The Persona Game [Closed]

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Who: Ayumu Narumi & Friends
Where: MAGI Building
Summary: The Persona game is attempted by a new arrival
Warnings: Philemon shows up in this one. SCIENCE?!

The building had no markings or a fancy sign. For all intent and purposes it looked like an unmarked building in a row of similar brethren. Most civilians would pass by without knowing anything was particularly unique about it. After all, the best place for hiding was right in plain view. Two-sided windows which mean you couldn't quite see what was inside, the building itself rose about six stories high and had a single door, located on the front.

Once inside, there was a man waited behind a desk, blocking the pathway leading to what looked like a metallic door. The desk itself was without fanfare or much attention either; just a single computer, a small potted plant, a small stash of paper that looked like it was never used and a ground-line telephone that was almost laughable in the age of COMP systems. He was dressed in a suit; as with most typical Japanese businessmen. The strange black bumps on the ceiling were undoubtedly hiding cameras, making it impossible to know what they were looking at.

Once someone got in, he looked up at them, his face perfectly neutral, voice gruff and demanding an answer as soon as possible. This time there wasn't an army of people trying to barge in, after all.

"Name?"

Comments

[melodyoflogic]

This place was almost completely unassuming for a research facility, but somehow Ayumu isn't surprised. It looked like a bland office building really, but that didn't make much of a difference when they'd already been told what was going on here. Obviously, they'd decorated it like this for a reason. Or maybe the guy in charge was running this on a tight budget in some places, but he doubted that.

"Ayumu Narumi."

[bondsofsuffering]

Hizumi makes no secret of his interest, peering around curiously as they walk into the building. So this is where they would play the game... Well, all the building needed was to be functional for that purpose, so it would make sense that it wouldn't be cluttered up with too much furniture.

When asked for his name, he turns to the man with an easy grin even at the gruff question.

"Hizumi Mizushiro."

Pix did you forget to track this? No shut up.

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"Right."

The man looks at her for a few silent seconds, pushing the rims of his sunglasses, before standing up.

"Raise your arms in the air. Both of you."

Even before they have a chance to confirm, a bluish glow appears on the floor as his Persona burst forth behind him. It looks like a gigantic brute with a single eye. As it steps forward, the lights dim out completely as the black spheres on the ceiling come down and hover close to both, scanning in a series of reddish lines that spread back and forth. As fast as it was done, everything moved back into their initial positions.

The Persona looks almost disappointed, as the man points to the single door, stepping back.

"Right this way."

[melodyoflogic]

Ayumu raises his arm when the request is made, and to his credit, isn't as startled seeing a persona being summoned the second time around. He does give persona a curious glance, and the scanning processes is closely observed as well. Were those X-rays? Or something more detailed? And was that thing 'security' if they didn't pass?

They were trying to keep someone out, and using pretty high tech measures to do it. But who...?

He nods when the scan is over, lowering his arm and walking towards the door silently.

[capitalbackup]

Miyako arrived at the facility early and had already passed the security. This left her to wait deep inside for the rest of the players.

She have her own reasons for offering to play and the timing wouldn't be more perfect.

And so she waits.

[bondsofsuffering]

Hizumi does not look at all perturbed as he lifts his arms for the scan, staring right back at the Persona. It certainly suited its owner; there was no doubt about that.

"Right, let's go!" is his only reply as the man leads the way, sounding far more chipper than the situation would normally call for.

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It is doing its job and making sure everyone was who they claimed to be. You could have been an someone not welcomed here. Thankfully they are not, as otherwise that might have been rather...painful for both them.

The door stands before them ominously. There's the faint sound of something humming behind it, but otherwise, it's eerily quiet. The man goes back to his desk, Persona disappearing as he continues to pretend to be occupied but is actually watching him and waiting to see what they'll do.

Last chance to step back.

> Enter Door?

[melodyoflogic]

Ayumu had already made his decision days ago. He had his own reasons for coming to Hinoto-Ri, and his own reasons for wanting to stay. Getting a persona and getting involved in all this just made it easier. There's no hesitance as he steps forward, taking the door handle in hand and turning, stepping inside.

[bondsofsuffering]

Similarly, Hizumi does not hesitate to cross the threshold, albeit for different reasons.

Unless they conflicted directly with his own desires, he would follow Ayumu wherever he might be needed (including those where he probably wasn't). He is happiest with Ayumu, and even though the time itself will only be a short one, he can't help but wish to make the most of it.

And so, if Ayumu wishes to obtain a Persona... Hizumi will be there to witness it for himself.

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The door opens to reveal...another small, white-walled corridor ending with a large metal elevator flanked by two men that are looking more like Japanese SWAT members than scientists, covered in guns and gear.

Once they get close enough, the two men indicate for both to get in. The inside is unusually large, but before either can press any buttons, a voice speaks up.

"Subject Identity Confirmed. Welcome to M.A.G.I. HIZUMI MIZUSHIRO and AYUMU NARUMI ." The voice was distorted and robotic. "Please. For your Safety. We ask that you. Hold on. To the Metallic Bars located on the edge of the Elevator. Decent begins in three seconds."

The door closes behind them both. Not much time to think, really.

"Three. Two. One...Decent begins now."

Hopefully they had listened fast enough as suddenly the transport warns them with a ding before beginning to plummet a hundred levels in the span of ten seconds.

[melodyoflogic]

Ayumu had followed the instructions almost unthinkingly. With his grip on the bars he had been expecting maybe a two, three level, ten at most drop descent. He expected rocky from the need for bars in the first place, but not something that fast and that far.

His grip slips at most two seconds in, and he's inelegantly flung backwards into Hizumi with a yell.

What was this, some deranged theme park ride?

[bondsofsuffering]

Hizumi grabs onto the bar almost immediately, and thanks to Ayumu's utter clumsiness inability to follow the gosh darned directions unfortunate mishap, it's not the only time when his reflexes come in handy. With one hand still gripping the bar tightly enough to make his knuckles go white, he automatically reacts to Ayumu's stumble by reaching out to steady him by the waist in a sort of awkward dip.

"Whoa there-!"

This is gonna be an interesting sight once they reach their destination.

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"Floor 101. Main Floor. Please hold. Still. For your scan. For Weapons. Thank you."

It was perhaps a little overkill, but once that was preformed, the elevator wished them a nice day and opened the doors.

..and another desk, but this time a woman and she seems a lot more cheerful than those before her. Then there was Miyako standing next to her. The first woman stood up, walking over as she bows in greeting.

"Mister Mizushiro and Narumi! My name is Suzuki Momoi and on behalf of the Wise Men, I welcome you into the M.A.G.I. Research department. If you are ready to begin, I can lead you to your destination, and I will explain the process at the same time."

[capitalbackup]

Miyako glanced up and gave the boys a nod. There's a small, amused smile on her face.

...She's well aware of the elevator trip, you see.

"Hello again, Mizushiro, Narumi."

[melodyoflogic]

Ayumu's fairly quick to right the awkward position he's found himself in, pushing up off the wall, extracting himfrom from Hizumi's grip and getting firmly to his feet again. Refusing to comment about it, he steps out of the elevator, glad to be done with it. He addresses the cheerful woman greeting them first with a polite smile that belies the almost accident of seconds before. She seemed pretty energetic...

"We'd appreciate it, Ma'am. I think we're all ready."

After which, he nods in Miyako's direction, returning her greeting.

"Good to see you again, Hotsuin."

[bondsofsuffering]

Hizumi smothers a snicker at Ayumu's reaction, not apparently caring at the embarrassing position they had been caught in. Taking things in stride, as usual. Even as Miyako smirks, he gives her a cheerful wave of greeting.

Still, Suzuki at least deserves some respect, so once he's stepped out from the elevator he gives her a small, grateful bow. "Thank you, ma'am. As Ayumu said, we're ready to go."

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"I'm glad to hear it!" she beamed, before bringing out two lab coats from a nearby hook (not everything had to be modern, you see). Each one of them had a copy of their Visitor card, along with their DOB and status. For one of them, empty in the persona field. TEMPORARY is also marked at the bottom in red.

"The cards were made for you this morning. Please wear it around your neck and make sure you don't lose it! Losing a card could be extremely dangerous to the facility as a whole. The lab coat can be worn over your normal clothing. While you won't be experimenting yourself, we want to maximize the chances..." How that works with coats, no one would know.

As they all go forward, the lighting dim more, and there are many paths that lead to open windowed rooms where scientists are busy working on various projects. Persona users fighting each other, attached to a machine that measure their brainwaves and body temperature. Others seem to be examining samples under microscopes.

"There are three main branches, with most of the larger labs and silos located in the lower levels; Research, Development and Weaponry. Each is headed by one of the Wisemen. Normally we do not conduct Persona Games in here due to the closed nature of the research, however it has never been preformed with a Visitor before. The Weaponry MAGI, Takahisa Kandori, insisted."

She looks around before leading them to a pathway on the left. The rooms seem to be getting more military in nature, and they pass a sign above them state as much; Upper Weaponry Chemical Laboratory 1 A-F. Mannequins equipped with various suits are being targeted by Persona users, as other scientists jolt down results.

[capitalbackup]

Miyako gave each room a curious glance as they walk. The atmosphere wasn't all that different from JP's research facilities. The subjects of their research was where it differs.

The more military feel of the latter rooms, however, got her attention the most. Her eyes briefly read the signs, before turning her attention back to Momoi.

[melodyoflogic]

Ayumu pulls on the card and coat before following, wondering exactly what the coat was supposed to do to help. It looked like a plain old lab coat, to him. Unless this Philemon seemed to like lab coats, but he somehow doubted it. Was there something else about these things?

He takes in the rooms as they pass as well, eyeing the combat tests in particular even as he absorbed the information she gave. "He insisted? Is there any reason why? Someone else said there have been others who arrived here without Philemon's help before." He was aware him coming here on his own was probably seen as an odd move from some of the reactions he'd gotten, but that one guy who pointed them here to begin with had said as much. Was it that no others had been recorded?

[bondsofsuffering]

Hizumi shrugs on the lab coat and card, tugging a little at the sleeve. What a nostalgic feeling - it's been a while since he's worn such a thing. Still, he wears it comfortably - it helps that this time, he's tall enough that he doesn't need to be fitted for the thing. And a good thing too, since he's pretty certain the lab coat must be specifically developed with some interesting properties of its own.

"Weaponry, huh?" What an ominous field. Of course, it doesn't matter much to Hizumi what they do with this information later, so long as it doesn't directly involve him. Still, he does make note of his surroundings out of habit, filing them away in case they turned out to be relevant again in the future. And in a place like Hinoto-Ri, who knew?

"Do we know if there will be any consequences, playing with two people who already have a Persona of their own?" If they were allowing them to participate, it obviously couldn't have been too risky, and for a chance to contact the elusive Philemon, he was willing to go through with it. However, he'd rather know if there was anything he ought to be aware of beforehand rather than later.

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Momoi attempted to keep up with Ayumi's questions.

"I'm...not sure actually. I suppose because he's a Persona expect in a way? Then again no one has...." it wasn't very polite to talk about your boss when there were cameras everywhere, so she quickly changed the subject. "Yes that's correct! We have had a few other Visitors who have come here before without Philemon using the Trapezohedron. However, none have accepted to attempt to gain a Persona using the Persona Game before."

They continued into more corridors as the lights continued to dim, and the windows became more and more tainted, making it much harder to see what was inside. Military men line up the rooms as they walk further in. It is hard to judge anything about them; they are dressed from head to toe in military uniform like the two guards upstairs and don pairs of sunglasses despite the low light.

The place almost feels like an ant colony, really.

To the left, someone opens a door with a card swipe and they get a glimpse at the thickness of the doors themselves, heavy metal and rock that would make any bank safe feel useless. Various symbols adorn the doors as well; it's not just an electrionic and physical barriers, but magic seems to be interwoven in as well.

"Again, that's completely new data when it regards Visitors," she explains. "From our own data, only the new Potientals will meet Philemon, but others habe claimed they were able to talk to him again...that's partly why we're here."

More military men and large doors. They continue onward, from section 1-E to section 1-F. Near the end of the corridor, she bows to them again.

"Swipe your card in in turn and we can get started. Mr. Kandori will handle the next segment of the test and any questions you may have. He will be inside with the final scientist who will be conducting the test with you."

Last chance to back down.

[capitalbackup]

Miyako listened to how Momoi answered the questions. If they want clearer answers, they would have to ask her boss directly. Assuming he deem it necessary to answer that question.

Until her attention was caught by the various barriers. They do seem to interwoven the various forms of barriers together without any overlap or conflict.

"And who is the final scientist?"

And were they important enough for her to remember their names? Still, Miyako pull out her card to swipe it in.

[melodyoflogic]

So he'd be the first to attempt it here, at least as far as their data knew. Tucking the bits of info she offered away for later, he follows her down the wall, glancing at the doors they pass. This was some serious security here.... And what was that on the doors?

"I'm curious about that, too. And thank you for all your assistance, Ma'am." After Miyako swipes her card, Ayumu steps forward to do the same. He had a few guesses as to why this Kandori guy might want data on this, if he was in 'weaponry' research, but he'd like to hear the name of whoever else was involved.

[bondsofsuffering]

Well, hopefully they'd find someone to answer questions, whether it was Kandori or Philemon himself. Although... when it comes down to it, Hizumi wouldn't be surprised if the pair of them managed to dodge any questions through mystical or mundane ways, each.

"Thanks for taking us here," Hizumi says with a polite smile. "Even if you couldn't answer everything, it was helpful!" Except not really. But it's best to be nice about it, at least.

He swipes his card after Ayumu. If he didn't intend to turn back, Hizumi wouldn't, either.

[hinoto_ri]

Before Momoi could answer they were already on the other side, as the door slammed behind them. Uneasy silence followed in the very dimly lit room, before a few headlights slowly opened overhead.

"Hello!" Another scientist said, waving at them coming from the unidentifiable lights in the back. Despite the gloomy nature of the place, she was grinning. "My name is Maiko Kora! Pleased to meet you. Do you have any questions before we begin?"