Longing For Lauderdale

She instantly knew who it was the moment the words reached her ears; the people who surrounded her were taxing to deal with, but they were certainly memorable, although perhaps because of that as opposed to in spite of it. Truth be told, as bad as the situation was looking, the last thing Azami wanted was for one of the lapdogs of the two major powers to barge in. It only spelled trouble: both for them and, considering the presence of Nozomi's body, everyone else. But beyond that, it was insulting. To have your enemy come to your aid, to have them rush in and save you, as though you were unable to do it on your own... She felt sick; she felt furious. But thankfully, there was someone she had to direct all that rage at. Every time Shunnosuke had humiliated her, every time she had been tossed from place to place without understanding anything, every time she had been maneuvered like a pawn by those around her, every time she had failed in spite of all her efforts...!

Azami was a ticking time bomb. Regardless of how well she hid it, she had been for quite some time now. And now she was going to let loose: she was going to explode all over Hecate, consequences be damned. A thin smile appeared on her face while the yellow overtook her eyes brighter than ever before. It oversaturated them, overwhelmed them, until there wasn't a trace of any other color left. The ethereal glow was burning with a ferocity equal to that of the demons she had fought.


"Humans? We aren't humans. We're not even close. A human is someone who fights for themselves: a human is someone who mistakes the bigger picture for the lies they disguise their actions and intentions with. Humanity has limits and to forget those limits they struggle their hardest to attain power at the expense of others, not as a means to their goals, but as an end on its own right. Me? I was a human once, pretty recently even. But now I know that I'm not one anymore. And if you ask me the same goes for Joshua, and Rinna, and all the others who walk a similar path to mine. So go to hell, you fucking scum. I'm ending this."

Azami Aihara:

Personas:

Action:

Passives:

The android saw the burst of fire coming at Azami, and he snapped to action. He jumped in front of the blow, taking the heat and damage for the wild card. Alphonse's face shifted to one of pain as the heat washed over him. The android stumbled a bit after the blow, and regained his footing. He looked at the demon, "You won't win, we won't let you kill us all." The android said as he summoned Iroas to unleash a bladed attack toward Hecate. The blade would aim to strike her squarely and catch her off guard. He would then part with some of his life energy to Rinna...he was hurting...very badly at this point.

stats::

Skills used::

Hit/crit:

Joshua thought it was the end. Despite all his bravado, it wasn't enough. That sinking of failure, it was mortifying. Nothing he could do, there was nothing he could save. Not even himself, it was so laughable. It was all dark for a moment, but he awoke again. Him.

That robot from earlier at Lunapa, he was here? How? When? He couldn't comprehend, but nothing ever mattered. Looking at Hecate, there was still a fight to win. The stakes were high and they needed to end it all. And so he finally drew inside of him and brought it out.

That relishing sensation, it felt great and he was feeling carefree. But he knew he had a job to do and someone to save. This time, he wasn't going to fail her. Not ever.

Support Action:

Simon's tension at 50% Tension. He will use Strike Dex on Hecate. 72 Strike damage.

Miss if 1.

Random number (1,10) :

9

Crit if 1.

Random number (1,10) :

2

Simon's Skills:

Simon's Stats:

[/spoiler]

Joshua's Action:

Stats:

Made a mistake on Crit. Didn't account for Luck stat.

Crit if 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, or 10

Random number (1,10) :

3

Azameat said 8, my bad, lol. Last chance, if I still fuck it up, I'll stop.

Spoiler:

Crit if 1 to 6.

Random number (1,10) :

1

He summoned all the will and strength he could ever muster, teetering on the edge of madness. His nerves felt like they were ripping apart from trying to stay sane. This power he gained from Standasen protested against his will and it took everything he had to keep it together. This time, he will protect. He was tired of losing everything. Tired of being helpless and being just like useless chaff discarded to the side. This time he had that power for once to save something and to make meaning of his life.  


When that final attack finally connected, the armor creaked in protest as he landed back to the ground. Joshua knew he had a time limit in this form. This battle needed to end now or they would lose. When he finally looked up to see the result of his desperate efforts, the Nyarlathotep Child relaxed. Joshua knew they won. But the one thing he wanted to know most wasn't answered. At least until Rinna finally slid free.

Joshua finally collapsed on his knees, exhausted. The breaths were shallow, but his will was deeper. The sinking black that enveloped him withdrew, if only in disgust, his master was a disappointment. The Nyarlathotep Child stamped his feet back up, not going to wait any longer. But then he saw her current state, crying. At first, he stopped, not sure what to do. He wasn't really that social of a guy and it stopped him many times. But...

"Fuck it," he growled to himself and then headed near her to kneel beside her. Being a lame duck, he was tired of it and he wasn't going to be one here. Joshua waited to give her a moment to finally let it out. But now that he thought about it, he felt something wet begin to trail down his cheek. He didn't bother to wipe it away.

When it looked like she finally calmed down, Joshua offered her a hand.

Her breathing died down to a normal pace and rationality returned to what were a second ago a set of animalistic eyes. The being which had been mocking and taunting them but a mere moment ago now suffered the same fate it had threatened them with. It was almost pitiful in a way, but she had no tears for the monster which they had slain. This was justice in its purest form; Hecate had cared nothing for anyone or anything other than itself, so Azami would extend the same courtesy to the fallen demon and greet its end with an apathetic glare. Quickly she'd tilt her head back over her shoulder to face Alphonse and without hesitation, she'd calmly issue an ultimatum to him. "Sit still and don't do or touch anything. If you move even an inch then I won't hesitate to take it as a declaration of war." With Nozomi's body nearby, she had no intention of taking any risks; if he was wise then he'd feel the same and follow her instruction.

Action:

The second she saw the stone she was ready. Between her naturally honed reflexes and the supernatural speed of the ability, she'd be able to swiftly make it to it in more than enough time. Her body rapidly broke down into a series of black streaks, the girl's shape dissolving into them within less than a second, and in the place of Azami emerged a swarm of butterflies which would launch themselves forward at the stone. Just as she almost reached the spot, she'd break free from her transmogrified form and skid to a stop underneath the falling object. With a simple raise of her hand, she'd catch the stone in her palm and secure it tightly within her grasp. Of course, the others could try to interfere if they wished, but they'd have to find some way to match her exact timing and her supernatural speed. And beyond that, was it really a good idea to try and intervene? Whatever the case, it certainly wouldn't please her, that was for sure.

"Medea, huh?" Rinna had mentioned that Isla possessed a demon of her own. Could that be who Hecate had referred to in her final moments? It seemed to be the most likely conclusion. That meant she'd be paying the prime minister a visit soon, though that had already been a part of what little of a plan she had formulated so far. After all, a revolution had to deal with those at the top eventually, one way or another. Right now though, that didn't matter. There were other, more immediate concerns to attend to first.

Action:

Hathor would appear behind her and after a brief compliment would raise her hands to the sky. Simon, Rinna, Joshua, and Azami herself would all feel a healing aura wash over their souls. Any wounds that they had sustained would be tended to, although unfortunately one of them had fallen to a weakened state that it could not reverse. Following this, the Persona would disappear and a thin smile would appear on the woman's face, though it would fade away as the sound of crying reached her ears. Azami turned around to face the source and fell silent.


She wasn't quite sure what had prompted the tears. Were they born of sadness? Regret? Or was it perhaps simply relief which had spawned them? The latter seemed to be the obvious answer, but there was no way Azami could know. She wasn't Rinna, nor was she close to her, so to claim that she could understand the emotions that enveloped her heart would have been nothing short of nonsense. But that meant she didn't know how to respond to this or even if she should. After a few seconds of silence, however, she'd speak up. "...Enjoy your chance at happiness, Rinna. It'd be hypocritical of me to try and deny you it." ...even if I am feeling a little jealous. A little part of her wanted to say that last part, but she knew better. She'd keep it to herself.

Without saying a word, Azami would wander over to Nozomi's body and stand in front of it. She'd cautiously eye Alphonse, but for the time being she wouldn't take any further action, and would let Joshua and Rinna have their moment. It gave her a bit to ponder over the nature of the item she had come into possession of, so it wasn't too bothersome.

Azami Aihara:

Personas:

Passives:

Relevant(?) Strengths/Weaknesses:

The android let out a sigh of relief as the situation came to an end, well looks like he came in just in time. Even though he did not really do anything other than impart his life force to Rinna, and keep his friend in the fight. Azami's stance and hostile intent and expression towards him was a bit worrying however. Not only had she lied about San Malarus, a fact that Sentinel figured out judging from how close to defeat that creature was, and how long it had been since they separated...it did not seem likely that they visited family in San Malarus at all. Now after seeing her intent and desire to keep him at more than an arm's length...lines were being drawn in the sand. The android narrowed his eyes at the woman. He sighed as he took a seat on the earth, well fine if he wasn't being healed then he'd just do it himself. "Odysseus, tend to my wounds if you would" The android said using his initial persona to heal himself. He'd have to cast the same spell three times, but that did not worry him too much.

The android heard Rinna crying and then Joshua moving over to them, better to let them have their moment for the time. He turned his gaze back on Azami, "So what have you got there? I imagine you don't just go around fighting demons for fun." The android asked tilting his head to the side as he sat. The android might as well figure out how much Azami cared, though he could see the lines in the sand already, it was time to go ahead and make them crystal clear. The android began to wonder if he had made the right call coming here, if this was how he was going to be treated. Then again...would he rather have stayed and fought Shunnosuke over Zachary? Not really, he made his choice as an independent actor. He might as well see if Azami and Nozomi could make the bridge to the other world so they could fix the source of this disaster.

Stats:

The android stood up as Rinna approached him slowly, "It was no trouble, and it was the right thing to do. I'll be sure to pass it along to the others." Alphonse replied giving her a soft smile. He looked at the the crystal or stone that Azami held after she explained what it was. "That seems...risky. She seemed powerful, but you look exhausted after we defeated her. We don't know how that will mix with other powers." The android voiced his concerns, before glancing toward Rinna. "Seeing how you had a persona, and couldn't fight it off....I imagine she doesn't play well with others at all." The android then recalled the reason why he was actually here.

"Actually, we might want to leave, it turns out that Zachary and his goons know that you're here...somehow. He doesn't know about Nozomi, and he has his hands full at the moment. However, it wouldn't surprise me if he had some people lurking around here earlier." The android looked away and rubbed his head. "I also hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Zachary has somehow convinced Lune to work alongside him. I imagine he has something over her, but I think he fears that she will ditch him to go and find you. She'll be fine, Shunnosuke is looking after her to ensure that she stays safe, and hopefully he will go ahead and take out Zachary will he is at it." The android explained that situation to the group. They should likely go and handle that issue, but making sure Rinna was safe was a high priority.

"Azami...are you feeling a connection with Nozomi yet? If Adyina was right, you two should be able to connect us to the core of worlds so we can actually fix this end of the world problem. If we can do that then maybe, we can get some control and not have to worry about this fight between Isla and Zachary." The android was really speaking aloud after asking his question, because if they could then that might fix a lot more than simply dealing with Zachary at this point. If the world wasn't ending then people might actually feel safe enough to relax and focus on rebuilding than war.