Chapter 14: Hell Hath' No Fury

Diary Entry: 04/15

A/N: Please don't kill me, I haven't updated in more than two weeks and my updates have been lacking. I know, but real life problems seem to impede my work. I'll never publicly admit that though.

I'm surprised I passed the 100 follower mark already! I'm really happy to see I'm doing something—if anything—right!

I will be doing some alterations to a few chapters as looking back I actually improved my writing in the recent chapters. One of the more obvious chapters I'm changing is good Ol' Chapter Four.

A question for you all, would you rather I make long chapters with a two week waiting period of 6k-10k words each or Two updates a week with chapters with 4,000-5,000 words each?

P.S I'm not very good at writing medieval speech or phrases—so please bear with me I'm trying my best here.

Lol.

Fun Fact: A majority of my writing is done in my iPhone on GoogleDOCS. It can be frustrating at times, but my ancient laptop comes in handy when I'm home and decide to use it.

If you are all wondering as to why Ryoko refers to Ann by her last name, it's solely based on the idea that she is still very wary of her. She poses a threat in her eyes and wants to maintain her distance. I will also tone down a lot of Morgana's "white knight" behavior. I found it to be a major hindrance to the team's productivity. Just saiyan. Get it? Saiyan—because Saiyin is a the name of—

Skips Scene

I froze, feeling completely aghast as as I stared back at a pale blonde before me. Yes, the young and horror-stricken European looking blonde was none other than Ann Takamaki. The latter stood with a slack-jawed expression, no doubt she was feeling the same level of panic we were all experiencing that very moment.

Just how were we supposed to explain ourselves? Do we knock her out and call it a day?—I mean look at us! We were armed to the teeth and dressed in phantom thief fatigues of all things. To a third party we would look menacing and threatening as we seemingly loomed over the exotic high school girl.

I'm pretty sure if I had been her I'd be shitting bricks right about now. Morgana grimaced and I fought the urge to hide beneath a rock right then and there.

"It appears she was in close proximity to us at the time of our departure. She must have been pulled by the rift of the Meta-verse application On your phone!" Morgana deducted.

"T-takamaki-chan? " My twin sputtered. "—Da' hell are you doing here?" Ryuji slurred. I could feel his own panic blend with my own anxiety. Our heightened sense of awareness seemed to amplify my own emotions along his. Ryuji's own thoughts were practically garbled and my mind went shameful blank.

"How in the hell—Wait...that voice…It can't be...Sakamoto-kun?" Takamaki jumped from her spot and eyed us all with a wide and bewildered expression plastered on her face.

"Relax. It's only us..." Akira voiced taking off my mask. We all followed suit aside from Morgana. The masked feline was odd regardless if he took off his mask, so it would have been pointless for him to follow along.

"Why are you here..? I thought we made it clear you were supposed to stay put. Why aren't you by Suzui-san'a side right now..?" I asked feeling a tad of frustration lingering in my voice. I had sincerely believed we had satisfied her demand to some extent earlier, but it appears as if our ploy did very little to quell her burning vindictive fury.

She had to have known we weren't being completely honest from the start.

"Don't take me for an idiot. When I said I wanted 'in' I wasn't referring to case your club president was conducting against Kamoshida. I don't want justice, I want vengeance.." Her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed into a taut line. "I knew you three were up to something the moment he came into this school." She said jabbing a finger in Akira's direction. " I tried to find you in the club room. But you pulled a disappearing act on me! I-I saw you go all go inside and guess what? No one was there."

Silence followed. We couldn't even find the resolve to deny or verbally admit it, but it was all the same to her. She knew she had us and a felt like an idiot for not being more careful around the people that attend the school.

If Takamaki was this sharp, imagine what a real brainiac would be capable of. Anyone else would have blackmailed us.

I mentally berated myself and vaguely remembered that the doors in the building don't have locks. She could have easily waltzed in after we came back from the Meta-verse. Anyone could have walked in and it would have fucked us over a thousand-fold.

I stammered and tried to dodge her question."C-calm down Takamaki-chan. You shouldn't be here, you have to leave. Now."

"I'm not leaving until you three explain yourselves." She eyes us all and let her mouth gape. She must have noticed the questionable firearms in our possession. "A-are those guns..?"

I kept my arms out in a gesture that was akin to finding a cougar prowling in the wild. It was a move one might make to ease the wrath of a cornered creature. "Please keep quiet, they're just replicas I swear. They aren't real!"

"What kind of sick game are you guys playing at? Do you plan on scaring Kamoshida—What the...What is that..?" She said before finally catching a glimpse at the looming castle gates before us. My first instinct was to subdue her and drag her back to the real world, but I had no experience under my belt to actually execute it. I could get used to mortally wounding shadows, bit to incapacitate a high school girl?

'I can't pull it off either…! What in the everloving fuck do we do about her?' Ryuji slurred internally.

"Please Lady Takamaki, this can be quite frightening I know, but please calm yourself—" Takamaki cut Morgana off and let out a piercing screech making him cringe and cover his sensitive ears.

"A-ah! Is that some kind of monster?" Takamaki said before gripping tightly to her school tote.

"A monster?" Hurt clearly lacing Morgana's voice. "No, Lady—"

"How does it know my surname and why are you addressing me as lady?" Takamaki said readying her school bag as a makeshift weapon.

I gave a quick look around and prayed the shadows weren't patrolling close enough to hear our little conversation.

If one could even call it that.

"We can't explain now, it will have to be left for another time, but for now...you need to leave." I reasoned as I tried to take a step towards her.

This seemed to upset her and she lashed out in protest. "No way. How in the seven hells am I supposed to believe you now? Why on earth are you all dressed like you're ready for a bank heist and why does our school looks like freaking castle?"

"Like our leader said, our lips are sealed princess. Back to reality you go." Ryuji answered flatly.

"Agreed. We can't have her around like this, she's going to draw attention to us." Akira remarked.

The situation was very delicate and we were unsure of what to do next. Takamaki's outburst stopped and her knees gave out from underneath her. "I don't feel so—"

I had wormed the closest and steadied her to keep herself from the hard concrete floor.

"Hey! Takamaki-san..? Are you alright?" I voiced aloud in a panic. I smacked her cheek repeatedly to get her to come to her sense. The force I used was akin to waking a small child up from their stupor. She was pale and trembling in my arms, it wasn't a bad of a meltdown as Akira had the other day, but it was still a frightening display to see.

"Her psyche could be posing a problem," Morgana inquired in a hushed tone. "I have heard of a Princess Ann in the palace. If Kamoshida's desire for her is potent enough, she will succumb to the palace's cognition much faster than either of you."

"What do you mean? Don't you just feel groggy and terribly fatigued?" Ryuji asked.

"Not if you're having an episode," Morgana paused before elaborating. "The strength of your mind and will helps prolong the effects. If your Psyche is weak, you will certainly become another puppet for the palace. Especially since she is an object of desire to Lord Kamoshida."

"So in short, the effects will hit her with a greater force than it had been with us. That means she's not even remotely safe here." Akira murmured.

The thought alone was troubling to say the least. I hadn't known the young blonde enough to care much for her on a personal level, but she and I my former self held some lost history with one another. She seemed like a nice girl, albeit stubborn and temperamental—but if she had the heart to do anything for Shiho even if it killed her.

"This could pose a problem if the palace senses her. I have no doubt in my mind she would become some sort of manic depraved masochist." Voiced Morgana, his ears began to twitch and angled his head upwards sniffing the air. "The castle is stirring, but I don't believe it's senses her presence yet. Or at least it's not aware of her identity. Had you used her full name to address her it would have spelled trouble."

"Joker, we need to walk her back. Her knees are far too weak at the moment—she'll need support." I murmured.

'She's technically dead weight—well, in a sense that she doesn't have the strength to support herself.' I voiced inwardly.

'Can you really blame her? Anyways, I'll take care of it.' Responded Ryuji.

"There's a bench by the front of the school, I can take her there, but I'll need help." Ryuji voiced aloud. Not that she's that heavy, i just don't want to get carried away and snap my knee."

"Wow, I'm surprised you aren't being reckless." I blurted. My attempt to lighten the atmosphere was in vain and instead

"Since when have I ever—"

"I'll go with you." Akira removed the rifle harness from his shoulder and bagged it discreetly into Ryuji's gym bag. Ryuji followed soon after and they both loomed over us trying to pick Takamaki as gently as possible.

"Hey—Sakamoto-kun! You'd better explain yourself this instant! Answer me!" Takamaki hissed, the frustration in her voice made me flinch a bit. I felt a twinge of guilt settle into my stomach and found myself frowning as they lifted her and proceeded to head into the alleyway.

"Great," I voiced sardonically. "...Pray tell, Morgana. How on earth do we explain this mess? I asked while peering accusingly at the structure behind Morgana and I.

As if things weren't complicated enough, now we had a witness. Granted it would be difficult to provide the proof in the real world, but this could definitely pose a major issue in terms of keeping discretion. I mean—Kaede's hawk eyes were bad enough, I couldn't imagine also having Takamaki-san breathing down our necks over this.

Even if she did want to join our group, she had no idea what she would be getting herself into. Say, we decided to humor her and have her play support like we had with Akira, there was no telling how long it would take for the effects of Kamoshida's palace to take hold of her.

Morgana hummed pensively. "We could buy her silence. Perhaps give her something that wins her favor to keep her from spilling the beans."

"Some phantom thieves we are. Not even a week and we managed to give ourselves away." I muttered.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You all need to master the finesse and guarded nature of a true phantom thief. We can all figure it out together and learn from our mistakes here." He cleared his throat before adding in dreamy tone. "Still, wouldn't it be nice to have her around to provide support on the sidelines if she wants to help. She seems passionate and fierce."

Morgana and I waited patiently for the boys to make their way back to us. It didn't take too long before we managed to regroup the whole team together. With Takamaki gone we began to discuss our options.

Akira let out a gruff sigh and ran his scarlet gloves over his luscious ebony curls. "This isn't exactly ideal, but I suppose we will have to make do with our current predicament." His eyes traveled towards the castle ahead and continued. "We can teleport to the safe-room on the first level of the palace—the one closest to the artillery room. Let's see how far we can manage within the next half hour." He directed his gaze to Morgana. "Mona, what's the status of the security level within the palace?"

"There is definitely a spike in the number of entities roaming about in the castle. I can't give you a solid number, so I'll estimate the percentage amount I'm capable of sensing. Give me a second..." Morgana sniffed the air and closed his eyes briefly, once his ears began to twitch he opened his eyes and examined the castle from afar. "I'd say, there is a thirty-five percent increase of shadows on patrol as of now."

"Well, it's a good thing I have a shit ton of pent up frustration right about now." Ryuji muttered bitterly under his breath. Without a second thought we made haste towards the castle moat. I noticed that Ryuji was unintentionally taking the lead and decided to nip his reckless behavior in the bud. I quickly shot and hand on his shoulder and shouted inwardly to chastise him. He stopped in his tracks and gave an odd look.

"Slow down there, hotshot." I chided. 'I could have sworn Joker was the leader of the team, not you big brother.'

"Oh. R-right." He paused and slowly drew his attention to our curly haired leader. He gave Akira a sheepish grin. "Sorry, man."

Akira waved him off and shook his head in response. "Don't worry about it." He began to scroll through the history feed on the Meta-Nav and began to select the proper destination.

Swing the area around us distort was still mind boggling. It shifted into ripples and began to waver between two completely different areas. The waves eventually settled and the environment revealed a small room surrounded by rich velvet decor and lavish scarlet drapes.

The tables bore gold embellishments and a few unused chalices were strewn in the middle. This room was miles better than the safe room down in the dungeon corridors. I silently wondered if my enhanced senses would make the area feel far more uncomfortable than the last time I had been there.

I supposed it wasn't that bad since Akira was able to plow through the shadows at the time.

"We can think about our little dilemma after we finish exploring. Any objections…?" Akira voiced while keeping a steady and resolute tone. The vibrato in his voice sent a silent wave of shivers down my spine. They weren't unpleasant in the least, but I managed to keep my cool and kept my thoughts elsewhere before Ryuji took note of my odd behavior.

"Do you think we should split into teams of two? With one of the twins on each team, their telepathic communication could be useful to relay information to the other group whilst we cover more ground." Advised Morgana.

Akira looked thoughtful before he turned his attention towards Ryuji and I. "If either team runs into any trouble, we will regroup immediately. Be mindful of your partner's well-being and keep in touch as much as possible."

"We need healers in each team. We got to see a bit of Pixie's capabilities last time. Did Morgana teach you the basics of the healing technique?" I asked. After he had obtained Pixie's help, we were pleasantly surprised to hear that she could learn healing capabilities.

"I understand the gist of it, but I'm afraid I have yet to actually cast the spell." Akira answered honestly.

I shifted my gaze to Morgana and raised an eyebrow. Suddenly the idea of splitting up wasn't sounding very full-proof. It was risky to let Akira run around the castle teaming with shadows with his level of inexperience. Still, if Morgana is a know-it-all I figure he would give Akira the proper guidance and knowledge on what to expect when he would cast a healing spell.

"We can practice right here in the safe room. Akira has a unique learning curve. He should be able to grasp the technique well enough to use it this time around." Morgana voiced, he sounded very confident in Akira prowess.

"Then we need an injured teammate to heal. Will distance affect his concentration?" Asked Ryuji.

"He's still a novice, so of course it would take some field experience to heal allies from a large distance." Morgana informed before pulling his cutlass from his sheath and motioning me towards him. "Come here Raven. We can start by healing flesh wounds. Once masters this principle, he should be able to handle the rest from there."

Normally I'd hesitate to such a request, but Akira was learning something that could potentially save our lives. Surely he wouldn't take too long to patch me right up, I mean, this was Akira we're talking about.

Ryuji must have heard and felt my own thoughts then, but still interjected. "I get that, but are you really agreeing to this? Why doesn't the cat slit his own body? Why does it have to be you?" Ryuji asked as hysteria bubbled between us.

"You already know how important it is for Akira to learn this technique. Besides, I'm not going to die over a silly flesh wound. Remember how this world works. So long as we hold faith in those we trust, things should always work out."

'We have to believe in Akira for it to work. Cognition is power."

He huffed and pursed his lips in a firm line before glancing at me and back at Morgana. "Alright. Go ahead."

'Don't come crying to me when you start to see your blood spurting everywhere.'

Morgana leaped gracefully on the table and I took off my right leather glove before rolling back the sleeve of my jacket.

"Pixie, lend me your strength." Akira voiced softly. His mask erupted into a mass of azure flames until it formed a small mass and revealed a small forest sprite wearing a blue leotard.

"Reporting for duty!" She chimed in exuberantly. Morgana put a soft paw against my open fingers in an attempt to keep them still before he proceeded.

"Remember Joker, imagine your mending the smaller blood vessels and muscle tissue. Increase the body's natural healing process and concoct your own antibacterial adhesive while you're at it. I don't expect you to master the last part yet, but repair the most immediate damage as quickly as possible."

Akira looked determined and I placed a dish on the table to keep my blood from billing all over the place. I gave the curly haired boy an encouraging smile and nodded.

"Ready?" Asked Morgana. We both nodded and in a almost instantaneously my hand felt terribly itchy and hot. I let out a small audible gasp and tutted in a flustered manner.

"Holy shit. That's a lot of blood." Ryuji mouthed blatantly.

Akira and pixie looked over me and I felt his gloved palm grasp gently at my wrist. He examined the wound for a brief second before he voiced in a direct tone the command he wanted her to follow. "Pixie. Heal." The scent of running alcohol rose up from the green aura that his Persona emanated.

They both held mirrored expressions and I shivered slightly at how serious they were taking their training.

Or should I say, his training—since she was now his Persona.

I fought the urge to close my palm as my blood had pooled from my palm, in a means to sooth the itching discomfort. The frothy consistency of the liquid was comparable car grease, but was still only enough as thin as water. It didn't feel warm as I thought it would be, and it felt more discomforting than it actually hurt.

However, as soon as Pixie's white magic began to coax its way into my system, the discomfort began to lull and the itch began to fade away. My hand was still trailing with blood I didn't feel the streams pour freely. Akira pulled the handkerchief that adorned his breast picked and flapped it out to clean my wound.

My palm was stained red and a few dried specs of blood smeared the top layer of my skin. He wiped away gingerly and inspected the raw and healing tissue that now blemished my palm. I blinked and and moved my closer to examine it as well. I flexed my palms a bit. It did have a bit of strain, but it was very close to Morgana's own healing expertise.

"I thought Mona said he couldn't block out the pain. Joker was able to do it when he was healing her. What gives?" Ryuji asked before Morgana'a eyes widened.

"Wait—what do you mean by blocking out the pain?" The feline asked looking at my palm as Akira attempted in vain to remove the blood stains that riddled my skin. He paused and sheepishly looked between Morgana and I.

"The wound was numbing. It almost felt like he was attempting to anesthetize the pain." I clarified.

"It not like, we enjoyed seeing you in pain Mistress! We like, thought we could tot's sooth your pain you know." The pixie answered looking flustered. Akira immediately let go of my palm and cleared his throat.

"Mistress..?" Alight, I thought. It was possible she thought very highly of us all. I suppose we were oddly close even after knowing each other for such a short period of time.

"Is it odd that I don't want my friends to be hurting after I heal them?" Akira voiced in a firm tone. The pixie nodded before turning to him.

"Nice recovery—" She squacked as he shot a hand over her mouth and dismissed her for now.

"Thank you Pixie. You're presence is no longer needed for now."

Ryuji gave him a question in look, but shrugged it off immediately in a means to remain ignorant.

Of what? I'm not sure, he began to tune his thoughts and began to recite the latest basketball leaderboards in his head as a means to block me out.

"Anyways, let's head out. Mona and Raven can survey furthest of the west wing and Skull and I will backtrack and clear the floor." Akira kept the counseling session dry and to the point. We all took on our objectives and made our way towards the door.

"Team Alpha wIll be lead by Joker, whilst team Omega while be directed by yours truly." Morgana voiced with a dark thrill lacing his voice. Jitters rolled down my spine in waves and our team sauntered after the boys headed out of the room.

The amount of Shadows had definitely increased. The artillery room we conquered last time now had at least six shadows patrolling in its small area.

"I can remove the masks if you can provide a distraction. After that, go crazy and screwer every single shadow in the room when I give you the go ahead. Got it?"

"I think I have a decent distraction." I removed my hoodie and removed the mask that obscured my face. "Tell me Morgana, do you know if the princesses speak in medieval fashion?"

"I certainly believe they do Lady Ryoko." Morgana answered with a smug expression that was similar to my own at the moment.

"Good, come with me. You're my escort Sir Kamoshida."

'Am I really hearing this right? Sir Kamoshida?' Ryuji voiced inwardly. I ignored his internal banter and did keep a mental note of their status. Ryuji was in mid-battle as Akira had dropped gracefully beside him, a pile of masks were strewn throughout the room they were in.

I tutted at Ryuji's words and mentally shot back at him. "Morgana doesn't have a last name. It needs to sound powerful and anyone related to the royal family is well—royalty of course.'

I only hoped this would work and Kamoshida had at least some basic knowledge of the era other than pillaging, riches and slavery of any kind.

I took a deep breath and I dropped my cape and fixed it in a means to hide all trace of weaponry I carried, With my back straightened I figured Kamoshida may have a twisted cognitive idea of a princess so I had to up the ante on my own charm.

Not only was I severely lacking in that category, but my acting was no better.

Still, it couldn't hurt to try now could it?

"Milord's! ~" I squealed and immediately felt myself shrink as the group of armored shadows met my gaze and stopped in their tracts. My mind was sent into a frenzy and I had worried I would get called out on my shit acting right of the back.

I would have been lying if I'd say I didn't cringe thinking about this right now.

"Milady Ryoko!" In an instant the all scrambled to kneel in what they believed was the presence of their princess. Well, one the many possibly masochist cognitive dolls.

"Good evening Milords," My my mind blanked out for a second until I came up with a half-assed attempt to come up with a believable story.''Tis an intruder in thy quarters! Sir Kamoshida"s...bloody of thine blood hath guided...uh..thee to thine capable squires!"

"Milady Ryoko beseeches thee! Bend thy knee in thine glory and reclaim thine quarters and chain thine heathen! He who claims dideth' be usurper will be willed thy grace's kindness and love in thine hall of love!"

"Yes Milady—" With style and speed Morgana used both his tail and cutlasses to un mask the shadow from the back. I scurried and pulled of the masks off of the two esquire's kneeling in front of me and and waited for Morgana's cue. I had since released Bonny, her azure flames were magnificent and it thrilled me to finally tear these things apart.

"Hit it Raven!"

"Bonny, end them. Earthshaker!" I could feel my stamina getting sapped away in a more potent dose as I aimed for every single shadow in the room. When Bonny gel satisfied she slammed her hand into the ground. Her bunny ears flopped madly from the force and from the earth the crystal minerals shot out from the ground like tendrils and impaled through the shadows with fatality.

We continued with the same routine until we reached what looked like a pantry of sorts. There was good being prepared, a pig that had been straight out of the rotisserie was laid out on a cutting board. The chef looked like one off the cafeteria women from our school. She was old, but ironically wore something appropriate for the job she was doing.

There were two shadows patrolling at the end of the opposite door of the pantry. The cognitive doll looked too focused.

"She may seem like a threat, but she won't pay any mind to us. Like a ghost she's destined to only do one action. We can fight near her and she'll still act as if we aren't there." Morgana whispered.

With that in mind Morgana and I walked past her and I ignored the delicious scent of roasted pork before stringing to remove the soldiers masks.

When they revealed themselves as bedside demons. I wiped out the pistol far faster than I ever had done so since my time here. It relied on a more natural sense of aim and a shorter time frame than the sniper, but it was nothing a little practice could take care of. Morgana also railed his weapon of choice and we kept at it until they faded into nothing.

"Beautifully done Raven. Your stamina is improving, I'm impressed."

"It still wears me out, but not so much like the first time around—" I stopped in mid sentence and listened at the situation Ryuji was in. I could hear the shadows talking and Kamoshida's voice rang clear in my head.

"We can use the nearest playroom here including the first floor. Milord's escort the material world wench and prepare her for a sleepless night. I will arrive shortly." Kamoshida rubbed his cheek and a more flirtatious Takamaki kissed his cheek were a red hand mark lay evident on his face.

"Your Grace!"

"Don't touch me you son of bitch. It's your fault Shiho jumped. You sick bastard! I'll fucking end you!"

Akira and Ryuji were already back near the entrance hallway that led into the corridors that had served us as an infiltration point. Akira's voice rang clear as he addressed me.

"It's time we regroup, We can tail them and find out exactly where they're taking her. Remain on standby near the safe room."

"Affirmative." I voiced inwardly.

Not soon after, we made our way back towards the safe room. We closed the door and managed to catch our breath for a bit as we waited for the boys to arrive. I pulled out a chair and Morgana sat idly on top of the table with legs dangling freely from the edge.

Akira and Ryuji didn't take too long and soon came back to us in silence. It was a dreadful silence as they held grim expressions on their faces. I found myself frowning and folded my arms over my best.

"The was a room that had been closed off on our way here. The pathway is open, but there are a few guards stationed at the door." Akira inquired.

"We should use what we can to replenish our stamina. If Kamoshida is in there now, the mpay likely has the crowns guard with him." Morgana suggested—by the sound of things, they were about to get dicey.

"It's not like we gott'a choice." Ryuji slurred. "Our classmate managed to make her way back to the Meta-verse."

If I found out she made it back under her own accord I was going to give that girl an earful, she would disobeyed our word and for whatever reason she thought she could handle this without help.

Akira brought out his own thermos. It was a metallic gray color and had a small black cat logo. We took everything we had in order to prepare ourselves for the onslaught coming our way. After we finished on recuperating our strength we left the safe room and followed Akira and Ryuji into the corridor where they held Takamaki.

The area in which she was being held had once been gated and closed off. There were full armor pieces that lined each the walls as if they were standing in attention. I could hear the muffled cries of our classmate and she screamed in protest.

My blood boiled and a mixture of Ryuji's own anger meshed with my own. Akira stationed himself behind me and Morgana and my brother were leaning against the opposing wall ready to strike.

I could practically feel Akira's warmth from my back and fought the urge to shiver. My accursed hormones were beginning to cloud my thought and I quickly reminded myself of the task at hand.

With practiced ease, Morgana and I propelled ourselves forward and took initiative to remove the masks to allow the boys to attack. "Joker, Skull! Let loose and blow them away!" Announced Morgana as we jumped away to give them room. The wind billowing against my face was enough to send my adrenaline into overdrive.

My heels clacked as I landed beside behind the boys manning the frontline. Captain Kidd cackled and sent a bolt of lightning at green horned steer. Under his power the large creature was turned nothing more into ash.

"Arsene! Impale them and send them into a permanent stupor! Dream Needle." I could hear the gentle-crow's sardonic laugh vibrate through the walls. Wings as dark as sin as his Patron's hair opened its hellish wingspan and send tendrils of shadow to pierce its enemies. It was similar to Bonny's execution move, but it was far less aggressive and more controlled.

When we cleared the entrance to the room we plowed through the door and had Arsene cleave it open. Seeing the dust clear allowed us to catch the King red-handed. To this day, I have yet to forgive the man's depravity.

No form of mental preparation would be enough for me to comprehend the scene before me.

I had never felt so livid.

Takamaki was in tears as she was constrained by what I would later find out was a Saint Andrew's cross. She was sniveling and her clothes had been cut open as if they had tried to undress her.

We had been standing in between groups of our other classmates. They all bore expressions that were of a sexual nature and began to straddle each other suggestively while coaxing Takamaki to join.

"This is all sorts of fucked up…" Ryuji voiced feeling the air constrict from him lungs. "Is this what he thinks of the girls volleyball ball team.

"I'm not here…" I voiced quietly in a silent relief. Honestly seeing my carbon copy act in such a manner would have been enough to tear the place down.

"He spoke of a dragon that tends to snatch Princess Ryoko away. He must see you as an object that is unattainable at the moment with Ryuji around you." Morgana murmured while keeping his eyes trained on the sadistic man before us.

Ryuji gasped and called out to the blonde in exasperation. "Takamaki!"

Kamoshida's shadow growled under his breath as he saw us approaching. "How many times must you fools get in my way? This is what she deserves for denying herself to me. She couldn't provide her body so I took the next best thing. Her perky tited friend."

"You lecherous piece of shit!" She spat venomously. We all tensed as one of the crowns guard pressed a steel sword against her throat.

"Not so fast knaves. One false move and I'll have them slit her trachea open and make a bloody fountain out of her."

Her cognitive clone drew out her words as if she were ditsy and (for a lack of a better word) dumb as a doornail. "Speaking back to your king, is like, totally unforgivable." Her outfit was everything but the word modest and it was the exact same doll that Ryuji had seen when we first left the palace. Her tiara was adorned with cat ears with cheetah print embellishments on the fabric that formed the flesh of the ears. Her lingerie was of the same material and had studded diamonds on the fabric to give off a lavish look. "Mylord I want to hear her scream and feel loved."

"You would like that wouldn't you—you little slut." Kamoshida turned to Takamaki and gave her a shot-eating grin. "Ah, see that look? That's the one you should have been wearing from the get go."

"I..if I had just gone with him that day...Shiho wouldn't have been left alone that day. I failed her." Her cognitive clone grabbed a whip that was hanging on a wall of sado-erotic trinkets of all kinds. The sound of it thundered in the room as she struck out Boone classmate across her face. It left an angry red mark and Takamaki let out a guttural scream.

We flinched the knights began to cackle at our tensed figures. We were in the palm of their hands and they knew it too. Kamoshida waved his finger at us and guffawed madly. "Bring me the girl and execute the rest."

The boys including Morgana positioned themselves in front of me and I steeled my eyes on the sadistic king. "Think again Kamoshithead. We aren't going down without a fight."

"Takamaki, keep your head held high." I voiced firmly. "Giving yourself away like that wouldn't have changed anything. If anything I think Shiho would be the one to come all this way and do the exact same thing you're doing now."

"You're a force to be reckon with. Are you really going to let this weasel have his way with you or are you going to bend the knee and be a victim all your life?" Challenged Akira.

Takamaki stayed quiet and began to struggle underneath the shackles of the cross. Kamoshida made a head gesture towards us and huffed indignantly. "Your words are cliche and overused. As if I'd let her garner another one of those shadowhunters you call a Persona—" A whip cracked in the air and we eyed our blonde classmate in disbelief as she held onto the tip on the whip with her bare hands. The clasp of the shackles were broken in pieces as she pulled her cognitive clone into the bare blade of the knight before she disintegrated into nothingness. The other soldier standing at attention beside Kamoshida started to charge their way towards us.

"Holy shit are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" Sputtered Ryuji.

'If by seeing you mean watch as Takamaki kicks some shadow ass? Then yes. We are seeing it.' I replied internally.

"Shut up and attack, now is our chance!" Morgana replied in with urgency. We nodded and I felt my mask dissolve into burning azure embers and the deckhand hare Bonny erupted from the flames.

"I suggest a new form of punishment for them. What would you like to see Míja?"

In my mind's eye I was not seeking an attack to destroy my enemies, rather I was focusing on protecting a friend from otherwise facing death. Hearing my thoughts this seemed to allow her to understand and it almost sounded as if she spoke through a smile.

"Protect your friend I shall."

"Bonnie, protect those who view the palace ruler as an enemy; my comrades from bodily harm. Let the strength of my will be a temple in which to shield them. Celestite Barrier!"

"As you wish Míja." Bonnie sapped away at the stamina I had and it didn't feel as costly as Earthshaker had been. A wall of celestite minerals encased a wall around Takamaki and she stopped a greatsword from cutting down on her as she began to hobble around in agony. She screamed and I thanked the heavens she hadn't been harmed. Her screams alone were haunting and I realized it had been the first time I had seen someone else attain the pain of forming a contract with a Persona.

"Jack O' Lantern, turn my enemies into cinder! Pyro Sphere!" Akira commanded as a fireball struck at a impish blue sprite inside a floating bronze cauldron. It sent a lightning bolt my way and I failed to react on time as the electrifying force knocked me of my feet and onto the red carpet. The cognitive dolls had since scurried from the room and left us with an open room. My body felt awful and the pain was comparable to having exposed cable wires touch my bare belly.

It was unnatural and if it had struck any higher, it would have sent a surge of electricity into my diaphragm. Morgana sent a torrent of winds past me to a different type of steer that was attempting to trample me with it's front hooves. It was green and half of it's body had a ghostly tail. Ryuji urged me to stand and I took his hand in gratitude.

Without being able to remove the shadow masks they kept multiplying and started to overwhelm us as their numbers increased.

"You think you olot can defeat me? I rule this kingdom with an iron fist and I will keep doing as I please for many years to come. Your school will turn their backs on you and I will make sure you've all learned your lesson by then. Starting with you." Lord Kamoshida admonished while pointing directly at our curly haired leader.

"Kamoshida!" screeched a feminine voice from the celestite walls. The volume and intensity in her vice was akin to a warcry and the celestite began to glow a familiar eerie blue. The barrier began to disappear.

"She no longer needs your protection, the earth shielding her senses her resolve. She is ready." Bonny explained. The room shook and with the barrier fading, the flames burst in a magnificent inferno. Her screams were enough to send chills up my spine and I knew she was sealing the contract.

She was experiencing the pain that was the cost of such power. I could almost feel the agony all over again as she let out final shriek. Chains billowed and rose in the air as and warped into a large feminine figure. A woman that could have been over five meters tall took center stage, she wore a massive ballroom gown that exposed her cleavage. In a sadistic twist she stepped on a masochistic shadow and held another one by the throat with her rose whip. The scent of dry tobacco lingered in the air as she smoked a fat cigar on her licious red lips. She smiled, flashing her feline canines in the process. Her voice was deep and soothing. "My mistress and I shall show no mercy."

"Your days of treating girls like pieces meat are numbered." Takamaki spoke with conviction and emerged in front of her Persona wearing a fuschia colored latex suit. It was form fitting and she looked similar to a dominatrix. "You took everything from Shiho...Now it's my turn. For every scream she made I will make you pay a thousand fold. Kamoshida...I will rob you of everything!"

Kamoshida used and practically spit between his words. "You filthy little slut! I will have you one way or another. Guards seize them now!"

"Thou hath' dareth' sully thyne name of his royal majesty thy King. Thine shalt be'eth hangeth' for doth' insolence knaves!" A kings guard member dressed in gold plated armor began to dissolve into a pool of darkness and began to absorb the lesser ranked guardsmen around it.

We regrouped around Takamaki and prepared our Persona in the process. The room rippled as the distortion intensified within the abysmal pool.

"Takamaki-chan, imagine what type of attack your enemies will suffer by your hand. Find the right imagery and let your Persona do the rest. We'lol back ya' up when you need it." Voices Ryuji as we watched the shadow fone into a much larger creature.

"Right." She voiced in a collective tone.

"Raven, focus on defense. We need the group to stay in tact. Mona can provide healing and I need Ryuji to provide support."

'Support?' I questioned inwardly.

"I can lend someone bits of my strength. Akira needed more juice in his attacks and Cap'n let me cover that for him."

I nodded and the creature finally formed. It was absolutely atrocious. The creature looked demonic in physicality and it was sitting in a dirty decrepit porcelain toilet. The scent that wafted in the air was unpleasant to say the least and I knew this would provide a load of problems.

It sent a torrent of winds in our direction and I immediately drew in a barrier. "Behind me! Bonny Now!"

The barrier was small and no more than three feet tall but it was enough to lessen the impact. Unfortunately it was the moray I could muster on such short notice. Ryuji and Morgana had been cut by the debris that were caught by the whirlwind and hissed in agony.

"Zorro! H-heal." Morgana commanded. With a wave of his rapier her sent a healing aura on Ryuji and then on himself. Meanwhile, the rest of us rolled out from the small crystal wall and began to toss around heavy hitters after the other. We let Takamaki go last as she was still figuring out the mechanics behind forming a spell.

"Bonny, Earthshaker!"

The demonic giant sneered and levitated his toilet bowl higher and began to maneuver himself from my attacks. I mentally cursed myself and realized that staying on the defensive would definitely pose a better tactic than none.

"At least we know ground attacks won't work. It save me from relying too much on Arsene." Murmured Akira. Morgana leaped into the battlefield a bit behind us all to watch for any injured comrades. It didn't take long before Ryuji came barreling in and sent a bolt of lightning at the shadow. The room flashed a brilliant white as it made contact and Takamaki followed in his example and landed a barrage of fireballs herself.

Fire, eh? Who would have thought.

The shadow panicked and began to screech as his skin was set aflame. It sounded like a wounded feral animal being torn apart. Perhaps it wasn't very resistant to the power of her flames.

"Methane!" Gasped Morgana. "Methane is a flammable gas!"

This seemed to spark something in Akira's marvelous gunmetal gray eyes and he smirked.

"Takamaki and I will work on igniting this beast. Ryuji, we need you to power us up as much as you can. Mona, as soon as see the shadow retains any burns and welts—hit him the most fiercest winds in your arsenal. Raven, encase him in your crystal barrier and let him burn until nothing is left.

"Oh, Captain, My Captain.~" I purred.

Following Akira's orders Ryuji began to divert his spiritual energy onto Akira and Takamaki. This was easier said than done and it took everything in him to keep track of their movements throughout the field. Morgana and I waited for our cue and when the managed to burn the shadow, Morgana mewed in determination and had Zorro sent a torrent of winds to the unfortunate bastard in our way.

The mass of the shadow was quite large. When I felt the extent of the energy that Bonny required, my knees nearly gave out from underneath me. I began to build sweat in my brow and through my moves weren't as flashy as the rest of the group, it did require a heavy sum of concentration and control. My muscles began to ache as the Celestine mineral walls began to encase him. Whenever I felt he rose up in desperation as the flames kicked his skin I clenched the mineral walls closer. With its violent thrashing it was very close to breaking the barrier I created.

I was lucky however, that the barrier began to conduct heat from the flames, it became far similar to a massive furnace burning it alive. Our combined strength was easily terrifying to anyone who dared cross our path.

After he let out a final scream I allowed myself to let go of the barrier and drop on my knees in exhaustion. The walls began to collapse and left a trail of shimmering dust in its wake.

A distinguishable feeling began to work its way down my hand and I could feel that familiar discomfort taking over. My palm began to itch and I realized that the inside of my leather glove had been damp for a while.

I must have opened up that wound during the battle. I removed the glove and was met by an unsightly trail of blood that had smeared a majority of my right hand. I vaguely wondered whether or not it was possible to die from substantial blood loss in this world.

Would the blood lost here have a major effect in the real world—and so on. But, upon my morbid musings I hadn't realized that Kamoshida had made a very cowardly dash out the door. Ryuji's inner ramblings had filled me in only moments later.

"That fucking bastard got away." Ryuji hissed venomously.

Morgana began to sooth a very lethargic looking Takamaki as she covered herself in shame. Akira tried to in vain calm her down and he seemed gravitate towards me seeing as how at least I wasn't the toe to lash out at him.

Or at least that's what initially thought of anyway.

"You okay?" Akira asked with concern lacing his voice. The deep vibrato was one I had come to find comfort. I gave a gruff sigh and pushed myself off the ground.

"I'm fine. You?" I asked trying to maintain some sort of disinterest. For whatever reason I was very hesitant to display any form of romantic interest. It always sent my brain into a panic and with an emotional idiot like me that was very dangerous.

"Groggy." He replied simply. I found myself smiling at this. It in all honesty it did make a whole lot of sense. The effects of grogginess would be worming its way into all of us and I was not looking forward to it.

"Lovely," I added. "Might I suggest we pick up Ann and peel out before Kamoshida decided to send a search party after us? I mean...after seeing us fight together I have no doubt in my mind that he might send his strongest guards after us."

"Sounds like trouble." He turned and gave a slight gesture towards our new blond comrade. "Maybe you can get her to listen. I'm afraid I'm not very good at proving comfort in these types of situations."

"You're too hard on yourself. Besides, your not that bad."

He rubbed the back of his sheepishly but aimed a smirk at my direction. "...I'll take that as a compliment."

Unfortunately for us, words would not prove enough for the young blonde and we opted to just dragging her out of the war torn room. After pulling off a miracle we were able to make it back to the safe room in one piece.

The palace security began to skyrocket when Morgana inspected the energy wavering from the castle. "We have to leave before the security level reaches over a ninety percent increase. If it reaches that point...the safe rooms will be useless and we might not have access to the teleportation system on your phone." Morgana informed. This was enough to get our gears moving and we quickly maneuvered our way back to the palace entrance and into the real world.

Little did we know a war was brewing in the real world. One that would place our group in the middle and jeopardize our lives for good.