[Toki was confident all the way to the shrine, but now that they're outside the entrance to the dungeon, he's stopped. Joroko is already summoned, but will be focusing tonight on projecting imagery to Toki instead of fighting. She'll be less alert while trying to help him be more-so. It's a plan he and Kido have, knowing Toki's strengths lie in creativity and ingenuity in the moment and not bulldozing through the dungeon.
He has to be able to get enough information from Joroko's eyes to make those quick decisions, while also somehow keeping up with Rei and knowing her fighting style enough to predict what she'll do. It's a lot to learn, and though he's determined, he's now able to be realistic about it and not have high expectations. He nods to himself and then turns to Rei.]
[ Rei is a little nervous. It's been a while since she stepped into a dungeon and she doesn't know anything about the shrine's. She doesn't know what kind of Shadows there'd be, what to expect, and she has to take on a more active role than just being a passive healer. It's just going to be the two of them, her and Toki, and she needs to be extra vigilant. Actually, maybe sticking with the easy crows in the school would have been a better idea... ]
[ Zhn wraps himself protectively around Rei's legs, rubbing his head against her in an effort to calm her nerves. It helps, a little. She holds onto Toki's hand, gripping it a bit too tightly. ]
Mmhm. Will you and Joroko be all right?
[ She doesn't know about the image projection so she's wondering if Joroko will mostly be on the offensive to protect Toki. ]
Yeah. We can always... come back out, if it's too much.
[Toki doesn't know much about Rei's Persona stats, or how they fight. Only that she classifies herself as a healer. But that means little in context to Toki.]
Before we go, I think we should know more about the Personas. Joroko is like, um, I guess mostly psychic? That's her biggest uh, spell. And we're trying to get some sort of a visual link working, so no one has to tell me what's happening... And um... Magic is her best area? And she can heal the whole team now~!
[He is still unaware of how these things work, or what effect over-use can have.]
Yeah, like that! It's experimental~! She has so many eyes though, it's weird... and not clear and kind of distorted...
[Attempting a psychic link with Joroko was a whim. It's her greatest strength, and Toki has psychic powers of his own, though they're blocked by his earring. It would probably work a lot better unhindered, but he will never try it. Going from one eye, to none, to eight is also disorienting.]
It's only flashes too, so like... I don't know if it will be useful.
[Can he get enough information of the surroundings in a tiny flash? It's like having visions again, only they're less colourful and don't hurt. But it may prove to be just a distraction for him from his other senses and ultimately a bad move. Only time will tell.]
We can go through the dungeon really slowly so you can get used to it and see if it helps.
[ She'll make sure to hold onto Toki's hand tightly and stick by his side the entire time so they won't get split up and take as many breaks as they need. ]
Ananke is really good at healing. She can fully heal one person or everyone. If she heals everyone, it also, umm... it can get rid of Shadow effects? Like poison and feeling sleepy. It can also make you feel calmer. She can also use that spell on everyone without healing. Oh, and she can also revive someone if they die, but only if she does it quickly and if-- if they're not really in bad shape. Umm... I can also "die" once, but I'll be okay and after every battle, I'll fully heal on my own so I won't ever run out of energy. I'm not very good at fighting, though... Ananke can use two spells that can instantly kill everything, but it doesn't work all the time. Ummm... I... think that's everything.
[ It's really hard to remember everything. Ananke has changed a lot since she was first summoned. ]
[The shrine dungeon is bad for slow-going, with the hub of Shadows the very first thing to encounter.
It's so hard to remember everything about Joroko, and Ananke's list seems even more complicated. Toki understands why Rei just goes with "healer" now.]
Rei... You won't just let yourself die because you can, right?
[Even if he knows she can come back, it would still be traumatizing.]
Of course not! I would never do that, especially not in front of you!
[ She actually never used that skill before. She just knows what it does and that it'd allow her to take one fatal blow without dying, but she doesn't know much else. When will it reset? Will it be gone forever after she uses it once? It's too risky so she won't ever risk it. ]
[Then it's time to enter the dungeon, and Toki lets Joroko open the door, because they're testing it right at the beginning. What he sees from her projection is less of a image and more of a thought of an image, eight at once. Less than a second, a minuscule flicker. He couldn't even count the number of Shadows in that time.]
[ The moment she enters the central room, Ananke and Zhn disappear. She doesn't understand why but before she can try to summon them again, she spots all these people. They don't look like Shadows so she has her guard lowered, confused. ]
Oh, there are people in here. Who are they?
[ All of them turn their heads at Toki and Rei, silently staring at them before they slowly start to approach. ]
[They have to be now, because the others went home. Toki steps in, and he had forgotten about the disappearance of Personas. It also happens on some floors in here. But it's okay. He was here to work with Rei as a team, and sometimes they may not have Personas.]
Oh my god.
[It's a manta now. What if the Personas are gone in the new dungeons? He can't rely on Joroko for things as essential as navigation if she's not necessarily going to be there.]
I forgot how many we have to kill for the doors to open!
[ They don't look like Shadows, but she knows that Toki wouldn't lie to her. They're getting closer and a few of them are brandishing knives and baseball bats. Rei's first instinct is to bring out her Persona, but nothing happens. ]
I-I can't summon Ananke!
[ Her grip on Toki's hand tightens and she takes a few steps back. She's already panicking. She doesn't how to fight without her Persona! ]
[Toki doesn't even know about the knives and the bats, but he's also panicking, because Rei is. He pulls her closer to him, but he can't protect her. He killed absolutely none of the Shadows needed to open the door the one day he came in here.]
Can we go back out!?
[Does that door open? Toki's non-Persona fights have all been instances where he'd snapped and just beat on people. Like Kano, and some BBC reporters. He'd grab for a bat and and go that route if he knew they were available.]
[ She takes yet another few steps back, taking Toki with her, but she's stopped by the invisible wall. No one can leave or proceed without at least five Shadows dying, but that's information that they don't know. Maybe they need to kill all of them and Rei knows that she can't do that. She doubts that she could even kill one. ]
N-No, we're tr--
[ She doesn't get to finish because she screams and immediately shoves Toki to the side, so suddenly and forcefully that they might fall down. However, a little tumble is better than suddenly being clubbed over the head with a bat, which she just barely dodged. ]
[They do fall, as Toki wasn't expecting it. He lets go of Rei, because she needs to be able to run without him holding her back. There's a loud noise of one of the bats cracking into the wall near them. Toki shrieks.]
Try to take one of the weapons!
[Toki's plan is to stay on the floor and then tackle the next Shadow that he hears coming. He probably won't be strong enough to overpower them, but maybe he can knock them down so Rei can steal whatever they're holding.]
[ Rei is far smaller than all of these Shadows. She's not very strong so she's not sure how she can wrestle a weapon out of their hands, but it's Toki's lucky day. The one with the bat, the Shadow that just tried to smash their skulls in, begins to approach them. They're small enough that he could easily knock them over. ]
[Toki still isn't that great at judging distance of noises, so he waits a little longer than necessary. The Shadow is already swinging the bat at them again when Toki jumps up from the floor and runs straight at it, plowing into its stomach and knocking it down. He sprawls on top of the Shadow, trying to hold it down long enough for Rei to get them a weapon.]
[ The Shadow struggles, trying to kick and flail to toss Toki off, but Rei wastes absolutely no time to pick up the bat that was thrown out of its hands. She grips it with both hands and she lifts it up before bringing it down on the Shadow's head. It makes a disgusting crunching sound and black ooze splatters outwards. This is going to quite traumatizing... but at least the Shadow quickly fades away after it has died. ]
I-- I got the bat!
[ She still sounds pretty panicked, however, and she's shaking. She lets one hand go of the handle so she can help Toki up. The other Shadows are now wary, seeing that the Persona users managed to kill one of them and got a weapon. They stay a few steps away. For now. ]
[The thud and the crunching and the squishing as the Shadow's head caves in is a sound Toki won't forget any time soon. The rest of it follows, everything underneath him turning to viscous goo and it's all over him and soaking into his clothes. Gross.
He hesitates for a moment after Rei helps him up. Is it better for her to have the bat, or him? He's stronger, only because he's so much bigger than her, and he has a longer reach.]
Okay... Let me have it, and you just tell me where they are.
[ She presses the bat handle into Toki's hand without much hesitation. It's far too big for her and it's more likely that she'd get hurt by just trying to use it. The Shadows listen in and they suspect that the tall one can't possibly see. There would be no other reason why he would need the small one to tell him where they are, so with that in mind, a group of four Shadows run forward. They hope to overpower the humans. ]
F-Four are coming! Two on your right and two on your left!
[ They decide to split up, thinking that Toki can't possibly get all of them. Rei is definitely not powerful enough to handle them on her own and she no longer has a weapon. They could probably take her down easily. ]
[Oh my god. That's too many. And from both sides, and Toki doesn't know how big they are and where to aim. This was a bad, bad idea. Toki goes with the Shadows on the left, swinging the bat up high. He misses entirely the first time and almost falls when the bat continues to go right to the floor. Something brushes against his arm and he hopes it isn't Rei, as he instinctively moves away, turning to swing the bat in that direction.]
[ Luckily, Rei is sticking close but staying behind him, moving with him as he does so she doesn't get in his way. She's not the one who brushed his arm but a Shadow that reached out with a hand to try and grab Toki, but ultimately fails as the bat collides with their neck. It makes a loud snapping sound as they're thrown to the ground. A second Shadow has been defeated. ]
[ The other three still remain and the other Shadows are starting to find their courage again as two more joins the scramble. It's hard for even Rei to keep up with all their movements. ]
There are two mo--
[ Yet again, she's cut off from her sentence with a scream. One of the Shadows grabbed onto her hair, intent on dragging her to the ground where it can wrap its hands around her neck. A hand snakes towards her neck already, but she managed to grab it and bring it to her mouth, biting down hard. The Shadow lets out their own loud cry of pain as black blood begins to leak out of their hand. ]
[This is what Toki's most afraid of. That he won't be able to prevent things from attacking Rei. Her scream could have been her death. Toki focuses his strikes with the bat on where the Shadow is shouting. He's starting to panic too much, and continuously hitting the Shadow with the bat, not listening to anything else but the impacts.
Until the bat is taken from his hands by another Shadow, and a second is right there behind Toki to stab him in the back with a knife. He screams and rounds on that Shadow, grabbing any part he can reach and digging his fingernails into it. He'll try to rip it apart with his bare hands in his panic.]
[ Four Shadows have now been defeated. The one that took hold of Rei has been disintegrated into nothing but a mess of broken bones and flesh. It dissolves away shortly afterwards. The one that stabbed Toki in the back has been grabbed by the neck and the pain is overwhelming. It's enough to temporarily stun them, giving enough time for Toki to properly rip out their throat. Similarly to all the others, it melts away into a thick black slime. ]
[ Rei has been trying to catch her breath and get that godawful taste out of her mouth, but she's forced to act immediately after she was freed. The Shadow that stole the bat away, it raises its weapon high up. It almost brings it down onto Toki's shoulder, but it's tackled to the ground before it gets the chance. Rei's small, but even she's able to knock someone over when they're not expecting it. ]
[ There are the sounds of a struggle as the two of them fight over the bat. Those sounds are followed with a sickening crack and then silence. The silence lasts for a few seconds and there is absolutely no movement. It is broken by the clattering of a heavy object falling to the ground and quick footsteps. ]
T-- Tokidoki--!
[ It's Rei's voice. She runs up to Toki and checks on his injuries. The Shadow never managed to pull out its knife out of his back. ]
[When the fighting turns to silence, Toki can't breathe. Is she dead? What happened? The bat falling makes him flinch; he was listening too hard and it clatters ominously. The footsteps that follow are light and Toki lets out a shuddering breath. She's okay.]
Rei! Are you hurt!?
[That's all he cares about. The knife in his back produces both sharp pains and dull throbs with each movement, so he's trying to stay still. Then it occurs to him that they're still alone in here.]
C-can you? Without Ananke?
[How many Shadows are still in here? How many do they need to kill?]
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flowerclips) wrote2019-08-07 07:12 pm
1/4, probably - shrine dungeon
He has to be able to get enough information from Joroko's eyes to make those quick decisions, while also somehow keeping up with Rei and knowing her fighting style enough to predict what she'll do. It's a lot to learn, and though he's determined, he's now able to be realistic about it and not have high expectations. He nods to himself and then turns to Rei.]
Are you ready?
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[ Zhn wraps himself protectively around Rei's legs, rubbing his head against her in an effort to calm her nerves. It helps, a little. She holds onto Toki's hand, gripping it a bit too tightly. ]
Mmhm. Will you and Joroko be all right?
[ She doesn't know about the image projection so she's wondering if Joroko will mostly be on the offensive to protect Toki. ]
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Yeah. We can always... come back out, if it's too much.
[Toki doesn't know much about Rei's Persona stats, or how they fight. Only that she classifies herself as a healer. But that means little in context to Toki.]
Before we go, I think we should know more about the Personas. Joroko is like, um, I guess mostly psychic? That's her biggest uh, spell. And we're trying to get some sort of a visual link working, so no one has to tell me what's happening... And um... Magic is her best area? And she can heal the whole team now~!
[He is still unaware of how these things work, or what effect over-use can have.]
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[ She looks at the large Persona. She didn't even know that was possible, but that sounds really useful. ]
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[Attempting a psychic link with Joroko was a whim. It's her greatest strength, and Toki has psychic powers of his own, though they're blocked by his earring. It would probably work a lot better unhindered, but he will never try it. Going from one eye, to none, to eight is also disorienting.]
It's only flashes too, so like... I don't know if it will be useful.
[Can he get enough information of the surroundings in a tiny flash? It's like having visions again, only they're less colourful and don't hurt. But it may prove to be just a distraction for him from his other senses and ultimately a bad move. Only time will tell.]
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[ She'll make sure to hold onto Toki's hand tightly and stick by his side the entire time so they won't get split up and take as many breaks as they need. ]
Ananke is really good at healing. She can fully heal one person or everyone. If she heals everyone, it also, umm... it can get rid of Shadow effects? Like poison and feeling sleepy. It can also make you feel calmer. She can also use that spell on everyone without healing. Oh, and she can also revive someone if they die, but only if she does it quickly and if-- if they're not really in bad shape. Umm... I can also "die" once, but I'll be okay and after every battle, I'll fully heal on my own so I won't ever run out of energy. I'm not very good at fighting, though... Ananke can use two spells that can instantly kill everything, but it doesn't work all the time. Ummm... I... think that's everything.
[ It's really hard to remember everything. Ananke has changed a lot since she was first summoned. ]
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[The shrine dungeon is bad for slow-going, with the hub of Shadows the very first thing to encounter.
It's so hard to remember everything about Joroko, and Ananke's list seems even more complicated. Toki understands why Rei just goes with "healer" now.]
Rei... You won't just let yourself die because you can, right?
[Even if he knows she can come back, it would still be traumatizing.]
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[ She actually never used that skill before. She just knows what it does and that it'd allow her to take one fatal blow without dying, but she doesn't know much else. When will it reset? Will it be gone forever after she uses it once? It's too risky so she won't ever risk it. ]
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[Then it's time to enter the dungeon, and Toki lets Joroko open the door, because they're testing it right at the beginning. What he sees from her projection is less of a image and more of a thought of an image, eight at once. Less than a second, a minuscule flicker. He couldn't even count the number of Shadows in that time.]
Oh my god.
[This is not going to go well.]
There's a lot of them~!
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Oh, there are people in here. Who are they?
[ All of them turn their heads at Toki and Rei, silently staring at them before they slowly start to approach. ]
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[They have to be now, because the others went home. Toki steps in, and he had forgotten about the disappearance of Personas. It also happens on some floors in here. But it's okay. He was here to work with Rei as a team, and sometimes they may not have Personas.]
Oh my god.
[It's a manta now. What if the Personas are gone in the new dungeons? He can't rely on Joroko for things as essential as navigation if she's not necessarily going to be there.]
I forgot how many we have to kill for the doors to open!
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I-I can't summon Ananke!
[ Her grip on Toki's hand tightens and she takes a few steps back. She's already panicking. She doesn't how to fight without her Persona! ]
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Can we go back out!?
[Does that door open? Toki's non-Persona fights have all been instances where he'd snapped and just beat on people. Like Kano, and some BBC reporters. He'd grab for a bat and and go that route if he knew they were available.]
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N-No, we're tr--
[ She doesn't get to finish because she screams and immediately shoves Toki to the side, so suddenly and forcefully that they might fall down. However, a little tumble is better than suddenly being clubbed over the head with a bat, which she just barely dodged. ]
They have knives and baseball bats!
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Try to take one of the weapons!
[Toki's plan is to stay on the floor and then tackle the next Shadow that he hears coming. He probably won't be strong enough to overpower them, but maybe he can knock them down so Rei can steal whatever they're holding.]
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I-- I got the bat!
[ She still sounds pretty panicked, however, and she's shaking. She lets one hand go of the handle so she can help Toki up. The other Shadows are now wary, seeing that the Persona users managed to kill one of them and got a weapon. They stay a few steps away. For now. ]
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He hesitates for a moment after Rei helps him up. Is it better for her to have the bat, or him? He's stronger, only because he's so much bigger than her, and he has a longer reach.]
Okay... Let me have it, and you just tell me where they are.
[Using a bat takes no skill or finesse.]
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F-Four are coming! Two on your right and two on your left!
[ They decide to split up, thinking that Toki can't possibly get all of them. Rei is definitely not powerful enough to handle them on her own and she no longer has a weapon. They could probably take her down easily. ]
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[ The other three still remain and the other Shadows are starting to find their courage again as two more joins the scramble. It's hard for even Rei to keep up with all their movements. ]
There are two mo--
[ Yet again, she's cut off from her sentence with a scream. One of the Shadows grabbed onto her hair, intent on dragging her to the ground where it can wrap its hands around her neck. A hand snakes towards her neck already, but she managed to grab it and bring it to her mouth, biting down hard. The Shadow lets out their own loud cry of pain as black blood begins to leak out of their hand. ]
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Until the bat is taken from his hands by another Shadow, and a second is right there behind Toki to stab him in the back with a knife. He screams and rounds on that Shadow, grabbing any part he can reach and digging his fingernails into it. He'll try to rip it apart with his bare hands in his panic.]
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[ Rei has been trying to catch her breath and get that godawful taste out of her mouth, but she's forced to act immediately after she was freed. The Shadow that stole the bat away, it raises its weapon high up. It almost brings it down onto Toki's shoulder, but it's tackled to the ground before it gets the chance. Rei's small, but even she's able to knock someone over when they're not expecting it. ]
[ There are the sounds of a struggle as the two of them fight over the bat. Those sounds are followed with a sickening crack and then silence. The silence lasts for a few seconds and there is absolutely no movement. It is broken by the clattering of a heavy object falling to the ground and quick footsteps. ]
T-- Tokidoki--!
[ It's Rei's voice. She runs up to Toki and checks on his injuries. The Shadow never managed to pull out its knife out of his back. ]
D-Don't take it out. Not until I can heal it!
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Rei! Are you hurt!?
[That's all he cares about. The knife in his back produces both sharp pains and dull throbs with each movement, so he's trying to stay still. Then it occurs to him that they're still alone in here.]
C-can you? Without Ananke?
[How many Shadows are still in here? How many do they need to kill?]
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cw: eye gore
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cw: eye gore and suicidal intentions...
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