Kotori Shirohane - Hall of the Slain: Floor 1 | Sunday

As the shadows transformed to make up a pair of enemies, there was little left for the group to do - as before, no matter what they said or did, it seemed as if the shadow would find some way to coax the words out of their other half. Such was the case with Masahide once again - though at least Kaminari had the wits to warn the real one to get aside, seeing as what was to come was likely not going to be something that one wanted to be in the midst of. In fact, Kotori felt much that way - but with a deep breath she steeled herself for the inevitable battle ahead, however it may pan out.

Ayano immediately began to scan the shadow in an attempt to find their weaknesses; relaying much the same as Kaminari said: To keep one's distance and hold out for the time being. "Ah, y-yes." Kotori was only too glad to follow the advice as everyone engaged in their respective last second preparations. As Kaminari cast a familiar shielding spell to envelope himself in a defensive layer that would hopefully allow him to withstand any attacks a little better, Kotori unfortunately had little to offer in the ways of helping the others or herself out. Furthermore, without knowing exactly what they were up against, she was afraid to just cast offensive spells with abandon at either shadow in case that was just what it wanted.

Instead, Kotori tried to keep behind Kaminari, who put himself between the party and the shadows; hoping that it would give her enough time to react should either shadow go for her whilst she prepared both Kikuri-Hime and herself to cast any healing spells should they be necessary - though she'd much rather they wouldn't be.

With their pincer movement attack successful, the shadow's guard broke away like a literal glass vase. As Rui capitalized on the moment with his persona, Sato kept slinging spells at it. His persona danced around him, throwing blasts of wind left and right. With everyone else's attacks combined, the shadow was eviscerated by the barrage of spells and strikes, leaving nothing but a husk behind as it died. There were a few straggler shadows littered about still, but they were hardly of concern as the barricade blocking the door behind them broke away, as if the lights turning on wasn't a big enough sign already that they had won.

Rui lead the group through the door, bringing them into another wide-open room, a runway stage in the middle of it. Cherry blossoms, bubbles, and glitter flew through air and through the spotlights wandering the walls and floor. This time, however, instead of mannequins or shadows, it was filled with only two Shizukas. Not a shock, but still alarming nonetheless. It felt sickening to see someone Sato personally knew, as if he himself had been targeted again. It felt a little conceited to think that way, but... it was hard to otherwise describe the feeling. He had to resist his urge to rush forward, as he knew that would do the exact opposite of help.

It was as Sato bit his lip that the shadow, malicious yellow eyes betraying the mahou shoujou costume she wore, pointed to the group of teens that had barged in on whatever freakshow was being held. Shizuka shouted out to Matt, a connection Sato wasn't sure if he remembered. Regardless, shouting out like that was a mistake, as the shadow immediately spun more probably scatching remarks about it. He cocked his head when he heard Matt had confessed to her, but Sato shook himself back to the main point of that she was facing her shadow and all. Dating sim rambling, pretentious laughter, and that familiar heart-ripping sarcasm fell out of the shadow's obnoxious mouth.

The disturbing laughter the shadow let out was a prequel to the real attraction of the show, in which Shizuka said... those words. As soon as she said it, a thick silence fell over the room, before the shadow underwent what seemed like some kind of magical girl transformation sequence. Ribbons and orbs surrounded her-- it?-- before exploding into a cloud of sparkles from which emerged the shadow's 'true form'. Or, in other words, some weird garish fox demon thing popped out from behind the smoke and mirrors.

Like always, their first priority was making sure Shizuka was safe, which was (fortunately) a task better suited for one of the more physical members of the team. Or the more dedicated. He fully expected Matt to rush to her side as fast as he could, but Sato was more preoccupied with himself to really watch. Tracking the fox shadow carefully, Sato stood to its flank. It felt too risky to try to make the first move, in case it had some kind of wild trick up its sleeve, so Sato summoned his persona and set up a Marakukaja shield around the party.

@Sho Minazuki@oblivion666

Ryan panted a bit as he continued to fend off the Shadows. They just kept getting back up, no matter how many times they got knocked down. He looked to Tadao for guidance when a bird cried out in the distance. "Does anyone here have a bird Persona?" Knowing his luck it was probably a giant bird Shadow.

Suddenly a bright crimson flame filled the hospital ward, making the Shadows bubble. "Erec, Garula!" Ryan shot a Garula at one of them and watched it go down permanently this time. And so it began again, Ryan using Gale Slash over and over. This time they stayed down though.

>Rui: 4/4 (SUKUKAJA)
>Matthew: 4/4
>Akane: 4/4
>Sato: 4/4

>Shizuka's Shadow, Kyuubi: 100% HP

"Megumi, start scanning. We'll stay careful until then", he requested.

"Right, stand by", Rui then turned to back to the team. This kind of scene doesn't shock him as much as it did the first time, so he was quite quick to start giving orders.

"Everyone else, we keep a careful stance, use buffs and strike safely", he ordered, as he summoned Askr to cast Sukukaja on himself. He ought to get a team version of this spell soon... Still, he turned to the front. Shizuka was still between them and the shadow and it looked ready to attack her.

He motioned to Matthew to move forward with Rui in the lead while Sato and Akane sat back and used buffs and spells to cover them. He swept in front of Shizuka while Matthew arrived to pull her out of there. Now the fight was beginning.

---

>Kami: 4/4
>Kotori: 4/4
>Alexei: 4/4
>Riku: 4/4

>Masahide's Shadow, Loki: 100% HP
>Fafnir: 100% HP

They were wary... Still, if they won't make the first move, then that dog certainly will. Ayano could identify it as Fafnir, attributes were fast, and difficult to shake off. Those fangs would do the most damage, but it can also use it's tail and speed to do some impressive attacks. Meanwhile the shadow in the back, all she could get so far was that the glass in it's hand had healing properties.

Kami responded with a Mazio, to try and catch the wolf shadow in a wide array. It worked, stopping it momentarily, but not for very long... Looks like they were going to have to time their attacks together.

Riku stepped forward and began trying to strike the wolf directly, even as he missed, the pure power behind his Persona was felt by his allies... If they could just allow him to get a clean hit, this can be quite the easy fight.

---

The counter-assault worked, and as the crimson flames disappeared, the party watched a brown hawk with a jet-like Persona fly past the window, and then disappear... Strange. Still, it looked like their rescue target was soon to be at hand. Though Tadao had a different idea of what they should do... He began to speak as the lights turned on, showing the charred state of the room. Still, the lights were on... Meaning it was likely this area was cleared.

"We should wait until we have support from a navigator... If it wasn't for that bird, we'd probably have suffered a lot more damage... Besides, this room has been cleared, so we should be safe here. Now may be a good time to recompose yourself", he saw Ryan back there, petrified, though he still fought. This might be a good time for him to calm his nerves.

Kotori Shirohane - Hall of the Slain: Floor 1 | Sunday

With the transformation completed, it seemed like the first action was a stand-off - neither side immediately took the initiative to launch an attack. However, this did not last very long - Ayano's initial scans revealed that the hound was called Fafnir and was a fast and dangerous attacker. The shadow in the back, meanwhile, still eluded her on details beyond the fact that his glass of wine was apparently one of healing too - that was probably going to be something that needed to be dealt with if they didn't want the fight to drag on.

Kotori, meanwhile, had remained at a distance and nervously glanced between the two shadowy enemies - but Kaminari and Riku did not wait as long. The former called upon Zeus to deliver a Mazio attack, briefly stunning their foes but not dealing much damage. Riku used the opportunity to strike in tandem with his own persona, Lu Bu - but unfortunately, the heavy blow came a moment too late as the wolf-like shadow recovered just in time to jump aside; the impact nonetheless resounding throughout the room - undoubtedly that would have been a devastating blow if it had hit.

As no one had yet suffered any wounds, Kotori was free to try and aid the attack for the moment - and as Kaminari's attack had shown, neither of the two opponents seemed to be immune to lightning strikes. As such, she called upon her own Persona: "Kikuri-Hime." Unfortunately, she could only target a single foe with her limited offensive abilities - and without knowing the extent of either the main shadow's healing prowess or the hound's ability to dodge, it wasn't an easy decision. However, hoping that the main shadow could only heal itself and that a lightning strike would be both accurate and fast enough, she decided to focus her attention on the dog-like shadow: "Zionga."

As Megumi began to try to scan the shadow, the others adopted a similarly cautious formation on Rui's order. Sato furrowed his brow as he kept his eye on the shadow, his persona floating patiently behind him. With a Marakukaja up, there was naught he could do but try to attack it as Rui and Matt were already heading in to procure Shizuka. Worse case his attack doesn't do much, maybe the shadow would turn their attention to him and Akane and allow the other two to get Shizuka to safety...

Nodding to himself, Sato drew his bow and nocked an arrow. With the help of Chronos, he launched it at the shadow, a purple glow following it as a blast of wind propelled the shot. Poison Arrow was worth a shot.

Akane Hanazawa // Mirror World // Super Magical Runway F2
Sunday, June 28th, 2015

As they defeated the shadow, they finally unlocked the door and moved on. It was there they found what they were looking for, if the colors and otherwise strange sight wasn't enough. "Magical girl, huh?" Listening to bits and pieces of the conversation, she became a bit more interested in the fight at hand, well, the person at least. Hoho, a potential new recruit for the club, eh? she pondered to herself, with it not being an appropriate thought given the current situation.

As Megumi did her thing and began scanning, Rui issued out new orders. Despite being a bit annoyed at being relegated to support again, she summoned Setanta and had him cast Matarukaja again. Ahhhh I want something to hit already. She complained to herself.

>Rui: 4/3 SPD UP / ATK UP / DEF UP
>Matthew: 4/4 ATK UP / DEF UP
>Akane: 4/4 ATK UP / DEF UP
>Sato: 3/4 ATK UP / DEF UP

>Shizuka's Shadow, Kyuubi: 85% HP

The careful poking and striking from afar wasn't proving too effective, but they were testing the waters. Rui with Sukukaja buffed on him went for two Mighty Swings, dealing a fair chunk of damage, but the fox coming out largely unscathed showed they had a long way to go. The buffs helped out too.

Megumi's scan was almost done as the party began to weather the fox's counter-attack, a bright array of colours and light, sweeping everyone with a bit of damage, but they also felt the buffs disappear. Fortunately the Persona hasn't dealt any lasting damage, so everyone managed to weather the damage, but a repeat of it enough times they could end up in a bad spot.

"Anti-buffs...? This may take a little longer than normal", he commented.

---

>Kami: 4/4
>Kotori: 4/4
>Alexei DMG1: 4/4
>Riku: 4/4

>Masahide's Shadow, Loki: 95% HP
>Fafnir: 75% HP

The Zionga from Kotori somehow managed to find it's target, then again it was kind of difficult to avoid an instant bolt of lightning. The wolf didn't seem to be very sturdy, so it looks like they can dispatch it relatively quickly if they can lock it down and focus it. While they were thinking about that. On the other hand despite Alexei charging down the main shadow, it didn't seem to take much damage.

Immediately following that was a retaliation from the wolf and the shadow itself, striking Alexei with it's hand, it's flesh ripping before regenerating again. Regenerative abilities...? But it didn't seem to be using it for itself beyond it's own attacks... Still, the wolf could go down in a single turn if they focused it right.

"We go for the wolf, then focus the shadow", Kami ordered.

---

Kotori Shirohane - Hall of the Slain: Floor 1 | Sunday

The lightning bolt struck home - and the wolf-like shadow recoiled from the hit, clearing the path for Alexei to charge in and attack the humanoid shadow. Unfortunately, unlike the hound, it didn't seem too impressed by the hit; immediately going for a counter-attack together with its companion against their assailant. Alexei in turn, however, didn't seem much worse for wear as he shrugged the attack off and denying any immediate need for healing attention despite Kotori insistence - instead, they should rather focus on their foe and save any healing for when it was really necessary.

Kaminari seemed to be of the same opinion as, upon observing how their enemies took the hits they'd been dealt, he ordered an all-out attack on the wolf so that they could hopefully turn the odds more in their favour. "Right," Kotori nodded at that before turning to track the wolf - it seemed to already know that there were more attacks incoming as it was skittering from side to side to make itself a harder target. Nonetheless, Kotori hoped that her attack would strike home again as she called upon Kikuri-Hime once more: "Zionga," she called for - which was immediately followed by another lightning bolt courtesy of the flowery shrine maiden that was her persona; even as Kotori's eyes darted to her companions, readying herself to cast a healing spell should they require it after the inevitable counter-attack of their enemies.

Despite their truly courageous efforts, their game of footsies with the didn't result in much. It was definitely doing something, but Sato doubted the shadow would just let them whittle away at it for much longer. His shot didn't do much, and even Rui's quick assault hardly did much damage.

Right on time with Sato's train of thought, it was the fox's turn to counter-attack. It did a thing and next thing Sato knew, lights were beaming down on them, moving around the entire group. The colors seemed to burn a little, a little bit of pain on his skin, but it wasn't anything bad. More concerning was the fact that Sato could watch as the lights tore through the shields and buffs that they had just set up. If this was going to be a thing through the whole fight, Sato decided it wouldn't be worth it to put effort into keeping them up. They'd just have to make do with what they had.

Without much else to do, Sato flicked his wrist, and Chronos suddenly appeared in front of him. A circle of light appeared below the fox shadow, exploding if it moved a muscle inside of it. With that set up, he immediately casted a Garula to push it and thus set if off.

"Kazuki? What are you doing here?", Tadao turned to ask as the boy stepped into the ward. He was alone, then again this dungeon presented no danger beyond an uncanny presence that seemed to linger throughout the halls.

"I'm here to act as your navigator. I got bored sitting back, so I decided to do you all a favor", Tadao was silent.

"Besides, the sooner we can finish all of this, the better, right?", it wasn't known to anyone here except Tadao that Kazuki's Persona had navigational abilities, but only in close proximity to himself, unlike Megumi and Ayano, who could use it from relatively safe positions outside of the dungeons.

"I suppose... Very well Kazuki, if that is your wish then I will accept", Tadao gave in. Everyone here had about rested up and calmed their nerves enough, or should have.

"Alright you lot, we're going to get moving", Kazuki seemed to make himself leader pretty much as of this point without any official announcement. Still, if they could get out of this place sooner, the better.

They stepped through the doors, and entered basically a hallway of swirling darkness. It appended into a regular hallway just several steps through, but as they walked down this hallway, the darkness behind them would creep along the walls, first forming the familiar marks and graffiti on the wall from the rest of the dungeon, and turning into legible writing. "They killed him", "it was their fault", "they deserve to die", as everyone read these messages their walk through this hallway became more and more unsettling, until finally they reached a set of double doors swung open. It was an auditorium, decrepit, chairs destroyed, dusty, and one spotlight highlighting two identical figures, a boy and their shadow. Beside them were two mannequins, blank save for the kanji for "father" and "mother" on each one.

@EnterTheHero Your time has come.

@Sho Minazuki@oblivion666

Ryan was surprised by the entrance of someone he doesn't think he's ever met before. Apparently his name was Kazuki and he was able to function as a Navigator through the dungeon. Tadao and Kazuki had a little back and forth, but Tadao gave in quickly and basically gave up his role as leader.

Ryan shrugged and followed Kazuki through the doors and into darkness. As they walked the darkness formed into graffiti, spelling ominous and upsetting messages throughout the hallway. They grew darker and darker in content until eventually they reached the end, which opened into an empty auditorium. A single spotlight highlighted two identical figures and a few mannequins? How strange.

==~==

The first thing Mako processed upon regaining consciousness was the raging headache. Following that was processing the fact that everything hurt.

Owww... someone get the number of the truck that hit me. He shifted, trying to find purchase on the slick ground through the fog in his brain. Ugh... jeez, you'd think those cultists would be a bit more careful with the people they're trying to--

Mako's eyes snapped open. The cultists! Gritting his teeth with the effort, he managed to slowly push himself up to a kneeling position, groaning in pain as he took in his surroundings. It was... bleak. Some sort of abandoned facility, like a community center, or something. It was hard to tell under the layer of graffiti and filth covering every surface. It was honestly pretty nauseating.

I didn't even know there was a building like this in Warakuma. He pondered this thought for a moment more before a sick feeling settled in his stomach. But then... how long have I been out? I might not even be anywhere near Warakuma anymore... which would be troubling. He pushed himself to his feet, still feeling somewhat stiff and shaky. It was somewhat hard to see, seeing as it was dark, but he could see a lot of debris scattered around him. He'd have to watch where he stepped- wouldn't want to trip over anything in the dark.

He took a few tentative steps forward before light flared from directly above, briefly blinding him. He hissed in pain, his headache exacerbated by the sudden light.

Confounded tech crew, what the hell--? He risked sparing a glance around, to see what the light had illuminated, then froze, eyes going wide as his pain was forgotten.

Two dummies, situated directly to his left and right, hung in the air above him by their necks, as though in effigy. That would have been disturbing enough, but then there was the writing on them to consider, as well. On his left, the dummy was marked with the kanji for "mother." On the right, the kanji read "father." Mako shook his head, looking between the hanged dummies, feeling a sickening sense of... almost familiarity. Like... he knew this scene, somehow.

What the hell is this? With the light shining down, Mako could more clearly make out the writing on the walls and floor- and what he read only enhanced the sickened feeling in his gut. Is this... could these really be...?

“Ugh, fuckin' finally! I was beginning to think you were never waking up.”

Mako turned abruptly toward the voice that sounded behind him. "Who--?"

Whatever he was going to say died on his lips as soon as he saw the source of the voice. That’s… that’s not possible. He stared in blank shock at the figure, hunched and squatting a short distance away, tapping a nonsense rhythm on his knees with his fingers. The figure smirked, as though it could tell what he was thinking, rising lithely to its full standing height, still wearing that grin.

His own grin, on his own face.

His doppelganger sauntered over, wearing what appeared to be a tattered straitjacket, the sleeves torn off at the elbows, its hands filthy with what looked like dried blood. He shuddered.

“What are you…?”

The grin grew wider, but no less cold. “I should think you would be able to figure that out, genius. Those cultists must have hit you pretty goddamn hard if you don't even recognize your own face.”

Mako flinched, then tried to maintain his composure. “...Really? You really think I’m gonna buy that something like you is me?”

“Why not? You fake it all the time. Why is this identity any less honest than the rest of you?”

“I… I don’t fake--”

“I’m gonna stop you right there, ‘cause we both know that’s bullshit. I mean, let’s count the ways, shall we? The grade-A pupil to your teachers? Budding actor to the drama club? Rising star to the boxers, and charming master to that stupid cafe you always go to. And let’s not forget the most unbearable of your acts, the shining white knight for that little sham of a relationship you're trying to force. So many faces, so many charming little lies."

Mako's mouth worked noiselessly as he tried to think of something to say, but was distracted by the doors behind his copy opening up, admitting a trio of individuals. The copy's eyebrow raised as he turned around. Mako couldn't tell, but it seemed, from his doppelganger's stance, that he would be grinning that cold grin.

"Ah. The peanut gallery finally arrives, but..." His head tilted. "...Hmm. Your boyfriend's not here. What a shame." He shrugged, turning back toward Mako. "Perhaps these idiots can help spread the news, then. After all, how many of your friends know what you’re really hiding? How many of them know that underneath all your layers, all the fakery, all the bullshit you try and pull, that all they’ll find is me…?”

Mako grit his teeth. “You’re not--”

He cut off suddenly as the doppelganger struck him across the face. “What the fuck did I say about lies? You may not want to admit it, but I don’t have the same compunctions. Why do you think you try so hard to deny it? Why else would you run to all your little make-believe selves in an attempt to flee? You fake being a decent person because you know that deep down inside, I’M the real you! It’s always been like that, ever since Haku was killed.”

Mako clenched his fists. “Haku killed himself!!”

“BECAUSE OF THEM!!" the doppelganger shrieked, looking purely enraged, hands curled into claws at his sides. "Haku did it because he couldn't take it anymore! Because dear old mom and dad couldn’t be in the same room for two seconds without trying to tear each other down! Because they turned on him whenever he tried to make it stop! Because they made his life- your life!- miserable for daring to try and make them understand what they were doing to you!! They pushed and shoved you both until he broke- until there was nothing left! They may not have tied the noose around his neck, but it’s still their fault! And instead of doing something about it- even after your brother died because of them- what did you do? You ran. You tried to forget any of it ever happened. You ran away and you threw yourself into whatever fake life you could come up with in an attempt to get away from me! To drown me in your fakery!

“But you can’t, can you? And you know that. I’m always itching to come out. When that prick at the cafe was snapping photos, when you’re fighting, when those cultists were dragging you all out of that stupid cafe… whenever the going gets tough, that’s the real you that’s coming out. Deep down, all you have is me, because I’m the only honest thing about you. And you’re not just afraid of admitting I’m there, you’re afraid to admit you like me. You like the anger. You like the feeling you get when you get a chance to let me out. You’re a coward who’s afraid to admit that you like being a monster. The moment you get to hurt someone… is the only moment you’re really alive. Isn’t it?”

The double laughed, then- a cold, broken, hollow sound. “Yeah, you know it’s the truth. So why fight it? Why not let me out, show everyone the real you? Go back to Tokyo, say hi to the folks. Let them know how much it means to you… that they turned you into this. Or if you’re too chicken, you could stay here, and I’ll do it! Makes no difference, really. After all, I am you... aren't I?” He laughed again, hideous, high-pitched, psychotic. Mako clenched his fists before walking up to the copy, swinging his fist into its face, its nose crunching under his fist. The double clutched at his face, eyes reflecting shock and... amusement, almost?

“Shut up! SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP!! What the fuck are you, a cartoon supervillain? Get a life, and get the fuck out of here! You’re not a thing like me, you hear?? You. Are not. Me! Now leave me alone!!”

There was silence for the space of a moment. Then the laughing started. Low, slow, deep, then rising in pitch and intensity, higher and higher until the insane sound echoed off the walls. And underneath the crazed laughter was another sound, the sound of ripping and tearing, as the doppelganger’s body began to twist and warp- limbs growing longer. Skin darkening to ashen color. Its back swelling grotesquely, until a pair of bloody wings wings burst out gorily. Mako stared in horror at the eyes that stared him down, full of malice- at the horror that now awaited him.

“You know something? You’re absolutely right. I could never be such a spineless little wimp like you. So now? Now, I’m not just going to be the real you- I’m going to be the ONLY you! And I’m going to make some changes around here. I’m gonna set fire to all the garbage that you pretend is a life!! Starting with you!”

The beast cackled then, as its body burst into flames.

“I’LL BURN ALL THE THINGS YOU’RE TOO AFRAID TO!! THE WHOLE GODDAMN WORLD!!”

==~==

Round One... FIGHT!!

>Rui: 3/4
>Matthew: 4/4
>Akane: 4/4
>Sato: 3/4

>Shizuka's Shadow, Kyuubi: 78% HP

"Kyahahahahahaha! You're going to need to do better than that to catch me! Look at each of these perfect steps, the perfect model! Witness my stunning performance! This is who I am!"

Rui was starting to eye the stand and stage that the shadow was dancing on... Each step and twirl seemed to make the entire arena react in some way. Maybe they can staunch the pattern somehow. Sato's Garula did a fair chunk of damage, but it didn't stop it's onslaught. Matthew's Agilao created a flaming tornado but the shadow simple spun it out and put it out with a gust of wind from it's tail dress. Rui turned to Akane, and then to Sato and Matthew,

"Me and Akane will go up front, you two, aim for it's feet. We're going to see if we can make her trip up", he said. He only needed something to keep it moving while he would go to trip it with his Persona's gigantic blade, and then leave Akane with her high physical prowess to pummel it. With luck they could end this shortly after this stunt.

---

>Kami: 4/4
>Kotori: 4/4
>Alexei DMG1: 4/4
>Riku: 4/4

>Masahide's Shadow, Loki: 95% HP
>Fafnir: 0% HP

Fafnir was suddenly bearing under the focused assault, taking hit after hit, with Kami using Mazio again to lock it down before a barrage connected with it, sending it flying back, it's flesh peeling from it as it skid across the stone floor. Now was their chance to go for the main shadow.

"URGH! USELESS MUTT! Come here you, your job isn't done yet!", the shadow began to walk over to the dog and poured it's glass of wine over it.

"Good work, now we charge!", he yelled.

"About time, c'mere you stupid freakshow", Riku was getting into the idea of beating someone down, as he always does.

"Ayano, keep an eye on that wolf, I doubt that's the last we'll see of it", he gave the order just as he began his sprint to strike at the shadow. As Ayano would see on her sensors, the wolf was regenerating. They only have a little bit of time before the wolf would be up again.



>Tadao: 4/4
>Ryan: 4/4
>Sieghardt: 4/4
>Chiaki: 4/4

>Mako's Shadow, Yama: 100%

As the shadow transformed into the demonic beast, the entire auditorium burst into flames. Scorched earth spread out beneath the party as they watched this entire arena turn into a vision from hell. With little warning the beast got down on all fours and charged the party, everyone scattered while Tadao summoned his Persona and bore the brunt of it's attack, sliding back and away as the shield and the beast's claws met. As soon as that finished, the face on it's chest opened wide and a pillar of flame erupted from it's jaws, from which Tadao decided would be best to dodge instead...

No gimmicks, no tricks... This was a boss of pure strength and skill. The answer might be in Tadao bearing the brunt of the attacks and everyone else ganging on it when he manages to stop it from moving too much, plus those wings, it'll be able to fly too.

"This might be a tough one...", Tadao said to himself.

"Starting scan. You all be careful", Kazuki assured, as he summoned his Persona from the back. There has to be some kind of weakness...

@Sho Minazuki@floodtalon



The shadow would transform into a dmeonic beast to which startled Sieg to see it for himself and not be the cause of it this time around. What shocked him more was the auditorium turned into a fiery landscape pretty much. It distracted him enough yet he caught the beast charging up for a charge, which made Sieg book it out of the range of the attack. He watched Tadao take the blunt of it with his persona's shield. Yet he dodged the next attack which was probably for the best. Yet this shadow used fire attack and hard hitting moves? Well Saturnus could handle being hit by fire attacks but being hit by a physical one would not end well.

Kazuki started his scan which made Sieg take a deep breath in despite the hot air hurting him for doing such, and would exhale summoning Saturnus. "Saturnus! Masukukaja!" The Persona would flip his cape before holding up his weapon, giving his allies and him the buff. "Okay so we should be better dodging those crazy attacks of his, and dishing them out." Yet Sieg would only do that for now, not wanting to rush head into danger with just a simple buff going for him.

Kotori Shirohane - Hall of the Slain: Floor 1 | Sunday

On Kaminari's signal, the entire group sprang into action. Bolts of lightning streaked out from Zeus, blanketing both enemies in surging electricity that forced them on their backfoot - just enough time for the real attacks to strike. Alexei and Riku charged forth, intent on beating down the briefly stunned wolf-like shadow - but for good measure, Kotori added another lightning bolt courtesy of Kikuri-Hime from on high; blasting straight down into the hound. It howled from the pain and brief debilitation thereof - which proved more than enough for the remaining two attackers to reach their target and cleave the shadowy wolf apart; launching it far from them, beaten and bloodied - or as bloodied as a living shadow could be.

This seemed to do little more than annoy the prime shadow however - who was intent on getting its companion back in the fight as it growled at the fallen hound. Raising its hand, the shadow began to pour the wine in its glass over the wolf - which caused it to stir; reminding everyone of Ayano's words that it held healing properties. If they weren't swift, they would be facing two enemies once again, Kotori worried. Kaminari seemed to think similarly as he didn't hesitate to order an attack on the preoccupied shadow; perhaps hoping to stop the process of resurrection or simply to get as much damage done as they could whilst it was relatively safe to do so.

Either way, Kotori quickly nodded in agreement as all three - Alexei, Riku and Kaminari - got off to a running start; intent on getting close and personal to unleash their strongest attacks. Kotori meanwhile remained behind - both to keep an eye on her companions and to make use of Kikuri-Hime in order to once more cast a lightning spell down on their enemies: "Zionga," she called before thunder crashed through the hall, a lightning bolt striking down from above just moments before the others engaged the shadow - leaving Kotori to hope, if only ever so slightly, that perhaps they could end this here and now before the fight dragged on longer and more of them got hurt.

Matt || Super Magical Runway F2

Everything that followed finding Shizu had been a total blur, even the fighting that took place seemed to not really be happening as Matt slowly grew angrier and angrier especially after hearing the shadow talk and what was said about him, fuck what she said reminded him of the time he was in that situation… another plus to his agitation.
The fight was also taking too damn fucking long, he kept trying to burn everything but it was all seemingly pointless until Rui seemed to have come up with something… It's a good thing Matt was still kind of paying attention to everything.

“Huh? Attack the legs? Fine I’ll fucking attack that bitch's legs though I wish I could burn the fucking whore the ground after what she said but whatever let's just fucking kill it already”

Waiting for the others to move Matt got ready to try and blast the legs.
[Agilao]

Sato's attack worked out, hitting with some gusto, but it still didn't do all that much. After getting that hit in, the shadow picked it up a bit, playing out all the dance steps it was making. Rui noted this and turned to the rest of the group, relaying his new plan. Sato nodded in agreement; it seemed logical. The shadow was making a big deal out of its 'performance', so interrupting the dance would have to work out somehow, wouldn't it?

Matt's previous attacks hadn't done much, but it didn't stop him from keeping on trying, with... a lot of vigor, to say the least. At least he seemed to be aiming for the legs instead of throwing things at it. With Rui and Akane heading in close, Sato started watching the shadow carefully, keeping out of the way of any attacks it might launch in his direction. When he noticed what he thought might be an opening, Sato commanded his persona to throw a Garula at the back of its legs in an attempt to knock it down. If it fell, Rui and Akane could get in for massive damage. That would speed up the fight faster than anything would.

Akane Hanazawa // Mirror World // Super Magical Runway F2
Sunday, June 28th, 2015

"Finallyyyyyyyyyy," she exhaled a sigh of relief at Rui's words. "Don't think I could've lasted much longer on support duty." Akane grinned as she began stretching, clearly excited to finally get in on the fight, as she readied herself to charge in when time called for it. As she finished getting ready, she summoned Setanta. "Alright you cliche Mini-boss, it's about time we 'correct' your fashion sense." She cracked her knuckles with a sadistic grin.

Regardless of whether this plan works or not, I won't be satisfied unless I release all that pent up boredom. Heh. Once everyone got where they needed to be, Akane then waited for Rui's signal. As soon as he commenced the attack, she followed his lead and waited for her time to strike. When the moment came, there was only one choice. You know what they say, go big or go home. With that, she gave the order.

Vile Assault

@Sho Minazuki@oblivion666

Ryan watched with horror as the Shadow turned into a horrifying monstrosity complete with flames and demon face. It was quite stressful knowing that he was the one doing the rescuing this time instead of him cowering in the corner. Not that there was a corner to cower in, considering the flames that had engulfed the auditorium. Ts lied of thought was interrupted by the fact that the Shadow had decided to charge them in an attempt to crush them all at the very beginning of the battle. Ryan jumped to the side and summoned Erec, rolling to his feet and unholstering his knife in one swift motion. Probably unnecessary but it made him feel safer.

Tadao blocked it with his Persona's giant shield, luckily without injury. Kazuki began his scan and Ryan looked over at him. Then Sieghardt cast Masukukaja, making him feel strangely energetic. After Sieghardt said what he had done Ryan nodded to himself. That was a pretty useful ability. "Erec, Garula!" Erec slashed the air with it's rapier and a large ball of compressed air shot out at the Shadow.