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Post by mugenginga on Jun 24, 2010 0:16:06 GMT -5
It had been a week since Bakura had been saved from the TV World. After a series of fights over the wisdom of the idea, the Ring had been decided to be returned to Anpu. While it was true the Thief King was just using Bakura, everyone had finally agreed Bakura needed a body. It wasn't fair to keep him trapped in the manner he was. It hadn't gone well. When they had gotten into the room "Bakura" was staying in, they found an unconscious doctor hooked up to the machines, not Bakura. Jounouchi had flipped and had been forcibly removed from the room. Best anyone could figure was that Anpu had used the doctor as a way to not get himself checked on when he had left. The hospital was allowed to think Bakura had been kidnapped. It was better that then the blame being put on him for Anpu's actions.
They hadn't left immediately either. Anzu had insisted they visit Malik. The Egyptian teenager had refused to speak to any of them. Atem had shared a similar expression of guilt to Yuugi, but had respected the teenager's wishes. Anzu had wanted to stay, but Yuugi was able to talk her out of it. Atem was only grateful Jounouchi hadn't been there. The amount of friction still existant between them was fairly understandable. While Jounouchi was mature enough to put it aside when it was needed, he was already upset over the situation with Anpu. Anzu still managed to pull a nurse aside and ask about Malik's condition. She had been told the teenager would be out before the week was over, and a comment on how Malik seemed to be healing from pure stubborness was made. No comment was made about the scarring on his back.
Malik had actually shown up two days ago, but the only one in had been Yuugi. He had demanded the Ring. The short teenager's first reaction had been a no, and the yelling had been enough to attract attention. The chaos had eventually ended with Malik getting the Ring because of two very good points. He, or at least Dark Malik, had worn the Ring with no ill effects before. Beyond that, if anyone could find Anpu now that he had vanished, it was Malik. All this had been handled before Yuugi's three friends had returned. That had sparked a heated discussion, but it had never gotten to a fight. Jounouchi had to admit the points that Malik had made Yuugi concede to. As it sat now, five of the seven Items were with Atem.
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Kisa had been released from the hospital the following day. It was Mamoru, her father, that had picked her up. He verbally ripped her a new one, and she sat and let him yell at her. He worried a lot, and this was just another result of this. After she gave all the proper responses and the man was able to settle down, she tried to inform him that they were in danger. Mamoru wouldn't hear a word of it. Later that evening, she had been able to have a heart to heart with her mother about it. She didn't go into all the details. Even Tsuki wouldn't have handled half of what had happened. Beyond that, she knew it would get back to her father. Without all the details, Tsuki wasn't able to deal with the situation as a whole. She informed Kisa they would keep an eye out.
And the week had passed like that. Kisa knew what was going on, she wasn't an idiot. Enjin was playing at her nerves. She had spent half the week out during that odd space of time to try and find Gin. It had never come up with success, but she wasn't surprised. Enjin was keeping him from her. The rest of the time she was out she had spent trying to find the Akina person Gin had mentioned. Enjin had taunted her with him, but if Gin thought he could help... by the end of the week, she was a bit frazzled. Both her searches had come up empty, and she wasn't sure how much longer of silence she could take. The last day she had spent entirely at her parents. She made the illusion of focusing more on her studies. It pleased her father, but Tsuki was clearly worried. She dodged the questions when they came up, and by this point Tsuki was very suspicious. Still, there wasn't much that could be done without pulling Mamoru into it, and the woman had a feeling it would only make matters worse.
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Kaiba had woken up shortly after Naoto and Kanji had left the following morning. He had a massive headache, and while someone had taken the time to bandage it, he was still rather pissed. He wasn't the sort to press assault charges in such a case, although he was true he could have gotten them through. Kaiba was good at law, or the loopholes and specifics therein. He'd seen no sign that the laws of the Island differed from the common ones in the world. With Kaiba Corporation being as international as it was, Kaiba had a very good grasp on all sorts of country's laws. Illegal workings within a company were something he was not unskilled at. In any case, he'd attempted Atem's apartment. No one had been home. It wasn't a large leap for the teenager to realize wherever the two boys had gone was where Atem was. He'd chosen to focus on something he could deal with.
As a result, he was back to trying to find Kisa. After resistance had been felt before, he was doing it more carefully. He actually managed to get her address the day before the current, but was holding off on visiting her. There were a few things he wasn't sure of. And for that he wanted to speak to Atem. However, other things he had been looking to came back up, and even today he had been too busy to do much. It wasn't his fault he was aware that it was quite possible none of it would matter after tonight...
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Izanami had remained an observer to the situation. A week ago, she has felt something terribly... wrong. Being who she was, she didn't like being unable to pinpoint it. The situation had bothered the goddess enough that she had entered the Other Side via her own methods. If Souji had known what she had done there, he likely wouldn't have approved, as the goddess had wandered in the World he had created shortly before remastering the Persona part of Izanagi. The fog was only a bit off from usual, and she had a feeling the issue wasn't with Souji. It was what had made her abandon the issue. If Izanagi was having issues, it quite frankly wasn't her problem. After all, hadn't it been he who first broke off relations? She had returned to maintaining the shrine, but most of her time was spent meditating. It would take a lot of energy to rescue Souji and all of his friends, after all.
Nyarlathotep had never returned to the Bel Court. There were times when he was nearby, and observing, but he'd never returned back. If Abel could get ahold of him, the demon knew he would be sent back to their world. He didn't have the power to jump world's on his own. Not as he was. He was but a fragment of a larger whole. It was possible to become the dominant fragment, but the world did not have the time. Perhaps he could focus on such a thing if those humans prevented the Fall. Unlike other beings, he knew it was possible. Humans were rather like cockroaches in their insistance on sticking to what they considered good. In a way, it was that which allowed the existance of Shadows. The subconscious was a maze. As it was, he had no alignment with any of the dominant powers of the Island, but he was amusing Lucifer for the time being. He had no delusions about the level of trust the fallen angel actually held for him.
And then Lucifer, he had remained out of most situations. While his plan had been to cast further doubt on Takahashi's sanity, he'd realized how unlikely he could do so with one not under his control using Tohru's body. He was aware that Anpu had perhaps escaped just in time. Before even the Pharaoh and his friends had come to the hospital, Izanagi had gone. Perhaps to kill Anpu. Lucifer wouldn't have stopped him. Izanagi hadn't pointed out that the one in the room was not who it should be. Lucifer had to respect the manipulative nature of this empty aspect of the god. He hadn't contacted him. Now that the night that had to come had arrived, he was merely taking a position of observation. For better or worse, Nyx would be summoned. The way humans fought had always amused him.
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Those in Atem's apartment had spent most of yesterday and all of today asleep. They had only gotten up for meals and restroom breaks. Atem had been working with Anzu to get her more able to fight. Jounouchi, with his basic understanding of things, had been working more with Yuugi. Atem was pleased that there seemed to be a natural dynamic between the two. The way they had been training was nothing short of grinding. It hadn't exactly been approved of by the other members of their group. It was a combination of Yuugi and Atem's points that had gotten it dropped. Usually the group were in the TV World. Only two nights had the been at Tartarus. The fog seemed to remain thick at the top levels. In fact, it was thicker than before. Something seemed to be adding to the deceit.
So the last day and a half had been spent asleep. It was two hours to midnight, and everyone in Atem's apartment were awake. Jounouchi had arranged his deck in an unusual manner due to card sleeves. He would be able to pick out his favored cards merely by touch. It wasn't anything he would have even considered doing in a Duel, but this was something entirely different. Atem had split his deck with Yuugi, making sure that the God Cards were with him. He had used a method similar to Jounouchi, although only with Black Magician. Now that he had realized the truth of the cards, he could tell by latent power alone which cards were those of the gods. Anzu had arranged her cards like Jounouchi had, although she had enlisted Yuugi's help with which cards to favor. He had loaned her Black Magician Girl, which she had begun to like since the events with Noah's world.
"Anzu, Jounouchi-kun," Atem stated. The both looked at him. How serious he was now... they had no problem believing he had once lead a country, "You do realize what we're doing right? I want you to make your own decision. As it is we have a large group. We're going into a real fight, and if we lose this world and every world attached to it will end. That includes our homeworld."
"Atem-kun, how can you ask such a thing! I've never been allowed to fight at your side before! Jounouchi-kun helped you against that monster that Dartz was controlled by. Yuugi has always been at your side with everything you faced! You have to trust me, I can handle this!"
"Have I ever been one to back down? I don't really know this Ryoji guy, but we just have to convince him to stop being an idiot, right? Hey, your 'Partner' is the one that freed me from Malik during Battle City. I can't walk out on Yuugi, and I can't walk out on you. Come on, if you keep trying to talk us out of this I'll slap you upside the head."
Atem gave the most genuine smile he had in a while. This was why he considered these people friends. He nodded and turned to Yuugi, "Partner, if we fail..."
"We won't fail."
Atem blinked. He gave another nod and walked towards the door, pushing it open. If they failed, he would accept Izanami's offer. If they could be taken to another world, he might be able to get Izanami to return them to their original one. One failure didn't have to mean the end of everything. From there world, they could fight to prevent the domino effect. What he knew and Yuugi didn't seem to realize was this. If they failed, Minato would die. Even through Minato's depression he could tell one thing. He would die trying to save Ryoji... it was no different than what Atem would do for Yuugi.
"Let's go."
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 24, 2010 1:41:54 GMT -5
There had been no words for how relieved Abel had been when Uzume came back from the TV World. It had been clear it annoyed her, but she remained polite the whole time. It was only after Abel returned her to the Demon Realm that he finally announced his intentions to aid in the fight against what Ryoji had become. His justification was that it wouldn't do any good if he escaped back to their world if it was just going to be lost along with this one. Despite his inability to be active during the Dark Hour, Atsuro agreed to help as well. It hadn't taken much to convince the other members of the Court to agree. If they were all going to die here, then they might as well go down swinging.
To be honest, Abel still wasn't entirely sure how Atsuro and Kaido were going to be active during the Dark Hour. However, he knew Minato had mentioned something once about Shadows pulling people into the Dark Hour. There had to be something one of that group could do.
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A week has passed since the trip into the TV World to rescue Bakura, and things hadn't gotten any better for Souji. Izanagi never came back. Souji never thought he'd realize how silent it was without Izanagi's presence, but for the first time in a while, that ever present presence was no longer so ever present. Souji thought he'd be happy to have Izanagi gone. To no longer have that fact that he was Izanagi's avatar hanging over his head. It wasn't happening.
In the time that had passed since the trip into the TV World, Souji had distanced himself from the others, only really speaking to Teddie and Minato. Minato's depression had only gotten worse over the past week, and about two days ago he'd stopped leaving his apartment. Souji had tried to cheer him up, but there wasn't much he could do. This was the second time Minato was having to face Ryoji and the end of the world like this. If they failed, everyone would die except for their circle of friends. And even then Souji knew the only one that was guaranteed to live was himself, because of Izanami's attraction to him. She could just as easily decide only to honor the part that said she'd save him.
Adachi never came back to his apartment. Souji knew Naoto was concerned over that, Souji knew he was concerned over that, but someone fitting Adachi's description had apparently checked into the hospital. So it was entirely possible he was still injured from when Lucius had attacked him. But it still worried Souji, because not long after they'd left the TV World that day, he'd gotten that feeling of some part of him acting up, and it hadn't stopped.
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In the week that had passed, Amaterasu had been much busier than any of the others. She had, in truth, been gathering praise to strengthen herself. She was only at half-power here, she needed all of the praise she could get. Honestly, there were so many different peoples here and religions it hadn't been easy, but basic miracles had been enough most of the time.
In truth, she was very annoyed at the developments with her father. From what she had gathered (due to the general absence of his presence from Souji's body), Souji had pissed him off somehow, and the negative emotions created by this had driven the Izanagi consciousness from Souji's body and into another vessel. What that vessel was, Amaterasu wasn't sure, but one thing she did know was that if this situation wasn't resolved soon, that new vessel would likely murder Souji so a new avatar could be manifested. Amaterasu honestly had to wonder why Izanagi didn't just destroy Souji, but at the same time, Amaterasu did not support doing such a thing. Souji had obviously shown enough autonomy that he would best be described as a separate person from Izanagi himself, though he still lacked a true soul.
As the day of the Fall grew closer, Amaterasu had positioned herself in a bit of grass outside the hotel, and hadn't moved from that spot for two days. She'd wait there until the promised time came, and there she would join those brave humans in their fight against Death itself. Though whether they succeeded or not rested on the shoulders of the blue haired one they called Minato, whether it meant using his own soul to seal Nyx's Avatar away, or somehow saving both the world and Nyx's Avatar.
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It amused Enjin how much the Kisa girl was getting worked up about Gin. She had been trying to find Akina, just as she'd said. She'd even been looking for Gin during that odd space of time at midnight. But Enjin hadn't given her the satisfaction of seeing Gin and conspiring further against him, because every night, right before midnight, he'd restrained himself, just so Gin couldn't go anywhere. Gin had been confused about it, but after the first night, he'd stopped questioning it. He knew that Enjin was trying to keep him from getting to Kisa,
Tonight was the only night Enjin hadn't tied himself up. He hadn't only been observing Kisa. He had been observing the group the ones known as Yuugi and Atem hung around with, and they seemed to think something known as the Fall was going to occur that night. It seemed to be related to some kind of end of the world. Much of their thoughts about it had been centered around one known as Ryoji, as well. Minato hadn't exactly been hiding who this Ryoji was in his mind. With all of these thoughts in mind, Enjin had positioned himself outside the hotel to await the Fall. If the world was ending, then Gin could watch it happen.
He gave a smirk from his hiding spot as he thought about the yellow scarfed boy. It had been nearly two days, hadn't it?
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Souji stood up from where he was sitting on the couch. "We should go, Teddie," he said. He picked up his sword and headed out the door, heading down the hallway to Minato's room. He paused in front of it and started knocking. The lack of response concerned Souji. It was after five minutes of knocking that it hit Souji.
Souji's eyes widened. "He didn't...." He shoved Minato's door open. He hadn't even bothered to lock it. "No, dammit, you didn't!" He ran into the apartment, looking around at everything. Nothing had been touched since the last time Souji had been in there, and that had been nearly two days ago.
"He's gone to die without us," Souji breathed.
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 24, 2010 2:48:21 GMT -5
In truth, it hadn't been just Atem's group that had been training. Cain hadn't shown an opinion towards or against Abel's decision, but he had informed the group that if they intended to do this they needed to train. It had been followed up with some snark about them getting too relaxed with who their real enemy was in a manner only Cain was capable. It hadn't been received well, but there was a general consensus among the group that he had a point. If they couldn't defeat a polytheistic goddess whose aspect in their world was little more than a powerful demon, they'd stand no chance against God. Kaido had agreed to the training only as a result of that. He'd agreed to the entire mess due to Abel's points. Cain had told Abel later that if he had been smart he would have ordered Kaido to do it regardless of his wishes. Again with the ill received statement, but nothing severe came out of it.
It hadn't just been themselves or the demons that had been going through it as well. Cain had pulled Abel aside during the first day and informed him that the limiter was creating a visible drop in his power. There had been a level of annoyance from the silver haired man at the way Abel was avoiding the situation overall, and it had in fact gone to a fight. The next day had been spent with Cain ordered to rest after the result of that chaos, but it had stopped most of the training in results to the limiter and Abel's power. Cain chose to leave the situation until the end of the Fall, but as far as he could see it the limiter was worsening the split between Abel's sides and in a way robbing him of power. He didn't blame the construct of the device, but the device itself. Abel had a way to run away.
It was two hours before the Dark Hour was set to hit. All their Death Clocks read 0, and had since that morning. In fact, that was the case for the entire Island. Those that could flee due to the extra stability of some of the portals had. Those that still could weren't inclined to, it seemed. With only two hours left, there wasn't really time. Cain was making sure everyone had the demons they wanted ready. After the mistake made before with clocks, the point had been made for everyone to summon their demons half an hour early. He was giving dark humor about wanting to die to those who weren't ready. He ignored Abel's glare when he had to give that kind of warning to Seth. In any case, they seemed ready enough.
"I suggest we are outside the building when the Hour comes," Cain stated. He then smirked, "The blood of those still within and unable to defend themselves is not on my hands."
It had actually happened a few times. The Hour would hit, and those among their group who were awake would be in some random part of Tartarus. Luckily, they'd all had the sense to find their way out, the way their guard was set up giving them a demon to fight with if it wasn't Abel. No one had been stuck inside for two nights. In general, the odd space of the hotel tended to make even those aware immune to the displacement effects of the Dark Hour.
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Teddie had been waiting outside for the group when they'd returned from rescuing Bakura. Souji's group had arrived a bit ahead of Atem's. Teddie's first reaction was horror over Minato, but he had been settled down quick enough by Souji's reassurance the teenager was fine. After that he'd gone straight to the point. Was Bakura all right. He seemed saddened by the case with the Ring, but Atem's group had shown up then as well. There was a bit more of an explanation in regards to the Ring and Atem finally explained how Yuugi would know Bakura was in there. It was an effect of the Pendant, the "ruler" of the other items so to speak. It was a natural ability, and Yuugi's feelings towards Bakura magnified it.
The blond had trained as well. Sensei believed they could stop the Fall, so Teddie was convinced to believe it. The resolve lasted all of two days before Teddie realized something was very wrong with Souji. From that point on he had hung near the silver haired teenager. He didn't ask about it much, but it was clear he was concerned. The reactions were rather similar to what a young child might treat a problem as. In any case, it had granted Souji the silence he seemed to want.
When the night of the Fall came, Teddie was clearly antsy. Souji's general funk had prevented him from bringing up the possibility of Teddie's assistance in getting others into the Dark Hour. As it was, Atem hadn't had the bright idea to inform he had planned on taking Anzu and Jounouchi with them. The group was aware of the massive training going on, but it was as easy as not to assume Jounouchi and Anzu were just there as training partners. When Souji told Teddie it was time to go, he'd almost gotten himself stuck in the bedroom door. He had frowned and managed to wriggle his way out. It was a result of having gone mascot form. When Souji didn't react, Teddie was concerned again. He somehow or another switched to his human form when Souji wasn't looking and ran out after him. He forgot to close the door as he left.
Teddie was hopping from one foot to the other in worry and anxious anticipation as Souji knocked on Minato's door. Then there was a long pause in which Souji appeared to be panicking. The door was shoved open, and Souji burst into the room while almost shouting something. He turned and told Teddie what had happened, and it was the blond's turn to have wide eyes.
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"Yuugi, I'm not wavering on my decision, but how are we going to help you? Doesn't that Dark Hour thing prevent us from acting...?"
Yuugi gave a weak smile, "Atem reminded me of something Minato mentioned once. I don't know if it will work, but Atem's right, we have to try."
Anzu gave him a confused look. Jounouchi was hanging a bit to the back of the group, and keeping his eye on Atem. It wasn't that he had moved to disliking the other teenager, it was just there was still something wrong. Damned if he could put his finger on it, though. It was most noticable around Yuugi. For about the millionth time he wondered if it had to do with the split. And for about the millionth time he decided it didn't. They'd been split for over a month now, hadn't they? Maybe that could explain Atem's difference, depending on the whole memories mess, but Yuugi had had his own body for fifteen years or so. What was it that could be bothering them both.
"It has to do wi-"
"No, dammit, you didn't!"
Atem stopped on the stairs as he heard Souji shouting. He looked back towards the group for a moment before quickly heading down the rest of the stairs. If Naoto and Kanji had heard, Atem's group would still be there first. Yuugi hadn't even hesitated when he saw Atem running. Anzu and Jounouchi were right behind. They came out of the stairwell just as Souji was looking at Teddie, clearly breathless. That was Minato's apartment, Souji was panicked, Minato wasn't...
"Souji-kun, did Minato-kun go ahead!?"
It was Yuugi that had thought of this. Atem knew it was the case even without confirmation. To be honest... he might have done the same thing. He was standing there frowning at the idiocy (albeit understandable) of the action as Jounouchi and Anzu ran past him to follow Yuugi.
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Tartarus hadn't allowed Minato to the top floor even with the little bit over one hour he had been there due to the way the location worked. It was the mist, the fog that made it impossible. It was rather clear where the stairs to the top floor were, and the place was no different than one would have expected it to be. It was just that every time Minato approached the fog, he'd be teleported elsewhere on the same floor. In the past few minutes, the fog had begun to recede. There were signs the way would be open, but only at precisely the time the Fall was set to begin. As it was, the Shadows were rather active. Quite a few of them had gone after Minato. Well, from past experience he'd understand why. They did seem to be drawn to the roof as it occurred, and this time Minato didn't have a team to back him up...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 24, 2010 3:41:45 GMT -5
Souji jumped as Atem spoke. It was clear in his panic he hadn't even registered the presence of the others coming downstairs. He willed his heartbeat down before turning toward the others and nodded.
"I should have realized how odd it was that he hasn't been around lately... He didn't just go on ahead," Souji said. "He's been gone for two days now. I think he's at Tartarus. Probably waiting for the Dark Hour of the Fall to come, so he can get up to Ryoji first."
Naoto and Kanji had heard Souji's yell all the way from downstairs. Naoto had realized immediately that something had to have been wrong, especially when one considered what day it was, and rushed up the stairs. She made it to the bedroom in time to hear Souji's explanation of what had happened with Minato. Kanji made it up a few seconds later, having trailed behind them a fair bit.
"If... that's the case... then we need to... hurry... as soon... as we... get there..." Naoto huffed. She gave herself a moment to catch her breath before speaking again. "We already don't have enough time as it is."
Souji nodded, but it was obvious he was still extremely concerned about Minato. He should have known Minato would pull something like this, and yet he still hadn't seen the signs.
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Even though Abel could typically defend himself well, he wasn't taking any chances at this moment. One of the things he'd never quite gotten around to testing was how well the limiter worked during the Dark Hour, or if it worked at all. Because of this, Abel had decided to summon a couple demons of his own. The effort of doing so had left him exhausted. Abel had refused to remove the limiter to summon a pair of demons when it was so close to the full moon, meaning he had to pull on the small amount of energy he currently had available to do so. The result ended up being that he could only summon one demon, which ended up being a Cerberus.
Abel glared at Cain as he spoke. Things had been tense between the two of them over the past week, mainly regarding that limiter. But he had to admit Cain had a point at the moment. They needed to be outside the hotel when the Dark Hour hit.
As far as his own demons went, Atsuro had gone with a Lakshmi and a Barong, a pair he was rather comfortable with, though he didn't have them summoned yet. He gave a concerned look toward Abel. Things had gotten rather intense between him and Cain earlier that week. Though right now there were more important things to think about. Like the fact that their time was literally out as it was. Only a couple hours before the Dark Hour started.
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Minato had been waiting at that spot where the stairs should have been for a while. For some odd reason, Death never came after him. For that much he was glad, though he figured it was because there was no point to Death coming for him now.
A scrambling, scraping noise told him of the presence of approaching shadows. He crushed his Persona's card in his hand, summoning Messiah, who knocked away one Snake type shadow with God Hand while Minato sliced a Maya in half. The time for the Fall had to be coming. After all, Nyx's children were starting to gather near the top of the tower. He'd have to defend himself against an onslaught of Shadows until the way fully opened.
And onslaught had been the correct term. Minato didn't realize how many he was up against until they were already too close. With a flash of light, Messiah disappeared, and two blue cards appeared before Minato crushed them, summoning a blond haired, several winged figure draped in cloth and a large, multibreasted blue demon.
"Armageddon!" Minato yelled, and the two Personas combined their power to practically obliterate the shadows coming his way. Minato breathed heavily for a moment as he waited for the effects of Helel's Victory Cry skill to kick in.
Only a little longer, Ryoji...
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 24, 2010 4:11:32 GMT -5
Atem had his fists clenched. Two days. Even if that only meant Minato had been there two hours, he had abandoned the group. Why had he abandoned the group? Had he given up? Was he trying to spare them? One hand lifted up and hit the wall beside him. Jounouchi, Anzu, and Yuugi all jumped at the reaction and whirled around. Now Atem's fist was bleeding, but he didn't even seem to notice. Maybe it was hopeless. Gods damn it he understood it might be. But to just run off and abandon the group?
Anzu ran over to him and grabbed his wrist. His eyes, which had actually begun to glaze over, cleared as he jerked his head up and noted her concerned expression. Yuugi had been half a beat slower than Anzu, and had stopped as soon as she grabbed his wrist. Atem turned away from her and jerked his hand free, flexing it. It hurt quite a bit, but nothing was broken. He'd just scraped skin. He was shaking his hand a bit as he drew it close and his muttering wasn't in Japanese. Didn't sound nice, though.
"Atem-kun..."
"Souji-kun, is there any way Jounouchi-kun and Anzu can come along?" Yuugi had torn his eyes away from the situation. They couldn't keep misleading Anzu like this. When they got past this, they'd have to tell her. She still had feelings for Atem, after all. And without the confusion of whose body was whose? It just wasn't fair.
"Yo, Atem-kun. Shouldn't you get that healed...?"
Atem looked up, "We can't waste energy on barked knuckles."
"It's wouldn't be any trouble! Atem-san, wasting energy is one thing but you shouldn't go into Tartarus injured!" Teddie insisted.
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The group had gotten outside. Cain had finally insisted those that didn't have their demons out do so. Quite honestly, with the force that made their group up the summoned demons would be enough to scare anyone off. Seth had brought out Phoenix and Abaddon for the distance and healing. The first time he'd tried to use the latter, it hadn't gone so well. Then again, he'd been far more injured and even less experienced. He knew strategies better now. Kaido had brought out Pazuzu and Yamato-no-Orochi even before leaving the hotel, ignoring any potential for friction the former could have created with Atsuro and not knowing the friction the latter could create with the "wolf" on the lawn. Cain had Hecate and Norn. The latter was more as a healer, less because Cain wanted that duty and more because he knew the group would likely need it. Every demon in the party had reacted as soon as they had gotten outside, though. It was Yamato-no-Orochi that had reacted the worse, every head on its body hissing in anger.
The fact was, all of the demons (and possibly Abel) had sensed Amaterasu's presence. Some were more aware of her than others. Yamato-no-Orochi, for instance, was downright pissed. Of all the demons, it had the greatest idea of who that presence was. And while its main aspect was who knew where in the multiverse, the piece of it under Kaido's control was not happy with the theory of relativity. Cain's eyes had narrowed at the reaction and he'd turned to where the demons were all indicating and set up a Holy Dance. Hecate had a Megidolaon prepared and Norn was on standby in case there was backlash.
"Who's there?" he ordered. He didn't sound frightened, merely stern.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 24, 2010 13:18:26 GMT -5
Souji blinked as Yuugi asked his question. A way for Jounouchi and Anzu to aid them in the fight.... His eyes widened as he realized. "There is. I remember Minato mentioning once that Shadows could pull normal humans into the Dark Hour. Teddie could probably do it, but I don't know how Anzu and Jounouchi will be able to fight. Neither of them can use Personas and your Duel Monsters cards don't work during the Dark Hour, if I remember right."
"That's right, the cards become coffins too during the Dark Hour, don't they," Naoto commented to herself.
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The moment the group exited the hotel, Abel had sensed something incredibly strong nearby. He hadn't been the only one to sense it, as all of the demons in their group were freaking out, especially the Yamato-no-Orochi, whose several heads were all hissing angrily.
At Cain's order, a white wolf walked out from the other side of the building over to the group. She sat down in front of them, yawned, and scratched behind her ear with one hind leg, killing a flea that had decided to take a rest in that spot.
Abel blinked at the sight before turning to a glare. Not a wolf. No wolf had those kind of red markings, or a flaming disc on her back.
"Who are you?" Abel growled. The wolf looked up at him and stared into his eyes, but no words formed in his head.
"Geez louise, you guys are freaking out! It's just me and Ammy!" A glowing green bug hopped out from the fur at Amaterasu's neck and hopped in front of her, looking up at Cain as he did so. At the sound of hissing, though, he moved to looking at Yamato-no-Orochi, and stopped hopping. "Wh-What?! What's Orochi doin' here?!"
"Orochi?" Abel looked back at the snake demon and then back at the wolf. "Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"Er, I'm Wandering Artist and Celestial Envoy Issun, and this here's Amaterasu!" Issun said proudly.
Which, considering the situation... it might have been better to keep his mouth shut.
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 24, 2010 15:06:34 GMT -5
(OOC: Oh SNAP. I completely forgot that detail. Err err... WANK TIEMS)
Yuugi pulled a visual emotional whiplash at Souji's statement. At first he'd been relieved with traces of pleased. Anzu and Jounouchi could fight. Atem wasn't positive about their ability to contribute, they'd never been in a Dark Hour. Yuugi understood why. Anzu had always been a little sensitive and Jounouchi had issues with that sort of thing. But they had both resolved to contribute. Yuugi knew both of them could do it with that resolve. And then Souji had mentioned the issue with the Duel Monsters cards. The short teenager's eyes had widened and he looked towards the two. He had managed to forget about that. They'd never been aware during the Dark Hour, that training had only been between him and Atem. They'd focused on physical fighting and their Persona, so it hadn't even come up. Atem was giving a dull expression towards his knuckles when Naoto made her comment. He looked up and shook his head.
"If Teddie can pull in Jounouchi-kun and Anzu, I don't see why he can't manage their Ka," Teddie looked panicked at the suggestion. He wasn't even quite sure how he was supposed to pull in Jounouchi and Anzu, and now Atem wanted him to do whole decks? Atem went on without seeming to notice the expression, although his comment hit it on the head, "One a piece. If they can act, they should be able to use spells and traps. Jounouchi-kun can fight by himself if it comes to it, and Anzu can handle support."
"G-guys, I'm not sure... I mean, I know I'm a Shadow but..." Teddie stumbled. That just... it had never even occurred to him. If Sensei believed it, it wasn't that he doubted it. He just didn't have the slightest idea how to go about it. As Naoto had once pointed out, his abiilty to use Persona and identity as a person was kind of backwards from the norm.
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Cain smiled in that way of his as the insect-like creature called the wolf as "Ammy". Orochi was still hissing its fool heads off, but Cain chose to ignore it for the time being. No, with a name like that combined with Orochi's reaction, there really was only one explanation. Given the colorings, markings, and fire around the wolf and Orochi's reaction... he had her figured out before Issun introduced them. He gave a hand motion to the members of their group. Seth looked puzzled, but took a step back and had his demons on standby. Kaido raised an eyebrow at the situation, reminded himself who he wad dealing with, and glared at Orochi. The demon returned the glare but a glance towards Abel and Cain lowered the hissing to something more like a warning growl. It was then that Abel was able to get Issun to introduce himself and the goddess.
"It's a tradition for children to take care of their parents in their old age even among the gods, I suppose," Cain stated. He took a confident step forward and held up a hand to indicate to Abel to relax, "Given Souji's involvement in all of this, Amaterasu's presence isn't out of the question. You really should spend more time studying myths given your position, Your Majesty."
The statement had been twofold. On the surface, it was just Cain's way of assessing the situation. However, he'd also managed one thing. He'd addressed Abel by a title that would indicate to Amaterasu the blue haired teenager wasn't someone ordinary. He wasn't just some kid that had gotten over his head with the occult, which was where a lot of people would leap given their little group. Given who the wofl was, Cain had a feeling she would be aware of Abel's limiter. She struck him as the main incarnation of the goddess, not the mere aspects they dealt with time to time in the demon realm of their own world. Given his own theories about certain deserters, it was very likely she would be of a power capable of sensing Abel's limiter.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 24, 2010 23:02:38 GMT -5
Souji nodded as Atem spoke. That sounded like it would work. He looked toward Teddie as he expressed his concern, and gave a small smile toward him.
"It's okay if you can't do it. Just... when the Dark Hour comes, see if you can try, alright?" Souji said to Teddie.
"We can hope," Naoto said.
"So, uh... we gonna get goin' soon or not?" Kanji spoke up. "We can't do anything 'til the Dark Hour starts anyway, so why don't we go?"
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Abel grumbled as Cain spoke. That man never did pass up a chance to tease him, even now. Though Cain had a point about Amaterasu and Souji's connection. If Izanagi was involved, then it made sense Amaterasu was involved, though it still didn't explain why Yamato-no-Orochi was losing it over Amaterasu. If he remembered right, wasn't it Susano-O who had killed the snake in myth? Well, he'd never paid attention to those kind of things back when he was a kid.
Something clicked with Issun. "Wait, you guys know that Souji guy?"
Atsuro gave a nod.
"Then you guys know about the Fall tonight, right?" Issun said. Amaterasu blinked. That's right, there was another group, wasn't there.... She had heard about another group, right? She looked over at Abel. The silver haired one had called him "His Majesty", and had Amaterasu been a lesser being, the name would have confused her. But she could sense that he was somehow limiting himself. Most likely via that bit of technology hanging from his shirt collar. Right there was where the reduction in his energies was centered around.
"Are you working with Yuugi's group?" Abel asked. Amaterasu gave a bark in response. Yes, then.
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 25, 2010 0:32:48 GMT -5
Teddie returned the smile. His was weaker, but he did seem to be trying rather hard. He couldn't get it out of his head how odd Souji had been acting, and an attempt at making the smile less forced backfired. It was bigger, but it was more forced than before. He turned towards Jounouchi and Anzu. The latter still seemed concerned with Atem's wound. It would hurt for a few days left as is, that was for sure. Teddie seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. Kanji spoke up as all that was going on and Yuugi nodded. Minato had been gone for two days. That meant two hours, right? What were the odds that he'd been prevented from reaching the top already? From everything he'd understood, that thing Minato refused to talk about would be up there already.
"Let's go save Minato-kun and Mochizuki-kun!"
It was Yuugi. Anzu gave a kind smile and a firm nod. The short teenager looked back towards the group and gave a firm smile. It wasn't forced, but it wasn't light. It was a sign of resolution. He had a feeling that if they couldn't save one, they wouldn't be able to save the other. And he refused to accept Ryoji was gone. Maybe he was being irrational, but that refusal had once saved Jounouchi, hadn't it? He would go as soon as the others gave indication they were headed out. Anzu and Jounouchi seemed to be rather confident in the situation, and the only real explanation was Yuugi was more of a leader than he realized. Atem was flexing his hand and turned to go with Yuugi.
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Cain didn't know about the events in one world's ancient Japan, but he did know the Shinto myths. The many lives he'd lived, he myths better than most people alive. Myths, and the extent of their reality. So while he didn't know that Amaterasu herself had defeated Orochi once, he knew about the more famous version regarding her brother. Families tended to be blamed for the action of one, and giving Amaterasu's rank in the pantheon it was quite understandable the snake "demon" wouldn't be pleased with her presence. Cain's expression didn't change as Issun asked his questions. If the envoy couldn't figure that out given the way they were prepared for a fight, it wasn't his problem. He smirked as Amaterasu responded. She claimed to work with them, but he wondered if Souji approved. He seemed greatly amused by something extra as he spoke again.
"I trust you know I'm aware of your presence?"
He was looking straight at Amaterasu as he spoke. He had no doubt the person he was addressing would know what he meant. Eyes weren't limited to seeing the obvious, and the branches and leaves of the tree near them couldn't be explained by wind or damage. He'd had the sense to hide his shadow, at least. Seth blinked as Cain spoke to Amaterasu in a rather out of context fashion and looked at Atsuro. Did he know what was going on? Kaido narrowed his eyes and looked at the goddess in wolf form. What was Cain seeing that he wasn't. Honestly, even the demons were a bit puzzled by the General's actions.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 25, 2010 1:38:49 GMT -5
Souji nodded as Yuugi spoke. They would rescue both of them. If they didn't, Minato would die trying. This was something Souji knew was a fact. Naoto nodded, and Kanji clenched his fists.
"Alright already! Let's get goin'! They won't save themselves, y'know!" Kanji yelled.
"I think Kanji-kun has the right idea," Naoto said with a bit of a chuckle. She regained a serious expression. "Let's go."
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Abel blinked as Cain spoke. He couldn't tell what Cain was talking about. He seemed to be talking to Amaterasu, but he wasn't looking toward her. Not only that, but what he was saying made no sense.
And then the branches on a nearby tree moved in a way they quite simply shouldn't. Abel's mind tried to derail, until the mental block quite simply dropped and a man Abel remembered all too well appeared in front of them. Amaterasu fell down into a crouching position and started growling at Enjin. Abel, on the other hand... his eyes had slitted. The limiter hadn't done much good as far as that went.
"Why the hell are you here?!" Abel snarled. Enjin smirked as he read Abel's thoughts. They alternated between murderous thoughts and images of the last time Enjin had encountered the Court of Bel.
"Don't delude yourself into thinking I'm here for you, Keiichi-kun," Enjin stated. He looked at Amaterasu and focused his Satellite on her. He wasn't getting any thoughts from her, so... "Well well. A genuine okami, hm? So it's not just Izanagi that's on this island. In any case. One of you wouldn't happen to have the time, would you?"
It was so very clear he was taunting them. Atsuro was glaring at Enjin. So this was the man who had forced Seth to kill Nirad...
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 25, 2010 1:53:05 GMT -5
Cain returned Enjin's look. At this point, one could have argued the two formed a messed up mirror. Cain made no actions. He didn't move or turn his eyes away from Enjin. His thoughts were pretty much centered on one thing. If Abel or Seth rushed him, he wouldn't stop them. There was a bit more than that, though, a bit more that Cain was making no effort to hide from the other silver haired man. If he insisted on staying around and getting himself attacked, it might do Abel some good. The oldest of the three brothers had never approved of Abel's decision to get a limiter, and it was possible Abel would have to remove it if he wanted to get in a serious fight. The smirk on Cain's face widened a bit. If Enjin thought he could get the upper hand by informing Abel of these facts, it wouldn't do any good. He wouldn't deny it, although he was confident in his ability to sidestep it.
Kaido let out a barely audible whistle as Enjin mocked Abel with the name and honorific. After that, his expression turned to a smirk. If Enjin kept this up, maybe he wouldn't have to be bored much longer. Quite honestly, he was only following Abel anymore out of a chain of command. In a straight up fight, he'd probably get killed. Even then, he'd been considering it. If he thought he could get the "King" to order no repercussions for a "duel" of that sort, he would have done it weeks ago. Especially given the pansy way Abel was now hiding behind a limiter, the way his feelings for Seth still messed with the group dynamic. Sure, it was all about the power and the want to continue controlling demons, Kaido would be the first to admit it. But right now, he wanted nothing more than for this "Enjin" to be an idiot. Torture would bring some good stress relief, after all. However, Kaido stopped as he saw Seth step forward once.
Seth's expression was a bit hard to read. His eyes were very distant and barely seemed human. His thoughts were focused around wrathful anger. Even his aura was being effected by it, going darker with every murderous thought that came up in his head. It wouldn't go outside human norms, but where he'd spent the three months following the first leave from the Island was pretty clear. Right now, due to his longer sleeved shirt, it was hard to tell he wasn't Abel. It wasn't the bit of scarring visible on his neck or the cross shaped scars on his hands that made it clear he wasn't the King of Bel. It was his aura to those that could sense it and the lack of slits in his eyes. Cain was aware as he took his second step forward, and both of his demons went on ready with a quick few punches of his COMP, which was at his side along with his arms.
"Leave," he ordered.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 25, 2010 2:58:59 GMT -5
Enjin's smirk only grew as the others had their respective reactions to him. From what he had observed of Abel and Seth (which was admittedly not much as he did care about his own life at times), he wasn't doubting Cain's thoughts. Or Seth's thoughts. If Abel didn't kill him first, Seth certainly would. He supposed it was rather personal for that particular twin, considering what he'd done to that one-winged bird demon of his. At the very least, he at least had things prepared.
"Like I said, I'm not here for any of you. But if you insist, Keiji-kun," Enjin said. He let his hand spark with the same electricity that he'd used to tune himself once before and lifted his hand up... and that was when Abel lost it. Abel shoved the headphones off his head, causing the limiter to go flying with them when he ran at Enjin, punching him hard enough to break what felt like all of his ribs at once. Felt like, because Abel wasn't bothering to check just how many bones he'd broken with that. He looked hardly human as he ripped into Enjin. He was grinning, and it was hard to tell he hadn't finally snapped from the way he was laughing. This was revenge for him. Revenge for what had happened with Nirad, revenge for everything that had happened that day.
All this lasted all of a few seconds before Abel held the broken and beaten man up by his neck. And even still Enjin was smirking.
"You failed," Enjin said, before quite simply disappearing. Abel's eyes widened, and his hand dropped. The man could teleport? If Abel thought back, he'd realize this hadn't been the first time this had happened. But right now, he was too much in shock over that sudden teleportation. He turned around and faced the rest of the court.
"If any of you ever see him again... Kill him. On sight," Abel snarled. "Torture him, drown him, do whatever you want. Just make sure he ends up dead."
Atsuro looked away from Abel, and as a result, caught sight of Abel's headphones lying of the ground. He picked them up, but didn't walk over to Abel to give them to him. He'd wait until Abel calmed down first. No need to provoke him at a time like this.
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 25, 2010 3:34:50 GMT -5
Seth had no idea if it would block what he saw Enjin preparing. He did remember that move. He remembered what it had done to Nirad. And if he was honest with himself, he couldn't say the wouldn't have a reaction similar. He had played that few minutes in his had an infinite amount of times. Enjin had made a point of telling them Nirad had "dropped" in the fashion he had from emotions. If Seth was nothing else, he was aware of the vengeful and murderous emotions racing through his head. The fact was the action and knowledge didn't frighten him, it just pissed him off more. He had enough head on his shoulders to attempt to defend himself, and a Makarakarn had gone up at the same instant that nothing short of a blue and black blur shot past him with enough speed that it seemed more like a gale force wind had shot past him. His cape and outfit flew with the physics of it as the headphones went flying to the side and Abel hit Enjin in the chest. Kaido had winced at the sound of multiple bones breaking.
Cain had taken several quick steps back as soon as he heard the "ji" part of his youngest brother's birth name. It was before Seth had gotten the Makarakarn up, to be precise. He had taken a quick step to the side as the headphones flew past him due to the force Abel had thrown them with. He was smiling at the ensuing scene. It wasn't a small one, Cain was quite clearly amused with the turn things had taken. Abel was a demon now, and it would seem he hadn't quite forgotten that little detail. Of particular amusement to the man was that Seth looked neither surprised or upset. He was almost snarling at Enjin, and his thoughts were all but daring the wolf-eared man to fight back, to get to his feet, anything to give Abel an excuse to beat him more. The fact of the matter was that Seth was more concerned with Enjin paying for what he had done than how fast Abel was falling in this situation. He'd look back at it later with horror, but for now he just wanted Enjin dead.
A Tetrakarn had gone up around Kaido and his demons as Abel flew forward. Honestly, at the speed the King of Demons was moving, he'd already gotten three hits above the first one in by the time Kaido's group was protected. However, the man seemed amused by the development as well, if a little worried about what he'd been thinking earlier. Then again, if Abel was willing to use this kind of power, there was far less to worry about. Kaido wasn't one to question the chain of command as long as the ones above him weren't afraid to use their power. The demons in the group were showing various levels of surprise and approval. As it was, there wasn't a single member of Abel's demonic court that weren't at least mildly annoyed with the way he was denying his nature, even now. This was what he needed to be if he really wanted to be their ruler. The only special reaction of the group was Orochi's. Even with his serpentine features, it was clear he was smiling at Amaterasu. Smiling at the goddess over Abel's actions.
All of these reactions lasted about as long as Abel's demonic assault. It was followed by Abel hoisting the man up, and given the height difference he had to lift Enjin quite a bit to get his feet off the ground. He didn't even look like it took effort. Any idiot could see Enjin's life was about to end, and then he vanished. Cain's smirk dropped to normal levels at that, but in truth he had to admire the getaway. Given his ability to hide, it was entirely possibly Abel had been beating up on a copy the entire time. Kaido was frowning and looking around for where Enjin had gone, but he gave a smug look that could mean nothing but of course at the order. Seth's expression was flat, if a little pained. Very hollow, but he gave a rather strong nod in confirmation. Cain chuckled and gave a nod and turned towards Amaterasu to observe her reactions.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Jun 25, 2010 3:53:30 GMT -5
In truth, Abel's actions hadn't surprised Amaterasu in the slightest. She had expected something like this to happen. She knew demons, and it was always the most well spoken ones that were the most dangerous. Abel seemed almost human, which meant something was strange about him. Things were confirmed as the headphones hit the ground and Abel rushed forward.
If Yamato-no-Orochi was smiling, then Amaterasu was quite certainly glaring at the snake. She realized what was going on here. She didn't need that damn snake to rub it in.
"H-Holy... You're crazy!" Issun said, taking a couple steps back toward Ammy. Abel looked down at the bug and gave it a flat stare.
"Shut up or I'll squash you," Abel said. Amaterasu snarled and jumped back up into her defensive position over Issun, whipping her tail around angrily as she did so. She was growling at Abel, and daring him to even think about harming Issun.
"U-Um... Abel, here..." Atsuro said meekly, holding out the headphones and limiter as he spoke. Abel took the headphones and secured them back on his head, the demonic slits fading as his eyes once again returned to that lifeless look they typically had.
"Thanks, Atsuro," Abel said, and clipped the limiter back onto his shirt.
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Post by mugenginga on Jun 25, 2010 4:20:23 GMT -5
Cain smirked at Issun's words. Alright, so Cain smirked a lot. It was worse than usual this time. He wasn't surprised at the lack of reaction from the goddess, but a bit disappointed. Well, he didn't consider her stupid. Atsuro had used one of her aspects before, and even the pieces of the greater whole that existed in their world weren't stupid. If he had been the type to have pity, he might have. Amaterasu was a demon who was best used a healer for a reason, after all. Seth took in a deep breath and looked around before looking at Cain. While the silver haired man wasn't what one would call readable, Seth was better at it than most. He could tell Enjin wasn't around anymore. He frowned and hung his head. His entire chest hurt. Dammit, why did that thing have to show up now?
Kaido was giving a flat look at Orochi. If they were going to be stuck working with the wolf, even he could see the merit in not causing issues. It wasn't enough to cause him to withdraw the multi-headed snake, but he did walk forward and stamp on the end of one of its tails. With the effect of the Harmonizer, the demon felt it and jerked all its heads towards Kaido. Kaido hopped back and they glared at each other for a few seconds before Orochi backed down. Kaido looked in the direction of the apartments and then at the clock on his COMP. Fifteen minutes until midnight.
"Where the hell are they?"
Seth shivered a bit as a cold wind blew past. He looked towards Abel with a guilty (albeit still hollow) expression as Atsuro handed back the limiter. He probably should have done that. He probably shouldn't have encouraged that behavior earlier. Really, the fact that Abel had come back so easily... was that limiter actually having an effect after all? Was he learning to control things? Seth's train of thought was interuppted as he felt something wet and cold hit his nose. He blinked and looked up and his eyes widened.
Just over ten days until Christmas and it had finally begun to snow...
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The various delays had meant Souji's group had left the apartments just forty five minutes before the Dark Hour was set to begin. Void City was just that, a city. So it had quite the night life, and the shortest route to the hotel from the apartments was through one of the more active areas. Any other time of year, the crowd may have been seen as odd. But it was nearing Christmas. The winter solstice was an odd sort, as almost every universe tended to have some celebration or another surrounding it. Really, even Void City had caved and gone to calling it two things. Winter Solstice and Christmas. Giving the number of universes that hit the Island, it was just saner that way.
In any case, the crowd wasn't seen as odd because it was just another crowd. In the past week, Yuugi and his friends had gotten better clothing. It had been second hand given the number of people, but it meant even Anzu wasn't freezing. She had pants on for once, although she had gone for the bellbottoms. She was wearing a long-sleeved jacket. Jounouchi's outfit wasn't that different from usual, just with longer sleeves. Atem had opted for an outfit a bit looser than usual so he wouldn't have fabric clinging to him. Yuugi wasn't even wearing his school uniform, giving the thing was the spring-summer version and just too thin for the weather. They could have been better dressed as the temperature was dropping fast, but they weren't too bad.
Anzu noticed the snow first of their group. She paused and looked up, holding out a hand and looking as the large flakes landed there. She had thought it was odd the lack of snow on the ground, but the presence of snow now just depressed her. Now, right before such a big event. Teddie, who had adopted mascot form by this time, sneezed. The fur on his body bristled as he shook himself, but he noticed Anzu had stopped.
"Anzu-chan...?"
"I-I'm fine!" Anzu smiled and hurried after the group.
The door to the hotel and all those that stood in front of it were just coming into view. Atem seemed suprised by Abel's presence. Jounouchi looked rather annoyed, but Anzu was looking towards Yuugi for his reaction. It came quick enough, and with a slight smile.
"K1-kun!"
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