[ONE HANDWAVED EXPLANATION ABOUT THE METAVERSE LATER. . . Akira leads Makoto and Minato to the lobby of the resort. he makes sure no one else is around, before he pulls out his phone and calls up the MetaNav app. it's. . . kind of comforting to see it, after going so long without it]
[a deep breath, and his gaze flickers up to the two members of his team who are here. Minato and Makoto. . . he knows he can trust them. he knows they'll have his back. and when Ichigo joins them, they'll have a perfect four-person team]
[Minato has no idea what they're doing, really--I mean, that's a lie, because he definitely understands the thought process behind the Metaverse as well as he possibly can from their explanation. It's just...that there are some things you don't really understand until you experience them, and so...
... It's fine, no time like the present to experience it and learn, right?]
[some people climb towers, some people use Metaverse google maps. It's all about the experience and the friends you make along the way, right?
At any rate, just as Akira's clothes change, so do Makoto's. Her brass knuckles should be intimidating for, well, any shadows they run into in this dungeon.]
When am I not?
[it's a nice bonus to have her gun be useful again, too.]
[Well, fun fact: It's less 'dungeon' to start off with, and more 'concrete jungle'. Yep, you're starting off outside in a large, large city. It's not quite what you Japanese kids might be expecting, though, because it is an American large city. So, a very condensed downtown, and then miles upon miles of city streets and neighborhoods.
You're at a playground near a highway overpass, where kids are playing on old-yet-functional playground equipment. This park isn't just for kids, though, as there seems to be a group of teenagers playing basketball on a nearby court too. And given that these kids and teenagers are hanging out here in the middle of the day, it's probably a weekend. No school to worry about.
On a bench nearby there is what looks like a smartphone, but a bit more advanced than the smartphones Makoto and Akira would be used to. It's got maybe a decade or two on them technology-wise? But it's still recognizable as a smartphone. And on the smartphone is a scrolling news feed.
[. . . Akira isn't sure what he was expecting, but. . . for some reason? it wasn't this]
Stay close.
[he orders, voice low, as he approaches the bench, coattails fluttering behind him. when his gaze lands on the phone and he notices the English letters flashing on the screen, he sighs and scoops the device up, immediately handing it to Makoto]
[Minato's used to a lot of weirdness, he really is, and he tends to take it all into stride... but they've been dumped into a city that he doesn't at all recognize, and he's been dumped into a weird costume and a weird mask, which is edgy to the extreme and he's kind of left looking around and plucking at the fabric with a faint frown.
But.
As per usual Minato norm, he's just kind of dealing with all of that silently while Akira and Makoto do their thing, head tilting from side to side.
[Luckily it's a news feed, so it mostly uses formal English. There's a few words she will not be able to understand, because they're very specific words with a specific meaning to them. But it does mention Russia, and crisis, and factories. Something about factories starting up again and causing a crisis.
There is a video to click if she wants to watch a video. Does she want to watch a video?
Meanwhile, the two boys will be able to notice some cloud trails in the skies. They're like the trails that follow behind airplanes, but there are a lot of them. And they all seem to be heading in the same direction.
Hmm. How strange.
The kids in the park seem to have taken notice as well, and one of the teenagers has dropped the basketball he had been holding just moments ago.]
[It is heading towards them, but fun fact: it's not missiles. As everyone will find out by listening to the news report as they run for cover.]
-the casualties reaching over six thousand, this stands to be the worst attack in the crisis to date. With the factories coming back online all over the globe, civilians are advised to stay inside and let the militaries and government organizations handle these invaders-
[Speaking of which, that underpass seems to be a good place to hide. Duck under there?
But regardless, several of the flying objects will crash into the ground not far from the trio. They're not bombs, so there are no explosions, but concrete and dirt and metal get thrown everywhere.
Then, from the craters, come several four-legged robots the size of tanks.
[okay, well. at least this is better than bombs!!! Akira skids to a halt from the run he had broken into, whirling on his heel as he presses a hand against his mask. he knows their Persona powers have been nerfed to almost useless levels. single-target, low level magical spells only. but at the very least? they still have their physical attacks]
[he shouts out, voice booming, authoritative in nature]
Use your AoE physical attacks, if you've got them! Queen, focus your assault on the right. Minato, to your left. I'll take the center!
Only hit them enough to distract them so we can escape!
[and with that? his masks bursts into flame as 16-bit Satanael appears at his back, shooting a Riot Gun assault across the field. seems like he's choosing the "shoot out an assault to distract them and then bolt" strategy]
[Well. Robots are better than bombs, but... Minato's not sure he feels all too confident about facing them with their Personas nerfed as they are. At least if he had Messiah to rely on, things would be different, but even Messiah is down to practically useless spells--
Ah well.
He's seen Akira summon enough times by now to know how this works. Not the Evoker, but rather the mask, right? Focus on the Persona, grasp at the mask, and--]
Got it!
[He summons Thanatos, who probably looks utterly ridiculous in his sad 16-bit form, but the sword attack the Persona unleashes is wide ranged enough to take on the enemies to the left.
[As luck would have it, there is a path you can escape by! It seems like some of the teenagers from the park are using it too, taking a stairwell down to an underground area of the city.
One of the teenage boys, a black boy who looks to be about 17, stops long enough to look up at the robots that are advancing towards the group. He also looks at the group themselves for a moment, his gaze focusing on Akira, then Minato, then finally on Makoto.
[uh, yeah, so much for plan "attack and run." now it's just plan "run and hope they don't get shot." hm!!]
[he catches sight of the kids and the teenager around their age bolting down the stairwell to the underground area as he pulls back. his gaze narrows at the fleeing teen's back, before he shouts out]
All right, let's head towards that stairwell! Queen, follow us when you're done with the barricade!
[TIME TO PULL BACK]
[Akira's bolting towards that stairwell as fast as he phantom thief feet will carry him, but he does look over his shoulder as he goes to make sure Makoto falls in line behind him when she is done fucking up some cars]
[Yeah... it'd be hard not to feel those eyes on them. Minato's eyes slide from the teen's back to Makoto, frowning as he follows Akira properly--he's the same as Akira, though, really, poised and ready to turn on his heel and run to Makoto's aid if she needs any.
It's not easy for them to leave anyone behind even for a moment, after all; that's their role as leaders.]
[it's not like she's going to make this complicated, though, because she has zero desire to get stuck there long term.
She casts a quick mafreidyne, aimed between two cars, knocking them towards the robots.
And she bolts once she confirms they're landing in the right direction. there's absolutely no way she's staying there long. She's reckless, not suicidal.]
[Congrats on being smart and running away. You guys stood no chance against that group.
But as you descend the stairs, it changes from an underground stairwell to...a normal concrete staircase in a building? How did that happen?
But regardless, you're now inside what appears to be a military base of sorts. With wandering soldiers in the same uniform who will attack randomly because #Persona. But let's fast-forward the mook fights because you guys can wipe them out easily and they're nbd. Just extra fights to grind.
But anyway at the end of one of the hallways is a big board room that is currently empty, except for two young men. Young men who are built like fukken brick walls, but they still look like they're in their 20s. One of them appears to be the teenager from before, just older and a lot beefier. He even grew facial hair, look at that!]
"So we, what, just take all the best soldiers from each military?"
"Sure, why not? We need to make a strike team, we might as well get the best."
"It's not a bad idea, but that's going to be expensive."
"I already know like five people who are eager to sign up. We just need to get the U.S. Military to sign off on it, and we can do it."
"Yeah, the numbers do look good. I just hope it's enough to end the war."
"It will be."
[It looks like the two of them are planning something. Do you want to interrupt them? Or move on?]
[HECK YES MOOK FIGHTS. taking down those soldiers is, at least for Akira, some good warm up. and he's in high spirits by the time they reach the board room. he lifts a finger to his lips (shush shush) and tries to duck behind the door frame, to hide himself while he eavesdrops on the conversation a little further]
[The mook fights are honestly incredibly energizing; it feels good to be able to do something, instead of just sitting back and waiting for their fates to come to them.
But.
Minato knows he's no actual Phantom Thief! Even if he's got the outfit, he's not near as confident in his stealth stat. He'll hang back a bit while Akira (and possibly Makoto?) edge closer to eavesdrop on that conversation.]
[The sneaking works for now, at least, so you can listen in!
...admittedly it's mostly boring talk about recruiting people and making 'a strike team', but it's clear from the interactions here that these two are close. Very close. Best friends at the absolute least. They trust each other fully, and have each other's backs.
And when the scene shifts abruptly, to a time when both men are a bit older and dressed in different uniforms (different from what they wore before, and different from each other now), the change in them is quite striking. Because they are no longer standing close to each other, working on a project together. No, now they're fighting.]
"I already told you, your group can't operate in that country. We don't have permission to be there."
People are dying. People are already dead! How many of my men do I have to bury before we can take this guy down?
"It's out of my hands. We have to wait for the local government to arrest him and send him to us."
He's lining their pockets! They'll never arrest him! We need to go in with a strike team, take him out, and bring him back here.
"We can't do that, we have to operate diplomatically. If we don't, the whole world will be ripping us apart for being untrustworthy!"
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
[a deep breath, and his gaze flickers up to the two members of his team who are here. Minato and Makoto. . . he knows he can trust them. he knows they'll have his back. and when Ichigo joins them, they'll have a perfect four-person team]
All right. Are you two ready?
no subject
... It's fine, no time like the present to experience it and learn, right?]
Yes, all set.
[LET'S DO IT.]
no subject
At any rate, just as Akira's clothes change, so do Makoto's. Her brass knuckles should be intimidating for, well, any shadows they run into in this dungeon.]
When am I not?
[it's a nice bonus to have her gun be useful again, too.]
no subject
You're at a playground near a highway overpass, where kids are playing on old-yet-functional playground equipment. This park isn't just for kids, though, as there seems to be a group of teenagers playing basketball on a nearby court too. And given that these kids and teenagers are hanging out here in the middle of the day, it's probably a weekend. No school to worry about.
On a bench nearby there is what looks like a smartphone, but a bit more advanced than the smartphones Makoto and Akira would be used to. It's got maybe a decade or two on them technology-wise? But it's still recognizable as a smartphone. And on the smartphone is a scrolling news feed.
Can any of you read English?]
no subject
Stay close.
[he orders, voice low, as he approaches the bench, coattails fluttering behind him. when his gaze lands on the phone and he notices the English letters flashing on the screen, he sighs and scoops the device up, immediately handing it to Makoto]
Can you read English, Queen?
no subject
But.
As per usual Minato norm, he's just kind of dealing with all of that silently while Akira and Makoto do their thing, head tilting from side to side.
DOING GREAT OVER HERE, IT'S ALL GOOD.
( also here's a source )]
no subject
[she takes the phone from Akira-- she's very book smart at English. More than passable, but not fluent. Slang and the like would throw her for a loop.
What can she pick up?]
no subject
There is a video to click if she wants to watch a video. Does she want to watch a video?
Meanwhile, the two boys will be able to notice some cloud trails in the skies. They're like the trails that follow behind airplanes, but there are a lot of them. And they all seem to be heading in the same direction.
Hmm. How strange.
The kids in the park seem to have taken notice as well, and one of the teenagers has dropped the basketball he had been holding just moments ago.]
1/2
no subject
[and he leaps into action]
Holy shi-- we've been here five seconds, but unless we want to get blown to pieces, we need to move!
no subject
Minato's eyes definitely snap up to those trails as well, brow furrowing. Oh. Yikes.
His eyes snap back to the teens who were playing, but... Makoto and Akira had said they weren't real, right? The people in the Metaverse...
... Right, okay, they have to focus on just moving forward, then. Firmly, but calmly, as he snaps to attention--]
Let's find shelter.
no subject
Go, I'm following!
[she will, but yeah. this is a dangerous heart? Is there any immediately obvious places to run]
no subject
-the casualties reaching over six thousand, this stands to be the worst attack in the crisis to date. With the factories coming back online all over the globe, civilians are advised to stay inside and let the militaries and government organizations handle these invaders-
[Speaking of which, that underpass seems to be a good place to hide. Duck under there?
But regardless, several of the flying objects will crash into the ground not far from the trio. They're not bombs, so there are no explosions, but concrete and dirt and metal get thrown everywhere.
Then, from the craters, come several four-legged robots the size of tanks.
Fight? Or run?]
no subject
[he shouts out, voice booming, authoritative in nature]
Use your AoE physical attacks, if you've got them! Queen, focus your assault on the right. Minato, to your left. I'll take the center!
Only hit them enough to distract them so we can escape!
[and with that? his masks bursts into flame as 16-bit Satanael appears at his back, shooting a Riot Gun assault across the field. seems like he's choosing the "shoot out an assault to distract them and then bolt" strategy]
no subject
Ah well.
He's seen Akira summon enough times by now to know how this works. Not the Evoker, but rather the mask, right? Focus on the Persona, grasp at the mask, and--]
Got it!
[He summons Thanatos, who probably looks utterly ridiculous in his sad 16-bit form, but the sword attack the Persona unleashes is wide ranged enough to take on the enemies to the left.
... Not that it seems to do much to them.]
no subject
She's going to say the obvious, as the strategist..]
Akira, we should run.
Go ahead of me, I'll knock some of the cars in their way!
no subject
One of the teenage boys, a black boy who looks to be about 17, stops long enough to look up at the robots that are advancing towards the group. He also looks at the group themselves for a moment, his gaze focusing on Akira, then Minato, then finally on Makoto.
Then he turns and runs down the stairs.
Hm.]
no subject
[he catches sight of the kids and the teenager around their age bolting down the stairwell to the underground area as he pulls back. his gaze narrows at the fleeing teen's back, before he shouts out]
All right, let's head towards that stairwell! Queen, follow us when you're done with the barricade!
[TIME TO PULL BACK]
[Akira's bolting towards that stairwell as fast as he phantom thief feet will carry him, but he does look over his shoulder as he goes to make sure Makoto falls in line behind him when she is done fucking up some cars]
no subject
It's not easy for them to leave anyone behind even for a moment, after all; that's their role as leaders.]
no subject
She casts a quick mafreidyne, aimed between two cars, knocking them towards the robots.
And she bolts once she confirms they're landing in the right direction. there's absolutely no way she's staying there long. She's reckless, not suicidal.]
no subject
But as you descend the stairs, it changes from an underground stairwell to...a normal concrete staircase in a building? How did that happen?
But regardless, you're now inside what appears to be a military base of sorts. With wandering soldiers in the same uniform who will attack randomly because #Persona. But let's fast-forward the mook fights because you guys can wipe them out easily and they're nbd. Just extra fights to grind.
But anyway at the end of one of the hallways is a big board room that is currently empty, except for two young men. Young men who are built like fukken brick walls, but they still look like they're in their 20s. One of them appears to be the teenager from before, just older and a lot beefier. He even grew facial hair, look at that!]
"So we, what, just take all the best soldiers from each military?"
"Sure, why not? We need to make a strike team, we might as well get the best."
"It's not a bad idea, but that's going to be expensive."
"I already know like five people who are eager to sign up. We just need to get the U.S. Military to sign off on it, and we can do it."
"Yeah, the numbers do look good. I just hope it's enough to end the war."
"It will be."
[It looks like the two of them are planning something. Do you want to interrupt them? Or move on?]
no subject
no subject
But.
Minato knows he's no actual Phantom Thief! Even if he's got the outfit, he's not near as confident in his stealth stat. He'll hang back a bit while Akira (and possibly Makoto?) edge closer to eavesdrop on that conversation.]
no subject
no subject
...admittedly it's mostly boring talk about recruiting people and making 'a strike team', but it's clear from the interactions here that these two are close. Very close. Best friends at the absolute least. They trust each other fully, and have each other's backs.
And when the scene shifts abruptly, to a time when both men are a bit older and dressed in different uniforms (different from what they wore before, and different from each other now), the change in them is quite striking. Because they are no longer standing close to each other, working on a project together. No, now they're fighting.]
"I already told you, your group can't operate in that country. We don't have permission to be there."
People are dying. People are already dead! How many of my men do I have to bury before we can take this guy down?
"It's out of my hands. We have to wait for the local government to arrest him and send him to us."
He's lining their pockets! They'll never arrest him! We need to go in with a strike team, take him out, and bring him back here.
"We can't do that, we have to operate diplomatically. If we don't, the whole world will be ripping us apart for being untrustworthy!"
What good is trust if we all die earning it?!
[Hmm. Trouble in paradise.]
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)