| Dancing at Dawn; [Invitation Only - see associated Plotting thread linked in first post] | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Dec 24 2017, 01:26 AM (993 Views) | |
| Czernobog | Dec 27 2017, 11:53 AM Post #11 |
|
Best Influence.
|
Shin entered and looked at the both of them -- Eri immediately started talking, but there seemed to be a dark cloud over Yamada. He wondered just how bad things had gotten, though he understood that his lack of decisive action had put her under pressure, and most likely was at least contributing to whatever she was suffering from. He would have to redouble his efforts. He felt a complicated cocktail of emotions as the recording played: the emotions that others expected of him -- irritation, frustration, a measure of distant concern -- were all present, but he also felt fear in a way that had been somewhat foreign to him for a long time. Generally, they were able to brute-force a solution to most problems, but if the enemy could alter their memories, how were they supposed to plan against that? He remembered an old western movie he had seen in a back alley theater before he had become a cop -- something about people captured and held as lab rats in a city where it was always night, and their captors were these hairless, soft-spoken things that would periodically cause the city to grind to a halt and come out from underground to inject new memories into their catatonic test subjects. Every time they stopped the city and the people in it, they would gather together in a vast hall and their leader would instruct them to "Shut it down. Shut it all down." Of course, none of this meant anything. It wasn't as if the media he had consumed held the secret to solving the puzzle or that it gave him that much comfort when considering the options available to them. "If this is the case," he said, "then we don't need to worry about exposing the enemy to this information, we need to preserve it and transmit it to people who can use it. Can you send it to the Bedlam staff?" He hated the thought of punting this off to a bunch of teenagers, but they were the ones centralized to get the information out there. As much as it left a bad taste in his mouth, he couldn't take point on that right now. It was around this time that Eri received a message on Bedlam. |
![]() |
|
| Nonsequitur | Dec 27 2017, 03:17 PM Post #12 |
|
Yellow Bubblegum
|
She had already played enough catch up to figure out what was going on from the hints provided to her. Actually hearing it for herself still impacted her to a degree that frightened her. Her hands were shaking, she had no words to describe this situation. Even the phone in her hands eventually fell. The clattering sound startled her, but also seemed to provide a moment of clarity. Everything seemed to melt away and it was all quite clear. She sighed and bent over to pick up the phone. She answered Seiji's customary call with a simple request >The next unfamiliar Persona you detect of a certain degree of power, keep its location in mind and then escape notice at all costs. As for the conversation at hand. "She would spring this upon us with no forewarning. Had I known, I definitely could have set up an ambush to eliminate Control for good." Maki almost had a dogmatic devotion to her concept of justice. Built upon the foundations of due processes and the rights of all. That she started talking seriously about a summary killing of a criminal would have been especially jarring to anyone that actually knew her. "The recording will be most useful after the fact. Our first priority should be cutting away the source of the cancer. I'm afraid I don't have any ideas for countermeasures against what Control can do yet, maybe explosives? Someone with a high-powered rifle fired from beyond his detection range? Naturally, I don't expect him to ever show up in a convenient place again." This…aberrant needed to be wiped off the face of the earth. And the sooner, the better. |
![]() |
|
| The One True Nobody | Dec 27 2017, 03:45 PM Post #13 |
|
"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
|
Eri checked her phone with a detached expression as Shin began to speak, then Maki. As she picked it up off the stand, she made a point to stop the audio and return it to the proper time for playback. She bristled slightly when Maki utter the words had I known. She looked over at the woman with a thin-lipped, grim look. "Of course she sprung it on us without warning," Eri said in a hollow voice. "If she'd tried to tell anyone, they either wouldn't have believed her or it would've meant someone else trying to find out if it was true. And Kyo-chan wouldn't have wanted to put someone else in danger. But she also knew that if she told someone, no one would let her put herself in danger. And he didn't show up in a convenient place. She chose this location for her office to lure him here. It was a trap from day one. But there are others involved... I've sent out messages already..." Eri stood, quickly finishing her message and sending it. She slipped it into her pocket. "Chika-chan has access to my cloud. I've just made sure our Black Hood defector can access the audio and spread it among any contacts she still has in the organization..." Eri said in a clipped, clinical voice, turning her face back to Shin. "Our goal now is not to eliminate Control. I asked Kyo if that was what she wanted to do. She said it would be too unpredictable. We don't know if he has any relations, or a significant other, or close friends who also know. If we were to kill him now, without the others having a clue of what he is and what he's probably been doing to them, he would become a martyr. They'd lose their ability to scan us but not necessarily their organization or their drive to kill. Kyo-chan's worry was that if that happened, they'd start targeting normal humans by mistake. So far things have only been kept under control because they can tell Persona-users from non-users and Control has insisted on not harming normal people." Eri looked to Maki. "Like with Etsuko-chan at Suzuki-san's house..." She frowned slightly, then. And blinked. Only then did it occur to her that Maki suggesting that Control be elliminated wasn't in line with what she knew of the woman. She opened her mouth to ask about it, then had second thoughts. Maybe Maki was just stressed. She looked to Shin questioningly, wondering if he had picked up on it or if it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. |
![]() |
|
| Czernobog | Dec 27 2017, 04:31 PM Post #14 |
|
Best Influence.
|
"Well, points for forethought in one area," Shin admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There are so many problems with this situation...but I'll keep a lid on that for now." He looked around the room, trying to figure out probable entry points. They would most likely come in through the door, but it would be a bad idea to assume that they wouldn't look for alternate ways in. For a moment, he considered that Kyo probably made a good choice of location for such a stand, but it would have been much better if they had known that there was going to be a life-or-death fight. He probably wouldn't have worn a suit. "Let's focus on getting through any and all impending violence before we worry about. We need tactics, not strategy." He looked around the room, and then moved to the closer of the two couches, and crouched to hook his fingers under it. "Someone help me move one of these couches. We'll barricade the door." |
![]() |
|
| Nonsequitur | Dec 27 2017, 05:21 PM Post #15 |
|
Yellow Bubblegum
|
"Right." She clearly wasn't paying much attention to Eri's warnings. That was another odd thing for Maki, she never let a detail slip by. So either she was still off balance, or conscientiously choosing to ignore it. Instead she helped Shin move the couch into place. She realized something, after the couch was already in place, she reached for where she kept her gun and found…nothing. A brief thrill of panic fluttered though her chest, but then she recalled. She never carried her service piece except when she was on duty, and the sawed off that she used when she needed to go to the ruins or other unofficial capacities had to be repaired. As there were very few legitimate gunsmiths in the country, she had to ship it to him. Currently it was probably in transit to Tokyo. "I don't have a firearm on me…I suppose I'll have to improvise." Yet another failing of hers. Why did she bother to adhere to rules when it was those that ignored them that got the results? She glowered and started looking for a suitable improvised weapon. As well as getting a fire extinguisher. One exit and no collateral damage to worry about meant there was a very high chance they'd simply try to smoke them out like the arson at the home of Ito. They had to be ready for that. "What are the current weaknesses of your personas? Most likely they'll attempt to exploit those first, so we can plan accordingly." |
![]() |
|
| The One True Nobody | Dec 27 2017, 10:25 PM Post #16 |
|
"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
|
Eri's expression went somewhat blank when Shin mentioned foresight. Wait, foresight. Hang on... She looked back at her daughter, frowning somewhat. It didn't seem like Kyo to march into what she had without a plan. And Kyo certainly had a plan, but the idea that Kyo would have risked not walking out of it didn't fit, either. Kyo was quite attached to life, unlike the Russian or the other green-haired girl, and on top of that, Kyo knew that harm coming to her would risk destabilizing her boyfriend, who was not the picture of mental stability as it was. And there were other things Kyo had done recently that didn't make much sense in light of this, either. What had been the point of that call for sparring partners the other day? On the surface, it was just a little contest to find someone she could pass Death's Compass off to, but Kyo didn't need to test people in fights for that kind of thing, and it wasn't quite her style to do so. Unless the point had been just to get herself fighting for a while... ...To remember how to fight after she had suffered memory damage? Eri looked up, blinking. But if she had been making plans to preserve her memories, then surely she would have thought of a way to get her memories back after losing them, right? So maybe it wasn't permanent, or didn't have to be. Maybe... ...Maybe now wasn't the time to think about it. Shin spoke of focusing on getting through the violence, then, drawing Eri out of her ponderings. "No," she said. "This is where it happens. Now, before Control has a chance to realize it was our intention and cook up some story about us discrediting him for faking an audio recording. When they come at this office, we need to keep them here, and we need to play back the audio where all of them can hear it. To that end..." Eri moved to the other side of the couch as she spoke, but instead of immediately taking hold, she turned on the spot, her eyes sweeping the walls as if surveying the city beyond. "...Several Persona-users of lower power tiers will take up positions in public places not far away. Those calls have already been made. They had to be less powerful. Kyo's idea was that if Control detected them he would assume they were there by coincidence, enjoying a meal at the beef bowl or browsing the convenience store. He wouldn't know that they would be ready cut off the Black Hoods' escape as soon as they attacked. If we can entrap them in the back lot long enough to play the audio... where there's no line of fire for any of Controls gunners to interrupt from a distance, what do you guess would happen, Inspector?" Eri looked to him, smiling a grim smile. "They might not trust us, but I hardly think they'd want to risk running back into the arms of Control. At the very least, some of them might surrender. That's the reason for the back lot: if we provoke a surrender, they might try to shoot one of their own again." She bent to grip her side of the couch. "The window is reinforced. The building is too closely built with its neighbors for them to risk starting a fire here. The front window is reinforced, but not bulletproof, so we should avoid it. Eventually they'll be forced into the alley and the back lot. Once they're there, if the others I've called cut them off, then they'll be in a situation where they are at the very least delayed from leaving. We try to bottle in as many as we can, and then we play the audio. The phone and speaker have their own power source and the connection is wired; even if they cut the power and block mobile signals, it should still function." She looked to Maki again. At this point she paused, frowning in a worried way, wondering again about what she thought she'd noticed. The woman didn't seem all that receptive to what she was saying, and not in a way that suggested it was safety concerns on her mind, either. "My Persona is weak to ice and I'm one of the two they're probably prepared for. Kyo-chan did not have a weakness. So it's possibly they'll only have dry ice. But don't count on it. I don't think they have a reason to expect you two to be here, but they may have still guessed that you'd be the first people I called, or they may have a supply van that they can use to adapt their equipment before they approach. They're operating under the..." (her voice shook slightly) "...assumption that I'm a frantic mother panicking over the state of my daughter. They won't expect deliberate plan. At least, I hope that's the case." Eri looked to Shin again. The quick motion of her head had the effect of throwing her already-frazzled hair over her face, partially obscuring the left side. "As long as we keep the curtains of the window drawn and stay out of their direct line, we won't have have anything to fear from that direction. The biggest problem is knowing whether or not there are enough of the Black Hoods in the lot, and whether they're being trapped there yet. I need to know when I can risk breaking out with the phone and speakers and doing my part." It seemed that the woman hadn't even considered asking either of the two police officers to handle this dangerous part of the plan in her place, and there was an edge to her voice that suggested that she wanted to do it herself. |
![]() |
|
| Czernobog | Dec 28 2017, 11:22 AM Post #17 |
|
Best Influence.
|
"I'm currently...without my persona," Shin admitted as the three of them slid the couch into place. "But I have a fully loaded revolver and we have the high ground. You have security cameras, right? We can use those to gauge things until they cut the power." The scope of the world in Shin's mind shrank down from the city to the building, centered on this room they were in. Beyond these four walls was the outer dark of here-there-be-dragons. Inside was relatively safety, but that door was a cork on all of the danger outside preparing to rush in. There were other faultlines, but they would try the door first. That would give them a chance to strike. They were effectively bottled up, but the enemy was making a rushed daylight raid on a well-defended position. He didn't have any spare ammunition with him -- he had a not-quite-regulation speed loader that was down in his car, and thus on the moon for their purposes -- but he and Maki had their Taihojutsu training, at least. Of course, they probably wouldn't be scooping any black hoods up and bungie-cording them into futon mattresses. They had to find a weapon for Maki first. That was the priority. He didn't care about the plan as a whole so much as making it from step one to step two, and then from step two to step three. Each interval between was probably going to be about ten seconds, but that was fine. Surviving for ten seconds, withstanding something -- anything -- for ten seconds was easily achievable. They just had to string them together like beads on a string. Shin patted down his pockets, and fished out a pair of mint green ear plugs, pinching one between his fingers, and put it into his left ear. He had heard somewhere that you were more likely to trust someone who spoke from your right side, into your right ear. He needed to trust both of these women implicitly for however long this battle lasted, for however many intervals of ten seconds they had. "I believe I understand the plan, Charinko-san, and once we prove too difficult to strike down with their normal methods, more should arrive, so don't worry abou that," Shin said. "I support you in this for now, but I may change my mind once the danger passes. Now what do we have on hand? Is there anything Yamada can use as a weapon?" |
![]() |
|
| Nonsequitur | Dec 30 2017, 05:36 AM Post #18 |
|
Yellow Bubblegum
|
She scanned the office for something suitable. If they were the standard, four-legged wooden chairs, she probably could have broken them to use one of those as a makeshift truncheon. It wasn't the case, so she had to be more creative. Anything balanced and sufficiently sturdy and weighty could work. Even a letter opener could be effective once if used correctly. She reached into pockets. As if a gun or even a baton was going to appear spontaneously. No such luck. She still had her fists, if it came to it, and her Persona. She wasn't totally helpless. Despite the imminent conflict, she remained calm. Her mind was free t linger on things beyond their immediate risk of life and limb. This plan had drawn in other people. Eri was going to insist on pushing forth the most critical-and most dangerous- part for herself. A a cold hard lump had deposited itself in her stomach and a livid heat had seemed to radiate from her neck upwards. She was just another piece on the board. To be told only what she needed to to make the proper moves. "Charinko-san. Surely there are spare weapons kept here, aren't they?" The stated purpose of the office beyond being an elaborate ploy for Control was eventually supposed to be a centralized mission control for further ruins actions, wasn't it? |
![]() |
|
| The One True Nobody | Dec 30 2017, 05:53 AM Post #19 |
|
"...does this clockwork hand follow you... or guide you?"
|
Eri looked to Shin in surprise and alarm. Clearly she hadn't known about Shin's Persona, and might not have called him there if she had. She was so thrown off by this that she couldn't even muster an expression of gratitude at Shin's declaration of support, and it took her several seconds to realize (as she tried to remember if Kyo had stocked the office with any weapons) that she had to power the computer back on if they were to make use of the cameras. Why hadn't she thought of leaving the computer on so they could see if the enemy approached before they cut the power? Kyo would have thought of it. Kyo would have — Beep. It was the sound of the computer powering on and going through POST. Eri spun toward the side room. She could see, through the open door, Kyo standing next to the desk, leaning on it with one arm, staring blearily at the monitor as the boot-up sequence began. "Someone said somethin'... something about the cameras," said Kyo in a grumpy-morning-person voice. "Those aren't much good if the computer's off. Why'd you shut down the thing, mom? Sleep mode. It's a thing. We aren't living in the eighties anymore, y'know." The older woman was so relieved to see her daughter awake again that she didn't even care that her daughter had just made a crack about her age. She rushed toward the door, but before she could get around the couch, Kyo had already walked out. She was swaying a little, and massaging her head, and her eyes weren't quite focused, but she looked around. "Mom, I think you keep the weapons in a big old box up at the top o' the bathroom closet..." Kyo said. "The combination's, uh... I think it was 119." "Right!" Eri said, rushing to a door on the other side of the office and wrenching it open. She paused, then looked back. "But... Kyo-chan, it was you who put those weapons there, wasn't it?" Kyo blinked owlishly and stared at her mother with that deadpan expression of hers, the one that told everyone around her in no uncertain terms how stupid she thought what she'd heard had been. Eri blushed and vanished into the bathroom. At this point, Kyo turned her eyes to the couch blocking the door, squinted at it, and then looked at Shin. "...Detective Imoto?" she mumbled. "Are we buckling down for the zombie apocalypse, or what? 'Cause I gotta say, I'd wish I'd been born in the American south if that's the case. More abandoned gun stores to raid. Perfect zombie-apocalypse-survivor country, yeah?" It probably would not escape Shin's notice that she had gotten his rank wrong. She didn't seem to have noticed Maki yet. |
![]() |
|
| Czernobog | Jan 2 2018, 05:47 PM Post #20 |
|
Best Influence.
|
Shin blinked. She knew him, but didn't know the situation. That was...unexpected. So perhaps "everything" had been a bit of an overstatement on the part of their mysterious mastermind. Still, this presented a unique problem: how to keep Kyo Charinko out of the line of fire as they were attacked by a horde of zealots out for their blood. He had to pick his words carefully. "Not exactly," Shin said, doing his best to sound patient. "We'll explain everything when the danger's passed. Stay back, and keep away from the windows. It's essential." He swallowed. "Please." He looked back at the other two, from Maki to Eri. He took a breath, and tried to think. What would Solomon want him to do? "I think, when this is all over and done with, we all need to sit down and have a thorough discussion about operational procedures. Charinko-san -- please keep an eye on the cameras. Kyo, please show Maki the weapons." Shin leaned back next to the couch, resting his head against the wall. It was probably just paranoia, but he thought he could feel footsteps vibrating up the structure. |
![]() |
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Uptown Nagashima · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
2:45 AM Jul 11
|






2:45 AM Jul 11