!
  | Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) and Rage (Weapon Attack and Incoming Damage Up!) added!
 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 148 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Skull Cracker. Critical Hit!
  | Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!) added! Charm removed! Explosion! 22.5 damage!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Bad Moon Rising . Weak! Block Dark! Safety! Magical damage reduced!
  | Omen (Damage in 2 rounds!) and Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.

        "What is wrong with an ideal?" Isabeau demands, of Kanae. "Decisions must be made. What is accepted, what cannot be accepted... these are the questions adults ask!"

        She's not an adult, though????

        Kanae, though, has a SURPRISE. And here, a Persona rises -- and she resembles, in some ways, the Shadows which echoed in Chemdah, but there's no mistaking one for the other. Ame-no-Uzume's dance summons pale green power, and Isabeau raises her targe to shield herself as it blasts towards her. It pierces her magical defences, sending her sailing backwards. "Rrrrh... so you can do that, too?" She wonders, as she pulls herself back up. "So you have brought this gift for me... I will crush her, too!" Isabeau's spear spins, as she stabs it, one-two-three, right into Ame-no-Uzume's heart -- no fear of murdering her, she's a cognitive ideal of a woman.

        Isabeau's wide-spread destruction -- and, perhaps, her ridiculous fashion?! -- drive Grim into hiding, but that doesn't mean she's out. Dantes strikes her from an unexpected angle, and she yelps as the Persona STRIKES HER! "WHO DOES THAT?!" She yowls, and it is both confusion over who hit her and outrage that they did. Her ears are ringing, but she rattles her head, and grasps her spear. Struck where she's weakest, she's still not about to back down.

        "Undisciplined?! You know NOTHING of discipline!" Isabeau yells, as she scans the tunnel, trying to find Grim's hiding-place. "I get up early, and I sleep late! Hour after hour of effort do I pour into my passions, to become the best! To see --" THERE. The glint of Grim's viewfinder shows Isabeau what she's looking for, a breath before the rifle fires -- and that's how Isabeau leaps over the bullet, with a lancer's alacrity. She leans back and lobs her spear towards Grim's hiding place, the weapon sailing forward like a javelin -- and she runs forward to wrench it from where it's buried, which may well hurt just as much. "There is no one stronger than me! You cannot hide from me!"

        Before she can follow up on that strike, though, Kazusa's elegant whip entangles Isabeau, pulling her back towards the others so forcefully she even trips on the way -- though she manages to regain her footing. "Settle? I have never settled. Is your blood not pumping, now?" She grins, face split like a knife, as she asks: "Are you not feeling this? It is through battle that you will grasp your power, Kazusa. Go! Summon your Persona!" In a nicer way than Noriaki does, thankfully. "I would see her, now! You will need her power..."

        She frees herself, to glare at Roger. "... to deal with those monsters who would not declare their bad intent," and she's talking about him to Kazusa, which might be the worst part. She at least addresses him personally as she goes on: "Do you, too, not realise the poison inside you? You and that damnable peacock!" Don't tell her father she was swearing please. She's a proper young lady, honest. "You will not charm me! I am the one who is charming! MIELIKKI, SHOW THEM!" And both Kazusa and Roger will suffer it -- the terrible grief of Sexy Dance.

        One notes that, through the magic of mutable action sequences, Sonic Punch punches her out of Sexy Dance's animation and sends her comically sailing off to thud against the wall of the subway tunnel. How is that possible? That's the power of Roger's comedy, baby!

        But we note, here, as Joker silently slips in to strike Isabeau with those knives of theirs -- Isabeau does fear the Darkness. Or perhaps it's better to say...

        ... she fears the oblivion of being forgotten.

        Her stubbornness insists she does not flee from such a blow. She takes her spear in both hands, catching Arsene's daggers on them -- and one, two, she manages to keep the blades from her flesh, but as darkness flames out from them over her, her green eyes widen with alarm and she's thrown backwards. "You... Phantom Thief!" She yells, as she picks herself up. "What of Futaba, then?! Is she dead, or something worse?! Damn you! I threw myself against that Palace, time and again, and it forbade my entry! If you had not distracted us, we would have safeguarded her--! MIELIKKI!" That waspish Persona rises up to summon winds around Joker, lashing their protections away with stinging winds.

        "So, you do fear the Reaper," Isabeau notices, seeing Niko's panic. It isn't fair that the waspish little Mielikki can block Ate's ferocious might, is it? And yet --

        -- and yet, Ate rises, and Isabeau staggers back, a hand grasping at her chest. "... I do not know why you will not listen to me. Do you not realise... no one is coming to help you? When you rely on other people... they will only fail you. All that matters is your own strength!" Anger overwhelms the vulnerability in her gaze, as she grasps her spear tighter. "I am not a BRAT!" She yells, to Noriaki, as Effnysien crashes down -- and Mielikki has to appear to take that one, again, just as she did with Ate. It might seem outrageous how that little wasp with her oversized, borrowed bear claws blocks such a massive, powerful blow...

        ... but it's only through the power of Persona that it doesn't crack Isabeau fully in half.

        It cracks through that gentleness, instead; it leaves rage, there. Badb rises, and Isabeau bears it, stubbornly, despite the fear in her heart. "Who are you, then?! `Arbiter` -- comment dire," she grouses, as she tries to find the word in Japanese, "judge of the space between?!" Between life and death, she means. "All you are is cruel! You are an adult, yet you goaded that wretched girl on as she slapped me, made fun of me amongst those peers! When I had come to help! You, you -- ruin woman!"

        It's Strega and Umie both, who experience the buffeting winds of Magarula, in Isabeau's rage.


 AS: Weapon! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Pierce skill Sentir le Sapin on Kanae Fuyuki! 3 Hits!
  | Defense: Isabeau Fontaine gains 1 Limit!
 AS: >>> You still have 7 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Weapon! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Slash skill Cold-blooded Strike on Katsuko Yoshinaga! 2 Hits!
 AS: >>> You still have 6 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Almighty skill Sexy Dance on Roger and Kazusa Motojima!
  | Isabeau Fontaine takes 90 damage from Panic!
 AS: >>> You still have 5 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Wind skill En Avoir Assez on Ren Amamiya!
 AS: >>> You still have 4 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Persona! Isabeau Fontaine has used the Wind skill Magarula on Umie Akabane, Niko Kirisaki, and Noriaki Okaga!
 AS: >>> You still have 3 regular actions and 0 bonus Weak actions!
 AS: Isabeau Fontaine's turn has ended.
  | Isabeau Fontaine's Magi_Safety tactic expires on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Take! Roger takes 0 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Sexy Dance.
  | Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
 AS: Avoid Worst! Kazusa Motojima takes 0 Almighty damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Sexy Dance.
  | Charm (Attacker or Ally takes Damage!) added!
 AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 16 Wind damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Magarula.
 AS: Block Neutral! Kanae Fuyuki takes 30 Pierce damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Sentir le Sapin.
 AS: Block Best! Kanae Fuyuki takes 14 Pierce damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Sentir le Sapin. Critical Hit!
 AS: Block Best! Kanae Fuyuki takes 11 Pierce damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Sentir le Sapin.
 AS: Avoid Worst! Ren Amamiya takes 89 Wind damage from Isabeau Fontaine's En Avoir Assez. Critical Hit!
  | Spd_Up removed!
 AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 38 Wind damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Magarula.
 AS: Avoid Best! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 10 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Cold-blooded Strike.
  | Panic (Damage when using PersonaTandem!) added!
 AS: Avoid Worst! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 49 Slash damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Cold-blooded Strike.
 AS: Mind Up! Niko Kirisaki's SP +8!
 AS: Block Worst! Niko Kirisaki takes 118 Wind damage from Isabeau Fontaine's Magarula. Critical Hit!
 AS: Roger spends Limit on Shift! Kanae Fuyuki can use another Weak skill this round! Hyper (Next Attack BoostedIncoming Damage Down!) applied to Kanae Fuyuki! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!


 AS: Roger spends Limit on Help Up! Charm removed from Kazusa Motojima! Hyper (Next Attack BoostedIncoming Damage Down!) applied to Kazusa Motojima! They both receive 8 SP and 30 HP!

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.

        The glare grabs Roger's attention as Isabeau works out her feelings and will through stern words, about to deal with the monsters who would not declare their bad intent, speaking of the poison inside him.
 
         "...? I'm feeling great, actually," Roger smiles warmly. "I'm having so much fun with my friends!" His expression softens some. "Are you?"
 
         There is a very charming dance by that fairy-like Persona, and wouldn't you know it, Roger is charmed by this, dancing along with them too. Captivated, even! Like if there weren't supervision by the others, he might dance into the pit, or something, and that would not be ideal. It might even be fatal! He technically is of Shadow origin!
 
         He is mercifully without strange or insipid commentary through most of that sequence, but as the dancing comes to a brief lull...
 
         "Fuyuki-chan!" Roger shouts. "Let's win this game she's playing! Whatever it is...!" He blows a whistle loudly. It's loud! Supernaturally inspiring! "Let's get out there...!"
 
         "Motojima-chan!" He adds additionally mid-charmed stride. "Go on ahead! If you don't want to dance, that's okay, I can do that for both of us!" Is this supposed to dispel from the immense power of the Sexy Dance?! ...Maybe?
 
         "Um! Fontaine-chan...!" Roger's call is clumsy and distracted-sounding, because he really can't stop being fixated on that fun-to-do dance, and she's really striking in the moment. "If you're not having fun, let's play something else... I can think of something!"
 
         He throws up the tennis ball. It bounces off his noggin once. A fault of a serve.
 
         Again! He throws it up, rears back, and delivers a familiar resounding 'thwock' of a well-timed serve, sending that tennis ball spiraling towards her!
 AS: Weapon! Roger has used the Strike skill Ranged - Tennis Ball on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Charm results in party damage! Roger takes 90 damage!
 AS: Roger's turn has ended.
  | Roger: Def_Up and Recovery_Wall removed!
  | Roger regains 8 HP from Regenerate! and 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.

'You can use more than one Persona?' Roger asks, and Kanae nods. "I can," she says. "Igor calls it the 'Wild Card'. ...It's helped me get by on my own all this time."

Grim will make it quick; that's good enough for now, even if it's a little creepy to Kanae. "You OK?" Kanae calls to Kazusa. "Like I said, don't underestimate her!"

But Roger... is adorable. He's helping! At least there's that. "He's not an 'abomination'," Kanae says, "As you'd know, if you paid attention instead of snap judging!"

Joker answers her thought. Or, well, they sort of answer her. Kanae snorts a laugh at the answer. "I guess that's true. But OK, cool." They've done good work... but she can't get Kamoshida insisting on his own suicide out of her head, either. She doesn't want that for Isabeau, for all that she can't stand her.

"Ideals are great!" Kanae shouts back at Isabeau. "But they're not more important than people's lives, or hopes, or dreams! You would've abandoned Me-chan to the wreck of her life, and called it good!"

Accepted, not accepted...

"If that's how adults are, then to hell with adults! I'll never be that way!"

She did hav ea surprise, though. Isabeau's spear spins, and Ame-no-Uzume whirls once again--the spear hits her heart, but she yanks on it and tries to lead Isabeau on a merry chase as she steps back, back, back, leaving spear behind and dancing into nonexistence again.

Blood pumping... "Don't listen to her," Kanae advises Kazusa.

She doesn't understand what Isabeau means about Futaba, but she looks between Joker and Isabeau for a moment. "You've dealt with the Wild Hunt...?"

Counter-hunter! "I know the plan. Now that I've seen where she's vulnerable..."

Roger cheers her on. He even whistles! The game... "Yeah," she says. "Yeah, Roger-kun. We'll win!"

Kanae winces, though. At what Isabeau says to Umie. "...That wasn't cool of her," Kanae agrees about Umie's actions. "But if you weren't such an asshole all the time that girl never would've slapped you! It's like you want us all to hate you!"

"Well, whatever. I'm going to put an end to this." She breathes in slowly, and there's the shattering of glass again. "I call on you, BAPHOMET!"

Another Persona difference; this time, the Persona that emerges is a black-furred demon, seated meditatively in air, one hand up and one holding a flame, his goat head staring directly at Isabeau. A violet circle of power erupts beneath her, an inverted five-point star swirling into place until it locks in position beneath. Then, black flames erupt from the circle directly for Isabeau, meant to drop her out of the fight all at once.

"Now, face me!"

Motes of darkness explode around Isabeau a second time, meant to take advantage of the vulnerability.
GAME: Kanae Fuyuki has assumed form 4, Baphomet!
 AS: Kanae Fuyuki spends Limit on Psych!
 AS: Persona! Kanae Fuyuki has used the Dark skill Mudo on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Kanae Fuyuki gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Persona! Kanae Fuyuki has used the Dark skill Eiha on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Kanae Fuyuki's turn has ended.
  | Kanae Fuyuki: Hyper and Psych removed!
 AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Noriaki Okaga!

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

Roger completely misses the insult. Kazusa pauses and then sighs. "She's trying to insult you, Roger-san. And she isn't here to 'play'! This is serious!"

Why does that word keep sticking out in her memory like that. Something to worry about later.

Kazusa studies Joker for a moment. Like the Evoker, she's also reckoinging with the idea that the Phantom Thieves are, somehow, real. (She at least got that confirmation, she just hadn't seen one before, that she knew of.) But all she can do is register the fact for now and nod back. "Of course."

"I am not your sister," she snaps at Noriaki. "And I don't know what that thing is but it can't be the same thing." There are too many guns in these spaces for her liking.

Kazusa rolls her eyes at Isabeau's words. "Yeah, my blood is pumping because you just tried to blow us all up! And that's not even what 'settle' means in that context!" She scowls. "Stop acting like this is some-- glorious thing you're doing!"

"Yeah, if you've spent five minutes with him you know the only thing he really wants to do is 'play.'" Why does that word keep getting stuck in her head, like there's a memory... later. After a moment she blinks. "... No offense, Roger, but... I mean..."

Mielikki, though, does a sexy dance, and Kazusa blinks as she just stares. "What is she doing--" And then all at once she realizes and flinches back, forgetting to dodge as her face heats up. "Wh-wh-wh-- why would you tell your Persona to do something like that!?"

She's definitely not blushing, and she's definitely not thinking of grabbing her coat so she can just pull the hood up over her face. Think about that later, Kazusa. Like never. Never is good.

Luckily, Roger's cheering distracts her from those thoughts. "You-- you don't have to dance with her! ... Probably." She shakes her head and answers Kanae. "I'm fine!"

"Fine. You want to see my Persona's Power? I know exactly what to show you." A blue butterfly comes drifting by and Kazusa smashes it with her whip. A cloud of blue sparkles form into Mina Harker, rising behind her once more.

"Mina!" she shouts, before pointing at Isabeau. "Help me get some energy back, and then-- use Media!"

Mina hisses, the red eye on her corrupted side glowing. She does not raise her hand, instead she opens her mouth, sharp fangs linging before she lunges to bite at Isaeau and drain her.

Then she backs up and raises her whole, uncorrupted right hand, calling forth calming magics on everyone present.
 AS: Kazusa Motojima spends Limit on Exploit! Kazusa Motojima can use another Weak skill this round!
 AS: Persona! Kazusa Motojima has used the Almighty skill Spirit Drain on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Persona! Kazusa Motojima has used the Recovery skill Media on Umie Akabane, Noriaki Okaga, Niko Kirisaki, and Ren Amamiya!
  | Support: Kazusa Motojima gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Kazusa Motojima's turn has ended.
  | Kazusa Motojima: Loses 8 SP and 24 TP from Sick! Hyper removed!
 AS: Kazusa Motojima spends Limit on Exploit! Kazusa Motojima can use another Weak skill this round!
 AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 131 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Persona! Kazusa Motojima has used the Recovery skill Media on Roger, Kazusa Motojima, Katsuko Yoshinaga, and Kanae Fuyuki!
  | Support: Kazusa Motojima gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Take! Kazusa Motojima takes 105 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 125 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Take! Kanae Fuyuki takes 105 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Take! Roger takes 105 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.

"And look where it's gotten you."
Even with the keen point of a spear bearing down on her, and even as its edge carved a thin line into her neck as she dodged it by the skin of her teeth, Grim had no intention of letting up. Her opponent was of choleric temper - it was only wise to anger her. To unseat and unfocus her, and wait for the most opportune moment to strike. "Anyone can do what you do. But you want to know what the difference is?" Whatever she had to say was left caught in her throat when Isabeau ripped the spear free. It was the backswing that caught her, all but gouging a canyon into her side despite her practically throwing herself out of the way.

Grim hit the ground like a stone, tumbling as she landed heavily against a concrete slab. Pain wracked her, and it took adrenaline-bolstered strength to will herself to her feet. But, even with her body screaming at her to recover after such monumental strikes, she levelled her black and soulless gaze at Isabeau. The impending threat of another vicious, rending, strike was always there, but she pushed through it, speaking with a voice as cold as the edge of Isabeau's spear.
"They don't scream like children when things don't go their way."

Her barb shot at Isabeau like another high-calibre round, Katsuko backed away, seeking to create distance - any kind of distance - between the two of them. Her hand was at her rifle, Dantes gripped a pistol in his off-hand... There was little doubt about what Grim had planned. The only complication was executing it. Isabeau had just as much range as she did, and despite how Grim taunted, she knew Isabeau was sharp enough to suss out where she concealed herself. Fortunately, it wasn't a duel. Others took her attention, and Grim slipped away, determined to buy herself even a second more to adjust.

As she backed away, she noted a figure in a mask, their tousled black hair seeming to draw her eye for all of a split second. She couldn't say why. She didn't even get a sense of deja vu from it. Perhaps it was just how unkempt it seemed to her upon first glance that lingered in her mind. Whatever the case was, Grim didn't look for more than a blink, and focussed her attention back on the fight not long after.

"So if you want to be as good as you say you are, follow her advice. Settle down." Grim continued, nodding briefly at Kazusa in thanks as her wounds began to stitch shut, before finding a spot upon which to perch herself."

Grim darted into the cover of shadow, but not to hide. There was a piece of debris there, likely something that had once been furniture - not the ideal place upon which to steady her rifle, but it would do. There was shade enough to make targetting just a little more difficult, cover enough that she could buy time to steady her aim, and a clear enough line of sight that she could level the barrel against Isabeau for a final, savage, blow. This was what it had all been leading up to, and she had to act fast. The girl was angered - distracted and unfocussed, Grim hoped, but she seemed to possess no less brute strength for it. If she wasn't careful, Grim knew she'd be eating a heft slice of humble pie.

A dark aura, more like smouldering flames dyed black than any symbol of strength, enveloped Grim's rifle. From the shrouded barrel to the end of its stock, the thing was smothered in something that devoured the colour from it - as if its shape had been carved into space, leaving nothing but a void behind. The source became clear, for he emerged from behind Grim, his pistol raised for the finishing blow, his own weapons drowning in that otherworldly essence that Katsuko's were. She spoke again, her voice low, but her tone sharp, like a shard of ice thrust into the heart.

"I am your judge. I am your jury. I am your executioner. And thy sentence... is passed."

Two streaks of black robbed the very life from the space between Grim, Dantes, and Isabeau. Two bullets carved through the air, and into their target. Two bullets imbued with their wrath and hatred, manifesting as some dark and vile power that sought to end the fight in an instant.
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga spends Limit on Exploit! Katsuko Yoshinaga can use another Weak skill this round!
 AS: Take! Niko Kirisaki takes 135 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Take! Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 105 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Tandem! Theurgy! Katsuko Yoshinaga has used the Dark skill Executioner on Isabeau Fontaine! 2 Hits!
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga takes 90 damage from Panic!
 AS: Katsuko Yoshinaga's turn has ended.
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga: Crt_Up and Def_Up removed!
  | Katsuko Yoshinaga regains 10 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

        'Monsters who would not declare their bad intent...' Hearing Isabeau say that about Roger, it suddenly clicks to Joker. They don't know what Roger's deal is, but he has consistently tried to treat her kindly and be friendly to her, yet she's treating him the same as she did Mona, and the Wild Hunt are self-professed monster hunters. In other words, they think because people like Mona and Roger look strange, that means they must be evil creatures to be slain. It doesn't matter what they actually do or say. They've already made up their minds and that's that, because They Know Best and never mind reality.
        
        Typical Wild Hunt, really. Even more typical Isabeau. Joker grows to hate them a little more.
        
        That's when Isabeau demands answers from Joker in regards to Futaba. Their eyes narrow behind their mask. Despite their icy outward demeanor, inside, they boil with fury at her Isabeauness.
        
        There are many things they could say in response, about Futaba, about Isabeau, about the Wild Hunt. There are many arguments they could fall into with her, even as she calls up those tearing winds that whip into them and rip away their defenses by slowing them down until they're pinned and can only raise their weapons in their own defense. Even after it dies down and they can move again, they choose to do the thing they're sure will infuriate her back the most:
        
        They say nothing at all.
        
        It isn't just spite. This is NOT a conversation to be had in mixed company, particularly in front of members of Strega. Potentially even more infuriating to Isabeau, albeit unintentionally on Joker's part, when Kanae observes thatasks if they've crossed paths with the Wild Hunt, they glance sidelong at her. "Some," they reply curtly.
        
        She also goes on to criticize Niko for relying on others because no one will come to help you, and the sheer lack of self-awareness in this assertion is so utterly absurd that Joker can't help but bark a short, sharp laugh. They don't point out that Isabeau is also part of a team and presumably relies on them to come save her as she would presumably go save them if they were in need. She'll find some way to make it so she's right and everyone is just being mean to her for not accepting everything she says as gospel truth, no matter how outrageously false it may be. It's for that reason that while she levels accusations of cruelty against Umie, Joker simply cannot take them at face value.
        
        Seriously, 'I am the one who is charming'? Isabeau, please. Isabeau, PLEASE.
        
        ...Now that Joker has run out of things to be mad at Isabeau about--for this particular second--they spot Kazusa staring at them for a moment, as if to size them up, in the corner of their eye.She remains cordial enough, though, at least enough to cast her healing magic over them and restore some of their lost energy, so it is a moment noticed and allowed to pass. They likewise spot Umie giving them a concerned glance, but she herself seems to be in flagging spirits. They don't blame her for that. This is an exhausting fight, in more ways than one, especially when adding Niko to the mix. They shoot her a sympathetic look and shake their head, as if to tell her, 'Don't let it get to you--no matter how hard it is.'
        
        Arsène rises above Joker anew as they rise to their feet. Their hand splays over their face, casting it in shadow, as blue fire whips at their jacket tails. With silent will, they bid the Great Thief to call up a great whorling orb of darkness to materialize and smash towards Isabeau.

 AS: Take! Ren Amamiya takes 125 Recovery healing from Kazusa Motojima's Media.
 AS: Persona! Ren Amamiya has used the Dark skill Eiga on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Ren Amamiya gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Ren Amamiya's turn has ended.
  | Ren Amamiya: Hyper removed!

 AS: Counter Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 108 Strike damage from Roger's Ranged - Tennis Ball. Critical Hit!
  | COUNTER! Roger takes 50 Strike damage in return for his attack!

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        The mention of her being adult, she doesn't mind. She is. The accusation of her being cruel smarts a little, but of course she is. She's an adult hounding a teenager.

        Her eyes widen, irises narrowing, before she relaxes. It's a quick action.

        'You ruin *everything* you touch, AKABANE-SAN!'
        
        Her expression turns neutral, her gaze, guarded.
        
        (She lets it drop for just a moment to risk letting a smile show at Roger, who tries to continually reach out to Isabeau.)

        ".... That's right," the blonde continues, casually, quietly. "I ruin everything I touch. It's been well-established," she says, with a slight turn to her lips, "so don't exhaust yourself trying to convince me."
        
        Kanae agrees with Isabeau. It makes sense. She's supposed to be the responsible adult here, after all.
        
        --- She catches Joker's look, then, and that expression flags.
        
        Shen takes a moment to breathe, and gives them small but warm smile back, along with a nod, then looks back towards Isabeau.
        
        "If Vivienne wasn't here to deal with the shadows, you would have been hurt," she says now to Isabeau. "She gave you the ability to learn and make mistakes. You have power and force, but you aren't exercising the compassion to use it effectively."
        
        Her eyelids lower. "So I'm the boring adult who comes in and is your problem because of that, as is everyone else."
        
        A half gloved hand motions outwards, with the full weight of the Badb's smile behind her.
        
        "So deal with me, Isabeau Fontaine."

        "I'm your warning."
 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 Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Psych!
 AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Isabeau Fontaine!
 AS: Umie Akabane's turn has ended.
  | Umie Akabane: Psych and Spd_Up removed!
  | Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.

        "I ain't mad," he tells Umie. "I'm just tellin' you, shut it, already." He smiles at her, mirthlessly. "And..." he pauses for a long moment. "...Figure it out, girly."

        He's seen her in quite a few dark places, up to potentially dark doings.

        That is, by the perspective of someone watching from similarly dark corners of the world, anyway.

        But Isabeau insists she's not a brat.

        "Ah?" says Noriaki, a grin returning to that part of his face that's visible under the shadows of his hood. "Not a brat? Tch," he says, shrugging widely, "the brat says she's not a brat! Ain't you just some shitty kid playing at hero? You're just like the rest of these lot," he says, waving a hand broadly. "But it doesn't matter. Come on! Show me what you can do, girl!"

        Kazusa insists that she, meanwhile, is not his sister. "Relax, girly," he tells the same person who had assisted him before. He waves a hand. "It's a Persona, just like yours." He pauses, then laughs at some private joke of his. "Well... nearly like your own!"

        Wind whips about him and Efynisien alike, conjured from Isabeau's Persona. Noriaki's response is to simply leap

        sidelong, Efnysien vanishing,

        and once he's lept through the storm of wind his Persona simply returns to his side. Briefly pocketing his Evoker, Noriaki draws out a bare pill and swallows it, apparently dry. Grimacing only briefly, he's soon the recipient of a healing spell from Kazusa.

        "Heh. I knew you liked me, sister," he tells her with an insouciant shrug once Mina's spell settles around him and eases some of the injury he'd received.

        He draws forth that gun-shaped implement once more, though, and quite neatly jams it up under his chin. "Well, brat, it's been fun," he tells Isabeau, "but I think I've had more than enough of this shit. Efnysien! Take her out!"

        And he squeezes the trigger once, and there the occupant of the magic cauldron casts forth a pulse of soul-searing shadow.

        And he squeezes the trigger again, and this time he's moving, flame cast forth from his Persona onto the long blade of his machete as he cleaves the air before him in a flaming cross that roars towards Isabeau.
 AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Exploit! Noriaki Okaga can use another Weak skill this round!
 AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Dark skill Eiha on Isabeau Fontaine!
  | Aggression: Noriaki Okaga gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Tandem! Noriaki Okaga has used the Fire skill Firebrand on Isabeau Fontaine! 3 Hits!
 AS: Noriaki Okaga's turn has ended.


 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 174 Dark damage from Kanae Fuyuki's Mudo. Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 188 Dark damage from Kanae Fuyuki's Eiha. Weak! Block Dark!
  | Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!

<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.

Isabeau presses Niko on her fear of the Reaper, which perhaps surprisingly doesn't prompt a knee-jerk reaction of denial. Niko crosses her arms, pushing back in a different manner. "Gonna give me shit about that? I don't care what anyone says - there's a difference between being brave and being suicidal."

It seems she did correctly judge that mental attacks aren't as easy to block. Though what it prompts Isabeau to say... Niko raises her eyebrows, briefly wondering whether she actually did manage to dredge up the Hunter's true feelings for a moment there. The thing is, Ate's power is fully chaotic in nature, so even she can't be sure if what just happened meant anything. What she does know is her response to the assertion that in the end, everything comes down to your own strength.

"Preaching to the choir with that one."

Doesn't mean she can't value the presence of some individuals, and prefer not to be without them. Given Isabeau didn't come alone either, and mentioned being part of a group to boot, it doesn't feel as they'd have an argument on the perhaps contradictory way they interpret personal strength.

Not that there really could be any in the end, as rage wins out, and winDs out, in the end. Bracing against the powerful blast of wind ends up doing very little, carrying Niko right off her feet, and into the far wall, then striking the ground hard as well, ending up in a seated position.

She coughs, once, before she vocalizes, with less volume than she'd intended, "That all you got...?" It's obvious enough that didn't leave her in great shape, if that's all the needling she's got. Would've been the perfect time too to goad Isabeau about the delicate equipment she's wearing, how it could end up getting damaged if she keeps getting slammed into walls like this.

And then she's... healed? She's still in it enough to realize it was that really unfittingly dressed girl she made fun of that it, too. That's got to have been a mistake, no way could she have meant to do that. She quickly reaches into her pocket and applies a quick medicine heal. There, if anyone asks, she handled it herself.

Swinging her Evoker around with a motion so casual that she almost misses her own head, Ate is sent forth once again, launching a volley of psycho-kinetic orbs ahead while Niko calmly walks back towards the combat zone, clapping her hands together.

"Ok, ok, I think it's about time we start wrapping things up, things are getting way too serious around here." She gestures at Umie. "I can't listen to Cheater-san over there anymore, I'm getting second-hand depression. And that lady?" She points towards Grim. "No chill whatsoever. Totally harshing my vibes. Where's all the smiles gone, seriously?"

Look, she's smiling. Setting the proper example here.
 AS: Niko Kirisaki spends Limit on Medicine! +75 HP to Niko Kirisaki!
 AS: Persona! Niko Kirisaki has used the Elec skill Furious Psio on Isabeau Fontaine! 3 Hits!
  | Ruin: Niko Kirisaki gains 1 Limit!
 AS: Niko Kirisaki's turn has ended.
  | Niko Kirisaki: Crt_Up and Def_Up removed!

 AS: Take! Isabeau Fontaine takes 37 Almighty SP damage from Kazusa Motojima's Spirit Drain. Drain!

 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 158 Dark damage from Katsuko Yoshinaga's Executioner. Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 225 Dark damage from Katsuko Yoshinaga's Executioner. Critical Hit! Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 346 Dark damage from Ren Amamiya's Eiga. Critical Hit! Weak! Block Dark!
  | Blast (Magic and Block Penalized!) added!

 AS: Block Best! Isabeau Fontaine takes 0 Almighty damage from Umie Akabane's Soul Break.
  | Exhaust (Damage when using WeaponTandem!) added! Rage removed! Explosion! 60 damage!
 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 100 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. Weak! Block Dark!
 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 69 Dark damage from Noriaki Okaga's Eiha. Weak! Block Dark!

 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 53 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. Critical Hit!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 74 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. Critical Hit!
 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 53 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. Critical Hit!
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 48 Elec damage from Niko Kirisaki's Furious Psio.
  | Bind (Magic and Avoid Penalized!) added!
 AS: Block Neutral! Isabeau Fontaine takes 38 Elec damage from Niko Kirisaki's Furious Psio.
 AS: Block Worst! Isabeau Fontaine takes 71 Elec damage from Niko Kirisaki's Furious Psio. Critical Hit!

<Pose Tracker> Isabeau Fontaine has posed.

        "I do not have friends," Isabeau insists, sternly, to Roger. "I am more mature than these children. I have no need for friends -- I have allies."

        Roger suggests another game, though. "I have much fun destroying you!" She insists, but then -- but then--!!

        ROGER SERVES!

        And Isabeau brings her targe up at a sharp angle, to block the tennis ball -- and send it sailing right back into Roger! THWACK!

        "... you could not face me in the court!" She declares, bravely. "You would not dare! In fact, I dare you!"

        Is it really safe to play tennis with a girl who wants to kidnap you, Roger?!

        (But she said the magic word...)

        "It is," Isabeau insists, when Kanae says Roger isn't an abomination. Pernelle told her that wasn't his pronoun set, but Isabeau is far too busy dehumanising him to care. "These Shadows who take adorable faces to make friends with humanity. Do you not realise the dangers of them? What difference is there between it and the Shadows I Hunted just now? Why is it cute? Why does it talk? Where magic violates the mundane, there is danger. I cannot accept it!"

        A snarl crosses her lips, as Kanae points out that she was ready to abandon Kanae's friend. "If Himeki was not able to change her conscious mind, you never should have gone behind her back! These things must be done above the board, or not at all! If that is what you think -- then I will rule Hell, KANAE--!"

        The fact that Kanae can see where Isabeau's hurting really doesn't matter to her, when she's holding all this pain in her heart. She doesn't care that Kanae wouldn't judge so quickly, if only she'd explain it all. All she cares about is -- "FINALLY, YOU GET IT!" Isabeau yells, flourishing with her spear. "That is RIGHT! Hate me, Kanae! I am the villain! I am where the anger comes to nest! That hate strengthens me, hones me, sharpens me! To be strongest, I stand apart!" Baphomet comes -- and this, too, she withstands, as Mielikki flutters out to catch the might of Mudo on her bear claws. She's knocked prone by the weakness--!!

        "This society does not accept me," Isabeau explains Sexy Dance to Kazusa, "so I will make this, too, into my power." Mina bites Isabeau, and Isabeau -- Isabeau arches her neck and embraces the Persona, in that moment. "Ahahahahaha! Wonderful...!" Now, what would that remind someone of?

        She grins, as she looks to Mina's Media. "I can do that, too," she promises her, as she summons: "Mielikki!" That fairy rises up, to scatter healing forest magic over herself and Vivienne, keeping them steady despite the mighty battles they're facing.

        What angered Isabeau, though, was hearing that her works were pedestrian. As she wheels on Grim, she insists: "No one can do as I do!" Despite Grim's hopes, she doesn't seem terribly unfocused or distracted; rather, she moves from opponent to opponent with intensity. What bothers her, though, is being called a child -- too sensitive to the reality that she's the youngest of her team. "Things are going very much my way!" She insists, sourly, though it's only partly true. "I wished for greater opponents, and here you are! When I win, I will bring that abomination to my father, and he will... he will figure something out!" Isabeau, clearly, doesn't know how to handle these cute Shadows. "Perhaps we will STUFF AND MOUNT IT!"

        She glares, burning hot to Grim's chilling ice. "You are no different to me," she accuses her, as she hears her declare herself executioner. "Look to your own theatre, girl." Now, as ever, she meets the blow of that darkness --

        Wrath pierces her first -- and wrath is hers to know; she is knocked into the air by the blow. Next comes hatred, and hatred she has known; has known since she was young -- a thing it is easy to hunger for when it is all that is on offer. This knocks her down, and her honey-blonde curls tangles, as she is blown right into her own pit trap.

        One hand grasps the edge, though. One, and then the other, as slowly -- painfully -- she hauls herself back up. "I am not... done... YET!" She yells, as her spear manifests back in her hand.

        This might not be a conversation to have in mixed company, but Isabeau has run her mouth off enough to give Strega a fascinating glimpse into both the Wild Hunt and the Phantom Thieves' activities, anyway. She dives for Joker, to assault them -- but Eiga meets her, and she finds herself having to withstand that, instead. "DO NOT IGNORE ME!" She screams, in the wake of their silence. "HOW DARE YOU?! I WILL CRUSH YOU!"

        She whirls to face Umie, then. "Viv and I are working together! She is the craftswoman who knows which materials are most valuable to claim! She is not merely -- merely -- MINDING ME!" Isabeau is angry, of course, because it's obvious. One simply doesn't let a teenager do something this dangerous alone. "What do I need compassion for?! It is useless!"

        Umie warns her -- and the Pale Shriek descends, enervating her body, causing the Badb's shriek to blow her against the wall. She lands against it, heavily; she grasps it, with a hand, slamming the butt of her spear against the ground to keep herself up. "Warn me of what?" She taunts her, darkly.

        "I wished to be a hero," Isabeau scowls, to Noriaki. "I tried to save many girls... not all of them died as Futaba died, you know. Kazusa, I could not save her from this knowing, this world we are in now, but she still at least is here. That path, though, it is not mine to grasp... so I will walk another. Is it not better to rule Hell than to serve Heaven?" Hey! She got an idiom right!!

        Once more, darkness comes; once more, she withstands it. She meets that machete with her targe, as well -- and the eye of Ra offers her a shred of protection, in the sense that Noriaki isn't able to carve out anything she needs. What he manages, instead, is to toss her down, and perhaps she'll have to impress him by continuing to manage to get that shield between him and his killing-machete before he's gotten that energy out.

        She rolls away from him, and abjures those orbs of psychic energy with her shield, too -- the last one blowing her down again. "I am growing stronger," she says, to Niko. "Are you not? Is that not enjoyable? This is the most fun any Persona-User can have! They just always make it personal!" You get it, right, Niko?!

        Umie, though, is an oracle of endings; what she has foreseen in the blood washed by the stream is the result which they have anticipated, all these Shadows collected to a point and -- more to the point -- how they've lingered here.

        Isabeau asked what that warning was for. Perhaps she should have seen this coming -- but she's never lingered long enough to feel a thing like this before.

        Death is near...

        Aggressive OST Shift: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFfqT-T3_Pg Persona Q - F.O.E.

        The rattling of chains announces him -- THE REAPER -- he who lurks at the edge of oblivion, a hunter known to his prey. Even Isabeau has to straighten up and take notice, as horror creeps down everyone's spines like ice water poured from a goblet of ill-will. "It really has come...?!"

        Her green gaze is sharp, as she turns back to the others. "This match now is undecided. Past me lies the stairs. Go! Mielikki!" Mielikki rises, again, her waspish power sparkling over them...

        ... but it's the healing motes of Mediarama, now, to knit their wounds and ensure their swift escape.

        Isabeau feels the horror of death clutching at her heart, but still she grasps her spear, spinning it as she turns to face the sound of those rattling chains.

        Don't say...

        ... is Isabeau going to hold the Reaper off?!

        Not even she must think she's that strong--!

        "This buck stops at me," she insists, "for I called you here, and I now will keep this from you." That's not the saying, either, and she's going to get herself killed, did she not hear Niko's wisdom about suicidality --

        -- as she, and anyone foolhardy or concerned enough not to immediately run, witnesses a horrific truth.

        'Megido' is the greatest power Isabeau commands.

        And yet... it is the smallest of the great powers.

        MEGIDOLAON explodes out through the tunnel, tearing DOWN the walls of the subway, reducing the rails of that subway to ash. It is a harsh white light which casts all things in chiaroscuro -- Isabeau's white skin and blonde hair reduced all to shades of grey -- and there is no withstanding it;

        How fortunate, then, that an adult was here. "Time to leave, darlings!" Vivienne calls, as the jotun Skadi skis past, scooping up Isabeau and charging for the stairs. Vivienne is kind enough to scruff any other youth too mesmerised by the annihilation of death to make sure no one meets an untimely end here, should anyone have been left without aid.

        Up the stairs is a rest stop -- a place where they can safely and quickly route back to the entrance. This, Isabeau and Vivienne will do without lingering.

        Though there's one thing they catch from that arrogant young woman, before she catches a ride to the entrance.

        "That was... a power beyond Megido...? I will have it!"

        Oh, no...

<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.

"You're just assuming!" Kanae shouts back of Roger. "You dont' know the answers to those questions any more than I do! But it doesn't have to mean it's bad!"

But Himeki--Isabeau snarls, but Kanae says, "I did NOT go behind her back! I accepted her for who she was! You wouldn't understand, because you're so busy pretending to be something you're NOT!"

But... she gets it, apparently. Isabeau wants her to hate her. "Isabeau..."

It hits her like a slap. That 'truth'. But the rest of what happens--

Grim being awful to Isabeau. Umie insisting she willbe the warning. The matter of being personal--

The Reaper comes. Kanae feels the chill in her heart. That match--

Sure, she gets healing. But--"Isabeau, NO!" Kanae cries, unwilling to leave her. "You can't! You'll die!"

She's far enough back that Megidoloan merely explodes in front of her, not upon her, but Kanae knows she has to go. Thankfully, Vivienne saves her.

"Damn it!" Kanae shouts, "...We have to go!"

She reaches out for Roger and Kazusa in particular--

And throws down the Goho-M she brought for this sort of possibility.

<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.

"I am smiling."
Grim was not, in fact, smiling. Her mask was smiling, however - though that was only in the broadest sense of the word. It was grinning because that was just how skulls looked, not out of any genuine desire to convey joy. She didn't have a retort for the absence of 'chill,' however. The closest she had to that was the chunk of ice in her heart, or the frigid manner with which she addressed Isabeau, screaming and flailing even as a melee engulfed them all.

For Isabeau, her reply was not much longer, but the way in which it was delivered could not have differed more. Niko was regarded with a flat and neutral voice - one that almost seemed disinterested, given that there were more important matters to focus on. But Isabeau claiming that the two were alike... that was enough to drop Grim's voice to a chilling degree, such that the air around her mask seemed to fog with how cold her tone was.
"Don't drag me down to your level. I'm better than you."

'Better' did not mean that she was good enough to fight off the Reaper, however. Katsuko had not had the misfortune of encountering that *thing* - that monstrosity that turned the blood to ice, and quivered the spine until it threatened to quake through one's skin. But she did now. She looked at its hollow gaze, felt its overwhelming presence, and stood before what felt like the embodiment of death itself. Was *that* the thing they had been talking about earlier? Was that the reaper that had scared everyone witless? Quietly, Katsuko admitted she could see why.

She gave no thought to Isabeau's safety. Pitiless to the last, Katsuko backed away wordlessly, perfectly willing to leave the girl to her fate. She only glanced back when she heard an explosion rip the very walls of Mementos apart, but by the time anyone might have thought to look all that was left of her were footprints leading into the dark.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

        Sure enough, Isabeau SCREAMS her fury at being ignored. It's less satisfying than Joker had imagined--especially not when she simply assumes that Futaba is dead and outright tells people so. Kanae even yells at her for assuming things too, albeit about Roger. If Isabeau tried to be a hero and save people before, Joker can easily imagine that it's because she prizes being Right, and being lauded for being Right, over actually helping anyone.
        
        There is one thing to be said in Isabeau's credit. When the Reaper arrives, sure as sin, she decides to heal the people she was just fighting and point them to the stairs to run.
        
        And then face the Reaper, by herself, declaring that she's going to kill it.
        
        Because this isn't compassion; it's stancing on people she sees as weaker than herself. Once again: she prizes being Right over helping people. Facing the Reaper here is just a show to demonstrate how much better she is than all of them, who need to be healed and scurry away like mice while she and she alone takes out Death itself.
        
        ...for all that this is Joker's interpretation of Isabeau's intent, they still curse as that Mediarama restores their energy. "That arrogant idiot!" they growl, stepping up next to Kanae in preparation for an attempt to drag Isabeau away.
        
        They hate Isabeau Fontaine, well and truly. But it's against their principles to just stand aside and let someone die.
        
        As the Megidolaon descends, though, Vivienne leaps in and grabs Isabeau, taking her to safety. The explosion rocks the area, likewise fortunately in front of rather than on them, and they leap back to join Umie.
        
        A Goho-M is already in their hand as they reach out to her. "We're going," they say, and wait only long enough for her to take their hand before they snap the teleportation item up into the air to send them both to safety.

<Pose Tracker> Niko Kirisaki has posed.

Strega certainly has learned some interesting things here, today. It may not always look it, but Niko does pay attention to what goes on around her, so long as it interests her, or it might interest her fellows to hear about. She certainly will remember 'Shadows with adorable faces', and the implication of it towards Roger. Very interesting indeed.

And in regards to Isabeau, the words that may linger longest of all: 'this society does not accept me'. Perhaps, in the end, there is common ground after all.

But she wasn't kidding about being over this fight. She nods with understanding at Isabeau pointing out the good parts of it, and what's ruining the vibes. "I do get it! So, listen, everyone, if we can just all refrain from personal attacks--"

Everyone will just have to keep wondering whether she meant to include Isabeau or, you know, herself in that, because everything changes before she can finish her sentence. Those chains... she blanches at the familiar sound. And then, of course, looks directly at Umie. She doesn't say it, but it's unmistakably a 'this is all your fault' look.

Isabeau announces her intention to hold the Reaper at bay, in flagrant disregard to what Niko said earlier... and Niko doesn't argue, instead motioning a 'let's go' to Noriaki with her head. Though she does leave a few words, before leaving herself, getting her own teleportation item ready.

"Just so you know... if you die, I'll forget about you immediately."

Strange way of encouragement? Perhaps. She thinks it'll work on Isabeau, anyway.

<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.

'I am your judge. I am your jury. I am your executioner. And thy sentence... is passed.'

Kazusa glares at Grim, or at least in the last vague general direction she was able to track the girl to. "Hey-- we're not trying to kill her! I'm not healing you again if you're just going to go around trying to murder somebody."

Okay, yes, Persona Users can take a lot of punishment, but still.

There is a quiet huff at Noriaki. "If you say so," is all she says, about his PErsona being like hers. She doesn't sound convinced. But as for liking him, Kazusa rolls her eyes. "Ugh. Dream on. I'm not doing it because I like you I'm doing it to prove a point."

Kazusa is trying not to put a lot of stock in... much of what Isabeau says, but she's tracking that reference of Himeki and 'me-chan.' That's something she'll have to ask about later, though.

Isabeau says the society does not accept her. "Yeah, and you don't exactly do yourself any favors with how you act!" She was at least a little bit less sharp the day before, when they talked. But she's all riled up right now. And she makes a face when Isabeau embraces Mina. "Okay, ew. You're making this weird. Stop that!" Why is she blushing?

She's simply just embarrassed for Isabeau, surely.

But Mielikki does, in fact, cast Media, and Kazusa hmmms as she observes that. "So you can." She was maybe doubting it a little.

Isabeau brings up Kazusa to Noriaki, and Kazusa herself huffs. "H-hey-- leave me out of this--" She frowns. "Wait, how many other girls?" How long has Isabeau been at this??

But she freezes for just a moment as she hears the rattling of chains. "What in the world is that!?" she shouts. She notes Mediarama--she can do that, but maybe now is not the time-- "You idiot! You're not going to be of any use to your team if you're dead!" She wants to do something for Isabeau, inexplicably, but she's not sure what she can do in the moment--

And she'll breathe a sigh of relief as the older woman snatches Isabeau up, and gladly reach for Kanae to take advantage of her Goho-M.

<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.

        The targe returns the serve, and Roger takes another one to the noggin. (This counts as Isabeau winning the point. Whatever the score, Isabeau's is absolutely not 'Love.')
 
         "Eee," a pathetic squeal of injury as Roger leans back in recoil. In comparison to Isabeau's declarations, there's a simplicity and youthfulness he wears on his sleeve. He is living the truth he wants to live, even if it seems so simple and silly in the complex, many-textured, prismatic mundane world of rules, truths, contradictions, and inevitabilities. He is a Shadow wearing a subtly off human skin, in that his features are well within the range of being 'something a human can be' but still strange.
 
         "Court? ...Oh! Tennis court! Sure! I'd love to play," he says, without hesitation beyond having to rub his head for a new bump from being rallied back.
 
         "...Is it fun to be hated?" He has to wonder, at her dramatic declarations about being 'the villain.' Why would a human want to be something without friends, and be angry at? Maybe this is a question for another human when they aren't deep in Mementos.
 
         Mina's Media helps with some of the recent hurts, earning a teary-eyed 'thank yoooouuuuuu,' but...
 
         Things happen.
 
         "Um!" Roger's eyes widen. "My heart is beating quickly... I think I don't like this."
 
         An instinctual sense that soon he will not be, should the rattling of the chains draw near enough. A hunter known to his prey. There is a Mediarama that doesn't do anything for the mortal fear but it mends the more physical hurts.
 
         "If you do that, we'll never get to play!!" Roger calls - but there is that MEGIDOLAON, and Roger flails as he staggers back. Kanae has to help catch him with that Goho-M. There's a lot for him to take in that he can't quite unpack in the moment. Anxieties, fears... all very strange sensations he's still coming to grips with months after awakening to a Persona and an effectively human psyche that is so full of room, yet chokingly stuffed to the brim with immense baggage that stifles and stings at times.
 
         ...
 
         He might not feel like playing at the Arcade tonight.

<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.

        "Tried, eh?" He once again shrugs. "But failed," he tells her. "That's why the other lady was here, right? Mindin' a brat like you!" He doesn't know the specifics of the situations she details from Adam, so to speak: he at best only has picked up on a smattering of the context here. But it doesn't matter, he sees an opening and...

        Unnerving your foe is an important part of any battle.

        He's nothing but amused at Kazusa. "Whatever, girly," he says, a low laugh rumbling in his throat.

        He's able to close on Isabeau, the shot of darkness perhaps giving him the chance to get in quite close with his blazing weapon. Even so, that targe continuously intrudes between him and his target, right up to the bitter end where she forces him back a few critical inches before she slips melee range and gets away. "Hmph..." he utters, annoyed (or impressed) enough to make no further comment. He'll leave her in this moment for Niko to manage.

        Yet...

        ...what is this...

        ...feeling...?

        Chains rattle close by, in the darkness of Mementos.

        "Shit." Noriaki's no longer smiling now. Pocketing his Evoker, he moves to grab Niko by the wrist, or shoulder, or whatever he can get if she's not already running. As it stands, that proves not necessary: she's caught on to the problem at hand well before he has and is already suggesting what they should do about it.

        "You got something for this?" he calls over at Niko, because there's no prize worth sticking around in a situation like this one. Wait, he wasn't prepared, even after last time...? "Great! Let's go!"

        His life, as little of it as there may be remaining, is still his own to spend, and this isn't how he wants to go. He doesn't look back. Not even when Megidolaon detonates but a relatively short distance behind him as he closes towards Niko.

<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.

        Figure it out, Noriaki says.
        
        Umie doesn't know what to say without digging a deeper hole.
        
        .... unfortunately, circumstances provide the ammunition for the two Strega members.
        
        Rattle rattle.
        Rattle rattle.
        
        Umie makes a face, like she's danced this dance before. Ah, Umie Akabane, what did you do, _what did you do_. ".... Not again. You guys probably already feel that, but we need to get going, _now_."
        
        Niko's look, though? "It's not like I was wanting it to come!!"
        
        She led Joker here, so Joker, fully capable as they are, has become her responsibility to get out. But that isn't the only concern here; it's everyone else, including Isabeau and Vivienne.
        
        She's pleasantly surprised to hear those words echoed in Isabeau, though that feeling is short-lived.
        
        ".... You have the tools in front of you." Her eyelids lower, her tone not completely uncharitable, given it's hard to completely tell if this is simply part of Isabeau's own mask against the world. "The next part is surviving."
        
        Everyone is leaving; by the time Joker is by her, Umie is palming around her own jacket for a Goho-M.
        
        Thankfully, Joker has that part covered. When they offer a hand, Umie takes it without hesitation. "No complaints ther--"

         Her sentence doesn't get finished before they're gone.