Chapter 7: The Perils Of Reconnaissance
Mitsuru's thoughts weren't cooperating. Neither was her body; the cold shock of a morning shower still wasn't enough to chase out the odd heat in her pulse. The chilled water couldn't even quiet that memory of waking up next to Akihiko, curled and pressed tight into his arms.
'Focus.' Mitsuru reminded herself. 'We have a job ahead of us, and we need to focus on THAT.'
She didn't need to dwell on how it felt waking up next to someone else. Or how a part of her wondered what it would be like if that happened again.
'Focus.' Put all her attention on the mission. Mitsuru yanked her way out of the shower, and let herself be rough with the towels. Mitsuru kept her thoughts on task as she forced herself to dress. On why she went to Sumaru in the first place. She let that speed her steps out of the shower and into the hotel room. Mitsuru almost yanked the top of her laptop off with how she rushed over to open the computer and browse the files.
Yamagishi had been thorough, as always. Time tables for the next week, business and meeting hours… And the little windows of time in-between. That was what they'd need to exploit, and where they'd need to look for answers.
'Why is SEBEC making overtures towards the Kirijo Group? What were the Mikage Incidents? And what are they angling towards next?' The memory of Akihiko dimmed in favor of something far less pleasant. She could remember her first encounter with Saeki. He'd been gloating… And much too free with his hands. Her skin crawled, recalling the way Saeki gripped at her shoulder, and that possessive glint in his eyes.
"I could do great things, with you beside me." He'd told her. It had been a lucky thing that she'd been able to pull herself away from him, excusing herself when she saw another business associate.
That had been the catalyst for calling Akihiko, in many ways-
"Mitsuru-?" She wondered if she should have a talk with Akihiko; and how he perhaps shouldn't say her name in such a way that made her thoughts short circuit. "You okay?"
"I… Will be fine." She forced herself to say, trying to shed all those memories. "In the meantime, we should get ready to leave. It may be morning, but it will still take time to reach the recon point. Are you still-?"
"Always ready." He reassured her. His hand lifted towards her for a moment… But in the next, he'd dropped it. Apparently he was still rattled by their bit of contact.
It was foolish, that she almost wondered what would happen if she stepped into his touch.
-o-o-o-
SEBEC headquarters looked more than a little bit imposing at sundown. The building seemed more like a black knife forged of dark glass and darker steel, and it also looked ready to cut into the sky. Bordered by the river and the harbor, it also dominated the skyline of the city.
'Maybe it's imposing. But you promised her you could handle this. No backing down now.'
"If we want information, we'll find it in there." Mitsuru said, eyes on the skyscraper. While the streets had gone dark, the reaching glass heights still caught the last glow from the setting sun. They gleamed orange and red, unnervingly like fire and shed blood. Akihiko had to blink his eyes before they started to hurt from the glare.
"We're going to search all of that?" Akihiko muttered in disbelief. He shifted uneasily from foot to foot, feeling like he'd rather be wearing anything that wasn't a business suit. But Mitsuru had been uncompromising on that; if he was going to accompany her, he was going to match her dress. They'd both opted for dark, almost black clothing; fancy, but nondescript.
"Not all of it; just the upper floors. My reconnaissance says that we have at least three security locks to get through, before we can access the top floors. One on the ground floor, of course; and the easiest of the lot, considering it's simply security forces. We'll need a way to get in undetected. No security alerts, and no scandal. The second is a collection of elevators; you need a key card to access the higher level floors. And past that, to access the offices of the higher ups, we'll need a different security card to get through the doors."
"…I… Do we have a plan on how to get through any of that?"
"Yes, of course we do." Akihiko frowned at her, and he knew that his look demanded a little more information.
"First… There's a social function on the ground level tonight. A mix of publicity, and business contacts. It's why I asked you to dress nicely, and keep your suit clean. We mingle with the crowd, act like a pair of business partners sent on behalf of the Nanjo group."
With that, she pressed a name card into Akihiko's hands. The plastic was still cold to the touch, but would likely warm to his presence soon enough.
"…My cover name is 'Nate?' Do I really look like a Nate?" He grumbled, staring over the false information.
"No more than I look like an 'Ellen.' But we're only there briefly. I'd sooner not cause any more trouble for the Nanjo Group… Considering the strings they've pulled for me. But we both have a vested interest in discovering what SEBEC has planned. Beyond getting through the doors to the social function, we have a few more options. We'll have to take them as they come."
"Well… I guess I can think on my feet well enough. Just as long as I don't have to play at being formal for too long."
"You won't; you just have to follow my lead, and act like the strong and silent bodyguard." Mitsuru wound her hair into a tight bun as she spoke, and ran something through her hair; a compound that seemed to darken it from red to a burgundy violet. Once she donned a pair of glasses, her face was surprisingly transformed. She passed a pair of spectacles to Akihiko as well, and he found himself readily putting them on.
'Strong and silent.' He told himself, as Mitsuru pulled him towards the building. The foot traffic increased around them, growing all the more thick as they stepped under the skyscraper's shadow.
Evening had its grip on the entrance, as a new, well dressed crowd moved through the lobby.
Security barely glanced at them as they joined the crowd. Their suits were almost a form of camouflage, letting them blend with the guests, then slip through the doors and into the lobby. The floors were unnervingly clean, and the air had a stark bleach-like taste to it. It was like the entire building was putting on a façade for the guests, but couldn't hide its sharper edges.
The same could be said for much of the crowd. They seemed that little bit fiercer compared to the last gathering. All fine clothing and dark colors, and searching eyes; measuring each other up, seeing who was an enemy and who was exploitable. Akihiko found himself tensing, waiting for someone to shout that they didn't belong there. Or for someone to recognize Mitsuru, and take that as an opportunity to scoop her up-
"She's a bit young for my tastes, Saeki." Akihiko recognized that voice. But the speaker didn't seem to notice him. Akihiko moved closer to Mitsuru, hand ghosting over her arm to slow her down. Akihiko didn't raise his own voice, instead giving a curt nod towards the speaker.
Mitsuru slowed her weaving through the crowd, pausing at the edge of one group of people and looking over their shoulders. He followed her gaze, and found an uncomfortably familiar sight; Mitsuru's former suitors, still forming their own club. Their suits were subtly different from before, but there was no forgetting those smug expressions. And no forgetting Saeki's stance, always imposing, always commanding. It was no surprise Saeki was leading the conversation.
"That's part of the appeal." Saeki answered. "Little miss Kirijo is less likely to be spoiled… Beyond being papa's pampered little princess, of course. But no one staking a claim on her yet. No worrying about her being a slut, no matter how she clings to Sanada. Hah, you think that guard dog of hers even knows the way to her bed? I doubt it." A harsh laugh followed his comments. The leather of Akihiko's gloves creaked, and he realized he'd balled his hands into fists.
"She'll want a better man eventually. And of course she'll choose the best of the bunch."
"You're not-!" Akihiko started to blurt out, only for Mitsuru to grab him by the arm and yank him well into the crowd.
"Akihiko. Low profile." She hissed to him. "It's a lucky thing they didn't overhear you."
"Wh-!? But… But the way they were talking about you-"
"Doesn't matter, as long as they don't know I'm here. I… Don't care for what they have to say. Because I have no desire to work with them, or entertain them." Mitsuru wasn't meeting his eyes as she spoke. And she refused to falter in her steps.
But he didn't miss the way her voice went flat, carefully devoid of emotion. Then again, maybe that wasn't a shock; Mitsuru never liked showing she could hurt or bleed, especially in public. They were getting closer to the elevators now, and the crowd was starting to thin out. But that didn't solve how they'd get access to the next set of floors… Or how they'd hide on the open floor.
Akihiko glanced back to Saeki's group as they gave another bout of laughter. He heard Mitsuru's name again… And it was all he could do, not to wrench out of her grip and rush the bastards.
'Shut up about her-' His thoughts growled… And that was when Saeki's eyes started to rove through the crowd. Measuring each of his guests, gloating over them. And his gaze moved towards Mitsuru. Arrogant, haughty, and Akihiko's pulse jumped up. He tasted something electric in the back of his tongue, and-
The lights overhead flickered. Then spat sparks. The crowd shifted about, murmuring and uncertain… And then every electric bulb in the building shorted out. The uneasy murmur changed to a shriek. And in the chaos Mitsuru grabbed him by the arm and ran. Even with gloom settling into the building, she knew where to go.
"Doors!" She put his hands to a pair of metal slates. Akihiko instantly knew what she was asking, and worked his fingers into the seams. His muscles all strained, pushing against metal and pressure alike. The doors fought against him, but Akihiko was up for the challenge. His blood was already pumping, and he could feel Caeser pounding in the back of his head-
It only caught up to him when he'd already pried the doors apart. He'd summoned again. Without an Evoker. It was still well hidden under his jacket, away from prying eyes… But he hadn't needed it to call his Persona.
'That's thrice now. Once for the lights… And you never would have gotten these doors open on your own.'
Mitsuru didn't give him time to dwell on it, pulling him inside. The doors slid shut behind them, leaving them in a dark, lightless box… At least until the backup power for the building switched back on. Akihiko blinked his eyes against the low, emergency lighting. Mitsuru was already kneeling next to the elevator key pad, sliding something into it.
"That… Wasn't quite what I had in mind, Akihiko. Still, I can't argue with the results." She didn't look up from her work, connecting a few more wires in place.
"What… Exactly just happened?" He looked around, still tensed. There had to be someone pounding on the elevator doors at any second. Probably Saeki demanding they exit, or insisting on their arrest-
"We slipped past our first gauntlet." Mitsuru told him. "Thanks to you deciding to blow out all the lights; it tripped the security system up long enough for me. And got us into the elevator with no one the wiser. Given another moment, no one will even realize the elevator is moving."
"Okay but… How are you getting us past this?"
"Actually, it won't be me. It will be Yamagishi." Akihiko blinked at that, and found himself checking over his shoulder. Even though he knew there was no way Fuuka would be in the elevator with them. Mitsuru gave a soft laugh at that. "She was kind enough to do some deep digging into SEBEC's security. And produce a duplicate card for us. At least enough to get us past the second gauntlet. On top of that, she produced a quick bug that will set all the building cameras on a loop. They'll be blind when we open the doors and explore the upper levels."
Mitsuru finished hooking up the device to the door, pushing a few buttons as she straightened. With a slow, ponderous hum the elevator began to move up.
"And that settles our second task." Mitsuru declared, smoothing out her dress. "I must thank you for that opportunity. Though I still wonder at how you managed it."
"Same here…" Akihiko told her. The elevator continued to climb, but it was slow going. And silence was quickly growing awkward.
"I don't really know how I keep… Summoning without an Evoker is still weird for me. I don't think I could do it on command."
"And I wouldn't push you to try it… Nor force too many tests or questions on you." Akihiko frowned at that, and wondered if Mitsuru was talking about his privacy, or once again revisiting her own history. Being poked and prodded too much, pressured to summon-
"Can I ask you a question now? Why are you so determined to do this?"
"Because I can't let anyone repeat my grandfather's mistakes." There was ice in Mitsuru's voice, and her words seemed just that little bit more clipped and precise. "That can NEVER happen again, no matter what."
'No matter how much it takes a toll on you?' Before he could voice that, the elevator halted and Mitsuru had eased the doors open. The hallway lights gave another flicker, while the security camera all but sparked. One less trail they'd have to worry about.
Akihiko stepped through the doors, scanning the upper floors. The electricity was half out in this section as well, leaving only glowing emergency lighting threaded through the ceiling and around a collection of columns that seemed to almost grow from the floor. It was almost like stepping into a very strange, artificial forest of black tile and red velvet.
"…Got a flare for the dramatic, I'll give them that much." Akihiko grumbled as they moved through the floor.
The upper offices felt… Strange, with no one else around. There weren't any businessmen, not even any after-hours employees working the floors. Akihiko worked on keeping his back from tensing up, and keeping his steps matched to Mitsuru.
"…I don't like this." He muttered. "Why isn't there anyone here? Where's security?"
Mitsuru didn't falter, but he didn't miss how her eyes continued to scan and flicker across the offices.
"It's… It's like walking into a grave." Akihiko found himself still speaking. Desperate to fill the silence. "Or like…"
He didn't get to finish that thought; not when Mitsuru's next step caused the building to ripple around them. The fading sunlight and emergency lighting was snuffed out in an instant… Replaced by an eerie glow instead.
-o-o-o-
Mitsuru shivered, feeling a warp wash over her skin. Trying to twist everything it touched… And where it failed to twist her flesh, instead it turned the room. Distorting, bringing red and shadow with it, just like at the restaurant. She tensed, still not used to this… Or perhaps too used to it. It was too similar to the Dark Hour. Even with years slipped by, she knew that suffocating atmosphere, and the watery quality of the lights.
"…This is at least something I know." Mitsuru told herself, checking the straps of her Evoker once again. It was safely hidden under her own jacket, ready to be used. The metal was an almost comforting presence. And at least now she didn't have to worry about looming marriage dates, or scrutiny from the press and the companies. Or those comments from the lobby-
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Stay on your toes, and keep your guard up." Akihiko spoke up. This was something he understood as well, with how his shoulders were relaxed, and he easily glided from one step to another. He looked a little restless, dancing in place like he was squaring off against an opponent in a boxing match.
Mitsuru gave a sharp breath, looking around the changing building. The lights had all shut out, save for a glow of emergency lighting.
And empty, save for them. No alarms. No voices from security.
"…This is why they didn't bother with security on the upper levels. They have their own defenses built in." Mitsuru grumbled. "They've harnessed whatever this thing is… And they're using it against us. They knew we were coming."
She took another cautious step forward, feeling her way through the shrouded space. When her heel touched the floor, it made an unnervingly loud clack… And the ground responded. It was like the shadows were dissolving away underneath her. But they weren't revealing the old rooms or velvet clad surfaces; instead pale flooring was slowly getting revealed.
'I don't like this-'
"So what the hell are we dealing with?" Akihiko interrupted her thoughts, before that sudden knot of unease could catch in her throat. "This doesn't feel exactly like the Dark Hour-"
"No. They'd need to tap into Nyx, and that's been sealed off. But… They seem to be running off of the abilities of lesser Shadows, and tapped into those. They've probably captured specimens to power whatever this is."
Another step. Another bit of shadow peeled away under her feet, replaced with sharp tile. Somehow the material kept her tense, tried to push panic in between her lungs… Even if Mitsuru wasn't certain why. She just know that the ground under her feet was too clean. She could almost taste the bleach and disinfectant used, and the red, reflective lights burning at her eyes. Too bright. Too polished.
"Mitsuru…?" Akihiko's voice slid by her head, as though from miles away. Her thoughts felt oddly muffled… And her breathing worse than that, becoming strained as it wheezed in and out of her lungs.
"Keep moving." Her orders, by contrast, came out sharp. Sharp enough that Akihiko winced from them. Mitsuru was already stepping forward, her heels clicking across those obnoxious tiles. She leaned into the momentum, and rushed forward. A pair of large doors waited at the end of the floor. Possibly secured. She wasn't going to let that stop her.
The doors were framed in metal, a series of electric blinking lights keeping them bound together… But the warp had left those lights weak, almost feeble. Mitsuru was willing to guess the door locks were also weakened. And she was more then ready to test that theory. Her heel slammed into the doors, and they sparked and split apart in answer. Her foot slammed down a second time, and the door broke apart completely.
She kicked her way through the doors, trying to get the scent, the sterile sting of the floor out of her senses. Once she saw the gap, Mitsuru threw herself into the next room-
The white tile didn't follow them into this place. It was almost a relief for Mitsuru, until she saw what was taking up the room. An impossibly tall mixture of cylinder and tower dominated the room, stretching from floor to ceiling. It was almost like the room warped around it, to accommodate the structure.
Akihiko's power surge and the warp hadn't affected the device, with how it glowed and hummed with energy. Coils and vents both leaked an almost sickening light, and it was borderline too bright to look at. Mitsuru cast her eyes down… And that was when they fell on the guard rails ringing the device, and a set of plates stamped into them. Writing was engraved in them.
"…DEVA?" Akihiko worked out the word, looking over the massive machine. Even named, it still easily dwarfed himself and Mitsuru. Something about the name pulled at her thoughts. And shocked Mitsuru out of that almost-panic she'd found herself in.
"I know what this is…" Mitsuru murmured, narrowing her eyes on the device. "I've read the Kirijo reports often enough."
Akihiko gave a flinch at that, whirling around to stare at her.
"Wait… Are you saying this is Koetsu's-"
"No. This predates even his research. When Koetsu Kirijo studied Shadows and trying to harness their power… This was the foundation he was building off of. A machine that can distort space, and shift the matter within. And after trial and error, it could tap into people's psyches... And delve even deeper than that, unearthing the things people keep buried. And this machine makes them manifest. Even the trauma they would sooner forget." There was a cold feeling trying to take root in her skin. Mitsuru shoved it aside, trying to study the device… And pick out where its weak points were. There had to be some way to turn that machine into scrap metal.
"My understanding was that it was destroyed decades ago… But it also looks like the SEBEC group wasn't content to leave their research buried. They found a way to revive the DEVA device."
"And… That's what's been causing the warps, isn't it?" Akihiko grumbled, all but prowling around the device.
"Yes… I think the emissions and distortions are keying in on Persona users. We've been caught up in whatever tests they've been doing." Akihiko scowled at the DEVA device, like it had personally challenged him to a fight.
"So… Why has it been targeting us, instead of any of the others?"
"I think…" Mitsuru frowned. "I'm not sure yet. I don't know why. Just that we need to destroy this thing, before it can hook into our thoughts any further." And unearth anything worse than memories of cold and harsh tile.
"Espionage, huh? Well, lucky for you I'm an expert at breaking things like this… If I can just get an idea on where to start?" Akihiko shot an expectant look back at Mitsuru.
"A good burst of lightning wouldn't go amiss, for starters."
"Say no more-" Akihiko started drawing his Evoker, even as the machine's glow flickered and pulsed around them. Somehow the lights seemed to grow brighter, and then darker with each pulse… And the shadows were growing far more dark. Akihiko didn't let that bother him, as he drew his Evoker, prepared to fire-
And the blackness suddenly swept forward, and enveloped both of them. Mitsuru didn't even have time to shout a warning, before her throat was smothered by shadow.