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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 19:06:56 GMT -5
It hadn't worked like Anpu had hoped. The Pharaoh had an unknown in his hand, and the Persona behind him would probably kill him if he tried to summon his Ka. He lowered the arm with the card in it and let out a "tch" noise of his own. He wasn't going to fight a battle he knew he couldn't win. The mere fact that he had to admit that to himself was infruriating. His movements were slow and deliberate. He wanted to make sure both Adachi and the Pharaoh knew what he was doing.
He pulled his trenchcoat up and put Diabound's card back in the inside pocket with the others. He lifted his left hand back up and to the side. The palm was facing in Atem's direction and the fingers were spread wide. He grabbed the bottom of the Ring with his right hand, allowing the middle prong to fall between his ring and middle finger. He lifted it up and held it out. Now both his arms were extended to the side. His stance changed the same instance his hand released the grip on the Ring, and one foot lurched forward. Bakura regained his balance just as the Ring clatttered onto the hard ground.
"Bakura, are you alright?" He wanted to confirm that before grabbing the Ring again. Of course, this gave Adachi an opening...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 19:24:04 GMT -5
Adachi watched Anpu closely as the man slowly and very deliberately removed the Ring. The moment the Ring was removed and dropped, and Bakura's stance changed, Adachi moved. Magatsu Izanagi disappeared as Adachi ran forward and snatched the Ring up from the ground. He didn't stop running, not even to check if Bakura was alright. He was sure Bakura didn't want to see him anyways.
He was heading right for the apartment complex's exit. He was going to go find an electronics store. Drop the Ring in a TV and forget about it. Let Seta's group deal with it. Finally be rid of that bastard.
It was about this time that Souji made it back to the apartments. He blinked as Adachi ran past him. The man didn't even stumble. And he had his hand grasped around something, but Souji hadn't gotten a good look at it.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 19:33:25 GMT -5
Bakura looked up as Atem asked his question. He still was trying to process what had happened when Magatsu Izanagi had vanished and Adachi shoved his way past him. Atem's eyes widened. Maybe three seconds had passed since he asked his question. He was shoved to the side by Adachi who barely slowed down enough to open the door.
"Dammit! Adachi, wait! Bakura, go home!"
Atem caught the door before it could close and ran out of it himself. He had a feeling he knew what Adachi was going to do. He'd threatened to kill both Bakura and Anpu, but this was different. Adachi didn't even know what he had. It was beyond Atem's understanding why the Ring wasn't burning him. He doubted Anpu was stupid enough to think letting Adachi have the Ring was playing it safe. He had no way of knowing Anpu had pieced together facts and favored his chances in the TV World than against Adachi's Persona.
Atem saw Souji as he chased after the man. He didn't slow down, so the last half of what he said would be hard to hear. They were both going rather fast.
"Souji, he has the Ring!" Atem dropped the honorific in favor of speed.
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Bakura had halfway sat and halfway fell into a sitting position on the stairs. Anpu hadn't let him be aware during what had happened, so he was clueless. Adachi had run off, and Atem had told him to go home. Problem was, he didn't have a home right now. He glanced at the door as it finally pulled itself shut. What was he supposed to do?
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Teddie had been out rather hard. The first yell, the one that had alerted Adachi to the situation, had brought him out of his sleep. He'd tried to go back to sleep and then more yelling had occurred. He sat up with a grumpy look on his face.
"Sensei...?"
He didn't think to look at the clock.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 19:52:11 GMT -5
"What?!"
Souji wheeled around as Atem ran past him, and started running after. Adachi had the Ring. Adachi had the Ring. And considering Adachi's rather blatant dislike for Anpu based on the conversation Adachi had with Yuugi the previous day, it didn't take much to guess what was going through Adachi's mind.
Adachi looked back once he heard Atem yell Souji's name. Dammit, they both were following after him. This was something he needed to do. If he could just get rid of Anpu now... Maybe it would result in Anpu getting his own body, or worse, a Persona. But better Anpu was in his own body than attached to Bakura.
Souji narrowed his eyes at Adachi. The man was running like his life practically depended on it. And he was fast, faster than Souji had thought. Well, it fit. That stupid messed up version of Izanagi Adachi used as a Persona was insanely speedy itself.
Adachi looked back at Atem and Souji again before ducking into an alley. He knew these alleys well; he used them often as shortcuts. However, he had a feeling that Souji and Atem didn't know them anywhere near as well.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 20:28:19 GMT -5
Atem was aware of what Adachi was trying to do. He'd have given a lot of things for a horse right now. Or the ability to summon Ka without tributes. Ideally he would have called forth Osiris. That Phantom God was good for pursuits and was quite capable of flying. He turned back towards Souji, who didn't seem able to keep his exact pace despite the height difference. It was almost amusing.
"If you have a Persona that can fly, we might be able to keep better track of him!" Atem shouted.
Temu couldn't fly. It "floated", but it was like Black Magician in that regard. It wouldn't be able to go very high. Atem knew he was taking a gamble on how far a Persona could be seperated from its user. The furthest he suspected he'd encountered was when Adachi had taken the Puzzle. He doubted the man had left his Apartment then, which meant a full floor had been between them. Still, if Adachi was able to keep putting distance between them, the distance of control might come into play.
Atem had never thought about practical matters such as having low level flying monsters in his deck. Well, it wasn't like he'd known the monsters were real when Yuugi had solved the Puzzle. Or that he'd ever be in a situation that would need those skills...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 20:42:03 GMT -5
Souji nodded, and manifested the glowing blue card in his hand before crushing it. A blue, almost fish-like humanoid winged Persona appeared in the air above Souji before flying off. Souji didn't know how far Sraosha could go from him, having never really had to use his Persona for anything like this before.
Plus there was the issue of finding Adachi again after he'd gone into this maze of alleys. While it probably wouldn't be too hard from the air, it would still take precious time. Dammit, what was Adachi doing?
"I don't know if I'll be able to keep track of Adachi," Souji yelled back to Atem. He continued running after Atem while continuing to keep track of things from the air with Sraosha.
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Adachi looked up as he saw a shadow pass over him from the air. That thing looked like a Persona. Well, Seta couldn't stop him now anyways, even if he found him again. He was nearly there. He could see the stupid store from here. All he had to do was throw the Ring in the TV and be done with it. All he had to do...
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Souji's eyes widened as he realized where Adachi was. "He's nearly to the electronics store!"
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 21:05:42 GMT -5
What Adachi probably wasn't expecting was for a blond to pass in front of him right as he was about to leave the alley. The teenager would claim to be fourteen if asked, but he really looked more like a high schooler. Any medical examination would confirm his claimed age. He had apparently hit an early growth spurt. He was dressed differently than he had been before, but it was a different day after all.
He was wearing a light blue hoodie sweater with the hood pulled up. It concealed his somewhat long hair and ponytail. He didn't have the cross around his neck today, but the front of the hoodie had "WWJD?" in black lettering. The back had "What Wouldn't Jesus Do?" He had on faded blue jeans and simple blue tennis shoes with white soles. The laces were right and tied in such a way that they didn't seem like they'd ever come untied.
None of that was really important. What was important was that Lucius had chosen to walk in front of that particular spot for a reason. He had sensed the demonic energy. After all, he wasn't human. Not that he'd admit that or that anyone would know that. Point was, he'd timed it so that Adachi would have to perform some paranormal stunt to not crash into him. His only consolation was his disguise was good enough that even Izanagi wouldn't be unsettled by his appearance or aura.
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"Dammit!" Atem said.
He tried to push himself harder. It wasn't just that Anpu might die. He knew it was cold, but he didn't care about that. It was that the Millenium Items were his responsibility. It was that if Anpu managed to not die, the entire group could be in a hell of a lot more danger... His Partner most of all. That thought granted him an extra burst of speed. He was not going to let Anpu target the people he cared about like that.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 21:20:17 GMT -5
Adachi had not seen Lucius. He had been so focused on running that he hadn't even had the slightest inclination that there had been someone about to walk out in front of him. As such, Adachi hit Lucius at full speed and ended up landing rather spectacularly on the ground. The Ring flew out of his hand and landed a few feet from Adachi.
Adachi sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Dammit, I don't have time for this!" He knew Seta and the Pharaoh were on his tail. He needed to hurry up and go... But first he needed to figure out where he'd dropped the Ring. Adachi stood up and looked around the area frantically.
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Souji sped up to catch up with Atem. He wasn't sure how the heck Atem was able to stay ahead of him considering Souji was much taller than Atem was.
Souji could feel the strain on his connection with Sraosha lessening. Looked like they were getting closer to where Adachi was. That was the problem with using his Persona like this. He still couldn't get clear images of who he was tracking, just an idea of where they were.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 21:27:49 GMT -5
There was the sheer factor of mass difference to take into account. Lucius was oddly tall for his age, but there was also the issue of kinetic energy. An object in motion stays in motion... in any case, Adachi wasn't the only one to manage a spectacular fall. Lucius let out a audible oomph as he hit the ground and felt his vision spin for a moment. He reached up and held his head before shaking it to clear his site.
He saw the man in front of him get up and began looking around. Lucius realized who the man was rather quickly. You didn't come to another world cause of all the Persona users getting sucked there without knowing one of the key players of those events, after all. However, Lucius was a bit more interested in the demonic presence that had skittered under a metal trashbin in the alley. Adachi was never going to find it. And he seemed to be freaking a bit about time?
"You could at least see if I'm alright!" Lucius said as he got this feet and brushed the front of his shirt off. He looked up at the lack of response and an annoyed and angry expression crossed his face, "Hey, are you even listening to me?"
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 21:48:03 GMT -5
To be honest, Adachi had completely forgotten that the other kid was there. He was more focused on finding the Ring again. Which didn't seem to have landed anywhere nearby. Adachi had been practically freaking out when Lucius addressed him, and looked at the blond-haired teen with a panicked look on his face.
"I don't have time right now! This psycho silver haired guy and his spiky haired friend are after me and the object I was carrying! If I don't find it soon, we're screwed!" Adachi said. He started pacing before looking back toward Lucius again.
"Hey, you didn't happen to see where it landed, did you?" Adachi asked. "It's this gold circular pendant thing... it's got this egyptian eye thing on it." He made a circular motion with his hands as he described the shape.
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 21:59:40 GMT -5
Lucius didn't show any pity towards the panicked look. Hell, it wasn't his fault (never mind that he'd been there on purpose) that the man had crashed into him. Even for his planning, it wasn't his fault Adachi hadn't been watching where he was going. However, when Adachi began blubbering, even Lucius found himself trying to keep up. Psycho silver haired guy and spiky haired friend. He could guess based on his knowledge of Adachi who the former was, but the latter just threw him.
"Crap, you're gonna hyperventilate yourself there," Lucius made a show of looking around, "Maybe you should check under things?"
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Atem's lungs burned. The fact that Souji hadn't given an update along the lines of Adachi haven't reached his goal was only a small comfort. He didn't want to ask Souji either, if only because he wanted to conserve his breath. They had to be getting close. Adachi had been fast, but there was no way he could have gotten that much of a lead if he'd been stopped.
He really wished he had a horse right now.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 22:15:30 GMT -5
"Under things?"
In his panic, Adachi hadn't really thought to look under anything. He blinked and looked around before spotting a trash bin and a very slight glint of gold. Adachi grimaced, and pinched his nose before getting down on his knees and looking underneath the trash can. Sure enough, the Ring had landed under there. He pulled it out, and stood back up again.
"Er, thanks, now I've gotta--"
At that moment, Atem and Souji had rounded the corner and would have a fairly good view of Adachi.
"Adachi!" Souji yelled. Adachi gulped before running for it. "Hey! Adachi! Get back here!"
Adachi could see the electronics shop. He just needed to get a bit further...
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 21, 2010 23:03:37 GMT -5
Lucius couldn't believe how well that had worked out. In truth, he had a feeling the people chasing Adachi were going to show up soon. So he'd been stalling. It looked like he had timed it well, too. Adachi had gotten the artifact back just as Souji and some middle-eastern teenager had come around the corner. He jerked his head towards Adachi and extended his leg forward. After all, him being Adachi... him being the one who had shoved Takahashi into the TV World made it justifiable he'd try to stop him.
If Adachi was as panicked as he seemed, he wouldn't be watching where he was going. He wouldn't realize Lucius had stuck his foot out. So he'd trip right over it. Atem noticed Lucius' eyes widen Souji said Adachi. He also noted that the leg moved forward. Did Lucius know Adachi...? Souji had never mentioned a teenager like him in his talk about his world, but it was possible it was one of those things he had only told Minato. Still, unless Adachi tripped they wouldn't be able to catch him in time. He hadn't slowed down, in any case.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Feb 21, 2010 23:12:03 GMT -5
Due to his panic, Adachi had very much not been watching where he was going, again. After all, he'd thought that the person he was supposed to be watching out for was out of his way now anyways. As a result of all of this, Adachi ended up hitting the ground due to how Lucius had tripped him. He hit it hard too, but at least this time he hadn't let go of the Ring. He turned to look at Lucius better.
"What the fuck was that for?!" Adachi growled.
Souji had seen Lucius' eyes get wide at the mention of Adachi's name. Obviously Lucius knew Adachi somehow, which would explain why Lucius had tripped Adachi... the question was what had Adachi done to Lucius that would have prompted the blond to trip him like that?
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Post by mugenginga on Feb 22, 2010 2:02:32 GMT -5
"If you're Adachi, that old man Takahashi is gonna wanna talk to you," Lucius pointed at the Ring, "Now why don't you give that thing back those people? Way you're running, I kinda doubt its yours."
Atem slowed down to a fast trot as he reached Adachi and the blond. He was out of breath but he didn't want to run the risk of Adachi getting back up. He rested his right foot over the wrist Adachi was holding onto the Ring with. The pressure was slight, it was just enough for him to maintain balance and keep the wrist pinned.
"Let... go of the Ring... Adachi," Atem panted. It was doing nothing for sounding intimidating, so Atem applied a bit more pressure on the wrist. It still shouldn't be enough to hurt, but he hoped it would be enough to let Adachi know he wasn't in the mood for an argument.
"You two know him too, huh? I heard he was a murderer, but I didn't know he was a thief too," Lucius jerked his thumb towards Adachi, "They're probaby looking for him over at the police station. He tried to kill this old man cop."
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