World's Collide... Again! [World's Collide 2! Intermission Ed. - Open]

"H-Hey, Ayane... You sure this is really that good of an idea?" Like it or not, Mae found herself getting strong-armed by her good friend into going to this festival. Apparently, it was some huge deal. An opportunity that would never present itself to them again, or however she put it. Mae figured it was only one of her friend's longwinded, overly complicated plots to finally get her to date someone again. After what happened with Sharaku... and how that whole thing went, Mae wasn't sure if she was even ready to open her heart to someone again for a long time.

Not that it had been Sharaku's fault. Hell, it was not hers either, but considering the circumstances under which they both met, and subsequently broke up under, did it really matter? They both had left that relationship hurt, and it pained Mae to see their friendship almost die with them breaking it off. It was awkward to see the man again, and she could honestly not see how things could ever go back to how it used to be, when they were admittedly close friends. He had opened up to her... Perhaps it was just the looming sense of dread coming from, y'know, the whole 'end of the world' deal they had to struggle with.

But it wasn't like the experience hadn't done some good either. It sure had left a positive impression on her. If there was anything Sharaku had taught her, it was to be honest with herself. She was willing to go the extra mile for her friends, but she rarely considered herself and her own wants and needs in the same way. Sharaku gave her some perspective. And Mae hoped, deep down, that she had made him change too. She never once regretted kissing him. Never once did she regret taking that step.

"What? Are you getting nervous? That's so unbecoming of you! I mean, aren't you supposed to be used to this kinda stuff? Y'know. Like showing off? Singing on stage? Being the *center of attention* As it were? Come on, girl! This is like, totally your gig! You'll rock this thing!" Ayane grinned brightly, her bright white teeth glistening under the spotlights of the hotel room. In her hands, she held a beautiful, red kimono. And next to her leaned a traditional, paper and wood umbrella against the wall. "HEY! What's that supposed to mean!? I'm not like that! How could you even suggest such a-" Mae retaliated, only to be interrupted by her friend. "Oh, come on, Mae! How bad could it really be? Besides, we both know you'd look great in this kimono. Now come here. Let's put this thing on!"


"See? What did I tell you? Come onnn, don't deny it. You look great in that!" Ayane, seemingly satisfied with the choice of color of both the robes and the sash, gave Mae the umbrella, before tugging her into the bathroom. "And now for my favorite part! Let's get you prettied up! Just relax, Mae. Ol' Ayane will fix everything for you." If there was one thing Ayane really had a knack for, it was make-up and fashion. She had an exceptionally keen eye for good looking outfits, and it was a skill that Mae had come to really rely on as of late, especially considering her line of work as a singer for hire. She needed to look good, after all, and her friend was a great asset. The fact that Ayane seemed to enjoy her job made it even better. So what was this festival anyway? All she had heard was that the festival itself was to be held on Isle Fillér's largest beach, and well... the two of them had to book tickets to this festival months in advance. Even if Mae hadn't wanted to go, now it would be too late to say no. Especially considering the two had already slept at the hotel after a long, 9 hour flight from the Azorean Archipelago.

"There! Done~!" Ayane chimed happily, letting Mae look in the mirror to see the end result. And well, did she look stunning! Mae wasn't really the kind to wear a ton of Make-up, which only made the times when she did stand out more. Her skin looked so soft and smooth, with a bright red lipgloss which made her look quite inviting and it really highlighted her bright smile. A faded blush was present on her cheeks, not overly noticable, but it finished the overall look with an air of cute innocence which fit Mae pretty well. Overall, her friend had really outdone herself this time. "Oh, and don't forget theseeee!" Ayane added, giving Mae a pair of gold earrings to match with the red kimono. After putting them on, Mae took a hard look at herself in the mirror... Damn, she really did look good huh? "Y'know what? I think I'm ready. Let's go."

But oh boy, was she not ready.

Lupin instead of being his usual jovial self looked extremely depressed as he was drinking out of a canister. Do you want to know what's the kicker, Lupin is not even on the ground, that's right Lupin is using his persona Triboulet as a pseudo hang glider to just drift through the air like a champ. Or that's what would've been said if Lupin wasn't depressed and drunk of his knocker. You try finding out the katana-wielding girl like turned to be a mother in her 40's with 2 children. Like what the fuck. If anyone bothered looking up they would find Lupin hanging on by his persona Triboulet who is now shaped like a parachute. Lupin is shirtless revealing his flat stomach. It's not exactly muscley but its definitely not fat.

Either way, Lupin was just drinking from a canister while mid-air. Triboulet spoke up "Hey buddy you might want to ease up on the drinking. I know your sad and stuff but you got to move on my dude." Lupin didn't care and kept drinking. He knows where Triboulet is coming from and he doesn't want to hear it right now. Lupin then said in a whiny tone. "Its always about what other people want it's never about what I want." Lupin took another sip from the canister. Triboulet in a concerned tone said to his user. "It could be a lot worse. You could be dead." Lupin just shrugged and kept drinking. Triboulet who thanks to his mask face can't really emote just said in an angry tone. "Lupin you need to snap out of it. So what if things suck for you, you can always improve." So Triboulet did the only thing that was reasonable for an initial persona to do. He dropped Lupin. He stopped being a persona hang glider and just dropped Lupin.

Lupin was panicking like shit. "Oh god why!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Lupin quickly summoned his soul-bound and transformed it into its usual pogo stick form and used the bounce to break his fall. On the sand. Lupin somehow was able to break his fall. So he rolled his onto his back and just stared at the sky. Today looked beautiful and yet he was on his own. Lupin just looked depressed and reeked of booze. Not to mention he was holding to his red pogo stick. The Black-haired boy with equally black eyes stood up. "Look at all this sand. I wonder if I can make an actual glass cannon." Lupin started to wonder which beach he was on. This island is so huge it can make anyone wonder where shit is. "I really wished this island had a map. I can't tell where I am going." Triboulet popped out again trying to talk to Lupin. "Yeah that does seem kind of dumb." Triboulet placed his arms around Lupin trying to act as support. Lupin wasn't feeling up to it that's for sure.

"Oh, hey look! Here we are!" Ayane pointed at the beach ahead of them with excitement, with a bright smile on her lips. Mae swallowed inaudibly, feeling the nerves kicking in again. This was actually happening. She couldn't really remember the last time she found herself at a festival like this. I mean, there was that one time when she was with Charles in San Malarus, but that wasn't really a festival, now was it? This was something completely different from just a visit to an amusement park. A beachside party could get really wild, and Mae wasn't quite sure how she'd really handle it. One thing was for certain though. With how difficult it was to get her hair like this, she'd probably stay out of the water. "It's pretty, isn't it?" Mae replied, looking out over the clear, blue sea in the distance. "Yeaaaahhhh... Not to knock on Azores, but like, would yOU JUST LOOK AT THAT BEACH! I'm so excited for this! You know how much I love this stuff..." Ayane finished in a dreamy voice, her gaze fixated on the pearl-white sand. They didn't have beaches quite of this quality back in Azores (Not to say the ones they did have were bad by any means). "It's quite something, alright. Shame the beach back home doesn't quite compare."

The bus came to a halt by a bus stop close to the beach, and the two girls followed the crowd outside. Ayane herself hadn't dressed up quite as nicely as Mae had, although she had a sneaking suspicion that her friend had skipped out on a fancy getup only to make Mae look all that more stunning. A stretch, sure, but Mae could honestly see Ayane pull something like it. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but... it would've honestly been nicer if both of them had gone to the festival with these kimonos. At least, Mae thought so. Besides, her friend did look nice in blues, a nice compliment to Mae's own warm reds.

Everything seemed rather uneventful at first until the two of them spotted a man on the beach, obviously not sober. "Isn't it a bit early for him to be drunk already?" Mae whispered in Ayane's ear, pointing at Lupin. She could of course see his Persona, while Ayane couldn't, seeing as she lacked the potential. "Just back off for now... Nothing good can come out of that guy." Ayane narrowed her eyes at the young man. And she had all the right to act a bit suspicious, considering her own run-ins with alcoholics in the past. Highschool had not been easy on Ayane. But Mae had been there for her the entire time, so she didn't have to deal with the parental abuse on her own. "I know you're right, but... I dunno. He doesn't seem to be all that dangerous. Not saying we should approach, but... Lets just ignore him for now, okay? No need to let him ruin our fun here."

Lupin just kept stumbling like the sad drunk that he has become. What a fucking mess, this is a pretty state for him to be in. How was he supposed to know the schoolgirl he wanted to date was an actual goddess, What divine power thought that was going to be ok. Lupin pulled out the canister and started drinking again. Triboulet then protested to Lupin "Lupin for the love of god stop drinking." Triboulet ripped the canister out of Lupin's hand and tossed towards the ocean. While the canister was in mid-air Triboulet fired an Agi attack on it. The flame hit the canister and it blew up. Triboulet placed his hands on the sides of his head in disbelief.




"Holy shit Lupin, I know you're sad about Lisa but I don't think drinking explosive Vodka is the answer. You are so lucky no one decided to hit you with a fire attack otherwise you would've been fucked, buddy!" While Triboulet can't really show concern by moving his face, his body language implies he is actually concerned. Lupin just shrugged in response. "Well at least no one is dead." Triboulet just angerly responded with "You just polluted the ocean by throwing metal at it, you are quite possibly killing thousands of fishes." Lupin just retorted with "You did that, not me, I was happy to keep drinking." Triboulet shouted back " I am you Lupin! We are both idiots." This argument could've gone on forever but the User and his Persona noticed two people in the distance. "Hey Triboulet." Triboulet said back to Lupin "Yeah Lupin." Lupin nervously talks back "Do you think they can see us?" Triboulet just said in an exasperated tone. "They can definitely see you talking to yourself like a weirdo. I don't think they can see me? If they can they are persona users." Lupin seemed a little concerned, How long were these girls just standing there? Did they see Lupin's magic trick? Lupin prepares to do damage control, hopefully this doesn't devolve into something horrifying.

Lupin went closer to Triboulet's head and whispered into Triboulet's ears. "Just act natural I will take care of this." Lupin tried to brush the sand off and tried to get the girls attention. Lupin then shouted "Hey do either of you girls know what the time is by any chance? My watch got busted up so its not working!" While Lupin was trying to get his shit together, Triboulet was dancing in the background maybe this would distract the other persona user, maybe it will just cause more problems, who knows? We do know that Triboulet is dancing like our boy Toby. I mean check out these moves.

Epic dancing: