melodiesoflife | (no subject)

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Who: Johnny D'Amico and friends (?)
What: Time to face his Shadow self
When: January 12
Where: the lab
Warnings: Johnny's Shadow is a literal monster

[Johnny didn't want to do this. Not at all. It's taken a lot of courage for him to not only face his Shadow, but do it in front of other people. He's spent his whole life denying his demon heritage, trying to suppress it, to overcome it. But that's not possible; it's a part of who he is, and he has to accept it. He just needs to get over 24 years of repressed feelings and hidden emotions first.

The Shadow Johnny that appears has a frightening, wicked grin, highlighting those shark-like teeth, and carries himself with an air of confidence and not often seen in the real Johnny. The Shadow sizes him up, as well as everyone else in the room, with a predatory look.]

What a goddamn riot. Do you seriously think you even have the guts to take me on?

[Johnny tries to say something, but he's stuck. He doesn't even know where to start. He wishes everyone would just go away right now. Or maybe that he could disappear instead.]

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[Mary curses as things get ready for a conflict. She's been a Sky Pirate for the month, but even without the job equipped she still has her hidden blade ready, as always. She flexes her wrist, feeling the weight, but she certainly doesn't wish to use it here.]

There's nothin' wrong with having a hard life. If someone is living an easy one there's usually something going on behind it to make it so. Guilt means you regret your mistakes and you want to make better next time, but you can't let it weigh you down like an anchor either.

[She steps up, drawing her sword and readies to defend Johnny from his Shadow.]

Being free means taking responsibility for what you do. But it also means knowing that you get to choose. Your actions make you and your heart tells you where to sail. Nothing worth doing is easy when it counts the most, especially being true to yourself. But that doesn't make it impossible or wrong.

[Johnny is actually listening to all of these encouragements, even if it doesn't seem like he is. But accept this side of himself goes against everything he's spent a lot of his life ignoring or denying this side of himself. Even when indulging in it, he'd convinced himself he was better than that. Filtered through that, the words of his friends get bent. He is his own person, not this awful demon in front of him.]

If-- If I accept him, it means driving you all away. It means ruining even more. I-- I won't be like him! I won't...

[Johnny stepped away from the group a bit. He knew he should have come here alone. He shouldn't have brought anyone into this. Maybe his Shadow was right; he ruins everything on everyone. His existence was a curse.]

You all should-- should go. I'll handle this. This is on me.

[The Shadow laughs again, so very amused by how far off the mark his actual self is from all of this. Well, that's good news for him! Because this way, he gets to take over. He quickly steps forward to Johnny, and before he can react, the Shadow is looming over him, grinning.]

Man, you just don't get it.

Heh. Good.

[The Shadow suddenly vanishes, but it doesn't take long for everyone to figure out where it went. When Johnny turns back to face everyone, his grin mimics the one his Shadow self had been displaying.]

But I guess you guys need a little more convincing yet.

[Calamity Johnny opens with a Dragon Breath aimed at everyone.]

"Whoa, hey!" Reno stepped forward angrily, pissed that anyone should speak for him or make Johnny doubt their relationship. He didn't know who the hell Lukas was... or Meliantha... honestly, it did concern him, but now was not the time.

"We are just fine, so you can shut the fuck up and -- " And then Johnny was talking about driving them away, talking about them leaving. It was hard to remember they were two halves of a whole when the Shadow was making him so angry. But all of this, even the worst of it, was Johnny. All of it was a part of Johnny's deepest fears and secrets.

Reno was incredulous. "Johnny, I ain't leavin' you! We can deal with this, we can -- !" He reached out for his lover only to see the transformation up close. He paled as Johnny, possessed, opened his mouth to attack Reno point blank.

[Ramza, for one, is prepared for the transformation. That is how these things always go back home, too. Sometimes people turn into demons and need to be beaten within an inch of their life to return to themselves. No big deal.

Ramza raises his sword and points it at the demon.]

If you know what Johnny knows, you know the power I have mastered here. I shall ask it only once. Stand down, or be cut down.

'It means I'll drive you all away'

Mary's eye's flashed at those words, "You damn bloody fool-" But she was cut off as things proceeded anon and the Shadow attacked. She was already making the hand seals for Shunshin, starting as soon as it vanished and she was glad she did. She reacted on the spot, dodging out of the way of his breath and grabbing Reno as she went.

"Damnit Johnny, don't make me do something we'll both regret!"

Regrets aren't something I have anymore.

[Those are definitely the Shadow's words, not Johnny's. Johnny was burdened by many regrets, but his Shadow pretends like everyone and everything is nothing to him. You can't have regrets if you stop caring about everything.

Ramza's threats don't seem to phase him.]

But you don't know about the new abilities I've got mastered.

[Ramza is the lucky recipient of Heartless Angel, reducing his health to 1. Who's next?]

Ramza!

[That's- not good, no. K'pandolu flattens her ears back as she casts two Curas on Ramza- she doesn't think that was a good move at this point, but she won't allow him to be felled if she can help it. She scowls at the Shadow, tail flicking.]

You say you've left all of that behind? Those feelings, those connections? That sounds hollow to me.

Oh for fu--

[Seeing K'pandolu tend to Ramza, Saori turned her attention to the Shadow. She pulled a vial full of smoke from her belt and threw it. With a smash, the glass broke at the Shadow's feet, sending the smoke into its face. The plumes wrapped around the wrists like manacles. Chain Smoke should hold him back for now.]

You won't be driving us away, Johnny. We'll kick your ass if you ever did that for real, you got that?! And that's because we care. If this is about your demon powers, you probably just need time and support in learning how to control them properly!

[With K'pandolu's help, Ramza is able to stand again after the Shadow's attack. He's still hurt, but he can move.]

There will be no reasoning with him. Be on guard! He's strong.

[The best thing they can do for their friend now is defeat the Shadow controlling him, Ramza thinks. He charges toward the demon for a melee attack with his sword.]

[Duster shields his face with the concertina as he is hit with Dragon's Breath, but apart from the hiccup in the song, he continues playing as if nothing happened. The show must go on. But the enemy - though only temporarily their enemy - is strong. Using Trabadour, he adds the effect of Dancing Mad to the music, doubling attack power and stats when fighting other Heroes of Light. Does the Shadow posing as Johnny count as a Hero. Duster is an optimist.]

Keep going! We have to stop him before we can save Johnny!

[Saori's Chain Smoke interrupts the Crescent Moon Johnny was about to unleash on the party, which only angers him more.]

This isn't about my demon powers! Count your lucky stars that I ain't got 'em back, or you'd all have been dead minutes ago already.

[Duster's music has no effect, since the Shadow is a Calamity Knight, and no Hero any longer. While he can't physically attack while restrained, the Shadow can still cast spells. Saori's interference gets Death cast on her, but she lucks out - while she can feel the spell wash over her, nothing happens. Johnny roars in frustration.]

[The music slows down, gradually coming to a halt like a cheap carnival ride in a comedic play. Absolutely nothing changed since Duster began playing. No powerful moves, no changes in the battle. Nothing. Unless Johnny's bad luck with casting Death counts.]

...

[Either demons are immune to music or Johnny is no long considered a Hero. Then the opposite is...]

Try this!

[There was nothing to be gained is he doesn't try Melody of the Calamity]

[Mary is just getting back to her feet as the Death spell begins, the image of the Grim Reaper forming above Saori and swinging its scythe down on her. The Assassin's breath hitches for a second, a strangled cry escaping her lips before the spell's failure registers.

Relief is brief and quickly replaced by anger. She was concerned about the lethality of her training, of holding back for Johnny's sake, but this side of him wasn't offering the same courtesy. She throws down a smoke bomb of her own, vanishing on the spot. A second later she's lunging at Johnny from behind, driving her hidden blade at his shoulder. She's avoiding any major bloodlines but hoping to at least disable their raging friend.]

[Ramza only had two moves he can do. He does not assess this as a rock-throwing situation, so that leaves him only one choice. The demon needs be vanquished before it harms any of Johnny's friends. Accepting his Shadow would surely be even harder knowing it had killed someone he loved.

So Ramza raises Excalibur to throw a Final Fantasy Johnny's way.]

[Just when he thought he was about to get a face full of pain, Mary saved his ass. He could barely breathe out any thanks before Johnny was targeting Saori and Mary was gone.]

[He couldn't really blame her. He felt the same way about Johnny. Which was why it was really, really hard to let everyone start hurting him.]

Dammit!

[He loved Johnny. But he couldn't let this Shadow kill anyone here.]

If this ain't about bein' a demon, what's it about? If yer ready t' kill me already, then tell me why!

[Frustrated, he cast Thundara against the smoke-restrained Shadow.]

[Duster's song does the trick this time. Mary's attack is enough to enrage Johnny that he breaks the shackles of the smoke with sheer strength. He whirls around in a flash, grabbing her by the midsection and throwing her away from him in a frenzied move. He does try to aim for Duster, hoping she'll land on him and stop the song.

In response to Reno's question, the near-berserk Johnny turns to him menacingly when the Thundara hits him. He staggers, singed but still standing - yet he doesn't make a move towards Reno yet.]

Because you'll all just get hurt or killed cuz of me anyway! That's all that ever happens!

[Really, this does have everything to do with him being a demon. Johnny's wracked with guilt and shame and hatred of everything he is. It's a simple case of pushing everyone away in order to keep from hurting them further. Staying steeped in that logic for so long becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where he goes out of his way to hurt people before they can even have a chance to get close to him. His guilt and loneliness would him to sink into demon side, even after clinging so hard to his humanity previously. It's a thin line he'd always walk.

Thankfully, he has a lot of good people in his life to keep it from happening.

Ramza's attack manages to hit Johnny while he's distracted by Reno. He had no inkling that Ramza had such a devastating attack at his disposal. If it wasn't for the boost that being a Calamity Shadow gave, he'd be a goner for sure. After grabbing Ramza by an arm and attempting to roughly fling him into the nearest wall, he collapses face first.]

Johnny!

[Reno leaped forward into a Smoke Bomb, appearing to catch Johnny bodily and lower him gently to the ground. Hurriedly he checked for a pulse.]

Johnny?

[He ignored Ramza for now, couldn't even look at the other man for fear of snapping. Ramza was only doing what he had to do, same as Reno would. But Reno knew he'd still act on emotion if he let it in, same as Mary.]

[Well, that seemed to do it. Ramza stumbled back from the wall, his face bleeding where it had impacted. He shakily slid his sword back into his belt.]

K'pandolu, can you heal him? [The danger was past, at least for now. He hoped that magic could undo the harm he had done to Johnny.]

[That's far too close for K'pandolu's liking, and she's already moving before Ramza speaks, worried for Johnny.]

Of course. [she gives him a quick glances, brows furrowed, but- she understands the urge. She focuses on Johnny once she gets to him, kneeling beside Reno and holding out her hands, focusing all the healing strength she has on Johnny.]

[Saori's blood went cold and her whole body shivered when Johnny had cast Death. This goddess had every right to be afraid given their safety net against Death was no longer there. The cold aura of the Grim Reaper brought back memories of the creature that ripped her soul and body apart. As fast as it had appeared, the spell was gone.

With Johnny being cared for, Saori went over to help Mary and Duster up to their feet. Her hands tremble a bit but she keeps quiet about it.]

I have some potions too if we need more.

[Duster is strong, but not strong enough to block the force of a fully grown woman thrown by a demon. His concertina falls out of his hands as he hits his back against the wall and collapses on the floor. The song stops, though he's not sure how long he's been out for when Saori appears in front of them.]

...That'd be great. <small.[He holds out his own shaky hand, still reeling from the attack.

[Mary flies through the air, thrown with ease given her relative weight and the Shadow's strength. At the impact with Duster she lets out a shout and then tries to curl herself so that her blade doesn't accidentally cut him. Her shoulder hits the wall as they crash back, sending a shock down her arm, and as Duster drops she's left clinging to it thanks to her ninja skills.

She forces herself to calm, to not let her anger drive her. Everyone was mostly fine for the moment. She didn't want to hurt Johnny but she didn't want to risk the others here either. And it seems he was strong enough to take what she was dishing out. As he collapses she remains tensed, just in case there's more. She hopes there isn't.]

I'm fine. How are you?

[She's not quite fine. She's clinging to the wall with one hand and her feet, but the shoulder that impacted the wall is clearly dislocated. Her eyes remain on Johnny though. Her own pain can wait.]

[When Johnny awoke, being on the floor was a surprise. Things got blurry for him after the Shadow took over, which is how things went in battle sometimes, so he has an idea of what might have just happened. He sits up quickly, hands on either of Reno's shoulders to get a good look at him and make sure he was okay. Then he gets a look at the others. Not looking great, but at least no one's dead.

Across the room, at the same time Johnny had woken up, the Shadow reappeared. Arms folded and frowning, he's obviously not too happy about what had just happened. As Johnny goes to stand up and apologize to his friends, the Shadow cuts him off.]

You all could have just listened to me, and we wouldn't have to go through this all over again.

[Johnny turns to him, surprised and angry to see the Shadow again. He's ready to tell him off, but manages to stop himself. He thinks he knows now what he needs to do here, but it's not an easy thing to do. But thinking about his friends getting hurt again because of him is a lot worse.]

[Ramza studies Johnny as he wakes, waiting for a sign the Shadow is still in control. He relaxes just a little when the Shadow manifests again. The two of them will never work out their differences if they are not able to talk.]

Speak your piece, then.

[He keeps back, not wanting to aggravate anyone's tempers more than they already are.]

[One ear turns towards the Shadow, and K'pandolu huffs at him as she gets to her feet again. There's some tension in her stance, eyes darting to the others, but- they've won a moment to speak, at least.]

And done what, left? Deserted you? No. [she shifts to look at Johnny, growing a little more solemn.] You deserve more.

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