Okay, this is the chapter that has the finale of season 1 in it. And before you read on, allow me to clear some things up about the last chapter:

A lot of people have left reviews basically saying Glass has royally f***ed up by working with Sephiroth, as he will definitely betray her. And to be honest, I actually didn't think of that before. Depending on how similar the anime is to the Light Novel, I might have an idea as to when Sephiroth would betray Glass, and a potential victim for him, too (thank you, random guest reviewer).

About Rishia's Persona (no one asked, but I'll say it anyway). If you've watched Thor: Ragnarok, the description of Hela (Rishia's Persona) might seem familiar. It should, because Hela's look in the Marvel movie was my source of inspiration for the Persona. I just added the bat wings so that the whole wind thing could happen, similar to what Arsène did with his wings when he first awakened in Persona 5. Hela (I'm talking about Rishia's Persona now, not the Marvel character) will mainly specialize in elemental skills (because Rishia is strong with elemental magic), but since Hela is the god of death in Norse mythology, Rishia's Persona will also be able to use one or two incredibly powerful Curse skills (such as Maeigaon, which is a skill learned by Arsène in Persona 5 Strikers).

Anyway, enough chit-chat!

"A...Persona..?" Rishia was stunned. "What do you mean?"

Joker glanced at Aris. "Want me to tell her?"

Aris nodded. "Go ahead, man."

Joker turned back to Rishia.

BGM: Aria of the Soul - Persona 3

"A Persona," said Joker, "is a manifestation of one's true self. It's not necessarily a reflection of who you want to be, but a reflection of who you truly are. The two aren't always the same."

"Personas also fall under categories based on tarot cards," Joker continued. "These categories are Arcana. Different Arcana represent the personality traits that the individual might have. For example, my Persona, Arsène, is of the Fool Arcana. The Fool represents innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, creativity, and the like."

"So, a Persona is basically a physical embodiment of someone's soul?" asked Rishia.

"That's a simple way of putting it, yes," Joker affirmed.

"What exactly does a Persona do?" Rishia inquired.

"A number of things," said Joker. "In my case Arsène has a very unique trait which allows him to strengthen my normal attacks, such as kicks, knife swings, and even shots from my gun. However, all Personas can use what I often just call 'skills'. They can be an attack of some sort, a way to heal an ally, or to strengthen yourself and weaken your enemies. Skills all have different types, such as types for the elements. Kinda like Pokémon."

"I...don't know if I'm going to be able to wrap my head around all this anytime soon," said Rishia.

"That's alright," said Joker. "Take all the time you need to think on this. Trust me, it was a real life-changer for me when I first awakened to my Persona."

End BGM

"And, well, that's pretty much the long and short of it," said Joker. "My work here is done."

"Thank you," said Rishia, a small smile on her face. "But, now that I have a Persona, won't I need a nickname?"

Joker's head tilted sideways. "What do you mean?"

"A nickname, like yours," said Rishia. "Unless 'Joker' is your actual name?"

"Oh." Joker realized what Rishia was trying to say. "Well, you're right, my real name isn't Joker. It's Akira Kurusu. The whole 'Joker' thing is just a codename I use whenever I'm operating alongside my fellow Phantom Thieves."

"Phantom Thieves?"

Joker and Aris then told Rishia a quick synopsis of who the Phantom Thieves were and what they did. In short, the Thieves were a group of mostly high-schoolers who had a desire to change the hearts of corrupt adults in positions of power. They'd been viewed as criminals by the government and most of the press, but they'd had a few supporting fans as well.

"So, do all the Phantom Thieves have codenames?" asked Rishia.

Joker nodded. "Yeah. What, you want me to make one up for you?"

Rishia shook her head. "No thank you, but I appreciate the offer."

"Understood."

Filo's stomach growled. Aris smirked. "Someone's hungry."

The Rebellion of the Shield grilled up the fish Raphtalia and Aris had caught, making for a nice meal of seafood.

"Man," said Ness. "What a day. We fought a Wave of Catastrophe-which involved a whale on steroids, I saved Melty from drowning, Loretta went sword-on-sword with some guy who had a ridiculously long katana, and now we have not one but two people here with Personas."

"Welcome to the life of an inter-universal adventurer, Ness," Aris laughed. "Get comfy, because in the future, we're probably gonna see things that are even weirder."

"That's what I like about this whole thing," said Loretta. "It's a surprise every time."

"I mean, I've been to places similar to Melromarc," said Aris after swallowing a bite of food, "but none of them actually summoned me there. I just ended up in that universe by chance, and happened to save it from evil."

"I bet you and Lorie have quite a few stories to tell," Melty remarked.

"Don't get either of us started," Loretta warned playfully. "With all the stories Aris and I have, we'd be awake the entire night."

The storm died down overnight, and everyone boarded the ships back to Melromarc in the afternoon the next day. "Thank you again, Shield Hero," said Queen Mirellia shortly after Aris and his party had boarded her ship. "Words cannot express how grateful I am for everything you've done for both my people, and myself."

Aris smiled. "I couldn't have done it alone. It's thanks to my friends that I was able to help out. And, I should thank you, too, your highness."

The Queen giggled. "You're giving me a bit too much credit here."

"I still don't know if we'll be so lucky in the next Wave," said Loretta. "I mean, I've never known anyone more useless than the other Heroes."

"Yeah," Raphtalia agreed. "We might want to try and talk to them again."

"And sooner rather than later," the Queen added. "Oh, and by the way, Shield Hero, did you ever figure out the reward you wanted? I still have to figure out a way I can repay you for all you've done to help eliminate the pope, remember? And now, there's so much more that you've done here at Cal Mira, so if I don't do something soon, I'll never be able to properly thank you for everything you've done."

Aris glanced at Raphtalia for a second. "Well, there is something..."

After the group had gotten used to not being on a boat anymore, they made their way to the capital to pick up some equipment for Rishia. Aris led the group into Erhard's shop. "We have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass!" he exclaimed proudly. "And we're all out of bubblegum!"

Erhard laughed. "Good to see ya again, kid." He noticed Rishia. "Jeez, another girl? What's with you? And why does she have that weird getup?"

Aris sighed. "Give it a rest, will you? I'm just here to get some new equipment for us, and that includes her. I'll buy whatever I can off you, as thanks for last time. Oh, and for the record, Rishia has that outfit because...well, she awakened to a Persona."

"I'll explain what that means later," Joker added.

"Weird," said Erhard. "Anway, you kids planning to stick around for a bit?"

"Nah, just here to pick up some stuff," Aris replied. "We've got somewhere else we need to be."

"Oh, right," said the blacksmith. "Almost forgot."

"Hang on," Raphtalia interjected. "Where are we going? What're you two talking about?"

"Oh, uh...nowhere special," Erhard said. "Right, kid?"

Aris hesitated. "Yeah...right."

"What's with you two?" Raphtalia said. "Come on, just tell me!"

"It's a surprise," Aris told her. "I'll tell you more once we're on the road."

"Well, go ahead and grab whatever you need," said Erhard. "And if you ever need something else, feel free to stop by."

"Understood," said Aris.

Once the Rebels had sufficiently equipped themselves, they quickly got on the road. Aris drove the wagon, which was pulled by an excited Filo.

"Love?" said Raphtalia from inside the wagon's canopy. "Can you at least tell me something about where we're going?"

"Oh, yeah," Aris replied. "We're just going to pick up our reward from the Queen."

"The one you were talking about on the boat?" asked Loretta.

"Yeah, that," said Aris.

Raphtalia lowered her gaze for a second. "You will stay with us, right, Aris..?"

"Of course I will, you're my girlfriend," Aris assured her. "I'll never leave your side, I promise."

Pit sniffed. "Does anyone else smell salt, or is it just me?"

"I smell it, too," said Raphtalia. "Aris, does that mean..?"

The male Hylian nodded. "We're almost there."

Seagulls let themselves be heard in the skies above the sea. A familiar girl's voice rang out cheerfully, "Raphtalia!"

Keel ran over, embracing her friend. Raphtalia smiled. "Keel! You're looking much better now! I'm so happy you recovered!"

Another familiar face arrived. "Indeed she did," said Van Reichnott. "Keel recovered so well, that she's working harder than anyone else."

"Oh, hi!" said Raphtalia. "What're you doing here?"

"You still don't know why you're here?" Van Reichnott smirked.

Raphtalia looked confused. "What?"

Another familiar face. "Yeah," said Melty, "Aris is still a really big jerk."

"Come on!" Aris replied. "I wanted it to be a surprise!"

"Hiya, Mel!" Filo chirped, reverting to her human form.

"Alright, enough, little bro," said Loretta. "Will you please tell me what the actual fuck is going on?"

Melty lifted a scroll. "In the name of Queen Mirellia Q. Melromarc, I, second Princess Melty Melromarc, hereby bestow Sayette's Demi-human region, along with all governing rights, to the Shield Hero, whose name is Aris Harkinian Atreides."

Raphtalia gasped. "Wait a second!"

"Surprise," Aris snickered. "That was the Queen's reward. I'm officially the governor of this area now."

Raphtalia looked at him. "Surely you're joking."

"Nope, no jokes here," said Aris. "We're gonna need a base of operations, after all."

"You could've just stayed in the capital," Cloud pointed out.

"Yeah," said Aris. "But then we'd have to be in the same place as Old Fart and Bitch."

"Okay, understandable."

Filo went with Melty and Ness to go play, and Loretta went for a walk with Pit, Cloud, Joker, and Rishia. "Hey, Raphtalia," said Aris. "There's more. Follow me."

The Hylian led his lover down to the beach, where boats were being built and repaired. "Restarting the fishing business is going to help us rebuild faster," he said. "And now, we have a fishing expert to help out."

Raphtalia pointed to herself. "Me?"

Aris nodded. "Think you could show these newcomers the ropes?"

The Demi hesitated. "If it's for my village, I'll do it."

Aris smiled. "Good. Come on, there's something else."

The lovers made their way to the village's newly reconstructed chapel, where a familiar old woman awaited them. "Well, if it isn't the Shield Hero," she said jovially.

Aris smiled and nodded. "Hard at work, I see."

"You betcha," said the ninja lady. "I'll train as many new recruits as you can bring in."

"I'm counting on it," replied Aris. "And I think I have a trainee with some potential, and my friend Joker might be able to help her with a certain new power she's recently awakened to."

"I can hardly wait!" the ninja lady said.

The apothecary from Melromarc chimed in from the stairs. "I've stocked us up on medicine."

Then, Aris lit up when he saw the kind witch from the magic shop. "If you need anything else," said the lady, "just let us know."

"All of you moved out here to Sayette?" said a happy Raphtalia.

Aris nodded. "As soon as they found out I was the new lord of the region, they insisted on coming out here to help."

Raphtalia giggled. "Your sister would probably say something like, 'What is this, a crossover episode?'"

Aris and Raphtalia walked out onto the chapel's rooftop. The couple gazed out over the village square as people worked hard on reconstruction. "At this rate," said a proud Aris, "the village will be restored in no time."

"Why here?" asked Raphtalia. "Why not be the lord of some other village?"

"I chose this place long before, Raphtalia," Aris answered. "I even came up with a new name for it. Your village was once destroyed by a Wave, and now it'll be a symbol of resistance against them. Rishia won't be the only person we train. We'll practically have an army...bigger than anything the other Heroes could ever dream of having."

BGM: With The Stars And Us (Piano Ver.) - Persona 5

Aris felt something. Raphtalia was clutching his cape. "Aris..." she said, her voice breaking. "I can't...you're making it sound like...like you're preparing us for when you leave! It doesn't matter if Glass, L'Arc, Therese, and Sephiroth show their faces again, we can beat the Waves, I know it! You're not going to die, Aris! I won't let you!" She was sobbing now, her face buried in his shoulder.

"Raphtalia..."

"I don't want it to happen!" Raphtalia sobbed. "I won't accept it! Just imagining my life without you...I can't! It's absolutely unbearable! I just don't want you to leave me alone! Please, Aris! Even after the Waves are gone, please...just stay by my side!"

Aris gently wrapped his arms around Raphtalia. "This has been bothering you for a while, hasn't it? Darling...I'm so sorry."

BGM: Because I Love You - Earthbound/Mother 2

"No..." said Raphtalia, calming down a little. "You don't need to apologize."

"I'll be honest with you," Aris told her. "I wasn't sure about it before, when the Queen offered it to me. But, I am now. That's why I came here." The Hylian lifted her head, looking into her eyes. "We're going to have a fresh start. It all begins here. Raphtalia...when I met you...when I realized that I loved you...I found a reason to fight the Waves. Same thing for when I reunited with Loretta. Meeting Filo, Melty, Ness, and Cloud...and reuniting with Pit and Joker made me realize just how much I wanted to fight for my friends...for those I would die for. And I've met so many other people that have made me want to be the Shield Hero, and protect this world. It's going to be a new beginning. More importantly, a home base for when we return from our trips to other universes."

Aris gently caressed his lover's cheek. "Raphtalia...my dearest..." he said. "You'll stay with me, as both my girlfriend and my fellow fighter, right?"

Raphtalia lit up. "Y-Yes!" she cried happily. "Of course I will, love!"

The Demi threw her arms around Aris's neck, and he wrapped his around her waist. Their lips met in a passionate, love-filled kiss.

At the sound of an opening door, they quickly broke away, their faces dusted with scarlet. "Hey, I know what you two are doing!" Filo exclaimed, running up to Aris and almost tackling him over the edge of the roof. "Hey, Mel, get in on this!"

Melty averted her gaze. "I...think I'll pass."

"I'm in!" Loretta cheered, running up to her brother and ruffling his hair. Joker followed behind her and clapped the Hylian on the shoulder. Pit exchanged a high-five with Aris, Ness patted him on the back, and Cloud just smiled at him.

Up above, Keel raised a flag bearing a symbol that was a combination of symbols. Among them were the logo of the Phantom Thieves, the emblem of Palutena, the royal crest of Melromarc, and most prominent of all, the mark of the Triforce. The flag blew in the breeze, high up at the top of its pole for all to see.

"This is where the story truly begins," Aris said to himself. "It's a fresh start for all of us. Here, at our new home...in Lighthaven Village."

And, well, that's the end. For now. I might make the events of season 2 a separate book, for the sake of organization, but if the readers don't want that, I'll just add the next set of chapters for season 2 into this one (I'd continue according to the events of the Light Novel or manga, but I don't have either one and I don't want to risk unintentional plotholes).

Thank you ever so much for taking the time to read this part of the story. I'd come up with my own version of season 2 by myself, but I have trouble coming up with whole storylines from scratch (hence why I write fanfiction instead of actual stories). Speaking of which, I have something I want to say.

I've found that my early fanfictions have basically just been carbon-copies of an anime or something, but with random elements and characters from my favorite video games (mostly Zelda) randomly spliced in at some points. Poor writing in my opinion.

This story was originally the same when I wrote it on Wattpad. Most of it is actually copied from there, but I remastered it for this site. I like this version a lot better, so I might pull the old switcheroo and copy this version onto Wattpad.

The most significant difference between this and the original Wattpad version was that Ness didn't appear during the events of season 1. Instead, he appeared shortly after.

Specifically, in the Wattpad version, Melty informs the Rebellion of the Shield that people are claiming to have seen some kind of large shooting star near the border wall where our heroes fought the pope (the crater's still there and everything). With that, Aris and company load up into Filo's wagon (which for some reason I named Opportunity, after a certain Mars rover) and set off. They split up and start searching. Raphtalia and Aris encounter a rather frightened and confused Ness, who casts a weak PK Flash in their direction, barely missing them. They calm Ness down, he introduces himself, reunites with Loretta, and the group all travels back to Lighthaven Village before going to the capital to introduce Ness to Melty and Mirellia.

I don't know why I thought that was a good idea at the time, but I guess I couldn't think of another way to include him in an earlier chapter without changing the entire story afterwards.

But, I'm rambling. Again, thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to read this junk (self-deprecating joke), and that includes the people who read the version before I deleted and republished it (sorry about that, didn't notice the option to change the chapter order at the time). You all are absolute legends, and I hope you enjoy my take on the events of season 2.