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[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 The Shadow is no longer withdrawn and timid.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.))

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...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.]

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?"

"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.

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.

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!"

"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.

Edited 2013-12-22 02:48 (UTC)

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.)

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.))

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.

"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.

Edited 2013-12-22 03:43 (UTC)

"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...?

Yuzu is not happy with that shadow right now.

"Are you crazy? He didn't attack us! How can you say there's no difference?"

Okay, so fire isn't working? Let's try some almighty , then. Yuzu is going on the offensive with holy dance. The troll is sticking with piercing hit, since that can't be resisted, nulled, or absorbed. Amaterasu will stay on the defensing, waiting until someone needs healing or reviving.

Already healed everything, huh? But that attack did seem to be somewhat effective, at least. It must be the power of a MAX level Persona...

If he could use that power and strike a weakness, this really would go by quickly. With that in mind, his Persona gets to casting, this time sending a blast of ice headed towards the Shadow.

"G-Guys..."

Atsuro continues to be useless as he stands there watching his friends attack... himself.

"I... Wait. Wait... just a second."

"You all... Heh... You all just think that's what I am, huh? It's so easy for you to decide who the bad guys is... huh?"

Shadow Enki stirs itself to life now and as before, the barrage of attacks is taken with only a moderate reaction - certainly not as effective as it all should have been, together. It is once again Hizumi's Persona's attack that causes the greatest damage, though it isn't clear if it's been really severely damaged or not. ...It's hard to tell under all the ominous, dark glowy stuff.

"So I'm the bad guy... OK. I can do that."

There is a dull roar as Shadow Enki simply taps the ground with its staff - the huge shockwave, though, ripples out and touches every combatant on the field - the sensation is like being smashed with a rock repeatedly. ...The moment it's over, a second shockwave ripples out and repeats the exact same thing once more.

"Your promises... You make promises so easily... Promises you never intend to keep. Isn't this what people really are? You only say things that are convenient.

Atsuro... Remember all of this."

The Shadow turns now to where the spell that had wrapped around it came from.

"You agree with me... right?"

Edited 2013-12-22 04:39 (UTC)

As the attack bludgeons the group, what steps from the shadows on the other side of the street, opposite Hizumi's hiding spot, is yet another nightmare for them. The Shadow's face, twisted with hatred and rage, is made all the more alarming by the lack of an eyepatch, revealing what Yurick tries to hide:

There's a reason Balor looks the way it does. Its smaller twin rests in the Shadow's lidless eyesocket, tiny black crosses tattooing the skin beneath it. The other eye glows a baleful, malicious gold.

"Betrayers... you're all nothing but a flock of traitors! You speak of friendship but you don't understand anything! What gives him--" He jabs a finger toward Atsuro. "-- any more right to exist?! It's so easy to throw aside what you don't understand... whatever isn't convenient! You cast aside feelings as if they mean nothing!"

The Shadow turns on Yurick, who had been trying to rise after the Agneysatra attack but is now frozen with naked horror. It's one thing to see the Shadow of a friend, but to see one's own, to have it spouting private thoughts....

"No...."

"Oh, come off it!" The Shadow swiftly moves to stand beside Atsuro's Shadow, clasping its kindred's wrist possessively. "You who wanted power, you hide behind it, hide everything you are, because you're afraid of what people will think! Did you tell Zael how much you hate the world? How you blame them for Mother's death?"

"Stop...!" Yurick clamps his hands over his ears, squeezing his eye shut, and his Shadow laughs at the wordless denial.

"Traitor or not, why should the sins of the father cost the mother and son? That's why you can't let anyone get too close, because you're too weak to survive that kind of pain again!"

"SHUT UP!" Yurick's scream echoes shrilly through the street, the mage frantically shaking his head as he still tries to block out the Shadow's mocking.

Edited (ha ha looking up hex codes makes me stupid) 2013-12-22 05:07 (UTC)

"Ugh!"

That one hurt. A lot. And Yuzu can't stop herself from letting out a little cry of pain. Amaterasu is going to take care of the damage with a prayer, while the troll switches gears to cast a bufudyne. Elemental attacks are clearly doing better than physical.

"How dare you? You think any of this is easy?"

This newcomer is really pissing her off. Yuzu knows exactly how hard it is to decide to fight against your friends.

"You don't fight against your friends because it's easy or convenient! You fight them because you have to. Because sometimes that's the only way to stop them from making a terrible mistake!"

This is hitting far too close to home.

"And you can't call us traitors when he attacked first!"

Yuzu is going to take a gamble, using her persona to cast a masatukaja on her allies. They can enjoy a boost of 30% to their attack, defense, and agility. Yuzu, on the other hand, falls to her knees, left exhausted from the side effects.

"A-another one?"

Nano had been so focused on defending Atsuro from his own Shadow that she hadn't even noticed the surprise attacks and defensive spells rolling in unseen from Yurick's Shadow. And now that there are two of them in the mix and the effects of Bastion have ended, she can tell she's going to have to enter the fray in earnest. Things are too dangerous to just keep defending.

"I-I can help! Don't give up, Atsuro-san and everyone!"

The Clock Tower Manager, its job complete, fades back into the shared subconscious between Nano and Atsuro. It is not Geppetto that re-emerges, however, but a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, a blue gown, and fairy wings, bursting forth from the Star Arcana card as Nano shatters it with her keyblade.

"Please help us, Blue Fairy-san!"

The Persona gracefully inclines its head toward Nano before turning toward Atsuro's Shadow and leveling her wand at it. A harsh white light shoots forth from the wand, enveloping the Shadow completely and hopefully inflicting some damage.

[Eyes of God (Inflicts medium Light damage on one enemy with a 20% chance of Fear.)]

Edited (changed my mind) 2013-12-22 16:58 (UTC)

Ow. Even though he's at a distance, the attack is enough to send him to his knees. The damage itself isn't so bad, but the utter lack of pain tolerance leaves him reeling for the moment.

He's sitting this round out, it seems.

"I think... actually... it's just that most of my moves are Hit-All."

Mutters Atsuro to Yuzu as he awkwardly watches the Bastion take the hits for him, because hey, someone has to provide levity to this fight. Nano's Light attack causes Shadow Enki to spasm uncomfortably for a moment or two when it strikes; the Troll's Bufudyne, as before, isn't quite as effective. Shadow Enki definitely seems to be a little pained, now, or perhaps that's simply a reflection of Shadow Atsuro's reversion to its less confident state. The expression on its face has become withdrawn once more.

As Shadow Yurick winds down its speech, he takes a step forward.

"...Listen, you! Uh. Me-you. My evil twin. ...You can say whatever you want about me, but you know as well as I do that you're wrong, now." Atsuro glances towards his friends. "Weren't you just telling me? Weren't you just saying that they still wanted me - even after you told them everything I was afraid of?

"..."

"If we only ever say and do things that are convenient... then everyone would have ditched us long ago. Yuzu..." As he says her name, he reaches down to try and help her up. "Yuzu's right. The only reason they're fighting is because they still care. If they didn't fight you... then they wouldn't be our friends. Friendship isn't about letting your friends do whatever they want." A glance towards Midori, a little ways holding back the demons. "It's not about promising empty things you don't mean, so no one's feelings are ever hurt." Nano will receive a smile. "And it definitely isn't about clinging on to something you want because you're afraid you'll lose it." A quick squeeze of Yuzu's hand before he steps away.

"Friendship's not about what you want. And if you want these guys... You're gonna have to go through me."

Yurick will be helped up now, too.

"...Don't listen to him. ...Well. Actually, listen, but. Don't let it get to you. Everything you've ever tried to hide... We don't know what you've gone through, but -- the only way to get these guys to shut up is to accept it. Everyone has these kinds of thoughts. It's easier said than done, but... You've already faced it, a little bit, right?

"You've already let me in."

Atsuro flashes his familiar, bright smile to everyone assembled as Enki comes to the fore once more.

"...OK. Let's take these jokers down. ...You stole Agneyastra and Dual Shadow from me."

The shockwave from before rolls out once again - this time in the direction of the Shadows. ...Except Atsuro's luck isn't quite so good and the Dual doesn't activate.

"............I can't be cool no matter how hard I try, huh...?"

Edited 2013-12-22 22:33 (UTC)

Shadow Yurick's glare settles on Nano when Atsuro's Shadow and its Persona take damage from her Light spell. "You little bitch... I'll show you the meaning of pain!

Cringing at his double's vicious words, Yurick lets himself be pulled up, but he can't bring himself to meet Atsuro's eyes. He turns his face away to the right, hiding the patch.

His Shadow suddenly goes from fury to cackling with snide laughter at the insecurity it sees, turning to Shadow Atsuro with a feral grin. It still hasn't released its fellow's wrist.

"Keep them from me. I will wipe them all out with a single strike."

It lets go of the other Shadow and backs up several steps, the dark stone eye starting to glow with an even greater heat than the yellow of its left. Mana starts to gather slowly around it, crimson rather than wispy white, and Yurick's head snaps up to stare at it in terror.

"No... fire protection or get out of range, quickly! Everyone!" He summons Balor to cast Red Wall on Yuzu. Though his instinct is to protect Atsuro first, experience has taught him the vital importance of guarding the healers before all others. "We only have a minute at best!"

It takes him a moment to gather himself, but Hizumi manages to make it onto his feet again, taking another surreptitious glance at those gathered.

...Ah. That would be another Shadow, wouldn't it?

But first things first. If they try to split their attention too much, they won't be able to defeat either Shadow. He's not entirely sure what the second Shadow is up to, but if they can just take out Atsuro's first...

"Hell Frost."

Itzpalt obligingly sends another punishing ice spell along.

"Fire protection? Okay!"

Although it's a Support type rather than the offensive sort of Persona they need at the moment, Geppetto is the only thing Nano has that innately resists fire. The Blue Fairy disappears as she calls the kindly old puppet master out once again.

"Geppetto-san, please!"

The Persona's eyes flash in response to Nano's plea, and it draws out a large carving knife. Charging forward toward the enemy Shadows, it lashes out with the strongest attack it can muster.

[Vorpal Blade (Inflicts a large amount of Physical damage with a 10% chance of Exhaustion on all enemies.)]

Edited 2013-12-23 01:40 (UTC)

Yuzu smiles as she accepts Atsuro's hand and stands back up. She still feels pretty weak, but she'll be okay. She's really glad that he understands. It had been the hardest decision she'd ever made, choosing to fight against him and Kazuya. But she'd done it anyway, because she cared. And maybe he didn't get the extra strike, but Yuzu privately thinks that Atsuro did look pretty cool just then.

Amaterasu is immune to fire damage, so she's okay. She's tossing out another maragidyne, because with magic yang up, there is mp to spare. The Troll is going with mow down, so it can also do damage to both of those shadows. Yuzu is going to muster her strength and try a maziodyne. The extra protection against fire is appreciated. That might just get her through this.

The Hell Frost encases it in a glacier, the Vorpal Blade shatters it, Maziodyne pins it in place with its momentarily shocking paralysis while the Mow Down bowls it; Maragidyne sets it aflame while it lies on the floor. One attack lands after another, and whether it is due to Atsuro's Rousing Speech as these things tend to go in fiction or simply due to finally becoming overwhelmed, Atsuro's Shadow cries out in pain for the first time. Shadow Enki sinks to its knees, ripples of dark energy running up and down its body - Atsuro's as well as glowing cracks seem to appear on its facade.

"They'll leave you. They won't stay. People will always leave, in the end."

"'Better to have loved and...' blah blah, however that goes."

"You're just going to get hurt."

"...Are you really going to make me go through more cliches?"

"You... You don't deserve any -- "

"Does anyone?"

"..............................Hrrragggghh! You... You... You really think being clever... is what it's going to take?! You still don't understand!"

Atsuro himself has done very little to defend himself against the attack that's coming from Shadow Yurick, the idea being the same as the hidden Hizumi's. If they could get rid of his first...

He does not count on his Shadow letting loose one final scream as another shockwave runs out from the Persona to try and fell everyone - the Shadow itself shakes loose from Shadow Yurick's grip and launches forward, fists aglow with a deep crimson light that lashes out towards Atsuro and those standing closest to him - Yuzu and Yurick.

Edited 2013-12-23 02:56 (UTC)

The shockwave bashes the mage again, almost sending him to his knees. Shadow Balor takes the Maziodyne for its master, and the Maragidyne actually invigorates Shadow Yurick, healing its wounds as the flames boost the gathering mana. Yurick sees it through wavering vision as he draws his dagger, and as he rushes forward to block Shadow Atsuro's fists with it a frantic thought explodes in his desperate mind.

If fire heals his double, does it heal him now as well? It's a huge gamble, but he has no choice. It's not like he can cast under the assault of Deathbound.

"Get back!" he screams at the others, ready to take the brunt of the fiery magic wielded by his double.

His Shadow howls with insane laughter and flings the energy outward. Several massive fireballs arc up and forward like fast missiles, a rush of impossible heat preceding them. Yurick holds his ground against both Deathbound and Big Bang, scrunches his eye shut, and prays someone can revive him if this fails. If only Zael was here with the power of the Outsider to help them.

The fire that hits him... feels warm, soothing. The aches throughout his body fade and his grip on the dagger steadies. He nearly relaxes his guard until he remembers the others with him might not be so lucky. Gritting his teeth he tries to shove Shadow Atsuro back.

"DAMN YOU! Why won't you just DIE?!" His Shadow drops back to the ground, drawing its own dagger and running toward them in a maddened bull rush.

Edited 2013-12-23 03:37 (UTC)

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Malaques > All

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Makajam > Shadow

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

PERSONA SKILL: BASTION

Incinerate > Shadow Atsuro

Mediarama > Self

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Yuzu>Holy Dance>Shadow | Troll>Piercing Hit>Shadow

Hell Frost > Shadow Atsuro (Severe Ice)

Agneyastra (Large Damage x2-3) > All, repeated twice

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Amaterasu>Prayer>All Allies | Troll>Bufudyne>Shadow | Yuzu>Masatukaja>All Allies

Persona Skill: Eyes of God

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Yurick: Red Wall > Yuzu | Shadow > charging for Big Bang (2 turns)

Hell Frost > Shadow Atsuro

Persona Change: Blue Fairy -> Geppetto | Persona Skill: Vorpal Blade

Yuzu>Maziodyne>Both Shadows | Troll>Mow Down>Both Shadows | Amaterasu>Maragidyne>Both Shadows

Agneyastra > All, Deathbound > Atsuro, Yuzu, Yurick

Shadow: Big Bang | Yurick: Defend from Mortal Blow