Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, Return of The Dark Hour [IC Thread]

[galesonic]

Kohaku noticed the commotion between the two girls about the Dark Hour, as its called being real. If it was the reason why all the electricity was always out at midnight would be an appropriate reason. Though with the teacher, let alone the principal. not even explaining much about how we are involved made this seems a bit like a waste of time. He really thought about going to kendo, but it seemed a bit too late for that. He sighed as he placed his head on the desk. What a waste of bringing his kendo gear and the swordstick he borrowed from his teacher. "If we do have Personas, as our teacher said, how do we even use them?" he asked himself as he thought of the reason why he has one.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#4b0082]"Alright class, that's enough for today,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva informed as she decided to enter the classroom, [/color][color=#4b0082]"I'm sure you're all wanting to go home now... that's understandable. Just remember to meet me at Hanged Horse Park at 11:30 tonight, and bring a weapon with you. Help yourself to an Evoker as well, they're just on the desk here."[/color]

[color=#000000]Xiva pulled out a box of Evokers from under a trap door under her desk, and placed it on top of one the front ones for everyone to grab, trusting that, even in the unlikely event that not everyone had collected an Evoker, she'd get here early enough to stash the remaining ones away again before the other teachers could see it... or any of the other [i]students[/i] for that matter. She was about to go on ahead before the rest of the class before she realized she forgot to tell them something.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]"Oh, one more thing,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva quickly stated, [/color][color=#4b0082]"Don't tell [i]anyone[/i] else about [i]any[/i] [/color][color=#4B0082]of this..."[/color]

[color=#000000]She left the door open and left the school.[/color]

[color=#000000][b]July 12, 2012, 11:23pm[/b]
[b]Hanged Horse Park[/b][/color]

[color=#000000]Xiva was naturally the first to arrive, having gotten there about half an hour ago. She was leaning on one of the park benches, observing the night sky with her back turned to whoever might be coming her way. All of a sudden though, she lowered her gaze.[/color]

[color=#4b0082]"Igor [i]did[/i] say that a stone pushed down a hill by one can only be stopped by many... or something like that, but..."[/color][color=#000000] Xiva muttered to herself sorrowfully, [/color][color=#4b0082]"...I don't know, they're still too young. How can it come [i]up[/i] [/color][color=#4B0082]to this?"[/color]

[color=#ee82ee]"Um... Ms. Xiva?"[/color][color=#000000] she turned round to see that Kira had come surprisingly early, barely a minute earlier than the current time. Her maul had been resting on her right shoulder, as she normally kept it.[/color]

[color=#4b0082]"Vulzah; Xiva's my [i]first[/i] name,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva corrected Kira, before deciding she'd best answer her, [/color][color=#4B0082]"What is it?"[/color]

[color=#EE82EE]"That eye of yours..."[/color][color=#000000] Kira tapped her foot as she swayed innocently, her free hand behind her back as she did so, [/color][color=#ee82ee]"Sorry if this offends you or something, but uh... it kinda makes you look like a freak or something."[/color]

[color=#000000]All she received from Xiva was a cold blank stare.[/color]

[Cray-Crow]

Somebody behind Jaz had asked how we utilized these Persona. Just then Miss Vulzah re-entered the room after conversing with the principal just outside the door. She stated that this first meeting was now over. [i][color=#800080]Well, great. Love how informative this was. Dark Hour is presumably real. I, well, we, have Persona.[/color][/i]

The one productive thing about this first gathering was the decision to meet with Miss Vulzah at Hanged Horse Park, just before the stroke of midnight. Means of self defense was also brought up. If all goes well, relatively speaking, the Dark Hour [i]will [/i]happen. It'll be proven, and Jaz wouldn't really have another choice besides joining with the instructor against the hidden hour.

Miss Vulzah then placed a box on one of the most forward of desks. Just a moment before she mentioned something called an Evoker. Maybe that's what were held in this box.

[color=#4B0082]"Oh, one more thing,"[/color][color=#000000] Miss Vulzah quickly stated, [/color][color=#4b0082]"Don't tell [i]anyone[/i] else about [i]any[/i] [/color][color=#4B0082]of this..."[/color]

The instructor then left the room. Jaz looked around and seemed to be the first to lift herself from her desk. Opening the box, she found guns. Jaz's face expressed panic. [color=#800080][i]G-guns? Wha- we'll need guns?[/i][/color]She lifted one from its resting position. Generalizing it was a revolver, she noticed it had no ammunition in its barrels. [color=#800080][i]Empty. They're probably all empty. What would empty guns do?[/i][/color] She figured this first one she handled was good enough. It seemed like a relic compared to guns she'd see on television or in movies. It was pretty she thought, mirror-like, with floral patters. She put it in her bag and faced the students remaining in the room. [color=#800080]"I don't know about the rest of you, but I'll be there. I, kinda, hope you'll show." [/color]With that, she exited the room and left home.

[b]Hanged Horse Park[/b]
[b]same day 11:33[/b]

She didn't see anyone else around. Jaz pulled her pea-coat closer around herself, then placed her hands in her pockets. One palm grasped the handle of her Evoker. She felt nervous carrying a gun with her, despite it being empty. She also felt strange carrying a sword with her. It was old, almost rustic, but it was all she could scrounge for.

After some distance Jaz noticed two feminine figures at a bench. [color=#800080][i]Oh man, found them. I was about to start scaring myself. One looks to be Miss Vulzah, at least. [/i][/color]When Jaz come up to them, the instructor was just blankly staring at the younger girl.

[color=#800080]"Hi. I made it."[/color]

[galesonic]

When Miss Vulzah came back into the room, she told them to get to Hanged Horse Park at 11:30 pm, this gave Kohaku a bit of surprise. Was she going to how us that the Dark Hour was true? On top of that, she gives them guns? Wouldn't that really be against school regulation? Let alone the law? He hesitantly picked up the Evoker from the box and placed it in his kendo bag. Thoughts raced into his head, like if this was gonna be a trap. Its only a matter of time. As Miss Vulzah left, not before telling everyone not to tell anyone else, he left to go to kendo practice, if he had enough time.

[b]Hanged Horse Park, 11:33[/b]

Kohaku slowly walked into the park, with his swordstick hidden in his kendo bag. The Evoker he had placed in his pocket. Although he was too skeptical to bring it, something inside him told him to, and against his better judgement he did. He didn't know why, but he felt like Miss Vulzah was telling the truth about the Dark Hour. His train of thought cut off when he noticed three people at the benches, one being Miss Vulzah. He walked his way towards the group. "I guess I wasn't the only one wanting to see this happen." he quietly spoke.

[Hydra of Ages]

Izumi sighed and shook her head at the insanity. When Xiva had pulled out a crate of what seemed to be gun facsimiles, she could only take one along with the rest. Their purpose was unclear, though the bullet chambers were empty; far as she could consider, such a thing would only be good on display in a museum. Or perhaps, to gradually wean people into the idea of killing others with it. Or perhaps one's self, if said person doing so happened to be a member of a brainwashing cult- which was looking more and more likely as time passed on.

The false-weapon had weight to it, and she was relatively certain she wouldn't be able to distinguish it from a regular gun if pressed for time and unable to examine the magazines. While it was aesthetically almost identical to the rest of its siblings, her chosen gun seemed to have a reversed trigger for some strange reason- and, more importantly, a carving of a butterfly at the top. The design was nice, and to be honest she wouldn't mind adding it to her collection if it weren't so morbid and similar to a highly illegal weapon. Strange that a butterfly design would be among the variations provided, but it seemed she was just lucky.

Perhaps a bit too lucky. Maybe she was reading into it a bit much, but the other students also seemed to receive Evokers almost personally tailored to their tastes, if not personality. Were they being observed by... someone? Something?

That line of thinking wouldn't go anywhere pleasant fast. It wouldn't have been so bad if Izumi hadn't fully intend to attend the meetup at the part; as terrible an idea as it was, she certainly didn't have anything better to do with her time. So much nowadays was [i]boring... [/i]and it was unlikely this would be any different. But, maybe, and only maybe...

She gathered up her things and left without another word. There really wasn't anything left to say, after all.

Perhaps after they met at the park, but... no, she wouldn't get her hopes up. Not again.

-

[b]Later that Night[/b]

-

Izumi twirled her naginata casually as she approached the meeting spot, largely just putting on a show for any would-be assailants. Japan could be a dangerous place at night for a young girl, though a large weapon largely helped nullify that danger.

It, was, of course, foremost a practice weapon. The blade was made of metal, but not particularly sharp metal- still, size alone worked wonders against opponents armed with lesser weapons, and she wasn't about to be arrested by the police for carrying obvious weaponry in public areas. At least she had a permit for the naginata, nonfatal as it was.

The replica gun she kept at her waist would be more difficult to explain, though arguably it was even a better deterrent. Still, better to keep that one concealed- Gin city didn't have an exceptional police presence, but it was still an urban city in Japan. One couldn't know where a policeman might pop up at any given moment, especially at night, and especially when you happened to be an abnormally large group armed to the teeth meeting under the cover of darkness.

Wait, did she just join a gang?

Putting that aside for the moment, she approached the rest of the group at the designated bench and scoffed slightly.

"Fine. I came. Can we put this stupidity to rest now?" she asked, a little more snippy than usual. She pulled her blue coat tighter around her as she felt a chill in the air.

-

[b]Elsewhere, at the same time[/b]

-

Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Is it just me, or is time actually moving slower?" Kyo asked as he stared at the face of his watch intently. He almost flinched when the minute hand finally twitched. The red velvet of the couch he reclined on didn't do much to lower his anxiety, low-key as it was. Most things Kyo did were low-key. Even the exceptional ones.

"The standards set for the duration of a [i]'second' [/i]remain identical to records placed a minimum of fifteen years in the past," Senis responded without moving from his side, standing rather than sitting. She stared past him rather than at him, but Kyo still seemed to think they were in some sort of dialogue.

"However, the existence of a twenty-fifth hour experienced by specific individuals changes the length of a day by 4%. Assuming relative 'time' in this case is an average of seconds experienced over a significant interval of time, time does indeed flow slower for those awakened to the Dark Hour than it does for those without such an ability."

"Hm," Kyo responded without looking up, "Sounds about right." He closed his watch with a soft click, and fiddled with the chain slightly. Then, he opened it again and stared at the face longer. Part of him was annoyed that he now took the armed combat robot girl beside him and a magical hour of the day some people couldn't experience for granted now. But then again, life was adaptation- for as odd as they had been, they'd been integrated into his life rather easily.

"Waiting for the dark hour?" came a third voice, ascending the stairs. Neither Kyo nor Senis moved their gaze, but both knew who it was without even looking.

"Sort of," Kyo muttered to Keisuke. The older man chuckled a little bit and sat down in a red velvet chair, opposite Kyo's couch.

"Fair enough. Today, we have a true assignment, instead of defeating Shadows at random. Perhaps you should take point for this outing, Kyo- given your obvious enthusiasm."

"Oh. Yeah. Sure. Sounds like fun," Kyo uttered. He wasn't even sure if he was sarcastic or not.

Keisuke grinned. "Now, we simply wait for the remaining two. Oh Senis- would you be a dear and keep monitoring the situations?"

[Durandamon]

Markus got up, and snapped his neck -[color=#daa520] "Finally...I don't even care about this Dark Hour, and wether it's real or not. I know it's real." [/color]- He got near the box with the Evokers, and grabbed one - [color=#daa520]"So this is the thing that makes the thing go all...thingy. I don't even know." [/color]- He ran out of the room, and out of the building -[color=#daa520] "Perhaps I should get home...I have that sword there, if it gets too dangerous."[/color] - Markus started running, hoping to get home and to the Hanged Horse Park in time.

[b]Hanged Horse Park, 11:43 - same day.[/b]

Markus was panting and weezing, but finally reached the park with the giant, rusty Claymore on his back, dragging it from its excesive weight. He walked slowly toward the bench where Mrs.Vulzah was sitting, and let himself fall next to it, since there was someone else on the bench next to her - [color=#daa520]"I don't have a watch on me...so, how long till the fun begins, Miss Vulzah?"[/color]

[Yosuke-kun]

[b]Gin City 11:01 PM[/b]

Earlier had ended in complete disaster for Naruka. Actually, disaster might have been an understatement. All he needed to do was tell Xiva her comrade died in action, and that he was to take his place, but somehow he froze when he saw her; unable to utter even a single word. Pathetic. Even worse, while he was frozen, Xiva had ignored him, making it harder to speak.

"She said Hanged Horse park, right?" The question was more to himself than anyone else, but he didn't care much. The tall buildings around him were dark and silent. The inhabitants of them had either left or gone to sleep. Still, there was cops to worry about. And he DID have a wakizashi tied to his belt; not to mention the tsurugi -which he found out had almost no use other than to summon a Persona- which had been used as murder weapons in more than a few recent cases. Then again, that could've been because of the Shadows.

Midnight was approaching soon, and the Dark Hour with it. He'd have to move faster, and worry less if he wanted to get to the park on time.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000][b]CASA[/b][/color]

[color=#4b0082]"We [i]should[/i] be seeing something in approximately 17 minutes,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva answered Markus, before getting up and looking around to see the vast majority of the students had made it, but not everyone, [/color][color=#4b0082]"Hmm, someone's still missing, I'm [i]sure[/i] [/color][color=#4B0082]of it,"[/color]

[color=#ee82ee]"Yeah he is, we still don't have that... um... what's his name?"[/color][color=#000000] Kira attempted to reply, before finding herself stumped in terms of the absent student's name, [/color][color=#EE82EE]"Y'know, with the um... and the, err... that is to say..."[/color]

[color=#4b0082]"Forget I said anything,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva then told Kira, before turning back to the park, continuing to keep an eye on the ground.[/color]

[color=#000000][b]Mako Yamato[/b][/color]

[color=#000000]Meanwhile, neither at the Hanged Horse Park [i]nor[/i] wherever it was the Strega were meant to meet, Mako remained knelt down on a building rooftop where the CASA were unable to see him, observing its currently present members with a pair of binoculars. As he observed, it became clear that something was on his mind, and it was beginning to frustrate him.[/color]

[color=#000080]"Great, even [i]more[/i] chicks on the enemy's side,"[/color][color=#000000] he growled after he said this, [/color][color=#000080]"There [i]must [/i]be like, what?! [i]Four[/i] of them, now?! And [i]we[/i] [/color][color=#000080]don't even have...! Well, there's Senis, but last time I checked, humans don't f*** robots."[/color]

[color=#000000]Mako sighed heavily after letting out his frustration and checked his watch, only to suddenly reach an epiphany. He was only meant to spend 5 minutes each day spying on CASA, a task in which today he ended up spending 13.[/color]

[i][color=#000080]'S***, gotta run!'[/color][/i][color=#000000] Mako quickly darted off the rooftop and down onto ground level, before storming off to the Strega meeting place, running as fast as his body would allow him. This ended up eating a further 4 minutes and the vast majority of Mako's stamina, before the sailor had [i]finally[/i] managed to thrust open the door to the lounge, where Kyo, Keisuke and Senis were seated.[/color]

[color=#000080]"Sorry I'm late... Been spying on the enemy... a [i]little[/i] longer than I should have,"[/color][color=#000000] Mako apologized, in a tone that correctly implied that he needed to catch his breath, before he heavily inhaled several seconds later, [/color][color=#000080]"What did I miss?"[/color]

[Cray-Crow]

[color=#800080]Jaz Amor[/color]

[color=#800080][i]Oh man.. Only 17 minutes til.. [/i][/color]Miss Vulzah then noted that we were still missing one student. A pink-haired girl next to her spoke up, albeit rather poorly, trying to recall who was missing.

[color=#800080]"It's a blue-haired guy. Average height. Red tips to his hair. Kinda big. I wouldn't know his name, but he isn't here. Miss Vulzah, besides the ice, do you know what we're expecting?"[/color]

[color=#2f4f4f]Murdock Derren[/color]

He'd made it. Outside where a group called Strega was meeting for tonight. Since Murdock's come in contact with Strega, he's felt like he's being walking in the right direction, like a door to some truth had been opened. And now he faced one, waiting to be opened, with some sort of truth behind it.

Opening the door, he entered an illuminated foyer, just as had be described to him during his brief to join this meeting. Reaching his destination, he took the final door's knob into his hands, and before rotating it, he exhaled deeply. The truth behind this door was heavy, Murdock could feel it, and he was to become a part of it.

Entering a lounge room, four individuals were already there, making him the last one to arrive. A rather odd-looking young girl, a plain boy, a hardened young man, and whom he presumed to be leader of this small group. Murdock took a couple of steps and stood in a position not too close to the other members and not too far from the door.

[color=#2f4f4f]"I apologize for being late."[/color]

[Hydra of Ages]

"Disappointment?" Izumi hazarded from her seat, glancing at her nails. She hadn't painted them recently, but they were still more interesting than anything else going on.

"Possibly relief that the world isn't in danger from supernatural forces?" she asked, shaking her head a little with a small grin. "Thought it [i]would"[/i]be interesting if it were true. Guess I'll see in-:

She glanced at her watch. It had a nice blue butterfly as the image behind the hands. "-about fifteen minutes. Give or take the exchange rate of seconds between here and hell dimensions." She almost chuckled, but it wasn't that funny- also, she wasn't the type of person to laugh at their own jokes. Still, she did strech and move her limbs in order to get the stiffness out of her body- as much as she hated to admit it, it had been getting colder in the city lately. Not significantly, she supposed, but it was somewhat atypical given the season.

"What was that you said about freezing, again?" she muttered. rubbing her hands together briefly.

-

Senis blinked.

"You missed approximately twenty hours, forty-seven minutes of events proceeding from the end of last day. The hours included a variety of actions, including walking, various meetings undertaken by Keisuke Ishida, and various classes as reported by Kyo. It is possible for me to construct an estimated timeline from the accounts given thusfar. 12:00 AM- we proceed immediately to-"

"That should be satisfactory, Senis," Keisuke said with a smile. "Nothing to worry about, Yamato. But I'm sure you have something to report, then? Tell me, please, what's going on with our unfortunately deluded counterparts?"

Keisuke didn't really react when Murdock entered the room, beyond turn to face the man, perhaps brighten slightly, and gesture for him to sit down and make himself comfortable. Senis, of course, was only slightly less expressive than the average stone statue, but Kyo did cock his head a little at the new recruit. Keisuke had mentioned recently that he had picked up yet another soul akin to their own, capable of seeing the truth of the Dark Hour and willing to bring the message to everyone else as well.

"Hey," Kyo said to Murdock. His eyes were drawn back to the pocketwatch.

"Ah, Murdock, this is Kyo Miyamoto. A more reliable man has yet to be found," Keisuke said as he tore away from Mako for the moment. Kyo had the oddest feeling that Keisuke really meant boring. He tended to get that feeling a lot.

"Pleased to meet you," Kyo said, putting away the watch and sitting up.

[Cray-Crow]

[color=#800080]Jaz Amor[/color]

The girl that Jaz had argued with before, Izumi, had made another slightly antagonizing comment, whether she realized it or not, but Jaz thought better to start another debate in the middle of the night. She left it alone. Besides, they were going to have to work together in about 15 minutes.

[color=#2f4f4f]Murdock Derren[/color]

Having been invited to take his seat, he did so in a recliner for one. The young man who greeted him, with a seemingly smiling face, introduced a soon to be comrade, Kyo Miyamoto, the plain boy, who was gazing at a pocket watch.

[color=#2f4f4f]"Pleased to be here."[/color]

The girl appeared to remain completely still during Murdock's arrival, and the atmosphere signaled that the group had been in conversation just before. Not being his place, Murdock said no more and sat patiently for the more veteran members of the group to resume the meeting.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

[color=#000000][b]Mako Yamata[/b][/color]

[color=#000000]Mako would've paid a [i]lot[/i] more attention if the new arriver had been female, perhaps a bit more than [i]necessary[/i]. But he remained to the side and merely watched, as the man by the name of Murdock had entered the room. His [i]overall[/i] reaction was similar to Senis', but [i]he[/i] at least showed some other form action, that being shrugging his shoulders, before he decided he'd best report.[/color]

[color=#000080]"Well, they've actually got some new recruits for a change,"[/color][color=#000000] Mako stated, [/color][color=#000080]"Mostly school kids by the looks of things. Some guys, some girls; wouldn't be surprised if there was at least [i]one[/i] dumbass that doesn't believe in The Dark Hour out there..."[/color]

[color=#000000]He then started twirling around one of his Emei Piercers, specifically the one on his left hand, as things started to compound on his mind. Partly because he was trying to think of what else to say in his report to Keisuke, partly because he was still frustrated about the major difference in gender balance between the Strega and the CASA and partly because he was just... bored out of his [i]mind[/i]. With such a vast difference in time between each Dark Hour, even if he [i]had[/i] only 15 minutes to wait at this stage, patience could only take Mako so far, especially considering that his work as a sailor would always end the minute dusk broke out each day.[/color]

[color=#000080]"At the moment they're just screwing around like [i]we[/i] are,"[/color][color=#000000] Mako added, [/color][color=#000080]"But [i]I'd[/i] start training them recruits right [i]now[/i] if I were their leader; 15 minutes is the [i]perfect[/i] amount of time for a quick 101 on Shadow battling and stuff like that..."[/color]

[color=#000000][b]Xiva Vulzah[/b][/color]

[color=#000000]Xiva looked up at the sky next, before turning back to Jaz.[/color]

[color=#4b0082]"The first thing you should see is a change in colour in the sky,"[/color][color=#000000] Xiva replied, [/color][color=#4b0082]"The Dark Hour tends to give it a tinge of teal, although the moon and the stars will turn turquoise. And then there's the grounds of the park itself; they'll start caving in from the inside out, allowing us to see the very core of the earth. They'll probably extend so that they touch the core as well, and become the walls of the chasm that The Dark Hour [/color][color=#4b0082][i]transforms[/i][/color][color=#4b0082] this park into. On days like this, with no full moon out, you'll start to see lots of Shadows proceed to climb these walls. They're weak individually, so as long as they don't all go for a single person, we should be able to handle them. But try not to let them retreat; they'll only return back the [i]next[/i] Dark Hour at full strength."[/color]

[galesonic]

Only 15 minutes until the Dark Hour arrives. Kohaku kept saying that in his mind as he rummaged through his kendo bag. He took out the Evoker that Miss Vulzah gave to the students. It still irked him that he needed to use it against the Shadows as Miss Vulzah called them. Along with it, he took the swordstick given by his teacher. it was basic at best. Hilt-less, eggshell scabbard, and the blade being sharp at one edge and very sharp at the point. A standard stabbing sword at best, but Kohaku uses it as a form of a slashing weapon thanks to its frailty. He took a seat by the tree and placed both his Evoker and his blade on his lap. He closed his eyes, waiting for the time the Dark Hour was to appear before the group.

[Durandamon]

[color=#daa520]"Seventeen minutes 'til showtime."[/color] - Markus got up, and checked the Evoker he got from Miss Vulzah. It looked like a regular gun, and he didn't know how it was gonna help against those "Shadows" -[color=#daa520] "Wait a second, does that mean that this is like the portal between them and us? Where do they come from anyway? Hell? And now...fifteen minutes."[/color] - Leon pulled out his Claymore Sword and hit the ground, leaving it half buried. - [color=#daa520]"And how are these guns gonna help us? I don't think this thing has any bullets in it, right?"[/color] - he sighed, and sat by his buried sword. [color=#daa520][i]"What the f*ck have I gotten myself into? She looks so serious, and everyone too...sigh...Why didn't I call in sick today...?"[/i][/color]

[Cray-Crow]

[color=#800080]Jaz Amor[/color]

What Miss Vulzah was what clergymen of any faith would describe as unholy. The sky turns a sick color, and the park is sucked down to the middle of the earth, as if connected with Hell itself. And the shadows, though Miss Vulzah never said it, it could be easily asumed that there would be swarms of them. There must be. There's many miles between the crust and the core of the earth, many caves and chasms where these creatures of darkness could hide.

[color=#800080]"Miss Vulzah, do you really believe in us?" [/color]Jaz wasn't looking to become a coward and leave the group here at the park. All she wanted was reassurance. Some glimmer in the soon to be darkness.

[color=#2f4f4f]Murdock Derren[/color]

One of the other members began to report some findings he had made. He described another group, though this one with far younger members. Murdock admittantly didn't know what he was talking about, but he was sure he'd be more informed as the meeting progressed. So for now, Murdock had no intuitive thoughts, and had even less to add to the conversation.