[o5] ♪ Death's icy breath.

[fractus_animus]

Characters: AU Minato Arisato & people, then later AU Jin Shirato and more Persona users.
Setting: Early Afternoon on July 3rd, toward the afternoon/early evening; all over-ish -> cathedral.
Format: Action. Prose will be far too slow for this, sorry.
Summary: Minato goes crazy thanks to finding his sister gone and falls victim to a certain Cerulean blood's mind control.
Warnings: If you confront Minato after a certain point, your character WILL have a VERY HIGH CHANCE of dying! Here is the OOC info post. Feel free to backtag into forever if you like once I get this up.

[ The floors he visited had begun to ice over. Anyone who wandered near where Minato was would find it almost unbearably, bone-chillingly cold.

In fact, the walls froze around him as he walked, searching.

For what?

People. People he thinks he can... 'fix'. Or save. Perhaps his inability to do so during their time in the Pods had gotten to him.

... He had Thanatos, didn't he? Why not listen? Why not let him go? After a month of enduring Thanatos and Samael's persistent voices, he no longer had any desire to be what he now viewed as cruel. Killing people was a niceness, here. Surely, it was nice. A kindness. They'd thank him. Even if they didn't realize it. Dying was better than that. It would be better to die. If he killed them, with Thanatos, then perhaps they'd stay dead. Perhaps they'd no longer suffer...

... He was prepared to do it by whatever means, and however much pain had to be caused. Pain was good, too. Pain told them they were people, you see? That they had personalities...

Yes, he did like people.

He liked them enough to freeze them slowly and let his Persona rip them apart... ]

[ OOC: LET ME GET THE COMMENT HEADERS UP for the sub threads first, then you can reply. POSTING DONE, go reply to the sub threads and have fun. :) Be sure to verify a location on the first one! Some responses may be from deatharcana, by the way. ]

Comments

[morituramfides]

[On the inside, he was reeling from the pain-- the Zio wasn't too bad, but the Freidyne-- fuck that hurt. His stance faltered slightly and it almost looked like he would drop to one knee, but he was determined to ignore it.

Instead, he got back to a proper standing position and stepped forward, firmly planting his foot down and putting half of his body in front of Minato with an out stretched arm to cover him. It wasn't much, given what he knew normal Personas were capable of, but it would at least be enough to lighten the burden.

Moros didn't even disperse after the first spell, and instead transition right into an Arrow Rain attack.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu felt that sudden burst of strength, along with the slightest hints of surprise at the nuclear explosions--however muted it may be. Kohryu was large enough to block most of the bullets and take damage from Thanatos' actions. However, Minato's behavior... No one should be able to withstand that kind of strain and be able to continue firing. What was going on?

Change. Kohryu disappears just as the Arrow Rain strikes, and he does indeed feel that one. Yu says nothing yet, only spares a small grunt at the pain. It was only a blip on the radar, now.

The card glows before him, and he crushes it in his hands once more as Yoshitsune appears in Kohryu's stead. The samurai charges forth, unleashing Hassou Tobi on the both of them. Something was wrong.... dead wrong. This wasn't like either Arisato, really. So what was the cause of all this pain? What either made him snap, or-?

...This was far too familiar to something else he'd seen and experienced firsthand.]

Calm down. [Whether it was aimed at Tatsuya, himself, or a final attempt to reach out to the two they outnumbered on a great scale was up to interpretation. Because he was about to let his own anger show, and already was in a sense.

No one messes with his team and gets away with it. Even if he can hear it behind his fury, whispering 'Thou art behaving irrationally. Thy fury is blinding you...' in the back of his mind.]

[evokingfool]

[Minato winces when Jin's Arrow Rain hit him, after resisting the effect of the Evil Smile. The tactic there is obvious to him; make them feel Fear before death.

But he dismiss Succubus and quickly change to a different Persona. Parvati.

The goddess appears before Minato and strengthens their defences with Marakukaja. For this battle, he's willing to go on support and trust the others for offence. Even as he try and avoid the bullets, and Parvati attempts to dodge Thanatos's attacks. At least she can tank the ice spells.]

[vvvroom]

[He still isn't down for the count yet, and that extra defense is enough to give him some breathing time and help him think of a strategy that's better than "attack attack attack". If Yu wants to try to reason with that guy (he can't, it's impossible, he knows the best way to deal with it is to take them out first, reasoning isn't going to work), he might as well try to take out Jin as quickly as possible. Dealing with Minato was more than enough on everyone's health.]

Nova... [Time stops for just a bit. One second, Jin is just standing there and the next, Apollo's behind him.]

KAISER!!! [Light and heat and pure energy are shoved into Jin's body. It probably won't kill him just yet, but ouch.]

[fractus_animus]

[ The hell he's letting THAT happen, and immediately after the damage is moderately healed with a Mediarama from Samael, though for some odd reason, the other Persona does not... disappear.

Minato cannot keep this up for much longer, though. That is obvious.

In fact, Thanatos continues rampaging and takes its fury towards Tatsuya, this time; it isn't even using skills. No, this time, its gigantic hands attempt to literally crush Tatsuya, and its making noises not unlike some sort of feral monster. In fact, its strength seems to have only increased, though Minato is left to fall to his knees, holding his head.

The other attacks caused him to bleed, but this did not hurt anything close to the pain in his head. He slowly makes his way back to his feet, though it's shakily. He glances toward Jin, eyes nearly glowing blue at this point. ]

Bullets and his nickname being Neo I could not help myself okay.

[imperialsun]

[It took a lot to truly make Naoya unleash his full fury. Seeing the Persona tear out of Minato's mind so freely seemed to have served as a last bar holding him back being completely shattered.

As Vishnu continues to give him the ability to resist the attacks, the enhanced defense makes it almost seem ridiculous. A bullet scraps on top of his left shoulder first, tearing at his outfit. Then with a sort of strange luck, he holds out his right hand just as another is about to hit his face, leaving a long gash and a trail of blood. Thanks to all of the spells, it somehow it doesn't feel as bad as it should normally be, and lets it drops to the floor, covered in his blood. Without a word, his right hand pulls his own trigger with a bit of difficulty, and he fires a round from his submachine gun at the both of them, allowing himself to waste a few of his precious bullets.

Even as he is shooting, his gaze is locked on the rampaging monster that is heading towards Tatsuya. Forgoing attacking either of them again, he snarls and and Vishnu rushes forth, appearing behind the other Persona. In a show of acrobatics, it places its feet on his back, attempting to dodge any swipes from the sword or any attempts at being grabbed the other might try to do to get at him. As Naoya forms his hand into a fist, it uses its clawed hands to dig at Thanatos' chains and coffins, attempting to break and yank them in an attempt to unbalance and toss him on the side. Of course that is before...]

Megidolaon!

[A giant ball of nuclear energy is formed in Vishnu's right hand, and he slams it directly into the creature's back, knowing full well that if there is even an inch of connection between the user and the Persona, both will feel that. Naoya has used that attack on Thanatos before, albeit a different one and remembers it was one of its weaknesses.

He isn't playing lightly now. Naoya is past negotiations as well.]

[morituramfides]

[Jin wasn't able to return Minato's look-- the Hassou Tobi left him cut up and bleeding already, but to be topped off with a Nova Kaiser-- he let out a cry of pain and fell to the floor, almost collapsing completely. He'd been spared half the damage thanks to Moros, but that-- was certainly something else. He didn't know if it was worse than any of his previous experiences or not, but it was certainly unlike them.]

Sh... Shit...! [It was a bit more strained and pathetic sounding as he would've liked, but he was already dealing with another onslaught of Almighty energy from the Megidolaon attack as he tried to prop himself up.

His arms gave out on him the first time, but he couldn't give up now; the Mediarama at least gave him the energy for another attempt to prop himself up, which at least got him to his knees Some time of struggling got him back to his feet. He was bleeding, he was slumping, and every part of his body was in pain, but he wasn't giving up.

He jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out a grenade, sticking the pin in his mouth and unceremoniously ripping it out as he lobbed it at their opponents (he'd regret that movement for the next few seconds until the next adrenaline rush hit), while Moros unleashed a Magarula spell-- the least he could do in regards to Moros was make sure it was actually using spells and not just going totally berserk. Funny how the pain was almost sobering.]

[pitiedthefool]

[...No one can say that he hadn't tried. Yu frowns deeply, burying or discarding any remaining reservations with one final sigh. He'd been holding back, but not any more. Seeing that, and what Thanatos was attempting to do to-]

Suou-san!

[He reaches out, and the moment he does it's like any sort of compassion he once held is gone in a flash. It's just another change, his gaze growing colder than usual. It took a lot to get under his skin, but with it being so soon after their return from hell... he couldn't help it, anymore. Whether he screamed his Persona's name near the top of his lungs or not, he doesn't know... What he does know is Samael's weakness, and why not remove one obstacle while he could? It's only logical.

Izanagi-no-Okami appears, standing before him with that still-cracked mask. He barely feels the Magarula, compared to his Persona's appearance. It hurts- it hurts to see his other self in such shape, but he guides him onward as the naginata twirls in a complete circle, casting Mind Charge before realizing his whisper isn't exactly a whisper.]

Agidyne.

[Fire forms around Izanagi's gauntlets and blade as he holds he reaches out with his user, aiming for Samael and his user. There will be no more attempts to negotiate, only full-assaults and attempts to stop them. That is all that matters right now, because there are others he has to keep safe. Holding back has only detrimented that, and he knows it. Sorry, guys. His head's back in the game, now.]

[evokingfool]

[The Magarula hit Minato at full strength. Fortunately for him, Parvati doesn't have a weakness to wind, only fire.

He keeps her around instead of switching, swiftly casting Mediarama for the team. Minato will continue giving support, everyone, until this is over.

Oh, he will give support, as Parvati ready herself with a Mind Charge. Since Yu is using fire spells, that means Samael is weak against them. The goddess disappear, returning to the sea of his soul, as he draws out Suzaku's majestic form for a spell.]

Maragion.

[fractus_animus]

[ After a time, everything goes quiet around Minato. He hears only silence, no screaming or shouting or spells, and his eyes skate over the scene before him.

All the things the others do... it doesn't quite hit as hard as a wind spell on HIS version of Samael might have, but it doesn't matter, really. Thanatos IS weak to Fire, but this does not deter it. Minato's actions are oddly mechanical even when the pain registers; he makes no noise whatsoever. Instead, he simply falls, but it isn't his Persona that goes first.

He is conscious, but barely; bleeding badly. Yet he slowly attempts to stand again--and as he does so, the Death Persona lets out a vicious scream and cuts everything around it in unbelieveable speed, breaking free. It is in pain, but somehow it just shrugs it off, and ice shoots out around it, attempting to quell any form of fire that may so much as go near it again.

... Why can't he hear anything?

Even though Minato is now incapacitated for the most part, his Persona is far from that; in fact, it seems to be only getting angrier. Crazier.

... He isn't even aware of the battle at large right now. He feels--out of place. Not here. There's... pain. Pain in his head, and it is that that causes him to fall back to his knees (as Thanatos and its rage build), clutching it. Now would be a great time to probably try to kill him. Just... saying. Though you might want to hold him down first, because the way he's violently writhing might now means he will probably still be extremely dangerous. ]

[vvvroom]

[Now would also be a good time to get Thanatos out of Tatsuya's face. Literally. He'll be right with you gentlemen, but he's busy trying to get out of the death grip of a death god, wow.

It's a good thing that Apollo's here, because if there are three things he won't abide by, it's

1) His charge being hurt
2) Thanatos and
3) Thanatos trying to kill his charge.

And Apollo is very...very angry, rising from the depths of Tatsuya's mind without actively being summoned.]

YOU DARE ATTACK MY CHARGE, THANATOS?!! CEASE THIS POINTLESS BLOODLUST AT ONCE, YOU RABID CUR!

[And then he cast Gigantic Fist. ...Which is just a fancy way of saying that Apollo punches Thanatos in the goddamned face. Maybe it doesn't hurt much, but it gives Tatsuya enough of an opportunity to free himself, dropping to the ground and going into bursts of coughing after that choke hold.

God...okay. One shot. One to two seconds to stop this.

He runs right at the Minato who's freaking the hell out and grabs him by the collar. This will either be a really stupid move or a smart one.]

Pixle is jumping in after me when she can

[fractus_animus]

[ ... Oh. He's vaguely aware of the grab, but it's not enough at this point to really pull him back down out of Cloud Fourty-Nine. Sorry, your Persona User is in another Castle.

Thanatos, however, reacts far more violently, letting loose a huge spinning sort of assault all around it, making the same sort of ghastly noises as before.

... Even as Tatsuya grabs Minato, he's--muttering words, eyes almost glowing a bright sort of blue--but he's probably not paying attention to that, is he? ]

Only the dead have seen the end of the war... he is but the oarsman of the Styx... let them free of this prison... of their shackles... to save... all must fall... to Tartarus...

[ ... Whatever that means????

... And then Thanatos also lets loose a Mamudoon spell as Minato says this. ]

[imperialsun]

[The Mamudoon spell is nullified thanks to Vishnu's skills which gives Naoya the exact time he needs to make a mad dash towards where Tatsuya is holding Minato.

There's something wrong with his eyes.

It is the first thing Naoya notices when he manages to get himself close enough to shooting range. Suddenly he feels his stomach tense up; the Strega leader looks so far gone that there is no way they'll be able to stop him. It is painful to see him muttering words (which Naoya thinks he's heard somewhere but can't place either), crazy and delusional. He bites his lip in anger from stopping himself to scream out in frustration. It seems unfair that they have to do at all despite the battle, despite the wounds which he's sporting from it, bloodied mouth and outfit. And, for some reason that he isn't sure, there's also a part of him that doesn't want to do this at all. That hesitation...why? He's never had a problem like this before...

Remember that his life will be returned to him tomorrow. If we let this continue, Thanatos will deepen his rage until nothing in this tower is left standing alive. Do not let attachment hold you back.

Vishnu's voice tries to offer him solstace, and Naoya nods, not quite fully understanding the meaning of his words. His determination returned, he gives a nod to the leader still gripping Minato's collar.]

Tatsuya, move now!

[The order is firm, but he doesn't want the other to accidentally get hurt from his fire. One death is enough on his hands.

There never was any joy or honor in killing. Not for Kandori. Not for Minato either.

Even as he hesitates, he feels his finger sliding on the trigger...and when Tatsuya is safe from his shooting path, he pulls it, uttering a few words in Japanese.]

ごめん

[He aims right between the eyes. With the submachine gun's firing power, three bullets enter from the short second he held it down, and at the distance he was firing, there is no way he could have missed.

When it is done, Naoya looks to the floor, his hand slowly lowering his weapon as if the task weighed heavily upon him.]

[pitiedthefool]

[...Yu can't look when the order is given, instead turning his attention to Jin and picking up the sign he'd dropped at some point. It's nearly effortless in both hands has he walks over to him, not even caring to stop when he hears the gunfire behind him.

'I'm sorry.'

But what he isn't sorry about, however, is what he is about to do.

Izanagi-no-Okami stays behind him as he stares down at Jin, gaze cold and hardened since he knows; it'll either be suicide or suicide-by-proxy by this point... wouldn't it. Somehow, this one didn't seem too able to do much other then spout curses and words of destruction now. Yu hated it on principle, considering his own other self's legend. So to see someone he'd suffered alongside in the pods like this...]

After all of this, you can't stand up on your own, huh.

[He tsks, and like Naoya... he slips into their native tongue-]

可哀想に

[-before lifting the sign and smacking Jin with the familiar bus stop sign in the face like it was (almost) nothing. At least, it would have been were it not for the pain hidden deep within his gaze.

'That was for Shinjiro and Minako, you idiot.'

...

Vengeance never was sweet. The sign leaves a mark in the floor and ice as he lets it smack against the ground mere inches from Jin's form.]

[morituramfides]

[His eyes went wide as he saw Tatsuya grab Minato and Naoya turn the gun on him. No way, this wasn't how things were supposed to end, this was not happening-- and at this point, instead of anything else, his vision already swimming from his injuries, everything he was feeling just turned to angry.]

Minato--!

[He reflexively took a step forward to go towards them, but was blocked in his path by Yu. He didn't are for Izanagi-no-Ookami, simply fixing his glare on the persona-user before him.

What Yu was saying however seemed to visibly shake him-- both making him a bit shocked, and just making him more angry.]

What... What the fuck are you--!

[His listless protests were quickly cut off however, when bus stop sign slammed right into his head. There was more than one cracking sound at the impact; one was the sound of his glasses breaking, the frames snapping and the lenses shattering, a few pieces flying away and to the ground, and a few more lodging themselves into his face and eyes.

Another crack was the sound of the bones of his face making contact with the metal of the sign, breaking his nose and at least one cheek bone under the pressure.

One more, final crack was the sound of his neck snapping from the force with which the sign hit him. Despite the rest of his gruesome injuries, it was death on impact.

Moros disappeared in an almost spastic and violent flurry, and Jin's empty fell to the ground beside the sign.]

[mysteriousvoice]

[Well you all went head and beat them.]

[pitiedthefool]

[...Goddammit guys he didn't hit THAT hard.]
[...]
[]

[pitiedthefool]

[No really, he grimaces internally when Moros vanishes... turning to the others.

'I'm sorry... Jin.'

...What do they do, now? Because he's not interested in any of this crap. In fact, his emptiness probably just increased because they were both...

...

Nope. What is being able to handle behind the mask when Izanagi vanishes?]

[evokingfool]

[There is no words from Minato, as he stare at the fallen forms of the other Minato and Jin.

There is only an dulled feeling of regret and disappointment.]

[vvvroom]

[Well Tatsuya, you guys did it. You defeated the dudes who tried to kill your Big Sis and actually killed your lover. They'll be alive again tomorrow, but you actually managed to kill two human beings.

Do you feel any better?

The way he suddenly lets go of the hold he still had on Minato's corpse and remains eerily silent suggests that no, this has done nothing to make him feel any better.

Nyarlathotep is laughing at him. He can feel it.]

[imperialsun]

[Maki, what would you say right now?

The silence after the battle causes his ears to ring. After his gun is lowered, he quietly goes over to Minato's corpse and closes his eyes, taking his coat and using it to cover him, before doing the same to Jin, despite how badly damage the latter's face is.]

Minato's eyes were an odd shade of blue. Almost glowing.

[He speaks clearly, without emotion. Regret and disappointment can come later, he needs to share this information. ]

He didn't even look at me when I confronted him. His gaze was lost. Considering the insanity he displayed, I think he was under a spell. Even Thanatos unleashed could not have caused this.

[There was anger in that tone; something...or someone had caused all of this in the first place, and they could currently do very little about it.]

[pitiedthefool]

...Can't say that kind of spell is unfamiliar, either.

[There is... something off about his voice, but not even he can exactly pinpoint it. Hell, he probably wouldn't be talking at all if he could help it. Yet... his other self would hate him for it, if he hid the truth they'd sought for so long. Wouldn't be able to face the others if he said nothing.

Because he could still see them all, their bodies being controlled in his mind's eye.

Yu bends down, gently removing the remains of Jin's glasses so he can close his eyes. It's simple, but this death... both of them... was meaningless if they didn't-]

Arisato wasn't in his right mind last night, lost in his grief over last month and losing someone precious to him. ...I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not going to stop until I find the truth of why it had to be like this. Why anyone had to die because of this-

[If that's all it was. Yu's fists were clenched tight. He could almost hear Adachi's laugh in his mind as he stands again, picking up the street sign again.]

...It'd be a betrayal, otherwise.

[evokingfool]

[The puzzle slowly fall into place in his mind, but there are still some missing pieces. Who cast such a spell (or ability) on Minato?

They need to find out, if only to prevent any more tragic and meaningless incidents like this.]

...We have to find the cause behind this "spell". Whoever, or whatever, gave him that push into this.

[Would Minato forgive them if they investigate? He don't care, Minato of SEES doesn't want to turn his eyes away from this.]

[vvvroom]

[On the one hand, this would probably absolve Strega Minato of what he did and he didn't like that idea, no sir.

On the other hand...if this involved taking advantage of someone mentally...well, he knows all about how that goes and...what if it happened again? To someone closer to him.

(it's Joker all over again causing havoc in the tower of all places no no not again)]

...Yeah. [He has idea of where to start looking too. Assuming that tentacled asshole is still around.]

[imperialsun]

[It seemed that Naoya's thoughts were like Tatsuya's because his next words were about the Crawling Chaos.]

His grief...might had led to despair. And I know all too well an entity that thrives on that emotion...Nyarlathotep.

[He pauses, thinking.]

However, he is more the type to brag about his accomplishments. Had it been guilty, it would already be here, taunting us about what we did, as he did during Kandori's defeat.

Unless he's switched strategy.

[He can't just quite remove the possibility either...]

Getting answers may take a while, and I doubt either of them will want to speak with us once they return. But I am in agreement; I want to know what caused this so it doesn't happen again.