TheLineTrotter

Vincent, when prompted, flew down aways. Now, he was walking along side the others, trying not to think about the radiation mangling his DNA... radiation was probably one of the worst ways to go, he imagined. Depending on how it happened, it could be slow, taking hours and hours for it to finally kill you. Or you became a ghoul, which was arguably worse. "Is the Stable itself going to be so irradiated?" He asked curiously. He had his own supplies of Rad-away and Rad-X (which he had a bottle of on his way down), and he imagined the others did, but he wondered if he had enough if the whole Stable they were checking was irradiated. He didn't know if it was open.... He wondered if it could be inhabited. If it was, it would make sense that those living in it hadn't left. It was an irradiated hell right outside their door-step. He watched Secent work on the terminal... completely confused by it. He wasn't a dumb griffon, to be sure, but his knowledge lied history and minor mechanics more than anything technological... it seemed the terminal lacked the information they needed, as it was mentioned that they move on. "Do we have a choice?" He asked, heading out. He looked at the next bunker, oppening the door... to find a ghoul. He looked at it, wondering if it was sane, when it suddenly rushed the Griffon standing in the doorway, roaring out as it trotted to him. He grabed the ghoul-pony's head in his talons, his claws lightly digging in before smashing its head against the doorframe until it went limp. Seemed the bunker had failed for him. "Clear." He muttered, stepping inside. "So, Secant, what are you looking for exactly?"

Yu winched a little at Yosuke's inquiry... he'd never been told,specifically, not to mention toe Velvet Room to anyone, but he'd sort of taken it as a given... he wondered if he should have brought it up at some point... "Well... the Velvet room is this wierd...limousine. Wait, remember that ghost story I told during the Winter Trip? That's basically it.The big nosed guy, Igor, gave me a contract to 'seek the truth', before the murder even first happened. Its also where Marie lived." He explained. He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a key. "They gave me this to access the Velvet Room, to mix and match Persona's mostly.... I thought I was the only one, but it seems there are other people with access..." Kanji was a little annoyed... he had been itching for a brawl, actually, and he still wasn't sure what he thought about this kid. "What kind of backward ass-logic is that!? Any normal person would deny being the killer if someone accused them!" He said, already frustrated with this guy.... "Erg... fine Sensei.You wanna trust this guy? I`ll go along with it." He said, taking a more relaxed stance. Still, maybe him and this Malik guy could have a friendly brawl sometime... @, @,

Yu thought a moment at what Yosuke purposed... "I doubt either of them are behind this.The guy at the gas station was the one that unlocked my Wild Card,remember? And Marie was a part of him. She was just there to spread the rumor... Besides, I just can't see Marie being the killer. In all likely hood, she's just someone else that is, or will be, thrown in." Kanji took his own fighting stance, glaring at the kid before him. "I hear a whole 'lotta shit coming out of your mouth right now. What I don't hear is you denying being the cause of this!" He said angrily. This was it. This was a situation Kanji could handle. A good ol' brawl! Even if the kid wasn't bluffing, Kanji wasn't worried. He'd fought monsters for christ sake, and even before then he was beating up biker gangs single handedly! He heard Chie, but ignored her... he was just about to jump the kid... When Yu walked between them. "Kanji, calm down. We won't get anywhere by accuseing anyone that happens to walk by..." he looked over at the boy who had managed to, quite effectively, piss off Kanji. "Malik Dear, correct? Don't mind Kanji... he can get a little hot headed. " he said, trying to put a middle ground between them. His face suddenly became serious, though. "So... where did you get that key...?" he asked, wanting his suspicions to be confimed... (I wouldn't say that yet. Remember, Kanji met most of the original investigation team chasing them down )

"I don't see how that disproves a damn thing. After all, that just shows that he can enter the TV..." he paused at the mention of glasses. "Oh, and that he's a thief..." he said, clenching his fist. Okay, yeah, maybe he was jumping to conclusions, but this guy could enter the TV! Maybe he was feigning ignorance on it, but they knew he could go into the television, and he stole something... to Kanji, that made his suspicious. Not suspicious enough to beat the living tar out of over a hunch, but still! He boy just stepped by, causing Kanji to grab him by the back collar of his shirt. "Hold it! You don't just get to walk by me like that!" As far as Kanji was concerned, this guy was at the very least a suspect. (I don't feel this is terribly out of character for Kanji... right?)

Yu smirked a little, hugging Teddy back, patting his back gently. "Haha, hey, Teddy.I missed you too, don't worry." Teddy always was a little...extreme when it came to emotions, but hey, to him that was part of his charm. He'd hugged him for a short time, before finally manageing to calm him down abit. He blinked at the mention of Rise. "Ah, alright. Shame..." he supposed they could have Teddy do the searching... he spotted Chie, and was about to say something when the student he'd spoken too before talked to him. Asking him questions... he supposed he should have been less trusting, but... the boy already knew about the Midnight Channel, and about the TV world... when the others asked how he knew, and the boy spoke, Yu couldn't help but smirk. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact our 'head quarters'is in a public eating area.... anyway, Mariku... people who show up on the midnight channel all... staticy, are going to get thrown in. Soon. The TV world is a physical representation of humanity's other side..." he said, giving a very brief explanation... Kanji, however, was already on his feet, stepping over to the kid. "Hang on one damn minute! How do you know about the TV world, huh?" He said angrilly. "How do we know you aren't the one behind this shit this time? I mean, out proof Adachi was the killer before was that he was able to go into the TV... how do we know it isn't this punk?" @,

Yu had spent the day doing mostly menial things, looking around at various shops, talking to people... he even visited the Velvet Room, to see if Marie was there... she was not. Finally, the school was letting out so everyone should get together at Junes.He arrived abit later than expected, getting a call from Dojima about having to work late, before arrivieing. He spotted Yosuke and Teddy, sitting down at a spare seat. "Hey." He said, leaning forward in his seat.He saw Teddy though and smiled. "Hey, Teddy... been awhile. Its good to see you, dispite the circumstances." The school day had been boring... boring... boring! He couldn't focus on a damn thing! His mind was a million placed, but it certaintly wasn't on some random ass River a thousand miles away he couldn't care less about! Finally, school let out and he and Naoko walked to Junes together, discussing little on the way. The arrived and spotted the others. Seeing Yu, he walked over and smiled lightly. "Yu. It's good to see ya.Sucks that you had to come back just in time for this, but... well, we're glad you came by." He said, taking a seat. ( @, aren't those like, fan blogs for the characters on Tumblr? @, P.S, nobody has Rise xD)

Yu nodded, walking around just abit. He talked to the people he knew, getting similar comments about how much he'd grown, talk about what was going around town, the usual. He did that for a time, but inevitably ended up leaving. He wanted to visit the Shrine... but he supposed that could wait until a later date. He went to Junes, well aware he had plenty of time to kill still, but with what was on his mind he wasn't sure what else to do...he went over to the old electronics section, smirking a little. It seemed that electronics were as unpopular in Inaba as ever... seemed like they hadn't even bothered to update this section in the past few years. Heck, it could easily have been the same TV they always used!

"I tried calling him. It went straight to a dial tone.... I`m back in town by the way, Teddy. Dunno if he mentioned that with everything going on with the Midnight Channel... anyway, we all need to meet up at the secret spot after school lets out." He was sure Yosuke was fine. Probably just forgot to charge his phone or... something. He thought a moment... well, Yosuke had the day off yesterday, so he was probably at work. He'd spend some time looking around the shopping district, talking to people, and then head off to see him there. Not to interrupt his work,of course. @, Kanji was on his way to school,final year, when he spotted Naoto. "Yo! Wait up!" He said, jogging shortly to catch up, looking down at the detective. "So... I`m guessing you`ve watched..." he said, knowing her dutifulness wouldn't allow her not too... "I... fuck... god dammit! I thought this was over.... how did this shit come back? And why?" He said angrily... part of him was hoping the detective of the group would have all the answers, but he knew that was far fetched... @,

Vincent, was high above and scouting the surrounding wasteland... while also trying to keep an eye on the merchant... oh damn... sometimes he wished his eyes could look two differant ways like Ditzy's! Regardless, he was scanning for any sign of trouble,both from a raider ambush or, as he was still paranoid, the scavanger buck. Never knew for sure... his keen ears picked up on Knight speaking... Oh yeah, same as any other travelers... a bunch of heavily armed travelers of various creeds and affiliations. Nothing strange there. The exchange was fortunately quick, and Vincent gave a respectful nod to the fellow merc as the two groups parted ways. He heard the others talking, about the location of the Stable. "You said we wouldn't be able to go through the front door,right? Irradiated to all hell. So... the caverns are in those hills than?" He said, beating his powerful wings above to stay on pace with the group. @, @@Guardian Braveheart,

Yu woke up, staring at the ceiling... memories of yesterday came flooding back, causing him to sigh heavily. His happy homecoming had been marred by the midnight channel's return... it all seemed too perfect, or, well, imperfect that it came back the same day he did. Coincidence? Yu's time with the first mystery had caused him not to believe in such things. He got up and began to dress, wearing a white dress shirt and black casual jacket. It was quite similar to his old school uniform. It must've grown on him. He checked the time. He looked outside the window... the sky was so clear... it would've been a great day to walk around and catch up with his friends if it hadn't been for these circumstances. He sighed, checking his pockets for his glasses and phone, before heading out... it was a school day, so they'd have to wait on Kanji and Naoko. He tried calling Yosuke's number, but got a dial tone. He blinked, instead calling Teddy's. @, @, Kanji woke up, sitting up nearly right away... he had quite a satisfying dream,involveing kicking the ever loving crap out of whoever did this shit... dispite his dream, he was still pissed off. How could it happen again? Had they messed up? Was there something they could've done before, or was this inevitable? He groaned, getting up and changing. Damn school... wish he could skip like he use too, but he knew how much that upset his mom. He ate a quick breakfast and went out, walking towards school... he'd have to sit on his damn ass for a few hours while everyone else discussed what they'd do, and while Marie was in danger! (Remember everyone: school is still a thing, unless you've graduated like some of the original cast!)

Yu had warned Chie about the midnight channel, but found her hanging up to call the others before he could say another word. He sighed, laying back in the futon and looking up at the ceiling. He layed there thinking for the longest time, and quite honestly didn't even remember falling alseep... he hadn't even managed to remember to change before his eyes drifted closed without his knowledge and he fell into a dreamless sleep. Kanji, meanwhile, took forever to calm down... If he hadn't been at home, he'd have broken every piece of furniture in the room, and only the fact that his mother was sleeping not too far away stopped him from doing it anyway. He finally managed to get himself to collapse onto his bed... punching his pillow a few times for good measure before falling asleep, still fuming. He dreams were filled with visions of beating the ever loving crap out of... whoever did this!

"Dammit.... god dammit!" He said, slamming a fist down at the table he'd been working at.shaking the various dolls he made. "How the fuck did this happen? Did that one guy decide to do what he did to Adachi to someone else?" He said angrily. He couldn't believe it.After everything they'd done, that foggy hellhome was back after only a few years! He knew they should have kept going into the midnight channel, making sure it was still clear... they hadn't and look where they were now? He sighed, sitting back down. "Yu's back, huh? Damn. Knew I should've headed out with you guys today... timing seems to perfect, him showing up same time as this shit, but I suppose we need our leader now more than ever..." he said,sitting back, looking up at the ceiling. It was tempting to just dart to Junes, tear open the doors and run to the TV and make sure that the fog really was back in the world... but he wasn't stupid... he wouldn't do something like that, atleast not without his friends there. @,

Kanji blinked, hearing his phone suddenly ring out. "Who the hell is calling at this time o' nigh-" he paused, seeing the name... Yosuke... and only a few minutes after midnight. "No... No, no.Oh hell no!" He said, refuseing to believe it. There was no way.No fucking way.It was done! Dead and done! They'd kicked Adachi's ass, they'd solved the mystery, they'd done everything they could! It couldn't be back! Adachi was even still in jail, a 'model prisoner' according to Dojima. He snatched his phone up, quickly awnsering. "This'd better be a really fucking bad joke,Yosuke!" He said through gritted teeth... he doubted it... considering what had happened to Saki, he knew Yosuke would never joke about something like this. Even though he hadn't know Yosuke when it happened, it'd become very clear how much it affected him. @,

Yu nodded. "It's alright, Yosuke. I understand. We'll set everything right..." he said, hanging up his phone and sighing. He sat down on his bed and thought, head in his hands. Marie...Marie was going to get thrown in... maybe... maybe they could just keep an eye on her. She'd understand the need for it, she knew about the Midnight Channel... his options were limited... he wondered if she was now destined to go into the Midnight Channel, no matter what they did. As he sat there, his mind wandered... what was Marie's 'true self'? After all, she was part of Izanami... he sighed, oppening his phone. He had to do his part to inform the others, hitting the speed dial for Chie's phone. He placed his spare hand inside his pocket, feeling the glasses... out of habit, he'd stopped ever being without them close at hand. @, @,

"There was a rumor about it being back!?" He said, momentarily angry... dammit! He was mad for a moment at Yosuke... that was something he should have mentioned! If not on the phone, than when he had been there today. He took a breath though, calming him self. It had just been a rumor. Yosuke probrably didn't want to worry him or anyone else with something that, in all likelyhood, was just an old rumor reariseing... "Well.. Not like we have much choice, huh?" He said, forceing a smile more for himself than anything. "The investigation team is back in action. We solved this mystery once. We'll just have to do it again. Call everyone, get them to come by to the secret headquarters tomorrow..." As much as he wanted to surprise everyone with his arrival, this was more important. Kanji was sitting inside the family textile shop,working late... he knew he was suppose to watch the Midnight Chanel,like always, but he promised his mom he'd get some extra work done. He was making some hand-knit dolls, which had actually become fairly popular... he was working as fast as his hands could, but it was also clear that he was putting special care into each and everyone. He sighed... he'd let the guys down by not watching, but he knew the rest of them had it covered... it'd be alright.... the Midnight Channel hadn't shown anything in years. He could miss one night, right? @,

Yu stared at the image for the longest time. "No... no no no..." he muttered, gripping the edge of the TV... the image was blurry, yes, but he could tell right away who it was... how could this had happened? Marie... it couldn't have been Marie, right? She... she was part of Izanami... He wanted to punch the screen, but knew that would be futile... his hand would just go through it, like always. He suddenly reached through the screen, desperately trying to reach for the outline, as if that would help... he would have shouted, but the whole house wouldv'e just woken up. He was half about to jump inside the television without thinking when he heard the phone ring. He stood up straight, composeing himself... the Midnight Channel was back... that much was very clear... he had hoped that when they'd defeated it before, that would be the end. They could live out thier lives, happily, That was no longer the case. He flipped the phone open and awnsered the call. "Yosuke. I`m guessing you were watching too..." when he'd left, they'd all promised to keep an eye on the midnight channel... just in case. He had complete faith his friends had kept that promise. "Dammit... I just... dammit! We caught Adachi... I thought this was all over..." he grumbled, taking a breath to compose himself. "I guess Ameno-sagiri isn't done yet..." He said, kneading his brow... so much for a happy homecoming... @,

(I can take a temporary role as Kanji, starting the next in game day.) "Well, as long as you don't get arrested like before." he said with a smirk, suddenly looking up as the downpour started, Aw man, he hadn't checked the weather before he left... would've given him a chance to see what Marie had set up for the weather... aw well. He waved goodbye to Yosuke, and the other two girls, and darted on to Dojimas. The look on Nanako's face was priceless... she'd grown the past few years, obviously, but she still loved her 'big bro.' The three of them had a little party, with some cake Dojima had brought, smiling and staying up abit late. He ended up going back to his room around midnight, smiling abit. He paused, looking at the old TV set... a rainy night on midnight, huh...? Well... he supposed he might as well, for old times sake.

"Don't think anything of it. I got everyone a gift actually, when we run into them..." he said with a smile. His bag was a little full of stuff, but that wasn't important. He heard Yosuke speak, watching him stab into the air. "Heh. Surprised you're so excited by that. It's a fake blade, and after all those weapons we wielded in the TV, that's gotta feel abit lame in comparison." At the question, he nodded curtly. "Yeah, Dojima said i`m welcome there whenever I like, and I know he means it... Nanako doesn't actually know i`m here yet. I wanna surprise her later..." he though a moment. "It'd be nice to get the whole group together, have a little get together at Dojima's with him and Nanako..." he said, thinking aloud. @, @,

Yu only smirked,looking at his friend acting all dejected. He wouldn't be terribly surprised if his friend did end up working at Junes... might even reach his father's position one day.He just hoped he wouldn't move away. It'd suck to move back to Inaba and have one of his best friends move off right away after. He looked at Naoto and nodded. "Thats good to hear. I`m guessing you`ll be resumeing detective work once you graduate." He said, looking at his old friend. After a moment, her perked up,smirking. "Oh, hey, I brought you something..." he said, reaching into his bag to pull out what looked to be a manga. "Its about a young detective who gets stuck in a kids body... I mean, i`m sure you`ll figure out the mysteries long before the main character does, but I thought you might like it." He said, with a small smile as he handed the book to his detective friend. He didn't know how she felt about this sort of thing. He knew she liked reading detective books, or at least did at one point, but this wasn't a proper book, and she may have grown out of them. "Oh, and I didn't forget you,Yosuke..." he said with a smirk, pulling out... a nata. The short little blade was exactly like the one Yosuke had waved around this very table and gotten them temporaily arrested for years back. The blade was fake, just like that one too. "Here.Figured I owed you for it, since Dojima never gave yours back... try not to get us arrested this time, though." @, @,

Yu heard the boy, Mariku, speak to him. He was already leaving... Yu had hoped to speak to him before he had a chance to get away, about the key, but chose not to press the issue. He turned instead to Yosuke, smirking at him a little. "Face it, Yosuke. You`re gonna be working at Junes until the day you die." He said with a soft chuckle, messing with his friend. He turned to Naoto, smiling abit. "So, Naoto, how are classes?" He asked curiously. As she was in the year below them, like Kanji, she would be in her final year. It was still wierd to think of this girl, with her formal speaking ways and her fame as a detective, as younger than him, but he'd grown accustomed to it. @, @,

"Yeah, and you're lucky I was there to take some of the blame, or i`m preety sure Kashiwagi would've had your head on a pike." He said, still smiling at that memory of thier second year. As it stood, Kashiwagi had just made them share in a rather hefty punishment. Even a memory like that was a good one... no one got hurt, after all.Well, okay, Yosuke still got in trouble, but besides that. He leaned back slightly in the chair, looking around. The food court barely looked different, and he felt memories of thier past there flooding back... all those meetings, the time Yosuke got him to set up Halloween decorations, just to have to take them down, thier concert... he looked back at them all. "So, Yosuke, still working here, huh?" He said, remembering earlier conversations after graduating. He hadn't asked much about Yosuke's plans after graduation... he never was one to think that far ahead.He glanced at Naoto, smiling abit as she was as formal as ever. "Like I said just visiting..." he paused, seeing a student he hadn't recognized suddenly come and sit down. He wasn't surprised his friends had met more people, but this... he glanced at the key, his heart stopping... is was virtually a twin of his own, a key he found could never truly leave his person... another person assigned to a contract with Igor...? "I..." he said, momentarily lost for words... he hadn't even mentioned the Velvet room to his friends before... "Hello. I`m Yu Narukami... and you are...?" he said to the boy with the key. @, (Great job with the little story BTW, I could really see that happening xD) @,

Nassir blinked, suddenly hearing a 'thump' sound behind him, turning his head back. The mare had gone unconscious, seemingly from sheer exhaustion. He game a small smile, moving over to her and carefully working her onto his neck, and then along his back. She was drapped loosely there, but he walked carefully so that she would not fall. He still felt guilty over the days events, and his mind was still clouded with thoughts, but he needed rest... he reached the clearing, seeing the fire dieing. He went to the tent and, after a moment of consideration, set the mare down inside of it. He went to the treeline, grabbed something to keep the flames going abit longer, and then put himself under the coverage of the leaves... he had to hope it would hide him from the stars... he slowly closed his eyes, and allowed himself to drift off.

Yu wasn't susprised at all by the hug. Heck, he would've been more surprised if Yosuke hadn't done so. He smirked, hugging his idiot of best friend tight, before breaking it and sitting down at one of the vacant seats. He was happy already to be back, but seeing his friends again certaintly solidified it. The three of them all had slight changes to thier appearance that was immediatly obvious, but they were clearly the same people he'd left before... it caused him to realize his own changes in appearance. He'd gotten abit taller, of course, but his silvery hair had grown out abit as well. At the question, he just smiled. They weren't all together yet. Wasn't time for the big news until then. "Well, I figured i`d come visit. It'd been awhile, after all... and I like to come back occasionally to make sure you havn't burned down Inaba." He said, giving another smirk to his friend. @,

It all seemed... surreal. Like he was stepping back to years ago... riding what could have easily passed to be the same train... hearing the same voice on the intercom... heck, he could even lie to himself and pretend he was standing the same spot. Yu Narukami... was returning to Inaba. He'd headed back to his home in the city, living with his parents, a few years back... but it no longer felt like a true home. He'd been such big, inseparable bonds with people in the little town, and leaving it felt like leaving part of himself behind. He'd stayed in contact with everyone, of course. He wouldn't have it any other way. But it simply wasn't how it was suppose to be. He smiled lightly to himself... he hadn't visited in a long time... but this wasn't a visit. He was moving there... for awhile, he'd live with his Uncle again, but he'd find his own place soon enough. It was a surprise though. No one knew he was even coming back yet, let alone he was moving back. He'd decided it would be a double surprise: he'd find them all, have them all think he was visiting... once they were all together though, he'd announced he was moving. No one knew, except for Dojima, the truth. He couldn't wait to see the looks on their face. The train arrived at the station, and he stepped out. He'd managed to send his stuff to Dojima before, she he lacked any real luggage... he hadn't wanted to wait any longer than he had too. He walked as quickly as he could to the Junes super market... he was going to go check out the old 'secret headquarters'... something told him he'd find the others there. He arrived, looking over and smirked, seeing three familar faced sitting together at the outside dining area. He smiled slightly, walking over to the table and giving let out a simple greeting. "Hey guys. Been awhile." still giving that small, cool smile, although his excitement was obvious at seeing his friends again. @, @, @,

Nassir walked in silence, not noticing the confusion on the mare's face... he was deep in thought, wondering if he should have warned the mare of the stars danger... but would that had just scared her? Was the mare correct, that he should not scare others with his talk? Or should he scream his warnings from the treetops, warn them of every possible danger he could name, and educate the poor ponies... he blinked, looking up at a tree and spotting a fruit he hadn;t expected to see. "A Pum-Pum fruit... very posionous, Hadn't expected to see that growing on this island..." he muttered, mostly to himself. The island seemed mostly safe, but he imagined even it had it's dangers. Oh well. They were almost to the clearing. @,