Shin Megami Tensei Persona: Dissonant Strain (Private RP)

[Cinnonym]

Hikaru's hand went out to clasp his wrist the moment she saw him, voice low and extremely concerned, "Mori-sama, control it..." She took advantage of the opportunity to hold his hand in both of hers, looking at it rather than the President. "I thought perhaps it would make it easier between you and your... and Styx if you came with me tonight."

 

[Rosen2012]

Styx immediately hissed and jerked at their contact. Takuya instinctively tried to pull away from her. Their mind sending up red flares about being blown back and burned again by Menaka's power. The teenager clenched his jaw and shook his head.

"You're taking us?" Takuya relaxed and smirked at Seiya, but Styx recoiled. Hissing again and again until she hid entirely from Seiya. "She is displeased, but I am not." The president gave a small nod. Though he felt his heart was racing, he felt no pain. Simply a memory based reaction. He could touch Seiya and it not cause him pain. Excellent.

But now his mind shifted to the library, "We are interested in these...Shadows." He gave a nod never taking his eyes off her face to gauge her reaction. "We are especially interested in the other ones. We feel them around but they do not stir like Styx. Why?"

 

[PresqueVu]

Satoshi watched Seiya, wondering what she was waiting for in the boys' dorms, but he jumped when he felt Takuya approaching, ducking behind the corner before he even got close. His eyes blew wide as he realized what he'd just done. He hadn't even take a moment's pause before hiding. He hadn't actually Seen Mori. Hadn't heard him, but he felt that rage around him, that poorly restrained rage. Something in him had warned him. It was so subtle it was barely there at all. That soft warning spoken in his mind immediately translating to motion, refusing to come head on with it. Beyond the sheer terror that Takuya Mori always impressed there was something more.

He was only more interested by the moment. Seiya's reactions were probably the most intriguing part of this whole situation. She was so in control and knew exactly how to handle him. He pulled right out his little notebook writing away in it. Shadows, Styx, Loss of control, taking him. Taking him to the tunnels. He was getting so excited. The feeling welling up within him. This was all just too perfect.

 

[Cinnonym]

Hikaru let him go and hesitated before answering.

"They... aren't supposed to stir..." Before he could ask her to clarify, she pushed her bag into his hands, "Take this, it's for you. It'll help you when you go down there. ...Do you have a weapon? Something to defend yourself with?"

 

[Rosen2012]

His eye twitched. He looked down at the bag, "We will be fine with just our hands....and why shouldn't they stir?" He tucked the bag under his arm. "Is it a sign something is wrong with us?"

Takuya eyed Seiya waiting for a response. Was it bad that Styx stirred? he did not feel ill or bothered. They felt just fine. In fact they only felt bothered when Seiya was near. She smothered their presence out.

 

[Cinnonym]

She ignored his question.

"I'll meet you outside the front gates at eleven. All right?"

Without meeting his eyes, she hurried past him and away.

 

[Rosen2012]

Styx reemerged immediately grumbling and hissing.

"I agree...she is being odd about this." He entered his room and dug through the bag, "However she is out key source of info. So we will let her be vague for now. Let's just focus on tonight." He sat on the bed and looked through he bag studying the little ear piece he had been given and the note with it.

"AMP...interesting..."

They could hardly wait for eleven.

---

Kojiro finished up his home work with Rin in the library and then bid her farewell. He wanted to go rest up as much as possible since now he had clubs to worry about.

'Ugh, I am going to run out of energy quickly...'


---

Takuya was outside at the gate by ten-thirty. His weapon of choice- his fist adorned with brass knuckles. Styx paced restlessly. She approved of outing, his weapon of choice, but no of his team mate. She hated Seiya. HATED.

"You do understand when she is around you will have to behave?" Styx moaned in response and the shrubs around him shuddered. "Picky picky... He looked down the walk way. And Styx looked too letting out her usual 'Its that girl' hiss. "Then hide away. I will call you when I need you."

He stood alone as Seiya approached.

 

[Cinnonym]

Hikaru hurried up the walk, keeping close to the wall and its cover from the streetlights.

"Mori-sama. You look prepared... Let's go, all right? I don't think we should stay out too late on your 'first run'." She gave him a tentative smile and led him away from Akaito High, taking back routes with which she was familiar to bring him to a fine hotel. She blushed at the implications it would give to passersby who weren't aware of the context of the situation, but the girl couldn't in good conscience allow Mori to roam the tunnels from the subway entrance--the chance that he would run into the others was just too high.

Fishing a key out of her pocket, she offered it to the Student Council President and gestured for him to use it on room 3850.

Within was a swirling vortex of black and violet, housing a red brick path suspended on nothing.

Her voice was soft, encouraging. "I'm right behind you, Mori-sama."

 

[Rosen2012]

If there were ever moments in his life were Takuya felt giddy with excitement- this was one of them. The distortion in reality before him was not only something he could barely wrap his mind around, but it was something he could hardly keep from rushing into.

Fascinating! The room leads into another reality! AS they had been approaching the building he felt the tug shift from pulling his down toward the building, and he wasn't sure why at first but now he understood. 'There are other ways in...I wonder why you find them? How does this work? What causes this? How deadly is it? I wonder what happens to those that find their way in and- ah no. The murders.' He smirked and nodded, 'That's what happens to them...'

"I understand." Takuya looked over his shoulder at Seiya, "I am not worried with you here, Hikaru."

He faced forward again and stepped onto the path. All at once he felt a relaxed feeling come over Styx. She was no longer as antsy as before, she felt right at home. They felt right at home.

 

[PresqueVu]

Satoshi had gathered up his things in the lapse of time. He had prepared himself for danger and come armed with replica twin blades of his all time favorite hero. He made it to the gate just in time to see the pair departing and hurried after them, scurrying to catch up. He nearly toppled over when he saw the door within the room, peering around the frame at it, slack-jawed.

Nothing had ever been more beautiful to him before. It just stood there, drawing him in. He wanted to just run into it. It was calling to him like nothing had ever before this. He stayed just barely concealed and knew he was going to go right through it, any consequences be damned. This was his destiny. He just knew it.

He still wanted to know how Hikaru had come to know about all this and how the both of them and the others they'd mentioned before had found out about it, learned to use their powers. He wondered what his own were going to be. Maybe he'd be able to shoot lightning or pause time, or even go invisible!

His heart beat fast and irregular at each even more enticing option. He knew his future was right through that swirling entrance.

 

[Cinnonym]

Hikaru ran forward down the brick path; it was unstable, but she was comfortable and sure in her footsteps. The darkness swallowed her up, but through Styx's second sight Mori could still see her, a white outline against the black of the void. She, too, could easily sense him behind her. Nowhere else had she ever felt a force that malevolent, and... damp, almost. Like it had been hidden away in a basement for years.

The thought made her shudder.

"Follow me," she said, knowing that there was no other path. The vortex swirled and shifted around them and clutching arms and misshapen heads emerged from it.

"Mahama!"

Menaka seared the beings into dust with her power; one refused to die and she picked it off with an arrow from her bow. She turned to gauge Mori's reaction to the event. "Do you understand how this works? It's all right... You can go where you like. Explore, and make Styx your own. She... It... It isn't meant to be separate from you, Mori-sama. I just... I worry it could be dangerous that way."

More so than the Shadows.

Mori
STYX
4 Skill Slots/0 Open

Mudo
Maragi
Swift Strike
Evil Touch

 

[Rosen2012]

Takuya watched Seiya fight off the Shadows- shapeless beast at first that contorted themselves into what they saw fit. "Dangerous?" He smiled at Seiya, "That just means it will keep us entertained. We appreciate the concern." His smile flickered out and he walked down the path, hands in his pockets, he felt Styx looming over him. She had a new desire, something she wanted to do- to pick apart these Shadows. Underlings to some greater cause. They could feel it.

"Let's pick apart the underlings...Let's pick the world apart." He muttered her thoughts under his breath, "Tear them, burn them, shock them..."

He stopped as they saw the same reaction in the walls ahead. More shadows. "Let us see what we can do to these, Seiya." He took his hands out of his pockets and ran forward.

 

[Cinnonym]

"M-Mori-sama!"

Hikaru followed, but at a safe distance. She didn't want to impose herself of him, only supervise him. An arrow was kept nocked in the event of a Shadow overcoming him and his fresh Persona.

STASIS GIANT x2

The brick path forks; blocking each new path is a giant of shadow and stone. It swings its club downward, and the narrow path provides little in the way of escape.

 

[Rosen2012]

Takuya stops running and backs up as quickly as possible, just avoiding the swing of one sword while Styx presents herself and blocks the blow from the second. They both flinch in pain. "What an annoyance!" They stood and Takuya glowered at the giant's before him.

"Move out of our WAY!" Takuya rushed forward down one fork in the path, as the sword sword swung Styx appeared and swung her talons- in unison with a shriek Takuya shouted Maragi. The blast from the fired provided him enough time to duck under the swords hilt reaching the first giant's base. "We don't care for you peons!"

While the idea of punching a giant stone moving castle would seem insane to others, the idea was right at home with Takuya and Styx. He swung out his fist and hammered into the bricks, Styx in unison, in series of swift strikes.

 

[Cinnonym]

The stone giants recoiled from the bottom up from the multiple blows, swaying their massive clubs back and forth as they groaned in unison; then they struck. One fortunate blow catches Takuya and knocks him backward across the bricks. His partner bellows and his arms spread wide, a gale of invisible knives slashing into both him and indirectly Styx.

HP: ========
MP: ==========

 

[Rosen2012]

Takuya falls back, and Styx curses in her own way. He slowly stands, "We refuse to accept defeat!" A sharp pain stings in their chest from the attack, but they do not back down. Takuya rushes forward again, and something escapes from his lips- though not necessarily a word, more like a wail.

Styx rushes forward ahead of him and lets lose a torrent of ghostly images from her finger tips followed by a ghastly call of her own to create a Mudo spell.

 

[PresqueVu]

Satoshi ran over the uneven path, mind blow by everything he saw. He was just as terrified as he was fascinated by the things lurching up about of the nothingness surroundiing them to attack the two far ahead of them while he could still see them. Much too soon they slipped from his sight, swallowed up before his eyes.

He nearly panicked, so scared they'd been lost or he'd be dragged down off the path, but he felt something inside him. It was like a second heartbeat, something shared but not the same as his own. He was not alone and he could feel it. That small boost of confidence gave him what he needed to run forward. Even if he were scared he would never run away from this. He'd come too far now and if he just left it he knew he would regret it the rest of his life. If he had to fight, he would fight. This is what he was meant to do.

 

[Cinnonym]

One of the Giants succumbed to Styx's call--the Mudo spell obliterated it. Its brother, however, continued the assault, refusing to allow Takuya to gain ground.

HP: =====
MP: ======

 

[Rosen2012]

Takuya huffed at the remaining giant. Styx let out her own groan of discontent. As the stone shadow raised its sword from its previous swing he rushed forward, fist clenched. he and Styx looked up at the sword as it reached its apex and came barreling back down.

"Now!" As the sword came down, Takuya hugged the sides of the path until it connected with the bricks. Then again Styx and he bolted forward. They raised their hands- fist and talons and hammered and clawed into the base of the giant again.

 

[Cinnonym]

The final blows turned the last Shadow to dust. Hikaru would never have believed it--he took out two Giants with his hands.

"M-Mori-sama?! Are you all right?"