The Last Poster Wins! [V9]

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Margaret: Ah...You know what a Persona is already. Excellent...I am surprised nobody among you thought to ask what this place even was to begin with. The Velvet Room is...Not a room, per-say. It is a location in the collective unconscious of mankind, some space between conscious and unconscious, floating in the sea of souls...If it sounds somewhat poetic, then it is. Explaining what this all is would take much time, and-

*Suddenly, a graphical glitch impairs the windows and the shuttle rocks violently. The glitchy effect resides quickly and the ship resumes proper course.*

Margaret:...We do not have much of it...Less than I thought, it would seem.

For those of you not nearly as well-learned as the mechanical construct...A Persona is a creature created of your own ego when it has developed enough. By this, I mean, you understand yourselves, including the negative concepts. Especially the negative concepts. This is a very simplified explanation of what a Persona is, but it is best you work with this for now. What a Persona truly is in full is a more complex subject. Very few can even summon Personas to begin with, and most go unaware of the ability, as they are not chosen nor put into such situations where they can even work...All nine of you seem capable, though, and you are here, chosen to wield one.

First, we must determine your Arcana. This is derived from the Tarot Deck...I have been made aware that this might violate a few religious principles for those involved, but I assure you, these cards only work for a simple reason. The reason is, we are here, in the Velvet Room, between the thought and the un-thought. Beliefs and wishes shape this place, as this place is effectively made of thought-thus, the power of the Tarot actually works here, as many believe that the Tarot have power. I can assure you that outside the Velvet Room, these cards are worthless as divination tools. In any case, I am not here to divine your future path...But what you are.

*Margaret reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small deck of twenty-two. She puts the cards down in front of her, on the table, without shuffeling, creating a spread of twenty two. Ten of the cards levitate and land into your laps.*

*SIVELOS got the FOOL, a card of a man with a bindle stick and a dog, number 0. APOPH got the WHEEL OF FORTUNE, which is a wheel with a regal beast at the top and a very mangy beast at the bottom, number 10. NIGHTMARE got the DEVIL, which is a pitcure of the titular, along with two D(a)emons of opposite gender chained to a pole underneath, standing, number 15. LIGHT CHAOS got the TEMPERANCE, a picture of a cup with water falling into it, a Triangle with a white, smaller triangle in it, a square, and a birded creature, clockwise from the top-left, on different-colored backgrounds, split into four spaces, with the number 14. ECRIVAIN got the HEIROPHANT, which seems to be dominated by a hat, with two small figures kneeling to it, number 5. TAZZ got the EMPEROR, a picture of a king, number 4. REBECCA got the EMPRESS, a picture of what is presumably a queen, number 3. BAHAMUT (not Ominous, mixed up there) got the JUSTICE, a sword doubling as a scale, number 8. WANDER got the SUN, a picture of exactly that and the number 19. Lastly, CARCINO gets the LOVERS, depicting exactly that and the number 6, to his confusion.*

*Margaret stares at Sivelos'es card for a while...*

Margaret:...No, not a Wild Card...It's nothing. Sometimes there are Wild Cards. They have the power to wield any Persona and use it as their own, a power of unlimited potential and usually representative of those who could be anything...It's usually found in the Fool's hands, making it a rare card to draw...But it seems that, in this case, this is not the Wild Card. Of course, the Fool is nothing to scoff at in and of itself. It still represents potential, and you have much of it, as do you all.

However...None of you can actually summon a Persona yet, sadly to say. I have merely given you the means for when you can.

Tazz: Why not?

Margaret: You must use the Card-interact with it in some way, whatever way you feel-and have an understanding of your Ego...Including the negative parts of it. This doesn't exactly represent evil...

*MARGARET's eyes drift to NIGHTMARE.*

Margaret:...Merely suppressed thoughts, deep things about yourself that you do not think of...Only Bahamut here can summon a Persona right now.

Bahamut:...Um, what? Is this because-

Margaret: You have had very little else to think about but yourself and Avalon, being bound to a chain and having no real ability to do anything. Was there anything else to think of but yourself? You had this ability by the time Avalon entered the Velvet room for his second time...It has only unlocked itself now, that you are solid and capable of action, Latries. Even then, I doubt that it has been brought to its full potential.

Bahamut:...It's Bahamut.

Margaret:...Oh, my apologies. I did not know you called yourself anything other than what you were. Rash behavior on my part...I presume that the rest of you would like to introduce yourselves to me before I continue? Also, any more questions?

[Ganyu]

Tazz's been playing Persona 4 huh. Where's Igor? *floats aimlessly in the Velvet Room*

Hierophant? How fitting, a pontifex. La Bateleur or La Mort--Marseilles, I digress. Cinq?

The winter sunset, flaming beyond spires
And chimneys half-detached from this dull sphere,
Opens great gates to some forgotten year
Of elder splendours and divine desires.

[Sir Sivelos]

I'm Sivelos, and this is Apophis-Ra. *SIVELOS puts his hand on APOPH's shoulder.*

Apoph: I suppose I should just go by Apophis, now, as the 'ra' suffix is meaningless.

This is one half of Chaos, Light Chaos.

Light Chaos: It's my pleasure.

And this-

Nightmare: I am Nightmare. Deity of Chaos, and not him. *NIGHTMARE points at LC.*

And… I'm a bit familiar with general Tarot decks, and this doesn't seem very different… But the Persona business seems interesting. What kinds of Personas could we summon?

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Tazz's been playing Persona 4 huh. Where's Igor? *floats aimlessly in the Velvet Room*

Hierophant? How fitting, a pontifex. La Bateleur or La Mort--Marseilles, I digress. Cinq?

The winter sunset, flaming beyond spires
And chimneys half-detached from this dull sphere,
Opens great gates to some forgotten year
Of elder splendours and divine desires.

(Persona Q. Not Persona 4. I'm referencing the wiki a lot either way.)

Margaret:...You know of him, somehow?...Sadly, Igor has been dead for ages now...I still mourn my old master sometimes. But lingering on the past will not help me. He lived well and died in peace...Granted, I did not think he could die, all things considered. But here we are. I am the master of the room in his stead, inheritor of his title and legacy.

I'm Sivelos, and this is Apophis-Ra. *SIVELOS puts his hand on APOPH's shoulder.*

Apoph: I suppose I should just go by Apophis, now, as the 'ra' suffix is meaningless.

This is one half of Chaos, Light Chaos.

Light Chaos: It's my pleasure.

And this-

Nightmare: I am Nightmare. Deity of Chaos, and not him. *NIGHTMARE points at LC.*

And… I'm a bit familiar with general Tarot decks, and this doesn't seem very different… But the Persona business seems interesting. What kinds of Personas could we summon?

Margaret: Apophis-Ra? Hrm, reminds me of those two, but yet, you are definitely not either. In any case, welcome, all.

The Personas you may summon...I do not yet know what lurks within your soul. However, most Personas take the form of things that people believe in as a whole-a living meme, in a sense. I cannot tell what you will bring forth, however...Until it is actually summoned, of course...Bahamut, being the only one of you currently able to summon a Persona, as well as being a witness to summoning Personas...Demonstrate, if you would.

Bahamut:...Really? Um, OK...Ugh. Let me check...

Tazz: Suuuuuuuu-

*Tazz is jabbed in the mouth by Rebecca*

*BAHAMUT tries crushing the card in his hands. It seems to be more sturdy than it's appearance belies, however, and the card remains intact. BAHAMUT then stabs it with an arrow he had in his quiver instead, which punctures a hole through it.*

*Instantly, the card an angelic figure pops out, blindfolded and wielding a copy of the XERXES, dressed in indigo and hovering behind BAHAMUT. The angel has several golden chains attached to it, all broken.*

Bahamut: Huh?

Angel:...I art thou, and thou art I...From the Sea of your Soul I cometh...I am an Angel, one of many, protectors of mankind and law...Let me guide you, noble Bahamut, forever chained.

*The figure vanishes.*

Margaret: Excellent. That should be how a summon of a Persona occurs-though you might be able to do it if the time calls for it. AS you noticed, the Perosna card is more stubborn than it looks, so using your weapon to activate it might work better to destroy it. And yes, you must crush the card. Don't worry about it, it will repair itself...

Tazz: Oh! Cards! I just remembered!

*TAZZ takes out the two Cards of NIDHOGG and THE BLACK you found earlier.*

Margaret: Oh?...May I see those?

*TAZZ hands the cards over to MARGARET. Looking at the Backs and comparing them to yours, it becomes apparent that the backs of the dark cards are inverted compared to the cards you have just received, though they still depict the same image: A mask, half black and half white.*

Margaret:...Hrm...These Persona Cards...They are...Hrm. This will need a bit of time to discover the true meaning of...These certainly aren't usual Persona Cards, yet...They seem of the same potential...Wait...

*MARGARET seems fixated on the card of THE BLACK.*

Margaret:...This must be his card...

*MARGARET crushes the card with her bare hands. Out pops a figure of a bandaged man with the back of a broken coffin chained to its back, as well as a rock that is eternally bloody chained to a right hand (with a tiger claw on it), and carrying another coffin on his left, chained to that as well.*

Cain: ...I art Thou, and Thou art I...From the sea of your soul I cometh...I am Cain, first murderer, slayer of my blood Abel, in a bout of foolish spite and jealousy...


*The figure vanishes before it can say more, the Card reappearing in Margaret's hand.*

Margaret:...This is his Persona, alright. Cain...Or rather, a rendition of it...I called forth what was originally within the card before. It seems your claims are true, this is Avalon's Persona card, and Avalon would not part with this easily, after what he did to claim the card itself...There are other devices from which to summon Personas, though, so do not think he still does not have Cain at his disposal...As for what the significance of the inverted pattern is, I do not know yet. I am sorry. I am out of answers right now, and I do not think I can help further right now. Feel free to leave this place, take the door to the back. The door to the front cannot open. I will need a bit of time to myself to understand events and get caught up...

*Margaret pulls out a book and begins reading it extensively. It's a massive book, she might not be truly done in a while.*

Margaret: One last warning: Personas are you, and you are your Personas. There is virtually no distinction. They grant you abilities, yes, but they also serve as a physical body for which foes may harm. They are stronger than you, but they take your stamina and energy to fuel their powers in exchange. Be cautious about overexerting yourselves with them.

[Sir Sivelos]

Oh, lovely. This is going to be fun, I can tell!

*SIVELOS heads toward the door.* Thanks for having us.

*SIVELOS, LC, NIGHTMARE, APOPH, and the rest leave.* OKAY! Now, we need to find Forge. Not that hard, he's in our solar system.

[Ganyu]

Let us safekeep our thoughts in the orbiting eyes of heaven, while the stars strew in wanderlust their curses.
Purchase cartography in the dusty lines of fallen angels, and reclaim the hammer of the divine shape.
Seek not the faded writing nor haunted card, but seek elucidation in raw.
Impure on our feet, the cosmic smog soon bellows a song of unmaking.

Make haste, friend. Let not externalities vertiginate.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

*You leave the VELVET ROOM...And come out exactly where you were before. The door back into the VELVET ROOM is just sitting there with no support. Tazz quickly erects a small building out of it, labeled 'DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION.' The teammates who didn't manage to get in were quite confused about your sudden disappearance and reappearance.*

*Before you can respond, a crack in the void appears, back to where Dionysus was...The implication that he wants a word are obvious.*

Tazz: Ugh...Give us a break.

Scyez: Oh oh oh oh! I smell my happy girl in there! I smell my adorable in there!

*Scyez Senior runs in.*

[Ganyu]

O_O

[Sir Sivelos]

Okay guys, ready yourselves for walls of text.

Light Chaos: I have no idea what's going on… What exactly happened while I was unconscious?

We accidentally killed the Black.

Light Chaos: YOU WHAT!?

It was an incredibly thick illusion! We're searching for his ghost before **** goes down. Hey, you were allied with him when you were whole… Didn't you know something like this?

Light Chaos: I… No, I never knew… I'm sure Dark Chaos doesn't know either. In fact, I'm pretty sure he never told me. Understandable. If I were to turn on him, which I would never, then that information would be invaluable to somebody against him. Clever… Let's go. I need to catch up on this.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

???: Alternatively...

*Instead of meeting you within, Dionysus is pushing Scyez OUT and meeting you on your turf.*

Dionysus: Howabout I just tell you? Yeah, those idiots murdered my boss, and though I admit they were under circumstances such that I can't really blame 'em...It doesn't mean they're not idiots.

Tazz: Hey!

Dionysus: Now...I'm busy, as it turns out...Something came up. One of our own got seriously sick, need to stand in for him...I will not be aiding you directly, sorry. However...I presume you've gotten the Personas? She did tell you what-

Tazz: Only Bahamut can summon them.

Dionysus:...Maybe I expected too much of you idiots on that one...Actually, no, never mind, that any one of you idiots can summon a Persona at all is excellent work, not enough normal people can do that...Now, here comes the fun part. For you, anyways. Aside from nigh-aimlessly collecting Elder Souls as you have already been, simply to keep them from being used against us, your new duty is quite simple: While we go suss out where The Black is, you go and unlock the power of the rest of your Personas, then fight and murder every last one of the RaGNaK. Just go out on a lovely journey of self-understanding in whatever weird way you people do that. I honestly don't get your world and why creatures explode into priceless artifacts upon death, but hey!

Oh, and by the way...There's this group called the Unity of the Legion? If you feel like overachieving, would you mind murdering them all? They are an interdimensional empire and rivaling the RaGNaK in strength, but they kept the hell away from us even after it became apparent we knew them. We WERE going to wipe them out via precision application of the Nameless Substance to their assets, but then The Black died, and none of us can really do that ourselves...So, I think it's clear what you have to do?

Tazz: Yep, perfectly, self-discovery and whatnot.

Dionysus: Excellent...See this behind you? This portal leads to our little 'insertion' room, wherein we extract and insert operatives via void holes, allowing us to go anywhere in existence. I've locked you twits out of the time function to prevent stupid time shenanigans, but otherwise it is fully available to you. Just realize that these are for small parties. Whole armies aren't getting through there fast. Oh, and if you find the Black by some miracle, you do realize that the first thing you'll be doing is telling us so we don't feel the need to rip open your guts to get him back...We are his protectors as the Wraithguard, and I'm not letting him fall into jeopardy because you think you can ransom him.

*Dionysus leaves*

Tazz:...We're not actually going to-

Bahamut:...Urgh, that's hard to say, actaully...They are responsible for him, yes, but...

Tazz: We're going to, then, because obviously we're the heroes and henceforth we'll only find them when plot-relevant, and only then...As for you...You seem to be reading like an Elder Soul, and will thusly be treated like one. In other words, don't risk yourself recklessly, Mr. Justice.

Suits:...Well, they're not focusing on killing me...

*You turn. Suits is grumpily sitting on a stump, twirling a card showcasing a man holding fire in his hands, with an infinity symbol at the top of the card and the number 1 at the bottom.*

Suits:...Oh, heya. I just happened to hear about Personas...Got this thing a while back from some girl but she said I couldn't use it yet...Still can't use it yet, either, after all this time. I'm OK...Yeah. Probably better, now that they're focused on finding The Black...

*Suits Sighs.*

*...Now what do you do?...Soulquests! Duh!*

Tazz: I haven't heard of those. At all.

*Of course not! They're SECRET QUESTS that involve A) self-investigation of the self, B) murdering monsters, and C) unleashing the full power of your Personas at the END of it. You have TWO EACH, however you only need to complete 1 to unleash your Persona-the 2nd is optional, though a powerful reward awaits you if you do so! Please note that if you can summon a Persona already, you only have one optional Soulquest-in other words, BAHAMUT does not need one. And no, you cannot summon a Persona just yet. Please. This is a major game mechanic and a powerup that basically goes over double your original power.*

*In any case, you are now free to do whatever, though you should prioritize those SOULQUESTS. Probably want to seek FORGE for right now, though, as you don't know any SOULQUESTS.*