[IC] Persona: Crossroads

[Undinebutt]

Now that she mentions it… Mari strains her ears to listen, and sure enough, there’s the sound of muffled chatter from far off. She nods, signifying she was hearing it too. The voices were too far off to make out what any of them were talking about, so they were probably in the next car over. Normally, Mari or Izuki shouldn’t have been able to hear them at all from the shut compartment door, but without any other noises from the train to drown them out, she guesses it’s easier for sound to travel. It really does feel like you’re all stranded outside of time. She shivers slightly at the thought. She wishes that this stupid freeze would just end already. She feels even more vulnerable than usual, and she can’t stand it.

A firm squeeze on her shoulder causes her to turn her head upwards, if nothing, out of habit. She numbly nods as she forces herself upwards into Izuki’s grasp. By now, you are able to distract yourself from your leg and focus instead on other matters. She had to stay calm. After all, if there were more people who could move around, then the better chances of being able to piece together what was happening, right? Maybe one of these “fuckheads” as Izuki oh so affectionately referred to them, knew more about this phenomenon more than either of them did. Plus, there was always safety in numbers, right?

Not that… There was anything to be safe from, right? Aside from this frozen thing being super creepy, it’s not as if there was anything dangerous about that in itself. But somehow, she couldn’t shake the feeling of unease as she limped along with her newfound companion as a crutch towards the end of the car.

What Mari assumes is the door is forced open with a creaking groan as the influx of voices pour through.

“Hey! Dipshits! Room for two more in your little snuggle pile?”

“H-huh?!” Her head shoots upwards, eyes widening in alarm. ‘Snuggle pile’? What? What exactly had they walked in on?! Well, it was a pretty scary situation, so she guesses it wasn’t too far-fetched for people to huddle for comfort…

“A snuggle pile?” Someone echoes, sounding equally as confused as Mari felt.

Oh… Oh. She was just being facetious. Mari feels her cheeks grow hot as her eyes flicker downwards, actually really glad she couldn’t see whatever stares they were receiving… Oh, but she could feel them.

“S-sorry. We, uh. Heard voices… From the next car over. So, um… We thought we should check it out.” She forces a smile that can’t look natural.

“Glad we did, right? Ahhaha… Ha.”

[Attis]

You feel the ground below you slowly lurch to the left, as if the car is rolling onto its side. The metal gives a groan, as if it were a creature suffering from a deep wound. Just as it hits one side, it swings back to the other even faster. There’s a split second where you think it may just roll the whole way around, but instead it tips back again. For a few moments it sways like a pendulum, bobbing up and down in a way that almost feels like you’re sitting on water. The passengers that were frozen have remained as such, even though it looks as if time hasn’t completely stalled anymore. Their bodies seem to emit a strange blue light. While it isn’t a harsh projection, it’s enough to tint the space in a hazy mist. The compartment has now become dreamlike with the surroundings almost vibrating at the edges, bringing a certain life to the dull standstill before.

Something flutters in the corner of your eye, bright and vibrant like the color of the sky. Almost quick enough to miss entirely. At this point, you hope you imagined it.

Suddenly, a noise snaps you back into the rest of your surroundings. It’s faint and high pitched, almost like a whistle going off in the distance. The noise is followed by a rumble that echoes through the tunnel. The metal underneath your feet tremors and no doubt, if you manage to reach one you are thankful for the overhead clutches. Whatever it was, it definitely came from something massive and alive. The train begins to speed up, faster than before. The whistling starts to close in and upon further inspection, it sounds like a high pitched scream.

Bursting through a wall, a small blue light phases through the door closest to the stern of the train, incorporeal until it passes through it. It shoots through the air like a bullet, leaving a streak of sparks behind it. As it draws closer it screams again, its high voice nearly drowned out by the crackles of light flying from it’s body. 

“Wh- hey! Watch out!!!”

One member of your group was not lucky enough to avoid it’s path. The silver haired boy tenses and bends as if preparing to dodge, his red eyes wide as he moves to duck out of the way. But he’s a second too late. The shock of blue light pummels him right between the eyes, slamming him onto his back at almost record speed.

The little light meanwhile, slides across the floor. Now that it isn’t flying at warp speed, the creature’s small form is now apparent. Palm sized and shivering, it shakes its head which dances like a flame from a candle. It’s large eyes widen and glow a brighter cyan than its body. It blinks, still taking in its surroundings.

“… humans-? Oh- oh no! You guys can’t be down here, it isn’t safe-” it says, voice cutting off with a squeak as it notices the damage it has caused to one of the members of your group who, still hasn’t risen from the floor. It covers its mouth with its tiny pawlike hands, expression mixed with guilt and fear. “I… I’m so sorry, I couldn’t stop in time! Is he-“

The little ghostlike figure runs across the surface with a patter, its fingers hovering over his throat, clearly intent on feeling for a sign of life. Just as it makes it across the distance however, another quake causes the train’s body to jump and knock the creature off it’s feet. Giving a sharp yelp it flies up, tucking into the jacket of the nearest person. Once it feels as if the coast is clear enough to leave, it leaves its hiding spot and returns to where it once was, it’s fire blue eyes flicking between up at you and other the still conscious passengers as it feels for a pulse. “Thank goodness,” it sighs, a tiredness settling into its features. “I… How did you all get down here in the first place? You all don’t look like you’re…”

It trails off.

[DJAtomika]

Izuki Goemon

"What the fuck?!"

As the train car lurched from side to side, she grabbed onto one of the many vertical poles with an arm. Her other instinctively tightened around Mari, holding her extra tight. The floor vibrated and heaved from side to side, almost causing her to lose her balance and her grip on the blind girl.

Then, almost as suddenly as it had began, it stopped. Izuki opened her eyes, eyes that she didn't even realise were squeezed shut. Aside from everyone who was moving, the statues and the car itself were misty. Glowing blue. Strange, almost dream like. But insanely fucking weird.

"What the fuck...?"

The ground gave another tremor. Izuki instinctively pulled Mari close to her as she held onto the pole.

"Oh fuck me, it's definitely not safe here. We need to split, like, no- "

That was, of course, when the little blue pixie decided to phase through a wall and then crash spectacularly into the silver haired boy's face.

Wait.

What.

"-w what THE FUCK?!"

The little sprite hovered and hid itself inside one of their jackets as the ground rumbled and shook. Once the tremor had passed, it emerged and went to the body of the fallen boy, almost like it was feeling for his pulse.

The train car was silent. Izuki's brain tried to process what in the seven hells had just happened.

Then the little sprite asked them a question and she snapped.

"Us?! What about you?! You fucking fly in, clock this guy in the face, then you fly around and fucking act if everything's okay, which it fucking isn't! What the fuck is going on?! And who the fuck are you?!"

[Conflagration]

Nira Seritoka
The Chariot

---

"I don't like it..." Murmured Nira - stopping immediately to gaze around the carriage for whatever the source of the disturbance was. She wasn't certain whether she actually wanted to know, but it was instinctive. As the second lurch hit she felt her already unsteady footing begin to give way. The frozen passengers had began to glow and eerie blue colour, and despite the train moving, they still seemed trapped in time. Just looking at them made her head hurt.

"What the fuck...?"

Nira's eyes switched up to the source of the statement of dismay, before snapping quickly to the rest of her companions. She took a gasping breath - hoping that somebody had a plan to get them out of there. Hoping that she would wake up. Hoping for anything that didn't involve dying on this stupid, creepy train.

It was while she was trying to find somewhere to avert her gaze to that didn't make her feel nauseous for one reason or another that the bat-thing flew in.

She screamed a little - stifling herself with a hand before realising that she needed that same hand to keep her balance. Nothing was going right. She paused for a moment to breath deeply and gather her wits. She reassessed the damage in front of her.

The bat-thing had collided with Whatshisname, who was now lying prone on the ground. There was no blood - no more than there had been before anyway - but the two looked to have had a nasty collision.

It was as the sprite started to speak that she returned to her senses.

"Oh you poor thing!" Nira exclamed - suddenly leaping forward as if the rest of the world around her wasn't happening: as if she were trapped in her own world almost. She dropped to her knees beside the boy and reached out a hand in concern, glancing over the prone body and holding out a gentle hand to the bat-thing. "Are you okay? Your so tiny, that didn't hurt you too much did it? It's okay, its okay..."

[nichinichisou]

“Don't sweat it. I think we’re all kind of excited not to be stuck spending our time with a bunch of creepy living statues. I think we’re all kind of excited not to be stuck spending our time with a bunch of creepy living statues. I’m Taro, and this is Nira Seri...Seritoka, right? We were just trying to figure out what to do."

Alright. Cool. She could keep her cool, as long as she kept listening to them. They were the only other two people that were unfrozen, so she pretty much had to trust them, even if it was against her better judgement. Judging from their looks, Nira was just a good person. She looked content with the situation, unlike Yuumei was on the inside. She was almost like a lolita. Taro, however, was capable of not only taking the lead, but looking good while doing it, too. It was a very planned casual look, almost like a science- SLAM!

Two more people had bursted into the room. One was a white-haired youth, and the other was brown-haired. She heard a hesitant hello from the brown-haired girl, and the white-haired boy introduced himself as Akito Fujisawa. The brown-haired girl followed, and introduced herself as Nao Miyoshi. Okay then, there were four other people that were unfrozen, so she pretty much had to trust them, even if it was against her better judgement- Oh, come on!

"Hey! Dipshits! Room for two more in your little snuggle pile?"

Okay then. There was a blind girl, who was near the rude one, and of course the one who asked for room in the snuggle pile. Alright, so now there were six other people that were unfrozen, so she pretty much had to trust THEM, even if it was against her better judgement...

Anyone else?

No?

Good.

Did the two even introduce themselves? If they did, Yuumei sure as hell didn't hear it while she was trapped in a maze of her own thoughts-

"Not this stupid shit again!" Yuumei yelled, as she felt the train go from side to side. She jumped out of her seat to grab one of the steel poles. The whole car felt like it was a ship in an extremely bad storm, the water bobbing them up and down and making her lose her balance. Then, it all stopped. There was a mist that covered everything that wasn't moving. A blue, dream-like mist. It made Yuumei feel like she was actually hallucinating this time.

"This isn't good. At all." Fuck these motherfuckers and their stupid ass Scooby Doo shit, Yuumei was about to make like Shaggy and get the hell out of this place. She wasn't doing SHIT for a Scooby Snack! 'Go into the engine room,' like that was going to do SHIT! Everything was FROZEN! F R O Z E N! Going to the engine room wouldn't have made a difference, aside from giving them a cool view or dying! On top of all this, Yuumei saw a little blue piece of shit phasing through a wall and clocking Akito right in the head.

Nope.

Nope.

No.

This shit wasn't real.

And then the pussy had the NERVE to hide into Yuumei's jacket while another quake had gone on! She wishes that she could've destroyed the thing while she had the chance, at least that'd be one of their troubles gone. It ran over to the boy, and basically confirmed that he was still alive. It asked a question.

"Us?! What about you?! You fucking fly in, clock this guy in the face, then you fly around and fucking act if everything's okay, which it fucking isn't! What the fuck is going on?! And who the fuck are you?!"

At least one of the people here is thinking straight!

"Oh you poor thing! Are you okay? Your so tiny, that didn't hurt you too much did it? It's okay, its okay..."

WHAT!?

"WHAT the FUCK are you doing!? Did you NOT see that...THING hit the boy in the face! If you didn't then that's totally okay." She said with a fake as fuck smile. "It's okay if you can't hear, because she," Yuumei pointed to the snuggle pile girl. "just gave you a rundown of what the thing just did! And you ask it if it's okay!? Of course it's okay, he just flew into my goddamn jacket and ran over to the boy! If anything, you should be worried for the boy because there's a chance he could be seriously hurt!"

At this point, Nira would be the one to hug Jason and say he was misunderstood. And then die first. Which is what she deserves.

She will not trust her. It goes with her better judgement.

[Undinebutt]

An alarmed yelp escapes her as she stumbles with the sudden violent jerk of the train. Luckily, Izuki’s arm is right there to stop her, pulling her tightly against her. In any other circumstances, Mari would probably would be freaking out right now, but she’s just grateful for not faceplanting onto the ground. Instead, she clings to Izuki’s shoulders for dear life.

Maybe this is a good thing, a thought fires through her mind. After all, it was the train lurching that sent them into this weird freeze, right? Maybe this is just a sign of it wearing off.

In fact, as the train rocks back into place, she’s just about ready to let out a sigh of relief-

“What the fuck…?”

“This is isn’t good. At all.”

Or… Not. She frowns as she strains her ears to pick up on anything that could clue her in onto what exactly wasn’t good. It was still as eerily silent as it was before, despite the train… Moving? No… It wasn’t like the usual sway as it ran down the tracks. More like a bobbing up and down as if they were… On… Water.

“Yyyeah, okay. Sorry, but what exactly is going o-wagh!!”

She clings to Izuki like a cat about to be thrown in water as a louder rumble shakes the car along with a high-pitched screeching noise. From then on, everything is pure chaos. She can’t even keep up with the series of shouts and bangs that ring across the car, while she can only hang there, eyes wide in alarm.

Eventually, the bits of conversation, (if you could even call it that. It’s more like shouting at each other) allow her to grasp some sort of idea of what could be happening. Apparently, someone else… Flew in, just now? And apparently it wasn’t human, either, from the way the other girls were talking at it. Also, it somehow knocked someone else out? Okay, wow. This is- this is too much.

She feels her legs giving out as she just sort of sinks from Mari’s grip to the floor, this at least relieving the throbbing in her leg for a short while. Okay… Okay. This was happening. Mari had no idea what, and by the sound of it, neither did anyone else here, but that didn’t mean they could just keep screaming at each other, right? Lashing out never solved anything. Crying never solved anything. That was a mantra she had mentally repeated to herself over and over for the past few years. Even if there wasn’t much she could do about it now, that didn’t mean that she had to make it worse by just limping around uselessly.

Okay, think. This… Whatever this guy, was, he clearly had a better grasp of the situation than anyone else here did. And what was it saying before…?

“E-excuse me,” she tries to cut through the cacophony of shouts, head turned towards where the small squeaky voice was coming from. “What did you mean by ‘it isn’t safe here’? What isn’t? Is there something we should be looking out for?”

Mari doesn’t know why she latched onto that of all things, but for some reason… She feels this sense of unease building up in the back of her mind. Of course she was uneasy since this whole ordeal started, but this was sharper, more urgent. It was almost like an instinctual warning, and as much as she wanted to chalk it up to paranoia, it felt like something she couldn’t just ignore. She swallows, her throat feeling dry, before she speaks again, her voice having a slight shake to it.

“… We need to get out of here, don’t we?”

[Atrophy]

Taro gave a friendly nod and a half-smile to Akito as the other boy introduced himself, failing to notice what some would assume to be a rather standoffish appearance with his typical teenager slump. He took the boy’s blunt question on whether or not he was going to captain the train as a joke and gave Akito a soft, approving laugh. Taro decided that it would be pedantic to inform the kid that captain wasn’t a term used in railroading, largely because he preferred to be called captain next to the more proper, and decisively less cool, engineer. Likewise, Taro was pretty close to figuring out that driving the train, assuming if anything from playing a simulation with a keyboard actually carried over into real life (which was perhaps the world’s largest “if”), was a really, really terrible idea that would likely end up in an actual crash.

He offered a warmer smile to Nao and was about to tell the two of them that he was looking forward to not being frozen with them before a piercing whistle derailed his train of thought. Snapping his head back and forth like a frantic dog, Taro wheeled around on his heels to see a tall woman half-dragging what he assumed to be her friend towards them. His jaw slackened dumbly as the tall, somewhat intimidating girl called them all “dipshits” as if it was a perfectly natural way to greet somebody. He quickly fixed his dumbfounded expression, observing that at this rate there would be more people on the train not paused by the clock than the other way around. Maybe this—what’s the word, event? Phenomena? Mass hysteria?—was fading away.

Then again, perhaps it was just growing stronger.

”A snuggle pile?” asked Nao.

“It’s like a cuddle party except—woah,’ said Taro, but his decisively unhelpful explanation was lost as the train began to rock. Quickly, he grabbed an overhead handle as the rocking grew more and more unstable. The frozen figures around them began to eerily glow. Okay, okay, Nira’s right, something’s different this time.

Maybe all of this was just some elaborate dream, the kind of one where you wake up from it, go about your day, do all of your chores, and then wake up once again just absolutely exhausted. If he was dreaming, he’d much rather it went back to the train full of girls and the one token other guy scenario than whatever ghost train nonsense this all was. Perhaps he thought real hard by squeezing his eyes closed then he would find some way to shift things back to how they were. That was a thing, right?

Taro tightly pressed his eyes shut until spots began to burst in the darkness like fireworks. The whole time he could hear a very loud ruckus going on all around him. By the time he opened his eyes, he already had a pretty clear picture as to what had happened thanks to the loud cursing lady. His eyes bounced from the cursing lady, to the lain flat-out Akito, to Nira crouching down over him playing nurse. He didn’t see the source of the pipsqueak voice; maybe that loud lady’s friend? Taro lifted an eyebrow as Yuumei began chewing out Nira for trying to help Akito. He stepped to the two girls, making a calm down motion with his hands and opened up his mouth to try and diffuse the situation, whatever the hell it was about.

“Oh,” said Taro, looking down the tiny little blue flame dude.

At least he knew he was no longer dreaming; this stuff was too crazy for him to have made up.

His mind reset; he rubbed his eyes and looked back. Clearly, he must have still be seeing spots.

“Oh,” he said again.

Clearly he wasn’t ready to unpack whatever the hell that thing was. He shifted his attention to Akito; everyone else was, rightfully, distracted by the world’s tiniest member of the blue man group. Bending down over Akito’s face, Taro gave him a sly smile and whistled low as he saw the bump on his forehead from where, assuming if the play-by-play was accurate, the tiny little guy had flew into the boy before knocking him on his ass. Taro decided it wasn’t his place to judge Akito for getting stomped out by a thing the size of cup; the kid would likely be embarrassed enough as it was. I know I sure would be. Good thing it wasn’t me, thought Taro, counting his blessing.

“Hey, buddy, you awake down there? Remember your name? The date? Need a hand getting up? I’ve personally never laid down on a train’s floor, but I would imagine that it might not be as comfortable as it looks and certainly a thousand times more disgusting than I ever could imagine it to be,” he said, his head turning to the girl who had just started talking as he offered out his hand. “Like, you’d probably want to take at least a million showers when you get home, and probably burn those clothes too. Hell, if I were you I wouldn’t be able to wait to —”

“… We need to get out of here, don’t we?”

“—put a pin in this,” he said, standing up as his hand dropped to his side. The smile on his face was a little too big. “Miss—sorry, don’t know you name yet—is right. If the weird little thing says we shouldn’t be here, then we probably shouldn’t be here. Hmm, if only this train had like a special room or something that controlled pretty much anything. Why, if we found that we could be out of here like that.” He snapped his fingers. “Man, but how could such a magical room even exist?”

[Crimmy]

Her right arm immediately grasped at the hanging strap above her, pale fingers curling tightly around the handle as the ground began to lurch dramatically beneath her feet. She winced as the force of the swinging train travelled up her body and into her sprained left arm. The pain was almost unbearable with the constant movement. And then it stopped. And the world was ... different. Strange and new. Confusing. Her eyes glanced around at her surroundings, at the slow bob of everything as if a beach ball in the salty sea. It was an eerie sight, and the hazy, dreamlike nature of the air ... of the blue that was radiating off the frozen passengers ...

Nao was very much perturbed.

The sudden appearance of the wraith was equally confounding, and before she could even react, it had already slammed straight into her erstwhile companion, knocking Fujisawa to the ground (and possibly out cold) before darting around in an almost ... panicking manner (she was not the most knowledgeable on the mannerisms of what appeared to be a fantastical spirit, but if she could assign human features to it ...) in an attempt to check upon the unconscious boy's state. It was sufficiently surprising and unexpected that Nao could do little but stare, her usual, tightly-controlled expression giving way to slack-jawed uncertainty at what had just occurred.

Her life tended not to resemble an episode of that western Ghostbusters cartoon that had aired two decades prior.

She mentally shifted gears.

"I recommend that we all calm down first before taking any form of action," suggested the Hakodate-native (with only the slightest hints of hesitation) as she herself crouched down next to the prone form of her first companion, glancing with concern at Fujisawa's increasingly prominent bruise. Anxious energy was rushing through her, but she was attempting to hold it in, attempting to avoid acting in any irrational manner while in the presence of some adorable ball of blueness.

Her good hand moved over to touch Fujisawa's bruise. It had definitely been a powerful collision, especially if it was enough to knock him unconscious. This did bring up the question of how solid the wraith was. Was it some sort of ... poltergeist-type entity? A kami that had manifested in a corporeal state? Some sort of youkai? Her family had never been overtly Shinto, but here she was, in the presence of a being that could easily find itself classified as one of the many strange creatures that the country supposedly boasted.

And its first action had been to take out Fujisawa.

Her gaze moved over to the teenager's (she had yet to know his age, actually) wounded leg, the one with the gash covered by her necktie. Had it been aggravated by the fall? She hoped that it had not. However, the most important thing was to ensure his safety. Lying on the floor was not particularly contributive to one's health. He was alive, thankfully.

With her one good arm, Nao let out a barely-audible grunt as she lifted Fujisawa's prone upper body up, and carefully slipped underneath his one shoulder so that she could support his entire body with hers. It sometimes paid well to engage frequently in sports, especially when one advantage was a greater physical capability to carry others.

Not too far, but she did not face too much difficulty lifting him haphazardly onto a nearby empty seat, shifting him around so that he was lying back peacefully against the leather rather than like a corpse against the floor.

[Attis]

The small fairylike creature seemed to relax at Nira’s prompting. The tremors that shook his world had finally died down, but he knew that this wasn’t over. Like the rest of the group, he was more than aware that this was the beginning of their troubles. But he’d been running for such a long time now that, resting for a few seconds amongst a bunch of really big people (who would maybe protect him from the approaching dangers ) seemed like a much better alternative. So he gladly took the kind girl’s offer to sit in her hand, breathing a sigh of relief as he recovered from the shock of the collision. 

“I… thank you. I’m sorry you all must be-“

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence before a much harsher reality set in. The fire growing from his head sparked in alarm and he had to mentally control it, for fear of burning the one who offered him refuge. He tried to keep as calm as he could. Of course some of them would be angry and skeptical. He couldn’t blame them, not even a little bit. Even if he hadn’t meant to hurt their friend, it was still his fault it had happened! Most of this was… really all of his fault, really.

“No- you’re right I… I’m really sorry. I’ve caused a lot of trouble for all of you,” he said, expression dropping as he swallowed. No. He couldn’t run away from this. They all looked really scared and confused too, so… it was better to tell them what was really happening here. He looked to the human with the misty eyes who, never seemed to look directly at him.

“I’ve been running away all this time and, I dragged all of you into it,” he said, standing, tiny palms resting on the glass front of the gold disc strapped around his front. The needle inside shook, snapping so it pointed skywards all at once. In his guilt, the puff of flame didn’t seem to notice its prompting. “I… something happened with my friend and- he’s well… he’s not acting like himself at all.”

“I thought maybe if I ran from him long enough he’d eventually get worn out or snap out of it but… I don’t think he’s okay. There’s something really, really wrong with him and- I think he smelled you guys and,” he stopped, swallowing as he gripped onto the slight protrusion of the compass. “Humans only come here after they’ve died, so I think he knows you don’t belong here and he’s really, really mad about it.”

He pawed at his eyes, pulling his tears back into his body before they had the chance to fall and burn the nice lady’s palm. They put holes in other things he cried on, so he knew they were a bit of a hazard.

“But, I’m- I’m gonna get you all out of here! You didn’t come down here on purpose so you shouldn’t have to be punished for it,” he said, looking to the human boy who had suggested that they should go to some… special room? Wait, it was magical? Oh, maybe if this thing moved fast enough he really would be able to help them! “Um. If it’s alright, could you take me there? I’m not really sure what this is but, I navigate a boat all the time! And… this is kind of like a ship! It’s floating anyway so- I’m absolutely sure I could use it to get you out of here!”

The body of the train shook again, this time in waves, like rhythmic steps were crashing onto the ground from far away.

“Oh no- please! I promise- I’ll fix this, but right now we have to hurry!”

[Crimmy]

"Oh no- please! I promise- I’ll fix this, but right now we have to hurry!"

A world that supposedly accepted only the human dead. An incredibly distraught ghost (wraith? youkai? some form of kami?) was crying for them. Not for himself. For them. For her and the other youths, essentially strangers of a different species who had somehow found themselves involved in these supernatural proceedings. She herself had not expected such a reaction, and a part of her heart was melting at the sight. It sought to uphold its own responsibilities. She could respect its devotion. She could respect its choice to render assistance to them when it had no obligation to do so, when they were supposedly trespassers into this otherworldly domain.

Slowly and carefully, the brown-haired teenager crouched down, levelling her steady gaze against that of the ghostly phantom's. She gently reached out with her good hand, curling her pale fingers down until only her pinkie was left standing. Waiting. It was an action that she would never have believed herself undertaking prior to this day. Agreeing to work with a creature she had never believed could be real.

"I will trust you to uphold that promise," she stated, her professional tone tinged with the tiniest sense of sympathy. "If you have faith in your ability to expedite our escape, then I too shall faith in it."

Her eyes lingered on his blue form, unblinking in their intensity even as the train continued to shake and rumble. Some would say that it was unwise to place so much trust in a mysterious creature that she had only just encountered, one that could easily have been lying to her, but it was simply the only path she could take. There were no other visible alternatives, and if they truly were in another world, they could not simply rely on themselves to return the train home. This phantom was essentially their only choice, and if the dissonance creeping through the drab grey of the train car and spreading chaos was any sign, then it was clear that there could likely be not much time.

And the creature appeared to be sincere to her. Maybe she could be wrong. Maybe she could have been taken in by a façade of cuteness.

But she felt as if she could understand those crying eyes.

"Pinky swear on it," continued Nao Miyoshi solemnly. "On bringing us back to safety. On your friend's safety. On your own safety."

[Conflagration]

Nira Seritoka
The Chariot

---

Nira flinched visibly as Yuumei berated her. She glanced about for help for the briefest second but it quickly became evident that she was on her own in this argument. She managed not to choke - barely - and did her best not to appear afraid.

"He's like, a couple of inches high at best. Besides - it was an accident!" She managed to say, voice shaking. "I didn't mean... just... I didn't want anyone to be hurt and nobody cared that he might be as well."

She trailed off to a quiet mumble - turning away from the girl and focusing instead on the bat-thing. Well, truth be told, it didn't really look like a bat. Didn't really look like any kind of animal at all. Had she noticed earlier then she might have been more afraid, but by this time it was a little late for that.

She didn't know exactly what she had expected when she reached out, but it evidently wasn't to be singed judging by the slight wince that flickered across her expression whenever the flames of the imp's body flared too brightly. She was fine though - it was the shock rather that any real damage that led to her distress, and she quickly came to cover up her reactions. It wouldn't do to upset him by letting him think her was hurting her - that just wouldn't be fair. Wouldn't be right.

“Humans only come here after they’ve died...”

"... what?"

She barely mumbled the word, but her eyes grew wide in alarm. Sure this whole affair had been frightening from the beginning but now it was just becoming unbearable. Questions raced inber head, but she barely had time to think about them before scenarios of death overran them. Was she dead? Had there actually been a crash? What would her family think?

She took a moment to get over the impact of the imp's words and return to the world of the conscious.

She didn't panic. Not externally at least, not surrounded by other people who - while seemingly mostly hostile in temprement - were probably much better suited to deal with the situation. Like Taro - he would know what to do. Probably.

As Nao approached Nira paused with a worried expression but quickly realised that she was speaking to the imp. Speaking, as opposed to scowling or shouting or scolding, which was better in almost every regard. Perhaps some of them were reasonable after all - reasonable and responsible. Nira didn't quite smile, but she managed an expression of anxious relief. Nira relaxed a little and raisedthe hand that was currently cradling the imp-thing out a little towards her.

[Attis]

The wisp first turned to face the person who he had been resting on, shock blue eyes wide. It had been a while since he’d really talked to anyone, let alone had another person concerned for his well being. Occasionally the dead would talk with him, but it took a certain kind of person to care about someone else when facing the end of their own mortality. He felt his eyes sting a little, but he scrambled to keep himself together.

“I… yeah. But… you guys aren’t dead. I would be able to tell if that were the case,” the flame body said, patting the nice lady’s thumb in an attempt to be what he hoped was comforting. “People who are alive keep on ending up here- but… I’m going to fix that too! So um. Don’t worry!”

He swallowed, ever aware of the vibrations shocking through the train. At first he’d mistaken it for the girl shaking, but… there was no use denying it anymore. Those lumbering steps drawing ever closer belonged to his friend, and he wasn’t going to calm down or stop once he got here. His chest sunk as he realized he would have to fight him. There was no way he’d be able to win, so the best thing Charon could do is make sure they were out of harm’s way once he did catch up. Tears stung at his eyes again, but he pulled them back into his body as soon as he could.

Why? Why now? Even if by some miracle he managed to stop him then- he’d be all alone again. With no one to visit, it’d be just him on that boat.

Just as he started to lose his focus, he saw a something come into view. A pinky? He looked up to identify the owner, eyes filled with tears. Charon stood by, listening to her with the utmost attention, his pained heart becoming just a little more full of hope. Even if he was just a tiny spark of fire, she thought he could do this. And he knew he could, because even if it seemed hopeless, she believed in him. She thought he could save everyone, including his friend. He wasn’t alone anymore. Nodding, he wiped away his tears one last time before taking her pinky in both of his tiny hands.

“I… I’ll do it. I promise!”

He took a deep breath, stood on both legs and straightened up. Whatever was doing this stuff, it was kidnapping people, hurting his friend, and all of these humans too! He couldn’t just stand by or run away anymore. These guys were counting on him- everyone was! Swallowing, he burned the knot of the rope tethering the golden compass to his body. It’s soft beating against his heart always made him feel safe, but if he had to fight it would only weigh him down, and he needed every advantage he could get.


"Um, hold on to this, okay? It’s silly but, I’ve always thought it was pretty lucky."

He placed the compass into the nice lady’s palm. It was a pale gold disc with a slight protrusion on the outside to indicate north. But where it would usually have directions on the inside, a gold sword with a face stood on an elaborately decorated wheel. The side most arrows that made the object function as a compass were a deep royal blue. As the compass was moved they quivered as if waiting for more direction.

Jumping down from the girl’s palm, the wisp chose to float above ground as to avoid the tremors which were steadily becoming worse. The people in the seats surrounding remained glued to their locations, unaffected by the tremors entirely. If one were to inspect them closely, they would notice fleshlike roots growing from their skin, adhering them to their places. The silver haired boy who had been knocked unconscious remained limp, body at mercy to the tremors which shook him. Only a few seconds later a low growl began to fill the tunnels and permeate the train car, signaling that the wisp’s friend was moving much faster than any of them could have anticipated.

Alarmed at this, the little blue flame body darted through the air in the direction of the engine room.

“Let’s go- we don’t have any more time! He’s going to be coming from the back, so we need to hurry!”

[DJAtomika]

Izuki Goemon

"A- Bu- What the fuck?! This is fucking insane!"

The little blue thing was insane! Izuki held onto Mari all the tighter as he elaborated on their predicament. THey were apparently in a place for dead people but...they were alive? How was that even remotely possible?! Was it the same all the other times she'd been stuck in the Twilight Zone ever since she discovered it?

The thoughts and revelations and more thoughts raced through her head. Her knees felt weak, and for a moment, Izuki thought she was actually going to pass out from the sheer confusion.

Another shudder through the train car brought her back to her senses. Things were changing around her, people were talking, and she didn't like the situation. Not one bit.

So she took her stand.

As the little blue wisp thing handed a small gold compass to the brown-haired girl, she gently let go of Mari.

"Mari, you hang right onto that pole and don't let go, alright? I'm gonna go have a word with all these chucklefucks."

With that, she swept her long black hair out of her face and strode forward, a snarl on her face.

"Alright, ladyfucks, enough with the fucking sob stories and fuckery! As much as he, and everything else around here, is freaking me the fuck out, blue thing is right! We stay still like a bunch of retards, we die! So why not you all get your thumbs out of your fuckholes and move down the fucking train car! The further we get away from whatever fucking stupid thing is coming, the better!"

Izuki shoved through what small crowd was in her way, picked up the blue wisp and deposited him on her shoulder. Then, she grabbed onto the unconscious boy's body and lifted him bodily, draping him over her other shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"I'll carry the sleeping fuckwad here, someone go help Mari over there. She's blind."

With that said, she began moving back the other way down the train car and away from the rumbling. But not before she turned and addressed the gathering one more time.

"Oh, and my name's Izuki, and don't make me fucking repeat it again. Now move! Run or die!"

[Atrophy]

Lady...fucks?

Taro’s thought process as he tried to determine whether or not that title included him was interrupted by stronger and stronger tremors. He didn’t quite get what was going on, and the back and forth on whether things here should have been dead or alive were trying to spark an existential crisis that his mind wasn’t really capable of debunking. He had, silently and proudly, told himself that he would have known if he was dead, because if he was dead then he wouldn’t be alive —which he was, fallacy aside. Taro quickly tucked out of the way of the pushy lady and raised an eyebrow as she chucked Akito over her shoulder with ease. As she turned to order the group to move their asses, Taro felt his eye twitch. Shouldn’t he have been the one telling them to get going? Surely his speech would have been much more rousing and much less dependent on using the “fuck crutch”.

“What Izuki said. Well, not word for word, I mean, I don’t think I could get away with—nevermind. We should go. Let’s go,” he said, as if he had to get in the final word before they ran from whatever nightmare thing was hunting them and their little flame friend. However, he did not beat feet right away towards the exit. Instead, he sidled past the others and made his way to Mari. If she was blind like Izuki had said, then it was a gentlemanly—the train shook with another heavy tremor—Okay, we need to just get the hell outta here.

“Hey, Mari,” he said, outstretching his hand towards her with a bright smile. “I’m Taro. Sorry you got stuck with me, but Izuki’s right,” he leaned in closer to whisper, “and she sort of scares the crap out of me. Look, er, listen, I’m sure you probably don’t really need my help, so consider this to be doing me a favor so that chick doesn’t yell at me? Cool?”

He glanced down at his outstretched hand, flushed a shade of red, and grabbed her hand. “Okay, let’s go. Nothing in our way right now, but,” the train shook again, “but we should hurry up and talk about the scenery another time. Just yell at me if pulling too fast, okay?”

And with that, Taro began half-dragging Mari after Izuki and Akito, all thoughts of playing in the engine room taking a backseat as whatever that thing’s friend grew louder and louder. His eyes fell on the blue wisp as it darted through to the next train cart, serving as some sort of guiding beacon for the group of young adults. Hopefully the thing held the pinky swear to the same level of sacredness that they did—Taro doubted it would be easy to find a way to cut off the pinky of a flame guy just for lying to them, especially if he ended up killing all of them.

That’s not a pleasant picture, thought Taro, his grip tightening on Mari’s hand as they fell in behind the others.

[Undinebutt]

Through the haze of her thoughts and the thrumming alarm and dread rapidly building up in the end of her throat, she clung to the pole, not fully catching all of the alleged small blue thing’s explanation of their situation. She did pick up on the part about death, however. To think that they were in some sort of an afterlife felt crazy and unbelievable. And yet it made a perfect sickening sense to her. The stillness of the air and everyone around her; of those who had been frozen in time… Isn’t that what death was supposed to be like? And yet, even now, something was coming, claws reaching up and drag them down and-

A thundering roar toar through the tunnel along with yet another tremor, and fire under the group’s feet. Dimly, Mari was aware of Izuki gently leaning her on a pole, and going off to lead the charge forward in a much more… Upfront tone of voice. She grimaced as she hoisted herself up in an attempt to follow suit but she heard the shuffle of footsteps in front of her before she could take a step herself.

“O-oh, um… Thanks.” She managed to stammer out, trying not to let his closeness be too much for comfort. As much as she was convinced that yes, she would be able to make her way after the group just fine on her own, the combination of her injury and the urgency of the situation could not afford them waiting around for her.

So swallowing her pride, and maybe a tinge of embarrassment, she grabbed onto Taro’s hand and allowed herself to be half led half dragged down the train car. She was stumbling to keep up, but that didn’t matter. Whatever this thing was, it was big, and if it was hellbent on killing its so-called friend, there was no way it would hesitate to mow them down, or- or the passengers.

Himiko-chan!

“W-wait, hold on!” She digs her feet in, ignoring the lance of pain shooting up her leg. She gives a good tug on Taro’s hand signaling him to stop.

“What about the passengers? This thing isn’t gonna be able to hurt them, is it?!” Just because they were like statues doesn’t mean that they couldn’t break if enough force hit them… An icy chill shoots down her spine at the thought.

[Crimmy]

She had judged the ethereal being rather accurately, it had seemed. The honesty ... the conviction to do right ... Nao could truly respect the principles that the creature was displaying to her. A small smile graced her face, one of reassurance and thanks, as the pinky swear was successfully completed. They would be able to escape this realm safely. She held faith in the possibility; no matter how dangerous the berserk friend of the phantom's was, she had faith that they would be unharmed. If not, she would fight to bring about that outcome, no matter what consequences would befall her.

The eighteen-year old rose to her feet even as the other teenager, the foul-mouthed girl (Izuki, that was the name that had been supplied), grabbed hold of both the spirit and Fujisawa and headed off in the direction of the engine room. At first, Nao felt the urge to protest the disrespectfulness and rough handling of their unconscious companion, but she decided against it. It was clear that the situation was urgent, and to argue would only create greater divisiveness and distract from their task at hand. Rapid movement was the efficient course of action. However, she had a duty to make sure they were not overtly hurt in the process.

"Hand me Fujisawa," she said, quickly jogging towards Izuki's side. "It would be more optimal for you to have both arms capable of acting; I myself am already injured-"

She gestured with a hand towards her sprained arm.

"-and as such it would not be as detracting if I were to carry him."

Then the girl ... the blind one (Mari, was it not?) mentioned the possibility of the frozen figures becoming injured. Nao inwardly grimaced. That was not a possibility she had herself entertained. Would they be safe? She had no wish to sacrifice them simply for their escape.

[Attis]

---

---

“I- I don’t know if getting hit will hurt them but- either way, if we don’t get out of here now… everyone is going to get hurt!” the little wisp shouted, glancing over his shoulder to address the girl who had started to panic. He hadn’t stopped for a second. Darting like a bullet through metal, he left just as he came, phasing through the train’s walls to get to the control center in time. And indeed, within a few moments the pull of gravity began to shift forward as their vessel had started to accelerate. The eerie blue light that had gathered in the train’s interior softened and, though the car remained dreamlike it became less disorienting. Objects were clear with defined edges and for a few seconds, sailing seemed smooth.


But with the lumbering footsteps approaching, it would be a close call. Roaring began to reverberate against the walls, each wave of sound collapsing in on the other. Multiple echoes of this nature began to approach at once, accompanied by a rhythmic pounding gait mixed with heavy, raspy breathing and the parting of water. The panting of the great beast was arrhythmic, exhales coinciding with inhales as it drew near. The floors of the train began to heat up, the cavernous tunnel sounding less like a vessel made for trains and more like the throat of a lumbering giant.

Just as light had begin to filter through the windows of the train, it came to an abrupt halt. The shriek of metal cut through the air, a sickening crunch following after. The body of the train car had become warped, its drooping, melted edges were covered in a black, almost tar-like substance. The traincar gave a few more weak jerks forward, only to be violently ripped back into place by its attacker.

A low rumble like the growl of a lion filled the air. Standing over the mangled end of the train car was a three headed beast. Its angular body resembled a greyhound's, long and large enough to be encumbered by the narrowness of the tunnel. Its long, maned necks bowed as it bent to scowl down at its prey. Only two of its faces remained recognizable, their canine structure just as long and bony as its body. The third’s head had melted away, exposing its angular skull, still stringy with leftover pieces of black liquid. Where the flesh stayed intact, its neck seeped a thick black sludge which hit the metal below with a clunk. It was as if it were made of wax that was slowly but surely, dripping away.

Bright, yellow eyes bore down onto the humans who had not quite managed to escape. The heads that still had maws left snarled, exposing long columns of fangs of various sizes. One jaw opened after the other, a bright orange flickering from the back of both of their still fleshy throats. The third remained idle, its head arched back as if to snap on the nearest body it could find. As the multi-faced beast charged what appeared to be a shock of fire, a line of blue shot past the heads of the humans below. As the flames blazed forward, Charon absorbed as much of the attack as he could, falling to the floor after. Struggling, he propped himself up on his oar, his breathing raspy.

“Stop! This- this isn’t you! You’re,” he looked up to the beast who, had stepped back in recoil, each of its necks arching back in unison as if to strike. The little flame body’s eyes went wide as he glanced over his only friend’s body, horrified to find that it had started to dissolve and bubble like heated oil. Roots grew from the beast’s wide ribcage like parasites, sliding along the bony column of its spine and up towards its neck.

Knees shaking, the wisp found himself unable to move and, his hesitation only served to be his downfall. A large, thorn covered paw swept the ground, sending his body to collide with the adjacent wall. With a spark of light the creature’s body fizzled out, leaving behind a charcoal doll in the shape of its body. Cracks in the object emitted a soft blue glow, pulsing in a steady but slow rhythm.

Having swept one pest aside, the hounds of hell turned their attention to the cluster of humans below. A few even steps forward and it opened its two fleshed mouths again, fire bubbling in their throats once more. The third head seemed content to watch as its siblings prepared to eliminate the pests that they sought to destroy.

---

---

[Crimmy]

Any answer she could have received from the tattooed woman would never materialise. The primal, bestial roaring that reverberated throughout the train car alerted Nao immediately, her feet shifting with rapidity so that she could face the source of the terrible noise. Shrieking steel, the crunch of the train giving way ... her eyes widened, pupils dilated, as she gazed with horror upon the visage of the Kerberos ... the three-headed canine monstrosity that had torn its way into the carriage as if opening a tin can full of feed. She tried to open her mouth, tried to gasp for air ... nothing but a quiet choke left her. She wished she had not been so hasty. She wished she was dreaming.

The sickly golden eyes (her instincts screamed for her to run run run run run) bearing down upon them crushed that faint hope. This was all too real. The monster was real. She could hear the frantic drumming of the heart against her chest. She could smell the scent of the oozing flesh dripping off the beast. She could feel her entire body shake with fear fear fear fear fear. Run. Hide. Run. Hide. This was impossible. It transcended all logic. The world could not possibly work in such a manner.

She could not be possibly facing her death at the hands of d-d ... b-b ... monster.

But she could not deny what her eyes were seeing.

Crunch. Snap. Skrtt. Skrtt.

People were dying before her. She stood frozen. She couldn't move. She could only watch. Watch as frozen human bodies-

The black-suited salaryman on the opposing side of the car was quietly snoring into his window

A trio of middle school girls gossiped loudly

One bridesmaid brightly beaming

-were snapped up. Snapped up.

She could scream.

She wanted to scream.

Fire hurtled across their heads, the sudden danger (run now now now now) breaking her from her frozen reverie (MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE) almost too late as she ducked down, the burst of sheer heat (this is real real real real real real) and power singing the tips of her hair. She gasped for air. Gasped. Wide, panicking eyes stared down at her hands; she had nearly died. Nearly nearly died. And she was standing there like a rock and -

"Stop! This- this isn’t you! You’re,"

The wisp.

The wisp that had vowed to protect them.

Brown, terrified eyes snapped up to see the back of the phantom.

He'd made a pinky swear. She had to trust him.

He was going to protect them.

His heaving back.

He'd protected them from the heat?

They were fine-

Thorns.

No no no.

A wordless scream of anguish. A spark of light died. Died. Her eyes were glued. Glued to the ... the charcoal doll. No.

No.

No no no.

He had promised them.

Vowed their safety.

The skeletal creature lumbered closer.

He hadn't.

He had failed.

Her body trembled as she pulled herself away from the remains of the poltergeist. She stared into the maw (three of them three of them three of them) of the beast. The monster. The monster that had (killed him KILLED HIM KILLED HIM KilLED) snuffed out every chance they had to live. The skeletal, rotting parasite. The failing body. The monster. A rotting, shambling beast.

It was going to kill her.

It was going to kill them.

It killed-

It killed the wisp (the cute little wisp dead dead dead dead DEAD).

She could shriek.

She couldn't.

What chance did she have? She couldn't survive here.

She would never do what she wanted to do.

She was going to die.

She was going to leave her mum her dad her sister her uncle her responsibilities-

Her responsibilities.

Her dreams.

She wasn't going to be able to achieve them.

She was never going to become a policewoman.

She couldn't protect anybody.

A flood rose in her chest. Hysteria. Emotion bubbling over the edge. She laughed. Tears streamed down her pale face. Choked laughter. It was all so surreal. So surreal. She was going to die here. On a frozen train. To a monster dog. And she would never become a policewoman. She would never. Never. She wouldn't be able to protect them.

Protect them.

...

...

...

...

She was so stupid. She was so so STUPID.

I am thou ...

"Run," she sobbed out. "All of you, run."

She didn't want to die.

Then she was so stupid. Why. Why was she doing this.

Why.

She didn't know.

An eternity of movement. One step forward taken.

Thou art I ...

To protect and serve. The purpose of the police.

She had a duty.

She wanted to be a cop.

She didn't want to die.

But she had a duty.

A responsibility a responsibility a RESPONSIBILITY.

They had to escape.

She would make sure of it.

Even if she died.

She choked.

She was such a reckless moron.

From the sea of thy soul, I come ...

Another step forward.

A cold weight in her pocket.

She didn't want to die.

She didn't want them to die.

If they survived then it was okay.

Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

That was justice. Making sure that everybody got their happy ending.

Instinct gripped her. Primal instinct. Fight or flight? Fight. A pale hand shakily reached into her pocket. Grabbed hold of cold metal. Cold. Out it came. Out. Metal ringed around glass. So fragile. So so fragile. Like their lives. The lives she would save. The lives she needed to save. She raised her arm out, pointing towards the beast. The compass (it ... it was a compass huh ...) gleamed ruby. The needle whirled, the stone snake wrapped around its length.

She was scared.

She was going to die.

She took another step forward.

Another step closer.

Another step towards the hound.

She was going to die.

But if they lived.

It was okay.

Her lips moved of their own accord.

"Per

so

na."

The needle stopped. It gleamed a metallic silver. A forked tongue hissed.

Where was due north?

The beast.

The unsullied steward of mankind's fondest desires ... the guide who will illuminate a path through uncertainty ... Dikē.

A mask of bright blue stars.

Eyes of burning crimson.

A glossy silver sea.

Golden scales tinkling.

Words - strong, powerful, assured - reverberated through the air.

"Dikē! ZAN!"

And the wave of kinetic force flew.

[DJAtomika]

Izuki Goemon

"Hand me Fujisawa, it would be more optimal for you to have both arms capable of acting; I myself am already injured and as such it would not be as detracting if I were to carry him."

The brown-haired girl next to her had a point, but fuck if she let this midget injure herself even more. Izuki scoffed and waved off her offer to lighten her load.

"Pff, fuck no. What am I, a sadist? Sorry, can't let you do that, Tiny. You injure that other arm and I'm responsible."

Her train of thought was immediately interrupted by the loud roar from behind her, followed by the ripping and rending of metal.

"Mother fuck!"

The roaring from behind her both startled and scared her, but not as much as it did her companions. She briefly saw the blue wisp as it flitted off her shoulder. As the splattering noises attracted her attention, so did its sheer size. Izuki slowly let the limp weight of the unconscious boy down onto an empty chair.

This was something she couldn't tear herself away from.

The little blue wisp flitted forward and stood ahead of the huge, three-headed beast. Two of its heads were alright, but the third, between the two, was dripping and dissolving down to a bare skull. As they breathed in and then hurled a huge blast of flame, little Blue absorbed the whole thing, but it took its toll. The wisp sank to his knees as the beast loomed over him.

“Stop! This- this isn’t you! You’re- ”

Almost casually, the beast swatted the wisp aside. It slammed into the side of the train car with a barely audible thump and fell to the ground, no longer glowing a bright blue. The wisp had gone strangely dark, only faintly glowing as the beast growled and roared. It began to gather fire into its throats. The splatters of black coated the floor.

That was when the brown-haired girl stepped forward. She hadn't caught her name, but her nickname of Tiny would do for now.

"Hey Tiny, what're you- "

"Run. All of you, run."

Was she sobbing? She was most definitely sobbing. Past the growling, Izuki could hear the girl, hiccuping and sniffling.

But her bravery was palpable from here. As she strode forward, one step after another, she could feel something else. An unnatural power welling up inside her.

Then, that one, soft utterance that changed everything.

"Per."

Izuki felt the weight of her gloves on her hands. She had to do something. This girl was stepping up for all of them. To stare down a monster a hundred times their size. She'd stared down just as bad. The youths with baseball bats behind school?

"So."

Fuck that, this was way worse than that. This was a literal monster. Was she scared? Yes. Was she dead scared? Oh hell yes.

But was she going to let this...thing eat this poor girl, or the rest of them? After what it had done to the little blue wisp...thing that was actually kinda adorable?

Fuck

"Na."

No

Suddenly it seemed that the diminutive, brown-haired girl was twice her size, no, thrice that. Above her loomed a lady, regal and formal, dressed in a purple gown with magnificent gold trim. Long, silver hair flowed from her head, floating behind her. A staff in one hand, a gold scale in the other. With a mere word, the brown-haired girl and her new, mysterious, apparently magical companion shot a bolt of electricity straight for the beast. It recoiled and roared as the energy bolt impacted it, electricity arcing over its body. The action sent a thrill through her, one she'd never felt before.

Her gloves weighed heavy on her hands, but something felt heavier.

On the back of her right hand. A burning sensation and a terrible itching.

Izuki quickly tore off the MMA glove there and stared at the back of her hand.

There, on her flesh, was a new tattoo, writing itself in bright orange lines in her skin.

What was it? A cross?

No. A compass.

Thou art I...

The whole thing was black, on a length of thick chain that slowly snaked down her right arm. Decorated with a glossy silver skull and crossbones on top, and three screaming skulls beneath. Beneath the directional cross was an old man, seated on a throne. Clad in red, with a mace in one hand, and a gold orb in the other. His crowned, bearded head was where north was, and where north was was where the lone, red-black lined needle was pointed. Where she moved her hand, the needle stayed pointed ahead, like a living picture on the back of her hand. At the monster.

And I am thou...

Izuki clenched her fist tight as the beast roared and reared backward. She took a step forward, standing beside the brown-haired girl. The fear inside her slowly turned into rage, not at the girl but at the great beast. It threatened them all with death. It'd already harmed the little blue wisp that had done nothing to them at all. She didn't even know if it was dead. But what she knew was anger, anger for the death of a harmless being. Rage against everything that she was in. This fucking shithole, this stupid fucking power thing, the fucking thing in front of them. Fuck them.

From the sea of thine soul, I emerge...

Fuck them.

"Fuck you. FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU FUCKING STAND FOR!"

"PERSONA!"

Her fists became awash in red fire that erupted from her hand as power filled her being. Above Izuki, a rift in the air opened and fire spat forth. A bearded man stepped through, wreathed in flame, his eyes, hair, the machines that were a part of him. His mechanical arm whirred and clanked as sparks erupted from his joints and boots. Startled by his appearance, Izuki briefly faltered, but held firm as she stared down the big, black, goopy beast in front of her.

Aye lass, ye summoned me. I, who forged the weapons of the gods. I, who gave man the gift of fire. I, Hephaestus, blacksmith for the gods, I am in your service now. Make it good.

Izuki gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. The gloves went straight back on as she strode forward and all but stood in the three-headed beast's face, ignoring the flames it belched. Ignoring the black goop that dripped frm its body and the black tendrils that erupted from its chest.

"You fucking asswipe. You hurt my friend! You think you're so fuckin' big but lemme tell you something you're so fuckin' small you're a fucking pebble! Fuck you! Fuck you and everything you stand for!"

She looked up at the big, fiery man above her.

"Hey! Hephaestus! Let's give this fucker a warm fucking welcome!"

Izuki pointed at the beast ahead of her.

"Burn it!"

The blacksmith charged forward and reared back his mechanical arm. Its wrench attachment whirred and folded up into his arm as a nozzle emerged from the machinery, and it spat forth a great burst of flames.

"BURN YOU FUCKER! BURN!"

[Undinebutt]

The wisp’s vague answer only fueled Mari’s fear for her Himiko more, but any sort of protest she might have had was cut off as she was gently, yet hurriedly tugged along down the train car. A sudden crazy impulse urged her to snatch her hand away and run back the way she came. Frozen or not, who’s to say she couldn’t take her friend with her, at least keep her safe from whatever was coming-

… No. It was useless. A cold realization set in, dousing her impulse. If the rumbling and thrashing of footsteps weren’t enough of an indicator, that dread that she somehow knew was founded came back tenfold. They wouldn’t be able to get away from it. It was coming. And it was out to kill.

She numbly let herself be dragged along until the train came to a shrieking halt. Mari lurched forward, bumping against Taro before her legs gave out from under her. From there it was a cacophony of screeching metal, screams, and a vicious, deafening roar.

[i]Rot[i] Was the word that rang in her brain. Rot, decay, pain, and death. Death, death, death-

She could barely make out what was happening around her, but honestly, did she really need the details? The roar of flames, the desperate voice of that little whisp, suddenly cut short… And then sobs and enraged screaming.

… They were going to die. Mari let out a choked whimper, closing in on herself. She couldn’t stop shaking… She couldn’t even care. So what if she was cowering in the back like a coward, what good was being brave going to do? None of their group could take this monstrosity on, least of all her. Poor, little crippled thing, lying on the ground like some wadded up expired garbage, only to be crushed.

Another signal suddenly fires into her brain, causing her to raise her head. It’s… Some sort of energy, and it’s actually pushing against the towering presence of that nightmare… It was two very distinct energies. One a thrumming, steadfast light, the other a roaring, towering flame. It was coming from up front, where the others were supposed to be, and… Wait. Was that…?

"Per

so

na."

"PERSONA!"

All at once, it burst forth, one after another, as if- no, it was beckoned from the voices of her companions, one she knew to be Izuki. All she could do was sit in dumbstruck awe as one after the other, they each sent this power hurtling towards the beast. The flash of light caused it to howl in pain, the vibrating of the floor beneath signaling it stumbling back. Next, a plume of flame crashed down upon it, and then-

Wait. Wait, no. It’s not hurting it. At least not to the degree of that lightning. You can hear an angered snarl, but if anything, it only seemed to give it incentive to lunge back, and-

”WATCH OUT!!!”

The beast slams a giant palm down. Though it doesn’t connect with anyone thank god, the shockwave is more than enough to knock the front lines down. More to her horror, the roar of flame reaches her ears. It’s… It’s fanning out towards everyone-!

Mari lets out a strangled sob as she clams her hands over her ears. No. No more, please! She doesn’t want to hear this, to hear Izuki and everyone dying, and to hear death come down upon her too. She hysterically wishes she was deaf too, right then and there. That she was numb to everything around her, blissfully ignorant of the end of her existence. She was better off dead anyway, she always-

No.

Another intrusive thought, except unlike the instinctive pushing, it actually feels like her own voice.

No no no no no no no NO!!! Why should she have to die?! What did she ever do? What right does this thing have to kill her like that? To kill everyone?! She didn’t care if she was broken, she was alive and fuck this thing if it thought it could take that away from her!!

She grits her teeth and slowly pushes herself to her feet, legs wobbling to support her. But she’ll be damned if she falls. Not this time. She freezes as she feels a sudden weight pressed between her hand and leg. It’s a round object, barely heaver than an apple. Experimentally, she runs her fingers over the surface, tracing the grooves and ridges beneath her fingertips. It actually feels rather smooth, but has a distinct pattern, barely indented into the silver.

… Wings.

She releases a long sigh, her erratic panic and rage suddenly cooled into a steel calm. Impenetrable. With it comes the word that seems so natural to her, as if buried deep within her since her birth.

“P e r s o n a.”

And suddenly, Mari could see.

It wasn’t how she perceived things before. Nor was it something she could physically process with her eyes, but she knew of a flowing, calm energy cloaking around her, and she knew what form it took.

A tall, regal woman hunched protectively over her, pure white robes spilling all around her. A gilded shield stayed tightly in her grasp as she lowered it in front of the pair.

“I am Leto. You have called upon me out of the desire to persevere not only for your sake, but for those around you. And in turn, they, you. I swear to you, child, that I will do all within my power to have that wish come to fruition.”

A slender hand ghosts acrossed her cheek.

“For I am you.”

And just like that, everything opens before her like a book. Like whisps, everyone lights up around her. Taro just mere steps in front of her, that boy in a nearby seat, the two girls she had not spoken with scattered in the middle, that whisp creature, lying crumpled and diminished. But not gone. Not quite yet. And Izuki and Nao, blazing with their own light, struggling to recover, but alive.

And then the creature towering before them. But it wasn’t the creature at all, was it? There were roots and vines entangling and choking the life out of it, rotting it away little by little as it dragged it along like a puppet.

“Those vines are commanding it,” she shouts out across the area. “If we can get rid of those, it should go down. But don’t use fire!”

There had to be something else that could hurt it, though. The electricity that Nao shot forth seemed to work well, but there had to be something else. Taking in another deep breath, Mari throws all of her focus into examining the creature’s energy. There had to be something… Just a little farther…