Warning Warning Warning; gonna short circuit my identity || Fourth Wall // Action EVERYWHERE

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[It was supposed to be an average morning. Well, except for the sudden waking up no thanks to his Mareep brushing up against him and frazzling him with static. And the Pidgey he caught thwapping him in the face with her wings to help with the waking up effort.

But then something happened that made him nearly fall out of his spot as he stretched his hand out to block out the sudden sunlight in his face. He wasn't even in bed at Talim's home anymore. Nor was he, well, anywhere near Mahogany. How in the--?

And then there was the voice in his head. One very, very familiar voice. He had to see if what he was feeling was true, and so he stretches his hand out, palm facing up, closing it tightly--

And there it was, the shards of a card giving way to Izanagi-no-Okami.

What. The hell.]

Comments

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[Izanagi shifts to face them, guarded, ready to protect his keeper at any moment, but definitely not out to attack. Mareep and Pidgey make their way over to Souji and do their equivalent of squinting as well, about as confused over the whole situation as the rest.

Souji stares at the Gucumatz for a moment, and motions to it for Walter as he looks to him again. Oy, keep him in check, why don't ya. :|]

This is a Persona, not a demon.

[beholdmydemons]

[....

It takes Walter a moment to catch the meaning of that gesture, but once he does, a few quick taps to his Gauntlet's screen return the demons to stock. (Gucumatz whines out a rumbling "nooo I'm hungry" as he vanishes.) A few of his Pokemon follow suit, leaving behind only a Vulpix crouched near Walter's leg with his ears pricked nervously, and a Houndoom whose serious stance is slowly morphing into a wiggling, air-sniffing aura of curiosity.]

That's a relief... [Something blinks on his Gauntlet.] Persona, huh? I'll make a note of that. [Beep.]

[He doesn't put his sword away, but seems to have relaxed and isn't holding it up anymore. He is still studying Izanagi, though. Huh.] I've never thought that you were from the same world as I, but for a moment there...

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[...He's glad he made that gesture, because nope, he is not going to let himself become dragon food. NOPE.

Souji blinks for more than a few seconds at the gauntlet. There it was again, that voice he'd heard just a moment ago...his attention drifts back to Walter's statement, though; he'll have to ask about that later.]

Did you think I was bad company? [Yup, talk about having your sentence finished for you.]

[beholdmydemons]

Huh? [That's an odd way to phrase it, for him, and Walter gets it after a beat.] Oh. Hah, you don't seem a miscreant, but demon-summoners in Tokyo are always trouble. [He shrugs.] Are you trouble?

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[He shakes his head. Nnnnnnope, mild mannered Souji? Trouble? The people who still recognize him after all this time would probably say otherwise, too.] Why would I be?

[beholdmydemons]

[Walter laughs.] Well enough. There's no way of knowing, especially with how this day's been.

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

You said it. It's weird enough that I went all the way from Mahogany to here in my sleep...

[Next thing they know, something's going to port them off, or they'll start hearing things.

...Wait though.]

...Er, where is here, anyway?

[beholdmydemons]

[SHRUGS AGAIN] It's no road I've traveled before. I've been on it for nearly an hour.

An hour and twelve minutes, actually.

...Right. And then there's how everything from our own worlds seems to have returned.

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

...It's not an unwelcome change, but still. [Awfully awkward time for it to come back, isn't it? Ahh, well.

...Oh look, a cliff near them. He'll just pull himself up so he can sit down and rest his legs--...wait, wasn't this supposed to not work out so well? How on--

...Nevermind, he'll just. Peek down at Walter again, more specifically, his gauntlet.]

That's no ordinary gauntlet, is it?

[beholdmydemons]

[...Yeah how the hell did you do that...

Walter opens his mouth to answer, but Burroughs beats him to the punch.] That's right. This Gauntlet is designed for use in combat with demons; it's loaded with the Demon Summoning Application for negotiation with and storage of demonic allies, as well as a secure audiovisual communication feature, a compendium of demon-related resources, and a direct uplink to the Cathedral of Shadows fusion server - and, of course, the navigational intelligence that's giving you the grand tour, Burroughs.

...Sorry to cut you off, Master.

[Walter looks vaguely bewildered, plunking himself down against that ledge with his legs crossed.] It's not as though I could explain it half as well.

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

[Hell if he knows, this world is weird enough as it is 8|

Going to let that sink in for a bit, because that was some seriously advanced talk he was listening to just now, on top of, well, demons, mythological creatures of all sorts. And unlike his Personas, they were real.

Scary thought, that... he returns his look to Walter.]

She seems pretty helpful, though. [Was it a she? The voice sounded distinctly female...though what is giving gender to machinery.]

[beholdmydemons]

Why, thank you. [Walter has never really known what to think of Burroughs beyond her direct support, so he just kind of. Shrugs at that.]

I imagine we'd be long dead without her. Or not bothering with demons at all. Save the Gauntlets, there's nothing like this - computers - in Mikado. And you can bring down a demon with naught but a sword, but...only for so long.

[the_tv_is_a_lie]

Don't mention it. [One nod to the voice from the Gauntlet, before he turns to Walter.]

Sounds like this isn't the first time you've dealt with them...

[beholdmydemons]

I've been a Samurai for some time. Doing battle with demons is how we spend our lives. ["Some time" is probably an exaggeration - it hasn't even been a year. No loss to him, though.]