flowerclips | ᴄᴇᴛᴀɴᴀ ✿ ɪɴʙᴏx

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. ]

Slow is good.

[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. ]

Okay! I believe you!

[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~!

[ 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're all Shadows!

[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 have knives and baseball bats!

[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.

[Using a bat takes no skill or finesse.]

[ 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. ]

D-Don't take it out. Not until I can heal it!

[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?]

It's okay, I'm all right.

[ Her injuries are minor compared to Toki's. She has some scrapes and bruises, but nothing that she can't handle. Maybe when she was still with Zen, she would have cried over them, but after dealing with all these dungeons for the past six~seven months, she's gotten used to them. Besides, once she heals Toki, she'll heal herself so it'll be fine. There aren't any more Shadows, all disappearing once the five have been defeated, so they don't have to worry about them. However, no Persona appears when Rei tries. ]

I-I still can't summon Ananke... but there are two doors. Let's go through one of them. Maybe I can summon her there...

[ Through the entire struggle, they managed to get close enough to the doors that they're only a few steps away. I will leave it up to you which door that they'll go through and if it'll be either Toki's or Rei's trauma first. ]

I'm sorry... but can you move? They're only a little bit away.

Y-yeah.

[If the doors are available, the Shadows are gone and they should be okay. With Rei's help, he can make it to the door. Hopefully, Personas can be summoned in whatever place they end up. Luckly, coinflip says they can be.

Rei and Toki will find themselves on the campus of Daybreak Academy. The architecture is mostly old European, the campus buildings detailed with ornate stone and sloping roofs. Towards the right, across the courtyard, are two more modern buildings, the dormitories. This is one of Toki's memories, and Rei is taking the role of a classmate Toki considered his best friend at the time.

They're in the middle of the courtyard on a nice spring day, the sun shining down and a gentle breeze. Toki is sitting in a chair, wearing his Daybreak uniform; white pants, a light blue blazer, a ribbon around his neck, and a beret. His shoes are bright red and shiny, like he'd just bought them. One thing he doesn't have is an earring. There is a camera crew set up in front of him with an interviewer asking him about classes.]

My favorite class? Well, there's really so many wonderful courses to choose from at this illustrious academy. I enjoy Professor Alouette's mechanics class for the hands-on experience, as well as Professor Atchison's law curriculum. Students are encouraged to have variety in their schedules.

[Toki finds himself saying this automatically, ignoring the knife in his back and not being able to move from the chair. Rei will see this from a few feet away, listening to the interview with an urge to jump in if Toki has a stupid answer. Which he does, because he'd had a stupid answer when this really happened.]

"I see. Mechanics and Law. Now, other students have mentioned a preference for Professor Torres's class. What is your opinion on that?"

Who's Professor Torres? I don't take Spanish.

[No. Not this day. Oh my god. He doesn't want Rei to see what happens after this interview. He keeps smiling like he did during the interview, but he's screaming inside.]

[ Rei doesn't understand what's happening. Toki hasn't actually explained what this dungeon entailed and neither did anyone else. She thought that this was just like the previous dungeons where you fight Shadows and get to the final room. She didn't expect to be seemingly transported somewhere completely new and Toki is wearing an outfit that she's never seen him in before. There's this strange... push that forces Rei to step forward, but it's not something that she fights. She wants to go to him anyway. ]

Tokidoki...? What's going on?

[ Why is he acting completely normal? While the knife is still in his back? Is this him or is this just some kind of illusion made by the dungeon? ]

[Toki never explained anything, and this is why he shouldn't have gone with Rei alone to the dungeon. He hadn't been in a memory floor either. He knew they existed, but he's only experienced the fears, and he was free to do what he wanted in them. His answer to Rei's question doesn't make sense, because it's a reply to Adelaide's interruption of his interview and not Rei's.]

Yes, she's right! Not everyone knows all the classes, but Babet- uh, Katherine here, loves Spanish and I'm sure she can fill you in on Professor Torres's very popular class!

[He continues rambling on about "Katherine"'s humble beginnings in a California fishing village. Toki remembers doing this, babbling about his fabricated backstory for Adelaide, because he was trying to stall since he didn't know who Professor Torres was.]

-was extremely delighted with her scholarship to Daybreak. Katherine has risen high in the ranks here in such a short time, her aptitude for- Valvatorez!

[Professor Val. V. Torres. Toki was such an idiot. The reporter isn't interested in the fake Spanish class anymore, turning to Rei. He asks about the international makeup of Daybreak and how the language barrier is going, because Adelaide is American and Toki is Japanese, and neither of them speak French well at this point.]

"Yes, please tell me about this translation technology, Miss Katherine."

[Toki can barely feel the knife anymore, because he's freaking out internally. They have to leave before Rei sees all this.]

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