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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 20, 2009 22:18:10 GMT -5
Souji once again fired off a Megidolaon, taking out the maya he'd attacked and the two nearby. He had to admit Izanagi-no-Okami was more than a bit overpowered, and those Megidolaons took a lot of strain on his body, but as long as it did the job, it would work.
"You need to keep a better eye out, Minato," Souji said. Minato looked down.
"Sorry," Minato said. Souji put a hand to his head.
"Forget it. Just lead the way. You know your way around here better than the three of us." Souji sighed as Minato turned around again and started running through Tartarus. Souji ran after. They were always running everywhere, why was that?
It didn't take long for them to reach the stairs. While Minato was running, Souji was able to see a few suitcases sitting in some hallways off to the side, but Minato didn't pause to open them. Why were there suitcases in Tartarus anyways? Maybe because it was the Hotel 24 hours of the day. Yeah, probably.
"You're all so slow," Minato said.
"...Speak for yourself... what were you in, Track?"
"Yes."
"Well, I was in Band. I didn't get too much exercise except in the TV World." Souji said. "Let's take a short breather."
((OOC: Actually, I always did Kendo, but LET'S IGNORE THAT FACT FOR A MOMENT.))
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 20, 2009 22:28:16 GMT -5
Atem did the best for keeping up with Souji. Yuugi did the worst, and arrived after Souji even. He put his hands on his upper thighs and drew in several breaths. He wasn't the most atheletically fit teenager in the world, and he wasn't even 5'1" - It was no wonder he had trouble keeping up. As for clubs, he'd never been in any. For how strict his high school had been at first, it was one of the few things that hadn't been required.
"Partner, are you alright?"
"I'm... I'm fine. Just not used to running that much..." He took in a few more breaths, "Can we afford to stop? I mean... please don't think... ah... well..."
Atem shook his head, "I know," he sighed, "I have to say electronic clocks were one of the best inventions of the modern world. It's amazing how much we struggle without them. I'd say we have just under forty minutes left, though. Can we spare the time to rest?"
Yuugi walked to a wall and used it to sit down. At least Atem had understood. He wasn't trying to rush Minato's death. Far from it. But he didn't want to run the risk of... what would happen if they were in Tartarus when the Hour ended, anyhow? He chose not to ask.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 20, 2009 22:55:00 GMT -5
Minato looked at the three people around him. Right, Souji had been a nerd and Yuugi hadn't been in any clubs at all. And Atem, well, there was no telling. "Alright, we can rest."
Souji leaned up against one of the walls of this little room. "I dated a girl I met in Band for a bit. I eventually broke up with her because, I dunno, it just felt weird. She was this tiny girl, about as tall as Yuugi. She was cute, but... yeah."
"You're telling us this now?"
"Trying to make conversation. What about you? Didn't you date all of the girls on your team at once?" Souji asked. Minato flushed so red that had any salad been nearby, it would have caught fire. And then exploded..
"Break time's over. Let's go," Minato said as he started marching up the stairs. Plus, he didn't feel good about staying on one floor as long as they had.
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 20, 2009 23:03:34 GMT -5
"...is it just me or was he scared of something?"
Atem shook his head, "I don't know, but if he thinks we need to move on we should probably listen."
Yuugi was right. Minato had seemed agitated as they hung on the stairs. Almost as if he expected something to jump out at him. And despite not being able to use his Persona, Souji would be able to cover him. So it mean it was something else.
Yuugi pushed himself to his feet, "I was never in any clubs..." He turned the same level of red Minato had been, "I-I-I've never been on a date either...."
He was suddenly heading for the stairs very quickly, and was up before Atem or Souji. Atem headed after him, but stopped near the top of the stairs to make sure Souji was coming. He'd head up once he was sure.
Atem had been on one "modern" date, but it hadn't really been a "date" per se. He still wondered if Anzu had secretly been treating that outing as one, but he had treated it platonically like he always did with her. She had liked him out of confusion towards him and Yuugi, after all.
As for what he thought about Yuugi's reaction, it had caused him to lose some of his game face. Souji had mentioned he'd stopped dating that one girl cause she was short... at least girls were considered normal when they were shorter than guys. Not a single girl at Domino High School had been shorter than Yuugi, and most fairly well towered over him.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 20, 2009 23:46:00 GMT -5
It hadn't just been the fact that she was short. It was how she had overly depended on him. He just felt like he'd been toying with her when she dated him. Of course, Souji had neglected mentioning this little fact to the other guys. Ayane was... she was still a bit of a sore point. Why had he brought her up?
She lived abroad now anyways. Even when Souji went to visit Inaba again, he wouldn't see her.
Seeing his ex probably wouldn't go over well with Yukiko anyways.
Souji suddenly felt a cold chill, and got the urge to run up the stairs. He appeared on the next floor...
And he wasn't next to Minato.
"Uh-oh."
-------------
Minato looked around. Damn. He'd been afraid of this. Tartarus occasionally did this when you came out on another floor, and just his luck, it decided to do this the floor before the one they'd fought Takaya on. Just after Takaya's floor was the roof. It was a dang good thing only a few floors had windows. If anyone looked down at the ground now, they'd get vertigo. Tartarus was insanely tall.
Now that Minato thought about it, the teleporter that went up to Takaya's floor hadn't been working either... He'd activated it before the fight with Ryo-- Nyx Avatar, but it wasn't working now.
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 20, 2009 23:56:18 GMT -5
"...Atem?"
Yuugi could only see a few feet ahead of him. Either Minato had neglected to mention that the highest floors of Tartarus had a mist to them, or this was out of the ordinary. No... not mist. This was suspiciously like the TV World. That thought caused Yuugi to blanch. He hadn't shown up in the TV World, right? The walls were the same, he was thankfully close enough to one to see it. But why would fog be here?
He realized he was breathing quickly. He mentally kicked himself and got to breathing normally. Panicking wouldn't do any good right now. He looked down at the Pendant. He and Atem hadn't been on speaking terms when Jounouchi had been kidnapped by Bandit Keith and his followers... at most he'd known about "mou hitori no boku". But the Pendant had shown that it would work for him. He carefully grabbed it with both hands and held it close as he closed his eyes. He didn't see it pulse with energy, but he opened his eyes and began running forward. He kept one hand on the wall and his sword ready. He made sure Nefertum's card was in easy access.
-----
Atem's eyes widened as he realized he was seperate from the group. And the area was covered in the fog of the TV World. He knew he was still in Tartarus, the walls and floor were the same. His visibility was fairly good, but it didn't change the fact that they were seperated... he and Yuugi weren't technically strong enough to be on their own. They had agreed to meet at the stairs if they got seperated, but his fog...
He began walking forward, keeping the spear at ready. He held Temu's card above his head before crushing it, the shattered glass like effect causing his Persona to appear above him. It was easier to sense Shadows with ones Persona out.
Souji could handle himself, but he worried about Minato... and more than that, Yuugi. Yuugi's strength was that of heart... would he be okay? Atem's gaze narrowed. He couldn't let his partner get hurt. He had to find him, and fast. He broke his trot as he began running, trying to stay focused on sensing any shadows.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 21, 2009 0:18:11 GMT -5
As Minato walked through the fog (running was impossible now; he had to be especially alert for shadows), he could tell this wasn't normal. And not only that, but that he couldn't see that well. Yuugi and Atem, their visibility was probably nil. Souji could see the best in the fog out of the four of them, Minato's visibility, to be honest, sucked. The fog was really thick here.
He took a left, and suddenly, Minato found himself back where he started.
Teleporting? What next, moving floors? Wait, shit, no, don't think that. It'll happen. Minato looked around. Alright, Minato, think. You can't get up to the roof. That teleporter from before wasn't working, so it probably means that the floor above's flooded with fog too. Probably pouring off of the roof. Besides, the Fall's not even here yet. All you'll probably find up there is Ryo-- shit, no, don't think that. Don't even think of it. The fact is the moon hasn't turned into some weird... I don't even know. So Nyx hasn't appeared in our world. Nyx is the mother of all Shadows. So Nyx would probably rest in the abode of the shadows. And that's...
Minato's thoughts shot to what Yuugi had been saying about his Death Clock. No. This had "bad idea" written all over it.
But if you don't do it, everyone will die. And you're the only one who can...
Minato looked around, and then headed in a different direction than he had before. He needed to find an emergency exit teleporter.
----------------
Souji had whipped out his glasses. He'd been right, this was the same fog from the TV World. He needed to find his way through the fog.
There was a snarl from behind Souji as a large behemoth of a Shadow came up on him. Souji turned around and smashed his tarot card, bringing out Izanagi-no-Okami, but the Persona faded away again as the Shadow's powerful chained fist punched Souji into the wall.
Ow. That hurt, Souji said. He'd heard something snap when he hit the wall... never a good sign.
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 21, 2009 0:28:57 GMT -5
Yuugi had a feeling... he knew it was from the Pendant, but beyond that it was just a gut feeling. Atem was nearby. With three friends spread across the floor, he wasn't quite sure how he knew- scratch that. He knew how he knew. But now really wasn't the time to be thinking about that. The annoyed look that spread on his face as his cheeks got hot didn't make the blush fade at all.
Seriously though. Here he was in a position to get killed and he was feeling awkward over a nonexistant relationship. He stopped and covered his face with his palm. It wasn't really a facepalm, just more of a sign that he was exasperated. No wonder no one believed he was seventeen. Between his height and... he looked up. He could have sworn Atem just passed in front of him.
"Atem, is that you!?"
-----
Atem had already ordered Temu to use Zionga on the shadow he felt in front of him. Felt being the operative word, as he couldn't make it out visually for nothing. The lightning was bright enough that even through the fog Souji, who was past the shadow that Atem had just attacked, would see it. Atem lost his focus for a split second as he heard Yuugi's voice - Souji would have also heard it.
When the shadow turned to retaliate against Atem, he was able to regain focus quick enough to narrowly move his upper body out of the way of the fist. His feet didn't even move, it was a lean more than a true dodge. And it did manage to just barely clip the side of his face, causing a slight cut. He glared and took the opportunity to take several quick steps backwards, holding out the spear in front of him like a makeshift shield. The shadows could see just fine in the fog, this wasn't a good situation...
"Partner, I'm over here!" he shouted.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 21, 2009 0:41:13 GMT -5
Souji used his sword to help him come to his feet. Good thing the crystal wasn't so hard that he couldn't stick the sword into it to support himself. As for that snap he'd heard earlier... broken leg. Definitely broken leg.
"Yuugi, Atem! I'm over here too!" Souji yelled. As best as he could while supporting himself at the same time, he brought out his Persona card and summoned Izanagi-no-Okami again. "Ziodyne!"
A much more powerful electric bolt than the one Atem had shot out hit the Shadow, distracting it once more. Okay, the shadows in here were strong.
More concerning, where was Minato? He wasn't supposed to die until tomorrow, but...
---------------
Minato reappeared in the lobby of Tartarus. Compared to how the floor he'd just been on had been, it was refreshing to be in a room where he didn't have to strain his eyes. Blinding white crystal plus fog? Not a good combo.
But he had a job to do. That was why he'd come to Tartarus. And so, he walked over to the TV. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the TV. Once again, nothing happened for a few seconds, but when Minato pressed his hand on the TV screen, it began to give away and give off that black and white ripple effect. And suddenly, he fell through.
It felt like he'd fallen for an eternity before he landed very painfully on a set of marble floors. A set incredibly similar to the one in the room he'd just come from.
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 21, 2009 0:49:52 GMT -5
Yuugi used the comination of the Pendant's power, the voices, and good old fashioned gut feelings to come up beside Atem. However, he almost tripped over his own legs as he felt a shift in the feel of the floor via the Pendant. It actually saved him from an attack by the shadow. While Souji couldn't really see it, he stood a chance at his power level of sensing that the Ziodyne had done some extreme damage to their opponent.
"Temu!" Atem shouted, and another Zionga flew at the mostly concealed shadow. One more hit would probably do it, but Atem was concerned about Yuugi, "Yuugi, what happened!"
"I can't sense Minato-kun anymore!"
Which considering where they were at and what they were doing could have two intepertations. One was the correct one. He was no longer on the floor. The other... well, it wasn't a good thought by any means. Yuugi didn't think of this. The way he was getting used to the Pendant, he didn't think Minato was dead. But he failed to say that.
Atem knew what Yuugi meant, he'd had the Pendant for long enough. Souji might not. But they had the fight to deal with right now...
-----
....where exactly am I?
Wherever he was, the fog was fairly thick. It didn't seem natural. Like the area surrounding him did? Well... it kind of did. Which was insane. I mean, it certainly wasn't normal looking. But it seemed almost like he belonged here. He could see fairly far ahead of himself... it wasn't a blinding fog by any means.
That was another thing. He was inside. Did someone leave a fog machine on or something? He walked along, looking around. It wasn't cold or anything and he didn't hear a fog machine. He glanced at the wall his hand was resting against. He couldn't quite remember how he'd gotten here. But he was the type that went with the flow of things - He was sure he'd figure it out. Maybe he was dreaming? The place seemed surreal enough for that.
He tugged at the almost stupidly long yellow hanging around his neck to loosen it a bit. He didn't like it very tight. There was definently a feeling that he belonged here... while at the same time he didn't. He shook his head.
Definently something familiar but foreign. Hmmm....
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 21, 2009 1:16:31 GMT -5
Minato's footsteps echoed on the floor as he walked. This was definitely Tartarus. So this was where it had come out in the TV World. True, he couldn't see worth a damn, but it didn't look like there were any shadows wandering around. None at all, in fact.
He had a good feeling about this as he proceeded up the stairs. Never noticing the shadows scurrying away as he got close.
He had to find Nyx. He had to find her, and put a stop to her... well, probably not for good. But for long enough.
--------------
Souji went pale. Can't sense him anymore?!
The Zionga hit had been enough to take down the Minotaur, sending it to the ground. Souji let go of his sword, landing painfully back on the ground.
"I'm okay," he said unconvincingly. "...crap, even with the glasses, I can't see through this fog..."
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 21, 2009 1:22:58 GMT -5
The shadow vanished in that familiar miasma as it hit the ground. As well as he could in the fog, Yuugi stumbled over to Souji. Atem used the sounds to guide his way over. He was practically on top of the silver-haired teen before he could see him. He looked down at Souji's leg.
"That looks broken," he stated. That was a nice way to put it. It bent in a fashion legs weren't capable. Yuugi pulled out Nefertum's card and crushed it without any sort of flair.
"I don't know if... wait. Um..." Yuugi shook his head and Nefertum let its ankh-staf hover between its open palms. A surge of energy larger than any it had previously used reached out to Souji.
It wasn't Diarahan, Souji's leg wouldn't be fully healed. But the Diarama meant the break was now merely a really severe (and likely ugly) bruise. It would still hurt, but at least it could support him. Souji would find Atem's hand all but touching his face. Atem was offering to help him up, but he wanted the taller teenager to see the hand.
"Did that help, Seta-kun...?"
If Minato had left the floor.... Yuugi didn't want to think about it. They were pretty throughly stuck here. At this rate...
"Souji, do you know what happens when the Dark Hour ends and one is still in Tartarus?" Atem asked. It was a long shot, but he knew Yuugi wouldn't know. As it was, they were extremely short on time.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 21, 2009 1:35:28 GMT -5
Souji looked down at his leg. Well, it definitely wasn't broken now. He needed more calcium intake in his diet if it had only taken a hit like that to break it, though. He gratefully took Atem's hand.
"Thanks, to both of you," Souji said. When Atem asked his question, he went back to an old conversation he'd had with Minato back at the cabin, while they were on that ill-fated vacation. He went pale again. "Yeah. The Dark Hour continues for us. If we're in here for longer than an hour, we'll just skip over to the next Dark Hour. Because Tartarus doesn't exist for more than an hour." They didn't have long until the Dark Hour was over. There wasn't time for them to find that emergency exit Minato had talked about in this fog.
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Post by mugenginga on Nov 21, 2009 1:39:25 GMT -5
It could be worse, I suppose, thought Atem.
"We should look for the exit then. Even if we can't get out tonight we don't want to be stuck in here for days."
"K1-kun might show up. Um... I sent him the same e-mail I sent Souji. You know about it, right?" He was addressing Atem.
Atem hesitated. Truth was, for all they knew K1 would be returning to his world the day after this Hour. But he showed a tact somewhat rare for the former Pharaoh, "I won't deny the possibility. But we still need to look for the teleporter."
Yuugi nodded, "Seta-kun, maybe you should go in front? Your Persona is stronger..."
(OOC: I plan on having them show up in the lobby right before K1 shows up there tomorrow.)
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Nov 21, 2009 1:53:00 GMT -5
Souji nodded. He could also see better in the fog than Yuugi and Atem could, so it would be better if he took the lead. This all was very concerning. Minato had disappeared somewhere and the higher up floors of Tartarus were filled with fog. Not a good sign.
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