Chapter 35: Castle of fairy tales
"Oniichan! Oniichan!", a three year old girl shouted, her hair brown and braided, while she happily ran after her older, silver-haired brother.
It was a cold November day, and the wind was soughing through the narrow alleyway at which end an old orphanage stood; the only one on Tatsumi Port Island.
"Oniichan! Oniichan!", the little girl shouted again with her slightly screechy voice while continuing to follow her brother through the orphanage´s garden.
"What´s the matter?", the silver-haired boy finally asked, slightly annoyed, and stopped.
The little girl jumped at him and clung to his legs. "I love you, Oniichan!", the girl giggled and looked up at her brother who ruffled her hair in an endearing gesture.
"I love you, too... Miki..."
"No!", the silver-haired boy screamed, near tears, and kicked the man who stood in front of him against his shin.
"Akihiko!", the female supervisor shouted in horror and bowed in apology in front of Akihiko´s potential new father.
"I don´t wanna go with ´em! Not without my sister Miki!", Akihiko continued to scream and ran upstairs to hide together with his little sister.
It was always the same: They always wanted him, but not his sister... But he wouldn´t let them! He and Miki would always be together... forever...
"What´s that, Oniichan?", the four years old Miki asked her brother Akihiko who was playing with something that sparkled so strangely.
"It´s called a lighter, Miki.", Akihiko explained and and showed her the tiny flame that came out of it.
"Wow!", Miki shouted in fascination...
"Miki! MIKI!!!", Akihiko shouted, kneeling on the ground, eyes full of tears, while stared at the orphanage that was ablaze, inside still his sister and several other children. "Miki..."
"Well, well...", a slightly gruff voice suddenly said next to the boy, and Akihiko whirled around to look at an older man. "You don´t just play with fire, my dear. Such a baaaad child! To just steal the lighter like that and play around with it! My, really!", the old man said and grinned maliciously. "But wasn´t it actually your fault, my dear! Oh, that´s right! You were the one who had shown her that lighter! My, such drama!"
"I... I...", little Akihiko stammered.
"Murderer...", Mr. Bagman whispered, grinning like a maniac.
"No..."
"Murderer~..."
"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!"
Screaming, Akihiko was wide awake in an instant and frantically looked around the dark room, sweating like mad.
"A nightmare...", he mumbled and stared at the data on which he´d fallen asleep, among them a document which tried to explain the meaning of a five-ragged star circle. `Bagman... Now I´m actually adding him into this nightmare... A fitting role for him! The big bad man...
A dark forest, the trees raven-hued and bare. Amidst this setting a giant amusement park had been built. But all of its attractions seemed to be quite old and rusty... except one: A giant castle which, painted in the same colour as the tree, loomed like a giant and seemed to reach the heavens, the half-moon above him bathing it in a creepy, unnatural light.
"So this is Sideu´s dungeon...", Naoto mumbled while walking towards the abandoned amusement park. Souji opened the gate made of steel and walked the anfractuous path made of pebbles up to the castle.
"Welcome to Destiny Island´s wonderful Mystery Castle.", a rather cold voice suddenly said when the friends entered the castle´s foyer.
"Whoa!", Yosuke screamed in horror and immediately clung to Chie.
"Get away from me, Failsuke!", she snarled and kicked him away from her.
"The story you´re about to hear now is about a beautiful princess and two princes.", the cold voice continued to speak. "What dramatic conclusions will await you at the end of your way through here? ... Well then, open the door and see for yourself the fairy tale that´s about to unfold."
The door to the next room was opened with warning, and Yosuke screeched again while jumping into Chie´s arms.
"FAILSUKE!!!", the brunette screamed, face beet-red, and gave him a `critical hit to the nads´.
"Let us depart on a journey full of mystery and adventure!", the voice ended its speech.
"Should we... Should we go on?", Yukiko asked, slightly unsure.
Souji nodded and took a step into the room.
"Hee hoo!", someone shouted the next moment, and a being that looked like a snowman and something that look like a head made of pumpkin wearing a cloak entered the room from the other door.
"What the hell?!", Kanji shouted in confusion when the cute-looking beings suddenly threw Bufu and Agi attacks at them which the friends hurriedly dodged.
"Agi!", Yukiko shouted, breaking the tarot card in front of her and summoning Konohana-sakuya. The snowman Jack Frost chuckled and shot to the side to hide behind Pyro Jack who swallowed the fire.
"You hee totally missed hoo!", Jack Frost giggled and fired another salvo of Bufu at the investigation team.
"Did we enter some kinda Disney movie of what?!", Chie shouted while blocking the Bufu attacks together with Teddie and then throwing several Bufu attacks of their own at Pyro Jack. Jack Frost shot towards and simply ate the ice attacks.
"Agi!", Yukiko screamed anew, but the little snowman had already hidden itself behind his firy friend again.
"Ugh! Just seperate those two already!", Rise snarled at the others.
"Strip, Rise-chan! Strip! I´m sure this´ll get their attention!", Teddie suggested hopefully. Rise´s answer was to throw one of her shoes at his face.
"Yosuke!", Souji shouted at the music-loving man. "Use Garu against those two! Come on!"
"Let´s do this, Jiraiya!", Yosuke bellowed, summoned his Persona and separated those two cute beings by blowing each of them into another directions.
"Agi!", Yukiko shouted, aiming at Jack Frost.
"Bufu!, Chie shouted, aiming at Pyro Jack.
"Hee damn it, hoo!", Jack Frost wined while he and his friends broke down into tiny metallic parts.
"Robots?!", Kou said, dumbfounded, when the piles of screws and metal suddenly decayed into black fog which was blown every which way.
"Shadows in robotic form that copycat stuffed animals... That was surprising...", Naoto admitted.
"Okay, let´s continue!", Souji said and went through the foyer to the next room.
"This story took place not long ago...", the cold voice suddenly continued its story.
"Hmm... If one listens very closely, the voice slightly resembles Sideu´s voice.", Naoto said.
"So it´s her Shadow?", Rise asked.
"Seems like it.", Souji said.
"In a certain kingdom there once lived a beautiful, pure princess. Her beauty fascinated the kingdom and always made her subjects smile in adoration. However, one day the beautiful princess was captured by a monster, blinded by her beauty... She was thrown into a dark tower and locked there.", Sideu´s Shadow continued. "Two princes lived in the neighbouring kingdom who were very good friends of the princess. Their personalities were the complete opposite of each other. One of the princes was always kind... The other one was gruff, and he had a fondness for acting violently and using underhanded tactics. And thus, behind their backs, people started calling them the `good prince´ and the `bad prince´. Furthermore, both princes were in love with the princess..." Sideu´s Shadow ended its speech.
"What the hell was that shit about exactly?", Kanji asked.
"I´d say her Shadow wants to tell the hidden wishes and fears of its original.", Yukiko said.
"That, or it is some kind of riddle.", Naoto added. "You probably haven´t noticed it because of the fight a few seconds ago, but there were two paintings of both princes in the foyer. I assume those paintings are meant to display the good prince and the bad prince."
"And?", Kou asked.
"We´ll see, Ichijo-senpai.", Naoto answered and looked around in the room they had now entered: On the other side of the room there was a painting of a princess that looked like Sideu, to both sides of them there was a door that let to another room, one door black, the other one white. Beneath the princess´ painting there was one word: Choose.
"I don´t like choosing someone! All those politicians are liars, anyway!", Teddie protested, getting whacked by Yosuke seconds later.
"That´s notwhat it means, stupid bear!", Yosuke snarled.
"I´d choose the white door.", Kou suggested. The others looked at him questioningly. "Well, it´s obvious, isn´t it! This whole dungeon is structured like a fairy tale, and everyone knows that goodness is always white! Also, there are the good and bad prince. It must be the white door!"
"I beg to differ, Ichijo-senpai.", Naoto disagreed and looked at the black door.
"Huh?"
"As I have already told you, there are the paintings of two princes in the foyer, one at the left wall, one at the right wall. One of the princes wears bright clothes and is obviously meant to be the good prince. The other one wears dark clothes, thus being the bad prince.", Naoto slowly explained so that everyone could follow her. "The good prince is on the right wall, the bad prince on the left wall. In this room there is a black door to the right side while a white door is to the left side. I am sure the paintings in the foyer show us where we are meant to go. And since the good prince is on the right side, we have to take the black door on the right side.
"But black is the colour of evil.", Yukiko said.
"Not always. In Chinese culture it is the colour of calmness and accord.", Naoto corrected her. "But anyway, this has nothing to do with it." She looked at the princess´ painting. "I would surely take the white door under normal circumstances, but Sideu´s Shadow said that the bad prince loved to use underhanded tactics. If he really is that kind of a person, he would certainly stoop so low as to paint his door white while painting the good prince´s door black."
"But they´re just fictive characters!", Kou objected.
"This is a riddle, Ichijo-senpai, so we have to act as if the princess and the two princes were real.", Naoto reminded him. "I am completely sure that we have to choose the black door. Trust me." She looked at Souji who would choose as their leader. The silver-haired man nodded towards her and walked to the black door, followed by the others. The moment the last one of their group had walked through the door, the black door turned white while the other door turned black and exploded.
"Phew! Nicely done, Ace Detective Naoto!", Yosuke praised her, grinning. Naoto nodded in thanks and started climbing a long spiral stair, keeping their weapons ready in case more Shadows would attack them.
"They´re really good.", a person wearing the clothes of a lift assistant sad.
"Yes, they are.", the taller second person agreed.
The first person turned around and stared at the giant golden door behind them.
"Help... Help...", a choked voice could be heard from it.
"Soon...", the first person promised him. "Very soon..."
Author´s note: I was seriously debating over how to structure this damn dungeon! In the end I decided to purposely use a dungeon of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga.
Also, I´m just gonna answer reviews in the author´s note now to spare me from writing mail after mail. ^^;
Here I go:
- Lunamonki: Yes, she has yet to appear, that is correct. But Yukari never really was one of my favourite characters.
- Rebellion598: "Burn my Dread" is indeed a theme of Persona 3, yes.
- Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: If you take a closer look at chapter 34 you´ll get some information how long until the Persona 3 crossover.
- KeRose and Crystal Amaris: Yes, those three voices are indeed the Moira sister.
- Patcheresu: Thanks... I... guess...?................