destinystrings | Troops Come Marching In

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Troops Come Marching In

It's finally tournament time, which means it's time for the cavalry to move on out. When the rescuers make their way to the abandoned factory that had been named as the entrance by Q, it's rather easy to spot where their destination was. In fact, they were greeted with the appearance of extremely out of place grecian columns and ancient-looking ruins, complete with a large set of stairs leading downward; there might as well be a big neon sign with arrows pointing downward and the caption "HEY EVERYONE!! HERE IT IS!! ENTER THIS DUNGEON!! WIN FABULOUS PRIZES AND LOOT!!!" It's a rather alarming testament to just how powerful rumors are in this town, if the Junes saga wasn't indication enough.

Reiko, a member of the Seven, awaits them at the entrance with her Jack Frost standing at her side, clutching two strange objects in her hands as every assembles.

"I took a look around inside before you got here," she began, a matter of fact tone to her voice, though it was still light despite the gravity of the situation. "It's something else in there! Looks like they've set up some kind of maze inside... You'll have to get through it if you want to find the others deeper inside.

"You'll split up into two groups to get through it; Eikichi, Rock, Kotoha, Ruri and Yosuke on one, and Nano, Shinjiro, Lucas, Lucina and Billy on the other. It'll make it easier for you to get through undetected, but be sure you stay together with your groups, OK?"

She moved forward with the devices in hand, handing one off to Ruri and the other to Nano. "These are courtesy of Q-- they'll teleport you and any others in a short radius back outside here, but they're one time use only. Make sure to only use them once you've found all of the others, OK?"

Once she'd handed them off, she stepped back out of the way of the entrance, her Jack Frost following at her side. "I'll stay out here and watch your back; if you need anything, you can contact me or Q over the CommLink. Good luck! And try not to get anyone killed!"

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[Before going inside, you have a chance to take a moment to speak with your teammates and your fellow rescuers to devise a plan if you so desire, as well as discuss your personal strengths and weaknesses to keep in mind for the future mission.]

[Nano seems somewhat taken aback at having been trusted with the teleportation device, but nods seriously to Reiko before securing it in her pocket. And then she turns to regard the others - she recognizes only half of them.]

Um... I suppose we should start by introducing ourselves? My name is Nano Shinonome.

[She folds her arms in front of her waist, giving a polite bow of the head before continuing.]

I'm a Support Persona user. My current Persona, Drosselmeyer, should be able to communicate with the people who have been kidnapped if anyone would like me to try.

[There's an odd little boy not too far from Nano, standing with his hands behind his back.]

Hello! My name is Fattycakes, but when I'm human like this, you should call me Billy. I'm a support Puusona user, too, but my Puusona focuses mostly on healing and defense. It also has a nifty distraction skill, though! Oh, yeah, and my real form is much smaller than my human form, so if there's any nooks or crannies to peek into, I might be able to do that.

Er.

[The third member of what is apparently the Small Children team smiles slightly and chimes in as well.]

My name is Lucas. I... think I'm also a support Persona user - I've only had it for a little bit, though, since I just got here a few weeks ago. Without it, I'm a PSI healer and supporter. I can make you stronger, put up shields, reflect attacks, and other things like that. I'm not really exactly sure how to use the Persona yet, to be honest, but I'll do everything I can.

It's nice to meet all of you. ...I just really hope we can get them out of there quickly.

[ And here's the fourth member, breaking the Small Children team (but not by a lot). She gives a little bow in greeting, but her face is serious. ]

My name is Lucina. I have not awakened my persona as of yet... but I am well versed in physical combat. [ There's a small pause - what else could she say? ] Despite the situation, it's a pleasure to meet all of you.

[Shinjiro's can only wonder who the hell put the current team and thought it was an okay idea to stick a couple (of apparent) kids into the mix. Not that he was about to underestimate children (or their lookalikes), and whatever abilities they might bring to the table, but a part of him still finds the idea of kids fighting objectionable, even if he knows the value of having a Support Persona user on the team all too well. He also knows a few other things, and one is that it's better keeping your mouth shut, so whatever complaints he might have, he doesn't voice. At least he can recognize most of the team from in person or casual glances on the network, though he stares at Lucina for a few seconds' longer than he might have. Yarne's faded memories pop up almost unwillingly, along with a decayed sense of what might have been visible relief months ago at the sight of a foreign but familiar face. But the feelings are faded and the anxiety Yarne had left him with for a short time had been shoved back into the goddamn abyss where it belonged. The only thing he finds concerning now is the fact she doesn't know how to summon a Persona, but that can be remedied easy enough.

And after a few seconds of careful, silent evaluation, he shrugs his shoulders and straightens, feeling a bit out of place considering the company, and he keeps the axe he brought along with him planted on the ground.]

It's Shinjiro Aragaki. Combat Persona user. Though physical attacks is just about all it's good for. Don't expect much else.

[Not one said he had ever been fond of introductions. He withholds a sigh.]

Next best question would be if any of you have fought the demons here before—because that's what we're going to be running into soon as we go in.

It's nice to meet you, Lucina-san and Shinjiro-san.

[She already knew Shinjiro very briefly from the grocery store raffle, but this is her first time talking to him outside of that. Nano looks around at the assembled group for a moment, not entirely sure of what it is she's supposed to be doing or saying here, but thankfully Shinjiro seems to have things together.]

I've fought the demons before. I've been training a lot lately, so I should be able to help with that if I need to.

[To her credit, despite her appearance and soft manner of speech, she is in fact confidently holding an impressive looking keyblade at her side.]

But I think if we're trying to find everyone, I should probably be using City CommLink to try to see if I can contact any of the people who were kidnapped.

...What's that?

[He means the term 'City CommLink', although Nano may mistake it as a query concerning the weapon she holds by her side.]

I've fought the demons once -- well. I've fought one demon, once, but you don't have to worry about me. I... we have these things called 'chimeras' in my world, and I think a lot of them were more dangerous than the demon I saw here.

But I've heard something about... using elements? Fire and ice and that kind of thing. My kind of PSI doesn't really cover that.

[ Lucina only barely registers the stare - normally, her mind would be questioning it for one reason or another, but it's safe to say that she's a little preoccupied at the moment. She's got a cousin to save from those demons, and she's more worried about him than being stared at.

But she is paying enough attention to answer. ] I'm familiar with the demons, yes, but... I haven't been made aware of any elements that could be present.

[ She takes a moment to pause, look around at her team mates. ] If we plan to enter this maze, it is essential to formulate a type of strategy. Especially in an unfamiliar setting - no one should be left vulnerable. [ She's not the daughter of a tactician for no reason. ] I have a suggestion, if I may?

[He nods.]

If you can talk to the people that were kidnapped, then that's fine. [He looks into the entrance of the maze before them, eyes narrowing with no small amount of distrust.] Get a headcount, then we won't be missing anyone.

[His level expression, however, doesn't waver. Doesn't look like they're all prepared, but Q and the rest were probably after those with support Personas more than anything—and they were damn hard to track down. He's surprised to have three of them.]

In the end, it ain't gonna matter much what elements we can cover or can't. Probably are going to be running into most of 'em. If you can hit them where they hurt, then good. It you can't, ain't much we can do about it. That's half of what Support Personas are around for: to tell us what their strengths or weaknesses are, if you know how to do it. Worse comes to worse, I can make sure that we can at least hit them hard—and we can get through the damn maze that way.

[That is all that he's good for. He might be a one trick pony, but he can do what he needs to do. With any luck, with three support Personas, it might be possible to avoid the bulk of the demons that potentially lie within the maze. But in so small a space, and the need to get to the actual exit, it might not be possible.

With his piece said, Shinjiro quiets again, and yields the floor with the barest nod in Lucina's direction.] You might as well.

[Nano nods at everything out of Shinjiro's mouth, quietly marveling at how calm and collected he seems about all of this. It makes her feel a little better about this mission to have someone so reliable on her team. Once he's done talking, she nods her assent and looks toward Lucina.]

Yes, please! What's your idea, Lucina-san?

Ruri is handed the device and clips it to her belt nodding. With that she brings up several terminals in front of her and lets out a breath.

"All right. Let me know who is here and I'll start mapping routines for this all. I'm Ruri Hoshino, Captain of the Nadesico. I... Well, maybe if you let me know what all you do?"

Rock steps up, followed by a dog, and turns so he can address both Ruri and the rest of the group.

"My name is Rock, or you can call me Mega Man if you prefer - I'm a lab assistant robot with combat capabilities. I'll be doing my best to help both the kidnapped people and all of you as well. Unfortunately, I've yet to awaken my Persona, so I'm not sure what kind I have or what it can do - though I do have a copy chip that allows me to copy mechanical weaponry."

He stoops down and pats the dog on the head. "And this is Rush - he's both my pet and support."

Kotoha's done her hair up a bit, trading her trademark buns-and-tails look for a functional braid and swapping out her normal visor for a pair of safety goggles. Her normal clothing has been replaced with a dark shirt and a pair of heavy jeans, and there's an airsoft gun tucked into a shoulder harness that looks fairly new, as if she'd bought it recently. Glancing around, she nods once in greeting before speaking.

"My name's Kotoha, I'm a Pokemon Trainer from Unova. My Soul Persona specializes in Fire and Light attacks, but also has access to a healing skill. I also have a Persona from the Velvet Room that specializes in weakening foes. As far as my other skills go, I have a full team of six Pokemon - non-human sapient allies with superhuman capabilities. Three of them possess the ability to fly and are capable of carrying humans with them, although they won't be able to fight at full capacity if they do so."

Her tone as she recites all this is fairly crisp, a far cry from her normal bubbly personality.

"I also possess extensive experience with infiltrating secured locations and neutralizing their security - in my home world I spearheaded the effort to disassemble a country-wide terrorist organization."

Eikichi nods at everyone's intro and pretty much beams when it's his turn. He's rather tall, standing at around 6'3", and quickly adjusts his hair before speaking. Gotta look his best!

"Hoooo! Name's Eikichi, but all you lovely babes can call me Michel, leader of Gas Chamber musical group! Hades and I can dish out dark, water and physical attacks." He holds up the guitar case that slung over his shoulder. "This is my weapon, and it's good to clear out a row of demons if we need too..." Yes, a guitar case.

Don't ask.

"Apart from that, I was a persona user before coming here. I've fought Nyarlathotep before and had my share of horrible underground tunnels, this almost feels like deja-vu...tch it's bad for my hair... oh! I can also do demon contracts. That might be useful here, depending. With Michel on your team, you can be guarantied we'll find everyone in time!"

Quick, remove him from the party before it was too late.

It is very tempting to just punch Eikichi in the back of the head but no. He might need him. Otoha hunches his shoulders a bit - why are there so many kids here? - and speaks up.

"Otoha. Don't call me Yosuke. I fight with a sword. I've been in plenty of firefights before. I'll take the front lines if no one else wants to - I -"

He pauses, before forging ahead. "- I can't feel pain so it won't slow me down. The Persona I've got from the Velvet Room is on the weaker side but it specializes in wind attacks. Yatagarasu specializes in physical attacks though it's got a dark attack and a light attack. I've also got a special skill that lets me freeze time for a few seconds, but I can't use it that much before I'm out."

"... And there's one person in particular I'm going for when I get there. Don't get in my way or you're going to get hurt."

Otoha gets a slightly awkward look from Rock, but he nods all the same. "I understand the sentiment, Mister Otoha, but I doubt anyone here intends to impede anything - we all have the same goal of rescuing everyone, after all."

Eikichi's guitar case also gets an odd look, and a curious touch. "This is a wea--" Rock starts to ask, but there's a faint glow around his forearm as he does so, and causes him to blink a few times as he processes new weapon data. "...guess it really is."

Ruri nods and puts all this information on a seperate floating screen for everyone else before pulling an odd looking metal stick from her belt and nodding.

"I believe that being methodical is the best approach to rescue. While I understand we all have specific friends that mean a lot to us I believe the greater good will be served by moving methodically."

She flicks the screens away and lets out a breath.

"Otoha and Rock, may I ask you two to take point? You both seem to be the most experienced in raw combat. Michael, I'd like you to take tactical with me since I have very little experience in dealing with demons and that seems to be your specialty. Kotoha, I know you have a lot of experience as well so I'd like you to watch our flank. Also if any of your pokemon are capable of spinning a web or excreting a string of some sort that may help us in navigating the maze. Otherwise I purchased some yarn, but I do not believe it will be enough to do more than preliminary explorations."

Kotoha pauses to think before drawing out a pink ball and releasing a humanoid jackal.

"Arthur here can mark the walls for us. Best I can do, sorry."

"Hrm. That is better than nothing. Just the rumors are this place is a very complicated maze and I'd rather avoid going in circles forever."

Eikichi looked at Rock for a second confused.

"What just happened?"

Before hearing Ruri's words and letting out a long sigh.

"Yeah let's make sure this doesn't end up with us spinning around in circles for a day," Eikichi replies a little too quickly before coughing and collecting himself.

"As long as there's no rumors that there is no way to get out of here, I think we'll be good, chica." He had experience with this. "Regardless, I did bring three mirrors just in case."

He was. Prepared.

"Fine."

Otoha growled slightly and took his position. He hated going slowly, but Johnny could last for a while. It was his captors that weren't going to survive very long.

Rock chuckles a bit awkwardly. "That would be my copy chip at work, Mister Michel," Rock explains, then nods at Ruri. His arm transforms into a cannon as he puts on a serious face - and then Eikichi brings out the mirrors which just raises further questions.

"...mirrors?"

"Yeah. Mirrors. Normally I'd be happy to explain, but I think we're on a timed mission, so let's just go!"

IT'S OKAY YOU GUYS.

If Ruri wasn't already taking the first steps, then he was going to.

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electricyousei - 2013-07-29 20:33 (UTC) - Expand

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Troops Come Marching In

MINGLE

Nano's team

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Kinda late, but!

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Ruri's Team

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1/2

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