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Stealing a stolen Heart (Persona 5 rp) [Applepoisoner&I]

Oracle wasn't sure how things operated in this new limbo state, but she took a deep breath and raised her hands. A blue, holographic display appeared in front of her. It astounded her, but she knew there was no time to ooh and ah over it. She pulled up a display of personas and their strengths and weaknesses. "It looks like Oberon's only real weakness is Nuclear." She told him uncertainly.


Tae was frozen in place. She'ed never seen anyone's eyes glow like these did. More importantly, she didn't want to abandon Akira to this guy's devices. However, she could see how it would be easy for someone who knew the rules of the metaverse to get hold of her and use her to overtake him. She fixed up her eyes and nodded in determination.

Despite her high heels, she took a few steps back and got a running start, managing to leap across the tracks. She nearly missed the platform, but with an almost silly flailing of her arms, she stabilized herself. Her plan was to get far enough away that he could fight unencumbered, but remain close enough that she could reach him to heal him if things got too rough.
 
[Zero's POV]

"On it!!" He stated, surprising Mona with another persona switch from Kaguya to Titania, "This is gonna hurt!!"

The Freidyne that hit the shadow was immensely powerful, strong enough that it was almost pushing into the severe damage range as Oberon seemed to immolate. It seemed to be desolving as it was literally melted from the attack. There would be no questioning the fact it was dead. There was hardly anything left of it as it became black and red smoke. It wouldn't be coming back from that.

"Whoa, wha...?!" Mona said, a stunned tone in his voice as the cat regarded him, "That was super impressive!! You've got some skill for this!!"

Titania shattered, almost like a broken stained glass window as he suddenly fell to one knee. His left hand, covered by a padded glove that left his fingers bare, shot to his chest as he doubled over from a sudden loss of strength. For a moment he couldn't breathe, all that he'd repressed threatening to surface as he seemed about to fall over the rest of the way.

"Huh?!" Mona cried in shock, moving nervously to his as the rest of the Phantom Thieves appeared, "Are you okay?!"

"What the effing hell is goin' on?!" Skull asked, Panther dropping to her knees next to him on instinct and checking on him as if she somehow knew him.

"There's more Shadows!!" Noir warned, grenade launcher out as Mona pulled out a slingshot, "Fox, Queen, please lend me a hand!!"

[Joker's POV]

The fight with the person was hell for him, and if it hadn't been for his powered up version of Pixie and using Diarahan on himself, he'd have already died. After a few close quarter exchanges, he was fully convinced the person was someone's shadow since they didn't take care to protect themselves from harm. It was as if it wanted to be hurt. That thought appalled him as he couldn't see the reasoning behind it. It was maddening for him to consider.

"You're wasting my time!!" The persona said, suddenly summoning a large knight in Dragon motifed armor, "Kill him now, Critias!!"

He dove out of the way, evading the Sword dance attack as they hurtled past him like bullets. His eyes swept towards where Tae was, widening as he say the red Spandex of Panther's suit near her as well as the Shadows his friends were valiantly fighting off. Horror set in as one of the swords seemed to hone in on Tae though. He couldn't save her in time, nor could he stop the blade from hitting her. So he did the only thing he could.

"TAAAAAAEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

"GET DOWN, DUMBASS!!!"

Right as he screamed her name, an unknown(Shin/Zero) burst from behind Noir, tackling Tae so the blade didn't harm anyone and shielding her as they hit the tracks while falling off the platform.
 
Futaba ran to Zero's side and knelt there. She had retained her backback and withdrew an energy drink from its depths. "I think this stuff changed along with us. This should help." She offered the drink to Zero and stood over him, pulling up her display. "I'm back online guys, ready when you are!"


Tae had seen the blade, but didn't have time to dive before she was tackled. At first, she didn't realize the one tackling her was on her side, and threw an elbow toward his face. She kicked out from under him and stooped against the wall. How could she know that he was on her side? This whole world was entirely new to her, and the only person in this entire group that she knew, was Akira. But this man had helped her, she supposed. "I'm sorry, I panicked." She attempted to apologize.
 
"I would have too in your position." He said wearily, shielding Tae again as Joker flipped onto the platform above her and him right before a Maragidyne hit, "Huh.... You've got the potential too.... Better find the catalyst for it before you get killed."

His clothes were smoldering from the fire based attack, the person Joker was fighting laughing like a crazed hyena as they joined the fight between the Phantom Thieves and the lesser shadows. Their presence made the lesser shadows run, alarming Ryuji whom wasted a shotgun shell. That alarm was spread as almost everyone's attacks were negated beyond Nuclear and Psy, which was absorbed.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Panther asked, slowly getting up again along with Noir and Skull.

"It's the merger of a cognition and one's shadow." He said, joining the Phantom Thieves as Joker took his place protecting Tae, "To be more exact, it's the merger of Shin Kazuhira's cognition of himself and his Shadow."

"How do you know?!" Mona asked, readying another shot in his slingshot as the cat looked at him alongside Joker, "How can that even possible?!"

"If I knew that, it wouldn't be....." He started saying with an annoyed tone but was cut off.

"How long are you gonna hide under that helmet, my true self?" The confirmed Shadow called, the knight from before reappearing and releasing a blast of thick fog which enveloped them all in a biting cold, "It's not your style to be so keen on anonymity."

"This isn't good.... Analysis ain't gonna work on him while the fog is around." He stated, backflipping to land next to Futaba as he drank the energy drink he'd received from her, "He used Absolute Zero, which means we have Ten minutes to chase him off or beat him before he does a Hyper charged Megidolaon!! He'll switch elemental resistances after each attack!! Pay attention to what he uses and hit the opposite before he can switch!!"
 
Tae looked from one figure in black to the other. "How...? She decided that her questions were best saved for later. For now, she readied herself to run or throw another elbow.

Futaba stood behind her friends and prepared to provide continual support and quick-change analysis. "Keep your eyes peeled." She spoke in barely a whisper, more for her own sake than anyone else's.
 
(By the way, I'll have Shin be near death for a bit so that Tae could possibly awaken her persona on the grounds that she won't sit back and watch anyone die. Don't worry, he'll come back into play with a vengeance when I feel ready for the finale. Oh, sorry for the world blurp.)

Joker's POV

Futaba's support was spot on as usual, putting them multiple moves ahead of Zero's apparent shadow for a good majority of the fight. Also Zero helped out as well, surprising everyone by summoning yet another persona via a blue notebook of some kind in his weakened state. He could sense that the persona Zero summoned was of the Lovers Arcana but it felt as though it was mirrored from someone else. Whom he wasn't too sure about.

"Grrrrrr....."

Zero's Shadow barely shrugged off an Atomic Flare from Queen, a demonic snarl on his face that looked all wrong for a human's anatomy. It didn't seem natural that a human face could look so twisted. Something about it chilled him to his core. Not since he and the rest of the Phantom Thieves were almost erased from reality had he felt the hopelessness that welled up with in him at that moment.

Did.... she.... abandon me.....?

"Whose voice was that?" Panther asked distractedly looking upwards at the pained disembodied voice, "Who's the voice talking about?"

"It sounded like sounded just like the Shadow's voice....." Noir spoke up, gripping her axe as she struggled to stand up from being downed along with Skull, "We need to stop Zero's Shadow before we pursue that...."

"GRRRRAAAAHHHHH.... I WON'T LOSE TO SELF-RIGHTEOUS FUCKS LIKE YOU!!!!" The Shadow screeched harshly, its now demonic voice almost drowning out the voice everyone heard as it's form changed, "NEVER..... I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO BEAT ME!!!!!"

For whatever reason, after hearing the male voice that sounded pained, his head whipped around in time to see the hand and a half sword hurdling through the air between his friend far faster than anyone could dodge. However, Zero hadn't dodged out of the way. He'd pushed Futaba out of harms way, taking the blade of the sword right in the chest on his right side. The force of the impact from being impaled knocked him backwards, and the force of his shadow put on the sword by pushing it downwards embedded the sword into the ground. His helmet shattering completely in two at it hit the ground, revealing the unapologetic glare and smirk that he gave his Shadow as he almost lesurely flipped it the Bird with both hand.

"Oh look..... I've cause a weakling version of me on my blade..... The Shadow chortled delightedly, actually going so far as to twist the blade with sickening glee as Zero somehow endured the agonizing experience without so much as a whimper, "What's the matter? You aren't gonna howl at the moon like you during the Thirteen years of physical abuse your Daddy put you through? That's a damn shame.... Looks like I missed your vital organs too...."

"You........." He breathed, Arsene erupting into wild blue flames as Sataneal appeared, a immensely powerful gust of wind with enough power to knock everyone over mark the ultimate form of his Persona's descent as it leveled the massive gun it carried Zero's transformed Shadow, "YOU SON OF A BIIIIITCH!!!"

"Come..... I'll play with you all until he dies!!! The Shadow laughed, kicking Zero in the side before being knocked down and away from the critically injured Trickster by a Brave Blade and Riot Gun from both him and Fox simultaneously.

"You will harm him no longer!!" Fox snapped, the sheath for his katana laying forgotten by Futaba as he hit Zero's downed Shadow with another Brave Blade.

"O-Oracle...." He fainted heard Zero call out, "That other me..... is partially a cognition.... Of how I.... used to be.... Its weakness.... is in... Its inability to... recognize ... when it's in a disadvantageous position....."

"So knock it reeling and keep it there...." Queen said nodding, just as infuriated about what she'd seen as Fox and Joker as she joined everyone in going into into Full Assault mode on the Shadow, "You got it....."

"Oracle, stay with him!! He needs you more!!" Mona called to Futaba, Zero's sacrifice touching the Bipedal cat in a way that only Joker could at that point.
 
(OC: Sorry this took so long, but I tried to do more research so that I didn't totally mess this up. So, I'm going to give it a try, and hopefully it works.)


Stunned, Futaba again took a knee by Shin's side and put her hand on his shoulders. "I'll do my best for you." She focused her support energy through him to try and recover his health. It took a lot of effort, but watching him do battle with himself made her certain it was worth it. Bright orbs of light flared up around them.

Takemi watched the shadowy monster twist the blade in the boy's chest. A sickening, burning fury ripped through her heart. "Maybe I don't know who you are or what this is," She snarled, her fists balling at her side. "but I will not stand here and do nothing while you slaughter innocent people!"

"So then, are you ready to get your hands dirty?" A deep, delicious female voice spoke to her in an echo. Somehow Takemi knew it was coming from inside her head, especially since it didn't bring a reaction from the others. "Well?"

"I...I am!" She replied aloud.

"Are you prepared to rain Death on those that take what is not theirs and destroy what they cannot enslave?" The voice purred.

"I am! Come forth, Medusa!!"

A black Plague Doctor's mask appeared over Tae's face. It was black, with a long nose and sharp eyes. Her clothing also transformed within a flash of light. Her strappy heels had become knee-high boots, covering fishnet stockings with snake designs up her thighs. She wore an iridescent black bodysuit, and a long, forest green cape over it all. Securing the cape was a pin shaped like a gorgon's head.

A phantasmagorical llamia appeared behind her. It's long green tail had golden morphs along the top and spread into her upper, humanoid half. The creature was bare-chested, and sported a nest of snakes where her hair should have been. She was wearing a blindfold, which she removed in preperation for battle.

"Now," Tae hissed, and thrust out a hand. "Die for me!" Her eyes glowed a blinding green as a curse was launched at the shadow of Shin.





(OOC: I know this was super long and descriptive, but I don't have a picture of her yet. And I also know that Medusa appeared in another Shin Megami game, but they're different. I hope that's okay?)
 
"Hooly Shiiiit!!" Joker heard Skull call out, before he turned to look at Tae right at the moment the sudden explosion of pressure from her following the deep seeded quake in his confidant bond with her.

"Welcome to the Masquerade!!" He called, lacking the ability to express everything he was feeling at the time as he looked upon her, "Don't hold back!!"

A bloodied version of Alice was summoned by Zero's Shadow, which countered Tae's Curse with the same one. The ensuing explosion covered for him to attack with Riot Gun again. He noticed that despite everyone fighting their hardest to win, they were hesitating on dealing any definitive blows that could harm the shadow. The sentiment was good, but he got the sense that Zero would want them to treat it as if their lives were on the line. Which, if he were honest, he kinda did see it that way.

"The Shadow is weakening due to it harming it's true self. However, in this circumstance, the true self must defeat the Shadow to being about a definitive end to this conflict."

The voice he heard was from Lavenza, the Velvet Room attendant whom had helped him during his last year here in Tokyo. The fact she made a reappearance jarred him slightly but didn't deter him. Though the news regarding the shadow was slightly disappointing. If Zero couldn't recover, they were in for a drawn out battle that they wouldn't ultimately win. They might even die if it went too long.

/Zero's POV/

"Y-You.... really should.... be helping them...." He coughed, weakly grasping Futaba's wrist but not pushing her away, "I'm not.... that important...."

His mind flashed back to a conversation he had, one where he had said something similar to someone with the username HoneyOTU about a year ago. He couldn't remember, but he thought they'd let him have it for thinking that way and said something about him being an idiot. He'd left it unchallenged because he somehow knew the person was right. It stung that he recalled that conversation at that moment.

"They were right..... about me....." He grunted, the hand on her wrist shifting to the blade in his chest, "I was.... an idiot back then.... and I haven't changed.... that much since then...."
 
"Shut up," Futaba teared up, trying not to weep openly. She rested her hand on his over the blade. "you wouldn't be here if you were still an idiot." She passed a fleeting glance at her team, fighting the seemingly undefeatable shadow. "Well, I guess if you are an idiot, at least you're a brave one." She continued to try and heal him, not feeling particularly smart herself for not seeing it before. "Zero...Shin... you have to be the one to kill it. I don't know exactly how, but you have to do it."

Although she knew nothing of Persona, save the epiphany of Medusa, Tae knew that there was something familiar about the floating girl that had reflected her curse. It had the same Death Aura as she did, and that led her to believe that all her attacks would just bounce off of it. I'm at a loss." She growled. "Someone may have to step in." She didn't back away until she recieved a sign, as she didn't want to give him the opportunity to strike without reaction.
 
/Zero/

"Don't weep.... for the stupid...." He laughed with a ragged cough, his other hand reaching up to touch Futaba's cheek as a butterfly appeared in his vison between them, "You'll be crying.... all day....."

There was a spark of reawakening within him, which shattered the blade in his chest at the same moment his shadow let out a screech of agony. The bloodied version of Alice seemed to waver, then kneel covering her ears as she vanished. That changed the whole direction of the battle as everyone saw a blue aura-like smoke rip away from the shadow and be absorbed by him.

"So, you're finally ready to start fighting at your full potential. It's about time you embarked your path." Came the unfamiliar, condescending voice that he instantly associated with his version of Izanagi no Okami echoing around him as if it was spoken from the very world itself, "You've been forced to shoulder the burdens of a corrupt person's ambition for too long."

"My path was never allowed to be my own until a few years ago.... You know that...." He grunted, sitting up as he gently pushed Futaba aside, "It wasn't until now that I had the strength to say enough....."

"Are you prepared to bear the weight of your path upon your shoulders while taking the world from those whom would poison it?"

"Heh heh... Need you even ask...." He chuckled as the Shadow looked in horror at him, "I'll carve my own path in this world.... While bringing the paths of those whom oppress others to an end!!"

/Joker/

He had Yoshitune pull its attack at the last second as the blooded version of Alice vanished suddenly. The crazy thing about the moment was right as Alice disappeared, he noticed the persona seemed to be crying as if in pain. In hindsight, the large Knight persona had been in pain as well as it had had chains of barbed wire binding it. Almost as if the pain the two persona were in was holding them prisoner. It opened his mind to another possibility as the knowledge brought his bloodlust filled conscious back to a functional state.

"Guys, I think we're going at this wro......" He started, landing next to Tae after some deft acrobatic moves while shooting his gun, Nataraja, "What the hell....?!"

He swayed, suddenly needing to lean on Tae as he saw the card of The World Arcana appear in his left hand. The rumble he felt coming from it was incredible. It felt as if the World was answering the call of an unknown source. He'd never imagined he could feel something so vast be focused into one focal point. As he marveled at this discovery, he started to sense some kind of Persona representing the World Arcana readying itself to appear in a weakened state as he made out some echoing words.

".....If you are set in this path, Dark Trickster, then allow me.... To shed light of the fog shrouded path you now walk!!"

The next thing he knew, he was struggling to rise to his feet as he looked up at a Persona that radiated a pressure that was on par with Sataneal the first time he called the persona forth. No.... The pressure was greater, as the persona gave of the presence of an angered God.

"That looks like Izanagi...... But it different...." He whimpered to himself as the large persona seemed to look right at him, "But.... It feel..... familiar...."

"Tch.... I'm not scared of a damn God.... I'll bury him too!!" Zero's Shadow yelled, using Sword Dance on the new threat only for said threat to knock down the swords with its own weapon.

"Tae, there's an opening." He stated, realizing Zero's Shadow was completely open to an attack now, "Try again now!"
 
At first, Futaba tried to restrain Zero from standing, since she had not fully healed him yet. But upon hearing him speak to somethin that wasn't there, she stepped back and let him stand. His hand upon her cheek had felt so cold, and it frightened her deeply. But knowing that he had lost the blade in his chest and was still able to move put the hope of recovery back into her.

"Mamudoon!" Tae shouted. Her eyes again took on the blinding green glow. As she supported Joker, she was grateful her attacks seemed to be more magical than those who who had been using weapons. Although she asserted they had their place, it meant that she didn't have to let him go to attack. But as much as she was physically there to support him, all her attention was focused on the destruction of the shadow. An intense hatred filled her, and then was forced out of her skull like a canon. Once the attack had been fired, she felt shakey and had a massive headache.
 
/Zero/

The Phantom Thieves seemed to understand something big was happing, as they cleared the way for him when he stepped up. His injuries, healed to non-life threatening levels by both Futaba's efforts and Izanagi No Okami's presence, throbbed in time with his heart as he watched his Shadow try to get up from Tae's attack. All he felt was annoyance, since he knew his shadow would be an ever-present part of his struggle. But right now, his Shadow was a pain.

"Nothing personal.... I'm just tired of you..." He said, picking up the replica Five-seveN and aiming it at his Shadow, "Say hi to Korsika for me...."

"I won't be beaten!d" His Shadow yelled, running at him as as a bloodied version of Alexander appeared.

"And Jackpot..... Izanagi!!"

One shot, that was all he gave it. The pistol in his hand barked as the shadow shattered like broken stained glass. Izanagi no Okami, making itself known to all the Phantom Thieves by materializing via metaphorical Ziodyne storm, dispatched the corrupted version of Alexander with a casual sword stroke. That left the dark persona headless as it was absorbed into Izanagi No Okami the same way the remains of the Shadow was absorbed into him.


/Joker/

"Don't worry.... I won't have a mental shutdown." Zero said, pocketing the pistol the Shadow had brought as he intercepted Skull's question, "I might be a cold heartless prick for a week or so but that's about normal for things that happen in result of incidents in Limbo"

"How do you know so much about this?" He asked, supporting Tae as he glanced at Futaba.

"Applied field practice with Cognitive Psience." Zero stated, in a remarkably similar fashion to Futaba, "The rules of the Metaverse don't exactly apply to Limbo. If someone doesn't see you as a threat, you really can't do dick to them unless their cognition of you is changed.

Now, I'd be happy to answer questions but we need to go. I don't know how long I'm gonna remain on my feet and I rather not pass out here."
 
Futaba wobbled a little. All the energy she'd used to support the others and bring Zero back from the brink had taken their toll. Standing by, Fox caught her arm.

"I think we could all do with some rest." He sighed. "Your shadow was...tougher than what most of us are used to. And from the sound of things, nothing will make this easier."

Tae rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "I still have medical supplies, but I don't thing I've got anything to treat...whatever the hell that was." She looked down her plague doctor's nose to her hands. So many questions had come to mind, but she knew at once they would be best saved for later. "I don't even know how I just did all that. I guess it wasn't really me...more...Medusa."
 
"Can't blame it for being tough." Zero grunted, pulling out his phone and punching something into it, "It's a reflection of me after all...."

"And you've been through Hell and back." Joker said, feeling like he understood Zero a little better, "To a point, I think can imagine and understand what that was like."

"Trust me, unless you've been beaten black and blue with a homemade pry bar and forced yourself to laug in your assailant's face while it was happening and asking for another blow," Zero chuckled darkly, "I doubt you can understand what I've endured that well. Oh, you awoke to a Persona by the way, Phage."

He visibly winced with surprise as he felt the establishment of a new Confidant link with Zero, which took the Confidant link he had with Goro Akechi. It worried him, but he wasn't sure why. He would have to be careful. He didn't want a repeat of what happened to Akechi. It was something he wasn't sure he could handle a second time.

"Oh my god..." Panther said, surprise and horror playing across her face as Joker tilted his head.

"You're effin' insane, man..." Skull mumbled, before blinking.

"Maybe so, Pirate Boy....." Zero said while moving to kneel in front of Futaba, "But I'm not as crazy as you believe me to be. Here, get on Oracle. I'll carry you to the exit."

"You were just stabbed in the chest!" Morgana balked with surprise as Noir leaned on her axe, "Shouldn't you be taking precautions as to not aggravate the injury?!"

"Yo Phage, you mentioned you had medical supplies..." Zero said, ignoring Morgana as he glanced at Tae, "You have anything to bandage and wrap my chest up with along with some painkillers?"
 
Tae raised an eyebrow as she pulled a few things from her kit. "Phage?" She questioned. She held out the gauze and tape as a cue to Zero to remove his shirt and cloak.

Fuutaba stood and brushed herself off. "Thanks," she grinned. "but I can take care of myself. Can't have you making me look bad in front of the other thieves." She winked.
 
"Meh, have it your way" Zero shrugged before he unclasped his cloak and handed it off to Queen, "Don't say I didn't offer later."

"I get it..." Joker said as Zero partially undressed, making Panther and Noir look away while blushing profusely as Skull and Mona stared with surprised jealousy, "The mask..."

"Biiingo... Fucking nailed it." Zero nodded, pointing at Joker with a smirk before looking at Tae, "That mask reminds me of one you'd expect to see during a plague epidemic. One that you would not want to see actually."

Joker, looking over Zero's torso, had to admit he saw why Panther and Noir looked away like they had. He was pretty well built, muscular but not obnoxiously so. If anything he looked like someone had scrapped him out of a fitness magazine and dumped him in front of them. Skull had to be gritting his teeth to nubs right now out of envy. He certainly was, but he trusted Tae not to be drawn in by Zero's surprising physique.

"We generally have codenames to keep our identities hidden." He explained to Tae, hands going into his pockets, "We didn't want to find out what effects blurting out our names would have on the palaces we entered before. So it was decided that each Phantom Thief would have a code name."

"Correct," Mona chimed, hopping from foot to foot briefly before eying Zero, "We didn't know what would happen so we took a precaution against the unknown."
 
"Ah-ha, I see." Tae smiled beneath her mask as she knelt to apply the dressing to Zero's wound. Admittedly, he was in good shape, but if she could tune out deformities that weren't treatable, she could tune out a well-toned ab or two in favor of someone more comfortable. "So it's short for Bacteriophage, or from the Greek, 'to devour'. Neat." She finished applying the dressing and stood. "I've never had a code name before. Pretty cool, I guess." She turned to Akira. "What was yours?"

Futaba smiled and rested her fists on her hips. "He's Joker." She decided to take the wind out of his sails before she could get an answer out of him.

"Joker, huh?" Tae laughed. "That's not exactly what I would've picked, but maybe I read too many comics as a kid."
 
"It fits." Zero stated as he stood, putting everything he took off back on as he turned to Tae, "I just met him and can tell Joker fits him. He's like a wild card in a card deck. He can fit into just about any hand combination you can have in a game of poker if used at the right moment."

Joker shook his head, slightly surprised with the analogue Zero used. It seemed he had a witty side to him that was surprisingly sharp and to the point. He was also surprised by how on target his words were. He decided to keep an eye on Zero in order to see what made him who he was. It wouldn't hurt to much to do that for now.

"She's Oracle." He said grinning, ruffling Futaba's hair playfully with his right hand before pointing to each Phantom thief in turn, "That's Skull, Mona, Panther, Fox, Queen, and Noir."

The brotherly side of him that developed from spending time with Futaba was coming out again. He realized it for what it was after him as his friends were almost erased from history. She was the first person he found, and the one he'd been most relieved to find. Still, now wasn't the time for reminiscing. They had to get out of this place.

"Let's save this for later. How do we return to the real world from here?" He asked, to which Zero snorted and gestured with a thumb.

"Take a train to the next stop." He said, cloak hiding his arms as he walked over to the tracks as a distorted train stopped at the platform, "Trains in Limbo have three functions. They act as transportation to and from the Metaverse, act as safe areas that can take you to a palace, and ferry you through the new version of Momentos. However, you'll need a "Conductor" to use the trains in Limbo. And from the looks of things, I'm it."
 
Tae couldn't help but smirk a little mischievously at Zero's assessment of Akira's codename. While Zero had most certainly been talking about hands of poker, she couldn't help compare the notion to her own hands. She knew him to be a wildcard, even before she'd ever heard of the metaverse.

Futaba's response to getting her hair ruffled was the same as it's ever been; making cat noises and pretending to bat his hand away without really putting effort behind it. There was something very comforting about things like that, even in a near-death envirnment. She wished she could tell him how much she appreciated it, but knew it was best saved for later. And besides, she was sure he already knew.

"So, we could see the trains without accessing them in Mementos," Fox began. "but you can actually get aboard them here? Fascinating."

(OOC: I honestly forgot if you could use the trains in Mementos, but I didn't think you could. So...sorry if I kind of look like an idiot right now.)
 
(Ooc: I don't think you had the option to use trains. It was all walking or riding in Morgana when he was a bus. I'm playing it as the Metaverse evolved when it returned and new options and paths opened up.)

"Yeah, The trains will work in Momentos but it has one hell of a ticket checker to make sure you get off.." Zero nodded, before his expression hardened, "Whelp, time to go. Mr. Reaper is hurdling down the tracks in a hurry."

He was on the train first, sitting in a corner as everyone else joined him. Joker, having taken both Tae and Fataba's hands as he jumped on almost last. He sat across from Zero, The others sitting or standing near him as the train started moving alarmingly fast. A number of cards drifted up from Zero's pocket, equal to the number of people in the train car. The cards were absorbed into everyone's phones as Joker checked.

"That was a conductor's calling card." Zero informed, showing a card that seemed to pulse with enengy, "Basically tells me when you want to go to either Limbo or Momentos. Advanced note, any moderate to severe collateral damage done in Limbo will exist in reality so try not to wreck anything of value.v
 
(OOC: sorry it's taken so long to get back to you.)

Rae and Futaba took Joker's hand and leaped onto the train. Rae found jumping strangely easier now that she'd made her contract with her persona. She felt so much faster and stronger, and though she might not say it aloud, everything she was wearing aside from the mask, made her feel really attractive.

For the first time, Tar checked her phone to see that the card had made it there. That's when she noticed the new app. "Hey, what's this?"

"Oh, that's the Nav App." Futaba explained what it was and what it did briefly as they rode the train.
 
(Ooc: It's okay, I've been in a bit of a skid with replies. Haven't felt much in terms of muse.)

After a few minutes, they found themselves back in reality in a relatively empty train car. At the same time, Akira noticed Zero kinda slump into a rail for a moment after sitting. He noted that he recovered quick, but was favoring his torso pretty badly now. Concerned, he used the hand he was using to hold Tae's hand to draw Tae's attention to Zero. He realized Zero must have been in far more pain than he originally let on.

A guy in a suit shoved himself between Akira and Futaba, almost wrenching Akira's elbow out of place as the former was forced to let go of the later. The guy barely regarded Akira but turned on Futaba as if to berate her for something. Something that didn't happen as Zero unceremoniously cold cocked him with a right hook. Crazily, Zero's left arm had wrapped protectively around Futaba as well. Something that Akira noticed had happened almost instinctively on Zero's part.

"Sorry Mr. Kayaba, but I'm not interested in hearing your misogynistic bullshit right now." Zero snarled, trying not to lean on Futaba too heavily as he glared at the man laid out darkly, "It's bad enough you run a escort service out of you law firm."

"Tae...." Akira said, noticing how unsteady Zero was.
 
"Do you know that creep?" Futaba asked Zero quietly, leaning into his embrace and away from the man, barely managing to rise to his feet. "What the heck is his problem?"

Tae leaned forward and tapped Zero to get his attention. "Why don't we go back to my clinic in Inaba. I can have a better look at your wound there and give you something for the pain."

"And you can rest at La Blanc." Futaba added. "It's only a couple blocks away. If you don't mind?"
 
"Unfortunately, yes." Zero said with a scornful shake of his head as he felt too battered to react to Tae's tapping him, "He's the head of the law firm hired to deal with the legal dealings of Kazuhira Arms and Forge. He's biggest aspiration is to run Tokyo's court system so people whom he works for/with can benefit with proverbial "Get out of Jail free" cards.

"He came into prominence after Masayoshi Shido had a change a heart two years ago. A compulsive narcissistic liar with a firm belief that women are good only as bed warmers or worse. Rumor has it he forces high school girls into his personal harem he stashes on a yacht somewhere in Tokyo Bay but it's unconfirmed since none of the girls are seen again."

Zero shrugged at Tae's suggested course of action after his little information blurt, not feeling the urge to argue or having the strength to really do anything else. Still, with some introspection and self analysis, he realized the odds of making it to Tae's Clinic before he passed out from the pain and from the blood he'd lost were slim. He had to rest, and he had to do it soon.

"Something tells me he won't be able to make the trip to the Clinic." Akira said, moving to take a majority of Zero's weight of Futaba, "Let's split for now and get him to Lablanc. I don't think he can stay in a vertical basis much longer. Tae, we'll head to the clinic and grab everything you'll that may help. Futaba, I'm sorry to ask, but can you stay with him until I get there with Tae?"
 
Futaba embraced him to keep him standing, using all of her strength. "You can count on me, captain." She still managed a smile and confident nod, despite being nearly overwhelmed with concern. Firstly, for Zero's bell-being, and second, for the girls he'd mentioned in his exposition-dump before passing out. Matoko helped to steady him, as he was taller than she was.

"I'll help her get him back to Lablanc before heading home." Matoko offered. "I'll be able to look through the files on Kazuhira and report back to you guys soon after."

Tae nodded. "And we'll go and get the supplies I think I'll need and meet you back at the cafe, Futaba. In the meantime, prop him up so that his chest is at least above his knees. Does that make sense?"

"Got it." She replied, as she and Matoko exited the train with Zero between them. They moved slowly through Inaba, drawing a few people's attention. One man even stopped them and asked what was wrong. Futaba told him it was a biking accident, and he recommended the Takemi Clinic. Finally, they got him through the front doors and nearly through the lounge when they were discovered by Sojiro.

"Hey, what's going on?" He demanded, "Is that guy...bleeding?"
 
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