Persona- Overpowering Past

[Zincspider]

Shadow JP
Stadium
Court of Miracles

“But you have a lot of nerve, you know that?”

'Well, duh, I'm you.'

“You come here, trap us in a disco-strip club, isolate us, and make us fight for our lives alone. Even though you have an army of deformed shadow prostitutes at your disposal. What is it then? Why did you separate us? Are you afraid of what we could do, together? Are our “bonds” something you actually fear?”

That... that didn't sound right. The Shadow raised his pinky to his ear, you know, to clear it out. A couple seconds later his Counterpart had seemed to finish his long rant, talking about friends, bonds, and working for him... you know, the usual nonsense.

Then the boy lunged at him. It didn't take much to stop the attack. He was even more dense than the Shadow anticipated (which was... difficult, considering his position). He had tried to attack him using his own style. Something the boy had never tried in his life. That was worse than using fists. Finally, completely disappointed in the way the fight was going, he completely dropped his accent. For now, he sounded just like JP.

“Alright, listen, you have some idea that every little thing that happens is symbolic here.” The Shadow mused. “I recall telling your buddies that my girls wouldn't touch them if they didn't try to mess with my fight. Hell, I even have them ordered to not go for blood. They aren't my problem. You are. I just want a clean fight here. No rules. No allies. One on one. It has nothing to do with you being alone. If you think that... well, than we have a few more problems than I was aware of.”

Sighing, JP seemed to be waiting for him to make a move. The Shadow took this opportunity to keep going.

“Now, you understand that I have to keep my word here? Don't you?” Snapping his fingers once more, No less than seven more shadows slid down from the poles, and walked over to Terri. Three of them began to block off the nearest allies while the rest grabbed her rather forcefully. If it was only one or two, she would have been able to break out. But there was at least one on each limb. “I really don't like this... after all, it isn't my place. But I did put her life in your hands. She would have done anything for you, you know? Even if it was a stupid, false crush she would have taken the bullet herself.”

Quickly, the minions began to march to the cage, increasing their distance from the fighting masses with each step. He could hear screams and the whacking sounds of struggle even over the sound of his establishment.

“You do have a problem yet addressed. You think we have a bit more power or influence than we really do. Sometimes, you're nothing more than a cog in a greater machine. You're not a hero, you're not a commander. You're a teenage boy. You and that darn fool ally of yours out there need to realize that. But his time will come soon enough.”

Finally, the shadows restraining Terri made it to the cage. And pressed her to it. From the zone of impact a large grid of purple electricity began to course through her body. At this point, the Shadow's counterpart lunged at him. He didn't care. As long as the blow wasn't deadly. He didn't bother blocking it. Soon, he was just as scarred as the real JP, he couldn't really bleed so all you could see were black gashes leading to some soft of abyss. His coat was being torn to pieces, his hat had long been knocked off.

But he didn't order a retreat. Terri was kept against the cage, the force field doing it's work quickly, making almost a makeshift bug-zapper. Against the attacks of any of her allies, they didn't move. It wouldn't matter in a few seconds anyway. She seemed to not be able to take it very well. Good. That meant he wouldn't have to keep this up much longer.

Soon, enough the deed was done. His girls weren't spared from the shock, and evaporated in front of his eyes, dropping the body leaving no trace of what had grabbed her. They didn't dissipate however. The vapor flew into the girls mouth. Her eyes glazed over and she was left on the ground, breathing, but no doubt changed. He could have ordered a simple death... but like he already said. It wasn't his place. The normal penalty here in the Court would have to suffice.

“I put a life in your hands. You were given a choice right there. The choice that any leader would have to make sooner or later. **HACK**” The Shadow's body was full of gashes, as if he didn't even care anymore. He was coughing, pulling up some sort of black substance that floated into the air and dissipated quickly. As if to match his state, the lights and music of the stadium slowed to nearly a stop. “So there was your taste of reality. Are you really ready for that?”

The Shadow pulled out his sword, and chose not to look at his counterpart's face. He didn't turn it on his opponent however. 'Sometimes... it's worse to let them live and reflect on the past.' Before JP could react, the Shadow plunged the blade into his own chest. The lights turned off. The poles retreated back into the ceiling and the shad-hos screamed grabbing their heads. Soon, they followed their sisters in suit, evaportating into a black mist.

Well... this was it. He had failed. He really didn't have to either. He could have done it. But excuses were excuses.

A smile spread across his face as his body began to break off from the feet up, turning into a fine black mist.

After all, if he had done anything right, he would eventually succeed. Even if he wasn't there to see it. JP would either finally fall in the Court, or he'd become a better man, deserving to live. Either way...

“It's all good...”

And then everything went black.

-

(OOC: Ouch... well... umm... I did warn you guys that other lives would be in your hands. All actions have consequences. It just so happens that I'm not going to be too lenient on occasion.
Just so you know, the Court is still in progress, and the Disco Hall is still there. You can look around, and try to help each other.
Terri's... Terri's beyond saving though. She was as soon as JP made his choice.
This is the first non-player-leaving death in the game, and it's kind of shocking for me even... and I had to write it. It really isn't a death though. She's just infected with Apathy Syndrome. You'll have to figure out what to do with her.
For once, I won't make a wisecrack about it and post a funny antagonist picture. Instead, I'll just sit here... and kinda wait to see how this pans out.
Looking back, it wasn't the best way to handle it, but what's done is done. I'll try to limit choices that affect other players so badly to an absolute minimum in the future. But I had the perimeters of the fight set before hand with my new secret keeper.
Trial and error was needed at some point though. JG, you have first choice of Arcana when I open up sign-ups again. If you want to continue that is.
I'm sorry for your loss)

 

[GoldenHouou]

OOC: Long post, but aren’t these always. Decided to cut back on the comedy this time. So... enter angst.

~

Sofiya Mikhailovna Ignatova
Stadium
Saturday – Court of Miracles

Once the training session had ended, Sofiya had returned home for a few hours. She had went over her notes from the morning and watched one of her videos through one more time, just to pass time while she waited for the clock to tick to midnight. She didn’t finish the video though, but slumped on top of her notebook and dozed off instead, getting some well deserved sleep she had deprived herself of last night. And by the time she woke it had almost been time for the Court. Miraculously, she hadn’t overslept like she usually did. It seemed like her body had gotten somewhat accustomed to the fact that it had to get up come midnight. Internal clock if you will, wasn’t unheard of.

She yawned and got dressed quickly, skipping over to the Stadium in no time. She sat a bit further away and watched as the newcomers summoned their Personae with interest. She took note that one of the new guys wore what was unmistakably a skirt. Now, usually that would have confused Sofiya to no end, but not anymore. Not after all those videos. Now she could just nod knowingly, albeit a bit surprised the man wasn’t wearing any makeup. All the guys in skirts in those videos were… maybe he didn’t know how? Sofiya took a mental note to go and offer her help once she’d get the chance. She wasn’t one to judge!

Once Clarise's turn rolled around, Sofiya cheered and clapped as a reassurance. It was her job now, as her new friend! One of the other two new girls decided to attack her Persona after summoning it, and that made Sofiya lean forward in her seat. It seemed like tons of fun. Maybe she could-

Do. Not. Even. Consider it, a deep, royal voice echoed within her mind and Sofiya held back a giggle. Horus was still sounding as serious and stiff as ever. It warmed her, somehow, knowing that he was always there to keep watch with that funny stoicness of his. He was always so dependable.

All of the newbies managed to summon their respective Personae come their turn, and Sofiya smiled. They just got five new recruits. Things were looking up!

That’s when the Court truly began.

~~

Saturday – Strip club Shadow JP's Pimp cave

“Oh, I think it's too late for that, Mana!” A voice echoed from somewhere, startling Sofiya to her feet. It was a somewhat familiar voice, but she couldn’t place it. It was a colorful, slightly boisterous voice, unlike any of the ones she recalled from the top of her mind. It wasn’t a bad voice, though. It sounded upbeat!

Speaking of upbeat…

Not many minutes after, Sofiya found herself standing completely still, really confused. Confused and yet swaying to the music that had surrounded the entire stadium. The bright lights illuminated the night, obscuring the sickly green color that filled the atmosphere on any regular midnight. She had clapped her hands excitedly when ordered to do so, and was quite enjoying herself already. This Court didn’t seem so bad! She enjoyed the music and the lights much better than the coldness and darkness of the room she had been trapped in the night before. This Shadow, too, seemed much less malevolent than the previous one. Maybe it was just the way he was dressed, but Sofiya couldn’t really bring herself to fear it, despite all the threats it was throwing around. Though, part of her did tense when she saw IP getting trapped alone with the enemy. But she didn’t want to worry about that. She couldn’t bear to think back to yesterday and the death that occurred, so she brushed away the feeling and resolved that IP was strong, even if he sucked at using a knife. He’d survive.

Besides, she seemed to have her own opponent for now; a scantily clad Shadow that had been swaying in front of her for a while now, in a style reminiscent of the women on her videos. Funny how after watching those things she seemed to find allusions to them everywhere now.

The Shadow picked up its dancing phase and edged closer, swaying as seductively as it knew how. It seemed to want a reaction of some sort out of the bubbly teen, but Sofiya just stood still, watching the girl with a serious face, for once. Serious and unwavering, and somewhat... evaluating. That was until the Shadow leaned to press her chest against the smaller girls face and she finally extended a hand, pushing the Shadow back slightly and drawing in a breath.

“Wait!” She ordered, and the Shadow, in its confusion, froze still for a moment. Sofiya tapped her chin and started to circle around the Shadow, assessing her form and every now and then fixing her pose. “You’re doing this wrong,” Sofiya informed the Shad-ho simply as she pushed its arm slightly to the left.

“You’re being too obvious and forceful! You need to be more discreet and let room for imagination. And take it slow, you don’t want to give them everything at once,” She recited the tips on last night’s video, arms crossed as she walked back in front of the very confused Shadow. It seemed like the Shad-ho was at a complete loss on what to do and when to attack. Sofiya took note of the creature’s confusion, though she mistook it to meaning the poor woman just didn’t know how to go on about dancing. Well, she’d help.

“Look, begin with small movements, okay?” Sofiya instructed and started to sway to the music again, getting the Shadow to slowly start to follow her lead and move as she did. For a while it went on like that; Sofiya led and the Shadow, not knowing what else to do, followed. It was fun, really, even the Shadow seemed to think so, as it got into the whole thing pretty fast.

“You’re getting pretty good! Just a little slower still, let it build up, otherwise you’re doing well!” Sofiya complimented, and the Shadow would have blushed if it had had the blood veins, skin and emotions to do so. And then, as if hit by something, the Shadow suddenly remembered it was not supposed to take dance lessons from its prey. Holding its head and roaring in frustration, it shook itself away from the dance pattern it had just learned and leapt forward, startling Sofiya.

The girl grabbed her knife and pulled to the side quickly, not breaking away from her dance steps. They were good for evading, after all! And this was close combat, she could handle close combat, though she was very confused as to why it even came to this. They were such good friends just before. She shook a disapproving finger and sighed.

“You shouldn’t take criticism all seriously like that! You’ll never improve if-,” her sentence got cut off as the Shadow lunged forward, furious as it could be and slashed at the girl. Sofiya brought her knife to her front to block the blow, but even though she had the speed and skill, she did not have the strength.

So when the Shadow grabbed the knife’s blade and lift Sofiya from the ground by pulling on it, the teen couldn’t but gasp in surprise. The Shad-ho threw her aside and just as she landed on the glowing tiles underneath, the woman attacked again, claws outstretched and aiming for her chest. Sofiya was breathless from smashing against the ground, but she managed to pull herself away from the path of the attack. Or at least, that’s what she thought. But the attack aimed at her chest wasn’t the only one thrown at her; the Shadow had grabbed her leg with its other hand, and Sofiya found herself yelping when claws dug into her bare calf.

“Oww, let go!” Sofiya pleaded, one eye closed from pain as blood trickled past the Shadow’s claw and onto the bright tiles below. She had fallen for the Shad-ho’s trick. So strength wasn’t the only thing she needed. She'd need to be more careful.

When struggling only managed to have the claws sink in deeper, Sofiya stopped and decided to go for an attack instead. She took a tight grip of her knife and stabbed forward in a quick motion, raising her upper body to meet the Shad-ho as she did. The blade sunk deep into the black abyss of the creature’s chest, but it didn’t even wince. Sofiya pouted, not wanting to give up so easily. She turned the blade still inside the Shad-ho's chest sideways and slashed across its chest, cutting apart its bra in the process.

Wow, that, too, was straight out of one of those videos!

But even though there was a huge gash running across the Shadow woman’s chest, its movements hadn’t even slowed down. Physical attacks didn’t seem to be too effective. She’d need Horus. Despite everything, Sofiya found herself smiling. She was having fun. It felt good to fight like this. It made her forget everything else. She reached for her evoker, ready to put the Sun God to good use.

The Shadow had other plans however, as it brought its free hand back down, clawing away at the girl. Sofiya matched the slashes and blocked them with her knife, though few of them got through and tore small cuts here and there. She was fast but the Shadow… it was undoubtedly faster still, even if by a small margin. Luckily, unlike the Shad-ho who was still holding her leg down, she had both hands at her disposal. She snatched her evoker with one, quick motion and brought it to her chin, staring into the darkness of the Shadow’s face as she breathed out: “Horus, Hama!”

The majestic bird spread its wings behind Sofiya’s head and light so bright it matched the disco balls up above burst forward, wrapping around the Shadow’s entire being. It was encased in a cage of light, kept together by pulsating runes. The cage started to widen, only to suddenly shrink around its target and burst, drawing a screech from the Shadow’s throat. The creature pressed its hand on its face as if its nonexistent eyes had been blinded, and Sofiya used this opportunity to draw herself away from it and back to standing. Her form was slightly off due to the pain from her still bleeding leg, but she didn’t let that bother her. Not now, she could use Dia later. First, there was an enemy to defeat. She didn’t experience as much fatigue from using Hama as before, so it didn’t take her long to be ready for another attack. She was getting so excited.

Now, where would she attack, if even an open chest didn't seem to phase the Shadow? She didn’t have time to think further on that when the Shad-ho, upon its recovery, suddenly spread its legs to reveal what it hid under its skirt. Sofiya knew where this was going. Or she thought she did anyway, as she hadn’t expected a light almost as bright as her earlier Hama shine forth and burrow into her eyes, effectively blinding her fro a while. It was as if the Shad-ho had a small sun in there! So that was why men used protection when going there... Made sense! So the liquid they used acted like sun lotion, too? Hah, she knew there had to be a reason for those bottles!

Just then, she got an idea. An idea that actually sounded effective, though for different reasons than Sofiya thought; The sun was hot, right? So maybe… if she used...

One hand covering her eyes, Sofiya acted fast and brought the evoker to her head again.

“Horus, Bufu, down there!” She ordered, still not seeing a thing. But she trusted that Horus did. And almost instantly she could feel a cold breeze brush past her shoulders and feathers touch her back when Horus materialized and carried out the attack. And from the sounds of it, it had worked. There was a screech so loud it almost rendered another one of Sofiya’s senses useless, so it must have done something. Yay, she froze her sunhole!

Her joy was short-lived, though, when she felt a heavy impact hit her stomach. It was a blunt hit, not from claws or even from a foot; rather, it felt like the Shadow had bashed its head against her stomach in agony. Whatever the case, Sofiya fell right back on the ground, hitting her back once more and wincing when the woman-like creature slumped on top of her. She was surprisingly heavy. Either that, or she was way too light. Sofiya’s heart raced as her situation sunk in; she was blind and pinned down by a creature with sharp claws she couldn’t even see. Something had to be done.

She attacked the creature with another Bufu, this time hitting her shoulder, but it didn’t really have much effect, unlike the earlier attack. Why? Because of the sun-thing from earlier? Or was it because…

Oh! What if it wasn't because of the sun, but because the attack went inside...

Of course! Her excitement returned in a warm rush of renewed hope, and Sofiya forced herself to blink until her vision cleared at least somewhat. The Shadow was holding its crotch and wailing, but seemed to be recovering just as she was. And surely enough it soon let go of its pained area with one hand and reached for Sofiya instead, furious and bent on getting revenge. But no, she wouldn’t let it hit her. She already knew what to do. She’d end this!

“Garu inside that gash!” She ordered as she pulled the trigger once again, cheering and lifting her hand for some dramatic effect. For a moment her vision degraded again due to the mental stress of having used so many attacks, but it was alright. This would end soon. She smiled happily, possibly creepily so given the circumstances. And with that same, excited smile on her face and her eyes closed happily, she announced her plan to the Shad-ho whose chest a sharp wind was forcing its way into: “I’m going to tear you apart from the inside! Rippity rip!”

As if realizing what Sofiya was trying to do, the Shadow let out a cry and retracted its arm to plunge it into the young girl’s chest, but the wind pushed it back and intensified. The gash was torn open and forced wider, revealing the dark insides of the Shadow. The wind spread, tearing open its throat and upper abdomen now. At this, Sofiya stood up, smiling triumphantly. She was so excited, like a child when about to win a game of Monopoly. This was it. One more attack inside that opening and the Shadow would be done for!

“Horus, Bu-”

A scream tore its way past the howling of the wind, and Sofiya’s eyes widened. She felt cold, like someone had just cast a Bufu on her instead. Her smile grew smaller and eventually disappeared, waking her from her happy little game. That voice. That pained voice didn’t belong to one of these Shadows being torn apart by one of her allies. No, it was a human’s voice, agonized and desperate. It belonged to someone she knew. Someone she had heard talking so many times earlier today already. It was the voice that had gently guided her in dressing up into all those difficult clothes, voice that had tried to explain so many things to her in vain. It was a voice she liked.

It… was Terri.

Sofiya spun around, evoker gripped tightly in one hand and knife in another, though she couldn’t move either right now. She was frozen still, only her eyes moving in a desperate attempt to locate the older girl. She was searching through the battling pairs of Shadows and humans, a feeling of dread making her feel sick to her stomach. She remembered the boy from last night screaming in agony, and she prayed, feeling her entire form shake, that this wouldn’t be a repeat of yesterday’s tragedy.

But… it was.

From the screams to the electricity she could see racing through the victim’s twitching form to the helpless feeling overtaking her the second she realized there was nothing she could do, it was the same. Only this time, it was worse. The last night’s boy’s… Kent’s. Kent’s death had been tragic, everyone’s death was, always. But she hadn’t really known him. She hadn’t really talked to him, she hadn’t really gotten to become friends with him yet. But she did know Theresa. They were friends.

And yet she was still powerless to do anything for her.

So as Terri slumped to the ground, so did Sofiya. IP’s, no, JP’s Shadow had stabbed itself and vanished, taking the Shad-hos with it, and only now did Sofiya realize that JP was badly hurt, too. How long had he been like that? Had anyone else been hurt like that while she was all focused on destroying her own opponent and having fun? She didn’t know, she hadn’t noticed. She hadn’t paid attention. And that’s why now, Terri was…

Sofiya started to shake violently, already forgotten all about the Shadow she had been about to finish off. Tears tried to force their way into her eyes, and her grip on her two weapons loosened. The knife and the evoker clanged on the ground and as they did, Horus closed its eyes as if to give its silent condolences. It flapped its wings once more and wrapped them around the shaking girl before it disappeared, leaving no trace of the attack Sofiya had been about to dish out.

And as Sofiya laid eyes on Terri’s silent form, she had to stifle a scream. She wasn’t even dead. Her gaze was, yes, but she was breathing. She was alive, she was there, but not really. Just… just like Pyotr. Still in this world and yet still so far away.

She couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted to scream, double over and just… lay there and cry for both Terri and her brother whose sleeping face she couldn’t chase from her mind all of a sudden, but she knew she couldn’t do that. She couldn’t let herself do that. Not now. Everyone, especially JP must’ve been so sad because of all of this already. She couldn’t cry and add to their pain. She couldn’t show it. She couldn’t do it.

But she had to do something to let it out. Do something before she snapped from all the sorrow she had bottled up over the years that now wanted to flow out and consume her. She needed something fun to keep her occupied. Something funny. Stupid.

And so, she retorted to doing what she did best; slowly, she started laughing. Just like that first night when the slightly chubby cook had been... cooked. Except now she was laughing even more, even louder until her laughter echoed throughout the deformed Stadium.

“Hahaha, h-how funny!” She gasped, holding her stomach and pointing towards the scene of tragedy some distance from her. “Funny h-how she looks just like him like that, even though she’s woman! And he’s a man, and he’s 30 and she’s not and still they’re both just so funny sleeping like that and never waking up ever even though they breathe! It’s… just hilarious. How similar… different people can be!" Her voice shook and she shut up, her laughter slowly dying down as she hung her head and fought back the tears.

 

[Jason-Kun]

Clarise Stone
Court of Miracles

As Clarise sat down, Lace kneeled down before her. With a smile, the redhead placed a can of pepsi before her before her face crumpled up into an obvious frown. "Now before you go and say I shook it. Well, I didn't." This was undone as Lace patted the can before she continued on without letting Clarise get a word in edgewise. "Good stuff in here there is. Uh huh, that real tasty junk." Seemingly satisfied, Lace stood up to go before turning back around to give Clarise her parting words. "I think." That wasn't a particularly comforting words. With a nod, Clarise opened the can and guzzeled it down as Lace made her way to the front of the group.

At the summoning of Lace's persona the roomed seemed to heat up slightly. After glancing at it, Clarise took in the sight of Lace attacking the man or planet made of fire. Clarise laughed died in her throat as Lace seemed to be set on fire, however. Thankfully the younger girl seemed to come away from the disaster unharmed. "Um, guys… I'm not quite certain how stable that girl is. Uh… psychiatry might be in order." Clarise frowned as Mana's words. While they seemed to make sense, Lace seemed harmless enough. Shortly thereafter, however, Mana got caught off mid sentence.

"Oh, I think it's too late for that, Mana!" The sound of the voice nearly caused Clarise to spill her soda. A snap resonated through the area as the grass was replaced with flashing lights and long silver poles slid down beside each of them. Following suit were more than a dozen reflector balls followed by strobe lights. Techno music completed the set up.

""EVERYBODY CLAP YO HANDS!"

A spotlight flashed on at this, bathing the far end of the area in its own light. A golden throne sat on a large marble platform, JP's figure lounging upon it. His clothing however gave off the appearance of a pimp...or a gay stripper. Either one would do. Pink fur coat lined with zebra print pattern. Large magenta feathered hat. Black and white tiger print pants. Frowning in confusion, Clarise didn't notice as he jumped up. However, his next set of words did catch her attention. "But don't get all excited yet, 'aight? You ain't even met my girls yet!"

From there, fifteen figures slid down before the group. Each of them seemed to be matched up against one, except for Wulfgard who apparently was enough of an issue that he needed two of them to take on. The figures appeared to be women, jet black and wearing impossibly short miniskirts. Aside from that they wore fairly loose bras and swayed seductively though also ready to fight. "“Don't worry as long as ya leave me and my boy to our business, dey won't bite... too much!”" At this, Clarise turned to see JP on stage. With a snap from his shadow, the two were surrounded by a cage.

Tuning towards the shad-Ho before her, Clarise pulled out her one of her tessen. She had left the other at home as she wasn't yet use to wielding both at the same time. Hefting it, she held the fan before her as she used her other hand to draw out her evoker and hold it before her. "Konohana Sakuya!" Appearing, Honohana Sakuya threw her fans in an arc towards the Shad-Ho. As they closed in, the fans spilt into small snowflakes which pelted themselves at the figure.

Feeling some of her energy drained, Clarise held her fan before her as she took a step back. The shad-ho for her part lunged in, its nails slashing towards her face and leaving small dents in the metal of the tessen. Turning carefully, Clarise gave the area a look around. Some members were using their persona to fight while others seemed to be fighting without.

Turning back to fight the shad-ho, Clarise's eyes widened at the shad-ho lifted her skirt. There was a blinding flash of light and all she could see was light. Stumbling back, Clarise put her arm before her to block her face as the shad-ho grazed her. Running blindly, Clarise called out towards Konohana Sakuya. "Use another Bufu!" The older women nodded, buying Clarise time enough to regain her eyesight.

now that she could see better, Clarise spared another glance around. Everyone else seemed to be handling their fights pretty well. Holding up her tessen to her face to protect her eyes in case the shad-ho decided to blind her again, Clarise clenched her teeth. This did not seem to be working well at all. At that thought, panic began to set in.

"Bufu! Bufu! Bufu!" With the scream, she held the fan before her having her persona spam bufu attacks. With each release of the attack, Clarise felt herself get weaker and weaker and her attacks began to become wilder as she began to slow down. Soon, however, screams pierced the air of the area. Sparing a glance, Clarise took in the sight of a pack of shado-hos carrying Theresa towards the cage.

At this, Clarise kicked out at the shad-ho before her. Not bothering to give the shado-ho time to even get up, she slashed at it with her tessen. As the shad-ho stumbled back from the second attack, Clarise kicked out once more before letting loose the tessen. If flew through the shado-ho's body, coming out the other side. Finally the shado-ho had had enough, lifting its skit once more to blind Clarise and in turn pinning her down and turning her face towards the cage while slashing at bits of Clarise's body.

As Clarise watched, Theresa seemed to be electrocuted. The sight of this brought back memories of the night before. Kent being held up. Shadow Izzy stabbing him with the sword as electricity pulsed through his body. The memories washed over her. Struggling to get up from the Shad-ho, Clarise felt the creature as it disappeared. "Dia!" At that Konohana Sakuya flew towards her, using her fan to cast a healing spell on her.

Shaking as she stood, she fought back tears. Konohana Sakuya in turn wrapped herself around her as Clarise took in the reactions of the others. Sofiya had slumped to the ground, shaking before falling into a fit of laughter. Turning her eyes, Clarise took in the sight of Theresa. She was breathing but just barely it seemed. Turning to issue another order of Dia aimed at Theresa, Clarise sunk to her knees and waited for it all to be over.

 

[niedude]

<//JP- Lovers Arcana//3
<//...Centre Stage...//3

Oh God, what had he done?

He couldn’t reach her outside of the cage, nor could he dispose of all those Shadows fast enough. The only choice he had was to go for the root of all problems and kill him, decapitate him, it didn’t matter as long as he was disposed and this all ended.

It didn’t make a difference. The Shadow was ignoring the very slashes and dismembering he was suffering. JP started to panic and sped up his slashes, at one point dropping the sheath of his blade, drawing his dagger and forcefully driving it deep inside the shadow’s body repeatedly. When that didn’t work, he went at it with his fists and tried to break every bone in the Shadow’s body.

Nothing made it stop. Terri’s screams persisted and would not stop. Why wouldn’t they stop? Why wasn’t this working?

“STOP THIS! STOP IT ALL! DIE!”

Deep inside the mind, delving underneath the subconscious, Pedro sat on his throne, attentive. He saw as fate cursed him yet again with a love he could not keep. The tears of water and blood, ever-present on his face, flowed stronger and stronger. At one point, JP began weeping red and blue himself; maybe due to the possession, maybe not.

But all of a sudden the screams stopped. JP looked at the girl whose doom he’d wrought as his dark side committed suicide and the field cleared of enemies and hellish clubs. The sight of his beloved there, unmoving… lifeless? It sapped all the strength from his body and he collapsed on the ground with a big, painfully sound. Pedro’s influence had done all it could and the boy burnt inside as his body remembered it was human and flooded him with pain a hundred times more intense than the Hama he was cleaved with the night before.

But that did not stop him. That would not keep him away from her, and in between loud screams of agony he crawled back to Theresa, leaving behind him a trail of blood. Without any remaining strength, he could only move inches, but he dare not give up; this was all his fault… every last drop of this shit was his fault.

“TEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

 

[InnerFlame]

Russell Wilton
Court of Miracle: JP’s Disco Pimp Club

Running about again there was finally signs of the brunette shadow woman weakening despite being more aggressive and forceful. Getting a couple steps ahead he turned using his evoker Eros shot once quickly by another followed as Russell shot it again. One in her heart and on to her forehead this time she fell and didn’t get up. Russell breathing was hard, it tired him running about and invoking his Persona really sapped his energy. His adrenaline rush caused by the fear was depleting. He wanted to sit down but danger was still thick in the blinding area. He noticed Snowy running, it seem his stamina training was being used. The platinum blonde didn’t seem to be much of a fighter, so it seem like he should try to help despite his own exhaustion.

“One more time...” Russell told himself as he again touch the evoker to side of his head. It was hard but Snowy needed it and he seem like a nice guy and one of his fellow peers. “Aim and Fire!” the trigger was pulled once again and the arrow when toward the unexpected Shadow chick. After that was performed his arm just dropped back to his side, he hope that helped even if it was just a little. He prayed for the court to end again soon; he was already pushing his limits.

Through the flashing lights his glasses covered eyes caught an irregularity in the lighting that got his attention. It was purple and looked like... electricity. No, not again. A distinct scream of a girl cut through the music and it made his chest feel tight, it made him freeze. It was difficult to make out who it was from his place in the distance until he was able to make out the wavy light-colored hair as she slumped on the ground.

“Don't worry, alright. I'll watch your back... you don't have to be scared.”

It was that upperclassmen lady’s words, the last words that were spoken to Russell. Those comforting words the freshman was sure she meant but now they were meaningless. The reassuring and kind words erased in a moment notices. Again he could do nothing but hopelessly watch, he couldn’t return the favor and watch her back... He was just a small, weak fourteen-year-old boy that was unable to help those even when they were in reaching range. Maybe this was how his cousin felt as witness the death of his family... no it was much worst. Those were people were very close to him, while he hadn’t spoken a word to her. It was a painful realization knowing how little he could really do, yet Russell knew he had to stand strong and keep pushing forward. It was all he really could do.

“TEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

The bloodcurdling scream exploded through the air. Even for someone like him, someone that didn’t really know her it was incredibly saddening. His eyes felt on the person. JP, the jerk from the other night, he looked broken up something Russell couldn’t fully understand... This maybe that closest to pain his cousin felt, would he too learn that feeling? It was frightening thought to have.

 

[Ysavvryl]

Snow Fields
Court of Miracles

Running from the shadowy dancer wasn’t easy. She tried to force him to turn so she could cut him off; she seemed quick and clever enough to do so. Snow just kept changing directions and tried not to run too much into other people’s fights. As the lights continued to flash and change, it was hard to tell what entirely was going on. Some were managing to fight the dancers, while others were definitely injured. But if he paused to heal them, the one chasing him could catch up.

And then the dancer managed to get back in front of him, poised to kick him. He had a split second to decide which way to go… and then an arrow struck the dancer, distracting her from their chase. And if Snow had that second, he could do something, at last help the others. He glanced in the direction the arrow had come from and spotted Russell and Eros (probably the source of the arrow), with a few others past that. Okay, now the attempt to focus on the group of them and get the Dia to heal more than one.

Snow grabbed his Evoker from his pocket and fired it at his head; it happened so fluidly this time, something that would make him wonder at it later. But at that moment, he was thinking of what he had to do. “Melpomene!”

She appeared and the white energy of Dia appeared. Only on Russell. He didn’t quite have it yet, but Snow had a feeling that he was close. Melpomene quietly encouraged him to try it again. Behind him, there was some commotion going on where JP and his Shadow were fighting. Snow didn’t pay it much attention as he tried again, and got Lace with Dia.

Then there was the scream of pain. Snow’s blood chilled and he nearly saw what was going on. But then the dancer who had been pursing him kicked at his feet, knocking him to the ground. She didn’t attack him further, but it was long enough that he wasn’t able to do anything about Theresa getting hurt.

Not long after he managed to get up, all the Shadows had vanished. Even Shadow JP. The strange lights, poles, and disco balls were still up, but the music was gone. And JP was screaming in rage, pain, and anguish, trying to reach Theresa. She was on the ground.

It was a weird moment, even more so when Sofiya began laughing strangely. ‘But this is something I can do,’ Snow thought, and tried to get both Theresa and JP in one heal. It only got JP.

And Melpomene clasped his shoulder. “I can’t do much for her, only what’s on the surface,” the muse whispered. “Focus on him.”

Why was that? Whatever the answer was, Snow put it off for later and focused another Dia on JP.

 

[Blivsey]

Sigmund Okonkwo
Club JP [Saturday Night]


Really, now. For something with such spindly arms and legs, this thing was putting up an awful lot of resistance. He'd been grappling with this stupid shadow for what seemed seemed like hours and was probably several minutes, and while she hadn't gained any ground, neither had he, and as far as he knew shadows wouldn't run out of stamina. Brute-forcing his way through was apparently not working.

Time for something fresh, then. Tightening his grip on his opponent's hands, he threw her sharply to one side and simultaneously swept his foot at her right leg. With a decidedly unfeminine grunt of pain, the shadow collapsed to the side, down to all four limbs. Sigmund grinned and shook his shoulders, still on guard but glad to have a bit of breathing room. The shadow started to stand back upright, moving with an inhuman level of fluidity, sending his hand to his evoker in anticipation of an attack. Sigmund didn't even wait for it to come fully upright to draw the mock-pistol, once again pressing it against the underside of his jaw and pulling the trigger, his heart instinctively skipping in its rhythm. The foot-high girl appeared in front of him again, hovering just in front of his chest. Again, a word impressed itself on Sigmund's mind. One concerning protection from harm and the strength to withstand his enemies' assault.

Rakukaja.

Hua Po began to glow a faint pink aura, and in several seconds Sigmund's vision became clouded by the same faint light. It soon subsided, just quickly enough for him to see the shadow once again bear its claws and lunge at him. He barely threw his arms up in time to block its swipes, catching one hand on the back of his gauntlet and letting the other one cut into his arm rather than his face. But despite the impact of claw-on-flesh, it felt hardly more painful than as if he had been clipped by a swinging branch. Pushing through, Sigmund threw the creature off his arm, bringing his opposite hand around into a strong hook aimed at its shoulder. The shaductress staggered to the right, once again putting space between the two. A chanced look at his arm showed that Sigmund's arm had hardly been scratched at all by their encounter - he had received worse scrapes by falling from his bicycle in elementary school.

Hopping to the right, Sigmund raised his fists, ready to charge the shadow with his fists at any time, encouraged by his newly-found endurance. His caution proved unnecessary, as the shaductress had abandoned its aggressive stance, instead doubling over in apparent pain and clutching its own head, letting out a horrible shriek. Then, it simply vanished into a fine mist, rising away from him and apparently out of the area entirely.

Confused, Sigmund looked to either side of himself - the other shadows had disappeared as well, as had the lights and poles, leaving the stadium covered in dull colored tiles and disco balls, but otherwise rather dead-looking. So, that was it? It was over? A quick look at the stage showed that JP's double was long gone, and JP himself was still standing, if only before a minute before he collapsed from what must have been some combination of wounds and exhaustion. And nearby, laying flat on the floor... somebody else? He couldn't tell from this distance.

As he ran closer, it became increasingly obvious who it was sprawled out on the ground. Theresa. She had been like a mother to many in the group, and her healing magic had been a blessing to have more than once. Now she was flat on her back, responding to nobody, showing no signs of life other than her slow, regular breathing. Others knew her better, but it was still a shock to to see her put into such a state so suddenly. Sigmund dropped to one knee, keeping himself propped up with his opposite hand. Someone was off to one side, trying to use a healing spell on Theresa to no avail. He caught Sofiya in his peripheral vision, descending into some sort of babble that was markedly different from her usual humorous battle. Most of the others, like him, were just shell-shocked.

Still dizzy, Sigmund looked back at Theresa again. She didn't seem to be dead, but more like she was in a coma. Even so, the magic that the others were pumping into her was taking no hold, and she was definitely not just fine. Whatever this was, he got the feeling that helping either her or JP would be beyond Hua Po's ability. Obviously she had fallen to some sort of magic related to the Court, but it was nothing they had ever seen and nothing that Wulfgard had ever mentioned. But that didn't mean that he didn't know, right?

Turning to look directly at Wulfgard, he asked, "What kind of curse is this?"

 

[Vivian_Bloom]

Lace Condor
Court of Miracles

She must love the floor. The girl was sprawled out. Shirt ripped and bloodied, Lace rubbed the drool off her cheek and rolled over on her stomach. After that nap, her eyes were still closed when she patted around for her now missing pillow. Mumbling about missing stuffed animals she cursed to herself, lightly pounded the floor with her fist, sat up and rubbed her eyes.

Still half asleep she let out a yawn while looking around the area. Everyone was up and the Shad-Hoes' were missing. Lace pumped her fist in the air, "yesss," and took her time standing back up. Scratching her hair she lazily turned around and took her jacket to wipe her face when she stopped scrubbing.

"When did the music stop?" She whispered. Lace bit her lip and pointed around the area. A couple of the group were gathered around the front of the stage and Lace cocked her head. Her eyes shot all around the room as she squeezed her jacket. That was when she got it.

Shutting her eyes, she swung the jacket in circles around her head spinning it a bit faster every second. "Ahhhhh, Yeeeeeaaahhhhh!" She let out. Lace swung around the jacket like a sword. "Ohhh man, these guys need back-up." Lace held her sides for a brief laughing fit. "This makes us what? Two n' oh?" Lace said to the crew although she wasn't expecting a response with her looking all over the area.

Calmed down she stopped her slashing and threw the jacket around her neck like a towel. "But seriously...like," she took out a rolled up bag of M&M's. "I'm calling half time," she said before dumping a couple in her mouth and walking around. None of them looked like they were in a good mood. The fight was over, music stopped, and the boss shadow had been dealt with. That's right! Who whooped that pimp dude in the cage? Lace put back the candy, kneeled down and cupped her eyes like binoculars when she spotted JP over Terri. Lace said to herself.

"That's our champ."

It wasn't a crowd around JP and the girl. Making her way over she noticed Sigmund up asking Wulfgard something about watercress sandwiches. She knew it’d been a tough fight, but hey they were still all here. Standing a little in front of Terri, Lace looked back and saw a trail of blood leading down to JP. It took all she had to fight back the tears of joy as Lace pulled off her jacket, quietly stepped over Terri and crouched down to JP who looked kind of down.

"Here's our man," she smiled and gave his shoulders a quick playful rub. A tear went down her cheek as Lace whipped around her jacket, and dropped it over JP's back like a rock star. She got on one knee and closed an eye. "Uh, sorry about the blood," she said giving him an apologetic smile. He looked ready to cry so Lace gave him a few soft pats on the back when she looked down at Terri. Her eyes were glazed over and she wasn't moving. Except well, the girl is still breathing. Lace stared into Terri's eyes with a flat expression.

She pulled out her M&M's again. Dumping some in her hand she popped them back. Her eyes did not leave the girl. Lace kept chewing. "Ah, she'll be alright." Half the bag was empty and Lace unconsciously curled it up and dropped it on the floor. Lace turned to JP and frowned. She clapped the crumbs off her hands. "Might be sick."

"Hey," she placed a hand on his back. "Just how bad did ya punch that guy's face in?" Lace let out a chuckle.

 

[Son_of_Shadows]

Joshua Sands - Tower Arcana - Court of Miracles

The Shad-ho growled, and lunged for Joshua again, nails outstretched like an eagle's talons, but he was ready this time. With the handguard of his sword, he blocked her left, allowing him to sidestep her right, and sock her in the stomach with his left. He didn't exactly feel good about beating a woman, but consoled himself with the fact that it was a Shadow, and was trying to kill him. Self-defence and all. But she was getting smarter as the fight progressed, and was starting to get in close, where his saber became more of a hindrance, as it was unwieldy in such quarters. He managed to club her a few times in the face with the handguard to try and get some space, but it simply wasn't working, and he'd received some nasty scratches for his trouble, including quite a big gash on his left arm. She saw her chance, and sank her nails into the open wound, and Joshua howled in pain! What a dirty trick! A stiletto heel collided with his stomach, and he crashed into a tree behind him. He slid down, seemingly exhausted and winded from the combat. He panted heavily, and groaned at the pain. The Shad-ho moved in to deliver the final blow...

But it never came.

Something was wrong. She couldn't move. She glanced down, to see Joshua's sword sticking out of her stomach, and her opponent with a wry smile. "Wounded gazelle gambit," he said, smirking. Acting could come in handy. He rose, pulled his saber from her stomach, and plunged it into her chest twice. The shadow staggered back, and faded in a puff. The fight was over. Joshua put his hands on his knees and breathed a sigh of relief. That was the most intense combat he'd had so far in the Court, but he'd come out alive. Never feeling so alive actually. Still, he was bleeding heavily from his left arm, and could do with a heal... But what he saw next struck him beyond belief. Even more shadows were descending the poles, and he clutched his sword to fight... But they were all making for Theresa. All of them? He had do something, back her up! Joshua made a mad, practically suicidal dash towards the mob (he wasn't thinking straight), but it was hopeless. Three shadows obstructed him, and with a wounded arm, he couldn't put up much of a fight. All he could do was watch with horror as Theresa was electrocuted against the cage separating her from JP and his Shadow Self. The Portuguese man tried to attack his Shadow in an attempt to stop it, but it was all for naught.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The pounding techno beat quietened down, and all the shadows disappeared, as Shadow JP stabbed himself with his own weapon, strangely. It didn't matter. Unobstructed, Joshua made his way to Theresa. She seemed to be alive, but unresponsive. Was this Apathy Syndrome? It seemed so horrific... I have to try... If it wasn't for Theresa, I would've died last night from that knife wound. Please... Let me be able to return the favour... "Persona!" cried Joshua, pulling his evoker, "We have to try something Shiva, Aria!" The bass of ice formed in his hands, and they began to sing the healing song. Already Joshua could feel his own wounds closing over, and hopefully everyone else who'd been injured could hear it too. But Theresa? The song had no effect on her. Eventually, the song slowed, becoming almost a funeral dirge for their friend. Joshua stopped. It was no good. He looked up on to the stage at the crestfallen JP. All he could do was shake his head in sadness and bite his lip.

Damn it... Not another one I couldn't protect... Theresa, I'm sorry. You saved my life, and I couldn't do the same for you. No... You're not dead.

But you'd be better off if you were.

 

[Wordy]

Ciara H. Wright, Daughter of the Moon Arcana
Bellow High (geographically) Seedy Place (reality)
Court of 'Miracles'

The creature lashed at her from its point against the wall, forcing Ciara to quickly backstep with a giggle. "That's cute, dear. Maybe if you actually tried to hit me... that would be a start?" She laughed again as she drove her knee directly into its stomach. "Whoops, I guess you're not feeling too good." And then, as it crumpled onto the floor, Ciara put her foot firmly on its head, sighing and rolling her eyes. "I'm just getting warmed up, and you're already finished. What a shame. I was hoping to get the adrenaline flowing, but you're too pathetic for that."

And then she heard animalistic, raw screams. With a grin at her floored opponent, "I'll see you later," she turned to see what was going on, keeping her foot in position. The floor seemed to be packed now, full of these dancers, with a large saturation all clustered together around a particular spot, which was where the sounds were coming from. With a look of curiosity on her face, Ciara completely forgot about her old opponent. That one was finished. Maybe she could destroy all of these new ones as well. She felt so alive today, brimming with all that energy. She hadn't even had to use the Kitsune at all, whilst most of the chumps had been relying on their Personas to do their dirty work, which she felt spoke volumes.

Although everyone else had gathered as close to the source as they could, Ciara had pulled out a compact, and noticing a tiny scratch on her left cheek, began applying foundation, not really paying attention to what was going on. Those people could wait. Satisfied at her progress at hiding the blemish, she pocketed the handheld mirror and smiled breezily.

Hearing something behind her and convinced that her opponent had recovered, Ciara whipped around to see it clutching its head in agony on the floor, in the throes of... something. The pole it had slid down had retracted into the ceiling, and all around the room she could see the rest of them in a similar state. Whatever purpose they had been made to fulfil, they had fulfilled it, and Ciara watched with morbid fascination as it dissipated before her eyes, leaving some strange wispy black gas.

Still more wailing behind her. Lord. Melodrama.

Deciding to avoid the outpourings of emotion and noting that the floor was pretty much cleared, Ciara took advantage of the situation to retrieve her Evoker from the floor and dust it off (There were two last night. Patience.), before walking over to where her butterfly sword was. Ciara was impressed that it had managed to lodge itself in one of the walls. Talk about sharp- and that thing must have had a helluva throwing arm! She looked at it with reverence as she tugged for a while, finally freeing it.

Boy, it was quiet.

Ciara managed to slip over to where everyone was looking. The leathery hag had collapsed onto the floor, but people were acting like it was the end of existence. She wasn't responding to anything around her, and was all but lifeless, her glassy gaze far, far away. Her idiotic 'lover' was making all the racket, all those emotions flaring up. What a joke he was right now. He wasn't pitiful- just plain pathetic. How easily she could crush him now...

Was this the Apathy Syndrome Joshua had talked about earlier? Theresa honestly didn't look any different. Ciara still had the urge to slap her in the face for dressing like such an idiot (only incredible self-control stopped her), and ha-ha, she would be immortalised like that in the minds of her family forever. She would be dragged into hospital and everyone would see her as the underdressed slore she was, and she would be an embarrassment to them, and all they could think of was their daughter and how sexualised she was.

The fact that the girl appeared to be better off dead didn't really have an effect on Ciara's thoughts. Live dressed like that... get killed by beings dressed like that. As usual, karma and fate had a sense of irony. In any case, she didn't really look dead dead, which was where all that crap like fate and hope came in handy. Why was everyone else being so emotional? Weren't they all happy-sappy hope losers?

But life carried on.

With a dismissive "Hm" and a raise of her eyebrows. Ciara was back in her compact, this time at her mascara. She felt so tired, and she looked it too- she prodded the bags under her eyes, eventually deciding that there was nothing to be done for them. She seriously couldn't be bothered to drive all the way home in this condition, and sleeping in the car would be a complete no-no, as she would resemble a vagrant. She could leech off of Joshua or Miyuki. From where she stood, she could see that Joshua looked to be in the sort of mood where he couldn't say no to anything.

Perfect.

 

[TheSequelReturns]

~ Miyuki Tachibana ~
- Court of Miracles -

Miyuki was tired. This battle was dragging out far too long. Whatever this Shadow was, Hama seemed to have no effect on it. Astraea had tried four times already, yet each time the flash of light faded, the Shad-Ho remained standing, seemingly unscathed. With Hama not having much of an effect, Astraea was left on defense, merely slowing the Shad-Ho down. Tetrakarn put too much of a strain on Miyuki, so she was holding off on it for now. No need to tire herself out, especially not in the face of what looked like a long battle.

The Shad-Ho Attacked again, striking at Miyuki's shield. This things appearance really ticked her off, and that was only made worse by its movements. It felt like fighting a stripper, one who was taunting you the whole time. But despite her anger at the thing, there wasn't much she could do except block its attacks with her shield and hope the little disc of metal would outlast her straining arms.

"Why won't you just die already?" Miyuki shouted at it.

As if complying with her demands, the Shad-Ho suddenly stopped its assault, stepping back and grabbing its head. It let out a ghastly wail, shrieking like a banshee before evaporating into a cloud of black mist and vanishing. Miyuki was dumbfounded for a moment. "Did my shouting do that?" she asked Astraea jokingly as she tried to catch her breath.

If Astraea was amused, she made no sign of it. Rather, she simply made a small tilt of her head and waved her hand in the direction of the others, the golden scales she carried clinking softly together. It was that small sound that made Miyuki notice the music had stopped.

Miyuki followed Astraea's outstretched hand to where the the others seemed to be gathering at the foot of the stage. "Something's happened." she said, her voice grave.

Astraea nodded. "We should go." As always, her voice was calm, unfettered. If she felt anything, she gave no outward indication of it.

Miyuki made her way over to where the others were, Astraea fading away once more. The others seemed to be gathered around... a body. Miyuki's heart sank. Oh no, not again. Please not again.

She stared sprinting now, ignoring the protest in her legs. The wind tussled her hair, and she had to brush her face as she ran. She stopped when she got close, breathing heavily, but unworried about her own condition. She caught sight of JP on the stage, injured, but alive. That was good, but then... She edged up through the group, and caught sight of Theresa. She was lying on the ground, pale and still but breathing. She was alive, or so it seemed, but her eyes... her eyes were empty and unfocused, as though she was staring into space. Something terrible had happened to her. She was still alive, but in a state like that, Miyuki didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

"What... what happened to her?" Miyuki asked of no one in particular.

She caught Theresa's void gaze once again and a realization struck her. She had failed. She had vowed that she wasn't going to let anyone else come to harm in the court... and yet she had not only barely protected herself, but she had failed to protect another of her friends... Theresa. She hadn't known her that well, she may not get the chance now, but to lose someone else...

A sudden, horrible thought passed through Miyuki's mind, and for the briefest of moments she was actually glad that it hadn't been someone she had known better. The fact that that thought could even run through her head at a time like this... She balled her hands into fists, her nails threatening to dig into her palms. She needed to get stronger. She would get stronger. Strong enough to protect everyone. To keep anything like this from happening again.

She had to.

 

[Niihyl]

A tad bit rushed, an written from a tiny keyboard, so forgive mindless BS if/when it occurs.

Mana Shizuko

Mana whirled about, blinking the spots from his eyes. He refrained from pulling back an arrow for the moment; with technicolor rainbows still blinking in his eyes, he was more likely to hit someone on his side.

"Mudo!" Mana cried, firing his evoker. Alice appeared once more, and with her regular lightheartedness summoned an evil looking array of blood and darkness. Well, that would be a great trick at parties. For emo, psychotic cultists. But those were the fun people.

The Shad-ho took the hit and screeched, flinching back. Mana didn't want to use too much energy, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they wouldn't have to fight Shadow JP at all. If JP won, it would be over. If J-Pimp won, JP would be dead, and the Shadow would poof with it.

Mana glanced over at JP and saw that the boy had chucked his weapons away. The bloody moron!

At least J-Pimp wasn't taking advantage of it. They were talking, but their words were indecipherable under the pulsing music.

"You'd better not die," Mana grumbled, nocking an arrow as his vision slowly returned. He was about to fire when seven mote Shad-hos slithered down the poles. "Oh, come on!" Mana groaned. But he'd have far more to groan about.

Four Shad-hos went straight for Terri, while the rest circled around keeping the other Persona users out. Mana hurled a dirty look at J-Pimp. "Oh, no, you bastard, that's a low blow..."

Mana fired at one among the circle of Shad-hos, trying to break a hole through the impenetrable wall of bodies. But there wasn't time. Terri was shoved against the cage, causing her to writhe in agony.

Another one bites the dust, huh? I guess we sorta knew Terri well. Not really, she was always just lounging against J-Prick, Alice muttered disinterestedly. She's not even properly dead.*

"I'll kill them all, I'll do it! I'll rip them apart! They'll... they'll all die for me!" Mana hissed. But the last three words lacked power. They didn't have the unearthly, hellish quality to them.

Look over there, Mana, Alice said. She's not dead.

Shadow JP drew a sword of his own... And stabbed himself through the chest. The monster began to fade into mist, and so did the Shad-hos. Mana stumbled over, and realized that Terri was still breathing.

Apathy Syndrome.

A fate worse than death, Alice sighed. Death is the greatest mercy, the ultimate peace. This is a cold mockery. With this... That boy will always be filled with false hope. Hope that she may be saved. Hope crushes the soul just as badly as despair. It would be kinder to end her life now.

Why the deep thought? Mana asked.

I am you. I'm just a Persona - a mask. A really pretty mask, and far more interesting than the face underneath, but really just a picture of the inside of you...

Or maybe it's just my time of month?

Mana let out a chuckle that was dangerously close to a sob. "We still have terrible timing."

JP was screaming, and Sofiya was laughing - hysterically, rather than with any real humor. Her rambling was confusing, but seemed to imply that she'd lost someone too.

A lot like him, actually.*

JP crawled painfully to Terri's side, and Mana moved so as to allow him her side. He gave the bigger boy a pat on the shoulder before stepping respectfully back.

And an absolute certainty was on the red-haired boy's mind.

He didn't want anyone else dead. All of that... It was the sort of exaggerated darkness that was a characteristic of Shadows.

A characteristic of Alice...

 

[Zincspider]

Randy Clopin
Quarterman Streets
Court of Miracles

“That's not how God intended a telephone pole to be used!”

“GOD HAS NO PLACE IN THE MATTERS OF A MAN AND HIS TELEPHONE-POLE! Besides, he was the one to knock it down. I simply used his destruction to my advantage.”

“I really don't want to talk about your telephone-pole.”

Randy and Hellion stared at the slowly dissolving remains of the giant wheel. A large metal post driven between it's spokes had caused it a little more trouble than it had gambled for, leaving the two hotheads victorious.

Randy probably would have berated his other half more if not for two reasons:
1: Before tonight, he probably would have tried to do the same thing on his own.
2: His head was really starting to hurt, and his knees were on the verge of giving out.

The whole chase drained Randy each second Hellion continued to remain corporal, standing beside him defiant or no. And the efforts of ripping up a large metal post and tossing it defiantly wasn't helping matters. But he couldn't stop now. Izzy's house was only half a block down. He could see it clearly in the moonlight.

“Let's keep going.” he ordered to his Persona, not even bothering to dismiss it. Hellion nodded, and snapped his fingers, summoning his bake back into existence. Randy felt the effects at once. Shadows would be coming soon enough. He'd seen them on the way here.

Oh lord. He'd left Liza alone in all of it. What if...

“JERK!”

Randy sighed, a massive weight lifted off of his chest. She was alright. Angry and yelling, but safe. She was a Persona user after all. She could hold her own if forced to.

“You're not hurt. Good.” Stopping to take a breath, he began to march towards Izzy's. The best he could at least. Taking one step, he felt his legs turn to jelly and stumble. He tried to stop his fall, succeding in that he only fell on one knee instead of on his face.

“No but you are.” Liza whispered behind him, much calmer than she was only a few seconds ago. The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the block. “Dia!”

Turning Randy found himself looking straight into the palm of Liza's Persona. Her hand began to glow a bright, bluish-purple and instantly he felt his body being filled with energy, as if a brisk wind had hit his face and was amplified a hundred fold. His burning legs recovered first, mending his damaged muscles. His head came next, allowing him to think clearer. He wasn't completely fixed, but he could walk again.

“Wow... that felt good.” Randy noticed, standing back up.

“Come on, we have to save your boyfriend.” Liza deadpanned, keeping her expression as blank as always. Randy couldn't help laughing, simply at the delivery. This was probably the first time he'd heard her make a crack like that as well. She kept to herself most of the time.

“Oh, now you make jokes, eh?”

Garret Wulfgard
Disco-strip
Court of Miracles

“Dammit...” Wulfgard muttered.

Of course this would happen. One more night were he wasn't able to do a damn thing. He wasn't able to break through his own two personal blockades to observe the situation until it was too late (Remebering Haruka's accusations didn't help his situation. All he needed was some 'blow') . And because he'd been too slow, he'd lost another one.
No. He couldn't blame himself.
Something must have happened to make the Shadows suddenly want to grab Terri and treat her like a fly.

Sigmund walked up to him after the fight had ended, and asked Wulfgard what kind of curse this was. He rightly didn't have a good answer. “It's... it's the Court's form of punishment. If you're defeated, you're inflicted with Apathy Syndrome... or that's what we call it. She won't be able to think... feel... do anything until it goes away.” He hoped they didn't ask on how to fix it. He wouldn't even be able to bullshit his way out of that one.

Slowly, he made his way over to where the students had gathered. It took a while, seeing as his was nursing a large cut on his calf. He had dodged one of the hooker's claws only to land straight in the path of the second's halfway through the battle. And without the ability to use his Persona willy-nilly it took time to kill them.

Standing over the crouching students, Wulfgard shook his head.

Nothing could be done now.

“When the Court's over, we'll have to bring her to the hospital. They'll make sure she stays...” He couldn't think of a word here. Safe? Alive? The same? “...nourished.” Not the best word, but it was true. It was virtually impossible to feed someone in this condition without taking hours.

Looking at JP, Wulfgard issued on last command for the night“,And you'll have to call her family. You were closest to her, after all.”

Izzy Simone
Workshop
Court of Miracles

He'd fallen asleep.

Maybe it was his head injury. Maybe it was just lack of rest, prolonged periods of working in the dark, and the soothing music coming from his newest creation. Either way, he didn't even know he'd gone out until he was woken up by a familiar voice shouting up to his window.

“IZZY! GET YOUR ass DOWN HERE!”

Randy? Oh shit, was he angry about earlier? He'd have to apologize... quickly.

Rushing over to his window, knocking over several unbalanced stacks of scrap in the process, Izzy peeked out and promptly wanted to pull his head right back into his safe room and forget what he saw.

Randy was out there all right, but he wasn't yelling cause he was angry. More like he was yelling because it was the only thing that could be heard over the clusterfuck occurring in the middle of the street.

Randy was standing in the middle of it all, dark blobs surrounding him. He was trying to keep them back punching with both his good arm, and his cast, not giving about the damage it might do. A few didn't look to dangerous, small black pools of oil with a creepy little mask, but most of the others seemed much more treacherous.

Several huge white gloves walking on their fingers, a shadowy head peeking out of the opening complete with a familiar mask, were attempting to strike his dodging friend, while small flying cherubs dark as pitch were doing their best to plug as many arrows into him as possible. Izzy cringed when he saw one of them strike Randy in the shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. The arrow slowly faded leaving a bleeding and open wound.

“DAMMIT!” Randy shouted, grabbing his shoulder. “HELLION! HEAT WAVE!”

Izzy finally took notice of the tall man in the gray coat, and red bangs standing next to Randy, knocking the Shadows away... and the fact he didn't have a face. He'd thought him an enemy at first, but that idea was forced out quickly.

“GOT IT!”

The man hunched over, tensing up his muscles. A red aura began to rise from his body, and Izzy's face started to feel oddly warm. He gripped the window ledge, causing his knuckles to go white. What was he doing?

**CRACK**

The ground at his feet began to split open, revealing an fierce orange glow. Within a second the light from underground strengthened and lit the man up, creating an almost demonic figure in the middle of the street. It was almost frightening... but he was helping Randy so it couldn't be all bad.

“RRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

This 'Hellion's' body burst open, trowing his chest forward, and his arms back. A primal cry met Izzy's ears, and almost made his previous observation back and replace it with something more appropriate. Like 'Scary as all balls'.

The fissures at the demon's feet erupted, and began to spread at a pace so fast Izzy could barely keep up. A wave of asphalt flowed over the area, creating a tsunami of rock and tar flinging most of the creatures up into the air with a huge rumbling that Izzy always associated with volcanoes. The smallest Shadows burst when the wave hit them, lost in the air. The ones that were flying a few feet above the ground already weren't safe though. As the wave passed, the light at the peak wasn't just an orange glow- it was a viscous blaze, incinerating the small, arrow-flinging bastards on the spot.

As the wall of fire and stone reached the edge of the street, it calmed down, leaving the asphalt in pieces and Randy in the middle of it all, heaving.

“Randy?”

“IZZY!” He shouted, ignoring his obvious wounds. “I'M SORRY! YOU'RE... you're right. I'm not Richter. I'm me. And you're you. I won't force you to do anything anymore. Your a man of your own means.”

“No... I'm sorry too, I could have handled it better. I wasn't thinking right. You are my brother... just not by blood, ya know?”

Randy grinned, revealing bleeding gums. Ew. Probably took a few hits to the face during the brawl. Izzy would have offered one as well, if he hadn't just shit his pants.

Coming down the road was something he never thought would grind down his driveway. A large black tank, topped with what seemed to be a large yellow plate with eyes over the cockpit, crushed vehicles under it's treads. It's thundering charge soon caught Randy's attention as well.

“Catch!” He shouted, reaching onto his thigh and pulling out a silver gun. An Evoker. And he slung it at Izzy's face.

It was a beautiful toss really, but the fact it was aimed at his face kept Izzy from appreciating it. Magic moment ruined by a tank and someone throwing a gun. Great. Ducking, Izzy let the gun fly into his room. He heard a clang as it landed in one of his piles of junk.

Crap. That thing was silver. So was everything else in his damn workshop.

“HELP!” Randy screamed. Izzy peeked back out to seen running circles around the Tank. The turret was following him, blasting a ear-bustingly loud shell at his heels every few seconds and leaving a large crater, flinging up pieces of asphalt in the process. “I... Can't... do much more.”

Izzy could tell. Hellion was trying to punch it, doing nothing what so ever.

Jumping back into the workshop, Izzy began kicking around piles of old inventions and tools, looking for something that was shinier than the rest of the junk. Repeated screams of random obscenities alerted Izzy that Randy was still alive, but he couldn't take too long.

“There!” Right next to an old prototype of his was the shiny little pistol. Picking it up quickly, Izzy took a second to look at what lay next to it. The size of a football, but the shape of a gauntlet... it was his old wrist-mounted pneumatic stake... kind of a hand-held jackhammer. It was slow, not moving nearly as fast as a real pneumatic drill, but it was powerful. He'd designed it to run electricity, but to took a lot. Over all, he'd deemed it a failure... but it might make a decent weapon. After the afternoon, he didn't want to mess with knives again. As fast as he could, he latched it on and ran to the window.

“Alright... what did Randy say? Something like shoot myself?... sounds crazy... but... but I have to.” Raising the gun to his head, Izzy took a deep breath

and

pulled

the

trigger.

For a second Izzy thought he had broken the window. But he soon knew something else was amiss as lightning lit up the sky with long blue tendrils. His head began to ache,and he dropped the pistol.

I am thou. And thou art I.
I am Daedalus. Ingenuity runs through my veins, as does it yours. An locked potential that may one day revolutionize the world, just as I did. May your soul power your endeavors, and may we create a new path for ourselves, one in which all we have to offer to the world is realized. ​

A voice. Something... electronic. Still clearly human, and obviously masculine, but a small distortion led him to believe it was completely so. Turning, Izzy nearly stumbled out of the window.

A tall man stood behind him. Well... it was man-shaped at least. Made completely of bronze, a suit of impossibly intricate armor whirred, a blue light escaping from between each of it's plates. The handy-work was incredible, each plate small enough and placed precariously to the point that it had complete movement. From a break in the elbow joint, Izzy could make out dozens of gears turning constantly behind the blue light. An automaton.

This Persona of his, or 'Daedalus' as he called himself stared at Izzy behind a pair of glowing blue eyes, each the shape of a small rectangle where a person's eyes would normally be, this was his only facial feature Izzy could make out. His chest was obscured by a large, oiled, leather workman's apron. Arms crossed over the piece of clothing, it seemed awfully serious.

”Come.”

That's all it said, grabbing Izzy by the collar. It's body seemed to care not about the weight of holding up a boy, and it certainly didn't give out when jumping from the window onto the back of the tank, Izzy screaming the entire time. Landing with a large thunk, the tank shook for a second, giving Randy a chance to turn into the nearest alleyway and out of the thing's sight. Still spinning, however, the tank was attempting to locate the cause of it's trouble.

Unable to think clearly, Izzy screamed at the tin-man “Do something about this piece of junk!” He had no idea what this things abilities were. And if he was supposed to find them out naturally, he'd forgotten them already.

Nodding, Daedalus dropped Izzy and raised it's hands together, making a motion of cracking it's knuckles. Izzy almost scoffed at the notion of a robot needing to do something of the sort, but now wasn't the time.

”Punch it” Daedalus commanded, looking at his partner.

“WHAT? How?” If a automaton could roll it's eyes, Daedalus could have been a champ.

“With your pilebunker. QUICKLY!”

Izzy nodded, and stared at the yellow face under his knees. Looking at one of the eyes, Izzy aimed for the black slit and jabbed his fist at it. When he reached the contact point, he squeezed the trigger, activating the stake.

He'd expected the recoil to carry into his arm, possibly causing a fracture, but it tore through the plating like a wet napkin. Somehow it was getting plenty of power... he'd never seen it work to this capacity away from a power source.

”ZIONGA!”

Izzy could only stare as Daedalus began to glow brighter and brighter, blue lighting arcing over his body. When it seemed to reach the apex of it's power, Daedalus pointed it's palm at the pilebunker itself. Izzy began to feel lightheaded, and didn't have time to cringe as a storm of electricity blasted from the mechanical man's hand and at his arm.

Funny thing is, he didn't feel a thing.

Staring down at his weapon, the arcing light flowed down the spike into the inner mechanisms of the tank. The longer Izzy witnessed the oddly beautiful sight, the more the tank seemed to shake violently. Strange. The stuff was climbing up his arm as well, but it didn't even tickle.

He didn't get to watch much longer. Daedalus grabbed him by his collar again, and jumped from the vehicle.

“What was that fo-”

**BOOOOOOOOOM**

“Oh.”

Randy Clopin
Alley Between Izzy's house and the neighbors... really a pathway then I guess.... whatever
Court of Miracles

Liza was tending to his wounds. She refused to let him out until she'd done everything she could have. As of now, the hole in his shoulder had been repaired, his gums weren't bleeding anymore, and any extra damage done to his arm was repaired.

“How'd you even manage to stand that kind of pain?” She asked, taking a breather between Dias. She didn't seem to be suited for the healing spell, and it took more out of her than the average person.

“Took my meds. They really do wonders.” Randy answered, grinning like a loon at his idea of preparation.

“Really helped against that tank, eh?”

“Stuff it man.” Randy joked, turning to Izzy.

The boy was leaning against his own house, staring at the sky.

“Still, it was pretty damn cool what you did back there. You blew up a freaking tank man!”

“Yeah...”

“And is that a fuggin' pilebunker? How'd you make that?”

Izzy didn't seem to be listening. Instead he started a new train of thought.

“So... this is all real, eh?”

Randy cocked his head. “Well, yeah. I thought I went over it pretty well this morning.”

“Probably didn't really hit him until now... I know it took me a couple days to really think of all this as real.” Liza pitched in. She was really tired now. She hadn't fought, but she had to run on foot and use Dia quite a few times to get Randy back to an acceptable condition. “This...is really somthi-” Her eyes began to close and she slid down, her head landing on Randy's shoulder. She'd fallen asleep.

“So... what now?” Izzy asked, staring at the moon. A small sliver of light was still peeking out from a large black oval.

“I... guess we just survive. Maybe end this whole thing. Keep each other safe, you know... that sort of thing.” Randy offered, relazing his shoulder a little, as to not wake Liza with his movements.

Izzy nodded and smiled.

“Yeah, I guess that sounds about right. Don't worry. I've got your back bro.”
-

Izzy Simone
Big Oak Tree
Sunday

"You made it, I was worried you weren't going to show up..."

Miyuki said, pulling her knees closer to her chin. Izzy nodded. He didn't know what to say to that. 'Oh, I wouldn't miss this for the world' felt a little to strong at this point. And 'Well, I had free time, so I guess this isn't so bad' was a bit too harsh. Instead he settled with a smile.
Fortuneatly, she seemed just as nervous as he was. Thank the lord. She didn't seem to be used to this kind of thing either. It was almost like she was reciting somthing practiced in froont of a mirror. Izzy watched a couple of the leaves of the tree fall in front of him. They were staring to lose their color. It was nearing fall after all.

"Listen, I think we've got off on the wrong feet. Every time we've met each other, its been some kind of forced situation or something. But I think we can start over, if you'd like." She seemed relieved to get that off of her chest. Izzy thought about this statement. Wrong 'feet', eh? He had almost forgotten english wasn't her native language. Kinda disheartening... it was almost like a rejection. The first part at least. The second gave him a bit of hope though. She seemed to want to go somewhere.

"Y-yeah." He stuttered. There... he had finally said somthing.

Standing, she dusted off her pants, and went around the tree to retrieve a plastic bag. Two small boxes were visible through the white material. "Here, I made you this. If you don't mind joining me for lunch that is."

That was a tougher question than he expected. Did he want to stay? A part of him was screaming yes... probably somthing in his chest. While another was trying to warn him it was a bad idea. This, he was sure, was his bladder. It was positive it couldn't take the stress of sitting down and having lunch with a girl. For the first time... like, ever.

"No..." He began, almost falling victim to his bladder's treacherous advice. Imediately he could see it was a mistake. Miyuki's big red eyes were filled with dissapointment... like all of her work and practice to go through with this whole thing had been wasted. Great... she had him. "...problem at all. Heheh."

And there it was. A smile that made staying worth it.
Reaching into the bag, she pulled out a small box... 'bento', Izzy believed it was called. Popping open the lid, he could tell it was handmade. Considering the bag, he thought it had been bought for a second. It's wasn't prefect though, some of the shrimp were slightly burned, and the rice spilled over into other compartments. But he didn't care. In fact, he was pretty sure that made it even better. Reaching for the chopsticks, Izzy paused for a second. He had no idea how to use them.

Looking at Miyuki, she had opened her lunch already and was begining to eat, but her eyes were fixed on him... as if waiting for his reaction.

Laughing awkwardly, Izzy reached down and snapped the sticks apart. 'Let's do this... I killed a tank, so I shouldbe able to eat with sticks."

He was wrong. Stabbing down at a piece of shrimp caused it to fly up into the air, plopping neatly in his hair. 'I give up...' He resigned, reached up and grabbing the stray shellfish, and popping it in his mouth.

"Wow... that's good." It wasn't a lie. He really did enjoy it. He wasn't sure if it was her cooking, or that he lived on packaged starch-based products. Either way, he definately enjoyed it more than anything he'd eaten in a long time. He began to reach for another with his fingers, when a trembling hand grabbed his. Looking up Miyuki was shaking her head.

"I-I brought a fork just in case.... if you need it, you just have to ask."

"Oh... sorry. Heheh."

END OF “PERSONA: OVERPOWERING PAST”​