Round 1

[boxingemperor]

Characters: Akihiko and You
Setting: Cafeteria
Format: whatever floats your boat
Summary: The oatmeal is disgusting. News at 11.
Warnings: None at the moment.

[Akihiko's initiation and introduction to the tower has been quite hectic. Who'd have thought he'd find himself in a strange tower like this, let alone one being destroyed by a giant whale and the monsters inside of it? The collar weirds him out too. It won't come off, and has strange tubes of liquid all around.

He's been running around like a nut, so sitting down to a good solid meal sounds right up his alley. The cafeteria is still in working order, and the smell of everyone's food has him salivating. But upon receiving his meal, he's left with disappointment.

A single bowl of oatmeal.

Well, oatmeal is full of protein, so he decides to give it a sample. Upon putting a small bite in his mouth, his face twists in horror in reaction to the taste and texture. He doesn't remember oatmeal being this disgusting before.]

Hey, I'm really not hungry for breakfast. You got anything else back there?

[Nope. He's stuck with it.

He carries the bowl to one of the tables and stares at it, poking and prodding the lumpy substance with his spoon. All of a sudden, his appetite is dead. Did they run out of everything else? But it smells like it's still being prepared. Maybe if he waits, he can obtain some.

Too bad he'll be waiting a long time.]

Comments

[boxingemperor]

[It's good to know there are others like them. Toudou-san seems pretty nice and approachable.]

Persona Game? How's that work?

[imperialsun]

It was...a game that one of my fellow teammates, Brown, made us play. The rumor went that it would allow you to see into your own future. However, when we ended up participating, we saw a vision of a girl, lightning exploded into the room and we were knocked out.

That's when we met Philemon, in the rift between consciousness and unconsciousness of all souls. When we were able to give our names to him, he awarded us with the power to call upon the Thousand of Other Selves inside us...our Persona.

[boxingemperor]

I've never heard of Philemon before. I'm guessing you probably already know how we got ours. Our leader is the only one who has more than one at a time that I know of.

[Akihiko forces another bite of slop down. It must be part of the torture; eating oatmeal while everyone else has a normal breakfast.]

How long have you been trapped here?

[imperialsun]

Yes. We don't employ Evokers ourselves...which is probably for the best. [He points to his sub-machine gun slung over his shoulder.] All of my teammates are what you call 'Wild Cards', with the ability to switch between Personas freely. Our closest Persona converse with us as well...

Four months so far. I know a few have been here for over a year.

[boxingemperor]

[Akihiko's never spoken to his persona, but he knows their tight. After all, his grew in power when he found resolution. He briefly wonders what someone has to have to be a Wild Card.]

I heard a lot from my friend Shinji already. But there's a lot I still don't know.

[Like if these earthquakes and swarms of creatures are normal or not.]

This place feels like a prison more than someone trying to help shelter us.

[imperialsun]

[Apparently fall under the watchful eye of Philemon, since Naoya himself is not of the Fool Arcana.]

That's my feeling as well. But we mustn't give up hope. We'll find a way out of here one day.

[Something you'll learn quickly about Naoya. He's strong will and hope personified.]

Do you have any questions you'd like answers to?

[boxingemperor]

[Akihiko nods in agreement. Getting bent out of shape and giving up won't change anything.]

Yeah. It feels like I have a lot of them though.

[He fingers the collar around his neck. He's still not used to it being there. It can't even be adjusted or moved. It's unsettling.]

If you know how to take this off, it might help a bunch.

[imperialsun]

Don't. We saw the effects when someone asked for it to be removed. Blood and liquid spills out, and then you die.

[His tone is neutral when he says that. No fear in his voice, despite how heavy the subject is.]

Death isn't permanent here, but each one feels as real as the next.

[boxingemperor]

[Akihiko immediately stops tugging at it. The mental imagery is enough.]

That's too good to be true.

[Nobody would be concerned about the monsters and the tower if that were the case, right? Dying must be awful enough, even if you're resurrected afterwards.]

Is there anything else we have to get through besides, monsters, collars, and bad food?

[imperialsun]

Testing.

[Again, that same monotone voice.]

We never know when it happens, but they like to operate on us. Once, they threw some of them into a maze for days until a victor emmerged. Aragaki-san [He assumes this is who you meant by Shinji] was with the others at that time. We were able to watch it unfold and allowed to request aid to them.

However that caused us to have vivid nightmares those nights in exchange for the services.

[He looks at Akihiko again.] There's not much we can do, but even then, there's a rebellion that even they can't control. Their last experiment was stopped suddenly when a few members of the tower attempted to take over it...

[boxingemperor]

If this rebellion's still going strong, I wouldn't mind helping out. I want to know what's really happening, and why people are being used as guinea pigs.

[And, from the sound of the purpose of the maze, pawns for pointless games.]

[imperialsun]

I'm glad to have you join us, Sanada-san. There was a gathering a small while ago with a lot of tower residents, but it was chaotic. That will need some work, but I believe they are fixing this.

There are also meetings between the Persona users. We compare notes about our respective methods and stories. Or gifts are not unique in the tower, but combining our forces together allows us to accomplish much more. Usually it is between leaders, but I was thinking of gathering all users.

[boxingemperor]

[Akihiko likes this plan. And it'll be interesting to meet all the other persona users. If a handful of them can take down the arcana shadows back home, think of what all of them could do. Like a small army.]

Can't wait to get started.

[imperialsun]

[He grins back again.]

You remind me of my friends. They were ready to fight too, despite the odds.

[Some of them a little more than the others...]

[boxingemperor]

[Akihiko likely falls into that group. He's ready to fight when the need arises most of the time.]

Let me know when the next meeting is.