Don't Run Away! [Luka/Ringo]

[Lucretia Odovacar]

While she didn't come here expecting to fight more of these creatures, she was not about to complain about running into more humans.  Last time she encountered the female human, she ran off before any exchange of information was possible and Lucretia was honestly just too tired to chase her.  This time though, she felt great.  She had gotten a couple days of rest, so she had more than enough energy to deal with little runaways.  If worst came to worst, she could at least annoy her with mental communication until the girl left her telepathic range

"The two of you, please do not leave yet.  I want to talk about what is happening with the two of you.  I am able to see the enemies without my eyes, so I can tell where all of them are right now.  There are none close by.  Follow me and I will make sure we do not run into any while we talk."

She continued down the hallway.  There weren't any enemies heading in this direction right now, so her pace was casual even if she didn't seem that way.  Her posture was perfect and her body seemed stiff as always.  This was about as casual as you were going to get.

"What do the two of you know?  Oh, and I cannot read your mind.  Just think at me like you are talking with your brain and I will hear, and so will everyone else I think should hear."

That seemed like a reasonable place to start.  Lucretia opted to not share her information not for now, not out of secrecy or malice, but because she assumed they knew more than she did.  She did only start experiencing this less than a week ago after all.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Well, this was a bit annoying. It seems this girl could certainly communicate via her mind. Not only that. It seemed that it didn't require line of sight and had quite a decent range. And listening to the girl's explanation of her ability it had quite a few other abilities as well. So, what would this make it. . . third time someone wanted her to stop and talk about what's going on? Why couldn't people just accept this? Even if it was a bit of a pain, this girl was helpful. She could at least see what she could offer or had to say. Fine. I'll be heading back. Doubling back to where the fight was, she eventually found the other girl following her at such a composed speed. This girl could honestly sense them, huh?

Even if you can talk to me through there, I'd feel more comfortable talking in person. Since we're nearby and all. It was equivalent to talking to someone on a cellphone when the person was one room across. That, and she preferred to actually vocalize her words. As far as things you want to know, I don't know many facts myself. But I can provide you with what I do know. She opted to wait for that other boy to pop up if he chose to. Then she would begin explaining what she knew.

Well, as you probably know, these things you can summon grant us abilities when we're in these areas. Actually, I wouldn't know if they work in the normal world since I don't exactly have any abilities. Well, she assumed her newfound strength just a little bit ago was not just a surge of naturally gained power. She would have no way of knowing. As for these things we fight? I'm pretty sure they're youkai. Though I have no idea why they show up, why only some of us can walk freely in these areas, or how to stop it. That was as far as she could sum up. I've been fighting them for a little over a week now. It seems that having a persona gives you heightened physical abilities as well. That would be the thing you summoned, if you didn't know. She figured that would be a decent sized explanation for everything right now. I can answer anything else if need be.

[Ringo Shiro]

"The two of you, please do not leave yet." Ringo stopped to hear out the girl out who decided to speak instead of sending voices into the minds of others. "I want to talk about what is happening with the two of you. I am able to see the enemies without my eyes, so I can tell where all of them are right now. There are none close by. Follow me and I will make sure we do not run into any while we talk."

"Fine. I'll be heading back." Ringo and the blue haired girl followed her. He took a moment to look around him. He didn't feel anything was off. The black haired girl Ringo followed already showed enough proof of being able to detect these creatures.
 

"What do the two of you know? Oh, and I cannot read your mind. Just think at me like you are talking with your brain and I will hear, and so will everyone else I think should hear." Well that was a relief and logical since, if she wanted information, she could've just dug through their brains and left. This also proves that Personas can indeed work in other ways outside of combat.

"Even if you can talk to me through there, I'd feel more comfortable talking in person. Since we're nearby and all." Ringo had to silently agree with the blue haired one. It wasn't exactly too comforting to hear a voice in one's head after all. "As far as things you want to know, I don't know many facts myself. But I can provide you with what I do know." With how she handled those creatures...was she experienced more than he was?

"Well, as you probably know, these things you can summon grant us abilities when we're in these areas. Actually, I wouldn't know if they work in the normal world since I don't exactly have any abilities." Ringo tested and it didn't. No matter how hard he concentrated and tried, he couldn't summon his Persona...which was odd since he could still feel his Persona inside him. It was hard to explain but he waited until the girl finished speaking. "As for these things we fight? I'm pretty sure they're youkai. Though I have no idea why they show up, why only some of us can walk freely in these areas, or how to stop it."Ringo tilted his head. Youkai? Well...in a way that did make a little sense but he doesn't remember reading anything that looked like those. Then again, mythology wasn't exactly the most useful thing in his field.  "I've been fighting them for a little over a week now. It seems that having a Persona gives you heightened physical abilities as well. That would be the thing you summoned, if you didn't know.  I can answer anything else if need be."

"My information is not too far different from hers. I've been at this for about a week as well. As for summoning our Persona in the normal world, all of my tests to do so...well had to get my window fixed." There was still  a lot of questions to how these 'Personas' worked. "If I may ask, how long have you hard your Persona?" Ringo was curious...come to think of it there was also another important thing missing. "If I maybe rude to ask...can I also have a name from either of you?" He figured that knowing many Persona-users might be useful down the road.

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Lucretia paused for a moment at the girl's words, though she didn't stop moving.  She was glad she was coming back, as it saved her the trouble of catching up to her later or having to kill any creatures she ran into, but she seemed rather annoyed for some reason.

"Is something wrong?"  She spoke out loud this time at their request, despite it being less secure.  "I was not sure what that word meant the first time we met, but I looked up the meaning since then.  I would not say it is wrong, but it seems a little vague.  I am interested in learning the rules for these worlds, so more specific is better, but it works until we learn more."

She nodded along at everything they said, but felt a little disappointed in the end.  She was hoping they would know more.  This was considerably less information, and much less precise information, than what she had learned herself in half the time.  Was no one else trying to figure out how this place actually worked?  That was always the first thing to do when confronted with a very unusual situation!

"I am confused then.  Why are you here?  Do you just fight them?  What does fighting them do?"  

Lucretia hoped she at least knew that much.  If not...well she wasn't even sure what to think at that point.

"I am Lu--Odovacar Lucretia.  I have had my persona for about 3 days now."

[Luka Kurokawa]

The girl's response made Luka make a complicated face. she was honestly quite correct. While the enemies from the park certainly fit the idea of youkai, these seemed to be quite different. I feel like I must agree now that you mention it. This is my first time exploring here. These enemies aren't like the youkai from the park through that portal. They're less 'defined.' Well. . . I guess another word for them could be demons? I'm honestly not too sure at this point either. She figured a demon would be more appropriate, given the things she ran into were more Western mythology. These things in this museum though, were nothing like demons. They seemed more like random forms and objects.

Ru- There was no way in hell she could pronounce that. It wasn't even worth butchering. She was asking some pretty intense questions. I don't know what fighting them does, but I know they are hostile and that this happens every night to us. I simply fight them because I can. It was a simple reason and answer. Luka. Just call me Luka. She kept it to her nickname. It wasn't out of worry, but simplicity. Speaking of which, I think it might be helpful if I had a way to contact you two in the future. Just in case. A phone number would be good. Likewise, I can give you mine. She began to get the feeling that being able to contact these people would come in handy. Hell, someone who could locate enemies and allies would prove to be extremely helpful at this point if she was going out and exploring. She had already gotten some contacts as it was. Why not get everyone's just in case? Three days, huh? Hm. I don't suppose you have anything you can share, do you? It was a long-shot, but this girl might know something else despite being here the shortest amount of time.

[Ringo Shiro]

"Is something wrong?" Ringo arched an eyebrow at the black haired girl's question. "I was not sure what that word meant the first time we met, but I looked up the meaning since then. I would not say it is wrong, but it seems a little vague. I am interested in learning the rules for these worlds, so more specific is better, but it works until we learn more."


I feel like I must agree now that you mention it. This is my first time exploring here. These enemies aren't like the youkai from the park through that portal. They're less 'defined.' Well. . . I guess another word for them could be demons? I'm honestly not too sure at this point either. Ringo pondered for a moment. Demons? Well, that would also be a decent descriptor for now...

"Hey. Can you point out where you first found these 'youkai'?" Ringo might as well investigate the area the girl has already visited after all to check things out. 

"I am confused then. Why are you here? Do you just fight them? What does fighting them do?" Ringo arched an eyebrow. She was joking right? Or maybe not. Come to think of it, killing just one of these creatures doesn't seem to resolve the mystery as to what this bizarre hour was. None the less, it wasn't like he can just leave these things alone.

"I am Lu--Odovacar Lucretia. I have had my persona for about 3 days now."

"Ru-" The blue haired girl stopped herself. Well the name wasn't exactly easy to pronounce. "I don't know what fighting them does, but I know they are hostile and that this happens every night to us. I simply fight them because I can." Uhhh... Before Ringo could for a response to the girl, she had a suggestion. "Speaking of which, I think it might be helpful if I had a way to contact you two in the future. Just in case. A phone number would be good. Likewise, I can give you mine." Ringo nodded. He quickly spoke out his phone number to the other two. "Three days, huh? Hm. I don't suppose you have anything you can share, do you?" Ringo looked over at Lucretia.

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Lucretia stared blankly at the two of them. She honestly couldn't tell if they were being serious or not. Were they messing with her? That...that had to be the case right? No one could be this stupid right? She peered at them a little more closely, but...no the girl at least was being completely serious. Either that or she was an extremely good liar. The boy wasn't talking enough for her to gauge him properly but he didn't seem to have anything to add, or even find randomly slapping enemies around without know what you're doing worth commenting on, so that didn't speak well for him. Lucretia pushed her glasses up and took a deep breath.

"Right now, I am not looking for something as vague as 'answers.' I am looking for 'the rules' so I can get a better understanding of what this place is and what I can do. I have started to study the occult to see if there are any ideas worth looking into there. The idea of an 'other world' is not an uncommon one, but there tend to be a lot of differences between the ideas, so I have not been able to learn anything useful yet from that research.

"My other research is more direct. It is why I am here tonight. Many of the things I have learned are obvious, but it is good to note everything so that the rules can be found. Once the rules are found, it will be easier to know what we can do. Once we know what we can do, it will be easier to know what others can do, and then find the source. So, I am starting small.

"First, there is something happening that does not mesh with physics or common sense. Two 'other worlds' exist now. The first is hidden behind portals that are unseeable by normal people. The second occurs at midnight and lasts for one hour. Normal people are also not able to see this world because they are hidden in red coffins. I have started calling these worlds the 'midnight world' and the 'portal world' for easiness of understanding.

"The 'portal world' exists at all times. I have not seen any patterns in where the portals are. My magic is able to 'see' the youkai in the portals, but it cannot 'see' the portals themselves. The kind of sight I am talking about is not with my eyes, but with my mind. I do not see them, but I know where they are. Because I cannot do that with portals, it has been hard to find patterns. I am still investigating them. Anyway, the 'portal world' more closely matches many ideas of an 'other world.' It is like a dark mirror to the normal world. The places are similar, but have a darker feeling in them.

"The youkai in them are more different and intelligent than the youkai in the 'midnight world.' Based on movement patterns and fighting them, I think it is likely that they are as intelligent as humans and are capable of making choices because of having personality and reason. Honestly, it feels a little strange to fight them now because I do not think they are very different from humans.

"The only place I have investigated a lot in the 'portal world' is the park. I can tell that the youkai in the others areas are much stronger, so I started with the weaker ones. It is full of big plants and is difficult to see and move in. I have still found park benches where they are in the normal world, but you could never sit on them because of the plants. So, it is likely a mirror of the normal world in some way, but I am not sure what any of this means. The enemies there are mostly fairies and creatures like that. I also do not know what that means. Otherwise, I have not noticed anything interesting.

"The 'midnight world' is what the normal world turns into at exactly 12:00 midnight every night. It lasts for exactly one hour. I have checked this by counting myself and with the help of an hour glass for nights after I counted to make sure the hourglass was right. It never ends even a second early or late; it is always exactly one hour.

"The youkai in the 'midnight world' are not intelligent. They have predictable patterns of movement and do not appear to be doing anything. If you get close, they will attack. If you stay away, they will leave you alone. I have noticed some midnight youkai eat other midnight youkai, so I do not think they are organized.

"The 'midnight world' changes the normal world slightly too. The sky changes color, and so does the moon. I think those coffins are normal people, but I have not checked this or investigated the coffins much at all. I will do so soon. Technology stops working as well, but when the 'midnight world' goes away, the devices come back on like they were never turned off in the first place. No data is lost with my computers, the programs are still open, even unsaved data remains on the screen. This is very strange and I am still investigating how this works. Computers are my specialty, so you can leave it to me.

"I have only investigated this place for similar reasons to investigating the park. The youkai here seem to have something related to the paintings, but I have not been able to figure out what. I do not know enough about art. I will have to investigate further. I took some notes tonight, so I will use them to learn more."

Lucretia paused for a moment before continuing. "I think that is all my observations on the worlds themselves. I do have more things about the magic we have though. Every person in the other worlds appears to have the same ability. It gave us abilities far beyond that of a normal human, and put us on par with the youkai. I do not think a normal human would last long in a battle against youkai. In addition to enhanced abilities, they also gave us magic. The magic is different for every person and there is a great range of it. I believe the youkai also have the same abilities. Theoretically, we can do everything they can and they can do everything we can.

"My persona is called Coeus. While I was investigating the occult, I found that Coeus was also the name of a mythological being in Greek mythology. He represented the axis that the heavens rotated around, and was a..." she paused for a moment trying to think of the right word. "manifestation? of intelligence.

"My magic is the ability to see the abilities of others. That is how I knew the strengths and weaknesses of the youkai. I can also 'see' youkai without really seeing them, as I said before, though I cannot normally see humans. After looking at the abilities of youkai or humans I can tell where they are if they get close to me. I think my range is around 1000 meters, though I have not checked this. It would be difficult without someone helping me. I can also speak into minds as you heard. This could be useful for planning, especially against the portal youkai. I also have the ability to ease sleepiness and nervousness.

"I first saw the midnight world seven days ago. I was working and my computer stopped working. At the time, I thought I did not sleep enough. I continued seeing it for four days, and then I decided I wanted to know what was happening. That was when Coeus appeared. Before then, I could sense the youkai a little bit, but not as clearly as I can now. I did not start seeing portals until after Coeus appeared. My persona made me strong against electrical attacks. I think I could put a fork in an electrical socket and not be very bothered," she didn't feel the need to share her weakness.

"I think that is at least most of what I have noted down so far. What are your personas, and how did you find them?" she paused again.  "Oh, and I have not noticed any change in the amount of youkai around.  I am not sure if that is because you have been keeping their numbers down by fighting them, or if fighting them does not matter in the end.  I will have to investigate."

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka frowned at the girl's explanation of what was going on. It wasn't that she was unhappy with it, more that it felt like she was listening to stuff she knew subconsciously but didn't really bother to note mentally. Whether it had been her overexposure to such settings in video games or not, her sense of reality was skewed significantly compared to most people. Strange creatures shooting fireballs and whatnot? Her being able to take said fireballs with minimal issue despite having issues taking things out of a microwave before? It wasn't that she didn't understand it, more she simply accepted it as common sense and rolled with it. The enemies she fought, she admitted, were an enigma she wished to understand. For the most part, Luka knew everything that was brought up, save for a few details. Specifically, that the night world lasted for exactly one hour. She had already noted that it started at twelve at night, but she never bothered to time it. And now that she mentioned it, all the attacks she had seen the enemies use could also be used by the different people she encountered. Healing, buffs, attacks, and so forth were all used by both parties. Perhaps she could use this to note some abilities that some people could potentially gain?

Oh. I see what you mean, I guess. It was a straightforward answer. I just accepted everything as the way things were here, but I didn't realize that they seemed to have all the same abilities as us until you mentioned it. That at least helps. She pondered a bit. Her persona's name. . . Ame no Uzume? That was a Japanese god. One of revelry and entertainment, at that. She had a pretty good idea as to why that may have been the case. My persona Ame no Uzume seemed to have a tale relating to entertainment and festivity. I think it might represent me in some way. She left it vague, but that was what she was beginning to think. What she was really wondering was who the hell was deciding these choices for each person or what the criteria was. She only showed up once though. It was when I was being driven home that everything stopped and I was attacked. She appeared as I fought them off but disappeared a moment later. All I can remember is her name and vaguely what she looked like. It wasn't a very helpful description, honestly. It only brought about more questions. In fact, I don't think I have any abilities of note. The only thing that might be one is that I have suddenly begun to master my weapons to a degree I haven't before. Honestly, if it was an ability, it was quite a crucial one for her.

But yeah, all that information doesn't really contradict with anything I've seen. It's definitely more. . . observant than how I would have explained it though. It certainly wasn't an insult. If anything, she felt a little dumb getting that whole explanation from someone who has been exploring in half the amount of time. I'll be honest. I just instinctively thought these things should be killed. I could sense their killing intent a mile away. Besides. They made for good sword practice. I can't say I was really intent on learning how anything works, but it does seem a bit helpful. None of the other people she met really explained everything to that degree. Either way, she was pretty sure that summed it up. A whole lecture of information was just handed to her on top of her own. What else was there to say?

[Ringo Shiro]

"Right now, I am not looking for something as vague as 'answers.' I am looking for 'the rules' so I can get a better understanding of what this place is and what I can do." Ringo was amazed at how much information the girl had collected. He stood there and absorbed what she said. Apparently the supposed youkai in the midnight world function differently than what she refered to as the portal world. Apparently a place that exists at all times and wisks people away by, what else, portals. She also talks about in detail about her Persona powers. 

Luka also explained her own powers and her own reasons for venturing into these dangers. Ringo was a bit worried to hear that she is just winging it but then again, how else does one handle all this supernatural insanity? It was then Ringo realized that maybe he should contribute.

"My Persona is Rama, the protagonist of the Ramayana. I more read case files so all I know about the Ramayana is the fact that it is about the protagonist enduring harsh tests, a typical heroic tale." Ringo said. "I began to investigate initially out of curiosity of a missing person's case but...well...as you can see it eventually spiraled into this." Ringo waved to around them to show what he meant. "I'm actually hoping to put an end to it but so far, none of my investigations has turned up a possible source for all of this."

[Lucretia Odovacar]

Once again, Lucretia just stared.  Just 'accepting' the situation?  What did that even mean?  It's not like she somehow didn't accept what was going on because she wanted to know what was actually happening, she just actually wanted to know what was happening.  How were you supposed to do anything at all when you didn't even know what you could do?  As Luka continued talking, it took all of Lucretia's effort not to go slackjawed at her words.  She had no reason to fight?  Just instinct?  She was honestly embarrassed for the poor girl.  However, it was clear that she wasn't going to get more than this from this conversation.  It was a very enlightening experience to say the least.

"I see," she pushed up her glasses.  "I think I should head home now.  I will be sure to contact both of you if I learn more."

With that, she started heading out of the museum, and would continue home unless they still wanted to talk about something else.  Lucretia was glad to have allies, she just wished they were a little more...competent wasn't the right word, but it was close.  They could fight, but it seemed like anything else was a bit out of their reach.