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OCTOBER EVENT PT 2

OCTOBER EVENT PT2

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→ 10/28 - 10/30

Two seconds before midnight leading into the 28th, a rumble rolls across town, an earthquake hitting and creating waves that crash against the buildings, lights disappearing to signify the start of Lockdown. At the lake, a whirlpool starts to form, sucking in the floodwaters like a drain with its plug pulled, and entering the dungeon from this point on reveals a first floor that's become twice as deep, water filled with shards of broken glass, and invisible walls to the maze permanently shattered, subsequently quelling the currents that used to run through the entire floor. All the other floors now see constant rainfall: freezing sleet on the second floor, a light rainshower on the third, heavy thunderstorms on the fourth, and a flooded final floor with poisonous water slowly dripping off the ropes.

When Lockdown lifts, those reentering the lake will see that the bottom has collapsed into a rift spanning one side of the lake to the other, with a trench that runs so deep, the entire overflow from the flood pours down into the abyss below. At dawn of the 28th, the rain finally starts to let up, slowing to a drizzle by midday with light grey clouds that have thinned enough to look almost as if glowing, the sunlight behind them trying to shine through but not yet. The storm has passed and eventually the sky will clear; by the end of the day, the streets can be seen again, the entire town covered in muck and grime but enjoying its first sunset in weeks. Once everything settles, the water level of the lake is slightly lower than originally, and for the next seven days, low flames burn constantly across the surface of the lake, unable to be put out by wind or water.

People pour out onto the streets on the 29th and 30th, busy hosing down buildings and sweeping the streets, fixing what damages they can and restocking all the stores so businesses can reopen. The townspeople work hard, glad that the storm is over and life may continue, but calls for help in restoring the town are endless. All the buildings smell like mildew, there's the occasional frog or fish flopping on people's rooftops or rotting on the streets, all the fields have been destroyed, and any food left out during the storm have all spoiled. They have no idea what to do about the lake fire. It may take some time for the town to get back on its feet, but it will.

During these three days, the Velvet Room is quiet. No music plays in people's heads, and on a couch in the corner of the lounge, Minato lies flat on his back, eyes closed, wet hair and clothes sticking to his skin, and the broken hilt of a sword lying on the ground next to him. He has a fever and can't be roused.

→ 10/31

While the townspeople are busy in deep cleaning mode, the children are kept out of the way and occupied by a Halloween event thrown together by the high school student council. Each child gets an index card with eight blank squares, with a hint written in each square telling them which classroom at school to go to: the art room with the bleeding bust, the science room with a broken anatomical model, the music room with the silent piano, etc. There's a student council member or volunteer waiting in each room to hand out candy and stamp the cards, and anybody is allowed to join in, either doing the treasure hunt or volunteering to pass out candy.

Stepping outside on the 31st, Persona users are greeted by bright sunshine and an index card to the face, with crows incessantly dive-bombing with the cards in their talons until they're taken. The index cards are similar to the ones used inside the school, but instead of a set of hints, there is only one word listed in the first of the eight squares: "lake." The flames are still burning on the lake's surface with no indication of dying down, and you can now dive in the lake without being poisoned from the 31st forward, but what you're looking for is not underwater. Searching around the perimeter of the lake reveals a rubber stamp hanging from an old sign post warning people to stay out of the water, which can finally be retired, but there's nobody around to greet you, and there is no candy... Instead, you get to stamp your own card, which spells out the next location in glistening red ink. Each new area has a stamp hidden around it, leading you from place to place all over town, from the warning sign at the lake; to the picture of the school founder in the entrance hall of the school; to the vacant room at the inn that's roped off by police tape; to the entrance to the emergency room of the hospital; to a fox hanging around the occult shop that's still in the middle of cleaning up before reopening; to the base of the torii in the middle of the forest; to the throne inside the castle; and finally, up the steps of the shrine.

With every other stamp pressed down on your card, your Persona feels a surge of power, four times in all with the very last stamp hanging on the front door of a large building behind the shrine. It did not exist here before; there's no way you would miss an ornate mansion painted all black and covered in cobwebs, with white smoke filtering through a slot on the door that's just wide enough to slip the card through. Upon doing so, the door swings open, allowing entry.

→ 10/31 - 11/3

The moment you step inside the mansion, the door shuts behind you and disappears altogether, leaving behind a solid blank wall. Door? What door? The entrance hall is dimly lit by candles sitting on top of low tea tables spaced neatly around the open lobby; there are no chairs. The room ends with two doors on opposite sides, with no indication of what lies beyond either.

The door to the left leads to a brightly lit room filled with full length mirrors that form a maze, except that no matter which way you turn, the hundreds of reflections are always facing you, staring with bright yellow eyes and speaking in your voice. "I'm scared..." one of the voices might say. "I'm going to be all alone in the end..." whispers another. "There's nobody I can trust." "I don't know what's real..." "They're going to die and it's all my fault!" "I can't escape..." "Why me?!" "There's no point in any of this." "I won't let them take me!" "I want to give up..." "I'll destroy anybody who gets in my way." It's like seeing yourself splintered into a hundred shadow selves: the part of you who's bitter, the part of you who's vindictive, who's jealous, who's cruel, a liar, a coward— hundreds of voices overlapping and drawing on your fears, voicing your doubts, crying and pleading and contradicting. All you can do is endure and push forward, find the exit, and leave.

The door to the right leads to a large, empty room, pitch black no matter what source of light you enter with. In contrast to the maze, there's... nothing. It's an empty room, no tangible wall aside from the one with the door you entered through, but even that seems to go on forever on either side. But there must be an end, and this space can't be infinite, so choose a direction and walk. In the darkness, voices start to whisper. Rather than your own, it's the voice of your most loved one, the voice of your closest friend, of the person you despise the most, the one you look up to the most, people you love, people you hate, voices of the people who are closest to you, for better or for worse. "Don't leave me," they plead. "Where are you?" they ask. "Come home." "I miss you..." It starts off easy, pitiful and longing. And then comes the blame, drawing on shame and guilt and giving voice to everything you always feared to hear, from the last people you wanted to hear them from. "It's all your fault." "You should have known better." "This wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you!" "You deserve this!" "Knowing you was a mistake." "It would be better if you didn't exist..." "I hate you." Endure it. Push forward. Find the exit, and leave.

In the end, you have no choice but to run away.

No matter which door you choose, both lead to the same place in the end, joining together in a hallway set in stone, blood seeping through the crevices and pooling across the floor. Either side of the room is lined with tombstones, no dates etched into the faces but some of the names on them may seem familiar:

Wyatt Napoli. Kokichi Ouma. Airi Ban. Margaret Borowski. Killua Zoldyck. RO635. Hibiki Kuze. Red. Enkidu. Neku Sakuraba.
Out of the corner of your eye, you think you see the person in your life that you miss the most, but they disappear the moment you turn around. A slight breeze can be felt coming down the end of the hall, urging you forward, and opening the door at the end leads into a lobby in the exact replica of the one at the entrance to the building, except the furniture is gone, the wallpaper torn and burnt, splashes of blood on the ground dried but still present. Scattered across the floor are a variety of personal objects all in disrepair: a broken pair of glasses, a single bloodied earring, an empty lighter, a smashed compact mirror, a stuffed toy rabbit with its head torn off, a set of earphones stripped to the wire, and, in the corner of the room, kicked aside and forgotten, a torn burlap sack filled with small silk omamoris. All of them are torn and burnt, black crows stitched into the corners barely visible under the stains of blood, listing dozens of names representing every Arcana that exists. And on the top of the pile lies:

MINATO
FOOL

SOUJI
FOOL

There is no door at the end of this room. There is no escape to the outside world. Those who are trapped inside are left to wander, turning back with no way forward, setting out again because there's nowhere else to go. In the handful of hours inside, three days and nights have passed outside, and on midnight of the 3rd, the door at the entrance reappears to allow everybody out.

It's Lockdown, and the wind is blowing in your face. When you turn around, you stand before the sacred honden of the shrine.

→ MOD NOTES

⬥ Regardless of whether your character would participate in the stamp cards, each character may receive +1 to all stats (strength, magic, endurance, and agility). Please update your info page to reflect this. ICly, characters will receive these stat boosts when they stamp their card at the school, hospital, torii, and shrine, and must visit each location in order.
⬥ Important IC dates are summarized as follows:

⬥ Inside the mansion, Personas may be summoned and electronics still work, but there is no phone contact between those inside and outside, nothing inside the building can be destroyed, and there is no way to escape from the building until 11/3.
⬥ Voices heard in either room will be audible to anybody in the same vicinity, and players may make up what is said, although they must reflect concepts the character is scared or unsettled by (e.g. failure, loneliness, loss of control, etc.). Neither voices or reflections will respond to anything characters say or do.
⬥ Characters are not required to participate in the stamp card game, nor are they required to enter the mansion upon collecting all the stamps. For those who do enter and are trapped, they are not required to go through any of the rooms either, as the exit will reappear at the entrance lobby. They are free to turn around and exit the rooms at any time, and may reenter the rooms as many times as they wish.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ The door to the left sure has been a mistake, and Terry had been looking carefully when he's not falling asleep at any given time. He's a kid now, but it won't stop him from doing things in the mansion that they're trapped in. When he hears Toki yell, he rushes inside the mirror maze and starts hearing everything and looks at Toki clawing himself. ]

Hey!

[ He tries to grab for Toki's hands in an attempt to get him to stop hurting himself. ]

Stop that! Don't--

[Toki can usually be stopped by someone kid-Terry's size despite being over half a foot taller; his roommate back in France was very small. However, today is not a typical day. The mirrors are still screaming and shouting things and Toki can't focus enough to realize what's he doing. He needs to escape from whatever this is, from himself, and Terry's getting in the way of that.

With a screech of frustration, he launches himself at Terry and proceeds to try and strangle him. Terry's not a person to him right now, he's an obstacle in the path to freedom and peace and revelation of the truth.]

[ He did not expect this. But then again, it's pretty hard to expect things from Toki, since he barely knows anything about him. Maybe he's gone crazy from what all the mirror images are saying. The moment he's startled is when he knows he made a mistake and it's hard to get the air where it needs to go. Honestly, he could just fling Toki off him, but he doesn't want to hurt him anymore than he already is, so he's trying to endure this while trying to get his hands off his neck in a way that doesn't crush Toki's hands. ]

Ca...lm down... It'll... be okay.

[Terry's pretty strong, and Toki would have commented on it had he really noticed. His hands are easily moved, but he's still staring down at Terry with one wild eye, the other completely unfocused and throwing off the attempt at a menacing glare.]

Don't tell me to calm down! You're not real!

[He's breathing heavily and kind of growling and seething at the same time, some saliva may drop on Terry's face.]

[ Terry coughs to the side and he wonders what he sees in Toki's eyes.

The mirrors target Terry too: "I killed so many people and I can't stop to care about people I never knew."
"For someone they call a god, I can't do anything."
"It's their fault for misplacing those expectations anyway!"

They don't shake him to the core, because they're things that he has accepted, but it doesn't stop him from feeling horrible about it all. He holds Toki's hands, and they shake from trying to keep it this way instead of immediately restraining him.

... He'll ignore the saliva because he can't do anything about that right now. ]

I'm real, and so are you. So I'll tell you to calm down if I want to. Come on... let's calm down and get out of this maze together. Okay?

[The mirrors are now laughing at him, and telling him to not believe it. That he was so close to the truth, to seeing the real him. Inside.

"I'm clinging to this pathetic, hollow, fake life because it's easier than admitting nothing will ever matter."

He ignores both actual Terry and the mirror versions for the moment. He turns his attention back on the mirror image of himself, because it was said matter-of-factly, knowingly. It wasn't screamed, or shouted; it was emotionless and broken and he knows he's true.]

There's nothing. There's really nothing.

[He's not listening to Terry at all, just staring at himself in the mirror and his rage and anger and desperation has dissolved into deep despondency and defeat.]

[ Terry sits up when he doesn't feel the strength behind Toki's hands anymore and gets out a pair of eight-inch long fancy scissors. He makes Toki hold onto the handle and give a poke to his own wounded arm to heal most of the injuries Toki inflicted upon himself. It doesn't work if he does it, since it only heals the wielder. It's a concerning tool, but it's useful in times like these because Terry doesn't have any healing spells with his Persona. He takes the scissors back and pockets it.

From what he hears from the mirror, he wonders if Toki is having an existential crisis crossed with nihilism. ]

... You matter. What you just wanted really mattered to the point you tried to choke me for it. That counts for something, doesn't it?

[ Toki looks like a mess, so Terry will get up and attempt to pick Toki up bridal style because it's easier to do it this way. ]

[Toki is always having an existential crisis, and this made it so much worse and more obvious. He's very confused by Terry's words and doesn't really understand what he means, because what Toki wanted was the truth. The truth of all things and the universes and why he existed, if he could even call it that.

So he doesn't respond, and he doesn't resist when Terry picks him up. He won't struggle. He's too out of it and he feels like his brain is melting from the realization that there's not a truth to even be found and nothing will ever be explained or have purpose. And for that, he cries. Nothing makes sense, and it never will.]

[ ...

Terry looks at Toki. He doesn't really understand the situation here and if he knew, there's probably not much he could do about it either. He closes his eyes and Vassago appears after a light tap to his omamori with his elbow since he's still holding Toki up. Unfortunately, the dragon has to lie down because it's too big for this room, so Terry will make a quick request: Use Makajama on Toki, a forget debuff that will make him forget for 15 minutes of what he just experienced here. He thinks that will help and Vassago retreats into Terry's shadow again after he walks out into the hall. ]

[Toki would be enraged if he knew what Terry just did. He'd had bouts of amnesia for the last two months after every prophetic vision, forgetting minutes to hours of his life every single time. He forgets easily enough as it is and messing with that is a huge violation.

However, that does mean Toki isn't immediately freaking out not knowing here he is or what's happening. Who is this kid?]

Hey! Put me down!

[ Sometimes you just gotta have some chill time to yourself, Toki...

Terry easily listens to Toki's request and puts him down on the low tea table since there aren't any chairs here. ]

Hey, done crying yet?

What?

[He brings his hand to eyes and yes, he's been crying. Again. It's only a second before he's flipping out again and jumping up from the tea table.]

Oh my god! They came back! They came back!

[He doesn't remember the vision, which is what he assumes this resulted from. That's never happened before. What good are they if he doesn't remember them?]

Did I say anything weird!? Did I tell you what it was about!? Who are you!? Where is this!? Is this inside that mansion with the spiderwebs!? Because I think I went in there, but I'm not sure now because I don't know what's going on and it could be days since then! DAYS!!

I, uh...

[ What came back? His visions? That's the only thing he can assume from what Toki is saying since he seemed concerned about them last time. ]

I'm Terry. This sometimes happens.

[ Hi I look ten years younger. His eyes definitely weren't blue before either. But at least he has the same glasses? If that helps any. ]

It's only been a few hours since you came in. I think? I'm not sure, since I don't know when you came in, but it hasn't been days... We're still trapped in here though.

[ ... ]

Just stay here.

Edited 2019-10-28 23:43 (UTC)

Terry!? There are three of you!

[Some of his features match up with the other two, from what Toki remembers. The blue eyes seem new, but he's not a very observant person. Kido did tell him there was another Terry, one who murders people. Maybe it's this one.]

A few hours is still a really long time! What do you mean trapped!? There's no way out!?

[He growls a little, because this kid looks younger than him and he has no right to demand Toki stay here like he's talking to a child. He hates that, and he usually just goes along with it, but today- today it's really grating on him.]

I'm not going to stay here! I'm going to find my own way out!

[He heads for the right side door this time, kicking a table on his way by to overturn some candles. He'll burn it down to get out if he has to.]

[ Sometimes I forget Toki is only 15 years old. Terry looks exasperated as he watches Toki go on his way to the right door. That one isn't great either!! He's already experienced it, and he personally thinks it's worse than the one on the left, so he immediately goes to pick up Toki overhead to prevent him from going. ]

There's only one of me! And that definitely the wrong way! Both doors lead to a dead end! I wouldn't want to stay here either, but it's not like I can just destroy the wall because it won't break!

[He could tell for himself if that door led anywhere good. He hates it when people try and stop him from doing things under the guise of it being for his own good, like he's incapable of making any good decisions. It's true, but he hasn't realized this yet. When Terry picks him up again, he screeches incoherently and will fight like a wild animal until Terry lets him go.]

There are three of you! I saw them! I have a giant spider Persona and she'll poke holes right through the walls and we can get out!

[It's hard to reach his pocket from his current position and it's a secondary thought to his immediate need to fight. He'll get to it though, and then he'll summon Joroko and she'll eat Terry if he wants her to. Toki doesn't know what she is or isn't capable of, but that's his current plan.]

I meant--

[ He finally puts Toki down at the wall where the entrance was before. ]

--me turning into a kid sometimes happens! I'm the one who took you for a dragon ride that one day! The one you saw at the hospital, on the other hand, wasn't me!

[ AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa he's so glad he's mostly over the whole "I saw my original here and I don't like it" thing, since it's been so long, but that's not the problem here. ]

Summon your Persona here. I want to see her poke holes through this wall.

[He glares openly after he's set down.]

If I believe you about the kid thing, there's still someone out there using your face and so there are two of you.

[It's a petulant tone, but he's remembering the dragon ride and he's not all that angry anymore. Terry was nice. Maybe he's been overreacting. Toki brings out his omamori and summons Joroko. Their relationship is less turbulent than it was last week, and though Joroko wants to stab Terry through the heart for daring to manhandle Toki and mess with his memory she reserves herself. Because it would hurt Toki to know, and she can't have that.]

Joroko~! You look lovely this evening~! Please, use your amazing strength and glorious legs to perforate these imprisoning walls~!

[Joroko blushes and turns her eyes away, then viciously stabs at the wall. It doesn't even crack. She tries several more times, and then starts crying because she failed her precious master.]

No! No, Joroko! It's okay! Don't cry!

[Toki strokes her hair and pats one of her spider legs.]

It's okay. It's my fault you're not strong enough yet.

Yeah, yeah.

[ He already figured out who it is. It's fine. Dammit, Kano. At least he gave him a good scare for it. #worth

Terry watches Joroko do her hardest though. He kinda feels bad for her when she fails. Everyone starts somewhere. More importantly, Terry still finds it amazing as to how Toki's mood can rapidly change in such a short time. He doesn't verbalize it though and... well, it's nice to see them get along as compared to last time when he saw them.

He stays quiet, so that they can have some more bonding time or whatever, but he doesn't want one of those legs skewering through him, so he'll be a little wary. ]

[Joroko settles on the floor, curling her legs up under her. She feels the need to oversee things for a while. She knows what you did, Terry. Toki at least seems a little calmer now, having nothing to incite immediate panic or rage for the moment. He joins his Persona, leaning back against her. There should be chairs in here.]

How long do you think we'll be stuck in here?

[ Terry also wishes for chairs, but beggars can't be choosers. He opts to continue standing though. Joroko still seems pretty protective of Toki. That's great. Personas should get along with their hosts. That's all he wants, so no one would have to go through what he did. ]

... I dunno. I wish I knew too. I hope it's not for too long, because I'm starving.

[ He is so glad for calm Toki. He will always be grateful for calm Toki. ]

I wish I brought some food...

[ Is it just him, or is Joroko staring at him with one of her eight eyes... ]

[Unfortunately, Terry just lost calm Toki to the next catastrophizing panic attack. He springs to his feet and he's already starting to hyperventilate.]

We're going to starve in here! We're going to have to eat Joroko!

[Joroko pouts. She'd sacrifice herself for that, but Terry doesn't get any delicious spider meat. She's absolutely glaring at Terry, and now there's two more eyes fixed on him.]

You can't eat your own Persona!

[ TOKI... He can live without Joroko meat. Thanks. He's used to being glared at, so this is fine... ]

He's all yours, so stop staring at me already...

Oh my god! You're right! It's like cannibalism!

[They are going to starve. All three of them. He just brought Joroko to life less than two weeks ago, and now she's going to die of starvation. This is why he didn't want to take care of Kuroko. He's useless and he'll kill anything in his care by inadvertent neglect. A low whine turns to sobbing. Joroko awkwardly runs a hand through Toki's hair and adds a couple more eyes to her glaring. It's Terry's fault.]

"You made him cry."

He cries on his own...

[ Don't give him that look, girl. ]

It'll be okay, Toki. No one is going to starve to death.

[ Well, his own fists didn't work. Maybe Vassago can do it...? ]

Actually, can you move a little? I want to try something out.

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→ 10/28 - 10/30

→ 10/31

→ 10/31 - 11/3

→ MOD NOTES

4, 11/01

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