One With Nature [Sharaku - ???]

"If you're talking about the fucking Angels, of-fucking-course we couldn't rely on them. If we do, we'd lose our free will, so fuck that shit," Joshua scoffed back at her.

He would have continued to keep speaking, but Ariston put a stop to it and she left with Sharaku. While rolling his eyes, he looked back towards Ariston. And he was given two choices, Zackary or Isla, again. This was a dilemma.

"I want to go after Lune first. But we don't have the firepower or the numbers to make it any feasible as it is right now." he spoke hesitatingly, "Do you have any suggestions for this? Can Isla provide some back up here?"

Joshua was already leaning towards Lune and Isla can wait a little bit longer. But, their options were ultimately limited. And what Ariston had to offer, Joshua hoped it was something.

Azami could feel herself slipping away from the strange Velvet Room she had found herself in. The world around her began to fade to black once again and when her vision returned to her she'd find herself back within the real world. Her eyes would slowly flutter open and she'd find herself greeted by the sight of the sky above. For a few seconds she simply laid there staring up at it whilst collecting her thoughts. How much time had passed since she had lost consciousness? It didn't seem like much to her, but the drastic change in scenery suggested otherwise. Zackary's place definitely didn't look anything like this.

The woman would rise to her feet and eye her surroundings carefully. At first it seemed that she was alone, but soon enough her ears would pick up on the sound of conversation. Slowly and silently she'd approach the direction of the voices. With each step closer it grew more audible until eventually it was clear enough to make out who it was. Yeah... It was him. That was Joshua. And if he was here then it was safe to assume that Phalanx was close by.

Taking a peek through the foliage, she'd find that her suspicions were confirmed. There was another man there too -- a silver-haired stranger who she didn't recognize in the slightest. It didn't seem like he was hostile, so it was likely safe to come out, though she figured it'd be best to get some details on the situation before deciding on a course of action. Azami's eyes would turn yellow and her head would throb with pain as she focused her sight on Phalanx. Her voice would creep into his mind and he'd find himself the target of an inquisitive whisper that no one else around him would hear.

Personas:

Action:

While Joshua had been focused on Ariston for now, it didn't mean that he didn't hear the rustling of foliage with each careful footstep. It was a sure sign that someone was around. Jerking his head towards the slight sound, it was Azami. Of all times, she took this time to awake. He was somewhat between relieved and annoyed that she was finally up now. "It's alright. Just come closer. Everything's fine. You alright?"

Well, about time that damn brat woke up. "Our deal with Zachary is burned. Looks like we're on opposite sides from him now. That's all there's to it, really." Phalanx shrugged. "Nice to see you up and running again though." Phalanx said to Azami, keeping the irritation away from his voice. "Anyways, we should get moving. If Lune has any clues regarding any of this, we need to be prepared, and do whatever we can to get Azami ready for anything else that might come our way. Her power's different, and as such, we should find ways to hone it as best we can."

Joshua can't say he was feeling very happy right now at the news. So it was just the four of them again after all. Great, wonderful. He was feeling annoyed, but it seemed as if it can't be helped. There were a couple of people the Nyarlathotep Child could rely on. A good number of them were powerful in their own right, but their idealism and naivety really pissed him off and could jeopardize his own goals. But he may have to rely on them nevertheless.

He leaned on his right leg and crossed his arms before speaking, "There's still a lot I don't know. But what really started this whole conflict? I feel like there's something more than just a demented grab for power or some messianic tendencies, that's way too myopic. You're going to have to give me a bigger picture as much as possible, Ariston. Or else Zachary is going to have leverage over me and that's not going to be pretty. You need to tell me what you, Sharaku, Simon, and that bitch talked about while I was gone to regain control over my Persona. And to be honest, it was already bad enough that I'm going without knowing all that much about Rinna... he's going to leverage that against me too in some way. I appreciate that you told me as much as you could, but you realize he could do that, right? I need to go in there without being held back as much as possible by stuff like this if I'm to get Lune back."

As usual, Joshua was feeling exceedingly vulnerable at this point. Could they really do it with just the four of them? Azami had her uses, but he hoped that she didn't fall asleep again. It would just be infuriating and it could end up getting killed. But it sounded like he needed to link up with that Shunnosuke and Lewis first. While somewhat "naive" like the others, he was at least bearable in a way. He dug into his pocket and started to call the Ultimate-wielding Persona User.

While the dial was starting to go through, Joshua glanced back at Ariston again, "What happened to the school while we were gone? Is it secure now? Anything happened there other than demons attacking?"

He still remembered about Zackary's men doing something at the school back two years ago and wondered if anything actually happened there. While still waiting for Ariston or Shunnosuke to answer, Joshua threw a bundle of Azami's belongings back to her. "You were asleep for a long time. Needed something to help us keep us alive, but since you're awake now, you can have them back. Sorry."

OOC:

--Phone Call Intermission--

When Joshua finally heard the phone answer, he would soon roll his eyes. But, this was neither the best time to get mouthy. For now, he had his fill at least. There's much more important things to do. He licked his lips to wet them as they were feeling rather chapped. Then he finally spoke with a dull tone, "I broke off with Zachary. Turns out the person who he wanted us to take down was Ariston, so the deal is off. Analee ran off. So I'm on Isla's for now. What about you? What happened over there?"

"So you did it. Huh. Goddamn, good job. You guys didn't take it down alone, did you?" the surprise in his voice was utterly apparent.

He couldn't blame him for being tired. Taking down that thing, as evident it seemed to be, was definitely no walk in the park. So the Nyarlathotep Child would go easy on him for a bit. At least he would show his appreciation in his own way.

Joshua sighed, "Relax. He's still around. I would never try to do anything to hurt Rinna. Want to take my word for it? I'll give the phone to him."

He gestured the principal to come over as if someone wanted to talk to him and handed it to him.