Dungeon: Midnight Television #10 000

[undercard]

Every television in the Velvet Mall nexus switches on at precisely midnight, regardless of whether they're plugged in or not.

The unusually strong signal reveals Akihiko, standing in a dark, spacious room. It's hard to see, but in the flashes of lightning reveal an unsettling image every few seconds. His hands are definitely slick with dark red

Comments

[sheffield_v3pt0]

*Serph was on his way back to his base shop Mall!base after grinding hunting for dinner for himself and his comrades through a Door, when he passed by an electronics store with a huge window display of TVs. He paused to look at the odd spectacle the other teenager was making of himself on it, wondering what was going on. Blood... so much blood. But he didn't look to be so obviously injured himself, to account for it all -- it didn't seem to be his own. Which meant that he'd been hunting, right? (Never mind the lack of an Atma mark. It probably just wasn't visible from that angle and pose.) And the look on his face...*

*Heat.*Why his Second came to mind, he wasn't going to question. It had to have been that expression, the increasing anger. And when he said what he said

[icyfeisty]

There's the sound of quiet female chatter approaching Serph's location, and the source becomes clear as one human and three demons round the corner. Just in time to catch the last of the midnight television broadcast it seems, because Mitsuru stops short with a gasp of recognition.

"Continue on, I will have to join you later." Mitsuru mutters as she waves her employees on to start the baking at her cafe.

[sheffield_v3pt0]

*Should he, or shouldn't he, eat some of his Onmoraki? This dilemma occupied a fair little bit of his concentration as he stood there, facing the window of blank TV screens. He sighed quietly through his nose, still frowning.*

....

*Mitsuru's voice brought him out of his contemplation when her voice finally registered in his distracted mind. He wasn't alone there. He looked up again, turning his head a bit to see her. Not having caught the words themselves, he wasn't certain if he'd been addressed or not, as there were other people nearby, and she was fairly close to him. He decided to wait; if she had been talking to him, she would surely show another sign of it. That's how things seemed to work.*

[icyfeisty]

"Excuse me, but did you hear that man anything else? I-" She stops short, staring at the dead Onmoraki. And stares for a while, before slowly looking up at Serph again. Clearly, she's reconsidering her decision to speak to a man with a tattooed face and dead animals in hand.

That's just creepy. She's married to Death and still finds him creepy.

"...I'm very worried about him. His behavior has been...degenerating, to say the least."

/switches styles

[sheffield_v3pt0]

He shook his head, his frown returning. If she knew him well enough to be worried about him, then she was surely the man's ally, if not his comrade.

If he'd noticed her pause and hesitance to continue speaking to him, he gave no sign of it, continuing to quietly hold his unusual "groceries" without shame. For all he knew, maybe they were making her hungry too? He made a mental note to try offering her one, once the immediate conversation's subject was through.

"He isn't well?" As questionable as his appearance may have been, his voice was soft, concerned and still uncertain.

Re: /switches styles

[icyfeisty]

She still tense, due to both Akihiko's appearance and Serph's suspicious image. A tattooed face, dead animals, and a deceptively calm voice. Really, she isn't sure if that smooth voice makes her more or less concerned for her safety. She muses that perhaps she should have brought her pistol- even the Mall can't be completely safe at midnight.

"No. He's mentally unwell, and I'd consider him dangerous in such a state."

[sheffield_v3pt0]

"Where is he?"

It wasn't as though he couldn't understand, after having witnessed several situations of people becoming a danger to their own comrades. If help was needed... then help was needed, and that was that. And he'd step up to help. He wasn't one to ignore someone in trouble, especially when that someone might be an innocent civilian. This red-haired lady appeared to be a civilian; perhaps the man whose message had just been broadcast was one as well, despite it looking as though he'd been hunting.

[icyfeisty]

"Inside the television. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but occasionally residents of the Mall appear in a broadcast at precisely midnight." She pauses to consider her next words and her blurred memory of the midnight dungeons properly. Even though she's had her own dungeon, her memories aren't the clearest.

"I've been informed that if left to their own devices, their Shadow may...dispose of them. Kill them." She sighs, straightening her blouse in an attempt to control something. This powerless feeling is making her uncomfortable.

"I would be in there myself, but I'm afraid I would be more of a hindrance right now."

[sheffield_v3pt0]

Clearly, this wouldn't do. He wasn't sure how a trick of light and darkness could take someone's life in a direct sort of way, but the details could probably wait; she'd made it clear enough that someone was not only a potential danger to those around them, but were in danger themselves.

He eyed the televisions in the store's display again. To his credit, he had found out that that was what they were called -- so at least he had half a clue about what she was talking about. But for someone to be inside the television?

He stepped into the little entryway there at the front of the electronics store, to try peeking through the side of the front window... but all of the televisions on display were only a matter of inches thick, at most.

He turned to look back at her again. Maybe she'd be willing to clarify her statement about where the other person was located, since she couldn't possibly be talking about any of the electronics in this store... could she?

[icyfeisty]

"Not literally." Her tone lightens a little at that- perhaps he isn't weird and is more similar to Aigis or Sirius. Obviously he isn't a robot, but he appears to have the same curious demeanor about him. In which case, she hopes the dead things in his hands are more a case of naivety than homicidal tendencies.

"When this midnight event happens, the television becomes a portal to another world. I'm not certain of how it works, but most people enter through the televisions with larger screens."

[sheffield_v3pt0]

Oh. Well, then! Illogical as that might have seemed to most people, Serph was well enough aware that there was still much about this strange Mall world and the sometimes-illogical ways it worked that he wasn't yet familiar with. He'd take the explanation for what it was.

He shifted his right hand's Onmorakis to his left arm, freeing it -- he'd almost forgotten that he was even carrying them, but he needed his hand so that he could open the door. Or try to. It was after hours, and the store was closed, door locked. He turned away from it and looked around -- would another television work instead of one of the ones in that store?

Finally, he looked back to the lady. She knew more about this than he did... she'd know what they should do next, wouldn't she?

[icyfeisty]

"Locked, hm? That's quite alright. Why don't we take a short walk?" She turns away from the store, gesturing for Serph to follow as she takes in their surroundings. After a quick look for landmarks, which is extremely difficult when the Mall changes layout day by day, she sets off at a moderate pace.

"There should be a television display in a corridor nearby." And it is- they come upon the set up of select widescreen televisions on sale. "This is about a big as they get."

[sheffield_v3pt0]

He followed along after her, trusting that she'd know what to look for, and stopping when he reached what she pointed out. They were easily big enough to climb through their frames, if the screens weren't blocking the way.

Maybe...?

He stepped up to the one in the front and center of the display, the biggest of them, and reached a hand out, giving it a light push. It wasn't enough force to damage the television, but it was certainly enough to confirm that the thing was solid.

He looked back to her once again. So they'd found accessible, large televisions. What now?

[icyfeisty]

"Ah...I suppose you don't have a Persona. That may be for the better, I'm not confident about letting you in for the first time on your own." Mitsuru taps the screen, and the surface ripples like water. To prove that it isn't just a trick, she slips the entirety of her right hand through the screen and into the television's dimension.

"The inside is foggy, and full of dangerous Shadows. Do you believe you can cope in battle? It may take the better part of a day to reach Akihiko." In truth, she's hoping more people will appear by the display. People more experienced than her, at least.

[sheffield_v3pt0]

Could he cope in battle? He nodded -- no sign of hesitation or doubt. If he didn't know how to fight, he wouldn't have made it as far as he had, to be standing here now. The question was of how well he could manage against whatever unknown thing he'd be up against, in helping this person out. He didn't have his officers with him -- though the thought did cross his mind to return to base first and find Gale, Kanji... maybe his own double as well? He still wasn't certain what to think about that other Serph. Maybe it was more of a distrust for every version of himself that wasn't him, thanks to a certain one, but he tried to keep a careful eye on that one when he was around.

Curious, he looked back to the now-changed screen, and put his hand to it again. This time, it went through the surface as though it wasn't there, just like hers had. He moved it around a bit. There was no resistance, no indication at all that his hand, now up past its wrist, had gone through anything. There was only the visual evidence, the fact that the