[Chapter #0.1 - Awakening]

"Huh..." Was there a reason to decline? Cain couldn't think of one. There were many other people in the room, aliens, monsters, and robots alike. They all seemed really out of it, maybe more than he himself did. He stared intently at each of the strangers, before remembering he needed to answer a question.



Hastily approaching the well-dressed gentleman, he asked "What's wrong?" Moving past him, Cain began looking around the room while staying within earshot. 'Is there an evil monster that needs slaying, perhaps?' That was a possibility. He'd just need to face it head on and beat it to death with his own hands, though if there was a wrench or chunk of metal laying around, that'd work better. He pounced to the ground and reached beneath a shelf to grab one.

There was a bright light. It was blinding as if staring into the sun or at the bulb of a lamp after being a dark room. The sensation of the blades of grass and the warmth of the ground beneath him suddenly became numbing as the light dimmed leaving only a cold consuming darkness. Perhaps it took a long time, maybe just a moment, Tykal's sense of time had faded while he relaxed on the side of the hill looking up at the sky. For a brief moment though he felt a strange tug at his being despite there being nothing but him and nature. It was then he felt his consciousness slip away and senses lulled to silence.

Tykal had not yet begun to open his eyes. He could feel something hard and cold pressing against his body. It was somewhat painful but not as stinging as the effort to awaken the rest of his body. He felt fatigued as if he had been awake for ages or ran a good distance. After touch, sight came next as Tykal squinted his eyes as they adjusted. He looked around as he slowly crawled to his feet still in a haze and trying to process everything. It didn't quite hit him at first. The blurs of yellow reflecting off the dinged metallic surfaces. The awkward shadows from the machinery that gave tiny radials of different colors from the buttons that dimly glowed. Tykal felt a strange yet perhaps nostalgic tug on his body. He had felt this tug before slipping away earlier, though he had not processed that entirely leaving the vague sense of deja vu that disoriented him further. Tykal looked around him, there were others on the metal floor. His eyes widened, not all the subjects on the floor looked human but they did look real. Tykal began frantically scanning his surroundings as his mind finally began to process his situation. Where was he? How long was he out? What's going on? His mind raced in a state of near panic. The rapid strings of thoughts and scenarios interrupted by a calm voice. Tykal snapped in the direction of the voice, his emerald eyes fixating on owner through blonde bangs.

Tykal's eyes met the man before him before scanning him over. The man welcomed him and bowed formally. Tykal took a step back in confusion. Starship Philemon? Starship!? What kind of sci-fi craziness was going on. Was this a dream? It had to be right? Tykal bit his lip hard enough to draw a small droplet of blood from the corner of his mouth. Pain. He felt pain, he could feel the warm droplet ooze from the now stinging sore he self-inflicted. This was real. Though after biting himself, Tykal seemed to accept the fact strangely calm. His mind was already gathering literally as much information as it could take it reviewing possibilities and scenarios. Tykal seemed lost in thought and imagination before the man continued.

Tykal didn't act but instead watched the pink haired human. He listened cautiously, this whole event had the hairs on his body standing. His body reacted like a gazelle on the Savannah after hearing the crackling of stick suspecting a predator. At the slightest thought, his body was ready to act. Tykal's look of guarded alertness shifted at the words monster and slaying. It wasn't normal for a human to say things like that. Well this whole experience was irregular, but that line seemed to throw him off guard.

Tykal relaxed his pose somewhat turning to the well dressed man that warned him. His posture may have eased but the fight or flight reflexes were still armed waiting for an answer.  He opened his mouth to speak carefully plotting his words and tone. He had questions but they'd have to wait. If this warning held any weight then clearly the danger is a higher priority."I don't see any other choice. I'll have to hear you out at least."

Tykal's eyes continued to scan his surroundings before focusing back on the captain awaiting another response or the situation to change. There were machines and creatures right out of a fiction novel mere feet away from him. In his mind Tykal tried to recall what happened investigating every moment prior to this one. Nothing was too trivial the blinding light, the darkness, that strange feeling like he was being pulled, even the warmth of the grass. Think. There had to be a clue something he wasn't remembering that could at least make some sense of all this.

Johnny's body began to twitch for the first time in a long time. There was nothing at first just a cold black void. Then there appeared to be a loading screen detailing various functions of Johnny's body. Johnny starts to breathe and then after a minute of Johnny breathing he jolted upright and started to gasp finally waking up. The monitor on his chest displayed a line that went from being flat to moving up and down. Johnny stood up from the cold hard metal floor while rubbing his head trying to process what's happening around him. "This doesn't feel rad at all."

Johnny looked around his current environment trying to piece together whats going on. "Well this is clearly not Daniel's lab, there isn't enough white in the room. Where the hell is Daniel?" Johnny started to notice the other people around just trying to stay awake. The Speakers on his cheeks finally started to speak, the speakers played a robotic voice. "Running system diagnostics." This scared the living daylights out of poor Johnny who didn't even notice his new robotic parts until the speakers on his cheeks starting speaking. Johnny started to use his hands to feel his cheeks. That classic metal net feeling, yep these are definitely speakers. "That's an interesting way to wake up with speakers attached to my cheeks." Johnny examined the rest of his body and was shocked to see his body is now shaped like a guitar. Johnny was thinking about what was Daniel smoking when he was operating on him. Who's bright idea was it to turn Johnny into a guitar. Johnny was shocked and confused. He got what he wanted a cyborg body but why is it in the shape of a guitar.

Johnny saw the well-dressed man who greeted the group and told the group they were screwed. This is going to be a long day for Johnny, Johnny trying to be the positive one of the group said to the man "What's the dealio Daddi-o?" Johnny noticed that some of the people on the floor were aliens. It only just dawned on Johnny they might be in outer space. Johnny awaits just kerfuffled at what's going on.

"...?"

Is there a reason to decline the polite man's request? Boreas couldn't really...think of a reason for such a decision. Especially since his body was still adjusting to the odd situation he had found himself in (the odd reverberation sensation blooming from a tugging one, the flashing lights hued golden, the metallic noises, the cold...) as he'd glance at the others around him for a few seconds. All (possibly) in the same situation as him.
The white furred Kukin would turn towards the formal, well-dressed captain and nod with a tiny smile, one of his hands hanging by his side illuminating in a azure flame before quickly moving into a loose closed fist, snuffing it out. "I'll listen to you, Captain sir! What is it?" He'd respond, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy.

Mianna picked herself up off the ground, taking a deep breath before opening her eyes, studying her surroundings. She stood up fully, brushing herself off. Despite the warnings about an 'Anti-space' leak, she kept her composure, turning around slowly when she heard a greeting, and not paying much mind to the others.

Well, besides an odd look towards the pink-haired one. She remained quiet as the 'Captain' asked her to listen, not seeming too terribly concerned by the fact they were apparently screwed. "If you intend to speak, We would appreciate if you got it over with. The more time you spend here, the less time you'll have to fix whatever mess there is, no?" The queen spoke. Normally, one might have to try harder to gain an audience with the queen, but this was a special occasion. Mostly because she didn't really have much of an option to refuse. It wasn't as though she knew where she was, but apparently she had found herself in a tricky situation. But no doubt, as a Captain this strange person would clearly have a cunning plan that would end in all of their horrible, violent deaths.

Granted, that might have just been wishful thinking on her part. She'd only just been made aware of the situation, but it didn't exactly seem like much was being done about it. "We hope you do have a plan to get this under control, Captain. We would not want to have to think you got to your position without knowing what to do in emergencies."

"Of course I have a plan. Just follow it and we should be fine. I do appreciate all of your enthusiasm." He smiled at the crew. "Unfortunately, I know not of any Daniel on board."

The Captain looked them all over, his eyes widening and his mouth slightly agape as he glanced over his shoulder, away from everyone, as if he'd just heard something, staying like that momentarily. His lips curled up again as he gestured towards Cain, Tykal and Johnny specifically. "You three, your phase shifts are abberant. It would seem you do not hail from this reality. I would also presume none of you three posses a Module? That is a slight problem. You might cease existing altogether." He said in an almost playful tone. He seemed to be very happy with this development, if nothing else. "Fear not, though. Around that corner are a few dead bodies." He pointed behind himself. He then addressed Mianna and Boreas. "Show them what the Modules are. Tear them from the bodies and attach them to these three's arms. There should be sharp enough tools to do the job in this room. I will explain our situation as you do that. I trust you're aware there are Shadows in these halls?" He raised an eyebrow at Mianna and Boreas, who seemed to be of this world, unlike the other three. They should be aware of the Anti-Space leakage implications, mostly the Shadows and Demons that it births...

There were a couple of cutting tools there and a couple of sharp pieces of metal. Around the corner, there truly were five dead bodies. Grown men and women. They all had devices on their forearms. The Captain led the others there. "Carve them off. The Modules won't properly attach to these three without surgery, but they should be functional if they just wore them as gauntlets for now."

"Shadows are of no concern to us." Mianna simply replied. And it was the truth, mostly because there wasn't exactly much one could do to avoid being slaughtered by Shadows if it was already happening. "But We suppose there are worse places to start than...dismembering a corpse for a module.' With that said, Mianna turned the corner. She looked around a moment, before picking up a sharp tool.

There was no hesitation as she approached one of the bodies, and began cutting into flesh. She was silent as she worked, focusing on the bloody task until it was done, and held the Module in her hand. One was not handed a crown without being willing to get their hands dirty, if the need arised. "The deed is done. We have completed the glorified graverobbing. In record time, We might add. We have thoroughly shattered our previous record."

[A question posed to each of you individually; are you willing to carve the Modules off the corpses?]

1. Yes
2. No

Boreas would look at the dead corpses, in a bit of a...nerved out state mixed with homesickness and panic (they remind you of your family, the ones who cared for you so deeply and so well-) before giving his head a quick shake, in a effort to snap himself out of it. "Y-Yes...I'm aware." He'd respond to the captain, his voice shivering a bit as he picked up one of the pieces of metal, going over to one of the corpses hesitantly and closing his eyes, he'd take a deep breath. What would Uncle Markus say...

("...But one thing you need to learn is even though it feels hard, you keep pressing forwards. Keep moving on. And if you can do that...hell, you can go anywhere!")

...He had to do this. For the other's sake. And so, he plunged the metal into the flesh.

The white furred creature would stay quiet as he did the deed, humming softly to himself at points in a effort to split the quiet before holding up the module in question and setting the piece of blood-stained metal to the ground, before looking down to the corpse, a thought of"may your soul find rest." split his mind for a quick moment, before turning back to the others, concern lacing his features for a second before returning to neutral.

[A question posed to each of you individually; are you willing to carve the Modules off the corpses?]

> Yes
No

"Is that... so?" What a bizarre scenario. 'I'll take one off too. A sort of sci-fi tech? I'll make it end whatever's going on.' Cain looked over at the bodies, eventually deciding upon a male one wielding a green module. He grasped the device with his left hand, and slid some metal into the skin. It went in smoother than he was expecting. "Haa... How vile," an accurate response to the blood and flesh still attached to the device. If he was to wear it, he'd like to thoroughly clean it first. No matter how long he looked at it, or didn't, nothing changed about its current state. 'No reason to hesitate anymore, then.' He begrudgingly placed the module upon his wrist.

> Yes

Johnny followed the group throughout the ship with Johnny being disappointed that Daniel wasn't aboard this ship? As the group encountered the dead bodies, Johnny was horrified by them. Johnny then said "Ok so we need the modules from these corpses, but I have one question. Why are there dead bodies here?" Johnny felt like he raised a valid question but then his attention turned from the corpses to Shadows? Johnny thought he might be tripping on something but proceeded to go along with it anyway. Johnny walked up to the green looking alien who carved a module without hesitation. "Hey Ma'am can I have the module you just carved please?"

If the Green alien accepted Johnny would take the module and wear it on his right wrist as instructed. Now Johnny turned his attention to the whole group "I assuming by Shadows you guys don't mean the shadow that something produces when stepping into a light source. The question I am trying to ask is, what do you mean by shadow? is it some kind of alien from outer space?" Johnny is feeling a fair amount of dread at the situation but ultimately decided to keep his cool as the people around him seem to know what their doing. Now he has to avoid freaking out about this whole situation.

Tykal stood even more confused and shocked as each new creature began to stand and speak to the captain. The guitar robot thing caused him to raise a brow is disbelief when it spoke. It's jovial dialect wasn't amusing to Tykal who at the moment was still in a hung over like haze. His lip stung as he reflexively curled his lip under his teeth again as if to test this being a strange dream again. He didn't bite down, just the light pressure was enough to remind him that he wasn't dreaming.  Boreas was next, in truth Tykal thought the thing a mascot or costume on the floor so when he stood Tykal took a step back in shock. If it weren't a real fur covered creature it certainly was a complex robot, the way it's facial features moved were far too realistic. When he cocked his head like a dog a side tracked thought of how cute he looked hit Tykals head along with the urge to pet him before immediately being snagged and discarded as an unnecessary thought.  The green skinned alien Mianna seemed to speak calmly with a near regal tone. Tykal gave her the most of his divided attention because unlike the others she was asking the question and seemed to have an immediate prioritization of the situation.  

Tykal was about to ask another question before the Captain spoke. His phase shift was aberrant and he wasn't from this reality?  This time Tykal was unable to silence himself, "Phase shift? Reality?" Tykal's mood became more irritated and angry as the Captain spoke of modules and carving them off of dead bodies.  Tykal froze processing as the others began taking sharp metal objects and mutilating the dead for what he could only assume were the modules in question. An act to him that was most heinous. Tykal's frustrations came out in an characteristically demanding growl. "You want me to desecrate and rob the dead for those things!? What the hell is wrong with you!?" You want to explain to me what's going on before I go all psycho killer hacking up dead bodies!"

The guitar robot he had chastised mentally earlier asked an obvious question. Why were there dead bodies and even addressed the shadows not being shadows in a literal sense. Tykal looked over at him and nodded before returning to the captain.  "I think it's rather prudent you fill us, 'aberrant phase shifts' on what's going on. Especially if we're to believe our existence is on the line here."

The explanation the captain wanted the other two to explain didn't come and watching everyone but the robot hack or rip their way a shiny piece of tech that for all he knew was an over the top new computer system had sent Tykal on the verge of rage. Luckily he still had hold of mental state at least enough to argue and show his stubbornness. Looking in from the outside Tykal would probably abhor his reaction and his phrasing. In his current situation he didn't have that foresight, it would be something that would bother him after he calmed down and replayed the event in a more private setting.  More and more he was beginning to wish this was just a strong nightmare that pain alone couldn't snap him out of and that at any moment he'd wake up on the cold wet grass under the night sky.

His parents would probably be worried about him forming a search party with themselves and their staff. If this wasn't a dream is that what was happening. Sure he didn't approve of his parents neglect of him but he understood their position and truthfully he didn't have a bad life not one that would resent them. The air in this metallic ship was cold and biting. The warmth from the slow trickle of fresh blood on his lip that stopped and pooled at the end of his lip was the only natural thing he could feel here. He was angry confused and surrounded by uncertainties that any human would be in a near state of panic over. So why the other human not acting like this. Did he have some insight or familiarity with all this madness. Too many questions with no answers. Worst of all Tykal may not of been aware of anti-space or shadows but the ominous lurking feeling in the distance, but he felt danger in the darkness.

[A question posed to each of you individually; are you willing to carve the Modules off the corpses?]
2. No

As they carved the Modules off, the party could feel the lingering warmth of the corpses. They haven't been dead for long. In fact, their warmth felt nearly that of a regular living human's.

Meanwhile, the Captain observed calmly as Mianna, Boreas and Cain mutilated the corpses. This exercise would prove a fine practice for their motor skills.

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He turned to Johnny. "These people used to be crew members on this ship. However, Shadows killed them prior to your unfortunate arrival." He glanced at Tykal with a smile. "Of course. Shadows are reflections of Demons formed within the Anti-Space, where nothing exists. You see, they are like holes in reality, absorbing matter around them and reducing it to nothingness. These beings have infiltrated this vessel and Anti-Space itself is leaking. If we don't repair the ship's engines, we will all disappear into the darkness. To fight Shadows, you need a Persona Module, armed with data cards called Persona Plugs that will grant you the power to defend yourself." The Captain explained calmly, focuing mostly on Cain, Tykal and Johnny, as the other two should've already been aware of this information. "I'll remotely access and restart the Modules you've equipped. This will temporarily allow you to access your Potential and summon it to fight in your stead." He turned to Tykal again. "Will you truly not don a Module?" He asked with piercing eyes, but a softspoken smile. He held his head up high as he did so, giving off a sickeningly entertained feel.

Then he turned around and disappeared before everyone's eyes. Was he a hologram? He did say remotely... And he obviously hadn't physically interacted with anyone here.

Either way, suddenly, the Modules on Cain and Johnny's wrists would beep a few times and their screens would flash light blue. Cain and Johnny would feel the Modules tightening around their forearms until they were comfortably attached without any imminent danger of falling off. The remains of their previous owners' flesh on the Modules made a sickening squishy sound as it was squeezed and both of them could feel some leftover blood ooze all over their arm, trickling down their fingers.

[INITIATING PERSONA MODULE SYSTEM]
[NEW HOST RECOGNIZED. ANALYZING...]
...
...
[ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL. PERSONA MODULE INITIATING CONTINUING.]
[SCANNING POTENTIAL. RECALIBRATING EXISTENCE.]
...
...
[POTENTIAL SCANNED. RECONFIGURING LOADED PERSONA PLUG.]
...
...
[PERSONA PLUG RECONFIGURED.]

[REGISTERED FURIE.] A woman's voice came out of Cain's Module.
[REGISTERED NAMTER.] The same voice spoke from Johnny's Module.

[SYSTEM READY TO USE. LIMITED FUNCTIONALITY ALERT. PLEASE ATTACH TO CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.] Came from both their Modules.

And the image of the Captain reappeared before them. "How do you feel?" He asked Cain and Johnny. The entire process lasted barely a minute and wasn't particularly uncomfortable, aside from the obvious corpse leftovers on the Modules. He turned to Tykal. "If you won't don a Module, I have a different way for you to survive, albeit temporarily." He said in his usual calm tone. "Give me a moment." The Captain disappeared again.

Suddenly, the same voice from the Modules came out of the intercom in the corridor. It was slightly distorted with static.

[EXISTENTIAL OVERLAY INITIATED. SCANNING FOR HOST...]
...
...
[HOST LOCATED. MALE HUMAN. COMPATIBILITY VALUES CONFIRMED.]
[OVERLAID EXISTENCE PERSONA MODULE SYSTEM INITIATED.]

[REGISTERED AGNI.]

Tykal suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Or perhaps it was a jolt of electricity. Either way, his body felt odd and his eyesight wavered. He felt an unnatural warmth permeate his being, starting from his head and continuing towards his extremities. He felt sick and dizzy, barely able to stand.

He lost balance like that, nearly falling to the floor, when he felt a pair of hands grab him from the back, holding him upright. His senses returned to normal and he could look around to see a creature two heads taller than him, with black and blue skin reminiscent of a suit and green accents, holding him on his two feet. The creature had a face that reminded Tykal of a mask, with mad wide eyes and lips opened revealing a set of flat teeth. Its face looked like porcelain, not like real tissue. Green flames floated around the creature. Tykal then realized the creature was floating a foot above the ground.

Agni - Magician - 4* Chaos Plug:

"I've overlaid your existence with mine." The Captain spoke, reappearing. "In simple terms, I'm using your mind and body as a terminal so that the ship's Module temporarily thinks you are me, granting you access to a portion of my power. That should allow you to fight. For a while." He smiled before continuing. "Now that you're all ready, let me explain. The S.S. Philemon's engine has been damaged in a collision. Unless it's repaired, we'll lose our method of reaffirming our existences and we'll disappear. But I doubt you could fix the engine. For that, let me divert your attention to your Modules."

A map was displayed on everyone's Modules, along with additional information.

Dungeon Crawling Mechanics Tutorial: Move Points:

"I've marked the location of our main engineer on the map for you. We've lost direct contact and visual feed with him when his group was attacked by Shadows. He might already be dead. You must confirm whether or not he's dead and, if he's alive, bring him to the Engine Room so he could stabilize the engine. If he's not alive... well... Then we'll all die. If he dies while you're escorting him, we'll all die. If you all die and he is left alone to fend against Shadows, he will die and we'll all die. Understood?"

Absolutely disgusting, but it didn't matter. Nothing much mattered now outside of completing the task. Tykal was correct to be going apeshit, but the crime didn't matter in this scenario. It seemed the module was ready to use. "Ah... I can do it. I feel unstoppable!" Cain exclaimed in glee. It wasn't soon after when his second form came into existence. Materialising before him, the unified figures began that iconic speech. "I am thou, thou art I. In this nightmare ridden with instability, I, the Furie of life, will become your eternal judge!" As it stated this, he attempted to foresee "something!" "I'll make it... my knowledge where we must go. I need to go." With that said, he ran ahead into the depths of the partially but not entirely unknown due to the map.

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