Disclaimer: None of the authors own any of the referenced properties.
[Persona 4]
(no title)
Author: Tincanman125
Yu could practically feel the headache coming on after he finished checking his loop memories; to be honest, he was hard pressed imagine a worse scenario to loop into right now, and he was currently discussing solutions to this new problem with his uncle.
"Ok," Yu stated, "our problem is as follows: Tohru Adachi has a powerful politician for a brother and his family is very influential, and out of all the people my mother could have married this loop, she chose the one related to a serial killer."
"Don't forget, the Dojimas are an equally powerful rival family." Dojima added. "Aside from my sister, I'm the only one who gets along with anyone in your father's family, and politics are extremely volitile this loop."
"Right," Yu groaned, "at best, this is going to lead to a divorce and a huge scandal, and at worst we're sitting on a ticking time bomb which could change the balance of power in Japan's government."
"I still say we do what we always do," Izanagi said, "how bad could things get in a year?"
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response." Dojima deadpanned.
Izanagi just rolled his eyes. "Look it's simple, we set him up for an 'accident' and problem solved; then we just pin Konishi and Yamano's deaths on some other serial killer and deal with Izanami."
"So you want us to commit first degree murder, falsify evidence, and send someone, admittedly not someone innocent but still, to jail for a crime they didn't commit?" Dojima asked, outraged. "How would that make us any different than him?"
"Because, we'd do it for the right reasons." Izanagi said bluntly. "It'd get rid of not one, but two dangerous criminals, the victims' families get closure, and we avoid any family problems while the government maintains the status quo."
"On one hand it goes against everything I've believed in since baseline," Yu stated, "but on the other hand, I don't think we have any other options other than having Igor crash the loop, and the only time he's ever done that on purpose is when Philemon and Nyarthotep switched roles." Yu explained. "He says it 'undermines the rights of non-loopers to choose their own destinies.'"
"Fine." Dojima said in a disgusted tone. "I won't stop you, but I won't have any part in this, I refuse to become like the monster living in my head."
[Persona 4]
The Awakening of… Adachi?! – part 1
Author: Lurks in the Dark
Adachi reclined back in his chair, propping his feet on his desk and putting his hands behind his head, not giving a single shit whatsoever that his fellow former collegues were staring at him in a strange manner. Why should he? They were all creations of his tortured subconscious to punish him, after all.
You see, Adachi had awoken one day to suddenly find that he had somehow gone back in time and was once more stuck in fucking Inaba, shortly before he had begun his little murder spree for shits and giggles. At first he thought he was having one hell of a nightmare, but stubbing his toe quite viciously had quickly disabused that notion from the murderer. So, given that he could feel pain, the only explanation was that he had somehow died in prison (probably got shanked in the shower, damn it!) and he was in Hell, being tortured. Except, instead of hot iron brands, meat hooks, and wooden racks, whoever was responsible for the afterlife had decided that it was a far more appropriate punishment to stick Adachi back in fucking Inaba.
Really, Adachi would have grudgingly applauded the vindictive asshole if he wasn't so pissed off at him or her for this. You know what, he bet it was that bitch Izanami who did it, for ratting her undead ass out to those kids-she was the goddesses of death and the underworld, right? Fucking bitch. I mean, sure, he deserved it-but he wouldn't have taken hot iron rail road spikes over being stuck in this place.
"I was right," he commented to himself with a wry smirk as he stared listlessly at the slowly turning ceiling fan, "this place really is Hell."
Though he didn't notice it, Doujima was frowning at Adachi, staring at his former-and now once-more-partner from above the rim of his coffee cup. He had Awoke this Loop and had gone through the usual motions of the Branch; the only thing of note was that everyone was Awake this Loop, including Nanako, which was always nice-and Adachi. Adachi was acting strange-even for this being, as far as he could tell, a Variant based off of the other man's behavior. For a few days, his partner had looked absolutely wrong-footed, his eyes darting about everywhere and unusually distracted, but he seemed to have simply decided he didn't want anything to do with his job and had been making strange comments.
Why would he think he was in Hell? Granted he was sure that Adachi had made similar comments regarding his posting to the small rural town, in Baseline, but his wording of that sentence bothered Doujima for some reason. It was like Adachi thought that he was actually dead, and he seemed to sometimes pause just before certain things happened...
Doujima's eyes widened and he nearly dropped his coffee cup in shock.
No...
It wasn't possible...
Was Adachi Looping?
Doujima fought the urge to curse violently and felt a sudden intense migraine come on in an instant at the thought. He did not need this! The last thing he wanted to deal with was his partner Looping! Granted Nanako would be thrilled and Adachi and his nephew seemed to have a strange sort of camaraderie, given that the two were essentially archenemies.
Doujima sighed, glanced at the clock, and came to a decision. Grabbing his coat off the back of his chair, he stood up, announced that something with Nanako had come up, and grabbed his lazy partner by the back of his shirt and demanded that he follow him.
"What?" Adachi said, baffled.
"Get your ass moving, damn it!" Doujima barked, all but shoving him out the door. Adachi grumbled and groaned, shoving his fists into his pockets and making a comment that Doujima almost didn't catch under his breath about him being, "just as much a pain in the ass as the first time."
Goddamnit! He was Looping!
Entering outside, Doujima quickly reviewed his options: From the Ping responses he had received, unless their visiting Loopers, his nephew and his friends were all Awake, just not physically able to get to Inaba just yet-as with Rise, Naoto, and his nephew. Taking out a cigarette, he lit it up and thought. Yes, he could easily handle Adachi with the knowledge and skills he had gained while Looping, but this was something that had to be handled delicately if he didn't want to set the new Looper off. With any luck, maybe he could be talked into not killing anyone-heavens knows he had seen far worse criminals than Adachi be set on the straight-and-narrow throughout Yggdrasil.
"So," Doujima commented, blowing out a stream of smoke as he came to a decision, "you ever get déjà vu?" he asked suddenly, in what must have seemed to be out-of-the-blue.
"Uh..." Adachi looked at his boss strangely. "Yeah... sure?"
Doujima made a thoughtful noise, tapping the accumulated ashes from his cigarette onto the street. "So, you planning on pushing anyone into any televisions?" he asked, deliberately not glancing at Adachi except from the corner of his eyes, and the older man smirked as he saw Adachi freeze in shock and make a strangled noise in his throat as he, no doubt, stared at Doujima with pure shock.
"Come on," Doujima demanded, heading to his car. "Nanako will have dinner on the table," he said. "Oh, and if you try anything, I won't hesitate to stop you," he said.
Adachi said nothing, his mind racing as he attempted to figure out what the hell was happening! Was this some sick joke of the afterlife? Eventually, the killer managed to respond, defaulting to the comfort of the familiar as he snidely commented to the back of his boss, "Yeah, like a gun can scare me."
Doujima glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow. "Who said I was going to use a gun?" he asked with a smirk, and he allowed the demon that he usually kept under strict lock and key in his mind maifest, flashing a wicked grin at his partner.
Adachi stared, his mouth opening and closing like a beached fish, eventually he did the only thing he could: follow his boss and get some goddamn answers! First and foremost, why the hell did Doujima just turn into a some kind of fucking monster!
Man... why couldn't he ever catch a break?
[Persona 3], [Persona 4], [Spectrobes]
The escape pod – part 29 and Intermission
Author: Tincanman125
===Crash Site, Nox===
Aldous wasn't sure why he hadn't summoned the stone colossus who wielded a large kiln that he had come to know as Epimetheus; instead using his Evoker had caused an iron giant covered in broken chains to appear, though he no idea why said chains were made of fire.
Equally inexplicable was this new Persona's striking resemblance to Epimetheus.
As though to provide clarification, the giant spoke:
"Thou art I, and I am Thou!" The giant bellowed as it released a wave of fire to destroy some nearby Krawl. "From the sea of thine soul I am reborn! I am Prometheus, he who stole fire from the gods!"
Aldous couldn't help but reflect on how convenient it was that his Personas had a tendency to shout their names the first time he summoned them.
===Meanwhile===
Maja swore to herself a short ways away from Aldous' most recent display of pyrotechnics; she did not need another complication right now. It was just her luck that the old man's Persona had evolved right after she felt Gelberus' life force be snuffed out. Sure he'd managed to destroy that tower first, but Maja still wasn't ready to attack Kollin yet.
...There was nothing for it, she'd have to make her move now before she lost the chance; she simply let out a sigh of frustration as she opened a portal to the insignificant ball of ice that was now Gelberus' grave.
===You in Wonderland, Haven in the Rift===
"Is that really you Jeena?" Rallen asked with a huge grin on his face.
"Yeah," Jeena replied with a warm smile, "it's good to see you again!"
"You two know each other?" Junpei asked as he watched the pair hug.
"Yup," Rallen responded, "we're practically family."
"Let's get out of here," Yosuke suggested, "this doesn't seem like the best place to catch up."
===Food Court===
"Wow," Rallen said after Jeena filled him in on current events, "it must have been really awkward dealing with them."
"Yeah," Jeena sighed, "even Yosuke and Naoto were surprised, and they're looping."
"At least they didn't show up here too," Rallen commented, "I'm no scientist, but I'm pretty sure it would have caused a paradox."
"So any loopers in your group?" Jeena asked.
"We have a few," Rallen told her, "besides me, it's Shinjiro, Mitsuru, and Aigis." He said. "Zen and Rei seem to be looping too, Mitsuru says they'd fight differently otherwise."
"Well, as fun as this has been, we should probably head back," Jeena suggested, "I'm not sure the other loopers can stall everyone else for much longer."
[Persona 4]
Yosuke used Defog! It's Super Effective!
Author: Tincanman125
"Are you sure you're up for this Yosuke?" Yu asked. "The fog in Inba this loop is some of the thickest I've ever seen."
"Don't worry about it," Yosuke grinned, "I'm one of the best magic users on the team remember? Hell, my Arcana is the Magician for crying out loud!"
The pair shared a chuckle, they'd come up to the hill overlooking Inaba because Yosuke had picked up a new trick in a Pokémon fused loop that he wanted to try out; and it was indeed a fact that he was the best offensive magic user on the team (Naoto having chosen to spend her time on learning how to best cripple enemies and Yukiko researching how to heal with maximum efficiency).
"Well, I guess there's no harm in trying," Yu admitted, "worst case scenario you'll be tired for a few hours and nothing will happen."
"Ok, here goes nothing!" Yosuke shouted as he poured a massive amount of energy into the defog attack he'd picked up as a Staraptor.
The result was so powerful that Yu didn't just feel the shockwave, he could quite literally see the air ripple before hitting the fog, and when it did it looked like someone had taken a torch to a oil field, the fog wasn't merely being pushed back, it was being destroyed.
Little did they know that Yosuke's technique was also affecting the tv world, they had only figured that part out when they felt Ameno-sagiri writhing in his death throes.
"Did.. did I just kill a god with what people said was the most useless HM move ever created?" Yosuke asked in disbelief
"I think so." Yu said flatly, having been too stunned to put emotion into his voice.
"Think anyone will believe us if we tell them?" Yosuke asked.
"I was here and I don't believe it." Yu responded.
[Devil Survivor 2]
…Jungo… why!?
Author: Alternis_Alcor
"Nope."
"Hibiki, it's not that bad. Quit over-reacting."
"Nope. No way. The Septentriones attacking over and over, I can handle. The Triangulum attacking over and over, I could eventually handle. Polaris suddenly retiring so she and Canopus could go elope in Vegas, I can handle. This? THIS is too much for me. Done, I quit, I'll see you in the next Loop."
Jungo watched the retreating boy leave before turning to Daichi. "Did I do something wrong?"
Shaking his head, Daichi replied, "Nah, he's just being weird. Give him some time and he'll come back."
Pastry baker Jungo nodded, deciding that he would make some manju for Hibiki when he came back.
[Persona 3], [BioShock: Infinite]
Koromaru Does Columbia
Author: Tincanman125
Father Zachary Hale Comstock was currently watching his beloved Columbia burn from his private airship, he wasn't sure where exactly the beast that his forces had dubbed "The Hellhound" had come from, though he suspected Dewitt had something to do with its presence, for it had been first sighted at his side during the day of the raffle.
He'd remember that day for the rest of his life, for that was when his Eden had begun its transformation into the Hell he saw before him...
===Day of the Raffle, Koromaru's POV===
Koromaru was unsure where he was, but it did not matter, for it was new and exciting! Many of the small humans had given him food, and he had even found a new friend (who gave him the best food).
His new friend was very tall, much like pack-mate Shinjiro, and his new friend had the fair skin and light colored fur of She-Who-Understands, therefore Koromaru knew that his new friend must be a good person, for how could anyone who was like his pack-mates be bad?
As such, Koromaru decided that he would follow his new friend until he could find a way to bring him back to the den to meet his pack-mates.
===Booker's POV===
Booker Dewitt had no earthly idea why this dog was following him around, but he hoped that it'd be smart enough to hide once the shooting started (and it would start), because no matter what Booker did, he always ended up winning that damn raffle, and no matter what he tried, they'd always figure out that he was their "False Shepherd," and things just kept going downhill from there.
"What I wouldn't give for some backup for once." He muttered to himself as he decided to draw a baseball and get it over with.
===Koromaru's POV===
At first Koromaru had been confused when the other humans attacked his new friend.
Then he heard the noise.
Koromaru did not know what the noise was, but he did know that the noise either meant that something bad was about to happen, or was happening already.
...He had learned that lesson on The Second Day of Great Sadness.
But things would be different now, because Koromaru knew what to do when he heard the noise.
The noise meant he had to call The Alpha.
===Booker's POV===
Booker didn't know why both he and the officers stopped fighting each other when the dog who had been following him up until this point howled, nor why he had a sudden feeling of dread crawling up his spine.
He did however figure it out pretty damn quickly when he saw the giant three-headed wolf.
The monster spat out purple flames around a group of officers, then a symbol appeared under the group, with the fires seemingly linked by the lines on the ground.
Then a large torrent of what could only be described as unholy fire erupted from the ground, only to die down seconds later, leaving no trace of the officers.
The rest fled for their lives.
Booker had tried to look for the dog afterwards, but he couldn't find any sign of the cute little furball.
===The Raven House, Koromaru's POV===
Koromaru was unsure how he had gotten here, the last thing he remembered was saving his new friend before being distracted by a butterfly (which he then proceeded to chase), and when he came back his friend was gone, though he did find a drink spilled on the ground with his friend's scent on the bottle. Naturally he had assumed it was left for him (because he was a good boy), and lapped it up off the ground.
The drink had been spicy, but now Koromaru was at one with fire just like The Alpha! Perhaps this was the "enlightenment" that the Old Master often spoke of.
It was at that point Koromaru noticed a bird, at one time he wouldn't have bothered chasing it, for he had no way to reach it without The Alpha, and The Alpha should not be bothered with such trival things; but now Koromaru could reach it, and so he chased, often spitting flames at his prey (and unwittingly causing the largest fire in Columbia's brief history, resulting in the entire district burning to the ground), and at some point he'd ended up at this building.
===Hall of Heroes, Booker's POV, Some Time Later ===
"That's quite a story." Elizabeth said. "I mean, I don't think we've ever seen a dog in Columbia before, let alone one that can summon a monster."
Booker was about to respond when he heard a familiar bark and suddenly was lifted off his feet.
"Well, at least we know where he is now." Booker deadpanned.
===Koromaru's POV===
Koromaru was happy, not only had he found his friend, but his friend had brought another friend, and she was very nice.
She was so nice that Koromaru had run off to get her a present, but as he had no idea what would make a good present, he just decided to find the nearest group of humans and get something from them.
And it just so happened that the nearest humans were Slate's men, and Koromaru thought that their yelling meant they wanted to play.
...Koromaru also didn't realize that humans didn't like playing "fire ball catch," especially not around gunpowder and live ammunition.
…
Koromaru liked the magic trick the humans did, it was impressive how they made such a large building disappear, and in his opinion the bright flash was the best part!
He wasn't such a fan of the loud noises that came with it though.
Still, he had found a nice, shiny bottle of ...something, for his friends, he hoped they'd like it.
===Elizabeth's POV===
"I like this dog," Elizabeth said as she held the sleepy shiba inu, "can we keep him?"
"Yes," Booker said, "but only because I want to see Comstock's face when he realizes a dog destroyed his city of sky racists."
[Nocturne], [Warhammer 40000]
(no title)
Author: Gamerex27
"This isn't how it's supposed to work," hissed the Unawake Chaos God.
"Is it?" Kashima asked, producing a cigar and lighting it with a snap of his fingers. Not that their body could become ill from using this: according to Naoki, it was customary for humans to smoke after they have mated.
"You," shi hissed, "are supposed to break. I have my way with you, and suck out your soul like a bowl of pasta. Why can't I do that?!"
"As the Sons of Man say," Kashima said, taking a puff, "'you bit off more than you could chew.' Perhaps in the literal sense this time, though I suspect it will not take long to grow back."
"I..." Slaanesh floundered under the covers, then grabbed Kashima's head and forcefully turned it to face hir.
"Submit," shi hissed, pouring enough power into hir gaze to make the most straight-laced Eldar start servicing hir on the spot.
"No," Kashima replied, in the exact same tone.
Snarling, Slaanesh tried to grab ahold of his soul and eat the damn thing so shi could move on to hir next toy.
But, try as hard as shi might, it just wouldn't budge. If eating a normal soul was like taking a bite out of a slice of pizza, this was like trying to eat a still-living cow that was fighting back.
And if the cow was made of perfected titanium.
And covered in spikes.
And completely invisible, since it was nigh-impossible to find the damn soul in the first place.
And on fire.
Screaming in frusturation, Slaanesh punched Kashima square in the face.
Rocking backwards from the blow, he frowned, and grabbed hir hand. "If you wish to strike someone," he said, "do not place your thumb inside your palm when you create a fist. Doing so would most likely break it."
"Oh, fuck off!"
"Try placing it above your fingers," he continued, unperturbed. "It shall help hold your fist closed, and therefore be more lethal."
"FUCK! OFF!"
[Nocturne], [My Little Pony]
Demon Negotiation – part 2
Author: Gamerex27
She should have known something was wrong when her castle's Map cut off mid-signal.
"Where the hay's everypony?" Applejack asked, as the group of five (Fluttershy was visiting a friend that day) walked throughout the deserted town.
"It doesn't look too old," Rarity commented. "It looks like ponies lived here just recently. I don't know how, since all of the architecture and decor is drab and dull enough to put anypony to sleep."
"I...think they evacuated," Rainbow Dash said, putting the pieces together as she glanced at the ground. "Look down. See all the hoofprints? Judging by how far apart they're spaced, I think they stampeted outta here in a hurry."
"Maybe they had a flash mob or surprise party somewhere outside of town?" Pinkie Pie suggested. Her usual ear-to-ear grin had diminished somewhat: there was something about the atmosphere of the town that put a damper on her spirits.
"Some kind of emergency, I think," Twilight said, as she cast a simple scrying spell. "They ran away from something...no, somepony."
"What was the matter?"
"I...whatever it is, somepony's still here." Twilight glanced at an alleyway between the houses. "Come out. We won't hurt you."
"I sincerely doubt that you would," said a stallion's flat, nearly-emotionless voice. "Or could."
Slowly, a brown-coated colt trotted out from the shadows. Glancing at the group of five, he frowned. "So, you came after all. Lesser mares may have fled in terror at what happened here."
"So...you know what went down here?" Dashie asked, taking a step back from the intimidating unicorn in front of them.
"That I do," the other pony declared, the black markings on his coat swaying as he stepped forwards. "I shall tell you what transpired. But only to her," he said, pointing a hoof at Twilight.
It suddenly dawned on Twilight who this was, as the combination of the markings, the too-sharp horn, and the Cutie Mark of a pony's bleached skull came into view. "If...if you're sure about that."
Assuring her friends that she wouldn't be too far, and that they could come running if they thought anything at all was up, she followed the being into the cave on the edge of the abandoned town.
…
"-been trying to feed a pet cat," the titanic creature made entirely out of sapient blood asked Fluttershy. "Would you happen to know what they like to eat?"
"Um..." Hesitating, Fluttershy glanced back towards her companion out of the corner of her eye.
"Tell him whatever comes to mind," Naoki said. "Or whatever he wants to hear. That usually works better."
"...they'll eat a lot of things, really," she continued. "But, they usually prefer small rodents. Freshly-killed mice usually gets their attention."
"I see," the beast rumbled. "The newly-shed gore gets the attention of a carnivore. Maybe now she'll stop meowing all over the place when I'm trying to work." Smiling, the demon knelt down to her eye level. Fluttershy forced herself not to back away as some of the beings blood splashed over her. "I should probably get going, but here's something for your trouble. You wanted me to Contract, right? I need to go on a company retreat, but you can have 10 Hunger Tarot cards to call be back later."
"It worked this time?" Fluttershy asked, as the demon faded into nothingness and the small pile of playing cards fell to her forehooves, and the hoof-mounted computer on her left. "But that pony in the bodysuit tried to push me into traffic when I tried to help her cross the street. Why do I keep getting...mixed results?"
"You're treating 'em like they're all the same," Naoki explained, as he batted past a crowd of incubii leering at a group of sirens on their Girls' Night Out. "That was a soundless shinobi. They hate sound, and was just messing with you to see if you'd figure it out. Always go wordless with them." He sighed. "That Rabbit a few Circles up? He left 'cuz he didn't want those carrots. Doesn't matter he looked like a mortal bunny: he's a primordial force of fertility. The schoolgirl-looking one tried to gut you because she wanted a pencil rather than advice. And that generic fairy left mid-talk because you gave her too much money: they don't like people who can't say no. Treating demons like they're some faceless mass of monsters who all think alike will either get you nowhere or in the graveyard, fast. And everyone gets bad results sometimes. About a quarter of my negotations end with the demon trying to maul me, no matter what I say."
"I know that," she said. "I've have some success. I've got some Tarot Cards for later summoning, I made a truce with a few angrier ones, and I even got a free flue shot from that one dead nurse. Why can't I get consistent results?"
Because you're not used to any hardship or dissent at all, a bitter voice said at the back of Naoki's mind. Just mind-bash everyone into thinking the same.
Fluttershy's expression hardened, and she gave him a Stare at around 44.44% intensity.
"...what?" Naoki asked, his face twisting in confusion.
And you're an angry, mean misanthrope who drags everyone else down with him!
Fluttershy abruptly turned red. "Um...I didn't say that!"
"No..." Naoki said under his breath. "You...thought it..."
In the blink of an eye, the Demi-Fiend had darted across the room and yanked a giggling, floating brain out of a bush made of dead branches. "Knock it off, jackass!"
After punting the meddling prankster into the horizion, Naoki sighed, rubbing at his head with a forehoof. "We didn't say that out loud: it must have been dicking around with some telepathy bullshit.
"Look," he said, turning back around to face Fluttershy, "I can't just forget about the Bureau overnight, or what I did to you guys when I lost it. It's gonna take time for my brain to stop jumping from 'pony,' to 'racist homogenizing horse.' And I'm sure you've got something similar with me. But I'm trying."
"I know," she said. "It can be easy to forgive...but much harder to forget. But we do what we can. Fix things, piece by piece."
Both of them were silent for a few moments.
"...this is the last layer, I think," Naoki announced, trying to change the subject as they moved deeper into Tartarus and waved some stolen passes towards some sleeping guards.
"Indeed," rumbled a deep voice. "This is the last. For you."
Trembling in anger, Tirek stepped out from the shadows, every hair on his coat bristling at rage upon seeing one of the ponies that had humiliated him so.
"...should I try negotiating with him?" Fluttershy asked.
"...what."
"Don't see why not," Naoki said, shrugging. "I mean, he is a demon, right? Not all of 'em are open to normal talks-"
"you dare ignore-"
"-so we may be better off waiting until a full moon," Naoki continued. "Those mess with some demons' minds. Or-"
"I am standing right-"
"-could try using one of Langdon's fancy apps to calm him down enough to talk," the Demi-Fiend went on. "The DEMONICA can do some really weird shi-"
He was cut off by a blow to the head, sending him crashing into a nearby wall with a painful-sounding thud.
"Don't you dare ignore me!" the incensed centaur roared. "ME! LORD TIREK!"
"Don't care," Naoki grunted, climbing to his hooves. "Look, Timex, or whatever-"
"Ti. Rek," hissed the demon, as he opened his maw wide.
"...wait, that's a really bad idea!" Fluttershy gasped, jumping onto her hind legs and waving frantically to attract the monster's attention away from her companion.
"YOUR MAGIC IS MINE!"
…
"What did you do?" Twilight asked as soon as they were out of earshot.
"Come again?" Naoki(?) asked as he sat back on his haunches, spitting onto his forehoof and wiping something off of his horn.
"The entire town stampeded out of here, the wall of Cutie Marks is empty, and Starlight is nowhere to be seen," she clarified. "What did you do?"
"Let us not dance around the topic," the man agreed. "I killed her."
"Why?"
"You know why," he snorted, wiping the brown-colored mix or saliva and...dried blood...off of his horn. "I suppose you're expecting me to recount how I used some grand, ironic punishment on her. Drawing and quarteting her in front of her entire dictatorship, maybe? Flaying her alive, perhaps? No. Every journey begins with a single step, Twilight Sparkle. And, so too, do they end."
The Princess of Friendship glared at him.
"A single step at roughly under the speed of sound," he explained. "It is difficult to tear out someone's soul when you are bleeding out the throat and jugular vein. No grand humiliation, or magnificent plan. The look on her face when she realized that her plans were undone was enough for me. The town didn't even get past the first verse of their song before she fell," he recalled, smirking.
"This is a Sanctuary Loop, Naoki. We won't do anything to hurt you, but that doesn't mean you can go around murdering anyone you want."
"I am not Naoki." Red eyes blinked at her in irritation.
Twilight stared, likewise blinking in confusion.
"I am born of him, but not him," said the entity in front of her. "A demon, crafted out of the human's id by Lucifer himself, for the purpose of striking down the Great Will. You may call me Kashima, if you must name me."
Twilight briefly recalled something her daughter had told her in between sobs after that fateful Loop-how a red-eyed version of the Mad Anchor held off the enraged Naoki's presence in his mindscape as she delved deeper in to combat the Shadow.
"It doesn't matter who you are," she said. "You can't go around killing whomever you want."
"Why not?"
Twilight stared at him in disbelief. "Because...killing people is wrong?"
"Is it?" Kashima asked, tilting his head slightly.
Twilight saw no malice, no mockery, no arrogance in his eyes. Just confusion.
"...oh, sweet turnip, you don't actually know why," she said, facehoofing. "Alright, let's start from the beginning."
In the span of three minutes, Tirek had gone from a haughty monster to a quivering, shrieking demon trying very, very hard to hide himself behind a convenient boulder.
"Found you, Timex."
Screaming, Tirek tried to scramble away, but was summarily smacked in the face by a tossed rock. Yelling in pain, he fell to the floor as blood began to trickle from his broken nose
"Can't really think of any catchy one-liners at the moment," a bored-looking Naoki said as he cantered to the fallen centaur, the binding magic of the cursed stone kicking in. "So, I think I'll just kill you now."
"Wait!" the demon screeched.
"Oh, and stealing some MP doesn't guarantee victory," he idly said as he lifted up a forehoof towards Tirek's center-of-mass. "I mean, most of my attacks run off of physical health-or HP, as nerds would say. Besides, I've got enough Magatsuhi crammed in my Pocket to make up for whatever teeny bits of power you made off with. If any. At all."
"Please! I'll do anything!" he begged as Naoki pulled back his hoof for a final blow. "I'll...I'll form a contract just let me live!"
"Wait!"
From somewhere behind him, Fluttershy tackled Naoki to the ground.
"Yeah, forgot to mention some demons bargain when you're about to smash their faces in," he grunted, as both of them got up.
"So, I just hold this up, and-"
As he openly wept from fear and shame, Tirek dissolved into a stream of ones and zeroes, flowing from the ground in front of them into Fluttershy's COMP.
"Congrats," Naoki said, slapping Fluttershy hard on the back, "you've got your first demon. A Tyrant-class one, no less. Those tend to be high end. Ish."
"Glad to hear it," Fluttershy said, blushing a little. "So, do I need to remember to break the Contract before the Loop ends, or-"
"Nah, demons get ejected from a Compendium before the Loop ends." Naoki brushed some of the dirt and tears from the fight off of his coat. "The data's still there, though. You'll be able to get your own Timex out of there whenever you want. Provided you'll pay the Macca."
"Tirek, not Timex."
"Same thing." Naoki grinned, his troubles finally pushed to the back of his subconciousness for the moment. "Let's keep going. Up to tracking down Trumpeter and smashing his skull in with his own trumpet?"
…
"So that is why," Kashima said, hours after Twilight had begun.
"Yes! THANK you!" Twilight said, her mane long-since frayed from exasperation of having to explain the entirety of an Ethics 101 course to what she had clearly learned was a sociopath.
"Mh." Truth to be told, Kashima still didn't really get did he particularly care. He was not human (or equine), and the finite was always tough to understand for immortal Amalan demons.
Yet, he supposed it was in his nature to kill, as an incarnation of Death Itself.
He could not blame the eagle for flying, or the serpent for sliding on its belly. Not could he blame the pony for befriending others and bringing them into their herd over death. Strength in numbers, he guessed, as they were a prey species.
"Tell me, though," he said. "One of the reasons you listed for this is because murder breaks the law of your land."
"Yeah. You don't want to be thrown in jail for the rest of the Loop, right?"
"A foolish justification. Harmony is nothing more than a transitory-"
"Oh, no you don't!"
Suddenly, Kashima was yanked off of his hindquarters, and found himself dangling in the air in front of a furious Anchor.
"I have had it with people like you complaining endlessly about how 'friendship is a lie,' or 'power comes from isolation,' or 'friends tie you down,' or any of those road apples! Don't you dare start on that lecture! I've heard it a hundred times, and I WON'T hear it again! It doesn't matter if it's a rainbow beam or just having people to support you! Friendship is magic! Not foolish!"
"...Of course it is," Kashima said, with complete sincerity.
"...za?" Twilight said, dropping Kashima to the cavern's floor suddenly.
"All of these foes, you have vanquished through the bonds you have made," he continued, picking himself up. "The allies you have wrought, the connections you have forged, the power you have gained from doing so. Attempting to deny that there is power in the bonds of Man and Mare is an exercise in futility. Amongst so many Branches in Yggdrasil, this concept appears again and again and again. I would be a fool to dismiss it after the sheer amount of support your ideals gain.
"All these dangers on this planet," he went on, motioning out the cave's mouth. "Beasts seeking to rend you limb from limb. Tyrants and overlords dot the landscape, ready to rip the freedom and power you hold dear from you and make you their slaves. The planet itself is stagnant, and would rot and decay into nothing without constant, neverending supervision. All of these lethal threats, dealt with without even raising a single hand against them. All of them, toppled by friendship." He smirked. "People dismiss you and your folk as little more than babes and weaklings, all due to your forms and philosophies. But I know better. You are warriors. Each and every single one of you. Fighting 'gainst death and entropy each and every day: not through spells or blades, but through words alone. That...is worth of respect, Twilight Sparkle."
"...then...what were you going to lecture me about?" Twilight asked, baffled.
"Harmony," Kashima spat, as if the word were a dirty curse. "Do not claim that all things are balanced, and that laws or order mean anything in the long run. We both know better."
Kashima had suddenly gone form the other side of the cave to right in front of Twilight's face. She did not flinch in the slightest, staring the world-devouring demon right in the eyes, devoid of fear.
"Just as Man has eaten of the Fruit of Knowledge," he proclaimed, "so too has Mare. Do not pretend otherwise. I see it in your eyes. I smell it on your breath. You cannot close your eyes and return to ignorance. The knowledge that harmony and equality are naught but transitory states have sunk in: chaos is the natural order of things. I claim not to understand it, but Friendship does indeed transcend the laws of reality. This is a fact you have proven, time and time again. Yet I know for certain that Harmony does not.
"But you have your wish," he said, backing off. "I shall go to pains not to slay anyone for the duration of my stay here, unless I am directly provoked into a fight. I shall...what did you suggest?"
"Pranking...them," Twilight said slowly. "It's a lot more fun to mess with your enemies than to just kill them. Killing only ever does one thing: it makes people die. Pranks can be so much more."
"I see." Kashima broke into a grin, with far, far too many teeth than any herbivore was meant to have. "Why didn't you just say so in the first place?"
Twilight froze in place. For several seconds.
"I would have gladly agreed to torment my foes than kill them, had you said so in the first place," he said, still grinning. "No lecture needed."
A few moments later, Twilight's friends (who had patiently been waiting outside the cave, and had just wrapped up an impromptu game of Eye-Spy courtesy of Pinkie Pie), were jolted to attention by the sound of roaring rapids, followed by a surprised stallion falling out of the cave on a gargantuan wave of water.
Screaming in nonsenseical anger, Twilight put away her supercharged squirt bottle, replaced it with a foam sword from her Pocket, and proceeded to go to town on the demon.
"I was considering a spar, anyways," Kashima said, eventually getting to his hooves and parrying her blows at the first opportunity. "Non-lethal, since you so insisted. A god, and a demon meant to kill one. Let us see who is victorious."
[Persona 4]
(no title)
Author: Tincanman125
This had been a rather interesting variant for Yu, instead of being a transfer student who had come to Inaba for the year, Yu had Awoken to find himself several years older and a devout Shinto priest on a pilgrimage throughout Japan. However, his unAwake self had put that mission on hold when he'd detected supernatural involvement in Inaba's murder case.
Surprisingly enough, everything had managed to progress in a fairly baseline manner, though this time an unAwake Yosuke had lead the Investigation Team and Yu had been a victim of Namatame misguided attempts to "save" people.
Currently though, Yu was confronting Izanami, and his plan was to use the most potent weapons in his arsenal: sheer audacity, his boundless charisma, and knowledge he picked up as a looper.
…
"So mortal," Izanami said smugly, "you know who I am, and yet you've still decided to confront me?" The deity chuckled. "You're either very brave, or extremely stupid."
"May I ask a question?" Yu asked. "You are no longer wearing your mask, so I assume you've must have reconciled with Izanagi, so why are you meddling in mortal affairs?"
Izanami had been thrown completely off guard by Yu's unexpected inquiry, "How do you know about that?" She asked. "I know for a fact that we've never met, and there's no way someone told you, I've been watching everyone who knows." Though it was unspoken, the threat that she would kill him if he didn't answer her was obvious.
Yu simply sighed and shook his head, "Judging by your reaction it seems you haven't even spoken to him yet, waiting won't make things any easier." He chastised her. "Still, that's not why I'm here. As the ruler of Yomi the daily lives of mortals are none of your concern. In short, you've overstepped your bounds, and angered a large number of forces far more powerful than yourself," he carefully omitted that he was one of those forces, "and I'm here to see what the problem is."
Izanami scowled at him, it was likely that the only reason that she hadn't tried to kill him was that she thought he was a messenger, and she probably wanted to be sure that whoever sent him wasn't powerful enough to be a threat.
"But now that I'm here the reason is pretty obvious," Yu stated, "your mitama are horrifically unbalanced."
At this point Izanami was a bit curious as to what he was getting at, so she let him continue.
"To start off with, your Ara-mitama is completely out of control, I can't say I've ever seen this much pent-up aggression, and while your Kushi-mitama is normal, your Nigi-mitama is outright stunted, and I can't even detect your Saki-mitama," Yu explained, "just let that sink in: I quite literally cannot detect any positive emotions from you at all, it's almost as if you forcibly ejected it from your very being, I can help you, but I'd need to know what happened to it."
…
After a quick trip to the Velvet Room to pick up Marie, Izanami agreed to put her plans on hold while Yu booked a vacation for them in the Bahamas, where Izanami met a nice young man named Magus who gave her what she would latter claim was "the best back rub I ever had," and by the end of the loop she'd forgotten why she'd been in Inaba to begin with.
[Nocturne], [Strange Journey], [SMT IV], [Mass Effect], [Admin Shenanigans]
Sovereign's New Groove – part 5
Author: Gamerex27
"...annnnd they're gone. Of course they're gone." Sighing, Naoki looked around the empty, monochrome void he found himself floating in. "Figures. No one ever lasts then, why would they last now?" he asked himself, bitterly.
"-lo? Hel-looooo?"
"PIXIE!" Barreling forwards, Naoki shortly made it the equivalent of around a mile across the void in a few dozen seconds. "Thank Lucifer you're he-" Naoki would have blushed if he were still human. He should not have said that. That made him look needy and whiny, and damned if he let himself look like one of those many whiny shoenen protagonists for dealing with something every Anchor ever went through. "I, uh, could really use reinforcements," he corrected himself.
"Alright, whatever you say," she said, giggling a little. "So, this is their part of the Expanse, right? The Monochrome Forest, Flynn called it?"
"That's right." Glancing at the faint outline of a tree in the distance, Naoki pulled out his outdated cell phone and activated his Compendium. "Hope they show their asses soo, or-"
"Our Third Son, who chose Upheaval."
"Right on cue," the krogan said, turning 180 degrees to face his enemy, as the Fiends materialized behind him. The second he saw the White he was to fight, his face twisted in rage. "You motherfucker."
The White stepped forward, taking the form of a tall woman with plump lips and wavy, short hair.
"Tryin' to guilt-trip me that I haven't saved them yet?" Naoki said, his voice lined with steel. "Moron. I've got all the time in the world to find a way. That ain't gonna work."
"After all this time, you still fail to realize," the White Yuko said in monotone. "You know, deep within your nucleus, that you cannot save them."
"Shut up."
"Your stubborn will to fight that which cannot be defeated," she continued, "is the cause of your own suffering."
"...Mister Naoki, what is she talking about?" Alice asked, tugging at Naoki's arm. "Can we kill her now? The speech is making me bored." She didn't notice as Naoki trembled with rage, the White's words having struck an inflamed nerve.
"Indeed," agreed the Trumpeter. "The longer we delay, the more time they shall have to play their discordant note and destroy all. I shall be the one to blow the Trumpet, not they."
"Finally, something we all agree on," Naoki said, stepping forwards and edging ever closer to the White.
"We shall crush that will, to bring this world sal-"
White Yuko was cut off when Naoki's fist flew right though the reflective defenses she had summoned and socked her square in the face.
With a howl of pure rage, Naoki forgoed words entirely, lunging forwards again and firing a swarm of laser from his arm.
…
"No time to waste," Langdon muttered to himself, as he released the Fiends. "See anything?"
"They cannot hide, even in their own realm," Pestilence bragged, his skull leaning forwards to look further. "I am known as Conquest, in addition to my current title. None can hide from my bow."
"This is a battle we cannot afford to lose," War agreed. "Should we lose, all will have never come to be. This is not a war of glory they seek: it is obliteration."
"Be on your guards," Famine advised, as his horse reared up briefly. "I can smell him."
"Our Fourth Son, who chose Neutrality."
As the White stepped out from behind a tree, Langdon tensed up. The large, bald head, the imposing, heavy frame, and the suit made it clear whose form the White had stolen.
"Real ballsy of you, stealing Commander Gore's body like that," Langdon commented, as the DEMONICA'S HUD fired up and provided the unexpectedly high level of his opponent.
"Do your synapses not tell you that your struggle is meaningless?" White Gore asked, flatly. "You shall never rescue your fellows. Your hope to save them from the hands of demons and God is abonimable, mired in ignorance. I shall show you the truth of despair."
"There's always another way, no matter tough things seem." The soldier said. "Humanity-or whatever species you find-is resourceful, and we will stop you and everyone like you...No matter who we may lose along the way," he admitted, "we'll still find a way to beat the odds. And you."
"A foolish sentiment from a cancerous cell," White Gore declared, his eyes glowing an even brighter shade of white. "I shall crush you and your ideals. Behold, the splendor of Nothing."
…
"Flynn?"
The only light in the void was the blinking spot on Isabeau's faceplate. Everything else was coated in a thick layer of fog that made seeing anything beyond a few meters in front of herself impossible. According to her suit, she was...nowhere. But she knew where she was. Judging by what Flynn had told her of his journey, this was none other than the Momochrome Forest.
"Langdon? Naoki?...Shepard?" Shivering a little, Isabeau accepted the suit's suggestion to turn on internal heating. But it wasn't physical cold that gripped her heart right now.
Hundreds of years, she had been alone, scared and confused in the endless cycles of Mikado and Tokyo. Even though Flynn had now joined her in her journey, it was still disturbing. People moved the same, talked the same, did the exact same things unless she interviened...It was eerliy reminiscent of that novel by that Orwell man she had read a decade back.
And yet, she would have taken those cities of automata over this vast void.
Blinking, Isabeau suddenly remembered that her suit had a communicator build into it. Firing it up, she tried to zone in on her partner...her friend's location.
"Please be here," Isabeau begged. "I...I'm not strong enough to go alone...not yet..."
"-Beau?"
"Flynn!" Releasing a breath she had not known she had been holding, Isabeau jogged forwards towards a grove of ash-white, semi-ethereal trees. At the center of it stood Flynn, tapping away at the Demon Summoning Program on the holographic Gauntlet-an omnitool, she recalled-to summon the strongest demons he could.
Looking up, his face twisted for a moment. Those awful appendages on the sides of his mouth flared out, his eyes narrowed, and his jaw opened to-
Wait. That was the turian equivalent of a smile.
"Thank the Lo-" Isabeau quickly stopped herself. "I'm glad you are here. Have you found them yet?"
"They are usually found inside pits in the ground, in an attempt to limit our options in the battlefield," he recalled, as the Fiends came to answer his call. "However..."
"Our Fifth Son, who chose Neutrality."
"They need us dead as fast as possible," he continued, as a figure formed in front of them. "So, they cannot afford to wait." He flinched slightly, upon seeing that this White has still retained the form of Issachar.
"Are your vacuoles still filled with such feeble hopes?" the copy of Flynn's forever-dead friend asked. "As long as the status quo remains intact, you shall forever be shackled by the Gods. Forever trapped in this cycle of eternity. The only way out is oblivion."
"Do you even hear the words you say?!" Isabeau asked. "All you speak of is cowardice and resentment against a tragedy with no one to blame. Maybe there is no way out. Maybe we will be stuck in these Loops forever."
She unsheathed her blade in one smooth motion and pointed it at White Issachar's throat. "But there are more worlds outside our own. More people. I know now that I shall not always be the only true person inside each Loop." She glanced briefly at Flynn, then to her Gauntlet where Burroughs waited. "Not anymore. You use feeble excuses to justify your weak wills and hearts to make it end, without even bothering to try and find a better way."
"I fell for your honeyed words once," Flynn said slowly, pointing a double-barreled Love Gun pistol at the mockery of his childhood friend's head. "Never. Again. Prepare yourself. We will stop you!"
"Then I shall return you to nothing, so that we may save this doomed world from its suffering." As Flynn let loose with twin bullet shots, White Issachar leapt over the bullets, grunting in pain as he was grazed by a splash of burning liquid from the Whore of Babalon's goblet.
"Let us make this a battle worth singing about!" David cackled with glee, as explosions and fire rang all about the Expanse.
And, as reality trembled, Athena and Masakado shared a worried glance countless dimensions away.
"They have to win," Athena said, her determination and desperation clear on her face. "We can't hold anything back here."
"Understood," Masakado agreed, turning back to his own terminal. "We need to win. Or else, these people shall have never existed at all."
[Persona 4]
The Awakening of… Adachi?! – part 2
Author: Lurks in the Dark
Adachi grumbled to himself as he once again found himself buying cabbages at Junes. Letting out a puff of air, he eyed one of the leafy green heads with extreme disinterest; damn, he couldn't wait to able to use that Pocket that Dojima told him about-maybe then he'd be able to save up some scratch and be able to eat above the level of a janitor...
The detective could feel the weight of the piercing gaze that drilled into his back. Behind him, that Hanamura brat was looking at him a constipated expression, his arms cross; Adachi couldn't fault the kid, though, since he himself would be pretty damn confused in his shoes. Dojima had told him a fantastic tale about how the Universe (in a metaphysical sense instead of astrological one) was fucked up six ways to Sunday by some unknown event and now multiple realities were all stuck on "replay," with the occasional crossover of realities to spice things up. Normally Adachi would have called bullshit, but Dojima had known future events, and really, he could summon a demonic version of Japanese god from his psyche and dicked about in an alternate reality that existed within television sets, so the story of the Great Multiverse Tree wasn't really that far-fetched to Adachi-oh, and his boss had turned into a literal demon and flashed a set of very sharp-looking teeth at him, threatening to eat him if he pulled anything. There was that, too.
So he was eternally stuck in this podunk cesspit of a town, being washed over by the bungling do-gooder brigade and his boss who was not a cannibalistic pseudo-demon. Man, didn't that just figure for his life...
Adachi let out a sigh, selecting a cabbage, but not before momentarily giving it the same glare of utmost contempt and disgust that he gave all those other whores before he had thrown them into the- He shook his head; no, no! Do not fall back into that mindset.
Grumbling, the once-killer stalked off to pay for his damn cabbage.
…
Yosuke watched Adachi, confused. He had sent out a Ping and then confirmed with everyone else that this was one of those uncommon Loops were the entire Team and Dojima and Nanako-chan were Awake, which was super and all, but he also was keeping an eye on Adachi to head off the murders before they began-as did Chie, Yukiko, and Kanji who were all in Inaba prior to the murders starting-but it had passed the time that Adachi normally attempted to kill Mayumi Mayano and the female reporter still lived, and, in fact, Adachi seemed to be going out of his way to avoid both her and Saki, according to what he and the others present in Inaba had been able to figure. But, then again, Dojima was acting slightly strange (almost smug) and Nanako was in even greater spirits then usual from when all of her friends were Awake once more.
Yosuke sighed and decided he should just chalk this Loop up to being a Variant of some kind. At least everyone would have fun finding out what the wrinkle in the situation was, when they all got together.
…
On the way back to Dojima's, Adachi made a detour to pass by the gas station and made a point to glare at the goddess in disguise.
"Fucking bitch..." he muttered, stalking off.
…
"Adachi-san!" Nanoko cried out, and Adachi suddenly found an excited young girl wrapped tightly about his legs. The detective fidgeted, not sure how to react; Nanako was one of the few decent people who deserved to have nothing but good things happen to her, and yet life just kept throwing shit on her plate last time around-what with her mom dying, her dad a workaholic (not that he had helped in that regard, he would admit,) and then getting shoved into the television and nearly dying... Adachi forcibly swallowed the lump of bile that had risen into his gullet at the memory of the event that he was partially responsible for-he had been ready to personally murder Nanatame himself for that.
He still considered sending Yu that note telling him to give up on the investigation and Nanako-chan the worst thing he had ever done in his life... And Nanako knew everything he had done, knew what kind of a person he was, so why did that girl still look at him like he hung the stars in the sky and personally made the sun rise? Damn kid was too damn trusting and forgiving, and she'd get hurt one day, damn it! Dojima should have spoken to her about that!
"Uh... yeah, hey, Nanako-chan..." Adachi began, glancing over to the watching Dojima who only seemed amused at his plight and offered only a mirtful snort into his coffee cup. Fat lot of fucking help he was. "You, uh... you seem to be in a good mood?"
"Big bro is arriving tomorrow and everyone else is coming early, too!" Nanako chirped, rocking on the balls of her feet, her hands behind her back. "Well... Rise will be a bit late since she has to deal with her idol job first, but she should also be here soon!"
Adachi's eyes widened. Shit, was that tomorrow? He glanced at Dojima, who gave him a silent nod in confirmation. Aw, crap... this was going to suck!
With a face that suggested he was being forced to juggle raw sewage, Adachi spoke, "Yeah... yeah that sounds... great..." he said with a sigh, hanging his head down.
Sensing the tone in his voice, Nanako looked up at her long time friend and the person she considered an uncle in concern. "What's wrong? Aren't you glad to see Big Bro and everyone again?"
Sighing, Adachi walked over and put the June's bag on the table-Dojima glanced in and barely held back the snort of laughter that threatened to send black coffee out of his nose, upon seeing the cabbage contained within the plastic bag-and then fell boneless against the couch. "In case you've forgotten, your 'big brother' and his friends hate me..." Adachi said flatly.
Nanako puffed out her cheeks in an adorable manner and put her hands on her hips, looking for all the world like she was ready to kick someone's ass for some perceived slight. Knowing his luck, it would be Adachi's. "But you're good again!" she insisted, causing Adachi to blink at her. "You made a mistake and were punished, but now you have another chance!" she declared. "And I know you won't do anything bad again," she said, nodding.
Adachi simply stared, his mouth agape. Holy shit. Holy shit! She was serious, wasn't she? Befuddled, Adachi looked over to Dojima, who merely shrugged and shook his head, saying that he was on his own in this. Licking his suddenly bone-dry lips and swallowing down the lump that had formed in his throat, Adachi fidgeted the collar of his shirt. "Well... I mean... no..." Adachi began, "I'm not planning on killing anyone-I mean, I couldn't even if I wanted to with all of you watching me like a hawk.
Dojima was not impressed by the answer, and he leveled a look at his partner to show it. "I should hope that isn't the only reason why you aren't murdering people," he said deadpan.
"Killing people is bad, Adachi!" Nanako lectured, much in the same tone that an adult would tell a young child that it wasn't a good idea to stick objects from the ground in their mouth.
Jesus Christ, this was actually happening! "No!" Adachi quickly assured them, shaking his head. "You threatened to eat me, for god's sake!" Adachi said, pointing an accusing finger at Dojima. Nanako quickly switched her gaze of reproach to her father, who squirmed beneath her piercing glare.
"Dad!" she said sharply. "You're not supposed to eat people!" she scolded, and Dojima, hardened detective who had interrogated confessions of out of murderers, squirmed beneath his younger daughter's gaze. Adachi couldn't suppress the slightly maniac giggle of glee that passed his lips at the scene. Dojima gave him an absolute filthy look that promised not-so-fun times when they returned to work. But then, a thought occurred to him. "Hey, boss?" Adachi began, turning to the father. "Have you told anyone else about me 'Looping'?" he asked, still not familiar with the concept or word.
Dojima frowned at him, wondering what his serial-killer partner could be getting at. "No, not yet. Haven't got a chance too, and I was simply planning on letting them know when they came to town anyway. Why?" he asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.
Adachi grinned, and Dojima could see the cunning that had allowed his partner to kill under his nose in the baseline show through. "How'd you like to have some fun with them?" he asked, turning his gaze from parent to child.
Dojima raised an eyebrow at him and Nanko simply blinked up at him.
…
"I tell you, partner, it's strange..." Yosuke said as the group, minus Rise, all stood in the elevator on the way up to the food court. "He hasn't done a single thing, and he's been acting off, but I can't really tell how," he said, his hands behind his head as contemplated their normal nemesis's behavior this Loop.
Nanako nodded her head, concurring. "Kanji has explained much the same to me when we speak over the phone," she reported, causing the larger blonde-haired delinquent-type boy to flush red slightly at the causal admission that he and Naoto stayed in touch.
"Hmmm..." Yu considered everything that had been told to him; all signs pointed to this simply being a Variant of some kind, but something did seem off... The doors opened, and the group stepped out to where their usual table was, only to all stop at the sight before them.
There were Dojima and Nanako-unexpected but not unusual seeing as they were also Awake-but with them was a third person, gazing smugly at them all.
There, Adachi was, dressed in sterotypical black-and-white prison striping.
"I'd like to say it's good to see all you brats again, but who I am kidding?" Adachi said, his feet crossed at the ankle on the table. "By the way, I'm not planning on killing anyone, so you can all untwist you're panties, by the way..." he said casually, getting a sharp swat to the back of the head from Dojima for speaking in such a manner in front of Nanako. What the Hell!? Adachi could understand the notion for it, but Nanko was a very mature girl for her age the first time around, who knew how much she actually knew from how many other Loops she had done. Now that was strange thought: Nanako was probably older then Adachi, technically speaking, at least.
Yu, to his credit, didn't react other than raise his eyebrows slightly, while Yosuke and Kanji just seemed to lose their shit and stare like the gormless idiots they were. Chie seemed ready to literally kick his ass into oblivion at the slightest sign, and Yukiko was stunned into inaction. Naoto only regarded him with an analytical eye.
Yu sighed, pinching the bride of his nose.
Adachi was Looping.
Fantastic.
Though, he had to admit, a part of him was truly glad.