Part 32: Entry Twenty-Seven: September 5th, 2009
Entry Twenty-Seven: September 5th, 2009
Mood:
DrainedMusic: The usual post-Ordeal soundtrack - nada
Y'know, being alive is always so nice after an Ordeal. You don't really notice small things like the smell of the night air until after you've nearly been eaten by a 10-foot-tall electrical monstrosity, y'know?
Speaking of things that smell, that guy Mutatsu needs to cut the drinking down a little.
Mutatsu: Didn't Dad tell you not to do that, ehhh?
Wait, what? Dad?
No, I was asking yo--ah, forget it, you fucking boozehound.
Mutatsu: I thought you got in an accident or somethin'...don't make me worry like that. What the hell were ya doin' thish late?
Mutatsu: Damn...all this time, I thought you were...I guess my eyesight is getting bad after all.
This guy really needs to go to AA or something.
Or, hell, I'm sure they sell Dis-Drunk over at the pharmacy. It's probably next to Dis-Child, that birth control medication.
Mutatsu: I wonder if they felt the same way I did as I waited for you earlier...my wife and son, it's been four years since they left...I used to stay out past midnight, and when I got home, my wife and I would get into a big argument. Now when I go home, I don't know what do do with myself, so I just come here and drink every night.
I told him I thought he was running away from his problems, harsh as it might be.
Mutatsu: I get drunk to avoid facing my problems. So yeah, I guess you could say I'm runnin' away. ...She hasn't called me or sent me a letter since then. She must've gotten over me. Who knows where they are, or if they even wanna see me...aw, forget it. It's too much of a hassle anyway.
I headed back to the dorm...
...and school seemed to fly by the next day. After school, I found myself zoning out as I waited for everyone to gather in the command room.
Junpei: Nah, on second thought, I better stay put...the operation's tonight. Now that I think about it...we're fighting to protect her, too. Dude, that so rocks! Maybe we really are, like, heroes...
Junpei was acting like a little kid...
...but suddenly, a familiar voice told him to freeze.
That night, at the Dark Hour...
...Fuuka was hard at work searching for the next Shadow.
Fuuka: It's near Paulownia Mall, I think...
Mitsuru: You think...?
Fuuka: For some reason, I can't quite pinpoint its location...but I'm trying to narrow it down.
Akihiko: Is that its power?
Fuuka: I don't know.
Shinjiro: We have enough to go on...
We hadn't seen Junpei since that morning - he wasn't there when we gathered to start the operation, so we had sent Ken to look for him.
Ken: His backpack isn't here, so I don't think he's been home yet.
Yukari: That idiot...he knows tonight's the night!
Fuuka: I don't sense him anywhere nearby...should I take more time to look, just in case?
Ikutsuki: You're all young; sometimes you just get in one of those moods. Anyway, we should focus on the task at hand.
Shinjiro: ...
Mitsuru: We can't afford to waste any more time. Let's go.
I didn't think he had...
Shinjiro and I joined the others on the way to the mall. Have I mentioned that going places during the Dark Hour sucks? It really does. My feet STILL hurt from all that walking.
Another creepy thing about the Dark Hour: all the water turns to blood. That's ALL the water, even what you couldn't see during the day.
When we arrived, Fuuka scanned the area for the Shadow.
Mitsuru: Alright, let's split up and search for it. There's no time to lose; hurry!
Fuuka: Wait! Please, give me a moment! This is my responsibility...!
Fuuka: Tell me, Lucia, what is this thing that deceives me...? Hear the wind's answer in your ear...touch the earth's answer with your fingertips...taste the water's answer on your lips...
Akihiko: Hey, is she okay?
Mitsuru: Don't break her concentration....
Fuuka: Some kind of...webbing?
Aigis: Perhaps it has something to do with the old power cables underground. They were just left there when the island's construction was completed.
Mitsuru: Power cables?
Aigis: Yes, they run underground in many directions, like a web.
Akihiko: And they're interfering with her ability?
Fuuka: ...Thank you, Aigis, I understand now.
Yukari: They what?! So...it's underneath this whole area?!
Akihiko: ...Now it all makes sense.
Ken: H-how are we supposed to beat something like that?!
Shinjiro: Tch...
Back at the dorm...
...Junpei was having his own problems.
Junpei: This isn't funny...
I have to admit that I wasn't surprised at all by this.
Chidori: I have some new orders for you to give to your friends...surely you have the capacity to communicate with them.
Junpei: Me? Give orders?
Chidori: If you do as I say...you won't be harmed.
Junpei: You want me to cancel the mission? ...You're not one of "them", are you?
Chidori: Quit wasting time.
Junpei: ...
Back at the mall, we were trying to figure out how to deal with the Shadow possessing the electrical wires.
Fuuka: Just like that one, this Shadow must have its own body. Let me see if I can find it...
Akihiko: Even if we know where it is, we might not be able to get to it...
Aigis: There may still be a way to reach the structure that the cables feed into.
Shinjiro: We'll see.
Yukari: Fuuka...
Fuuka: It's close by...in this mall!
Yukari: In here?!
Fuuka: It's inside a small chamber underground. It's rectangular, so I assume it's man-made.
Ken: Is it some sort of room...?
Shinjiro: Wait a minute...I overheard the manager of Escapade saying that the power's been acting up lately.
Yukari: That's no surprise...
Fuuka: That's it!
Mitsuru: Good job, Yamagishi.
I decided to bring Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Yukari along for this mission...
...and once they were ready to go, we were off.
Boss - Hermit (Hermit is one of the easier Ordeal bosses - he can zap the shit out of everyone with electricity, but not much else, and single-element bosses are easily cockblocked by Minato and his Persona-switching.)
It wasn't too tough to defeat the large Shadow.
Fuuka: Oh, and also...I think I've found Junpei. He's back at the dorm, but something seems strange. The Chairman's there too, so he should be okay, but let's hurry just in case.
Back at the dorm...
Junpei: Medea?
Chidori: ...My friend.
Junpei: Chidori...
Chidori: Is it worth your life? Dying is what people fear most...isn't it?
Junpei: Well, I've never actually given anyone orders before...they wouldn't listen to me anyway.
Chidori: So you were lying earlier? Why? ...I don't understand.
Junpei: Us meeting, your wound, the picture...were you just setting me up? Now that I think about it, that cut healed pretty quickly...
Chidori: That was...
Right about then, we burst into the room.
When Chidori saw us, she drew an Evoker and brought it up under her chin.
Chidori: Medea, come...
Before she could pull the trigger, though, Junpei broke free and forced her to the ground.
As if things weren't chaotic enough, Ikutsuki decided to show up.
Akihiko did the smart thing and took Chidori's Evoker before she could do anything with it, thank God.
Fuuka: I...I didn't sense her up until this very moment...this is my only power, and yet...
Ikutuski: If even Fuuka couldn't sense her, then she must have some sort of power to conceal her presence. I didn't have the slightest clue she was here...
Mitsuru tried to interrogate her right away...
...but Chidori would have none of it.
Junpei: Ch-Chidori?!
Chidori: M-Medea, I'm...
Mitsuru: Clearly, she's emotionally unstable. We'll let her rest and save our questions for later.
And that's how the night ended. I wish those Strega guys would just give it up already...
...but they seem pretty desperate, so it looks like it'll be either them or us.
(Attack Fallen is great for Ken, since his main attack does a huge amount of bonus damage to enemies that are down.)
I don't wanna think about it too much now, though. I'm just gonna go to bed...I'll see you guys later.
Coming up in the next entry: Back to the grind once again!
Also, we need Social Link votes once more!
Here's the list:
Magician: Kenji, the classmate
Priestess: ???
Empress: ???
Emperor: Hidetoshi, head of the Disciplinary Committee
Hierophant: Bunkichi and Mitsuko, bookstore proprietors
Lovers: Yukari, the SEES member
Chariot: Kazushi, the Track Team member
Justice: Chihiro, the treasurer
Fortune: Keisuke, the art club leader
Strength: Yuko, the team manager
Hanged Man: Maiko, the grade schooler
Temperance: Bebe, the foreigner
Devil: Tanaka, the "celebrity"
Tower: Mutatsu, the unusual monk
Star: Mamoru, the star athlete
Moon: Nozumi, the Gourmet King
Sun: Akinari, the dying boy
Vote away, now that I can finally take requests again!