[Game Opening, Part 3 - A Call To Action]

[stringmods]

Who: (Everyone OPEN LOG)
Where: (City Hall)
Summary: (After your Arrival and being Explained the Situation...things start to get a little...tense)
Warnings: (Action)
Style: (The text is in prose, but feel free to write back in action tags if you feel more comfortable.)

After questions were answered, a man finally appears into the room, after having talked with his daughter.

"I apologize for making you all wait."

After introducing himself, Takeharu begins to explain in more detail what they've learned from this world. He goes on about the life in the city, the hurdles they had to overcome...and the strange phenomenon of the 13th hour.

"...and once midnight hits, a 13th hour commences. We had a name for a similar phenomenon in my world; the Dark Hour. However, this one doesn't seem to be caused by rampaging Shadows. We are still investigating as to why it exists...and in due time you might aid us in this task. You will all be able to observe it for yourselves quickly enough, although I would strongly suggest doing so in your own apartments. Not only are you all new visitors, previous Persona users or otherwise, but the moon is full tonight, which means the demonic population will be at a dangerous, aggressive level."

"Now before we continue, we should talk about the--"

Aries Sector : SECURED.

Taurus Sector: WARNING! SECTOR F1 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Gemini Sector: WARNING! SECTOR E8 & E9 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Cancer Sector: SECURED.

Leo Sector: SECURED.

Virgo Sector: WARNING! SECTOR A7 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Libra Sector: WARNING! SECTOR G5 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Scorpio Sector: SECURED.

Sagittarius Sector: WARNING! SECTOR C4 & B4 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Capricorn Sector: WARNING! SECTOR A3 CURRENTLY COMPROMISED!

Aquarius Sector: SECURED.

Pisces Sector: SECURED.

"I repeat..."

"Damn! Six out of Twelve," A gruff-looking man stepped into the room. Judging from his outfit, he was important.

"I only know one group who's able to pull this off...the Anoli."

Takeharu looks at Kiyoshi and both men nod silently.

"We were going to talk about this later, but we don't have much time to explain who they are..."

More men appear; members of the city's Special Assault Team. About half of the men have a small flame insignia on their uniform's elbow; this signifies they are Persona users.

While Takeharu explains to the new arrivals, Kiyoshi is busy on some screens, and is talking to others by holographic projection.

"Give me a status report!"

"Sir! I've got two men down here. The doors are holding but we'll need backup as soon as you can give it to me!"

"I've got a group in route, and soon a Persona team as well."

"Reiko and myself are holding, but I believe they've been sending the blunt of their force here and in the Gemini area. No doubt to steal the prototypes we've been working on..."

"We should be able to fight them back for now, but I can't tell how many they are."

"I've got team Beta heading over. I'll send a team of Users as well."

"Sir! Massive attack in the Virgo Sector! They've broken some of the fences holding back the demonic population. There's risk of civilian casualties at this rate..."

"DAMMIT! Send a team of Wands there to patch that up as soon as they are available. I'll send a team with them to protect while they do their work."


"Sir! The Gemini Power Plant is under attack! I think they're attempting a blackout so they can get into the Laboratory."

"This is a nightmare. And where is--"

"--he went off to fight them."

"DAMMIT! We can't let him get harmed. I'm sending a team after him."

"Libra's Coin Office Tower is under attack, Sir! They're trying to get to the upper levels where we have the monetary databanks."

"A heist as well...damn they really went all out for this one...trying to cripple us from all angles."

When he's finally done, he turns over to the entire crowd. His voice is as booming as his body language. Despite the crisis he is calm and collected, easy to see why he is the Commissioner General.

"Alright listen up, since I can't repeat myself twice! We have a major crisis our hands. Anoli have broken into six sectors and my men can't fight all of them at once. None of you know me and I only know your names. Most of you haven't used a Persona yet, but I bet you've all got a few tricks up your sleeves. Magic, Weapons, Technology, whatever it is, bring it with you and we'll form you into teams. We were going to do this much more quietly later, but it looks like the Anoli have a different idea."

"Priority number one is to protect all civilians and to keep deaths as low as possible, even against the Anoli. Disarm, disable, diswhatever, as long as it's not kill and destroy. I'd rather let them in jail and face justice than to spill even more blood from this conflict." He turns around and starts to leave,

"If any of you lack weapons, talk to Q. I'm sure he'll be happy to provide you with some."

Policemen swarm around him and they start to go off in work and prepare, leaving you a bit of time before you are all called out in groups.

[OOC - Groups will be rolled later tonight, and then each mission will get it's own log. Those who wish to join in the first mission must do so in the sign-up post [LINKED HERE], but signing up doesn't mean you'll get picked - only that you are okay with joining this mission.]

Comments

[otakuro]

Atsuro, in contrast to the others pulling out their weapons, immediately digs into his pockets and brings forth...!

...A video game system.

COMMAND:
>Hassohappa
>Holy Strike
>Mighty Hit

PASSIVE:
>Drain Hit
>Pierce
>Phys Amp

AUTO:
>Blitzkrieg

When he's finished typing away, he brings up the Demon Summoning Program, and... pauses. If the demons were considered the main enemy, then... He shakes it off quickly. No. They would have to understand. His stock had somehow been reduced to six; none of the strongest of his allies had come along for the ride, but it would have to be enough. Atsuro sets Laskmi and Badb Catha into his party and snaps shut the COMP.

Tutorial battle, here we come.

[blitzkriegzwei]

"You there!" Was that a game system that boy just pulled out? Why would he do that? Surely there had to be a reason, but Ludwig couldn't take the chance. "Why would you pull out a game at a time like this? We're in a crisis! We have no time for games!" Ah, it felt good to bark out orders again, even if the target didn't quite deserve to be barked at. He approached Atsuro, his tone calming down a bit. "Unless that's not a game you pulled out. Will it help you fight?" Perhaps it would. Who was Ludwig to understand gadgets from other worlds?

[otakuro]

"Huh?"

Atsuro glances around in surprise before pointing at himself with a perplexed look at his face. "Me? Oh, this is -- Yeah, I -- It's not -- "

Sigh. Man, he just was not having any luck with military folks lately. First the SDF and now this guy. "I-It's a COMP. ...Not that type. I use it to assign the skills I can use in battle."

[blitzkriegzwei]

Not what type? More otherworldly gadgets for Ludwig to temporarily disregard. "Understood. What 'skills' do you have assigned, if I may ask? Remember, our goal is to incapacitate, not to destroy. You should make sure you have the proper skills set for the situation." That sounded an awful lot like video game advice... well, if Atsuro's powers worked like a game, then that's all there was to it. While Ludwig didn't have much opportunity for gaming himself, he was aware of a bit, perhaps enough to analyze whether Atsuro had picked good skills or not.

[otakuro]

...He suspects this guy doesn't have the least idea how demon battles work. Now probably not being the best time for explanation, Atsuro will gloss over as much as he can.

"I... don't think you'd understand if I explained. But I don't have the magic power to use anything but physical strikes effectively. I know what they meant; we usually have to disable people without killing them back home."

[blitzkriegzwei]

"Hm. Physical strikes are basic enough." Wait, did this kid just say he had to disable people at home? "...Did you just say you have some experience fighting?" Ah, how Ludwig had misunderstood the situation. First that young man he'd encountered earlier, and now this one... clearly, other worlds had a lot of talented young people. "Very well then. Are you the kind to take point?"

[otakuro]

"...You could say that."

Seven days' worth of experience. Somehow, that went a long way in taking on all the legions of Heaven and Hell combined.

"Yeah, I usually soak up the damage with the group I stick with. The others aren't so great at taking hits."

[blitzkriegzwei]

"You? Soak up damage?" Now, now, Ludwig. Now was not the time to be judging by appearances. "I assume that COMP you were using helps with that?" There had to be something in that gadget that managed auxiliary powers, too. How else would a regular human like Atsuro "soak up damage?" Once again, that was only something that happened in fiction or games.

[otakuro]

"It's called a Harmonizer. It means I'm always on the same power level with what I'm fighting against. ...Uh. Not that that means I can't be crushed, but say... Just taking everything here as an example. A demon might kill a normal human being just by breathing on 'em, but I'd be able to take a few hits before I went down."

He pauses.

"...Yeah, that doesn't make any sense, I know."

[meaningdies]

Speaking of that program... there's someone standing behind Atsuro, staring at the programs he's setting.

"I see your choice in skills is still reasonably good."

Naoya grins, waiting for the jump.

[otakuro]

"Right? This is the same skillset I was using against Babel be -- "

Beat.

"Gaaahhhhhh!"

Atsuro scrambles back wildly as his brain catches up with his mouth. For a few moments, he just gapes and points.

"Naoya! Wha -- How long have you been here?! I was looking everywhere for you guys -- You got here later than I did, right?! Did we do it? Is the world -- ?!"

[meaningdies]

Naoya just chuckles a bit. It seems Atsuro doesn't remember.

... Wait. Babel? Strange. It's almost as if Atsuro thinks he was there...

"Mm. Shouldn't you be asking the priestess that? You guys moved on without me, remember?"

[otakuro]

"...The priestess?"

Atsuro will blink in confusion for a moment or two.

"No, we -- Of course you were there. I know I'm pretty good, but there's no way we could have cracked into Babel without you."

Atsuro's a pretty smart guy. Alternate worlds. One where the demons had been sent by aliens, one where the demons were called Shadows but shared the exact same abilities...

Why not one where Naoya had never agreed to help them? A look of dawning realization begins to spread across his face.

[meaningdies]

He's realized it too.

"What did he decide to do in your world?"

There were so many paths, after all. Of course he could have chosen to taken a different one...

[otakuro]

"He... He agreed with me, in the end. We weren't going to let angels or demons take control of humanity. ...You understood, too."

Atsuro pauses for a moment, a plea expressed in his serious features. Try to understand that humanity had to forge their own path, Naoya.

"In yours, he... sided with Amane and the angels?"

[meaningdies]

... Interesting. It's an option he can work with, though not the ideal one.

The corner of his mouth twitches a bit. "He did. I tried to persuade him, but he would not be stopped."

[otakuro]

"Yeah."

Atsuro lowers his gaze thoughtfully.

"It was always his choice in the end, no matter what anyone else had to say. Probably... His personality wasn't exactly the same. Different things might have happened during the lockdown. ...So, a different result. But I... I would have stuck with him no matter what he chose."

[endears]

... If he hadn't just received a pen to use as a weapon from Q-san, Aoba might've questioned Atsuro's sanity in using a game system now of all times (especially after their talk earlier). As it is though, he'll just assume the other boy got his own gadget at some point.

Approaching! "So that's your weapon, Kihara-kun?"

[otakuro]

"...Wait, I think I should have picked Deathbound there." Atsuro fumbles with the gaming device for another second or two before glancing up to his new friend with a smile.

"Noooot exactly. I never really got a chance to pick up another weapon apart from these." Up goes the fists, and the tech geek has never looked less intimidating. "They do well enough, though."

[endears]

... Yeah, he just sort of stares at Atsuro for a second as he processes just how unthreatening that was. Then he realises that he's not much better, given his short height and everything else.

"Eh, you're sure that'll be good enough?" Hang on, that's not the main question.

"Wait, then what are you doing with that?"

[otakuro]

"I-It's... It's at least a little bit impressive, right....?"

After getting through the requisite amount of sighing, Atsuro straightens and holds the COMP back out cupped loosely in his hand.

"So... You know how in games, there's usually a time before a battle starts where you get to set your skills and look at your stats and all that kind of thing?"

[endears]

After giving a slight chuckle, Aoba chooses to gently ignore Atsuro's muttered question. No point in hurting his feelings.

Once the other boy speaks, he folds his arms in thought.

"I guess? Like an improved version of those machines that measure your biorhythm and stuff? Are you saying things like that really exist?" He doesn't sound as skeptic as he probably should, considering all the weird things he's seen and heard already in this place.

[otakuro]

"They shouldn't. Not for real. ...But somehow, some fusion of genius programming and spiritual power resulted in this."

If they were going to fight, Aoba would see it in action eventually, anyway. No point in continuing to hold back now. Atsuro flips it open and accesses the party setup application.

Aoba might notice the pictures of the raven and the goddess set in Atsuro's 'party' before he taps on his own profile to show the list of skills he could access.

[endears]

Notice them he does, but without any context to go on he isn't sure what to make of them, and they're gone before he gets the chance to ask.

Not that he understands Atsuro's skill list much better; this is the sort of thing he'd be relying on if they got into a fight?

"So it... really is like an RPG?"

[otakuro]

"...Yeah." His expression grows more somber for a moment. "...It doesn't seem that way when you're actually out there fighting, though."