[Incomplete]

[boxes_shadows]

Who: The Special Extracurricular Execution Squad Mk II: Caim (undeify), Erielle (misdeify), Akihiko Sanada (boxes_shadows), Yosuke Hanamura (innerdiscofrog), Naoto Shirogane (ideating) and Angeal Hewley (divigate)
What: Sadako The mirror ghost is going down.
Where: Northernmost sector of town.
When: Soon after this and this.
Posting Order: Akihiko > Yosuke > Naoto > Angeal > Caim > Erielle or AS THE

Comments

[innerdiscofrog]

Yosuke still wished he’d brought something which wasn’t a wrench. A dagger, a kunai, anything which had an edge would be welcome, at the very least something which he hadn’t gotten from the same place he’d faced his Shadow...himself, the same place Saki-senpai had died. (It had been reassuring at the time: even though he knew she despised him, he could think of them as her last gift to him in a way, which was why he carried them long after everything was supposedly over. But in this place where things seemed to bleed together around the edges ever so slightly like watercolors running together, having those wrenches seemed like a very bad idea and he was going to think about something else.) He’d deal with that later.

He considered putting on his headphones, but somehow Yosuke got the impression that the mixed company wouldn’t exactly appreciate it. Call it intuition.

His bear was edgy...hell, all of their familiars seemed on edge, and not that he could blame them. This place was strange, wrong (then again, his familiar which seriously reminded him way too much of Teddie had somehow melded with Jiraiya, what the hell could be as wrong as that?) and just...off, somehow. He considered putting on his glasses, but something told him that wouldn’t do much good. (He made a note to try it later anyway.) And it was seriously just off, even if doing this sort of thing again felt...good. Risking his life, saving the world, that sort of thing.

He considered making a joke, but somehow Yosuke got the impression th--...oh hell. "You know," he noted to no one in particular (alright, alright, to Naoto) "It seems weird not having Rise cheer us on from the sidelines...she's a friend of ours." The latter was added for the others benefit more than anything else.

[ideating]

Naoto was glad to have her Persona back. To think, these familiars - the animals that appeared upon their arrival in Nuadoria - were capable of becoming a Persona. It was definitely useful in this case. Her raven flew over her head as she walked with her senpai, and while it didn't exactly look like Sukuna-Hikona (she wondered why it wasn't Yamato-Takeru, but regardless, it was still her Persona no matter what form it may have), she could tell it was. It was familiar, and she welcomed it.

She was loading bullets into her gun, even if such a thing wouldn't bring harm to the wraith in the mirror, she preferred to have a loaded gun on her in the case it was needed. She never went into battle unprepared, after all. Because of this, she had made sure to bring a good amount of bullets with her. While her Persona would be doing most of the fighting, she still needed to be prepared for whatever could be thrown at her.

She looked up upon hearing Yosuke speaking to her, nodding in agreement. "... You are correct. It is rather odd to not have her doing that. However, I would rather her still be in Inaba than in a place such as this. ... Of course, we can always imagine that she is cheering us on."

Not that it was hard. She could hear Rise's voice in her head, even if she wasn't there. Rise wasn't the only one she could hear, either - she could hear everyone from the Investigation Team. It was just an effect of the area they were currently in.

Naoto wasn't going to let that distract her from the task at hand, though.

/edits forever;;; sorry misread

[divigate]

The past several days had been taxing on Angeal. First the reappearance of Genesis, and then Sephiroth and their subsequent disappearances had left him more than a little concerned. Perhaps he should feel ashamed that they were still at the forefront of his thoughts when there was a murdering ghost terrorizing the city. Even as he offered to help, it was difficult to find the will to take action until he was made aware of those who had made the initiative.

Angeal assessed the group as they stood. Five of them. The looked about as old as they sounded, but it was encouraging to see their confidence and solidarity in the middle of everything. Behind the SOLDIER, his familiar kept a healthy distance. The gryphon, as he had been told to call it, was something he spent much of his spare time training during the past several weeks. However, lately it had refused to leave his side. Still, he was confident it wouldn't get in the way.

Even if he was older, he was careful not to appear condescending or order them around when they've already proven to do what no one else in the city was able to. Angeal looked to the others, and then to Caim. He hadn't personally met with one of the Magisters before and he was anxious to see his level of expertise. "What is your plan?"

OKAY WE GOT THIS.

[undeify]

He never should have talked to Dai prior to this (Too late, though, right? the voice pressures in the back of his mind to turn around, but he knows there isn't anyone there, especially not him. He's never there).

Caim gave the screen on his communicator one last fleeting look before speaking. "We'll be providing you with support," he replied, referring to Erielle. "They," nodding to the other three, "are on the offensive. I'm not sure if your familiar will have the same physical properties and abilities to attack intangible creatures, but we'll see. You do what you feel is best, I'm sure anything will help short of committing suicide. Erielle and I will make sure nothing happens to you. Just don't look it in the eyes." (Don't look it in the eyes and he doesn't, nor does he look to the one staring him down in silence that no one else can see.)

The Ice Magister went silent for a moment, looking to the four that had gathered. His expression softened, particularly towards the three. Reminiscent, really, of days gone by-did they understand how lucky they were to not be alone? To feel they could trust one another in a place like this? And, then, Angeal, too, someone who knew none of them but was more than willing to extend a hand. And it was funny and awful at the same time how Caim couldn't see beyond the veil of someone important draped over the SOLDIER's shoulders. He hated these parts of the city: as if he needed assistance in his insanity.

A small sigh, dragging along a ghost of an exasperated smile (He doesn't have time for this), before he nodded towards Erielle. "Get ready," he directed to the group, moving forward in approach to one mirror in particular. And if he could have found his voice right then, he might have said something more, but it was lost as he stared at his reflection. Anxiety, uncertainty on whether they'd pull through in time if she showed up, or whether she'd show up at all. Dai had mentioned a shift in the spirit's tactics, something he hadn't calculated into his plan and he sincerely hoped it didn't mean everything was now void.

And for a split second, as he furrowed his brow and reached to touch the mirror, he thought it was. A split second was all there was before things changed. One minute she wasn't there and then the next his arm was grabbed as the spirit pulled herself from the mirror to the side of him. And he couldn't help it, because this wasn't what he had been planning on, not what was supposed to happen, so he looked. There was no pain in his eyes, no immediate threat but her grip on him and her expression, but that was an expression he remembered all too well. Disappointment, disapproval, and he'd never realized how much he resembled his own mother until just then. And he never realized how much she mattered until she spoke (You're just as bad as he is, aren't you?), sending the crying of a girl piercing through his ears in recollection. His eyes narrowed.

The glass mirror shattered.

DO NOT LOOK AT ME.

[misdeify]

It was amusing, she thought to herself, that her brother probably knew these people more than she knew them. She was the sociable one, the proverbial butterfly, but there she was, rendered unable to put names to the four faces -- she had seen them, of course, having watched the network so carefully even when she was barely present, but as far as interacting went, that was next to none. But it was alright, wasn't it? It always had been. It wasn't like they wouldn't have the opportunity later on --

As of right now, though, they had more important things to do.

She barely even had the time to smile and incline her head for a small nod of acknowledgement (hi, hello, it's a pleasure rolled into one) before Caim told her to get ready. A split-second; that was all she ever needed. She watched him as he reached out for the mirror, as the spirit crawled right out, and -- that split-second couldn't have felt any longer than it did right there and then. Dai told her earlier, told her that she looked just like her very own mother, but it still wasn't enough to cushion the surprise. The way this caught her off-guard.

But she wouldn't let it detract her from what she had to do, so her own eyes narrowed, too. The incantations were already zipping across her heads, and formulating the words had never been any easier.

When the mirror shattered, everything happened in a blur.

One, she was holding on to Caim's arm, pulling him closer, dragging him back to safety, back to her just so he was close enough for the next move.

Two, the light that surrounded the both of them was so subtle you could have missed it.

Three, every other mirror around the area, around Nuadoria in general, started to break. Rapid succession; rata-tat-tat just like that, one after the other. "Stand back," was all she had to say before something was set up right in front of everyone else -- a barrier, plain and simple, to protect them from the explosion of glass pieces. It vanished just as soon as everything had calmed down, but now they had another issue to deal with. The spirit had been drawn out, didn't look too happy about it either, and that became even clearer when she dove after Naoto, ready to claw her eyes out.

Spirits like her were known for one thing, really: they hold grudges.

She never forgot the way you shot her first.

[boxes_shadows]

The days since Nyx had worn on him too much. There was too little to do; regular training had not been enough. Even after graduation day, when their memories returned and Akihiko recalled why and for whom he'd fought for, the only enemies to find anymore were in the ring. And it wasn't the same.

But if Akihiko didn't know what he was doing, Caesar did. His Persona was every measure the confidence and authority needed, to have his fingers find the grip of the Evoker and slip it with familiar ease from its holster.

Even amidst the shrill cymbal crash of sound in his ears, as the glass rained down on all sides of them, his vision picked out the movement of that creature into substance. He saw the long nails of her hands, death-pale, reaching, the younger Shirogane direct in her sights (look away from the eyes), and Caesar knew no hesitation. The warm barrel found his temple and a finger found the trigger.

The Evoker was not a natural means of summoning a Persona, and each time it was done it felt a little like plucking something from the hind brain and pulling it out through the side of the head. It wasn't pain, not exactly-- or if it was Akihiko had long since grown accustomed to the sensation. Nearer than sleep and familiar like a heartbeat; satisfying; a blood-warm exhale.

He could do this faster than the other two in calling theirs out, and that was the important thing. His senses cottoned and then opened wide, time slowing to an instant at the hooves of the stag clattering over stone came nearer and nearer and then ceased entirely. Little wisps of thought-form, the dark ether from which all Personae drew themselves, swirled around and crystallized in front of him, creating leg and torso and arms and hands. In one spun the globe of the Earth --maybe, not even the same one they stood on now-- and the other was born a sword, lifting high.

What would a whip of lightning across the ghost's knuckles do?

[ideating]

[ooc; Red and I switched places for this turn, so she's going next with Yosuke!]

Naoto reacted when she saw the spirit grabbing Caim. She only took a second to take aim and fire her gun. A split second later, the mirror shattered as the bullet crashed into it. It was time to fight, and Naoto was as ready as she would ever be. This time, she knew she could fight back and be successful. When the spirit dove for her, Naoto was already reaching for that spot in her mind where Sukuna-Hikona resided, she kept her mind as focused as possible. She was sure to keep her eyes averted, but could tell that the woman was approaching fast.

She wouldn't have time to call out her Persona. At least, she wouldn't have if Akihiko hadn't summoned his Persona and hit it with some lightning. There was no time to Mind Charge - a quick spell would have to do the trick, even if it wouldn't be as powerful as a Mind Charged spell.

"Persona!" She called out of habit as her raven dove towards the woman. The shape of the bird shifted, before turning into the ever familiar Sukuna-Hikona. It didn't take long before the bug-like Persona was casting its first spell. Megidola was a simple Almighty spell, but it was still capable of doing damage (although nowhere near the amount of some of the more powerful Almighty spells that she knew).

With the spell cast, a ball of light descended onto the spirit, before hitting the ground and exploding.

[innerdiscofrog]

((ooc; I hereby dub Debs 'Speedy.'))

At some point (as the mirrors shattered and the thing appeared) Yosuke pulled on his headphones once more…he wasn’t sure when it happened, but screw it. It came down to instinct, really, which way you jumped as all hell came crashing down, and him fighting without his music would be just as off as him waking up one day to discover that his Persona was Konohana Sakuya, cheerleader skirt and all. Bring the noise.

It was quick. (Look at its shadow, he reminded himself. Look at its feet. Anything which isn’t its eyes.) Fortunately, so was Akihiko, as lightning crashed and the familiar Sukuna-Hikona dove, Almighty energy cascading, and right behind the other two Persona users was Yosuke shouting, “Let’s go! Jiraiya!” The familiar shifted into his Persona, and Jiraiya lashed out with wind, a tornado buffeting the thing…it worked last time, right? (Though he didn’t really stick around to make sure, he had other things on his mind like ‘not get his eyes gouged out’ and figuring out how he did that in the first place.) He found himself…oddly relaxed as he realized part of him missed this feeling, falling into the rhythm of the fight and the music playing in his ears, his foot tapping to the beat.

He also found himself pissed. Innocents, strangers, people he didn’t know, but Naoto was part of the Investigation Team, part of Inaba, and somehow this all became rather personal.

[divigate]

The spirit must have anticipated them, but the others were prepared for the first attack. Angeal watched as the ghost grabbed Caim then a moment later glass shattered and it appeared yet again to charge Naoto before another deflected it. The spirit seemed to react to their attacks, at least, and for a moment he imagined their group would be enough to put an end to it.

The SOLDIER would have liked to have some Materia equipped, but since he was failing that, he drew his buster sword. He didn't want to use it unless absolutely necessary (would almost rather fight barehanded), but he would keep a sharp eye on the others, ready to jump in wherever he was needed. Behind him, he was aware of his familiar getting closer. It seemed attracted to the strange beings around him, eager to be useful. Angeal had yet to use it as a weapon himself, but perhaps it was time he learned to adapt.

He'd see to it that none of those gathered there were killed. No matter what abilities they had, they were too young, and he was far more willing to risk his life than any of theirs. However, he remained optimistic, and stood at the ready to see where it would attack next.