Hey everyone, finally time for the Arcana Justice.
Sorry for making this drag out for so long, I actually intended this to happen sooner.
First of all though, don't feel it necessary to only review when you have something useful to say. I just like being told that you like it.
And yes, I'm working on the next Kingdom Hearts chapter and the next Naruto: Ours. It's coming along slowly, but it should be worth the wait.
GG, of course groping Naoto was unorthodox. That's why he did it.
Now to clear up the confusion. Snow melts to water. Dark Hour turns water into blood. Black Frost and Mitsuru then freeze said blood. Frozen Blood is stronger than Frozen Water.
Jaido Namikaze, go watch Gurren Lagann and see what LordGenome does to the Lagann. No one- NO ONE else has delivered a No Holds Barred Beatdown to the strongest mecha in the series WITH HIS BARE HANDS!!
Fireblast, TvTropes is one of my favourite sites. Often if a chapter is late, it's because I spent a couple of hours looking something up on there. Oh, I find it almost straight away, but then I look something else up, then something else, and before I know it it's three hours later and I've got a completely full tab bar.
And concerning reviews, it's nicer to get in depth reviews, but I also appreciate the short and sweet ones that say 'good job', or 'nice chapter'. They're the ones that keep me going.
Now for the long awaited fight with the Justice. Yay!
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
Finally, we're on the rooftops in the northern district, waiting for the Dark Hour. We spent a few hours going over the plan, back ups, eliminating snags, and generally getting prepared.
We were all on the surrounding rooftops, looking down at where the Justice will show up. The police had removed any more explodables, so we had a free reign.
All would have to clear up will be the big mass of frozen blood, and if we do it right we won't even have to do that.
I hope Black Frost pulls through.
"You called? Hee ho."
That's right; he's not a Persona, so Evokers don't work for him. We're gonna have to work out a summoning routine later so the others don't suspect anything. "You know the plan?" I asked him.
"Yep." He replied, swinging on the balls of his feet.
"You gonna follow through on it?"
"Yep." Black Frost replied happily. "It's an evil plan, Hee ho."
"Well, I suppose it is a bit cruel, but it needs to work."
Black Frost sat down on his bottom. "See, that's why I like you humies, Hee ho."
Humies? "What do you mean?"
He smiled. "Well, some demons are evil and all, and Loki's pretty tricky, but they'd never think of something like this, Hee ho."
"They're too proud to work together." Pharos told me. "And they lack the sheer ingenuity humanity has."
"Yeah, you're right." I replied.
DONG!!!
The Justice appeared before us, looking down. It lost its concentration and its gun lost its charge as it noticed that we'd moved since the last Dark Hour, and it hadn't.
Showtime. "BLACK FROST! NOW!"
The demon had already flown above the Shadow. "You will respect mah authoritah!" It shouted. "Heee… HO!"
BOOM! Giant snowmen fell from the sky, each one with an oversized Jack Frost head and cap. They beat down on the Justice, knocking it into the ground. Soon, it wasn't even visible anymore.
That's my cue. "RANGDA!" I shouted, pulling the trigger and Junpei called out "HERMES!"
BOOM! Fire fell from the skies and melted the snow into water, the water staining red as the dark hour turned it into blood. "AIGIS! YUKARI!" I shouted.
"On it!" Yukari called back as Aigis jumped from one building to the other, firing bullets into the blood as a hurricane span in the pool, dragging the blood up around the Shadow as it forced itself to its feet.
"POLYDEUCES!" Akihiko shouted as he blew his brains out. The spinning blood was struck by lightning, charging through the lumps of metal spinning around in the red liquid. The charged shells collided against the trapped Shadow, though they did little damage themselves. They served their purpose, however, as creating small, electrified cracks in the armour was just what we needed.
"THIS ENDS NOW!" Mitsuru shouted as she and Black Frost froze the bloody tornado solid.
The Shadow was alive: Cold, trapped, but alive.
And the cracks in the armour were expanding.
"We did it!" Yukari shouted, cheering.
"Yeah, but now what?" Junpei asked her.
"Outta my way." Shinji called from his building. Wait, is that a construction girder? "RRARGH!" He jumped from his building and swung it onto the Shadow as hard as he could.
The head smashed off as he landed on the shoulder pad. "Hey, check it out!" He shouted. "There actually is a cockpit down here!"
Really? This I gotta see. I stepped back and took a running jump onto the Shadow's shoulder pad.
He was right; there was a tunnel down to what was probably a cockpit.
I leaned back as a small laser rushed past my face from inside the tunnel. What the hell!?
~ I get it! ~ Fuuka announced. ~ The Shadow is really the pilot! It has a smaller laser on its person, so be careful! ~
"But the mask is on the head!" Akihiko shouted. "How can it really be inside him if the mask is on the head!?
~ There were humanoid Shadows inside of the Lovers. ~ Fuuka pointed out. ~ Maybe the Justice has one inside of it to pilot it? ~
Makes sense. I pulled out Gae Bolg and threw it down the hole.
"Skree!"
~ The pilot Shadow is dead! ~ Fuuka told us, ~ Now we just need to destroy the mask! ~
"Right then." I said. "Shinji, get down there and get ready to catch me."
"Huh?"
"The cockpit will disappear after I blow that thing's head to pieces." I told him as I jumped down the hole.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
I slid into the cockpit seat and tried to familiarise myself with the controls. First things first, I moved the spear out of the seat; it was waaay to close to the nads for my liking.
Then the hole above me sealed.
~ Minato! Are you alright!? ~
"Somewhat trapped," I told her, "But otherwise fine."
~ Minato-kun! Minato-kun! ~
"Yeah, I hear you. What's up?"
~ It's no use… he won't respond… ~
Oh.
Well, that's not good.
Then the black screen flared to life.
-{ UNAUTHORISED PILOT DETECTED }-
Oh, that's even worse.
-{ INITIATING PILOT TAKEOVER }-
The what? "GAH!" What the hell just stabbed me in the back of the neck!?
Cold rushed into my brain from the stab.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 000% }-
Oh crap this is gonna be just like the matrix isn't it?
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 005% }-
Only backwards.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 010% }-
I suddenly started learning things.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 015% }-
Like, how to make this move, bit by bit.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 020% }-
How to fight it.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 025% }-
How the Shadow thought.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 030% }-
No, I wasn't learning.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 035% }-
I was being taken over.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 040% }-
Screw this crap, I'm going home.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 045% }-
Didn't you hear me? I said SCREW THIS CRAP!
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 050% }-
I SAID STOP!!
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 051% }-
-{ UPLOAD STOPPED: 051%}-
EUYES! Minato Arisoto! Still in control!
-{ UPLINK REPAIRED: 052% }-
Bugger.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 055% }-
I'm gonna die aren't I?
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 060% }-
Hells no if I'm gonna die like this.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 065% }-
I said that I AIN'T DYIN' LIKE THIS!!!
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 070% }-
Then I saw my reflection on the black screen.
A white mask was growing onto my face.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 075% }-
A white arm-controller thing grew from behind me: materialising into existence by my right arm like it was being built like a jigsaw puzzle.
-{ UPLOADING DATA: 080% }-
I took it and pulled.
-{ UPLOAD STALLED: 082% }-
Then I grabbed the one to my left and roared.
-{ UPLOAD SEVERED – ATTEMPTING REBOOT }-
"Oh no you don't!" I headbutted the wall behind me as hard as I could.
-{ HARDWARE MALFUNCTION }-
"HELL YES THERE IS!" I shouted. "Now get that freaky plug outta me so I can make yo head asplode!"
-{ YOU CANNOT DO THIS }-
"Try to stop me." I challenged, setting the aim for the mech's dismembered head.
-{ I AM JUSTICE }-
"We all have our reasons for fighting." I told it. "'Justice' is only an excuse." I raised the gun arm into position, forcing through the melting blood. "And that makes you the hypocrite."
-{ … }-
"And I'm breakin' the law." And pulling the trigger!
BOOM!
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
"Nice catch." I complimented Shinji. "You can put me down now."
He dropped me instead. "OMPH!" I said as I hit the floor. "Prick!" I shouted at him.
"Hey, it's all over now," Yukari pointed out, "Right?"
Yep, no-one knows how close I came to killing them all. Why do the Shadows always try to make me give the beatdown to my teammates?
Probably because it'd work. Hold on… "You laughing?" I asked.
She giggled. "Maybe…"
"That's seriously not nice Yuka-tan." Junpei laughed. "Laughing at a guy when he's down… that's like making him go to school during the holidays!"
Wait, is that guilt on her face? I jumped up and leaned closer to her. "Wh-what?" She asked, turning red.
"Why did you look guilty when Junpei asked about school in the holidays?"
"N-No reason!" Yukari insisted, "I- Uh…"
"That would be because summer classes start next Monday." Mitsuru pointed out. "I'll see to it that you all graduate."
"H-Hey... Good one, Senpai." Junpei laughed. "You almost had me there."
"Oh, it's no joke." She told us. "We'll be taking intensive courses. I've already applied for all of us." She said as horror fell down every male's faces, boredom rising on mine. "I know how difficult it's been balancing school and our late night excursions." Mitsuru continued nonetheless. "You haven't had much time to study. I apologize for that. That's why the Chairman agrees that this is a good idea."
"So it's his idea?" I asked, cracking my knuckles.
"Actually, it was mine." Mitsuru said. "The Chairman only gave me permission to sign the rest of you up too."
I sighed. "First, it's school on Saturday, and I can deal with that." I glared. "But to rob me of my summer holiday is crossing the line."
"It's actually standard practice to attend extra classes during the break." Mitsuru replied. "After all, students are meant to study."
"BURN THE WITCH!" I shouted, pointing an inquisitor's finger.
"I'll get the firewood…" Shinji replied, walking away before Akihiko grabbed his shoulder.
"Hold it Shinji…" Akihiko sighed. "You skip school too much as it is… maybe you do need this."
"BURN THE WARLOCK!" I shouted at Akihiko, pointing an inquisitors accusin' stick. I found it on the floor. It's a stick that's good for accusing people with.
"If you're that against it," Mitsuru pointed out, "You don't have to come."
EUYES!
"Just expect to be severely punished if you don't."
AGH!
Junpei whimpered. "Man… this sucks…"
Tell me about it.
It's not like I even need the qualifications anyway, unless I want to live over here for the rest of my life.
Hey... do I want to stay here?
I mean, yeah, I want to go back to England, but where do I want to stay?
...
I'll think about it later. Sleep now.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
"Hey, Minato?"
I got up from the bed. "Yeah Pharos?"
"I remembered something else." He said. "The end won't be brought about by anyone in particular..."
"Seriously?"
Pharos nodded. "It's coming because there are many people who wish for it... as if it was destined from the start." He shook his head. "But, doesn't that seem like a strange thing to wish for?"
"I suppose some people would choose death over suffering." I admitted. "At least on some level."
"I see." Pharos sighed. "Otherwise, one might end up hating everything in this world…" He sighed. "Well, enough about that for now. There's something else I wanted to tell you today..."
"Go for it." I told him.
"Soon, the poisonous flowers will bloom... One in your own garden, and three in the garden opposite yours."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm not sure…" Pharos admitted. "I don't know whether or not this has anything to do with the end, but you should be careful."
One in my garden, and three in the garden opposite… "Alright, you brought this up, so you're gonna help me bounce ideas." I told him.
He smiled and span on the swivelly chair. "Shoot."
"My Garden, and the garden opposite. For now, we assume my garden is SEES and the other one is Strega."
"Alright." Pharos nodded.
"So if poisonous flowers are Persona users that want to hurt me, then there is another member of Strega."
"But if that was the case," Pharos hesitated, "Then would that mean that there is a traitor in your midst..?"
I rubbed my head. "We can't rule out that possibility, but we were jumping to conclusions anyway." I lay back down. "I'll sleep on it. Night."
"Night."
SMASH!
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Death Arcana…
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
Mitsuru called us all up to the command room the next evening. I'm actually pretty curious about thi-
Koromaru!?
"Koro-chan!?" Fuuka asked behind me. She and Yukari immediately ran towards the dog and started fussing over him. "Are you okay!?" She asked. "...Where'd you get this collar?"
Forget the collar, what the hell is that ridiculous suit!?
"That collar is designed to help control his Persona." Mitsuru explained. "In other words, it's an Evoker for dogs."
"Wait..." Yukari asked. "Does that mean he'll be going into battle?"
"It was a surprise for me as well." Mitsuru admitted, "But according to the tests, it's quite possible. In fact, it was the Chairman's suggestion. ...We'll be looking after him here in the dorm."
Best thing he's ever done for the team.
Dark player was for me, so that doesn't count.
"Is that okay with you, Koro-chan?" Fuuka asked Koromaru. He barked.
"He said 'I will return the favour'." Aigis translated.
"Man, you're one loyal dog." Yukari smiled.
Koromaru barked.
Awesome.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
Then came the summer classes. They were as dull and painful as I expected.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
Day two was even worse. I don't think I'm gonna come tomorrow. Mitsuru's punishment might be slightly less painful than this.
"Today's subject is Tarot." Edogawa announced.
I immediately perked up. Was I actually gonna learn something useful today?
Edogawa went on to explain the history of the cards. Booring.
The came the composition of the deck. "The modern 78-card tarot deck is divided into two parts:" He explained. "There are 22 Major Arcana--the face cards--and 56 Minor Arcana, or number cards... The Minor Arcana are also sometimes called pips."
Heh. Pips. That's what you call the seeds in an apple core. "The Major Arcana feature a variety of illustrations on their faces." Edogawa continued, "Beginning with "The Fool" and ending with "The World"... they tell a story in numerical order that is a metaphor of an individual's journey through life."
I did not know that. Seriously?
"Each Major Arcana represents a stage on that journey..." Edogawa continued. "An experience that the individual must incorporate to realize his oneness. They are all important, so let's take a look at each of the 22 cards, one by one."
"The first card, numbered 0, is The Fool." Edogawa explained. "It represents the beginning and suggests infinite possibilities. The next card, The Magician, represents action and initiative... but also immaturity."
"The Priestess represents contemplation and inner knowledge." He continued, "The Empress represents motherhood and the life it brings forth. The Emperor is an opposing card." He started pacing the room. "It represents fathering and relates to leadership and decision-making skills."
I poked Junpei to wake him up. This was important. "The Hierophant represents formality and knowledge, and stands for religion. The Lovers card represents choice." Oh yeah, it does. "Here, the individual's consciousness has finally surfaced."
"The Chariot represents victory for the individual," Edogawa told the class "But only a momentary one." Junpei smirked and asked for a subtle five. "Justice represents the knowledge of what is right, and what is wrong." I gave him it. "The Hermit represents the individual's search for answers by looking inward, deep inside his heart."
Really? Ms. Toriumi seems to be projecting all of her problems so far. "Fortune represents fate," Edogawa continued, "And the opportunities that come with it. Strength represents both passion and self-control. It is depicted as power with reason. The Hanged Man reflects the individual's inability to take action."
He stood behind the podium now. "Spiritual death awaits the individual with the 13th card," Edogawa taught, "Which is aptly named Death. Death is considered a transitional card..." Really? "The old ends, and the new begins. Now," Edogawa smiled. "Let us continue along the path, following the transition."
"Temperance is the balancing of opposites." He said. "Opening his eyes to the world allows the individual to grow... And as the Devil represents, he then faces temptation..." Yeah, That's Bebe and Tanaka all over.
"At The Tower, his values collapse on him. It seems as if he no longer has anything to believe in, but..." He sighed. "He then finds a glimmer of hope, represented by The Star; and he is suffused with a serene calm."
He started pacing the room again. "This bliss makes him vulnerable to the illusions of The Moon." Ooh, don't have that one yet. "Fears arise, and he follows the dim path in his heart with trepidation... But he is rewarded with a bright future, represented by The Sun, which signifies true achievement."
That's some twisted irony, considering that Akinari has no future. "The final card is The World," He said. "Which represents the individual's full awareness of his place in the world."
"That is the growth of an individual as explained by the tarot cards… Yes, Arisoto?"
I lowered my hand. "Sir, are there any instances of the Arcana being linked to people's psyche?" I already knew the answer, but Yukari and Junpei could use this.
Edogawa smiled. "Interestingly, yes. Carl Jung, for example, based his psychological archetypes on the major Arcana. Have you heard of him?" He asked. "He was best known for his theories on Persona."
Yukari and Junpei immediately snapped to attention. "There any other major theories he brought forward?" I asked.
He chuckled. "This isn't a Psychology lesson…" Aw, exposed. "But I admire your enthusiasm. You may be interested in studying his theories on Evocation, Shadows, and Philemon."
He turned to the blackboard as Yukari's and Junpei's jaws dropped. "Now, you can use all 78 cards to divine the future in detail..."
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
"Alright Minato." Yukari asked once the lesson was over. "Who was this Young guy?"
"Jung." I replied. "He was German or something." I leaned back. "Basically, he was a psychologist back in Freud's day who believed that people had a false 'self' that they show to the world to protect their real 'self'. Shadows, to him, were repressed parts of yourself that you didn't like, or even hated, and you project them onto everyone else. Take Kenji for example." I said. "He hates being a child, so he projects that immaturity onto everyone else and goes for older women."
"That kinda makes sense actually…" Junpei admitted.
I was saved from having to do more teaching by a text from Akihiko.
Shinji's b day 2 day. B thr / b []
Look, Akihiko, I don't care if you're phone's got a camera in it, but when you text to me, you type correctly.
"Does his phone have a camera in it?" Pharos asked. Probably, it's a song I heard once.
Either way, I gotta cake to bake.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
"SURPRISE!" We all shouted. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"You guys?" Shinji asked as Akihiko slapped him on the back.
"Happy birthday man."
"Um… Cheers, I guess?" Yeah, he didn't see this coming.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
"That was a fun party." Yukari pointed out was we were cleaning up afterwards. "We should do it again sometime."
"Good idea." I said. "When's everyone's birthday?"
"Nineteenth of October." Yukari told me. "Yours?"
"April First." I told her, laughing. "I always had to check my presents for traps."
"January Sixteenth!" Junpei declared, thumbs up with his non-broom hand. "Remember it."
"Will do." I said.
"Twenty-second of December for me." Fuuka said. "What's yours Aigis?"
"I do not have a birthday as I am a machine." She pointed out.
I rolled my eyes. "Fine then, when was the first time you was activated?"
"I doubt she'd remember that…" Yukari told me.
"September Tenth." Aigis reported. "Year 2000."
Huh. How 'bout that? "Anyone know the Senpai's birthdays?" I asked, as they'd already gone to bed.
"I think Mitsuru Senpai's is the eleventh of April…" Yukari said uncertainly. "I'm not sure about Akihiko Senpai's birthday though…"
"September Twenty-Second!" Junpei announced. "I sent him a fruit basket last year!"
"That's not creepy at all." I said. "And today's August Eleventh, so remember that for Shinjiro's birthday next year."
I know I will.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
The party did little to make the rest of the week bearable though.
What did was a text I got from Yukari on Saturday.
You wanna go to the summer festival together?
I thought about it.
For the amount of time it took me to type 'YES' and hit send.
[}~~~~~~~~~| |~~~~~~~~~{]
There we go. Hope it lived up to your expectations.
Yes, those are the official birthdays as published by Atlus. Sorry for skipping through stuff, but I've not been skipping enough lately.
Like I said, if you like it, review, if not, review and tell me that it sucked, and why.
Next chapter will involve the summer festival, and I'll replace going to all those films with the occasional whacky event. Or a training montage. Vote for what you want. Everyone gets two votes in the reviews.
Back to school by chapter 56, 57 at the latest.
And expect the summer festival to go badly. Not going to spoil it for now, but Yukari isn't going to be the only girl there.
Prize for whoever gets the right number of interferons.
