damned_institute | Night 51: Women's Bathrooms (F1-F40)

Entry tags:

anise,
ilia

Night 51: Women's Bathrooms (F1-F40)

[from here]

If anything was going to jump out at them here, at least Ilia would be the first one a monster would target. If Anise's artes were anything like Heraldry, she would need a little time to prepare before a spell could be cast against an attacker. Ilia, on the other hand, had terrific reflexes and could quickly begin a counterstrike. Though in this deep darkness she wondered if she could take anything down without a little struggle.

Casting her flashlight about, she noticed the bathroom remained similar to how it looked during the day. There was no light, but at least the sinks didn't appear to have turned into vicious beasts, poised to maul anyone who happened to walk through the door. Relaxing a bit, Ilia turned to her young companion. "It looks safe enough."

Although she smiled, Ilia still felt a little unnerved. In every horror film she'd seen as a teenager, this was one of the most likely places a female character would be attacked. At least no showers seemed to be attached to this bathroom as that would pretty much guarantee some blood. Not that Ilia put too much stock in horror movies or anything, but anyone's mind would play tricks on them in this kind of setting.... Right?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Anise cautiously followed, helping Ilia light the room so that they could be sure there was nothing hiding in there. Once she was fairly confident that they were safe, Anise set her flashlight down on a counter, pointing it so it illuminated the center of the room.

It was probably best to get to the demonstration right away, but since Ilia was interested in understanding how artes worked, Anise supposed she should explain a few more things before starting.

"I told you there are seven kinds of fonons, right? My artes use the first and sixth fonons - darkness and light," Anise began to explain, shifting the mallet in her hand. "Fonists usually have a staff or some other weapon they can use for casting artes. This thing can be used as a medium, so it can be a focusing point for gathering fonons... but it can't amplify artes like a specially made weapon can, so anything I cast won't be very strong."

All of that seemed pretty simple to Anise, but concepts that were common knowledge on Auldrant often weren't so common on Earth, so it seemed like a good idea to pause a moment and give Ilia a chance to ask any questions if she needed to. "Are you with me so far?"

Ilia stood back so she could properly watch Anise's presentation. Though she wanted to try and compare what she knew about Earth's phonons with Auldrant's fonons, it didn't take too long for her to abandon the idea. Better to take it as something completely new for now, then compare notes later.

"Seven types. First and sixth are darkness and light," Ilia repeated to herself, nodding occasionally. "A focal point is needed, and you'll be using that... meat tenderizer?" That was a little amusing. She had assumed Anise had planned to use it only for mashing monsters. An inventive twist!

"As good as can be expected," she chuckled. "I can keep up." She would likely have a few questions by the end of the demonstration, she had questions even now. But it was polite to wait until the end of any presentation before butting in for details. Maybe some of her questions would be answered during the demonstration.

"Ehehe," Anise giggled sheepishly. "This is the closest I could get to the weapons I normally use back home." It did kind of resemble the maces the Order would provide its knights. Only kind of, though. It was better than a pipe, so Anise wasn't going to complain.

"Okay, I'm going to start gathering fonons now," she announced, holding the mallet in a two-handed grip in front of her, like a staff. This part took a lot of focus, but she managed to explain a bit of it as she did it. "On Auldrant, I could draw fonons from everywhere, but I can't do that here on Earth."

As she collected fonons, the outline of a circular fonic glyph appeared on the floor beneath her feet, glowing faintly. Anise was starting to feel her own energy seem to drain somewhat. "... Since I can't do that, it takes longer to gather fonons, and... most of them have to come from my own body." Her voice came out somewhat strained, an indication that she was nearing her limit.

"Here it comes!" When Anise raised the mallet, there was a brief flash as the glyph beneath her vanished and another appeared deeper in the room, just a few feet away. From it, purple-black flames of darkness leapt from the floor as though rising through a portal. They jumped into the air, swirled and converged together into a ball, then vanished abruptly. The glyph, too, vanished with them.

Anise was immediately hit with a wave of dizziness, which caused her to wobble a bit on her feet. She quickly regained her balance, however, and looked over to Ilia. There was a chance that the woman had been too distracted by the arte to notice the effect it had on Anise, so for now she just smiled and acted natural.

"... And that's how it's done!"

Ilia nodded, a little curious as to what type of weapon Anise really used back home. A battle hammer? That didn't add much to Anise's cute image. Well, everyone had their own unique preferences. If she could effectively use it to defend herself, Ilia wouldn't question it.

The scientist had seen some strange things in her travels with everyone on Roak. Heraldry was something completely out of her own range of abilities, but hearing Anise's explanation given in that off-handed way made special powers seem completely natural, like it was common knowledge. It also made sense that Anise couldn't use her power the same way on Earth as on Auldrant. Even if Earth's phonons were somewhat similar to Auldrant's, someone from a different planet with such an extraordinary ability was likely to have only limited success. Not to mention the possibility that they weren't even on Earth at all!

The small display wasn't quite as over-the-top as some of the Heraldry Ilia had seen, but it was enough to let her understand the nature of the power. As she had expected, there was a brief waiting period needed before Anise could use her artes, but it would still make for an effective weapon if utilized correctly.

"That's pretty amazing! I don't think I'll ever look at a meat tenderizer the same way again," Ilia admitted, though she eyed Anise's face with concern. It was pretty dark, even with their flashlights, so she couldn't be certain how fatigued her companion had become. She had detected the breathlessness in the little girl's voice before, though she seemed to be okay now. But Ilia understood mental power, like physical strength, wasn't inexhaustible. "When you say you have to gather them from you're own body, it doesn't mean you're hurting yourself to use them, does it?"

Anise beamed at how impressed Ilia seemed, but it looked like she hadn't been able to hide her exhaustion from her. At Ilia's question, she allowed herself to take a deep, slightly shaky breath before answering. "It doesn't really hurt, but it wears me out pretty bad. I guess it'd hurt if I overused them." Or if she attempted a much stronger arte, as she had once. That definitely hurt.

The girl walked over to the counter she had set her flashlight on, lifted herself up, and sat down next to it. It felt better just to get off of her feet for a few seconds. Anise actually felt more dizzy and tired than she normally did, but maybe that was because every other time she used her artes, she had adrenaline working in her favor.

"If I just take it easy for a minute or two, I'll be right back to normal," she assured Ilia with a smile. "It's a little bit like losing blood. The body replenishes itself over time. I'm young and healthy, so it'll go really fast for me!"

Ilia frowned and moved next to Anise, leaning back against the counter with her elbows taking most of her weight. Even standing this close, the light was still too dim to tell if the girl had grown any paler than before. Despite Anise's continued reassurances Ilia didn't like taking chances.

"Even so, let's take it easy for a while." She smiled at the little girl, but kept her ears open for any telling sounds like labored or shallow breathing. At least Anise had already sat down. She seemed to understand her own limits, which was more than Ilia could say about the Highlanders she'd met on Roak.

"Mind if I ask you a few questions about fonic artes?" Sitting in silence would be anything but productive. And so far Anise seemed more than willing to supply answers, so Ilia just charged on ahead without permission. "You said there were seven kinds of fonons. What other types are there? Is there a reason you use the darkness and light fonons but not the others?"

The dizziness faded fast, but Anise knew it was likely to flare up if she jumped back to her feet too soon, so she nodded at Ilia's words and stayed where she was. Anise realized that admitting that using artes could hurt her might be worrying to hear, and so she really appreciated that Ilia didn't go overboard with concern like some people might. It made it easier for Anise to relax and let her body recover.

Having something easy to talk about helped too, so Anise was happy to answer when Ilia started asking about fonons again. "In order, they're darkness, earth, air, water, fire, light, and... the seventh is kind of special, but I guess you could call it sound." The seven fonons were about as common a concept as the seven days of the week, and so it always felt weird to have to explain them to an adult. It was kind of fun, though.

"Most fonists only learn one or two types of artes. It takes a lot of study and practice to learn how to use just one kind of fonon, and for the seventh fonon, you can't use it unless you're born with the ability," Anise explained, trying to keep things simple yet informative.

"As for me... I kinda learned my first arte by eavesdropping on some lessons at a school near my home. They were teaching light artes, so that's what I learned! Hee hee." She giggled a bit at her own childhood mischief. "Then, when I started training with the Knights, they trained me in dark artes. I guess it's standard for Fon Master Guardians." Arietta had learned the same artes, after all. Maybe they taught them because they tended to do less property damage than other elements. It was one possibility, anyway. When Anise thought about it, Ilia had asked a pretty good question.

"Sounds a bit like the 'original elements' from Earth, save for darkness, light and sound," Ilia mused. Heraldry also had a similar variety of spells to fonic artes. Two unrelated planets having similar magical properties was a little surprising, but considering the infinite possibilities the universe held it wasn't impossible. Just a little improbable.

"So learning fonic artes is about the same as mastering any type of skill. You need knowledge of the arte, hard work and dedication." Ilia smiled. "I like that! No nonsense about needing to have been born with an exclusive talent. And even with the seventh fonon being an exception, I'm sure it still requires training to master."

Ilia laughed quietly along with Anise. It wasn't hard to imagine her as an energetic child, poking around and using her small size to her advantage. But it also said something more that she was able to take what she had overheard and practice without a teacher in attendance. "How little were you when you started practicing artes, Anise? If you learned before going to school, you must have been pretty young." She was still young and obviously quite competent. Had she been born on Earth, it was likely she would have risen through her life much as Ilia had. Perhaps that was part of the reason they seemed to click so well.

Ilia paused for a moment, considering Anise's words. "Not to be condescending, but it's hard to imagine you already in the military. And being a Fon Master Guardian sounds pretty important. What exactly is a 'Fon Master?'"

It was kind of fun to see Ilia get enthusiastic over fonic artes. Anise nodded when she mentioned training - it wasn't weird for Seventh Fonists to go their whole lives without even knowing they had the talent for it. Anise was a little jealous of those with the ability, but just like Ilia said, it was good that she could still gain some cool techniques through hard work.

"I was nine when I started learning, and ten when I started using artes," Anise recalled, tapping her chin with her index finger. "I started Oracle Knight training later that year." Looking back, it was amazing how fast her life had changed, and all because she learned that fonic arte. If she hadn't, Mohs never would have found her, and she never would have met Ion or the others...

Ion. There was a small pause when Ilia asked about the Fon Master, and for a moment, Anise appeared to be staring off into space. The last time she saw Ion, he didn't even remember who he was... What could he be doing now? Even if he was brainwashed, he had to be safe, didn't he? Anise could only hope.

Finally, she answered. "The Fon Master is the supreme leader of the Order of Lorelei. He's a major political and religious leader." She looked back to Ilia, smiling once again, though it wasn't completely sincere. "And a Fon Master Guardian is someone who acts as an attendant and bodyguard to him! It's a really important responsibility."

As a researcher it was natural for Ilia to want to learn about different planets and their cultures. It was practically expected of her. And even though it was her job, there was no reason to not enjoy her work.

"That still seems really young for starting on military training. Do most children start learning at that age?" Ilia was pretty sure that wasn't the case, since Anise had to sneak around before she learned her artes, but she was quite curious about the standard procedures of Auldrant's education and military systems.

Ilia looked up when Anise didn't answer immediately. Had said something that troubled Anise? But the girl was smiling when she replied, so Ilia put a lid on her thoughts. She really didn't know this girl too well. Asking too many personal questions when they were still just getting acquainted wouldn't be the best course of action. Better stick to more general, impersonal inquiries.

"That does sound big!" Too big. A political and religious leader? And they let a little girl like Anise guard him? Ilia approved of ambition, but had all the dangers been properly weighted? Maybe Auldrant was simply much more peaceful than Earth had been in its pre-space date years. But even if the Fon Master had hundreds of bodyguards, that was too much of a task for such a young girl in Ilia's humble opinion. "So, the Order of Lorelei, is that your government or your religion? Who was Lorelei?"

Ilia's question was a valid one, and Anise shook her head in response. "No, most people start in their early teens. In my case, an Order official heard about my artes and offered to cover living and schooling expenses if I joined the Knights." The deal hadn't been as sweet as it sounded, but Anise wasn't going to go into that too much in a casual conversation.

Feeling much better now, Anise hopped down from the counter. She didn't make any move to leave the room just yet, though; she was going to wait a bit and make sure the dizziness didn't return.

"The Order of Lorelei is the religion. My home country, Daath, is ruled by the Order. And Lorelei..." She paused, trying to consider how to explain it. Ilia seemed to pick up on complicated ideas quickly, though, so maybe she didn't need to simplify it too much. "It's kind of complicated, but it's like... the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon. When a certain amount of fonons come together, they can become sentient. That's where Lorelei comes from."

As expected, Anise had been an exception. It wasn't uncommon in some countries down on Earth for patrons to help talented youth men and women when they lacked the means, but there typically were strings attached. Joining the Knights may have been Anise's only option, but Ilia questioned the motive of the one who imposed the condition. Ilia let out a puff of air but didn't comment. If Anise had wanted the position and enjoyed her work, then there was no reason to ask why. She understood ambition, probably even more than Anise did, and she had never enjoyed it when people questioned her wish to move ahead early in life.

Anise's sudden movement prompted Ilia to push away from the counter and stretch. She straightened and flexed her arms until the elbow and shoulder joints gave a satisfying crack, then let them fall comfortably to her sides. Taking a deep breath, Ilia turned and asked, "Feeling a little better, Anise?" Anise hadn't stumbled when she'd landed on her feet, but she didn't want to rush the girl.

Ilia wasn't too fond of the idea of a religion running a country, but those thoughts were swiftly replaced as she listened to Anise explain the nature of Lorelei. She tapped her fingers against her hip, deep in thought. "Fonons becoming a sentient being? That's not possible with Earth's phonons, though they are present everywhere..."

Ilia paused her utterances, her mind whirling with theories. She knew so little of Auldrant's mysterious fonons and fonic artes. They did seem to have special properties different from Earth's phonons, but it was also possible the people of Auldrant were the special ones; something in their DNA could be what truly set them apart and made such wonders possible. But even after seeing the special arte that had been performed, Ilia still doubted the existence of Lorelei. Until the scientist saw it for herself she would remain skeptical.

Ilia came back to reality after a few minutes of jumbled thoughts and turned to Anise again, smiling. "Sorry about that. I got a little carried away." She chuckled, shaking her head. "This really isn't the place to be spacing out. But listening to you talk about your world, it's just so fascinating!"

With a grin, Anise nodded at Ilia's query. "Yeah, I'm fine now." The dizziness didn't return, which meant she was in good enough shape to go back out into the institute.

When Ilia mentioned that Earth's fonons couldn't become sentient, Anise had to wonder. Lorelei's existence had been unproven for a long time. It was possible that a sentience like Lorelei could exist on Earth, but no one knew of it.

Oh well. That was something for scientists to ponder. It didn't matter much to Anise right now.

Ilia's apology was met with a small giggle. "That's okay! I think it's really neat to hear about other planets, too. But since I'm feeling better, maybe we should go find something else to do." She paused to think for a moment. Since Ilia was new, she could probably use some suggestions. "Do you want to maybe go exploring? Or we could go look for supplies, like weapons or bandages."

Anise seemed confident in her condition, so Ilia would trust her judgment. As much as she wanted to watch over the younger girl, it wouldn't do to treat her like a helpless child. She may have had fewer years than Ilia, but her power was certainly something to be reckoned with. It would be demeaning to baby her about it.

Really, it was a frustrating predicament. Now that she knew about Auldrant and its fonic artes, Ilia wanted nothing more than to find this planet and study it. After she helped defeat Asmodeus and save Roak, of course. But the likelihood of her even finding that one planet out in the ocean of stars was slim, and finding it in an acceptable condition to approach when it had not even developed space travel was even more unlikely. And besides, she had no clue what awaited her upon returning to her own time. Perhaps it would be honors after defeating Asmodeus and saving Roak. And perhaps it would be a court martial for disobeying orders. And even that was only if they managed to save Roak.

It was disappointing to think about, but unimportant in the grand scheme of things. No one knew what the future held, and for now she needed to concentrate on tonight, on figuring out this place called Landel's Institute.

"I agree. It would be best to get a move on." She hadn't thought much about what she would do, the transition had been so sudden. But if she were to think practically... "I guess supplies would be a good idea. This place seems to thrive on torturing everyone here, so bandages or medications should be a priority. And we can explore a bit if you wanted to check out someplace on the way."

Ilia quieted for a moment, reaching for her flashlight. "But as for weapons, I prefer my fists. It wouldn't be a bad idea if we found some better footwear along the way, though." A pair of boots might have been asking for too much, but these slippers were not cutting it. If she wasn't so weary of possibly stepping on something unpleasant or dangerous on the darkened floor, she might have left them off completely.

A supply hunt sounded great to Anise. That was what she was trying to do last night when she got attacked by that patient with the weird weapon. This time, she could try a different path, and hopefully sidestep any danger that lurked in the central hall upstairs.

"I know just the place to look!" Anise declared, picking up her own flashlight, which was really all she needed to do to be ready to go. "There's a storage room on the second floor with medical supplies. The rooms around it are used for storing different things, so we can find all kinds of stuff if we go there." Anise remembered now that her trip up there with Xelloss all those nights ago had been a pretty big success. Maybe she and Ilia would get just as lucky tonight!

Eager to get raiding, Anise skipped over to the door and held it open, looking back to Ilia excitedly. "Come on, I'll show you where!"

[to here]

[from here (http://community.livejournal.com/damned/963788.html?thread=72814028#t72814028)]

This wasn't a bad location for whatever demonstration Aigis had in mind. Heat didn't trust the restroom to be a safe location, not after what had happened the night he wasn't himself. Of course, if he was attacked tonight he'd just make a meal of the creature as he had before, and this time he wouldn't waste any of it. So really, an attack would only be to his benefit, even if it weirded out his friend.

There should be plenty of room for whatever needed to be done, and he put his hands on his hips, carefully scanning the darkness in case anything was already lurking around. He wouldn't be able to see much, of course, give that he still didn't have his flashlight, but he liked to think that if he focused hard enough he'd be able to tell if something was about to lunge.

He gave the girl another smile. The fact that this was technically a woman's restroom didn't even cross his mind, and if he'd been aware of the distinction he wouldn't have cared. It wasn't as if anyone actually used these places for things like that at night anyway.

Edited 2010-09-26 20:23 (UTC)

Heat had been extremely patient with her, which made this much easier. She loved the comforting touch of his hand on her shoulder, but she didn't have time to dwell on it. They moved quickly into the restroom, and Aigis cast about for a target. She didn't consider their differences in gender any more than Heat did--in her mind this had ceased to be a bathroom and was now merely a facility to be used for her experiment. And if they happened to run into any monsters here, so much the better for her to test Athena upon them.

Stepping further into the room, she paced to the middle of the tile floor and faced the stalls. Yes, she could use those. Dropping the baseball bat unceremoniously to the ground, Aigis reached into her pocket with her free hand and brought out the Evoker.

"It is unfortunate that my friend is no longer here, however she has left me with the that trigger." Aigis held up the gun-like apparatus and rested her flashlight's beam upon it. It glowed dully in the light, just a piece of metal for now. "One needs only to have the potential, and this will give them access to that power hidden within. Observe."

She turned away from him then, and took a deep breath. The rush of air in and out of her lungs suddenly made the whole process seem very disconcerting. But she couldn't fear now, couldn't let that quickening of her breath throw her off. Directing her focus on the line of toilet stalls, she raised the gun up, barrel to the side of her head, just as she had watched Minato and the others, time and time again.

There was that weapon. It was a gun, very similar in appearance to the one Serph used to fight with. He didn't know how she'd gotten a hold of it, and he hadn't made the connection between it and what the girl had been thinking of showing him. After all, how could it be any more than a weapon?

Heat nodded as she spoke, once again wondering how much her power resembled his own. He knew it wasn't so much a matter of potential - anyone infected with the virus would gain a demonic half. Some could handle and control the hunger better than others, it was true, but the virus didn't choose it's victims individually. How would things have been, he wondered, if that had been the case? It would have gone poorly for the ones left 'human' in the junkyard, that much was certain.

Then she raised the gun to her head, and the demon immediately reached out to grab her wrist and pull it away. That was a weapon! You didn't aim it at yourself! "What the hell are you doing?"

The sudden pull on her wrist had been unexpected. Aigis gasped and stumbled but refused to let go of the Evoker. She also hadn't expected anger to suddenly flare up when Heat had been so quiet just moments before. Confusion registered on her face, but it didn't last long. He must have misread her intentions. She merely needed to explain the situation and then she could continue on without problem.

"I am going to summon Athena," she replied, her voice as even and matter-of-fact as ever. Her eyes glanced down to where he held her wrist. "I told you, this is the trigger."

Perhaps she had not explained the situation enough for him to gain a full understanding. He wasn't going to like much of what she had to say, but he would need to accept it sometime, just as she had to accept herself now for what she had become. "You see, Heat, before I was placed here, my body was a full mechanical chassis. Unlike yourself, there was no remnant of humanity that could be found within me; even my personality had been programmed. I understand you will probably disagree with this, but it is the truth. You must understand. Because I was nothing more than a complex network of data and machinery, I was created specifically with the ability to summon. Up until around two weeks before my transferal here, I would have said there was nothing else to give me purpose." Aigis paused, blinking down at Evoker. She did have purpose without Athena, her friends. But how worthless was she without Athena. Now that they needed her protection the most.

"I was built to summon, but here my power has been severely limited. No longer can I call my Persona at will." She took a shaky breath. This hit her right at the core. "This trigger may be my only way now. But I must test it first to see if its true."

She looked up at him with absolute determination in her eyes. She needed to test this tonight. She had to, to prove to herself that her existence was still worthwhile. She didn't want to be useless. Not anymore.

Shooting oneself in the head didn't seem like the proper way to go about summoning anything, even if Heat was unfamiliar with summoning in any form. He stared back at her for a long moment, clearly uncertain, before slowly releasing his grip on her wrist. He didn't like this, and no amount of explaining on her part was going to put him any more at ease with the notion of her pulling that trigger.

"So you've never tried it before, and you're just gonna hope it works?" What if it didn't work? What if that was just a normal gun after all and he was about to watch the girl kill herself? He wouldn't be able to stand that. He wanted to tear the gun from her hand and break it in two.

He knew what it was like, though, not to have a purpose - to question his reason for existence. If he didn't allow her to do this now, she'd just try again some other time, in some other place without him. It twisted him up on the inside, but he finally stepped back, allowing her room to do... whatever it was she needed to do, though he could hardly believe he was allowing it to happen.

He was still reluctant, Aigis could see it in his eyes and feel it in the tension of his bearing, but he did release her. He could not understand, his logic would not let him. Or something else held him back. Fear, or anxiety. She would have to wipe away that impediment with her summoning ability. And she would.

"It will work, or it will fail," she said, turning away to face the row of stalls again. Her targets in this experiment. "But you said you would accompany me here tonight. I give you permission to leave if you are afraid. However, I would like you to stay." That he might fear for her life would never have crossed her mind.

She raised the trigger again, this time fully aware of her audience. She did not allow herself to show any outward weakness or falter, she even kept her breathing even. Still, holding the Evoker to her temple was an unsettling feeling, the cool tip of the barrel creating enough of a chill to send a tingling feeling through here arms. She steeled herself, and this time she pulled the trigger.

Many things happened all at once. The impact of the Evoker's release was enough to knock Aigis' head a bit to the side, though she managed to stay standing. The ground at her feet alighted with a bluish glow. Somewhere, the sound of shattering glass broke the quiet. And the air around her became charged, whipping at her clothing and hair, a show of the sheer magnitude of the power she had summoned.

"Athena..." She was paler than she normally look, or at least that was Aigis' first thought when her Persona began to materialize. Paler? No, translucent. She seemed to struggle as she came forth--a mechanical goddess with a large shield and mighty lance. She charged forward, delivering a crushing blow to the row of doors before evaporating into nothing. Or, it would have been crushing had Athena been at full power. But here, it was obvious she was hindered by the same power limitations as anyone else. Her great shield did manage to break in a few doors, but the entire row did not collapse as her normal strength would have allowed. A partial victory, but one Aigis would take, nonetheless.

"I... I--" Aigis moaned and felt herself falling. Or she thought she was falling. Was she? She couldn't remember. But suddenly her feet couldn't quite stay in the same place, and her legs went numb. The Evoker dropped from her hands, and they wouldn't stop shaking. She wanted to ask what was going on, but she couldn't quite seem to do anything but quake in fatigue. How heavy everything felt all at once. How strange.

Heat stared at the apparition. He'd seen many demons similar to it before, but not quite like it. It wasn't a demon, and he could tell that right away. He'd never seen anyone who could control a being like that - aside from perhaps Sera, and Sera was a special case. Aigis was definitely a unique individual, but they were very much different.

He'd been worried for her up until the very last moment, and when the impact knocked her head sideways his stomach sank nearly to his knees as he feared he'd just allowed her to actually shoot herself. But then it appeared it hadn't fired any bullets at all, and that being had come forward. If it could cause that much destruction, then it was certainly a useful tool... but it seemed to have worn out the summoner in the process.

The demon was at the girl's side immediately after. His own weapons fell from his hands as he supported her in his arms. If it was going to wear her out this much upon use, then perhaps it wasn't a good idea to call on it after all. "Hey. Hey, are you all right? Was that what was supposed to happen?"

As soon as the warmth of someone's arms surrounded her, Aigis felt her mind return to focus. Heat. He was the one who held her, and she had succeeded in summoning Athena. Her body, however, refused to cooperate with her. It was almost as though some of her processors had fried, making it impossible to move certain parts just the way she wished. She wanted to push up and take the weight off Heat, but her arms moved uselessly against his chest. Like she couldn't gain a proper grip, or she had somehow lost the ability to push. She gave up on that and tried something else.

She blinked her eyes for a moment, letting the spinning world return to focus, but everything seemed darker than before. Maybe because their flashlights were now on the ground. When had she dropped hers? She didn't remember. At least she could see. And she could hear, and speak.

"It is strange," she said at long last. She had no labored breath and her voice was as strong as ever, but... "My strength is gone, but my mental facilities are more or less intact." She tried to imagine what would have happened before when she tried to summon Athena. Back home... it felt so long ago.

"There is a price to pay when summoning, and a purchase of fatigue. This, however, seemed much too extreme for a normal case." Aigis tried to pick herself up again, but still with only limited success. She managed to take a little weight off Heat, but not all she wanted.

She turned her head and squinted in the dim light, trying to see what damage had been done. "It looks like the damage output has also decreased a great deal. Athena... she is normally much stronger." But she turned her face up to Heat and smiled, even in her weakness. "But I am content. I am not useless after all."

But it wasn't really worth it. If she tried using that in a real combat situation, it would leave her completely unable to defend herself from further attacks for probably the rest of the night. And if her first attack wasn't affective, this would be particularly dangerous. Someone would have to be with her if she intended to use it. He would have to be with her. And even then, she shouldn't use it at all. One of his attacks could do just as much damage, he would think, without using up all his energy to do so.

He wanted to tell her all of these things. He frowned at her, opened his mouth as if to let it all out in one go, but then shut it again. She just... looked so pleased by all of this. How could he go and wipe that smile off her face like that, even if what he had to say was the truth? He couldn't. It was tugging at his heartstrings too much.

But still... she couldn't just...

"Are you going to be all right?" The words came out far more gently than he expected. He should be chastising her. "Will you be able to stand?"

Aigis, still basking in her success, gave Heat a questioning look when he opened his mouth. Did he want to say something? Well, perhaps he was just at a loss. He had never seen her power before and didn't understand the workings of Persona. That would be a normal reaction.

"I am fine, just fatigued," she assured him. She continued to smile, and it only brightened the more her strength returned. "Summoning is not painful. I just need to recover a little, it seems." Back home no one had needed a period of rest after each summoning, but maybe this was the price "nerfed" power cost? At least she had her power at all. If this had not worked...

"I should be able to stand," she replied, but when she pushed against the tiled flooring with her hands she could only push herself into more of a sitting position. How odd... "Perhaps I need a little help for now. I can feel my legs, and move them, so nothing is broken or disconnected."

She moved her legs. They felt... odd. A tickling sensation, but it also burned lightly in her knees and feet. She bit her bottom lip. It was almost painful, but she didn't think she was injured. She was sure she wasn't.

This still didn't sit all right with Heat at all. She'd clearly been too weakened by this to stand. How could she even think of using it in a dangerous situation? Surely she'd come to this realization on her own? Perhaps she could use a less powerful spell. It would cause less damage, but then she might be able to get back up afterward.

Well, screw helping her to her feet right now. The demon bent down and lifted her bodily into his arms. There was no sense in making her try to walk when it wasn't necessary. He could handle this as well as any enemies they might come across. She was so light, there could hardly be any muscles on her, and yet she insisted on being able to handle herself... Of course he was comparing her to those of the Junkyard again.

"I've got you. No more summoning for tonight."

She hadn't expected Heat to hold her. Carrying her was no easy feat, at least not before she had been transformed here at the institute. Before, her body had comprised of heavy metals meant to hold high-power machinery. It was strange to think this man could so easily lift her like she was nothing. Strange. And in a sense, comforting. Although her head felt a bit light from the sudden movement.

She leaned against him and held herself a bit more securely with an arm around his shoulder. She nodded against his chest in agreement. Yes, summoning again tonight would probably not be a good idea. In the future she would have to regulate what attacks she used, and perhaps limit Athena to emergency situations only. That she could do. She still had her baseball bat, after all...

For a moment she just rested against his chest. She thought that perhaps she should say something more. She could only think to speak her mind, and so she did. "Thank you, Heat." She took a deep breath. "I'm glad you were able to meet Athena."

It would have been fine if anyone had accompanied her. She might have even been fine alone. But the fact that it was him... it made the moment somewhat special. Why? Aigis didn't rightly know. It was just a 'feeling' she had. A feeling. There wasn't any other way to describe it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Night 51: Women's Bathrooms (F1-F40)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject