Skull had almost been the first through the door, only to leap back out with a gasp of "Oh, 'eff me sideways!"
"What's wrong?" Joker asked, wide-eyed, "What is it?"
"Is there a Shadow behind there?" Viper asked.
"...I wish it was a Shadow," Skull gasped after taking several deep breaths.
"Well? What was it?!" Panther demanded to know.
"...You sure we have to go through here?" Skull asked nervously.
"...I don't see any other routes we can take," Oracle reported.
"For Skull to be this shaken up…" Mona murmured, "What the hell did you see in there?"
"H...heads."
"What?!" Chance exclaimed.
"Heads…?" Nino asked, "What do you mean, heads?"
Queen was tense, but she bravely stepped up to the door and pushed it open, bracing for what may lay beyond them.
Nothing prepared the Phantom Thieves for what they saw.
There were heads all right… mounted on pikes, in front of the bodies that they assumed they used to belong to, which were nailed to crosses.
"Christ above…" Viper whispered in horror.
"One… two… three… four… there's four of them!" Panther counted. Out of all of them, it was Nino & Chance who were most sickened at the sight of this. At least it wasn't too bloody… although there were splatters of black here and there.
Suddenly the door slammed shut behind them.
"Me and my predecessors do good work, huh? It's all in the name of our Imperatrix!"
Chance and Nino froze at the sound of that voice. They would have recognized it anywhere.
"Seems the Imperatrix was right again, as usual," Alya Cesaire smirked, clothed in thick leather, and a large executioner's ax hoisted on her back, "she figured you jealous thieves would wander in here eventually. I just had to wait for you to turn up."
"A-Alya?!" Nino gasped, "What are you doing here?"
"I'm not Alya!" the one who looked very much like her in every phenotypical way (well, except for the golden eyes this version of her wore in comparison to the usual hazel) snarled, "I am the Carnifex!"
"That's not the real Alya, anyways," Queen said, her eyes narrowed in utter contempt, "That's Lila's cognition of her!"
"Her what?" Nino asked, looking at the punk-styled woman.
"Simply put," Joker explained, "this is how Lila views Alya, just like how she views you and your friends as trophies in that garden."
"I guess Skull was partially right too," Panther observed, "Just like in the real world, she's Lila's number-one supporter. But she's no lady-in-waiting either."
"I will say, however," Carnifex grinned sadistically, "waiting had its uses. You brought the next one right to me!"
"Next one?" Mona spoke, utterly confused. A few blissfully ignorant seconds of silence passed before Skull's eyes widened first, the queasiness formerly spread across his face replaced with more unbridled fury than anyone had ever seen on said face in a long time. The last time Joker saw him this angry, he'd awakened to Captain Kidd.
"WAIT A GODDAMN MINUTE! YOU DON'T MEAN LILA WANTS TO KILL MARINETTE, DO YOU?"
"EXCUSE ME?!" Viper roared, eyes widening. From inside his suit, he could feel Sass wriggling anxiously.
"Of course not," Carnifex nonchalantly rolled her eyes, "that would be blood on the hands of our Imperatrix!"
"In that case, would you care to explain the decapitated heads here?" Fox boomed.
"Even when she left the places she traveled to," the tone of the Carnifex grew somber, "the effects she had on the rebels lasted. They weren't murdered by her - they killed themselves out of jealousy."
"...WHAT?!" the Phantom Thieves & Nino bellowed in unison - although Nino's was more out of shock than the rest of them, they were all horrified and extremely livid.
"I doubt it was jealousy," Oracle growled, "I bet these kids continued to be bullied even after Lila left, eventually committing… suicide…"
"Oh, my… that explains the articles you found, Oracle," Queen realized, bringing a hand to her mouth.
"Wait, what articles?" Viper asked.
"...we'll explain later," Oracle said awkwardly, looking sheepishly to the side.
"So Lila expects Marinette will continue to be bullied if she has to leave," Fox narrowed his eyes at Carnifex, "and that she will eventually kill herself?"
"Yeah, whatever, however you wanna see it. It doesn't matter," Carnifex shrugged, "she took a stand against the Imperatrix - she doesn't deserve to live for committing such a horrible sin!"
"HOW LOW CAN YOU SINK?!" Ann screamed, "YOU EXPECT ANYONE TO BE HAPPY ABOUT THE FACT THAT SOMEONE COMMITTED SUICIDE?!"
"It's not my problem they were all so jealous of me," another all too familiar voice countered. As if materializing from the shadows, the Imperatrix herself strutted up next to Carnifex, tugging her slave along with her.
"Wha-Adrien?! Bro?!" Nino exclaimed in mortification.
"It's like we told you, kid," Skull reminded him, "Lila sees Adrien as a slave here."
"And what a good little slave he is~" Shadow Lila purred as Cognitive Adrien amorously wrapped his hands around her shoulders, burying his face in her neck.
"I-I don't get it!" Nino protested, "Why are you doing this, Lila?"
"Why not?" Shadow Lila groaned; clearly she was sick of getting questioned so much, "It works, doesn't it?"
"W-Works?" Nino asked incredulously.
"You fell for it, didn't you? You, who I'm told has known little Mari since you could walk. You, stupid, little Nino, chose me, as did everyone else," she giggled, "It's incredible how quickly idiots like you will fall at my feet once I say something that catches your ear. You didn't really think that I actually had all of those connections, did you? And even if I did, what possessed you to think I'd actually recommend one of your trashy 'movies' to someone like Basielberg?"
"Wow, nevermind," Skull said, "She's not a brat anymore. She's a total bitch!"
"Society runs off of lies, haven't you noticed that?" Lila smirked, "People lie all the time. About the weather, lies to be kind to people, lies to feel important. I really don't see what the problem here is… to most of the rest of the world, I'm just another tiny speck on this miserable planet."
"There's a difference between 'being nice' and taking advantage of people's kindness - the latter of which is all you're doing!" Chance countered.
"Tacē! Lying got me this far, you puny peon!" Lila's Shadow spat, "It's people like you that keep getting in my way! You and the rest of these goody-goodies… not that it got them very far..." her gaze lingered on the corpses behind the group.
"YOU… you killed them!" Fox snarled. This was quite reminiscent of Madarame… and not in a good way.
"Were you not listening to my Carnifex? I never laid a finger on them."
"Their blood rests on your hands nonetheless, and you know it," Joker pointed out.
"Only if I get caught," she countered, "and who on Earth will actually connect me to these suicides? My mom is far too important for anyone to suspect me. Just think of the scandals!"
"So even her own mom is nothing but a tool to her…" Queen realized.
"...You're horrible," Nino finally said, his voice barely above a whisper - he'd been quiet for too long, and now that he thought about it, less and less of what she said seemed probable in its veracity - "Try all you want - you'll never hurt my friends if I can help it!"
o~o
At long last… you have reached the truth.
"Urk!" Nino grunted in pain, a headache unlike any he'd ever had before ripping through his head as his eyes flashed golden. He fell to his knees.
"Again?!" Shadow Lila raged. Joker once more grinned almost maniacally, and Chance smiled bittersweetly.
It was foolish of you to be so easily deceived, and for so long too… nothing but a cruel, cruel illusion remains. You seek the strength to redeem yourself - to open new doors for yourself - don't you? Then let us form a contract.
With a quick flash of blue flames, Nino felt something appear on his face. He didn't know how, but he also knew it was the source of all this pain.
I am thou, thou art I… why hold back, now that you know the truth? Let us fight for a new future!
He grabbed onto the thing on his face - soundwave-patterned goggles connected around the back of his head like a pair of headphones - and pulled with all his might, ripping it off with a shudder-inducing crack.
As usual, a pillar of azure flames burst up from beneath Nino, and when they disappeared, a new figure stood behind him. Muscular & masculine, said figure held a shield the size of a Disneyworld teacup and a long iklwa was held in the other. Animal skins and long feathers covered the figure's shoulders, head, and lower body. As for Nino himself, the young lad was now dressed in a black leather jacket with spiky buttons and loose blue jeans. The jacket was zipped up halfway to reveal a plain white tank top underneath. On his hands were unlined leather gloves, and on his feet were black steel-toed boots. In his own hands was a pointy assegai spear.
"My path is set now, dudes and dudettes," Nino grinned viciously, "Will you aid me and Shaka Zulu here?"
"Of course!" the rest of them said, rushing to his side.
o~o
Lila's Shadow gaped in shock, as the tables had suddenly turned. But it soon shifted to fury, and she turned and pointed Carnifex.
"Deal with these mūrēs! Make them pay!"
"Yes, mea Imperatrix!" Alya's cognitive self saluted, before dissolving into shadow and reforming into five Screeching Wing-Women who quickly took to the skies before dive-bombing the Phantom Thieves.
Their attacks never landed, as Shaka Zulu's shield blocked all of them, protecting every member of the Phantom Thieves.
"Whoa! Nice!" Panther complimented.
"How dare you disrespect our Imperatrix," the head Shadow shrieked, "Atone for your crimes with your blood!"
"Sorry, dudettes, but that's not gonna happen!" Nino shouted back defiantly, "No matter what, for as long as I can do something, I will! Shaka Zulu, disgrace them!"
He extended his right fist in a curved clench, calling upon a Maeiga that knocked down all four Screeching Wing-Women in sight.
"Let's finish this, everyone!" Joker said as they all leaped into action, weapons drawn and surrounding them, "No mercy!"
Within seconds the Shadows were reduced to ash.
"That's five more down," Skull cheered enthusiastically.
"Five…?" Shadow Lila suddenly smirked, "I counted four."
"...Four?" Viper asked.
Shadow Lila grinned, and snapped her fingers. From above and behind them, the hidden fifth Screeching Wing-Woman swooped down, aiming for Chance with talons outstretched. She'd almost reached Chance's head when…
"LUCKY CHARM!" a squeaky voice shouted. In a flash of red light, a red and black-spotted anvil suddenly appeared above the Wing-Woman, and before she could dodge, slammed down on top of her, crushing her upon impact.
"...Now that is some exceptional timing, dear Kwami of Creation," Fox said respectfully, with a slight bow of his head to accentuate it.
"I try…" Tikki giggled softly. If she were human, Chance was sure the Kwami would have been blushing from the praise.
For the hundredth time that day, Nino's mouth was agape, staring at the little red Kwami - nope, nevermind, there's another one, he noted as the Snake one came flying out from Viper's jacket.
"Wha-who-how… no way…" Nino practically whimpered in awe, staring at Chance.
Chance laughed awkwardly, "Surprise…?"
"You meddlesome insect!" Shadow Lila seethed from the doors. Her eyes then landed on Nino.
"You'll regret this. At least that I can promise you!" she snarled as she snapped her fingers. In an orange burst of light, she disappeared.
"An illusion?" Viper questioned before frowning, "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me."
Nino attempted to run out the door to try and follow the Shadow, only to trip over his own feet in the process. Upon trying to get up, a huge wave of exhaustion fell over him.
"Nino!" Chance exclaimed, running over to him.
"She's getting away!" Nino protested.
"Let her go for now," Joker said, "You're completely drained. You wouldn't be able to fight her even if you wanted to."
Nino growled and clenched his fists on the ground.
"Let's get out of here," Mona advised, "before more Shadows show up."
"Right," Chance nodded, placing one of Nino's arms over her shoulders. Viper came to her aid on the other side.
"...We'll send you a link to those articles we mentioned," Oracle said softly.
"Sounds good," Viper nodded for the both of them before they got up and sprinted out the doors.
o~o
AN: And there you have it, folks! Nino Lahiffe is officially the third Parisian to become a Persona-user. In case it wasn't obvious, his persona is Shaka Zulu, sometimes known as the Genghis Khan of South Africa and the Founder of the Zulu Kingdom.
When I was trying to find good persona ideas for Nino, I wanted to try and find a person that could represent his former life as Carapace in a new light (and no, before anyone asks, he's not getting Wayzz back. The title of the Turtle officially belongs to Ann right now) so I simply looked up 'famous people with shields.' One of the first images that popped up, particularly on Wikipedia, were members of the Zulu tribe carrying these huge shields. No, seriously, look them up, those shields are gigantic! So, I settled for Shaka Zulu as his first persona shortly after that. I personally think it's pretty awesome and hope you like it too.
Fun fact as well, according to the Ladybug wiki, Nino is specifically of Moroccan descent, which is a country in North Africa. So it's interesting that he has a figure from South Africa as a persona, huh?
Nino's Phantom Thief costume is based loosely off of the 50s Greaser style. I don't know why, but it was hard to figure out a design for Phantom Thief Nino.
Anyway, I know it was shorter than usual, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. R&R and see you next time!