eatsyourscience | (no subject)

(no subject)

To begin with, it was Naoto's idea to check up on things in the TV world, and it had become so normal to spend rainy afternoons inside that Souji agreed without requiring much in the way of an explanation, though she provided one anyway. He agreed with all the points she made--that they should keep an eye on the movements of the fog, the density of shadows in various places, if anything had changed since Adachi's defeat--but more than anything, he was beginning to miss that world and the time they spent there.

Chie and Yukiko passed, and so did Kanji when Souji tracked him down at lunch, but Rise was happy to accompany them--a good thing, because Souji didn't think it would be wise to go in without her--and so were Yousuke and Teddie, who agreed with Naoto about the importance of keeping an eye on what was going on in that world. Souji couldn't blame him.

Inside, everything seemed the same. Even the damp smell, the feeling of the fog against his cheeks in odd juxtaposition to the way it vanished in the view through his glasses were the same. He asked Rise to do a scan of the area, but wasn't expecting her excited, staccato announcement that there was a new area she hadn't seen before.

When Kanzeon vanished, Souji glanced around to find everyone looking at him and he almost smiled at how comfortable it had become to see them relying on him. He gave a slight nod and with Rise directing him, led the way past locations they already knew.

They stopped when the ground disappeared in front of them. An expanse of open, empty space spread in front of them, filled with a swirling fog that he could see. Resisting the urge to remove his glasses and clean them, Souji squinted. All that was visible were what looked like several bare, unornamented platforms hovering in the air, each at a greater distance than the last from where they stood.

He looked around, then down, then took a step into open space. Rise called out after him, but trailed off when a walkway materialized beneath his feet, extending for a short distance ahead of him. A few steps across what looked and felt like smooth, gray stone confirmed that it would continue to appear ahead of him as he walked instead of leaving him to step blindly and hope he hadn't come to a corner without noticing. Hefting his sword a little higher, he looked back and nodded to the others that they should proceed.

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Souji considers. "This arcana has strong healing abilities." He glanced at Rise, who's already summoned Kanzeon and is scanning the enemy. "Look for buffing skills and healing skills. We need to get around those."

Rise chirps acknowledgment, followed a moment later by, "Good call, Senpai! It'll block most magic attacks."

Both Yousuke and Naoto nod, and attack in near unison with Brave Blade and Vorpal Blade. They'd have to look to Teddie and Souji for support-- but they're confident. This one couldn't be much worse than the last.

With Norn equipped, Souji casts Debilitate to make each attack count for more, and otherwise stuck to healing spells when the Shadow attacked with powerful light and dark skills, holding out one of the two flowers for each.

Despite the Shadow's tactics, it isn't much stronger than the last, and between the four of them, with Rise's help, they're able to progress beyond that platform before long.

Naoto being resistant to light and dark very well dooms the shadow. Carefully dodging instant kill abilities was something they were all used to, and even more so keeping Souji safe from them. If he were to go down, they'd all be lost...

That's what makes this particular dungeon a bit more unnerving than the others.

Yousuke takes his headphones off and shakes out his hair.

"Everyone cool?"

Teddie offers a thumbs up. "Crystal cool!"

Souji's nod is slight, and he presses on after only a moment for everyone to get their bearings. He's on edge, aware of the order in which the voices inside him will wink out and go silent. He wonders if the last few will echo.

He doesn't like any of this. But it doesn't look like they can go back now, and he's not sure he wants to. As much as this is unsettling him from his normal centered calm, he wants to find out what's behind it.

"That's crystal clear, Ted."

While the two continue their usual banter, Naoto looks back at Souji, right under the rim of her hat, silently asking him of all of this is alright.

Souji catches that look from the corner of his eye and gives another small nod. They should press on.

Yousuke stretches his arms over his head.

"How long do you think this is gonna be? You said 22 right? If that's how it is, we'll probably have to take it in chunks like usual."

The others should know too, he thinks, but doesn't add.

"At least senpai can give us hints!" Rise clasps her hands behind her back as she walks. "I can scan enemies faster if I know what to look for!"

"Doesn't that kind of defeat the point, Rise-cha--" Rise swats at Teddie before he can finish.

Souji doesn't comment, keeping his eyes forward.

For now, it's okay. They've taken care of the last two shadows with ease and there didn't seem to be anything impeding them from leaving, so Yousuke doesn't voice his concern. If things got bad, then he could say something.

Souji's surprised when they reach the next platform and it's marked with a IV rather than III. He stops at the edge of the path without stepping onto the platform proper, glancing around.

"It skipped Empress." He looks to Naoto for consensus or theories. He'll take anything at this point.

Naoto looks down at the number. She formulates a theory quickly.

"Do you have a persona of the Empress arcana with you?"

"No." He had left Isis behind in favor of Ishtar. Naoto's reasoning is easy to follow, but he can't help noting that all of the arcanas represented so far, including this one, have been those of members of the Investigation Team.

"Should we turn back?" He looks around at everyone. He doesn't want to push them too hard; the two enemies they've fought so far have been strong, but no stronger than anything they've fought before. On the other hand, it's been awhile since they were in the TV world for a long period of time, and he himself is starting to feel uneasy and light-headed. He wouldn't give in to it normally--he'd rather press on and not find out what the real world consequences of losing two Personas is--but he's not the only one here.

Teddie just gives him a thumbs up. Rise tilts her head, pigtails brushing across her shoulders and neck.

"I'm fine if everyone else is. But you don't look that good senpai."

A muscle in Souji's mouth twitches at the idea that it's that obvious. He looks to Yousuke and Naoto for their opinions.

Yousuke replies first.

"I'm okay with whatever you're okay with. If you wanna keep going and figure out what this is, I do too."

He can see the slight tightness of Souji's expression, and takes it as stress-- He'd be stressed out too if his persona disappeared. It wouldn't really be his place to say no to him. But he still took his position as second seriously. If it ever looked like Souji was in serious danger, he'd drag him out personally if he had to, even against his will.

Naoto takes her time thinking of a proper response.

"Because there aren't any normal shadows milling about like they usually do, we can move strategically. If any unassailable threat were to come forth, retreat would be easy."

"So I don't have any problems with continuing, as long as things stay reasonably safe."

Souji nods and steps onto the Emperor's platform, addressing the others as he does. "It should have Electricity-based attacks. And physical attacks."

"That sounds beary much like Kanji!" Teddie laughs to himself. "I wonder if it'll have a bad temper like him too."

"Don't laugh too much, bear. You're weak to Zio, and we don't want to have Souji wasting time healing when you could be doing it."

Teddie flails and starts to protest, but a thunder clap interrupts him, preceding the appearance of their next opponent. Souji's beginning to see a pattern. He winces as he feels another Persona disappear from his mind and prepares to summon Norn again.

The new Shadow beats him to it. This one is not humanoid, as the last two were, but appears as a throne with a crown hovering over the seat. The crown rotates, unleashing a powerful Zio attack on all four of them.

Yousuke never liked lightning, a habit carried over from Jiraiya. He dodges the attack nimbly-- Naoto is still hit however.

Both of them hold back. When a shadow looked odd like this one did, there was often some sort of gimmick attached to them, whether that was a specific weakness or an odd method of attack. they didn't want to trigger something nasty right off the bat and put them all in more danger than necessary.

Teddie manages to dodge as well, but Norn is weak to electricity, and Souji's hit along with Naoto. Behind everyone, Rise calls, "I'll have it in a minute! Hang in there, guys!"

Souji nods in acknowledgment, getting back to his feet. He summons and casts Debilitate, figuring if anything, it will help put them on even ground with the opponent.

Yousuke uses this time to cast masukukaja. If Souji and Teddie were going to be weak, then he should help with evasion and accuracy. If they could get the jump on this thing, it'd be ideal.

While Teddie heals him and Naoto, Souji considers for a second. He doesn't want to chance casting Garudyne and having it rebound in his face. Switching from Norn to Futsunushi, he uses Power Charge, followed by Primal Force.

The attack should be devestating, but it seems this opponent has resistance to physical skills. Rise confirms this a second later and Souji grits his teeth. It must have some elemental weakness, then. At least he hopes so. Otherwise, they'll have to batter at it and waste their resources trying to take it down.

He tries to conceal and ignore the feeling that's ballooning inside him, pressing up against his lungs so that it's getting harder to breathe. It's a lot like desperation, and he doesn't have any time for something like that.

Yousuke is catching on. He instead casts Garudyne at the shadow, knowing that even if it bounces back, he won't be hurt. It's worth the time it takes to fish for weaknesses.

Naoto, on the other hand... Well, she's painfully aware that while she's quite good at wiping out large numbers of smaller shadows with her instant kill techniques, she's woefully unequipped to deal with larger shadows that have specific weaknesses. She can always attack physically, but that won't work here... And a Megido-level spell would take toll on her stamina.

for now, she backs off, defends, and watches closely for an opening.

The Garu spell seems to do the trick. Rise calls from the back of the group, "Great, Yousuke-senpai! You found its weakness!"

Souji hesitates, thinking this over. If he switches back to Norn, he'll leave himself open to any Zio attacks the enemy uses. On the other hand, she's his only Persona with strong wind skills, and invoking her will be the fastest way to beat this Shadow.

On the other other hand, he does have one more option. It comes at a high price, but with Naoto reserving her energy for later, Souji's willing to take the risk. He summons Helel and casts Morning Star; as he'd hoped, it does significant damage, and it doesn't take many more attacks for them to finish the shadow off.

With Yousuke casting Garudyne every turn, the shadow stays down long enough for Naoto to squeeze in a physical attack and help chip away at it's health. Like any battle, it's about falling into the correct pattern. Once they figure it out, it goes down like all the others.

Yousuke wipes at an errant bead of sweat rolling down his neck. Naoto takes her hat off for a moment to re-arrange her hair.

"How was that? You still okay, Souji?"

"Yes." He's winded, but he's not hurt. He's also not yet willing to give up. Taking off his glasses to rub one temple, he looks around at the others. "We can rest if you want."