The TV he'd been expected erupted with a few sparks, but any further prompting got nothing else out of it. Sighing, Sato continued looking around the room. Overlooking the changing family portraits and ignoring the lit stove, he decided to go catch up with Rui. Walking over to his side, Sato watched as their leader picked up a TV guide. Rui put in a specific channel, and it was as he did that did Sato notice the TV guide that they'd found was seemingly the only thing in the house-- dungeon-- that wasn't weirdly pixelated.
The TV channel Rui flipped to surprised Sato. For one, it actually worked. Secondly, the channel was showing what was apparently the story of a girl's life. Sato assumed it was the victim, Ayano. It seemed pretty normal, presented in a generic sitcom fashion. The show eventually ended on some still of Ayano sitting in her bedroom. He watched for a few more seconds, until he noticed that it wasn't a still. Things were moving... just not her.
It reminded Sato of one of those found footage horror movies. Sato half-expected Ayano to leap at the screen in a screamer or something, but it never happened. Instead, as he watched, the TV itself was changing, approaching them as it began to expand. Sato took a step back in surprise as the edges of the TV rushed past them, placing them in the midst of the scene they were just watching.
A chill went up Sato's spine. He clenched his fists, hands ready to reach for a weapon. It occurred to him again that he'd never been in a real fight before... but, these weren't people. Entirely different entities, and Sato had the power of persona. Hopefully he wouldn't choke when he needed to call on the power of Chronos.
The Ayano (which Sato remembered was not the actual Ayano) got of the chair it was in. As it approached them, its figure began to elongate with each step. It became something that looked straight out of a Junji Ito manga, a disgustingly stretched silhouette of something that was once human. Figuring it was going to attack, Sato got his bow out and nocked an arrow. A laughter coming from behind the group caught his attention, and he turned to look at whatever it came from. More Ayanos had appeared, though in different stages of life and different outfits. They all did the same thing as the first, and soon enough the group of persona-users was surrounded by elongated shadows.
"I-I've gotten through! Are you all okay?... Wait these are Shadows! And they have you surrounded!" It was Megumi! Communication was back, filling Sato with a bit more confidence. What she said confirmed Sato's thought that these things were hostile.
"Excellent... Everyone, attack from all sides. Break their formation," Rui ordered.
Sato nodded, looking around quickly to get a good look at what exactly was happening. They were surrounded by the shadows from all sides, though they didn't seem to be attacking immediately. They just needed to break through their formation before they could do something serious. Sato's fingers clenched on the end of the arrow, but he quickly realized it'd just be a waste of a shot. There were too many to be able to do anything big with just a single arrow.
That familiar warmth... Sato remembered that conviction, that velvet room, that card. Reaching into his pocket, Sato took out that card. He looked at the arcana marked Fortune. Closing his eyes, feeling the power within his chest, a blue glow surrounded the teen. Crushing the card in his hand, Chronos appeared in front of him. A clarity flowed through Sato, heart beat stabilizing and fears slipping away. This was the strength of the persona ability. There was no way he'd let anyone die today.
"Chronos!" He shouted, swinging his free arm in front of him. The figure before him lifted its scythe above its head for a few seconds, before slashing it in a horizontal arc. Following the blade was a powerful trail of wind, blowing away one of the figures with the strength of the blow. The fierce gales dissipated after the blow, staggering the shadows adjacent to it. It didn't feel like he was exerting anything, but after having summoned his persona, Sato felt his breath get a little heavier. Forgetting to continue the assault, Sato looked at his persona, catching his breath. Its majestic blue, the temporal appearance, astounded Sato again. Questions began to flood into his mind again, but he shook his head, only then realizing he'd left himself wide open.
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