User:RaccoonPestic/Sandbox

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The RaccoonPestic/Sandbox are a group in Shin Megami Tensei II.

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Mysterious hooded figures that function as the supreme government of Tokyo Millenium. Operating from the Center, they create the laws that their Bishop and Holy Knights enforce. Though to bring their goal is to bring the Millennium Kingdom to fruition and have a Messiah appear to grant salvation to the people, their vision of God's will and the Millenium Kingdom is meant to be differ vastly from the truth.

Game Appearances

Shin Megami Tensei II

This section contains spoilers. (Skip Section)

After Aleph and Hiroko return from the Internment Camp, they come across Zayin who informs them that the Center Elders had ordered for Abaddon to swallow Valhalla whole, leaving the district as nothing but a black hole, which prompts Zayin to rebel. If Aleph speaks to Louis Cyphre in the Underground Tokyo, he will tell them it seems like Abaddon was betrayed by the Elders.

Later, the Elders finally respond to Zayin's rebellion by having the Center Bishop announce through the Millennium News Network that lest he turn himself in, they will cut off the air supply to Holytown, which would kill everyone in the district. When Aleph goes to the Center HQ's command room, the Center Bishop informs him that the Elders wish to speak to him directly.

Before reaching the room of the Elders, Aleph's party encounters an Elder wearing blue robes, who instead of acting hostile to them, proclaims how the other Elders are wrong; that despite their claims of wanting to create a Millennium Kingdom that will experience eternal peace, they have created a world that subjugates and dominates people, which is against God's will. The party also finds Zayin encased in a large slab of stone, having been petrified by the Elders for trying to confront them directly. Upon entering their room, the Elders angrily call him and Zayin traitors and then transform, revealing themselves to be the Archangels Raphael and Uriel. They both attack the group but are slain, enraging the final Elder who also drops his disguise, revealing himself as the Archangel Michael. He is killed just the same however, and in his last breaths, he pleads to God to save them and deliver justice to the party. The blue Elder comes forward again to say what a shame it was that they were killed but then warns Aleph his fight is not over as a being claiming to be YHVH attacks them.

Once Aleph has slayed all of his opponents, the last remaining Elder drops her disguise to reveal herself as Gabriel. She goes on to explain that she along with the other Archangels had attempted to create a Millennium Kingdom according to God's will, but eventually, they had strayed from the proper path, with the Millennium Kingdom they had tried to create dominating people instead of saving them. After seeing that the promised Messiah would not appear in Millennium soon enough, the other Elders decided to take things into their own hands and tried to artificially create a Messiah, which was in direct opposition to God's will. After this, God abandoned the Archangels, only contacting Gabriel to order her to part ways with them to follow His true will. Gabriel then tells him to meet with Zayin, who had been restored upon the Elders' defeat. Zayin thanks Aleph for his help, happy that Millennium's rulers were gone, but was also worried due to no one being left to operate Millennium.

When Aleph is brought to Keter Castle, Lucifer reveals that the YHVH that he had defeated at the Center was not the real God; It was a false YHVH created by the Elders' fervent belief that they were following God's will.

Later, Aleph's party makes their way into Abaddon's body, where they reunite with Mekata, who reveals to them that the reason why the Elders had ordered Abaddon to swallow Valhalla was both because they saw that Valhalla was no longer of any use to them, and also because they wanted to prevent Aleph from meeting with Mekata in fear that he would reveal the truth, which he proceeds to do. He explains that in the Elders' efforts to create a Messiah once they saw that God would not send on Himself, they started the Messiah Project, resulting in the creation of Aleph, as well as Beth, Gimel, Daleth, and Zayin.

After Abaddon is defeated, he tells the party that the reason why he himself complied with the Elders' orders was because Michael had promised him to restore him back to his form as an angel.

Visionaries

The Center Elders are featured in six Visionary cutscenes in the Game Boy Advance and iOS versions of the game.

In "Laurel Leaf", Gimel is asked a multitude of questions by a priest while the Elders observe. The questions are centered around the concept of salvation and the Messiah and God's role in delivering it. As Gimel gives very extremist answers to the questions, the Elders note that his way of thinking is not of a Messian's but of a ruler's, though they decide that they can still make use of him, assuring themselves that as long as they have him under their control, no mistakes can occur.

In "Silver Rosary", Michael in his Elder disguise and the Center Bishop observe Beth being questioned about the Messiah. At first, Michael is a bit uncertain of Beth's extreme dedication to the Messiah but is reassured by the Bishop that this attitude is what they should want. They are not surprised when Beth chooses the Messiah over God, and after the questions finish, Michael decides to let the Bishop proceed how he wishes on the matter, but still notes that she appears to be a bit too selfless and hopes that it will not backfire on them.

In "Scales of Soul", half a year has passed since the Center was completed, and yet a Messiah had still not been sent by God, puzzling the Elders. They wonder what could be causing His inaction, speculating that it could be either the presence of the Yamato Shrine or the Ring of Gaea, but write them off as the Amatsukami and Kunitsukami have already been sealed away, and eliminating the Ring of Gaea would be impossible. Unwilling to wait much longer for a Messiah, Uriel brings up the possibility of creating a Messiah themselves. At first, the other Elders are in disbelief at the suggestion, but Uriel reasons that just as they prepared the Center, they will simply be preparing the Messiah, and along the way follow the steps needed to make him resemble the previous Messiah that appeared before the Great Cataclysm. Michael and Raphael slowly accept the idea, which Uriel calls the Messiah Project.

In "Messian Ceremonial Robes", the Elders summon a priest who eventually becomes the Center Bishop to meet with Michael in his Elder disguise. Michael views him as a promising priest and wishes for him to take command of Tokyo Millennium's construction, a prospect the priest views as a high honor. When the priest mentions that he sees the Elders as his predecessors, Michael corrects him, stating that their true natures are far different from that of the priest. After the Priest excuses himself, the other Elders come out of hiding to discuss his ambition and dedication to the Messian Church.

In "Steel Locust", Michael, still in his Elder disguise, approaches Abaddon to convince him to work with the Center. He brings up how Abaddon used to be an angel before he rebelled against God and became a fallen angel, and asks him if he would like to return to this form, using it as leverage to get him to agree to the proposition. While Abaddon is still hesitant to trust him, Michael insists that he cooperate with the Center, promising that they will speak to God about restoring him to an angel when the time comes.

In "Lily Corsage", the Elders are discussing what to do with Zayin and Aleph now that they are rebelling against them and decide to start a new Messiah Project after they have been disposed of. Gabriel however has had enough of their scheming and loudly protests their actions. They try to justify their actions and hope that correcting their mistakes will earn them God's forgiveness, but Gabriel refuses to hear them out and leaves them. This saddens the other Elders, but they resolutely conclude that they have gone too far to be able to turn back now.

End of spoilers.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	元老

Gallery

Sprite of Elder A from Shin Megami Tensei II (Playstation).
Sprite of Elder B from Shin Megami Tensei II (Playstation).
Sprite of Elder C from Shin Megami Tensei II (Playstation).
Sprite of Elder D from Shin Megami Tensei II (Playstation).
Sprite of the Red, Green, and Yellow Elders sitting in a circle from Shin Megami Tensei II (Playstation).