The Nova [Work Thread]

Subject: The Nova [Work Thread] Tue Apr 25, 2017 2:34 pm

It was an unusual night. Even after the last one ended as a disaster, her confidence was ignited once more this morning through the kind words of her superior. Truth be told, the Tsurinai wondered where it even really came from, seeing as her inability to contain her Persona could potentially resurface in the future and there was really no way to assure she would be able to tame Jinguu completely. But... that was no reason to discard her job. The case file she had taken for tonight seemed simple enough, but it was that simplicity that had Shiina so intrigued by its details...

//"Multiple charges of break-in, robbery... and now arson of all things."//

And that last one was the sight that faced her right now. It was a simple case, the Cadets hadn't been called prior to this due to being simple crimes not involving supernatural entities... however, this time it ended up being quite the contrary. Apparently, the owner of the currently ablaze warehouse was confronted by a terrorist directly, before witnessing them set fire to their supplies. Fortunately, he escaped with his life and immediately called the Police who requested an immediate dispatch from the Cadets. Shiina, being one of the very few still awake at this hour, and also being in the immediate area, was the quickest to respond. The incident took place not half an hour ago, and according to the police forces surrounding the perimeter, the perpetrator hadn't made their escape. So they had other business in the warehouse besides burning it down?

Time to find out.

~The Nova~

Her first reaction to the flames was summoning a bright blue tarot card to her hand, depicting the Magician Arcana on its front, before crushing it in her palm. Pyro Jack appeared quickly, hovering around the Wild Card with a 'hee ho' or two before she inevitably dashed into the burning building. Shiina had to admit, she was expecting a little more resistance; then again, the invader hadn't even made sure to close the door after they kicked the owner out. The immediate perimeter was nearly completely covered in flames. To Shiina's right, behind the counter stood as the only safe place to stand in the middle of all the red and orange that threatened to blind her from the intensity. However, these weren't supernatural flames themselves; likely, the Wild Card deduced, they had simply spread naturally due to the heat from an actual fire-based magical skill. That was the most likely explanation and made the most sense in her head.

//"Clear a path, Pyro Jack!"// The Pumpkin Persona responded quickly as it waved its lantern towards a barely visible corridor behind a particularly large wall of flames. In an instant, the small ember inside his lantern grew and spread, attacking the fire itself to burn the air surrounding it. //"Now..."// Shiina held her breath at this, and jumped in with no hesitation. The oxygen particularly around that area was very briefly consumed by the magical skill, resulting in the natural flame staving itself off to allow passage for just a few seconds; seconds which the Tsurinai took advantage of to sprint right through to the other side. The warehouse wasn't large, it was mostly comprised of a small room at the front and then a larger, taller atrium in the back with metallic shelves lining the walls and forming rows through the middle. It was hard to discern its original layout upon entering it, though, as the shelves had collapsed over one another to form a makeshift staircase up towards a skylight in the ceiling... though, the light from the flames alongside the shining Moon illuminated what seemed like a human figure atop a still-standing metal shelf. The figure looked down at the Cadet that just entered the picture, just as Shiina herself looked up to see them.

//"Hm? That's surprising, I wasn't expecting people to actually bother with this little deal."//

The voice was clearly feminine, but had a rough tinge to it that made it seem a lot more menacing when heard.

//"What..? Just be quiet! You're surrounded on all sides, Psyche Terrorist! It's better if you turn yourself in before even more backup arrives!"// Shiina tried at least her best to remain reasonable. Like Prince Julius said, it was no fault of hers to wish to apprehend a criminal instead of killing them, and it never hurt to try to persuade them... however, as she spoke the Tsurinai called for her own Arcana's card to fall on her hand. //"Come, Persona..."// With a simple cut of her Soulbound, Jinguu-Tennou appeared by her side. //"Put out these flames!"//

The Empress cooperated with her User without any issues for once. Jinguu-Tennou drew her sword with a flash as a thick freezing fog gathered around her. With a simple swipe of the blade, she dispersed the mist around the room, calming at the very least the flames that had spread naturally. Shiina, her path cleared, began

//"I appreciate what you're saying, but I think I'll pass. It's not really my style to wear a uniform and preach justice when you can't even serve food right."// The Terrorist slid open the skylight and placed a foot outside. //"You're kinda cool, though, rushing through fire just to do your job. You're kinda like... a fireman, huh? You ever look up to one of those? I find that a lot of Cadets did when they were kids. Not a bad choice of job for you guys."//

//"What are you talking about? Do you just enjoy the sound of your own voice or something?"// Shiina spat back with a confused look on her face.

//"No, but yours is a different matter. Seems like nowadays these people can't even hold a proper conversation. Well, that's boring, so I'm gonna go home for the night. I already got everything I needed anyway. You do the same and maybe we can continue this later, how about that?"// It didn't take a second longer for the Terrorist to snap her way outside with a blur, a Shadow Accel carrying her straight to the roof of the building before closing down the skylight.

//"That... wait!"// Luckily for Shiina, she could also play that trick. She frowned for a moment, but her Persona read her intentions easily and quickly covered her in a thin but protective layer of ice. //"God dammit... gun it!"// And with her own Acceleration, Shiina crashed through the glass pane and got up onto the roof of the burning warehouse.

//"Jeez! Talk about extreme!"// The Terrorist seemed at least a little surprise at the entrance, but with the moonlight now letting Shiina see her more clearly, the smirk on her face was indescribably cocky... //"Well, maybe you won't be that boring after all. Are all Cadets like you? I bet you learned this from Prince Julius; seeing him pull those crazy stunts on TV must have made you feel like a hero. Don't worry, the same happened with me."// Shiina caught her breath just as a pair of ephemeral shackles appeared around the terrorist's wrists... //"What's your name, Miss Cadet? You sounded pretty straitlaced but what you did was pretty hardcore. How come you like givin' me such mixed signals, huh?"//

//"...what are you even saying? I stopped following hours ago."// The Wild Card looked annoyed... and rather likely was. Jinguu-Tennou, however, took a step beside her with an amused grin behind her mask. //"Are all Terrorists like you? The ones I've met have all been far too talkative, it kinda gives me a headache."//

//"Oho, big shot Cadet here, fighting multiple Terrorists. That kinda hurts, y'know? Here I thought I was gonna be your first. Well, you can't ask for everything, huh? Alright..."// With a deep breath and a smirk, the Terrorist readied herself mentally... and then drew her wrists apart quickly to shatter the shackles upon them. Flames ignited around the girl as a figure gained shape behind her...

//"I'll grant your wish, then! Come, Hi-No-Kagutsuchi!"//

Subject: Re: The Nova [Work Thread] Tue Apr 25, 2017 3:50 pm

The flames spread harmlessly over the roof, acting as a mere light source for the true spectacle. Shiina shielded her eyes as Jinguu swung her frost-covered sword to dispel the wave coming in their direction. The terrorist's body was seemingly fully illuminated now, and a new presence stood by her side...

//"Before we begin, allow me to introduce myself! Miss Cadet, I go by Jisedai Hakurei no Miko! Though I doubt many people understand weebspeak in this city, so you can call me Jisedai if you want. Charmed to meet you."//

Shiina narrowed her eyes and shook her head. The roof was a large enough plane to fight in, there weren't any obstructions aside from the small borders and the broken skylight. The Tsurinai was tired and didn't really think she should be fighting at this time, but she was... at least relieved that she didn't have to decipher some madman's riddles when coming face to face with a Psyche Terrorist.

//"...I shouldn't have said I didn't like talkative perps, should I?"// The Wild Card extended her left hand and a set of three throwing knives shifted into existence between her fingers, which she then grasped tightly.

//"I don't particularly care. You want to take me in, I don't want to be taken in, just shut up and fight. That's how it goes, right?"// Jisedai shrugged as her own Soulbound weapon was summoned to her right hand in an instant. A pair of what looked like paper trails sprouting from a simple rod, hovering around the Terrorist's body as if suspended by strings.

It seemed, though, that that was the end of talking. Shiina sighed, her blue eyes gauging the distance between them. No more than 15 feet, if she had to guess; they were close enough for that whip to be a threat, but her knives' effective range still covered this easily. The Wild Card began by running to Jisedai's right before her Persona dashed ahead with an over-the-head slice. Jinguu-Tennou's blade was caught only by Hi-no-Kagutsuchi's claws, which began burning up in flames, while his User reeled her twin whips back and shot them off at the incoming Cadet.

Shiina's eyes, however, weren't just for show. With her left hand, she caught one of the whip's tails between her knives and pulled to lock it into place, while the other one narrowly missed her shoulder by a few centimeters. Jisedai stumbled slightly at this action, but it wasn't enough to really make her lose her balance; though, what did surprise her a little was how a wave of frost suddenly erupted from Jinguu's crimson blade, clashing directly against her own Persona's blazing claws and forcing the two apart before disappearing entirely.

//"You're a clever person, aren't you? One move and you're already making me think a bit; I like that~"// Jisedai quipped, but Shiina didn't respond. Instead, the Wild Card pulled on the Persona User's Soulbound once more, but found it instead dispersing into the air. //"But if you want to actually fight, you're gonna have to stop taking the distance."// As she said this, Jisedai quickly used a Shadow Accel to encroach on Shiina's position before swinging her curled-up divining rod from left to right at the Cadet's head. Her opponent reacted as quickly as you'd expect, and immediately a knife formed in her right hand and slid in the other weapon's path; though this move put them at arm's reach from each other.

//"...tch. This is how a Tsurinai fights."// The Tsurinai's left elbow swiftly met the terrorist's chest to push her away; this was followed by a quick kick to the legs, blocked by a quick swipe from Jisedai's own leg. As they fought, a tarot card depicting the Justice Arcana floated in the air beside the Miko's head, and a quick punch from Shiina tore it to myriad shards with the sound of glass shattering. Jisedai's eyes widened as she realized what she witnessed, then smiled. Dominion's figure came into view a mere second before it acted, its scales reforming into a divine golden blow that released a single arrow aimed at the Terrorist's head. At this moment, however, Jisedai's figure shifted as she jumped up and backwards into the air, catching the arrow not with her head but with her stomach. After landing, she winced for a moment before letting out a dry chuckle.

//"I see, I see... you're a special kind of Cadet, aren't you? Yes, yes, no other schmuck around here can have more than one Persona naturally. You said you were a Tsurinai? Sounds fancy..."// The mental shackles reappeared around Jisedai's wrists, but were quickly smashed once she raised her foot and stomped them into the ground. This earned her a slump, but her Persona blazed in with a vortex of fire aimed straight at Shiina. The Tsurinai, unable to switch Personas in time, simply had to deal with the attack hitting her head-on, and braced herself as her uniform was singed by the flames.

//"That doesn't matter. Turn yourself in, you're not going to win this fight."// That declaration, though, came upon deaf ears as a loud engine roared through the streets. Jisedai only laughed at that.

//"I think you're mistaken, Miss Tsurinai. My backup's already here."// After she said this, the Persona User took a deep breath and sprinted towards Shiina, who took a step back and guarded herself from an incoming punch with her forearm. Dominion disappeared into Shiina's mind again, but to replace him came the Magus Arcana fluttering down beneath Shiina's foot.

//"All I have to do... is stall you!"// Jinguu-Tennou swiped between the two with her sheath and shoved Jisedai aside with a kick, but right afterwards dealt with a flaming punch from Hi-no-Kagutsuchi colliding with the side of her mask, shattering it. //"..."// An innate rage flowed through Jinguu-Tennou as her face was revealed, but her crimson eyes glared on with a confident grin lining her lips. Her sheath's internal mechanism flipped between colors, until it finally settled on a light blue shade.

//"Jinguu-Tennou, freeze them solid!"//

The Tainted Persona dug her heels into the ground and grasped her sword's hilt... then, with a single pull, she swung the long blade straight at the terrorist and Persona, unleashing a torrent of cold air coupled with long sharp spikes made purely of frozen moisture towards them. Jisedai, in the half a second she had to respond, clicked her tongue.

//"Be reduced to ashes..."//

Hi-no-Kagutsuchi roared and expelled a large wave of heat from his body, a red tint engulfing everyone's vision for a few seconds thereafter. The torrent of cold simply sublimated under the pressure, the intense heat of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi's flames just barely surpassing the durability of Jinguu-Tennou's frozen skills. The attack propelled the Wild Card and her Persona alike back a few feet, at which point a motorcycle came crashing into the roof from a nearby building. Shiina shook her head with widened, disbelieving eyes, before looking up at her opponent.

//"Sorry, Miss Tsurinai, my date's here so I can't play anymore. The bags of food we took are in the trunk of our van about halfway across the city by now. Thanks for playing along."// Jisedai waved towards Shiina before hopping into the side cart of the motorcycle.

//"Hey, wait!"// Shiina attempted to get up and give chase, but the motorcycle's rider turned the accelerator on full blast before speeding straight off the building and over the police barricade, then proceeded away from the scene of the crime. The Wild Card just leaned over the side of the roof and grit her teeth, before hitting her balled fist on the bordering... //"Endymion's Next-Generation Shrine Maiden..? Hmhm..."// Strangely, a little smirk crossed Shiina's lips.

At least she had managed to prevent this warehouse from burning down completely, and there was still plenty of food stored in it. The mission was only partially a success, but as long as no-one was seriously hurt, she wouldn't need consider it a failure...

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