Persona Task Squad: The Heart of the Watcher. Death Pirates/Lylatian Rescue Arc.
Chapter 35: Elemental Shift. Wandrex and Arthanos vs Panther.
(Enter Andrew's POV)
"This is Dual Persona," I said once I got to the base (where Andross used to be hiding in). "I'm in position, and they made the air breathable this time."
"Good, Dual Persona," I heard Fox say over me. "I've already scanned the interior. They left already, but you might want to be a little wary."
"I AM wary. I'm just bored."
"Don't be," Krystal said. "It distracts us from the mission. Now, once we've cleared the area, you're in."
I nodded. At that, they managed to get the airborne lackeys above me, which is killing the Heartless Generators.
"Now would be a good time to get in there," Wolf said.
"Roger. Over and out." I cut off communications and went into the base, which (to my surprise) had little to no Heartless within them.
Venomian soldiers were running the hallways like it was their own. I then grabbed a nearby cardboard box...and was surprised at the man inside it.
"You're kidding," I said.
"I didn't think that the Commander would send a kid," the man (who was clearly human) said.
"I'm around 24, Snake," I said. "And we should hide before..."
Unfortunately, one of the guards noticed us. "INTRUDERS!"
(Play "Encounter" from Super Smash Bros Brawl)
"Screw it," we both said. I took out the Cross Punisher and gave it to Snake.
"Bottom is the Gatling, left and right are the pistols, and top is the missile launcher," I said. "Push it in to activate the airboard."
"Got it," he said. He then went for the Gatling, shooting enemy soldiers in the process. I took out my own pistols and fired at the stragglers and the cameras. Then I switched the guns to saber mode and did a few topslices.
"Let's go," I said. At that, we both headed towards the same destination: the Office Room.
(End Tune)
When we got to the top floor, we noticed that the chairs were empty...except for one.
"You know," we heard a familiar voice say, "Maleficent SHOULD change the password."
"Panther," I growled. I then got out the Keyblade.
"You know this guy?" Snake asked me.
"Sworn enemies, like you and Revolver Ocelot."
"And you brought a friend with you," he said. "Too bad that he won't be joining you."
"You're right," I said. "Because it's between you and me, pal!"
At that, Snake got out of the arena as it started to form.
Panther took out his katana and made a stance. "I'm assuming you want a repeat of what happened between us in the Ninja World?"
"Not this time," I said. When the barrier was set, the battle had began.
(Play "Dark Messenger" from Final Fantasy IX)
Sure enough, Panther and I were at each others throats. However, I then managed to get an edge over him.
"GATHER!" I yelled. The debris and himself were heading towards the magnets.
"Lucky shot, kid," he said. "But not good enough. HEARTLESS VIZARD!" He then changed into his Vizard form. "Counter this."
"NOTHINGNESS VIZARD PERSONA!" I yelled, to his surprise.
The change process was painless. As I changed hair color on both beard and hair, my jacket turned into a robe matching that of Xemnas in the final battle. The DS then digitized itself into twin blades of Nothingness.
"WANDREX, THE DIGITAL THIEF!" I yelled.
"You merged?" he asked me.
"More than that," I said. "FIELD CHANGE!" At those words, the field changed into that of the Graveyard of Lost Souls back on Corneria. "The site of your first downfall would seem fitting for your end, but I digress. Make your move."
"DARKNESS WAVE!" he yelled.
"CERO REFLECTION!" I yelled. A red version of Reflect appeared, countering it. "NOTHINGNESS TOWER!" If by some major coincidence the Nothingness Tower looked like the Memory's Skyscraper, it's a lot more than that. The tower came out from under me and Panther ran up it...but I wasn't going to let him hit me. "TRANCE!" When he hit me, another Wandrex came up from underneath and used a Nothingness Saber to strike him.
"You bastard..." Panther said, falling towards defeat.
(End tune)
He had grunted while we were back in the office, to see that Snake was baffled, to say the least.
"That had to be the weirdest battle I've ever seen," he said.
"Stick around with us," I said, "and you'll see a LOT more than you'll want." I had changed back to normal.
"This isn't over," Panther said. "The barrier's still up."
He's right. If the barrier hasn't lifted, then he has another trick up his sleeve.
"GOD OF DARKNESS!" he yelled, gathering enough darkness to put out the whole galaxy.
I then found myself in what looked like the Graveyard of Lost Souls, only a LOT more demonic and what looked like inside an ancient temple.
"Welcome to the Tomb of the Damned," he said. Panther had taken the attire of a Greek God, to my surprise. "My home turf...and your downfall. I've been saving this for Fox if he lost against me, but you've incurred my wrath long enough for me to bring it out early. COFFIN TRAP!" At that, a coffin rose from the bottom and put me inside. "NINE THOUSAND DARK SWORDS!"
Oh shit. He's going to kill me. I'm done for. Everyone, I'm sorry...
"It's not over," I heard Arthanos say. "It's time to use me, but I can only be used on those who let the Darkness take over their lives. I can't be used for trivial matters." Arthanos, thank you.
"SPIRIT OF THE WATCHER." I said, quietly as the swords pierced me.
As I laid down, playing dead, he went towards me, laughing like a crazed maniac.
"It works," he said. "Krystal will be mine!"
However, I grabbed his arm, to his surprise.
"Impossible!" he yelled.
"Nothing is impossible," I said. "At least, not anymore." At that, he was blinded by the light radiating from my being. "DRIVE!"
At the single word, Drive, I felt everyone whom I've befriended on the journey add their power to mine. In the process, my black jacket turned white with a black Infinity symbol on the tip of it, and I felt the spirits of my Avatars flow through my veins. The Seven Shards had turned into the Gem of Transformation, which transformed into any weapon I could think of.
"INFINITY DRIVE," I said. "ARTHANOS, THE CHAOS MAGE, IS BACK."
(Play "Reverse Situation" from Naruto Shipuuden)
"That's not possible!" Panther yelled. "You're supposed to be dead."
"I was," I said, speaking in more than one voice. "But my spirit can't rest as long as blotches like you continue to roam the galaxy." At that, the Gem transformed into a claymore.
Panther growled and got out his blade. "If that's the case, then I'll make sure you stay dead!"
At that, our swords clashed, but the Gem split and transformed into another blade, which cut Panther's arm...and burned it.
"What have you done to me?" he asked me.
"Cut off any connection to your arms," I said. "Now, Yagami, you have created chaos through the Lylat System for too long. It's time to meet your Mother in HELL!" At that, he paled at the sight of the scythe, but I stopped myself. "No. Right now, Hell is too good for you."
"You fool," he said, breaking out of the chains. "You should have killed me."
As he tried to strike, I made my move. "SHRINE OF THE WATCHER: TORTURE CHAMBER MODE!"
There was a flash of light and he found himself in what looked like the electric chair in an ancient shrine.
"I thought you said Hell was too good for me," he said. "Now you're using the Electric Chair?"
"This isn't the electric chair," I said. I then managed to place my thumb between his eyebrows and concentrated on his inner Darkness. Finally, I said the words that made him dread his decision. "It's the Drain Chair." At that, I then drained ALL of his powers over Darkness through Arthanos's knowledge.
Yagami, the God of Darkness, is now Panther Caroso, the mortal and powerless bounty hunter.
(End Tune.)
We were back in the office with Panther unconscious and me back in my black jacket.
"I've already set the C4 up," Snake said, back in the room. "If anything, I might write you into my report."
"That's great, but we need to get as far away from the base as we can," I said. "If anything, they might have sensed his darkness being drained by a source of light."
Snake nodded. "Let's get to the Great Fox II," he said.
After locking the keyhole, Panther had been thrown behind bars for good and we were celebrating.
Snake had went back to his version of Earth to report everything to his Commander.
However, I still had a missing brother and another enemy to silence...and he's possibly going to be a LOT more powerful than Panther.
"We have a signal from a piece of floating debris," I heard ROB say.
Floating debris? "Where's it from?"
"Somewhere between the edge of the Lylat System and Unknown Space."
"We have contact," I heard Fox say. "That's a bit odd, considering that fragments of ships usually don't have life in them."
If that wasn't surprising enough, it's who recorded the message that put me in a loop. "This is CORTANA of Spartan Officer John117, AKA the Master Chief," we heard a woman's voice say. "If you have found our resting place, then bring us in immediately afterwards. I was ordered to wake him when we got back home, but with the circumstances right now, we're floating in space to an unknown destination. This is CORTANA, signing out."
"You heard the lady," I said. "Bring in the Chief."
"What if it's a trap?" Sora asked me.
"It's no trap. Trust me."
We did so, but it wasn't easy. As it turns out, it wasn't just the Chief they brought in.
It was my younger brother.
End Arc.
