Pre-Chapter Review Answer Corner GO!

Delta XII - Sorry, not TTGL songs in Reshuffled! That one's all in your silly mind. As for that last thing, though... CHALLENGE FUCKING ACCEPTED.

Droplet of Sour - I'll be honest, I was legitimately surprised to see you posted a review at all. And... you're completely right. P3's characters are pretty weak because the story doesn't care about how well they interact with each other. If I wasn't absolutely beyond sick of trying to re-write P3 at this point, I might go back and re-work earlier chapters of Reshuffled to be better quality. Shame I didn't figure out the trick to fixing things a long time ago, but... I'm still much more content with how this story has gone than I am with how the original AFNF went.

The Worldwalker - I don't have Smash 4 yet, but just at a glance at the roster, I'd say Robin is my favorite newcomer. Fire Emblem Awakening is also a fantastic game and more people should play it. Also the names and effects of the new SEES skills will be included in the Author notes at the bottom.

Thanks to PuppeteerOfHearts, Ella Lucarita, and ScarfDrilbur for helping get past a bit of writing block that had me stuck about halfway through this. And now, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

"It... wasn't here when we got here..."

'It is the door to-'

I just pointed in the direction I thought the Reaper's voice came from. "YOU can just shush I am going home because I am tired and FUCK YOU."

There was a pause.

'...Rude.'

"He's... had a rough night."

'I noticed.'

I felt so damn out of it the entire way back. Whatever the hell I did had definitely fucked up my head something fierce. Good news was I had more than a few shoulders to lean on the entire way back if I needed to. Bad news was school in the morning, but that's just to be expected I suppose. In that same vein, however, the unexpected had become something close to the norm for me, which lead to an oddly rude awakening after I hit my alarm clock so it would shut the hell up.

"Neh."

I rolled over onto my back, my eyes still shut.

"Neh, Oni-kun."

I just grumbled.

"Oni-kun, wake up!"

With an agitated grunt, I sat up. "What...?"

I looked around and, to my confusion nobody was there.

"Hey."

Looking down, I saw a very tiny girl staring at me from the foot of my bed. And I mean 'tiny' as in 'is like a foot tall' and wearing a spider-themed outfit with messy black and orange hair on her head.

"I'm hungry." she said, marching up to poke me in the chest. "Get me some oranges."

"...What."

"I know you're not deaf, Oni-kun." She said with a huff. "You're usually better about bringing me yummy things!"

"What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?"

The tiny girl tilted her head. "You should know, you gave me my name."

I looked at the spider tank. Lid was open, Mira was gone.

"...Oh you have got to be kidding me."

"You're really not that observant, are you, Oni-kun?"

I just started rubbing my forehead. "Give me like five minutes, it's too goddamn early in the day for plot twists in the story of my life..."

"Okay~!"

"I was wondering how long it'd take you to figure out you've got a tsuchigumo living in your room."

I sighed. "Man, what next? Our toaster is possessed or something?"

"Nah, no tsukumogami in the dorm. I've checked a few times."

"Yay..." I said sarcastically as we passed the front gate of Gekkoukan. "Seriously, is it too much to ask for the supernatural things to just say 'yo what's up' before they integrate themselves into my life as something not supernatural for a long stretch of time?"

Shinji just chuckled while Hamuko and Aigis patted me on my shoulders.

"There there, Roy. At least you'll always have a little friend to talk to!"

"I still wanna know how there's a tsuchigumo that looks like a MEXICAN spider. And don't try to say 'they came from Mexico', she gave me a weird look when I asked her if she knew Spanish."

Aigis tapped her chin in thought. "As far as I am aware, red knee tarantulas have been bred in captivity successfully for some time, thus it would not be out of the ordinary for a youkai to resemble one."

"...Did you look that up one day or do you just know that off-hand?"

"I searched for information on the species shortly after you returned to the dorm with Mira initially. I felt it would be prudent to know the proper way to interact with that particular kind of arachnid."

"I'm still amazed you can attract so many abnormal things, Roy." commented Shinji. "Think it's some hidden trait of your power you didn't know about before now?"

I sighed. "If it is, I blame Anansi for it. He IS a trickster, after all and I swear to god if I hear him chuckling I'm gonna see if I can fight a deity RIGHT NOW."

"Spoil sport."

"LEAVE."

"Aw man, now I owe Ken a Featherman Figure..."

"Ryoji, I hate you so much right now."

"I love you too, buddy."

Despite it all, though, not everything was just poking fun at my terribly inconsistent attention span today. Got a hell of a lot more serious as most of us were walking back together after school.

"Up until today, I thought our school would be safe from that cult..." Yukari sighed. "But most of the class was talking about the end of the world today. They have no idea what's really going on..."

"Who does besides people with ties to our dorm, though?" asked Ryoji. "It's not like we can really tell people about it."

I ran a hand through my hair before putting my hat back on. "Yeah... and playing the waiting game on this is the hard part. All we've got to kick around are theories and guesses till the end of the month."

"I'm still surprised it became so popular so quickly." said Aigis. "I thought more people would oppose it, but it's drawing new followers in like moths to a flame, and it felt like there was a depressing atmosphere in class..."

"I'm with Ai-chan, it's crazy how many people are buying into that cult." Junpei added. "Kenji was complaining about getting spam e-mails from a few people he knows who got into it!"

Yukari let out a low whistle. "KENJI knows people who bought into that? Jeez, what exactly are they preaching that'd get the guys he hangs around with to go for it?"

"It's always surprising what people will choose to believe in." Fuuka said. "Though in some cases it makes sense if you think about it, others... it's just confusing."

Chidori nodded. "And given how likely it is Takaya is at the helm of all this, people flocking to his every word en mass becomes more disturbing."

"Because he's probably forcing a good chunk of them them to follow him?"

She looked at Hamuko and nodded. "Exactly."

"Tch. Part of the problem is the bastard doesn't know when to give up." Shinjiro growled. "Another part is that we can't find his twiggy ass and see how well he can interpret a sack of doorknobs."

"That sounds like something I'd expect Roy-san to say..."

Shinjiro just shrugged. "I hate that guy on so many levels it's a wonder I didn't try to break him in half when I had the chance."

"I see... but speaking of the cult, were your teachers talking about it today?" Ken asked. "My teacher was, but she doesn't like it very much; said it was most likely some jerk trying to scam a lot of people out of money to make himself rich. A few of my classmates said that the high school teachers were trying to get people to join, though..."

Several of us exchanged looks.

"Not any of the ones that passed through 2-F." replied Hamuko

"Or 2-E."

"None turned up in my class either. Can't speak for Aki and Mitsuru's, though."

Junpei let out a heavy sigh. "Man, this is one of those times I wish days wouldn't drag on so much. Just get Nyx or whatever down here so we can kick its ass and get on with our lives..."

"Speaking of Dark Hour stuff, um, what exactly killed that Shadow last night?" I asked. "Because having nine Personas active at once did NOT do anything good for my ability to coherently understand what was happening."

"Shinjiro-san." Ryoji replied. "Well, everyone else threw something at it, but his was the most noticeable."

Ken looked up at Shinji. "What was that, anyways? I didn't know your Persona had a skill like that."

"Had it for a while, never felt I had a reason to use it till then." he said. "It was the technique Vaisravana apparently got when that link thing Roy has with me hit the 'end' or whatever."

"...Dare I ask what it's called?"

"Purging Vajra."

"Certainly lived up to the name." commented Junpei. "Big time."

Yukari looked at me. "Hey, Roy, think we should stop by the mall so you can ask what that thing you did was?"

I hummed. "If you guys don't mind a detour... I'd really like to know myself so I can make a point of not doing it again."

"Why go to the mall?"

"There's a door to the Velvet Room there." I answered. "Plus we could see about stocking up before we go back to Tartarus in a day or two..."

"You wanna check out the giant ass door in the lobby, don't you?"

"Well, we got as far UP as we can go, may as well see where it goes since we've got literally THE WHOLE MONTH to check it out."

Shinji shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess."

"Hello Master Roy."

I casually waved at Elizabeth as I sat down opposite Igor... noting the décor of the Velvet Room had changed a little. Still an elevator, but now the table, chairs, and carpet looked like they belonged in a Las Vegas casino. A more upper crust one than even the Lucky 38 – one of those casinos I got kicked out of a few years back – and with a blue color scheme, but a casino none the less.

"Greetings, my young friend." said Igor. "How might I assist you today?"

"Answering a simple question; What the fuck did I do last night?"

Igor tapped his hands together a couple times before answering. "You unleashed the full, double-edged sword that lies within all Wild Cards – the ability to unleash several Personas at the same time."

"...I'm going to regret asking this, but dare I ask how it's a double-edged sword beyond the massive headache?"

"To put it bluntly... you could have perished from the strain."

I stared at him. "...And you never thought to mention this sooner?"

"I would have if I could."

"...IF you could?" I asked. "The hell does that mean?"

"Just as you are under contract, as am I." he stated. "My master has made a point of not informing a Wild Card of every ability they can wield at once."

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because doing so has gotten several of the more... over confident ones killed. My master wishes to avoid such fates at all costs... one of the many reasons he has taken to a more passive role in watching Humanity."

"...Okay, fair enough. But now I've got a different question – where the hell do those damn voices who yammer at me about how good my friendships are come from?"

"My Master. He prefers to mask his voice, but it is him none the less."

I hummed. "Never let me meet the guy."

"You wish to punch him, yes?"

"Is that a common thing?"

"It's happened more times than I can count, even if I cared to do so."

-Pfft, wow.- "Alright, that solves that little mystery... just be careful not to drop nine Personae at once again and my head won't rupture."

"Indeed... and I am pleased to see you have found resolution."

"...Oh yeah, Anansi changed as well, huh? Not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting that."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I had been awaiting such a thing to happen, Master Roy. Now that it has, I have two final requests for you."

"M'kay, what are they?"

"They involve the doorway that appeared in the lobby of Tartarus." she replied. "The first is to reach the end of what lies beyond the door AND defeat the Reaper."

"Okay, sounds simple enough. The second one?"

She smiled knowingly. "It is to simply defeat the Ultimate Opponent in single combat. They will be awaiting you in at the end of what lies behind the door once you have completed the first of these requests."

"...I'll accept the second one but only if I can speak with this 'Ultimate Opponent' and set the conditions for the fight."

Elizabeth seemed a little caught off guard, but nodded a moment later. "Very well. I will see to it that you shall be able to discuss the terms when you go to face them."

"Nice. Now, let's see about something else..."

I took care of some Persona fusing and recording and all that blah blah boring crap before I headed out of the Velvet Room, grabbed some stuff from Kurosawa, then started back to the dorm with everyone. Aigis promptly whacked me upside the head when I mentioned the nine persona thing was a potential fatal thing, though... still kinda hurts. I can't really hold it against her, I mean if I found out something like that about something she could do, I'd be griping at her for not being more careful myself. Speaking of Aigis, she'd apparently gotten some ideas from Hamuko about stuff, so the next couple of days were... kinda interesting to say the least. The eleventh especially...

"Roy, I have a question."

"Does it have something to do with how you're owning me at Mario Kart right now?" I asked as her character rammed mine while having a star going. "Because if it does, I don't even know."

She giggled, -God it sounds so cute-, and shook her head. "Not that. I was just... merely wondering, well... it's not awkward giving me a hug, is it...?"

"Of course not." I replied instantly. "Why would it be?"

"...I would think the why would be obvious." she commented, tapping her arm. The metallic noise gave away what she was getting at.

"Still not awkward."

"...Really?"

I nodded, steering myself around a green shell one of the AI players launched. "Really. Or do I honestly have to restate things I've said about you?"

"No, you don't..." she said, fidgeting slightly in place. "...I suppose I'm just being self-conscious."

"Why?"

"...Hamuko-san asked me something."

-Oh dear god...- "What was it?"

"Nothing bad!" Aigis replied quickly, like she'd expected me to get upset. "Just... well, how the bed didn't break on the nights I slip into your room and we fall asleep together.." Another small giggle escaped her. "She was concerned they barely seemed able to handle someone of your size."

"I actually got a good view of the underside of the one in my room one time when I was digging out something from under it." I said. "The wood frame is like molded paneling around the actual metal that's holding it up. Way more sturdy than it looks."

She made a contented hum in response. "I see. That's good..." She bobbed her head back and forth. "...Although one of Junpei-san's ideas sounds quite appealing."

"What idea?"

"I overheard him suggesting to Chidori-san that they make a blanket fort in one of their rooms."

"...That sounds amazing."

I swear I could HEAR Aigis' eyes lighting up as we finished the race. "So then you wouldn't mind?"

"Aigis, it would be you and me snuggled up in a giant mass of blankets and pillows in the middle of my room. The only way it could be better is if we could take over the dorm lounge or command room instead of just my room... although we'd probably have to share it in either of those cases..."

"I don't think the others would mind."

"Yeah, but then it can't just be us getting cozy comfy in the middle of it by ourselves..."

"...True." She agreed. "But it would still be enjoyable to spend time with everyone else..."

"...Private fort first, then we can make Fort SEES if we can get Mitsuru to go along with it. We can even tape a 'No Shadows allowed' sign to it."

"Wouldn't that exclude Ryoji-san?"

"He's a demi-god, so no. He'd have to be completely a Shadow for that to apply."

Aigis giggled. "I see. But perhaps that is how we should spend the last week of this month... just enjoying the company of our friends."

"...So we make a blanket fort in the dorm and just leave it up for an entire week."

"Yes."

"That is the best idea I've heard all year."

"...But the year just-"

"School year, Aigis."

"Ah."

"Yeah, gets confusing sometimes. Admittedly it's kinda weirder back in the US." I laughed. "School starts in the early Fall and ends in the following June."

She looked at me with moderate confusion. "...What?"

"Yeah, I've wondered the same thing myself."

"So then you were attending school up until you moved to Iwatodai in April?"

"Actually, no! My time in the American School System ended after seventh grade. I got home schooled with Japanese stuff up until I actually came over here."

"Were you causing too much trouble?"

I shook my head. "Nah, I just mentioned wondering what going to school in Japan would be like to Uncle Shane a few days after school ended. I'll admit, I'm surprised he was cool with sending me here by myself."

"...Do you ever regret that decision?"

I hummed as I scooted up a little closer to Aigis. "Hrm... Eh, not really."

"Even with everything that's happened?" she asked. "And where things are now?"

I slipped an arm around her waist. "Eh... still no."

"...Roy."

"Yes?"

"Do you... ever wonder what would have happened if you never came back?"

"...Truth be told, no. Mainly because I can't even imagine what it would've been like... well, apart from finding out 'oh by the way you're an Oni' likely once I turned eighteen." I turned to look her right in the eye. "That, and I wouldn't trade any of this for anything. Been a hell of an adventure already... even if I'm half paranoid about how it's going to end."

"Are you scared?"

I kissed her lightly. "With you and everyone else with me? Not even a little."

Aigis rolled her eyes and kissed me back. "You're an odd one, Roy."

"You love me anyway."

"Of course I do..." Her expression fell. "But... why does that make me feel sad as much as it makes me happy...?"

"I dunno... you okay? Nothing on the fritz?"

She nodded. "It is not a malfunction... just a strange feeling."

"You sure?"

"Quite. You don't need to worry about it, Roy."

"I'm gonna worry anyways, you know."

"Then I'll just have to distract you so you won't."

I arched an eyebrow. "And how do you plan to do that?"

"How about another race?" She asked, waving her controller back and forth. "And I'll pick the track this time."

"...I accept your challenge on the condition we make the blanket fort when we're done."

"Deal."

...But well, part of it is my own business. The other part... that's something I wanna have written down. So I can really be sure it happened, y'know? At this point, I won't be surprised if SEES takes turns reading this thing once it's done anyways. It's a weird kind of insight into my head. Anyways, it was a few hours after Aigis schooled the hell out of me at Mario Kart – in a related story, she's insanely good at Rainbow Road – that I remembered what day it was. I'd only paid attention to the 'we don't haven't school' part of it when I'd gotten up that morning, but when Shinjiro was talking about it with Ken around the time we had dinner, I got to thinking. Mom and Dad have been stuck here for years... I wondered if they saw me on the bridge in November and December. Today is Coming of Age day. Plus... well, I'm sure they'd want to meet my girlfriend. So... Aigis and I went out for a walk around eleven. It was a slow one... took us almost an hour to the Moonlight Bridge, and then we were taking out time crossing it, hand in hand the whole way.

"...Are you nervous?"

"A little... and don't you have sensors to detect that sort of thing?"

"I prefer not to use them as often... but I did get an alert that your heart rate was elevated."

"Heh, figured..." I chuckled weakly. "...I guess this is how Ken felt when we were waiting for the Dark Hour the other night."

"Did the specter of his mother appear?"

"Yeah. Hit me with a book, too."

"...Why?"

I sighed. "She could tell I was an Oni, so y'know. Bit of a misunderstanding."

"That's seemed to happened with you quite often." Aigis commented. "At least there aren't a great deal of youkai in Iwatodai."

"Inaba's probably a different matter, but that'll only be a thing when I visit Uncle Kihei."

She switched from just holding my hand to wrapping her arm around mine. "You'll have to take me to meet him one of those times."

"Well obviously."

Aigis giggled a little, before silence fell between us for a few moments.

"...Did you know what you were going to say to them?"

"Hi mom and hi dad for starters."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know, but... that's all that's coming to mind that I can keep track of for more than a split second."

I felt her grip on my arm tighten a little. "...I see."

"How much longer till midnight?"

"Two minutes."

"...You nervous?"

"...Somewhat. I suppose I'm just feeling anxiety. I never thought I'd be meeting your mother and father..." she laughed a little. "...Or that I would fret about such a thing happening..."

"You'll be fine, Aigis." I said with a chuckle. "Mom won't bite or anything."

DOOM

My thoughts strayed for a few seconds as the Dark Hour settled over the area. Mainly because I started wondering why the hell I can even hear that 'doom' sound whenever this crap starts or why it even sounds like it should be described as 'doom'. Of course, those thoughts got brushed aside once I started hearing voices talking some ways ahead of us. They were indistinct at first, but became clearer as Aigis and I approached.

(...sure he's here?)

(Of course I'm sure!)

(You've said that for... I think two days now? I still don't get this creepy coffin paradox.)

(You honestly don't think I'd know our son is near?)

I hesitated for a half step. Don't think Aigis noticed.

(I'm not saying that! I'm just saying we might have missed him or something...)

The sources of the voices became more easily noticed at that point. A man and a woman.

(Daniel, I swear to Bishamonten that he'll...) said the woman, turning her head slightly towards me and Aigis. (...be... here...)

(Akane?)

(...Daniel, isn't that the kind of hat your father likes?)

The man turned his head towards us. (...Yeah... but, check out his hair... you think...?)

I smiled nervously and waved with my free hand. The silence was almost palpable for the next few moments. Mom looked like she was shaking, brushing some of her hair out of her face before her eyes lit up like floodlights.

(...Roy...?) she asked, almost like she couldn't believe who she was seeing as Aigis and I kept walking closer. (...Is that...?)

"Hi mom." I said. "Hey dad."

There was another stretch of silence before a high-pitched shriek of joy split the air and I found myself getting my ribs crushed by the ghost of my mom... and she barely came up past my chin. I subconsciously started channeling healing abilities so it wouldn't hurt so much as my dad bounded over to us.

(...Jesus, you got big...) he commented as mom was still clinging to me and I think sobbing into my vest. (...But why are you wearing that hat?)

"I spent too much time with Grandpa Rowen between the ages of eight and twelve."

(You say that like spending time with family is something there actually can be too much of.) Dad commented with a chuckle, then he turned towards Aigis. (...Who's this?)

"I'm Aigis." She replied with a smile. "I'm your son's girlfriend."

Mom stopped crying nigh instantly and whipped her head towards Aigis. (I'm gonna be a grandmother?)

I was legitimately physically incapable of expressing anything beyond confused half grunts for the next five seconds while Aigis was clearly almost as flustered as me. Dad was trying his best not to laugh, but a few giggles still slipped out.

(Take it easy, darling.) he chuckled. (I don't think they've planned that far ahead...)

(She's tamed an oni, they're making me grand kids even if I have to haunt them.)

"MOM"

Aigis shifted in place, but she was still gripping my arm. "...That would require some drastic changes."

(Oh... so you're one of those girls who have-)

(Honey.) Dad said sharply to cut off mom's train of thought. (Look at her hands and ears.)

(...Prosthetic stuff?)

"...I'm a gynoid." stated Aigis, shrinking a little into her scarf. "My body is metal."

Mom seemed to stare, then she looked up at me.

(Please tell me you didn't mail order her.)

"NO!" I almost shrieked. "Good god mom, what the fuck?"

(Akane, at this rate you're going to traumatize your son after he hasn't seen you in...) Dad looked at me again. (...How long has it been since the accident?)

"Ten years."

He let out a low whistle. (Goddamn... it doesn't seem like that long.)

"Time's on a weird scale in this." I gestured to the area around us. "It only hits at midnight, and if you can't perceive it, you don't notice the extra hour to the day."

(Fucking time paradoxes.)

I laughed. "I know, right?"

(Certainly explains how things have changed so quickly as far as we've been able to tell...) commented Mom. (But robots? Does that mean there's jet packs now?)

"Nope... and Aigis is one of a kind." I said. "The last of her kind, even. You ever seen monsters loose in here?"

Dad nodded. (A few times... weird black things with masks. You know about them?)

"I've been fighting them for about ten months at this point. Aigis is from a line of 'bots built specifically to fight them."

Mom finally let go of me and took a couple steps back, exchanging a look with Dad.

(So is that what Kirijo wanted to show you that night?) she asked. (Because that'd make SOME kinda sense-)

"Wait, WHAT?"

Mom looked back at me. (It was why we were driving home from Port Island that night. Your father was trying to establish a business partnership with the Kirijo Group.)

"...Well it took ten years longer than you'd have probably liked, but that happened like three days ago..."

(How do you know?)

"One of my roommates at the dorm I'm staying at while I attend Gekkoukan is Mitsuru Kirijo."

I swear to god, hearing my mom squeal is a very strange thing. (Aww, little Mitsu-chan? She was a cutie~!)

(Akane...)

(Well she was! What's she like now?)

"Student Council president, expert with a rapier, dating a the school's boxing club captain, and an absolute stunner appearance wise. Not that she was my type even before she hooked up with Akihiko..." I replied. "In moderately unrelated news, I only found out about your side of the family last month, mom!"

Her jaw dropped. (Are you kidding me? Poppa never shut up about his heritage! It's not every generation that someone with two kinds of Oni blood in their veins shows up...)

"...Kihei said Masaru is only half oni!"

(Half LOWLAND Oni.) mom corrected. (Y'know, the red ones?)

"Then what's the other half of him?"

(Mountain Oni!) She replied cheerfully. (You'd know them better as the calmer, blue Oni... not that he really shows it.)

I just stared at my mom. "...So then why did Kihei say he was only half?"

(Your grandfather being 'half' Oni was a joke he made while courting your grandmother. He never stopped making it, so... it stuck.)

Dad and I facepalmed in unison while Aigis giggled.

"And here I'd been saying I was half Oni only because it rolls off the tongue better than 'two-fifths Oni'..." I sighed.

(Oh, hush. It's not all bad, you know!)

"Yeah, up until the guy with a shrine keeper for a grandmother whacks you in the face with a broom inscribed with sutras."

(Oh so you met Daichi's grandson after all?) Dad asked. (If... well, if the crash hadn't happened, your mother and I were going to take you out to Inaba to visit.)

"Shinji's the one who told me I was an Oni in the first place!" I exclaimed. "I swear to god the web of friends I've made just gets more and more convoluted by the second as I find out more about my own family tree that nobody ever bothered to bring up because apparently explaining things is just too foreign of a concept?"

(I'm positive that the only one from my family who knows more about Akane than the fact she's Japanese is Rowen. And you know how Shane is...)

"Yeah, I lived with him for ten years. Speaking of, you'd have been proud of me on my fourteenth birthday."

Mom and Dad exchanged a glance, then gave me a wary look.

(...Why?)

"I got banned from three casinos in Vegas cuz Uncle Shane got me a fake ID."

Dad mimed wiping away a single tear. (That's my boy.)

Mom just smacked him upside the back of the head.

(What, I can't be proud my son did something I never got to do?) he griped, rubbing where she'd hit him.

(No, but you don't have to play up the dramatics... how much did you win anyways?)

"Shit... I can't even remember. Half of it went into that trust fund Dad set up and the rest was used for random stuff around Shane's place or me just buying things that seemed neat, but it was a lot."

Dad started chuckling again, only to get another knot on the back of his skull. (OW! C'mon Akane, you're gonna leave a bruise!)

(You're a ghost, there's nothing TO bruise!)

"I'm surprised you're both taking your situation so well..." Aigis commented. "...Though I suppose it does help explain why Roy can do the same a lot of the time."

(It was kinda freaky at first...) admitted Mom. (Plus... well, I was scared. I didn't know what'd happened to Roy... he was just left alone on that bridge in the middle of the night for who knows how long!)

"...Not long, as I found out well after the fact."

Mom's gaze immediately locked on me. (What happened?)

I looked at Aigis. "...You mind helping me tell the story?"

"We'd have to explain eventually regardless..."

(...Shit Roy, you weren't kidding when you said you were in deep.) Dad said a little while later once Aigis and I finished explaining everything in a hyper abridged sort of way. (And all this is going to end one way or another at the end of the month?)

I nodded. "Yeah. Though I'm kinda curious... did you guys see me either time I was on the bridge before?"

(Yes, running TOWARDS the sound of violent screaming and explosions sounds like an absolutely BRILLIANT idea, even as a ghost!)

Cue Mom giving Dad another lump on his ghost head.

(OW!)

(The only thing we saw was the golden dragon since it was hard to miss that thing wrapping around the bridge.) Mom stated. (And since we still knew next to nothing about this place... well, your father wanted to be cautious.)

"Can't say I blame you... plus, well, Yukari would've started screaming. She... doesn't take well to ghosts or spooky stories."

Dad shrugged. (Kinda wish I'd known about that Ikutsuki guy sooner. I'd have stalked his ass all the way to that tower and decked him square in the jaw that night.)

(If there was anything left of him after I got through with him.) Mom huffed. (Rat bastard putting my son in danger...) She shivered angrily. (Rrrgh! Just thinking about it makes me mad!)

"Well if it helps, a shrine keeper made sure even his spirit is dead so unless there's ghosts of ghosts, he's gone for good."

(Give that man a raise!) Mom exclaimed.

"His ghost like fused to the soul of his dog almost a week ago."

(Give the pooch a steak then!)

I laughed. "Can do."

"Shinjiro-san does that anyways, Roy"

"Still counts."

I got surprised though when Mom suddenly hugged me again.

"Whoa, what? Mom?"

(I can't believe how much you've grown...) she said, half muffled by my shirt. (...You were so small the last time I saw you...)

I hugged her back. "...Yeah. I know."

(...It's good to see you're doing okay, Roy.) said Dad, walking over and putting an arm around my shoulder. (And out to save the world? Heh, I knew you'd do something great with your life, but this is a bit bigger than I was expecting.)

"Well I've still gotta work on that..." I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. "Here's hoping me and my friends all make it out the other side."

(I know you will.) Mom stated, not a hint of doubt in her voice. (And... and I want you to promise me something.)

I looked down at mom. "What?"

(...Okay, two things. First...) she reached up and pulled my hat off. (Don't wear that thing so much. And second... you better marry Aigis, you hear me?)

"GOD DAMN IT MOM"

(Think that'll be legal by the time he's out of high school?)

"DAD YOU ARE NOT HELPING"

He just grinned. (We're your parents. Of course we're going to embarrass the hell out of you in front of your girlfriend.)

"Mom, can-"

(He's right, you know.)

"DAMN IT"

Dad chuckled, but his expression fell a moment later. (...Seriously though, Roy... we're glad you're okay.)

(...It's just... hard seeing you like this.) Mom said somberly. (All grown up... planning to fight a goddess... it's a far cry from the energetic little boy I remember you as.)

"...Yeah. A lot can happen in ten years." I said. "A hell of a lot, as I've discovered."

Mom started hugging me again. (...It hurts knowing I couldn't be there to take care of you... to watch you grow up.) A sad laugh escaped her. (At least you turned out handsome like your father...)

"Yes, the resemblance is almost uncanny."

"Aigis..."

"Well it is."

(...It's just hard for this all to sink in, y'know?) asked Dad. (It's been longer for you than it has for us.)

I nodded. "Yeah... I know. But sometimes even time doesn't fix everything..." I sighed. "...I thought I'd gotten over losing you guys a long time ago. Now I'm not so sure..."

I felt a hand on my head, and looking up revealed it was Dad's.

(Just means you're like anyone else.) he said with a small grin. (Human, youkai, anywhere in between, everybody's got things that will always stick with them no matter how much time has passed.)

"...Is their a youkai I don't know about in your family, Dad?"

(Nope. That's all from your mother. Dragons, though...)

"WHAT"

He laughed. (I'm kidding! I just don't want you heading home with a sad look on your face. Never suited you back then, and still doesn't now.)

"...Thanks dad."

He join mom in hugging me. (Just come out of this alive, alright?)

"I will make he will." stated Aigis firmly. "It... it was my first promise to him."

(Aigis, sweetie... come here.)

She gave my mom a look, but took a step closer and got pulled into the Fortune Family group hug.

"...I was not aware I was a confection."

(It's a term of endearment, Aigis.) said mom with a small laugh. (I'm sure Roy's used plenty.)

"Mom..."

"...He once called me his angel."

"AIGIS"

Dad laughed as the group hug finally broke up. (Laying on the charm pretty thick there, son.)

I just grumbled in response.

(Oh, hush you.) Mom said, nudging me with her elbow. (But you should probably go home and get to bed. Can't save the world if you're tired all the time, you know.)

"It would help if the monster-filled time paradox didn't hit at midnight."

(True... but it's not gonna be around once you deal with that goddess, right?) she asked. (So go kick her where the sun don't shine if you have to!)

(I'm pretty sure that's already his plan, Akane.)

"Don't worry, Mom. We'll get this shit sorted out one way or another." I said. "So... just try to hang in there a little longer. You... you won't be stuck in this place forever."

(We know, Roy.) Dad replied. (And we're proud of you.)

"...Even with all the stupid shit I did?"

(Even with all the stupid shit.) he stated. (Because you're still our son in the end.)

(And we love you, Roy.) added Mom. (Not go home and get to bed, young man!)

"Alright, alright... G'night mom. Night dad."

"It was nice meeting you." said Aigis, bowing slightly.

(It was nice meeting you too, Aigis.) replied Dad, matching her bow.

(I still want grandkids! Even if you have to build them!)

Aigis and I just smiled and waved, walking away with dark blushes on our faces.

"Your mother still had your hat, you know."

"And?"

"Don't you want it back?"

"She said I shouldn't wear it so much. Hate to disappoint her, y'know? Plus... well, it's something of mine she can hopefully keep hold of."

Aigis and I went straight to bed once we actually got back to the dorm, and school managed to maintain at least some semblance of normality... despite more buzz about the Nyx cult now being doomsday predictors. Of course, even with that, Junpei managed to pull an almost perfect distraction after school.

"Yo, Roy."

I looked up at him from my PSP, seeing Yukari, Akihiko, Aigis, and Chidori milling around behind him. "What's up?"

"We're all heading to Hagakure. Wanna come with?"

Eyebrow. "...You do realize there's no way I'm not going to answer 'yes' to that, right?"

He laughed. "Hey, never hurts to check. Might've been one of the rare times you weren't hungry!"

"Fair enough." I admitted, shutting the console off and getting up off the sofa. "So who's buying? You?"

Junpei laughed. "Nah, Akihiko-san is."

"Why?"

"Well, we made a bet back at Yakushima!" he reported. "You missed out cuz you wandered off... and yet still technically managed to win anyways."

I blinked. "...What?"

"It was part of Operation Babe Hunt but whatever! Akihiko-san still lost, and it took six months for me to get him to admit it."

"Technically you lost as well."

"Yeah, but I said I'd pay for a couple stops at the Beef Bowl shop for him if he got us Hagakure tonight..." he said. "So y'know, karmatic balance and all that."

"Cool, let's roll then."

"Is the special okay for everyone?" Yukari asked us all once we sat down at Hagakure.

"Hell yeah." "Sure." "Fine with me." "You know it!" "I'd like to try it, yes."

"Okay." She turned towards the cook. "Six specials, please!"

Akihiko shifted in his seat to get a better look at Junpei. "You SURE it counts if Roy wasn't in on the bet?"

"It's one of those 'exact words' kinda things, senpai." replied Junpei. "I said 'one of us guys', and that would kinda include Roy, so..."

"I'm amazed you remembered it after all this time." I commented, noticing Aigis picking up a magazine out of the corner of my eye. "Did you write it down?"

"I never forget a bet."

"Explains why you've never made one with Roy..."

"...This article looks quite disturbing."

I turned towards Aigis. "Why?"

"The title is 'Emergence of a Messiah: The Speaker of the Charismatic One answers all'..." she said. "It appears to be about the cult."

"Oh goody, sounds like Takaya's got a publicist among his brainwashed flunkies..." Junpei groaned as Aigis turned the page.

"...Was this image stuck in Photoshop?" Akihiko asked out loud. "Who is that?"

I looked at the picture provided. "...No idea, but I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting someone who looks like they should be a fashion model."

"Her name appears to be Nagi Ogura." Aigis reported. "It seems she acts as the 'face' of the cult, as the leader prefers to remain anonymous beyond his title of 'Charismatic One'."

"Well considering if he showed his face he'd be thrown in jail, I can't QUITE say I'm surprised." I said. "What's the actual article say?"

"It does not go into detail about the cult itself, but it does mention a quote that Ogura-san claimed was said to her by their leader. 'Mankind is currently imprisoned by the sins of hate and anger. But soon, a savior will descend upon this world to break the chains that bind us, and lift us to new heights. This great being is Nyx. I have beheld her glory, and she has blessed me with power beyond belief. In Nyx there is no pain... no suffering.'..."

"He's saying that Nyx will save the world? That's..." Yukari paused. "...Is that wrong?"

Akihiko shrugged. "Don't know. I doubt he really means what he's saying anyways... it's gotta be a game to him."

"It is." I heard Chidori growl. "Bastard..."

"There's more... 'But, there are those who do nut understand this truth, even though they have also been blessed by her. They have acquired the same power as I; Yet they abuse it, using it for their own personal gain. These miscreants are the ones to blame for the recent tragedies that have been plaguing our streets'."

Junpei shifted in his seat and started talking more quietly. "So now he's pegging us for what he's done? Just when I thought he couldn't get any lower..."

"Is there anymore to that quote?"

"Yes. 'Brothers and sisters, I shall go forth to make preparations for Nyx's arrival, but do not fear those evildoers who desecrate their gifts. Nyx shall right their wrongs. May your hearts be filled with peace as you await your salvation. Blessed are those who take joy in the coming of Nyx. The revolution is here!'... the article ends with speculation on the part of the writer."

"...'Revolution'?" parroted Junpei. "How the hell are people buying into this cliché crap?"

Aigis flipped the magazine closed. "Throughout history, those who have changed the future have often been charismatic to some extent... though no doubt Takaya's ability to manipulate minds is the root of his sudden rise to fame."

"There's also paranoia and fear working in his favor." I added. "The amount of Lost around aren't doing any favors for people's nerves, either."

"But Takaya is likely nothing if not predicable." Chidori stated. "If he means to stop us, he might try to trick the cultists into attacking us. He'd certainly have the manpower to do it..."

"And I doubt we won't see him in Tartarus on the thirty-first..." noted Akihiko. "We'll have to be on our guard."

I sighed. "I really hope he doesn't do that... I'd prefer if he stayed stupid and didn't actual listen to me calling him out on being outnumbered way back when."

"Jeez, can you believe this trite?"

I looked over my shoulder and, to my surprise, the blind girl and her redheaded friend Akihiko and I met back at the mall were eating at one of the tables.

"The hell kind of bull does this 'Charismatic' moron think he's spouting?" griped the redhead, holding a copy of the magazine Aigis was looking at in one hand. "I swear, I ever find that guy, I'm gonna punch him in the throat."

The blind girl giggled. "I'll have to try harder at tracking then, won't I, Firebrand?"

"Just don't strain yourself, okay? Shit's already out of whack as it is..."

I couldn't stop myself from saying something. "Well considering there's a megalomaniac at the helm of a cult, I'd say that sums things up nicely."

"You should've shoved him in a hurt locker when you had the chance, Spiderman." commented 'Firebrand' before she ate another bite of her ramen. "Might've saved a lot of trouble."

Junpei looked over at the two girls. "...Those the two you mentioned meeting at the mall?"

"Yeah."

"I thought I smelled something familiar..." said the blind girl. "Well, besides the ramen anyways."

"Shame we can't really stick around." sighed Firebrand. "Shit to do, cultists to thwart..."

Yukari shifted nervously. "...You probably shouldn't be saying stuff like that so casually..."

The redhead grinned. "Didn't you notice we're the only people here besides the cook? He's cool anyways; in on most of the stuff. Like you guys skulking around in the dark..."

I turned back towards the kitchen and the chef just flashed a knowing smirk as he set a bowl down on the counter in front of me.

"...Is there like some kind of supernatural underbelly to Iwatodai we don't know about?"

The blind girl chuckled as she and her friend stood up. "You'd be surprised, but that's not the sort of thing you guys deal with, is it? You just tackle the Tower."

"How long you been watching us?"

"Ever since Star here noticed Big Red had popped up in town." replied the red head. "But you didn't start nothing and you've been helping Kirijo, so... no need to do much. You lot just focus on whatever the hell you're doin'; If the cult asshole does try to step up, well..." she smiled. "You've got friends in dark places."

"Do we at least get names to go with faces?" inquired Chidori.

"Hmm... nah." she replied, shaking her head. "Best to keep things anonymous. Have fun storming the castle~!"

'Star' simply waved while she and the redhead walked out of Hagakure.

I turned back towards the chef. "You've got strange customers, dude."

He laughed. "I have stranger friends."

"I'll take your word for it..." said Junpei. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm starvin'!"

Since it'd been a few days since the whole thing with that Hydra Shadow, I rounded up everyone to hit Tartarus that night to check out the crazy door that popped up in the lobby.

'Oh good, you're back. Feeling better?'

"...Have you been waiting this entire time?" I asked aloud, since the Reaper was going his disembodied voice thing.

'For the most part.' He replied. 'I'll admit, though; I am grateful you unlocked the doors to the Monad Depths. It has been... most helpful to my efforts.'

"...What."

'You will have to find me to get the answer to that question, Fool. I await at the bottom of Monad... just don't take forever this time.'

I exchanged looks with the others. "...So in climbing the tower, we played right into the hand of the Reaper's plans?"

"So it would seem at a glance..." Mitsuru sighed. "And here I'd hoped things would start to become less complicated."

"Well, we were gonna go down there anyways..." commented Junpei as he and Shinjiro approached the doors. "So let's see what it's all about. Not like there's much else to do in this place..."

"Aside from trying to blow it up, anyways." Ryoji chuckled.

"...The Shadows..."

I turned towards Fuuka.

"...The Shadows on the other side of that door... they're so powerful..." she stammered. "I can only faintly sense the Reaper at the bottom..."

"What, did we find the Bonus Dungeon or something?" asked Hamuko.

"...That's about the closest description to what I'm sensing in there, yes."

I cracked my knuckles. "Well, let's give it a whirl. If things get to hairy, we bail. Simple enough, right?"

Approximately five minutes later, though...

"SIMPLE ENOUGH I SAID." I shouted, ducking under a giant blast of ice. "IT'LL BE FUN I SAID."

Koromaru howled, two of the Shadows attacking us getting consumed in darkness while another was obliterated by a lightning bolt from Caesar.

"These Shadows are unreal..." he said. "This is only the first floor of this place!"

"You're telling me..." griped Junpei, cautiously peering around a corner. "Okay, good news and bad news! Good news; I can see what looks like a staircase room down this hall!"

Yukari sighed. "And the bad news is there's more Shadows between us and the stairs?"

"Eyup."

"Fantastic..." I sighed, checking the Personae I had on-hand. "...Okay, that's new, but it does give me an idea..."

"What sort of idea?"

I stepped towards the corner Junpei was standing by. "One that should at least get us down ONE floor of this crazy death-trap... Fuuka, those Shadows up ahead weak to anything?"

{One moment... they're vulnerable to Darkness-based skills!}

"Nifty. Let's see how well this thing works then..."

I held my hand out slightly and an odd, sickly green mist started leaking out from the edges of my gauntlets and drift down the hallway.

"What're you doing?"

"Setting up." I replied. "Gonna try out that new ability Kwaku Anansi picked up... this is actually a different one he got."

"...You have a built in fog machine?"

I shrugged. "Something like that. Provided I'm not being lied to, it should make this next thing I do work better and probably clear this hallway out for a minute. Once I drop it, we bolt for the stairs, okay?"

A jumble of replies came my way as I stepped back from the hall, which now had a pretty heavy layer of that green mist along the ground and floating down it. Kwaku Anansi's card floated above my palm for a moment, and a phrase involuntarily found its way out of my mouth.

"Trap card? More like trap spider!"

The card shattered and I finally got a good look at my new Persona. Bigger than me, as is kind of the norm for 'true' Personas, and wearing a sleeveless, rusty-orange colored jacket with gold hem and black spiderweb patterns on it. Under that seemed to be a maroon vest and white shirt combo like what you'd expect from a stereotypical poker dealer. Had four arms, the top right of which had a spider symbol identical to the tattoo on my right arm on the sleeve. Spider head themed fingerless gloves were on its hands, and it had a head of silvery white hair to contrast the glowing, pale orange eyes and dark gray skin. Brown pants covered its legs, while what looked like tan colored shoes were on its feet. 'Oddly humanoid thing' seems to be a recurring theme of my 'True' Personas, I've noticed.

It shifted its weight before throwing out its upper right arm and snapping its fingers. The hallway full of green mist then, for lack of a better description, exploded with fire like you lit a match in a room full of propane gas. A rush of smoke billowed back towards us, but thankfully Yukari and Ryoji were quick to get rid of it with the wind skills their Personas had.

"Good grief, Roy!" Hamuko shouted. "Warn us more before you do that!"

"Hey, I didn't know that shit was flammable!" I countered, still coughing up some of the smoke. "The skill I used is supposed to just burn things with an off-hand chance of consuming them with darkness, not blow up entire hallways!"

"Let's argue about it on another floor!" exclaimed Chidori. "We've got a lot of company coming!"

"Then quit talking and start moving!" Shinjiro yelled before he rushed past me, half dragging Hamuko with him before the rest of us followed.

We staggered out of Tartarus barely before the Dark Hour ended, all of us worn out as hell because even if we only got five floors down on Monad, it was an absolutely brutal slog.

"I don't like that place..." Hamuko whined as she leaned on Shinjiro. "My everything hurts..."

"I've lost half the feeling in my face because of that one ice blast I got hit with." griped Junpei.

Koromaru let out a whimper in unison with a groan from Yukari.

"Roy-san, can we take tomorrow off from the tower?" asked Ken. "I'm not sure I'll be able to feel my legs in the morning..."

"I like that plan. It's a good plan." I replied. "All in favor?"

"AYE."

We headed back to the dorm in varying states of disgruntlement, though once we woke up the next morning... well, to say we were surprised would be an understatement. It'd been almost impossible to tell before we went to bed because of just how tired we all were, Fuuka included, but once we had some rest, we discovered that getting as far as we did into the Monad Depths was a very... empowering experience. Like, the attributes our Personas had ramped up to pretty insane degrees. Mitsuru said it was a reaction to how powerful the Shadows were, but honestly I'm more concerned about not accidentally breaking stuff. We sorta awkwardly fumbled through the day because even if we did get a hell of a lot stronger, our bodies certainly didn't feel like they did. Felt great the day after that, though, so we headed back to Tartarus that night.

'Back to try again?' asked the Reaper as we entered the lobby.

"Oh shut up."

'It's an honest question, you know.'

"And I gave an honest lack of an answer." I stated. "So deal with it."

'...I swear, I'm going to throttle him.'

"Throttle who?"

'...Nevermind. Not important. Just don't keep me waiting.'

"...Is it just me, or does it seem like he's really trying to get us to notice there's more he's not telling us?" asked Junpei. "Because that's what I'm getting at this point."

Akihiko shook his head. "No, it's not just you. But what could that Shadow want us to find out?"

"Don't know, but I'd wager we'll find out once we get to the bottom of Monad." Ryoji replied. "Speaking of which, shall we get to that?"

"Yes, let's." I said. "I wanna get this shit over with already."

I'll admit, I expected it to still be hard to get through Monad once we went back in. To the pleasant surprise of me and everyone else, though, it got VASTLY easier. It wasn't quite smooth sailing, but now we were closer to equal footing to the Shadows... until around floor eight. Then it started turning into a slaughter. The staggering amount of force we were able to unleash from our Personas was... well, scary to say the least. Suffice to say, we got to the bottom of Monad. A hovering platform in the center of a massive chamber, the walls made of orange clockwork contraptions. A glance over the edge revealed the bottom of the chamber was too far down to be seen.

"...Damn, this is trippy..." commented Junpei, stepping back from the edge. "And this is the BOTTOM of Tartarus?"

"Or as close to it as we can reach, anyways." said Shinji. "Not sure I wanna try going any further down..."

'A wise decision.'

All eyes turned to the far side of the platform, where the Reaper hovered in a manner to suggest he was seated in an invisible chair, his head leaning on his left hand while a single revolver lazily dangled in his right.

'I'll admit, I hadn't expected you to get here quite so soon.' he said. 'But, well... between the boxer, the brute, and the Fool, it honestly shouldn't have been so surprising...'

Mitsuru took a half-step forward. "What exactly were those 'efforts' you spoke of?"

The Reaper rolled his head around once, then made an absent sweeping motion with his right hand. 'Restoration.'

"...Of WHAT?" I asked. "The tower?"

'No.' he responded. 'Of myself.'

"Yourself? I dunno, you look pretty 'complete' to me..."

'It is an illusion, nothing more.' stated the Reaper. 'The truth of the matter is far stranger.'

I heard a few of the others shifting around behind me.

"...How much stranger?" Yukari asked as the Reaper hovered into something akin to a 'standing' position.

'A great deal!' he answered. 'But at least, my body is whole again. Say what you will of the Shadows, fragments of the human psyche that they are, but they are quite useful for one such as myself to tend their wounds.'

"Okay, I'm lost." said Junpei. "Aren't YOU a Shadow?"

The Reaper laughed. 'Hardly! I am no mere 'Shadow'. I am something far more... ancient.'

"...How ancient we talking?"

'I have known many names the world over.' he replied. 'Though not all were my own. The Celts named me Ankou. In Poland, I was Śmierć. Those of Lithuania knew me as Giltinė .' He grasped at the shoulder of his coat with his left hand as the ring of chains encircling him began to break and fall to the ground. 'But many whisper of my most famous title...'

The chains exploded into nothingness as the Reaper yanked on his coat, tearing it off and revealing something else standing in his place. Easily the size of a Persona, what I was staring at resembled what would happen if you took the Thanatos Persona that Ryoji had and replaced the coffin cape it had with a black, hooded mantle, flattened the pointed white mask into a form closer to the front of a human skull, replaced its sword with a Scythe, and gave it actual feet.

'The Grim Reaper!' he bellowed, an ominous wind blowing across the entire room and causing his cape to flare dramatically. 'So to answer your question, Fool, I am exceedingly ancient.'

"...What is the GRIM REAPER doing stuck in a tower in a time paradox?" Hamuko asked, sounding absolutely bewildered. "Don't you have important stuff to be doing?"

'I am not the only psychopomp in existence, you know.' he stated. 'Just one of the most famous.'

"That still doesn't answer the other part of her question." noted Shinjiro. "Or are you just not gonna tell us that part?"

'Oh no, I will... on one condition.'

-I think I know where this is going.- "Don't tell me, we have to beat you first?"

Glowing blue eyes appeared in the sockets of the skull mask and focused on me. 'Actually, I was going to have you explain why you claimed Nyx was approaching, but I like that idea better!'

"GOD DAMN IT ROY"

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW, RYOJI?!"

'Blame your patron, Fool.' said the Reaper, shifting his stance. 'Luck is a fickle thing when HE is involved.'

-I am going to throttle that goddamn spider the next time I see him.- I griped mentally.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Shinji asked. "Grim Reaper or not, you're still pretty heavily outnumbered."

The Reaper laughed. 'It matters not to me! I relish the challenge, in fact... though I suppose my confinement to this blasted tower has not garnered any favors for my mental stability.'

"Oh good, so you're deadly AND crazy." Chidori sighed. "What a winning combination..."

A bellowing laugh came from the Reaper at that. 'Oh ho, you I like.'

Cue Kwaku Anansi appearing and punching him in the face. "And what did you fail to learn from the last time we had a brawl?"

'The fight hasn't even bloody started!' he retorted angrily.

"Well how am I supposed to know that? I can't read minds!"

He growled in annoyance, hefting his scythe. 'Fine then.' In a split second, he'd closed almost half the distance between us and him. 'LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!'

"Way to antagonize him before we have to fight him, Roy!" I heard someone, I think Yukari, shout as we scattered, the Reaper's scythe smashing into the center of where our group had been standing.

"WELL I'M GONNA DO IT ANYWAYS, SO WHY WAIT?" I asked, a card spinning in my palm. "OSIRIS!"

The broken god emerged from azure flame, body held together with wrappings and sharp pegs, and lashed out with the curved blade in his hand. The attack actually surprised the Reaper, cutting across his left arm, but he retaliated with a blast of ice that sent Osiris flying back as pain shot through my chest. Shouting rang out around me, and when I looked up, Osiris was gone, but now the Reaper's scythe was locked against Vaisravana's lance and Trismegistus' foot. He shoved them back, only to be met with a savage roar as Cerberus slammed into him, cloaked in fire. They crashed into the ground, the hellbeast vanishing a split second before a gleaming lance of light and bolt of lightning struck at the Reaper, the former missing its mark while the latter struck his leg. He rose with a flourish and burst of wind, staggering some of us even as Yukari started pelting him with arrows.

'Ha, good!' laughed the Reaper, now parrying Yukari's shots with his scythe. 'SHOW NO MERCY!'

"Hades! Persephone!"

It might've been crazy of me to summon two Personae at once, but I just needed to get one attack off from them both. A massive door appeared below the Reaper's feet, opening inward as a cascade of specters surged out from within. It caught him off guard despite the clearly minimal amount of harm it was causing, which was good because it meant the storm of Ice, Lightning, and Wind from Hamuko, Akihiko, and Yukari would actually do some damage... and if that failed, well...

"Clear a path, Everyone!"

The gem thing hanging from the back of Vaisravana's spear glowed with the image of a vajra for a moment, then suffice to say big fuck off lasers happened and if THAT didn't leave a mark, I don't know what would.

'WHAT DO YOU FEED HIM?'

-Yep, left a mark.- "He's the chef."

'...That would explain it then-'

"PENDRAGON!"

The gold and silver dragon exploded into existence with a mighty roar, a blast of searing flames erupting from its maw as an inferno of Hestia's creation and another lance from Themis likewise surged towards the Reaper. An angry yelp of surprise was his reply before he was engulfed in fire, if only for a few moments. He shot straight into the air, yanking the spear out of his right shoulder.

'BEHOLD THE FACE OF DEATH!' he bellowed, and with a wave of his hand a barrage of black energy bolts ripped across the battlefield. I didn't see who got hit and who didn't, mainly because several hit me and they hurt like HELL.

"But ask not for whom the bell tolls!" I heard Ryoji shout, looking up in time to see several orange explosions near the Reaper sending him back down towards the platform. And I'm not gonna lie, the next thing I did was honestly something I'd been looking forward to since I found out I could do it.

"RELEASE!" A card span in the palm of my hand. "THE KRAKEN!"

The Reaper managed to catch himself, but he couldn't move from where he was standing on account of Mitsuru's quick reflexes freezing his feet to the platform as the Kraken emerged from BELOW the platform. I've summoned big Personas before, but Kraken currently takes the goddamn cake and eats the boat it came on, too! It made the most bizarre, shrieking roar before slamming its giant tentacles down on the Reaper several times. On what would've been about the eighth or so hit, the Reaper lashed out and damn near hacked one of the tentacles off, sending the Kraken retreating back into my psyche with a pained shriek and a MASSIVE jolt of pain through my arm.

'Ha, creative!' the Reaper cackled. 'BUT TRY HARDER NEXT TIME!'

Another barrage of black energy tore across the platform, but like that one instant against the Hydra, the sigil from Juno's bubble appeared infront of me and blocked the attack. Fuuka was clearly still on top of her game despite all the chaos in the fight.

'What in the-'

His confusion was interrupted by what I can only describe as a wave of pure carnage hitting him like bus hits a store mannequin. Pretty safe to say at least half of SEES attacked at the same time, because once the blast subsided, the Reaper looked pretty worse for wear. With a shout of rage, he span towards the others and rushed at them... or at least, he made it look like he did. He swerved at the last second and sped straight towards Ryoji, nearly taking his head off with that scythe.

"WHOA! What's your problem with ME all of a sudden?!" Ryoji sputtered, doing his best to keep the blunt part of his sword locked with the Reaper's scythe.

'You'll find out.' he replied ominously. 'I would first witness your-'

A savage bark cut the air as Cerberus smashed into him, two of his three heads bitting down on his arm.

'Get off me, mutt!' he snapped, punching one of the heads biting him. Despite the yelp of pain from Koromaru, Cerberus kept a lock on the reaper's arm. 'Get off this instant!'

Cerberus just growled, but his ears twitched a moment later and he did let go... just in time for Trismegistus to dive bomb the Reaper and make something akin to a crater in the platform. The red Persona was thrown back almost immediately after, ol' Reaps didn't get the chance to get out before a pair of giant, gold fists smashed him back into the hole. Following on the heels of THAT was a lot of fire, ice, another giant spear, and another one of Akihiko's 'Mjolnir Punches' as I've taken to calling them. Of course even that wasn't enough to stop the Reaper, who burst out of the crater and rushed the nearest people he could see – Chidori and Shinjiro. Shinji wasn't having any of it, leading to Vaisravana once more clashing with the Reaper.

'Rrrgh... blasted war god.' he snarled. 'STAND ASIDE!'

This time, though, I was the next one to start shit. "Kwaku Anansi!"

The spidery persona sprinted at the Reaper, body checking him away from Vaisravana before rebounding off him and squaring off with the manifestation of Death.

'...Nostalgia is a hell of a thing.'

-Okay seriously, there is something up with you and I'm gonna find out what.- I thought before Anansi swung at the Reaper, his fist being blocked by the scythe. He swung over and over, the two beings caught in a bizarre display of blows where neither really seemed to be getting hurt.

'Are you even trying, Fool?' the Reaper asked as Anansi caught the blade of his scythe. 'Or are you scheming-'

An elbow right to his face answered that question, as did the small cloud of green mist that was left behind, causing him to start coughing. It was at that point the Reaper finally noticed something; the area he and my Persona had been fighting in was now full of that green mist – all of it having steadily been left there as he 'blocked' Anansi's blows.

'What-' he coughed. '-is this?! Why does the air taste...?'

I grinned. "Stagnant?"

"PERSONA"

Cerberus, Trismegistus, and Hestia arose beside Anansi, the four of them looking on at the cloud the Reaper was staggering around in.

"HELLFIRE"

As the Guardian of the Underworld howled, the other three gods snapped their fingers and the Reaper was consumed in flames. It was almost a solid seven seconds before the fire died down, the ground scorched black from the heat.

"...Is he dead?" asked Hamuko. "Or at least unconscious?"

A disgruntled groan was her reply, the Reaper pushing himself to his feet from the middle of the blackened mark on the floor.

'I yield...' he moaned, bracing himself with the shaft of his scythe so he could actually stand up. 'Gods, you lot do NOT mess around when it's all of you against one opponent...'

"I would ask how you're not ash, but I feel like the answer would just confuse me." I commented.

'I doubt it.' he retorted. 'One does not simply kill the God of Death, you dunce.'

"God of... wait a moment, are you Thanatos?"

The Grim Reaper chuckled. 'Oh good, you live up to Athena's title after all... Yes, I am Thanatos.'

"Oh well, good news for ya buddy." I said, half staggering over to Ryoji and throwing an arm around him. "You've got more family!"

He gave me a look. '...You say that like I didn't already know.'

"Hold on, you're not only Thanatos, but the Grim Reaper?" asked Ryoji, his eyes suddenly getting very bright. "So then does that make me Death the Kid?"

"Dude, you wanna get your pants sued off?"

"It's a legitimate question!"

'...I suppose? I'm not sure I understand what you're talking about...'

"You wouldn't be the only one." said Shinjiro. "But if you're Thanatos, then how and why are you in Tartarus?"

'You can thank the idiots who thought I was a Shadow and thus ripping off a sizable portion of my lower torso was a good idea.' he replied. 'I had to quickly compress my form into something else to avoid a rather... violent destabilization.'

Mitsuru shifted uneasily. "...How violent?"

'I'd rather not say, but having Death effectively explode wouldn't have been a good thing.'

"Yeah, I'd think as much..." commented Yukari. "But why are you here?"

'Since an amplified portion of my power created this distortion, and by extension this mockery of my former home, I am unfortunately bound to it.' stated Thanatos. 'I suspect if I had not been sneaking about near the explosion that caused all this when it happened, I would have been able to come and go from this tower as I pleased.'

"Trying to get your stolen piece back?"

'Precisely, though as I eventually discovered, the unstable nature of Shadows can make for a suitable means of mending my wound. The Shadows of Monad expedited the process a great deal.'

"So that's what you were talking about before?" asked Akihiko.

Thanatos nodded. 'Yes. But I have a much more pressing concern...' He straightened his posture and glared at us. 'What have you idiots done to anger my mother?!'

"We didn't do shit to your mom!" Junpei shouted. "It was all Ikutsuki!"

'...Ikutsuki?'

"The idiot you might have seen get choked to death by my Shadow about two months ago."

'You mean a few days ago.'

I blinked. "...No, it's been a little over two months at this point."

Thanatos stared at me. '...What.'

"Um, yeah... short version is, the explosion that trapped you hear? That was ten years ago."

'WHAT?! It's barely been a year since that day!'

"For you, yes." said Mitsuru. "But for us, ten years have passed. Time was distorted, and so long as we aren't standing in Tartarus, we would only perceive its existence for an hour a day."

Thanatos looked at Mitsuru, then reached up and put a hand on the forehead of his mask.

'...So then, none of the other gods know I'm here?'

"Nope. They've been worried about you."

'...But even that shouldn't have summoned my mother...'

"That... was my fault." Ryoji said apologetically. "The people who attacked you used what they stole to create me in a bid to bring about The Fall."

'...That's bloody stupid! Mother is quite fond of humanity and would never kill them.' He exclaimed. '...On the other hand, though...'

"What?"

'...Erebus.' Thanatos spat. 'He never took mother leaving him well, and if she comes back... the result would be catastrophic.'

Hamuko shivered. "Like, the Fall level of catastrophic?"

'If not moreso. You without a doubt saw what his mere influence did to the Jotun of Grief you fought near the top of the tower.'

"Wait, what? You mean EREBUS did that?"

'If my mother is indeed on her way, then he is most likely aware and waiting for her.' he said. 'It's even possible he does not event notice nor care that his intent is corrupting the Shadows within this tower... he only wants to get his hands on Nyx.'

Junpei took a step forward. "So what, just that guy being around is gonna make more Shadows go crazy mutant dragon on us?!"

'Maybe not in the exact same way, but potentially.'

I heard Chidori sigh. "Great... more problems for the pile."

"Still comes down to stopping whatever the hell is gonna happen on the thirty-first no matter what we find out." noted Shinjiro. "Just gotta be prepared is all."

'...How long from now would that be?'

"Uh, fifteen hours for you, fifteen days for us... I think." I looked at Aigis. "Is that right?"

After a moment she nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

'I see. Then perhaps these may assist you...'

Thanatos opened his cloak and several objects clattered to the ground.

"...The hell are these?" asked Junpei, walking over to inspect them. "And why is there a cane here?"

'Well, for most, Hephaestus was rather bored one day, Thor stopped by for a visit, then they got drunk and had a smithing contest...' he admitted. 'I only got them because they didn't know what else to do with them once they were sober. The rest I won in games and off bets with some old friends.'

"...You had a replica of this?" Ryoji asked, picking up a sword identical to the one his Persona had.

'Of course. It hasn't seen use in ages, though.'

Hamuko picked up one of the other presumed weapons and gave it a curious look. "...This is a silver pole."

'Oh, hit the little button near your thumb.'

In doing so, I kid you not, orange energy blades appeared on either end of the pole. Hamuko was dead silent for a moment before she made a squeal of glee.

"...What."

'As I said, Thor and Hephaestus were smithing things while drunk...'

A sparking noise drew my attention, revealing that Mitsuru appeared to have found a rapier with a similar feature, except it was just the edges of the blade that were made of energy.

"Fascinating..." she said, inspecting the blade with great curiosity.

"What was a Greek god doing carrying around boxing gear?" Akihiko asked aloud, holding up a pair of gloves.

'I won a bet with Polydeuces.' replied Thanatos a moment before he saw what Yukari had gotten her hands on. 'You like that bow?'

"I've never seen one like this before..." She said, clearly testing it in ways only she fully understood. "Is it a hunting bow?"

'Yes. Artemis once organized a hunting contest in the Underworld and gave those to competitors. I did fairly well, all things considered.'

"Where'd this come from?"

Thanatos turned to look at Ken. 'Oh, that was another one from the drunken smithing contest. I believe Thor made it... he'd taken up a bit of a flare for the exotic after visiting Japan for the first time.'

"Cool..." Ken said, giving the spear a few practice swings... only to discover it can segment itself and accidentally trip Shinjiro with it. "Oops... sorry."

"It's fine..." griped Shinjiro as he got back up. "...Tch. Never got a hammer or axe?"

'Well, I had something SIMILAR to one...' replied Thanatos, pulling the most bizarre looking axe I've ever seen out of the pile of items. 'According to the youkai I won it from, it's changed hands quite often since a follower of Bishamonten crafted it.'

"...What idiot makes a vajra into an axe?"

'Someone who apparently didn't live long. It's yours if you want it.'

Shinjiro inspected the axe, then shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"Okay now I've gotta know what the deal is with this." I said, picking up the cane. "And how exactly did you get it?"

Upon looking at me, Thanatos started laughing. 'Interested in that one? I think you'll find out where it came from very quickly. It's a story that's... well, far more amusing to hear from someone else.'

"...Okay, but what the hell does it DO? I mean, you wouldn't just give a random ass cane as an option for free goodies for no reason... right?"

'It's... well, adaptable. Think of a different object and touch the gem.'

I arched an eyebrow, doing what what he said... and promptly found myself carrying a shovel instead of a cane. "What the fuck? It CHANGES?"

'That it does! Fitting for someone such as yourself, I'd say.'

I tapped the relocated gem on the hammer and it turned back into a cane. Black with a red, golf ball sized gem on it, red spiderweb patterns around the rest, and a spider symbol carved inside the gemstone. "...That it is. Dibs."

"Uh, guys, we might wanna get out of here..." Yukari said. "The Dark Hour's almost over."

"Shit. Um, grab whatever looks cool and let's bolt!" I said. "Sorry Reaps, but we gotta bail. See ya around?"

'As if I have a choice but to wait in here.' he deadpanned. 'I'll be expecting a more detailed explanation the next time you lot stop by.'

"That... might be like two days away but whatever! For now, BYE!"

The Dark Hour ended a few moments after we stepped out of Tartarus, but waiting for us at the gate of Gekkoukan High was a face I'd honestly like to have never seen again.

"Oh no, what do you want this time?" I griped, staring at that same goddamn idiot from June. "Just go leave me alone, man!"

He was staring at me, a wild look in his eyes. Looked like hell, too. Like he hadn't slept in days or even eaten all that much. Just kept staring before he finally spoke up.

"You... you're the ones..." he began. "The ones our great leader was talking about..."

I blinked. "...What?"

"Fortune, what is he talking about?"

"The evil ones... the ones who use Mother Nyx's gifts for evil..." he continued, an insane chuckle escaping him as he spoke. "Haha... and I found you...! Found you while you're tired... WEAK!"

"Roy, I'm not certain this person is... sane."

"Neither am I, Aigis..."

The guy just kept laughing. "It doesn't matter what you think...! YOU WON'T SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AGAIN!"

"Wh-what the...?! He's-!"

His laughter grew louder as red mist suddenly encircled his feet. "I HAVE RECIEVED THE BLESSING OF MOTHER NYX, AND I AM GOING TO KILL YOU WITH IT!" He clutched his head with both hands. "YMIR!"

An explosion of red mist preceded the appearance of something... big. A giant made of ice, carrying a massive club in one hand, that loomed over the man who summoned it. Gleaming yellow eyes glared down at us with ill intent... not that I really cared. I just started walking towards the guy.

"So... you wish to be the first to PERISH, gaijin?" he asked. "GOOD, then LET ME-"

I bitchslapped him so hard his Persona disappeared before he hit the ground.

"...Not gonna lie, that felt good." I commented as I turned around. "Also, Takaya's got some seriously crazed up fruit loops in his midst."

Mitsuru was rubbing her temple in frustration. "I just want to get some sleep now."

"Sorry senpai."

Mitsuru made a call to someone to deal with the unconscious guy. I dunno how it ended up for him, nor do I care to find out. I did find out something I DID give a damn about after school the next day, though.

"Wait wait wait, today's your birthday and you didn't tell ANY of us?"

"I told Chidori." Junpei replied simply, sitting across from me in the lounge. "I didn't really feel like makin' a big deal out of it, y'know? Keep things kinda chill."

"Dude, my birthday is five days from now."

He stared at me. "...No way."

"Way."

"...Okay, I take it back. We need a party."

Hamuko giggled from over by the counter infront of the kitchen. "We'll need a couple days to set things up, you two."

"Yeah, but-"

The door to the dorm was suddenly thrown open as my ears were assaulted by what I can only describe as furious African ranting. Turning around in my seat revealed that Anansi was walking right up to me, yammering away in a language I absolutely did not understand, making exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions.

"Hello Anansi." I heard the others deadpan in almost perfect unison.

He only stopped his rant long enough to say 'Hello all' back before he just kept going, now standing with his face about a foot away from mine. When he started sounding out of breath, Ken offered him a glass of water and, to my surprise, he accepted it.

"...Okay, what the fuck did I even do?" I asked as he emptied the glass.

"It's not you I'm mad at!" He said, almost slamming the glass down on the table. "I'm angry at that god damn Grim Reaper!"

I blinked. "What about him?"

Anansi jabbed me in the chest with his finger. "You should damn well know what, Mister Cardsharp Oni! You got my damn cane from him!"

"...What."

He reached into my pocket, pulled out the card I'd stashed the cane in, then materialized the cane. "THIS! WAS MINE! I never got the chance to win it back from him before he disappeared! Now tell me where he is so I can beat him with a water buffalo!"

"...Isn't that cruelty to animals?"

"I never said it would be a live one!"

"And why a water buffalo?" Inquired Hamuko.

"WHY NOT A WATER BUFFALO?"

"What the hell is even going on with this conversation?" asked Junpei. "Because so far it's just making my head hurt..."

Anansi just shoved the cane back into my hands and glared at me. "It doesn't matter, I just want to know where that lazy sad sack of a death god has been hiding for ten years!"

"Um, he's been trapped?" I said. "In the crazy time paradox doom tower I run around in?"

He blinked. "...He's been what now?"

"Stuck. In Tartarus."

"Then I'll just go with you next time and bludgeon him then!"

"WE HAVE LIKE TWO WEEKS BEFORE HIS MOM SHOWS UP DO YOU WANT TO MAKE HER GET HERE FASTER?"

Anansi started to make a counter argument, but paused for a moment before sighing. "Damn it, you've got a point there..."

"You're awfully violent for a trickster god." commented Shinjiro. "Or is that just a thing with gods in general?"

"No, I'm just bitter because it wasn't a goddamn fair bet that lost me that cane in the first place!" he retorted, glaring at Shinji. "And now I can't even get it back!"

Eyebrow. "You could just ask me..."

"No, I can't! I already went out of my way to get a replacement cane so it's completely pointless!"

"You mean you don't just carry a stash of the damn things on hand?"

"Why would I?" He asked. "I'm not a dragon! Or you for that matter!"

I tapped the side of my head. "You're still technically in here."

"That's just semantics!"

"Were you gonna stay for dinner or should I not set out another plate?"

"No no, I'm going somewhere with a friend out north from here." replied Anansi. "Thank you though."

I turned in my seat a little more so I wasn't straining my neck. "So you came here JUST to complain about Thanatos?"

"...Yeah, pretty much." he said, tipping his wide brimmed had and waving his hand. "Toodles!"

And just like that he was gone.

"Gods are weird." I heard Chidori comment.

"Yeah..." I sighed. "Yeah they are."

I spent basically half of the rest of that evening getting heckled about stuff I'd like as a gift, the other half trying to come up with a cunning plan to get something for my best friend without him knowing. Kinda short notice since the plan was to have the Double Birthday Bash after school on the eighteenth, but I doubt anyone minds. Always nice to spend time with the people closest to you, after all. Having said that, there were more than a few confused faces on the seventeenth when I said we were going back to Tartarus that night.

"Isn't the kinda no point until the end of the month?" asked Junpei. "I mean, Fuuka kept saying it seemed impossible for us to get more powerful..."

"Yeah, but I got one last thing to deal with in the tower before the final showdown happens." I replied. "A final request from Elizabeth, actually."

Aigis and Mitsuru both looked up from the books they were reading. "Request?"

"Mmhm. I've got to meet and beat some 'Ultimate Opponent' at the bottom of Monad in a one on one fight."

"...And you agreed to it?" asked Akihiko.

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. I mean, it's literally the last request Elizabeth has for me and I have no idea if I'll still be able to get into the Velvet Room once this is all over."

"So you're gonna go fight somebody you don't know a thing about."

"Pretty much."

Shinjiro sighed. "Do you go out of your way to make no sense or does it just come naturally?"

"Eh, it's a little of column A and a little of column B with me."

Aigis was double checking and fussing over all of my gear the entire way to Tartarus, even all the way up to me actually stepping into the Velvet Room.

"Hey Liz." I said, tapping the cane I got from the Reaper against the ground a couple times. "Did the first of those requests you had for me."

"I see... and you have reaped a reward for your struggle." She said whimsically. "And I have another to bestow upon you."

Pulling it out of thin air, Elizabeth handed me a simple looking blue bookmark. Aside from having a pattern on it that matched her dress and a symbol I assume is supposed to be for the Velvet Room, there hardly seemed anything remarkable about it.

"...A bookmark?" I asked.

Liz simply smiled in response. "It is hardly much on its own, but it is quite useful if paired with the reward from your final task. The Ultimate Opponent awaits you in the depths of Monad."

"...Fair enough then." I said, slipping it into the pocket on my vest. "Be back when I'm done with that whole mess!"

"Good luck, my young friend." said Igor as I stepped out of the Velvet Room... and found someone I didn't recognize talking to my friends.

"Well, I have to avoid drawing attention in my line of work, so..." the stranger trailed off, turning towards me. He looked a hell of a lot like you aged up Ryoji about twenty years and wearing a black trench coat. "Oh good, you're done."

I blinked. "...The fuck are you?"

"Thanatos."

"...Y'know what I'm not even going to question this." I said. "You're a god. It will just make my brain hurt."

He laughed. "Possibly. But I understand you have an appointment at the bottom of Monad?"

"Yeah, why?"

He snapped his fingers and the door to Monad glowed for a second. "There's a shortcut. It'll take you to the stairs to the bottom floor."

"...And why not straight to the bottom floor?"

Thanatos grinned. "It would ruin the surprise waiting for you."

I stared at him for a second. "...Is being infuriating like a common thing with you and Anansi?"

He seemed to ponder his reply before nodding. "Yeah, pretty much. We go way back."

"Great." I sighed, walking towards the door. "Also, expect to get smacked with a cow once you're out of here. Anansi's pissed."

"I'll bet."

True to his word, walking through the door to Monad did deposit me right infront of the stairs that headed down to the bottom floor. A short trek down those left me in the giant orange clockwork room. I didn't even have to guess what Elizabeth was doing standing on the opposite side of the platform.

"...So." I began. "You're this 'Ultimate Opponent', then?"

She smiled and nodded. "That is correct, Master Roy."

"Erright. So how's this going to work?"

"Well, I must admit I am at a loss." Liz replied. "I hadn't expected you to request to set rules for the battle."

I shrugged. "Call me paranoid. I've had a hell of a lot of fine print about my life slip past up till now."

"I see... perhaps we'd best keep this exchange simple?"

"...So what, I use one Persona while fighting you? How WOULD you even fight, anyways?"

"I am as capable of wielding an aspect of the Wild Card as you are, Master Roy." stated Elizabeth. "Though it is not the only means I have."

-Hrm.- "...Alright, then a one on one battle. One Persona each, no switching." I said, keeping my focus on Kwaku Anansi. "And keep it fair, so no tryin' to cheap shot things with stuff like those instant knockout skills."

"That would hinder you a great deal depending on the Persona you select." she noted. "Though I suppose abilities that can swiftly incapacitate foes as a secondary effect rather than as a direct intent would be admissible."

"Works for me."

"I would also recommend refraining from selecting something capable of rendering all attacks from the opponent impotent." Liz continued. "Otherwise... well, drastic measures will be taken."

I hummed. "Well, I already know who I pick." A flurry of blue fire and a shattering card later, and Kwaku Anansi stood behind me. "As long as you don't try dropping fireballs you'll do fine."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I should have expected such a choice. As for my own..." She drew a card from the heavy tome she carried, spinning it in the air once before it shattered. A large, and I mean about half Elizabeth's height, version of Pixie appeared hovering beside her. "...I will utilize this Persona. Its elemental affinity should not cause any issue."

"Fair enough. You ready?"

"Indeed I am. Are you?"

I looked at the cane in my hand, resting against the ground. I tapped on the gem once, morphing it into a pair of metal gauntlets. "Naturally."

"Then let us begin!"

I barely had a split second before a gigantic lightning bolt hit the ground where I'd been standing, kicking up a small cloud of dust and pretty blatantly giving away that I absolutely did NOT want to stand still. More electricity arced around the Pixie as it dropped a few more lightning bolts. A couple actually hit me, but I powered through it to try and get in swinging distance of Elizabeth. To my unfortunate surprise, her book doubled as a weapon and I had to do my best to dodge her own swings as I tried to get in a few hits of my own. I think I had an easier time of it though, because Kwaku Anansi seemed to be mimicking my movements, meaning when she dodged a punch from me, Elizabeth would get clobbered by my Persona. It sorta went both ways, though; Being that close made it hard to dodge a lightning-empowered shoulder tackle from her Pixie.

"How exhilarating!" Liz exclaimed as I got back to my feet. "I daresay this is more exciting than what my original plans would have led to!"

Anansi unleashed a wave of fire at Elizabeth, catching her off guard before I rushed in again. "And talking is not a smart thing to do in a fight!"

"I have learned as much from your previous encounters with the Reaper." She replied, exchanging blows or blocking my punches casually. "But a lack of conversation makes things... boring."

"Yeah, well, that's the price ya pay sometimes." I said, kicking her in the chest only to get electrified for my trouble. "Other times it's getting hit with lightning bolts..."

"It is quite fortunate possessing a Persona makes dealing with such forms of pain much more manageable."

Anansi hurled a few elementized cards at her, the Pixie zapping a few out of the air but at least three still hit her.

"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." I commented, slamming my hand into the platform. "Same could be said for a LOT of things!"

Having decided to put some of that oni strength of mine to use, I tore out a piece of the platform and hurled it at Elizabeth. She smashed it effortlessly with her tome, only to be met with Anansi tackling her and biting down on her arm, leading me to remember that the 'Life Drain' skill he has still involves biting and or eating things, usually Shadows, to work. She got him to let go after a few heavy whacks upside the head with her book, having Pixie zap him for good measure. Despite the pain shooting through my body as my Persona got hit, it gave me a good chance to get close again and do what I do best in a fight; punch and kick something really goddamn hard. Of course that doesn't help too much when your opponent has what amounts to fucking Thor in the form of a fairy electrocuting you in what honestly seem like increasingly cartoonish ways. I mean it, I swear I saw my own skeleton for a second one time. Either that or however many volts were in those shocks wasn't doing my brain any favors.

"Oh my... such ferocity..." commented Elizabeth a moment after she blasted me halfway across the platform with a point blank electric explosion. "I may have to resort to more drastic measures..."

"Drastic how?" I asked as I got up.

The answer to my question turned out to be Megidolaon lasers and that made me sad... and in pain, but mostly sad. Even after the fact, I'm pretty sure that wasn't a good sign about how well I was doing. It did give me incentive to try a different tactic the next time I was close enough to hit Liz myself and not just rely on the 'pick and choose' multi element skill Anansi had to attack from range with. I never did find out if she figured out what I was up to before it was too late.

"Are you feeling well, Master Roy?" asked Elizabeth as she blocked a kick aimed at her stomach. "Your actions are... erratic."

"No idea." I replied, honestly not sure how my body was actually handling all the lightning hitting it. "Thinking I might wanna try hurrying things up before I break something important."

Liz exchanged several more blows before catching a backhanded swing I threw. "That seems most wise..." she glanced at my hand, having finally noticed the trail of green mist coming off of it. "Wait a moment, that's-"

"Eyup!" I said with a grin, snapping with my right hand before the two of us were caught in a pretty damn large explosion of fire. Upside was since I caused it, it didn't hurt me at all. Downside was I made a hole in the platform and fell right through it. "AW SHIT MISTAKES WERE MADE"

Kwaku Anansi appeared on the bottom of the platform and caught me, letting me find out that apparently doing spider stuff was just a thing he could do because he was STANDING on the underside of it. I used that to my advantage, getting my Persona to carry me around and toss me up over the side, giving me a good chance to surprise Elizabeth while she checked out the hole.

"KNOCK KNOCK!" I called out as I fell, causing Liz to turn around just in time for me to punch her in the face and launch her over the hole and into the ground on the far side.

Elizabeth quickly recovered and gave me a concerned and confused look. "Master Roy, you are most... unusual."

I shrugged. "I get that a lot, but I'm really starting to think the two hundred or so volts I've been hit with this entire fight haven't been helping."

"Then perhaps I shall refrain from using it further..." She said, Pixie appearing and summoning up more lasers.

"I FAIL TO SEE HOW THAT WILL HELP" I shouted as I did my best to dodge them.

"It is a fight to determine the victor, not a bout against a training dummy, Master Roy."

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN I WANT THIRD DEGREE LASER BURNS"

"Then work on dodging them."

I slid to a stop, then darted back towards Elizabeth. I got close quick enough that she didn't get more than two or three more Megidolaon lasers off and swung at her stomach. It missed, but my momentum carried the punch into the ground just like I wanted it to. Cue a giant cloud of green mist exploding out of the impact point.

"And now it's SHOWTIME!" I shouted, Kwaku Anansi appearing behind me in the heart of the cloud. With a snap of his fingers, the whole thing went up in an explosive torrent of fire. It took a few moments for the flames to die down, but once they did, I found Elizabeth laid out on the ground. Despite the scorch marks, she looked completely fine and hardly at all bothered I exploded her with fire TWICE in about five minutes.

"Well done, Master Roy." she said, standing up and brushing herself off. "I admit defeat..." A heavy sigh escaped her. "...Though it would seem my question remains unanswered..."

I did my best to wave away some of the remaining smoke. "What do you mean?"

"I have long sought an understanding of who I am, just as you and my master have done." stated Elizabeth. "Those who set foot in the Velvet Room are all destined to embark on this search for identity. I have come to know power in many forms, but... I had hoped that in facing one whose power exceeds my own would lead me to a revelation of the truth of my existence."

"...But even after fighting with me, you didn't?"

She nodded sadly. "Indeed... no such answer was revealed to me as we fought."

"Well... if you want my opinion on the matter?" I asked. "Your life is what you make of it. In my case, that involves yelling at gods, punching monsters, and potentially saving the world. I dunno where it could go from there, but I aim to find out one of these days."

"...So then, if I am understanding your words correctly, only I can decide who I am?"

I nodded. "Something like that, yeah."

Elizabeth smiled. "...I see. I shall take this lesson to heart, Master Roy. But for now, I believe congratulations are in order. You have overcome the most difficult challenge I have laid before you. You shall receive your reward the same as always... but I would like you to have this as well."

She approached me and handed me... a platinum colored bookmark.

"Though it is every bit as simple as it looks, I hope that you will take it as a token of my gratitude." she said. "For all the things you have shown me along this journey of yours."

I smiled, slipping it into my pocket right next to the other bookmark. "You're more than welcome, Elizabeth."

CRASH

"GAH"

I am thou... thou art I...

"Ah... so it seems at last our bond has reached its full potential.

The bond thou hast nurtured hath finally matured. The innermost power of the Pierrot Arcana hath been set free...

We bestow upon thee the ability to create Chaos, the Ultimate Form of the Pierrot Arcana...

"...Y'know, that's kind of fitting in a way." I commented. "Life itself is unpredictable... what better way to emphasize that than with something based on the very concept of unpredictability?"

Elizabeth giggled. "Indeed. For now, I shall await you in the Velvet Room."

"Alright." I said, watching her step back towards a blue portal. "See you there, Liz."

She disappeared with a small wave, leaving me alone in Monad.

"...I swear though, if I start receiving Satellite TV signals in my head I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind." I said to the empty expanse as I walked over to the small, one-way teleporter panel that somehow managed to survive the fight.

"Holy-! Geez Roy, you look like hell."

"I'll ask where you all got that popcorn from once I'm done getting stuff from Liz." I deadpanned as I walked straight to the Velvet Room door. "So yeah, gimme like two seconds."

"...I see Elizabeth did not hold back."

I gave the unfamiliar platinum blonde woman who addressed me an odd look. "...Who're you?"

"My name is Margaret." she replied. "I had come to offer you a challenge to test your skills... but given your current condition, I feel it would be too cruel of me."

"Well, even if I wasn't beaten to hell and back I'd probably say no." I said. "No offense, just never fond of how overused the whole 'prove yourself' thing can seem sometimes."

"I see." she said, bowing slightly. "I shall leave you to your business then. I have other matters I must attend to."

I waved absently as Margaret walked towards the back of the Velvet Room and through one of the random doors there, then looked at Liz. "Your sister, right?"

"Elder sister." she said. "But I imagine you wish to rest, so I shall... 'cut to the chase' as it were."

"Nice use of metaphor." I commented as she summoned a black replica of her own book and held it out to me. "...What's this?"

"A Grimoire of similar make to the one I possess, as you can no doubt discern at a glance." stated Elizabeth. "As I understand it, you have kept record of your Journey. This may be of assistance to you for ease of compiling of such information."

I hummed. "Neat... but what about that bookmark you gave me earlier?"

"It acts as both a marker and a means of interfacing with the Grimoire." she said. "It will allow you to more quickly record any desired information and swiftly access it later."

"Neat. Thanks, Liz."

"You are most welcome, Master Roy."

"I could not help but notice something, my young friend..." began Igor. "...That you have reached the full potential of all your bonds."

I nodded. "Or so I've been told. What about it?"

"I merely wished to present you with a gift of my own in commemoration of the occasion." he said, holding something out to...

"...That's a tarot deck."

Igor's grin only widened. "One I had crafted especially for you."

Curious, I took it from him and drew the top card. It was the Judgment... and instead of the normal sort of images you'd see on a Judgement card, it showed me and SEES as a group. We were all smiling.

"...Thanks, Igor." I said, replacing the card and carefully putting the deck in my pocket.

"You are most welcome." he replied as I started towards the door. "Have a pleasant night's rest, my friend."

"Okay so why the hell do you all have popcorn?"

Junpei pointed at Thanatos. "He made like a sci-fi floating screen thing and we got to watch your fight."

"Mmhm." said the god of death. "And well, it's been a while since I last had good popcorn, so..."

"Where did you even get it?!"

"I'm a god! Where do you think?"

I almost started to say something, but decided against it. "Man, whatever... can we go home now? I think I'm getting basic cable..."

Author Notes - Not gonna lie, I recently changed up my plans for both this chapter and chapter 37 in kind of a big way. I'd PLANNED on a very... well, interesting look at Vision Quest, but after seeing Droplet of Sour's review and thinking about it... it has nothing to do with the story and could easily just be ignored because of that. So instead, well, you lot will be getting to view the world from the perspective of another SEES member with a very unique opinion on things. But while I'm talking of changed plans, wanna hear some crazy stuff that I'd INTENDED to have in Reshuffled but ended up forgetting or moving past because of various reasons? Because a lot of the original draft of Reshuffled(as it was in my mind anyways) is now pretty much on the metaphorical cutting room floor.

Firstly, there was Shade. If you noticed early on, there was a lot of attention about how Shade's appearance changed in various ways. This was SUPPOSED to reflect Roy's growth as a person as he interacted with his Social Links, but that pretty squarely just dropped off the radar because I'd genuinely forgot about it until about two chapters before Shadow Roy was planned to happen.

Second off, there was the ENDING. I won't spoil how Reshuffled is GOING to end now, but how I'd originally planned for it to work(and tie into what was then Norimoto Style) was Roy being trapped in the TV World in a metaphysical sense. His body and power are still in the seal, but his mind was stuck in his TV World dungeon(the casino in his brain that was mentioned as a once-off joke by Ryoji a few chapters back) via his Shadow. He would have encountered the NS Investigation Team after they rescued Rise, and his isolation would've left him... well, more than a little coocoo for cocoa puffs. He'd initially dismiss the IT as hallucinations, but gradually warm up to them. Once they beat Adachi, though, they would've been absent from the TV World for a while... sending Roy spiraling into madness. In mid January, on his birthday specifically, Roy would have appeared on the Midnight Channel and demanded they come and find him. When they do, they discover his dungeon has half mutated into a parody of Tartarus and have to fight their way to the top, seeing illusions of Roy's escapades through the tower with SEES back in 2009 as they proceeded upwards. Upon reaching the top, they'd find a very unhinged Roy going on and on about seeing 'them' again if he killed the IT. He'd lose the ensuing fight, but still try to press on and win, even if he can barely throw a punch stronger than a stiff breeze, before breaking down in tears and expressing a desire to see his friends again. I scrapped that whole idea for the current version of the ending, which DOES involve the Great Seal being a thing. How Roy manages to still show up in Inaba for Golden Moon is something that will be explained in the Answer portion of the story.

Thirdly, and lastly since this is the only other one I can actually remember, there was actually almost the entirety of Hamuko's social link. Around the time I was working on/finished with Chapter 9, I had a pretty harsh falling out with a friend of mine who was helping with that entire social link, leading to the entire last 7 rank events(Chapter 9 had Hamuko's rank 3 event in it) going in an entirely different direction. Originally, it would have been Hamuko coming to terms with her family being as scattered as it is and viewing SEES as a second family of sorts instead of what it came out as here. I like the current version to this idea though, mainly because(as I've mentioned when stuff relating to family members comes up for other characters) there's enough sad junk involving family members of SEES members. THEY DESERVE TO BE HAPPY, DAMN IT!

But as for The Worldwalker's request in their review, here's the full list of the Max Social Link skills that the SEES members got and what they do:

Junpei - Hermetic Law - Severe Fire damage to one enemy. Ignores Fire resistance, damage increases as Junpei's HP goes down.
Fuuka - Miracle - Block a fatal attack once per battle and revive party with full HP/SP once per battle.
Mitsuru - Frigid Grave - Severe Ice damage to one enemy with 40% chance of Instant Kill. Instant Kill always works on Ice-weak target.
Akihiko - Imperial Crash - Heavy Electric damage on all enemies. Applies random -nda effect.
Shinjiro - Purging Vajra - Severe Peirce Damage to all enemies, hits 2-3 times
Yukari - Storming Sands - Heavy Wind Damage to all enemies and moderately restores HP to all allies.
Aigis - Papillion Aegis/Burst - Effect depends on Orgia Mode status. If not in Orgia mode, All -kaja effects + Wall(elemental resist) effects on all allies. If Orgia Mode is active, 3 hit Heavy Physical damage with a different damage type on each hit(In order, Slash, Strike, Pierce) on all enemies.
Ken - Holy Lance - Severe Piercing damage to one enemy with 40% chance of Light Instant Kill. Instant Kill always works on Light-weak target.
Hamuko - Seraphic Frost - Heavy ice damage to all enemies. Lowers enemy hit/dodge rate.
Koromaru - Pyrithphegation - Preposterous Fire Damage to all enemies.
Chidori - Royal Pyre - Severe Fire damage to all enemies, instant-kill if weak to fire. Causes dizzy on targets that resist/null Fire.
Ryoji - Midnight Marquis - Heavy Almighty Damage to all enemies, causes random Aliment
Roy - Arachnid Inferno - Heavy Fire damage to all enemies with 40% chance of Dark Instant Kill. Instant kill always works on Dark-weak target.

I'll admit, they'd all be fairly broken to some degree if Reshuffled was an actual Persona game, but since it's not, I'm inclined to go a little nuts with it. And yes, I do list Koromaru's as being the strongest because honestly, Pyrithphegation was one of the best skills in Digital Devil Saga 2. But anyways, that's enough author notes from me! Hope you're all ready to switch it up one last time next chapter! Mwehehehe...