Yeah, well. You guys weren't the only ones being manipulated the whole time, you know? The fact you did what you did, especially with all that? It's pretty huge. But... okay! My memories it is, then. Easy.
Hey, maybe! [ she grins. she got what makoto was...trying? to say, at least. ] So, there's a lab before we go in. They'll give you this neural transmitter thing for the projection--it's basically like a clip-on earring. Hopefully, they've worked out some of the bugs by now...
[ aaaand this is it. lab. minako takes the offered transmitter and puts it on. ]
Yeah, the Amphoria Room's through there. Right? [ she says it kind of in a way meant to remind herself just as much, and one of the prismal scientists nods. ] Right!
[ aaaand minako leads on. it's a larger, open space with high ceilings, fit for a holographic projection like this. she closes her eyes, and around them, the floors, walls, ceilings all shift and shimmer, seemingly replaced with concrete, the night sky. the lights of other parts of the city shine in the distance, and behind the gate in front of them stands gekkoukan high school.
the clock tower on the school reads 11:59.
there are a few people, part of the projection, milling about maybe thirty feet off. ]
Okay... if this works the way it's supposed to, you're about to see something wild, Makoto-chan!
[Sorry, Minako, she's going to need a moment. She's taking everything she just saw all in and is mesmerized by just how REAL everything is inside this room.]
[ well. hopefully that passes soon, she sees the huge clock ticking. minako can't help smiling at how blown away makoto seems to be--this place was a lot for her too, the first time she went in. ]
[That broke her reverie and suddenly her focus gets drawn to Minako. A soft blush comes to her face as she realizes that she was caught off-guard.]
Y-Yes... when you described this I was expecting something a little less... dramatic. Actually, I don't know what I was expecting, but this is amazing.
[ the clock strikes twelve. on the first chime it suddenly halts, and the night sky changes in a shimmering wave that rapidly ripples out from a point right in front of them. the moon hangs massive in a dark green sky, casting a sickly green light over the town. the city lights go dark. the illusory mist of very light rain coming down turns blood-red, as do the puddles on the ground.
where the people had stood, there are just coffins, upright. before them, the school warps, shifts, becomes an impossible tower stretching above the clouds.
minako's breath catches in her throat, just for a moment. ]
[So does Makoto, transfixed at the transformation that took place. Sure, there was a kind of distortion -- a change in the air -- when they entered a Palace, but this was much more abrupt. Like the metaverse was invading and taking over the real world.]
...I... see...
[She looks up at the tower.] ...yes, this is definitely a metaverse...
... More like a beacon, I guess? In more than one way, too.
[ the projection glitches, like a stuttering video. minako suddenly dreads where this is going, face paling as she turns her attention to tartarus. in a moment they're atop the tower--where else could they be, with parts of the cloud layer visible around the circular stage? the moon hangs even more impossibly, seeming to be in front of the higher clouds. four figures--another minako and three others harder to pick out, glitching in the projection--are maneuvering against a towering, multi-winged figure with a blank face like a comedy mask. ]
No, no, no, no...
[ they don't seem to pay either of them any heed. the boss speaks, with a warped and multifold voice. ]
The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate... Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed...
[She's in awe... and is suitably terrified. But everything is okay so long as Minako is doing okay, right? Expecting to see the same confidence as always, Makoto looks to her side... only to see that Minako is definitely NOT okay.]
[She is transfixed, but... no. No, this isn't right. No one should have to reveal what they didn't want to.]
[Like lightning Makoto is right in front of Minako. Her hands clasp her arms and she looks her dead in the eyes.]
Minako-chan! Minako-chan, look at me! How do we stop this?
[She wanted to end it forcibly. It would be easy, to just pluck off the ear clasp from her. But what if that caused more harm? She needed to make sure that she was safe, first and foremost...]
[ she snaps out of her reverie and stops staring wide-eyed at nyx's avatar, to look at makoto. ]
It's--we could get them to turn it off, maybe, but--
[ minako exhales, then draws in a deep breath, grasping to try to return that physical contact a bit to reassure makoto in return. and wow ok the projected version of herself is definitely just using her evoker right there, huh. cool. that's a whole other conversation she doesn't want to have. ]
Maybe it's better if you guys know what happened...? This isn't going to hurt us, it's not real.
[ another glitch, jumping much further forward than before. nyx speaks again, raising its train car sized sword mid-spiel. ]
The moment man devoured the fruit of knowledge, he sealed his fate. Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope. Yet the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed... Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are... Death awaits you.
[Makoto appreciates the resolution in Minako's eyes and gives her a confident nod. With that cleared up she turns around to face t his... thing... Okay, what is it that they were seeing here?]
[A being...? Or was it a God? The memories were coming to her of facing the Holy Grail. Whatever that entity was, it was a powerful manifestation, and the four that were facing it was struggling to keep it contained.]
[Though she doesn't really remember much, she could practically feel the shift in the arcana. The previous iterations that it was facing at first were only a fragmented piece of its true power. This, its most current form, was not as flamboyant as its first -- the Magician -- buts attacks were more honed, more keen to strike and more sweeping in effect. Yet despite the danger it was presenting, Makoto didn't sense that it particularly desired to fight. No, the four figures were standing in defiance. If anything, they were standing in its way.]
What would happen if it is able to get down from this tower?
[Her eyes did not move as she asked the girl standing next to her the question.]
Wrong question, Makoto-chan--it's not trying to. It was right where it wanted to be. It was... I don't know, toying with us? There wasn't any beating Nyx, that's not even the main body.
[ she swallows, eyes hard as she looks at a memory of what had once been a close friend, trying to bring the end of everything--casting brutal waves of magic one moment, shielding itself the next. ]
[ there's a hard look on minako's face as she watches. eventually, it goes down. some voices--"did we do it?"--but.
it starts to float upwards in the sky. ]
Such a pity... You understand fate, yet you still fight against it with all your will... If more people were like you, then perhaps the Fall could have been prevented... ...but it's too late now.
[ the warped, impossibly prominent full moon starts to crack. peel. beneath its surface, a massive red eye stares down towards tartarus. towards the earth. the avatar reaches out towards the eye with a beam of light, before ascending to join it. ]
Down there, all of those people who weren't aware of the Dark Hour... the coffins were being undone. They were seeing this, and... a lot of them had wanted it.
[She's seen this before... not this scene, certainly, but she had seen the resignation within the hearts of humanity. Their lives were so distorted, so broken, that they could not see the world as it truly was. That the skyline rose with broken bones and blood raining from the sky.]
This was... different. But I've been worried about some of what Joker's told me...
[ that gets minako's attention, and she rubs at makoto's upper back, pulling her a little closer. there's a crushing psychic weight that seems to bear down on the projection of sees, along with the distant noises of screaming and utter chaos from the city below.
the scene glitches forward again. blue walls. blue everything, save for the checkerboard floor and gold accents here and there. the velvet room. (the accompanying aria and piano cut in like a needle skipping a groove.) a large elevator this time, judging from the shifting light and the huge doors that seem to serve as the far wall. in front of it, there's a desk where igor sits--hands folded as ever, with a glowing tarot card spinning in front of him-- with a woman standing near him who appears similar to lavenza, but older, with a bob cut and a sleeveless blue dress.
the projection of minako sits before the desk, in a chair whose back matches orpheus's lyre. ]
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Yeah, well. You guys weren't the only ones being manipulated the whole time, you know? The fact you did what you did, especially with all that? It's pretty huge. But... okay! My memories it is, then. Easy.
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Er... ah! [Did she mess up? She messed up, didn't she...]
Of course, I am totally okay with a mutual sharing of experiences! I don't want you to think that I would want this to be entirely one sided...
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Oh, no, no, it's not that! But either way, I should probably go first, right? Since I've done it before...
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And if something goes wrong, maybe I will be the one to help you out of a dangerous situation.
[That... was supposed to be more supportive than how it came out.]
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[ aaaand this is it. lab. minako takes the offered transmitter and puts it on. ]
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[Hesitant but willing, she takes the device and attaches it to her ear like she saw Minako.]
Do we need to go to another room?
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[ aaaand minako leads on. it's a larger, open space with high ceilings, fit for a holographic projection like this. she closes her eyes, and around them, the floors, walls, ceilings all shift and shimmer, seemingly replaced with concrete, the night sky. the lights of other parts of the city shine in the distance, and behind the gate in front of them stands gekkoukan high school.
the clock tower on the school reads 11:59.
there are a few people, part of the projection, milling about maybe thirty feet off. ]
Okay... if this works the way it's supposed to, you're about to see something wild, Makoto-chan!
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Hey, you good?
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Y-Yes... when you described this I was expecting something a little less... dramatic. Actually, I don't know what I was expecting, but this is amazing.
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[ the clock strikes twelve. on the first chime it suddenly halts, and the night sky changes in a shimmering wave that rapidly ripples out from a point right in front of them. the moon hangs massive in a dark green sky, casting a sickly green light over the town. the city lights go dark. the illusory mist of very light rain coming down turns blood-red, as do the puddles on the ground.
where the people had stood, there are just coffins, upright. before them, the school warps, shifts, becomes an impossible tower stretching above the clouds.
minako's breath catches in her throat, just for a moment. ]
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...I... see...
[She looks up at the tower.] ...yes, this is definitely a metaverse...
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[ she leans against the gate. ]
The tower is called Tartarus. It was the center of all of it--the gathering point for everyone's misery and despair.
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Like a lighting rod? Or a beacon?
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[ the projection glitches, like a stuttering video. minako suddenly dreads where this is going, face paling as she turns her attention to tartarus. in a moment they're atop the tower--where else could they be, with parts of the cloud layer visible around the circular stage? the moon hangs even more impossibly, seeming to be in front of the higher clouds. four figures--another minako and three others harder to pick out, glitching in the projection--are maneuvering against a towering, multi-winged figure with a blank face like a comedy mask. ]
No, no, no, no...
[ they don't seem to pay either of them any heed. the boss speaks, with a warped and multifold voice. ]
Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope.
Yes, the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed...
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Minako-chan...? What is going on...?
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[ nyx continues its spiel, heedless. ]
[ a glowing and spinning tarot card descends in front of the boss's face. the magician. a girl's voice speaks up, similar to how oracle's might. ]
Nyx's Arcana changed to The Magician!? Be careful, its properties have changed!
[ another glitch, more of the projection skipping forward. ]
The silent voice within one's heart whispers the most profound wisdom.
[ another card descends: the high priestess. ]
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[She is transfixed, but... no. No, this isn't right. No one should have to reveal what they didn't want to.]
[Like lightning Makoto is right in front of Minako. Her hands clasp her arms and she looks her dead in the eyes.]
Minako-chan! Minako-chan, look at me! How do we stop this?
[She wanted to end it forcibly. It would be easy, to just pluck off the ear clasp from her. But what if that caused more harm? She needed to make sure that she was safe, first and foremost...]
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It's--we could get them to turn it off, maybe, but--
[ minako exhales, then draws in a deep breath, grasping to try to return that physical contact a bit to reassure makoto in return. and wow ok the projected version of herself is definitely just using her evoker right there, huh. cool. that's a whole other conversation she doesn't want to have. ]
Maybe it's better if you guys know what happened...? This isn't going to hurt us, it's not real.
[ another glitch, jumping much further forward than before. nyx speaks again, raising its train car sized sword mid-spiel. ]
Entrusting his future to the cards, man clings to a dim hope.
Yet the Arcana is the means by which all is revealed...
Beyond the beaten path lies the absolute end. It matters not who you are... Death awaits you.
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[A being...? Or was it a God? The memories were coming to her of facing the Holy Grail. Whatever that entity was, it was a powerful manifestation, and the four that were facing it was struggling to keep it contained.]
[Though she doesn't really remember much, she could practically feel the shift in the arcana. The previous iterations that it was facing at first were only a fragmented piece of its true power. This, its most current form, was not as flamboyant as its first -- the Magician -- buts attacks were more honed, more keen to strike and more sweeping in effect. Yet despite the danger it was presenting, Makoto didn't sense that it particularly desired to fight. No, the four figures were standing in defiance. If anything, they were standing in its way.]
What would happen if it is able to get down from this tower?
[Her eyes did not move as she asked the girl standing next to her the question.]
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[ she swallows, eyes hard as she looks at a memory of what had once been a close friend, trying to bring the end of everything--casting brutal waves of magic one moment, shielding itself the next. ]
Nyx was here because humans called her.
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[She has nothing to say. Nothing she COULD say.]
[The only thing she could do is watch. Watch and know that somehow, someway, this event will end.]
[She does not expect this to end well.]
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it starts to float upwards in the sky. ]
You understand fate, yet you still fight against it with all your will...
If more people were like you, then perhaps the Fall could have been prevented...
...but it's too late now.
[ the warped, impossibly prominent full moon starts to crack. peel. beneath its surface, a massive red eye stares down towards tartarus. towards the earth. the avatar reaches out towards the eye with a beam of light, before ascending to join it. ]
Down there, all of those people who weren't aware of the Dark Hour... the coffins were being undone. They were seeing this, and... a lot of them had wanted it.
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[She's seen this before... not this scene, certainly, but she had seen the resignation within the hearts of humanity. Their lives were so distorted, so broken, that they could not see the world as it truly was. That the skyline rose with broken bones and blood raining from the sky.]
It wasn't enough... once... wasn't enough...
...how many times... will it come to this?
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[ that gets minako's attention, and she rubs at makoto's upper back, pulling her a little closer. there's a crushing psychic weight that seems to bear down on the projection of sees, along with the distant noises of screaming and utter chaos from the city below.
the scene glitches forward again. blue walls. blue everything, save for the checkerboard floor and gold accents here and there. the velvet room. (the accompanying aria and piano cut in like a needle skipping a groove.) a large elevator this time, judging from the shifting light and the huge doors that seem to serve as the far wall. in front of it, there's a desk where igor sits--hands folded as ever, with a glowing tarot card spinning in front of him-- with a woman standing near him who appears similar to lavenza, but older, with a bob cut and a sleeveless blue dress.
the projection of minako sits before the desk, in a chair whose back matches orpheus's lyre. ]
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