Valentines Date [Julian]

"Hehe, yeah Cas, you should listen to Julian from time to time. He actually offers good advice, you know?" Mae tried to supress a chuckle, but her attempts ended in failiure. It was just too funny. "Thank you, Julian." The girl said thankfully as she sat down, opening up the wrapper on her sandwich, giving it an intrigued look. It actually looked quite tasty, all things considered. Now, how to actually attack this beast? She noticed how Cas simply took a big bite out of it, and decided to do the same. And oh boy was it tasty. "Mmm. This is good~!" She said happily after swallowing her first bite, happily taking another bite as Julian asked his question.


"I'm doing way better now... Although, I called myself in sick the first two days of school this week... The nightmares wouldn't stop... At least the broadcast makes marginally more sense now." Mae shrugged, taking another bite out of the sandwich in her hand. "Come on! I'm here with you. Of course, I'm okay." She would give Julian one of her heartwarming smiles before taking a sip out of her drink. "T-thanks for asking though..."

    He should have figured she'd have nightmares about that. Hell, if he watched a doppelganger of himself turn into a raging bull monster that was set on killing him, Julian would probably have nightmares himself. For a moment, Julian was both grateful and a little guilty for how he'd awoken to his persona. Was it scary? Yes. Was it strange? Yes. But at least then there had been no one out to hurt him. Poor Mae...he wouldn't wish that experience on most people. He considered giving her a pat on the shoulder or something, but he decided not to make a scene out of it and draw more attention to themselves. Instead, he gave her a sympathetic smile and allowed her to finish.

    "Do you want me to teach you IRT?" Julian spared a glance at his friend, who was currently twirling around the liquid in his bottle absentmindedly as he watched Mae calmly. "It can help you deal with the nightmares, if they decide to come back. And, not to be a Debbie Downer or anything, but from what I hear you went through, that's pretty possible."

    "Cas, I'm the pessimistic one."

    "Sheeeesh, sorry to steal your gig, Psy. Message re-ceived." Casper rolled his eyes before a faint smile came across his face. "But hey, at least you can stand up for yourself now, right? If what Psy tells me is true with demons and whatnot."

    Julian could facepalm right about now. Or smack his head into the table a few times. But that might cause some permanent damage, so he settled on sighing instead. "Sorry. I should have mentioned that Casper knows about this stuff too. I told him a while ago, before your situation." Around Christmas time, actually. It had been a pretty one-sided conversation, filled with nodding and silence besides Julian's own voice, but in the end, Casper had decided to trust him. That trust was only reinforced with the strange incidences Casper himself had seen, and now at least he had someone who he could trust to help him with this whole thing. "I know this is probably pretty strange for you. I know it was for me. So ask me anything you want, and I'll try and answer it, and then I'd like to ask you a few things. Deal?" the teen smiled softly, hoping those terms were acceptable.

"Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that..." She would still see flashes of the bull every now and again. That thing just wouldn't go away, would it? At least she could take solace in knowing it was gone for good... Right?

"Well, that's what I'm hoping for... Ehehe... I don't want to drag Julian into any more trouble than necessary..." Mae smiled sheepishly. Dragging Julian into all of this... well, to be honest, it had already happened somewhat. They wouldn't be having this converstation if he wasn't involved in all this. He could've just left her to figure things out on her own... But luckily, he was nicer than that. How Mae would've dealt with this otherwise, she would never know...

"Well, it's nice that you have a friend to confide in... That must've been one interesting conversation, hehe." How did one even break news like those to a friend who didn't know anything about this kind of stuff to begin with? Where would one even start? There was so much information, and finding a good place to start wasn't easy when abstract concepts like Personas and whatever else that bull creature thing was... Just thinking about explaining this to Ayane gave Mae a headache. There was so much she didn't understand... But that was why Julian was here, no?


"Well... Let's start with the most obvious question... What was that thing that attacked me? And how did you know I was there to begin with?" It seemed very... convenient that Julian had been there to save her... Was it really just a coincidence? Or was there someone else behind the scenes pulling the strings...?

    A good, easy question to start off with. He had a feeling this was going to go pretty well. Julian reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, scrolling through the text messages until he arrived at the group of received texts from VELVET ROOM. He'd then set the phone on the table in front of Mae and point at it, directing her attention to the screen. "This is how I knew." He'd point to one text in particular that had the subject "ASSIST MAE". "I'm pretty sure you've noticed a bunch of doorways to other places that no one else can see, right? Well, the blue doors go to a place called the Velvet Room. It's a place where people like us can get supplies, information, take a break, whatever. Think of it like a safe house. Anyway, they somehow found out you were in that place and told me, and I went to find you." He'd lean back in his chair at this point, but leave his phone out for the girl's perusal if she so desired.

    "Kinda creepy, don't you think? What, were they like stalking her or something?"

    "More like they have a connection to all the supernatural things going down right now. I bet they can sense disturbances on that side or whatever." Julian waved off Casper's concerns before continuing on. "So, that thing. It's called a Shadow. They're a bunch of monsters that roam that place. They come in all shapes and sizes; that one was a Minotaur, but I've seen others that look like sand snakes and scorpions. They're all different, and they're all very dangerous." Heavy words. then again, this was a heavy topic and a heavy situation. Of course he was going to be saying some scary things right about now. Poor Mae. She didn't get a choice like he did. She was thrown into this, it seemed. ...That was a good question, actually.

    "Mae, do you remember how you got there?" he'd ask gently, trying to coax moreso than force information out of her.

"Oh. So that's how you knew?" Mae took the phone and looked through the texts from the Velvet Room. "Well, yeah, I have." That's right... wasn't there one close to the dorms? And a bunch of other places as well. She hadn't dared approaching one, as she knew nothing about what was waiting on the other side, but now she had a reason to check them out, knowing they didn't conceal anything dangerous.

"Well, it is... But without that text, I would've died... So I'm not gonna complain." Mae shrugged lightly. She owed that text her life. Without it, Mae had most likely died, if not from the shadow, then she would've died due to dehydration... Not a very comfortable way to die...

"Shadows? So they are what we're fighting against?" Mae raised an eyebrow. She did not want to stand face to face with another one like that anytime soon... but she couldn't just ignore what was going on here either. Julian was involved in this somehow... "So... Was it the same for you?" Mae asked carefully. How had Julian awoken to his persona? Did the same rules apply to all of them, or were each "awakening" different from person to person?

"Well... All I remember is me watching the Broadcast in my room when I wa assaulted by someone. I didn't see the assailants face, as I was knocked unconscious from a blow to the back of my head... I was somehow taken to the desert after that... Whoever did this left me there to die..." Mae shivered. Who was this mystery assailant to begin with? Well, whoever it was, Mae had a score to settle.

    "Kind of." Julian reached over and took a sip of water to satiate his dry throat before continuing on. "Right now, there are doorways--portals, really--that connect to different worlds. You see how big they are now, right? They're taller than I am." That was no small feat, considering that Julian was a little over six feet himself. "They used to be about the size of a window, not anymore than three feet or so." He let that information sink in for second. She might've picked up on what that meant, but he decided to say it outright to squelch any confusion. "They're getting bigger, Mae. It's like both worlds are bleeding into each other. No one is sure why, where, or when this happened, but it's becoming a problem for both sides. Do you happen to remember hearing about Lewis Rhodes on TV?"

    "What, the Greek guy who kidnapped those two girls?"

    Julian gave a nod. Did he leave this bit out when he explained to Casper? That was careless. Well, at least now he was getting some pieces he didn't before. "Yeah. Apparently he used one of those portals to hide the girls." He refocused on Mae now, gaze concerned and serious. "Something about those other worlds drove him to pull a stunt like that. Now, unless we sever the connection between the worlds, things like this will probably keep happening. That's really what everyone who's involved goal is."

    Geez he'd been talking a lot. Time for a brief drink of water. Maybe then his tongue wouldn't stick to the roof of his mouth. Ugh. Creepy feeling. But it was worth it in the end, he supposed, if Mae could get something out of his talk. The last thing he wanted was her wandering something unprepared and getting hurt or fumbling around like he did for months. It was better to have competent team players, after all.

    The teen shook his head at Mae's next question, quickly lowering the bottle form his lips and capping it before answering. "No. I was kidnapped, but in the end, there was no fighting and nothing trying to kill me." He looked away almost sheepishly for a moment, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Really, I'm sorry you got thrown into this. If I could have traded experiences with you I would." Emmilene and Mae would probably get along just fine. Why couldn't she have the jarring awakening and the nice light show and he the raging bull? ...Granted, maybe no one would've come for him, but he'd still trade awakenngs with her if he was able. She must've been terrified...

    Without another word Casper practically sprang to his feet and dashed around the table, skidding to a top behind Mae and flinging his arms around her shoulders in a huge hug. Julian watched his friend do this, a soft smile overcoming his face. As much of a goof as he was, Casper was a good guy. That's what made him so ready to do things like that, comforting people he barely knew and cracking jokes for a smile. It was kind of endearing. Figuring he should get in on this comfort circle too, Julian rested his hand on Mae's. "You're not dead." he spoke softly, carefully, "and you're not going to be for a long time yet. We're going to fix things, alright, so whoever that was can't pull that stunt ever again. And you're going to be just fine." A determined grin overshadowed his gentler expression. Oh yes. Whoever that was was going to be stopped ASAP, if he had anything to say about it.

"So that's what those things are..." Someone must've brought Mae in through one of those portals then to that desert... "Wait... They used to be smaller?" So they hadn't been this large before? That was... worrisome. Well... As long as those monsters couldn't pass through the portals, they should be safe... For now anyway. "As long as those things can't go between the worlds like we can..." Chaos would insue, and seeing as Mae could not summon Qilin here, through experimenting, she had no way of fighting back the shadows should they invade... "Lewis Rhodes?" Mae raised an eyebrow. She hadn't heard that name before... She listened intently to what the two said. Apparently he was some kidnapper who had used the portals to hide two girls... "I thought anyone without a persona can't move through them? I tried it myself before I got Qilin when I was trapped... and it just repelled me... So how did he do it? Rhodes, that is?"

"Kidnapped? And no fighting involved?" She looked at him with a somber expression. "So... that's how you got your powers? You were kidnapped? Then what?" How had he actually awoken to his hidden potential? Mae had faced her true self... but Julian was different... for some reason. "Oh, nonono, don't be sorry! You have nothing to apologize for!" Mae shook her head, causing her ponytail to whip around in the air. "You saved my life... And I'm very grateful for that." She looked down on her lap as her voice died down slowly.

"Eh?! Oh geez..." Mae was taken by complete suprise, and it showed. "Thanks, you guys..." She said sofly, giving Julian a warm smile in return. "Well, now that I have these powers... It would be quite a shame not to use them to help others... I mean, if someone else ends up getting kidnapped, I wanna be there to help them out! J-just like you saved me... I can do that too, right?" Mae was dead set on helping people. If anyone would need her assistance, she would be there to give it, no matter who it was...

    Julian gave a short nod of his head. "Yeah. They were the size of...hm, I guess the two-seater tables you see here?" he'd gesture slightly in the direction of one of the closer two-person tables, which really was big enough to just hold two plates of food and a few snacks or a purse. Not exceptionally small, but not that big either. Almost like a small window. While he was glad going into other worlds wasn't as painful as it used to be, seeing those doorways become huge gaping holes was extremely unsettling.

    "I can't say for sure. Everything I know about him, I got through someone else. Never met Rhodes myself, actually. But if you'd like, I can give you the name and number of someone who can tell you more." If she said yes, Julian would pull out his phone and share Hyde's contact information with her, giving instructions to tell the other boy that Julian had sent her. Hopefully Hyde would understand that she was someone he could trust (although knowing Hyde, he probably would end up telling her anyways the second he found out Mae had a persona). If she said no, Julian would nod and continue listening to her questions.

    Then what? Hm, how to word this..."I was sucked into a cult" was a bad opener. So was "lights and bread and dreams and insanity". Might as well go with the bluntest route. "I met someone who said things were going to happen in Azores that could potentially endanger a lot of people. She gave me the option to put a stop to that before it happened. As you can see, I ended up accepting her offer." He leaned back in his chair, thinking back to what had convinced him. Unconsciously he gave a slight shudder, averting his gaze to the table at the images that flooded his mind. God, that that could happen to Azores...it was, frankly, disturbing. Like hell he'd let that happen to his home.

    Casper, after a glance at his friend, fixed Mae with a grin and folded his hands behind his head. "Suuure! Betcha you could help Psy with all this stuff, since you can go in there and I can't." He began to prop his feet up on the table, only to be swiftly stopped by Julian who had seen the shoes coming too close to the table from his peripheral vision and batted the converse away easily. "Ugh, ruuuude, Psy. Anywho, I betcha you'll be swooping in and saving darling damsels like yourself in no time. It's like you're a hero~!"

"That's... really scary, actually." Mae shuddered. What if the entire island was swallowed by these rifts? That would be... bad. Really, really bad. "And you have no way of stopping it...?" How would you go about such a thing anyway? Of course, getting rid of what's causing it would be the obvious solution, but with that followed another question which was much harder to answer: Who was causing it? One thing was certain. Whoever it was needed to be stopped before things got out of hand...

"Oh... So you never met him... Alright, that's fine. I can do some digging on my own." Mae smiled happily. "Those poor girls... I know what it's like to be in that world defenseless like that. They made it back safely, right?" Her tone was worried. And of course she was concerned. What if no-one had actually managed to save them before it was too late? "I'm glad he's behind bars at least. But that means there's another kidnapper on the loose... seeing how I ended up in that desert was through someone else knocking me out cold... This can't go on. Is there anything I can do about it?"

"W-wait... what do you mean by 'endanger a lot of people'? Is there something going on?" Mae looked at Julian with a worried expression. She had a hunch that something was up... was this it? "Hehe, I'll gladly help you out... I owe you at least that much for saving my life." Mae smiled at Julian.

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Mae finished her sandwich with a satisfied smile on her face. "Alrighty then. Which ride should we take next?" After getting this much information, Mae needed some time to think about what she had just learned, and while she could do that right now, she was on a date still, after all, and having fun was still the most important thing. "It's your pick, Julian."

    "The two of them were hospitalized from what I remember, but they both survived, yes." That was all he could say on the matter, so he'd leave it at that. That particular time, the news actually did a good job of giving the families their privacy. Unfortunately, it didn't give him a lot to work with. He'd have to ask a particular prime source for that information.

    Julian propped both elbows on the table, resting his chin on his interlocked fingers. Well, there were many routes she could take. Some were inadvisable, others...well, they needed to be tested. A few general pointers couldn't hurt in any case, though. "Personally, I'm doing some investigating in the other worlds. I have strong ties to the other version of Penecia, so I'm mainly focusing on that area. If you want, you could always help me out there, or you could go into some of the other worlds on your own and look into the situations there." At this point he'd fix her with a somber gaze. "I should warn you, some other people have riled up things in the other San Malarus. Apparently they're going through their own little Crusade at the moment, and if they find out you have a persona...well, I'm not exactly certain what they'll do, but you can bet it won't be pleasant." ...Please don't let that have frightened her. It was good of he rto be cautious, but she shouldn't be scared. That was the last thing he was trying to do. Realizing his probable blunder, he gave her a reassuring, if not mildly sheepish smile. "It sounds scary, I know, but really, just keep your eyes and ears open. Explore a little. If you run into trouble or don't want to go alone, call me and I'll come. Alright?" The least he could do was help her through all of this. The last thing she needed was to be thrown into the deep end of this situation without a lifeline. That would just be cruel and horribly counterproductive.

    "...I don't know." Of course something was wrong in Azores. The question now was...what? "Obviously something is wrong here. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten that power, those girls wouldn't have been kidnapped...I bet most of the things that've happened lately wouldn't have happened if something wasn't wrong. But I'm not taking any chances; we should find and stop whatever this is before it does hurt anyone or does some serious lasting damage."



    Somehow, after all that serious talk, they managed to actually finish their food and throw away their trash before Trinny bounded up to them, fixing them with an expectant stare as Mae questioned what was next on the itinerary.

    "Yes, Psy, please enlighten us. Which attraction shall we visit next?" The little girl tilted her head curiously, eyeing her cousin.

    Julian, in turn, pursed his lips and glanced around before settling on the largest nearby attraction. "How about the ferris wheel? There's a pretty nice view at the top; besides, roller coasters and digesting food doesn't mix." he'd chuckle lightly, smirking as Casper's face turned a particular shade of green.

    "Ugggggggghhhhhh, nooooo thank you! C'mon Trin, let's go."

    The other two began walking off in the direction of the ride while Julian turned to MAe and held out his arm for the girl, a smile on his face. "You up for it, milady?" His tone was light and jovial, as if the conversation they'd just had never happened.

"Phew... That's a relief. I'm glad they're okay." Mae let out a sigh of relief. Things could've ended up badly for the two girls... Luckily they had been saved by some persona users like herself, it would seem.

"J-Just be careful, alright?" Mae said shyly. If Julian went of spelunking in Alternate Penecia by himself and something went wrong... Mae shuddered at the thought. "If I'm not in the way... Sure." The pinkette had little to no practice using her persona... How was she going to help out Julian in her current condition?


Qilin's reassuring voice echoed within Mae's mind. She was right. Julian would be there with her... Even if she wasn't all that experienced with this stuff, Julian could show her the ropes, if nothing else. How else would she really learn anything? "I-I guess I'll keep that in mind then." Mae answered, slightly panicked.

Mae agreed with Julian. Now it was just a matter of finding out how they would stop it.... That was the next task ahead of the teens looking to save Azores... Of course, Mae was willing to aid them. After all, Azores was her home.

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Mae chuckled at Casper's reaction. "Not so good with heights, Cas?" Obviously, she knew the answer. His green face told her everything. "Oh... You're going, Okay. See you two later, then!" The girl waved as Casper and Trinny vanished into the crowds, after which she turned to face Julian. "The Ferris wheel? Hehe, sure." Mae smiled as she took his hand. "So, which way do we go?"

    "Follow the two who ran off." He laughed, beginning to walk through the crowds with Mae in tow. "Or just walk in the general direction of the huge wheel."

    True to his word, they were heading in that direction. Of course, that particular attraction wouldn't be terribly hard to find. After all, it towered over even some roller coasters. Rather convenient, actually, if that was the ride you were looking for.

    They had just a little farther to walk before they were at said ride, so Julian opted to start up a conversation to pass the time. "So, what's been your favorite so far?"

"Well, that's simple enough. Let's go." Then Mae saw the big ferris wheel in the distance, and she felt dumb for even asking where to go. It was right there! In Plain sight! "I can't believe I actually missed that" Mae mumbled to herself, looking at the massive wheel in the distance. "Of the rides? I'd say it's a tie between the rollercoaster and the swing... " Although, the merry-go-round had it's own charm, she couldn't deny that. Not that she would mention it to Julian. Picking her up like that... It had been nice of him, and she did apprechiate the help. "It's difficult to pick one over the other. Both of them were really fun."

As the two walked towards the ferris wheel, when they were not talking, Mae would quietly hum on one of her mother's songs. She mostly did it subconsciously, and thus were not actually aware of it.

    The teen bobbed his head in response to her answer. He figured the swings would be more her type of thing, but it was good to see she like some of the more intense stuff too. "I know what you mean." Things were actually working out pretty smoothly today, oddly enough. While things weren't quite as comfortable as they could possibly be, this was one of the least awkward dates he'd been on. Not to mention he'd gotten some pretty decent information and a new ally out of all of it too. Definitely not a bad deal at all.

    Julian opted to stop talking when he heard Mae begin to hum. He wasn't sure if it was because she was bored or just had the song stuck in her head, but the last thing he wanted to do was possibly irritate her. Might as well be courteous and let her do her thing. For the rest of the way there, he was silent, just focusing on weaving through the few people crowding the area and getting to the ride.

    It wouldn't be long until they arrived at the ferris wheel where Casper and Trinny were waiting bickering like the children they were at heart.

    "I told you, that's not-!"

    "And I told you that it is!" Trinny huffed, shoving her hands onto her hips and glaring dangerously.

    The blonde looked dangerously close to his tipping point before he caught sight of the pair, his whole face brightening into the familiar happy-go-lucky persona he was well known for. "There you two are! I was getting worried!"

    "No you-" Trinny began, only to be cut off as Casper pushed her into line. "Hey-!"

    Julian hardly batted an eye at the familiar sight. Such antics were common around his household, both in Azores and the one he used to know back in California. Maybe he'd become desensitized to buffoonery? ...Ah, who cared? Shrugging off the encounter, Julian turned to Mae with a smile. "Shall we?" He then led her into the queue behind the other two, who had begun arguing again. Something about plaids...? ...He decided then and there that maybe he was better off not knowing.

"Aww... That's sweet of you, Cas." Mae smiled in his direction. Was he really worried, or did he just sugar-coat things to impress? She didn't know Casper all that well, so she really had no clue whether or not it was the case. "Bickering as usual, I see?" Mae giggled at Trinny, poking her lightly on the nose. "I would stop it if I were you. Remember our deal, Trinny?" She of course remembered her deal with the kid back then. When this shopping trip of theirs would actually take place, she had no idea, but probably sometime soon, if the girl behaved a bit more. She would then rise up, turning to Julian. "Yeah, Let's go." Believe it or not, she was actually looking forward to this. A peaceful ride up the ferris wheel was a nice change of pace from the other rides they had taken so far. "So..." Mae began, awkwardly. "What do you think of the date so far...?" She would fidget slightly in place, moving with the queue nervously. She wanted to know more about him... but she really didn't know what else to ask... hence why she was being so nervous.