(no subject)

[otakuro]

[After four days of wandering around aimlessly, the inevitable has finally happened. The two Atsuros stand in the middle of Sagittarius district, facing each other down. The Shadow is no longer withdrawn and timid. Bolstered by the promises it had heard, it stares at its counterpart now with a faint smile.]

I really thought you were going to complain about how we've never beaten Hizumi at that stupid drum game.

...

...And the dancing game, come to think of it.

Why do you do that? Whenever there's a problem... that's all you do. Laugh it off.

What? ...You want me to whine about it? Like you?

I want you to face it. All of your friends... All of your friends know how you really feel now. Everything you're afraid of. Everything you try to hide.

[The brown-eyed boy stiffens at this statement and averts his gaze with a slight shrug.]

I don't hide anything from them.

[His doppelganger pauses before calling out in a trembling, petulant, high-pitched tone.]

'They don't really like me... They don't really want me around...... Nano hates me, Midori probably can't wait to get rid of me, and Yuzu... Yuzu just deals with me 'cause she wants to be around Kazuya. ...Kazuya. Perfect hero Kazuya. The guy I stick to like a leech so maybe I feel a little more worthwhile.'

...That's not what I think at all.

'Maybe if I act like a clown, people will like me. Maybe if I make myself try harder, people will have to like me.

.......Maybe if I were a better kid, Mommy and Daddy wouldn't have ditched me like a -- '

Shut up.

[A brilliant flash of light, and the street is suddenly filled to the brim. Two demons, a Persona, and Atsuro himself stand ready on both sides, each facing their counterparts. Four on four. Atsuro clenches a trembling fist tight as his allies ready themselves to fight.]

I've never believed that. I've never believed any of those things.

...Ehehe. The sad thing is.... they all know now. They all know how you really feel, and... they still want to be your friend. -- Oh... sorry. They want to be my friend. Because you were too much of a coward to ever tell them the truth.

...I think we'll be fine without you.

Enki!

((Warning - Atsuro is Level Max, so the Shadow will pack a pretty hefty punch! There will be two threads for fighting with the Shadow and the Persona or fighting with the demons.))

Comments

Shadow and Persona (Enki Prime)

[otakuro]

[mementodagger]

The demons don't even register on Yurick's radar. No, he's floored by the sight of two Atsuros, two Enkis, and a whole mess of chaos shooting through the auras of both Shadow and human. It almost hurts his innate mage senses to feel such terrible conflicting wrongness. He's never witnessed anything so... unnatural.

"A-- Atsuro...?" His voice comes out strangled, weak and unsure, because he knows one of them has to be fake. At his current distance and without them facing him, he's not sure who to attack. It's a huge mess he's striding toward, dimly cursing Zael for softening his heart because it just might get him killed today. Balor appears behind him, hovering, swiveling slowly back and forth to fix its stony gaze on first one Atsuro, then the other.

"What the hell is going on here...?"

[bondsofsuffering]

[...He wasn't looking to get caught up in another one of these. And frankly, he's still pretty exhausted from the past few.

But instead of moving on, he remains nearby, keeping close to the corner of a building in order to keep himself hidden for now.]

Persona.

[He barely murmurs the word, summoning up that ever familiar Magician Tarot a moment before it shatters, bringing Itzpalt of the Element to his side. Instead of rushing in with an attack, he remains there, casting Mind Charge on himself.

Just in case. He'll stay by, just in case.]

[pretty_pink_ribbon]

Yuzu hasn't summoned her persona or her demons yet. She'd been just watching, waiting to see where this was going. But she can hardly stay quiet now.

"Hey!"

She is glaring at shadow!Atsuro as she steps forward.

"You do not get to decide why I want to be friends with you. Or him.....

Or.... whatever!"

Having two Atsuros is way too confusing. She turns to the other Atsuro.

"The point is I didn't hang out with you because of Kazuya. I mean, do you really think I would've put up with all that video game computer nerd stuff if I didn't like you?"

Malaques > All

[otakuro]

"Guys!"

Atsuro whirls around at the sound of voices, and Enki Prime calmly pushes its master out of the way of a flurry of ice shards in his moment of distraction.

"...Get out of here. If he's my double, we're equally matched - your Personas aren't going to be as strong."

"...I wouldn't hurt my friends. We promised each other... we were friends no matter what. Isn't that right?"

Atsuro splutters for a moment at this. "G-Get your own friends!"

"I'm not the one doubting them. Listen to her. She's telling you straight-out, and you're still thinking she's only saying that because she has to in a fight like this. ...You're never going to be good enough."

"I thought I told you to shut up!"

The streets are suddenly even more awkwardly cramped as both Enkis simultaneously send a flood of water cascading towards each other. Contrary to Shadow Atsuro's words, his friends are not spared the brunt of the attack.

[mementodagger]

Unfortunately, water is one of Yurick's elemental weaknesses. With a cry of alarm he tries to leap out of the way, but there's no avoiding that torrent. It sweeps him off his feet, washing him right into a wall. Though Balor naturally hovers far above the water, the blow to Yurick affects it as well, sending flickers and static through it.

Stunned and hurting, the mage tries to struggle to his feet, but already he's likely in need of healing. If he can get it, he's going to jut blast the field with Prominence, knowing that anyone without malicious intent toward him will be exempt from the damage. His Persona's spells won't harm allies either, but his own magic will benefit them thanks to the fire enhancement it grants.

If he wasn't in pain, he might be embarrassed at how quickly he was struck down.

[otakuro]

Enki, unfortunately, is not itself weak to fire despite the duality the two elements often possess, and as predicted by Atsuro, the sheer strength of the Shadow's Persona seems to be enough of a match for Prominence that it isn't too terribly damaged. Shadow Enki simply launches another hail of ice towards its counterpart now; hopefully no one would get caught in the crossfire.

"Yurick, get back!"

"If you stay here, you're just -- "

" -- gonna get caught in -- "

" -- all of this water and ice.

...Awkward pause.

"Stop that!"

Makajam > Shadow

[mementodagger]

"I'm not... abandoning you!"

Now he knows who the enemy is. Even though his Persona is far outmatched, Atsuro is his friend. Balor's lights flare as it tries to cast Makajam on the Shadow. If the creature is silenced, it will hopefully be less dangerous... and far less aggravating to Atsuro.

Yuzu>mediarahan>all allies | Amaterasu>maragidyne>shadow | Troll>piercing hit>shadow

[pretty_pink_ribbon]

Well, that escalated quickly. She pulls herself back to her feet after that barrage of water, coughing and sputtering. It is clearly time get serious. She summons both her demons, Amaterasu and Troll, and then her persona too. Just in case. Now, first things first. That other guy looks like he took that last hit pretty hard, so she's going to heal him. And herself too, while she's at it. And Atsuro. Mediarahan should take care of that.

"Friends don't try to drown each other!"

Yeah, she's pretty sure that one is the evil twin. Or whatever. Her troll is aiming a piercing hit at the shadow, and Amaterasu is going to try a good old fashioned maragidyne. (Fyi, Yuzu has magic yang equipped, so everyone's mp costs are halved.)

PERSONA SKILL: BASTION

[all_wound_up]

Nano wouldn't miss this fight for the world. More accurately, she wouldn't miss helping Atsuro for the world - she meant everything she said when she talked to his Shadow, and he is one of the most important people in the entire city to her. As soon as she catches sight of the battle raging, she's running toward the front lines as quickly as she can, keyblade at the ready and her Persona Geppetto floating protectively behind her.

"Atsuro-san!"

As soon as she reaches the battle, there is a flash of light as Geppetto fades from existence and Nano calls forth the Clock Tower Manager. As the manifestation of the feelings she and Atsuro feel for each other, it only seems appropriate to make use of it in this battle. Planting her keyblade into the ground defensively, she activates the Bastion skill.

"I'll protect you, don't worry!"


((ooc: Bastion: Increases caster's Defense and Agility by 2.5x for two turns; take attacks in place of one ally for two turns. Nano is Strong against Fire and Lightning, Absorb Light, and Reflects Physical at the moment.

For the sake of not bogging the thread down too much, she's going to be going full defense every turn while it's active and shielding Atsuro himself from attacks so he can concentrate on fighting back. Nano's a max level user too, so she can take it.))

Incinerate > Shadow Atsuro

[bondsofsuffering]

The water had certainly thrown him off balance, but thankfully that building was right there to cling to. Still, it was an annoying move to say the least, and after watching the proceedings for a few minutes more he finally makes his move.

His Persona alone moves out from behind the building, sending a swathe of flame directly for Shadow Atsuro. However, Hizumi himself will only be peering from around the corner; he'd rather not put himself in a direct line of fire if he can avoid it.

Mediarama > Self

[otakuro]

"Nano...?!"

It seems Atsuro has been reduced to calling out the names of his friends as they appear, but this one, at least, is for a reason. He can feel a surge of... something in his heart as Gepetto flickers out of existence to be replaced by something he had almost forgotten he had.

The representation of their bond with one another...

When was the last time they had called it forth together? ...Before her confession, surely. If she could still summon it, then --

"Everyone... You're really with me, huh?"

The wave of attacks washes towards the Shadow and the corrupted Persona - the Silencing spell misses, though Atsuro has to suppress an inappropriate chuckle as he remembers the last time Yurick had used that spell; the two Fire attacks flare up sharply around the Shadow - the demon's seems to be largely shrugged off, although Hizumi's Persona's is a little more successful, causing them to stumble back away from the flames.

As of yet, though, neither Atsuro seems to have noticed that Hizumi is actually here.

The Shadow simply stands motionless for a few moments before a flare of light dances around himself and his Persona. They seem to be restored to health.

"Everyone...

Didn't you all say... that no matter what, you would stand with me? You didn't actually mean it... huh?

The only difference between the two of us... is that I've admitted my flaws. We're the same, he and I.

[mementodagger]

"You're not the same!" Yurick snaps, his temper showing in a rare moment. "Flaws or not, the real Atsuro would never try to harm us!"

Prominence isn't enough. The Shadow is too powerful. Yurick can't protect him like this. Once again, he's too weak to save anyone.

Not Atsuro.

Not his family.

Fury burns in his chest and, for an instant, he reaches up toward his eyepatch, as if ready to pull it off. Then he hesitates, expression twisting with fear and uncertainty, before he lowers his hand to draw the dagger at his hip instead.

"You'll burn before I let you hurt anyone, you bloody fake!" But his voice is trembling, his focus incomplete as he starts to charge another Prominence. It will take several precious seconds, but it's his strongest attack, at least in this state.

And that's when another spell wraps the Shadow: a Red Wall. Even without weakness to fire, every little bit helps, right? But who cast it...?

Demons (Power and Seiten Taisei)

[otakuro]

[prettytamer]

[Midori's demons are summoned as soon as she rounds the corner and spots the two Atsuros facing off. Lakshmi and Rangda await her orders while she surveys the scene.]

We'll clear out the demons first before we get to whatever that is. I'm coming to help, Atsuro!

[She doesn't waste time before unleashing a Holy Dance on her chosen opponents.]

[otakuro]

Midori!

[The Holy Dance takes the two demons momentarily by surprise, but in the next instant, they've teleported right up into her face to conduct battle. That's Phantasm for you. ...Unfortunately, being controlled by an Atsuro means they're savvy enough to both pile on top of Lakshmi, sending a flurry of strong physical blows in her direction.]

Be careful! I'll try to keep him and his Persona occupied...

[prettytamer]

Got it!

[Two can play at the 'knowing what demons resist what' game. Rangda attacks the Power with her massive physical might, while Lakshmi gets enough room to let loose an Elec Dance directed at the Seiten Taisei.

As for Midori herself, she prepares to heal her demons up when they start to look hurt.]

[otakuro]

Wait... Midori...

[At those words, the Shadow demons hold off on the attack and draw back slightly.]

Didn't you promise me...? That even if I did something bad... you'd still want to be with me...

[prettytamer]

I did. But I don't see why I can't smack you to your senses first and keep you from doing the bad thing in the first place!

[Don't even start with her, bro.]

[otakuro]

The two of us can't exist like this... I can't stay if he survives. So... It has to be this way.

Yeah, well, I was here first.

Then it's only fair for it to be my turn... right?

[prettytamer]

You're the same person, you dummies.

[Seriously.]

[otakuro]

...Exactly. There's only room for one Atsuro.

[The real Atsuro pauses at this comment.]

You know, I think if I push the chair into the corner, you could probably sleep under my bed.

S-Shut up! Midori...! One of us will die tonight. Either he'll destroy me, or... I'll finally have a chance to live.

[prettytamer]

That's stupid. You're not wrong but you're not right either, and neither of you should die.

[YOU'RE STUPID BOYS]

[otakuro]

M-Midori! He's like, my fake evil twin! Of course we have to get rid of him...!

See? ...Can you really support someone like him?

Stop trying to steal my friends!

[The two of them return to exchanging blows now, leaving Shadow Atsuro's demons a bit confused. This is readily solved by the appearance of Real Atsuro's demons, who promptly begin trying to murder them as well.]

[prettytamer]

Don't you read the network or anything?

[There was a flowchart.

Midori sighs and unleashes her almighty magic on the demons again, with Lakshmi taking up healing duty and Rangda joining in the fight. Beating up the demons is safe enough.]