All the World's a Maze (Gideon/Lupin/Shin Awakening)

"Hm..." Shin squinted. Scrunching up his nose a bit as he tried to figure the route home. This was not the first time he was out after dark, Shin often just roaming around after school to kill time. He didn't like being home with how empty it was, so he'd prefer the company of strangers. This time around however, he found he stayed out later than usual because the place he stumbled on was a bar. Opened in the late hours of the night, unlike other public places he'd usually visit like an arcade or library. Though he was not allowed to drink, he sat and chatted with the bartender instead. She was cute, so Shin could burn away the entire night just speaking with her. Which he almost did, until more customers showed up and kept the lady busy. So, he was told to go home since it was getting late and he actually felt inclined to listen.

The walk home was darker than usual, a later hour than Shin normally took. He must have lost track of time, but he didn't think much of it. Soon the crowds dispersed and Shin was left enough with only darkness, silence, and the thoughts inside his mind. He didn't think it as spooky or anything just yet. Mostly cause he did not nerves to get the better of him. It was just a stroll home in the dark! He did it all the time during the day this was no different right? He needed to find a subway, that'd not only be well lit, but it'd let him find a train to his neighborhood. Figuring the way home from there would be easy.

"Which way..." he mumbled, poking a finger at the bottom of his lip. He thought he recalled a shortcut through an alley near him, but that was uh... Shin stared into the darkness, and shivered. That screamed of terrible idea. He'd just have to go the long way around, as much as he did not want to. Though before he took a step, he felt a drip of water on his cheek. Reaching up with his hand, he rubbed a finger over his skin to confirm the wetness. Then suddenly rain was upon him. "Gah!" he yelped out. That was the last thing he wanted. Alright, going around and being stuck in the rain was not the best option, so shortcut it was.

He ran in, trying to shield himself from the rain best he could. A turn here and there, Shin was sure he should be exiting the alley soon enough, running right through it before a monster jumped out of him or something silly like that. Only... Well, he didn't. He ran long enough to realize he was running out a breath. That didn't make sense... He slowly came to a stop, and took in his surroundings. The walls didn't have anything notable for him to use as a mark. He decided, it was better to turn away. It was too dark, unsettling, and cramp here so getting soaked taking the long way was the better alternative. But back the way he came was unfamiliar as well. "H-huh?" Shin muttered to himself. That can't be right, that alley was always a straight shot, led to one street from another. So how could Shin have gotten so lost? Even in the dark this didn't make sense the young man thought.

Stay calm he reminded himself. Despite his personality, he was often left alone so he was at least somewhat responsible and maybe not totally dumb. He reached into his pocket, removing his phone he tried to pull up a gps app to help him get back on track, shielding the phone with his hand the best he could. A grunt left his lips soon after, "Seriously?" how could he have no service? With a defeated sigh he put his phone away, just in time to hear a sound. He couldn't make out what he heard exactly, but it was distinct enough in his mind to know that he had in fact heard something. "Hello?" He called out, sort of hoping for a response, but also sort of hoping for silence. He didn't know which was better.

With a gulp, he decided there was no use standing around. So he began to make his way towards where he thought the sound came from, proceeding forward in hopes of finding something that did not want to kill him or something, that would suck.

Movement:

 

Stats and stuff:

Lupin was returning to his dorms after trying to open up a bank account for the money he had successfully procured from his bouncing. The lady helping set up the bank account was a pain but hey at least it's done. Lupin became quite confused by what happened to the world around him. He noticed the route was altered significantly then what he recalled bouncing in.
"Well, this strange I don't recall going through here and did it start raining all of the sudden. This is one nasty storm the lights are turning on and off. it like I am in a horror movie or something. Pffftt I bet this a prank or something and someone is going to show up in some goofy costume or something."  
Lupin trying to reassure himself its just prank yelled out on the top of his lungs.
"To whoever is pulling this prank well done you are really setting the mood well I will give you props for that how about you show yourself."

Lupin started to notice how cold it is and begins shivering, The cold reminded Lupin about his time in the orphanage as there were nights in there were him and the other orphans would be cold just because they didn't make enough money to pay the heating bill. While he remembers the headmaster, Mr. Sourire Brassard, while he and the orphanage had financial troubles sure, Sourire would always make sure that each orphan was fed well evening going as far to starve himself just to give Lupin some of his meatloaf when there so little food around at the time.

Lupin remembered on one of those cold nights he went up and hugged Sourire for warmth and he hugged back. Mr. Brassard and the three older orphans Spencer, Chasseur, and Roi, while Lupin cared deeply for the other orphans these four, were the closest thing he had to a proper family. This rain while it might make Lupin somewhat sad he was happy to be remembering all those dear memories of his hometown of Selene.

"I can't believe it's been five years since we lost you Sourire but if you can see me now you know I can make it through whatever the world throws at me. I will make you proud." Lupin is making his way forward on his pogo stick. "Thank goodness I decided to bring my pogo stick along now I can be warm while I am going through this area now I won't be as cold. But jeez that came out of nowhere why is so cold all the sudden." Lupin pushed on forward.

Moving along:

Important character stuff:

"Achoo!" The sound of Gidd sneezing broke the silence as he walked down a cold dark alley on his own. He had previously been making his way home after losing track of time and night fell upon him. In order to save time on the trip he abandoned his usual route and decided to take a few shortcuts. He never had to take this route before so the way was unfamiliar to him though he had faith in his own navigational skills to make it through with haste, a faith that would soon be tested as he was completely unfamiliar with his new surroundings.

The first thing that tipped him off that something was wrong was when the light in the area seemed to dim and the temperature dropped suddenly by a few degrees, leading him to sneeze earlier. "Brrrr." His teeth chattered, "If I had known it would have gotten this cold I would have brought a thicker jacket!" He loudly complained to himself.

He paused for a second to observe his surroundings. While the alleys looked like any other alley you would find in the city, there were no lights on in any of the windows he could see, despite it not being terribly late and everything seemed very quiet and empty. The atmosphere gave Gidd a feeling like someone, or something was waiting to surprise him from around a corner. "I knew I should have taken a left turn at Albuquerque." He chuckled to himself, serving to slightly ease his mind from the dread that was slowly creeping in. He took out his phone and quickly swiped his way to the GPS app in an attempt to find the optimal route out of here, only to be met with his phone not being able to pin point his location. "That's just my luck.... Try and take a shortcut and somehow take longer than if you had just stuck to the main road!" He sighed.

"Mom is going to kill me when I get home!" Assuming something here doesn't kill me first... The thought crossed Gidd's mind. It was meant to be a joke to ease the tension, though it only served to let the dread in his mind take a stronger hold. "Whatever... If I keep going forward I'm bound to reach somewhere familiar eventually." Ignoring his fears and wiping his nose, he continued along his way, hoping everything would sort itself out in due time.

Movement:

Stats:

So far the walk was just darkness. Creepy darkness. He felt like the buildings were looming over him, like they were watching his every move. Or they hid some unseen figure, figures even, keeping an eye on him as he went. It was unsettling to say the least, but Shin was trying to chalk it up to being his imagination. Though the more he went, the further he walked, the city remained unfamiliar and twisted. Even Shin could not deny something strange was happening, he knew that all too well. What, exactly was happening, well he had no idea. This sure was not the way home, he could say that at least. But where was it? That was the question. One Shin had no way of answering however. With the rain, the dark, and the creepy city, Shin was starting to miss home. "Ugh! This sucks!" he groaned, huffing to no one in particular. He was scared, feeling tired, and soaked. In short, he was not having a fun time whatsoever.

Shin was always bored in day to day life, wanting fantastical distractions one would only see in fantasy. The primary one, and the one considered the most obtainable, was a storybook romance. Something like a dream. But this was not that, this was clearly akin to a nightmare situation. He highly doubted the love of his life would be found here. But going back seemed pointless, Shin turning his head to check the direction he came from. He couldn't recognize anything, he couldn't tell if he was even making progress at all. Everything looked so unfamiliar. Was this the first time he'd seen that store face? Or did he see it somewhere else in the past? Had he seen it multiple times here? He sighed, there was nothing around to help him mark the path to tell if he was going in circle, he felt so disoriented. Deciding to just proceed forward, Shin kept walking.

Though it was low and dull at first, enough so that Shin could ignore it, with each step further he felt like his head was throbbing. Until it became more and more unbearable. He put a hand on his head and started to pant, this pain was unnatural. It was not just some random headache he got for no reason, and he could guess it was connected to this place which was clearly unnatural itself. "W-what the hell is happening..." he grunted. He felt eyes on him again, stronger this time however. Like his body, his instincts, were all screaming "you are actually being watched this time."  

But no matter where he looked, he saw no one. So he was left with no choice but to keep walking, not sure where he was going. But he only moved out of desperation, hoping that there was something waiting ahead, anything. He'd prefer it to wandering in the dark, if nothing else.

Movement:

 

Stats and stuff:

Lupin started to panic a little as his head was throbbing, he hadn't felt something like that in a while. It hurt like hell no doubt about that in Lupin head but there is actually brings back more nostalgia for Lupin.

"What the hell is up with this place trying to remind me of the good ol days. Ok who there?" Lupin called out to the night hoping for someone to answer back. Yeah, don't think that's going to work out. Lupin is remembering his brother Spencer as they would spar with each other, well less sparring and more Lupin getting whacked with a dummy wooden sword over and over again while Spencer was trying to teach Lupin how to do swordplay. Lupin remembers one time when Spencer whacked Lupin extremely hard on the head. Lupin was knocked out cold for an hour straight and Spencer was doing everything he could to make sure Lupin was alright. He made Lupin some chicken noodle soup. That always heal wounds right well at least emotional wounds.
Lupin was doing an awful lot of reflecting while he was in this area, I am going to die Lupin thought to himself. Is that why I am reflecting on my past has the time come for me to leave this world.

"Oh hell no I am not dying yet, I have so much left to do. HEY IS ANYONE THERE I WILL EVEN ACCEPT THE LOCAL DRUNK MAN JUST ANYONE PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!." Lupin with his head throbbing and the loud noise which certainly wasn't him. Lupin checked his phone to see if there is anything he can do like GPS you know as a regular human being would think of. And I think you know where this is going phone ain't working at all. Who would've guessed it doesn't work here.

"This is what I get for using a cheap phone." Lupin starts to look a little worried about what's going on but he will need to keep going ahead Like what Chasseur would say in a situation like this. Don't let your emotions take the lead to think about what's going on. Yeah, Chasseur was always a stickler for the rules, he wanted to become a police officer before the divide but now it seemed like Chasseur had other plans. Chasseur taught Lupin basic morals and how some of the world worked. In fact, he was the one who told Lupin to stand up for the orphans and protect them from that bratty rich kid Holmes. God damn punk. It dosen't matter now Holmes is still at Selene and Lupin is starting to notice a real drop in tempture so Lupin started bouncing again with even more vigour then before he is ready to go.

Movement:

Important character stuff::

Gidd continued to walk along the alleyways, slowed down only by a growing migraine as he kept moving. "Urgh... That's it I have to take a break." He leaned against a wall to rest, unsurprisingly the wall was as cold as the air around him, though it still gave him goosebumps at the touch. He held his head as he took a few deep breaths to calm his splitting headache. "I really should have brought a warmer jacket." He muttered to himself. He got up to continue along his way, only for something in the corner of his eye to catch his attention.

He jerked his head in the direction of what he sensed, a mistake as he would soon find himself with a pain in his brain that made him cringe. "Argh! Christ!" He swore as he held his head again. After gaining his bearings he looked up to see what had caught his attention though he was only met by an abyss like darkness before him. He stared for a few seconds trying to catch a glimpse of any movement but everything was unnaturally still. "I must be going crazy." He tried to laugh it off, though he was slowly becoming less and less sure of himself.

He checked his phone once again to see if he could get any signal to at the very least call his mom who was no doubt worried about him at this point, but still he had no luck. "Well at least now I know not to take unknown shortcuts anym-" His monologue was then interrupted by a loud bang behind him, making Gidd's heart skip a few beats. He swore rather loudly before turning around and seeing a trash can on its side with its contents spilled out. It was most likely an alley cat that knocked it over and his loud swearing probably scared it off, though with the adrenaline coursing through his veins and his heart beat in his ears, Gidd didn't quite feel like sticking around to confirm that theory and picked up the pace a tad more.

The further along he went on his path his migraine grew in intensity and his heartbeat got louder. His breathing got heavier and the more shapes he kept seeing in the dark. Gidd wasn't even sure if what he was running away from was real and part of him wanted to just stop and gather his bearings or throw up (maybe both) but every fiber of his being was telling him he couldn't stop and he had to keep going.

Movement:

Stats:

As each of the wandering souls turned a corner, they would find themselves at an annex where the three paths converged, each seeing each other as they entered the slightly more open place. Here, in this small area they were standing in...there was no rain. And a single shop seemed to be open for business, though all that could be seen was a window, no door or entrance, and the shapes that stood in the window - likely wares or fixtures of the place - were blurry at best. To make matters worse, as they entered this area that pain in their heads would intensify...

note:

Shin had half a mind to just drop to the floor and try and forcibly pass out just to be free from the ache in his head. The other half was busy throbbing in pain. "T-this has to be a dream..." he told himself, but if that were the case why was the pain so authentic? No, this was reality he was sure of it. Er, well not so sure. It felt removed from reality, like, his actual reality. But it felt real that was certain, he couldn't explain it. With each step he took the pain got worse, Shin wanted to rip his own head off as if that would be more bearable than just sitting with it.

Trudging on through he eventually came to a turn. Pressing his hand against the wall he emerged from behind the corner into some alleyway. As he proceeded down it, he saw other people. "Wha...?" One was completely a stranger, and the other he might have not recognized if not for the pogo stick. Shin was so baffled to run into not only someone he knew here, but the pogo fella of all people. Maybe this was a dream after all. Shin had a lot of questions, but he did not expect either of these two to have the answers. Hell, they looked just as lost as he did.

So instead Shin kept looking for answers ahead. "I take it the way out isn't back where one of you came from..." he mumbled, turning his attention to the peculiar window. It was so strange, that he did not even notice the absence of rain here. But the lights were on in the window, Shin hadn't seen any lights on before which meant...well, something surely. Shin went to approach the window, to knock on it and call out "H-hey! Anyone in th-" but the moment his knuckle tapped the glass, he felt like his head was struck with a brick, or an ax, the pain from before became even worse.

Shin gripped his head with both hands and fell to his knees, it became too much to withstand. He felt like he'd certainly die if this continued, shutting his eyes as he held his head. Unable to do anything else but try and withstand the pain, he sat there on his knees before the window grimacing in pain.

Stats and stuff:

"Oh sweet god this hurts so god damn much (Loud Screaming)." This is hurting way to much for it to be reasonable Lupin thought to himself. What have I gotten myself into this time? Lupin feels like he is about to throw up whatever is left of his last three meals. This feeling of overwhelming pain, the feeling that your whole body is going to twist inside and out, This feeling where even hellfire or eternal darkness is a better option then this awful headache. Lupin trying his best to ignore this throbbing sensation kept going forward with each bounce increasing the volume of pain that Lupin is experiencing. "I Made it this far why should I stop now. If I am going to die I am might as well find out what's at the end of this path."

Lupin saw a light in the distance, Maybe someone can help me Lupin hoped. as Lupin got closer and closer to the light he started to notice two more pathways. "Oh god do I need to walk through those paths as well nope I am pretty sure death is a preferable alternative than me on my pogo stick trying to bounce through those areas with a brain-splitting headache." Lupin noticed two people who were also present. Lupin trying his best to see if can recognize the two strangers. He knows who one of them is at least. "Oh shit Shin is that you buddy, how is my favorite Casanova going?" Lupin is relieved to find a familiar face at least that's something right. Lupin simply followed up with this regarding Shin's question. "Yeah came from a dead end as well let's hope someone can hear us through the window."

Lupin turned to the other person hoping to figure out who this person was. Lupin doesn't know him so he might as well introduce himself to the tall boy. "Hi there my name's Lupin nice to meet you, sir." Lupin stops bouncing on his pogo stick and lands on his feet through some miracle. Lupin then proceeds to walk up to Gidd and tries to shake his hand.

Lupin then asked two gentlemen something. "May I ask what you two are doing here on this fine evening. (Sounds of Groaning in pain) Hopefully, you two are doing better then I am." Lupin then turn his gaze towards the window and Lupin then knocks on the window and starts to yell. "HEY IS ANYONE IN THERE? WE COULD USE SOME SERIOUS HELP OVER HERE!" Lupin kept knocking until he came up with a brilliant idea. Lupin will use pogo stick as a wack tool Kendo style and brake the window by swinging at it. Pure genius Lupin thought in his headache damaged mind. Lupin did the whole stance thing both hands on his pogo stick and left foot turned at a 90-degree angle and prepared to swing hoping this would somehow end the severe head pain.

Important character stuff:::

Gidd's breaths grew shorter and heavier and his senses began to blur as the pain in his brain grew by the second. By the time Gidd had reached what he could only assume was a shop of sorts due to the large lit window, he fell to his knees due to a mixture of pain and exhaustion. He could tell there were two others with him and that they were speaking, though if it was to him or each other Gidd could barely tell as his thoughts were too much of a jumbled mess to process any new information.

One of the strangers came up to Gidd and began to speak. Attempting to recollect his composure, Gidd focused his attention on the stranger, made a tad difficult as he seemed to be bouncing around on a pogo stick, which he thankfully ceased doing after introducing himself as Lupin. Gidd would most likely chuckle to himself for the (most likely unintentional) literary reference, though in this situation he was struggling to keep his thoughts straight.

He slowly got up from his knees and leaned against a wall. He then attempted to introduce himself though he found himself with barely an inclination to speak, though that might have just been shyness rather than his splitting headache. Still he found it rude to not respond, especially with how respectful he was so he mustered the will to give a small wave and introduce himself. "Gidd. It's a pleasure." Though he immediately turned his head away in embarrassment.

Recollecting more of his bearings now that he was still and able to rest he observed that the 2 others seemed to be in a similar rut to him, being lost in this alley and with worsening migraines of their own. The other stranger, the name Shin came to mind, went up to the store window, it lacking any entrance that they could see, and tapped the pane, when he suddenly dropped to his knees and held his head in pain.

Despite being in pain himself, he walked over and knelt beside him to act as a support. "Are you okay?" He asked, his dizziness returning to him, but he attempted to keep his bearings to help this stranger in need. He turned around to ask Lupin for help in getting Shin on his feet, only to be met with him readying his pogo stick to shatter the window. He attempted to call out for him to stop seeing as the pane seemed to be connected to their pain, so shattering it could have serious consequences on them (not to mention the possible crime of breaking a storefront window), though at that point it might have been to late to stop him.

Stats:

The wind howled through the alleyway, seeming to gather around them, pulling at their hair and loose bits of clothing. Withit, their headaches would only intensify.

As Lupin reared back to use his beloved pogo stick to break the glass, a shape appeared on the other side. Vague at first, and then rapidly gaining size and visibility, until it burst through the glass altogether. Shards of glass flew everywhere, along with the three individuals gathered near the glass. The pogostick and it's master were thrown in opposite directions, and the two others would be knocked back as well.

The demon they were faced with was grotesque in it's steel efficiency. It was twice as tall as anyone here assembled, stood on a body like a man, but the torso was a gigantic wheel with razored edges, sporting three gaping faces. The ghastly faces each seemed to swivel around the circular torso in order to gaze at each quarry in kind. "alogow[ehgnpo[wr82n;agw[hb"The sounds it made were unintelligbile...but it sounded angry.

With the frightful creature bearing down on each of them, their headaches would split in a final crescendo, and from their torn psyche...would emerge the power to defend themselves.

Chemtrail, Head Left:

Chemtrail, Head center:

Chemtrail, Head Right:

Shin did not normally consider himself rude, sometimes he could be a little bratty sure but not an outright jerk. But with this headache every little thing was just unbearable. Stop talking stop talking stop talking he repeated in his mind. But at this point any venomous or angry thoughts he had towards the other two was nothing more than a stress ball. Just something else for Shin to focus on besides this damn headache. It became too much, Shin collapsed to his knees as he tried to tap the window. The person he did not recognize tried to help him up, but both were distracted when the pogo bounced decided to just attack the window. "Don-!" Shin didn't know why, but that just felt like a bad idea. Sure enough that idea was correct.

Shin did not even see the massive...thing, till it was already among them. Bursting through the window and blasting them away. Shin pushed himself back to a seated position and his eyes fell upon the sudden monstrosity. His heart began to pump quickly, his mind unaware of what he was looking at. This had to be a dream he told himself again. "What the hell..." he mumbled, it then spoke to them. Sorta. Shin couldn't understand it at all. He could understand, that this thing was probably not friendly. It loomed over them, and Shin began to believe this was where he'd die. In some bizzaro alley way in some bizzaro land at the hands...heads? Of some bizzaro creature.

With all his thoughts racing and crashing inside his head Shin gripped it once more as he struggled back to his feet, and finally it felt like his head was almost literally split in two. He was panting and heaving, beads of sweat on his forehead as fear and anger struggled against one another to dominate his mind. Struggling to open an eye and look at the monster, Shin saw something he had not noticed before. He had shackles on his arms. Around his wrist. He tugged and pulled at them, trying to free himself desperately. With a yank and a pull, he stretched his arms apart trying to destroy the chains. He heard a crack, though if he imagined it or not he did not know. What he did not imagine, was the voice inside his head shout


As it did, the chains Shin wore did not break, but instead when he opened his eyes, they were suddenly lily petals in their place, scattering quickly with the wind, freeing him of his shackles. Before Shin could celeberate that however, a hand tore through his chest, from his heart. It gripped onto him tightly, the being pulling itself forward. First one arm, then another, and then its head emerged like it was climbing right out of Shin's heart until finally his Persona emerged. Looking down at Shin, a gust of wind emerged and with it the persona disappeared back into his mind to await commands. Lily petals blew around Shin, obscuring his silhouette, but once they scattered, his outfit was changed. Resembling a chavalier with a mask on his face, Shin felt somehow relieved from his splitting headache. His breath slowed and regulated and he was able to stand on his two feet easily now. Though he still had about a thousand questions and concerns, he only kept one thing on his mind in the moment. With a saber in his hand, that Shin was not sure where it even came from but he could care less in the moment, he pointed it right at the monster. "I'm gonna kick your ass." he told it, deciding to focus all the negative emotions to take out on it.

"Casanova!" Shin shouted, the persona emerging from a breeze of lily petals from seemingly nowhere. Striking a strange pose, his persona pointed at the monster, directly at the center head, and attempted to attack it with a burst of sudden wind in its face. Shin was not paying mind to the other two, admittedly struck with tunnel vision in the moment. Between how scared he was, the danger the monster presented, and just how weird the situation they were in was, he decided to focus on beating the thing before them first. If they could that is.

Action:

Stats:

Soul Bound Weapon:

Casanova:

Miss on 1-2

Random number (1,10) :

2