First Exploration (Gabby and 1 other Child)

Lorielle had ventured into a door not too far in Iwaigodai. The door was still just as red, and going in just as insane as the last time she had gone through one. Though she would find herself in a deformed version of a city. It was odd looking upon the bent buildings, and the sun burning red. ‘This place….’ She could only think. It was a strange, yet lovely sight to behold. She would feel the mark on her chest burning, not painfully, but with an intense heat. It was a constant reminder that it was real, along with Yhoundeh, her Persona, still in her head, every so often, whispering gentle encouragement and planning. She would never be too specific in what she said, but Lorielle would take what she said to heart either way. It was her only method of protection in this world it seems. She had texted Gabby and Sagami before walking in, telling them where to go and at what time, so they would know where to go. Cain unfortunately she did not contact, but if just those two came, it would be enough. Maybe the team of six should Vera join along with Kogami could be split into three, or three groups of two, and possibly help them as they explored through this world Kogami referred to as “Limbo”.

Though she was fired up and ready to go, Lorielle would wait right outside the door, for Gabby and whoever would join them; Sagami if he made it, and would venture forth. The world was a vast and odd place, and right now the best place to do with it was to explore it, and perhaps strengthen themselves. She saw Kogami was clearly stronger than any of them, and the possibility of creating chaos, or perhaps wielding it made Lorielle all the more eager to earn its ways. Who knows what this power could unlock? Who knows what they could do. Could they change the world? The possibilities were endless. ‘This will be so much fun...’ she thought in a macabre way. She does realize she may end up fighting the Shadows once more like the first time, but she was fired, ready to go, and confident with her newfound power. Though, she would continue to wait until the two who would step in decide to join in on the fight and the fun.

Starting Location:

Gabby was planning to meet up with Lori in Iwaigodai. It was strange to her. She had lived here most of her life, yet she hadn’t really seen it until now. How could she ever say she had when she had never been able to see the red doors until now? It was like opening her eyes for the first time. She found the door she believed Lori had mentioned, and went inside. If it weren’t for the fact that this world was bending in place and twisting around the colors in the air, she would have sworn that the end of the world was coming. Then again, maybe it was and she didn’t know it. It wasn’t hard to find Lori. She was the only other living thing here so far, “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.” Being here was a strange feeling. It was both exciting and terrifying. Inside of her, Hippocamp seemed to be growing restless. At least he was having fun, “I think a good goal for today is to train and not get ourselves hurt.” She shrugged her shoulders after that, “Still can’t believe this place was here the entire time.”

Sagami would open the red door and step through it into the world known ‘limbo.’ With his new power he was allowed into this brand new world. Although it was strange, it didn’t faze him how it looked because he had seen bigger and better things than this puny ‘city’ they sat in. Not saying it wasn’t interesting just that it wasn’t new. Slowly he would glance around quickly spotting Lorielle and another boy with her. The third year would slowly walk up to her and pull his headphones down off his ears. “ ‘Ello Lorielle. I’ll be your tactical for today; I’ll support you for now. Maybe I can explain stuff more to you, if you want me to that is.” A short sigh would be heard from his headphones and then a woman’s voice. “I’ll be here too you asshole.”

Lorielle would look at Gabby and give a nod and smile. “You are just fine. I have not been waiting long.” It was nice to see new arrivals at such a perfect time. “On another note…this area is a lot more freaky than the foggy town. Am I the only one that is digging the look?” she said, then gave a small side. ‘Digging? Have I gotten that old?’ she thought. She would have to relish the young years she still retained, even at seventeen years old. Though, her thoughts would be interrupted by another man, arriving rather quickly with perfect timing onto the scene. Still wearing his headphones for the trip. “Sagami, shouldn't you take those off? That could distract you if we have to fight,” she said. Sure, Sagami may not be fighting, but she did not want to risk him getting hurt or getting the rest hurt. “But yes. Explaining things will help very much so in time. Actually, that can help now as we travel. I assume we are not going to stray too far from the door for our first visit?” she said, asking them both the question. If they both consented she would nod. “Alright, I am ready when you are,” she would say.

She would start the walk in front of them, picking the pathway closest to them on the right of their entrance. For whatever reason, Lorielle felt like she was practically a leader of the team. At the same time, she felt a bit undeserving of that, considering she had little to offer. Maybe this could also be a chance to prove herself and gather strength to use in the future. ‘Gotta get my head in the game…’ she would think. She could feel the Mark’s heat on her chest, not getting any bit cooler, and perhaps, getting a bit hotter as they approached the pathway to the east. Walking down it, she would look to the two if they were following her, and speak to Sagami, or if they were beside her, speak then. “So, good idea to tell us what you know, for now, the basics.” She would recommend. It was high time the group knew what was going on, and from someone who could not mix it in religion. Listening to him, she would turn ahead, and it would not take much effort to see the small group of Shadows that remained ahead. This would be their first test to see if they could handle it. After Sagami would be finished if he spoke, Lorielle would point at the Shadows. “We can get the drop on them. Cmon,” she said looking at the two and giving a grin for support, hoping to get one in return. Afterwards, she would move towards the Shadows a bit cautiously, not wanting to make any risks, before finally making a small charge to them, ready for battle.

Movement:

Gabby actually had to think for a moment. She wouldn’t compliment the look of this place, but it wasn’t bad. She just thought it looked like something out of a twisted puzzle book for disturbed children, “It’s okay, I suppose. Personally, I think it needs a few more street lights.” She smiled at the joke, and then laughed nervously. She was trying to make this less threatening than it was, but that wasn’t working well as of yet, “I’m going to shut up now.” She froze up a little when Sagami should up. She hadn’t known who else was going to be here, so the surprise had gotten her. When Lori mention the headphones, Gabby shook her head, “As long as he can still help out, it should be fine.” She didn’t mind what each person did as long as they didn’t get each other killed. That was her top priority at the moment; not dying down here.

When Lori began to move, she sighed at followed after her. This was Lori’s plan, so she would be a follower for today. She didn’t mind, either. As long as she was alive, it didn’t matter what they did down here. When Lori questioned the basics, Hippocamp spoke up, “HOW HARD IS IT TO REMEMBER ‘HIT, KILL, WIN?’ IT’S NOT COMPLICATED.” Gabby shushed him in her mind. In all actuality, the two of them were probably thinking along the same lines. Gabby was nicer about it though. She only needed to recall fighting the Minotaur before. If that was how all fights worked, this wouldn’t be too hard. She did have one question though, “What are the creatures doing here anyway?” It seemed like a fairly straightforward question, but she was still confused as to what this place was. Why could she see it now and not before? Why did those things live down here and attack anything that seemed to move? Were they all part of the same species or genus? It was as if biology was suddenly crying at the discovery of these things.

She could see the shadows taking shape in the distance, and could only feel excitement in her blood. She didn’t need Lori to tell her to get the drop on them. It was a strange moment, and she loved it. She gladly returned Lori’s smile and mouthed ‘kick the can’. It was like fighting the warriors of Wutai all over again. As soon as Lori gave the signal, Gabby would move slowly toward the creatures, only dashing if Lori sped up. If this would be as enjoyable as the last time, she would see. She could hope though.

Sagami would pull his headphones over onto his head and laugh. “Lorielle, these headphones allow me to speak to my persona at all times, these are for combat use.” His hand would be waved to the side and a small red holographic screen would appear, a small ‘keyboard’ would appear under it. “Can we get on with this already? I do not feel like sitting around all day; let us get involved in some ‘serious action.’” The persona would speak through the headphones, there for only the boy would hear her. Something had changed about his old persona, she was more aggressive and bitchy, was it the crawling chaos that made her like that, or was it the boy himself? “I cannot answer that, I myself don’t fully understand shadows. All I know is they are born of the human soul, just like personas, which is why only persona users can fight shadows. Basically, personas are just suppressed shadows.”
 
After a few moments, the group would begin walking; Sagami would walk slowly behind them, examining the walls and floors. It seemed this place manifested into a city, but this city was falling apart at the seam, and it did not look like a normal human city at all. “Watch out, we’re in their home, shadows will stop at nothing to defeat us, no matter how much our god controls them I’m sure he wants to test our skills.” The third year would continue to walk looking at the screen that continued to float in front of him. This screen was empty for the time being yet it still followed him, although it was his source of power, aside from his headphones. “Can you walk any slower?! I really want to do something and not listen to you thing.” The woman’s voice would become agitated before the man retaliated. “Can you shut up and calm down, we’re almost there. If either of the girls thought he was speaking to them and turned around or asked about it he would explain that he was taking to Kikuri-Hime.
 
As they reached the first group of shadows, the third year would tap the one red screen in front of him, it would quickly light up as red mist surrounded his feet and more screens began to pop up, about six screens were surrounding him. “Alright this is simple. I am a tactical user, I find out information about the enemy that you wouldn’t usually know.” He would smirk as he looked towards the group of shadows. “It looks like we caught them off guard. Just attack as you normally would, use your persona; soon you will understand some of its skills. I wish you both good luck.” What was he supposed to do? Tell them not to die, not to fuck up epically? He did have faith in Lorielle and Gabby didn’t seem naïve. Maybe these girls would surprise him and turn out to be great allies, only time would tell.
 

Lorielle appreciated that Gabby was at least trying to take this a bit lighter. Truly, she was sure they both knew how insane and heavy this probably is. But moping and brooding over it will not help too much. Though, she would heed gabby’s words, listening to Sagami when he explained his headphones, which intrigued Lorielle. “You hear your Persona through that? Neato,” she said, giving a grin of interest. A Persona speaking through headphones, how crazy and cool! While they were walking, Sagami would spill the beans about what he knew. The first point he made seemed to make enough sense. “It would make sense for Shadows and Personas to be the same. We saw some Shadows turn into Personas that were given to us when we fought the Minotaur. Interesting….” She said aloud. Maybe it would be something to look into after this first excursion. She would hear Sagami tell someone to be patient without hearing anything aside from Lorielle’s last statement. “Your Persona seems to be talkative,” she assumed as a joke and laughed a bit. If she could talk to Yhoundeh, chances are the two could speak to theirs. She wondered what they spoke of. ‘Can you hear me Yhoundeh…?’ she thought. ‘…’ She would feel her presence, but she said nothing in her head. Yhoundeh seemed to be very selective in choosing when to speak, which was sometimes annoying. Maybe she will have to try after this some more to speak to her.

“Hopefully once this is over, you will at least explain how you learned of this knowledge. You just got your Persona like us, but you clearly know more than possibly even Kogami. And I trust your word over his,” she said, looking at Sagami. She had no reason to distrust him yet. He did not twist the truth, nor try to hide an evil cult behind him. Though, his story behind this could wait, when he mentioned his role in battle. Lorielle would nod. “That’s fine. If we do catch them off guard, we will take them. I want you to try and figure out one of the Shadows. See what hurts them the most,” she said. She did not feel like the commanding type, but she also felt like she could grow used to being a leader, with the proper word. Once they were in charging distance, and Gabby gestured herself ready to go, Lorielle would charge forward, Gabby following her presumably into battle. Three Shadows would be there. Lorielle would grab her head, feeling the same blinding pain as before, however not thrashing like last time, as much as she desperately wanted to. She hoped at some point she would get used to the pain. With her eyes turning from scarlet to golden, Yhoundeh would appear in a blood red mist behind her. Lorielle would call upon the amazing power of the darkness she wielded once before within her. Yhoundeh would hold her hands near each other, as if holding either side of a ball, as a dark circle with glyphs appeared under the first Shadow. Tendrils would appear trying to pull the Shadow into the abyss. She would give a fist pump towards herself and grin if it hit. “Got it!” she would shout. Whether she hit or not, she would look at Gabby ready to give out a plan. Gabby seemed to have certain power over an element, namely wind. “Gabby! If you can, try to hit them both! If not, focus on one of them. Sagami, you have your plan,” she said, ready to go and fight. This battle would only be getting better. The power of chaos making her more willing to try and keep the team together with her plan of attack. Though she worried over the ferocity chaos seemed to give her, she felt all the more willing to use it to help her, and her allies.

Skill Used:

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((Forgot to mention I was attacking Shadow 1, but I missed so it does not matter))

Gabby smiled at the idea of taking down a trio of shadows. By the looks of it, they were all the same, which meant they would probably act similarly. That’s how animals behaved, anyway. Maybe it was wrong of her to keep assuming these things acted like animals. It appeared that way, however. They grouped together, and, from what she’d seen before, they were easy to provoke. Heck, they didn’t even need to be provoked. Then again, she was no different. As she clutched at her head with both hands, red mist began to form around her, “Don’t worry. I know just what to do.” A pair of eyes seemed to be grinning in the mist. They were moving forward, out of the mist and toward the enemy. They weren’t just eyes anymore though. Now it was Hippocamp in all his glory. As he approached one of the shadows, he would dig his claws into its frame and tear back towards himself. If the thing managed to avoid the attack though he’d have to fall back with a noticeable look of shame.


Attack:

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Critical

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((Opps. Not use to fighting multiple ones. I'm attacking number 2))

The third year would hit one of the selections on the screen in front of him, selecting ‘Analysis.’ A loading screen would quickly appear above one of the shadows. “Analysis, begin.” After a few moments of the analysis, Sagami would begin to smirk, “Alright guys, don’t mess around, shadows can be hell.” If the analysis was a success, at the end of it a screen would appear between Gabby and Lorielle, it would hold the information on the shadow, its weaknesses and statistics.
 

Sagami’s current stats:

 

Screen one: Team stats:

Lorielle felt a bit of a shock as one Shadow decided to toss a small ball of flame at her, which hit her dead on. Sliding only a few inches back, she would look at the Shadow who had attacked her with a sneer. “You’re next,” Lorielle would say suddenly feeling a bit frustrated. She knew she would be attacked, but it still does not change the fact that these monsters were still bastards for trying. Though however, she would see Sagami scan the Shadow, and watch as the screen between the two revealed its weakness to be just normal physical attacks. “Works for me,” she said to Sagami before he too took a fireball to the face. Her naginata would appear in her hand and she would raise it quickly, Yhoundeh also raising her hand, moving to float in front of her. She would bring the blade to the ground, Yhoundeh bringing her fingers down sending a flash with a sound akin to a blade on the now weakened Shadow. It had fallen over thanks to Gabby’s attack, so it had nowhere to run. This would also make up for the slight annoyance she felt when missing her attempt to banish him. Presumably she would hit, and she would give a sort of shout that was supposed to be a war cry, though it came off as a sort of “Woooo!” She would turn to Gabby and Sagami at the other two, ready to attack when she could.

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“Did I do that?” Gabby asked, as her attack had seemed to really hurt one of the creatures. She had seen Sagami’s entry on the thing, but she hadn’t known it would be so effective. She would have cheered, but it seemed that it would be inappropriate, considering Lori and Sagami had just gotten attacked. One does not normally celebrate their allies getting burned with fire. Why fire? What unnatural ability. Then again, Hippocamp was beating the up with his claws and his breath seemed to be a weapon all its own. She wasn’t one to complain though, “Think that will work twice?” She couldn’t have known, but it was worth a try. Hippocamp would try the same attack on the next shadow, hopefully to botching the streak the two of them were on.

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