IC || THE LAST CASE || VIDEO

[incriminating]

[From the moment the video feed rolls, the audio is distorted with static and a tinny, dual-toned laughter that lacks any real warmth or cheer. No, the sound is instead cold and cruel, cutting through the tranquil silence of night like a knife, as sharp as the smile that now twists its owner’s lips. Crowing, Tohru Adachi stares straight-on at the

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[heavyheels]

[since she'd hung up on adachi and headed out to hunt him down, chie had been running blindly through the unfamiliar terrain, searching for any sort of clue as to adachi's whereabouts. the wind had pushed her this way and that, and she'd ended up heading toward the well.

the song was an oddity, and oddities meant something was going on. chie followed the sound, hoping her gut instincts wouldn't fail her.

as she draws closer, the wind starts to subside, and chie squints to make out the view around her. she instantly recognizes the figure ahead, even from behind - adachi.

target acquired.

she doesn't stop, doesn't think - don't think, feel - only races ahead to close the gap between them. once within firing range, she leaps from the running pace into a spinning kick as a flash of blue flame encircles her, and she feels the familiar jolt of power summon her Persona with a commanding shout:]

Now! Suzuka Gongen!

[she tumbles to a crouch on the ground and watches as her black-clad persona casts god's hand at adachi from behind, praying the hit connects.]

[incriminating]

[That wasn't a voice he was expecting, and dread washing over him like cold water, Adachi spins around just as he fires. The bullet misses its target by a long shot, but Chie's attack does not. With a grunt, Adachi is slammed into the well hard enough that a few stones are dislodged and the wooden pulley structure rattles. Magatsu Izanagi flicks its eyes to Suzuka Gongen but does nothing yet.]

Wow, Satonaka-chan.

[Slowly, Adachi looks up. He's smiling. The force of God's Hand could have easily broken his back, the way he hit the well. Instead, the detective stands up and brushes himself off nonchalantly.]

Rude.

[heavyheels]

[not enough. chie curses under her breath and quickly draws herself back up to her full height. she muses briefly that it was probably too much to hope for that she would've taken adachi out with one shot. she knows from their previous battle in magatsu inaba that he isn't a weak opponent, not by a long shot, but she'd hoped maybe the element of surprise would have worked in her favor.

well. it was a start, anyway.

now that he's facing her, chie can see adachi is covered in something red - blood, no doubt, which means she's already too late.

too late ... no. she pushes the wandering thoughts to the back of her mind; she can think about it later. right now, there's only time to act.]

Ha! I'm just getting started.

[she moves; the field of energy builds around her once again -]

Persona!

[- and suzuka gongen comes forward to deliver another god's hand blow.]

[incriminating]

[This time, Magatsu Izanagi steps in to accept the attack, brandishing the glaive like a propeller. The attack connects, pushing it back, its boots leaving deep trenches in the earth where it braced itself. Behind it, Adachi laughs, high pitched and giddy. He had no idea the Queen's power would make them so strong! He's practically invincible! And with an uncoordinated attack like that...]

I can see you looking, Satonaka-chan...

[Cafefully, Adachi moves away from the well, trying to keep both Chie and Link in his line of sight. His persona silently follows.]

Have you noticed then...? I thought you said you wouldn't...let me hurt anyone, hmm? Well, good fucking job at that! Aha ahahahahaha!

1/2

[heavyheels]

[ok ... that's. that's different. she's never seen adachi withstand an attack like that before.]

[heavyheels]

[no matter! this is no time to dwell on details. if he was stronger than the last time they'd met, that just meant she'd have to hit harder.

but she won't get anywhere by using the same tactics over and over; she knows that much, at least. god's hand is an immense physical attack, and if she continues ahead without varying - and without anyone else around to heal and back her up - chie knows she'll tire out long before she's able to give adachi the stunning defeat he so richly deserves.

a murderous glare is all the response she offers his taunts, at first. then, bouncing from one foot to the other, she takes another step toward adachi's relocation, then another, and sends her persona hurtling forward with an easy battle cry:]

Taaake this!

[suzuka gongen launches a modest-sized column of ice at adachi and his menacing persona. bufula isn't her strongest spell by far, but it's elemental, and it will give chie a small measure of time to catch her breath for the next physical attack.]

[digtastic]

[ Rock reacted before he even had the chance to think, his left arm coming up and his buster gun aimed squarely at the scene before him as he stood by the sidelines. But he didn't fire. Not yet. If only because for that split second it took him to line up the shot, it'd been enough time for him to actually look at what was happening...

And Rock couldn't help but feel sick to his stomach at the sight.

He'd dealt with people (and machines) who wanted to kill before. Dealt with the loss of life before. But... never like this. Never with the enemy literally doused in someone's blood. He wasn't even sure which one he noticed first-- the sight or the smell. But nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that he felt like he needed to throw up.

And then it hit him. Really hit him. The fact that this Adachi person was doused in someone's blood. The fact that he... he actually killed someone, didn't he. He actually did it. Killed them, and didn't even bother to wash off the blood. Like it was some kind of trophy. Like he didn't care that he did it. Like he wouldn't have minded doing it again. And what if one of his friends was next? What if this was the blood of one of his friends? What if he went after the little girls? What if he went after the new arrivals who didn't know what was happening? What if... he couldn't stop any of this from happening?

No. ]

Shining Laser, maximum output!

[ His words were loud and determined, his teeth grit in anger as he lowered his left arm and instead raised his right one. And without even allowing himself the slightest moment of hesitation, he fired. A green pulsating laser shooting out of the weapon encompassing his right arm and aimed squarely at the blood red figure that Rock could only assume was under Adachi's control. He may have been out of his league, and he may not have been able to save every single person in the village... but like hell if he wasn't going to try his best to stop this right here and now. ]

[incriminating]

[Eyes widening, Adachi grabs a fistful of his persona's coat to brace himself, and throws up an arm before his face. Magatsu Izanagi, for its part, squarely faces both the attacks of Rock and Chie. Despite the power that the Queen bestowed upon them, the god does not escape unscathed. Beneath him, Adachi lets out a furious snarl as pain blooms in his chest, thanks to the synchronization that connects him to his persona.]

Urgh...! Izanagi!

[Slowly, stiff from the cold of Chie's attack, his persona moves to act and casts Evil Smile, a fear attack, on their opponents.]

Show me...show me what you're afraid of!

[endofdaydream]

[ Ange hadn't even bothered gracing the video message with a reply, instead heading out immediately after she noticed it. It wasn't really any remark towards her that bothered her (there had only been one tiny remark, after all, and she's had much worse), but talking like that about her friends, about Maria (shut up, how dare you talk about her relationship with her mother like that when it's already bad enough), about Souji-- 'you're not me', she doesn't even know what it means or who exactly this guy is, aside from the clumsy man she's spoken to once or twice.

But that's okay. She doesn't need to know to do this much.

It isn't difficult to spot the scene with all the commotion there, and she already notices some people attacking him and-- that thing floating there (Persona..?), that spirit-god soaked in red. And Adachi himself soaked in red too, but.. Ange is no stranger to murder or blood. It doesn't really strike her as much as everything else does. Soundlessly she summons the six stakes (the seventh, Leviathan, being left behind with Battler and Maria - they needed it more than she did, she figured), and immediatelty feels the mental strain from keeping them all around like this. But it's worth it, it's needed if she even wants to stand a chance along with everyone else. She'll just deal with a major headache later.

And when she manages to move closer to where everyone else and Adachi is.. ]

Come on, attack! [ The six stakes fly forward past her, towards Adachi and Magatsu Izanagi. She doesn't know if it would do much - he seemed to withstand those earlier attacks by those others - but.. ah, it's a measure of her luck once again, right? ]

[tapferkeit]

[The Triforce of Courage blazes on Link's hand. The spell washes over him and he feels the faint tendrils of fear slip into his awareness, but he slams them out.

As the stakes whizz over head, he inches closer, holding his sword ready. He feels the charge of magic jolt down and hover across his blade, turn to blue energy, then to red. His eyes stay on the stakes and he holds the spell. When he think they're about to hit the monster, he unleashes the magical outburst in a wide arc, trying to catch Magatsu Izanagi in it.]

[incriminating]

[With the others occupied by his fear, Adachi turns his attention to...ah. His lips tremble with effort to hold in a laugh, but after a moment, it bursts from his mouth and he doubles over.]

I-Izanagi! [He manages through gasps of laughter.

The god knocks three stakes out of the air with the glaive, accepts a hit from one into its neck, and then catches the remaining two with its coat. A gurgled noise erupts from Adachi as he suddenly stops laughing, and he reaches up to his own neck, quivering. Of course, no stake is there, but he can feel it as surely as it is buried in Magatsu Izanagi's neck. The god rips it out without fanfare, not aware of Link's attack. The magic outburst catches it from behind, knocking it to its knees with a shriek. The noise tears through the night like a siren, wailing and horrible. The Master Sword is a dangerous thing against a Shadow. Screaming alongside it, Adachi stumbles away from Link, trying to compose himself. The god, enraged, leaps forward for Link, swinging its glaive. With the hero distracted, the detective is able to return to Ange.]

You...you're his...! I've seen you two...repulsive. Why don't you hike your skirt up a little higher for him, huh? You fucking slut. Oh. Ohhh, I am going to enjoy this. When I'm finished with you, I'm dragging your corpse to him myself. [He snrks and then begins to laugh once more.] I-Izanagi!

[endofdaydream]

[ There's a strange sense of.. relief, almost satisfaction as one of the stakes manages to hit the god, if not just because it's enough to stop Adachi for a moment as well, especially when combined with Link's attack.

But then she hears his words. And she had already been pretty pissed to start with over the broadcast, but this makes the rage bubble up in her stomach even more, almost similar to that time she had been standing in the classroom, surrounded by her classmates with those cold stares ('kill them all!'). ]

Shut up! You don't know anything, you--- you talk too much!

[ With a swift motion and without wasting time with further words, she grabs her gun from where it's hanging at her belt, the knuckles on her fist white from grabbing it so tightly because of the anger. Sure, her shooting capabilities aren't that great, but she has been learning here and after the stakes it's her best method of attack left. For a moment she hesitates on where to shoot - the man or the god - but ends up aiming for Adachi and letting a shot ring out. ]

[incriminating]

[His eyes widen and he moves instinctively to shield himself from the shot, hunching down to protect his vitals, and then cold heat skims his collarbone and shoulder, leaving blood to well in its wake. He winces against the sting, but is amazed at his luck. The shot only just glanced off him.]

You bitch.

[Magatsu Izanagi pulls away from Link, eyes flashing dangerously. Without a sound it vanishes from sight, shadows twisting on the ground, and then reappears like a wraith behind the girl.

Wordlessly, it grabs her hair and yanks her head back, arching her spine as it slips the glaive through her flesh and out through her ribcage. Then, obeying the command of Adachi's jerky hand movement, it slices the glaive down and to the side, cutting her from breast to hip. The glaive slips out with a wet noise.]

Have a nice dream, tramp.

1/idk

[heavyheels]

[chie hadn't been lucky enough to avoid getting hit with the fear attack. she had nothing in her arsenal to fight it off, either, and so she'd been rendered paralyzed, her persona silent and sealed away while she could only watch, watch, helpless, as adachi's persona murdered ange.

... no. adachi had murdered ange. it was his doing, and she'd failed, once again, to stop him. she'd failed.]

NO WAIT 2/3

[heavyheels]

[she gasps, and falls to her knees with a choked sob as ange's body hits the ground.]

You ... you bastard!

[chie's sobs come freely now; her body curls forward on hands and knees. she'd barely just met that girl, but familiarity didn't matter. she was afraid, so stricken with terror, and she can't hold it in any more. Words tumble out of her mouth amidst sobs and labored breaths:]

I'm so scared ... that ... that I can't do anything on my own, much less as a girl!

[true words, an echo of what her shadow-self had once said. she'd denied it then, but now, under the thrall of the fear spell, she couldn't pretend otherwise, and she couldn't refute them.]

3/3

[heavyheels]

[this was chie's worst fear - failure to protect people, innocent people, from monsters like adachi.

she was vulnerable right now, and she knew it - no familiar team, no persona to aid her ... she couldn't even stand on her own two feet for all of her terrified quivering. every last shred of gut instinct told chie to run, run now, run away ...

... but one tiny little whisper at the back of her mind poked through the murky waves of fear like an arrow of light: FIGHT HIM.

it was the voice of suzuka gongen, her persona - sealed from use but no longer entirely silent. and that one firm command was all chie needed to keep going. sure, she was still scared, and she still couldn't summon her persona, but the fear spell wouldn't last forever. and now? chie was angry, more than anything else. the fear-frozen blood in her veins began to surge with the warmth of righteous fury. her sobs came to a halt, and slower than she would've liked, chie pulled herself back up to her feet.]

... I'm also afraid of bugs, dumbass.

[she grit her teeth and stared adachi down, stance shifting into a steady pose of kung-fu readiness.]

And you? Are going to pay for that, and for everything else you've done!