Logs: The Mighty Son of Thor
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
Late in the afternoon, Yoh had received a call from Thora. The call was very brief, instructing him to visit the mysterious area known as the Lunarvale ruins. Rumors abounded around this place and there was an oddly high amount of missing people reports from this particular area in the past few months or so. Thora had spoken towards 'initiation' but had left details vague.
It's easy to locate Thora as she stands outside the ruins. Over top her coat, she has some kind of weird black garment on that looks a lot like a cape, large enough to go down to her knees. On the front are strange patterns that resemble a pair of downward descending meteors. As she waits, she fiddles with her cellphone, keeping it out in case Yoh calls. There's a faintly...maniacal gleam in her eyes tonight that cannot possibly bode well.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh had just finished his Goju-Ryu class, a day scheduled for conditioning, when he had received a call from one Thora Kobayashi. Which was... strange to say the least. While it was just like her in a sense, blunt, to the point, and almost a command, there was something to her voice that was to say the least, abnormal. Still, she had been trying to help him all this time. Surely nothing can go wrong.
Still wearing his Karate Gi, the heavyweight one with the iron weights in the lining, Yoh makes his way to the location mentioned. It is a bit offsetting, but all in all, not much different than the condition he found the local shrine in. Still, it did not feel quite as friendly.
As the boy approached the location with duffel bag in hand, he saw Thora, and she was wearing... a cloak? Okay that was strange. Still, better not ask lest he eat a knuckle sandwich. "Koboyashi-san! How are you?" he asked politely as he approached. Though one could easily tell he was rather uncomfortable here. The area had a feeling of familiarity here as well. Maybe he came through during his bad days?
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"Me?" Thora smiles a big, toothy and slightly unfriendly grin. "I'm feeling great. Judging by what I've seen...SEES seems a little busy right now. Time is ticking away, things are moving along, and the world is turnin' more dangerous for people who know too much." Thora narrows her eyes, "So we're going to do a little something to take care of that. Follow me."
Not much of a greeting, no, but Thora was always a down-to-business type. She turns away and starts leading Yoh deep into the ruins. "Don't lag behind and stick close, this is real important, because you'll be proper fucked if you get lost." Wait, what? Oh dear. Her reasons for these words quickly reveal themselves as they plunge headfirst into a dark area. After a few seconds, Thora flicks on a flashlight and silently leads the way. Yoh will have to be quick to catch up. After walking for what feels like an hour, a light can be seen ahead, which Thora steadily leads him to.
They'll find themselves within a completely new area-some kind of well-lit palace from the looks of it. Stepping forward, Thora brushes her fingers over a crudely-carved arrow in the wall and looks back over her shoulder. Roughly, she reaches out and grabs Yoh by the wrist and runs. "C'mon, we need to get out of here quick."
She seems a little unnerved and offers no explanation for her actions as she drags him through a maze-like series of passageways. Eventually, they emerge into what looks like...the Sun Mall? No, it's all wrong here. The goods are different and amongst the humans, there are honest-to-god demons walking around.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh listens carefully to Thora's explanation. Something is different, for sure it seems now. "Understood. There is always time to meet this SEES club." After a moment, the boy gives one firm nod. "Understood. Lead on." Now it seemed different and urgent. maybe she did actually need him? That would be nice; to actually help do something about all that was going on.
The boy follows closely behind the large girl, sticking close enough to almost cling to the cloak. As it got dark, he squinted to try and keep focus as best as he could. "Sounds rough," he says quietly as she makes her statement and they make their way. The weights make themselves apparent as they traverse the labyrinth, or what seems like one. The conditioning of class, to be followed right after this was making a slow toll on Yoh, but he wouldn't show it. Made for better fruits of labor.
As they finally exit the place, Yoh looks around. "Wait, didn't I just... Didn't we... Oh." At first he thought he was at the Sun Mall, where nearby was his beloved Dojo. Of course, it wasn't there, and for the most part, a lot of things weren't. "We're... in Lunarvale? It looks familiar, but it isn't." He looks around and sees, well, what the heck were those? "Is this a costume festival?"
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"Nope." Thora still seems to be in a bit of a rush. Some of the people and demons turn towards them to watch. Apparently sensing eyes upon her, Thora responds in kind, sweeping her yellow gaze around at the bystanders. Most of them quickly look away rather than risk sustained eye contact with the Oni of Osaka. Some, certain demons in particular, keep on looking, not bothered by Thora's presence. One even jeers at her, 'You've got some guts comin' in here, dog! You're lucky the Queen's not here!'
Thora only snorts, dragging Yoh outside. Outside the land is desolate, it looks a lot like a world that has rebuilt itself from an apocalypse. Not a human can be found outside. Not many demons either, but they are definitely here. A Nekomata spots Thora and Yoh coming and hisses before running off. Thora merely smirks in triumph. "This is Mikage-Cho, a world created by the brain of a very disturbed teenager. Those demons you see there are real." Finally, she releases Yoh, but keeps walking, heading for a tall tower looming in the distance.
"I was taken here by that girl and imprisoned, held captive by the demons here until another part of that girl could come for me. ...it's complicated. The important part is I managed to partially fight my way free. Me and a bunch of my friends had to survive here for a week, fighting demons and finding food wherever we could. In time I learned that you didn't have to kill the demons to survive. You could...negotiate."
As they near the tower, the door suddenly bursts open and a small crowd of demons spill out, rushing towards the group. A gigantic red-skinned oni leads the way, roaring and waving his big iron club around. Thora seems to be taking this oncoming attack extremely well and merely smiles.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
The boy expected her to say yes. But she didn't. Great, that probably means that this is one helluva twisted commune or fetish city, or this has to do with the Persona business in SOME form. He actually kind of hoped it was the latter when those thoughts hit his mind. Those... things watched him and Thora, with very disturbing looks. When the one talked, it was apparent that Thora has been here before.
Yoh follows closely behind, Looking around. It reminded him of an imported video game he played once. Involving a survivor of some sort of vault after the apocalypse happened. And... WHAT THE HELL. Was that a cat chick?! Yoh's eye visibly twitches at the sight. Of course Thora's explanation somewhat helps. "It had to do with the Persona stuff, didn't it?" It was probably assured that it was a yes. "If they don't listen, my fists tend to be my hired negotiators." A lame pun, but it was true nonetheless.
It looked like they were coming upon some sort of tower or pillar. Why was he being brought here? What was Thora's plan? And why did that door swing open OH GOD they are coming at us. Yoh peers at the group for just a moment, a courtesy glance to see if they were pissed. And yeah, they were. Should have figured. He drops the duffel bag, and pulls out his pair of trusty gloves, fastened with a metal plate, with the large industrial grade bolts soldered / welded onto the plate. Yoh wasn't smart, but he could tell when something was about to go down. The boy rubs his nose with a thumb, "Looks like trouble." Sure they were demons, but he figures they hate pain as much as anyone else. The boy tenses up, awaiting something to happen.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"Sorta." Thora explains when he mentions 'Persona stuff'. "But not really. As you get deeper, you're gonna learn that it ain't all about havin' a Persona. There are other powers, some real dangerous and not worth the price you're gonna pay. And to think, there's loads of stuff even I haven't touched yet. But if you're gonna poke around, you better be packin' supernatural heat, you got it?" She smirks a little, endeared by his fighting spirit. She hopes he keeps that up because with what Thora has in mind...
More importantly, though, it's time to deal with the immediate threat. Yelling, Thora rushes forward, hurling herself at the lead oni and violently smashes her head into his. Both parties go flying several feet backwards, the large demon crashing into the incoming crowd of demons, resulting in...
...Joyful roars of laughter? "Red Dog!" a trio of gremlins call out simultaneously, scampering up to tug the teenager onto her feet. The other demons crowd around, not attacking-well, not really, some offer playful punches to the shoulder. Yoh gets a good deal of attention and is quickly surrounded on all sides. Nobody touches him at least, but the way they all eye him up is bound to be unsettling. The big oni stands and gives Yoh a hard look. "Who's the meat?" he asks bluntly.
"This..." Thora reaches over and claps a hand on Yoh's shoulder. "Is a potential recruit. Yamagatani, this is my crew, the Blue Wolves. We are here to get strong, get loot, and-" she's interrupted as the pack of demons (numbering around twenty something it seems) thrust fists (or paws) to the air. "-do awesome shit!" Her smile grows a little sharper. "I want you to join. But you gotta pass /initiation/ first."
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
"Got it." Yoh gives his confirmation as he wonders just what sorts of powers one could get, if a Persona was not just the only one... He picks at his gloves as the group charges forward. "Hope these new gloves work out. That KNOWS weapon shop didn't look to make the best stuff..." He is mostly mumbling to himself, but Thora could probably catch it. Or most of it over the roars of battle anyway.
Yoh watches closely as Thora rockets forward towards the biggest of the demons. "This is more like it!" The boy begins to charge forward as well, though he doesn't get too far when... suddenly everyone is cheering? Gods this place was weird. He slides to a stop as the smaller ones help Thora and the other fellow upright. A swarm of smaller demons seems to quickly overtake Yoh himself as well. He glances at the group, then to Thora. "The hell is going on?"
As Thora seemingly explains himself, Yoh loosens up some. The little guys don't seem to be doing anything, and Thora appears in high spirits. Things must not be too bad. "Nice to meet you guys," he manages to spit out, though rather confused at this whole mess. Of course, when the large girl, as well as the chipping in demons mention just what they did. He stays quiet for a few seconds, then a toothy grin forms on his face. "Did you say... get strong? This sounds like something I can back!" How the heck he got Thora's attention so much for this, or why he was picked for this somehow, he didn't really care at this moment. The kid looked pretty psyched up now. Of course until Thora's last statement. He remembers initiations for tough street gangs and strongholds. They could be really bad sometimes.
Of course, this would probably turn out to be much worse. "Well, I must say. I am quite honored at your picking me. So, an initiation, eh?"
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
There are a variety of demons in the Blue Wolves! Most of the membership is primarily made of onis but there are also Gremlins, an Ose, an Ippon-datra, and a two-headed dog creature named Orthrus. Most importantly, they all appear to be capable of talking. Even the Orthrus. "That's right. Gettin' strong and bein' the top dog is what we're about. Mostly." She starts to walk, guiding him along with her hand on her shoulder. The demons walk along with her. They circle around the tower (which has a sign on the door reading TRESPASSERS WILL BE EATEN) and head for the back, which reveals a large pit-like area dug out of the ground and reinforced with all kinds of bits of scrap metal. It looks like a construction straight out of Beyond Thunderdome.
Thora loves that movie, by the way.
"An initiation." Thora repeats, some of the demons starting to chortle a little. "We're all about gettin' strong but you've gotta be strong enough to keep up. All of us here have had to survive on the East Side of Mikage-Cho. And here on the east side of Mikage-Cho...it's eat or be eaten." As she speaks, the gremlins run around and pull open a steel side door to the makeshift arena. With a rough pat on the back, Thora urges Yoh towards it. "Now get in there."
She shoves him again, not really giving him much choice on the matter at all. In fact, she's gotten pretty aggressive all the sudden. Everyone looks more...aggressive. Once Yoh's inside, the steel door slams shut and clanks as various bolts are locked. From the other side of the arena, another door opens and a large, black creature bolts out, unleashing a screeching whinny.
The demon is a coal-black horse with a pure white mane and tail. Sprouting from its head are two long curling green horns with exceptionally pointed tips. It's eyes gleam blood red and its teeth are sharp and pointed like a carnivore.
The Blue Wolves gather around the arena to watch excitedly. Thora climbs up to a metal platform and sits upon it, cross-legged, the black cape settling around her. "Here's your initiation." Thora shouts, "Kill the Bicorn, and you're in."
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh looks amongst the group. It is rather unsettling, but they do not seem like they will attack him. As least while Thora is around. As he listens, it sounds as though it was some sort of club itself made... just for him. As if a prayer to fit in somewhere had been answered directly somehow. "To get strong is to be strong, as they say." They had quite the hangout here. A tower, and area surrounding it probably belonged to them. As well as what looked like a cage match area of sorts.
When Thora spoke, Yoh was able to put two and two together rather fast. While not smart in most situations. Most things that were shady in nature, or involved fighting, came to him fast. "I see. Makes sense." This place was apparently real in some way, if that was the law of how things worked. Well, looks like Thora was calling him out now, so it was time to--
Before he can even make the decision to go in of his own accord, he gets pushed in by her, with the door shutting behind. The demons and Thora appear to gather around. It looks like it was time to put on a show. Yoh tenses up once more. "So, what am I fighting?" Of course the combatant enters mere moments after saying it. The boy looks... what appears to be both with a confused look and an 'are you serious' look. It was a horse! Of sorts.
"I have to fight that?" Of course the horse was not just a horse probably. It could most likely breathe fire and deploy machine guns out of it's sides for all he knew. "Guess I don't have much choice, do I?" he yelled back to the brutish girl. He had never actually killed anything before. Of course he brought many a person close, just not actually dead. Yoh slowly slid into an offensive combat stance, preparing for whatever the thing could do. Which was probably much more than bite.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
It's true, while Thora is around, they're not going to attack him. Now if she wasn't, they definitely would be chasing him right now, possibly even trying to tear him limb from limb like most of the local demons do on this side of town! There's a reason why all the humans here hide in the Karma Palace.
"Now this kinda demon is pretty common around here. Which is good!" Thora grins broadly and rests her elbows on her knees. "Ever punch a horse in the face? Ever want to? Better get to it! Bicorns are extra mean. Especially to virgins."
Does she know if Yoh's a virgin or not? ...no, not really. But it was an ample warning nonetheless. "And keep it quick! That's gonna be our dinner tonight!"
The beast snarls and paws the ground with a gray hoof. Its mouth lolls open, drool dribbling past its lips and pooling on the floor. Black fog follows, creeping and gradually filling the floor of the arena. Beneath Yoh, arcane lines suddenly etch themselves on the ground, glowing bright purple and forming intricate spellcircles. Smack in the center, the combined kanji for 'death' appears before foul, soul-destroying energy surges upwards. What would follow would not be a physical pain, but a spiritual one-a sensation that may be entirely new to Yoh unless he's been exceptionally unlucky in his previous supernatural encounters.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh sneers at the stallion. It looked quite fierce, and the horns didn't help either. Still, time to take it out! Yoh begins to make himself angry, conjuring thoughts that would enrage him to no end. His fists clenched, his teeth gritting, it was time to take action. Well, at least that is what he thought he was going to do.
What once he thought was a cheezy effect of some kind turned out to be much worse. As a strange surge of energy hits him, he takes a knee for a moment. Something inside of him began to scream out in horror. It wasn't pain. It wasn't fear, still it was something that had the power to stop him in his tracks for a good minute or so. Through sheer force of will, he forces himself upright, and slowly, step by step, makes his way out of the ritualistic circle as he clutched his chest; where the feeling was the most intense.
As he finally gets out, he winces. What was that feeling? It hurt so badly... yet it didn't. After stumbling a few steps, he begins to charge forward, still winded from that attack, but not down! As he approaches the Bicorn, he whips around in a circle, and begins to throw a spinning hook kick at it's face, hoping to return the spiritual damage dealt to him in physical pain, the best kind of pain!
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"It's definitely not playing nice today." Thora remarks quietly to herself, the air shifting around her. Silently, she does hope this little gambit works and she doesn't have to leap in and save his butt. She's poised to do so in case she has to though, having the foresight to come equipped with a persona that does have healing skills.
The Bicorn definitely is a cruel creature, possessing nothing that isn't raw animal intelligence. While a good portion of the demons of Mikage-Cho could be spoken to, there was a small subset that were little more than animals in mentality, the 'wilder' class. Bicorns fell into this category, so if Yoh was hoping for witty banter with his opponent, well, he's out of luck. He's also out of luck if he's expecting the animal to let up on him. No sooner after the Mudo spell has been cast, hoofbeats thunder through the air as the horse charges across the arena. Yoh, once he regathers himself, will find that he doesn't have to charge far as the Bicorn storms in to meet him, head held low and ready to headbutt.
Unfortunately, it doesn't get to land that headbutt, Yoh's foot diverting the demon away at the last minute and causing it to stagger sideways. It steps in a half-circle, quickly regaining its footing. Yoh will find that the demon's skull is hard and definitely not like the piles of wood he might be accustomed to practicing on.
Stepping in again, angling its neck downward, the Bicorn sweeps its head upwards, attempting to catch Yoh with one of its massive curved horns. If hooked, the demon will violently shake him about, tossing him in the air and attempting to gore him with efficiency that could only be practiced through years of survival.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh lands the blow, sneering with satisfaction for a few moments before he realized... OW. THAT HURT. He felt like he just kicked a steel girder full force. Of course there was no time to rub it, he just had to shift his weight to the back leg with a difference martial stance. It was about all he could do until his foot felt better.
Of course the hit doesn't deter the steed for too long, and it comes at him bucking it's ugly head. Yoh was not prepared for this, and gets headbutted, though out of reflex he grabs a horn with one hand. For a moment they are in a stalemate, though the Bicorn was quickly getting leverage over him.
He had to act fast, cocking a fist back, he lays into it with his bolt spiked gloves in between the eyes, but not without a cost. The malign beast does in fact get his way, and gashes Yoh's side, and he gets slung a good distance away. The horse cut through his Gi, and left a nice deep wound, which blood began to let from. It had been a while since Yoh was made to bleed so badly. This actually made Yoh very angry. As the boy finally came to a halt, he began to feel like he had better do something fast or he was done for. He was not used to fighting things like this.
Though there was not much else Yoh could do besides try to go for the head again, knocking it over, or try exhausting it and laying the final blow, like a matador.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
At this distance, Yoh ends up getting a much better look at the demon than he probably wanted. The horse has snake-like eyes that are slitted with vertical black pupils. The rest of what would normally be white glows bright red. Upon closer inspection, those teeth the Bicorn has almost seem hooked, pointing backwards, like a shark. Perfect for tearing flesh. The deadlock is just as quickly resolved, the spikes on the glove punching holes through the demon's skin, making it jerk backwards just as violently. To Yoh's credit, while his own blood was drawn, he managed to do the same to his opponent.
All around, the Blue Wolves make noise, banging on the metal and calling for MORE blood. "TEAR IT APART!" "WE WANT THE MEAT!!" C'MON, HUMAN!" and so on.
The beast rounds on him again, this time not coming in with the head but rearing up on its hind legs. On one hand, this exposes its underbelly for Yoh but on the other, it brings its hooves down, kicking and stomping to trample the human down on the spot. Were it not obvious already, in close quarters, this creature was extremely aggressive.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
The Gi-clad boy holds his side in pain, though it didn't look like it would affect his fighting. In actuality, it made him that much angrier. This was no ordinary creature. But at least he scored a good hit. But before he could do anything, the nightmare is upon him, stomping down furiously. One of the kicks hits his hand, and a spike of pain shoots up it. Yoh gets back with a couple of backwards jumps and moves his hand. It hurt severely, but it felt like nothing was broken. Still, it would be best if he didn't attack with it anymore, as the searing pain suggested a bone splinter. He was all too familiar with this kind of pain from hitting hard objects.
One of his hands mostly out of commission for the most part, he was running out of ideas fast. Though after a moment, something inside him roared with anger and filled him with the instinct to punch the ground. While this was ridiculous in theory, he didn't have any other idea. "I tire of this!" Yoh yelled aloud, and reared back a fist, then laying into the ground with all his might. This sends out a near invisible shockwave somehow, the only way to tell it was present was the fact that dust and rocks traveled with it. Hopefully it wouldn't see that coming, despite the fact he had no idea how he fired it off. It seemed near supernatural. Of course if the Bicorn saw through this, he was out of ammo, and screwed in every sense, as he started to feel weak. In the back of his mind, he wondered what Thora would think of what he just did.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
Now this gets an interested eyebrow raise from Thora. She hadn't discounted that people could certainly develop abilities outside the whole persona thing, a 'final gambit' if you would. This one was certainly impressive enough, earning an excited roar of approval from the crowd of Blue Wolves as the shockwave rockets forward.
The Bicorn brings down its legs but utterly fails to make its mark as the blast hits the steed squarely, loud snapping noises accompanying this action. The steed looses its balance as the ground seems to shift beneath it and it topples sideways, smashing against the ground hard enough to leave an imprint and break off the top half of its right horn.
The beast lies still, unmoving, perhaps dead. The spectating Blue Wolves begin to chant in unison, howling and shouting, the voices building to a terrible din: "MEAT! MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!"
Thora lifts her head, making eye contact with Yoh, and draws a finger across her throat. Apparently Thora wants Yoh to kill it. Make sure it's really dead! An ex-Bicorn! A Bicorn that is no more! That horn piece offers itself as a nice thing to stab with if Yoh chooses to go that route.
However should Yoh venture close enough, he will have a very nasty surprise waiting for him. The Bicorn is far from dead-it twists up on its side, red eyes flaring and jagged teeth snapping to take a very painful bite out of Yoh. A Bicorn has teeth that are hooked, the points directed towards the inside of its mouth, making them ideal for ripping flesh away or just holding onto prey.
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
"I don't know." A familiar voice says next to Thora, "Is this really dangerous enough?" Oh god, it's Aki.
That's right, the little monster has appeared next to Thora, complete with a tinier metal platform. Except it's not a metal platform, it's a a couchform. A couch platform. With spikes growing out of it for no readily apparent reason. She is sipping down on an SLURPEE she probably stole from FROST JUNES, or perhaps they just gave it to her because it seems the communist frosts are in charge now, or maybe they didn't--it ultimately doesn't matter.
She's weaker than she used to be, but that doesn't mean she's not dangerous.
"It's like you want him to win." Aki pouts. "But it's such a beautiful Bicorn--" Uh oh.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh finally has a moment to catch his breath now that the Bicorn had been knocked away. The unbridled wrath inside him subsided. Nothing he knew could explain what he just did. Doing that defied physics of any kind, but of course, Personae also did this, so chalk it up to a fluke for now. Still, he was glad he did that now!
Either way, that... whatever that was... was amazing. He would definitely need to remember to find out from someone how he did that! Maybe with training he could make it better. Well, right now isn't the time to think about that! There is a demon trying to kill you! Or, at least it was.
Yoh looks about quickly, and finds the horse down! Cheers all around drive him onward, and he finds a horn nearby! Picking it up with his good hand, he charges over towards the horse. It should be sharp enough to stab it good, kinda like what it did to the boy's side.
Though as he approaches, the horse only appeared to be feigning injury though, and lashed out as Yoh raised the horn. He didn't notice what was happening until it was too late. As the horn cam down, the mouth came up and bit Yoh's hand. The boy could feel the teeth quickly sink in. Yoh roared in pain. The heck was this girl putting him through?! The teeth seemed reversed much like an anaconda's, which they use for easy grabbing. Yoh would have probably been done right here and now, but the steed didn't completely have his hand. The horn lodged within gave him the tiniest advantage that he could use to get away. Yoh quickly found the horn itself lodged in the creature's teeth, and then fiercely twisted it. The Bicorn had to take just a second to get a better grip because of this, but Yoh had already yanked out his hand now. Though, now that hand was for the most part useless. The sharp teeth had bitten right through his glove and ripped it apart, metal and all. Now is only good hand was cut up badly and bleeding a good deal, also exhibiting a great deal of pain to move it.
Wonderful. Both hands out, his side was cut open... And the Bicorn probably had a few scratches at best. This was not looking good.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
The demons are really a lively bunch. As the horse snaps back at Yoh, they start cheering again and it starts to become apparent that they're not really rooting for either opponent. They just want to see some violence that leads to something dying. Whatever dies ends up as dinner. That's just the way things tended to work out here on the East side. It's what Thora had to survive with for a week along with a handful of other unlucky folks and because of that, they all became so much stronger. Though at the same time they may have become a little broken on the inside.
It pushed Thora farther. "What the-" The large teenager suddenly pulls herself from her cross-legged position into a crouch when Aki all so suddenly appears there. It was a pretty huge surprise to see her too since, not only had it been a while, but Thora was under the impression that Maki didn't really allow her to roam free. "He better win." Thora grunts, looking down at the arena, "Or he's gonna become lunch." 'And I'm going to be in deep shit.'
The Bicorn snaps its head around violently as any animal would when trying to rip something away, it's powerful neck muscles giving it a distinct advantage here. Yoh is fortunate he was able to get his hand away, even with that level of injury, for any further seconds of twisting could have potentially torn that hand off at the wrist. Its teeth dig down on the horn and after a few seconds of thrashing, it releases the horn, flinging it halfway across the arena.
As Yoh reels from his injury, the Bicorn writhes on the ground and manages to get itself back up on its feet. The left front hoof doesn't seem to be favored though, perhaps the leg is broken or injured in some fashion. This becomes much more obvious when it paws the ground with that hoof and unleashes a warbling-sounding shriek of anger before forcing itself to charge at Yoh again, head held low.
This didn't look good at all. Thora tenses suddenly. Aki can easily tell she's about ready to intervene.
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
Aki does not usually interfere in shit, as she is trying to conserve her strength for a comeback, most likely. Or she just doesn't care anymore. Maki is relatively happy right now and there is relatively little fueling Aki--but Aki is not pure evil, it is not as if she is without strength--certain aspects of Maki are just getting stronger, aspects that are linked to her.
"Huh, that's interesting." Aki says, she has no idea if it's actually his power or if it's the Mikage-Cho glitching out, but he seems to be losing.
"Looks like it's gonna finish him off!" Aki claps her hands happily. She likes Shadows and Demons more than people, especially those she hadn't made bonds with, but there is something troubling going on here too--It looks like Thora wants to stack the odds in Yoh's favor!
"Erusaer Tsymmom!" Aki says quickly, a small barrier appearing between Thora and the rest of the arena. She could probably batter it down--but it would take time, and time she might not have to save Yoh.
"It's not a true test." Aki says happily, "If you can just bail him out, right?" She lifts her hands to her face and shouts, "MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!" It's a fun word to chant.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh hops back and gets a bit of distance between him and the beast. His hands were shot. He couldn't make a fist with the left due to debilitating pain shooting through it, and the right he couldn't make a fist out of at all. And he wasn't all that good at kicking now either, due to using arms as balance, or counterbalance as it may be.
The demons seemed to be enjoying the show, and Thora was still perched in that same spot. As the horse got it's bearings, it finally got upright and shoot off the daze, leering at Yoh. The boy was beaten and tired. As well as a bit on the faint side, probably from the loss of blood, though for the most part it had stopped from his side thankfully, but now his hand was dripping.
As the horse began it's charge, Yoh began to regret this day highly. There was nothing he could really do, besides throwing a desperate kick as it approached, but it would probably take his leg off.
The steed closed in. Yoh braced for impact!
But it never came. After a few moments, he opened his eyes. Everything was faded. The horse was only seconds away, but stayed in place. The crowd was frozen in their cheers. Time had stopped. The boy was confused, but could not move. He quickly looked around for the cause of this.
Out in the middle of the arena was the girl he thought he saw, wearing a green dress and holding a parasol. Yoh had seen this girl many a time in his dreams for whatever reason. "It's... it's you..." Yoh said, stammering. The little girl trotted up with a smile on her face. "It is!" She twirled in place, then looked at Yoh with a dead serious face. "You don't have much time." Twitching, Yoh responded angrily. "I know that! This thing is gonna eat me!"
She began to walk away, but ran a hand across the Bicorn. "Not if you say it." She continued to walk away. "Say what?! I don't understand!" Yoh retorted. He couldn't give chase though, it was as if his feet were frozen to the ground. The girl began to fade from existence. "Better say it! I shouldn't have to repeat myself, Yoh." Okay, that was creepy. She knew his name too. The the hell was that? "W-Wait--!" It was too late. The girl faded from sight.
As soon as she disappeared, time began to slowly return, everything gradually returning to speed. The Bicorn began its approach once again, getting faster with every second. Yoh began to panic. He could move again, but what use was it? It would be upon him in moments! Things began to look grim.
Though... something welled up inside of him. Something... furious. He had never felt anything like this. Ever. From the depths of his soul surfaced a single word; one he had heard many a time said by many others, all representing a new way of life. A new way to fight. A new way to save others. The sky began to darken quickly as this scene unfolded, clouds gathering from seemingly everyhere. Strange bolts of lightning began to jump around the clouds. The lightning was crimson red, threatening to lash out at anywhere, anytime.
Yoh suddenly felt himself clenching his hands tighter than he ever did. He felt the pain, but it was no match for the sudden feeling he had overtaking him. The air grew still, and silence seemed to overtake the arena as a single word rang out.
"PERSONAAAAA!"
As soon as the word is uttered, an ethereal battlehorn sounded, as an immense bolt of scarlet electricity Struck down right on top of Yoh, causing an massive explosion, which would probably send the Bicorn skidding backwards.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
Thora went into this knowing it was going to be a tough fight for Yoh. Demons are cruel creatures and most of them don't think very highly of humans at all. If they didn't ignore you because you were beneath them...they were probably trying to kill you instead. As it starts to become increasingly clear that her gambit is failing, Thora stands and prepares to jump down, tossing Aki a brief sneer.
A shimmering barrier closes her off suddenly thanks to the little girl, and Thora recoils. Growling, she pounds a fist into it, then another. "Damnit, I can't just let him die down there!" Thora scowls, raining hammerfists down on the barrier. "YAMAGATANI, YOU KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND FOCUS!" she shouts by way of...semi-encouragement. "SHIT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! DON'T STAND THERE! GET OUTTA THE WAY!"
Panicking, Thora turns her yellow eyes towards Aki. Now there's a look the Maki aspect would recognize: fury! This doesn't bode well.
Yoh's in a much worse situation though. The Bicorn closes in, blood and saliva sloshing out of its mouth as it approaches. The gathering storm goes unnoticed by the beast-but not by the crowd of Blue Wolves, some of who look skywards.
The Bicorn is inches away from putting a hoof through Yoh's face when red lightning blasts downwards and half the arena explodes in a shower of dirt and stone. The Bicorn is flipped clean onto its back a few feet away, its midnight legs flailing and pawing at the air as it looks around wildly in confusion. Twisting its back again, it puts itself on its knees and begins the arduous task of getting up again, though it struggles to do so. This fall had left the beast with a multitude of gashes piercing its midnight fur.
Thora jolts at the sound of that ONE WORD and turns towards the arena, briefly shading her eyes from the red light. Slowly, a smile begins to creep up the unscarred side of her mouth.
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
So he does have the potential, Aki thought--punching those shockwaves must have been an aspect--but she lets the barrier drop once he shouts the magic word, there being no longer any need to keep it up (and to derive any satisfaction from breaking it--she doesn't want to seem weak, even if her barriers are no longer as impenetrable as they used to be).
"He knew that," Aki says, "It might've gotten in the way." 'might've'. She doesn't even pretend that she wasn't sure one way or another. Why should she? She doesn't care. Aki--for the uninitiated, is kind of a bitch. "You really get along well with demons, shadows--I'm so jealous! I kind of wished I got along with them as well as you seem to."
She seems to be getting at something, lips twitching upward. Maki genuinely likes Thora, it's just Aki tends to express her appreciation in ways that are intensely aggravating.
"But I'm happy." She shifts topics suddenly, letting that SIT for a moment. "He is a real man who is beginning to know himself, and not--hehe--meat. He didn't turn away--"
She pauses, and looks back to Thora, "How are you treating your Shadow? I think I see it lurking in your eyes--"
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
The explosion fills the arena with smoke and debris. A small crater remains exactly where Yoh stands. The boy is rather confused and tired, but it is more the former now for some reason. He feels full of energy, ready to just knock the crap out of that horse that caused him so much grief. Though what comes out of the smoke both horrifies and intrigues the boy.
Out of the cloud steps an ENORMOUS figure, easily three times as tall as the boy it represents. It has bright orange hair, all of which, whether it be hair, mustache, or beard, is braided. War scars and tattoos cover its upper body. Piercing blue eyes glow brightly from the cloud as it dissipates. Wielding the biggest hammer ever imaginable, is this... this giant, which came out of nowhere. Yoh peers at it, wide-eyed. If he had to fight that thing too, he was just going to lay down on the ground and give up. Of course it doesn't seem to want to attack him as it takes two huge steps and stands in front of the boy.
A voice rings out in Yoh's mind, and Persona users nearby can hear it too.
... I art thou... and thou art I... I art Magni, mighty son of Thor. Lifter of the unmovable, keeper of the Bringer of Storms. Let none stop our might on the journey to Valhalla...
'What did that mean?' Yoh wondered to himself, though still in a bit of shock from the explosion. And what was that giant anyway? He was gargantuan... Then it came to the boy. Was this... his power? His Persona? He called out the word and he appeared. It... It must be! Only one way to find out. Yoh lifts a hand slowly and points at the writhing Bicorn. "Do... Do something! I don't know, attack it!" As Yoh commands, Magni does.
The massive demi-god lets out an ear piercing battlecry, and dashes towards the wounded horse-thing. Each stop taken causes the ground to shake slightly. Magni roars once more as he brings the huge hammer above his head, and brings the pain DOWN.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"Rrggh." Like it or not, Aki did have a point there. Would Yoh really be able to perform if he knew he had a safety net there? Thora's own Persona awakened when she was in mortal danger herself, on the fringe of being strangled to death by what was probably a shadow-possessed. She could try to recreate that but it wouldn't be authentic if she was hovering around, ready to intervene.
However, Thora's kind of a bitch too. She wouldn't DARE admit aloud that Aki had a point. "Just demons." Thora huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "Shadows and I don't agree." Aki decides to mention her own and immediately, Thora bristles, Garm mirroring this action. Now that Yoh has been awakened, he can feel the full hostile force of Garm's resonance pressing against him. "...I accepted that part of me a long time ago, Aki." she says in a low, warning voice. She would say more, but Thora is thoroughly distracted by the form Yoh's persona takes.
Her eyes widen an she can't help but feel a tiny chill. "Damn, that thing is huge. Look at that hammer." she mutters to herself only to quickly start shouting at Yoh again, "KILL THE DAMN THING!"
The Bicorn manages to get up on all fours again only in time to notice the giant looming over it, chasing it down with the hammer held high. Being a primal, wilder creature, its reactions when faced with a threat are regulated to two choices. Fight or flight. Yoh had been judged as a potential food item at first but now when faced with this much larger, more aggressive thing, the only option was to flee.
Of course, it can't get far. It's trapped in the arena and already wounded. A respectable chase is put up, the horse galloping away at the fullest speed it can manage but...it's not enough. The hammer drops.
The Bicorn's back caves downwards as its crushed to the ground and its sides split open as ribs crack and protrude from its fur. It struggles feebly with its front legs for a few seconds before its head drops to the arena floor. A curious mix of shiny, oil-like substance and blood from Yoh's ripped hand leaks from its mouth.
The crowd goes wild, cheering and shaking the scrap metal confines of the arena. Some immediately start climbing over the walls, eager to retrieve the corpse.
"OKAY YAMAGATANI!" Thora calls out, or tries to, over all the demon yelling, "YOU PASS INITIATION!"
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
Aki chuckles a little. "Alright. I hope so." And thus ends the 'Causing Thora immediate problems' part of her interference and the 'Oh shit, is Mai going to eat me??' portion. Aki looks around sharply, but doesn't see the White Witch anywhere nearby and she blows some air out of her mouth.
"And I will give thee, he said, the horse Gold-Mane..." Aki murmurs as she watches the violence. She may love demons and shadows but she isn't going to save one that lost like this. "of course, then Odin said it was wrong to give the horse to him and not to daddy. Some wise guy eh? Hehehahaha..."
She presses her hand against her face, eye staring out at Yoh with intense focus.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh grins to himself ever so slightly as the giant listens without hesitation. It was his Persona. How did he have that monstrous of a power inside him without knowing it? So many questions unanswered... Still, he was almost relieved that that had happened, otherwise he would be demon chow.
A sickening CRACK fills the air as the hammer collides with the steed, mortally wounding it, and causing it to perish. Everyone outside seems to go apecrazy, cheering and yelling. He peers up to Thora, offering a half-assed grin. Despite her causing him to nearly be killed, he figured she did help him to get this power out.
After Magni struck the killing blow, he walked back to in front of Yoh. The giant slowly nodded to the boy, and he faded from existence. Suddenly Yoh felt pain again, and weakness took him. He fell backwards onto his hind end, feeling rather dizzy. The demons appeared to be rushing the carcass. Though he killed something for the first time, he was not regretting it, as it would feed the masses around the arena. A bittersweet feeling, at the worst side of thinking.
Yoh was beat up pretty bad, but it was obvious he would be fine. As Thora yelled her verdict on the fight, he waved to her slowly, trying not to move his hand all too much. "Dang, and I was hoping for something bigger as a followup!" The boy responded, trying to yell over the crowds.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
Aki gets a bit of a confused look from Thora. 'I hope so?' Maybe she was checking on Maki's behalf. Maybe Maki really was worried that Thora would one day be consumed by her shadow? Thora would have to reassure her sometime that this will never be the case. Never!
"...Kinda ironic that I had him fightin' a horse at that." Thora's actually kind of aware who Magni is it seems, besides its loud booming voice announcement that he was the son of Thor. She hops down into the arena and gives Yoh a look before turning to glance at Aki. "Well gee, Yamagatani, if you're gonna be sassy about it, I can arrange for something else for you to fight. PERSONA!"
What appears at her command is not Garm but a Japanese man riding atop a massive toad. One of his hands clutches a map while the other holds a short katana. While it seems like Thora is about to attack, what follows instead is a well placed Diarama to Yoh, helping those wounds of his just a little.
"Hungry?" Thora asks casually.
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
Aki frowns, crossing her arms, "Oh don't get cocky." She turns her head away from Yoh. "You're just lucky it wasn't a Tricorn!!" does such a thing exist? They do now that Aki has conceived of them. But don't worry, the deadly Tricorn does not appear yet to wreck havoc. Yet!! "I bet you pissed your pants too." That intense look fades as quickly as it came. She does not immediately come up with (a fun for her) way to make Yoh's life worse, so she does not do so despite him begging for it. He is a lucky man.
That and she does want to conserve her power. "I heard you use a horse's bones to make jello." She adds.
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Yoh looks at the demons assailing the horse for food, then over at Thora, whom seems to be approaching now. "Well that was... fun," he says to her from his seat on the floor. Of course he is taken back by her statement, expecting that massive wolf to appear. Of course something creepier shows up, and, casts something at the boy? Yoh flinches for a moment, though the pain slowly subsides in his hands, and his side gash appears to be gone now. "Hey, how'd you do that?" Yoh couldn't help but ask that as he stands slowly.
He felt exhausted, as though he had just trained for a long period of time. He was beat. He looks at the other comer with a tilted head. "Do... do I know you?" Yoh could have sworn that throughout this ordeal, he hadn't seen Aki at all. "Well, nice to meet you nonetheless." He tries to remain nonchalant about her comment. Apparently he wasn't thought highly of. Looking back to Thora, then glancing at the dead Bicorn, he assumed what she meant. "Sure! Though can't say I have had... what was it, Bicorn? Or pretty much anything that looks like a horse for that matter."
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"...But Tricorns don't exist..." Thora shakes her head. At least she's never seen one before. Maybe it was an optional boss somewhere in Mikage-Cho.
"Keep at it and you'll find you'll be able to call other Personae too." she explains, the strange man and toad fading back to the recesses of her mind. "It takes time though. You'll learn." Thora smirks. "I'm sure of it."
Thora claps a hand on Yoh's shoulder then waves to Aki. Already an oni is dragging the Bicorn corpse away to prepare. "Then let's go get something to eat. You can come too, Aki." Grinning proudly, Thora heads for her tower.
Mission accomplished.
(((Maki Sonomura poses.)))
"Huh?" Aki asks of Yoh, "What does that have to do with anything?" This isn't, of course, a yes or a no answer since she'd rather jerk Yoh around a bit about it so long as he's handing her the rope to do it by. She smiles broadly, glancing over to Thora.
"I can? ... I mean of course I can, yessssss...." She follows along. "Meat! Meat! Meat!"
(((Yoh Yamagatani poses.)))
Feeling a good deal better, he limbers up some. He was beginning to feel cramped. Though the boy is a bit shocked at the revelation of using more than one of those Personae. Making just one appear was so difficult and taxing. "Yeah, I am starving!" His gut growls quite viciously.
As he watches the corpse be dragged off, and Thora puts a hand on him, he couldn't help but wonder what lies ahead. After all, if he had continued to try and ignore just what was happening in the world, he would probably just be at home. But now... there was no telling. Being so close to Thora, he gets his first taste of a resonance, how they are meant to be felt, rather than a buzzing sensation. being hear her, he suddenly felt... angry and aggressive. But why? Wasn't this fighting done? He tried to push it into the back of his mind, though Thora probably could notice him tense up for a few seconds.
Looking at the large girl, then at Aki, then back to her. "Who is that now?" he asks as he follows along towards the ominous tower.
(((Thora Kobayashi psoes.)))
"Yeah, c'mon. You can't have slushies all day." Thora huffs. The aggression is definitely Garm-the persona is like being near an angry dog. She does notice Yoh tense which prompts a, "It's always like that, by the way, so you better get used to it." Her animalistic resonance that is. There may be a little truth in it when people call her a dog.
She lowers her voice when Yoh asks about Aki. "Part of a friend. It's a long story. I'll tell you later." The merry procession makes its way into the bottom floor of the tower.
