For Whom The Bel Tolls (Invite Only)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

((OOC: Me and Mugen only, Persona 3/4, Devil Survivor, blah blah blah you people all know this already if you've been following this plot))

Keiichi Kimura, Naoya Kimura, and Souji Seta moved through the woods leading to the castle on the outskirts of Void City. Despite the two Kimuras insisting that Souji stay behind, the silver haired teen still followed. He was concerned for both twins, especially Kaini, but more, he was worried about how K1 would react when they reached where Kaini was being held. The fact was, Keiichi had a dark side to his personality that seemed to come out more when Kaini was brought up. The way things had gone at Himitsu's shop (a place that both Kimuras seemed to practically despise) was proof enough of that.

K1 was in a bad mood. Souji was still following them. Yuugi and Atem had told at least Souji the truth. Souji probably told the rest of the group. And then he'd woken up in Himitsu's shop. And THEN he'd found out his twin had been kidnapped. It was all not the most pleasant way to wake up from Apathy Syndrome. The one thing he could be grateful at this point for was that it was still a full moon, so there was plenty of moonlight to see by.

As the three approached the castle, K1 swore. It looked like the drawbridge was up.

"...I don't have any demons with Phantasma on me," K1 said to Naoya. The implied meaning was that he didn't have any strong demons with Phantasma, as other than the demons he used for battle, like Cerberus and Astaroth, he only kept fusion fodder on him. If Belphegor was waiting on the other side of that drawbridge, it would take him too much time to switch out the fusion fodder demon before Belphegor attacked, and he wouldn't doubt it if Belphegor had that damned Beast Eye ability.

[mugenginga]

(OOC: Word of warning to those following this. This is likely to be a violent thread, and a soon to arrive scene is going to... let's just say be "ideologically sensitive" as dA would call it. You've been warned.)

Naoya didn't seem upset at K1's comment. It meant Souji would have significantly more trouble following them, and if the teen thought he didn't have his bases covered in that regard, he'd have to reassess Keiichi's intelligence. After all, Naoya tended to be the better prepared one.

He entered a few commands into his COMP and two demons appeared. Nyarlathotep, which Naoya apparently favored, and Ganesha, who had the Phantasma skill K1 had mentioned. Nyarlathotep turned to Souji and despite not having a face Souji would be able to sense the smirk from the creature. Almost like it knew him, which was a rather unsettling thought. Naoya raised an eyebrow at the interaction, but passed it off to focus on the situation at hand.

"Unless you can fly, it looks like we'll be leaving you here," It was no surprise Naoya didn't seem the least bit bothered by that, "Ganesha, get us in there."

(OOC: I'm pausing so Souji can react. I'll do THAT post next. X3)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji flinched with Nyarlathotep looked at him. To say that the how the demon had done that was unsettling was an understatement. It was just plain creepy.

"I can fly in," Souji said. He pulled out his tarot card, and flipped it around, changing the image on the card from Izanagi-no-Okami to that of Trumpeter. He then smashed the card, summoning the skeletal angel, who dropped one hand from its trumpet and grabbed Souji's hand before lifting into the air. "I'll see you both inside."

K1 scowled before turning to Naoya. "Alright, let's go then."

[mugenginga]

(OOC: IDEOLOGICALLY SENSITIVE)

Naoya seemed extremely annoyed, his expression actually matching Keiichi's. Although perhaps it should be said Keiichi's was matching his, but the parallel was creepy nonetheless. Ganesha placed one hand on Keiichi's shoulder and one hand on Naoya's, the one holding the sword being on Naoya's, and the pair vanished. Nyarlathotep took to the sky with its wings, it would arrive the same instant Ganesha materialized.

And the spectacle that awaited them would likely not be one any of the group would soon forget. Ever forget, more like. Souji would arrive seconds before the others, but he'd probably be in shock. As Ganesha rematerialized and Nyarlathotep came down to the ground (not landing, however. Just hovering) next to them, they would not miss the spectacle. After all, it was the only thing of note in the run down courtyard area of the castle. But it more than overcompensated for things.

Positioned near the back of the area, roughly directly ahead of the drawbridge, was a cross made of rather sturdy looking wood. Extremely sturdy in comparison to the castle around it, and rather well constructed. The part that made it a cross was higher up than most people would be used to seeing it, but for all its quality construction was really the least important part of the display.

Because Kaini was affixed to it. His arms were spread and hanging a bit limp. His palms were open and facing outwards, the slightly curled fingertips not far from the edge of the crossbeam. A metal spike was driven through the center of each palm. His feet were attached to the main beam of the cross, one on top of the other. They were held there with yet another metal spike, driven through both bare feet.

His shirt, which at one point had been a fairly pristine white, looked more like a bad attempt at pink tie dye with various locations in a much deeper red than others. Beyond that, it was a bit tattered, and it looked like the back had gotten the worst of it judging by the bits of loose fabric that hung down from there.

His pants were fairly bloodstained as well, although they didn't seem to be in the same tattered condition as his shirt. He was hanging limp from the cross, his head hung to the side and his eyes closed. It was completely unclear if he was a live or not, the position making it nearly impossible to see if his chest was rising and falling. Despite setting new records for being out cold, his face was contorted in pain and discomfort.

Blood seeped from various areas, far more than the obvious palms and feet. The dried blood from the hands and feet looked like they had trailed down the wounds. In fact, it looked like Kaini had been there for some time, especially considering the area at his pants. It looked like he hadn't been able to hold it. He was rather pale, lending more to the illusion of death. As it was an illusion. Kaini still lived... if only barely.

Naoya's eyes got wide, and it was more than likely that even Naoya had gone into shock at the display. Belphegor had crucified the teenager. His focus shot to Keiichi. The demon had pretty much figured out the best way to drive his brother berserk. He wouldn't be able to hold him back here.

For the level of how much shock Naoya was in, he actually looked taken aback. And made no effort to snark to anyone in the area. He was probably lucky his mouth wasn't hanging open.

Belphegor was nowhere to be seen....

(OOC: You know, I fail. We keep forgetting about those Death Clocks. The entire group has a read out of 0, including Kaini and Souji. Just thought I'd let you know. It also proves that Kaini is alive. But we can easily pass this off as K1 being too knotted up to notice that important little detail.)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

(OOC: Or, you know, being unable to see it well, what with it being dark outside and all that.)

Souji stepped back. He felt sick. Belphegor had actually crucified Kaini. And now the boy looked very dead. But as Souji looked over at Keiichi, he realized that now would be a good time to get out of his way. He looked like he was about to slaughter someone.

There was more than a look of shock on K1's face. It was one of murderous rage, that of one who had finally been driven over the brink. Because the moment K1 saw his twin hanging limp from the cross, his whole world pretty much shattered.

He didn't even realize he'd pulled out his COMP when he summoned a demon and an angel, Cerberus and Aniel. "Belphegor, get out here... Show your face why don't you..." he said in a low voice. K1 looked to his side and saw a plank of wood he could use as a weapon, probably left over from the cross's construction.

And then K1 finally exploded. "Get out here, you bastard! You're going to pay for this! The only one allowed to kill him is me!" Souji went pale. That last part was way too similar to something Naoya had yelled back at the cabin before the shadow had gotten to him.

"If you won't show yourself, fine then. I'll have my demons sniff you out and tear you to pieces, you son of a bitch." K1 looked like he was about to attack anyone who dared come near him. Souji backed away a bit more. This was NOT going well... and Souji had a feeling that win or lose, things were just going to get worse.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor had been alerted to the presence of the gatecrashers moments after Naoya and Keiichi had appeared. That is to say alerted by the spirits to the castle, which after a few days ago consisted only of the dark murderous type. Because he had already known about Abel's arrival. A Bel did not so easily miss the power of another, particularly if said other had several coursing through his spirit.

He looked mildly surprised when he felt the energy, and aggravated at the spirit for alerting him. Had he not felt the need to conserve his power for the impending fight, he likely would have destroyed the spirit. So Abel had finally shown up to rescue his brother? Belphegor stood up. Whatever had afflicted Abel must have passed. He wondered if Seth still lived. He'd been out there for just over two days now. He had to applaud the boy's spirit, if nothing else.

Belphegor was already in his true form, it was what he tended to traverse the castle in. He began quickly walking down the hall. The spirit had said Abel was pissed beyond description. The kind of rage rarely seen. He gestured to one of the ghosts and informed it to deliver a message to the most receptive demon. He'd meet Abel in a few moments. He also gave the spirit a few choice words to deliver...

The dark presence shot through the castle, rather upset at being ordered around. The prince of the lost kingdom had been weak, ordering him around was one thing. It was frustrating how much power the demon had over them. It hoped Abel won. It would mean they would be free once more...
-----

Naoya opened his COMP and checked something. Despite appearances, the mind link Kaini had established with his COMP was still active. Which meant the teenager still lived. He had taken a step away from Keiichi as he raged, though. In all of Abel's incarnations he'd met, he had never seen his brother act like this. While it was a sign his goal was proceeding well, it was a bit worrisome.

Nyarlathotep jerked its head up as a presence entered the area. With no orders from Naoya, it took a defensive stance as the presence approached it, and stopped. It was very likely Keiichi's demons could sense the presence. Naoya's other demon could. It was a ghost of the violent variety, and with his powers of Bel it was slightly likely even Keiichi could sense it. Only the demons would be able to understand it however. It began speaking to Nyarlathotep.

"Belphegor-sama has ordered I inform you he will be arriving to Abel's invitation shortly. He also told me to tell you that he finds Abel's reaction humourous, and that Seth is merely getting what he wished for," the ghost told the black demon.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

K1 turned when the ghost approached, but his inability to understand it caused him to return to facing forward. The boy was on his guard, and his fingers were tapping away at his COMP. If anyone got a good look, they would realize he was switching out skills for him to use, Amrita being switched out for Megidolaon. During the Lockdown, he'd tried to crack as many powerful skills as he could, and now they were coming to good use. Megidolaon would let him hit this bastard hard, as would have Agidyne, if it weren't for the fact that Belphegor reflected fire. Drain would let him pull away MP, so that eventually Belphegor couldn't cast. As for an Auto Skill, he'd switched out his usual Fortify for Blitzkrieg. He was going to end this fast. He wanted revenge. This bastard was going to die for what he did.

Souji looked toward Kaini. "Hey, let's get him down before Belphegor gets here. Or at least out of the battle area..." K1 froze. He'd forgotten all about Kaini still being there. Souji caught that rather easily. He had a feeling that once this was all said and done, Keiichi was going to completely break down. Which would likely not be a good thing.

Souji was still on his guard. He also had a feeling that once the battle started, K1 wouldn't care about friend or foe... just about driving that giant plank into Belphegor's skull.

[mugenginga]

Nyarlathotep turned towards Naoya, but the man held up his hand. He had sensed the other presence, and the COMP's reaction meant it wasn't a demon. Considering that even the guardians of Japan were considered demons, it pretty much limited it to a ghost. If the ghost had told Nyarlathotep something, it could wait. Whatever the demon said, Keiichi would hear. And the teenager was already enough unbalanced, he didn't need more "good" news.

Once he was sure Nyarlathotep got the message he gestured to Souji, "Help me with Kaini. Keiichi has the fighting part covered if Belphegor comes out while we're getting him. Nyarlathotep, stay close. I have no doubt Belphegor can attack from a distance, I want your Chaos Wave. Ganesha, get me close to Kaini," it would not go over Souji's head that he was not only being ordered around in a voice that was dead flat and left no room for questioning, but that Naoya showed no indications of helping him over to Kaini.

Ganesha placed its hand on Naoya's shoulder whie Nyarlathotep flew close enough for the Phantasma to effect him and in that familiar black mist the trio appeared next to Kaini. None of what Naoya had just done was likely to surprise Souji. There was a very slight difference that might, however. Souji was able to read people, he'd shown that dozens of times. And Naoya seemed to be speaking with a bit more of an edge to his flat commanding voice than usual... almost as if Keiichi's current personality was surprising even him.

Naoya had gotten to looking at how the nails wee driven in. He looked annoyed, hoping Souji would get over there soon. He wanted to talk to the teenager in a low enough voice that Keiichi couldn't hear. For one, he knew that Kaini lived. Something the others didn't seem to realize. He glanced over to Nyarlathotep, "What did that ghost tell you?" he said quietly.

Nyarlathotep relayed the message, taking his master's hint to speak very quietly. Souji stood a good chance at coming in on the "what Seth wished for" part. Naoya was still looking at the spikes. If they drew them out, it might cause the blood flow to pick up with enough speed to remove what little grasp on life Kaini still had. And he wasn't going to put himself at risk by switching out either of his demons for his main healer, Ameterasu. The fight would need fighters, not healers.

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji managed to get over to Naoya just as he was finishing up. If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, he probably wouldn't have run over there as fast as he had. As such, he managed to hear the last bit about Seth, if only just barely.

"What did he mean, Kaini's getting what he asked for?" Souji asked. He had a feeling, though... it wasn't an idea he wanted to think about. But considering how high up the cross went, it was going to be a bit of an exercise to get Kaini down. Maybe if he could get a Persona to do it... plus, from where he was standing now, it looked like Kaini was actually still alive.

K1 stayed on his guard. Any second now...

[mugenginga]

Naoya was completely unreadable. If anything, he looked a little annoyed, "Kaini wanted to be the Messiah in Keiichi's place... if he spoke of that to Belphegor, I have no doubt it lead to this. I'm more curious as to how Belpehgor learned the identity of his soul," it was the flat tone you might expect from a scientist casually watching an experiment. He walked to the back of the cross and tapped it with his knuckles, "We can't pull the spikes. Kaini is alive, and if we open the wounds the blood loss could kill him. I don't recommend healing him while he's up there, either."

Naoya narrowed his eyes, "He got strung up like this after being tortured," he pointed to the open woulds on Kaini's back. They looked like whip wounds, although Naoya didn't know if Souji would know that. And they weren't the only wounds. From the holes it was clear there had been many methods used on the teenager. Naoya shifted to looking a bit more annoyed, but he was still far... more accepting and detatched from the situation than anyone, let alone a family member, should be.

K1 was probably aware of the arrival of Belphegor moments before the doors to the main palace swung open. The energy rolling outwards was impossible to miss. Both of Naoya's demons looked up and he narrowed his gaze and held up his COMP as the doors swung open. Belphegor stood there, looking amused of all things. He glanced towards Souji and held out his hand. Megidolaon flew at Souji, Naoya, and the man's demons. Naoya winced as the attack hit him but held his ground. The same for his demons. However, Souji didn't have the benefit of a Harmonizer... and Kaini was in the same general area.

(OOC: As in Souji might want to create a barrier between Belphegor's attack and Kaini...)

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji hadn't said anything after Naoya spoke. The fact was, this was still a tense situation, and he needed time to think. Time he didn't have, as a moment before Belphegor swung the doors to the palace open, K1 suddenly stepped forward.

"Cerberus, Shield All!" K1 ordered. The demon howled, and a familliar yellowish aura surrounded K1's demons as Belphegor appeared. As the demon raised its hand again, Souji realized that Belphegor was about to attack again, and summoned Trumpeter. The Persona blew its trumpet, casting Marakukaja on Souji, Naoya, and Kaini. Not too soon, either, as the Megidolaon hit the group right afterwards.

"I'm going to kill you Belphegor," K1 said. He stepped forward as his COMP sent out a yellowish, greenish energy across his party. The world "Blitzkrieg" would flash across any nearby COMPs' screens as K1's COMP did so. "So why don't you just lay down and die? Make things easy? Or will I have to kill you slowly, like you did Kaini? String you up on a cross? Whip you? Drill holes into your body? Take your pick."

He held out his own hand and pressed a button on the COMP with his other before casting his own Megidolaon, which flew right at Belphegor.

[mugenginga]

Belphegor opened his mouth, but the blast that hit him... okay, that hurt. He took a few steps backwards, and not ones he had either wanted nor expected to take. He winced, but it came across as more of an angry scowl. The bits of robe that spiralled around his wrists seemed to get effected by gale force phantom winds. They were almost a blur. He glared at Ke.... Abel. This power was not something that one could pass off as merely the power of his physical being, after all.

"Your brother wanted to be the Messiah. Even before he knew why the hell he'd been given that task. I granted his wish," Belphegor smirked, "And he's not dead... yet."

As if by some cosmic irony of timing, Kaini twitched. The Megidolaon attack had in some ass backwards way woken him up. His already deep grimace of pain got deeper and he turned his head a bit, the twitching indicating he was trying to get more "comfortable", albeit in vain. His eyes remained closed, _{"Y-you said... you'd let me die..."}

Naoya scowled. He doubted Keiichi had missed that. And if the teenager suddenly became more concerned with protecting his twin than the fight at hand, things could go south. He held out his own hand and it was frighteningly apparent how much rage mode "Abel" resembled his older brother. The Megidolaon flew at Belphegor, boosted by Keiichi's actions. He snarled at Naoya, and while the attack hurt it didn't hurt as much as Keiichi's had appeared to. Souji might have an idea what was going on... after all, Persona were boosted by emotions, so why not demonic powers?

"Nyarlathotep, Deathbound! Ganesha, cut that cross up and get Kaini down!" If Kaini was put in danger, it would effect Keiichi's fight. Naoya was closer. He didn't like taking non combatants into account, but Keiichi had the power necessary to defeat Belphegor... it had to be him.

Belphegor was hit by the Deathbound thanks to Chaos Wave, but he made no reaction... it was pretty clear he was immune to it. He sensed what Cain's actions were for and fired another Megidolaon at Kaini. The act of talking and attacking as he had... yeah, he had Beast Eye. And things werne't looking good for Kaini as it were... Ganesha jumped up and hacked off part of the cross, which allowed one of Kaini's arms to drop... putting more weight on the one still up in unison with the heavy bit of wood pulling down on the one that had dropped.

The strain of course started some fresh blood flow, particularly from the wounds on his back. Naoya cussed, in English as he seemed to do when he got truly upset, "Hurry the hell up, Ganesha!"

[Firebreath Fishslap]

K1 wheeled around as he heard Kaini's voice, abandoning the battle for a few moments. "...Kaini?" he asked. His attention shot back to the current matter, though, as a Ziodyne flew past him and hit Belphegor. Compared to the Megidolaons that K1 and Naoya had both been shooting off, it didn't do as much damage, but it did enough, and it worked to its intended purpose; bringing K1's attention back to the battle.

"I'll keep Belphegor busy while you get Kaini down!" Souji said to Naoya. While he really didn't want to have to cover Naoya, desperate times called for desperate measures. Plus, if Belphegor threw up another one of those Matarakarns, this way Souji could take the hit and it not do anywhere near as much damage as it would to K1. (Or really any damage to Souji; he'd spent a very long time working on the fodder for the eventual fusion that became this Trumpeter.)

He left Kaini out there to die! If we were any later... K1 held out his hand again as another Megidolaon fired off toward the demon he was fighting. Aniel sent off a Ziodyne, while Cerberus, using a completely different element than the one his species tended to lean toward, sent off a Bufudyne. It wasn't likely to do much damage; Cerberus' specialized in Physical attacks.

[mugenginga]

Honestly, Belphegor had wanted to do this on his own. But he wasn't stupid, and it was clear the fight was going south. How many years had he avoided this, anyhow? Thousands. Thousands he had avoided the inevitable. He remembered the last time he'd been ganged up on. These idiots thought things would become simple after one sat on the throne. He glared at Keiichi and threw up his hand.

"You're not the only one that can gang up on people, you realize!?" he shouted, his aura flaring and in a flash of dark light, a team of demons appeared in each of the four corners of the graveyard. After all, Belphegor had done more than torture over the past few days. He'd honestly begun to think the measures he had taken to prepare for Abel's arrival were going to go to waste.

Naoya scowled at Souji's order, but there was really no time to argue. And with the way Kaini was tied up, he'd have to support the teenager as the other arm was cut. He gestured to Nyarlathotep, "Hold him up!"

The order came just in time for Nyarlathotep to hook its arms under Kaini's as Ganesha cut loose the other hand. The way he cut meant that a block of wood just a bid wider than Kaini's hands were weighing the teen's arms down. Nyarlathotep adjusted its grip to help support the weight. Ganesha quickly cut the cross up a bit more, and Kaini was as free as he could be. His feet were still nailed to a block of wood the way his hands were, though. And there simply wasn't enough time to use Phantasma to get to another part of the area, especially with a team approaching from one of the corners.

Belphegor was knocked a bit off balance by the next Megidolaon Abel fired at him. He scowled and returned with his own attack. He glared at one of the teams, and it seemed they were going to act as a shield for Belphegor. And he's still be more than capable of attacking. As Souji had predicted, he threw up a Matarakarn.

Kaini appeared to have passed out again. Naoya looked around. They needed to get someplace where he could dispel one of his demons and pull out Ameterasu. He couldn't pull those spikes out from Kaini in his current condition without a healer on immediate standby.

"You realize you're as much of a hassle as Abel?" Naoya muttered darkly... it was unlikely Souji would hear him in the heat of battle, but not impossible...

[Firebreath Fishslap]

Souji wheeled around as the demons appeared. Not good. These all seemed to be rather powerful demons, not anything like the shadows he'd fought earlier. It would be best to take them out quickly if at all possible... it looked like it was time for Trumpeter to go. The Persona faded away back into its card form, which then changed images from the skeletal angel to Alice, which Souji then summoned. He'd wait here. If any of the demons came near, he could take them out with Die For Me!

K1 winced as Belphegor's counterattack hit him. The teen was running low on energy... well, that was what Drain was for. He held out his hand, and an odd vortex formed which began pulling energy from Belphegor. This vortex would absorb both life energy and magical energy, and replenish K1's own. But just to be on the safe side, he turned to Cerberus.

"Diarahan!" K1 ordered. The dog healed him, while Aniel, who was close to dying by this point, fired off another Ziodyne.