Fandom The City That Never Weeps

[Thexcentrichilean]

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The man still felt quite remarkably bitter about what had just happened but... at least they were finally at their proper destination: the so-called greenhouse.
This made the young man actually crack a small smile, hoping that Chiyoko would be able to get Rhyme to do his part instead of mulling around in anger...

He would be the anchor for the next encounter, for he had the ability to do so and to shoulder the weight that this fact entailed. While nobody was looking at the german, he stood out in the rain and slapped his face with both his hands, eyes locking forward as the pain snapped him awake and allowed the man to muster the needed resolve.

Albert waved his right arm swiftly to the side in one motion while speaking up.
"Suleiman! Come forth and display the might of a true leader!"

And just like that, the towering and ethereal figure of the late Ottoman sultan draped in odd clothing had appeared once again... this time there was a shine of high intelligence in his eyes as he turned towards the german.

"I will only ask one thing of you, great ruler... Commanding you blindly would be a dishonor imposed on you so... please, I beg you, magnanimous ruler, defend this position, and those kids" The voice of the adult was pleading and somewhat desperate, having fallen on one knee along the way as if showing reverence to his own persona... it was all so odd. But the Turkish ruler simply smiled amicably towards the german, nodding a single time and then starting to work on the bound parchment that he was holding alongside a quill.

Then, the buzzing started to get louder and louder... multiple small insects that resembled bumblebees started sprouting out of the sultan's turban in small but steady quantities, eventually landing on the ground and starting to grow into the soldier divisions that had been witnessed before, but the first soldiers that would come to be were not wearing the same arquebus loadout as the ones from the battle, but instead were carrying heavier pieces of metal... Someone with knowledge in history could discern that the persona was entrenching and preparing with a defensive battle with all the weapons they could muster, including one made by a long and thick hollow cylinder...

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Location: Greenhouse.
Around: The three people he came with, Rhyme, Chiyoko, and Egon.

 

[Aegis]

Rhyme Ryujin
{Location: Outside the Greenhouse}
[Interacting with Egon ( Emperor Of Embers ), Hershel ( Thexcentrichilean ), and Mizushiro ( CapRock )]

If one were to say things weren't quite going according to plan, that would be the world's biggest understatement. Rhyme was supposed to clock in at work, do his job, go home, sleep, and then get up for school the next morning-- rinse and repeat. This routine had been unbroken going on several months now. However, today just had to really go and fuck it up. He was in god-knows- where with two people he didn't know and one who had a personality equivalent to a gossip magazine. Not to mention he had lost his cool twice now and just stirred up a bunch of drama which he normally liked to avoid and then doubled down like the petty IDIOT he is.

Wonderful. Fuckin peachy. Rhyme let out a sigh as they finally stood in front of the large building. He eyed a couple entrances and then watched as Hershel paid homage to his own Persona. Strange, but he was just rolling with the punches at this point.

"So," Rhyme broke the silence that had oppressed the group for so long "which way? One has obviously been used while the other is... sketchy to say the least."

He didn't dare make eye contact with the rest of the group so he more talked to the ground off to his left than properly address them face-to-face. ​

 

[Emperor Of Embers]

Egon was not sure of what to think or feel with this whole situation. She felt like she was on something, despite being clean and sober the whole time. She stayed quiet as she felt drained from all this commotion she had been going through. Her life being on the line, her survival depending on an exhausted man who can summon an army, an angry coward who wants nothing to do with them, even Chiyoko trying to bring light to the situation, but not helping much. She just wanted to go home, and drink some tea and watch some tv at home. But in her thoughts, Rhyme spoke up, asking which way to go.

"I guess.... go with the unused one? Hell I don't know anymore..." "I just want to go home. Maybe there will be mochi and miso soup waiting on the table when this is over!"

She could taste the mochi already, as well as the delicious broth of the miso soup in her mouth. She had tried it at the beginning of her first week in Japan, and it was far better than the mochi and Miso from the japanese restaurants in New York. Hell, she could be at home on her 3ds playing Kid Icarus: Uprising, while she has a pocky in her mouth. But really, she is never going to think of life the same again after this. But then she thought of the beings that stood taller than Hershel, rhyme, and Chiyo. She wondered how they were summoned, like in those medieval anime or something? Or could it be a trigger like some american superheroes like the Hulk? Whatever the cause, she hoped she had one to help her, and soon .

Aegis Thexcentrichilean CapRock

 

[Refaulted]

本田 謙三
Honda Kenzo
The Justice Arcana

Watching Shirou's failed attempt just increased Kenzo's frustration at the obstacle that stood in their way. Though, seeing Shirou lose his composure a small tad brought up a mixed feeling of relief and pity. Relief, because even the always cool-seeming Shirou wasn't all talk in this situation, yet pity when he almost demanded them to forget whatever they saw. From what Kenzo could collect, it was probably a rather expensive article of clothing, something Kenzo couldn't even imagine owning.

Turning back to the wall to give Shirou his own time to recuperate, he watched with wide eyes as Alex took the initiative, launching himself up the face of the wall with relative ease, using his momentum to scale the wall faster than any of the rest of their group could probably do. He was actually rather jealous, being unable to even make his way up a few meters before he had to jump off. As Alex got more and more out of sight, he noticed Yukino send her own aid to Alex, probably to keep watch in case he ran into trouble on the other side, which was smart. Kenzo looked to the wall and frowned. He doubted he could just shoot through and break down the wall, at least not without bullets ricocheting everywhere and harming himself or the others.

Before long, he noticed something straight start to make it's way down the wall. It was the same foothold that Shirou had been caught on before, the evidence being the ripped fabric from his pants. Kenzo squinted at it as the gears in his head began to spin. He stood up, walking close to the wall and looking down into the gap in floor where it was disappearing. He couldn't see anything of course, with it being pitch black and whatnot, but he doubted that it was all just disappearing into an empty void beneath their feet. Not now, as he saw the fabric fly past his face once more.

His throat felt incredibly dry as a truly idiotic idea took hold of him. He had no idea if what he was planning was going to work, and if it didn't, what would happen to him? If he was gone, what would happen to his mother? To his grandmother? Anyone he cared about, and that maybe cared about him, how would they feel about him if he went through with his idea? He grabbed a clump of strands of his hair, rubbing them together in his fingers, staring intensely at the gap. He then closed his eyes and said a silent prayer to whatever powers could look after him in this nightmare. He then waited until he saw the fabric come by once more, and noticing a decent enough space, leapt forward and hugged the wall as close as he could, his knuckles white as they gripped the handholds he had found. He stayed completely still as the wall continued to descend, the hole at the bottom prepared to eat him up whole.

(Sorry, I'll do tags tomorrow.)

 

[CapRock]

Inside the Greenhouse

Once Kenzo leapt onto the barrier and held on tight to the bearings, it was a simple matter of seconds before the ever-moving surface dragged the young man down its crevice, akin to a famished beast eating its prey whole. Inside, light was but a distant memory. Haunting noises of clanking and scraping crept up from every corner and up and down folded upon themselves. The scenario kept as such for a few excruciating moments, not giving in the slightest hint of what awaited next until the very last second.

Finally, light came back into Kenzo’s world as he was expelled into the other side of the corridor, completely unscathed. The wall’s back side was much like the front, only moving in reverse, and the area beyond it remained mostly similar to how they had last seen them. Ginjiro’s friends kept conversating at the end of the corridor, having paid no attention to the drastic change in scenery; they seemed instead utterly enthralled in an important conversation addressing the very colleague that left moments earlier as well as his decisions.

Before Kenzo or anyone else could come closer to listen on it, though, there was a more pressing matter coming along; Alex also saw the same as Kenzo did, only from the advantage point that came with having leapt over the massive wall Odile not too far behind. Gravity had now taken a hold of his trajectory, however, and it seemed intent on getting him acquainted with the floor with brutal intensity in the following moments unless something were to be done about it.

Shirou Lancaster

We can’t just keep getting away with doing that… Can we?

It seemed that Shirou wouldn’t quite have the opportunity to cry over torn pants as the torrent of shenanigans was far from over. The delinquent borke a rare sweat as he saw Alex wink at him and set off. The idea of simply leaping off from the top felt a bit beyond insane; this wasn't something Alex could have come up with by himself, he realized with a dry swallowing. At least, not the usual Alex. He put himself back up and ran his fingers through his hair slowly, seemingly losing any concern he had with a wall.

"Ugh, now, really? Guys, I don't know how to explain this, but we might need to pin down Alex before he does something stupid. Hey you, with the blue hair I'll need your- Kenzo?"

The "I don't remember your name" act quickly fell apart as Shirou saw Kenzo jump onto the bearings and letting himself be swallowed. His expression shifted from shock to disappointment as he wondered if there were any signs the young man had finally lost all his marbles to the point he'd toss away his life like that. And yet, precious seconds passed and there was no painful noise of highschool student bones being grinded, nor of Alex, with the wall’s movement remaining smooth through and through.

Shirou scratched his head a bit, gaze switching from the bottom of the wall to the top as if he expected one of them to give him a sign, some sort of light into the situation. Didn’t take long for his patience to get the better of him, though. He glanced at the final person present in the scene, then looked forward and spoke, partly to Yuzuki, partly to himself:

“Well, if they ain’t dead from that yet... “

And then leapt in himself, holding on to the bearings while doing his best to turn off the screaming in his brain.

Refaulted Veradana Jeef_jones Hououin Kyouma

Outside the Greenhouse

One could say that the group of travellers had been exceptionally lucky, all things considered, to have made it that far without finding any more resistance. Well, such luck was about to end for good as a stir brew on the horizon. What began as small dots that could barely be made out from each other grew larger and larger as they drew closer. Their shape slowly made itself clearer as they did assuming the shape of blue, winged lions with orange manes and shiny eyes.

The shadows flew in a large, sparse formation, at first as tall and lumbering as a cloud in the sky. Once they reached the sky above the group, their formation changed, shifting into a never-ending circle reminiscent of vultures looming over a dying prey, a crescendo of tension that reverberated across the echoing raindrops in expectation for the big torrent. And so it came. Starting off in a small wave, the monsters folded their wings and dove into their prey with an almost suicidal recklessness. They knew that, even in the case of failure, there were dozens more to finish what had started.


Chiyoko Mizushiro


I didn’t choose a life on the run, that life chose me! Seriously.

If it weren’t for all those lousy shouting matches and overall bad mood leaking over from their journey there, Chiyoko would have loved to stick around and gawk at the fantasy set piece that felt like it was straight out of a low-budget Junji Ito fan project. Instead, she just quietly popped her head here and there, her focus struggling between sightseeing and actually gathering important information. The end result was that she noticed the signs of recent living activity next to the puddle entrance and not much else.

As hard as it was to gauge power in this strange new world, seeing Suleiman’s adorable bee-men all set up and in position was a sight she met with satisfaction and relief. While he seemed intent on setting up camp then and there, Rhyme had the opposite idea of on going in and taking cover from the rain, with Egon also chipping in with the option she liked the most. Chiyoko placed a hand on her hip and the other on her chin, nodding along with all the seriousness she could muster.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m kinda done meeting the folks who live here. So rude, trying to kill us and all! So the weirder the way in, the better. I’m with Egon.”

She spoke with her eyes close to show utter confidence; poor timing, all things considered, as the shadows massed up just just next to them without her even realizing anything was wrong.

Thexcentrichilean Emperor Of Embers Aegis

 

[Veradana]

The seconds passed after Feron made his leap, and at first, none of them seemed to realise what was happening. Then, a sudden click went off in Yuzuki’s mind. Even on the off-chance that there wasn’t anything dangerous waiting for them on the other side, a fall from that height could… she clenched her eyes shut.

No no no no she couldn’t think like that. Did Feron have a plan? He had to, right? What kind of idiot would do something like that without thinking about the way down? Could they afford to take that chance? And hadn’t she summoned Odile just in case something happened? Well, something was happening, and she was the only person in an immediate position to do anything about it.

The tense hesitation caused Odile to flicker ever so slightly as Yuzuki pressed a palm to her forehead, breathing picking up pace. As Honda continued to observe the wall in the edge of her vision, she pushed the Persona to move faster, to dive around, and catch Feron to slow his fall, even if she couldn’t see exactly where that would be.

Then the others started making their moves.

At first, like Lancaster, all Yuzuki could do was stare rigidly at the space that Honda left behind. Even when Lancaster spoke in her direction, she didn’t take her stare off where Honda had gone beneath the ground. It still took a few trembling seconds of shaky breathing for her to realise that they’d left her well and truly alone. The only noise that remained was the mechanism of the wall. It could almost be considered peaceful, if not for the ever-present danger of the unknown beyond their sights.

Yuzuki’s face crumpled, and she curled up inside at the thought of having to cling to the wall. But, she closed her eyes; it seemed to be the safest way. She took another step towards the wall, stopping short as she passed the frozen Aizawa. Yuzuki spared him another glance. He hadn’t responded to anything the others said to him, so any reassurance that he’d made the right decision would be meaningless, especially coming from someone like her. She was in no position to give anyone advice on how to live their lives.

As Yuzuki held fast to the wall, waiting for it to take her to the other side, two questions rolled over inside her mind: Why did Aizawa seem to regret what had happened here? What were they expected to do?

CapRock (Shirou) Refaulted (Kenzo) Jeef_jones (Alex)

 

[Refaulted]

本田 謙三
Honda Kenzo
The Justice Arcana

'Gonnadiegonnadiegonnadiegonnadiegonnadie'

That was the only thought racing through Kenzo's mind as the ever terrifying mechanical sounds enveloped him from every side. His thoughts were but a distant echo as the clanking of gears and whirring of mysterious engines drowned out any other of his attempts to grasp what was happening around him. He should have just backtracked, went with Shirou and Yuzuki and wandered the school and find some other way around the wall. That would have been undeniably safer. But instead he dove headfirst into an idea that had a probable eighty percent chance of ending with him being a pile of goo at the bottom of...wherever he was.

And then, it was over. The shift was so jarring, he at first thought that he truly had died in the blink of an eye, but instead, he felt himself moving upwards. He threw caution to the wind as he let go of the wall and fell backwards onto the floor, letting out one long, shaky breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. He took one more moment to look at his limbs in order to make sure he wasn't missing any fingers or toes. Thankfully, everything was accounted for.

He had no time for patting his own back or thanking whatever sort of god was shining down on him. His attention was instead taken to the body flying through the air above him as he looked up. His eyes widened as he saw Alex making his inevitable descent, and feeling the ground beneath his fingers, it was not going to be a soft landing. There was once more little time to think. He had to act on instinct. He pushed himself off the floor onto his feet, planting them firmly and opening his arms up. He already promised Yuzuki- and himself -that he would do everything he could to get them out of this nightmare. He wasn't going to give up so early, even if he wasn't in peak condition at the moment.

"I got you, Alex!"

Oh, this was gonna hurt. Bad.

Interactions: Alex Jeef_jones
Mentions: Shirou CapRock Yuzuki Veradana