Confrontation with Smiling-Sama

    …Had any of them really thought this through? Apprehending a criminal seemed noble and simple enough, but the moment the masked man trained his gun on the group instead of the blond boy, Destiny had to wonder what in the world possessed her to tag along. Really, shouldn’t they have left this to someone more…capable? The police, maybe? She’d barely processed the thought before she realized how foolish that would be. The police didn’t know anything about Limbo; if they had, they would’ve caught this man long before now. Besides, even if they told someone what was really going on, they’d be laughed at. Who would believe any of this? Heavens, Destiny herself could barely believe that she was standing in the old shrine with a small group of teenagers, talking to someone who obviously wasn’t exactly sound of mind. At least that boy had gotten out of the way; his behavior was a little strange, but at least he hadn’t tried to provoke his captor. That was good, at least.

    Destiny had desperately wanted to believe that none of the people she’d come to this place with would decide to take up the man’s offer. Exhaling shakily, the blonde couldn’t help but feel relieved when everyone turned down the proposal, instead readying themselves for the fight the Smiling Man had promised. Even Hibiki made an appearance, apparently prepared to join the incoming fight as well. Destiny herself opted to take a few steps behind the others, bringing herself out of the direct line of fire. She was geared for support, not for fighting; staying near the front would just make her an easy target. // Alright…Alright. // Trying to clear out the traces of panic clouding her brain, the girl let out a deep breath. Now wasn’t the time for second-guessing and what-ifs. No matter what, she had to be ready to help wherever she could.

Kahn was reassured as his comrades decided to side against the Smiling Man, while he didn't doubt they would...he did not know how sly the Smiling Man was...not to mention his connection to Naito. Not that it mattered because it appeared as though the Smiling Man had no allies here. Furthermore, he was losing whatever remained of his twisted sanity. His voice and demeanor seemed to change as he spoke. Gone was the unpredictable mastermind, and it was replaced by the beast that lay within. "So the psychopath shows himself at last huh? Alright, if I don't manage to knock him down, then either make him vulnerable or weaker! If you can't do that then try to make us stronger against his counterattack! If I do knock him down, then hit him hard! Don't let him catch his breath for a second!" Those were his orders and confidence boosting speech. Once finished speaking the card of Justice would appear in his hand. The sound of glass breaking could be heard as he crushed it in his hand, and Richard appeared mounted on an armored horse with a lance in hand. The valiant knight would kick the horses side with his armored heels to spur it forward. The Persona would lower the lance and attempt to strike the Smiling man in the chest with it so he would be knocked down and trampled by the armored steed. The red haired young man they could start this battle with a bigger advantage than what they normally would be able to if he could force the insane man before them to the ground.

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Naito was alittle more than surprised to see Smiling Mask become so hostile so suddenly. Every time he had seen the man before, and have even conversed with him, he seemed to be in complete control. It made him wonder if he was under the influence of another, just like Scarlet and Anya before him. If that was the case, then were there Shadows controlling him aswell? Twisting his image of society and making him believe he was some sort of "hero" from kidnapping those in a rough patch in their life? Regardless, the silver haired teen scoffed. When Azame gave his orders, Naito responded. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way." The Emperor looked down the line of users towards the weird girl that reminded him of a toaster. "Use that defense item I gave you. We don't need to risk him landing a heavy blow right off the back." With those final words to those others, the teen's sullen eyes would glance at Destiny and give her a nod before facing back towards the opponent. "Endeux, if things get too heavy for you; I won't think less of you if you choose to pull back. Think of your own survival first."

The card of the Emperor would float downward before him, and he'd grasp the hilt of his blade before slicing through it completely. "I summon thee: Baal-Jinmu. Cut me a path." With orders from its other self, the God appeared before Naito and raised a hand towards the Smiling Man. Clenching its fist, a debilitating aura would sap the man of his strength, temporarily weakening him for the coming fight. Once this was complete, the Persona would vanish in an azure light, and the Tsurinai would sheath his blade. This was the first real fight he had been in without Chance or Barbados working with him. For some reason, he didn't feel as confident as he did with these others. Perhaps because he hadn't really worked with them before, nor really trusted them either.

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As she was preparing, she would watch Hibiki show up from the back and join the group. The plan of grabbing Marah and putting them aside really did not matter, so it seemed natural that he try to help. Destiny had moved back, being an easy target. Perhaps Ruo should do the same in a moment and play support as well. She could heal them if need be. On that thought, the Smiling Mask started to laugh at it all. Was he expecting this to happen? The Mask itself seemed to drip red, as though there was blood in that smile. He would then continue to speak and his voice would shift, as if losing a grip on being level-headed. Could it be that this man was being brainwashed? She was told that Scarlet had a similar fate. What in the world was happening to this man? Either way, the fight was among them, and it seemed Kahn already began the assault. He would attack twice and miss once, so that was unfortunate. Once more, Naito would look to her, giving the order to use the defensive item, to which she nodded in agreement to him. “Understood,” she said.  He then proceeded to cast a skill that seemed to weaken the Smiling Mask. Perfect opportunity for Ruo to move. She  would pull out a small clear ball with a sort of purple mist moving through it. Crushing the orb was easy, and the mist spewed out among the team, which would raise their resilience for the next few moments. In the meantime, Ruo would back up a few paces preparing for the Mask’s next plan. Hopefully this would give her some edge in the battle as weak as she was. Ruo did not want to run, but if it was bad, she may have to. Whatever the case, she would remain silent as the fight continued.

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When the Masked man realized that they pretty much ‘said‘ no, his demeanor completely turned around. Hibiki wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but it definitely didn’t look nice. The man looked more psycho than anything at that moment. Well, personality turnabouts aside, it was apparently time to fight, and everyone obviously assumed so as well, Kahn already giving orders as usual. The redhead really liked to be in the lead, huh? A good thing to remember for the future, maybe. Naito obviously didn’t care about that, having his own way of doing things, although technically, he did do what Kahn suggested. Destiny and Ruo seemingly preferred to stay more in the back, the latter using some sort of item as well.

Hm, Kahn wanted to save attacking for the next round and try to weaken the Masked man first. Well, there wasn’t much he could do in that department. Except perhaps one thing. And that might actually not be a bad idea, as a repeat performance from the time they took on that one guy would definitely not help. Might as well. Besides, he didn’t need Byakko for that one, but he would summon the tiger either way, as it would be needed in future anyway.

Soon after, his attention was diverted towards Marah, who just walked over to the red doors present inside and jumped in. Before he could have asked what was that about, the blonde teen gave them a talk. Ignoring the fact that it was a bit weird for someone to speak in his head, he mostly wondered why did Marah do all this. The way he talked, it seemed as if he knew more than he let on. But since they had to deal with the man in front of them first, they would have to let Marah go for now, whatever his deal was. Maybe they’d find something about it later? Or maybe even not…..it was already too complicated on its own. But, at least the blonde had offered them help in return before taking off. That was the good part of the news.

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    // Oh my—! // Settling a shaky hand over her mouth, Destiny sucked in a shallow breath, widening her eyes at the masked man in front of her. He was insane, she knew, but this was a whole new level of crazy. It made her blood run cold and, for a moment, she tensed, flabbergasted and afraid of the figure in front of her. If Kahn’s orders hadn’t snapped her out of it, she might have stayed frozen, petrified by uncertainty and fear. The blonde shook her head lightly, trying to clear out the last bits of shock before she focused on his strategy. Try and weaken their opponent? Alright. That was something she could try. She was distracted for a moment when Naito addressed her, saying that she could leave if things became too tough for her. It was an option, certainly, but one she’d rather not use, if she could help it. Nonetheless, she gave the silverette a short nod before she concentrated on following Kahn’s directions.

    “Thalia!” A blue card fluttered in front of the girl’s face, and she reached out and clutched it in one hand, watching as it shattered and her persona appeared at her side. The blue-skinned woman linked her fingers together and stretched her arms out, grinning at the subtle popping of her joints before she relaxed and glanced at her owner, then looked over at the Smiling Man. “Give us a little guidance!” Thalia grinned at Destiny’s words, nodding her head enthusiastically as she bounced on the balls of her feet. Amidst her joy, the persona cupped her hands around her mouth, sucking in a deep breath that caused her cheeks to puff out before she exhaled through her hands. Her breath looked like gold glitter that swerved around Destiny’s comrades, heading straight for the Smiling Man. After her skill had been performed, the persona relaxed, albeit coughing slightly as she awaited the blonde’s next orders.

    Huh? Destiny blinked slightly, momentarily stunned that someone besides her persona was speaking inside her head. Was this the blond boy? Come to think of it, he wasn't here anymore; Destiny hadn't been paying him much attention, as her focus was devoted to the Smiling Man. Still, he had a persona? She hadn't expected that. He went on to say something about "scanning" their enemy, and called their battle the "fight of the future". The parts in-between didn't make much sense to her, and she didn't have time to decipher what he meant. She had to stay focused on what was in front of her, or else something could go wrong very quickly.

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Kahn gritted his teeth as the Smiling Man didn't seem phased by one of his attacks, but instead kept laughing as he danced around the other attack. This guy was going to get really annoying real fast. Everyone else then unleashed various skills to weaken him or strengthen the party as a whole. Well...all except poor Destiny's whose attack seemed to be ignored. Oh well at least she tried, and that was all Kahn asked for. A few moments later a mental image appeared in his mind, and began to speak to him. He was offering encouragement (maybe), thanks (uh..maybe?), and information of how Nola Shepard was thrown into Limbo by the man before them. Good at least they knew about her this way they could rescue her right after or a bit later. Regardless he gave them information in regards to how much damage the masked man had taken, while also giving them his weaknesses. Regrettably he had no weakness, which would have been nice if he did, and Kahn was a little disappointed to see that he had only managed to scratch the surface here.

By this time, Richard had circled around to Kahn's side and dismounted. The lance was replaced by a mace and shield. He did say not to even give the man before them a chance to breath, and it seemed as though the man was preparing for something. "Be careful....he has something up his sleeve here." He would warn his allies, he was not about to lose anyone else. 'Not again!' He thought before sending Richard forward once more to at least delay or stop the attack. The knight would charge the masked man once more, this time there would be blood! This time...he would not be laughing! The knight would swing his mace down on the masked man's head. After that blow the Persona would rear back it's armored head and headbutt the masked man in the face hoping to at least daze him or knock him over with sheer brute force and the weight behind the blow.

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So the strange boy named Marah had a Persona aswell? Was this why he was here in the first place before they had arrived? Something was strange about his, but he did offer assistance here, and so Naito would take it without issue. However, seeing how the Smiling Fool brushed aside Azame's attack from before, and Destiny's... and now doing the exact same thing again, the Tsurinai narrowed his hues. This man had alot of health, and alot of resistance to back it up. Naito couldn't particularly tell what Hibiki had done to the man in terms up his debuff, but it reminded him of strike break which meant the man was most likely more vulnerable to electricity. With that thought in mind, if Smiling Mask had latent defenses that were so high he could shrug off strike attacks with ease, could he do the same with electricity? To be sure, Naito would need to debuff the man's defense so Hibiki could land a clean hit without worry. The issue here with that plan was the Smiling Man had just powered up, so his next attack would be rather strong. Naito would need to be well prepared for it, and hopefully he was even though he was not guarding, thanks to the protection sutra.

Shaking his head, the silver haired teen would look towards the mentally unstable man who was attempting to sway him to his side. "Once again, I've had enough of your voice. If you're going to kill us, then spare us that atleast. Focus on your upcoming defeat, because I don't plan on losing here." With that said, the Tsurinai lifted his hand and summoned the card of the Emperor. Spinning it with his hand, it would then crush it and summon a different Persona this time. This Persona was his initial, which was more versatile than his Prime when it came to moveset. Pointing its blade towards the Smiling Man, it would lower the opponent's defense in a similar way as his offensive capabilities were previously weakened. Once the Persona had done its job, it vanished in an azure light. Thanks to Marah, Naito could see this would be a long battle of endurance. Was that blonde truly gone, or could he come back and assist them if he wished?

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Looking upon the others, they would either use an ability that seemed to sap away more of the Smiling Mask’s defenses; most likely to lightning. While Destiny on the other hand, tried a mist that seemed to do little to the Mask unfortunately. What was even more fascinating was that the blonde boy also had a Persona. Once more, he fled into Limbo most likely for protection, and helped to analyze the culprit, as well as speaking to their minds with a very unique ability. Did that put him on their side? It didn’t particularly seem that way the way he spoke. He talked as though he knew more of what was going around than he let on. Or was he just an odd person? But he did tell them of a teacher that was thrown into Limbo by him, and that was enough. Looking back, the attack Kahn placed as expected, did not do so well, and we would attack again in response, while Naito summoned a new Persona, which was interesting. But little time could be made to dwell on it. She noticed the Mask seemed to be building up something, as he looked much more focused despite his clearly psychotic nature as he spoke to Naito in his distorted voice. Ruo could take no chances. She had to put her arms up in front of her and prepare for any upcoming attack. She would have to be ready to heal the others after the Mask’s next onslaught.

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    // It didn’t work…! // Gritting her teeth lightly at the Masked Man’s blatant insult, Destiny tried to reign in her disappointment. She had hoped she’d be able to make some sort of impact, but he just brushed Thalia’s spell out of the way without flinching. Actually, speaking of Thalia, the persona was looking rather peeved at the moment; her hands were balled up into tight fists at her side, and her face was turning a rather impressive shade of purple as she glared daggers at the masked, giggling figure. The blonde took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. Now wasn’t the time to get annoyed or distracted; Kahn was calling out a warning to the others. Apparently when their opponent fired his gun in the air, he had done more than hope to startle them. Was it a warning shot? Was he getting ready to fire on them next? Or was there something else to their opponent's actions than met the eye? …Oh dear. That wasn’t a good thought. Not good at all.

    Ruo had taken a defensive stance, and Destiny opted to copy her, seeing as none of her current abilities could do much good. Besides, if there was an attack coming, Destiny knew she couldn't take it head on. Thalia, noting her owner’s shift, nodded tersely before jumping in the air and dissolving in a wave of pearls, returning to Destiny’s subconscious. The persona knew that, for the moment, she wasn’t needed; after Smiling Mask’s attack, though, Destiny had a feeling Thalia would become a permanent fixture at her side for the rest of this battle.

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Well, the start off wasn't the greatest, as Kahn's attack didn't do more than a scratch, and the man was immune to Destiny's spells. And he had taken his time to power up, so he was most likely going to dish out something big soon. This wasn't going to be an easy battle if he had powerful attacks. Destiny and Ruo had already went for defense this time, probably trying to make sure the coming blow wouldn't pull them down. Naito kept on weakening the man, with a different Persona this time. And Kahn decided to try the same attack again after giving his warnings, which wasn't going to be very effective, but still better than nothing.

Since no one aside from Kahn was taking offense so far, Hibiki decided he might as well. Hopefully, the Masked man wouldn't unleash something too overpowered in return. That wouldn't be nice. Well, he'd just have to hope he could take whatever it was going to end up being. They had to start getting him down eventually, before he got them down first. So, they'd have to take the risk and go head to head either way. He just hoped this wouldn't hurt too bad.

Byakko was already getting impatient, and would gladly bounce on the opportunity, sending a small barrage of lightning bolts towards the man with the gun. That should do at least something, even though this guy's stamina seemed pretty massive from what it showed.

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