Staring Into the Void(Sky/Open)

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon did what he'd been doing on his lunch break for a few months now. Getting away from the monotony of campus, getting something warm and cheap, finding a nice bench, and watching. He'd done it a few times before getting his persona but since then things had become much more interesting. Part of having a persona meant that he could see the shadows now and watch them as they went unnoticed by the populace. The first time Jonathon saw one he nearly got himself arrested on account of looking like a maniac, that was when he figured out that he was one of the few, if not the only person, that saw them. Normally, the shadows did nothing, they just floated about. Sometimes though, they attempted to capture a human and drag them off. Jonathon tried to save them, sometimes he did, managing to stop them by chasing them into the other world and fighting them off to get the innocent person back. Other times, he wasn't so lucky and they'd be gone before he could get there. Today was another day as Jonathon watched a shadow pluck someone from the crowd and drag them away. Setting his food down he took off after them, watching as the shadow dragged the person into a rift. Standing in front of it, Jonathon prepared himself. It was never easy going through these, he never knew what would happen on the other side or what he'd see. Taking a deep breath he looked at the rift and started to pass through it.

[Isolde Spencer]

Recently, there had been rumors of strange rifts kidnapping people or something which she knew all too well that it was the most curious thing to happen since there were stranger things happening in this city. People were just disappearing left and right and that she had to do something about it. The news always made headlines of people mysteriously disappearing though some of the civilians in the city could do nothing about it since that missing person was most likely kidnapped by some crazed person or something else. Either way, she had seen a rift near the shopping district and that was where she had to know what would have happened to that missing person that was on the news today. As she pushed past people who were shopping for the latest clothing, she happened to gaze upon a portal in the air and that was most likely that same portal that she had seen once which the other civilians couldn't see anything. The young lady would approach the rift, took a deep breath, and passed through the rift without any complications. She would find herself on the other side of the city where crumbled buildings seemed to replace the buildings in the shopping district that she was used to. She would have to figure out where that missing person was until a female voice called out to her.. "I see it now. You just felt so inferior to your older brother, do you? He always garnered the most attention since he was the eldest sibling." Little did she know that the owner of the voice would forever change the feelings that she had felt. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon landed on the other side of his rift and saw the shadow about to devour the civilian. "Back off." Jonathon said to the shadow, distracting it. "Seth, agi." Jonathon held out his hand and with a glow a burst of fire came from his hand and incinerated the creature. Jonathon ran to the civilian and got them back through the rift, before he followed though, Jonathon heard something. A voice, something he rarely heard, the shadows didn't speak, they usually just consumed. He moved towards the nose, avoiding shadows where he could, until he found the source of the voice. A girl, well, two. One was a double of the other. Jonathon had a sinking feeling he knew what was going on but didn't want to get involved yet. After all, he'd managed to overcome his shadow, maybe this girl could do the same.

[Isolde Spencer]

This doppelganger was talking nonsense though she could just deny the fact that she felt those negative feelings towards her own brother. "I never felt inferior to my brother... I always wanted to be like him. You are just being nonsensical." She hoped that this would let the doppelganger know that this was actually her true feelings, but unfortunately the doppelganger wouldn't have it either way and started to talk with her again. "Don't deny it. Your father had always paid special attention to your brother since he was the crown prince of Nohr which leaves you with feelings of jealousy." Jealousy? That never occurred to her that she would be jealous of her own brother although she probably never admitted that he was better than her in more ways than one. "N-no, you are lying. I-I never felt jealous of him." Oh dear, the denial that the doppelganger received was just getting worse and worse as the other girl chuckled evilly to herself, relishing in the delight that she felt for the negative feelings that this girl felt. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

It looked like things were going south for this poor girl. Clearly whatever the shadow was saying to her was something she'd rather choose to deny. "You can't argue with them." Jonathon said, walking towards them. "If you deny her she'll just get stronger, you have to accept that she is a part of you somehow." He wasn't sure if his words were getting through to the girl or not, but he could hope. He moved to stand next to the girl. "I know it's hard but you need to believe me. You aren't the first person to go through this." He stared at the other girl's shadow, knowing that most likely none of what he was saying was going to work, he just hoped he could do something if things got worse.

[Isolde Spencer]

The young man told her that denying that Shadow would only make things worse which the Shadow would have to take things with her own hands if it had gotten worse. Still, she couldn't actually take her own faults and be done with it, no. The young lady would address the Shadow once more. "If you know everything, I suppose I accept my own faults and be done with it. However, these feelings are not my true feelings..." The Shadow began to smile widely as the girl continued to deny her own negative feelings towards her eldest sibling. "I apologize, but as a princess, I cannot accept those so-called negative feelings you keep spouting about. I...I refuse you." That was all the Shadow needed for her to begin the transformation to a much a darker being as she chuckled darkly. "Fine then. If you won't accept your jealousy, I'll make you pay!" The instant that the Shadow had said that, her true form was unleashed which she had taken the form of a dark European-style dragon. The blonde young lady gazed upon the dragon in horror as the shadow dragon began to open its massive jaws and attempt to devour the girl whole. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

"Oh no..." Jonathon muttered as the shadow took on it's monstrous form. "Seth do something!" Jonathon held out a hand and there was a flash of light before a second dragon appeared to block the girl's shadow. "Don't you worry, I won't let it hurt you." Jonathon said, smiling to the girl, trying to reassure her. "This here is what we call a shadow, most are usually mindless but sometimes they can take advantage of humans." He then turned his attention back to the shadow dragon. "If you want her, you'll have to get through us. Seth, burn this thing to a crisp." He pointed and his persona let out a roar followed by a blast of flames. Already he could feel the drain from using Seth but he didn't exactly have a choice at this point. He just hoped he could stay conscious long enough to fight this thing.

[Isolde Spencer]

The young man would reassure her that he wouldn't let this Shadow hurt her in any way and yet, the monstrous dragon was willing to harm her now. The black dragon that the young man summoned certainly did its fair share of the battling and that the monstrous dragon would not be able to kill its human host as long as this young man was here. She certainly felt safe and yet, she had to accept those negative feelings were actually her true feelings. The barrage of fire definitely helped weaken it, but the only true way to weaken it was if she actually accepted those feelings. "I suppose I...did have feelings of jealousy towards my own brother. He was just better at everything than me." Immediately after she said those words, the monstrous dragon began to roar in pain as she staggered, clearly she wasn't going down without a fight. The monstrous dragon would shoot out a ball of fire towards the young man's black dragon, attempting to at least damage the black dragon itself. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

"Seth look out!" Jonathon yelled as his persona closed it's wings, taking the shadows attack. Damage was done but not a considerable amount. "Keep firing Seth!" Jonathon commanded and his persona obliged, blasting the girl's shadow with more fire. Jonathon could feel his body being drained but if he went down this thing would kill both of them, and he wasn't going to let that happen. "That's right." He said to the girl, flinching a bit from a sudden loss of stamina. "You have to accept that this is a part of you. That's the only way to beat this thing. Accept it." Jonathon looked it and saw that Seth was slowing down and his form was beginning to fade. "I can only hold this thing off for a little bit longer. If my persona goes so do we. You have to accept it."

[Isolde Spencer]

The monstrous dragon seemed to growl as the other black dragon sent out another barrage of fire which appeared to damage the monstrous dragon for all that it was worth. If the monster was not weak enough, they may be done for which it would probably result in their own deaths. The thought of dying from this monster was not a pretty sight and that she needed to weaken it further. "For a while, I always denied my feelings of jealousy, but now I do accept that I was really insecure of myself." The monstrous dragon gave out a painful roar as it almost slumped to the ground from hearing the acceptance that it was weak to. "I do admit that you are me. I am sorry that I denied your feelings." It was all over as the monstrous dragon's form transformed back to the shadowy form of the young lady and it gave a nod to her before taking the form of a beautiful woman with white and teal hair clad in a black dress. She was holding a sword which Isolde knew that it was the legendary sword, Balmung where it was used to slay an evil dragon. The woman spoke to her. "Thou art I and I art thou. From the sea of thy soul, I lend you my aid. Do not falter from your path, young one." After she said those words, she would disappear and in her place was a card depicting the picture of a crowned being. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

When the shadow faded and turned into a card Jonathon let Seth dissipate and he started to collapse, catching himself on the wall. "Whoa...that was...that was a new record for me." He said, catching his breath, then turning back to the girl. "Hey, you did it, you overcame your shadow. Good job..." Jonathon said, smiling but still visibly worn out. "Alright, let's get out of here. I'm sure you have plenty of questions about what just happened. However, here is probably not the best place to talk. It's only a matter of time before more shadows find us. Come on, there's a rift back not far from here." He said as he started to lead her out of the inverse world.

[Isolde Spencer]

She would follow the young man where he had said that there was a rift not far from here. Right now, their priority was to get to safety as there are other Shadows who were willing to harm them. This was a place where many disappeared people have gone to, but she didn't have any time to investigate for right now. The young lady felt a bit exhausted from the ordeal and yet, there was this kind of power that was willing to protect her no matter what the cost was. Perhaps this woman that was a part of her would help her realize that yes, there was some faults that she may denied in the past. She only hoped that her brother wouldn't worry too much about her absence, but knowing his big brotherly instinct, that might not be too far off. For now, questions would have to be answered and hopefully, her parents wouldn't actually know where she might have gone lately. tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

Once Jonathon was on the other side of the rift he could finally relax. "Alright, time to try to explain what just happened. To my knowledge, we're the only two people in the city in our position, so sorry if I don't have the most accurate information, I'm kind of on my own here." He said, finding a bench and sitting down. "That thing was a shadow, everyone has one in there, in that other world, and if they find you, it's bad. I went through it too, that's how I wound up with Seth...the dragon. It's a persona, basically the only thing that gives us a chance in there. There's lesser shadows too, basically monsters. They're the things responsible for the disappearances I've figured out. Don't try explaining that to the authorities, I tried and almost got sent to a mental institute. So far, you and I are the only two that get to know this truth...sorry to drag you into it." It was then that he realized he had just dropped this bomb shell on her without a proper introduction. "Oh, uh, I'm Jonathon... Sorry that was a lot, can I get you a drink or walk you home...Sorry."

[Isolde Spencer]

Jonathon would explain that the dragon that he had was a Persona and that the other world had Shadows which she assumed that those shadows were the enemies that they had to fight. Explaining that to the authorities could have her wound up at a mental institute or something which was not that good. Still she wouldn't actually tell anything like that to her family either and they wouldn't believe her. That left just the two of them who knew the whole truth behind this Persona thing and the disappearance of the civilians. "I see now. It's a pleasure to meet you, Jomathon. You may call me Isolde and I'd like to have something to drink if you will not mind." Overcoming one's conflicts was something that she had accomplished, but she still wondered if she really felt like that towards her older brother. As if on cue, a tall blonde man would call out her name and she had instantly recognized that it was her older brother that was really worried about where she had gone. "Where have you been? I became worried when you did not come home... I am glad to see you are okay. Are you hurt anywhere?" The young lady smiled at her brother as she responded back to him. "Oh no, brother. I am not hurt anywhere. I was just...taking a stroll and I got lost." tag: Jonathon McDowell ▪ words: 252 ▪ ooc: None.

made by kei at GS

[Jonathon McDowell]

"Alright then...I think there's a place just around the corner. I'll get you something and then I'll walk you home, if you want the company that is..." Jonathon said before being interrupted by a voice. When he heard the word brother Jonathon took a cautious step away from Isolde. "Yeah, she was lost and I offered to help walk her home. She's fine, I just met her." This guy didn't look like the civil older brother type, especially if he found his little sister alone with a stranger in an alley. "I was just going to give her a walk home and maybe buy her a meal or something, that's all." Jonathon really hoped that his first impression of Isolde's brother was wrong and that he was an understanding guy.