destinystrings | [Game Opening, Part 3

Entry tags:

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

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.]

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"Well -"

What should she do? Shout at him? Hug him? Break down completely?

The last isn't an option. She settles for indignation. "Well, you shouldn't stand behind me when I'm practicing either!"

...Then she gives up, ignores the offered weapon and tightly latches onto that pea coat.

"Fair enough." That's more like the girl he remembers. The spark he recognizes and grew to be fond of. "Though aren't you supposed to be prepared for these kinds of things any—"

And stops.

Well, there's yet another thing he ain't used to. The warmth of another body against his. It certainly wasn't something he had expected to feel again, more used to a life where the only kind of semi-regular contact was Aki's fist grazing his face. He stiffens intially, but relaxes, using his free arm to wrap around her shoulders and pull her into a clumsy, half-awkward embrace.

"Hey. Not going to cry on me, are you?"

Whatever is clumsy and awkward about his half of the hug is smoothed out by the ferocity of hers. Her voice comes muffled from the depths of the coat. "If I did, it would be for something important."

Like... when he'd been bleeding out in front of everyone. She won't be the one to bring that up.

Idiot. "Is that how it is?"

And he appreciates that. Though he remembers. Hard not to remember the day you make a girl cry. Memories like that tend to etch themselves across every mental calendar you own, and even when the initial flame's gone, the memory still smokes like it has half a mind to start burning again.

"Still doesn't suit you."

"Well... then you should be really nice to me so it never happens." She's not serious, of course, she's just trying to collect herself for real. Her heart is finally calming to a normal pace. "I accept bribes."

"Can't promise anything, but I'll try to find a kitchen, yeah?" It's as lighthearted of a response as he can manage—it certainly ain't his forté—though his rough, level tone betrays little of it.

He pulls back a little, ruffling her hair like she was some kid, before looking at her, evaluating. She seemed okay. Looked fine (though looks didn't mean everything). But there was still something Aki had said that still bothered him.

The hair ruffle makes her smile even as she swats at his hand. "I'll hold you to that!"

The way he started to stare at her critically, though... that wasn't reassuring. She'd managed to talk to a lot of people before running into him, so it's possible he'd done the same, even with his tendency to be anti-social. She should find out how much he knows. "...Did you see Akihiko-senpai yet? He's around here somewhere..."

He nods as he jerks his one hand out of reach, and grips her spear tighter with the other, like it was some sort of weight anchoring him down.

So she had seen Aki then; otherwise, she wouldn't have mentioned him. And if she had seen him, she had talked to him, because he very much doubts Minako would have just let Aki go without a bit of well-intentioned harassment. "I ran into the idiot a little while ago. He hasn't changed much."

"Much" being the keyword.

And Shinjiro had only just managed to ditch him. Granted, Aki generally could take the hint when he needed a little space (most of the time), or knew when he had something that needed to be done and didn't need a freakin' escort. Aki was also used to him walking away without an excuse or apology—or sometimes even a goodbye.

But during their brief reunion, Aki had told him things. Mentioned that he hadn't been the only person to die. It was information that needed to be said, even if it was hard as hell to hear at first, even though Shinjiro's used to people dying on him. ...But then Aki had said something else, something that had set things off, and made (some things) perhaps not technically true. A brief respite from what was likely potential inevitibility (knowing his shitty luck), but the things that were wrong with what he told him were hard to believe, and it either meant he was crazy or Aki was crazy or something else was.

But he refuses to disregard his own memories—from the places he's been to the very people he's known and fought beside. And "Minato Arisato" certainly isn't one of them.

"He said he didn't know you."

She slowly nods. At least he'd gotten that much... it would make the explanation slightly easier.

"I still don't really understand how myself, but... in the world Akihiko-senpai is from, I died, a long time ago. He wasn't able to meet me."

Well, that sure made a lot of sense.

Read: it didn't.

But a lot of things about this place didn't add up. Like how he wasn't little more than a cold corpse pumped through with bullets right now.

"And? How d'you figure that?"

Because other than that, Aki was still the same idiot he had grown up alongside with. Everything except that one tiny detail, as far as he knew. Nothing but a simple change in pronoun.

He may not understand it, or even accept the explanation at this point, but he'll listen.

Edited 2012-09-05 05:28 (UTC)

Her answer is not quite an actual answer.

"Have you met Minato yet? Blue hair, quiet.... likes to slouch and stand in corners... I think you'd get along."

The teasing tone creeps into the ending, maybe a little bit over-intentionally this time.

[...Just this face for a moment.

Because what the hell is that supposed to mean?]

And then, almost stubbornly: "No."

Which is followed by a brief moment of hesitation.

"But Aki mentioned him."

What he's not going to say is that Minato seems to be existing in her place.

She knows that. And she doesn't much like your tone there, mister. Because... well, maybe he'll understand with another statement.

"Minato's my twin brother."

Don't worry. They'll be sharing wall space eventually, learning to appreciate the fact that they both understand the virtues that come along with keeping one's mouth shut.

They don't need no damn social link.

"You never mentioned having a brother."

Good. In her opinion, they both can use more friends. Even weird silent boy friendships.

"I know."

She doesn't explain. Ten years and half a dozen school changes had taught her to keep her past in a quiet place just for herself. Elaborating on the reasoning behind that decision would just negate it. "You know my parents died. It wasn't just them."

He doesn't say anything.

Not fully explaining things is something Shinjiro, at least, can understand. It's something he'd never expect Minako to do, even though she's so much more open than closed-off bastards like himself. He knows there are issues people just didn't talk about, for whatever the reason, and that's all there is to it. There are certainly some parts to his past he'd prefer to stay dead and buried to everyone except himself, but those things had the habit of resurfacing over as the years went by, brushing away the earth and exposing the bones.

But still, that's ten fuckin' years. Might as well be an aeons in the scheme of things. She's been seeing dead men and seeing ghosts. It'd be like seeing Miki pop up after all these years. Except grown up, having lived a life the ones left on the other side of the looking-glass never got to see, because life's a messed up wonderland, and they're all just a little bit mad here.

It still didn't make complete sense, but—

"Okay."

He mulls it over for a moment.

"So this is what?" He doesn't even know. "Some sort of alternate timeline thing?"

Edited 2012-09-05 07:02 (UTC)

There's a reason so many of their conversations had been aimless chatter... Well, her chatting, and him listening and adding a word or two now and then.

It's because in her eyes the past doesn't matter as much as the present and future. She's Minako Arisato, the girl who likes to smile and play volleyball and watch TV and push around the boys she cares about. She's not Minako Arisato, the girl who lost her family. It happened, and it shaped her, but it doesn't define who she is now. That grief is hers alone, as the survivor, and she doesn't need to share it to honor them and move on.

That is - that's what she'd told herself, until today. Far too many ghosts had shown up at once.... herself included.

"That's how it seems... He came to Gekkoukan and lead SEES, just like me." ...She's actually a little surprised and proud of him for that. He must have changed some in ten years, to gain the role of leader instead of a quiet follower. Not that she doubted his ability to strategize - he'd just never been the one to grab the spotlight when they were children.

Then again, she probably would have made a huge fuss if he'd tried.

A wry ghost of a smirk tugs at his lips. "Guess leading a band of hopeless misfits must run in the family."

But if the answer Minako was bringing to the table was true, it also meant that the Aki Shinjiro had just talked to moments ago wasn't the same Aki he himself had grown up with, just as he wasn't the Akihiko who could look Minako in the eyes and say "of course I remember you, how could I forget?" even if the both of him that existed had ultimately followed the same path in life, experienced the same experiences, before the path split. It's an odd thing to think about, and something he knows he shouldn't be dwelling on, especially not now, but it flashes across his mind anyway. Mostly because it's a surreal divide, even though it's probably not so different in the long run, just the opposite side of the same coin, still made out of the same metal, still eroded by the same things.

Though hell if he knows, which is half of why he asks: "How 'just like me' are we talkin'?"

How different is that other side of the coin?

Edited 2012-09-05 08:36 (UTC)

"Well he's a boy, so there must have been some differences."

...Okay, okay, she can be serious. "...I don't really know. There hasn't been that much time to talk... Things ended the same way, at least."

He snorts.

He figured that much. It might have been a problem for his other self if it wasn't. He can't say he's ever been into guys.

He's about to reply, but stops when she continues on, and listens. So there it was. Guess that is as good of a confirmation as any that what Aki had told him still applied here. That she was gone, the sort of future he hadn't seen for her. He frowns then, and an entirely different kind of light enters his eyes for a few brief seconds in time, as he debates whether to pursue that admittance or let it be, and leave it at that.

But he decides not to stop.

"So how did it end?" is instead where he begins. Maybe it's just the need to confirm things with his own eyes and with his own ears. "You don't have to answer if you don't want. Or lie. Won't make any difference to me."

He'll believe what she'll tell him, even if he senses it isn't true. He can pretend Aki didn't say anything. Easy enough. He's dead, after all, so what does it matter in the end? He won't see it. He won't be there. Let Minako write her own damn ending if she wants.

"...I wouldn't lie to you." The fact that he even suggested it concerns her also. Does that mean he already knows something else? Or maybe she's reading into it too much. "It's a long story, though. A lot of things happened after... that night."

No. No she wouldn't. He didn't think he had ever heard her lie. ""The Dark Hour gone?"

Edited 2012-09-07 00:02 (UTC)

She smiles. "It is. We finished things at the end of January... It was Graduation Day before I arrived here."

She pauses, as the activity near the front of the room begins to increase. The men in suits are returning. "...But it looks like it's about time to go."

Good fuckin' riddance.

There's an almost palpable sense of relief that surrounds him when he hears that. It crosses over into his expression and slowly reaching his eyes, ghost-like. He hated it, seeing all the transmogrified coffins lining the streets every night, and the Shadows that sometimes came with it. He hated the way the city itself seemed to warp and decay, covered by a perpetually green cast. And then to see Tartarus rise up in the distance, knowing what kinds of monstrosities existed there and feeling Castor lurking at the back of his mind—that had always been more than enough.

Now that the Dark Hour was gone back home, he could breathe just a little bit easier. That meant that Aki (his stupid little idiot) wouldn't have to fight in Tartarus anymore. That moron had been so bound and determined to climb Tartarus, to fight his way through every floor, like he had something to prove. He wanted to reach the top so bad, if only to prove that he could, and once he had reached its top-most tower, Shinji had always imagined he'd then set his sights on the goddamn moon.

The Dark Hour being gone also meant that Amada wouldn't have to deal with having flashbacks of his mother dying every night once the clock hands struck twelve, suddenly surrounded by emptiness and coffins full of people who didn't believe him. No kid should have to deal with that, no matter how mature they think they are.

And it means so many other things, and he can only be glad for it.

He turns his head a second later when Minako's voice again reaches his ears, watching the men in suits Minako had spotted scurry in, and he immediately grits his teeth. "Yeah, I guess so."

But Graduation Day? That makes his frown deepen. If the Dark Hour had been gone since January, then how did she—

"One more thing before we go."

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

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