Pathos Facility - REALLY Old Version

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

Bell stared at the effects of her actions blandly, snapping back to the present when Koike yells at her for his Evoker, she looks down at the only thing she had of his. Shuddering as she remembered what she herself did with it, she flung it in his direction hastily.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike caught the 'gun' as it neared him.

As that happened, an armored, raven-winged figure appeared in response to Jack's calling. Holding a sword, it dove at the Shadow, striking it. A few tendrils are chopped off, but aside from that, not much of a response is present.

Koike half-snapped, "Where's Smartass when you need him?"


As Koike said this, Terpsichore's voice echoed in Bell's mind. 'Let it see the eye, then strike where it will lie.'

 

[Momiji]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike caught the 'gun' as it neared him.

As that happened, an armored, raven-winged figure appeared in response to Jack's calling. Holding a sword, it dove at the Shadow, striking it. A few tendrils are chopped off, but aside from that, not much of a response is present.

Koike half-snapped, "Where's Smartass when you need him?"


As Koike said this, Terpsichore's voice echoed in Bell's mind. 'Let it see the eye, then strike where it will lie.'

"SMARTASS!? WHO THE FUCK YOU CALLIN' SMARTASS!?"

Gil suddenly busted in, his evoker already out, and his revolver smoking.

With a grin, he pointed the "gun" to his head, and pulled the trigger with absolutely no hesitation, as though he had done it before many times.

"Heh. Come on out, Balor."

Gil was suddenly cast in a dark shadow, making only his eyes semi-visible because of their bright red color. What looked like glass shards came out of his head, and an armored black skinned humanoid with one hand covering one of his eyes towered over him. The creature had black armor with red highlights covering him.

"Thou art I, and I am thou. I was born of thee and I will walk with thee. I am Balor, of the evil eye.

"You said that when I first summoned you! Tryin' to be polite to Ms. Bell, are we? Anyway, let's knock that fucker down!"
Gil pointed to the shadow, and Balor responded by seemingly ripping his hand off his left eye, revealing a bright red sphere where his other eye should've been. As Balor did this, a fire emerged on the shadow, and it responded by burning (duh) and melting into a pile of black goo with a steel mask in the middle.

"I can't tell if it's down for the count or not. Smash it a couple more times!"

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike's eyes had a distinctly evil gleam in them as the Shadow collapsed. "Let's get ready for the fireworks!"

His hands flashed inside his coat and a click was heard. When they came back out, he was holding a reinforced ultracompact shotgun in one hand, with a second, identical one hanging from a connecting cord. Without a whole lot of hesitation, he charged in, spinning the guns like they were nunchaku.

 

[Momiji]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike's eyes had a distinctly evil gleam in them as the Shadow collapsed. "Let's get ready for the fireworks!"

His hands flashed inside his coat and a click was heard. When they came back out, he was holding a reinforced ultracompact shotgun in one hand, with a second, identical one hanging from a connecting cord. Without a whole lot of hesitation, he charged in, spinning the guns like they were nunchaku.

Gil smiled ear to ear, pulling out his own single gun, a double action .44 revolver, reloading it as fast as he could and charging as well.

"FUCKING DIE, GODDAMMIT, DIE!"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Pathos Facility

Jack grinned wickedly, the blade coming forth once more. There was a brief moment before he launched himself at the creature again, performing what could only be described as the slice and dice maneuver, slicing into the thing rapidly, seemingly a blur of movement. When he had ended his flurry of attacks, several pieces should fall off, if not level the thing entirely with the other attacks smashing into it.

"Die you ugly bastard."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

Bell had backed as far away from the fight as she dared, knowing there was more of the things out there. It didn't seem to care about her anymore, as it was busy with everyone else, and slowing.

"Is it dead yet?" She calls out to the others, as it hits the ground.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

As the dust and general chaos clears, the trio that had attacked were standing amidst the dissolving remains of the Shadow.

Koike stepped away from it, replacing his guns. "Jack, Gil, continue running interference, but stay closer. Bell, if you think you're ready, let's move."



The group made it back to the facility without further incident. The next morning, Bell would find a hand-written note next to her computers, stating that she should head up to the fourth floor meeting room, once she was fully awake.

Koike was already sitting in the chair at the head of the meeting table. It would be obvious that he'd not bothered changing after he got up, since he was dressed in a white undershirt and gray sweatpants. A small, not-quite star-shaped scar would be halfway visible on his left shoulder. Sitting on the table in front of him was an aluminum case. He looked up, and nodded, noting that he'd remembered to close the panels before anyone came in.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

Bell picks up the obviously out of place note, reads it, then quickly checks her computers to see if they had been used while she was sleeping. Finding them still secure, she shrugged, figuring that whoever left it, probably Koike, simply thought it was the most notable surface to put it. She shrugged on a simple shirt and pants, not even bothering to match them, and went up to the fourth floor, combing her hair as she went. She reached the meeting room and entered quietly, finding she was the last there. She takes a seat and sighs loudly.

"So." She says, and waits.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike looked up as Bell entered, then responded to her question. "No doubt you've got some questions, given what all happened last night. That's the primary reason for this little meeting. I'll let you decide what to start with."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

"Oh gods, lets see. There's that whole hour thing, those creatures, those guns you guys have, those things that popped out of our heads when we shot ourselves with them, and all this' connection to AAD, for starters." She says in a miffed tone of voice, ticking them off on her fingers as she says them.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

"The connection that all of this has with AAD is that the Shadows, as we call those creatures, are pretty much the real cause of it. I know all of the medical statements about it, but what really happens is this: Someone who would normal turn into a coffin during the Dark Hour doesn't. Without any real defense or preparation, they panic to the point of paralysis. The Shadows sense this, then feed off of it. The result is that the victim ends up losing interest in basically everything. They basically go into a state of mental shock."

Koike paused, then continued. "However, there are some people who have the ability to operate normally during the Dark Hour. These people generally have aspects of their personality that seem stronger than others. Should they happen to find some manner of doing so, they can give these aspects of their own personality a physical form. Those of us who can do so call call such a manifestation a 'Persona'. That's the 'things' that appeared last night."

He paused again, then asked, "Are you following this so far?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

"Yeah, I think so. Keep going, please." She says slowly, rubbing her temple a little.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

"Unfortunately, even though we've dealt with Shadows and the Dark Hour for a little over a thousand years now, we still don't have many answers. About the only things I can tell you about the Dark Hour is that it occurs at midnight, every night. Most people aren't aware of it, and will pretty much just laugh off, or totally disbelieve any suggestions of its existance. There is a theory about it being an entirely separate time, as evidenced by the fact that unmodified computers don't lose any data with the power loss. Of course, those who can tend to find that running around during the Dark Hour is more exhausting that normal activity during the day. It's possible to acclimate somewhat, but not fully."

Koike shrugged before continuing. "As for the Shadows, they're hostile. They dissolve when killed. They all seem to have a mask as part of them, but destroying the mask doesn't seem to be a trigger for killing them. For some reason, although normal weapons will work, they have to be wielded by a Persona user."

"As for the Evokers, what we use to summon our Personas...The shape used was selected to help the user focus their inner strength and will. It's not exactly easy to use, until you get used to the action. Almost everyone who starts out has hestitation at first."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

"No kidding." Bell says with a little laugh, remembering her own hesitation. "You said normal weapons work, right? looks like I do have a reason to pull out my old Mankates... That does explain a lot, was there anything else?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Pathos Facility

Jack simply remained quiet during this time, the only noise coming from him was a brief popping noise, as he set his shoulder back in place. He hadn't bothered to do so last night, but now it had become an annoyance and he simply wouldn't have it.

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike glanced at Jack briefly, before dropping his hand beneath the table. He brought it back up quickly, and threw a chalkboard eraser at him.

He then turned back towards Bell. "Actually, there is one more thing. Although it does actual work, the SEC as you know of it is merely a cover. The Sociological Examination Committee was created to draw attention away from the real SEC...The Shadow Extermination Corps."

As he said the last words of it, he gestured to Jack and Gil. "The three of us are members of both. The Corps is composed entirely of Persona users. We have two goals, find those with the potential to become Persona users, and the elimination of the threat posed by the Shadows."

He leaned forward at this, and opened the case in front of him, turning it so Bell could see the contents...A leather concealed-carry shoulder holster, and an Evoker. "You've awakened as a Persona user. The Shadows will be able to sense this. They won't try to feed on you now. Rather, they'll be trying to kill you. We'd like you to join us, and in return, we'll help you understand what it is you've awakened inside yourself. Our reason for coming here is simple. We think there's a nest of those Shadows around here. Our job is to find and eliminate it, removing the threat from your planet."

He leaned back, willing to let Bell make her own decision.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: Pathos Facility

Bell twitched and became a little paler from the sickening pop, and stifled a gag. When she recovered, she said, "I have one more question. My... Persona, you said? My persona said something in my head, back during that fight. Something along the lines of, 'let it see the eye, then strike where it will lie', what does that mean?

 

[ShadowWolfSBI]

Re: Pathos Facility

Koike leaned forward, steepling his hands in front of his face. "Very interesting...It sounds like you Persona may have a rare ability...And a useful one at that. From the sounds of it, what you were told was the result of an analysis...Your Persona may well have the ability to identify the weaknesses of Shadows."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Pathos Facility

Jack was too stunned by what Bell said about her persona to even bother dodging the eraser thrown at him, and there was a thud as it banked off his forehead, seemingly not fazing him at all. "Interesting.... I don't believe I've ever met anyone with that ability myself, if that is indeed what you truly have, and I have been here for a decent amount of time. And sorry about the.... pop. Didn't think to leave before doing that..."

He seemed to sit there after speaking, completely silent, seemingly lost in thought over the turn of events.