One With Nature [Sharaku - ???]

Phalanx looked towards Sentinel, before giving him his answer. "YumiAmi is another one of the Thirteen. Young, blue-haired girl, and carries a persona much like mine and Joshuas. Quite dangerous, but she's more than likely one of the thirteen's weaker members. Me, Azami, Shunnosuke, Simon and Lewis were able to subdue her... I can only hope that Zachary has been able to keep check on her. She's a valuable pool of insight right now. Just as much as Zachary is." As far as saving Lune went, Phalanx nodded in agreement with Joshua. "Looks like a solid course of action."

"Even if I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're here with good intentions, it's still doesn't change the fact that their incompetence has just made matters worse so far. But I digress." Azami would reply to Ariston and Alphonse with a shrug. She didn't trust the thirteen a bit and they weren't going to change her mind about that, nor was she going to change theirs. Still, she didn't regret saying her piece. Perhaps it'd give the rest of the group some food for thought. If not, well, there was no harm in having brought it up. Unless one of the others had something worth noting, Azami was ready to head out to face Zachary. The sooner they got to him, the better.

It was around this time that she heard it. That strange noise... What was it? A familiar feeling washed over her as it called out to her fading in and out. Her eyes slowly scanned the rest of the group looking for any sort of reaction, but their expressions all seemed to remain the same. Though she attempted to gather her thoughts it was to no avail. Her mind couldn't ignore the voice's whispers any longer and though it was tempting to try to resist it, she'd ultimately give in. Whoever (or perhaps whatever) was calling her had aided her so far, so it couldn't hurt to at least try and listen...

So she had actually taken the warning, huh? Or perhaps Azami was giving herself too much credit. Whatever the case, it was good news. And considering the rest of what the voice had to say, she was certain she had made the right call in choosing to listen to it. It was worth whatever cost she'd pay for it... assuming it had a cost at all, that is. She didn't feel any immediate drawback from relying on the entity after all. Nevertheless, it did fill her with a feeling of unease. That being was certainly mysterious, that was for sure.

"I was planning to keep quiet about this, but I can't any longer. This... This might be the end of the road for me. Regardless of how confident I am in my abilities, or how confident you are in yours, there's a very real risk that we and our world may not make it out of this alive. With that in mind I have to make a request. I have family and friends living in San Malarus. If it's possible, I'd like to go see them alone before I head out to face Zachary. This might be the last chance I get to do so." A look of concern crossed Azami's face. Her gaze would turn from the rest of the group to Ariston in particular. "Is there some way you or Isla could allow me to pass through the barrier? I know I'm asking a lot, but..."

She was confident that if anyone would understand, it'd be him. After all, he had just reunited with his brother a moment ago. Surely he saw importance in family.

The android nodded his head listening to the current explanations of who YumiAmi was. Perhaps she was the traitor? Though striking without first understanding the strength of Azami's allies seemed both foolish, and if this traitor had managed to pull this out from underneath the Thirteen....then....they would be more cautious and careful. "I see, I'll keep that in mind and perhaps think of a few questions to ask her....I have doubts she is the traitor, but I have been wrong before." He said before rubbing the back of his head, and after hearing what Azami said....it was exactly confidence inspiring. Though he could understand the need to see family, he wished Maria was okay and not worrying too much about him. He hated the fact that he was forced to be away from her for so long, but he had to protect her from whatever was going on out here.

"My understanding about the barrier is that once you are out it is impossible to get back in, or that is what Isla has told me. However, I recently managed to negotiate the return of those people at the circus, whom Tamara was posing a direct threat to, and they were allowed access into Sans. By that logic I could call her again and tell her that you are on her way. She knows you are important, so she might be more willing to let you in than the group of civilians. However, she will likely demand that we deal with Zachary.....I pulled some strings and she seemed fairly unwilling to act until she knows Zachary is pacified. I can't make any promises, but I can try."

When Shunnosuke spoke about how they were to handle Zachary, he nodded in agreement, "Isla did not specify the way he had to be pacified if we can convince him to a truce and Isla to the same then I can make pull some more threads with the prime minister. I would like to avoid fighting, but given my limited knowledge about Zachary, I am not optimistic about our chances of success with negotiating. Though I'm aware anything is possible, which is why we have to keep fighting against the odds we face now." The android said, he would not discount the chances of negotiating something with Zachary, but in the same thought he was not particularly optimistic about the chances of negotiating with him. He would love to save Lune as it did not make sense why she would be working with Zachary of all people, perhaps their local gang lord had some sort of supernatural assistance with that.

It looked like Phalanx agreed with dealing with Zachary. Joshua would have expected Shunnosuke and Sentinel to do so, which they did, but how to do it was not how he expected it. He furrowed his brows while listening to both of them. It's not like the Ultimate Persona User didn't have a point. But, he just couldn't see it happening about negotiating it out with him. There was a reason why that guy had Lune and he likely didn't want to lose a member of his own group.


"It's not like I don't understand where you're coming from, y'know? But this is a crime boss we're talking about. Someone who wrenched a whole island from Isla from violence alone. I backstabbed him just now." Joshua bluntly told Shunnosuke, "And on top of that you want to pacify him and get Lune out of his grasp? Talking over without a fight breaking out is not going to happen. We will end up trying to claw each other's throats out. But hell, you're free to try. Just have a great plan first. And I sure as hell know just trying to fight him isn't a good idea, but what choice do we have?"

He wouldn't exactly put a finger on Shunnosuke being like the other Persona Users. The guy had a brain, but he was beginning to be a tad bit naive like them. At the least it wasn't something that was so annoying like theirs. His attention was brought towards Azami who was going to head out elsewhere. This was news that he did not like at all.

It felt... sudden. He could sympathize with her about her parents. But, this was just right out of the left field. Joshua didn't like it. Yet, he nodded. "Come back to us soon then. We'll need you, but you could just jump in when we need you. Still got a phone? Let me exchange numbers with you. But are you sure you're fine on your own? It's actually dangerous to go alone, you know?"

Joshua took out his and handed his towards her. The vice versa would happen if she accepted.

Phalanx sighed deeply in the background. "Hm... Well if it's that important to you, I can go with you. We'll catch up with the rest of you. Besides, I have buissness in San Malarus as well. " The android replied with a light shrug. "And I was hoping to get a little bit of time with Azami anyway." With a little luck, her role in all this may be more... evident with a bit of digging. A task he would most certainly relish.

"What's that supposed to mean you perverted Pinocchio?" Azami would ask with an eyebrow raised at the machine. The woman sighed and shrugged her shoulders, but she made no effort to protest Phalanx's request. "I suppose it can't be helped if you have business there as well. We can attend to our obligations alone and then, once we're finished, meet up at the Notre Dame II and head out toward Standasen. Sound good?" This was of course assuming that Isla would let Phalanx in. Even if she allowed the Wild Card to enter, it didn't necessarily mean that the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon would be let in.

Sentinel knew Joshua had a point that a peaceful negotiation was not likely, but it was worth a shot at the very least. He was more than ready to fight if it came down to that, and he was sure they could pull through whatever difficulty they may encounter with Zachary. Phalanx and Azami seemed to discuss the passage to San Malarus, which he would note to include that in his message to Isla to call Phalanx her escort rather than some other nobody. He looked around a bit before, Shunnosuke made a comment about how he wanted to keep Zachary close as an enemy.

The fact that his friend liked to manipulate social interactions, and press his luck with an untrustworthy source was more than a little concerning with the android. "I would at least like to join you for the meeting, this way should things go south you're not alone without any support." He stated as a fact, because while the android could no doubt get through a bunch of thugs, he wasn't sure it would be an easy or a task he could complete quickly. He did not know a thing about Zachary, but he knew quite a few things about calculated risk. He found letting Shunnosuke be alone with the gang lord to be a risk that he was unwilling to take. "If something were to go wrong then it is entirely possible that none of us would be able to come to your aid immediately." The android stated, it was a simple fact, but one that he had to advise his friend upon. When his friend stated that they would meet up at noon, he would give a nod. "I presume at the station? That seems to be the safest place for us to meet up, and then move to find Zachary." He said, before looking at the rest of the group. He hoped that they would agree with the android, he'd rather avoid meeting deep in possible enemy territory. He then observed his new allies, he knew Joshua was perhaps the one who would need the most supplies.

He approached Joshua, "Considering how you betrayed him and how you are at present our ally, I recommend that you go and get some supplies." He said as he would set in Joshua's hand money to buy whatever supplies he would need. "I have enough supplies to last me and then some, but you know what we're up against in terms of their strengths and powers. If you have any idea on what could help us then get it, and if there is money left over be sure to return it to me. I might need supplies after this next encounter." He said, the man who could make the most of that cash is the one who knew what they were going to be up against and their strengths. At least that is Sentinel's reasoning.

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He raised an eyebrow at the Persona User. The guy seemed ever confident that this was the only option. Joshua left it at that for now. But the Nyarlathotep Child wasn't exactly quite confident that it would go as well as he think it will. In either case, a fight was going to break out and he might as well join in to help find Lune. "No, I'll go too. All I'm saying is that this won't go as well as you think it will. But, I'll let you handle most of the talking if that helps."

Admittedly Joshua wasn't too confident of a negotiator in the first place. It would best if someone like Shunnosuke took the floor and talk it out with the druglord. "Station sounds better. That way we can already be on our way."

He soon accepted Sentinel's money with a nod. The young man had an idea what to buy with this.

Confusion struck Azami as the Persona began to let out a frantic, panicked scream from within the confines of her mind. Her Other Self felt the effects immediately, but the woman herself didn't initially notice anything different. It was only a few seconds afterwards that it struck her. Visions of an ongoing battle flashed in and out as she suddenly began to feel her power being ripped away from her. Her eyes lit up with terror and she felt her knees begin to go weak. At this point merely standing began to take a tremendous amount of effort. Someone or something was taking her power; the power that she had been granted, the power that she and she alone had a right to. "No... No, no, no, no, no!" She thought to herself over and over. This was supposed to be hers! It was her strength, not anyone else's! But they were trying to steal it. Just as always someone else was trying to rip away what little she had. "Parasite, parasite, parasite, parasite..."

Azami did her best to mask her emotions, but it would be clear to anyone paying attention that, despite her silence, something was wrong. The woman shook with a mixture of rage and horror as she desperately tried to cling to her fleeting power and call out to the voice. "Give it back! Give it back!"

"Hrm... since we're splitting up, I think you guys need this more than I do." Phalanx said, emptying his pockets and wallet of the money and other small things he had managed to salvage over his time on the islands. Now... he needed to check up on his boss. The silence from him was disturbing...

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