[Thread] I wanna feel the change consume me, feel the outside turning in.

[decisional]

Who: Ryou and Verde.
Where: Elysium; Verde's hideout beneath the mall.
When: Tuesday evening, after Cain's rampage.
Summary: Ryou is being consumed by his Persona. He needs pills and he's going to take them from Verde or die trying.
Rating: R for violence.
Other: Personas are worse than Shadows sometimes.

Comments

[decisional]

As the doors opened to grant them entrance, Ryou jerked and dragged his failing body forward until he was running ahead of his Persona. The last thing he wanted was for that creature to kill the man he most needed to talk to, but the last thing he wanted was usually the first thing his Persona did.

He came to a halt just before the table, slamming his hands down onto its surface to hold his trembling body upright. "You-- You disappeared without a word," he gasped, beyond any hope of maintaining a dignified tone during speech. He glanced over his shoulder to check his Persona's position and saw that it remained some distance back.

"We need to end this. Quickly." It wasn't Ryou who barged in without concern, after all, but his other self. This was not his preferred method. He thrust his hand forward, palm up. "The pills. G-Give them to me."

[decisional]

Hope rose in Ryou's chest when it seemed as though Verde was reaching for a pill bottle. He was so close. As soon as the pills were in his hand, the pain would end, that creature would fall silent, and everything would be right again. So when Verde's hands came up empty, a roar of frustration escaped Ryou's throat. "You don't understand!" he choked. "I need-- I need--!"

There was a flash of light and a crash as Cain turned and fired a shot that took out part of the ceiling. At the same time, Ryou slipped and fell to his knees. He only barely managed to keep from slamming his chin on the desktop, and now he clung desperately to the edge the way he clung to consciousness. He was losing himself rapidly.

Meanwhile, Cain did not share his host's weakness, but his movements did become more erratic. Stray beams of light were fired in every direction without reason. One of these barely missed Ryou, but tore through the desk to hit the chair in which Verde sat.

[decisional]

As the desk was demolished before him and took out his only support, Ryou collapsed on top of the debris. His glasses fell on the pile so he failed to see what happened to Verde, only assumed that the laser had destroyed him. It wasn't until he heard Verde's voice across the room that he jerked his head back up. He fumbled to replace the glasses on his face, disbelieving until he could see for himself that Verde was there.

Was he really hearing this? The man was utterly mad! Verde had just barely escaped death and he opted to continue doing nothing so he could observe Ryou further? Both of them would end up dead at this rate!

The hair on the back of his neck stood as he could feel his Persona gathering energy for another attack. This one would be stronger. This one... didn't just destroy, it erased. "S-Stop this..." Ryou mumbled, unclear whether it was to Cain or Verde he was speaking. Behind him, the purple light of his Persona's glow was intensifying. At the same time, there was a splitting pain in his chest. His ribs, he was

[decisional]

Ryou's fingers closed on thin air, grasping as the bottle appeared in Verde's hand. So close, but so far... Why couldn't he move faster? Why wouldn't he give Ryou the medication?

Ryou's lips moved to form a final plea, but his voice cut out. His lungs spasmed, his throat closed, and no matter how hard he tried to draw in another breath he couldn't. His skin went from pale to red to purple as something invisible strangled him from inside, the veins on his neck pulsing. Pain throbbed in every nerve. His teeth gnashed and blood spilled past his lips, the only thing escaping them now. The world... was getting dark. Pupils contracted as he gave one last shudder, then dilated as he went still.

Behind him, his Persona vanished into thin air.

[decisional]

When Ryou awoke, he found himself in an entirely different location. Someone had transported him from the ruined mall to what appeared to be an apartment, and he was now lying on the couch of this apartment. Unharmed, it seemed. He touched his face, his chest... only minor scrapes and bruises. In the possession of an Omega scientist, he expected he might find some experiment or operation had been performed while he was unconscious, but there was no evidence of such.

Instead, his condition was far improved. His pills must have been administered in his sleep because the pain was gone and he could see clearly, think clearly. He exhaled a soft sigh of relief and pushed himself into a sitting position. Looking down at himself, he saw that his uniform was filthy, and the rest of him probably needed tidying as well. Before returning to the public, he would have to take care of this.

He smoothed his hair back and looked around, trying to locate either the scientist or the bathroom.

[decisional]

Ryou took the nod as an invitation so he rose and vanished into the bathroom. A half hour later he emerged, freshly showered with his uniform brushed clean of most of the dust that had settled into the fabric. It would still require a proper cleaning but at least no one would wonder whether he'd climbed out of a construction site. He could move inconspicuously... which he preferred, despite his Persona's contradictory behavior.

Verde did not seem eager to escape his presence at the moment, which was a relief as he'd had quite enough of chasing the scientist. Now he approached, looking over the man's shoulder to the destruction below. He didn't flinch but he felt the guilt of his actions sinking in his stomach. Millions of dollars in property destroyed. An unknown number of people injured-- maybe even killed. This was his fault.

"Will you be running again?" he asked Verde quietly.

[decisional]

Ryou's eyes flicked over the site of the demolished headquarters. He also hadn't expected to ruin the building to this extent, but Cain's behavior was entirely out of his control. If it had been, he wouldn't have been desperate to retrieve the pills in the first place. In his opinion, Verde should have considered the consequences of forcing someone of his abilities into such a position.

His unsympathetic gaze returned to the the man. "You should go back to the main facility," he answered plainly, but this was not a forceful reply. He hadn't been assigned to retrieve Verde, therefore it made no difference to him whether Verde returned to Omega properly. His sole concern was whether he would be able to obtain his suppressants in the future. He assumed Verde would realize this.