infinite_reflection | The Terminal Show (May 1st)

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The Terminal Show (May 1st)

April 22nd, 2012

After the events of April 19th, it had been decided that a meeting of sorts needed to be held between those that had been to the 'Mirror World'. Seiya, Ren, Kota, Gregory and Miho had gathered – three out of the five equipped with a strange new power called 'Persona'. It'd been a rainy day, with a tense and disquieting atmosphere. The meeting itself was confusing, given the small amount of information they had. The Mirror World was linked to the crimes and heavy atmosphere that had infected their city – normal and seemingly rational people were being driven to murder. For whatever reason, the three of them had faced themselves, and gained a new power. Perhaps a power to fight whatever was happening in their city? That was the consensus.

The Academy Defense Squad (A.D.S.) was thusly formed, and from that day forward they were going to try their best to fight an unknown enemy.

April 23rd, 2012, early morning

Miho jerked awake with a start, heart hammering like wild in her chest, and her skin covered in a thin layer of cold sweat. “W-what a nightmare, jeez...” She fumbled quickly for her oversized glasses on her bedside table so she could squint at the time. Late! Late! She was never late! This would surely go on her personal record! A quick glance outside (pouring rain again, sigh) and the girl wiped her thoughts of nightmares and monsters from her mind.

In her rush to get ready for school, she failed to notice the flicker of movement from her closet mirror.

April 25th, 2012, early morning

It was another rainy morning. A light mist seemed to hang about the city – it was the type of weather an umbrella wouldn't save you from. Somehow, Miho's foot falls felt heavy against the pavement. The last two nights had been horrible. She'd had all sorts of nightmares, and gotten very little sleep. Heck, she hadn't even done any of her homework for the past two days, or taken any notes in class... Or even studied. With an inhale she let her shoulders slump.

“What's even the point of going to class today...?” Truth be told, she really didn't feel well. It was probably the rain. The rain always made her feel suffocated, and made her think too hard. At least it was supposed to be sunny soon, though! The weather forecast called for one more day of rain. Miho forced herself to class, and tried her best to smile throughout the day.

April 27th, 2012, afternoon

Sunlight filtered in through the window, lighting the bathroom up and illuminating the figure standing before the counter. Miho hadn't gone to class yesterday. She wasn't able to force herself out of bed. Everything was fuzzy and distorted, as if she were somewhere else – floating in the air, watching her body lie there. Calls and texts went unanswered. And now here she was, standing in her Pjs in front of her bathroom mirror.

The girl, eyes wide, raised a hand. The mirror rippled with her touch like the surface of a lake. Tears were starting to form at the corners of Miho's eyes. What was happening? I don't want to die! But she couldn't stop herself. With little effort she climbed the counter and placed her palms against the cool (cold! It was cold like ice) surface. Her breath came out in a chilly puff of mist. She leaned in to easily push herself through, and then stopped at the last second. “W-what--”

A hand shoved outwards, grabbing her by the collar of her oversized t-shirt and dragging her in.

“SEIYYAAAA!”

That afternoon, at class, Kota would be hit with a pang, and then a nagging feeling that would gnaw at the back of his mind. This feeling would last for several days, until one morning...

May 1st, 2012

Miho had been missing for several days now. Her mother was frightened, the police had been called. There were no leads! No leads, that is, until during the morning while getting ready for school, Kota would suddenly be assailed with an image appearing on his bathroom mirror. The surface rippled and then, as if it were playing a movie, showed Miho being yanked into the Mirror World. It rippled again, this time displaying the image of an old and run down theater house surrounded by ice. On the 'Now Playing' were the words:

'The Terminal Show'

((Sorry about the length of that! This is going to be a little bit different, because I plan to lead y'all through a short little dungeon. You'll be fightan shadows and stuff! I might even throw in asking for some dice rolls for little random things to happen – if it works out, it should be pretty fun!))

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Kota retreated a couple of steps in a panic before making himself stop. He could hardly abandon the other two, especially in this situation. Having a madly grinning marionette flying at him focused his concentration wonderfully, and he gritted his teeth as he raised his bat. Just an oversized, differently colored, REALLY SCARY baseball, he told himself. Fire or not, he could sense that they weren't that tough - if he could just get a few good hits in...

"Hokuto Jūhazan!" he yelled as he swung hard, turning his face aside at the last possible moment. Just as he felt his bat slam into the shadow, a searing pain raked down the side of his head and across his left temple as they traded blows.

Fortunately for all of them, Kota’s assessment of ‘not that strong’ was incredibly accurate. These things seemed awful agile, but that was about it! His bat collidied with the marionette, and there was a sickening crunch as it was sent flying to the side (strings and all). With a small shriek the thing burst into a puff of mist, and then disintegrated! One down, one to go, and the one left alive was still puppeting poor Ren around.

With a sinister giggle the marionette floated Ren to the floor, jerking her arms up. Strings around her fingers would tighten her grip on her bat, and then she’d find herself suddenly swinging for the downed Seiya…! Oh no!

Oh, shit. Would Kota be able to hit the Shadow controlling her in time? Would Seiya be able to roll out of the way? These thoughts snapped through her mind quickly, but she didn't have the time to formulate them out loud. Instead, as the marionette brought her bat up for the strike, she let out: "WATCH OUT!"

Unfortunately, Seiya's reaction time was a bit too slow. She'd moved enough to deter the blow, but it did collide with her shoulder. Groaning, the girl clutched her arm, cursing under her breath. "Hlin!!"

The persona arched forward, aiming a cleave attack at the marionette left standing.

They all paid for his prior retreat - he'd gotten hit anyway and Kota was too far away to block the attack aimed at Seiya, despite lunging forward, his head swimming with the sudden motion.

Half-hearing, half-sensing that Seiya was summoning her Persona, Kota acted on instinct. Instead of trying to directly attack the shadow binding Ren, he wrapped his arms around Ren's legs. That way (so he hoped) maybe the shadow wouldn't be able to dodge like before. Or might release Ren in order to escape. Either way, he hung on grimly, trying not to bleed on his teammate.

Crack! Hlin's attack collidied with the marionette, thanks to Seiya's quick summoning and Kota's sudden hug-hold around Ren's legs. The thing shrieked, trying to drag Ren away, but a series of splinters and cracks was forming along it's head where the bat had made contact! With another loud, ear piercing wail the shadow collapsed and then burst into smoke and vanished. Victory! Level uuup!

With the Shadow collapsing and releasing her and Kota's grip around her legs, Ren had nothing else to hold her up, and so she lost her balance and crashed on the floor, bat clattering and rolling a couple of feet away. Shaking her head slowly, she groaned.

"That sucked."

"Sorry!" Seiya huffed, dropping her own bat to the ground. As the smoke cleared, panicked eyes scanned the room for signs of the next wave. For now, they were safe. Going over to her teammate's sides, she produced little medicine bottles from her pockets. Apparently her "in mirror inventory" had rolled over from last time!

"Drink these. Whatever's up next must be a lot worse."

Though he released Ren's legs automatically when she started to fall, Kota still staggered, going to one knee himself. "Sorry," he echoed. "I couldn't think of anything else."

He took the vial from Seiya with a nod of thanks, quickly drinking the medicine. The gashes on his head healed over, though - as he discovered with a grimace as he ran his hand over his head - his hair was still tacky with blood. "Wonderful," he muttered, "I really would've been okay with things getting easier." It was more resignation than true complaint, as he was already looking back towards Dagr, extending his senses outward as he tried to scout ahead.

The hall was still for now. Ahead of them Kota would still be able to sense the spark of Miho's presence! The door at the other end of the hall waited for them, the portrait of Miho, painted so less grandly than that of her family, stared them down in a manner all too ominous. They'd all be able to hear the faint melody of an orchestra, and a wild cheer from a crowd – was a show starting just beyond the door? If they chose to travel down the hallway once they were patched up a little, the noise level would grow.

It seemed like just beyond that door was the main theater room, and it sounded like there was a full audience for the show! A cello struck a deep chord that seemed to practically pulsate throughout the building, and the hum of the audience died down to a quiet murmur. When they wen through the door, as it would open easily, they'd be treated to the sight of a massive auditorium – completely empty and now completely quiet! On the grand stage, red velvet curtains drawn, was a lone figure.

Miho?!

Ah yes, the magical medicine. Since she hadn't been injured in the fight, Ren pocketed her vial for later use - though hopefully none of them would have to use it.

Clutching her bat firmly, Ren's eyes darted around vigilantly as they made their way into the auditorium. She barely lowered her bat at all when they spotted the figure on the stage. With only a split second to swallow a small knot in her throat, Ren was the first to call out.

"Mippon?"

Frowning apologetically to Kota, she shrugged. The look on his face must have been what hers looked like during the first trip into the mirror world.

Heading down the pathway, Seiya followed Ren on high alert. As the solo note shook her rib cage, the girl was surprised to find that just beyond the door, there was... nothing. Upon closer inspection, a figure stood in the center of the stage. Opening her mouth to speak, Ren beat her to the punch. Deciding to remain quiet, Seiya just stared ahead.

"It's her," Kota confirmed. His voice was subdued; either he was still feeling some of the effects of that head wound or he'd caught the anticipatory mood of the audience. His knuckles were white around the bat as he stared grimly at the stage. You'll forgive him if he doesn't want to go rushing up and draw attention to himself. "The show's about to start."

It was definitely her, but... At the same time not quite. A spotlight clicked on, centering on the figure on the stage. It revealed her, hair hanging over her shoulders in waves instead of the usual braids, glasses no where to be seen, make up, and a short but stylish black club dress. A deep purple feather boat draped across her shoulders and down her arms, and she was gazing at the three with an odd smile on her face. This seemed like the complete opposite of Miho Tanaka, honestly!

The sound of her high heels clicked against the wood of the stage as she walked forward. The spotlight followed. “My goodness, what an audience we have here tonight...!” A hand rose to her cheek to cup it, and she practically damn well fluttered her eyelashes. “The show is just about ready for you, boys and girls.. The main feature?!” The curtains snapped closed, revealing the same smiling drama mask that had been on the door opposite of the one they chose earlier.

“Me!” When they opened again, they revealed the proper Miho. She was still in her PJs, and suspended from marionette wire like Ren had been. Shadow Miho's gaze lingered on her friends in the audience, and her smile got a little wider. “You're all really very special, aren't you? So much more quality...”

Meanwhile the girl suspended by wires had begun to wiggle a little. “G-guys, aha- guys don't listen to her!”

Ren's jaw clenched. She knew it would come to this, even though she came in here hoping it wouldn't. After hearing the voices earlier, she had at least a basic idea of what that Shadow represented for Miho.

Don't listen to her? Ren had no intention of doing that. What she was worried about was whether or not Miho would listen to her, and how that would turn out. She adjusted the grip on her bat warily.

As the curtains revealed a marionette Miho, Seiya gritted her teeth. What did poor Miho Tanaka do to get dragged into all of this? Nothing, really. At least, nothing that came to this girl's mind.

Stepping forward slowly, she attempted something she hadn't before. Lowering her weapon, Seiya cautiously inched towards the edge of the stage. "Miho-san." Calling to the shadow, Seiya extended her hand. "Get down from there. Come on. Put Micchan down." Attempting to keep her voice even, the tiniest bit of fear shook her vocal chords.

Kota grimaced. No wonder he'd sensed two presences, but he still didn't like being tricked. Not wanting to do anything to wreck Seiya's gambit, Kota simply remained silent, focusing on both Mihos with Dagr and trying to look confident and reassuring. (Keeping his mouth shut definitely helped with that.)

Miho squirmed against her wiry confines, hissing quietly in pain as they bit into her skin. What was her... weird clone even going on about?!

The girl on the stage, however, seemed more than delighted at the situation. Her head tilted as she cupped her own chin. Her made done up lips spread into a vicious little grin as her gaze lingered on each of them individually. Seiya’s words were all but ignored as the shadow hopped down from the stage. Her heels thudded softly against the plush theatre carpeting, and she swung her feather boa to one side. “Miura, Yamada, Satou, huh?” Her golden eyed stare glanced backward to her other self.

“So quality. So perfect. The athlete,” She smiled sweetly at Ren, stopping some distance away from them now. “The gorgeous one.” A slight sneer in Seiya’s direction. “And you. The new kid. I bet you all think you’re pretty wonderful, don’t you? Maybe all my perfect friends are going to replace me with another perfect person.” That last line was directed at Kota, with a forced and brittle smile. Her voice dropped an octave, and she took another step forward. “You’re not though, you know. None of you. I want to be noticed for once! Studying?! Helping my friends?! What good is that if I never get to be the center of attention?! The star!”

“Don’t listen to herrrr!” She was squirming pretty hard now, shaking the wires she was suspended by hard enough to cause dust to fall from the rafters. “You don’t, ah- aha, you don’t know what you’re talking about! At! All!” The model-esque version of Miho stopped to gaze back at the stage. “Of course I know. I am you, aren’t I~?”

Oh no. This was going to get ugly fast, wasn't it? It hadn't occurred to Ren that Miho might have thoughts like these - of course not, she was too focused on herself to notice. But... thinking on it now, it didn't surprise her all that much, but it still pained her to not have realized it sooner.

All it would take was three words for everything to turn bad. Ren took a step closer. "Mippon, it's going to be okay..."

Tilting her head to the side, Seiya's nose scrunched up. What was this shadow on about? "Miho-san, what are you...? It's not like that at all."

Advancing closer to the shell of her best friend, Seiya bit her lip. Reaching out, she tried to touch Shadow Miho's hand. "Come on... let her down..."

Between Miho's Shadow's smile and the shadow that had tried to open a new hole in his skull, Kota was discovering that he liked it better when things ignored him.

"Easy, Tanaka-san," he said to the real Miho, Dagr picking up on some of that pain from the wires. "It's okay. None of us are perfect." After all, hadn't he had his own things he'd wanted to hide too?

Miho shook her head stubbornly, eyes closed behind her glasses. None of this was true! Not a word, not a word! “I don’t think of my, my friends like that..! I don’t! I love my friends!” The shadow stepped forward, grinning practically ear to ear, advancing on the trio of Persona-users. “I’m so pathetic, you know?! I’m so jealous of all of you! Perfect, pretty, athletic, shiny and new, always the center of attention- Well not anymore!”

The girl confined above the stage continued to squirm despite Kota’s protests, and despite Ren and Seiya attempting to calm the situation down. She didn’t want anyone to hear this – no one was ever supposed to know any of this! This wasn’t her! Her shadowy double had different ideas however, and was now standing far too close to Seiya for comfort. “You’re so pretty, Senpai… I wish I was as pretty as you.” Had there always been a pair of scissors in her hands?

“S-stop it! Stop it! You don’t know anything!”

Shadow Miho glared at her own form near the stage. “I know how I really feel! Because I’m YOU! The real you!” Her head whipped back to Seiya. One of her hands had curled painfully tight around her ponytail. “I wonder if you’d be so popular if you were as plain as I was, huh?!” Snip, snip! In the blur of an eye Seiya’s ponytail was cut right off. The dolled up version of Miho began to laugh, throwing the hair to the side. It scattered.

Miho screamed. “You’re not meeee!”

Oh, shit, here we go again. Ren braced herself, bat at the ready, when the Shadow had gone up to Seiya and chopped off her hair, and then the magic words happened. "Mippon, don't-!" Too late. The girl took a step back and shielded herself with her bat, rooting her stance into the floor to prevent being knocked back by the expected transformation.

Attention drawn to the real Miho, Seiya hadn't noticed the girl's shadow advancing. By the time everything caught up with her, a sharp pain caused her to yelp. Ponytail in the hands of the monster, the girl's eyes widened. "What are you-" Snip! Jerking free now that her hair had been cut, Seiya stumbled to the side.

This was how Miho felt, right? Jealous and insecure? Tears welled in her eyes as Seiya turned upwards to lock eyes with her friend. "You have to own up to it!!" Throwing her bat at Shadow Miho, she clenched her fists in anger.

Kota started moving when the Shadow grabbed Seiya, because shit shit shit her face, her eye, her throat but he stopped as Seiya broke free. Her...hair?

Girls.

He then took a page from Ren's book and braced himself, figuring it was more important for him to stay out of the way and learn as much as he could. This place wasn't screwing around on them.

eh, screw it. going with the japanese phrase because it feels less silly (it's silly anyway)

HEH I thought it sounded cool

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