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towerofanimus2012-05-01 01:00 am
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LABYRINTH
Characters: Participants in the Labyrinth event
Setting: The Labyrinth
Format: Any; party style
Summary: Characters are told to fight to the death over eight days.
Warnings: violence/gore/horror; this is a free-for-all fight to the death after all
Labyrinth starting positions, events, ring colors, and other information.
SUBTHREADS:
Please specify your location in your header, and if the thread is open or closed.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
Setting: The Labyrinth
Format: Any; party style
Summary: Characters are told to fight to the death over eight days.
Warnings: violence/gore/horror; this is a free-for-all fight to the death after all
Labyrinth starting positions, events, ring colors, and other information.
SUBTHREADS:
Please specify your location in your header, and if the thread is open or closed.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
Day Four
Day Five
Day Six
Day Seven
Day Eight
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When he heard the sounds of Minami-- or perhaps the other version of her? Whatever, it didn't really matter-- he got to his feet. She was coming this way. Perfect.
Jin reached into his bag, took out a grenade and pulled out the pin, rolling it out into Minako's path around the time she got near the wall he was hiding behind. That should be enough to get her down and at least deal with the monsters that were coming, he figured.
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Only when the monster collapses into a bloody mess does she sink to one knee, panting. Just one minute, just need one minute to recover. She's so busy trying to gather her strength that she doesn't notice the grenade right in front of her until one second before it goes off.
BOOM.
There is no scream. The grenade has enough force to throw her back against the far wall with a dull thud, and enough power to make every part of her body start searing with white-hot pain. Her thoughts are buzzing, ears ringing. Explosion. How? Caught off guard. Explosion. From what? Grenade. Who?
Jin. Nobody else.
She dazedly slides down to the floor, hissing out when she feels slick blood slide down her cheek. Despite how raw her fingers feel, though, her grip on her naginata tightens. The blade scratches into the floor as she struggles to stand. She will not let him pick her off so easily.
"Come out. Come out...and fight."
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She wasn't dead yet though, and at least here he'd oblige her request; he already had the advantage after all. Jin threw the backpack back on his back and stood up. As he pulled out his Evoker, he stepped into her view with a smirk.
"You asked for it," And he held it up to his head and pulled the trigger.
The metallic form came forth in a flurry of blue light. Admittedly it made him wince a little; he hadn't taken as many suppressants as he'd wanted to, but as long as Moros had someone to attack, it'd do just fine. So Moros spun around and extended its hand, unleashing another burst of fire straight at Minako.
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"The hell was that?! MINAKO!" The sound was easy to locate as was the smoke, and he began to run towards it, hoping that the other two were following him. He was trying to ignore the voice in his head but he could feel his heart sinking as everything seemed to slow down around him.
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She dodges all of them but the last one, and lets out a pained cry as she is subjected to another explosion. Again she falls to her knees.
don't stay down get back up hurryhurryhurry orpheus where are you. please, i need you
No answer.
She collapses.
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He kneeled down to check, and a cursory glance confirmed she was dead. Good.
Unfortunately his burning habit wasn't quite so beneficial for scavenging purposes-- something he realized a bit too late. But nevertheless, Jin grabbed the now singed backpack to see if there was anything still intact or usable. He doubted it, sadly, but it never hurt to try.
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Unlike Jin, it wasn't a quick glance. He checked her pulse.
Alive but...weak.
He didn't care if she might come back later.
He didn't care who was around and they saw him break down.
All he could do that moment was hold her burn hand and start crying.
Dammit, I am not losing you again!
"MINAKO!"
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"I...hear you..."
This scene is all too familiar, and something in her eyes betrays how scared she is. Is this what her life is going to be? An endless cycle of death and revival? An endless cycle of failure and loss? She can't protect Shinji and the others like that. She can't. And yet she is slipping away already, with no other choice but to perpetuate the cycle.
It hurts.
"Shinji...give my naginata to her. D-don't let her be stupid like me." She squeezes his hand as well as she can, but there is none of her usual strength behind it. "And...I'm sorry..."
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Nothing. The heartbeat, weak before, is silenced.
"No...." his voice cracks, and he pulls her a little tighter, her lifeless body feeling like a rag down in his hands. His breathing is slow and raspy, as he struggles to keep the emotional torrent he is feeling from completely taking over. Without thinking, he runs his hands in her hair and removes her clasp, making fall down, before running his fingers to close her eyes. She always looked...prettier with her hair like that...she should look pretty when...
Losing someone close is always hard on a person, but for Shinji, it was losing that same person twice. After all that searching. After being ready to fight his own friends just for the ability to see her again. Just to see her one more time.
For a short while, he had. He had admitted some things that he never thought he'd be able to say in his life. He had learned how to feel. How to appreciate life. How to live. He had felt alive for the first time in his life.
He had learned how to love.
He looks at her again, unknowing if she'll be back. It's too far off of his mind. All he can hear is she's dead, over and over. Everything runs in his mind like a rapid fire and all that has happened leading to this. The anger that is suddenly building in his heart, threatening to overtake everything. It just needed a final trigger...
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"Augh..." Now would've been best to beat a hasty retreat and get Chidori and Minato's attention, but Moros was having none of that. Moros didn't take so kindly to being knocked around in such a way; he wanted to get out again and it made Jin's head hurt.
Another grunt of pain, and he figured-- it was a good chance to take out some more competition at the least. It wasn't like he could spare the extra pills to calm him down. He hopped to his feet, grabbed his Evoker again and pulled the trigger, attacking with a Torrent Shot.
1/?
The pain then hit him, and he could feel the blood running down his forehead and his arms. It was his left, the one not holding his axe. It hurt like hell too.
"You..." He didn't know how, but somehow Shinji was able to lift himself up and stand up. There were no more tears. She was gone, he couldn't do anything else but more forward. Only anger that it had happened at all. The target was right in front of him. Time slowed down. Everything was actually happening so quickly, but at that moment, Shinji felt as if nothing else moved. The rage building inside him, threatening to burst out.
Then, it did.
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All he wants right now, is to kill him for what he did.
There's nothing to hold him back.
Just him and Jin.
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That voice. He hadn't heard it in a while.
He starts to laugh as his sanity slips and burns away. Of course. Of course at that moment, the others would be afraid, and they parted ways as He takes the central stage.
Shinjiro had been wondering when he'd show up again.
Pull it. Let him bear witness to my wraith. I will tear out his arms, rip his legs, gouge his eyes, rupture his lungs...
He looks at Jin again, Shinji's eyes barely visible from the blood-stained face, but they are more yellow than normal. His head is tilted lightly, locked in a look at him that can only be described as complete and utter hate mixed with pure insanity.
Pull the trigger.
He breathed in and out, feeling the mixture of sweat and blood.
PULL THE TRIGGER!
A grin again.
"Caaas....tor."
The gun fired.
Done
He wasn't waiting for anything. Shinji was gone already, lost to the sea of negative emotions, almost a Shadow of himself. Castor was free. With a loud crack, the Persona used his hand to rip out the head of the lance lodged in his chest, as it formed into a long weapon, blood still dripping from the open wound. The demonic horse's eyes glowed red, lighting up the corridor.
Tell me human, have you ever felt true terror? You may not fear death, but let me show you, what it is like to be caught in unholy despair. To be in such pain you will beg for death. The Persona couldn't grin, it had no mouth. Yet, somehow, Jin could perhaps see it unleash an Evil Smile as it lounged at him, the lance aimed right for his stomach, with the horse's horn at his arm.
Castor wasn't going to kill him right away. Oh no. It was going to play around until he understood the concept of fear. In his mind. In his heart. That even Jin's own Persona would itself understood that terror as well.
Then, it would scream such a Ghastly Wail that there would be nothing left to do but fall over dead.
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He didn't flinch when Castor appeared; subconciously, his knees sunk, his stance grew wider and his muscles tensed, but he wouldn't flinch. He wasn't going to be afraid of this guy, of some other guy's persona, or this "unholy despair" bullshit. He'd stopped buying that shtick a long time ago.
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This time he couldn't even grunt in pain-- even that was too much work-- he couldn't even think straight and Moros simply would not have it. He wasn't going to die within some weak human that couldn't even defend himself and couldn't even contain him. He was weak because of his vessel, but he would force his way out before he died to this bastard. You could not teach Moros the meaning of despair.
Jin tried to sream-- the Ghastly Wail, the pain in his gut, the tearing at his mind-- but it was nothing but silence and gasps, as Moros materialized once more. He had no face, but there was nothing behind him but aggression. CASTOR
He didn't feel the need to dictate any further. His parts spun furiously, this time uleashing a torrent of ice-- not on Shinjiro, but on the other Persona himself.
1/2 I think
It was the same. And it shook him to the core and he wanted to cry again, but he couldn't.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three, and he was running again, trying to get between Shinjiro and Jin. He couldn't get there before the first round of Jin's attack, but he could help shield Jin from others.
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She burst forth, spinning in front of them, and cast a Diarama on Jin. Then, as fast as she could, she was off, buzzing like a saw towards Castor, a Cruel Attack aimed for the horse's head.
Ken was breathing hard. She was angry, and so was he. Retribution was so close, he could reach out and touch it. And death would come to his enemies far swifter than it would come to those he cared about if he had anything to say about it.
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The moment she heard the tail end of Castor's Wail she'd broken into a dead run, ignoring fights. Shinjiro lay that way and if Castor was out that meant big trouble. She summoned Jack Frost as she turned the corner, the small snowy jester prancing in the air around her, ready to fire off a Mabufu as she took in the scene before her.
Ken at another entrance, with Nemesis unleashed.
Her brother's friend pinned to a wall.
Shinjiro looking.... not himself, with Castor screaming for blood.
And her cousin, for lack of a better word, dead.
"Jack!" she shouted, pointing towards the two persona rushing at each other, "Stop them!"
With a cheerful heeho and the knowledge this might not work, Jack Frost went after the two, intending to use Mabufu to break them apart. Meanwhile, Minami would try to get to Jin. Titania couldn't heal him fully if he's still impaled, after all.
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Then Nemesis. If only Shinji could have seen Ken. But his mind was too far gone currently. All he wanted was one person dead at any means possible. His Persona also came from a body of someone who was, normally, perfectly healthy now. Shinji didn't take any more pills. Maybe last year Castor could have been a pushover. Now there was nothing to hold it back, and it was fueled by Shinji's own mind.
Castor wasn't going to be selective. It moved backwards, removing his spear from Jin's chest, letting the blood flow more freely. He would need more healing, and fast.
You. You are nothing. The Cruel Attack from the other Persona bounced harmlessly off his chest. Enforced by the darkness of Shinji's heart, the Castor had transformed into something else, and was immune to physical attacks. He suddenly used both his hands and grabbed Nemesis blades as it passed to him.
It laughed again, his face opening up grotesquely, as it twisted into something more primal and animal-like. Now, it had a mouth, made from teared skin and fabric.
When IT laughed, Shinji did the same. It was completely unnerving.
Then, without warning, it used one arm to grab Nemesis' legs, and threw the Persona right into Moros. Now her blades were suddenly being used as a buzzsaw, and it was turning more into the Persona fighting each other. It turned around to feel the ice cold attack of Jack Frost, and, again, Shinji knelt in pain. It didn't seem to mind, even if the Persona's blond hair was now tinted with a greenish blood. A light surrounded it as Regenerate did its job, before raising its arms, and unleashing a Akasha Arts at both Nemesis and Moros, the attack itself twisted by the warped state of both Persona and User and far more deadly than normal.
Again, it turned around and looked at Jin. The horse's eyes were not not just glowing, but in flames.
There was nothing to it's rampaging insanity.
Nothing but Shinjiro himself, but all that was in his mind was cold-blooded murder. Revenge. REVENGE! He was only semi-consciousness of what was happening. When Minami came close, he raised an arm to block her, like a zombie, not even bothering to look into her eyes. But if she peered into his, the yellowish glow was getting more pronounced, and the blood was still dripping from his forehead.
When he spoke, it wasn't just him, but Castor speaking. A warped voice that echoed together as one.
S͂͂́̉̂t̿ͨå̿̆ͭͭ́̅ͩy̿̎ͪ͐ ́̊ͯ̓̏b̔ͯa͗͐č͌͐kͯͤ̎̀̒ͬ̾!͊ͨ͊̈͆ ͯ̄ͭH͌́͆̓ͩe̾̔̅͒͂ ͋̒ͪ͋k̑̅ͯͦͤi̅̅l̄̃lͥ͂ͪ͂̐ͥ̃̀̚ȅ̿ͪ̒ͫͩdͬͥ̽̃ͧ̓̂̑̽ ̑̑͌́hͮ̂e͑̆̇ͤr̀̅̔͛.̌̑͑̓ͮ ̌̌̌͑̂̃̾̚Hͥ̃͑̋̄̐̔E̐̿ͫ ͮ̏͌̌ḰIͩͫ̂ͤ͊̐͒ͩͦL̃͋L̓ͥ̎̅͆E̿̃ͨͣDͤͦ ͗̄ͬ͒̔̿̾̍̂Hͭ̊̓̆̋ͧͧ̉ĖR͒̃͆ͬ̋͂͂!ͫ̌̄̒ͫ Ḏͅo̟͓̭̝̙̥n̫͈'͙t̬ͅ ̲̺̱m̺̤̥̣͚̺a̱̝ͅk̭͍͇͉͔̬e͕̥̩͇͔̭͍̜ͅ ͖̠̦̝̰̗m̘̫̦͚̝͕e̫̪̗̞ ̹ḥ̖̺̟̼͚ͅu̯̫̘r͎̹͙̙̝t̗͎͇ ̬͇y̦̟̱͈o̠͔̟̝͎͚̳̝u̳͍̱͖̣̦̠͇.̰̪͉͎
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Moros took the Bufu attack with little more than what would appear to be a scoff for a normal person; Jin flinched, though Moros didn't care. The next thing he knew the spear was gone and Jin was finally able to let out a pathetic cry of pain. The blood was coming out faster. He was starting to feel more dizzy.
Another scream as Nemesis sawed into Moros-- green blood splashed out as even Moros gave in to screams of pain. Jin shakily brought one hand to his head, the other subconsciously trying to grab his wound, as if it would even dull the pain. Make him shut up make him go away--
He got his wish at least in that respect. Moros was too injured-- nearly sawed in half-- neither Jin's physical body nor his mind could stand the burden of the Nemesis' blades any more. It disappeared in a flurry of blue light, dripping that ghastly green blood. Jin couldn't do much more than stare at Castor head on at this point. If he died right now, so be it. The only thing straight in his head right now was that he wasn't going to give him the pleasure of being scared.
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Another bang and Nemesis appeared once more to try another Diarama on Jin. Then slowly, very slowly, Ken looked up and stared into Castor's eyes.
("Oh, a monster, huh? Haha... There's no way that actually happened.")
And no one believed him.
("Look... it was an accident, plain and simple.")
They should have believed him.
Ken levels his spear at Castor, Nemesis flickering behind him. When he speaks, his voice is strangely calm, though there's an undercurrent of anger threatening to break through.
"You. You're the one who killed my mother - who left me without family. Until they found me. I won't let you take family from me again. I'd rather die myself than lose them!"
With a shout, Ken rushes at Castor - no summoning Nemesis, just throwing himself and his spear against the giant horse and rider.
no subject
"Stop it!" she tries again, turning away from Jin as Nemesis was actually thrown. This was more brutal than she'd thought a persona fight could get. normally they only stayed out for a few seconds, but this?
Minami put herself in front of Shinjiro. It was stupid. So utterly stupid she could almost hear Yukari berating her for it, but she didn't care. This had to stop. Shinjiro would never forgive himself if he killed someone like this.
She couldn't.... even if he wasn't her own, she couldn't let him die like this.
"Shinjiro. Stop! Do you honestly think she would want you to be like this?!" she shouts at him. So what if he's speaking like that? So what if Ken and Jin have every reason to kill her? It should snap him out of it if she's in danger, hopefully. Minami might have hated Shinjiro's protective streak but she had to hope it would work for her this time around.
no subject
"I..."
Everything is happening like a dream. He looks up, wiping away the blood and apart from Minami towering over him, he notices Ken running towards Castor.
"...No!"
No! No, no, no, no he never wanted this to happen. Just Jin he...he....He looks over at the other Strega member, with the wound, still fresh, but thankfully not bleeding as much as before. No. No his anger is different now that he's more lucid. While he wanted him dead before, he now realizes what is happening and hates himself for it.
It's happening again.
Just like that night.
Shinji doesn't want it to happen again, but it's already too late. The motions had been set in place, and now that Castor has a mouth, the words become clearer, its voice loud enough for those running close by to hear him. One hand grabs Ken as he runs towards him, the other throwing away his lance as Castor dangles him, upside down.
"I remember you, little one. That night when that small girl was killed and my other self wanted nothing more for me to destroy every shadow present. I relished in their deaths...and so did he, even if he would deny it. Your mother...was nothing more than collateral damage. He hated himself for what I had done, became nothing more than a phantom that clung to life waiting for you to grow and kill him for his crimes...he could not handle my true power, and thus tried to suppress me. But no more! I am finally free!"
"LET HIM GO!" Shinjiro manages to stand up, leaning unto Minami for support and yells at him, a hand on his head. Castor stops, and slowly turns around, chuckling as he dangles the poor boy like an insignificant chew-toy.
"And you think yourself able to stop me now, my other self? You never had true control over me. Do you not remember Sanada's own words to you when you joined SEES for the first time? You care too much for others. You try to act cool, but that is nothing more than a mask for you hide behind, unable to face your emotional instability. He feared for your health and for you. You just wanted to be a hero and save the lives of others. Because you cared. You were a battle genius. You thought you could save them all. Instead you doomed yourself and repeat this cycle of death." It pointed to where Minako's corpse lay. "You can't even save those you love."
Shinji stood silent at the Persona's verbal beatdown. He wants to tell him to shut up. But he knows. He knows deep inside that this is all true and he can't deny it. And he hates his own Persona for speaking the truth.
"Shall I rip this boy in two in front of you?"
"NO!" He moves back in front of Minami and stands facing of his own Persona, looking at him in the eyes. "I WON'T LET YOU HARM ANYONE ELSE!"
"A pointless boast, my other self. You cannot stop me."
Without thinking, Shinji yanks takes Minami's weapon from her hand, and points it at his heart.
"I'll end my own life if I have to!" Castor brushes him away, laughing.
"Pointless. Pointless! You understand nothing. Your death would change nothing. Go ahead and end your life, you fool. Then I shall be completely free.
Castor throws Ken away into a wall and leans closer so much that Shinji cool feel its breath, as the green blood splattered on him.
"After all...I am a Shadow...the True Self!"
no subject
Couldn't save... I couldn't save...
-he started running. Not from, but towards. There was a sinking feeling in his heart, and while he didn't have Teddie and Rise with him, there was no way in the nine paths of Yomi that he couldn't recognize the chill running down his spine that both caused a thrill and twinge of fear. As he ran, he could hear it- the sounds of a Shadow becoming manifest and the cries from the original. ...Was it because of this he was brought here, to act as the representative of a goddess and pull others from despair again? How could he though, when he couldn't even keep his own spirits up?
That's when he rounded the corner, seeing Castor stare down Shinjiro, sees Jin's somewhat-patched up abdominal injury, Minami trying act as a shield before being pushed away, Ken being thrown like a rag doll... and a dead Minako nearby. Yes, that would certainly do it.
"Aragaki-san!" Yu rushes over, feeling a sudden rush of power as he does so. 'The time hast come.'
"If you want to harm them further, you'll have to go through me." Comes the cold threat, of one who had seen this scenario eight too many times as he holds his axe in a defensive manner. This wasn't the kind of weapon he was used to, but he didn't need it for anything other than blocking now. He doesn't blink, doesn't flinch for a good moment until a wicked smile crosses his lips, seeing the card fall before him and glowing blank until just before it could fall in his grasp.
It's about time, me.
"Izanagi-no-Okami!" He crushes the card in his hand, the scream echoing as his True Persona came forth from the blue light surrounding him. Izanagi-no-Okami wastes no time in answering his call, spinning his white and gold naginata and casting Agidyne. He would deal with his own demons later. Right now, he had to help them all survive or everyone was going to lose it.
Also, that might have been Izanagi's fist aimed at Castor. Oops.
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1 - Strega Members Regroup Here and Head Out
most inopportune time to be on hiatus tbh but uh HI /enters fray???
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2 - Yu, Minami and England try to stop rampaging Shadows
...welp. does anyone have a Persona that knows Recarm/have a revival bead?
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