[He doesn't have the time to stop and think, not with a message like that. He finds himself in Tartarus when Yukari did not answer his return text, alone, but ready for whatever the place threw at him.
Some things were more important, the lives of his teammates most of all.
And so he steps into Tartarus, sword at the ready, and searches.]
[ ... He's amused that he was stupid enough to come here ALONE. But then, were any of the Shadows in Tartarus really a match for them at this point?
They weren't.
And he knew that he cared so much for his team's lives. He flips a phone closed, pockets it, and quietly decides it's time for something to add to this.
It's Yukari's voice Minato would hear, coming from somewhere. And... she sounds pretty distressed. ]
I... I can't find the stairs!
[ There's a pause to it, the voice is definitely not on this floor. ]
[He doesn't have the chance to consider that this might be a trap--and really, why would he? Not even Strega has been this underhanded. And so he reacts without hesitation, finding the stairs, heading up--]
[ Oh, it was certainly underhanded, but what was wrong with that? Desperate times... and desperate measures. After all, how could he ever help them as much as he knew he wanted to if he wouldn't do it himself the right way?
Yukari's voice is faint, but it answers: ]
W-who's there? Minato-kun? Is... that you?
[ Too simple. Far too simple. It was almost laughable. Follow her voice further, Minato; it won't be long now.
[ Yukari's not doing anything in particular, actually. It's a quiet night, and maybe she needed that every once and a while. She'd holed herself up in her room, but when she noticed how quiet she was, she took her books and notebooks out into the first floor lounge, where she would have much more room to work. She turns on the TV, just as background noise and she is quietly reading to herself when--
It flickers on??
...everything is dark, around her, the lights dead, save for the ominous glow coming from the TV. There's blood on the walls--
She's seen it happen so many times, she almost didn't notice the Dark Hour coming. But the TV--now that's odd. ]
.......Minato-kun?
[ She knows he can't hear her, but she stands up, alarmed. Why--why is he on the TV? Why is it even on at all? These and a million other questions race through her mind, but she realizes she has no time to think about them
( ... )
[ Minato doesn't need to be as cautious with Yukari as he had been with his other self earlier.
She can probably make out the faintest of his voice coming from further inside, somehow. Whatever it is he's saying, it sounds distressed. You'd better be quick, Yukari... ]
[ She's still panting, but she stops when she hears that faint voice, barely able to make it out over her own heart throbbing in her chest. It's enough that she knows who it is, though. She's never heard him like this before, and something is off, but--
It's him and she has to save him. Everyone else is gone--no way to contact them during the dark hour, and it's all up to her.
She dashes in, no second thoughts or hesitations. Not anymore. ]
H-hang on, Minato-kun, I'm coming!
[ And before she knows it, she's inside, the feeling all too familiar; disorienting and dizzy, without any idea which part of the floor's maze she'd been dropped in. She begins to look around, continuously calling out to him.
...it's like those crime shows on TV, right? They try to keep the victim talking and conscious... ]
H-hey--can you hear me? Say something, Minato-kun!
There is no reply, for quite awhile. For a long time, Yukari is just running through the maze chasing a noise or two, but then she finds him.
On the floor, very, very deep within the nest of Tartarus. Oddly, he seems to be... behind a door. One Yukari's NEVER seen inside Tartarus before; it's odd at best, but the exit has been cut off. There is never any going back down the way you got up with Tartarus, after all.
The door itself is open, nested inside one of the many walls within the maze, just up one of those small ramps.
It looks like he's in serious need of healing; you can easily spot him from a distance in the room there. ]
Comments 90
Some things were more important, the lives of his teammates most of all.
And so he steps into Tartarus, sword at the ready, and searches.]
Reply
They weren't.
And he knew that he cared so much for his team's lives. He flips a phone closed, pockets it, and quietly decides it's time for something to add to this.
It's Yukari's voice Minato would hear, coming from somewhere. And... she sounds pretty distressed. ]
I... I can't find the stairs!
[ There's a pause to it, the voice is definitely not on this floor. ]
Stupid... what if he didn't get it?
Reply
Yukari-chan?
Reply
Yukari's voice is faint, but it answers: ]
W-who's there? Minato-kun? Is... that you?
[ Too simple. Far too simple. It was almost laughable. Follow her voice further, Minato; it won't be long now.
Patience had always been something he had. ]
Reply
It flickers on??
...everything is dark, around her, the lights dead, save for the ominous glow coming from the TV. There's blood on the walls--
She's seen it happen so many times, she almost didn't notice the Dark Hour coming. But the TV--now that's odd. ]
.......Minato-kun?
[ She knows he can't hear her, but she stands up, alarmed. Why--why is he on the TV? Why is it even on at all? These and a million other questions race through her mind, but she realizes she has no time to think about them ( ... )
Reply
She can probably make out the faintest of his voice coming from further inside, somehow. Whatever it is he's saying, it sounds distressed. You'd better be quick, Yukari... ]
Reply
It's him and she has to save him. Everyone else is gone--no way to contact them during the dark hour, and it's all up to her.
She dashes in, no second thoughts or hesitations. Not anymore. ]
H-hang on, Minato-kun, I'm coming!
[ And before she knows it, she's inside, the feeling all too familiar; disorienting and dizzy, without any idea which part of the floor's maze she'd been dropped in. She begins to look around, continuously calling out to him.
...it's like those crime shows on TV, right? They try to keep the victim talking and conscious... ]
H-hey--can you hear me? Say something, Minato-kun!
Reply
There is no reply, for quite awhile. For a long time, Yukari is just running through the maze chasing a noise or two, but then she finds him.
On the floor, very, very deep within the nest of Tartarus. Oddly, he seems to be... behind a door. One Yukari's NEVER seen inside Tartarus before; it's odd at best, but the exit has been cut off. There is never any going back down the way you got up with Tartarus, after all.
The door itself is open, nested inside one of the many walls within the maze, just up one of those small ramps.
It looks like he's in serious need of healing; you can easily spot him from a distance in the room there. ]
Reply
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