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Her Darkness; [Open - Closed to Nonsequitur, CDYoung, and Czernobog]
Topic Started: Jan 2 2014, 07:47 PM (704 Views)
The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Slow and cumbersome though it might have been, Shadow June still wasn't about to be caught by the same spell three times in a row--it lurched to the side, the lightning bolt striking the wall behind it and throwing up sparks between a number of dirtied pots and pans on the counter behind it.

And then it began to swing the ball and chain on its left arm in a wide circle above its head.

"Good for you!" the monster sneered. "You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll even be able to eat next week, though, do you? You don't even have anything you need to escape from!"

The swinging chain increased in speed, force. Noburu tensed, wondering who the monster would deign to attack--him or Murakami?

"It's easy to say inspirational shit like that--"

The chain swung out, sweeping the room. Noburu had just enough time to shout, "GET DOWN!" before it swung right toward Sio, and then--whether she dodged or not--continued on to slam into Kohryu's jaw.

"--WHEN YOU'RE SITTING ON YOUR ASS IN A COMFY HOUSE, HAVING EVERYTHING HANDED TO YOU LIKE A PAMPERED LITTLE KID!"

Pain, pain and bright spots dominating his vision. Kohryu flickered out on contact with the iron ball, and he felt the force on the side of his own jaw as surely as June had swung her own bat at his face. His body lurched to the side, and he fell to the ground in a heap, the world a spinning blur of hurt and disorientation. The iron ball crashed into the side wall of the cafeteria, the impact creating a deep enough dent that it remained lodged in the wall.

June cringed at the sound of the impact, ducking her head and clutching it in her hands. This thing. This thing, this--this stupid, whiny bitch was a part of her? Couldn't be. Couldn't be. Couldn't be. She would never moan and scream like this. Never. Never, ever...
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Luckily, Sio was able to avoid the iron ball thanks to Noburu's warning. She crouched and rolled out of the way before steadying herself up with her wooden stick. She looked at the twisted princess, gritting her teeth. Electricity continued to flicker around her, but it was starting to dim as she panted in exhaustion. It seemed that she was exerting herself too much.

In a way, the Shadow was right. While her life wasn't exactly a bed of roses, it wasn't all that bad. She didn't have to make ends meet in her life despite having no parents anymore. But she didn't like to be called a pampered kid. She was far from being a pampered kid. Well, that wasn't the main issue here. She just didn't like how stupid it sounded when the monster said things like that.

"So what?! Will there be any difference if I were in your position?!" Sio retorted, preparing to launch another Zio. "I don't know what kind of hardship you had to endure before, but stop whining about it!!" electricity glowed radiantly from her body before Mnemosyne fired a bolt of lightning towards the Shadow. After firing the Zio, the young author staggered back, feeling slightly winded. She had been using too much of her energy, and she was exhausted. She tried to regain balance by using her bo.

But still, she wouldn't allow herself to fall, not before beating this stupid princess down. Electricity continued to flicker around her so that she could continue to focus on this twisted princess. There had to be some way to defeat it.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Another lightning bolt struck the Shadow, and this time it couldn't get out of the way. It tried, but the iron ball had stuck fast to the wall. Noburu pushed himself up, and through the swaying of everything around him, saw the ball and chain dislodge a small chunk off wall as the monster tried to dislodge it...

There--!

Noburu, still on the ground, held out a hand toward the iron ball. From the floor and ceiling, stone dust swirled out and gathered around the chain, solidifying into a rock shell, fixing the chain to the wall.

"--K-kill it before it breaks free--" Noburu managed to grunt out, before more blooms of dizziness spots overtook his vision with the effort of casting the spell. "--kill it--"

Shadow June tugged at the chain, but it wouldn't budge. "Urgh! You are so fucking--ANNOYING!" it growled, as it cast a Tarukaja spell on itself to give itself an extra burst of strength. It still had the ball and chain on the other arm, and once the spell was cast, it pulled the chain toward itself, preparing to swing that one instead.
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Seeing that the bloated, twisted princess was preparing to launch another attack, which might be even stronger thanks to the Tarukaja, Sio launched one more lightning bolt towards the Shadow, and this time, her vision started to blur. She could feel that she was almost on the verge of collapsing due to extreme exhaustion. She wobbled a bit, feeling that her strength had left her legs. The only thing that kept her standing was her weapon.

"Shut up," Sio retorted, glaring at the Shadow. Her voice wasn't as intense as before thanks to her being weakened greatly, but the Shadow needed to be put down before she could fall down herself. She took a few steps aback as quickly as she could so that she could avoid the Shadow's next attack.

"Don't force yourself..." Sio could hear Mnemosyne telling her to not overexert herself. She just nodded in compliance.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
The Shadow began to swing its chain again, faltering and stumbling a bit when the lightning bolt struck. "Agh--tch. That's nothing. This is nothing. I can take it--I can take it--I'm not a fragile little princess like you! Getting a little tired, are you?!"

The chain swung at Sio in a downward arc, but at the last moment, Shadow June stumbled, and the chain went awry, striking the floor several yards to the right of where Sio had been standing. As with the wall, it broke a hole in the linoleum and lodged itself there. Shadow June clicked her tongue, made a motion as if to pull the chain out of the floor... but then stone dust gathered around that ball and chain, too, encasing it in a solid stone shell, holding it fast to the floor.

Noburu got to one knee, still holding a hand out in the general direction of the Shadow's second weapon, head bowed, eyes closed.

"...Gotcha..." he murmured. Shadow June snarled, and began tugging at the chain, trying to break it free. Unseen by any but the Shadow, June Hollyfield stepped into the doorway, leaning against the frame, glaring weakly at her shadow through half-closed eyes.
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Keeping herself standing on both feet, Sio was glad that the ball didn't hit her. But the Shadow was right about one thing; she was extremely exhausted. Added with her poor physique, it seemed that it was worse than she initially thought. She could barely keep herself standing, even with the help of her wooded stick as a support.

Seeing that the Shadow was unable to use its weapon, Sio took this chance to launch another attack, despite her depleted energy. She forced herself to generate more electricity before summoning Mnemosyne. This time, right after launching Zio towards the bloating princess, she could feel something burning. The overexertion caused an intense pain, as if her veins had been imploding inside her body due to the overcharge.

Vision blurred, Sio could feel something leaking out of her eyes before she realized that it was her blood. Apparently, the overcharging was too intense it caused internal bleeding.

"Stop it! Your body will break down if you continue!!" Sio could hear Mnemosyne's concerned voice inside her head.

"Need to take that thing down first..." Sio responded to her Persona with a weak smile. It would only be a matter of time before she would finally pass out due to exhaustion and overexertion.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
The lightning bolt struck the monster yet again. While its chains were firmly bound to the wall and floor, there was enough give in the second chain that, when it was done twitching in the aftershock, it was able to let go of the chain, letting it unfurl to the floor, allowing itself some room to maneuver.

Noburu sent Sio a worried look. "Hey--if you're out of juice, I can take it from here--"

"Oi. Stupid..."

It was a quiet, exhausted, but snappish chiding. June was stepping back into the room, wobbling as she walked, apparently making her weaving way not toward Noburu but toward Sio Murakami.

"Don't you talk at that thing like it's actually me, okay?!" she growled. "And don't go burning yourself out trying to fight my fight for me, either. Jeez, I am so fucking tired of--"

"--being the helpless little princess who needs rescuing!" Shadow June said at the exact same time June finished the sentence. The mohawk girl gave her Shadow a withering glare, before returning her attention to Murakami.

"Get back... let us kill this thing while it's stuck, okay?" she said. "...Get me my bat."

She gestured to the other side of the room, where her weapon had rolled off to a stop against the leg of a broken chair. It was only a few yards away from Sio.

Shadow June glowered at her other self. "You aren't any less of a helpless little bitch when you put on a tough girl act like this. You're just one big, fat tryhard--"

"Yeah, I know, now take all that shit and put it where the sun don't shine," June retorted, standing up a bit straighter, grinning a horrible grin. Noburu moved closer to his girlfriend.

"June, I can--"

"To hell with that!" June snapped. "I've always wanted to give this part of me a good beating, and now I've got the chance! Murakami, give me my bat!"
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Sio could barely see or hear anything, but she still could hear what June was saying to her. When she said that she was going to give the Shadow a good beating, Sio just smiled. "...t-took you long enough..." she said before she turned to look at the mohawk girl's bat that wasn't really that far from her. Despite her exhaustion, Sio moved towards the bat, picking it up before throwing it towards June.

"Too tired..." Sio said right after throwing the bat towards June. She could only hope that she could at least catch the bat without trouble. "...naptime," and so, she allowed herself to fall down right on her belly. Her bo also fell alongside her. She gradually lost her consciousness while lying on the floor.

She wouldn't be able to see what's going to happen next, but at least she would be able to rest herself for a bit after draining herself dry.
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The One True Nobody
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"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
Noburu sent June a sharp look, ready to tell her to keep back, but June sent it right back. She was weak, she was dizzy, and Sio's aim was badly off, but she still managed to lurch to the side in time to catch the bat and arrange it in her hands for swinging.

"Now, 'me,' I know who... and what... you are..." June breathed, almost inaudibly from Noburu's position. "But I also know that there ain't anyone on this Earth who deserves a concussion more than me, so get ready. You're about to find out what a cracked skull feels like."

Noburu focused on summoning his Persona--he couldn't let June do this alone--but before he could June was running forward. The Shadow, chained down as it was, could only freely move within the confines of the leeway given to it by that one looser chain, and though it swung its arms to bat June away when she vaulted over the countertop, but she managed to swayingly duck under its guard and smash the Shadow's right kneecap with her bat.

Shadow June screamed, and fell to the ground like a sack of meat. June straightened up, raised the bat over her head, and shrieked in unbridled rage: "YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT, YOU FREAK OF NATURE! ON THE FLOOR! WHERE YOU FUCKING BELONG! AND DON'T--" (Her bat swung down, impacting the monster's head with a sickening crack) "--STAND--" (Another swing, another crack) "--UP--" (And another) "--AGAIN!"

One last swing of her bat, like an executioner's axe, and Shadow June's head split open like a melon. She didn't stop swinging, though. One, two, three, four, five more swings of June Hollyfield's bat until there was nothing left in front of her but a spreading pool of slime and she wasn't hitting her Shadow's head anymore, she was slamming her bat into the floor.

And then she gave a grunt and fell forward. Noburu was already jumping the counter to reach her, and so caught his girlfriend in his arms.

"June, stop," he said. "It's dead, it's done. It's over."

"Fucking... bitch..." she groaned, almost dropping her bat as Noburu heaved her up and wrapped his arms around her. "...Hate her... hate... her..."

"It's fine, June, we can talk later... let's just get you and Murakami out of here..."

---

Carrying Murakami back to the entrance wasn't hard. With her Shadow dead, June found that she was fast regaining the strength she needed to walk, though she felt lightheaded and kind of sick, a feeling that didn't improve as they walked. Noburu carried Sio in his arms down the hallway they'd come from, now clear of threats, thankfully.

As they neared the stairway to the exit, the sound of chains clanking could be heard echoing from behind them. Noburu and June looked quickly at each other.

"Uh--Reaper, right?" June asked quickly. "That's bad... right?"

"Right," Noburu said sharply. "Up the stairs--go!"

He began to run as fast as he could while laden with the dead weight of Sio Murakami, but June proved faster than Noburu under these circumstances--she was already up the stairs and out of the ruins before he'd made it even halfway up. She stopped at the top, and looked back. What she saw made her eyes go wide.

"Holy fuck."

Noburu glanced over his shoulder and saw it for only a second, drifting into the lobby from a different passage than the one they'd taken. It was all rags and chains and a sack-like mask revealing exactly one eerie yellow eye, and in each hand, a long-barreled revolver.

So that's the Reaper. The thing keeping Persona-users from effectively exploring this place.

The Reaper turned to look in their direction--he was almost to the top. As if realizing its window of opportunity was about to close, the Reaper quickly raised its gun, aimed--he was almost out--

There was a deafening gunshot. The wall to the right side of the exit exploded in a spray of rock and plaster. Noburu ducked his head and hunched over and felt bits of it pelting him like a hailstorm but he kept moving and then he was out. He didn't stop moving until he was well clear of the entrance, and June took the hint--she spun around and ran right along with him, until they were both halfway down the trail and sure that the unstoppable Shadow incarnation of Death Itself couldn't pursue them.

And then, they stopped, and June hunched over, hands on her knees.

"Shit... shit... shit..." she wheezed. "That was too close--!"

Noburu lowered himself onto one knee and set Murakami down on the ground. "It was," he said evenly. "Now you get why I can't take you with me... don't you?"

June let herself fall to her own knees, and then back into a sitting position. She grunted and the look on her face said she didn't like what she was being told in the slightest. But this time, she didn't object, or argue, or... anything.

And so the two waited patiently for Sio Murakami to wake up.

---

Battle Results
 
Noburu Nakano's Persona, Kohryu, has leveled up!
- Agility has increased by 1!
- Luck has increased by 2!
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Prince Arjuna
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-insert something witty here-

Sio was unconscious when she was brought out of the ruins. She breathed faintly as she was brought out. She didn't notice the appearance of the Reaper due to her being unconscious. If only she was unconscious, she might be able to find some new ideas, which was a shame because she was unconscious.

So, a few minutes after they were out of the ruins, finally Sio slowly regained her consciousness. She could barely see anything as she slowly opened her eyes, due to her eyes being injured after overcharging herself with her electricity. Despite that, she could sense the presence of Noburu and June near her. She assumed that she was already outside.

"Outside?" Sio spoke weakly. "Am I outside?" she asked. Now that she thought about the things that happened to her earlier, she somehow felt silly. She somehow get herself involved in someone's business, and she could only hope that she didn't get involved too much to care for anything. Well, too late for that, she thought to herself. She tried to get up, but her body was still too weak to even move without support.
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