Persona 3P: Two Sides of Fate
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
Minako stood in front of Igor and Elizabeth, feeling a floating sensation overcome her. Usually, she felt calmed by the atmosphere of the room, the quiet place she knew existed outside the rules of time and existence. Now, however, that she knew that Maiko was somewhere, alone and probably in grave danger, nothing could take away the urgency she felt deep within, not even a trip that wouldn't waste a real second of her time.
"I see that a new predicament has befallen upon you. The child that, even now, is trapped in the realm of shadows…your strength alone will not be able to save her."
Minako could only fight back the claws of doom that began to curl menacingly around her heart. Igor, his face carrying the same inhuman grin he almost always had on, only put his fingers together in what could only be assumed to be pensive thinking.
"Do not worry…her fate isn't completely tied to Death. She still has a chance to be saved…"
She grasped onto the hilt of her naginata, both soothed and unsettled by these new words.
"I don't understand…" she said.
"You will, in time. For now, just remember this: your bonds grant you power. They may be, as they were before, your only way to overcome the obstacles ahead."
Elizabeth opened the Compendium before her with a twinkle in her mischievous, yellow eyes. "You now have complete and total access to your Compendium, as you did before. Do keep in mind that some of the Personas you used to wield may prove too powerful to re-accustom to for the time being. Even so, I trust that the benefits will be far greater than this little bother."
Indeed, it would be. Already Minako was picking a handful out from the giant tome, naming some of the Personas she had found useful in past battles.
"Kiruki-Hime…Mot…Succubus…Parvati…that should be enough, at least for now."
She felt them all settle in her heart as Elizabeth closed the book with a satisfied grin on her face.
"Well, then," said the attendant as Minako felt herself fade back into reality. "I wish you a safe journey until you return."
"Yo, alchoholiccc! Where are youuu!?"
The guy's (Axel Kieske, was it?) constant screaming had already gotten on a few people's nerves (especially the pink-loving one with the bow that always seemed pissed for some reason), despite the fact that the rest of them were also doing their best to call out to their guide. Saki wondered if they had the slightest idea that she was already there, watching from the rooftop, sipping her wine with Jester next to her side, in the form of Handsome. He had an annoying habit of changing into the boxer lately, and Saki knew it was on purpose. But his teasing could be dealt with later, preferably when she was more drunk. Right now, there was a problem on her hands. Then again with fleshlings, she'd always have a problem on her hands.
"They're already getting so annoying, and it's barely been two weeks. I swear, when they're not staring at me, they're fighting amongst themselves. Don't they know that makes for easy preying?"
Under her, she made out the beginning of an irritated argument between the Kieske guy and Pinkie. I should make a mental note to give him some nickname he doesn't like. Wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea.
Already, the red-head with the rapier and an irritating aura of superiority began to break the two.
Saki took another sip. "Go home, Jest. I need to show 'em how stupidly easy it is to prey on the unprepared.
He stared up at her, waiting. She took something out from her pocket and threw it at him. He grinned in theform of the boxer before going back into his original one. Then he turned back and left.
She smirked before leaping into the air and allowing the black wisps to consume her as her mind calculated where she planned on popping up.
"…What? Oh, come on! She is an alcoholic, what difference does it make that we use her name or not? I doubt the other ones are as faithfully addicted to booze as she is." said Kieske as he faced Yukari.
"That is so wrong, and this is not the time to be screwing around! What if she decided not to come because of your stupid name-calling?"
"Then we don't need her help in the first place, Yukari!"
"What did I just tell you, Axel?" said the red head, her face a perfect portrait of exasperation.
"Woman, what did I tell you about my name?"
She rolled her eyes. "It is ridiculous for me to call you by your last name, and you know it! Now can you please stop being so incorrigible? We are wasting time, for goodness' sakes!"
This would be too easy. Already Saki was beginning to unravel behind Goatee, whom, like the rest, were too occupied with what was on their minds or the petty argument in front of them. Fools.
She made sure to lean in as close as possible next to the still unsuspecting Goatee's ear. Then, with a tone she was certain everyone would hear, she said one measly sentence. "So, I see we're all up and happy today?"
It had been too perfect. Goatee practically jumped out of his skin, letting out some kind of a screaming gurgle as he almost fell on his face. The others were also startled for the most part. If they were chickens, their feathers would be all over the place, she was sure. Ah, fleshlings. So easy. "You know, I have to hand it to you all for letting your guard down so damn easy. If I were about to kill you, none of you would stand a chance."
She had been expecting some kind of angry reply, but they were far too grim. The most she got was a glare or two from Goatee and Pinkie. Nothing else. Damn, they must've really been rattled by something if they wouldn't even bother...
"Saki-san, we need your help." said Red, coming up to her. "One of our friends got dragged into this place without anyone to protect her from the Shadows. Fuuka says she still can't locate her. Please, you have to help us find her."
She couldn't help getting a bit of shock seeing Red so uncharacteristically concerned and panicked. She could sense their fears, each and every one of them, as clearly as if they had all been posted over their heads. Her Persona gave her superior abilities; seeing people's fears and sensing them was one of her strongest ones. So of course, she knew what they were afraid of, what might have happened to the little girl they had barely noticed had disappeared.
She found herself crossing her arms across her annoyingly ample chest (she continued to wonder if maybe she should try to wrap them down again, although it never seemed to work for long) before deciding to give them the news.
"Look, fleshlings. I'd hate to break it to you, but if she's been pulled in, I don't think there's anything to look for by this point. The Shadows of this world have once again become close in approximately with your world's existence. No matter what we do, nothing is gonna stop them from dragging the wills of people overboard."
She knew that the next words weren't going to be popular, but she couldn't stop them from leaving her lips. "Besides, why do any of you care? Tons of people get brought here every day, yet all you want to do is save one of them? Just who do any of you think you're fooling with this? If it had been a stranger, I doubt any of you would've noticed in time."
They remained unsettled even more now that her words had pierced them like cruel, sharp blades. Really, who the hell do they think they are? At the end of the day, everything ends the same…in this world, the weak ones die. The strong live…don't they, Dad?
The thought of her father delivered a bitter taste she needed washed out of mouth. She effectively did so with the bottle, savoring the sweet liquid that went down her throat. Ah, alcohol. The friend to everyone who needed to shove their problems deep inside themselves.
"That's not true!"
The one in the pink suit faced her, her face contorted in anger. She clutched her bow as she spoke, the intimidation she felt hitting Saki like waves of water. Yet, for some reason, there she was, staring her right in the eyes.
"We struggled to save everyone we could from the Shadows! And we still are. That's more than you can say. If so many people have been being dragged in, why haven't you been doing anything about it?"
Saki found herself scoffing out of pure disgust. "You think you can stand here and put a judgment on me, do you? That's easy: it's. Not. My. Problem."
Their faces revealed the angry reactions she had hoped to achieve. Let them think what they wanted. They didn't know anything.
However she found herself lifting her hand to stop whatever idiotic replies she'd get from them. "Besides," She sighed. "whoever gets tossed in here gets ripped apart before they get a second chance to blink. There's nothing I can do to stop them if I tried. If you're not a Persona-user when you're in this place, you're screwed. That's just how it is."
Suddenly, something weird happened: she felt a prickle of something unpleasant inside as she noticed their expressions: shattered hopes falling to her feet as if she had smashed them with a hammer. When was the last time I've felt…felt…bad for someone?
She didn't like this. Her conscience was starting to bug her again. She hated her conscience. She wished it'd just die.
"Wait."
This time, it was the robot, not a human voice that cut through her thoughts. The strange, blue eyes of the robot whom looked just like any human girl in the face area at least. Her voice hadn't been directed at Saki per se, but all of them.
"There may still be hope!"
"What do you mean?" asked Goatee.
"It is regarding Maiko-chan. I am 99.89% certain that she has the potential!"
"What!? How do you…?"
The robot interrupted the kid's words with the same urgency she had begun informing them of the situation. "I had sensed it when I made direct contact with her! I hadn't been sure at first, but I continued to re-evaluate the analysis until proving its certainty."
The leader got the hopeful shine back in her eyes. Saki didn't know why, but she got reminded of two steady flames alight with a source that would never go out. Damn, I need to take it easy on the booze now and then. Yeah, right.
"That means there's hope." said Red. "If she could use her Persona than maybe she's okay!"
An even bigger surprise hit Saki a few seconds later. All the fear and negativity they had emitted just vanished. She couldn't believe this. What the hell is this chick?
"Fuuka! Start a search for Maiko again. Look for a stray Persona reading!"
"Okay, okay. Hold on fleshlings. I think…I might be able to find her faster…" Depending on if he answered her, of course.
"How're you..?"
"What did I tell you about the questions? Just shut it, Goatee. I'm making a call."
"Making a call?" he asked. It was inevitable. "But there's no signal in this world."
Without answering, she summoned Pandora. Closing her eyes, conveniently blocking out whatever noise they had begun to make. Ah, the steady stream of consciousness from her surroundings. As she spread out her power, reaching out just able to connect to another power, a more focused one.
After getting the answer she had been looking for, she pulled her power back, storing it all into offense. Oh, boy. It looks like I'm going to do this. What is wrong with me these days?
"She's at the northwest area up ahead, around the lake. She's not safe for long, though. That's where one of your prey is."
"You mean she's with one of the giant Shadows?"
This time it had been the kid who had spoken. He was one of the worst; his fear oozed out of him like a thick mist. She grimaced. His fears played out in front of her like some kind of a vision: the poor girl bleeding on the cold, hard ground of this dammed world, dead under the heartless glares of the hungry Shadows. Saki could taste the metallic heaviness of the blood, feel the heavy jaws of fear clamp around her chest…for a tiny moment, she found it difficult to breathe.
She took a deep, long swing of her alcohol. With heavy gulps, she emptied the bottle, ignoring the sloppy splashed that would fall onto her shirt. That's it. The welcome fuzziness began to appear, as if in the corners of her mind. She successfully pushed the morbid imaged away, getting her power into check. She even almost forgot about it.
Not really. But something was still something.
"Yeah, obviously. Okay, so here's the deal. You guys aren't gonna make it in time if you run on foot. Even if you could, you'd tire out and the thing would pluck you all out as if you were weeds." she said once her wine had been emptied.
"What!? Then it doesn't matter! No, there has to be a way! You…you can teleport, can you?"
The kid insisted despite the fact they apparently believed she was capable of unpredictable slaughter. Tough little runt, aren't ya?
"I can," she said. "But I can't take all of you at the same time. Hell, I can't take more than me and a small person—or animal—at the same time. So no. That won't be an option."
The runt/kid (Ken Amada, was it?) clenched his fists, a childish frown on his face, like the ones that meant they were close to crying a river out or something. Poor runt kid.
"Hold on. I didn't finish. Just because you guys can't teleport….it doesn't mean I don't got my ways." Despite herself, Saki felt a grin stretch on her face.
Now one of the senior fighters, the one with the beanie (Aragaki, Shinjiro now that she remembered) gave her a skeptical look. "What are you tryn' to say?" he asked in that deep, rough voice of his.
"Just 'cause this place is a hell hole, doesn't mean they're aren't ways to get around. "Seeing their faces, she added the last important detail. "Tell me, fleshlings…how do you all feel about trains?"
"Are you sure this is safe!?"
Junpei stared out the window, his body language as transparent as ever as he nervously shuffled in place.
Minako wasn't feeling so great herself. She had remembered the train as a smooth ride that made you feel like you were—at one point—gliding over the sea. But this train reminded her of a far more stressful ride. Once she, Yukari and Junpei had taken alone during the Dark Hour all those years ago. A ride that almost ended in all three of them dying in a violent crash against another train. So she could understand Junpei's feelings. My stomach's a little unsettled too, now that I think about it.
Saki's hand almost waved itself as if dismissing whatever words came out of Junpei's mouth. "Of course. Why wouldn't it be?" Their guide was sitting in one of the train's many chairs, legs sprawled out and relaxed as any person could be on a train in an alternate Shadow realm. She lazily took yet another sip of yet another bottle of wine.
It amazed her how the other woman was still able to make coherent sentences.
That didn't make Minako feel particularly reassured, but she decided not to say anything. She instead used her energy to convince herself not to go back into the past. Taking a seat, she did her best not to portray her nervousness to her team.
Next to her, Yukari was fidgeting with her bow. Everyone else simply stood as the train slid on.
"So, how fast can you make this thing go?" said Akihiko, his feet moving as he stayed on his feet, moving around impatiently. You couldn't tell if you didn't know Akihiko well enough, but he was worried about Maiko too. He had only seen her at a glance, but knowing him, Maiko must've reminded him of the dead sister he couldn't save.
He frowned even more than he had been. "We can't afford to waste anymore time."
Saki stared into her wine bottle quietly, as if searching for the words, although Minako was sure that she was actually just looking for wine to drink. "Can't. If we made it any faster, we'd miss our stop."
Miss our stop? That wasn't very comforting.
"Excuse me?" she heard Mitsuru say. "Doesn't this car have breaks?"
Saki seemed to have given up on the bottle, because she set it down with a sigh. "Well, in theory, yes. But they don't actually work."
Minako could feel the panic start before she could even speak.
Junpei sprung to his feet and practically screamed at the tops of his lungs. "WAT DO YOU MEAN THIS THING DOESN'T HAVE BREAKS!?"
"It has breaks. They just probably don't work."
"PROBABLY!?"
"Well," she said, despite the fact that half of Minako's team looked on the verge of a mental breakdown. "I tried them once. They didn't do anything. I had to wait it out until it just ended up taking me back to where I started. At least, I think they did. I teleported out after a while."
"Saki-san, if they're anything like the real trains, they don't loop back! They take hours to go all the way to Inaba and then stop!" said Yukari, whose face began to whiten.
"Ina-what?"
Yukari stuttered a few words before she could form a coherent sentence. "The town far away from this one!"
"Ow, what did I say about yelling!?"
"ARE YOU KIDDING!?" Junpei wasn't even making an effort to control his voice by this point. "WE ARE GONNA MISS MAIKO CHAN IF WE DON'T STOP! HOW CAN YOU JUST BE SITTING THERE CALMLY AS IF THIS ISN'T A PROBLEM! AND…AND WHAT IS THAT?"
Junpei pointed over Minako's shoulder. She twirled around faster than anyone, looking out the window. For the silver of a moment, she could've sworn she saw something in the distance.
"Ugh, I don't see anything, Stupei! Not is not the time for your dumb tricks!" said Yukari. "See, you're just scaring Ken-kun!"
"I-I didn't make anything up! I saw something in the air, some kind of a—"
A screech pierced the air, so powerful they all were forced to cover their ears. It felt like knives were stabbing the inside of Minako's ear sockets. The glass windows around them cracked.
"Bird." finished Saki, on her feet and seemingly unaffected by the sound. "Well, if it isn't the Emperor."
The Emperor Arcana? Minako, once recovered, peeked out the window again. This time, a gasp caught in her throat.
There wasn't one bird; there were dozens. All had sleek, golden downs like armor. They flew around in blurs, too fast for her eye to catch. All but one. The proud Emperor stood in the middle of his flock, surrounded by the smaller ones as they swarmed around him like bees. His mask proved his Arcana, gleaming so bright she noticed it from all the way over here.
Boy, there were in trouble.
Fuuka's voice rang in all their ears. "I've confirmed it! It's one of the two giant Shadows!"
"Fuuka! Where's the other one!?" said Minako. She knew Fuuka could hear her without her screaming, but her ears were still ringing from the enemy's attack.
"I've found it! It's like Saki-san said! It's near a lake a few minutes away if you keep using the train. The next stop is in five minutes. You need to get off there if you want to make it!"
A timeline. The déjà-vu was so present it hurt.
"Five minutes? This thing is about to attack us!" said Kieske, who had just gotten on his feet again.
"Damn we can't fight it like this! We're sitting ducks." said Akihiko, his teeth gritting.
Minako found herself looking over at Saki. The woman was incredibly calm. Serene, almost. The glazy eyes were replaced with sharp, dark ones. Everything about her was focused and alive, so much that an electricity seemed to come from her. Just who exactly is this woman?
Before she could wonder anymore, Saki helped her up.
The birds were on the move, the swarm flying towards them. The alpha stayed behind, but with a screech like that, the leader doubted he wouldn't be able to attack them from afar.
"You guys aren't ready for this." said Saki, no nonsense on her expression. She wasn't taunting or teasing them. It was the truth. "The moment the Emperor gets here, you're gonna be in some serious trouble. These things don't play around for long."
"I-I don't care!"
Minako noticed Ken, who had helped himself up with his spear, face them. "I'm not leaving Maiko-chan behind! A real man doesn't leave his friends behind!"
A smile reached Minako's face before she could help it.
"Good. Then that means you're going to have to follow my plan so you can make it out of this." said Saki.
"Plan?" asked Akihiko.
"Yup. I'll be taking care of the big guy over there. You all will not." She kicked down the door at the end of the train car, revealing the other one to the next one. "Listen up, fleshlings. Your goal is to get to the last car, do you understand? Fight whatever's in your way, but otherwise don't stop. When you get there, hold your ground. I'll take care of the rest."
"What exactly do you plan on doing?" asked Shinjiro, doubt written all over him. "You said this thing doesn't have breaks. This ain't gonna solve anything."
Saki grinned, sharp canines making it feral. Inhuman. "Like I said, I'll take care of it."
Despite everything, no one moved. They all looked at Minako, waiting. Her choices were clear: either she could trust Saki and follow her plan (whatever it was) or she could try fighting the Emperor off along with its pawns.
Minako thought about what she already knew about Saki. She was too volatile, and her behavior erratic and unpredictable. But, right now, there wasn't any of that coming from her. In fact, she just stood their patiently, knowing that she'd have to wait for Minako to give an answer.
Time was ticking. She had no other choice.
This is for Maiko. "Alright. We'll follow your plan."
Another screech came, this one even stronger. Minako, despite covering her ears, could feel blood seeping from one of them. She felt herself scream, but couldn't even hear it over the noise. Glass exploded dangerously around them. Someone had thrown themselves over her, protecting her from the explosion of the window next to her barley in time. Despite the effort, she had glass on her hands, which she had placed on the ground to steady herself.
Then it stopped, as if someone had pulled the plug on it. Even so, her head rung more than ever. She was disorientated, and she could imagine that everyone else was too.
Get up! she thought to herself. Get up, they're coming! Get. Up!
"Everyone, please, get up!"
She felt as if someone washed away the fuzziness in her mind. It took her a few seconds to realize it had been Fuuka. Of course. She had almost forgotten how powerful Juno is.
"Everyone, get ready! The enemy is almost upon you! They're weak to ice and Hama attacks! Hello? Anyone!"
"We hear you Fuuka." said Akihiko, who had just gotten up himself. Minako saw shards of glass had stuck to his torso. Although small, she knew they must've hurt. Blood was on him. None the less, he didn't seem perturbed. He looked over to Shinjiro, who was groaning and had some glass on him, but none the less okay. "You gonna take a nap Sjinji?"
"Shut up, idiot. I'm not out yet."
"Good," said the boxer, grinning in what could only be, in Minako's experience, out of pure excitement from the battle ahead. "Because now's not the time to be loafing around. Come on, Ken; we've got work to do!"
The teen had wobbled to his feet just in time to steady himself with his spear before falling over again. Glass was stuck in his hand, and he shivered as he dug his grip on his weapon. "I'm ready!"
"Ugh, both of you are gonna get an infection!" said Yukari's voice. It sounded less vicious, more concern in it than anything. Isis rose behind her. "Diahran." They healed, although the glass remained. "Now pick that out before you get yourselves hurt."
"We don't have the time!" yelled Ken, his body tensing as he beheld the swarm that approached them. "I won't use my weapon. I promise." he added, seeing Yukari's sharp eyes directed at him.
"The enemy is here. Brace yourselves! We are about to meet the first assault!" said Aigis, Athena rising behind her. The shield fell into place in front of her and Minako. It had been her who had protected Minako; luckily she sustained no damage, being made of metal.
Minako thanked herself that she was alright. She didn't know what she'd do if Aigis had gotten-
"Minako. We await orders!"
"Defend, and protect each other." she said, hopping to her feet. "Attack only if you have to, just like Saki-san said!" Here we go! "Persona! Come, Mot!"
A coffin materialized in front of her. Inside of it a vile creature peeked its head out just enough to reveal its horns and other grotesque, dark features.
The timing had been perfect; as soon as he appeared, fully formed, the first of many birds collided into him. Minako gasped. Not only would she have sustained heavy damage, but she felt the impact in her stomach as if a professional football player had tackled her. Behind her, similar situations were occurring to her teammates; already, she heard a handful become knocked down.
"Athena! God's Hand!"
A giant fist that appeared seemingly from the heavens killed the enemy in front of Minako. She nodded in appreciation towards Aigis before dodge rolling out of the way of another. She felt a sharp cut in her arm as it zoomed past.
Athena's shield stopped the third one, a loud thonk! confirming its impact. The Persona's sphere took care of what was left.
"Thank you, Aigis!"
"No need. Hurry; our teammates are in peril!"
She didn't have to say another word; Minako drew upon Mot's power. Out of nowhere, a large, dark rune appeared under all the enemies in the train car. "Mudoon!"
Several agonized squawks were heard as she caught them in the magic trap. They dissipated. The few stragglers were picked off easily.
"Everyone, behind Athena's shield. We have to get to the next train car!"
They did so, as much as they could; the shield was barley big enough for all of them. One at a time, they skipped over to the next car. It was in similar shape, with broken glass shattering the floor.
Like a trained air force, five golden shadows swooped in, throwing sharp, golden feather-like daggers at them. They bounced harmlessly off Athena's shield.
"Mitsuru, now!" said Minako.
The air turned from stifling to frigid in mere seconds. Crystals of ice formed in the corners of the train car. Artemisia's graceful form floated above them, a dancer frozen mid-jump. Giant, solid blocks of ice fell upon the birds, crushing them to death. As more arrived, the particles and shards left from the initial assault flew at their attackers; like daggers, they pierced through the enemy's armor.
Minako gave the word, and Ken began the casting of Kali-Nemi's Hama magic. Before they knew it, the car had been cleared out enough to move on.
"Go! Quickly, there are only three minutes left!" rang Fuuka;s voice.
They did so, this time having Akihiko and Shinjiro knock down the door to the next car.
"Fuuka; how many carts are left?" asked Minako, her hair whipping her face as she leaped across to the other cars. Her friends quickly followed.
Outside, the sounds of combat were loud and impossible to ignore. More of the enemies were out there; she could tell from the screeches. Metal on metal would be heard, and more often than not the defeat of an enemy reigned over everything else. Saki was doing her work well.
"There were five; all you need are three more!" She sounded hopeful; as usual, Fuuka had undeniable faith in Minako.
Minako swallowed. More of the swarm came at them, closing the distance almost too quickly. Already, she could barely keep her breath. "Switch! Jack Frost! Go!"
While not as powerful as Artemisia, Jack Frost's ice magic was enough to detain the enemies long enough for Mitsusru to finish. Ken prepared his magic again, and finished off what was left. Minako made it a rinse and repeat, at least until they got to the end.
At the next cart, Junpei whooped enthusiastically. "At this rate, we'll wipe 'em out in no time!"
Minako could feel Yukari prepare something to cut Junepi's happiness away and aim at his self-esteem even before they were cut off by a rough jerking of the cart. Everyone was swept off their feet by the combination of the motion and their running. The floor hit Minako harder than it should've. She sucked in a breath as pain shot through her arm; she had made the mistake of holding it in front of her face to prevent the fall.
"What was that?" she heard Yukari ask. She groaned, and Minako saw that she was trying to get up.
"Hey, Ken-kun. Are you alright?" came the voice of Junpei, full of alarm.
Minako finally raised her head enough to notice that Ken was bleeding so much through his hands that he was staining his pants. She felt chills as she noticed the tiny shards that had destroyed Ken's skin were covered in blood.
Akihiko had been able to spare the worsening of his cuts by grabbing onto a rail to break his fall, but let go as soon as he noticed Ken and his state.
"Watch out!" screamed Aigis, propelling herself to the side. Athena stopped a vicious oncoming wave. The strong hits vibrated like a hammer pounding on steel. Aigis barely held her ground against the onslaught.
"Aigis is in critical stages of damage! Someone help her, please!" screamed Fuuka.
Minako summoned the ice imp once more, but too her surprise, Shinjiro stood up and called Lancelot to defend Aigis. Just as Minako was about to stop him, she watched, awed, as Lancelot sent the force of their attacks back at the monsters, killing most of them and stunning the other ones enough to cause them to disappear within the red sea.
"How. How did you do that?" asked Minako.
He smiled at her, one that was all grin and caused a flurry of butterflies to rise in her stomach. "I still go a lot of tricks up my sleeve."
"Oh, don't be such a suave guy, we all know that you can reflect stuff." said Kieske's voice from behind.
Shinjiro's smile flattened out. Damn that Kieske. Oh, well. Now was not the time for fuzzy feelings anyway.
"Nice work, beanie boy."
Minako jumped before she could help it. Saki was so close to her back that she could feel her breath come out of nowhere.
"Relax, Red. I won't touch." said Saki, walking by. Minkao noticed that in the little amount of time they had been fighting, Saki's clothes had gotten more torn and destroyed than what Akihiko was wearing. Blood, although not too much, was on her body. From herself or the enemies, Minako couldn't tell.
"Pandora, take care of this."
The monsters had flung themselves in, the second wave had already arrived. The box opened, all the wisps hitting their intended targets perfectly. With the fear infliction upon them, a few fled as fast as they came. Minako, knowing full well what was about to happen, covered her ears. A screech unlike the one from the Emperor erupted from the Persona's lips, killing the birds in front of them.
"I'm going to need some serious aspirin when I get back." muttered Kieske.
"What are you waiting for? Go!" said Saki, who began to disappear again. "You guys have two minutes left!"
Minako cursed herself for lingering, and even more so for being unable to heal anyone. Her healers wouldn't be able to help anyone without stopping at least a little bit. Luckily, Shinjiro at least took Ken's spear so both of them could run. Minako saw the pain in Ken's eyes even being separated by three others. She ordered him to the back of the team. He refused, knowing she wouldn't have the time to stop and scold him. "Besides, I'm the only one besides you who can use Hama skills." he said.
"Fine, but you stay behind Shinjiro!"
One minuet and thirty seconds. She could've counted every one of her heartbeats as she fought through. Mitsuru, held up the front incredibly well. The team would fight off survivors and Ken would pick off the rest.
They leaped to the next car. One minuet. Akihiko and Shinjiro, along with Junpei this time, shoved the door open. They braced themselves.
There were no monsters.
"Somethings wrong" Minako said, mostly to herself. "Be careful, but cross over. We need to get to the last car."
They went by in seconds. Nothing attacked them. Compared to the other cars, the silence was thrice as noticeable. The hairs on her back rose up. The enemy must have something up their sleeves, or else they would've met with more creatures, but nothing was here, nothing but shattered glass and giant claws.
Giant claws.
"Watch out!" she screamed, too late.
Horrified, she watched as the Emperor tried to grab Mitsuru, but took Koromaru instead when the dog leaped up to push Mitsuru out of harm's way. The tiny Shiba-inu was barely visible when caught by the talons of the mighty beast. Yukari reacted, shooting an arrow straight at its exposed belly. The projectile bounced off as if it had been made out of rubber instead of wood.
"Aigis, don't shoot, your bullets might ricochet!" said Minako, just in time to stop her from doing just that.
"Koro-chan!" gasped Fuuka's voice. The enemy took the dog out of reach before anyone could recover him. Gracefully, all the more so because of its power, the bird pushed away from the train car and soared in the air away from them.
Some of them fell back as the car dangerously moved from side to side while running through the course tracks.
The cart violently retched to the other side, forcing Minako to jut her head out of the window. She cried out, feeling her body slipped out of the hole. The air rushed around her. A scream left her lips. She heard her teammates behind her yelling out her name. She couldn't look back. Her hand gripped the naginata hard, her hand ached and her knuckles were tense.
The hard ground was meeting her fast, too fast…
Memento mori.
Remember that you will die.
Akihiko Sanada could feel his pulse racing, his head throbbing. Aigis was going out the window as he raced to find something he could do. Even if he summoned Ceasar by this point, it wouldn't reach Minako in time.
Think.
Aigis' upgrades allowed her to hover in the air, but she was already too far from Minako.
Think.
Shinji was too busy; Yukari was gripping his hand for dear life, and Mitsuru herself had held onto Ken, aware of the fact that his lightweight would make him liable to the same.
Think.
Despite himself, he made Ceaser appear. His persona flew towards Minako, even if he knew inside that it wouldn't do anything.
He couldn't get her face out of his head. Every time she got into danger, too many times already, damn it!, he swore he saw Miki in her.
And now, this other girl was in trouble, the same aged Miki was when she…she…
Think. Think. Think!
They saw it, he saw it. The enemy coming back for more. He couldn't believe it. They were easy picking, unprepared and under armed even after so much struggle. Unless they knocked it down before it reached them, this thing was going to throw them out of the rails and crashing to the ground. He was more than certain that only Aigis would be capable of surviving something like that.
He clenched his fists and grit his teeth. If he was going down, he was going down fighting.
At the very last moment, the bird swerved out of the way. Koromaru was flung into his arms. He blinked a few time, staring at the small dog.
Shortly after, Minako appeared in the now steady cart with Saki.
"What?"
She grinned at him. Saki, with the dark eyes that were almost inhuman.
"Keep your mouth closed, Handsome. You guys aren't done yet."
She disappeared.
She was definitely getting too attached to this stuff. She had scooped up the girl and wrestled the dog out of the bird in seconds. This world was getting too violent already. The red-eyed girl had already come way too close to dying.
Oh, screw it. She was getting this over with.
Sword drawn, she flew down on it, hitting it hard behind its neck. It made a guttural, ugly sound before they both began crashing down.
The adrenaline was kicking in nicely now. Her hair was out of her face, just the way she liked it, everything up and pumping. Golden daggers flew off the monster's wings. One of them sliced her right arm swiftly. She didn't even flinch.
She raised her sword right over its neck One quick, deep stab would turn this bastard into nothingness.
A sharp hit to the head brought her back into the moment. She gasped, her head doubling the pain due to the alcohol intake coming back to get her. Despite herself, she brought her hand to her forehead. The bird was struggling, alright.
"Oh, no you don't!" She stabbed, but the creature opened its wings at the same moment, making her crash into the bird's chest violently. Dozens of blades cut into her face and body. Some were too deep, especially in her arms.
The smell of blood. It's been awhile. She licked the metallic liquid from her lips. The smell was getting stronger, or at least she assumed. This whole hell hole always reeked of it.
Damn, head's hurtin again. This is why I hate doing this crap. Really, she should be at home drinking out of a bottle of luscious alcohol, not beating down a Big One. Maybe killing Shadows with Jest. Anything but this.
It opened its maw again. She hit it over the head with her bottle. Like hell she was getting another migraine because of a lively chicken. It went limp.
They were going down. Her lips stretch into a grin.
Boy, do I love a good ride.
Minako stumbled to the last train cart, her team right behind her. They had just made it; already the cart had slowed down. They were about to stop.
"Is everybody alright? I sense that many of you need medical attention!" said Fuuka, almost a whisper in their minds.
Minako's head may have still be spinning, but she wasn't going to back down now that they were here. The last fight of the night.
They had all seen Saki plunge down with the enemy into the bloody sea. Fuuka had confirmed the Shadow's death, but Saki's was uncertain. After all, she had never been in Juno's radar to begin with.
Without the swarm after them, they made it without a hitch. Minako made sure the team tended to their wounds. Ken had shaken and shivered when Yukari had taken the shards out. The leader flinched along with him when she saw the glass get picked out of his small hands.
Luckily, Yukari had brought a First-Aid kit with her. She began wrapping his hands in gauze. She really looks like she knows what she's doing.
Minako was proud of her friend. She felt impressed too when Yukari had fought Akihiko verbally until he let her treat him. Mitsuru had helped, but none the less.
They knew they were running out of time. Maiko was here, Fuuka had confirmed it. But where? Where could she possibly go? Where could Maiko be?
"Ken, maybe you should stay out of the fight…" said Yukari.
Ken shook his head so much Minako feared he'd hurt himself. "No. I'm fighting, just like I said I was."
Yukari let out enough air to dis-inflate a hot-air balloon. "I think Akihiko-senpai's been a bad influence over you. At least on some things." She glanced back at him, expecting the inevitable reply. He didn't disappoint.
"What do you mean? Ken's already a man, Yukari. And a man fights when he needs to."
"Coming from a man who always punches first and asks later." said Kieske. He blew a dark strand of hair out of his face. His brown eyes scanned the landscape.
Now Akihiko was the one annoyed. "There's nothing wrong with proving someone's heart with a fair fight."
Shinjiro sighed. It was tired, just like the bags under his eyes. "Not everyone thinks like you do, Aki."
"Um, it's okay guys. I want to. Really." said Ken. His eyes went up to the leader's; she saw the weariness in them, but more so she felt the drive that set them alight. "So, please? I won't be a burden. I haven't been one, you've seen it!"
His hands were being bandaged by Yukari as he spoke. Sometimes, especially times like these, Minako actually wished she wasn't the leader. She didn't like making these calls. If it was up to her emotions, she'd have everyone fighting behind her. She'd take all the hits. All the falls.
But I can't do that. I'll never be able to do that. "Okay, Ken. But you follow my orders to the letter, do you understand?"
His eyes lit up like holiday lights.
"One bad move and I'm leaving you off the offense squad. Got it?"
He nodded. In his eyes, she read his thank you.
"The Empress is ahead." said Fuuka. She was never good at masking her concern. Her voice always trembled a little. Like a flower shaking in the breeze. "Please, be very careful, everyone." A genuine request.
"We will." replied Minako.
They left the safety of the train, or what was left of it. When they got off, they were met with the same tense atmosphere they recognized from the car. Even if Fuuka hadn't mentioned anything, Minako felt in the very air that something lingered, waiting.
Something, like a part of a building, crashed some distance away. They waited. Until they heard it: a scream.
"Maiko-chan!" yelled Ken.
Minako knew what he was about to do; she tried stopping him, but knew it wouldn't do anything. She tried anyway. "Ken! Stop!"
Obviously, he didn't. Seeing no alternative, she ran after him and the source of the noise. No one stayed behind. They reached another clearing of sorts. This appeared to be this world's version of the strip mall. Or it would've been, had it not been for the massive damage done to the building. It was almost completely destroyed. An entire store had been thrown to the ground. Shattered glass and other debris littered the floor. And hunched behind it was Maiko.
Compared to the monster in front of her, she was nothing but a tiny dot. Her body shook. Her feet seemed to be glued to the floor. She didn't even bother to turn around, despite the fact that the group was close enough to Maiko to be heard.
"Oh…my…is that it!?" asked Yukari. She gasped. "It…It's so much larger than the last one already!"
Indeed, the Empress towered over them all. As soon as she heard the arrival of new people, she turned towards them, facing them fully. The last Empress had been large, but not tall enough to outdo the height of a multi-floored strip mall. The colors red, black and white were the predominate colors on it. Much like the other Emperor, this one had smaller Shadows helping it. Currently, they lifted up the Empress on a throne that didn't even touch the floor. On their chest, exactly where a human heart would be, was the symbol of a broken heart. The masculine figures themselves weren't hostile. It was the "woman" they carried that stared down at them maliciously, with an evil gleam in her masked face. Her hands both had long, sharp nails that almost touched the ground by inches. Her figure was slender, but it did nothing to erase its intimidating nature. Its only clothing, aside from the mask that formed as a part of its body, was a heavy furred shawl that extended down to the chair's feet.
"It's not that tall. It merely has other Shadow's lifting it up." said Mitsuru. Her eyes were the same as Yukari's though; they traveled up all the way to where the Shadow's face was.
"It looks like we're going to have a real challenge here." said Akihiko.
"Maiko-chan! Come over here, with us! Quickly!" said Ken. He stood a few feet in front of Minako.
The little girl finally heard enough to stare back. Her already-giant eyes widened in shock. "Ken-kun? Big sister Minako?"
"It's okay, Maiko. We're here to save you." said Minako.
"H-how? What are you doing here? Why are you all?"
"We don't have time!" said Ken, extending his hand towards her. "Hurry, Maiko-chan, before it attacks again!"
She hesitated. The girl's eyes moved from the group to the monster that hadn't paid her mind ever since a new threat came over. Even so, she made no indication of moving out of the way.
The Shadow noticed Ken. As usual, everything happened too fast; in the blink of an eye, Ken was flung back, hard into the ground with some cuts on his chest and his blood seething through his shirt. Minako didn't bother calling out in alarm. The time to act was now. The fight had begun.
"Let's go, Jack Frost!"
The imp flew towards their new foe, dodging the dangerous rage of the queen's claws. It weaved between, arriving in the face and hitting its face dead-on with shards of ice. A familiar inhuman cry left the Shadow's lips. Minako grinned, believing a weakness to be exposed. She had been wrong. A ball of blue flame hit Jack Frost, knocking it out of the sky. Minako immediately felt the jolt of burning, powerful pain in her gut. Unable to help it, she fell to the ground, almost certain that she'd be smelling smoke anytime soon from the lingering fire on her belly.
"Minako has been knocked down! Someone help her, quickly! The enemy's going for a follow-up attack!" said Fuuka's voice.
Even in her current state, Minako was able to gasp out a command to withdraw Jack Frost before another fireball could hit it. She let her face hit the floor. That had been a reckless, stupid thing to do, even if it had been for Ken's sake. She deserved that. They should've stalled enough to wait for Fuuka and to—
Maiko!
"Someone get Maiko first!" she gasped. The teammates that had ran towards her stopped and turned around to retrieve the girl.
Only Junpei went towards her. She took her hand and helped her up. When she flinched, he held her steady. She did her best to glare at him. Judging by his face, it had been an unsuccessful attempt. "I told you all to help Maiko."
"They'll be plenty." he answered. He adjusted his grip around her waist. His bat has in his other hand, the right one. Minako could see the knuckles tense around the handle. "Besides, we're no good without a leader." He chuckled. It was tense. "And you look kinda hell-bent on going down early."
A scowl formed, and she shoved herself away from him. He grinned at her. Stupid Junpei. But she smiled back anyway. "I'm not near done."
"That's the spirit." said Mitsuru. She walked towards her from behind. "But even a spirit like that needs some help. Permission to heal, leader?"
"Granted." She almost sobbed in relief when she felt the cool breeze throughout her body. "Where's Maiko?"
"Amada has it under control." Mitsuru smiled, even though her eyes were hard.
"Ziodyne!"
Minako saw a lightning bolt jolt towards the mighty enemy, who had her cavalry take her back away from the group that was attacking. The bolt didn't hit its mark. Just as it was about to hit the queen, one of her pawns leaped out and took the attack. The Empress steadied herself with her hands as one of the throne's feet hit the floor. The lightning didn't faze the guard at all; static surrounding it, it went back to its most without a problem.
"Damn it! Not even a hit!" said Akihiko. It had been Ken, not him that had cast the magic, but he still had the frustration on him. Being a close range-fighter, it occurred to Minako that Akihiko's usual approach wasn't going to work. Each guard was four times larger than the usual grown man. She doubted his punches would faze them.
"Fuuka, what's our situation?" she asked.
"…Hold on. Almost…got it! Oh, no!"
Not words she wanted to hear from their navigator. "What is it, Fuuka?"
"The Empress' weakness is Garu attacks only."
"That's not bad."
"But the guards have no elemental or physical weaknesses!" she said. Her voice trembled once more. Minako could almost see her lace her fingers together, like she always did when she got nervous. Or anxious.
Minako swallowed. She felt like a rock had just went down her throat. "That's fine. We can still attack them—right?"
Fuuka didn't wait to respond. "Leader, they don't just have no weakness, they're resistant to all those things.
"What!?"
Shinjiro ran towards them, holding an injured Koromaru under his jacket. "Are you sure?" There was a bit of blood coming from his forehead.
"I'm positive! You all are going to have to attack the Empress directly!"
"First thing's first. Ken, Aigis and Shinjiro! I want the three of you to protect Maiko from harm!" She took Koromaru into her arms. He seemed alright, nothing fatal, but she preferred not to risk more than she had to. "Koromaru too, after he's healed. Do you understand?"
They nodded. Ken had just joined the group, Maiko right behind him.
Minako felt her features soften as she saw the childish face look up at her. Confused and scared. Like she had felt thirteen years ago, on the Moonlight Bridge…
A shadowy figure. A crash. Something that would never be fixed again.
"Watch out!"
"Watch out! Ken!" she screamed, moving forward and scooping up Maiko. She shoved Ken to the floor. She felt a second of hot air pass her check. Barely dodged.
Maiko shook in her arms. Scared and sobbing. "I want to go home."
She wanted to comfort her, but there was no time. Ken got on his feet. Minako saw in the corner of her eyes the monster close in on them. They moved fast for something so impractical. The boy wasted no time, and neither did Aigis and Shinjiro.
"Maiko-chan, we have to go now." said Ken. He was doing his best not to sound too rough, she knew.
Maiko followed him back to the train car with her protectors. Before they left, Minako felt Shinjiro's hand hold her arm.
"Minako." His eyes said all the words his mouth didn't. About all the close calls.
Saki had been right. They were way out of their league.
"Go." she said.
He lingered.
"I'll be careful, as much as I can. Now…GO."
He didn't look satisfied by her words, but when was he ever? He followed her order, heaving his axe over his shoulder as he ran.
She focused back on the enemy. "Akihiko?"
"These guys are tough, just like they look." He grinned. She wished he hadn't. That meant that they were about to have a difficult fight ahead. "And they defend each other. Caesar took a whack at one of them, only to have his sword stopped mid-slice. They had a nasty follow-up attack too." He rubbed his arm, which she now noticed had a black welt.
"Akihiko, I don't want you to attack them directly with your fists." She raised her voice so that the remainder of the party heard. "I want everyone to attack with physical projectiles. Magic won't hurt them either."
Yukari's face once again twisted in worry. "Just that? We're not going to get anywhere with that!"
"It's only until we can find an opening" At least I hope we can. "Besides, everyone here has the ability to negate resistance. Use it one at a time." She changed her Persona to Kiruki-Hime. "I'll cover you in the meantime."
"Got it." said Akihiko. His eyes stayed on the enemy. He hadn't made eye contact with her even once.
"Alright!" said Junpei. He lifted his bat out of habit as he summoned Trismegistus.
"Great, No Almightys either, eh? Didn't we hit the jackpot today." said Kieske as Hercules came into view.
"Now is not the time for sarcasm. We need to fight our best and we will succeed only if we do so." said Mitsuru, preparing Artemisia.
Axel glanced over at Minako, saw her expression. His eyes glinted in understanding. She knew because his lips thinned as they pressed together. "Yeah."
The enemy was upon them now. There was no time for hesitation.
Memento Mori.
Remember that you will die.
"No…damn it no!"
"No…this is not good."
"…Minako-san…everyone…"
Maiko heard everything, and she knew it was the tall man with the hat, the robot lady and Ken-kun who had just said all that stuff because of their voices. Her eyes were closed, and she was hiding under the seat of the train car.
She remembered this train car from Iwatodai. She didn't take it to school, but sometimes she would take it with her dad when she got to go to work with them or when they went to town and he didn't want to drive. She always like the train rides.
Sometimes, if there weren't any passengers in the car, she'd get her dad to play hide-and-seek with her.
"Come, on Daddy! Try and catch me!"
"Maiko, not today." He'd sigh. His eyes would always close more than they should. Sometimes, he'd fall asleep and they'd almost miss their stop.
"Yes, today! Come on, or you'll never find me!"
He'd smile just a little. Then he'd sigh even louder than before. "Alright, you win. But not for too long, understand?"
"Yes."
She'd giggle because she'd hide under the seats, and he'd find her fast. That had been what made it fun. Sometimes, he'd catch her, other times he'd give up because he said it'd hurt his back.
But it was always great, no matter what.
Something hit the metal walls of the train, making it creak as it shook. She gasped, shutting her eyes even more.
She hated this train. It looked so much like the one she liked except that this one had broken windows and smelled like blood. Actually, she hated this whole world, it all smelled and felt the same, and she wanted to leave, especially now that monsters were trying to hurt her again and she kept hearing scary noises and the sound of her friends getting hurt and all those nice people that helped her that were getting hurt too all because of her.
She heard another scream, but this was a person. She tried to press her hands harder against her ears so she could hear nothing the same way she couldn't see anything.
"Yukari-san!" said the robot lady.
Maiko put her hands around Koro-san and hugged tighter. He was a nice doggy because he didn't run away when she did that, like other doggies did. Tears came out of her eyes. She couldn't stop crying and she didn't want to either. I want to go home…
A sound louder than any she was hearing came almost at the same time that her body was pulled by some invisible force from her from her safety spot. She had to put her hands in front of her to stop herself from hitting her face against the floor that came to meet her. Her body moved on her own, and her feet were now in the air, forcing the rest of her body to swerve with them. The entire world was almost upside-down.
Two small hands lifted her up as easily as if she had been made of paper. When she looked up, she saw the chin of the blonde robot lady. Her right (or was it left?) cheek had a small dent. She smelled like motor oil.
"The enemy is getting too close. One more strike like that, and the train car will completely flip over." Her voice was soft, even when she talked fast or said scary things like the stuff she said now. "We must get Maiko-san back to safety immediately." She held Maiko close, as if the two skinny arms would protect her from getting hurt.
"You go, Aigis. Me and Shinjiro-san are staying. They need our help out there." said Ken-kun. His hands were wrapped around bandages that were stained with a deep red.
How is he going to keep fighting if he's hurt? She whimpered. Ken-kun wasn't a little kid like her, but he wasn't an adult either. So why was he fighting all those monsters when they were even bigger that the tall man?
The same spoke back to Ken-kun, his voice low. It reminded her of a growl you'd hear from a dog. "No. You go back, Ken. You're more hurt than Aigis."
"But what about—"
"Ken, you already saved Maiko." A smile as nice as the one Minako had, but calmer and smaller, appeared on his face. Maybe he isn't so scary after all. "You did good. Go home and bring Maiko with you. We'll help finish this."
But Ken-kun shook his head. Maiko frowned. Why is he being so stubborn?
"I won't abandon everybody, especially not now!"
The man got a look on his face that was angry and proud at the same time. It reminded Maiko of the time she had gotten into trouble for punching a bully at school and her dad had picked her up afterwards and took her out for ice cream instead of grounding her.
"I will take Maiko-san back to the dormitory, and return if I can." said the blonde lady before the man could say anything.
"No, Aigis! Ken can't stay, he's already on his last legs!"
"You got it! It's getting weaker!"
Maiko jumped, expecting someone to appear behind her. It took her a moment to remember the unseen lady that was helping Minako-chan and her friends fight. Despite herself, she glanced over at the giant monster that was down at what she guessed was the strip mall at Iwatodai. It was moving around in its big throne, screaming as if it had three or four different voices instead of one.
She shivered just by listening to it.
It flailed its long, scary nails around, knocking over more of the building and tossing around debris. It was hurt; the mask was cracked a little and it gripped the arms of the throne tight. When it wasn't destroying things, that is.
To her own horror, one of the nails pierced through the "heart" of one of her guard monsters. With the same finger she lifted it up, the lack of balance causing the throne to swerve a bit as the other unaffected monsters adjusted accordingly. The prey was inches from the queen's face now. It squirmed in a way that reminded Maiko of a fish in a hook, until it could no longer resist its death. The body turned into black, gooey tar that flew at the queen. Her entire body soaked it in like a sponge. Just as fast, the crack on her mask disappeared and she went back to sitting down with a straight posture, as if she had never felt bad in the first place.
The voice Maiko had heard filled her head like a cool stream of water. "The enemy has absorbed the life-force of one of the pawns! Oh, she's completely healed!"
Even Maiko knew that was bad. From where she stood, she could see the tiny figures standing a few feet away, looking tired and slow. But even more, she noticed something that she was certain no one else had. Each Shadow had a translucent aura around them, thick as a cocoon. The Empress' was Red. Did that mean fire? It would make sense. Under her, the other three that were left had shields the colors green, yellow and blue, which she knew (how did she know?) meant the elements wind, electricity and ice. That explained why every time they'd hit them with something of that color, it'd just get absorbed.
That's why their plan so perfect. Each time something was really going to hurt the Empress, one of the guards would absorb the attack. She had killed the one with fire-absorbing skills because she'd be able to do that herself. Maiko didn't see what she was weak to, but the lady's voice had said wind, which meant that the most dangerous one to be kept alive was the green-glowing one.
As she thought all of this, the girl in the pink suit did some magic with a Persona that looked like a delicate wood-carved statue on the same. The green aura weakened, but didn't go away completely. She then began creating heavy winds that swirled around the Persona, and formed into a tiny tornado. It twisted towards the monsters. The monster with the green aura cast something without actually moving. The aura thickened. The swirling vortex that was seconds from crashing into everything got absorbed by that one guard. He didn't even flinch.
The voice of the lady confirmed that the wind attack failed. "Oh, they're too fast for a resistance cancelation! If only we could stop them from auto-summoning…"
"It doesn't matter, Fuuka." came the voice of Minako. "We'll just have to try something else."
Maiko's vision got blurry with hot tears. They were going to die. They were all so tired already, and even Minako sounded like she could barely finish speaking.
"Damn it, Aigis, we have to go out there. They ain't gonna last!" said the man.
"Understood. I'll leave Maiko-san with Ken-kun."
"Ken." The man took Ken-kun by the shoulders, looking sary again, but for different reasons. His eyes were so intense when they looked at Ken-kun. "Get Maiko out of here. Bring Koromaru. Someone needs to stay behind just in case."
"But…no, I can't…I already told you that I won't leave you behind!" Tears were forming in Ken-kun's eyes as well.
Maiko felt something inside, something light and heavy at the same time. She felt time slow down as every one of her heartbeats became clear and loud in her head, as if amplified by some invisible power. She glanced at the monsters. It all became clear, as if someone just had to click a switch to let the answer illuminate her. Someone needed to stop the monsters from automatically bringing back their resistance. Someone needed to break it, not just stop it. Someone…like me.
She wriggled out of Aigis' grasp, and ran by Ken-kun and Shinjiro-san before they could stop her. Only the doggie, Koromaru, kept up. She didn't really know what was happening, she only knew that if she was the only person who could help, and if she didn't everybody was going to die, including Ken-kun and Minako-chan and all the nice people risking their lives for her. For the first time since she got here, she didn't feel scared. She was determined to face all this danger, to face Death, if it meant to fight for her life and everyone else's. There was wind and fire now in her belly, waiting to come out.
So she let it.
Artemis!
Her Persona floated over her. It had long silvery hair that was neatly collected into a blue bangle with precious white stones. It almost touched Maiko's forehead. The bang on the left side of her face was wavy, although it didn't cover the only eye that was visible on the goddess. It had no pupils, more akin to a glowing white disk. The other half of her face was covered by a silvery-blue mask shaped like a crescent moon. Artemis herself was a girl a little bigger than her in age, with a sleeveless toga that seemed to have the starry night sky in its very fiber, covering her entire torso but only going down to her left leg. The right one showed a gray legging of sorts that went up to her knee. She had silver gladiator sandals, one that almost met her leggings on the right side while the one on the left only went up to her ankle. She floated gracefully in the air inside a giant bow in the shape of a half-moon. It was milky white with all the phases of the moon across its arced form in pale blue. She didn't know what the otherworldly material of the bow was, only that it seemed metallic.
I am Artemis, Goddess of the Moon, the Great Huntress and the Protector of the Innocent and the Pure.
Artemis extended her hand into thin air. Out of nothing an arrow made purely out of energy materialized into her hand. Three more floated in the air around her. She twirled in the air to the grip, grasping it with one hand while steadying the arrow with her other on the arrow rest. Her hand drew it back against the string. As she let go, it zipped through the air and homed in on the Shadow with the green aura. It hit its mark, but instead of piercing it, it shattered along with the barrier like glass, and even sounded so.
We're not done. Artemis readied the next arrow. Let's do this, Artemis!
Three more times it happened, each faster that the last. When it was the Empress' turn, its shriek almost made her cover her ears.
I…feel…tired. The energy she had moments ago sapped away, and before she knew it Artemis had retreated back into her heart. She steadied herself from falling down with a clumsy and heavy footstep. It turned into a kneel. Eyelids beginning to get heavy. She barely fought herself when they closed.
Two hands caught her, but this time they were warm. Human. Her eyes opened to Ken-kun. He smiled at her, but looked worried too.
"That was great Maiko-san. I…It's okay now. You can go to sleep. I won't let anything bad happen to you, I promise."
She wanted to say something like thank you, but surprised herself with another request instead. "Can you record the next episode? Feather Pink was in trouble and I didn't see what happened."
He looked surprised. Then he chuckled.
"Yeah, I promise."
She sighed and smiled. Good. "Thank you, Ken-kun…"
This time, the dark met her faster than she had expected. She heard the last thing, though.
"Thank you, Maiko-chan. You've saved us."
Minako couldn't believe her eyes or any of her senses when he saw it all happen. A new Persona, and a powerful at that, according to Fuuka. She hadn't doubted Aigis, but seeing it was an entirely different thing. She never saw any Persona with the ability to stop automatic skills, or prevent an enemy from reforming resistances. Yet it had done both things in less than two minutes.
She's as young as Ken was. Does that mean…she's going to want to be a part of this…?
She licked her lips nervously, but dismissed the thought for now. The Empress was on the move, switching to offensive tactics. It must've known the hat trick wouldn't work anymore.
"Now's the time to act! Akihiko, Zio, now!"
He blinked as if realizing where he was. He was fast when he called upon Caesar again. They unleashed an earth-shattering thunderbolt worthy of the gods of thunder themselves. Her hairs stood on end, the scent of ozone strong in her nostrils. It did not hit the Empress; another guard took it full-force, as usual. This time, the outcome differed. It shuddered violently and collapsed. The two remaining pawns grunted as they had to re-position themselves to hold up the throne.
Minako once again brought out Mot, sending a far less powerful Zio attack on the fallen guard. None the less, it kept it down.
"All of you, attack and take it out before it gets back up!"
They didn't disappoint. Wind, ice and fire fell upon their mark without fail. The explosion made by a Megido was the last. The leader understood why; Almighty attacks required a lot of the spirit's energy, and Kieske couldn't afford to use it all up now. (Items could only go so far to rejuvenate one's spirit.) Still, it had been enough. The Shadow died at the last attack.
"Great work, everyone!" said Fuuka's voice. It was startlingly loud now, as if it echoed in all the corners of her mind. "There are only two left. If you take care of them, it'll leave an opening to kill the Empress!"
Next to her, a shaky breath left Junpei's lips. She sensed his weariness and could see the sluggishness of his movements. But his flashy grin was on after hearing their navigator's words. The handle of the bat that seemed to hang inches from the ground was brought into the palms of his hands with a new fervor. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's finish this!"
"I agree. I'm tired of taking hits. It's time that they met my fists." said Akihiko with an intensity that could only be compared to the thunderbolt he'd inflicted on their enemy.
"The last two are weak to ice and fire. Remember, the Empress is weak to Garu magic. Yukari-san, you'll have to wait for that opening!"
"Got it." Isis flowed to a still halt as she began to glow.
Mind Charge. Good thinking. "Mitsuru and Junpei! Knock those last two down." She grinned. "Hit them where it hurts!"
Artemisia gracefully pulled out her whip and snapped it in the air, conjuring a large hunk of ice that flung itself towards its mark without fail. The Shadow flinched, almost letting go of leg of the chair it held. The Empress made a sound of distress. One of her claws swung their way, but no one had been foolish enough to be within attacking distance. The thousands of pieces of ice that remained suspended in the air honed in on their target, knocking it down. The Empress screeched as the leg of her throne hit the floor. The lone guard struggled to put his weight under it and lift it up alone, to a degree of success. The throne wobbled from side to side like a boat trapped on the waves of an oncoming storm.
Trismegestis, on the other hand, flew close to the Empress while Artemisia had barely moved from her position. His movements were like the other enemies they had faced earlier; erratic and fast, he weaved in between the nails of the Empress that tried to swat him away. When he reached the Shadow guard, a large fireball the size of a boulder formed in front of Trismegistus. It smacked the Shadow right in the mask. It didn't scream, but its body shivered violently. Its knees gave way and it lost its grip.
The Empress fell off its throne, collapsing to the ground with a loud cry that echoed as if there were a thousand voices behind it. The guards themselves were too stunned to get back up.
This is it! "Now!" she screamed, although she knew it wasn't necessary.
Only a micro-moment of silence that could be felt in her very core indicated the chaos that was about to be unleashed. Then, the screaming of powerful winds that cut through the sky and shook anything in its path. The gusts whipped Minako's hair everywhere as it passed in front of her in the form of a long, twisted tornado that crashed like the waves of a stormy ocean into their enemies, sweeping them off their feet. They were tossed into the air like pancakes getting flipped in a skillet. They crashed into the cement with ugly, dull splats that caused the disintegration of the remaining guards.
"Yes! Way to go, Yuka-tan!" yelled Junpei with both fists pumped into the air.
"Iori, do not let your guard down yet. We're not finished." said Mitsuru. Her eyes unfailingly stayed on the Empress.
Yukari fell to her hands and knees, catching her breath. Beads of sweat slipped from her face to the floor. Minako put a hand on her shoulder, giving it the gentlest of squeezes. "Stay down. We'll take care of the rest."
She nodded weakly.
"Kiruki-Hime!" The party was healed by magic. Sighs of relief were heard all around. "Alright, everyone. No more holding back!" She knew she must've sounded like some high school cheerleader, but at least it was working. Their spirits were up; she saw it on their faces.
Behind her, she heard footsteps hard against the concrete. Shinjiro's long shadow loomed over her. Aigis appeared by her side, landing on the ground using the propulsion devices attached to her legs. Minako made a mental note to ask the android just how many upgrades she'd gotten during her…absence.
"Ken's with Koro and Maiko." said Shinjiro. "he's holding the fort." Before she could even think her reply, he spoke again. "Don't worry. They've got this."
Aigis smiled, as if agreeing with that simple gesture alone.
In front of them, the Empress got to its feet. It roared with an anger that grinded against them. Minako felt her body tense reflexively. No. It's going to summon more!
"Hold on! It's not re-summoning!" said Fuuka. "It doesn't have the strength!"
Kiruki-Hime hovered over her. "My Garu attacks aren't going to be as effective. Shinjiro, Aigis and Kieske. I want the three of you to cover me as much as you can. Akihiko, Mitsuru and Junpei, keep it busy. Don't waste your magic if you don't have to. I'll tell you when."
A shot of wind, as if fired from a canon, hit the Empress right in the chest. It crashed down to its throne, gripping the arms for dear life. Let's see what you'll do now.
Its screeches died down. Quiet tension begun to fill the air. Minako felt the Empress' full attention on her, following her every move.
"Watch out!" came Fuuka's voice, a dart of noise that shot through the stifling silence.
The Empress pointed a nail at them. An aura formed around its body.
That can only mean one thing…!
Minako guessed what it could be before their navigator confirmed it. She barely got everyone behind Athena's and Lancelot's shields in time. The Myriad Arrows zoomed at them like bullets.
One of the sharp projectiles stung Minako's shoulder as it zoomed by.
Next to her, Aigis shook, but stood firm clenching her fists, as determined as ever. Shinjiro grit his teeth, his head down like a bull ready to charge. After what felt like an eternity, the assault ceased. Athena lowered her shield, but Lancelot's flung some of the attack back at the enemy, just like it had before.
Phew. That was a good idea. Giant Shadows were known for dangerous follow-up attacks.
"Go, Kiruki-Hime!" Another wind canon.
The Empresss flinched, taking both attacks almost at once. It didn't fall again, but it wasn't recovering as quickly from the attacks. It was now or never.
She rushed forward, practically spending all of her spirit's energy bombarding it with Garu. Her comrades didn't even need to cover her.
She felt the others accompany her efforts. Trismegistus, the ever-energized canon, came at the Empress with cutting attacks that were almost too quick for the human eye. Athena was close behind, sending her own version of Myraid Arrows that went through the thick body of the Shadow with ease. The icy Empress Artemesia never failed to deliver her barrage of Bufu that chilled to the bone, and Caesar roared with thunderous explosions that boomed so loud it felt like Minako's very chest had burst with every strike. Last of them to rush forward was Lancelot, lance in hand. It thrusted its weapon at the Empress only once, but unleashed a shockwave that crashed against the Shadow multiple times afterwards, even as Lancelot galloped away on his steed.
Steadily, a tiny sphere of pure energy descended unto the Empress after the other Personas had cleared out. When it fell upon the its flesh, it expanded into an explosive attack almost nuclear in nature, filling the sky with white before the boom conformed the force of the heaviest of all Megido attacks, Megidolaon.
Smoke smoldered the battlefield, an electric, thick after charge in the air from all the magical energy being concentrated into one place. It almost intoxicated Minako's lungs as she ran through, naginata in hand. Her chest rose and fall in seconds, one last shot of adrenaline fueling her entire body.
The image of their possible late mentor barreling from the sky, a crazed battle cry stretching out from her lips, crossed Minako's mind as she did the same. With all her might she brought her weapon down on the Empress that had barely begun to lift itself from the ground. She thrust it into the thick head of the Empress' head, shoving it as hard as she could through it, hearing and watching the loud cracking of the mask, and the ear-splitting screams of the monster. Blood splattered on her face and clothes, but she didn't relent for a single second.
Then, just like that, the Empress was no more.
Minako gasped, an attempt to take back all the breath she'd lost. Kire-Hime went back into her soul as she allowed herself (not for the first time and certainly not for the last) to fall on her knees. Relief and exhaustion hit her at the same time. It was a dizzying sensation. At the moment, she was letting her entire body cool down while struggling not to pass out on the floor that looked more and more appealing as time went by.
"We did it everyone! We saved Maiko and defeated the Shadows, all in time!"
Fuuka's once again breezy voice lifted some of the strain away from her, carrying it far away.
A hand clasped around her waist, roughly bring her to feet with the same effort she'd use to pick up a rag doll. She smelled the familiar fresh scent of clean laundry, even behind all the sweat and blood, and her tense spine relaxed itself again.
"Way to go, Leader." said Shinjiro with that heart-melting smile that was always worn around the edges, but still made her feel safe.
Wow, Yukari was right; I sound like some mushy protagonist from an overrated novel meant for a twelve-year-old audience.
"Don't thank me." It was weird how her voice didn't even sound like her own. She really, really hoped she wasn't passing out again. "Maiko saved us today." Ironically.
She glanced towards the direction of the train, seeing Ken and Koromaru. Ken held his friend protectively, while Koromaru, had his canine eyes on the now-sleeping little girl. Minako gave them a thumbs-up.
He stared at the gesture for a few moments before slowly returning it with one of his own. Koromaru barked.
He'd have to be having the same thoughts she was. Maiko would probably want to be a part of all of this. While a part of her rejected the notion right then and there, the smarter side of her knew that it was Maiko's decision, like it or not, despite what she knew Mitsuru would tell her. If Minako Arisato had learned anything, it was that when a person was determined to do something, no one would be able to stop them for long. Better to guide her and have her with Fuuka then to have her find a way back on her own.
Her eyes darted back to her worn-out and bright-faced teammates. They all had their share of blood spilled and bruises. Yet here they were, alive after yet another Full Moon. Together. Even the sly grin Saki was giving them felt welcome—
Wait. What?
"What!?" yelled Junpei, almost jumping into the air from the shock.
"Owowowow, what'd I say 'bout the yelling? You'd think that seeing somebody crash into and ocean of blood would give you some consideration for other people's hangovers, but noooooo."
Minako blinked a few times to get her bearings. "Uh. Didn't you…?" No. Better not to ask. She smiled as best as she could. "I'm glad you're…okay." She meant it when she said it.
Saki looked slightly taken aback. Or maybe it was Minako's imagination. The smirk slipped back on Saki's face before she could figure it out. "Duh. Why wouldn't I be?"
Despite herself, Minako found herself laughing a bit too enthusiastically for someone in her state. Boy, it was one crazy thing after another ever since she woke up. Who knows what was going to happen next?
But you know what?
"Let's call it a day." she said after she had been able to stop her laughter.
Shijiro lifted an eyebrow, but didn't comment. He let her lean on him.
"See you later." she said, giving a small wave Saki's way.
"Hold, on, Red. Think you're missing something." she tossed something at Minako.
She caught it. It was a small mask, the design delicate and small enough just to fit around a pair of eyes. It had, unsurprisingly, the roman number XVIII engraved on it. The Arcana of the Moon.
"That'll get all of you home. Death boy found it at your home base." answered Saki before Minako could even ask. "At least this one won't fight front lines. I'd hate to have to train more of you weaklings."
"Saki, what's you're Arcana?" Minako surprised even herself with the question.
Saki closed her mouth, her face expressionless. "Hm. Well. Guess that's not a stupid question. A little out of nowhere, but…" She sighed. A hand went through her tangled hair. "It's Fortune. Unfortunately for me." She snickered, but then paused, frowning as if she'd realized what she'd just done.
Minako noticed Kieske watching Saki intently. She'd have to talk to him later. He'd obviously got something she hadn't.
"Ah, get out of here, already. Hour's almost up, and you all look like you're gonna topple over." said Saki, dismissing them with a hand. She left right after.
"Well, that's weird." said Junpei. "She was in a hurry to leave."
"She must have a lot of interest in keeping her privacy, that's for sure." said Yukari.
"Indeed." said Mitsuru. Minako recognized that glare. It had I-don't-know-what-your-hiding-but-I-will-not-rest-until-I-find-out-what-it-is-and-confront-you-about-it" written all over it.
Minako sighed, feeling Shinjiro's grip tighten as her body swayed a bit. That mystery was better left for later. Just another to add to the pile. "Ready to go home?"
Mitsuru's features softened. She smiled. "Yes, you're right. We all need a good rest."
Ken gently put the mask on Maiko. He kept his hand there to take it off, his coming off right after. After assuring everyone else returned, she and Shinjiro did the same.
It's all going to be okay.
And I'm back! Hey, long time no post! I've been busy trying to start another story on my page, but after a new chapter, I've decided to leave that story for later. I want to put all my attention into this one for now...something I've should've done from the beginning. But, hey, we all make mistakes. The important thing is to learn from them, something I have done. A big thanks to all of you that have waited so long for me, and have accompanied me as I learn the ups and downs of this. I couldn't have gotten this far without you. Until next time, readers!
P.S. For any of you who have read my previous chapters, I know I've announced faster posting and editing. I've been taking all this time to seriously work on this chapter and re-evaluate my story thus-far. I am still going to edit the previous ones, and change a few minor details. But the biggest change is going to be on my usage of POV's. I plan to clean up the errors I've missed and my prose as well. So I hope all you faithful and incredibly awesome fans will still enjoy the newer improvements.