Night 51: Women's Bathrooms (F1-F40)

[avengingfists]

[from here]If anything was going to jump out at them here, at least Ilia would be the first one a monster would target. If Anise's artes were anything like Heraldry, she would need a little time to prepare before a spell could be cast against an attacker. Ilia, on the other hand, had terrific reflexes and could quickly begin a counterstrike.

Comments

[idontregret]

[from here]This wasn't a bad location for whatever demonstration Aigis had in mind. Heat didn't trust the restroom to be a safe location, not after what had happened the night he wasn't himself. Of course, if he was attacked tonight he'd just make a meal of the creature as he had before, and this time he wouldn't waste any of it. So really, an attack would only be to his benefit, even if it weirded out his friend

[no_dont_go]

Heat had been extremely patient with her, which made this much easier. She loved the comforting touch of his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. They moved quickly into the restroom, and Aigis cast about for a target. She didn't consider their differences in gender any more than Heat did--in her mind this had ceased to be a bathroom and was now merely a facility to be used for her experiment. And if they happened to run into any monsters here, so much the better for her to test Athena upon them

[idontregret]

There was that weapon. It was a gun, very similar in appearance to the one Serph used to fight with. He didn't know how she'd gotten a hold of it, and he hadn't made the connection between it and what the girl had been thinking of showing him. After all, how could it be any more than a weapon?

Heat nodded as she spoke, once again wondering how much her power resembled his own. He knew it wasn't so much a matter of potential - anyone infected with the virus would gain a demonic half. Some could handle and control the hunger better than others, it was true, but the virus didn't choose it's victims individually. How would things have been, he wondered, if that had been the case? It would have gone poorly for the ones left 'human' in the junkyard, that much was certain.

Then she raised the gun to her head, and the demon immediately reached out to grab her wrist and pull it away. That was a weapon! You didn't aim it at yourself! "What the hell are you doing?"

[no_dont_go]

The sudden pull on her wrist had been unexpected. Aigis gasped and stumbled but refused to let go of the Evoker. She also hadn't expected anger to suddenly flare up when Heat had been so quiet just moments before. Confusion registered on her face, but it didn't last long. He must have misread her intentions. She merely needed to explain the situation and then she could continue on without problem

[idontregret]

Shooting oneself in the head didn't seem like the proper way to go about summoning anything, even if Heat was unfamiliar with summoning in any form. He stared back at her for a long moment, clearly uncertain, before slowly releasing his grip on her wrist. He didn't like this, and no amount of explaining on her part was going to put him any more at ease with the notion of her pulling that trigger

[no_dont_go]

He was still reluctant, Aigis could see it in his eyes and feel it in the tension of his bearing, but he did release her. He could not understand, his logic would not let him. Or something else held him back. Fear, or anxiety. She would have to wipe away that impediment with her summoning ability. And she would

[idontregret]

Heat stared at the apparition. He'd seen many demons similar to it before, but not quite like it. It wasn't a demon, and he could tell that right away. He'd never seen anyone who could control a being like that - aside from perhaps Sera, and Sera was a special case. Aigis was definitely a unique individual, but they were very much different.

He'd been worried for her up until the very last moment, and when the impact knocked her head sideways his stomach sank nearly to his knees as he feared he'd just allowed her to actually shoot herself. But then it appeared it hadn't fired any bullets at all, and that being had come forward. If it could cause that much destruction, then it was certainly a useful tool... but it seemed to have worn out the summoner in the process

[no_dont_go]

As soon as the warmth of someone's arms surrounded her, Aigis felt her mind return to focus. Heat. He was the one who held her, and she had succeeded in summoning Athena. Her body, however, refused to cooperate with her. It was almost as though some of her processors had fried, making it impossible to move certain parts just the way she wished. She wanted to push up and take the weight off Heat, but her arms moved uselessly against his chest. Like she couldn't gain a proper grip, or she had somehow lost the ability to push. She gave up on that and tried something else

[idontregret]

But it wasn't really worth it. If she tried using that in a real combat situation, it would leave her completely unable to defend herself from further attacks for probably the rest of the night. And if her first attack wasn't affective, this would be particularly dangerous. Someone would have to be with her if she intended to use it. He would have to be with her. And even then, she shouldn't use it at all. One of his attacks could do just as much damage, he would think, without using up all his energy to do so.

He wanted to tell her all of these things. He frowned at her, opened his mouth as if to let it all out in one go, but then shut it again. She just... looked so pleased by all of this. How could he go and wipe that smile off her face like that, even if what he had to say was the truth? He couldn't. It was tugging at his heartstrings too much.

But still... she couldn't just...

"Are you going to be all right?" The words came out far more gently than he expected. He should be chastising her. "Will you be able to

[no_dont_go]

Aigis, still basking in her success, gave Heat a questioning look when he opened his mouth. Did he want to say something? Well, perhaps he was just at a loss. He had never seen her power before and didn't understand the workings of Persona. That would be a normal reaction

[idontregret]

This still didn't sit all right with Heat at all. She'd clearly been too weakened by this to stand. How could she even think of using it in a dangerous situation? Surely she'd come to this realization on her own? Perhaps she could use a less powerful spell. It would cause less damage, but then she might be able to get back up afterward.

Well, screw helping her to her feet right now. The demon bent down and lifted her bodily into his arms. There was no sense in making her try to walk when it wasn't necessary. He could handle this as well as any enemies they might come across. She was so light, there could hardly be any muscles on her, and yet she insisted on being able to handle herself... Of course he was comparing her to those of the Junkyard again.

"I've got you. No more summoning for tonight."

[no_dont_go]

She hadn't expected Heat to hold her. Carrying her was no easy feat, at least not before she had been transformed here at the institute. Before, her body had comprised of heavy metals meant to hold high-power machinery. It was strange to think this man could so easily lift her like she was nothing. Strange. And in a sense, comforting. Although her head felt a bit light from the sudden movement