March rolls around and the hotel seems to be doing just fine, bar any of the usual shenanigans. In fact, it's one of those just fine days that Mr Bennet comes on the speaker and announces to the hotel:
"Hello, hello, my lovely guests! There seems to be an issue where one of the floors is, er, overlapping the others. Sorry about that. If you end up on this specific floor, just go through it instead of avoiding it. Then it'll stop bothering you, promise! It just wants the attention, clearly."
What this means is this: as characters move throughout the hotel today, they might end up on a floor they don't mean to be. What floor is this? The Labyrinth floor. Even if the elevator or stairs open up to a floor they're intimately familiar with, they'll be faced with a dark floor where the only view they can see is a hedge maze in front of them, beckoning them inside.
TEST OF COURAGE
The labyrinth floor will haunt characters as they go through their routine for the next three days. If they're lucky enough to avoid it for those three days, they'll be fine. But like Mr Bennet said, the easiest way to deal with the labyrinth is to just go through it.
The floor is dark, with the hedge maze reaching a whopping 15 feet high and only ending at the ceiling above. Characters will be led through a maze that has many dead ends and pitfalls. Some dead ends will feature monsters they have to fight or puzzles they have to solve (maybe a sphinx they have to answer the riddle of, for instance). If they try to ask the monsters or anyone else they find in the maze what the point of the maze is, the answer will always be to get to the middle. Find your prize. Claim your victory.
WHO AM I
If your character succeeds in making their way to the middle of the maze, they're in for quite a sight. What's waiting for them in the middle of the maze? Oh, it's just yourself. They'll be faced with a doppelganger of themselves in the middle of the maze, who just seems to be standing there, waiting for them.
And when they find that doppelganger, it'll only be a few moments of staring at each other until the doppelganger attacks. That's right, it's time to kill your double! The doppelganger has all the powers and skills that the original has with an added murderous intent. There's no hesitation from the doppelganger, no mercy. The only solution here is to kill or be killed.
If a character has teamed up with another character to reach the middle, two doppelgangers will be present instead — one of each character. The same goes for three or four characters.
VICTORY CRY
If a character managers to win against the fight against their double, they'll end up being transported right back to their hotel room and find a gift on the nearest surface closest to them. The gift can contain anything, something from home, something they want dearly, a memory they've forgotten. Just something precious to the character.
If a character ends up dying instead, either to a monster or their double, they'll wake up in the infirmary an hour later all patched up and like nothing happened. No prize! But the labyrinth will no longer be haunting them to go through it.
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hotelcaelum2024-03-15 08:31 am
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Careful not to let her near you. Her very touch is poisonous.
[And what of the other doppelganger?
Once the battle is won, she finds herself alone in a familiar room. It's one thing to be told about a memory lost; it's another to relive it and understand in retrospect how heavy of a burden retelling it must have been. Reiju can't say that it gladdens her, but she's grateful nonetheless . . . though, for what exactly, she can't say.
Back in her usual attire of a short dress, she leaves the building to walk the perimeter. The asteroid on which the hotel sits is desolate and gray. It's perhaps a welcome respite from the overwhelming colors and bustle, and she strolls the area with folded arms and an impassive gaze.
Her lips curl into a polite smile when she crosses paths with a fellow rover.]
Hello. What brings you all the way out here?
doppelgangers
[Kanji squints as he looks towards his own double, who slams a fist into his opposing hand as he seems to size up the two original residents.]
... he hits real hard. We might both wanna keep our distance!
[Not great for him, considering he's more of a bruiser, but Takeji Zaiten can definitely help him out here!]
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I'm immune to poisons. If you get any on you, I can extract it.
[If he doesn't mind being kissed, that is.]
I'll distract this one. Can you take care of yours?
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Yeah, I got 'im! If we know all their tricks, they don't stand a chance!
[Nevermind the fact that the same holds true for their doubles, but Kanji's own is quick to follow Reiju's, leaning forward and barreling towards the pair of them and lunging towards Kanji himself to strike with what looks like a shield, only to be intercepted by a creature three times their height that halts it with the blade of its sword.]
Alright! Let's do it, Takeji Zaiten!
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Reiju trades cool glares with her doppelganger. Killing intent is another factor when it comes to the victor. Fortunately for her, the intention goes both ways.
She presses the suspended kick with renewed force in her calf. The force pushes the doppelganger, who jumps back to create distance between them again, when a large clang pierces the air. Reiju glances over her shoulder at the towering figure of Takeji Zaiten—a sight that momentarily curls her lips before she turns back to her own doppelganger.]
How impressive. Well, then, it's time to get down to business.
[Poison is useless at this juncture. If she uses it carelessly, Kanji will be caught in the crossfire. The doppelganger has no such compunction, raising a finger to her lips in a telltale motion that launches Reiju into motion. Swooping in on the wings of her raid suit, she plants a strong heel against the belly of her doppelganger before the poison can release from the latter's mouth. The kick sends the doppelganger crashing onto the maze floor with a louder thunk than should be reasonable for a flesh body; when she next rises, there's an awkward depression in her gut that juts out slightly through her back.]
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Reiju's maneuvering is enough to distract him from his own doppelganger, for better or for worse— he's a good fighter, sure, but her technique is a hell of a lot better than his, like someone who's had actual training instead of just running around clobbering monsters with whatever seems like it'll make a decent weapon.
Did her foot just—?]
Holy shit, that's—
[He doesn't get a chance to complete whatever that thought might have been, because it turns out his doppelganger shares more with him than just physical prowess: a second Takeji Zaiten appears as Kanji's double rights himself, raising its blade to call lightning down to strike the first. While it doesn't seem to do much to shake the giant, it definitely alter's Kanji's perspective on how things are about to go.]
That's how we're gonna play it, huh? Screw that, I'm takin' you down!
[He barrels forward with his own shield at the ready, running straight past both Takeji Zaitens and towards his mirror. You want to take out a Persona, you go for the user— and while the doppelganger is prepared to deflect what looks like an incoming bodyslam, Kanji leaps forward and becomes airborne before it has the chance to recalculate, going in for a downward smash.]
Get bent, you asshole!
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Lying on her side, she props herself up on an elbow with a hand over her solar plexus. A dozen yards away, the doppelganger grips her head and forcibly pulls her extended neck back into alignment. Reiju takes this opportunity to steal a glance over at Kanji—there are so many of them over there—gauging the next course of action she should pursue.]
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What the hell?!
[He's got so many questions about how, exactly, Reiju seems to be able to move like she's made out of rubber, but now sure as hell isn't the time to ask it. He doesn't have a lot of time to think before his own double is hurling himself forward again, prepared to bludgeon, but the real Kanji ducks down just in time for the attack to clear his head entirely, sending his doppelganger pitching forward with the momentum of the attempt and giving Kanji himself the opportunity to grab hold of him and flip him onto his back.]
Nice try! Gonna have to do better than that! Hey, you— girl! [Oops, guess they hadn't exactly had time to introduce themselves.] You doin' alright?!
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Yes, somehow. Do let me know when you want to team up!
[It's starting to look like this might end up in a stalemate at the rate they're going. A little bit of gambling never hurt—much.]
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Team up, huh—
[He cuts himself off just in time to dodge an incoming swing from his own doppelganger, lunging to retaliate only to miss as his double does the same. Damn it.]
Y'know, maybe we oughta do that sooner rather than later— this guy already knows how I'm gonna move!
[That makes it hard to outsmart him— not that brains are Kanji's strong point.]
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She turns back to Kanji with a hand on her jaw. A cloud of something toxic rises unseen in her chest, ready to release at a moment's notice, as she bends a knee.]
All right. Then distract yours for me!
[A beat later, she breaks into a run, leaps into the air shortly after, and swoops in toward them.]
perimeter
Upon encountering Reiju, she nods, and offers another little bow. ]
Avoiding the, ah... What did Mister Bennet call it? The "overlapping floors" situation. Or trying to, at least. I suspect I'll be subjected to it before long. And you, Reiju?
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[To put it simply. She glances in the direction of the hotel.]
I went through the labyrinth earlier. Would you like an escort?
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[ She's scared!! ]
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[ Woof. Some poeple's shadows were already a piece of work. Full on doppelgangers sounds... ]
That means you were able to defeat yours, then. I wouldn't expect any less of you, of course, Reiju.
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I did it once. I can do it again; the choice is yours. I'm sure there must be guests at the hotel who are missing you. But I understand if you'd rather not witness unnecessary bloodshed.
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[ Sumina looks contemplative for a long while. She'll have to go back in eventually, lest she make a little camp out here, but... ]
...If it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay out here at least for a little while longer. I'm not... ready.
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Should I bring out some refreshments?
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Ahaha... How about some wine? Just kidding.
[ unless... ]
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Do you have a preference?
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I— I don't mean for you to—
[ Go though all that trouble, but... If you can't beat 'em, join 'em (at least for the return trip). So does Sumina follow suit, falling into step with Reiju, already wrapping her arms around herself in a bit as they go. ]
...Any wine will do, really...
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Let's hope the staff can recommend something good for us, then. I could use something to drink, myself.