"Welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted Yu. "How may I assist you?"
"I just came to fuse away a few Personas," Yu replied nonchalantly. "You know, the usual stuff."
Igor nodded. "And which Personas will you be fusing away?"
"Izanagi and Apsaras."
"Very well," With the wave of Igor's hand, the cards of Yu's respective Personae appeared on the table. Then, after a blinding flash of blue light, the two cards began to hover into the air; the cards floated higher and higher until the two collided, and out came a scantily clad woman with wings, covered only by a collection of black straps and seemingly wearing a black blindfold over her eyes.
"My name is Angel," the new Persona announced. "I shall protect you with my life." The Persona then reverted to card form and slowly descended to the table before vanishing into thin air.
"Is there anything else you require?" Igor asked.
Yu looked to Margaret. "I'd like to re-summon Izanagi, please."
"Very well," Margaret replied, "but it'll cost you 7,000 yen."
Yu dug in his pocket, pulled out the money, and handed it to Margaret. "You guys can be real cruel sometimes." A small crashing noise went off in his head, indicating Izanagi's return.
"Great to be back, Yu," Izanagi greeted.
"Glad to have you back," Yu replied.
"Is there anything else?" Igor asked once again.
Yu shook his head. "I'm good for now. Thanks."
Igor nodded. "Of course."
"I look forward to seeing you again," Margaret replied as Yu's vision faded to white.
Slash after slash, Yu's concentration couldn't be broken as he and the rest were able to finish off wave after wave of mostly Cowardly Mayas and Muttering Tiaras, and frankly, Yu should've lost interest in them ages ago due to his familiarity with them throughout his training sessions. The Mayas were practically weak to every elemental spell, and he was wise as to not use fire on the Tiaras. And yet, as Izanagi had put it a while ago, they were still satisfying to beat.
"You alright over there?" Minato asked Yu, which snapped him out of his trance.
Yu nodded. "Yeah. I'm just waiting for a new Shadow to shake things up."
"I know what you mean!" Junpei butted in. "These things are kinda boring to fight, aren't they?"
"Don't misunderstand, though. I don't mind fighting them." Yu paused. "It just means we can get ever so slightly stronger until we have to adapt."
Minato nodded. "Well said." As they said this, another Shadow rounded the corner that laid ahead. Even when the Shadow's form was revealed, Yu simply tightened his grip on his katana and made a mad dash for it. It was as he expected; this was a new Shadow that decided to reveal itself, but despite its menacing design akin to a giant beetle, Yu still charged on ahead.
"Hold on!" Mitsuru cautioned. "This Shadow is more powerful than the others!"
"Relax," Yu replied calmly. "I've got this one!"
"H-Hey!" Junpei retorted as he followed not too far behind. "I can't let you have ALL the fun!" In no time flat, Yu and Junpei were running side by side in complete sync, right down to the swipes of their blades that, admittedly, didn't make much of a dent in the looming figure; in fact, it didn't seem like the beetle even tired as he swiped the two persistent Persona users away from its body.
"Oww!" Junpei yelped as he landed butt first on the ground. Conversely, Yu simply landed on his feet, blood trickling from a scratch on his cheek.
"Damn," Yu swore as he pulled out his Evoker. "He's tough, but let's see how he does against Izanagi!" As he uttered his Persona's name, he pulled the trigger, and Izanagi appeared, bringing down a bolt of lightning down on the beetle.
"Bulls-eye!" Junpei shouted, but his celebration was cut short as he saw that the beetle still stood its ground like a trooper. It was a direct hit, but why didn't it at least flinch?
"Mitsuru?" Minato asked. "Any ideas?"
"Give me a sec," she replied as Minato pointed his Evoker to his head, pulled the trigger, and summoned Orpheus to cast an Agi spell that actually managed to make the Shadow flinch a little.
"It appears strong against electrical attacks," Mitsuru finally replied.
"Alright then," Yu replied as he pointed his Evoker once more. "Let's try Angel!" He pulled the trigger, and out came the familiar scantily clad Persona he'd fused before entering Tartarus.
"Wha?" Junpei replied first in awe, then in envy. "No fair! You can summon multiple Personas too?"
"Hit it with a GARU!" Yu commanded, ignoring Junpei's criticism while he focused on the battle. Angel responded by lifting her arm up, casting a wall of wind around the Shadow that finally brought the Shadow to its knees.
"Outstanding!" Mitsuru congratulated. "It appears to be weak to wind!"
"Yukari!" Yu shouted as he turned his head to his familiar comrade. "Why don't you take a stab at it too?"
Yukari nodded. "Sure!" she replied as she pulled her Evoker out as well, finally summoning out Io without so much as a flinch which, as Yu saw it, was a major improvement from the very beginning. And as the second wall of wind enveloped the Shadow, it begin to dissolve, and once the dust settled, it no longer blocked their path; in fact, nothing remained of their intimidating opponent whatsoever.
"Boo-yah!" Junpei celebrated.
"I think my skill level has increased!" Yukari announced.
"Mine too," Yu replied.
Minato moved to the front of the group. "Don't celebrate too much," he announced. "We've still got a ways to go before we reach the next teleporter, so let's try picking up the pace."
Yu nodded. "Agreed. C'mon guys." And with that the group got back on track and followed the long hallway, dispatching more or less the same enemies as they had before, with the exception of a few more of the beetles from before, which they had been informed were called Grave Beetles, but they weren't that much of a threat anymore since they knew their weakness.
Finally, after the long string of Shadows was defeated, the group was presented with a long, empty hallway that led to the next flight of stairs, much to the chagrin of Junpei.
"Man, where's the challenge?" he complained. "I mean, I don't mind having a breather every so often, but seriously. There's no fun in it!"
"Are you kidding?" Yukari snapped back. "You seemed to be having a lot of fun from what I saw."
"She's right," Yu replied bluntly. "I think you're lying to yourself."
"Y-You too, man?" he stuttered before looking to Minato hopefully. "W-What about you? I-I can't be the only one who…"
"He just goes on and on doesn't he?" Angel asked Yu.
"Well, that's his specialty," Yu replied.
"They all have their specialty," Izanagi added. "But that's what makes them feel so familiar."
"I know what you mean, Izzy. They feel just like my friends back in Inaba."
Izanagi nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
"Anyone home?" Junpei asked Yu as he waved his hand in front of Yu's face.
Yu pushed Junpei's hand back to its owner's side. "Yeah, I'm home."
"Just checking man," Junpei replied as he turned around and the group got moving. "You seem kinda out of it today."
"I think it's because of his conversations with himself," Minato uttered.
Junpei looked to Minato as though he said something crazy. "Whaddaya mean?"
Yu put his hand on Junpei's shoulder. "He means that I've been talking to my Personas."
"S-Seriously? You can do that?"
Yu pulled out his Evoker once more and summoned Izanagi. "Why don't you ask him?"
"It's true. In fact, all of you could converse with everyone's Personae."
"F-For reals? L-Let me try!"
As Izanagi disappeared, Yu spoke up. "Save your energy. We still have to get to the next teleporter before the Dark Hour ends. And I don't want to think of what might happen if we stay here when that happens."
"Agreed," Mitsuru replied. "I'm glad to see you've thought ahead."
"I always do. In any case, let's move on."
"A-Are these things for real?" Junpei asked as he commented on the next type of Shadow that none of them had seen before, not that it caught any of them by surprise; in fact, the bright pinks and whites made them virtually impossible to miss or ignore. "I mean, are we supposed to fight a bunch of babies?"
"I dunno," Yu commented. "There may be more to them, so try to take them a little more seriously." As he said this, one of the miniatures aimed an arrow towards Yu, which Yu was swiftly able to block with his katana.
"I just analyzed them," Mitsuru replied. "It appears they're weak to ice."
"Damn," Yu swore. "That's one element I don't have access to."
"Me either," Minato replied back. That meant that, for the first time, no one had the advantage against the enemy. As they contemplated this, one of the Shadows prepared another attack for Yu, only this time, Yu became surrounded by a wall of wind, which was surprisingly more painful than usual.
Damn, Yu swore to himself. I had to be using Izzy right now.
"It's not my fault I happen to be weak to it!"
"I wasn't blaming you! Relax!" Finally, the wind dissipated, leaving Yu to take a knee while Yukari ran over to cast a Dia spell on him; meanwhile, Minato casted Agi on one of the the angelic devils while Junpei took mad swipes at the others until the pack of three was eventually dispatched.
"You okay over there?" Minato asked.
Yu held a thumb up. "I've been better."
"You didn't even take that big of a beating," Junpei added.
"I wouldn't be too sure," Mitsuru replied. "After all, you're weak to wind as well."
"H-How do you…?"
"Why wouldn't she know?" Yu asked. "Did you already forget about her Persona's abilities?"
Junpei sighed. "Good point. Let's move on." He turned around and walked forward alongside Minato.
Yu then looked to Yukari. "Is he always like this?"
She shook her head. "Not normally. Sure, he's annoying, but he's only been acting like this since you and Arisato-kun got here."
"Huh. That's weird. Maybe we've something to do with it?"
Yukari nodded. "I-I guess. I never really thought of it like that."
"HEY, LOVEBIRDS!" Junpei shouted from the other end of the hall. "DO WE GOTTA COME PICK YOU UP LATER?"
Yukari was the first to speak up, veins popping out of her forehead. "S-SHUT UP, STUPEI! I-IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"
"AW, C'MON. NO NEED TO RESORT TO NAME CALLING!"
"TO BE FAIR," Yu added, "YOU KINDA ASKED FOR IT!"
"OH, GIVE ME A BREAK ALREADY!" Yu just smiled as he got back to his feet and walked side by side with Yukari as she and Junpei duked it out over a simple joke. It seemed like just the thing Yosuke and Chie would fight over.
As they climbed the stairs that would lead them to the next set of guardians, Yu looked back and saw that Junpei was still rubbing his lightly red cheek; Yu couldn't help but wince a little at his misfortune, especially considering it wasn't entirely his fault to begin with. Sure, he could've seen Junpei getting slapped by Yukari the same way he normally acts, but getting slapped after being compelled by an enemy attack is a little harsh.
"You alright down there?" Yu questioned.
"I'm fine, man," Junpei replied. "I think I'm still seeing a few stars, though."
"I said I was sorry," Yukari reiterated. "How was I supposed to know you were charmed?!"
"At least we didn't have to deal with this before," Izanagi said to Yu.
"You're telling me," Yu replied in his head. Finally, the group reached the top of the stairwell, reaching floor 10, and standing before them was a group of three pink colored hands, similar to the Magic Hands from before except that the Magic Hands were white and, as all of them expected, were weaker than what stood before them.
"Stay on your guard," Mitsuru warned. "These guardians are much tougher than the last."
"I think we already knew this," Yu stated, "but thanks for the heads up." He then faced Minato. "Any ideas?"
Minato nodded. "Attack them with everything you've got."
Yu nodded back. "Alright. Let's do it!" All three of them broke up into uneven groups (Minato and Yu, and Yukari and Junpei by themselves) and began attacking with everything they possibly had. Yukari was first, launching an arrow at every guardian, but that warranted little success. Junpei was next, swiping his sword against one of them, but not only didn't the hand slice in half, but it also didn't leave so much as a scratch.
"Damn," he remarked. "These bastards won't give up!"
"PERSONA!" Minato shouted as he summoned Orpheus into the fray; his trusty Persona then launched a ball of fire to another of the guardians, but still to no avail.
"Let me try!" Yu added. "PERSONA!" With another pull of the trigger, out came Izanagi, who summoned a bolt of lightning that, like with the others, did nothing, but at least Yu felt as though they were making some progress.
"Keep trying!" Yu suggested as he put the Evoker to his head once more. "ANGEL!" In an instant, Izanagi was changed out for the scantily clad Angel, releasing a wall of wind around the furthest guardian. But again, the attack failed, and it was immediately followed up by a Magaru attack that hit everyone in sight; while Yukari, Yu, and Minato were relatively unscathed, Junpei was sent flying with the full force of the attack until he smacked against the back wall.
"Junpei!" Yu shouted.
Junpei got back up slowly, but he was clearly in quite a bit of pain. "I-I'm fine," he stuttered. "I-It was just a scratch." With one step, he winced in pain, which in turn made Yu wince. Yu felt pity for him before, but now he straight up felt sorry for Junpei.
"What haven't we tried?" Yu asked. "They're strong against elemental attacks, swords are practically useless, and Yukari's bow didn't deal much damage either." After this statement, Yu's eyes widened. "Minato, what else does Orpheus know besides Agi?"
Minato's eyes also widened as he nodded in agreement. He then turned back to the enemy, summoned Orpheus, and sent out a bash attack to one of the guardians; this time, not only did the attack do damage, but it resulted in them having to deal with one less enemy.
"Alright," Yu began. "We've got 'em now!" He then switched back to Izanagi and sent out a Cleave that, while logically shouldn't have dealt much damage considering what happened with Junpei, actually brought down another of the guardians, presumably because of the total damage dealt by the other attacks waged. Finally, Minato summoned Orpheus one last time, dealing a bash attack that, like before, made the Shadow dissolve into nothingness. At last, they were free of any real danger as Yu and Minato collapsed to one knee in exhaustion, while Yukari tended to Junpei's damage through her Dia skills.
"I-Is it over?" Junpei asked.
"The battle is, yeah," Yu replied nonchalantly. He was honestly too tired to say anything else besides the blunt truth considering how many Shadows they'd fended off on their way to this floor.
"Great job, everyone," Mitsuru congratulated. "You all performed much better than I expected. You should probably head back, though."
"That's probably a good idea," Yu replied. "I don't think we can handle any more fighting today, especially Junpei." This time, however, Junpei just stayed quiet, which was a relief to Yu, who considered Junpei's silence as a sign of agreement. "Speaking of which, is he alright over there, Yukari?"
"For now," she replied. "He'll at least be able to walk back."
"Well, there's the teleporter at the end of the hall," Yu replied as he pointed to the deactivated green machine that matched the one from floors below, "so let's get out of here before the Shadows try attacking us while we're down."
Minato looked to Yu. "You sure you don't want to be the leader?"
Yu smiled. "I guess I wouldn't object if I was offered, but let's worry about that later."
Minato nodded. "Right." After that, the three guys got back to their feet and proceeded down the hall to leave Tartarus for the night, and probably for tomorrow as well considering their current condition.
Well hello again, my readers! You're probably wondering why I've been gone for so long. The short answer is College and my P3 Manga Dub, so there's my feeble excuse. Oh, and my Persona 4 only fanfic is also a culprit, since I decided to update that one as well to see if there's interest, and we'll see if that one gets caught back up again.
And for once, there's no need for a social link update, since this chapter was filled with nothing but action, and I felt that was necessary considering I haven't delivered on the action portion of this fic lately, so consider this an apology for that, but now that means the next chapter may as well be social link heavy.
Anyways, let's move on to the reviews, 'cause there's a LOT to respond to:
Gilgamesh The King of Heroes – You know it! I want to keep this fic interesting for those who know the original story, so, as a fan fic, I was to spice it up with a special something. Hope the surprises keep you on board!
PersonaQeminod1 – I know I responded to you by PM, but yes. As evidenced by this chapter, other Personas will be able to talk to Yu, and I can't wait to see how this work out in the long term!
Marvey4 – The new social links will definitely affect the plot in some way, but I'm not entirely sure how this early on, but it'll be fun to explore! And… maybe Yu is, maybe Yu isn't one of Minato's social links. Maybe I want to keep it a secret. ;)
Lovadren – Hope this chapter was worth the long wait! I was seriously busy for the past month and a half. And you're welcome for the thanks! :)
Sulphur99 – Whoa, man. Put the Persona down! I didn't mean to offend! Regardless, I am well aware of the ramifications for Jin, and I have plenty a plan for his social link with Yu. And that thought about him being a Rise/Kanamin is, well, an interesting thought. I couldn't help but snicker at that thought. Not that that's a bad thing or anything.
SeventhAssasin – Oh, we're not even close to having all of Yu's social links yet. We have, like, another 8 to 13-ish people left (I lost count and don't wanna cross check right now). And, well, there are no crazy twists here today. Sorry. :/
Pecan Crisp – A jerk, you say? Well, that won't stop me from writing, And I'll admit, that line depressed me a little as I wrote it, but I still felt it a little necessary. You know, foreshadowing.
blarg7856 – I'm gonna try to answer your questions quickly. No. Maybe. Not Adachi, but maybe Sho/Kagatsuchi is possible since I recently started getting interested in Persona 4 Arena recently, but we'll see. And for now, I'll say no on Labrys, but I won't rule it out just yet.
Kitanalao – Great to see you still like the fic!
Seta Man (Guest) – Thanks man! I'm trying to, but things are a little hectic on my end.
Just checked and saw that these review responses are seriously bloating my word count, so I'll stop here on the author's note.
Read on!
-rjm324
(Oh, and what do you think about the prospect of a new Persona fanfic with a gender bent Yu? Just curious.)