Shin Megami Tensei Persona: Dissonant Strain (Private RP)

[Cinnonym]

The party burst as a whole into the Velvet Room. A moving train car again, but a real train with a steam engine and a luxury car. The door to the real world--or whatever that was--vanishes behind you. Igor looks surprised, but only barely.

"So many. I wasn't expecting you all at once."

"Yes," Eleanor says, ever-present at the old man's side. She speaks the next sentences with an amazingly straight face, "We were just considering building a door in the court of the shopping mall. Your presence makes the construction plan moot..."

Eber steps forward, hand still on his weapon, "Who are you, really? What was that thing that we fought inside the subway?" He frowned sternly, opening his empty hand and looking down into the palm, "What was that thing I summoned? It felt... It felt as though--"

Thou art I. And I am thou.

Startled, Eber looked up. Standing behind the Velvet Room denizens was the boy that he'd fought the Shadow with.

From the sea of thy soul, I cometh...

"It is Ne-Zha, the trickster," Igor smiled, though the expression looked almost malicious on his gnarled face, "In your case, at least. It is a part of you--it is you. But your methods of using it are weak and inefficient. You must be very careful. It is quite dangerous."

"However," Eleanor added, "You would not be here if you were not... 'special'."

"Special, indeed, children." Igor wrapped his hands around his cane, peering at each of you with interest. "...Tell me, do you wish to return home?"

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro reached out to the German and touched his shoulder, "Calm down...Igor and Eleanore aren't going to hurt us...those are you're names right? Yes, we would all like to go home. But we have lots of questions..."

He looked around the room, "Like why us? And what are those things? Where did they come from?"

 

[Daren58]

Rin nodded lightly at Kojiro's words as she struggled to catch her breath. She felt nervous about being in this place again, but it was much better than the alternative. "I don't get it, you say we are special. But what exactly does that mean?"

 

[ShadowFolk]

It was hard to register all the information at once. Partly because it all sounded a bit ridiculous, but nothing normal was happening this night in the first place. Kumiko nodded her head at Kojiro. For once, nothing stupid came out of his mouth. She wanted so desperately to be back in her dorm, in her bed. But she wanted those answers more. But she suspected that they would not come so easily.

 

[duckflesh]

(delete)

 

[duckflesh]

Isoroku slipped the gun back into his waistband. He wondered if any of the others had realized the oddness of his having it.

Igor asked if he wanted to return home. His mind flickered back to the school. He should be getting his new toy tomorrow. Everything would be back to normal there, soon. Yet, it all seemed so hollow.

It would be a mistake to misunderstand-- this was not to suggest that the current situation was not hollow. Isoroku stared into the backs of this companions, and he had trouble feeling an emotional connection to any of them. He had missed the fight where they'd somehow managed to forge a bond, and now he was a supporting player. He thought he might hate them for it.

He very well may have hated Igor and Eleanor, too. But he did not show it on his face. He merely smiled pleasantly and listened. Whatever the case, he did want answers.

 

[Cinnonym]

"Those 'things' that you met in combat are Shadows of human minds. They have existed since the first free thought. It is unusual for them to be quite so organized. Yes... They have not behaved like this in years."

He turned his beady eyes to Rin and smiled again, "It is up to you to determine your own worth from this point out. I foresee great sorrow and great triumph in your future--for all of you."

Eleanor nodded in agreement, "It is your fate to fight the Shadows. No... It is a duty, for you who wield the power of Persona are the only ones who can."

"Return home and rest. You will be exhausted tomorrow. Your powers are by no means unlimited and require great will and discipline to use. Be wary. And decide how you will approach your destiny." Igor was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "We, unfortunately, are only watchers." He waved his hand and a door appeared to the right of the group. "This will return you to the platform. You may return home from there."

Eber frowned and looked over his shoulder at the rest of you.

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro stared at Igor for a moment. Soaking it all in. They were watchers, eh? But they helped them escape from the Shadows. Plus why could they control 'Personas' and no one else? What about all those people that came to the train and died? What about them made them so special...And what fucking hardships and sorrow!?!

Fuck all he had now were more questions....and it seemed that the only way to answer them was to complete this 'duty'.

"Fine, we'll go....but how do we return here? What if we've got more questions later?"

 

[duckflesh]

Isoroku cracks his knuckles. After Kojiro speaks, he gives an immediate follow-up.

"You've given us basically no information. Nothing we couldn't have sorted out for ourselves. It's our fate to fight the shadows-- why, because you're going to keep on tricking us into confrontations with them that nearly get us all killed, like you did tonight?"

 

[Daren58]

Instead of getting any sort of answers from this, Rin felt like she only had more questions. She wanted to ask more, but she got the feeling she wouldn't get anything out of them. She was much to tired to attempt anyway. She glanced around at the others and saw that they looked about the same as how she felt. She went to voice a last few questions, but Kojiro beat her to the punch. She glanced at him then Igor and Eleanor, waiting for an answer.

 

[ShadowFolk]

"The key." she said staring at the back of Kojiro's head. "The key, that's how. We saw a door,...so...we use the key to get back right? We just have to see the door...right?" in her head it almost made sense. But she didn't quite understand how she could sometimes feel the key and how it would sometimes just disappear. Or how the door was neither here nor there.

Indeed the information they were given was minimal. And it only raised more questions. But, Kumiko was tired. She couldn't think, her mind became dull. She needed sleep. With every moment she stood there not being in bed, she felt herself becoming cemented to the floor.

They would return to this place again. By choice or by force. It was not the last time and that was all she knew. She looked to her right. It was the door that shone brightly.

"Come on, lets go..." she walked over to the door and placed her hand on the knob, returning her eyes to the group. She looked Igor and Eleanor and for some reason, she smiled at the odd pair.

She turned the knob.

'Now to get back on campus without being spotted.'

Kumiko wondered if she should have stayed around, but she was gravitated out of the door and found herself, just as Igor said, on the platform. She'd snuck on and off of campus a few times before. All she had to do was remember the gaps in security, where the blind spots were for the cameras, and where the least noise could be heard.

She instead of the front or the back, she tried the side. Covered in trees and bushes, using the dumpster to hoist herself over the high wall. If Kumiko could just get through the plants and shadows without being caught, she might be able to get some well deserved sleep tonight.

 

[Cinnonym]

Kumiko leaves, but the rest of you linger behind to hear Igor's reaction to the questions of Kojiro and Isoroku.

"Please, you must understand. It is of the utmost importance that you fulfill your roles as I will fulfill mine. These tunnels, networking through the underground of the entire country... What do they hide, and for what purpose do the Shadows exist and nest? Are these not questions to which you desire answers?" Igor looked quite particularly at Isoroku, expression quite condescending, "However, I will do my best to believe in the success of the whole, should one wish to return to ignorance..."

Eleanor said, "We will build a portal to the physical world as we intended. Rest assured that you will find it, and arrive of your own accord."

Eber sighed, shoulders slumping, "This is too surreal... I cannot think." He opened the door and stepped out onto the platform, "Come on. There is nothing more for us here." The German waits for you just through the open door.

 

[duckflesh]

Isoroku smiled pleasantly at Igor.

"Goodness, there are shadow creatures in the subway? I would have never guessed. It's a good thing we have you here to tell us these things."

He shook his head and followed Eber out onto the platform. For perhaps the first time, he made eye contact with the boy.

"You're the German. I don't know your name, but I'd like to talk to you some time."

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro eyed the pair at across the room. He still wanted to talk more...his brain was hardwired for curiousity. "We'll find another door later?" He watched as Igor nodded. Kojiro nodded in return. Then he would be back....Did they mention a door at the mall? He hated the mall...but he'd check it out for this.

He turned on his heals and head out of the room, just in the door way he stopped and wondered, a purpose? What was Igor's purpose if he wasn't going to give full answers to questions? But that just lead on to another tangent of questions....god he wasn't getting in sleep tonight.

He followed the others out onto the platform and looked around.

"Where is Kumiko? Ugh, she is the dumbest woman ever..." How could she wonder off alone on a night like tonight? That idiot.

 

[Cinnonym]

Eber blinked in surprise at being addressed, but smiled congenially, "As you like. Most people do." He looked around and frowned, nodding at Kojiro, "Kumiko, you said her name was? She is long gone. I hope she returned to the dormitories safely..." He rubbed at his chin in thought, heading forward and up the stairs that led up to the street. Going out into the open air never felt so good.

He stopped when he reached the top and his breath hissed out of him, taking a step or two backward into the rest of the party.

"Uh oh..."

Hikaru was standing in the street. She had been turned away from you, but when she heard the party approach she spun around quickly, quite startled.

"All of you... What're you doing here?!"

She was dressed in her school uniform, but she wore an unusual headset in one ear, and some sort of weapon was strapped to her thigh. All in all, it was strange, but not wholly surprising given what you've witnessed tonight.

"I hope you realize how dangerous it is sneaking around a city like this at night! And to chase some shallow fairy tale you heard in class! How could you behave so foolishly?!"

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro smacked himself on the side of the head, how could he be so unlucky? He quickly looked Seiya over, she looked...different... He was no good at lying but perhaps this time he could do it effectively?

He stepped up in front of the German student.

"Seiya-senpai it's my fault! The others were just out here to stop me!" He turned to them and gave them a stern look to shut up and let him talk. "You...you know about my situation at home...I was just..." He slowly walked up the stairs trying his damnedest to look like he was about to cry. "I just wanted a miracle for my Grandmother...she suffers so much, Seiya-senpai..." When he reached her he lurched forward and hugged her, like he was about to cry.

"I told Isoroku and Rin what I was doing and they came to stop me! They had tried to warn me about kids getting hurt...and the freshman saw me sneak out...its all my fault. Please don't be cross!"

He hugged Seiya tightly hopping she would by the lie.

 

[duckflesh]

Isoroku raised an eyebrow. Funny-- that was approximately the same story he'd have given, though he would have waited until he was with Seiya in private.

Since his work was being done for him, though, he decided to try a different tactic. He had a suspicion. A weapon... a headset... it was like she was out here hunting something, late at night. And she had been dead-set against them coming here...

Worst case scenario, she'd think he was suffering from some sort of stress delusion.

"Seiya Senpai," Isoroku said, bowing. "Please do not be cross. I think we may all understand each other, now. I am interested-- what form does your Persona take?"

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro's head spun around so fast it could have snapped off. He took a step back and eyed Seiya....was he right about that? Or was he just being crazy bringing it up...If he was wrong she was going to know now they were lying. Fucking damnit...

 

[Cinnonym]

"Oi!" Eber blurted out, startled by the sudden honesty.

Hikaru, who had been trying to cope with being suddenly squeezed by a boy she barely knew, patting him lightly on the head in what she hoped was comfort, suddenly pushed Kojiro off and stared at Isoroku, looking decidedly frazzled. "Wh-What did you just say...?"

The senior set her feet apart to reflect her determination, pointing a finger at the group, "If you all go home right now, you won't be punished! Next time I catch you out here, though, you'll be expelled just like Mori promised! U-Um..."

A voice came in on her headset. It is too low for you to make words out of the jumbled sounds, but when Hikaru turns away from you to respond to it, she isn't speaking Japanese.

 

[Rosen2012]

Kojiro tilted his head to the side and eyed her. He then turned to look at Isoroku whom he could smack for being such a jerk, but he slowly retreated back to the others. "We should go, now while she's distracted....I can't afford to get expelled." He shuddered at the though of having to go home and actually having to put up with his ailing grandmother.