Cognitive Wakaba flew around the pyramid, retaining her aerial advantage over the Phantom Thieves. "FUTABA! I KNOW I DIDN'T RAISE YOU TO BE LIKE THAT! HOW DARE YOU RUN AROUND WITH SUCH AN AWFUL CROWD!? THE ONLY THING YOU SHOULD BE DOING IS OBEYING MY ORDERS!"
Hearing those words did unnerve Futaba for a moment. "M-Mom…." She then shook her head. "No, that's not her! You're just a monster!"
"TALKING BACK TO YOUR OWN MOTHER!? YOU'VE SPENT TOO MUCH TIME WITH THESE NO-GOOD PUNKS HAVEN'T YOU!? I'LL CRUSH THEM!" And after yelling this, Cognitive Wakaba then took off into the sky, well out of reach from anyone.
"She sounds like my mother…" Dragon let out an exasperated sigh.
"Damn! It's gonna swoop down on us again, isn't it?!" Mona grunted. They barely had any defense against that kind of attack before, so dealing with it again proved to be an issue.
"Don't worry, I got this!" Futaba said, pressing a few buttons inside of Necronomicon. "This is my heart, right? Then I should be able to control it as I see fit!"
"We're counting on you." Joker said calmly.
"Here it comes!" Panther exclaimed. Everyone braced for impact, but just before Cognitive Wakaba could crash down on them…
"I won't let you!" Futaba sprang into action. A green barrier appeared around the Phantom Thieves, protecting them from harm. Since Cognitive Wakaba crashed down so fiercely onto the barrier, she ended up taking damage from the rebound. Groaning, she immediately retreated back into the sky.
"Badass!" Skull liked this and it showed.
"Grr…YOU GODDAMN BRATS!" Cognitive Wakaba snarled.
"Now it's our turn! Here goes! I'm summoning our ultimate weapon to the battlefield!" Necronomicon flew behind the group, summoning a ballista with an arrow at the ready.
"Wow, talk about the heavy artillery…!" Dragon's eyes lit up.
"Use this to shoot it down!" Futaba commanded.
"Leave this to me." Fox nodded, making his way over to the ballista to line up the shot. "I will make this shot picture perfect."
"Then we should distract it in the meantime!" Queen said. Cognitive Wakaba was still out of their range, unfortunately. But they could still throw some attacks out and hope they landed. "Johanna!" Makoto summoned her Persona, using it to send numerous nuclear blasts into the sky. Cognitive Wakaba saw this coming and flew quickly to avoid the blasts, but the explosions were so great she still had trouble avoiding them and took some damage.
"Zorro!" Mona yelled.
"Carmen!" Panther called out at the same time. Carmen pointed her hands forward, releasing a continuous stream of fire that sought to burn Cognitive Wakaba. Zorro swiped his blade around in a Z formation, creating a tornado that amplified the speed and power of the flames. Cognitive Wakaba didn't have the time to evade and the blazing tornado struck her side, causing her to cry out in annoyance and pain. "A direct hit! Eat that!" Panther grinned.
Of course, the cognitive being did not take kindly to any of this. "NNNGH! After all I did to raise you; you dare neglect your mother like this!? I am your MOTHER! The one and only in this whole, awful world!"
Joker knew he had to pick his words very carefully. If he said the wrong thing it could affect Futaba's resolve to see this through. But luckily for him and everyone else, he already knew what it was he had to say. "Cut the crap, that's not true."
"WHAT!? Why won't you admit it!? Why. Why, whywhywhywhy!?" Cognitive Wakaba could not fathom that response give.
"This version of you is such an awful mother!" Dragon called forth Belle Star, who summoned numerous blades of light above it. "Take this!" These blades flew through the sky, impaling Cognitive Wakaba in her lower leg, though it wasn't deep enough. Still, these blades exploded in a burst of Almighty magic, briefly altering the course of her flight path.
"Mom is gone! No matter how much I wish for her to be with me, it'll never come true." Futaba said resolutely. "That's why I'll leave in the real world, even if she's not there anymore! I'm gonna live my life as free and happy as I can!"
"For a child in your cruel world, they need a concerned mother figure – like me! UNDERSTAND!?" Cognitive Wakaba screamed.
"Lining it up…" Fox mumbled.
Joker called forth Isis, pointing his hand forward as that Persona released a strong bolt of lightning in time with Skull. The fused bolt of lightning struck Cognitive Wakaba's chest, creating a lasting impact for a few seconds that delivered an unpleasant shock. "You're just a fake."
"You ain't her real mom! So get the hell outta here!" Skull yelled after Joker.
"I'm…a….a FAKE!?" Cognitive Wakaba couldn't fathom this reality.
"Listen, my mom means a ton to me and I love her so much, but you're not her!" Futaba declared. "And I'll never live a life where everything is decided by someone else!"
"…!" Those words resonated with Dragon for a moment. So much so, she ended up not focusing on the fight for a moment. She couldn't not think about her own mother in a moment like this, and what she should do to focus on her own situation. "I…"
"Naughty children who defy their parents should be PUNISHED!" Cognitive Wakaba had enough of this back and forth, moving in to swipe at the group with her large paw. "RAAH!"
Futaba was already quick to act, creating another barrier in front of the Phantom Thieves just before she could strike. Just like before, the impact struck the barrier and damaged Cognitive Wakaba, making her growl and back off. "I already said I won't let you! Fox guy, fire it now!"
"On it!" Fox nodded and let the arrow fly from the ballista. It was a direct hit. Cognitive Wakaba had no time to retreat and the arrow struck her chest, causing her to let out a cry of pain, staggering in her flight until she crashed down onto the platform to recover.
"GGRRR…HOW DARE YOU! Children that defy their mothers should…DIE!" Cognitive Wakaba screamed.
"SHUT UP! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!" Futaba yelled defiantly. "You're just a monster born from my own weakness! Don't let up everyone!"
"Finally, it's payback time!" Skull rotated his arm. "Let's let 'em have it!" Everyone lunged into action at that point. Skull took the pleasure of slamming his club onto Cognitive Wakaba's head at full force, summoning Seitan Taisei for an additional impact to the head, which made the cognitive monster groan.
"Our turn!" Dragon and Panther yelled in unison. They ran along Cognitive Wakaba's arms, pulling out their weapons at the same time. Panther ignited her whip in flames while Dragon vaulted into the air with her staff. Dragon slammed her staff onto Cognitive Wakaba's back at full force, while Panther cracked her whip rapidly, the blazing weapon creating burn marks on the Sphinx's back.
"I'll cut you down!" Fox and Mona were up next. Fox used his high speed blade skills, rapidly slashing at Cognitive Wakaba's chest and face, while Mona followed suit with his saber, landing critical slashes where he could.
Queen followed up next, wasting no time slamming Johanna into Cognitive Wakaba's body at full force. "We're making progress!"
"NGGGH!" Cognitive Wakaba hated this situation. How DARE Futaba and this ugly crowd stand up to her like this!? "Futaba! Futaba! FUTABA! FUTABAAAAA! It doesn't matter what you saw! Futaba is MY property! If I had never birthed her, she never would've ruined my research! Defying one's mother is absolutely DISGRACEFUL!"
"…" Dragon had nothing to say. She just averted her gaze and shook her head.
Joker just rolled his eyes. The desperation at this point was sad to witness. "We'll be taking Futaba."
Those words struck deep. Cognitive Wakaba recoiled viscerally from those words alone. "SHUT UP! SHUT UUUUUUUP! FUTABA…If only I had…NEVER BIRTHED YOU!"
Futaba clenched her hand into a fist. She knew what it was she had to do. "No matter what you say to me, I WILL LIVE!"
"GRAAAAAAAAAAH!" Cognitive Wakaba, while injured from the arrow, started to flap her wings.
"She's attempting to take off!?" Fox gasped.
"Not on my watch…!" Joker threw his hand forward, throwing his grappling hook out to latch onto Cognitive Wakaba's leg. As she took off, Joker followed, using this momentum to swing around up top and spin. As Joker fell upside down, he pulled out his pistol, his gaze meeting Cognitive Wakaba's own. "You're done for." He pointed his pistol forward and clicked the trigger, sending the bullet right between her eyes. With one final scream of pain, Cognitive Wakaba collapsed to the ground, falling down the sharp outer ridges of the pyramid as she did so. Joker then landed and stylishly put his gun away.
The battle was now officially over. Everyone could take a deep breath. Skull was going to be the first one who said something. "Whoa, Futaba! That was kickass!"
Futaba was just now noticing that her outfit changed. She wasn't wearing her usual at home clothes, but a skintight green and black high tech suit. Awesome. "Whoa, what in the world!? It's totally skin tight!" She enjoyed this look a lot.
There was a soft flash of light shortly after that. Everyone was on guard as a figure appeared not too far away from them. "Another thing showed up…!" Skull warned. But there was no cause for concern. It was a faded Wakaba Isshiki.
"Is that her mom…?" Dragon asked.
"Futaba…" Wakba began. "Thank you for choosing to remember the real me." Her tone was soft and loving, like any mother should be to their daughter. The shift in tone made it clear that this was the true Wakaba in Futaba's memory. The mother who loved her more than anything in the world.
"Mom…" Futaba said softly. "I'm sorry for being selfish…" She took a step forward.
"Stop." Wakaba immediately said. Not to push her daughter away, but simply because Futaba had somewhere else she needed to be. "This isn't where you belong now, is it?"
"But I finally get to see you again…" Futaba pouted.
"Are you being selfish again?" Wakaba asked, but there was a hint of lovingness within her words.
"…" Futaba looked down, poking her fingers together sheepishly. "I love you, Mom…"
"I love you too, Futaba." Wakaba offered one last smile before she faded away.
Futaba stared at where her mother once stood and let out a small sigh. It felt like the weight of the world was finally off her shoulders. The mother she once thought hated her…truly loved her and she knew that now. The fact she forgot made her want to kick herself. But her heart had finally been stolen, and with her, those buried memories returned. Oh…right. "…Oh yeah. Medjed." That was her end of the deal. So she just started walking.
"Um…where are you going?" Queen asked.
"Home. I know how to use the Nav now." Futaba replied, just…walking past the group and leaving the Palace.
"She's gone…I'd say we were lucky…" Dragon sighed, kicking a rock. Even though things worked out, she still felt bad for not calling Futaba out on her lie earlier. If something bad happened…
"That girl just marches to the beach of her own drum, doesn't she?" Fox said with a relieved laugh.
"Yeah…no doubt." Joker replied.
"Like you're one to talk." Skull said to Fox.
"But if we have her on her side…" Queen began, but then she had another thought. "Wait, what about the Treasure!?"
"Oh right, almost forgot!" Skull scurried over to the coffin nearby…but it was empty. "What the hell?"
"It's empty?" Panther blinked. The Palace itself then began to rumble; the group knew exactly what this meant, but the fact it happened so suddenly caught them all by surprise.
"Eeek!?" Queen squealed.
Mona realized what the issue was. They were stuck on what was about to be a collapsing Palace…on top of numerous other circumstances. "Futaba herself was the Treasure, so of course it's empty! And not only that, but a real person came into her own Palace, and she awakened to a Persona while she was in here! This place is gonna collapse in any second!"
"It's time to get out of here then!" Skull said and could not have a moment sooner. Everyone began to haul ass down the Pyramid exterior as it began to collapse from top to bottom. They were all running madly and as fast as they could, but the falling debris was quickly catching up to them.
"It's catching up to us!" Fox yelled.
"Running like this in sandals is not fun!" Dragon whined.
"Running here's a bitch!" Skull complained. It was taking all they had to not be overtaken by the collapsing Palace and they were losing ground fast.
"Mona! Turn into a car already!" Panther yelled.
"I know…I know…!" Mona said.
But there was a lot of talking and not turning into a car. So Panther did the sensible thing: grabbing Mona by the head with all her might and let out a loud shout. "RAAAAAH!" She then tossed him towards the sky and he landed on the ground, turning into a bus at that moment. It couldn't have happened sooner; the back door opened up as everyone tumbled inside, sprawled about randomly within the Mona Car. Queen took the wheel, driving as fast as she could to avoid the falling debris, swerving and making sharp turns for their desperate escape.
.
.
Everyone crash landed just outside of Leblanc. It was a rough landing but they all made it unharmed. "Ugh…you guys alive…?" Ryuji asked.
"I think?" Ren said while shaking his head.
"I don't know. Ask me again in an hour…" Hifumi was leaning back against Ann, dazed from that hurried escape.
"Come on, let's get you up…" Ann shook her head and helped Hifumi to her feet.
Hearing the commotion outside, Sojiro quickly exited the store. "What was that noise? Oh…what are you guys doing out here?"
Ann immediately shot up, eyes widening as she realized they had few excuses for this. "Oh, um…"
"Don't say anything…" Hifumi whispered to Ann. She had a feeling Sojiro wouldn't buy her acting.
"That reminds me…where's Futaba?" Ryuji asked.
"What about Futaba…?" Sojiro was naturally concerned upon hearing that.
"Ah! We came all this way…so why don't we get some coffee?" Makoto was quick to change the subject. They couldn't afford to have Sojiro find out.
"That's fine, but…" Sojiro was scratching his head.
"But I'm not thirsty." Yusuke said. That's when Makoto jabbed Yusuke in the side with her elbow. Forcefully. He staggered a bit from the sudden impact while everyone just watched.
"Oh! I almost forgot. I have some business to attend to…so you guys go on ahead." Makoto smiled. Everyone just went back inside Leblanc except her, Morgana, Ren…and Hifumi.
Hifumi waited until the coast was clear. "…Can I come with you? I …want to see if she's okay."
"Yes, it's fine. Let's go see if Futaba is okay." Makoto nodded. They then went to Sojiro's house and Futaba was unconscious outside the front gate. It was pretty worrying since she was unresponsive as well. "Futaba, are you okay? Please say something…"
"She's not moving…" Ren narrowed his eyes.
"Please say something…!" Makoto pleaded. "Please…!" Still, there was no response.
Hifumi let out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes. "This is all my fault. When she told us she didn't have the Nav, I knew she was lying immediately. But I couldn't bring myself to say anything…! I didn't know if she would trust us or not if I called her out on it. If I had said something sooner…! Ugh…!" She was quite frustrated with herself now and it showed.
"Is this because we defeated her monstrous mother…?" Makoto asked.
"No, it's not that." Morgana shook his head. "That was a cognitive being. Defeating it should have no effect on her physical or mental state."
Makoto looked to Ren and then Hifumi. They were both at a loss. "What should we do…?"
"…." Hifumi didn't have an answer; she was too busy beating herself up for Futaba's condition.
"Hey, don't you know a doctor?" Morgana asked Ren.
"You do…? Who is it?" Hifumi said, lifting her head up.
"I can call her. She's right in the neighborhood, actually…" Ren nodded.
.
.
Ren, Hifumi, Makoto, and Morgana were inside of Sojiro's house once again. They were in Futaba's room while Takemi was looking the unconscious Futaba over. "A house call is going to cost you, you know."
"How much…?" Hifumi asked.
Takemi chuckled a bit and shook her head. They took her joke too seriously. "I was kidding. I owe him one…and he owes me." She looked to Ren, who began to sweat. Hifumi and Makoto just stared at each other, confused.
"So…is she okay?" Makoto was going to awkwardly shift the subject.
"Her pulse, breathing, temperature, and blood pressure are all normal. No other abnormalities either. I'm not sure why, but it seems this girl is in some kind of light stupor." Takemi couldn't deduce the reason, no matter how hard she tried. "Furthermore, she lacks muscle for her age. I doubt she has much stamina for her age.
"It must have been the rebound from her awakening. It was too much…" Makoto whispered.
"There were too many abnormal circumstances…." Morgana said.
"We simply cannot keep quiet about this. We have to let Boss know." Makoto said.
"Wouldn't he figure out our identities?!" Morgana said.
"Wouldn't he figure out we broke into his house four times now…!?" Hifumi spoke with a hushed whisper. Her tone would've been louder had Takemi not been standing right there…staring at them as she swore she heard a cat somewhere nearby.
"We'll think of something. But we have to get him now…thanks, Doc." Ren said to Takemi.
"Not a problem. Next time it'll cost you." She gave Ren a smile, one that made him question if she was joking or not, as she left.
Shortly after Takemi left, Ren called Sojiro and the others along too look at Futaba. Sojiro looked over Futaba and tried calling out to her a few times. "Hey, Futaba? Heeeey?" There was an uncomfortable silence as Futaba did not respond. "Oh dear…"
"Look…about Futaba…" Makoto began slowly.
"Huh? Why do you guys look so down?" Sojiro was speaking like this was normal. "This happens all the time."
"It what." Hifumi blinked.
"Yeah. She must've used up all her energy. It's like she ran out of batteries. I think it happens because she doesn't get enough exercise." Sojiro's assumption wasn't that far off either, considering what Takemi said about Futaba earlier. "She stays like this for a few days whenever this happens."
Ryuji just slumped over. This was the most anti-climactic ending to worrying he ever experienced. "What."
"My heart was going to burst out of my chest over a regular occurrence!?" Hifumi was relieved but also a little mad. At least she didn't have to feel too terrible about how things turned out…but she still felt guilty about it.
"I'll make sure she gets plenty of rest. Here, keep an eye on her. I'm gonna go close the store." Sojiro nodded to the others and made his way out.
Once Sojiro was gone, Makoto turned to the group and just sighed. "It's…hard to describe how I feel right now."
"Frustrated?" Hifumi and Ryuji said at the same time, then looked at each other. How they ended up being the most agreeable with each other was a wonder to everyone.
"I'm glad she's okay…but what about Medjed?" That was Ann's main concern. They still needed Futaba's hacking skills to deal with the Medjed threat.
"Ah…." Futaba woke up slowly upon hearing the word Medjed. "Medjed…."
"She's up…!" Ren was taken aback, along with the others.
"Ah…um…tired…'I'm gonna…sleep for a bit…" And just as fast as she woke up, Futaba was asleep again.
"…She fell asleep again…" Hifumi was just…tired of this. She sighed and threw her head back, resisting the urge to tiredly collapse onto the ground and groan. Instead she just leaned against Ann's shoulder and groaned, it was a welcome alternative. "This has been a long day…"
"For a bit? How long does she plan on sleeping…?" Ann asked. "It's too late for us to find another hacker too…"
"What to do…" Yusuke was pondering the situation, but they really didn't have any other options.
"I don't think we should try to wake her either." Makoto crossed her arms.
"All we can do now is wait for her to wake up…" Morgana said. It was their only option now. Futaba was still their last and only hope against the Medjed threat…