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 Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2011 9:08 pm
* ~:: Persona War 2 ::~ *
(Explanation and Sign-Up Form Below) Midnight, the Dark Hour...as the eerie moonlight and green sky hover overhead in the towns of Inaba and Port Island, something has appeared in the infamous sea-side metropolis of Sumaru City in the southern portion of the country's central, capitol, regions. However, this is no random occurrence, and over the course of the last two weeks a series of vicious rumors have begun to spread through the city. Play the JOKER game and you will come face-to-face with a strange figure called JOKER that can make your ideals come true! If you play the Persona Game you can meet a strange man who will grant you a mysterious gift! ...Not every rumor is quite so fanciful, however. Sumaru City is the destined to host a battle between forces that will split the country in two! During the coming battle, thirteen champions will be chosen from the chaos on either side to face one final test! One man will emerge from the war a clear victor, the power of an entire city come to rest within his hands. These are the rumors that have sparked fighting, violent fighting in Sumaru City, and a string of actions by a group calling itself the Masked Circle that promises an ideal life to those who follow the will of Master JOKER. Fighting against them are a few brave souls, unheralded, but who believe that the question to become Idealians is a lie, a flawed pursuit which acts as a draw to the misguided, playing on their hopes and fears.
A war is brewing in Sumaru City as [13 identical but different-colored crystals, impenetrable, have appeared in the sky during tonight's Dark Hour.]
In retaliation for the opposition against them, the Masked Circle have done the unthinkable...and leveled the Narumi District of Sumaru in a series of vicious explosions, sinking much of the city into the sea. Now they stand on guard at the wreckage, dug into the trenches, as their enemies come to them for what can only be a head-on assault!
However, this battlefield is about to become much larger than even the citizens of Sumaru and their rumors could have imagined. The rumored 'Fated Battle to Split the Country' is about to begin!
Those who possess the powers of the supernatural can feel the appearance of the 13 Crystals, whatever they are...they are powerful, alluring, it is a temptation that is difficult to resist, even for the strong-willed. Forces of good and evil alike place designs upon obtaining it, and converging upon its location, a hasty alliance is formed between enemies, allies, and strangers alike all for the opportunity to place their hands upon an item that might turn the tide of their ongoing struggles.
Two major forces descend upon the city and align themselves with either side of the local conflict, but their interest in the minor squabble is only a front for the larger war.
The Western Devil Kings, outcast and claiming to have been 'framed' for the murder of the Emperor, do not agree with the Masked Circle or their methods...but find them a necessary ally to challenge the forces allying against them. Under the advice of Yoshitsugu Otani, Mitsunari Ishida has called a temporary cease-fire with the Masked Circle until the resolution of the conflict. Feeling the Masked Circle is the stronger of the two, they seek only to play the Idealian cultists against their foes then crush them after the battle is won.
The Mori Shogunate has issued a stern denouncement of the actions of the Masked Circle and promised to restore order to Sumaru City in the wake of the appearance of the Crystals. Siding with the citizens of the city, Motonari Mori has dedicated his forces to aid in driving the Idelian cultists out and putting an end to the terror attacks on Sumaru. However, it is not just this purpose which drives them into the conflict...the appearance of their hated Western Devil Kings alongside the Masked Circle has driven Tatsuya Suou, a survivor of the original JOKER Incidents and Masked Circle events, to lobby his Shogun to deploy forces and defend his home. Seeing the opportunity come to crush his last opposition within the country in Sumaru, Motonari Mori accepts the request without hesitation...
...
What has resulted from all these forces converging into one area to fight over one prize? A four-sided melee: Persona-Users versus Masked Circle Cultists, Western Devil Kings versus the Mori Shogunate, and all the forces that ally themselves with either side! Formerly under the command of local police officer Katsuya Suou, the city's defense now falls under the jurisdiction of Tatsuya Suou, while Balmung and his Avengers lead the forces of the Mori with all their allies acting under his and the Shogunate's command. On the other side, Mitsunari Ishida and Yoshitsugu Otani command the Western Devil King Alliance, with the Masked Circle acting exclusively under the directives of their Master JOKER and the Four Members of the Inner Circle...King Leo, Prince Taurus, Lady Scorpio, and Queen Aquarius. They are a wild card, but generally steer clear of the Western Devil Kings, fighting alongside them against the forces of the Mori and Tatsuya Suou.
Forces collide! Battles will be fought! Sides will be chosen!
Do you support the hero of the people and his Shogunate's quest for order, turning over the impossibly powerful Crystals to their care? Or do you support the rebellious Western Devil Kings who cry foul against them? Do you find yourself drawn to the mysterious persona-users defending Sumaru, or do you ally with the Masked Circle which seeks out a way to find the Ideal Life under Master JOKER?
The time to make your choice has come!
Persona War 2 (PWII) has begun!
Which side will you be on?! Quote: Details
...At Midnight on [7/4], with Sumaru City in a state of shock following the explosions in Narumi District of the city, [13 Crystals] appeared over the city which cannot be penetrated or removed at this time. Fighting over the city and having entreated others for help, many who sense the unique disturbance in the town descend in order to lend their strength to whichever cause they feel is most just.
Some come for power, some come for what is right. Forces of the Western Devil Kings and the Mori Shogunate ally with the side that best suits their needs, and those who file in to join with either side must make their stand! And perhaps, collect some of the loot when all is said and done...while discovering the truth about the Crystals.
...Whatever...or whoever, that might be... Quote: Rules
1. Choose four available characters under your control [or just one]. These four will make the decision to use their power to intervene in the Sumaru City conflict, arriving just in time to get caught up in the Late Night struggle for power.
2. When you arrive, you realize that the struggle has grown so large that an interloper would hardly last on his own. To survive long enough to have a chance at obtaining the power, you ally yourself with the one of the four factions [Masked Circle], [Sumaru Persona-Users], [Mori Shogunate], or the [Western Devil Kings].
3. Joined together with this new Alliance, you will be entered into the battle at the discretion of your temporary commander and engage in combat with members of the enemy force at the location to which you are dispatched.
4. You will battle with those in the area to which you are dispatched, dealing with whatever obstacles might also be in your way in that area.
5. As the battle commences and warriors are beaten and/or eliminated, opportunity may arise to discover more about the [13 Crystals], or perhaps even reach one with your power and unlock its secrets. If you are able to visit the Crystals or unlock one, you may become more tangled in these incidents than you imagined...for better or worse...
6. Once you have reached the stage where you may reach the Crystals, alliances may be abandoned or held true, with the Power standing as the ultimate prize for craftiest, most powerful, or best of the bunch. For those who come close, it may still be possible to obtain Fragments of the Power, or to use your power for an even greater purpose
7. More rules may be added as necessary... Quote: Persona War 2 is now OPEN! Please report to the battlefield as soon as possible!
[You may still sign up for Persona War 2! You may also break the character cap of [4] if you request it! Also, if for some reason you would desperately like to enter a character who is currently occupied, please let me know and we'll see if we can work it out!
The sooner the better, as once the secret of the [Crystals] is discovered, it will be too late!]
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:42 am
* ~:: Persona War 2 ::~ *
(Incentive Guide) War is the province of chaos, and where chaos reigns one must fight to rediscover order.
And through fighting, one may discover there are important things which can be gained through their efforts, when enough blood has been spilled and the tides of fate shift.
Below is a categorization of the spoils of war, achievements which you may manage during the course of battle to increase your chances of victory, to potentially advance into the final stages of the battle, and to reap the spoils of your efforts during the grandest battle that the country has seen in centuries! Turn the tides in the favor of your army, obtain vital weapons and items which can help you endure for much longer in the middle of all the swirling chaos, and unlock mysteries which might help you to better understand why the chaos has built to such a fever pitch here in the city of Sumaru. Make these your goals if you wish to obtain the most that you can out of this War, if you wish to leave your name etched into the history books as one who changed the fate of the battle, the war, and the country as a whole!
It is now the hour of the greatest party Japan has ever seen! Are you ready, guys?! Quote: ~:: Incentives ::~ Defeat an enemy General - At some point during the battle, any one of the Four Generals might take to the battlefield and enter into the fray himself. Cutting a bloody path through the action, they give their army a major boost! However, if you can somehow manage to defeat the general...the tide might turn in your favor, and the spoils of war will be yours! Reward: Overwhelm faction, obtain a special token from the defeated General. ***** Defeat 5 PC Characters - Those who can overcome multiple opponents and leave their mark on the battlefield will be remembered by those who fought beside them. Legends are born, and the rumors which spread about them will come true to give rise to a new power inside of them! Reward: Obtain an increase to power in one stat (Permanent) ***** (More to Come!)
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Posted: Wed Dec 28, 2011 8:14 pm
* ~:: Persona War 2 ::~ *
(Locations) Sumaru City is a large battleground, and each of the Four Armies fighting in the War have managed to dig into a different area, meaning that attacking of their members on their turf will mean encountering different locations and challenges along the way. Will you have to deal with the scattered debris and rubble of the former Narumi District when you seek to take down the Masked Circle and their Executives? Or will you be forced to fight your battles in the winding walk of the Aoba District Recreational Park? Do not forget the surroundings when you engage in battle and make note of collateral damage as you compete against your enemies on the field of battle!
If you are fighting near a particularly large building, or near some rubble, do not hesitate to try and use the terrain to your advantage! But also, do not forget that if you are on someone else's turf it will be much easier for them to launch a surprise attack against you and get you cornered!
Be on your guard, and know your surroundings!
Good luck! Quote: ~:: Locations ::~ Masked Circle HeadquartersNarumi District: Southernmost of the four districts of Sumaru encapsulating the battlefield, Narumi is a district that has already mostly been laid to waste by the efforts of the Masked Circle's King Leo and Joker. Much of the rubble that was fallen has now been moved and used to create defensive barriers and bunkers for members of the Masked Circle, meant to wall off intruders from all other districts into the seaside Narumi District. Though they are technically aligned with the Western Devil Kings, even that border is heavily guarded; the Masked Circle's greatest goal is simply to weather this battle long enough for Master Joker to get his hands on the Crystals hovering in the sky over Sumaru City. Defeating the Sumaru City Persona-Users is a secondary goal to that. There are very few locations still standing, though a series of warehouses, former highways, and a few tall businesses haven't completely crumbled yet, providing plenty of collateral damage fodder for those with an appetite for destruction. The Masked Circle's central Headquarter is generally unknown, as Joker contacts his followers from various locations. ***** Western Devil King EntrenchmentWest Aoba District: The Easternmost District of the four districts of Sumaru encapsulating the battlefield, it took a sly maneuvering of forces lead by Yoshitsugu Otani to get the Western Devil Kings onto the Eastern Flank of the Persona-Users' area and oppose the Mori Shogunate that sought to cut off their advance. Their main Headquarter is atop the Sumaru TV Station, where Yoshitsugu plans to use the satellites to broadcast for their advantage. The Aoba Drive Strip Mall and Kismet Publishing provide another pair of important locales protecting Aoba from invasion by enemy forces. The Western Devil Kings have a hard line set up across the entire border of the district to hold strong against enemy advance...with their primary targets being oppose them in Kounan, the Mori Shogunate. Their goal is to crush the Mori Shogunate's forces entirely and eradicate them from Sumaru, using the victory as a springboard into further northwestern advancement to the Capital. Other locales in Aoba include the Concert Hall and Aoba Park, though neither provides much strategic advantage. ***** Sumaru City Persona-Users HomeSouth Regedai District: The Northernmost of the four districts of Sumaru which encapsulate the battlefield, Rengedai's Lotus Plaza has become the unofficial headquarters of the Sumaru City Persona-Users. With command set upon the roof, they protect the southern and eastern borders against the offensives of the Western Devil Kings and the Masked Circle. Their major offensive is against the Narumi District, seeking to eliminate the Masked Circle and force Joker into submission or hiding, whichever comes first. Other locations they must defend are the Silverman Manor, home to Steven...a large, traditional Japanese estate with a non-traditional owner. Seven Sisters High School, the Alaya Shrine, and Mt. Iwato along with Honmaru Park are all locations in this district, but generally are too far from the field to be of strategic value. ***** The Mori Shogunate PositionEast Kounan District: The Westernmost of the four districts of Sumaru in which encompasses the battlefield, it is through the streets of Kounan District that the Mori Shogunate's forces march towards the ruins of Narumi in order to enter the fray. Working with the Sumaru City Police Department, they have set up their command post at the Station, but the majority of their lines are set up on the border just beyond the Abandoned Factory near Narumi District. With police and military barricades set up along the expanse and a plethora of soldiers and officers standing ready to meet the assault of their enemies, the mission for the forces of the Shogun is twofold...first, to eliminate as many of the Western Devil Kings and the Masked Circle as necessary in order to scatter their forces (and collect the heads of Joker and Mitsunari Ishida if possible), and second, to ensure that the Crystals over Sumaru fall into the hands of the Mori. With the overwhelming advantage in numbers in their favor, the Mori seek to overwhelm their foes through sheer might and tactics, including a two-pronged assault against the Devil Kings and Joker's men commanded by Balmung of the Azure Sky. Enemies trying to break into the Kounan District will find the going crowded and tough, with the Abandoned Factory and Sky Museum providing man-made cover for the rest of the district. Further in you may find the Seaside Mall, Ebisu Beach, and the Lunar Palace Apartments, though none of the three provide much strategic benefit. *****
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:44 pm
* ~:: Persona War II ::~ *
12:00 A.M. - Dark Hour
(Location: Northern Edge of the Ruined Narumi District, Downtown Sumaru City - 6 Hours, 2 Minutes after the [Destruction of Narumi District] began.)War was humanity in its most basic nature. Destruction was the impulse that humanity reverted back to, always, when all other avenues through which they could express themselves were dried up. One who had lived through all the days of time from humanity's birth until its inevitable end could tell a tale no different than that. Unable to care deeply enough to end the hate, unwilling to back down from that which they desired most to avoid violence, they were always doomed to come to blows over the world. Whether it was having too much, or having too little...having something that another group of people wanted, or fighting to claim ownership over something new that appeared before them. Fighting between human beings of different values was inevitable. This was the true fallout of the Tower of Babel, the tower of legends, and when it fell the people were scattered, languages divided, but more importantly their cultures were set on an irrevocable, differing paths. Some desired nothing more than to return to the world of unity and peace that they once believed humanity had been, while some of them desired a world in which the chaos never ended, where the world was more interesting and constantly changing. There were even some who could only identify themselves now through fighting, whose value came when measured against others and how well they could stand up to one another when juxtaposed upon the field of combat. This was the truth of humanity, the way of the world. Humans fighting other humans, killing other humans, destroying the world and everything in it to increase their own comforts, their own stockpiles, their own hoards of treasure and 'necessities'.
For peace...for wealth...for power...or for justice...everybody fought for a reason, but the unifying truth of all those who stood opposite one another on any battlefield wasn't a motive or a desire, only that they would fight. Dark, green skies gathered overhead and the clouds disappeared, revealing a sickly golden moon which seemed to frown down at the battlefield in a mock sort of sadness. But the air in Sumaru City was anything but sad...it was thick with heavy smoke rising from the ruined district in the South, with the sounds of armies moving from one end of the city to the other, with the screams, the battlecries, the adjustment of barriers and blockades and the clashing of fists, swords, the firing of bullets and more...the city's sounds were angry, chaotic, a cesspool of all humanity's sins borne for all the world to see if they were so inclined to find a view. The Dark King's vengeance burned as hot as anything the city had to offer, and he streaked across the battlefield in an almost dead-sprint, impatient, smoldering, desperate to cleanse not only the city but his own pained conscience. And opposite him was a man with a similar sense of justice, whose honor and loyalty the man himself held in the highest regard. He did not like the man he was serving, but Balmung of the Azure Sky owed a debt to this nation and the men in his service that had to be paid. It wasn't because he hated Mitsunari Ishida that he stood across from him and prepared to repel his army's assault, driving them back to the outskirts of the city and crushing them once and for all. He was here because they simply had differing loyalties, differing views of what would make this country peaceful and return it to happiness...and the Joker, this Masked Jester with all his pretty logic and gleefully misused power was the one who had set a match to the powder keg in this City of Rumors. It was Joker, if anyone, who was really at fault for the war that was breaking out now, but he knew as well as anyone that chaos was the true nature of mankind. He played on that desire, that willingness to cast the world around you into turmoil in order to obtain what you desired most, and by levying these promises to desperate people in desperate times, they won the loyalty of their followers. Joker was clever, chaotic, and without question he was hated by the triumvirate of generals that aligned opposite him in the city. Only one had not yet openly opposed him, but he could sense the intentions to crush him from a mile away. But oh, how little they suspected of his true intentions, how little they knew that the chaos they willfully brought here was exactly what he had wanted...well, there was one who knew, one who suspected the ill intent of the Masked Circle's leader. He was the one, however, who could resist the fight the least...a battle this size in a place that was his home, enemies who sought to throw aside the balance that he had given so much...his memories, his friends, his very life...to protect. This threat was not something that he could ignore...it was not something that he could forgive. The Joker was his enemy before anyone else, and when the call came, the news that rumors were 'coming true' in Sumaru City, a specter of two years past, he didn't need to ask twice before making the too-late journey home. To fight...
And that was the truth behind everything, the endgame, the unavoidable reality that no matter who had come here, no matter who was behind the Crystals that had been the impetus for the Masked Circle's actions, no matter what force was manipulating them all into this city and setting them against one another, they had all given in to the impulse, the logic, the madness, whatever it was that made them have to fight one another! Now they dashed across the battlefield, all as one big collision waiting to happen, blood pumping fast before flowing out onto the blacktop and staining the streets red. Narumi District was only the beginning of the destruction...the number of lives that would be destroyed were innumerable. And all it took was a little push, one little carrot to drive the people of the country into a frenzy. 13 identical crystals looming over the City of Rumors, waiting for the victorious side to extend their reach into the heavens and pull them from the darkened sky. Waiting...for the fighting to end.
But nothing ever ends, does it? Fighting least of all...the Second Persona War commences, the sides toe the line and charge into battle. History repeats itself, but to what extent?
The time is now...to learn the answer.* * * * * * * * "Did you know that I was once called the 'Father of Lies?' I find the name to be quite amusing, if inaccurate. After all, for one whose sin is meant to be pride, does lying not seem as though it would leave a bitter taste?"
His words descended like echoes from the vast reaches of the highest ruin in the furthest corner of the Narumi District, the salty sea air breathing against his back with each thrum of the wind and each ebb and flow of the sea's strong tides. Even with war in the city around him, there was no distracting the figure which stood aloft and overlooking the incredible battle that was playing out before him in this city of rumors, a basin where sin and corruption were the only currency with any real weight these days. It was here that humanity was at its most delectable, reacting to the various sparks that had lead them to this unavoidable day where blood would run red through the streets and straight into the sea, washing out into the world beyond as evidence of the place where all good and evil could come together and meet the very same end. Saints and sinners, humans and devils, there were so many different people gathered here now with the intent to tear one another asunder, and it reminded him of events in ages from the past, the annuls of time immemorial, and there was a wry, self-satisfied sort of smile curling at the corners of his lips as the two armies slowly closed in on one another at the center of the field, a misguided fool Hell-bent on vengeance in the name of a cursed and deceased Lord, and a puppet using duty as a shield to deflect the world's cruelty, justifying his need to fight in order to continue living in this world where his ideals so radically clash with the person that he has always claimed to be. They were both leading the world straight into ruin, and the blond-haired figure would have been lying if he said that there was anything about this that didn't amuse him, just as much as he would have been lying if this event didn't smack of his own self-interest and the influences of the devil himself on mankind. However, he would hardly decline it; the tall, dashing figure was rather proud of the contributions he had made towards the people of this country and their steady decline into chaos. Some of the moves had been obvious, some had been surreptitious, but each move had been undeniably his own and in his own style, and sure enough, the sides were moving like predictable little pieces on a chess board that was about to get hit with a whole swath of death and chaos. He smiled a little wider as his white suit jacket's collar caught in the wind and brushed against the side of his neck idly, looking pristine all the while. It really was the little things in this world that made it so very...amusing to him. Below he could see now a figure with silver hair and a gray jumpsuit making its way surreptitiously through the rubble past the lines of the Masked Circle and closer to his own position, movement with a purpose that spoke to an understanding deeper than any normal person would have been able to achieve. Ah...someone who operated outside of the usual boundaries which kept man so tightly wound around his little finger, well, he knew somebody who fit that same description rather well, didn't he?
"The truth is...that when I want a human to do something, I never lie to them at all. I simply tell them the truth, the whole, exact, literal truth. And invariably, that human will find his own way into Hell. ...Isn't that right, Trickster?" his eyes watched with amusement as the silver-haired man closed in on his tower, and behind him a rather large squad of soldiers began to file through the wreckage behind him...how had he managed to sneak them this far into Narumi without detection, he wondered? Oh, it was possible that the Trickster had been behind this one as well, making his overt passes at him...it was a subtle way to issue a challenge, perhaps, but that didn't make it any less amusing to the man called Morning Star. He knew how it had likely happened; an anonymous tip to the 'new' Lord General of the Embryon (a puppet in his own right, pulled out of the reaches of another dimension, just another reality not unlike some of his own favorite toys) en route to the battlefield, and with a little of his infamous illusory magic a squad of the finest Warriors of Purgatory made their way towards the location of the devil that the Trickster had his sights set upon. Did he think that the blond man was so naive? That arrogant little devil that fashioned himself a 'god' of some lost pantheon, he had truly become a bit too big for his own finely-tailored suit pants. Nonetheless, if he deemed now the time to make his first overture towards the throne of Hell, letting this become the spark of a conflict he had been anticipating for some time now, then he had no intentions of failing to meet his expectations. He had even sent out his Riders to entertain themselves in the battle far off into the city without him, leaving himself 'unguarded' upon the top of this ruined skyscraper just short of Narumi's shores. Of course, 'unguarded' wasn't exactly accurate now, either. Just because the enemy that Norse remnant expected to be here had already been sent away didn't mean that there would be no one waiting to greet the Warriors of Purgatory (Suitable name, he thought, as they were stuck oscillating between humanity and the form of a devil for their lives, this one in particular with no choice but to feed on others to survive...doomed never to evolve beyond this form, but too attached to humanity to give in so easily to the beast within. They were trapped in the middle...truly stuck in a purgatory from which they could not escape. It tickled his irony...). In fact, as the young (compared to himself) General of the Embryon closed in on the Tower, it was on the far side of an abandoned street across from the tower, gathered behind the fallen remnants of an old karaoke den, that they paused and raised weapons to greet the representative the Morning Star had chosen to greet them.
"Humanity is so fragile and yet so resilient...a simple spark applied in the correct fashion, and you can make them into any of a variety of creations. However, my favorite evolution of man has always been..." the devil smirked as he stepped forward to the edge of the building and looked down, and from within the doorway of the building beneath his feet a figure stepped that could not be mistaken. Black and blue tattoos lined his body from head-to-toe in a distinctive pattern, shirt discarded, a telltale protrusion from the back of his neck to go with simple black pants, glowing eyes, a no-nonsense air about him as though he were ready to fight for his very survival. He was another remnant pulled from a world beyond this one, another possible reality. Neither human nor devil, he was the creature which awaited all things at world's end. He was... "Naoki Kashima...or as I prefer to call him..." His lips curled into an evil smirk. And below, a look of terror settled upon the lower ranked Embryons who recognized those markings...a look of stern realization falling upon the silver-haired leader whose gun remained firmly leveled at the figure.
  Their eyes met at that exact moment, a silent exchange of understanding that their motives didn't matter at this point...one of them had to press forward and the other one had to resist. This was written in the stars by the devil himself, part of a machination that surpassed either of them. Here, brought together by man's greed and man's envy and the a game of thrones engaged upon by the devil himself and his newest rival, they had been chosen as champions to test the waters in a war beyond even what was going on back in the center of the city behind them. Ensigns quaked where they stood, knees knocking behind the rubble, and Majors stood with mouths agape at what they felt rolling from their enemy, an unmistakeable power. Had Kabuto Kirisaki been here with those Menace Eyes of his, even he wouldn't have been able to escape the buildup of pure killing intent and power that radiated from the figure as easily as if he were breathing. The General knew...turning to motion to his men to retreat without hesitation, an order they obeyed without hesitation, and in response the half-human half-fiend standing in front of him raised his arms to either side as the very ground split beneath his feet, red and black energy erupting from the earth itself as his body glowed with unbridled power. Narumi district shook from the impact, the buildings nearby crumbled into dust and fell into the rift torn down the street by the fiendish power, and one-by-one each Ensign and Major was met by the inescapable red power that spewed forth like a geyser from his attack...swallowing them all in an instant, reducing them to nothing but memories.
He had only a moment to think, to trust in his instinct to either follow the advice of the man who had given him this tip and promised him that if he did as instructed when the time came where he knew without question that the end was near, or to trust in his own ability to survive the impossible. The right choice meant living, the right choice meant death. His hand flashed into his pocket and what he produced was a simple white cloth, soaked through the center with something the man had sworn would save him. Such an inelegant solution to things...but he had a rather keen knack for stumbling through to the end of things without ever looking quite as good as Sera would have liked him to be. He had only one choice in the end...the crimson power washed over him with all the ferocity of the great Inferno.
"Here goes nothing..." the general thought darkly, as he raised the white cloth to his mouth and inhaled, deeply, letting the world go dark around him.
"Gaea Rage!"
And high above, the blond man smiled in utter delight, his perch atop the highest level of the skyscraper miraculously untouched, as the bitter play went on before him.
"...Demi-Fiend..."* * * * * * * * * It was just so God Damned annoying! How many times had they gone in at this b*****d now and come out with more scratches between the three of them than they had managed to put on him, combined? That beady-blue-eyed, red-haired, fang-toothed, p***k...he and his tattoos could take themselves straight to the nearest brothel with a twenty from his own pocket and promptly get ********! Just what kind of a monster was this freak that they had been sent down here to intercept in the first place? He knew what the slick b*****d that had given the order had told them about him, but the reality went so far beyond any of the stories that they had been told (or that he had cared to listen to) that even trying to compare the rumor with the reality was like comparing tearing a band-aid from your knee with tearing your entire leg from the joint below the knee. And he could tell from some of his victims in the past, that the latter...sucked! Much worse than the former. Which made this whole thing feel like another ******** set-up that the sly b*****d had forced them into without giving them the whole story, so that after each and every lunge with his massive scythe that deflected, missed, or was otherwise rendered ineffective by their foe before some sick ice spell or a heavy darkness spell, or on one occasion even a ******** dismissive backhand which had cracked his jaw so hard it had unhinged from the joint (thankfully that one hadn't been so bad, but only because he unhinged his jaw on a regular basis) sent him tumbling back from his point in their three-sided assault against him with a single thought running through his increasingly-frustrated mind. "Guys, I hate to be the one to break it to you...but our old man is a ******** a*****e!" the tall man hissed, forked tongue sticking out to emphasize his point as his scythe readied back upon his shoulder, blackish red blood dripping from his brown-topped brow and the corner of his crimson-tinted mouth as his body shifted into another attacking stance for the next sortie. On the far side of the triangular form, to his right, he could hear a deep and smooth voice scoff in what could only be heard as a mixture of annoyance (both at the situation and the mouth of his younger sibling, which never quite seemed to shut up when it should have) and dismissive but steadily-weakening calm. From his own pristine, white brow there were heavy beads of sweat, and more than a couple crimson holes were punched through his fluffy, white clothing, staining it all with lengthening droplets of life-stains. His fangs were borne angrily as was a bright white whip between his fingers, whirling about him and picking up velocity as he as well prepared for the ensuing attack.
  "If you have the energy to whine, you should be focusing on the next attack," the handsome man with his fierce, wolfish features chided his younger sibling with an even voice, though the fact that he had even mustered the energy meant that they were in serious danger of losing their cool against an enemy that could take them out the moment that they began to struggle...and they were struggling, evidenced enough by the heaviness of his breath, the sweat dripping down his body, and the fact that he, the strongest of the trio, was still more wounded than the foe that stood in the center of their tri-edged formation with a toothy grin upon his features and a relaxed posture that hinted as though he could endure their combined attacks all day long if they could, "Our father believes that we are capable of this mission; that means that it is up to us to discover a method to bring him to heel. Understand?" His voice was stern and it seemed as though there was more that he wanted to say on the matter, but a shrill, distinctly feminine voice pierced the air in a screech that promptly drowned out the bickering and drew the blue eyes of their foe to the third member of their party in an instant. "Would you two kindly SHUT THE HELL UP?! This...this FREAK-b*****d at the center might have broken one of my nails!" came the indignant scream as the woman, half a tan-skinned face scrunched up in horror and disbelief staring at one of the fingers on her opposite hand...an appendage of bone bereft of skin that made it plainly impossible for her claim to hold any weight whatsoever...it was enough to make her younger brother flinch visibly, a rather obvious vein pulsating on the side of his teenage (looking) head, "You DUMB b***h! You don't even have fingernails! What the frickin' Hell are you crying about?! Can't you see we've got a real problem on our hands, here? For fu-" "How DARE you say something so rude to me! Don't you realize I have an army of suitors back home who would just die to get a single glimpse of my lovely fingernails?! You and this...this...FIEND here just have no TASTE!" the Hellspawn screeched, bony teeth showing on the skull-side of her face as she pointed a finger in accusation at her brother, whose ire only grew, "You....I just SAID you don't have <********> fingernails!? What is the matter with you?!! Do you have a ******** mental impediment or somethi-" "Both of you, be silent!" the calm voice of the eldest brother shattered their carefree argument in an instant, his solemn eyes focused on the enemy that stood between them practically radiating a mixture of amusement and power and ill intentions. His red hair caught in the breeze as he stood here at the center of the Northeast Yumezaki District beyond even the Mall Complex where normal citizens usually spent their time. They were in at the center of a ruined maze of office buildings and other workplaces that already been trashed, tossed to the ground in smoking heaps by their conflict until now. His teeth showed, fangs borne as he smirked widely as he watched the three demons argue amongst themselves, chuckling darkly as they finally stopped when the only one with a brain seemed to notice him twitching his fingers, a crimson little light between the forefinger and the thumb.
"Don't mind me, I always love a good family disagreement," the Fiend smirked beneath his chuckle, blue eyes skimming from the two-faced girl to the serpentine young man, boldly leaving the wolf at his back despite his obviously being the most skilled of the three, "You three are better than television. Though...you'd better step up your act soon, because I'm getting bored. And when I get bored, I get hungry." His words produced a myriad of reactions, all of which amused him. Two-Face and her human side seemed to blanch at the mere implication of what he could do with the fearsome fangs inside of his mouth, while the freak with his own snake-like fangs seemed to growl in a mixture of disbelief, anger, and the first lingering whiff of a rather deep-seated fear. Oh, that one was rich...the World Serpent quivering like some pathetic human before a half-man, half-fiend...he hoped that his father was somewhere nearby watching, so that he could see just how pathetic his attempts were, how useless his peons were when compared against the true Generals of Hell. Risen from the Sixth Realm fro which the Demon King himself had come, no Trickster's game was enough to strike fear into the heart of one who held the very fate of the world's rebirth within his hands. Nor some shrill, half-dead harpy that masqueraded as the lord of her own special little Underworld, a serpent with dull fangs as fearful as the snake caught within the talons of the hawk, or a wolf that deemed itself wise and powerful but lacked the wits to know when he was outmatched and flee for his life. They were sacrificial pawns...he was a piece so strong they didn't have a place for him upon a chessboard. His fingers twitched, his tongue danced out to wet his lips as if anticipating a meal that was soon to come. And he relished the reaction that brought from them, each and every one. Things were about to get even more interesting than before. "Oh, HELL no, you glassy-eyed, chompy-toothed, loudmouth b*****d! The only one that's going to be eating anybody around here is me!" the serpent roared, hissing unintentionally at the Fiend as his scythe seemed to shimmer in the golden moonlight, dark smoke pouring out of the corners of his mouths ominously...while his sister's reaction was much less composed, "Ew, EW! Stomach acid would be awful for my complexion! A queen doesn't become a meal for a commoner! ...I know, how about I show you the real me behind this mask of mine, and then you can die knowing the face of true, feminine beauty! Then maybe in the Underworld you'll be a little more respectful to your Mistress, slave!" Her fingers moved to her mask on the human side of her face, and in an instant she had peeled it back to reveal a fairly beautiful human set of lips and dark-skinned cheek...on that one side. But it quickly receded, bone replacing skin as she assumed her completely-Hellish form, voice screeching as a fume leaked from the corners of her mouth. Nodding from the Fiend's backside, the wolf seemed to coordinate all at once with his siblings and in a flash, they were moving about once more.
"Now we're talking..." the Fiend seemed amused, rather quite pleased that they were finally getting more serious...the Mistress of the Underworld and the World Serpent circling until they had both hemmed him in from either side, facing one another with him in the center, and with a deep breath they were ready to unleash their strike, "...make this worth my time." From the mouths of the two that hemmed him in, a black plume of smoke emerged...one meant to obscure and poison and the other to degrade, a combined assault meant to be inescapable...the cloud was large, noxious, and at the center the half-devil had nowhere to run from the twin-fume, instead choosing to cross his arms over his mouth and smirk widely. The snake's eyes seemed to smirk, and the empty sockets of the Underworld's Mistress shimmered with satisfaction, as if knowing that it would not be enough to resist them...and their red-haired foe was swallowed amidst the rubble and the fume, obscured from their sight, choking on their combined breaths that would be enough to bring even the highest of their pantheon to their knees in an instant. The breath that would fell Thor, the touch which withered time itself surrounded him. And then the shadow descended from above, high in the air loomed the white-clad form of their brother, a bright whip curling around him as he spun like a whirlwind, obscure and hostile...even a step within its radius was apt to leave the strongest writhing in agony. The whip crashed suddenly, leaping like a coiled snake down into the plume of smoke in a series of lashes that would cleave flesh from the bones of ogres, cold eyes from above seeing as if through the smoke and striking exact locations upon their enemy, tearing at him, breaking him down, this was the combined force of the Children of Loki come to bear against a single enemy, and not one person in the world could have survived it...
"Crimson..." not one person except..."Lightning!"
Bolts of red thunder struck like the arm of Zeus, nigh-invisible and impossible to dodge, each crack like a gunshot as he tore a fresh wound upon its target...cleaving bone, ripping scaly flesh, white clothes ripped away as crimson dripped from the wounds beneath...and one-by-one the Children of Loki were tossed away from the epicenter of the Crimson Storm to land against the rubble and skid to a bloody halt. Embedded in a stone wall was the World Serpent, arms splayed out to the side and the scythe that he wielded cast somewhere into the distance where even his great reach couldn't reel it back in. His eyes were closed in pain and a ragged wound along his legs left him immobile when he fell from the imprint and face-first upon the ground, spitting up blood, shaking in so much pain and anger. "You..." spat the eldest brother, calmly, but struggling through the pain quite obviously...a long ragged gash upon his side leaking thick crimson-black that soaked through the entire side of his outfit from side to the legs and into his black shoes...his eyes were half-closed in pain but he had somehow managed to land in a crouch, unwilling to give his foe the satisfaction of bringing him to his knees, "To bring this Fenrisulfr this close to the edge...should be commended. However...you are still only...a half-breed."
Suddenly, the thick black smoke around him cleared...with a puff of breath from his mouth, seemingly, it had all gone away. And in the center stood the red-haired Demi-Fiend with that brilliant, icy blue gaze and his white smirk which promised only menace.
"Is that really all you've got?"
...
High overlooking the battle, from a nondescript window in a building nearby, a man in a pristine suit with violet eyes and black hair watched the powers exploding in the center of the increasingly-ruined business plaza with an even expression. His lips curled into a small smirk as he observed the Fiend tearing into the triumvirate of devils that had set themselves against him. It truly was a remarkable enemy, one which could put even these three to the furthest of their limits. It was a high litmus test to pass if he wanted to truly challenge for the throne of the Great Deceiver himself. However, it was one that had to be overcome, nonetheless...a thought he did not dismiss as a small glass of wine raised itself to his mouth, sliding past handsome lips with an ease as a young man with violet hair beside him frowned in pure distaste at the spectacle. "Is it really necessary to allow this to continue? It's obvious who is going to win, and I'd like to think even you wouldn't put your own followers in an impossible situation like this one," the refined-looking young man frowned again, letting out a small 'tch' as the man beside him cast him an innocent look, "Then again, maybe you would. ...I just don't understand your endgame. But I'm in too deep to back out of it now, I suppose. Not that any of this means I trust you..." His words were somehow amusing to the Trickster in the window, who chuckled under his breath and turned his attention back to the show before them. And when he spoke his voice was low, meaningful. This was something that his little protege needed to see.
 "You needn't worry. This is only a test. To see if he would rise to my...provocation," the handsome man assured him, grinning as the first salvo of his grand challenge had finally been levied...and right before him stood the first emphatic answer of the devil he knew would rise to meet him. By simply receiving an answer, he knew that at the very least...he had become a threat on that old devil's radar. It was enough satisfaction for now, even if one or two of his children had to pay the price for it. "Challenge Accepted. Now...I want you to watch this battle closely. You see...the red-haired Fiend in the middle there. That...is going to be your final opponent. And upon the battle, I'm betting everything...that's why it had to be them, not you. You are my trump card...but you're not quite ready to face him. ...Not yet..."* * * * * * * * * *All around him he could hear their shouts and calls, the clashing of swords against steel, the ringing of bullets and the sounds of tearing flesh, cracking bones, and all the other horrors of this war that had been brewing now beneath the surface of Japan for quite some time. This went deeper than Devil Kings and traitorous Shoguns, and there were more outside forces at work than his own cruel and manipulative organization. However, none of these things mattered to the man as he felt the solid rock of his fist drill through the chest of another oncoming soldier of the Mori Shogunate, sending blood and ribs splattering, clattering onto the ground behind his instantly-defeated body. He dropped the useless sack of meat a moment later and cracked his neck, shaking the blood away from the black gloves, matching his long black coat and black boots, an outfit that was capped by his black sunglasses, always present, hiding the crimson, cat-like eyes which lay beneath them. And they were watching, beneath his slicked-back golden hair his eyes watched the ongoing carnage with a predatory gleam, unfeeling, unconcerned with all of the death and destruction that these humans had brought upon themselves, really. Humanity was stunted evolution, a failed existence that had halted its growth a few levels too short to reach its true potential; it was for this reason that he had helped to create the Virus, the one which infected him now and filled him with this god-like power, this indestructible feeling inside of him that allowed him to go above and beyond anything that a mere mortal could ever even dream of accomplishing! His teeth shone as he grinned, a devious sort of grin as he delighted in the way that the fighting made mockeries of the frailty of humanity, so many of them having fallen around him, so many more still falling and yet to fall, and each one that had approached him thus far met the same fate. A bullet to the sternum, a fist through the chest, a snapped neck or a shattered skull...fragile lifeforms could die in so many different ways, however, he was much different. Another step up the evolutionary ladder, more than one, really! He had earned through cunning and intellect what humanity in thousands of years could never accomplish...the right to become a god, to destroy and remake the world as he saw fit, it was what he had always sought. It was what he now had within his grasp. Recognized by the Lord of Darkness, he had become one of the instruments of this world's Apocalypse, and when the world had been wiped clean of the disgrace which lived upon her now he would endure, spreading the Uroborus Virus so that only those who were worthy, those who were selected by evolution, would remain behind to populate the world as he saw fit. Oh, he had no illusions that there would not be any discord amongst his allies when the time came to choose the new ruler, but that was a matter to deal with when the time came. No house was ever built upon a single brick, and no city could be built in a day. And his goal was the world. He saw it every second, even as his eyes scanned the field and a team of gunmen from the Shogunate surrounded him, their elemental ammunition bearing down upon him. In a flash of black he was gone, streaking through each of the soldiers in-turn, hands crushing windpipes, elbows digging into spines, and within seconds the soldiers lay in a broken circle around him, his finger pressing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose casually.
 And then, in his ear he could hear it...the jingling of a single bell that heralded the approach of someone different from the normal rabble that had approached him thus far. He turned to face his new challenger with a haughty smirk, cracking his knuckles as he curled them into a tight fist. He was expecting some hardened warrior or perhaps one of the feral demons working under the control of the Shogun. What he received instead was the sight of a frail-looking man in a soft-fabric haori, a wide and thin smile upon his lips with a white talisman patch fastened over a single eye. His arms were folded inside of their sleeves and his skin was exceptionally pale, a black circle under his eye, and black hair that wasn't quite as shiny and luxurious as it should have been. His challenging grin fell into a moderately annoyed frown, disappointed that of all the champions that could have stepped forward to put an end to his chaotic destruction of the forces of Motonari Mori, what he received instead of a challenge was none other than this frail, meek-looking young man with a determined-looking crimson eye. "To think that you were the best they had to offer," the man casually mocked, sounding as arrogant and godlike as he intended...moving towards him steadily was this sickly-looking person, smile unmoved, and for some reason the strange confidence that the newcomer displayed sent a feeling of anger through the Rider of Pestilence, his left hand folding behind his back casually as he turned his side to the ill-person, "You are far...too...late...to stop my ascension. It doesn't matter which of these armies win the battle. The only true victory in this war...will come...when the End rides at the behest of the Morning Star. And you, and every pathetic human unworthy of my evolution...dies!"
 In a flash his hand was within his jacket and out again, a severe magnum pistol within his hand firing nail-driving bullets towards the bony man, but in that blink of a moment the frail man was gone from the path of the bullets, movements like some sort of a wisp or a phantom, and crouched in front of the White Rider with a steel blade retracting from its scabbard and the sleeve which held it, arcing towards his hardened stomach. It was enough to make his cat-like eyes widen, teeth clench, and he knew in an instant that his foe had managed to get the drop on him. What happened next was little more than an instant; the sound of steel parting the air like flesh, a deep and feral growl from the throat of the Rider, and in one smooth motion the blade which split a lightning bolt, wielded by the heir of 'Oni' Dosetsu, ripped through the air where his foe was standing, so fast that it would have been impossible to dodge for any mortal man! Arm extended, he knelt and held the blade to this side for just a moment at the end of his swing; his crimson eye was closed, as if he were sensing the battle more than he was seeing it. His wide smile grew slightly more dim. Whipping his sword around, he held it down to his side on the left and shifted opened his crimson eye once more, turning his focus to the far left of him where, in the midst of the rubble of northern Narumi District, he could see his enemy standing with a hand on his stomach. ...But not a single drop of blackish red dripped from either his blade or his enemy, only a gash through his lower jacket as evidence that he had even launched his attack at all. The White Rider glared, teeth gritting angrily, hand leaving his stomach as he cracked his neck...but no sooner had his anger nearly overwhelmed him did he seem to calm, fingers becoming fists again, eyes beneath black shades watching his foe stand to his full height in mild dissatisfaction. "It is true that I can hardly imagine any normal human laying a finger on you. To evade Raikiri is a feat no enemy has managed since old man Shimazu, and none for decades before him. However...you misunderstand if you believe that I am like them," the airy voice of the Lord filled the air, his smile returning in full as he shifted towards the black-clad masher, crimson eye showing not a hint of fear in spite of the weakness apparent in his body, "No normal human could lay a finger on you, for they are too afraid of death to try. However...I am no human." His blade shifted, turning, shimmering in the golden moonlight as the beaming Lord of demons and his small muscles grew tense.
"And faced with death so often as I am, I stopped fearing her a long time ago."
"Hn," was the answer he received from the stoic, arrogant man, and before he could utter so much as a syllable more his enemy was gone from the spot and upon him again, the thin wakizashi cutting hotly through the air and aiming for the softer tissue of his side with the intent to split. This time he was more ready...moving with his cat-like reflexes in a flash of black to the away side of the sword, letting the weapon move harmlessly through unoccupied air. But the assault was not so simple, and the slices continued still, a pursuit of hard step-ins followed by meaningful slashes at vital points on his body all falling short of their goal, the Rider too quick, too sharp, his eyes too keen to fall prey to the speed that had managed to catch so many others unprepared. He had a sense about his enemy that going on the offensive wasn't something that he was used to having to do. If that was the case, there was a reason that he wasn't simply trying to counter and react this time that was significant enough to merit consideration. Each dodge gave Pestilence a chance to think of a new possibility, his brilliant, twisted mind going through a logical progression until the answer came to him with all the blunt force of a sledgehammer to the head...the realization brought a wide smirk to his lips. He evaded a slash that was intended to sever an arm with a simple shift of his body, one that would have severed an artery in his neck with a practiced shift of his head and shoulders down and to the left, letting it pass harmlessly over him. A thrust to the stomach met only the black fabric of his jacket, a slash towards the hip was rolled past as though he were moving in slow motion. It was all too easy. It was...too easy? His cat-eyes went wide as a sudden increase in speed made the Rider's eyes widen, his foe crouched beneath him, arching upward with all his meager strength to swing his short blade from the bottom of his body towards the top in an attempt to cleave him in two! It was a simple trick that he had noticed a hair too late...slowing his attacks down tiny, insignificant bit by insignificant bit until the timing of the dodges had become too simple, too slow, before increasing his speed back to its maximum in a single move. It was brilliant, it took perfect control of one's body. And as his form flashed into its black ash, impossible speed landing him at a distance, he was certain that the attack had almost been enough to truly capture him. ...He stood to his full height and looked at the crimson-eyed Lord with a mixture of impressed amusement and annoyance in his eyes, even as his foe turned the blade and readied for another assault. It was then that the shades which had been covering his face split...a perfect cut down the center of the nose's bridge, splitting the shades into two separate pieces that fell off of his face to the ground beneath his feet. Red ran down his face in a trickle...the black-red blood from a gash forehead-to-lip carved by the upstart demon's blood touched his lips and the Rider of Pestilence licked it clean, anger building inside of him. He lifted a black-booted foot and brought it down emphatically upon the two pieces of sunglasses on the ground before him. And his red eyes met those of his enemy with a renewed determination of his own.
"You aren't human...but you also aren't fast enough...to kill me," the man rasped in his deep, over-confident voice, now filled with hate, "that's why you're attacking directly. To put me off-guard...but now...that thorn in my side has been analyzed. The next time you attack, I will crush you. And show you the difference...between devils...and gods" He didn't have to wait long...in a flash the frail man was on him again, a low-angle slash curving upwards towards his chest...but it met nothing but air, only with the black-coated man avoiding with a simple shrug to the right. The demon read the Rider's attack before it came, the simple right-straight counter, the heavy gloved fist that came crashing down the path of the sword's arc, opposite the way that the sword had curved, but faster, his own momentum enough to keep him from avoiding the blow. And he didn't...it hid with all the thunderous impact of a hammerblow from the heavens, his cheek rocked, frail bones shuddering as his senses went white, his thin body stumbling back and away from the attack by sheer force. His sickly-frame wasn't just for show...getting hit wasn't something that he was used to, nor was he equipped to handle it well. However his resilience held as he kept his feet, eye losing its glassy luster just in time to attempt a counter-swing of his blade in response to a follow-up punch, a heavy-handed uppercut to the sternum which landed before his blade ever could...the punch stole his wind away and in the corner of his crimson eye he could see stars, light body lifted and tossed far across the field where it skidded along rubble, leaving ugly scratches down the back of his haori and the pale skin beneath it. He spat blood, eye wide when he finally stopped skidding, flipping over onto his stomach and rising just enough for his enemy's foot to bury itself into his ribcage and brutally ragdoll him against a heavy slab of the side of a building that was half-standing, leaving a man-sized imprint three inches deep into the concrete before falling forward to his knees, spewing a mixture of blood and bile in a violent coughing fit that sent shudders through his whole body.
He hurt, lightning in his veins and bones feeling as though they had been shattered ten times over. All he could see with his crimson eye was a hazy vision of the concrete before him, and when he forced his neck to painfully raise a black-clad man walking towards him, glove fastening more securely around his fist. He needed to move...he wanted to move...but his enemy...so fast...so powerful. And now he had both his damage and his illness to contend with. 'Mai-chan...' he thought with a thick ache thrumming in his chest, dragging one knee to the earth in front of him, forcing himself up just a little, 'Suko-...chan...' And suddenly, his pained expression, lips and chin thick with crimson and black blood, became a bright and wry smile.
"Viral, if...I should die...on a field of glory..." he thought as he stood on shaky legs, wakizashi to one side, fingers sliding up his side towards the right side of his face on the other, "...please, remember me...fondly."
And with a rush of incredible, divine power, those fingers peeled back the seal over his right eye.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:46 pm
(Persona War II: Battle for Sumaru City Cont.)* * * * * * * * *Stupid noise. God, how he hated the freaking noise that infested every single corner of this place, from the moment that he had gotten here he didn't like the smell of it. Something reeked to high heaven in this town, some s**t-smelling assholes were making the whole place scream like a bunch of pissed of kids getting ripped off on Christmas. His feet tread down the sidewalk path that lead from the doors of Pachinko Silver and started down towards the Giga Macho Record Store and away from the Rengedai District Battlefield, his long, calloused fingers running through his blond hair with a level of annoyance written on handsome features. Between his teeth a cigarette burned slowly down towards the butt, and his eyes were narrowed in an almost pained expression beneath blue sunglasses, a small sweat dripping down the side of his face to his neck, the fully-buttoned bartender's outfit he wore beginning to stick to his finely-chiseled form en route to the path out of the city. God, damn it he was starting to hate this town, and he had only been here for a few hours. This ******** heat was too much for him, and this ******** town was so god damned noisy that he couldn't walk twelve feet without hearing somebody screaming about some fight going on somewhere, some person who had just been seen heading towards the destruction in Narumi District, seriously! Where the ******** were the god damned police when all this s**t was going on? And what the <********> was that god damned smell?! "Smells like s**t," he muttered under his breath as his palm ran over his forehead, Mu Continent coming up on his right before too long as he glanced up at the moon forming overhead, the green sky. Pachinko parlors lost their pizazz during the Dark Hour. Now he had nothing to do, nothing to take his mind off the ******** boredom in this town, but no matter how far he walked and how much he tried to block out all of the noise that kept ringing in his ears, it was just too damned persistent to stop being so damned annoying! "Grr...I've had it with this s**t. I'm out of here...Cesc can figure this s**t out on his own," his voice was deep, low, a palpable relief starting to fill him as he cast aside his cares in this town and continued towards the other end of Yumezaki District and the route out of town. He didn't need all the bullshit that this town was bringing him, and he certainly didn't need to be apart of whatever the Hell was going on down in that ruined Narumi District or whatever. Crystals, Armies, all a bunch of annoyances if you asked him. None of his business. He was fine with taking the shortest route out of town and back to the Trench in Iwatodai or wherever his feet lead him, so long as it wasn't this shithole. He felt that way even more when a green-haired b*****d even taller than he was, holding a hand to his own head in a groaning sort of pain, bumped into his shoulder as they crossed paths down the sidewalk in the still-standing section of Yumezaki away from the battle in the Northeastern Corner. "Hey, watch it," his grumble was accompanied by a line of smoke from the corner of his lips, but he didn't stop to say anything else to the b*****d, or even look him in the eye. Too annoying. No point. Just wanted to get the Hell out of town and not look back. City of Rumors? More like the city of bullshit if you asked him...
...And that was when a two-seated motorcycle clocked him with all the destructive force of a freight train came flying at him from behind, a deep, grainy voice screaming out the words, the only warning he had...though it was just enough for him to turn spin around on his heel, see the flying vehicle, and then promptly get smashed right in the mouth by the front wheel.
Promptly, the vehicle stopped in its tracks when the man in the bartender suit bent over backward slightly...wheel clenched tightly between his teeth as he held the surprisingly heavy bike aloft in front of him...and then with a twist of his wrist he tossed the thing into a heap that promptly exploded into flames in the center of the street...blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, teeth borne in a feral sort of grin, he bent back to his proper height and stood facing the intimidating figure of his enemy, all near-seven-foot of him...with his ******** green hair in a ******** high ponytail, his ******** white-a**, pristine clothes and the look like he just crawled out of the nearest bar still reeking of alcohol and nursing a most vicious hangover. Within his throat he couldn't control the anger that burst into an audible growl, his fingers clenching tightly and then relaxing, an instinctive set of gestures meant to release the tension inside of him. Only it wasn't working, and the more he looked at this tall, green b*****d the more it was starting to piss him the Hell off! You'd think after hitting a guy in the face with a god damned motorcycle you might show a little bit of remorse or some s**t, or at least have the good sense to keep on walking away, but this guy was just standing there, looking like he wanted to keep going, like he had some sort of a bone to pick. The green-haired son of a b***h's teeth were clenched and his eyes burned with hatred, and he was the one who just threw a god damned motorcycle at him! ...Clench. Relax. Clench. Relax. His cigarette dropped from between his lips, and the sole of his boot smashed down onto the last embers, stamping it out in an instant. "b*****d...you have to know a throw like that could kill a man, right?" his voice was low, seething, barely containing the anger that filled his chest as he spat out a mouthful of blood, "So whatever happens from here, even if I KILL you...you can't com-" ...His words were silenced by a segway and a moped which smashed into his face one after the other, the second caught by sheer resilience and strength in his neck upon his forehead, which he promptly tossed into the burning pile of bike wreckage, exploding again on impact...the pile grew, catching a nearby car that exploded into a pyre of gasoline and metal. And the growls of the man in the blue-lensed shades echoed loudly in the Dark Hour sky. "You..." "SHUT UP!" The a*****e's voice was like thunder, deep and angry, and by the sheer force the windows on the streets of Yumezaki shuddered and shattered nearby. Power rolled from his body in angry waves as he held his arms extended at the end of the last throwing arc, eyes rimmed with black and smoldering. He pulled back and extended a finger in the direction of his opposite number and upon his back appeared a broadsword as tall as he was, though he didn't reach for it straight away. Both men stood juxtaposed across from one another with anger rolling, twisting inside of them, bellowing out into the streets and shaking the very will of anybody who might have been nearby. These were two living, urban legends or something of a much greater level...a meeting of sheer intensity and anger that just never should have been conceived. And they were two rubber bands stretched to the point of breaking, just one tug all it would take to snap!
"Your voice is ANNOYING! I can't stand listening to you for even ONE more second!" the green-haired man ground out between his teeth, hand moving to the side of his head to rub in a circle at his temple, "I've got a splitting ******** headache, I just got kicked out of my third ******** bar of the night, and Pachinko Silver doesn't let gators inside...and you think I'm just going to ******** stand here while you say whatever the Hell you want to me?! I don't even let HAOUL say what he wants to me, and I F#@$#D HIS GIRLFRIEND!" By now the growling had evolved into angry screaming, the finger pointing shaking with rage that couldn't even hope to be repressed, all of his day, the last several days, and all the s**t that had been stirred in the meantime were now piled up together into this one ball of anger which focused onto this one, blond-headed, mouthy little target that was just begging to be brought down a peg! It was annoying! It was stupid! He felt like he wanted to KILL this b*****d standing in front of him! "And WHAT is with that ******** BARTENDER outfit?! You ARE NOT in a ******** BAR!" They were shaking now, so hard that the streets themselves seemed to rumble with them, their fists shaking at their sides, their knees aching to run right across the sidewalk and smash that son of a b***h looking at them square between the eyes. That bartender think he was some sort of a ******** player, huh, wearing those sunglasses?! And that big, tall b*****d thought he was tough just because he could ******** throw a motorcycle or two?! Did they think they could just give whoever they wanted whatever s**t they felt like and just get away with it?! HUH?! "Dead...You're Dead..." "You're Dead, You're Dead, You're Dead.." "You're DEAD! You're DEAD!" "YOU"RE DEAD! YOU'RE DEAD!" "YOU'RE DEAD!" "YOU'RE DEAD!"
  "YOU'RE" "SO" "DEAAAAAAD!"
And like a pair of cannonballs ignited by a flame, they shot out of the gates, bats out of Hell, and smashed into one another with a pair of flying punches that would have shattered bones and torn the very flesh from the faces of weaker men...but to them this was just a greeting. A completely ******** up, full-blown, life or death punch to the face so hard you should ******** DIE already greeting, but a greeting nonetheless. And then there was another one, a left hook from the green-haired b*****d followed by a right counter by the blond in the bartender suit, and each punch resounded with an impact that shook street signs and sent bolts flying from where they had been screwed into place...buildings rumbled and glass in car windows shattered, but none of this was enough to stop the fists that slammed into one another, face, stomach, completely releasing all of the anger that had grown inside of them to the point of boiling over through an exertion of punches and strikes thrown and endured, the earthquake of their rage enough to send fear in the hearts of anyone close enough to even catch wind of their explosion. Suddenly, it wasn't just fists anymore, and a car with a fist-sized hole in the side of it smashed down onto the waiting hands of the green-haired b*****d, catching it just before it put a man-sized hole through the roof, and he threw it into an electronics store nearby that sparked, caught the gas tank, and sent the whole of the department store into an explosion of fire and debris...but that still wasn't enough! A broadsword pierced the side of a hummer trying to escape the carnage and with a toss into the air and down, both driver and car smashed the blond down into the sidewalk a half-foot deep, shattering the sidewalk and sending cracks in the street for meters upon meters with the sheer impact. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!!!" he growled as he used the blunt edge of the sword to smash the hummer down onto his subject, like a hammer beating a nail into the surface, now he tried to beat down this ANNOYING b*****d so bad, he'd put him six-feet-under with his own two hands! Only...a few more swings and the momentum stopped, and a deep, guttural scream of pure, unadulterated rage erupted from the bottom of the crevice beaten down into the sidewalk...and the hummer lifted, all smashed compact car of it, and with a heave the vehicle flew out of the hole, out of sight, and a raging bull leaped from the pit with a rocket-powered punch that send the green-haired b*****d rolling head-over-heels into the side of a small family restaurant that collapsed on top of him out of the sheer force of impact. "GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!"
He panted, but he wasn't finished...running into the center of the burning street, he punched into the flaming wreckage and lifted the entire lot of it...burning, twisted, mangled, he didn't CARE that it burned like HELL, he tossed it like a football into the rubble of the restaurant so hard that the whole thing exploded into an inferno or rubble! And what came behind was a steel rain of cars and trucks and vans, every single vehicle on the whole ******** road came falling out of the sky after it, each one exploding on impact, a heap of debris more than twenty feet tall by the time he had thrown all that he could get his hands on and exhausted his supply of ammunition...but he still wasn't satisfied. Not by a long shot! Tearing a light pole out of the ground, he threw it as an exclamation point! Jamming down into the pile of flaming cars and rubble...a trashed, twisted, burial mound for a b*****d who started this whole ******** encounter by bumping him in the ******** shoulder! "You b*****d...I don't ******** care if you're dead under there..." he growled as he huffed, catching his breath a bit as the fire burned, his adrenaline slowly subsiding, "I knew something in this town smelled like ******** s**t...but I tried to let it be. And you juts had to ******** come out of nowhere and ruin my DAY! Well, do you feel better about yourself now?! HUH?! You b*****d?!"
And that was when the burning pile of cards exploded...not literally, but outward, all of them tossed like an old-fashioned ball-pit and the cars were the balls. Some crashed into the nearby buildings and immediately caught fire, some landed on the street and rolled to a burning stop, denting the blacktop and smoldering where they lay. But at the center of the building's wreckage, still burning, there stood a seven-foot figure with a hand on his neck cracking it to the side. His white clothes were torn and burned away so that his shirt was entirely gone. But his broadsword remained...and now, contrary to before, he seemed to be fully awake. His eyes bright, his smirk angry. Black burns and marks all over his body were as nothing to him as he looked at the blond man...whose adrenaline and anger were returning with a hint of something different...was it surprise? Or...
"That's better...now I'm awake," he growled with a mixture of pleasure and deep, dark happiness, "So, are you done? Or are you ready for Round 2?!"* * * * * * * * He couldn't remember the last time that he had been pushed this far into the ropes by an enemy...that is to say, an enemy that wasn't that silver-haired punk and his happy-go-lucky friends. It wasn't that he didn't expect the fight to be tough, because he had almost been counting on the rush that the fight would bring him. If the fight hadn't been enough to challenge him, it hardly would have been worth taking the misguided fool's head by now. Perhaps he wasn't the same person that he had been when he was leading their rivals in the Television World, only a puppet of that shadow and the Crawling Chaos, but now that he was free it only made the cyborg ninja hate him even more. Now he was just like Seta, the blue-haired young man was the (ex-)leader of a group of kids who had fought against shadows and thought with all their immature arrogance that they knew better than anybody else. He thought that if he could erase humanity's sin from the world, erase the treachery that lay at the root of their dirty existence, that they could all pretend as though they weren't guilty of turning the world into a rotting cesspool of vanity, greed, and false intentions, playing like friendship and bonds were the answer to all of the world's problems as though it could ever that easy. His master knew the truth, he had seen through the lies and the rhetoric and saw that humanity was the instrument of its own destruction, and that their darker halves would be the ones who saw it come to its end. He had seen in the midst of working as a tool for those shadows, and he had chosen to break free, to use fear and liberation from that fear as the motivation to evolve into a greater state of being, to remake the world outside the television using the world inside of it into something more hospitable for those who had the courage to embrace their darker selves. After all, if you couldn't overcome something you simply had to accept the fact that it was true and that would lead you to the truth, to the one truth, pleasant or not, that could bring you to salvation. Now they had the strength, they had the tools, and they were cutting a path to the new world that his master, the Serpent of Lore, envisioned for them. He was the Blade Swordsman, his mask saw through the lies of fools like Seta, but this...broken, discarded wretch in front of him, this tool of Chaos itself that had outlived its usefulness, that had lost the grip on the only real power that he had ever wielded before being cast out of the cursed Messiahs to roam the world and wonder what was to become of him in the ruined new world...he had sought out the swordsman in memory of a mission that had once been, to eliminate a threat that was no longer relevant to him. Even now these misguided truths were lingering inside of his pained mind and driving him forward. Did he think to erase all of the stains that his manipulated self had left upon the world? It was a ridiculous thought, a selfish gesture...nothing more than a spiritual salve meant to make him feel better. None of that was enough to make the cyborg ninja forgive him for what he had done to them. However this aimless determination that had driven him to follow the Black Swordsman all the way to the City of Rumors in order to complete the first stage of his self-imposed mission was much more powerful, filled him with a much deeper sense of duty that drove his sword with an intensity that had never been there when he bore the name of 'Simon'. Sharp and swift as the cyborg was, it was no easy task to continue to meet these attacks that were levied in his direction. Guilt, it seemed, could be as strong a motivating factor in battle as his own driving force of hate.
"It doesn't matter how hard you try, or even if you kill me..." the blond-haired warrior spoke from behind a cracked mask, spitting a little blood against the visor before raising it away from his face, revealing narrowed crimson eyes and a hateful, mocking glare, "...you will never erase the stain of your sins from this world. All you have left...is to die in penance like the dog that you are." Within his right hand he gripped the hilt of a katana that suited him just right, blade dripping with blood, and across from his eyes stood a young man with a mop of blue hair and a telltale earring in his left lobe. His gaze was troubled, stern, determined, and he held a long, curved sword with two hands in front of him with the point aimed at his enemy menacingly. It dripped with white blood as well, the telltale sign that he had done damage to his cybernetic foe. And the evidence was all over their bodies for those who knew to look: crisscrossed slashes in no discernible pattern left dripping white liquid rolling down the front of the cyborg's armor which continued down to his hips and legs, pouring slowly, none of them deep enough to kill but all of them deep enough to hurt a man...if said man had not already forsaken the feeling of physical pain some time ago. His hands and legs already had a few short punctures in them, jabs from sword and dagger, and several bloody knives lined the street between them. It was just shy of the Sumaru Prison that the former Messiah had caught up with the Messenger, and in the streets now they dueled, the Prison's building having crumbled from the force of their attacks, other nearby buildings with clean chunks carved out of them by swords with inhuman strength behind them. A fire burned in the street from a car that had been set on fire, and scorch marks from bolts of lightning lined the sidewalk, the streets, evidence that this fight had been leaving scars on more than just the two combatants, that it had been going on for some time now. The cyborg's opponent turned his head to the side and spat away a little blood himself, wounded as he was, with a hole that ran clear through his stomach from the length of a katana, and cuts here and there...one upon his quite handsome cheek. His short had been carved to pieces and lay discarded nearby, burns from the lightning bolts splayed out over the left side of his chest and the upper right side of his back, but still he stood with no hint of backing down in front of his enemy, even as the crimson pooled at his feet from the worst of the wounds. His eyes appeared stern, but pained. His hands shook with a mixture of anxiousness and something else as he prepared to make another move. His lips were set into a serious line, earring glinting beneath the golden moon. Here stood a figure driven by more than determination, and one who didn't care for the war or his own personal gain. He winced a bit and a hand moved to wipe away a bead of sweat from his temple, relief filling him at a gentle sensation. For a moment he had nearly forgotten who he was...but even though his memories were still jumbled, though he sometimes forgot that he was not Simon, that he had a real name now with friends who loved him and a history that went beyond the world inside the television and back to his days at St. Hermelin, he could recollect himself if he just remembered that he still had a purpose. Even if that purpose was erasing the sins of his old life, possessed as he had been by the Crawling Chaos, and also...a mission that was easier to remember because it had been his when he was still possessed as well. Eliminate the Black Messengers.
"I know...better than anyone that what I've done isn't something that can be erased by a few good deeds. And that even if I stop you, if I stop the Serpent of Lore, there will be enemies much stronger, evils much greater that are free because of the role I've played, but..." his voice was smooth and stern, his blade leveled and a strange expression passed over his face, a mixture between a smile and a pained wince...inside the far reaches of his mind he could see the face of a girl, one that he had loved, with dark hair and tears in her eyes, reaching out to him...he could see himself jamming a dagger into her body and the beast that arose thereafter...nothing he could do would ever allow him to forget the image of what he had done that day, though it had been beyond his control, it was his fault...for ever letting himself get taken away so badly as to fall to manipulation...and he could never be forgiven. "I am...not Simon," 'Then who am I?' "and you are a blight," 'A blight I started...' "he began...so I" 'The Hero, not the Villain,' "...owe it to everyone..." 'Seta, Suou, Arisato...Elly most of all,' "...to become your cure!" What was he doing? No, he knew exactly what he was doing, though he had to remind himself exactly why he was doing it sometimes. It was (wasn't) because the Messengers were the enemies of the Messiahs, the ones who kept getting in their way and betraying their purpose. It was (really) because the Messengers were created by Hetero, a monster that 'Simon Kongo' had helped to create when he allowed the Shadow of Seta and the Crawling Chaos to infect Suou with the shadows and poison their minds, and though he had already been twisted by the power of Nyarlathotep, it was no excuse for allowing him to give birth to an entirely new evil...one that had broken away from their sect and taken on a mind of its own, deepening the plague upon the city. It was his duty, having been the one who created this mess, to cleanse it...or as much of it as he could manage with his own two hands. Upon Tartarus, he had been unable to tear down the Black Messiah, Seta's too-powerful shadow, but he had been able to stall it and save Seta from the killing blow long enough for him to fall and...eventually live, it seemed, and return to fight again. And that he could fight again meant that he would one day have to face his shadow...that would be Seta's fight. This fight belonged to him now. The Messengers, the Serpent of Lore, this Black Swordsman...across the distance he shot again with the intention to complete one mission and one mission alone, right here, right now. Destroy the Black Swordsman. Tear his armor from him one piece at a time with the power of his persona. And then move on to the rest of the Messengers. Then, and only then, could he ever show her his face again. ...Only then, could he ever ask forgiveness for abandoning her. For his betrayal.
 His enemy moved like lightning, the element that he embodied in both name and abilities, and their weapons clashed in the center of the rubble with an impact that sent debris and clouds of dust springing up all about them. This time it was the young man with his quest for vengeance that was thrown back into the middle of the crumbling Sumaru Prison in central Hirasaka District, landing on his feet just in time for the follow-up lightning strike that was sent his way to land shy of him...feet just quick enough to evade. But the assault which followed wasn't so easily avoided, and his sword met the upward slash that was launched at him, shucking it to the side and out of the way, but the next twirling slash at his side caught a bit of flesh and ripped a little bloody cut along down to his hip. The next slash at his shoulder was blocked entirely, his foot landing a heavy front kick to the android that shoved him back and changed momentum so that he was on the offensive again in a flash. Slashing heavily downward, he put his foe into a backward motion with a series of blows, and though most of them were parried or avoided with a back-handspring or a Matrix-like shifting of the shoulders to the side and out of the way, a few new white-leaking gashes were left along the chest and the side, though none of them fatal or particularly deep. In a match of skill, it seemed that he was the slower, and his two-handed swords was the more unwieldy of the two weapons that they brandished against one another. When it came to raw power, he knew that he had the edge. Between them, there was only one category that remained untested, a measure that only he had felt the true force of between them...the trick would be finding an opening to make use of his power, to catch the Black Swordsman off-guard and smash him with the true force of his power. He slashed at his enemy's side and was blocked by a katana, a violent fist crashing into the side of his jaw to turn his head sideways, followed by a swift cut that left a ragged, bleeding wound from his shoulder to his navel. He moved back just in time to avoid a crippling blow, but he was already aching so much. His enemy's speed and technique was a riddle that he needed to solve soon; how did you strike hesitation into the heart of one who knew no fear? How did you slow an enemy whose body was inhuman without disabling it entirely? He could feel himself slowing, this human body so much more flimsy despite his powers than the one that he had no more than a few weeks earlier. He was so weak... 'Don't think like that!', if only he had a little more 'You don't need it!', just a little bit fast...'Elly...I promised...'
 "Accept your death at my hands...you are nothing compared to what you once were. An unworthy enemy...but your head still has some value as my prize," the cyborg's mechanical voice hummed deeply, sounding as though it were heard through a speaker...static making it slightly harder to tell what he was saying, though the meaning was clear. This traitor deserved no less for all that he had done to hinder the Serpent of Lore and his plans, for the first defeat, and for Seta's Shadow...his rebirth...his head would stand as a symbol of what happened to those who opposed his Lord. The true Paragon of Shadows...Orochi-...
"PERSONA!" an eruption of power from within the crumbled Prison shook the concert hall where the 'Gas Chamber' made its nightly performances once upon a time...and the force was enough to push back even the cyborg that loomed over the young man, who himself was forced to his very knees by the sheer intensity of the power that he was calling forth. It was the first time that he had summoned it in so very long, having feasted on the powers of his shadow since the day that he had been taken in by chaos...how he knew that his need was dire, he could not win this fight without calling upon his other self. Would it still answer him? Was there anything left inside of him now of the person, the leader, the warrior, the friend, the lover that he had once been before all that had come to pass? Was atonement enough of a motive for the power dormant inside of him to emerge and answer his cry? ...His answer came as he winced, pain shooting through his mind...but in response to his voice came a figure high above his head, a rod of light clasped within its hand that it raised high overhead...and the shirtless young man with his pierced ear and fierce determination stood, renewed in spirit if not body, and let a small smirk crease his lips...the first glimpse of the confident young man he had once been, the one that Eriko Kirishima had grown to love so deeply in those days when they were together, peeked through his wounded, broken facade. "I won't lose this battle,' his voice was stern, his hand raising to the side as a blue card swirled just above it...and then, crushing his hand around it, the card shattered into pieces...and his persona sprung to life, "Amon Ra...thou art I...and I am thou...this is our true power!" His dark eyes narrowed as the cyborg raised his weapon and charged in attack. The intensity of the power radiating from this young man...was this the true power of the base behind Simon Kongo?! Was this why he was chosen to be the first under the grasp of the Crawling Chaos? He was... 'He is...!'
His sword descended swiftly, the blade was within an inch of the blue-haired enemy's neck when his words echoed out across the city.
"Hieroglyphein!"
It hit with the power of Hephaestus's Hammer...a force so thick and so powerful that his entire body shuddered, his blood set upon fire, and his head rang so loudly he was sure it would burst. Thrown back away from his foe, he could not see if his sword...dripping faintly with crimson blood...had met its mark or not. His eyes flashed crimson with pain, his jaw fell open and his mechanical voice erupted into a choked scream.
...And the Black Swordsman remembered for the first time in a long time what it meant to feel pain...* * * * * * * * ...The battle rages on, Devil Kings and the Dark King's Army rush the Mori Shogunate across the field, the Shogunate seeks to repulse their advance and crush their two enemies...the Persona-Users hope to avoid conflict with the Devil Kings and defeat Joker, while the latter seems content to simply wait it out...
JOKER waits inside the ruined Narumi District, leaving command of the battlefield and their soldiers to his Six Executives, the time for his own move not yet having come...his eyes skyward, gazing ever more at the Crystals high above.
Tatsuya carefully leads the valiant persona-users of Sumaru and their allies into a tentative battle, allowing their forces to creep closer to Narumi and their target of JOKER while keeping an eye on the movements of the battlefield. Should the tide swing to catch them in the cyclone, he must be ready, as he knows they are undermanned to repel the Devil Kings alone...
...Meanwhile, the Dark King's rage fuels him as he cuts a bloody swath through the center of the battlefield, mowing down defenses in his effort to eliminate the general of the Shogunate's forces. The Western Devil Kings fight on in support, but to match their Lord's will and intensity would be impossible. Their rear is fairly guarded by the cunning Yoshitsugu, but can he truly be trusted? They wait for the Yatagarasu and the Kuzunoha to come and show support...for without it, they may find themselves overwhelmed, even with the burning vengeance of the Dark King black-hot.
And the Shogunate, lead by Balmung of the Azure Sky, stand their ground, pushing against the Dark King's advance to break free of the siege and allow their forces to move into Aoba and Narumi...to execute their lord's will. The fight is even for now, but the Dark King is impossible to stop. Who can confront him? Balmung fears the only answer might be himself...
The tipping point is close! More reinforcements on either side...[your reinforcements]...are on their way. It is quite likely that whatever the outcome, it will rest heavily on their actions from this point on.
One brave hero, one terrible villain, one great victory could be the difference between salvation and destruction.
Who will be the one who strikes the decisive blow? Who will be remembered as the Hero of The Battle for Sumaru City?
The Battle Continues!!!
Persona War II: the Battle for Sumaru City Has Begun!
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:47 pm
 The Masked CircleGeneral:Master JOKER - Masked Circle Leader
Command Post - Central Narumi District "Come on, come on! Don't hesitate nooooow! Ooooh, can't you feel the excitement brewing?! Can't you? In the gardens of this city, all the flowers fold into themselves and hide away as the light fades, but this is the time when the Masked Circle shines! Beneath the moon, in the shadows...can't you hear your destiny calling?" the bemused voice of a being called JOKER rang in the ears of his subordinates as the day faded into the night, twilight settling in upon them as the Dark Hour was near at-hand. He knew that if the other sides were going to engage wholeheartedly into the war, they were going to do so in an hour that nobody else would remember, so that the winners could rewrite the history of the moment however they liked! Oh, it was all so surreptitious, so mystifying! Masterful planning, really, but they all had underestimated only one thing about the coming encounter; they didn't have any idea what the Masked Circle and their nefarious leader were truly capable of! Let alone this entire rumor-ridden city, filled to the brim with the supernatural! Why, in such chaos and haphazard disarray, they could disseminate a rumor from the battlefield and send it flowing straight through the ranks so fast that the tides would turn as commanded before the rumor reached the brats in Rengedai! Yes, underestimating the JOKER would be their downfall, he was certain, and that was why the masked figure stood atop an abandoned warehouse with a flower between his fingers now, looking out across the city that he had sent spiraling to such ruin and a cruel smile curled the corners of his painted lips. Such fear, such anticipation, such anger! He could feel them rolling from the corners of the Seven Pleiades, but now wasn't the time to bring that little game to the front just yet. Now they had only to weather the storm, to endure the waves of enemies crashing upon them. He took a deep whiff of the charming scent and let the flower drop the the street far below him, dropping from his fingers lightly, carried by the wind until it struck blacktop with a gentle plop.
"It's beginning now! You must all hold to your defenses as commanded, and do not allow them to penetrate into the district! Kill anyone who ventures too closely to you! This is the will of your master, who has allowed you all to achieve your Ideals so generously," his voice was a mixture of serious and amusement, the paradox at the heart of the mysterious masked figure, "Go on now! Go, GO! We've got lots of de-STRUCT-ion to cause! ...Let the rumors of our impenetrable wall spread throughout the city and become our great reality! GLORY TO THE MASK! HEE, HAHAHAHAAA!"Quote: The Masked Circle enters the battle, forming a defensive line in [Narumi District]! If you signed up to fight for the Masked Circle, your objective is now to defend your General and Headquarters from the other 3 Armies! ---------------------------------------  Western Devil KingsGeneral: Mitsunari Ishida, Dark King of the Western Devil Kings
Command Post - West Aoba District, Eastern Border of Narumi How he hated the waiting. Standing overlooking a battlefield from the top of the Sumaru TV Station alongside Yoshitsugu, he could still see the lines of smoke rising from the Narumi District and hated the sense of disgust that it brought him to know that they had decided not to enter into conflict with the Masked Circle until after the battle against the Mori had ended. It all tasted of compromise, the sort that he had always loathed to make, but Yoshitsugu had convinced him that they would have more than enough time to put down the Joker once they had dealt with their true enemy on the field today...and despite his misgivings about the plan, his trust for his closest adviser was absolute. If there was even one person left on this Earth that was worth trusting, he believed it to be him. That didn't mean, however, that he had to like it. "I don't like this, skulking around the outskirts of the battle like some sort of vulture, waiting for the sides to be ripe for the pecking," the General muttered as his hand reflexively gripped the hilt of his long katana, savoring the feel of it against his palm, wanting nothing more than to charge across the field and take the head of that traitorous general who served the dog behind this whole accursed war...his head snapped to the side and out of the corner of his eye he spied the platform which held his loyal adviser aloft nearing, a sound beneath his breath expressing his distaste at being kept waiting, "Yoshitsugu, have the Crows shown any signal of their arrival yet? ...I tire of waiting." His patience was wearing undeniably thin. He itched for battle, thirsted for the blood and vengeance that fueled his quest to bring honor to the name of his departed Lord Hideyoshi, to continue to do what he had promised all those years ago...to right a vast wrong against him. And of course, to make that cur that had betrayed them suffer, casting him down from that paper throne. His eyes burned as he looked far off into the distance and swore he could see the lines of the Shogunate setting up opposite them, on the far side of Narumi. Too long...this was all taking too long.
"You must have patience, Mitsunari. I have not yet heard word from the Yatagarasu as to whether or not they will be joining us in open battle here or not. And we cannot afford to enter into this conflict without them, outnumbered as we seem to be," the masked, bandaged man's deep-voiced counsel fell numb on the ears of his lord who seemed almost to growl his distaste for the answer he had received, but to strike out against his closest ally was something Yoshitsugu knew a man so bound to loyalty would never in a thousand years do...which was why he ventured to move to the side of his General and turned to face him, hand raising palm-up to the sky in thoughtful repose, "My Lord, Mtisunari...do you truly believe that the Yatagarasu will forsake the Mori Shogunate and join your cause against them? They have always tended to operate independently, but they are beholden to the leader of the country's whims. To act out against him would be unheard of for their organization, and risk possible exposure should the Shogun decide they are of no more use to him...it would be most unwise of them to risk such a thing, would it not?" His words were wise and insightful, though he knew they were not what his Lord wanted to hear...in fact, at this point, it might have been impossible to dissuade him from battle, so close to tearing down their enemies as they seemed to be. It would be impossible to make him see that without the Yatagarasu they were outnumbered, overwhelmed, and that unless by some miracle the battlefield were to erupt into an even greater chaos, their chances of victory were slim. ...They were betting everything that the Crows would attach greater loyalty to the country itself than to its leadership, and now the moment seemed upon them that doubt should creep in. Only Mitsunari never doubted his the virtuous spirit of his path. His trust, once given, was complete. And for some reason, he had put his faith into the Kuzunoha...though this would not stop Yoshitsugu from looking at the reality himself. "Perhaps it would be wise to hold off on the attack for a while longer, and consider a more favorable location to make our stand against Motonari...? If the Yatagarasu do not come..."
"Enough, Yoshitsugu! The Crows of the Yatagarasu will be here...I could see it in the eyes of the one called 'Raidou', that her faith in this puppet of a Shogun is no greater than mine. And faced with the possibility of his placing an Emperor of his own choosing upon the throne, they have no more time to think it over. They will be here...or they will be just as guilty of treason as everyone standing across from us now," the rage-filled general spat, burning on the inside, almost seething as he looked across the way. So much had happened since this lie had been granted to him, and there was nothing left now but to start the final battle. This was their chance to make things right, to see Hideyoshi's dreams come to fruition and to bring justice to the sinners. And all his advisers could do was tell him to wait...wait...WAIT! His hand clenched around the hilt of his katana angrily, teeth so tight his gums ached....wait?! "That's IT! I've had it! We're not waiting anymore!" the general snapped, crouching deeply, his eyes focused on one thing and one thing alone...tearing to pieces every last person who defiled the will of his Lord, "It begins NOW! We break through that traitor Shogun's forces, crush EVERYONE in our path! And when I stand before their general, I will TEAR HIS CHEST ASUNDER! I will look into his eyes...and he will know my ANGER!"
The dam broke, and a cheer went up throughout the ranks of the Western Devil King's foot soldiers. Then in a flash of silver, violet, and black, the General of the Western Devil Kings had shot down from the top of their Headquarters and into the city below. His path kicked up dirt behind him, impossible speed as rage fueled him forward...all who stood before him apt to be torn aside and cast out of his way in an instant. He was a man on a mission, a man possessed...a devil fueled by his own pain and anger. And soon, the Mori Shogunate would face that man...one way or another.
Atop the Television Station, the bandaged adviser Yoshitsugu gave the formal indication...all attack forces to advance straight down the center of the battlefield, with the flank nearest the persona-users remaining the only protected one. The time to fight had come...
"Very well," he muttered with a low chuckle into the darkness, "Do you see now what you have created in him, Motonari? Even you are not safe from such misery...I only hope you are able to witness it firsthand."Quote: The Western Devil Kings enter the battle, forming a thin defensive line in [Northwest Aoba District], but launching a full frontal assault on [East Kounan District] and the Mori Shogunate Forces! If you signed up to fight for the Western Devil King Army, your objective is to shatter any resistance from each of the 3 Enemy Armies and [Destroy the Mori Shogunate Forces!]!
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ALERT! Mitsunari Ishida [General Western Devil Kings] has taken the Field!!! -----------------------------------------  Sumaru City Persona-UsersGeneral:Tatsuya Suou, Persona-User - Ex-Sumaru Persona Team Leader
Command Post - South Rengedai District, Northern Border of Narumi District He wished that they hadn't been stuck here, of all places, but there was nothing that he could do about that now. Having been delayed by King Leo at Seven Sisters, getting back to the rest of the persona-users and finding a place to set up shop had been all he had time for, even if he hadn't been a great base, before the armies began to descend and take their positions for the great battle that was still to come. Now he overlooked the field from the southernmost point of the Rengedai District atop Lotus Plaza, to his right the Silverman Manor still in view, making him nervously hope that nobody would see fit to test whether or not Steven still had it in him to defend his home the way he had been forced to against the Last Battalion. And that Lisa wasn't there with him...or if she was, that she remembered something, remembered her persona at the very least. He didn't want her to be there, though. It was that selfless side of him peeking through again, hoping that his friends were nowhere near this place when the battlefield erupted into chaos once more. They had fought their own battle, not unlike this one, two years ago, and now was their time to go ahead and relax, to live their lives like normal people with no memory of what had taken place, and no memory of...his duty, that's what it had become. He was the only one who remembered now, the only one still fighting, and that was his eternal punishment. Even more his punishment now after all he had done. Still, to stand here and look out on the field now, he could see that the numbers were all heavily against them...their team the smallest of all the four factions, even with the volunteers that had come down to the city to lend their hand in what was shaping up to be one of the greatest battles the country had ever seen. Well, no...great wasn't the word he was looking for...important was more accurate. Great was never a good word to describe a war. Let alone...when kids like these were the ones who had to fight in it.
"Balmung's setting up his defense along the Eastern edge of Kounan, just like I expected. He'll repel the Western Devil Kings there, then strike out to the South and West against the Masked Circle and the Western Army. But on his own, he's not going to be able to handle them both. Not even with the Shogun's forces," he spoke mostly to himself, though anyone standing near to him from his vantage point might hear him speaking...he wasn't trying to hide it, wasn't trying to keep anything from them. He was merely working out the problem in his head, knowing that he had been sent here to solve this problem, and if the burden of command had to fall to someone, it was a weight he would willingly carry upon his shoulders. He couldn't do everything, but he could at least do this much for the persona-users in this alliance, couldn't he? He hoped so...and any time he had to think things over was long gone now, a streak of purple light across the center of the battlefield announcing the entry of the first General onto the field and the official ignition of hostilities between them. It was surprising...why would Mitsunari enter the fray from the outset? No, he knew why...that man was a revenge-driven monster, not unlike what Jun had become all those years ago. It was almost sad to think that it had come to this, but...for the sake of the country, he had to be stopped! As did the JOKER...
"Everyone, hold fort until the two large armies start fighting," the commander of the Persona-Users ordered down to his fighters, assembled in the center of the open plaza below him, "Once they are distracted, we're going to cut through the back of the Western Line's advance forces and head straight for the JOKER. If we finish him, we end this battle once and for all...that should be our target. Understood?"Quote: The Sumaru Persona-Users enter the battle, forming a thin defensive line in [Rengedai District]! If you signed up to fight for the Sumaru Persona-Users, your objective is now to push through the Western Devil Kings, avoiding too much conflict, and push into [Narumi District] to defeat the Masked Circle and Capture JOKER! -------------------------------------------  The Mori ShogunateGeneral: Balmung of the Azure Sky, Avengers Field Commander and Captain General of the Embryon - Leader of the Mori Shogunate Forces
Command Post - East Kounan District, Western Border of Narumi District And so it began...the Battle for Sumaru City was underway. From his command post at the Sumaru City Police Station, Balmung could see that the Persona-Users were ready over in Rengedai, though they were much fewer in number than they had been hoping for in their ally. Fortunately, the Shogunate still had a clear edge in overall numbers with all the branches of the military called in to assist in the battle. Loyalty to the country ran strong, and there was no difficulty in finding men who were willing to lay down their lives for the country's newest hero...their new Shogun. Was it distasteful to work for a man who had come to power under such unreasonable circumstances? Yes, it was, but Balmung had to admit that the upper hand in this situation had never belonged to him, and when the offer to clear all of his soldiers of any wrongdoing in the lockdown incidents, return them to duty, and allow them to live relatively normal lives once again had been placed on the table, Balmung had solemnly swallowed his pride and accepted the deal for their own sake, not his. For the future of the country he was allowed to fight again to rid it all over supernatural threats, and that was something he could take pride in so long as his leader didn't order him to do anything shameful. This was borderline, he had to admit...wiping out a group that had never been proven to do anything wrong and were always one of the most loyal branches of the military in the Western Devil Kings, then destroying the Masked Circle without a trial. He didn't mind the latter as much as the former, but it all smacked of a rushed attempt to clear out enemies all in one fell swoop. It was risky and dangerous to be out here, especially when they didn't know what was going on exactly in this city...rumors coming true, JOKER, the 13 Crystals looming over the city? It was...so very unlike Motonari Mori that it had him questioning the true purpose behind this war from the very outset. But none of that would stop him from getting the job done, as commanded. That was, after all, what it meant to be a soldier.
"General! LOOK! It's...I've...I've never seen such a huge killing intent!" a sudden shout from the outside of the police station caught his attention through the window, and in a flash Balmung was out the front door and looking up to the perch atop the building where his most loyal support specialist, Kabut Kirisaki, was practically shaking as he looked out across the battlefield...eyes having gone white as his power for seeing the ill intent, the very path of death his enemies attacks would take, watched what was coming now obviously in their direction from the far side of the city. Dust shot into the air like towers behind something that was moving towards them, and a violet streak at the head made it clear just whom or what had decided to start the war with or without a signal from any of the four sides. He didn't need Kabuto to tell him what was happening now...it was the beginning of the battle, the beginning of everything. "General, what are your orders!?" his Lieutenant barked out from the top of the building, having regained composure swiftly, prepared to let the others, all the other organizations having gathered under their banner, know what the plans was going to be. Now it had come down to it after all the waiting, just as the skies turned green and the moon a full golden sphere hanging in the air above them. Balmung drew his long, broad sword from the space between his wings with a single hand, and with cool eyes studied the pristine weapon thoroughly, as if confirming that when he leaped into battle it would be as reliable as ever. His expression never shifted...and then he thrust the sword forward, as if to accept his foe's forward challenge.
"All attack forces...Taihaku, Eastern Kings, Embryons... advance! The Western Devil Kings are moving, and we will drive them back into Aoba! And once you've finished pushing them back, I want as many as we can spare to turn their attention onto the Masked Circle in Narumi. Our victory conditions are clear..." his voice boomed, and Kabuto relayed the message word-for-word to the armies waiting ahead at the Factory, "Destroy the Western Army in Sumaru City, and then bring the terrorists of the Masked Circle to justice! This is your sacred duty, as ordered by our Lord Shogun, Motonari Mori! For our country, for the future...attack!"
A roar went through the ranks alongside him, and far ahead near the Abandoned Factory an even louder cheer rang out. Forces from all factions began to advance forward in the name of their Shogun, Balmung making a motion to their rear guard to advance to the Factory's location and fill in the missing defense. They had the numbers, they had the strength...they had only to use them...in the name of the Mori. And for the future of Japan...
"Lieutenant, you stay here...and send word if you hear back from the Yatagarasu. ...Curse their silence after being called to action," he ordered Kabuto, not feeling the need to threaten the support specialist, finding his contributions too important to risk his death on the front lines, "I will face Mitsunari if this is how the tide of battle swings. ...He will not set one foot into Kounan District so long as I stand before him."Quote: The Mori Shogunate enters the battle, forming a secondary defensive line in [Kounan District], while launching a full offensive assault on [Aoba District]! If you signed up to fight for the Mori Shogunate, your objective is now to destroy the Western Devil King Army and defeat [Mitsunari Ishida], to defend [Kounan District] from the Western Devil King advance, and if you so choose, to turn your attention and invade [Kounan District] to defeat Joker!
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 5:44 pm
 KisaA blazing trail appeared in the air as a motorcycle shot past Mitsunari Ishida, ridden by a girl covered in dark green tattoos. The killing intent within the city was almost crippling; for all their mighty powers, for all their dedication to their goals and their skills and experiences, was it really possible for any mortal to truly face down the gods, who seemed to have come down to walk this battlefield? The terrible, terrible fear generated by their mere presence, enough to strike a weaker being dead through sheer intensity... Kisa shivered and licked her lips in excitement as her motorcycle burst through one line of lesser guards. Speed and power were on her side for this initial strike, working to break the enemy's lines and allow a follow-through by the forces of the Western Devil Kings behind her. She was on their side for now, it seemed, come in response to a request... but it was doubtful if she would stay for too long, because he was here. The one she had been searching for all this time, trying to find answers about who and what she was. And she hadn't felt this good in such a long time; it was, she knew, the simple trait of her body. Her cursed, demonic body literally thrived in the most oppressive environments, and being exposed to this much demonic killing intent was almost enough to make her drunk with excitement. This was an opportunity she didn't want to lose; to approach him and try to get her answers. And in the meantime, her eyes narrowed as a sphere of energy blinked into existence around her for a moment, a Tetraja settling into place just in case. Quote: Kisa is striking at the Shogunate's front lines. 000000000000 --------------------- 000000000000 Folgor, the Spear of MoriWithin the command center of the Mori, a tough-looking man strode forward, senses reaching out to the area around him. He was not, like many of his enemies, a soldier. Nor a warrior, nor anything else of the type; he was merely a bodyguard, and in a situation like this, it was his place to defend the Shogun. He tossed the body of a demon to the side as he took his spot against the wall and crossed his arms, watching and waiting patiently in case any foe should enter this area. Let them come, if they could. "They seem to be scouting our position using demons." he said mildly, mainly for the Shogun's information. "Our defenses are quite sufficient to repel them for now, but they may try to get... tricky. I doubt anything too strong can get in, but a number of small demons may be able to disrupt our operations before we can find out where they're coming from. If they time it right, they could end up doing a lot more damage than we'd like." Well, any damage was more than they'd like, but really. He doubted anybody was under the impression that the forces of the Shogun would get away without any losses at all; that simply wasn't realistic. His job, though? Mostly to protect the Shogun directly; let others worry about the little details. Looking to find (and fix) holes in their defenses was part of his job, though. Quote: Folgor is defending Mori. 000000000000 --------------------- 000000000000  Tsukiyo Hanabi - The Ghost of Sumaru
Tsukiyo floated beside Tatsuya, transparent as she always was as she considered everything that was going on around them. Instinct suggested that there were a few places she really wanted to avoid, but it would be wrong to say that she was afraid of dying. She was kind of past that sort of thing already, for... obvious reasons. "I can scout our path pretty easily." she volunteered, indicating the direction they'd be heading. Not being bound by gravity, she could easily pop up for a quick look (and be hard to see on top of things), or even just stay close to the buildings and peek out through them to see if any enemies were heading their way. With her ability to go straight through things, cornering her would be exceedingly difficult... all of which, in her considered opinion, meant that she'd be a great help in helping Tatsuya achieve his goals.Quote: Tsukiyo is haunting Tatsuya. 000000000000 --------------------- 000000000000  Miss Blue - The Magus of Pisces
A pair of eyes opened, vivid and clear in their purpose as JOKER spoke, while power crackled at the Magus' fingertips. Let the power of Starbow crush her enemies, and let her own power shower her with the life force that was hers by right. Whatever enemies attacked, her magic would sweep across all of the battlefield to strike them down. She could hardly wait to test the true limits of her incredible powers.Quote: The Magus of Pisces is defending the Masked Circle's territory.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:12 pm
 ::Tenma Kouzoku, [The Black Rider of the Apocalypse]-Famine::Loud yelling of excitement and frustration could be heard over the sounds of clashing steel and firearms. The war had begun, and what a war it was..so much blood, violence, heroism and cowardice. It was all just so confusing and dangerous..well..confusing to those who did not know war as Tenma did..and dangerous to those who were facing off against enemies of equal caliber..and Tenma had very little competition in terms of power. This was all like foreplay to him. He would merely crush whomever he chose for now, then when the weaklings and fodder fall, it would be time for Tenma to test his steel against the truly strong. As groups of warriors came clashing into the defenses of the Mori in the Kounan District, there seem to be no real progress just yet. The Mori were doing a good job at holding their defenses..but the battle had only just begun and it was going to be a long one. Suddenly there were seeming explosions erupting from the back of the attackers. Piles of warriors, artillery and the like were sent flying into the air and the "explosions" made their way through the hordes of attacking warriors towards the Mori's defense. Tenma made his way through the hordes of people, setting his sights on destroying the Mori, but having no regard for the lives of anyone around him. Most would say that the enemy of their enemy was their friend, But not Tenma. You were either an ally, an enemy, or useless garbage. As the horseman of Famine made his way to the Mori's defenses, he was met with just about as much resilience as before. Sending piles of both Mori Shogunate allies and enemies flying in different directions, it seemed as though there was no being capable of stopping Tenma's progress. "Hmhmhmhahahahaha!"Quote: Tenma Has decided to attack the Mori Shogunate's defenses in the Kounan District.  Muteki Shi- STREGAMuteki bounced around and jabbed the air as if he were boxing an opponent as he awaited his leader's orders. He could here the explosions and the cries of the incoming soldiers. He couldn't wait to get out their and just completely expose their armies as he mowed through their ranks and killed their generals. But the "Charge! Destroy everything!" call he was waiting for did not come, instead they were told to merely hang back and defend, which was smart seeing as though they were being targeted by three different armies, but Muteki was not happy with the decision. "Defend!? Ah Come on!" Muteki yelled in childish frustration, wildly flailing his arms around as he spoke as if he were on the verge of throwing a temper tantrum. But instead of just running off and doing what he wanted to do, like his body told him to, he decided it would be best to stay with the army for now. So Muteki merely waited, his guard up, ready to intercept any of these little bastards who thought that they could just walk up into his territory and stir some s**t up. Quote: Muteki Defends the Masked circle's headquarters in the Narumi District.  The Red HoodThe Red hood was silent, merely adjusting his gloves as he waited. A cane was strapped to his side, it was pretty heavy for a cane and had a blood-like crimson handle. Many weapons were hidden in the hood's jacket, ready for battle as always. He strategically sat in between four large warriors, who were holding big weapons. They were his shields just in case a large attack hit the general area, The hood would have more protection than most. Their orders were to protect the general and the HQ. Pfft..the hood was far more superior than their 'leader' and was much more important than some miniscule headquarters. But he would do as he was told for now, he would just let these armies do most of the work, then dispose of the trash around him when the time came to take those shiny crystals that drew these hordes of people here in the first place. Ah, yes, this would be a very interesting day..but then again, every day was interesting when you were a god amongst men. Quote: The Red Hood Defends the Masked circle's headquarters in the Narumi District. Agito Mibu - Black FangTemporarily Allied with the Western Devil Kings, Agito ran with the hordes of fodder towards the Mori shogunate lines. But Agito had a strange glow about him, as the spirit of thor currently resided within him and granted him the power of the gods. Thunder claps could be heard and small flashes of lightning could be seen as Agtio began to ruthlessly slaughter the useless foot soldiers that ran towards him. Mjolnir was swung about with great skill, it shattered craniums like watermelons and broke rib cages like glass. As the black Fang passed, more and more soldiers fell, their armor standing no chance against the awesome power of Agito and Mjolnir. If things were this easy all the time, Agito would be a lot higher on the food chain. But sadly, most things don't stay easy for long, and Agito knew this all too well. Quote: Agito attacks the Mori Shogunate's defenses in the Kounan District.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:06 pm
 Aſſεƞ Gαſίεҭsʊ Woke up with yawn. It's dawning, I'm still alive.
Turned on my radio to start up new day
As goddanmed DJ's chattered how to survive
Amazing news got over on the air wave
Tonight love is rationed
Tonight across the nation
Tonight love infects worldwide
Almost another day. day. day. day. day. day. day. day. day. day. day. x--------------------------------------------------x
'What have I gotten myself into...?
Why did things have to go oh so wrong? It just started out as a simple invitation to play the guitar at a concert for some good money, and then he got lost. Then explosions just... exploded and then they were all these crystals. And of all things possible he was caught in a battlefield. At first he thought he could try to escape, but then there was an odd feeling that made him stay there. As if it was his purpose to fight. Now, the only problem was that he didn't know what he was fighting for, but after being saved by someone from a demon, he decided to join their side. Which happened to be the Sumaru Persona users. So there Allen was, a soldier to fight for what was right. The only problem was that hre only had his guitar to fight with. And how could he fight with a damn guitar?
Now the only thing Allen could do was just try and follow his commander's orders as clearly as he could. It was patience, and as the saying goes,
"Patience is the key to any battle."
Allen didn't want to engage in combat, yet. He just had to observe the battlefield a little bit more, and Tatsuya had even said to wait until the other two armies start fighting. And it was a good plan, Allen just didn't know if he would be of good use to the Sumaru Persona users. After a few seconds,
of thought, Allen reached for his evoker, not to use it, but just to play around with the handle and lightly grip the trigger without pulling it. But out of nowhere a very odd feeling washed over him, it was very hard to explain with prescision, but the best way to describe it was that his mind was suddenly pulled into a different world, leaving his physical body behind. Opening his eyes, he was in a dark room, but he only had a second to observe his surroundings before he realized that a strange being was floating in front of him, illuminated by a strange aura. It was most likely a Persona or a demon, because everything that looked weird or abnormal was bound to be a demon/persona. Allen was the first to speak, "Who... who are you? What do you want?"
The white haired persona waved his mechancal hand as to dismiss Allen's worries, "Fear not, for I attend no harm to thee. I am only Orpheus, Master of strings." The junior still frowned, not knowing why this being just pulled his mind into a strange concious. "I only want to teach thee a song..." Started Orpheus, as if he had read Allen's thoughts, "...a song of sadness and tragedy, of lost love and betrayal, to remind one of their failiures, to make them know they will never be complete." "Why would I want to know-" "It is no ordinary tune, it will help it battle to make thy enemy weak, pull out thy instrument, and do as I do."
At first Allen was reluctant, but he did as he was told to do, and like a parody of a Legend of Zelda game, Orpheus taught Link-I mean Allen, Harper's tune.
With ease, Allen was able to learn this song, but with a strange aftermath of an unexplainable melachony feeling. With Orpheus done with Allen, he dismissed his mind back to his physical body, but Orpheus said one last thing to Allen as he felt his mind returning to his physical body. "Use thy new power well. Art is simply a powerful weapon, in a literal and a metaphorical sense."
And Allen was brought back into physical conciousness, he blinked, wondering if he actually just talked to a deity called Orpheus, but he didn't doubt it. With a risen anxiety and excitement, he waited until they would be able to advance into Joker's base, wondering how he could put his new skill to use.
x--------------------------------------------------x
Quote: Allen learnt Harper's Tune! (Gift from En appreciation week) Allen waits/defends Sumaru City's base.
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:14 pm
 With his left hand resting on the worn grip of his trusty old katana Shinrei starred out across the city; there was so much going on out there, so much action and energy coursing through the air, he almost craved it. Yet in that one craving the delinquent king of Sumaru was cautious, he loved mischief and the wild unbridled energy but this was dangerous: people out there were in danger. Turning from the view Shinrei returned his attention to the person who had called them together. Tatsuya Suou, odd guy, but something about him made Shinrei just fall in line, even though he hated that most of all. It was a curious charisma that his guy had but there obviously wasn't time to question it or get to know this guy; they were out-manned, and out-gunned and now more than ever they were going to need a miracle if they wanted to have a chance in hell at taking their city back. This power, persona, it was all they had, and yet it felt like they were still going to beat all the odds and come out on top. Fancy that. Shinrei listened intently to Tatsuya go through the motions of their plan. They, the smallest army, had become allied with the forces of the Mori Shogunate and were going to try to strike the heart of the Masked Circle before he could reinforce the Western Devil Kings. It was daring and just a bit crazy, just how the delinquent king liked it. "So we break in, behead the masked circle and then get out. Sounds like a simple plan." Shinrei spoke with a half smirk on his face. This was going to be one hell of a night. Turning from the leader he unsheathed his blade and began the walk down into the streets, from there he would approach the masked circle's stronghold in the confusion of the larger battle between the Shogun and the Western Devil Kings, fight his way to JOKER, behead the mask wearing freak and then skip school tomorrow. He stood waiting for the others to follow suit but he couldn't wait forever, if they weren't walking with him soon he would quickly be off to attack on his own. Dan Sekohara
The roar of battle, the feeling of wind tousling his ebony locks, the thought of his sweetheart back home, this was true battle. Dan balanced his mighty DAN HAMMER on his shoulder as he listened to the booming voice of his leader the legendary Balmug of the Azure Sky. The white haired hero's heart raced at the coming battle ticked ever closer. When their leaders words were done Dan nodded his head to himself and clenched his fist. "For Justice." He said to himself, almost a prayer to unseen forces surrounding him. He was as prepared as he could be: trusty dan hammer in one hand and his sacred crystal in the other the white haired hero was prepared for any evil that would have the courage to face him tonight. Taking up a defensive position in the middle of a large avenue Dan waited calmly and patiently for either allies to come and hold the line with him, or for the first of the western troops to attack.
Quote: Dan has decided to hold the line in the [Kounan District]
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Posted: Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:50 pm
 Tai Saito ☆═━┈ Tai joined Tatsuya, standing amongst the other persona users. Damn. He takes a nap, and now he's at war? Not something he expected he'd be doing. "Let 'em start trying to take each other out and then go at the JOKER. Easy enough to understand." He nodded to Tatsuya. Well, hey, he was in it, might as well kick some a** right? He drew both of his blades and waited with the others. Yeah it was pretty easy to understand, but the question wasn't that. It was if they could do it.
I sure as hell gotta try to make it happen, then. He thought to himself.┈━═☆   "Kuro" Adamochi
The Borderline Artist In Denial Here went nothing. Yue never imagined he'd be in a setting like this. This was what he got for apparently wandering into Sumaru City, where he heard Allen was going to go and play at, and he ended up wrapped up in this crap? Crystals floating in the air, attacks everywhere, damn man!
I don't know what's goin' on. But the others are here too. So I'm gonna help them however I can. Now, he didn't know who the Mori Shogunate really were, not being fully made aware yet of what the I. Team had been up to, but he knew half of them were helping these guys out, who were also apparently helping some persona users in this city too? He didn't know. As long as he knew who he was supposed to be defending against, he was all set.
This was clearly...nuts. What was she doing here? Well, the others were here for one. She'd heard about teh chaos here, and they seemed gravitated towards it. The floating crystals made it more interesting. And why did she help the side she was helping? This JOKER fellow? There was something terribly off about his behavior. What could a clinically crazy girl do, but...well, follow the guy who acted nuts? She didn't really care about the conflicts going on in this now huge fight, but she'd do what this guy said for now, sided with the Masked Circle with the majority of her own teammates of the Black Messiah.
And so with her mind made up, you could hear the rev of a motorcycle. What counted as one of the worst gift ideas you could use for a medicated borderline afflicted small girl who lately really took a liking to fighting with sharper things than bats? Give her a motorcycle. Kuro knew how to ride, actually. But she didn't have a license. Not that it stopped her from riding here. It could easily be recognized as the motorcycle that once belonged to Kazuma himself. But it had been given to her after the realization he really didn't need it anymore. Kuro rode into the defensive lines of the supporters of the JOKER, in Narumi District. The city was for the most part too ravaged for wheeled transportation, but that was fine. She wasn't planning on going all over the place. Her Betrayer tucked into her belt of her pants, she had her sword on her as well, basically whatever useful equipment she was aware she had for this fight. She'd use this chance to really show that she was capable of fighting for real.Quote: Yue Adomachi has decided to defend [Kounan District] Kuro Adomachi defends [Narumi District]
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:22 am
KisaCombat. What purpose? To fulfill your own goals. To crush the ideologies that stood opposed to you, and to impose your will upon the world. Law. Chaos. Neutrality. Neither could truly triumph so long as the others lasted, and always their leaders strove to overcome the others. Tonight, it seemed, Chaos was active... and Kisa barreled down the street, scattering foot soldiers like dust before, suddenly, she swept her flaming bike to a stop. "...Dan." she said, recognizing Soji's friend. "...You're on the wrong side." she said quietly. Said the girl who had watched over his leader's house while he'd been thought dead, and had never done a thing contrary to the actions of the Investigation Team. But this wasn't Inaba, a tiny little backwater town. This was darkness, lit by the light of battles, and the Demi-Fiend stared at the first individual in her way. "Stay out of the way... or I'm afraid I'll have to at least do Soji the favor of seeing to it that you don't get yourself killed for the wrong reasons." She owed Soji more than that, and if aiding him meant pounding on any of his friends foolish enough to support the Shogunate so she could knock them out and take them to safety, then so be it. Not that, personally, she cared about politics all that much. It was kind of a moot point to her, considering that she didn't really have the right to vote and at any rate didn't consider herself particularly bound by human rules. When requesting her help, though, her... associates had made quite a good case that rule under the Shogunate would be a lot worse than the alternative they had in mind. She was one who was entirely willing to live and let live, as suggested by the truly neutral philosophy she was drawn to... but if there were those who sought to impose their own beliefs on her, then yes, she would fight to stop them. Quote: Kisa, while riding forward, has come across the Dan Man!
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:23 am
Dan Sekohara 
The white haired hero had not been waiting long in the middle of the street, his mighty hammer at his side, before the first of his enemy's troops began to appear around the perimeter of the Kounan District. However, Dan had been expecting a troop of foot soldiers or some long-thought-dead general from the sengoku era, not her. When she appeared on her flaming motorbike Dan's hand gripped the handle of his hammer until his knuckles were white; she was coming from the direction of the enemy... Raising his second hand to his hammer Dan prepared for the fight that was about to come, but first she spoke. "I'm going to restore this city, and I guess you're standing in the way of that." A long slow breath left Dan's lips before he dropped into his battle stance ready to break off and attack Kisa at the first sign of a charge. "If you want to get through, you'll have to kill me." Dan's eyes seemed brighter than any streetlight at that moment, his heroic fury pumping through every vein and artery he had.
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:46 am
::Tenma Kouzoku, [The Black Rider of the Apocalypse]-Famine::A large, headless body flew through the air like a giant, meaty projectile. The had to have belonged to some giant of a man who was either attacking or defending the Mori as it still was wearing heavy armor, which made the fact that it was flying all the more unbelievable. But it wasn't flying, it was thrown..by the Black rider himself. But it was not just flying in some random direction as the bodies were before, this one had a target, it was headed straight for the demi-fiend Kisa who was in the middle of threatening the one called Dan. As the body would meet it's target, whether she dodged, blocked, caught it, etc..it didn't really matter. The Body was only to get her attention. " I couldn't help but overhear the ridiculous ramblings of a half breed." Tenma said with a slight sneer on his last word. He hated demi-fiends oh so much, which was odd because he served under one, but Tenma was never the one to make much sense. In fact, he didn't really hear anything that Kisa said. He only felt the presence of a demi-fiend, looked around and saw a girl with tattoos all over speaking to another being and so he decided to mount her head on a wall and, once he was done with that, probably go back to destroying the Mori. He didn't speak to Dan yet, but would probably be targeting him next..unless the two decided to team up against him. ( biggrin ) Quote: Tenma has found a new target. Throwing a headless corpse at [Kisa] Tenma issues a challenge to the demi-fiend.
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Hopeful Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Dec 31, 2011 7:50 am
 Well, this could have gone better. For some reason, Jo(shu) had found himself being drawn towards the power, even after that incident with the god of light earlier. However, this time it felt...different. Something just didn't seem right, and as he had approached, sure enough, it wasn't the same as a simple battle; It was War now. Nodding at the orders, he fingered a tube lightly as he made his way through, trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible.. "Understood Tatsuya! Faust called as he faced eyes front, remembering this feeling of unease. Again, he was at war, but this time, he had more allies, and more people he recognized on his side. Any unease he had seemed to melt as a firm hand gripped his shoulder."It'll work out." Kusuri's voice called, assuring Faust as she gripped her hands together, looking foward. This wasn't going to be like with the tower, this was a whole nother ballpark entirely. It made her tense, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a bit of her persona get excited at the idea of fighting so many people. It was....a tad unnerving, but exhiliarating.Ohhh, where was he? Rose seemed to scamper about the area, looking for someone. She'd heard that Jo(shu) was around, and thus was worried. Of course, seeing Faust around didn't help her nerves, and as she moved about, the tension in the air was palpable, the busty senior not sure if she could take so much strain on her nerves.
"Fine! If he ends up dead in a ditch somewhere, that's fine by me!" she called, crossing her arms in a huff as she moved towards the line, grabbing her Shield, and making sure her things were still with her. Yep, everything seemed to be checking out, and she had her special armor underneath. She'd be fine....hopefully. A small ways away, a pair of gleaming eyes seemed to look onward, as the air around her seemed almost frozen, her excitement making her ice-powers a bit more noticeable than usual. She hadn't been on a mission like this in a while. It promised to be....interesting to say the least.[  Accelerator nodded quietly, as he stood over in an area all by himself. He had to keep an eye on things, and protect them to the best of his ability. His defensive powers hadn't seen much use recently, and he couldn't have them going senile on him, when he needed them most. But still, a lingering feeling was in his gut, telling him he wasn't exactly excited for a war. Rather, it seemed like an ominous omen of things to come in the night.Rirouku himself merely nodded quietly, looking at the others as he stood, holding up his version of Way to Dawn. It wasn't the most magical blade, and the looks he got while carrying it weren't entirely pleasant, but......he was ready to use it.
He idly wondered just how easy it would be to use his ultimate attack like this, while pondering other things, idly. He didn't quite know what he was in for, did he? Or, maybe he was just so......into character, he couldn't put on an expression other than that of a stotic badass.Quote: Faust, Rose, Kusuri, Accelerator, Rirouku, and Mizore, are defending the Rengedai district. Jo(shu) has started reconissance, trying to make it to the [Narumi District] (Extra Note: I have plans for (shu). If one wants to fight another of mine though, feel free, so long as it's within reason. owob )
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