Julian's Hollow Shell (Prime Awakening)

"NO!" Mae screamed as she jumped in the way of the flames that were directed at Julian. The flames hurt, yes, but not nearly as much as they would've hurt Julian... Phew... That was a close one...

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    // That could've gone better... // Julian passed a hand through his hair, exhaling heavily. That was such a difficult battle, yet all it took was one attack from Jak to send them dissolving into oblivion. Geez...he hoped there weren't too many more of these things on the way to Emmilene. Otherwise, he'd never get out of this hell hole.

    Turning towards the girl, he frowned at her. She wasn't supposed to get hurt. Period. He was supposed to cover her. But in the ned, she'd ended up taking a hit for him after all, and it left a sour taste in his mouth. Add this in with the revelation he'd just had and his mood practically turned to black. But now was not the time to yell at Mae or curse or anthing. There would be time for that later, in the solitude of his room, maybe to Casper, away from prying eyes and people who just didn't get it. Right now he needed to make sure she was okay.

    "Here. Let me take a look at you." He was gentle yet forceful as he carefully took hold of her small shoulders and inspcted her from head to toe, looking for any traces of a burn. If he found any, he'd frown and say "Can you heal yourself? If so, do it. You need to treat those as soon as you can." If he didn't, he'd still frown, although it would be in confusion. Either way, he'd let her go and turn back towards the way they were heading. Jak had already righted himself, standing on two legs again and taking on his prim and proper attitude. With a short nod passed between them, Jak walked over to where the two users stood, reaching them in seconds with his long legs. The persona then took up the post behind Mae and her person while Julian took the lead. If Mae was set, Julian would walk forwards once more.

    With the heat of battle, his thoughts had been pushed aside. Now that the danger had passed, it was all he could think about. What was this place for? Yes, to gain a new persona and power or whatever, but in the end, it had to have some other purpose. Was it just the whole "facing yourself" to make you a better...well, person? To conquer your insecurities and faults? Was that it? Julian couldn't say for sure, so he kept quiet, puzzling over the matter on his own.

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// Whew... That was tough... But at least we made it out okay... // Mae felt... stronger after that hefty ordeal she had just gone through. Even Qilin felt this change, both within herself and her master. Perhaps defeating shadows strengthened the soul? Or something... Regardless, it would seem they were stronger than before in more ways than one.

Julian had done a good job trying to protect her to the best of his ability, and she really apprechiated that. "I'm..." Mae paused for a moment before continuing. "...Fine. Just a slight burn. Nothing more. I'll be okay. But... What about you? You took quite the beating back there. You sure you're okay? Lemme do something about that..." A strong, green light enveloped the two, as green flames erupted around them, healing any wounds they may have gotten in the battle prior to this. It was a bit more exhausting than normal, but way more efficient... Mae felt much healthier afterwards too. Now they could keep going for a while longer.

"Thanks for... Protecting me back there... I really do apprechiate it." Mae said eventually, after the two had been walking for a good while through those seemingly endless hallways... What was it about this place's lighting anyway? This dark, red color didn't exactly make Mae ooze with confidence, but at least she could be happy that there was ANY lighting at all. This place could've been completely dark, and that would've been really bad for them. Navigating in complete darkness with this much trash on the floor was a big hazard in and of itself. Luckily, they didn't have to deal with something like that... So that was a big plus...

"Well, hopefully we don't encounter anything like that again... That was tougher than I would've liked." Funny how they ended up having more trouble with a couple of shadows than one of the fragments of Julian's subconscious... "Say... Have you figured out why this place even exists yet?" To be perfectly honest, Mae had a vague idea, but... This was something Julian had to figure out on his own... Perhaps he was finally beginning to understand why he had to go through this ordeal... "I guess... I'll go through something like this eventually too..." Nothing to be excited about however. Who actually enjoyed being mentally and emotionally tormented like this? Mae sure didn't... But the girl knew that she would eventually have to face this kind of ordeal herself... Hopefully there were others who were willing to help her through it...

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She didn't give him any time to respond to her question. Her persona was already doing its healing thing before he even opened his mouth, and he jumped slightly at the sudden strong light around them. It actually stung his eyes a bit, as they'd grown used to the dim lights in the "club". Blinking rapidly, Julian tried to will the spots dancing in front of his eyes away before he went on the move again. On the bright side, he supposed, any and all fatigue that had been slowly ebbing away thanks to Jak's natural abilities was gone in a literal flash, and although momentarily blinded, he was much more alert than he'd been before with his strength renewed. He gave Mae a smile in thanks before he began walking once more, hoping to find the rooms they needed quickly.

The teen was snapped out of his musings with a start as his companion spoke up. Shaking his head slightly to rid it of cobwebs, he turned to Mae and smiled at her again. "Don't mention it. I promised I wouldn't let you get hurt, right?" Indeed, he did promise that, back when he'd asked her to come along and when his "dad" had gotten the drop on him. He dragged her into this; it wasn't fair if she got hurt while he stayed even marginally safer. He dragged her here, it was his responsibility that she got back out.

Ah...so she'd been wondering that too. And by the looks of things, figured out she'd have her own trials as well. It begged the question: did seeing all of this make her scared? Was she dreading possibly having to go through this kind of thing herself? ...He could understand that very well. After all, this was hardly something he would have opted to do if he would have known just how fucked up everything was in here. "If you want to get stronger...yeah, you probably will." Not very optimistic, he knew, but his tone was soft and careful. "I can't say the reason why this place exists. I mean, for all I know, the people from the Velvet Room could have made it. Or maybe these places appear on their own. I know two other users who went through this too. Their own little world, of course, not this place." He laughed softly, more so at the irony of it all than actually finding it humorous. "But other than it's a way to face yourself and gain a new, better persona, I can't say what it's for. Maybe you'll find that out if you go through this too." ...Speaking of which...

Turning his head back to Mae, he felt the need to add something to that. "If you do go through this, I don't mind helping you. You came for me, so I don't mind doing the same in turn."

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"Hehe, don't mention it. I'll keep us both healthy, should we need it." Mae returned Julians smile. Her healing powers had definetely improved, which was a good thing. She could've used this healing a couple of minutes ago, but there really was no use in complaining about it. They had survived after all, so she really didn't have a reason to. Now, it was just a manner of surviving the upcoming things. And considering how she had gotten a bit stronger now, there wasn't much need to worry. "Now then, Let's move on."

"I suppose so... But still, you don't have to throw yourself in danger when your own life's at risk. Sure, I can bring you back should you get knocked out, but..." It wasn't garantueed that she would have the time to do so if he was going to take everything for her. "Well... Just in case I get knocked out... Here." Mae held out her hand, giving Julian a small, golden bead. If he had seen these before, he would instantly know it's purpose. "I can bring you back in case you get knocked out, yes. But I can't bring myself back. So just in case something goes wrong, you can use this to bring me back." Just as a safety precaution from now on. After that last battle, there was no telling how things could change once they got to Julian's next fragment, not to mention his own shadow.

"Yeah... I can't say it's something I'm looking forward to... But once that time comes, I'm ready to face it. I'm not going to be alone, after all." She did have a good chunk of friends being capable of helping her out. Hyde, Jack, Rin, Julian, Traeh, Quinn, Kazuya. Yeah... A good chunk of friends indeed. "Well... I think it's more your connection to the Velvet Room itself that caused this to appear... Call me crazy, but I feel like that roo has a mind of it's own." Yeah... Like how that key had landed right in front of Mae when she passed by one of those doors for the first time. "Yeah... Getting stronger. I need it in order to protect the ones I love and care about. If I have to go through something like this, then I'll do that... So I can protect Azores, my family and my friends..." She was determined on this point. There was no way she would back down from something like this... Not when the lives of her friends could end up depending on her.

"Thanks... I'll keep it in mind, Julian. When I get notified of the door appearing, I'll give you a call right away." She couldn't deny Julian a chance to repay the favor. After everything the two had gone through so far... "I'll bring some of my other friends too, if that's okay." Hopefully he didn't mind. Right now, the ones she trusted with this were Jack, Rin and Julian. Looks like she had her team...

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    "Then I'll be fine. I have you to back me up." Maybe he shouldn't rely on Mae so much, but it showed he trusted her. He wouldn't ask just anyone to come along with him, after all, not to mention literally trust his life in their hands. It might've been a lot to ask, but he hoped Mae understood that he was willing to do the same for her should she ask. That's what friends did, right?

    He'd never seen one of those things before. What was it? A snitch? ...No, that was that flying thing from that magician movie.... Mentally shrugging off his thoughts, Julian took the offered orb and carefully placed it in his pocket. He wasn't quite sure how exactly a ball was going to help revive Mae should she pass out for one reason or another, but hey, if she thought it would do some good, there was no reason not to hang onto it. Even if it didn't help in that respect, maybe he'd find some other use for it eventually.

    He allowed Mae to talk about her thoughts on the Velvet Room and how this damned club was made in the first place. He wouldn't discount the possibility of that room having a kind of consciousness of its own, though. In fact, it seemed more than plausible to him. After all, it was hooked to these alternate worlds, personas, and the insanity he'd gone through for almost a year. Who was to say a room couldn't make decisions? There had been weirder and more fantastical things in books and movies. At least all of this wasn't exceptionally daunting for her. She still had the will to fight and go on, after all. It was good to see that there was someone doing all of this for pretty much the same reason as him: protect what he held close. That was why he accepted Emmilene's offer in the first place, after all...

    "Of course not. You have a right to bring whoever you trust or want alongside you for that." he assured the girl. Sure, he wasn't always comfortable working with people he didn't know, but if Mae trusted them, that was another story. It was her fight in the end, after all, just like this place was his. If she wanted others to come along, there was no reason to tell her no or try to change her mind. Besides, the more people, the sooner they could get through it all, right?      

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"Hehe. I'll cover you, no matter what happens." Mae said proudly. She was just happy to be able to help him out somehow. "I have to do my best here." He had put his life in her hands basically, and she wasn't about to let him down for choosing her. "I have no regrets. Sure, it's a bit scary here, but... As long as we work together, everything will be fine. If there's anything bothering you at all... Don't hesitate to talk to me about it okay? I'm not just here to heal your wounds after all. I'm here as a friend." Had Casper possessed these kinds of powers, perhaps he had been a better companion, but since she was there with him now, why not try to get to know him a little better?

"It's from the Velvet Room... I bought two of them there. All you have to do is crush it in your hand, and sprinkle the dust over the one you wish to bring back. At least, that's what the attendant told me..." She still had one golden bead left, along with a standard white one as well... These beads did possess some odd qualities... The beige gems were no different either. Crush one in your hand, and return instantly from where you came... But, just like persona's... These beige gems seemed to have no effect outside of the other worlds. In fact, in the real world, they were hard as diamonds, and grey in color, as if their power had been drained somehow... It was almost as if they resonated with it's owners powers somehow. Like the key to the velvet room worked the same way. Odd...

"The velvet room is really an odd place... There's no bounds to what happens in there. I've been talking a bit with the residents of the room before, and even they do not know everything the room is hiding..." And they lived there for most of their entire lives... They seemed timeless, being able to live for hundreds if not thousands of years without aging... Were they just like persona's themselves? Or did time just not affect them at all? "So... Are you ready to face Emmy?" Not that they were anywhere near her yet, or so she thought. But it never hurt asking, as they might run into her around the next corner... Considering how he had reacted to Casper and his father... Mae was worried... What kind of emotions would this last fragment of his subconscious bring? Not that she was all that affected by what the Fragment said... but Julian was, and if he got angry like that again... It scared Mae...

"I hope you'll get along with them, Julian." She had picked the three people she trusted the most with this... Actually... there was one more, but he didn't have access to the velvet room... Sharaku. Mae sort of looked up to him. It was a bit strange, yes, but he had been there to guide her whenever she felt lost. If she could've brought him, she would... "Thanks for trusting me with all this... I'm sure this is something you really don't want others to see, huh?" Well, Mae certainly wouldn't want anyone to see this had she been in Julian's shoes. "If... you wanna talk about anything that's happened here sometime... I'm always willing to listen. Keep that in mind, would you?" A bright smile made it's way to Mae's lips, before she stopped, and held out a hand to stop Julian as well. "Shadows..." The girl pointed to a small group of them a couple of meters away... It seems they hadn't been spotted yet... Maybe they could get the drop on them?

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     So he was supposed to break it? Hm...strange. At least the thing seemed just fragile enough to where crushing it with his hand wouldn't be horribly hard. Cracking the bead was preferrable to having to feed it to her while she was out, though. Might a well look on the bright side.

    "Emmy"? Julian glanced at Mae as she referred to the other fake girl apparently still roaming around in this club, a ight smile playing his face. Had she given up on pronouncing her name, or did she just prefer how the nikname sounded? It didn't matter much to him, but he could relate to the first reason. After all, when he'd first met the woman, pronouncing her name right had hardly been high on his list of priorities. But he'd learned eventually. It just took a little time. "Guess so. I don't know her as well as the others we've run into, so I think we pretty much saved the least troublesome for last." He chuckled lightly before offering a small shrug. "Though I hope this copy doesn't have her smarts. That'll just make this more trouble than it's worth." Emmilene was a capable woman, not to mention the leader of an army. If her doppelganger possessed even half the intellect the original did...geez, was he going to have to go head-to-head with a seasoned tactician? The thought made him sigh lightly, letting his eyes close for a moment as he tried to console himself with the notion she didn't have much to dig at him with.

    "Sure." It was a sweet offer, really, but Julian just wasn't interested in spilling his feelings like some hapless, sentimental fool. Besides, he barely understood this all himself. Evidence would suggest that all of these "copies" were just...manifestations of all of his negative thoughts. Everything he didn't want or realize he thought about. It was straightforward, really, and on some level, he was relieved that all of this wasn't the result of the Velvet Room spying on him this whole time. (Helpful or not, survaillence on him was just not cool.) But still, he always thought of himself as very comfortable with who he was, his decisions, the way he handled things... Was he supposed to believe that in his heart of hearts, he believed himself to be a coward, a person who took arms when it was convenient for him and scurried off when the going got tough? His teeth ground together at the idea. God damnit, he wasn't a fucking coward. Any hesitation he'd had in this case was the source of caution, not timidity. And if all he cared about was himself, why the hell would he have agreed to help out the others? It didn't add up.

    He was almost glad that there were another swarm of shadows up ahead. It was a way to vent some of the anger that was starting to build and gnaw at his insides. With a small nod, he whispered to Mae, "same as before. Jak'll go on ahead, we'll follow him up. If it's a false alarm, he'll let us know. If not, he'll scare them enough to where we can get the first hit." That was a plus to having a famous trickster as a persona. He scared the living daylights out of everything, even other monsters. With a short motion of his hand, Jak sprang past the others and leaped ahead, letting out his sinister cackle that made even Julian's blood chill a little.

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"Well... Let's hope for the best, and prepare for the worst, no? Hopefully she won't be that tough... You've been making pretty quick work of all the other fragments so far... I'll just cover you if she does indeed use fire..." Good thing he had brought Mae with him then. She was pretty good with dealing with this kind of stuff. But... If Emmy did indeed share the same elemental powers as Mae, that might make her less useful in terms of attacking. But hey, she could heal pretty well, so they shouldn't be in too much danger, as long as nothing unexpected happened. "I know you don't like the prospect of me getting hurt here, but I'd rather take some small burns over watching you die..." This were still very dangerous stuff they were dealing with here. How could she not be worried?

"Well... It's just an offer... You don't have to if you don't want to..." Mae said with a sheepish smile. Why did she even...? Julian did trust her with his life, but beyond that the two barely knew eachother. "Well... Your shadow might employ some dirty tricks to get under your skin... I..." Mae fell silent for a second, thinking carefully about her next choice or words. "I just don't want you to be angry like that again... to tell the truth... It frightened me, seeing you like that." Mae looked away from Julian, biting her lip. Well, there she said it... Hopefully he didn't take offense to that. "Not if I can avoid it..."

"Well, Qilin. You know what to do." The white steed snorted a burst of blue flames in confirmation, narrowing her gaze at the shadows. Mae could feel that her persona was more confident now than before. After that close call earlier, and this newfound burst of strength was just what the kirin needed.


The girl nodded before running after Julian and his persona. Let the battle commence!

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