Reverse Tarot - entrance

Naoya: /he's been hopping from foot to foot waiting on people. He wants to save yoosk NOW./ Ah! Finally, you guys are here! Ready to get started? Got weapons?

Nozomi looks incredibly nervous as she glances around at the rest of the assembled crew. "Uh, I-I grabbed this from the prop room." She lifts up an aluminum baseball bat to display.

Akira looks about as antsy as Naoya to get going, nodding at the question and throwing a glance back to his own crew. They'd come prepared. Meanwhile, Futaba looked Very preoccupied by something else. "O-kay, a lot of people. Are we introducing ourselves?"

Haru appears more preoccupied trying to examine everyones faces than twitching in anxiety as some of the other members of their party seems wont to do. "Do you think it's a good idea to go in a group this big?"

The worry on Ann’s face is more than obvious but it can’t get to her now. “The more help we have the better this will hopefully go.” She breathes in, letting the worry slightly fade away as she places her hand on top of Haru’s shoulder. “We’ll be able to do this, I’m sure of it.”

"Of course we'll be able to," Yu cut in to Takamaki-san's words, his confident voice as commanding as ever as he griped tightly onto the club in his hand. Even with years away, he still held himself like the leader he had always been, although with how little he knew, even with what he was able to pick up, he knew it would probably be best for him to stay more as moral support than taking any serious leadership position outside of battle. He had already recognized some of them through the messages in the chatroom. It felt almost unfair to have that information about them when they had nothing on him, but thinking back to what Mitsuru-san had said... He stayed silent on Okumura-san's question about introductions. It wasn't as if it would be difficult to pinpoint his identity, but he knew it would be best to follow his senior's recommendations.

Ryoji didn't quite recognize anyone, but he saw Haru's curls amongst the crowd and immediately moved to her. Thankfully, there was someone he recognized... "Darling, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he said smoothly and with a winning smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Naoya: Well a baseball bat is better than nothing... please stay close. /he stands protectively near nozo, looking the rest of the group over./ I think it'll be good to all go in. Some can stay near the very entrance for backup, yeah? /he pauses, looking at the app/ Oh and, I'm Naoya. /annnd he will now click the nav. Time to go in!/

Nozomi clutched her bat tightly, trying to stave off the shaking nerves. All she could manage right now was to swallow down her anxiety and nod, ready to follow the lead of everyone else.

Since Naoya had taken initiative on introductions, Akira raised his hand and stated, "Joker." As nice as as it was to see all these people, he was not using his real name wherever they were going. Futaba was much the same, piping up with a, "Oracle! I'm ready to go!" Her phone was in her hand the instant Naoya pressed the magic button. Already ready to take off.

Ann's encouragement was met with a smile. She was confident they would be able to help but that didn't soothe the worry of how difficult it may have been for their navigator to manage this many people at once. Luckily her thought process is derailed by a familiar face and voice. "Mochi!" Her axe rests on its head beside her as she tips her own head in greeting. "I'm surprised to see you here as well. It's quite the event, isn't it? "

“Panther.” Ann added alongside, more confident as she added a small wink and a smile to her introduction. She can’t deny seeing Haru’s worries being lifted by someone she recognized also helped and seeing how she’d be occupied- “And this is Noir.” That being said her interest did pick up on who this familiar face was but she’s expecting to get the answer in a bit.

It couldn't hurt to give a codename. After all, their whole purpose was to conceal their true identity. The boldness that their senior had to give out his first name was certainly unexpected, but he was sure that he had to have had a reason to not care as much. "King," Yu uttered, admittedly feeling a bit too vain and overconfident as the name came out. It wasn't as if he had given himself; having worked previously in Mementos with some other Shadow Operatives work, a codename had been picked out by his comrades to fit his demeanor. They just so happened to pick a rather… Pompous sounding name, due to his attire that matched closely to Izanagi-no-Okami and the abilities presented to him by the Fool and World arcana. Hopefully the group wouldn't judge him too harshly based on it… He had been a little rusty, after all, but he was still driven to help his close friend, and he hoped that would be more than enough to get him through.

Ryoji nodded to everyone, "It's a pleasure to finally meet everyone-- you are all so stunning as well." He motions to himself. "I go by Mochi in a chat, but for this endeavor... perhaps 'Muse' will work? I will be guarding over you all as best as I can."

Naoya: /Welll, no he didn't have reason not to care he just didn't expect everyone to have fancy codenames. Oh well!/ Right, nice to meet you all! /once inside he may not even get a cool outfit... depends. His persona awakening was pretty different but he looks none the less capable./ Alright. There's eight of us... does anyone want to volunteer to stay behind as backup? Or perhaps we should split into two groups. /4 and 4? Orrr they go all in. He's fine with whichever but he wants to move things along/

"A-All I know is that I'm going." Nozomi wasn't particularly paying attention to the fact that everyone was giving codenames. She was far more focused on getting the rescue underway.

With the shift came a feeling, familiar and unfamiliar simultaneously. Akira seemed to be completely comfortable with this, though he subconsciously moved closer to the other Thieves that were present. He looked, for a moment, like he was about to say something, but was cut off by Futaba raising her hand. If she were any closer to Naoya, she would probably be high fiving his face in her enthusiasm. "I'll stay here and provide support! Like aaalways."

"No time like the present, I suppose." The portals were starting to open and Haru didn't imagine it would be good for anyone to leave them open any longer than absolutely necessary. Plus the fast this was handled the quieter everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.

This feeling… Ann swore she’d forgotten entirely about the sensation of entering a place like Mementos, who can blame her when she got used to it entirely for a while. There is no time like present, exactly. That being said… She can’t help the nostalgia hit her as a subconscious warmth accompanies every step she now takes.

Yu had yet to get used to the Metaverse entirely. Sure, he had been a few times previously, but it was still so different from the weightlessness he had always felt entering the TV back in Inaba. It was almost suffocating, vision distorting as one world turned to another, much more bleak with no common central hub to return to at the end of their missions. At least there was no need to rely on anything other than a phone to get from one world to another... It certainly made it much more simple to manage without worry. “It would be best to stick together,” Yu, or King, as he was to be called in this world, decided in response to his senior’s inquiry. His eyes flickered around towards his teammates, taking note of Nozomin, the only one he had personally met previously, having not had any change in attire. “We don’t know what we’re up against. It may be unwise to go in with smaller groups that could be more easily picked off, especially as only one team would have a navigator as well as Nakahara-san’s lack of a Persona putting her in extra danger.” Not that it seemed power was necessarily an issue otherwise. The energy that radiated off of Toudou-san and Kurusu-san felt all too familiar to Aigis-san, another person he met years ago who held the same power as him. That should have been more than enough to get them through whatever labyrinth they were about to enter. (edited)

Ryoji found himself blinking rapidly as the other world overtook his senses, reflexively laying a hand on Haru's shoulder to teather then together. Muse, originally thought to be the gods of inspiration. He wishes to distill the others with the will to fight, to help them keep going with what curative powers he had. He chose the name for this-- the "harbinger" was too long and far darker than he would like, anyway. He noticed that his outfit changed-- a ruff of blackish blue feathers, long black gloves... Right. A whisper of his true form. "I will stay at the back. I can only use curative powers," he didn't want to lay his power bare before the others-- he didn't want to show how terrifying he can be.

This world was no doubt hostile in nature to those that would intrude. Persona user, or not. A heavy sensation- that deep-rooted sense of wrongness that followed the ringmaster of this world wherever he would go. And in his domain, it lingered. Parasitic, burning one's throat with each breath of that stagnant air. Though to be honest, It was not unique to here. No, most other worlds underneath an influence like his were a far cry from what they truly were. Manifestations of the human unconcious.. As they would continue onward, it would no doubt become apparent- the shadows that watched and waited... red eyes distinct within the darkness. Like many small lights, from every side. hoards locking on to what seemed to be their new prey... Forced into such a berserk state- to dispose of whomever may step foot into Phlegathon. Though.. their eerie quiet was of note... They continued to watch. wait. ..for that perfect moment. (edited)

Well he nearly got a high five to the face or uhh maybe the chest area. Depends. He's about 6 feet tall. "Alright, so two in the back. And King over there makes a good point, the rest of us will stick together." he nods assuredly giving everyone a glance over now that a lot have changed up their threads. "Hm I feel underdressed at a masquerade...." he comments, looking down at his regular ol' button down shirt. But soon there's another thing grabbing his attention. One he had been aware of the moment they stepped in... but still he tried to keep a calm, laidback attitude. Those beady little, red, eyes were bearing down on them though... "One sec." He puts a finger up, indicating he wanted the others to wait. Then summoned one of his personas, a humanoid accompanied by three small monkeys. The monkeys dispersed and ran ahead, trying to scope things out and possibly distract some of the oncoming enemies. "There. Let's get going now, shall we?" He gestures almost theatrically with his hand, wanting them to group up and follow. Time to find Yosuke! He hopes!

Nozomi felt sick as she made the transition into the other world, though whether that was due to the transit itself or her nerves was up for debate. This world exhibited a pressure on her senses that dredged up very old, very bad memories. Hopefully this wouldn’t take too long. She held tightly onto the bat, and glanced around. Funny, she didn’t remember everyone breaking for a costume change. Part of her wanted to address the fact that she was still in her hoodie, but now seemed like a poor time. Instead, she silently followed Naoya’s lead, desperately trying to hold in her lunch.

Looking at everyone really makes her wonder how things are supposed to plan out or even ask herself for once what to expect once that familiarity of the warp long fades into another memory. That warmth that could only hold place in her heart slowly spread towards every inch of her body, re-claiming that rebellious spirit that changed everything she knew to be true. ...God was it really that revealing??? Don't get her wrong, she loves her thief outfit more than anyone but man- She feels like she's 16 again. The grasp on her whip tightened, already aching for her to unleash it again as she began following the rest of the group.

What caught King's attention more than anything had been the sky. As if in a flash, the striking visions of his past began to bombard him. Trying to find his way through an empty Inaba. Climbing the tower and fighting fakes of his friends and Sho. Dealing with another deity at the top that had unimaginable power, even in his weakened form… …He shouldn’t have jumped to any conclusions yet. Red skies weren’t exactly uncommon, even in reality. In fact, they were quite common in the Metaverse, but the image of the moon against the harsh, furious red… It made his stomach twist in recognition of what he had experienced all those years ago. Looking for something, anything to take his mind off of it, he looked around to the people he was around. Toudou-san had no costume, but clearly was still a skilled Persona user, just as he sensed. Muse… He couldn’t really detect anything from, but the others trusted him, so he had no reason not to feel the same towards him. The others, save for Nozomin, had wore costumes that had clearly put them in the category of Persona users, which came as a relief as he looked over the group of strangers. His eyes fell onto Takamaki-san, or Panther, in particular, her bright red and pink outfit both matching with the environment and completely standing out against the rest of their group. “Your outfit is nice,” he noted, eyes turned to the blonde as he gave it a quick lookover, completely oblivious to any hint of sexual meaning it could have behind it. It had simply reminded him of a couple anti-heroines he had seen in comic books. Cat mask, tight-fitting suit with some revealing elements, even down to the whip; she was clearly inspired in the image of a comic femme fatale. At least, that was the impression that he had.

8:10 PM

After a moment, his attention turned to Nozomin. It was obvious at a glance that she wasn’t used to or prepared to enter any universe like this. Not that he blamed her—Few ever were, and with their past experience on the Midnight Stage as well as “Don't worry. We'll protect you if anything goes south,” Yu attempted to reassure the non-Metaverse outfitted girl, keeping pace close to her side. Having spent so long in worlds such as this, he knew how important it was to work to protect those who were Persona-less. They were easily made targets, and the longer they stayed in a place like this, the more it seemed to drain them. He just had to hope that this trip wouldn’t be long, for both Yosuke and Nozomin’s sake. The faster they could be in and out, the better. Though, he also knew that in such unfamiliar ground, it would be best not to rush themselves, as danger could be around any corner. Ahead, behind, to the side, even above—They were at constant risk, and had to stay on guard at all costs. (edited)

Muse directed his attention to Nozomi, noticing how her outfit didn't change to match the rest of them. He didn't sense a persona on her, either, so that explained that... But she had a powerful will, nonetheless. It was surprising that she was here to begin with... It must have been terrifying. "Nozomi-chan, stay close to me, yeah? Since I'm in the back!" He tried to sound like his chipper self, despite his somewhat scary outfit. "You'll get a good view of all the cool things everyone can do from back here!" Maybe she'll awaken to a Persona in here? Until then, he was going to keep an eye on her. And so, they marched on.

As they would continue on.. it seems little in the environment would change. The eye of the blood red moon never leaving them for even a second... Dominating the sky. The shadows themselves had seemed obvious enough. But another silhouette watched from afar.... Hard to spot here- perched on the roof of one of the buildings. As if eagerly waiting to see what happened next... the only thing striking about it from afar being the golden glow of that cracked mask.... And... Sure enough. With a single gesture of one's arm. The hoardes of shadows had begun to make their advance. Ripping through the empty streets like a tidal wave of tar- their mouths agape. A fiery red to their insides. What will they do here? Kagutsuchi couldn't help but wonder... As the form that represented his gaze would look to each member of the party. And then to their adversaries. Finally.. A performance worth being part of.

Red. It was practically all he was seeing here. Blood red, almost oppressive in the way the sheer amount of it greeted his eyes. The moon loomed above, watchful as it always was, and the man let out an impressed whistle as he stepped through the portal. "Better red than dead," Sho snickered to himself, recalling those words he'd said ages ago at the sight of something like this. "...now ain't that nostalgic." There was a dash of bitterness in the last word of that sentence, as equally bitter memories flashed in the back of his mind. Along with nostalgia though, he couldn't help but notice the difference in how entering this world felt, compared to the likes of the TV and the world of the red fog. Sure, there was a pretty vague resemblance to the second one, but only in the choice of color, really. At the very least, entering via smartphone was a hell of a lot easier than finding a TV to jump into. At first, he wondered if he'd just have to kill time some other way, being unable to catch up, but then, a beacon of hope presented itself in the form of a single GPS signal appearing on the tracking app, and like that, he was in business. Next order of said business was to get to where the action was, right? Shouldn't be too hard, Sho thought as he closed the app and went to pocket his smartphone. Although, before that, another big difference between this place and the TV World made itself known... The reflection in his screen didn't show his face. Well, not all of it, anyway. At least half of it was covered by a golden layered mask, vaguely shaped like a crescent moon. The mask wasn't all, either; his entire wardrobe had changed! A black cloak with a touch of red in the center, billowing in the wind, the underside striped with white, with the pants and sleeves following the same pattern, not to mention the gloves… -- (edited)

3:46 AM

It was almost like he was cosplaying Tsukiyomi. All he was missing was the mohawk made from black fire, although that probably wouldn't be so easy to replicate in real life— wait, hold on, he was totally getting sidetracked! Back to the task at hand, saving Hanamura. Damn, that guy just had the worst luck, didn't he…? After finally pocketing his phone and making sure he'd had his swords at his back, the red-haired walking pun machine took a few more moments to admire his new threads, striking a few dynamic poses for good measure. God damn, he looked good, if he did say so himself. "Man, I dunno how, but I'm totally thready for this!" He cackled excitedly, desperately wishing someone had been around to hear him say that. Okay. Swords? Check. Sweet-ass threads? Check. Personas? Check. Repertoire of puns? Check. Time to get down to business. The streets had been mostly empty, with only the howl of the wind for company; at least, until Sho could spot a huge horde of Shadows barreling down the street towards a group of people in equally weird-but-cool outfits to his. He didn't recognize a whole lot of them, save for the familiar head of gray hair dressed in what looked like a white suit. Was that him? It'd probably make sense if it was, but there was no sense in mulling that over at the moment. He broke out into a sprint, swords practically flying out of their scabbards as he splayed his arms out to the side with a grin. Underneath the mask, he could feel that familiar tingle in his scar; his Personas wanted a piece of that action just as much as their master did, and he was all too happy to oblige. "Yahoo!" Sho exclaimed to punctuate a high leap into the air, right over the heads of the others; flipping and readying for the strike on his descent, the target being the first Shadow unlucky enough to have rushed too far ahead of its pack. Its eagerness was its downfall, as Sho's blades flew out in an "X" motion to slash it into fourths. The man's bloodthirsty grin widened as he stood from his landing, briefly looking over his shoulder back at those the Shadows had been charging for. "Sup," He said simply. With that, he'd turned his attention back to the Shadows all too eagerly. It'd been a good while since he saw this many in a condensed crowd; Sure to be a damn good warm-up, at the very least! "It's Sho-Time!" He shouted, as if to proudly announce his presence to the entire realm, to whatever God or demon was in charge of it. Not subtle at all, but what about him ever qualified as subtle? As he let out his battlecry, his golden mask burst into blue flames to reveal the glowing scar underneath, and Tsukiyomi manifested behind its summoner, flying forward along with him to tear into its enemies. The two wasted no time in making a chaotic mess of dark magic and blades, cutting through a good chunk of the horde, but of course that wasn't all there was to it. When one fell, two probably sprouted in its place, but Sho was perfectly fine with that; he was more than fine with it. A great entrance into a great fight. What more could he ask for, really? (edited)

Well that was a LOT. His already summoned persona fought a little with the oncoming shadows but this sho guy really stole the thunder. "Who the fuck...?" He frowns a moment but then... then he grins. Ooh he likes this guy! He raises and arm and returns his first persona to call another. Vishnu the so called 'king' of personas, clad all in black, with gnarly claws on his hands, and a frightening face that looked like a fanged mask. "Let's go!" The persona would use Magnadyne and earth skill that made the very ground jut up and just stab and slaughter a ton of shadows, all while Naoya himself unsheathed a sword and got to slashing!

There it was. The shit had officially hit the fan. Wells of terror sprung up in Nozomi's gut as the shadows advanced on the group. Thankfully, much of the assembled team seemed acutely focused on protecting her, which resulted in her taking a couple panicked swings at anything that got close, but not actually making any contact. Then, something even more unexpected happened, a remarkably dramatic redhead came flying overhead and immediately went to work carving a path. Who the hell was that? Most everyone here she could surmise was a user in the chatroom, but was there someone she wasn't aware of? She unfortunately didn't have much time to ponder the idea however, as she took another swing at whatever was moving out of the corner of her eye.

As if this trip couldn’t get any weirder, the voice of an all-too-familiar voice came crashing through with an overly dramatic arrival. Yu felt his chest tighten at the sight, eyes widening as they fell onto the redhead. Why was he here too…? Now wasn’t the time to start asking questions. They could fill each other in once the action had calmed down, Yu holding out his hand for a glowing card that appeared in front of him. “Futsunushi!” As the name was shouted, the silver deity sprung into existence, swords dancing around them as they sat as stoic as ever. With the gesture of King’s arm, the bladed weapons flew through the air, slicing and skewering any shadow that came in their path. The precision wasn’t exactly ideal, only skimming past a few or doing minimal damage. It may have been easier if he had simply used some of his Personas’ more impressive skills, but they shouldn’t have been wasting their energy so early on. They had no idea how long this venture would take, or how difficult the journey would be from here on. Having only a few recovery items on him due to the last minute nature of his arrival, King wasn’t exactly taking his chances. Still… Nozomin needed to be protected as much as she could, and they couldn’t keep their eyes on her at all times to make sure nothing happened. As the swords returned to the floating being, he brought his hand up to greet another card, waiting for it to lower into his hand before making his next order. “Magatsu-Izanagi!” In a flash, the calm, dignified deity had been replaced with one with a much more chaotic, sickening energy. Yu gestured towards the idol, causing a barrage of colors to surround her as he casted Heat Riser. At the very least, she hopefully wouldn’t be taken out by a few stray shadows, but to provide some extra protection, he rushed closer to her while Magatsu-Izanagi went towards the largest group of shadows, slashing and stabbing with a maniac energy that Yu simply had to turn his head to.

Attacks as such were suitable to part the sea of this hoarde, no doubt. While these shadows may have appeared ravenous- this far out... Their sheer anger easily outmatched their strength- as blows would begin to wipe them out left and right. Skewered, electricuted, it was all the same. Numbers dwindling, despite it seeming like they just kept coming. 4, 8, 16.. they had a habit of switching positions to make this assault seem relentless. While the outer circle got tighter and tighter. This was just a pressure test, after all. How prepared were they...? The further in they went.. the less he would have to interfere like this... His gaze finding itself falling to one of the openings in the buildings. A clear path that the shadows emerged from. That labyrinth... won't be so easy to deal with. Let alone what lay beyond it. And yet he watched eagerly, ever the same. Even with that gaze bound to a form... or not. Perhaps the intuition of the wildcards here would pick up on that...? The fact they were being watched...? Used as little more than entertainment...? The figure watching from afar would promptly turn away from the conflict, before disappearing into the darkness below, jumping from the buildings to be enveloped in the shadows that waited underneath... Selfish desire had his own preparations to make, after all. (edited)

Ryoji-- Muse-- stepped back behind Nozomi as the shadows started to pour out over the battlefield. He clicked his tongue, knowing he would be useful destroying the hoard, but didn't want to steal the show from the others. He'd stay support for now. He holds up a hand, thinking the words in his mind: Moonless Gown. He doesn't have to speak them, doesn't have a persona. He supposed he could make the image of one appear if he wanted, but he'd like to think over what he wanted first. A shimmering veil appears over the party, keeping them safe for a small window it time. Mostly, he wanted to make sure Nozomi-Chan wasn't harmed. "Stay close, I'll keep you safe."

The redhead let out an impressed whistle as the other two wildcards entered the fray, Personas emerging one after another to carve a path through the ever-growing horde. Tsukiyomi was always reliable from the day he'd inherited the Persona, allowing for a lot of mobility on top of the speed already at Sho's disposal. Not to mention its power was nothing to sneeze at, especially with its user's newfound mastery of his power. Having said that though, where was the fun in only using one of his repertoire? He couldn't exactly let himself be upstaged right when he'd made his entrance, right? "Wow, you guys sure are pissed, aren'tcha?" Sho snickered after skewering one more Shadow lunging for him, another cluster coming for him not a second later. "Fine by me. I got just the thing to help ya cool off! Black Frost!" With another pun to preface his next attack, the wicked counterpart of Jack Frost appeared in place of Tsukiyomi, letting out a cackle as the group of Shadows charging him were engulfed in winter, frozen in place by a Mabufudyne. "Tsukiyomi!" Sho called his main Persona back out for the followup, slashing the Moon card apart. The moon god emerged once more to finish off the frozen Shadows, his blade of black fire extending as he sliced the row of them apart. Sho exhaled as he looked ahead, before what seemed to be some type of shining barrier fell over the group of Persona-users. As much as he was thrilled to keep up the fight, maybe it'd be smart to let the rest of them know he was on their side...y'know, just in case the fact that he was killing Shadows alongside them wasn't enough. "Sorry if I startled anybody," Sho turned to face the group with a toothy grin. "I got here a lil' late, but I'm totally on your side, promise!"

Again, a lot happened and Naoya did his best to keep track... at least enough to avoid hurting any comrades during the fray. Vishnu fiercely tearing into enemies as Naoya did the same with his sword- until... a reprieve. A comforting, protective, veil. He would pause and look to the rest of the party and then to Sho as he spoke directly to them. "Dunno who the hell you are but with skills like that I'm glad your here!" He gives a big grin. More help rescuing Yosuke is always good!

Ugh, how long had they been walking for…? Felt like hours since they’d gotten in there, searching tirelessly for further entrances to the inner layers of this weirdass shadow sanctum. Of course the path they took last time had to be completely inaccessible—Not that he really expected it to stay the same, seeing how much even the outside had shifted over his visits. Still, would've been nice to not have to wander aimlessly in hopes of finding an entry point around the dividing walls. Least they didn’t have to deal with hordes of shadows coming for their asses. Sure, there were a couple rough patches here and there, but, for the most part, they’d been met with relatively little resistance… Way too little resistance, all things considered, especially compared to his first visit. Alarms would’ve already been going off in his head around that alone, but the theory with growing evidence about the place’s creator left him with a pit in his stomach that wouldn’t go away. Course, he wouldn’t let that show, doing his best to keep up a casual energy while leading everyone around. Not that he really wanted to do that shit, but he was the only Shadow Operative field agent in the group, and he probably had by far the most experience studying the place, so it was a position he reluctantly slipped into, much to almost everyone’s dismay. But, hey, they were alive so far, weren’t they? Nothing had gone wrong, somehow, and Adachi would have preferred to keep it that way. Luck was destined to run out at some point, though, and that was coming to a head when they’d finally come across an opening to the fourth entrance. Already, something was off about it as they’d approached, Adachi giving a light gesture for the group to stay back slightly as he made his way over. From the looks of it, there was… Fog… Red fog.

8:32 PM

Not a good sign already, but actually getting a glimpse into the place gave something much more sickening. That floor. That goddamn fucking floor. He could still recall his blood being splattered across it, lingering pain shooting through his spine at the thought. “...Crescent, Ursa.” No attempt to glance back towards the pair, eyes transfixed on the ground while past memories rushed through his head. Part of him almost wanted to tell Sho to head back, knowing that the shit running through his head couldn’t have been a tenth as bad as what would be rushing through the kid’s, but even if he tried to push him away, it’d only make him more persistent to see it. Dumbass brat… Just had to be honest, he guessed, even if the truth wouldn’t be damn pretty for either of them. “You aren't gonna like what's in here. Looks like the P-1 Climax had its grand return.” Pounding at his head made it clear that Magatsu-Izanagi was just about ready to force himself out of Adachi’s head, whether the man wanted him to or not. Fuck, really, now…? Maybe he was just feeling too much. Emotions and that thing didn’t mix well… Really, emotions and him in general weren’t a great pair. He’d just have to suppress them for now, and worry about all of that ‘feeling’ later. “Naoya-san, keep Nozomi-kun and Ursa safe behind.” Now, if that idiot would stay in the back was another thing… Hopefully he wouldn’t abandon his partner, or whatever the hell they were. He’d never been able to figure out either one of those weirdos. Guess in that way, they were perfect for each other, as much as they annoyed him. Wasn’t like that mattered much, as long as it kept Naoya-san following orders. Bigger fish to fry than the obsessively friendly Nanjo golden child and… Well, whatever the hell Teddie was.

8:32 PM

“Crescent, up with me.” Hah, he almost sounded like a leader with those sorta directions. Wasn't nothing more than trying to be strategic. Key word on try. God knew it was damn near impossible to lead this circus troupe around—Why he couldn't get stuck with at least Yu-kun instead of Sho or Naoya-san was something that could only be answered as his karma once again biting him in the ass. Though, it probably was best that Sho stayed by his side, if their theories were right. Piece of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi in Sho like Izanami in him… Pretty weirdass thing to think about, but unlike his shitty ass deity, the punk’s had to be more than eager to get that part of him back. Only a matter of time, especially in a place like this. As long as he’d been at Sho’s side, it’d be okay… Hopefully. Ugh, why was he second guessing himself now? It was just like any other mission… Except for the fog that threatened to suffocate him and the not-so-great memories that had begun to resurface at the sight of that garish floor patterning. …Was he actually freaking out? Wasn’t like he’d let it show on the outside, but it was getting harder and harder to breathe, eyes fixated on the glowing ground. Shit. He had to physically shake his head out of those thoughts before they overtook him. Being distracted would only cause more problems for them, especially if it meant Magatsu-Izanagi acting out of his control. “Keep close, got it?” Didn’t need an answer, all things considered. They both knew why he’d be giving that sort of direction, but still, no harm in elaborating. It’d at least help his growing nerves to restate all this shit to Sho, even if he felt that he had to lower his tone. “And don’t let your guard down. He knows that we know.” Something was going to go down, he knew it. Just what had yet to be seen, but there was no way in hell they were avoiding that piece of shit’s wrath for much longer.

Saori had been waiting here for what felt like hours. It probably wasn't but not having a reliable way to tell the time in this place was proving to be quite irritating. Even she had never found herself quite this deep in her master's domain. To tell the truth, if this had been her initial landing point, she probably would have been considerably more afraid. As it stood, the blessing of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi prevented any actual averse effects of the environment, though the oppressive red fog still managed to weigh on her in one form or another. It seemed no matter where she went, the atmosphere was lonely and choking. Now, for the umpteenth time, she went over her objective here. She knew all about the chat members' plan to investigate this world. They were aiming to get to the source, splitting into teams. It was smart. At least, as smart as it could be for having the gall to discuss it in a public forum, in plain view of their target. Perhaps this would serve as a lesson in caution then. But her role in this, she was told, was vital. Her handler had instructed her to intercept one of the two teams in this fourth layer. Close enough to the center that His influence was strongest, far enough from the fringes that there was little chance of escape. From there, she was to separate them, divert them, lead them astray. Specifically, she was charged with the blonde one, though the red haired one was also of import. But while her master handled him, she was to focus on leading the blonde one as far from the others as she could. Isolate them, she was told. She was unsure as to why this was necessary, but she was loathe to upset a god. To this end, she'd let open a crack in the sanctum to allow them through. This way, they could believe they had found it on their own, but this singular, well-laid trap would be their undoing. .

10:25 PM

Finally, she caught movement down below. From her perch above, her sight cut through the fog with ease, picking out the five intrepid adventurers as they wandered into this domain. Interesting, she thought. She had expected Viper to be a part of this "Shadow Ops" organization, but he seemed to be taking a leading role in this team judging from their marching order. Shortly behind him was the redhead. Hm, it may prove difficult to force them apart when they were so close, but she would manage. After them was an older man. She could hazard a few guesses as to who that could be, but refrained from making assumptions for the time-being. Then, pulling up the rear, they had a lanky brunette that she recognized from the fiasco of Hana's rescue team. That was Hana's idol friend, the one who had gained her ability that very night. Fascinating that she seemed to have already integrated herself into this lifestyle. And finally, the blonde. That was her primary target. .

10:25 PM

To start, she simply trailed them from a safe distance. From her position, it was immensely unlikely that she would be spotted. The distance, darkness, and fog would all do to hide her from sight. She waited until they had all reached a suitable location before springing the trap. At her beck and call, a multitude of powerful shadows clawed their way out of the darkness, making their way to attack. She was certain it was a challenge they could all overcome, and that was by design. She didn't want any severe misfortunes to befall anyone after all. No, the shadows were merely a means to distract. Then, once they had all gotten into suitable positions, phase 2 of the trap was sprung. On her whim, great labyrinthine walls began to emerge from the ground between them. Too tall to climb, too thick to fell, that was the hope. But now with each locked in their own piece of the maze, it was time for phase three. Kagutsuchi would handle the redhead, and the other three were of no concern. their corridors would eventually lead them back together. For the next part of her plan, she moved down to the blonde's path. Saori could see them at the start, and so she hopped down into the labyrinth herself, landing at the far end of the corridor just before the first turn. Hood up, mask covering all but her lips, and spear gripped in one hand, she looked down the way at the other. Once she was certain she'd been seen, she brought up her free hand, and gestured with one finger to follow. After delivering that message, she stepped around the corner and out of sight. All she had to do now was lead them away. Simple.

A whisper in the darkness, presence swelling. That hatred, that malice- tangible in the air itself. An unmistakable feeling. Speaking- calling- here, isolated within his domain; would selfish desire claim what was HIS. And HIS ALONE. How the deity had longed for this, how liberating it would be. No, not simply the act of reclamation, but what this had all been for- he could contain it no longer. Voice resounding through this place; Kagutsuchi would laugh. But it wasn't just that alone, an announcement to all, a confirmation of the theories, and fears they had shared. And to Sho, a threat.. as a vaguely human figure appears from the tide of shadows that approach, crawling down the walls, emerging from the floors... a shadow nest, through and through. And at the heart, well. They would already know. "...You were bold to return to this place." Lingering on that last word, he claps. Each word marred with distortion, venom oozing from his tone, his very presence. Motions slow, each collision of that shadow puppet's hands deafening. Provocative in nature, and intention. "So certain, you'd triumph. And yet... You knowingly have given me what I needed." The shadows echo this sentiment, laughter erupting from the crowds that surround. Willed by their master to join in chorus. All cogs in a machine. All puppets within this theater- not unlike the humans who had foolishly and the stage, now set. Scribe had done as asked- wonderfully so. A masterful actress, no doubt, with that sharp mind and control... And he hadn't a doubt in his mind. This would end how he saw fit. The flies were wrapped up in his web, all he need do was feast upon the spoils.

For all the differences in the way Phlegethon appeared, that sickening sensation never seemed to change– at least not for the better. As much as Sho could lie for the sake of everyone else and say he wasn't worried, that everything would go just fine and they'd beat the bad guy like always; the simple truth of it was that even he was nervous. Terrified, even. In spite of his best efforts to keep a cool front, every minor Shadow that popped up in front of him was decimated with haste and desperation as if they'd been fighting a cornered animal. There weren't enough of them, nothing like the numbers that appeared when Yosuke was taken. On the surface, maybe that was a good thing, less of those assholes getting in the way and all, but… something else was down here, instead. He could feel it. No denying it now– that "signal" he felt himself being almost pulled towards, it was him. Hell, it was all the more obvious when the group got to the fourth layer's entrance. In a conscious effort not to shake, both of Sho's hands gripped the hilt of his blades like a vice. No time to be nervous. No time to overthink. He wanted this. If that fucker was gonna pop up now, all they needed to do was hit him with everything they had and he'd be dust along with this hellhole he created. Serves him right.

6:14 PM

"Yeah. Figures." He spat out bitterly in his response to Adachi, keeping a glare fixed into the fog. As long as he focused on the anger, he could ignore the way this place made him sick. He wondered if Kagutsuchi sensed him, too. Who was he kidding, of course he did. No way in hell he didn't, right? That suited Sho just fine. All the better, if he knew. They had unfinished business, and whatever else happened, Sho was going to make sure that bastard knew every bit of the pain he'd caused him all those years ago. "Aye-aye, captain," Out came what would probably be one of the few dry remarks he'd be able to muster up today as Sho moved up ahead alongside Adachi. Looking at him now, he couldn't help wondering if the other was trying as hard to keep himself collected as he was– but knowing Adachi, he was probably just thinking about how badly he wanted to be literally anywhere else. Typical Adachi things. "Yeah, no shit. He's close by, I know it. Probably waitin' for us… you ready?" Whether he got an answer from Adachi or not, they wouldn't have much more time to shoot the shit. In fact, the shit in question had hit the fan in record time– at least, according to the swarms of Shadows suddenly popping up. Great, now that asshole decided to send in the cavalry? Oh, well. Nothing for it but to wipe them all out.

6:14 PM

It should've been easy. That is, until it wasn't. It took as little as two seconds of the team's focus being on the enemy rather than each other for everything to go straight to hell. One second, Sho had been slicing them up by the half-dozen, then the next, those fucking walls had sprouted up out of nowhere! What the hell?! "Fuck, fuck, fuck–" Sho hissed to himself as his head whipped around the space he'd suddenly been trapped inside. "Viper! Ursa! Anyone?!" He shouted into the darkness, to no avail. As his gaze darted back to the wall, he took a deep breath. Okay. Obviously, he wasn't going to find anybody quick enough just by scrambling around in the dark, closed in by the walls. All he had to do was break them. Easy. Sho held the Persona card in his palm, ready to summon Yoshitsune to carve it open… and then he heard a voice. A laugh, to be more specific. A very familiar laugh, one that caused Sho's blood to run cold. That motherfucker. Alright, then. Change of plan. Sho turned from the wall to face the hordes– facing down their mastermind, always so goddamn pleased with himself. "Shoulda known you'd pull some shit like this, you bastard," He glared at Kagutsuchi's humanoid form, leveling his blade towards the deity. "You're lookin' a little slimmer than when I last saw ya. You miss me?" Better than most everyone, Sho knew just how fucked the situation he was in had gotten. For all the power he'd gained, there probably wasn't any chance of him taking out Kagutsuchi alone, even weakened. Of course, that didn't mean Sho wouldn't give it as good of a try as he could. Not that he really had much of a choice but to keep a brave face, and keep Kagutsuchi busy until someone else could pinpoint his location… Maybe that'd work if he made enough noise. Only one way to find out, right…?

Well, this sucked. Maybe that wasn’t the best summary. But it was true! They were walking and walking and walking and all they were getting for their trouble was the occasional shadow to beat up. Boo! Teddie was well aware of the tenseness at least Sho probably had to be feeling here, and maybe Adachi too? They knew the deity laying at the end here, after all! For himself, though…. he didn’t like the other, of course. He was still mad about the whole stuffing him in a locker and then stealing his face ordeal. But knowing the enemy was one they’d beaten before (or at least, that Se-Yu did) was pretty reassuring! And so far, the fog wasn’t even that bad. His nose felt tingly, but the sneezing wasn’t that bad right now. He could still at least smell the others! A definitive improvement! Swishing her little cape thing-ey around (they’d gotten outfits! How cool!) she decided she was just going to make the most of it. She was with Naoya-san! That was neat! And they were walking after Adachi! …Decidedly less so. Who made him leader again?… That seemed like a bad idea. Why would the Shadow Operatives— Oh, maybe that’s why. They were a big, shady, operation… definitely the type to be secretly evil in the movies. Nodding to herself, them making Adachi an important leader man would make sense! Hmmm! Before she could daydream any further, Adachi calling snapped him right back to reality. And the moment she saw what was ahead, she grimaced. Fog. No!! Nooo!!! This was exactly what she was hoping to avoid!! “I… don’t think I’m gonna be able to be much use smelling anything anymore from here…“ Not that her nose had been great before, but still.

11:11 AM

Keeping close to Naoya as they entered, the fog hit just as badly as he feared. All sense of where the others were around him was gone- and his nose felt really really really tingly now. Oh no, Nozomi! She was new to this, wasn’t she? If this was unpleasant for them, it wouldn’t be any nicer for her! Turning towards her with a smile, he tried sounding as cheery as possible. “It’s okay! As long as we stick together we’ll be impawssible— imp-“ Oh no. “ACHOO!!!“ …..Yuck. Stunned from the sneeze for a couple seconds, she shot back up when she remembered she’d been in the middle of a sentence. “Impawssible to defeat!“ Well, that definitely ruined the impact of that a little. For better or worse, she couldn’t contemplate that failure for very long. Suddenly there were shadows everywhere. Jumping back with a shout, she summoned her persona as a reflex. Rather then calling out an attack, though, all she managed was another loud sneeze as the persona pitifully faded out of existence again. The sneezing turned into a whole sneezing attack, yet somehow none of the shadows actually hurt her. A miracle! It… actually sounded a lot quieter now? Did the rest already take care of them? That was fast. And then she looked up. Oh. “…AAAGH!“ That wall had NOT been there before! Did she sneeze it into existence?!?! No, wait, that didn’t make sense- that never happened before! But then how did it?- “Naoya-saaaan! Nozomi-saaaaan!!!!!!!!!“ Banging on the wall, she couldn’t hear anything. She couldn’t smell anything either! Aaaah! “Sho-Sh- ACHOO— …NAOYA-SAAAAAN!!!!!!“

11:12 AM

Right, this wasn’t getting him anywhere. Maybe… Maybe he could go around? That sounded like a somewhat decent plan, right? Go around, see if he could find the others- and otherwise he’d just teleport out of here. He could do that! Turning around, the last thing he expected was someone waiting for him. Gone as soon as they appeared after ominously gesturing at him. That was… definitely the start of every horror movie ever. Taking a step back, he was only hit with the wall behind him. ….But wait. Hadn’t… Last time with this specific deity…. hadn’t there been illusions to turn people against eachother?… Maybe…. Maybe this other person was also lost, and to them, he’d been acting strange. That was plausible! Right? It was at least a much more comforting thought that being alone with a serial killer, or something. “Naoya-saaan! Nozomi-saaan! Anyone! I’m, uhm, gonna go look for a way around! I’ll be back!!“ With that he turned and ran after where the mystery person had left. It was the only direction to go anyhow and maybe the others were nearby! Besides, he’d been a mystery person in a shadow world once too. He couldn't really judge. Yes, the more he thought about it, they could probably definitely be friends. Oh, that was wonderful! Now he wouldn’t even be alone here until he found the others. Treasto-ing could wait, he had a person to catch up to!! “Helloooooo!! Sir! Ma-aaaaam!!! Wait up! We can get out of- ACHOO- We can get out of here together! Wait for meee!“

This was the third time ol' Naoya had been to this hell hole.. but the first time in a while (aside from Kei) that he'd be taking orders from someone else. He wasn't too fond of it. But he'll comply anyway, team work is important... plus he wanted to stay back here and protect the others anyway. The place was about as suffocating as the last two times... but he felt like a chunk of his team was even more on edge than him... probably 'cause of that suchi guy. He had no experience with the deity but he'd heard enough to know the last encounter was awful. If given more time he may have even tried to comfort Adachi and Sho when he sensed just how stressed this all was making them. He certainly gave Teddie a pat on the shoulder and multiple 'bless yous' at his sneezes. "Right! We'll be fine if we work together!" He'd add after ted's impawssible comment. Alas... a bout of shadows showed up. Naoya being quick to summon Vishnu and plow through some enemies.. but with focus on the battle over it was soon clear they'd been separated and fallen right into the hands of some big bastard. Great. "Why you...!" He'd glare at the shadows echoing the deity's voice, pissed this son of a gun took his companions out from under him again. "Ted! Viper!? Nozo! Sho..!!" He forgot some of the codenames in his attempt to call for them... and when no answer came he'd direct his persona to smash a massive axe through one of the walls... only to find, very shockingly, another wall. "FUCK!" He kicked the ground in frustration... (and perhaps anxiety, he was the type to hide fear with anger.) Looks like he's stuck as a rat in a maze... though he may have broken down another wall or two on the way toward.. wherever the path led.

Nozomi was practically quaking in her boots as they marched through Phlegethon, or whatever this place was called. She was always so bad with other languages, and that name definitely wasn't Japanese. No matter the name however, she was equally terrified. Even worse was that everyone else seemed to be on edge as well, and that was only heightening her anxiety. She needed to do something to keep herself grounded. As they walked, she made an attempt to summon up the confident façade she knew was hidden somewhere inside her. A few deep, steady breaths, and she could feel herself begin to slip into that comfortable skin that was Nozomin. Her expression hardened and posture straightened. From the outside at least, she carried herself like a totally different person. She was of course still nervous, but she was able to quell it for a time. Being scared was for Nozomi. The confident idol Nozomin wouldn't be shaken the same way. She listened closely to Viper's instructions throughout the expedition, making sure to follow them to the letter. She didn't quite care for how bossy he was, but she was loathe to defy the advice of someone who actually knew how to navigate these situations. She wasn't that stupid. The fourth layer, that was where they were headed to now. From the very little that she'd been able to glean, that would be the furthest anyone had gone, and they were flying blind from here on out. Wonderful. It was somewhat fitting in that regard that this layer was also covered in a thick, choking fog. Even then, she managed to keep up that confident stride. As long as she was with the group, she had nothing to be worried about. She was even relaxed enough that she was able to let out a little groan at Teddie's joke, the shape of a sweat drop displaying itself on the side of her mask in exasperation. .

2:38 AM

That was about when all Hell broke loose. Shadows attacking from all directions, just a deafening cacophony of combat as everyone leapt into the fray. Still, Nozomi managed to keep her cool. Her head was on a swivel, pulling up her shield to block and swat away attackers, blasting them with Peter Pan, then laying down protective barriers on the others. As relatively well as things were going at the moment, something was surely about to go wrong. Being so focused on protecting the others, Nozomi was perhaps the only one looking to see the walls start to rise from the ground... And her heart dropped into her stomach. Enhancing her own speed, she attempted to sprint for Teddie, seeing them still caught in their sneezing fit. But it just wasn't enough. The wall grew high enough that there was no way over just as she had reached it, hands pressing into the surface to brace and stop herself from crashing into it entirely. That was when the façade started to slip away. The gnawing panic seeped back into the forefront in her mind as she came to the terrifying realization that she was alone. "No... no, nonono, shit, FUCK," she slid her hands all across the wall, looking for something, anything that might let her get through. She didn't even care if she ended up with Viper, she just needed someone with her right now. "Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Her fist slammed into the wall, hoping for all the world that it would just fall over at the strike. When it didn't, her breathing got faster. Her hands clutched at the side of her head, and her breathing got faster. She turned, putting her back against the wall, and her breathing got faster. She had to get a grip. She was hyperventilating now, and that was going to get her killed. It took a minute, but she did manage to slow her breathing. Now wasn't the time to lose it. She needed to find the others and get the hell out of here. And with her determination sealed, she took her first few hesitant steps down the corridor.

Seemed like everything was gonna go fine, at a glance. Sure, the fog certainly wasn’t the greatest addition to the party, nor that stupid fucking floor patterning that looked like it came out of some shitty scifi anime, but things had been peaceful so far, so maybe it wouldn’t be any different now. They could have caught the owner of the place while he was busy with something else, and maybe they’d be able to make it to the center of everything without having to worry about any sort of resistance. But Adachi had known better than to trust things just from the cover, especially not with something as nefarious as Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. They weren’t outsmarting him—He was just waiting to take them by surprise, and this place was clearly going to be his ‘grand entrance,’ or whatever the hell his obnoxious, snobbish ass wanted to call it. They were way too open in the group chat about it for him to let it go by unnoticed, so the worst was inevitable, but he had thought that there would be some way to prevent him from getting his desires. Ain’t like luck ran in any Persona user’s veins, though, and this was no goddamn exception. Sight of shadows had made the elder desperate to stay close to his fellow deity fragment holder. A surprise attack wasn’t unexpected, and aided to the idea of just what Hi-no-Kagutsuchi had wanted. It was a drastic, yet predictable, play, considering how things had gone thus far. Really, did he think that was going to work…? …Cockiness had always been his downfall, and this had been no different. Sure, shadows were easy and predictable. Anyone could have guessed that a horde was destined to descend upon them and try to swallow them whole and separate them to make them weaker. What he hadn’t expected were the walls that had even begun to divide him and Sho, as close as he’d tried to stay to the kid.

3:50 AM

Shit… He’d tried to keep close to Sho, hoping to end up on his side of the wall by the time they’d arisen, but between the swirling sea of black goop and the distance that had begun to be put between him and the youth made that damn near impossible. Wasn’t like he didn’t try—Hell, he hadn’t even though twice before trying to rush through the wall of dangerous as hell enemies consuming the area around them, but, no matter how much effort he put into trying to close the gap, the walls were much faster than he ever could, hand colliding with the wall after he caught one final glimpse at the redhead. The palm that had come into contact with the goddamn wall had promptly turned into a fist, reeling back slightly before pounding back against the cold surface. Certainly wasn’t a pleasant feeling, and maybe if he weren’t in this situation, he’d have stumbled back and yelped out some acknowledgement of pain. Now, it just felt… Numb. Tried so hard to be smart, like he could somehow outplay a deity in his own realm. Was he really that fucking stupid…? That lack of feeling had gone away when that annoying ass voice started up. It’d been all too familiar, and now that gap in his heart had been filled with nothing but a burning, seething rage. “Ugh, you’re such an annoying brat…” Wasn’t like his words were reaching Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, considering how preoccupied that thing was. Wasn’t like he really cared, either. He’d just been speaking that shit out into the air out of general frustration. “Can’t just stay the hell down when you lost, huh? That’s just being a sore ass loser!” Of course deities didn’t follow the same code of ethics. Adachi had learned to accept his defeat and play by the rules of society—This piece of shit didn’t have the conscience or self-awareness for that. All he wanted was to eradicate all living life for… Some goddamn reason. Did he even need a reason? Entertainment, excitement… Whatever the hell else. It didn’t fucking matter right now.

3:51 AM

Besides, didn’t have much more time to think when Magatsu-Izanagi was coming out to play. He hadn’t even realized what was going on before it was too late, the pounding in his head becoming unbearable until the gate broke, a pained, almost animalistic scream erupting from him as the thing broke free, hands darting to his hair as he stumbled back, pulling harshly at the strands as his brain was set alight. Fuck… That thing was out of his control, now, reacting purely on his overwhelming negative emotion rather than on his orders. It’d been tearing through shadows and walls in Sho’s direction mercilessly, giving its wielder no time to breathe as it sunk hit after lethal hit against damn near anything it saw. Found success against the disgusting creatures, but those walls… Not so much. Least, not from what Adachi was able to see, which, granted, wasn’t too much from how he could barely keep himself standing straight with how that thing was acting. Goddammit, he just needed to calm himself the hell down. There was no way he’d fall here of all places. He wanted to kill this damn asshole, not the other way around, but if he didn’t get his bearings, the latter was looking more likely. Come on, think, asshole. Had to be something, like… Like trying to navigate this damn maze, rather than tear through it. There was no chance of getting to the kid like that. Hell, knowing how Hi-no-Kagutsuchi rolled, there probably wasn’t a way to get to that punk at all. The only hope, as much as he didn’t want to admit it, was regrouping with the others. …Well, Naoya-san and Nozomi-kun. Ursa seemed to make it out just fine, and instead of waiting for them, seemed to be wandering off… Typical. Whatever, didn’t matter. At least he’d work to find the other two, and they’d get out of there. No need to worry. No need for his Persona to be going fucking insane trying to get to something that was near impossible to achieve.

3:51 AM

Oh, shit. He needed to inform the others about what was going on too, didn’t he…? Great, he sure was going to be earning brownie points for them when the team he was apparently in charge of had gone to shit so quickly… Ugh, whatever. Might as well as just get it over with, and see what they could do. “Oi, Star, Bard.” Must have seemed insane speaking out into the air like that, if not for that weird brain link shit that Rise-chan had going on. “Don’t panic, but we’ve got a bit of a situation.” Understatement of the century, but he needed to make sure he got a response before continuing on. Speaking all that shit into the void wouldn’t get them anywhere, and even if Star rightfully didn’t want to listen to him, he hoped that would at least get her attention momentarily, or connect him to Makoto-kun. After all, even if he was saying not to be anxious over everything, he couldn’t hide the slightly wavering worry in his tone and strain on his voice as Magatsu-Izanagi had continued to pound at the walls. It was taking everything in him not to howl in anguish or let out a pained laugh, gritting his teeth until he got any sort of response that signaled him to continue on. “Hi-no-Kagutsuchi’s fucking with Crescent, Ursa apparently left to go somewhere, and the rest of us are walled off.” Yeah, ‘a bit of a situation’. Totally. “I’m gonna try to regroup with Naoya-san and Nozomi-kun, but we could use some backup if you can still find us. Fourth area’s got a lot of fog and shadows disrupting shit, so hopefully the entrance hasn’t been shut. If it has… Well, guess that’s Bard’s decision to make.” Wasn’t like he particularly wanted to get left behind, but, hey, if that’s what the guy decided, then he’d find a way to get them out of there by himself. After all, Makoto-kun was the superior. He was the one who’d be calling the final shots at the end of the day, not him. He didn’t need the help, anyway—Never had, never would.

3:51 AM

“If I ain’t responding, default to Naoya-san.” Wasn’t like there was much of an alternative anyway, but if he and that thing didn’t calm down, he probably wasn't going to last much longer. Not that he'd ever admit it, something like that being as close as he’d get to implying anything like that. “Good luck, kids.” That was enough, wasn’t it…? Hell if he knew, and hell if he cared, either, keeping his balance on one of the partially intact walls while he began his stumble through the wreckage of what Magatsu-Izanagi wrought.

Lucky for him (maybe) it wasn't difficult to find Adachi after his persona also got destructive. Too bad things are looking so... grim. Ted was led astray and Sho got taken by the shithead shadow god. Which he's still pissed about, as you can guess. Falling right into an enemy's hands... sure the talking in the chat coulda been an issue but, hell, with the fact they may have moles anyway it didn't make much difference. "Hey." He'll try to speak... calmly once he finally got back with the other two. "You're..." he looks at Adachi. Dude looks like a fucking mess. And his persona is still out, too. The only bright side he can see is that it hasn't taken over and fused with his user. He takes a deep breath and looks over the immediate area. "We should go after Crescent first. I think I got an idea on how to find him quickly." Sho is in immediate danger so, as much as he's worried about Teddie too, they need to get to him first. "But... are you two up for this?" It's Nozo's first.. erm second! Mission. This can't be good on her nerves but sometimes you just gotta keep going despite it all... least that's what he does. Still he looks to both of his teammates with concern.

It wasn't a natural instinct to head toward the sounds of combat, but if she was going to meet back up with the others, she'd have to brave the storm. Thankfully, it wasn't too long before she ran into Nao and Viper. The sight of the latter stunned her for a moment, a quiet, "Shit," slipping out. He wasn't looking great, and the fact that his Persona was still out was worrying. She kept being told to watch out for him to begin with, and now she thought she was starting to see why. It was kind of a scary sight, and only once she saw Nao did she decide to move closer. Hesitation aside, this was the sort of situation where she really wished she had some of that healing magic that Teddie had. Viper didn't look physically hurt all things considered, but he still looked like he was in pain. The best she could do at the moment was be present for him. She listened to Nao's explanation, trying to focus on something other than her nerves. The idea seemed good on paper. If he knew where to go, that should be their starting point. She was really worried about Teddie though. Either way, she looked up at the older man and nodded solemnly. Words weren't her friend right now, but the least she could do was affirm her position on the team.

Ugh, could they stop looking at him like that…? Seriously seemed like they'd seen a ghost with how they were acting towards him… Sure, he knew he wasn't doing great, but they didn't have to acknowledge it. "'s fine—thing has a bit of a score to settle, I guess." Not that he was exactly surprised, all things considered—Magatsu-Izanagi loved to act on its own at times, especially when he got a little too overwhelmed or was feeling a little too much. Thing hated wild cards' Personas for whatever goddamn reason, and that mixed with a deity on the other side and Adachi's own hidden panic certainly wasn't doing anything to help the situation. …Really, thinking of it like that, it would've been a miracle if he could get the bastard to go away. Calming himself down wasn't gonna do much when there were pretty clear parties of interest right outside of its grasp… Fuck, really should have planned for that one before going in. At least Yu-kun and Makoto-kun knew how to deal with him after Magatsu-Izanagi had weighed on him a bit too much… These two were absolutely fucking oblivious to all that. Well, shit. Worst comes to worst, Naoya-san hopefully had the strength to carry him out of there… If he even cared enough to put that much effort into helping him, considering how dickish he'd been. Man, he really should have worked on that if he didn't want to get left for dead… …Later him could worry about that. For now, they just had to get Sho and Teddie-kun before rushing out of there, no matter the attitude he had. And it seemed like Naoya-san maybe even had a plan. Not that he was particularly sure he could trust whatever he had in mind, but considering his own state, the eldest's idea was probably the only one they'd have.

7:32 PM

"Guess I'll listen to ya this once." His accent was completely slipping now. It was either putting the effort to think about his words, or focus on not fainting on the spot. In this situation, the latter currently seemed preferable. "Just make sure it ain't anythin' too stupid. I don't follow idiots." Didn't exactly land with as much venom as it usually would have, words instead being accompanied with a wince while he struggled through. Man, he was getting really light headed… Least he had a few bead melons on him, having the motor capacity to navigate into his pouch and pop one into his mouth. Probably wouldn't last too awfully long, with how wound up Magatsu-Izanagi was, but at least it'd delay any bigger problems for the time being. "Stay out of its radius." Targeted towards Nozomi-kun, obviously. Even he knew Naoya-san wasn't oblivious enough to accidentally stumble into that thing's general area, but it'd probably be beneficial to give the girl a rundown, especially as he got a little more energy back. "It ain't gonna hurt you directly, but the piece of shit's still fussin' up a storm. Don't get caught up in the crossfire." Easier said than done, but, hey, least the word of warning would hopefully keep her from daring to get near it. Didn't need someone's head getting chopped off to add to the chaos.

Fine, eh...? he's not really buying that... but they gotta get through this together so he won't press the subject. He'll just pester Adachi about resting later, once they're all back. He'd give a nod toward the both of them. Seemingly unfazed by the insults, hell in a less dire situation he may have joked in response but now wasn't the time. He held himself with a far more respectable air rather than the casual, almost goofy, demeanor he usually had. A gaze that was calm yet sharp. He wasn't sure his plan was foolproof but it was the best he had and he was going to appear confident in it. "I'm not a navigator but I have a persona that should be able to help us locate the others faster." He'll glance over at Magatsu to be sure the big guy wasn't too close before summoning a persona of his own. A purple and blue humanoid, except the persona wasn't by himself. He was accompanied by three more creatures that seemed to be able to move independently from the main one. "Seimen Kongou's monkeys can go ahead of us and cover more ground, scout the enemies, find the dead ends, and so on. If they find Crescent or Ursa they can relay the location back. It should help us get to them and then get out as quickly as possible." Better then the three of them splitting up, his persona could do it for them and cover ground faster... hell the little things could probably scale the walls.

Something about Viper's accent slipping out made his threat seem a little scarier to Nozomi. She couldn't quite place why, maybe it was just the fact that it indicated some sort of strain on him. Regardless, when the warning came her way, she nodded earnestly. She didn't particularly want to get close to him right now anyway, but at least she didn't have to get close to shield him. Onto the next order of business however, Nao's plan. She watched in awe as the simians got to work. Man, these "Wild Cards" or whatever the others called them were impressive, huh? having more than one Persona seemed really useful. Not that she was dissatisfied with Peter Pan, but having options never hurt right? On that topic, her Persona could also fly, or at least levitate, and it was fast. She didn't know if it could go high enough to crest the walls, and she wasn't too confident in the idea of separating from it for too long. Felt weird to her. "C-Can we count on that if the walls change though?" It was the first she'd spoken since meeting up with the other two, but it was a question that immediately popped into her mind.

Huh… Monkeys…? Wasn’t really what he expected, but, hey, he wasn’t in any place to complain. Magatsu-Izanagi probably could get over the walls, but it seemed more invested in taking the stupidest, most painful path it could. Wasn’t even damn effective… Pretty sure it just wanted him to suffer at this point… Whatever, at least those little things actually seemed like they’d have some use, especially with how the older man had detailed. “Ain't half bad.” That was probably the closest thing Naoya-san would ever get to a compliment from him, eyes caught on the little creatures. Huh, did the other kids have something like that…? Prolly not, considering Sho would absolutely take any chance he could get to fuck around with a Persona like that, and how Yu-kun would probably stop in the middle of a dungeon crawl just to play with the little guys… Looked useful, but probably for the best that they didn’t get anything like that, for his own sake… …Ignoring the monkeys, even he could tell that something in Naoya-san had changed. Usually, he was obnoxious as hell, but now he was bearable. He’d actually been taking his job seriously—Huh, who knew he was capable of that? Wouldn’t catch Adachi complaining. Secretly, it was a relief to know someone had their shit together. Appreciated it a hell of a lot, considering the kid wasn’t exactly doing the best and he wasn’t in a state to be thinking too hard. Now, would he ever admit to any of that? Of course the hell not. Least he could do was try to explain shit to the newbie. Probably would help with the kid’s nerves, since they didn’t exactly need her hyperventilating in the middle of this disgusting ass glowing motel flooring.

5:28 PM

“Doesn't seem that they’ll be changin’.” A light cringe escaped him as he stretched out slightly, trying to get rid of any unnecessary tightness and stress on his body. Already had enough from that thing over there; didn’t need anything else just from his shitty worn out bones making a fuss. “Hi-no-Kagutsuchi's distracted—Long as he's fuckin' with Crescent, ain't gonna bother with us. We’re not the priority for him anymore.” Underestimating opponents had always been an issue of that deity, from what he gathered. For Adachi having killed him—or now seemingly just giving him a serious ass beating—before, he really didn't appear intent on taking him out now to avoid the same situation… Seemed stupid to him, but, hey, he wasn't the big spooky God. Maybe Hi-no-Kagutsuchi had his reasons. Or, maybe he was just stupid or too damn cocky for his own good. “Waitin' on those things monkin' 'round ain't gonna get us anywhere.” Well, maybe it would, depending on just how much damage Magatsu-Izanagi could do to the wall it was currently obsessed with reducing to rubble. Still, he didn’t like standing around and doing nothing in a time like this. Wasn’t like they needed those things to find the punk—If they could work well enough to block out his own Persona’s destruction, they’d probably be able to get on the right track. Sho and Hi-no-Kagutsuchi were both pretty damn loud. If they could get even a hint of the kid’s or stupid ass deity’s voice, they’d be on the right track. Well, that’s what he hoped. “Let's get goin' before the kid's not gonna be able to make it back.” That, or he passed the fuck out. Either option seemed pretty likely at this point, but he’d been hoping for neither, pushing past any sort of doubt in his mind as he pushed himself onwards towards the opposing tunnel which the two hadn’t come from, mustering as much power as he could to keep himself walking at a steady, brisk rate.

5:28 PM

Hopefully the logic there would be somewhat sound… Otherwise, they were pretty much fucked.