2026-09-26: An Unlikely Teamup
- Log: An Unlikely Teamup
- Cast: Katsuko Yoshinaga, Remi Ryuuja, Fuuka Yamagishi
- Where: Shinichi's Atelier, Fabric of Reality
- OOC Date: September 26, 2026
- IC Date: Tuesday, January 15, 2013
- Summary: Three separate Persona Users enter Shinichi's Atelier on their own to scout, and end up teaming up to explore it together. They make some concerning discoveries.
(|========================== Aoyama-Itchome Station ==========================|)
-==================================================== Tokyo/Aoyama-Itchome ====-
A crowded train station leads to sunny streets and colorful businesses, but this
is an illusion of freedom. Your perspective narrows as you continue to walk, no
matter whether you turn down the main walk or cut through the alleyways. Darker
shadows line the way, past the temptation of vending machines, as the gates and
higher walls of the building come into view.
March along with your fellow students to your destination, some few of whom
understand that society forces them to consign themselves each day to
imprisonment. The kanji for 'Shujin' in local prep school Shujin Academy means
'Utmost Excellence,' but it also sounds like the word for 'Prisoner.' That
wordplay is all too apt, concealing in plain sight the fact that you are a
prisoner here for six days a week and the majority of your waking hours...
And then you go home.
AS: Remi Ryuuja has readied for combat as La Maupin! She is now fully healed!
MONAD: A party led by Katsuko Yoshinaga has begun the event Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho.
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 1 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: In These Halls, Terror |
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor |
| Arcana., and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjYxvF-J7Fo
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
You appear in what looks like a darkened school hallway. Shine some light on
a bulletin board though and you can see that this is actually Our Lady of
the Holy Stoat Middle School, in the town of Mikage-Cho.
But it looks like it's been abandoned for months. The only light on down the
hallway flickers pathetically every so often, the classroom doors won't
open, and even if forced open, one runs into a great barricade of debris
behind each of them.
With whispers and whimpers behind them, shushes and calls for quiet. One may
see why in short order. Flegmat Humors wander these halls, mumbling, their
forms taking the shape of huge sickly Oni with unkempt purple manes,
dragging clubs behind them. Dog-headed ones half their size flanking them.
They look like demons- demons from that time, but warped, as if to fit some
half-remembered watercolor of them.
If you listen to their mumbles long enough, you may pick out the words for
'Filial Piety' and 'Divine Punishment' at least, as they wander the
labyrinthine halls, eyes glassy. If one enters their field of vision, then
they freeze, then begin to charge, screaming expletives and swinging their
clubs wildly.
In order to get past them, you must expertly navigate these halls through
the occasionally posted, confusing floor plans, keeping out of sight.
Of course, you could just fight them, but that'd be an exhausting slog, and
energy you can't afford to expend here at the beginning.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
The place was a far cry from the grand architecture and sweeping scenery of Kazusa's Atelier - Shinichi's was, in no uncertain terms, a derelict mess. Every inch of it was drowned in shadow that robbed those who entered of their sight, with the pathetic flickering of a distant bulb the closest thing to a beacon that Grim could see in that abandoned place. Hulking monstrosities, be they purple-maned behemoths or dog-headed beasts, stalked through the place, muttering words that Katsuko had to strain to hear above the ambient noise of the Atelier.
The sensible part of her regretted coming alone. If she fell there, she would fall without hope of rescue. But she needed stealth and finesse to scout the place, and the more people that came with her, the more that she risked being caught out. Those blackened halls served as fine example for her point. She could steal through the shadows, clinging to walls and ducking around enemy combatants, weaving her way towards the next area, and not have to worry about dragging others along with her. It was better, she told herself, despite the danger.
Shadowed eyes darted across the floor plans whenever they appeared. Every corner was committed to memory, every label and detail studied for a hint of a way through. Each plan was cross-referenced with its predecessors, and then again with the one she'd been drawing in her mind. Slowly, she began to build something clear in her mind. All that was left was to make her way into the halls proper, and put her knowledge to the test.
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has acted with Infer toward In These Halls, Terror! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Tsurugi also came alone--though with her power and capability, she is confident in her ability to navigate a supernatural space--at least enough to get the lay out the land. She could always draw back if the need arose, and she had some particular tools at her disposal to help with that.
But there were many kinds of supernatural curiosities out there, and she needed to understand as many of them as she could. While she was glad to lend her aid to Miyu in her pursuit for power, there were yet more things she wished to know and understand.
What might she find, that she could make her own, should the need arise?
It was a tight fit, managing the wardrobe change in the net cafe's booth, but she managed.
A tall woman in a dark black fencing suit stepped carefully into the Atelier, her face completely hidden by a black mask. On her right thigh a holster, her left hip a rapier, and behind her a pouch (and another sheathed dagger.)
She quickly scanned her surroundings, looking at the fog, the building maps, noting the barricaded doors, the monsters roaming about. Mmm. She could spend her time evading the patrols... or she could cut a path directly to the exit.
In a rush of red flame La Maupin rises beside her, and both of them draw their rapiers as they charge down the hallway. Even without speaking, the two are fast and deadly as they cut a path towards the closest exit, using their teamwork and coordinated strikes to overwhelm and take down the patrols.
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has acted with Dramatis Persona toward In These Halls, Terror! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka has been in contact with Kazusa Motojima regarding the situation with Shinichi - and now that a way into his Atelier has been discovered, the relevant information has been passed to her. And through her, to the rest of SEES - though Fuuka informed them that she intended to do some scouting ahead.
That's what brings her here now, to this strange darkened school hallway. It's ominous. It seems to extend onward for eternity.
...It reminds her far too much of the first block of Tartarus, in a way - but with Humors, rather than the mindless masses that roam those halls. She's just glad it's not the second. There are still some things related to that unresolved.
She shuts her eyes, expanding her mind throughout the many hallways of the school they find themselves in. She hears their voices, as clear as if she were right next to them.
And, more importantly... she can sense people. She isn't the only one who's decided to scout it alone. She had intended to go no further than the entrance, but... if they're all here at the same time, wouldn't it be better to go together? She reaches out to them mentally.
...Can you hear me? Fuuka's voice can be heard in their minds. This place is full of dangerous creatures... Please allow me to guide you. I believe we should work together.
If they accept her help, they'll be able to get a better view of the area, and where the enemies are.
For Fuuka, of course, this is not her first time sneaking through unknown halls of hostile creatures.
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has acted with Bookworm toward In These Halls, Terror! Escape and Smarts! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== In These Halls, Terror - Round 1 ======================================- Fuuka Yamagishi Academics Success Bookworm Escape and Smarts Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remi Ryuuja Proficiency Success Dramatis Persona Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Katsuko Yoshinaga Academics Success Infer Specialty Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Ineptitude-2, Shuffle: Wand-0, and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Ineptitude-1 and Stupor-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
While she did not appreciate having a stranger's voice in her head, Grim couldn't deny that the prospect of picking her way through the entire Atelier by herself was not an especially good idea. Not when such dangerous things lurked in just the very first area.
"Fine." She muttered near-silently. "We meet at the exit. Don't expect any responses until I'm clear."
True to her word, Grim was quiet as the grave, and combined with Dantes' abilities shielding her from view, the Humours saw nothing more than a shifting shadow - something that could easily have been dismissed by the flickering of a bulb, or some wayward debris fluttering in a draught. It certainly helped that no shortage of them were distracted by the blazing strikes of a woman carving her way through their number. They shouted and clamoured and roared, rushing towards her in disparate groups... But none could so much as land a glancing blow. For all their efforts, they could not stop Tsurugi and her Persona from searing a path towards the exit. So great was the distraction that vanishingly few lay in Fuuka's path as well, and even they were too distracted with finding their way to the most obvious threat that - even if they did spot her - she was completely ignored.
Grim regarded her with a silent, stoic, gaze. She said nothing for a moment, thinking and analysing, then spoke in that flat tone she used so often.
"You're the one that fought the Yuki-Onna." She said bluntly. Clearly, she recognised Tsurugi - and likely remembered everything she'd heard that night as well. Nevertheless, there was no hostility to her voice, nor her actions. "Whoever that was, that was speaking to us, was probably right. We've a better chance of getting through this place together."
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 2 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing |
| Approach Options: Academics or Charm |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, |
| Stupor - Academics Down L1, and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
Once out of the school, a little origami angel-spirit floats towards you to
get your attention. Those familiar will recognize it as a part of Peacock
Silk Navigator Yanagi Nagisa's Persona, Giselle. Once it has your attention,
it floats away, appearing and disappearing, to guide you in a certain
direction.
Soon enough, it brings you to Yanagi herself, resplendent in her
brilliantly-colored Transmutation with her rainbow skirts, sunset pink hair,
and peacock green eyes. She smiles at you as her needle-limbed Persona
pirouettes behind her, and points towards a particularly thick patch of fog.
"Over there is St. Hermelin High School. Use it for a secret passage to the
core of this Atelier," she tells you.
So you go... but the fog doesn't lighten any. In fact, it gets only thicker
and colder... until...
"HEE-HO!" "HEE-HO!" "HEE-HOHOHO, WE GOT 'EM NOW, BOYS!"
Several misshapen Jack Frost Humors leap up to surround your group and
freeze the ground beneath your feet solid!! The slick footing makes it near
impossible to fight back effectively as they swoop in to attack--but the
suddenness also means it's not an even freeze. If you can identify a solid
enough launching point, maybe you can use the ice in your favor to make a
hasty getaway. Otherwise, maybe you can (ahem) /snow/ these Frosts by
complimenting them on how sneaky their ambush was?
Either way, afterwards, one of those little origami spirits floats down
before you and unfolds into animation paper that displays the following
message:
/Sorry, the high school was a lie. Good luck! <3/
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Tsurugi, of course, is used to working with a Navigator. Just don't ask who that Navigator is or where she's at at the moment. She only pauses a moment when she hears Fuuka's voice. I am receiving you, she sends back, by reflex. An offer of guidance comes. ... Acknowledged. Awaiting further guidance.
She's just so... rote and formal about it. Disciplined. This may or may not be at all like it is with her fellow SEES members, but it might be a hint into how long Tsurugi has been at this.
I will converge on your position, she sends back after the layout is given. She at least knows she can send messages back through the link.
She will even help protect Fuuka the rest of the way out.
She nods to Grim when they all eventually converge. "Yes." She did fight the Yuki-Onna. 'Whoever that was.' Tsurugi inclines her head to Fuuka. "That would be the Navigator. Fuuka Yamagshi, correct?"
And just then, a small origami angel-spirit floats up to them tog get their attention. Having seen Yanagi at work in Akihabara, she can now recognize it. "... The Navigator affiliated with Peacock Silk."
Shinichi Nagisa, Yanagi Nagisa. She can make an educated guesses about the connection between the two.
And soon enough is the Navigator in the flesh, decked out in her brilliantly-colored Transmutation guise. Tsurugi gives her a flat stare but doesn't say anything, as she starts to speak.
"Over there is St. Hermelin High School. Use it for a secret passage to the core of this Atelier," she tells the group. Tsurugi nods, and sets out in the lead.
"Yamagishi-san. Can you detect this passage?" she asks, after a while.
The fog isn't lighting up, and it's getting colder, and colder, and soon the reason becomes clear.
"HEE-HO! HEE-HO!" Several Jack Frosts leap out and freeze the ground beneath them to try and trap them in place.
Behind her mask, Tsurugi's eyes narrow as the Jack Frosts come into view. To the others, she notes, through Fuuka's link, ... they are misshapen. Their form is not quite right.
Out loud, she says, her voice suddenly switching from its flat, stoic demeanor to something much more warm and rich. "My, my. Well, done. Our wits were certainly no match for yors. Please, tell me, what do you plan to do now that you have captured us?"
She's trying to keep their attention on her to give the others a chance to take action.
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has acted with Flattery toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Friendliness and Efficient!
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Alright. Fuuka replies to Katsuko, as if she can hear her even from this distance. Tsurugi, meanwhile, doesn't seem surprised to hear her. She's used to having people heed her guidance, and SEES is pretty organized... but there's something about the way Tsurugi responds that's a little unnerving.
While guiding the others she makes her way through carefully without incident herself and, soon enough, finds the ones she spoke to. Grim... and Tsurugi. The former she recognizes from the fight against Kazusa's Homunculus... and the latter, as one of the masked women they've fought before... and, in some instances, fought alongside.
Most relevant right now, she was there for the night of her Awakening. For that reason, she's willing to give her more lenience than most might.
"Hello. Yes, that's correct. Um, you're... Tsurugi-san, correct?" Fuuka confirms with a polite bow toward her and Grim both. "It's... nice to see the both of you again."
As they exit the school, they find an angel-spirit floating toward them. Fuuka studies it for a moment.
"That's... Nagisa-san?" She considers. It feels like her - and sure enough, they find her.
A secret passage... It would be convenient if such a thing existed.
"I'll scan the area for it." She replies.
They proceed... and as they do, it gets colder and colder, until...!
Hee-ho.
Jack Frosts appear to menace the party! Normally, she finds them delightful, if a little unsettling, but right now...
...I feel it too. Fuuka confirms. Tsurugi engages them - and while she has their attention, Fuuka conducts her scan. The ice...
...The slippery terrain might work against us... but I think we can use it to our advantage, too. There's enough of an incline that we can slide across it to pick up speed. Fuuka observes, where the Jack Frosts can't hear.
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has acted with Academics toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
"Yamagishi-san." Grim said in greeting, once Fuuka appeared in person. Standing in the light - or, rather, whatever passed for light in that dimly-lit mess of passageways - Grim's full figure was clear to see. Her identity, however, was not. Cloaked both by the Will of Rebellion and the mask that seemed all but fused to her face, she may as well have been a wraith stalking the Atelier for all that could be gleaned about her. "Thanks for the help. Any idea what else is in there?" Getting straight to brass tacks was perhaps not the most tactful approach, but Grim was there on business. There would be ample time for niceties once she was Katsuko again.
St Hermelin... Where had she heard the name before? Katsuko vaguely recalled something about it, but the memory was too distant and faded to be of any use. Not that she thought about it hard, or for long. Some strange, little, thing made itself known to the group, fluttering in the air before them in what was no doubt an attempt at grabbing their attention. Grim had her doubts about following it, but options were limited, and Tsurugi seemed to know the Persona from sight alone. While she didn't trust Tsurugi, she trusted that nobody present was there to kill the other.
Probably.
Grim didn't know if she wanted to believe Yanagi. The convenience of it roused her suspicions, and left her with her gaze boring into the woman, searching for any blatant signs of deception. Perhaps there were some present, perhaps not. She hadn't the time to figure it out, as Tsurugi took her at her word and followed along. Unwilling to split the group, and a little confident that Tsurugi was not the sort to trust blindly - especially since the two seemed to know each other to one degree or another - she followed along.
"Nagisa-san? Any relation to Shinichi Nagisa?" She asked, speaking once they were on the move again. It was hardly an uncommon family name, so it might have just been a coincidence, but it was worth asking all the same. There was every chance the intel could prove useful later on down the line. For now, however, making their way through the fog took priority. Grim drew her coat in as the cold grew, clenching her teeth a little as what few wisps of breath escaped her mask manifested as tendrils of vapour. A thick puff of it emerged from her when she realised - much to her consternation - that they'd blundered into a trap.
It was one thing to fall afoul of a person. It was another to do so with Jack Frosts, of all things. Those giggling little gremlins were at the perfect height for punting, Grim found herself thinking, and she might have put that notion to the test were it not for the fact that she was on rather precarious ground. Precarious enough to stop her in her tracks lest she trip and make herself more vulnerable, at least. Tsurugi created a distraction before she could act, and Fuuka's analysis helped to narrow down the available options. All that was left was to act on both.
"Just need the right angle." Katsuko muttered to Fuuka, keeping her voice low enough that Tsurugi's distraction, as well as the assorted hee-s and ho-s, kept her from being overheard. "Need to focus... We've only got one shot." She braced, she lowered, she took up a stance that spread her weight. Then, as soon as the others moved, so did she.
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has acted with Academics toward The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing! Base! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== The Future Promise I Walked By, Missing - Round 2 =====================- Fuuka Yamagishi Academics Success Academics Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remi Ryuuja Charm Success Flattery Friendliness and Efficient Fatigue: 0 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Katsuko Yoshinaga Academics Failure Academics Base Fatigue: 2 Morale: 2 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-2, Ineptitude-1, Stupor-1, and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Bothersome-1 and Stupor-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Tsurugi nods. "... yes," she says, as Fuuka identifies her codename. "'Tsurugi' will suffice." The bow is returned with a nod of her head. She looks to Grim and inclines her head. "Grim."
Fuuka will scan... but of course, there will be no shortcut, as they'll find out shortly.
Grim asks about the connection to Shinichi. "It seems probable. Though..." She is curious what might be going on here. Is this the type of unencumbered life she would want? The kind of shackle she would seek out?
Then again, if she was doing this because she wanted to, then... is that all that inconsistent, in the end?
"... no matter." If Fuuka knows more, it will be up to her to provide it.
Fuuka scouts them a path out. Affirmative, she responds. She's got the attention of the Jack Frosts, though Grim's shot doesn't go quite as planned. But Tsurugi can hold their attention again for a second one, and once they're all free they can slide down the hill and out of the way.
Tsurugi glances to Grim once they're clear of the danger. "... you should use the Navigator Link when it is available."
And it is only then that another origami spirit appraoches and unfolds itself into a message. Tsurugi reads it... and scowls. "Grrr. What are you playing at?" She looks to Fuuka. "... can you get us back on course?"
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 3 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: Taking Cover Below, We Huddle in the Dark |
| Approach Options: Academics or Guts |
| Conditions: Bothersome - Charm Down L1, Box - Add 1 Item/Money/Gear., |
| Scary - Guts Down L1, Stupor - Academics Down L1, and Stupor - Academics |
| Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
A sign for the subway guides you out of the fog and down the brick-walled
stairs to a gloomy, dilapidated station. It's eerily empty and quiet, with
shadows longer than they should be... but empty also means there's a respite
from Shadow attacks.
However, once you jump the turnstiles and inspect the rails, you'll soon
find that the trains are out of service due to being wrecked and upended,
and the tunnels are nearly all buried in rubble. However, there is /one/
tunnel that's only half-buried; the twisted remains of a train bound towards
Mikage Hospital provide a narrow path through to the other side.
Conveniently, that is your destination.
It really is a narrow path, though. The train car's steel is warped and
dented, and the rubble outside threatens to collapse through the broken
windows and bury it--and you--the rest of the way. Do you take a moment to
study the layout and identify the safest way through, or do you boldly forge
ahead as quickly as possible?
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka nods back to Grim and then looks toward Tsurugi. She hesitates for a moment as she insists on just Tsurugi... but she nods.
Fuuka scans - and it's clear that something seems a little off to her when she, indeed, turns up no shortcut. ...Is there something missing? It's highly possible Yanagi knows something she doesn't... And as for her connection to Shinichi...
"I've never met him, but... yes, it's possible." Fuuka considers. Seeing Yanagi here in the Atelier doesn't mean anything exactly - she's aware she and her people have an interest in them.
They manage to escape the Jack Frosts, and sure enough... There's no shortcut. Just one of Yanagi's spirits telling them that the high school was a lie.
"...Why would she do that?" Fuuka asks, pouting a little. The lie stings... but it's a valuable reminder that she really should trust her own judgment. She nods toward Tsurugi. "...Yes. Give me a moment."
She's able to put them back on course. There's a subway that should allow them to get out of this fog. But at the same time...
"...Be careful - there's an obstruction." She warns. ...It's a little eerie down here, in this abandoned subway. The shadows loom. But thankfully, it's free of Shadows - but before long, they see the 'obstruction' Fuuka mentioned. The trains are wrecked and up-ended, and there's only one tunnel left...
In fact, at a glance, it might seem like it's inaccessible.
"Um... it doesn't look like it, but there is a path through it." Fuuka explains. "We'll have to be careful, though... but quick, too."
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has acted with Analytical toward Taking Cover Below, We Huddle in the Dark! Automap!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Grim nodded back at Fuuka's confirmation of the possibility.
"I'll keep my eyes open for any more links. If there's any relation, we might be able to use that to our advantage." It was perhaps a little cold of her to say it, but it was their lives - and Shinichi's - on the line.
Inwardly, Grim cursed her luck when it came to esaping the Jack Frosts. She was certain she'd calculated the best way to approach, the best angle, the way her weight should have been distributed, and everything else she needed. But when put into practice, everything collapsed, and so did she. Tsurugi's efforts kept her from getting attacked, but it was small comfort. Outwardly, Grim simply cursed. It came out as a quiet hiss, more an expression of surprise and frustration than any kind of pain, but the end result was the same. She salvaged what dignity she could by raising quickly to her feet, she dusted herself off, and then refused to speak about it.
"Understood." Grim said plainly back to Tsurugi. No need to dwell on the subject any longer than she had to. If half the things that had been said about Tsurugi were true, there was plenty about the woman to take umbrage with, but she at least seemed to be a professional that knew how to conduct herself. That was something Grim could respect. Someone that had not gained her respect, however, was Yanagi. "A trick...? What's she got to gain from doing that...?" Grim asked, more questioning than disbelieving. The question, to her, wasn't if there was a scheme running - it was what kind of scheme was running.
"An Ateleir is supposed to be a reflection of someone's soul and memories, isn't it?" Grim asked. It was a rhetorical question - and a rather oversimplified one at that - but the crude explanation would have to do, for the sake of time. "Then why so much ruin? Why this?" Was it metaphorical, and a representation of something Shinichi - not the parasite puppeteering his skin - felt? A literal insight into a part of his past? She didn't know Shinichi well enoguh to weigh in on it, but if either of the others had any thoughts, she was keen to hear them.
"I see it." She said, when Fuuka pointed out the path forward. Beneath the mask, sharp eyes darted from point to point, drawing lines in her mind to map the way forward. Stay light on your feet and keep moving. Last thing we need's to be trapped here."
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has acted with Infer toward Taking Cover Below, We Huddle in the Dark! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
"I do not know.," Tsurugi says to Fuuka. It's entirely possible Yanagi did that to take a swipe at her--their history isn't exactly the most positive, after all.
She'll have to remember to stay on her guard, around Yanagi.
She will trust Fuuka's judgement in putting them back on track, though. "Very well."
There is plenty to take umbrage with Tsurugi out. But, bewilderingly, she has also seemingly seemed to help the greater good. Is that of her own will? Part of some grand scheme or plot? Who could say, at this point.
As for the ruin Grim speculates on... "I do not know. Mikage-cho was the sight of a horrific accident. It might bear looking into." It's their destination, and she can make a guess from the subway station and the elementary school that the have encountered and are about to encounter.
They make their way... to a subway. Tsurugi frowns behind her mask as she studies the wreckage. She looks when Fuuka points out the seemingly unlikely path. "... good. Then it would be best to move quickly and stay light on our feet. I will take point--track my path, so you two may follow."
She summons La Maupin for a quick cast of Sukukaja, winds rushing up to envelop her... and then she stares straight ahead as she charges down that route., moving swiftly. La Maupin will also give the same buff to Grim and Fuuka when they make their go at it.
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has acted with Unflinching Stare toward Taking Cover Below, We Huddle in the Dark! Focus and Patra! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== Taking Cover Below, We Huddle in the Dark - Round 3 ===================- Fuuka Yamagishi Guts Failure Analytical Automap Fatigue: 2 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remi Ryuuja Guts Success Unflinching Stare Focus and Patra Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Katsuko Yoshinaga Academics Success Infer Specialty Fatigue: 2 Morale: 4 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Bothersome-1, Box-0, Scary-2, Stupor-1, and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Scary-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 1, Money: 0, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka hesitates just a little at Grim's cold response, but... she supposed she should expect that from someone codenamed Grim.
"...Okay. Keep us informed." She replies with a nod.
at does Yanagi stand to gain from tricking them? Grim raises another good point. An Atelier reflects someone's soul and memories, so what does it say that Shinichi's looks like this?
Tsurugi explains that Mikage-cho was the site of a horrific accident, then.
"...Did he... witness it, then, perhaps? If it looked anything half like this in reality... I can see how the sight would stick with one so thoroughly it reflects in their inner world." Fuuka considers thoughtfully.
Grim and Tsurugi follow her guidance. The pathway she finds is real, and the two of them are agile enough to make it through the twisted passageway with little difficult.
Fuuka has taken all the variables in mind. All the possible risks and challenges they might face as they cross through the collapsed car to the otherside. Everything except for one, small detail.
...Her own relative lack of athletics. This work is good for exercise, but being a Navigator - and one who supports from the back row, besides - means she doesn't do as much of the upfront fighting and so...
"Ah..." Fuuka pauses hesitantly. She quails a little, and then admits with a hint of embarrassment... "...I'm stuck. Please help me."
They'll need to double back and bail her out - but they still make good time, even considering that.
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 4 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Guts |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Curse - -1 to Group Roll (Per |
| Character), Scary - Guts Down L1, and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
Eventually you come to a towering hospital, shrouded in mist. A single
window on the third floor flickers with a glowing shade of crimson,
eternally lit in the night.
The hospital lobby looks welcoming, but perhaps a side entrance would be the
best approach.
Pushing through a half-cracked door, it begins to creak behind you. And who
should you see then, but the Homunculus, in a ball cap and faded coat, with
a hood draped over its top.
Right before he casually brings up an arm, and pulls the fire alarm, tearing
it out of the wall as he does so, letting it dangle on so many wires.
A horrendous ringing overhead occurs, as an announcement on the loudspeaker
cries out: "CODE RED! FIRST FLOOR HALL!" And countless howls answer it.
He then turns and begins to walk away, any attempt to come after him cut off
by countless doors bursting open.
Melanc Humors dressed as Orderlies in padded armor, wielding sticks the size
of people, numerous Coleric Humor Zombies swarm your way.
You can try to fight them all, but it will be an enormous slog with that
alarm still going off. Or you could always try to disable the alarm- or if
not that, then finding a place to hide until it's over.
The choice is yours
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
"Understood. I'll make a note of it." Grim said, curtly acknowledging Tsurugi's suggestion. Her response was short more out of professionalism than any desire to be rude. They had a job to do, after all, and looking up the Mikage-cho incident was something that could wait until after they weren't in a life-or-death situation. Fuuka's response left Grim completely quiet, however. No response came for a tense few seconds, but there was no telling what she was thinking with that mask shrouding even the faintest hint of an expression. "...More than you know." She eventually said, hoping to confirm Fuuka's assessment - but dissuade any inquiry into her own knowledge with a warning tone.
Grim darted behind Tsurugi, always a step behind, but never more than two. Once more, she was like a shadow, but more in the sense that she kept close and followed the path near-flawlessly. The only time she stopped was when she heard Fuuka's distress, but the pause lasted no more than a moment. She turned, darted in, and heaved her up with whatever strength her supernatural gifts allowed. "Come on. Not far now." She said, only letting go once she was certain the both of them were on stable ground.
The approach into the hospital was a quick and quiet one. No need to draw more attention than they had to - brute forcing their way in could wait until the final assault. This was just a scouting mission, and for that, the side entrance was more than enough. But when she sighted Shinichi's Homunculus, Grim couldn't help but ready her rifle, preparing for a confrontation with that wretched thing. Her taloned gloves hid it, but the her knuckles grew just a shade whiter than they might normally have, and her stance was just a touch more tense than it had been against Kazusa's.
"Careful. That's the Hom-"
Blaring alarms cut Grim off before she could finish, and a grunt of abject frustration escaped past her mask. "Damn it. No way through." She spat, bringing the barrel of her gun to bear, and summoning Dantes to the fore. "Yamagishi-san, we need a route out, or somewhere to hide. "Tsurugi-san. Help me buy her some time. I have no intention of letting some jumped-up corpses stop us."
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has acted with Vow toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Focus and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Fuuka wonders if Shinichi saw the accident. "... perhaps. It could explain why the demons are misshapen. An artifact of recall, perhaps. Or the suppression of the supernatural from the conscious memory."
She will, of course, go back for Fuuka. And she won't even make any remark about it.
She stops, to look at the red light in the window. "... the only light in the entire hospital..." she murmurs. That must be their target.
They step inside and-- the hooded figure. Tsurugi starts to sprint forward--only for the alarm to get pulled first. She skids to a stop as her head whips around to track the noises. Not ideal.
She's one step ahead of Grim as she pulls her Evoker out. "La Maupin!" she calls out, and her Persona rises up beside her, in a straightjacket with sleeves unbound, clutching a tattered rapier through the sleeve.
Her own rapier is out in the next instant--Grim might appreciate that it has an ice motif, along with the ice-motifed crest on the chest of her fencing suit.
"Go with the Navigator when she finds a path, I will bring up the rear!" she replies to Grim.
It's not ice that she summons forth, though, but fire. Both the blades of La Maupin and Tsurugi ignite, and the two begin a deadly dance as they rush forward to take on the oncoming hordes.
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has acted with Dramatis Persona toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
'More than she knows'... A frown crosses Fuuka's face.
"I see..." She murmurs. There's a weight to her answer. Does Grim have experience to that, too? What all has she been through...? She looks toward Tsurugi, then, as she puts forth some theories.
"Maybe..." She considers thoughtfully.
They arrive at a towering hospital. A single window glows crimson. ...That must be their destination. They enter carefully... but they arrive to find a certain someone already here.
"That's him?" Fuuka whispers. And before Grim can confirm, the Homunculus practically tears the fire alarm off of the wall, leaving it dangling by the wires before leaving. Their path is blocked by Humors dressed as Orderlies, as well as zombies...
They need to find a way out of this situation. It's dangerous - but fortunately, Fuuka's good at keeping a cool head in situations like this. Finding a path...
...Even if they find one, they'll be right back where they started if enemies continue to search for them.
"Give me a moment!" Fuuka replies - and instead goes for the fire alarm. He probably expected to render it unusable... but he didn't know to expect her. She draws some tools from her belt next to the holster of her Evoker and gets to work.
If she can repair the damage he did to the fire alarm, she can turn it off and, hopefully, call off the Humors.
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has acted with Technician toward When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran! Find and Focus!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== When Faced With What I'd Done, I Ran - Round 4 ========================- Fuuka Yamagishi Proficiency Failure Technician Find and Focus Fatigue: 3 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remi Ryuuja Proficiency Success Dramatis Persona Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Katsuko Yoshinaga Guts Failure Vow Focus and Patra Fatigue: 4 Morale: 5 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2, Curse-0, Scary-1, and Terrifying-2 Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 -================================================= Party Result: Failure ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 1, Money: 2, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
The ice motifs were noted, and the faintest hint of a smile - little more than her lips curling some vague fraction of an inch - crept onto her lips. It lasted all of a moment before she refocussed her attention on the massed hordes, but it had been there, and Grim knew it. The smile was not to return any time soon, however. Both her Persona and her weapon were not built to handle massed hordes of chaff, so when that great number of them rushed the intruders, there was only so much Grim could do.
"We're losing ground." She spat. Frustration inched its way into her voice now. It was slight, like ice creeping over the surface of still water, but there nonetheless. "Yamagishi-san, whatever you're doing, hurry it up. We don't have much time." Unable to take her eyes off of the fight, Grim failed to notice that the fire alarm was beyond salvaging. Fuuka's abilities as a technician were formidable, but there was only so much that could be done on something ripped to shreds. Assuming it even followed the laws of the physical world in the first place.
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 5 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., |
| Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, and Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The elevator is out of order, forcing one to use the stairs to get up to the
third floor.
Once in the hallway, you can see the crimson glow of room 302 peering
through the cracks of the door.
Unfortunately, there's a Melanc Humor in the hallway, nearly three meters
tall, long spindly arms, holding a clipboard, and wearing a white coat- as
it stands over a Faceless Sanguine Nurse, still twitching upon the floor.
Upon his face is a perpetual, tired, apathetic look. "Time of Death, Fifteen
Thirty Two." As he casts Mudoon, and the Sanguine Nurse erupts, becoming a
pool of shapeless Ichor.
He then turns towards your group.
"So sad. So heart-breaking. I need to go on break... but I shouldn't. It's
so busy right now. So many patients are dying who need me to call them. So
little time. So little time."
He then moves forward, creeping on far too long legs, as his eyes glint with
the barest sliver of malice behind their sorrow, "Time of death, Fifteen
Thirty Three." And begins to cast Mudoon at one of you.
A direct fight is extremely dangerous, but unavoidable it would seem. Or is
it? There may be hope in convincing this Melanc Humor to go on break rather
than continue 'working'.
Of course, if you do fight it, it's not so much a matter of powering
through, as avoiding the dangerous Mudoon spell, cast repeatedly long enough
to score a decisive blow.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
Fuuka asks for a moment. "Acknowledged!" comes Tsurugi's quick reply as she leaps, trailing fire behind her as she slaps her sword down into another zombie. La Maupin, likewise, ducks low under the attack of another to sweep up.
"But work fast!" she adds.
Grim might not be suited to handling hordes, but Tsurugi looks very practiced--bizarrely calm, even.
But there's difficulty in getting the alarm working. "The stairs!" Tsurugi shouts. After they start heading that way, she shouts, "Loading Skill Cartridge!"
This might be of interest to Fuuka--not a Theurgy cartridge (though Tsurugi has used one of those, too), but a Skill cartridge. Her Evoker is styled like a revolver, heavier and of a darker metal than the SEES-issued kind. And she loads what is presumably the skill cartridge into the cylinder before lifting it to her head to fire.
And a moment later, La MAupin surges with Resonance and throws their hand out, summoning a giant nuclear blast to try and take out a swarm all at once to provide cover for the escape.
Tsurugi's fire magic tends towards Agi, but that spell was definitely a Frei variant.
It gets esier, once they're away from the ringing, and eventually, they get to floor 3.
Where a towering Melanc humor is, busy... melting a nurse humor with the casting of Mudoon.
"So sad. So heart-breaking. I need to go on break... but I shouldn't. It's so busy right now. So many patients are dying who need me to call them. So little time. So little time."
And Unfortunately, he spots them and starts to advance.
"I will hold its attention," she says. "Try to slip around it."
And then she just... walks up to the Melanc humor, her voice shifting its pitch once again, taking on a sweeter, honeyed tone. "... Doctor, you've been working such long hours... don't you think you deserve a break for all of your selfless, tiring work? You've done your share--you've earned a rest."
MONAD: Remi Ryuuja has acted with Flattery toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Friendliness and Efficient!
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
It's difficult. Fuuka is an expert with technology, and even with wiring... But it's like this place is working against her. It's harder than it should be, and eventually they have to run.
As they do, her eyes are drawn toward Tsurugi's Evoker. She's seen the model before in another's hands, but this is her first time being able to see it from up so close. She takes note of every detail she can. And the cartridge she loads into it...
It's nuclear flame that erupts forth. A Frei cartridge, then...?
They have to take the stairs, and Fuuka shudders at the sight that meets them in the hallway.
"...How awful." She mutters. But the Humor turns upon them, next.
Lucia is weak against Dark. Fuuka would very much not like to be the recipient of the next Mudoon.
Fortunately, Tsurugi takes point in trying to distract him. ...She didn't think about it before, but it's a little interesting that someone who is normally so deadpan is capable of switching on the charm so quickly. Fuuka considers her for a moment - but she can't squander this opening.
She slips into one of the nearby rooms. If they can't convince the Humor to take a break, maybe they can at least trick him into thinking there's a patient that needs him.
She draws out her tools and gets to work again, trying to get the call button working. Maybe that'll go better than the alarm...
MONAD: Fuuka Yamagishi has acted with Technician toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Find and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
Shot after shot rang out, with each one barely aimed. It pained Katsuko to fire wildly, but with so many advancing towards them, it was harder to *not* hit something, as long as she fired in even the vaguely correct direction. Ushering Fuuka to move forward first - purely because she was less capable a combatant than Grim and Tsurugi, of course - Grim followed close behind. With a few more potshots to take out any stragglers that threatened to catch up with them, Grim moved onto the stairs, and lowered her rifle.
She briefly considered bringing it to bear again upon seeing how the good doctor decided to treat his patients, but Tsurugi moved to act before she had a chance to plot an assassination attempt. Fuuka set to work on the electronics again in the meantime, freeing Katsuko to enact a plan of her own.
"The doctor requires help." She told a nurse, speaking just urgently enough - she hoped - to convince the Atelier's inhabitant of the situation's urgency. "There's a lot of sick people here. Go find him, and tell him you'll help, or they'll only get worse."
Perhaps the nurse would help convince the doctor to take a break by assuring him that someone competent would fill in. Or perhaps the act was just to provide the Mudoon-slinging medical practitioner with another target, and give Tsurugi an out. Grim didn't seem inclined to say which.
MONAD: Katsuko Yoshinaga has acted with Puppeteer toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Focus and Efficient!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder - Round 5 ===================-
Fuuka Yamagishi Proficiency Failure
Technician Find and Focus Fatigue: 5 Morale: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remi Ryuuja Charm Failure
Flattery Friendliness and Efficient Fatigue: 3 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Katsuko Yoshinaga Charm Success
Puppeteer Focus and Efficient Fatigue: 5 Morale: 5
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Boss-0, Clumsy-1, and Ineptitude-2
Final Conditions: Annoying-1 and Ineptitude-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 2, Money: 3, Gear: 1
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 6 - Challenge Level 1 ===========================================-
| Card: To Move Forward is to Accept the Weight |
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Revelation - The best result. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The door knob of Room 302 is warm. A little too warm. Enough to make one
hesitate in worry that there's a fire behind it.
But as it opens, the red is revealed to be countless Higanbana, Red Spider
Lily flowers, lining the floor, the walls, the ceiling of a far too large
room. The walls move as if a sky full of clouds in animation, behind shadowy
bars and crimson blossoms.
In the middle of the room is a hospital bed, with a cocoon whose webbing is
stretched to encircle the bed from so many sides, like a restraint to keep
it there. A monitor floats in space above it, several wires connected to the
Cocoon, with an EKG tracing of beeps that are coming far, too slowly.
There isn't much time left.
A Sanguine Humor lays upon the floor, dying, a crimson blossom clutched in
her hand. Reaching towards you, she offers it, before expiring herself, as
crimson blossoms grow over her, consuming her in a rapid decay.
The Blossom itself will never decay, and has a faint shine to it that would
make any botanist in reality think it's fake, but it can be used for potent
cognitive alchemy to create equipment associated with Death or Rebirth, it's
always either red or white in color. So too can they be traded to the Velvet
Room and Time Castle for a set of powerful Skill Cards related to Light or
Dark.
The room itself shifts, vision narrowing. Now the room itself pulses out of
synch with the electronic beeps on the monitor, quickening. Like a predator
ready for the kill.
The Homunculus is here. Even if you can't see him.
Final Loot: 3 Items, 3 boxes of Money, and 2 Pieces of Gear! That could
be... Gear: Death Weapon, Gear: Horror Accessory, Item: Alchemy Key, Item:
Death Material, Item: Horror Consumable, Money: Cash, Money: Death Gems, or
Money: Horror Art!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Remi Ryuuja has posed.
That is rather interesting, isn't it Fuuka? How could someone end up that way, do you wonder? ... Now probably isn't the time to stop and ask her though, with that Mudoon-casting Melanc so close.
Fuuka slips off to try with the call button--but frustratingly, nothing in this hospital seems to be working right. Is it that the place really doesn't follow the rules of the normal world? Or, perhaps, it's a reflection of how close to the Homunculus' seat of power they are? Who can say.
Meanwhile, Grim has the idea to try and direct a nurse towards the Melanc humor to provide reassurances. Now, a subdued Melanc could, in fact, be tamed by a Flegmat Humor. (Or, more likely, a whole group of them.)
... But this is not a sbudued Melanc Humor. Tsurugi's sweet-talking attempt fails, though she doesn't seem too concerned as the melanc rears back to begin another cast of the spell--
As she flips backwards suddenly, over the head of the poor, sacrificial nurse, and kicks her forward into the path of the spell.
"... hard way it is, then," she says, her voice back to its stoic deadpan.
It is a very tough battle. But Fuuka being in the hospital room gives her cover, and it is eventually subdued, at a great toll on their energy.
And with it subdued, they are able to approach Room 302. Tsurugi places a hand on the door, frowns, and then steps to the side to open it, using the door as a shield.
(She's weak to Fire, see. And if one researche the history of La Maupin, they may understand why.)
But they enter the door. A Cocoon, hoesting a life with seemingly not much time left. "... that would be the victim," Tsurugi notes.
But then a Sanguin humor offers them a rare, precious flower. Up close, and especially having seen the real article earlier, it's unmistakeable:
The Sanguin looks like Yanagi Nagisa. She offers a flower, bright and precious, before she expires. Tsurugi will let someone else claim the flower, but she knees to feel the Humor's pulse. "A Sanguin Humor, if I am not mistaken. Now why should they bear her appearance..."
But all too soon it's clear, that danger lurks. "We can't stay here long."
<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.
Fuuka frowns, finding herself frustrated again as this place rejects her expertise. This is supposed to be something she's good at... It's a sign of how bad the situation this is, she supposes.
Things don't seem to go any better with the Humor, either. They're wounded and exhausted... but they are able to reach Room 302, where that ominous red light shines.
And here, they find the Cocoon. Fuuka draws in a sharp breath.
"...Yes." Fuuka murmurs with a nod. "We have to hurry."
There isn't much they can do right here and right now... but at least this is a step in the right direction.
But aside from the Cocoon, there is also a Sanguine Humor.Fuuka gasps, hurrying to her side.
"Are you alright?" She asks, kneeling down close. In that moment, she can see her face - and she who she resembles. Fuuka's eyes open wide... but when she reaches toward them all, offering a flower, Fuuka reaches back.
She accepts the crimson blossom - and her breath catches in her throat as similar flowers bloom across her form.
...Even if she's a Shadow, it's... no easier watching it happen.
"...Yes." Fuuka replies after a moment, looking toward Tsurugi. "Maybe... our suspicions were correct."
About Yanagi and Shinichi being connected. And after a moment longer... she nods, rising to her feet. She takes one last look back before hurrying off, still clutching the flower she was given.
<Pose Tracker> Katsuko Yoshinaga has posed.
The nurse did not do a very good job of convincing her superior to take the rest he so sorely needed. What she did do a very good job of was acting as a meatshield for Tsurugi, and giving her just enough time to move away from a Mudoon. Grim wasted no time in following through, and through blade, bullet, and black magic, she played her part in felling the foul beast. It was a Herculean task that left her drained to the core, but it had been done, and they could proceed.
"So they *are* connected... Family, maybe. Someone close?"" Grim muttered, leaning in close to get a better look at the Sanguin Humour. It was idle musing on Grim's part - working alone had its advantages, but without the network of intel that the others shared, even she recognised that getting the full picture was difficult at best. "I'm going to look into it." Whatever other insights she might have had - be it about the flower, the Cocoon, or anything else in the room - were kept to herself when the room began to shift. Grim stepped back, looked to the others to make sure they were in fit enough shape to leave, then turned.
One moment Grim was in the light, the silver accents of her garb glinting like a talon's edge. The next, she was in the shadows, and vanished into them like a wraith.