This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
Everyone That I Can See
Everyone Who Can See Me
Decide What They Want To See
Is That The True Reality?
8/5 Wednesday
Lunch
Aiko found the subdued lights of the Tenjincho mall oddly soothing. Considering that less than twenty four hours ago she had been fighting tooth and nail- against one of her own crew members even- she couldn't help but find some amusing irony in her role in the next stage of Jiachi and Mira's big plan to save Shukiji.
She had been assigned the extremely dangerous task of... shopping.
Ooh, scary.
But that wasn't the problem. She had never expected it to be. Tenjincho felt almost like another home to her now, all the more cozy now that she had been reunited with the various super-malls of Tokyo- for she could think of no better way to describe them- with new eyes. Despite six years of dedication to recovery from her trauma, Futaba Sakura had confessed that she still got antsy in Tokyo's biggest malls sometimes due to the sheer volume of people and stores. The colors, confusion, the noise, noise, noise... But Tenjincho, while crowded sometimes, was never quite that bad in any of those aspects.
The problem she'd expected to face was the fact that she was doing all this while all the other members of her team were getting ready to set sail and head back into Faraway Lands... without her. For the very first time ever, they would be without their captain. The very thing she'd claimed to desire less than two days ago, yet her feelings today were definitive proof that she had never really meant it at all.
It was never anything. Just the senseless rantings of someone who had just suffered a huge blow to her pride. Heh. And we still make fun of Rosea and Niyoga for having too much pride? I'm just as bad.
Still, the guilt she'd expected to come felt strangely absent, like a toothache suddenly vanishing. Whatever else her previous showdown with Jiachi had accomplished, it had helped her in more than one way, even if it took a while for her to understand exactly why.
If nothing else, the place's powerful AC helped to block out the summer heat, and she saw there were many other people there with the same idea. The business they brought to the assorted stores there made it clear why the owners felt it a boon to have such a powerful AC to begin with. Everyone seemed happier than normal, enjoying the summer months as they should.
The costume store on the food court level had no one there though, and Aiko figured she might have paid it a visit even if it hadn't been on her list of stops. Even before, she'd always had a soft spots for that type, and she would never forget that this was the place that had provided the various Phantom Thief costumes that had been the basis of their plan to save Reiha. Those had proven to be adept gifts to the genuine articles in Tokyo as well.
Need another thing like that if we're going to win this one, she knew. Some way to trick Shukiji, get him off balance and gain an advantage, just like the real Phantom Thieves would do in this situation... I think.
It was, she considered, yet another great weight off her chest that this wasn't her plan. But it made it all the more important that she do her very best to help it succeed.
The costume shop owner was, seemingly as always, wearing their own product- one that concealed their form. This time it was some kind of masked bandit, most likely from some manga she hadn't read by the length of its white scarf wrap and how stylized the rest of it was.
"Lovely day", she greeted the owner with a wave. "Is that company policy or something? That you always have to wear the merchandise? I've been in here three times now, and every time the one shopkeeper is wearing a costume."
Despite the brashness of the garb, the clerk's young female voice suggested a fair amount of nervousness. "Um... no. I just like wearing these. Do you like it?"
"Yeah. It looks good", Aiko smiled back. "Right now though, I have a very specific request. I'd totally understand if you don't have this available, and if so I'm hoping you can at least point me in the right direction or maybe order it. I'm willing to pay."
"...What do you need?"
"A priest's robes", she explained. "Bright white, with a hood that conceals the eyes if you have it set right." That description didn't really do proper justice to the magnificent outfit that Noel had whenever he journeyed with the others into Faraway Lands as 'Mender', but it was a start.
Too bad we can't show her ours. They're all great.
The shopkeeper led her down the diverse racks of costumes, making her wonder if maybe she'd underestimated just how many different ones this place had. There were fur coats and tiaras and dresses and vests and all sorts of suits she struggled to match to anything by a mere glance. She did recognize the large collection of kimonos and yukatas immediately, since they'd been the ones provided to the Tanabata festival, and she was only mildly surprised to see that there were more Phantom Thief costumes ready to go. "You replaced them", she observed.
"Of course", the shopkeeper nodded. "The Phantom Thieves are some of the most popular costumes for conventions. You're not the only ones to buy them. Here we are."
Reaching out, she pulled a wall-height cabinet door aside, briefly reminding Aiko of the way Mr. Umaeda's fencing class concealed gear behind similar openings before her mind became more occupied with the incredible plethora of costumes behind the door. There had to be at least twice as many as were in the visible inventory of the main shop, just as diverse as the rest.
"H-how many do you think you have here in total?", she asked breathlessly.
The shopkeeper paused to consider the question. "My last tally was... three thousand five-hundred and sixteen. Of course, some of these are made from multiple garments that can be mixed and matched, so..."
"No wonder no one else tries to compete with you", she marveled. She could see the rack full of various types of robes, as well as-
Automatically reaching out, she touched the rubbery tail of another familiar sight, blue and glittery. A mermaid tail. Mermaid costume. Can't believe it took me this long to notice. Just a coincidence? Or?
She reached for her phone, quick-dialing the number. Almost immediately, the shopkeeper's own phone went off with a subdued yet unmistakable chiming ocean melody. Instinct made the shopkeeper reach down for it, but Aiko reached for her mask instead, prying it free to reveal familiar red locks framing a small face.
"Nie Maruyuki", she observed in satisfaction. "What're you doing here? I thought you were a mermaid, right?"
She looked despondent, so much so that Ai briefly felt bad about breaking the 'illusion', staring back at her before shrugging in defeat. "I'm not a mermaid now. I can't do it all the time. I have to run the shop as a human."
The statement might have seemed nonsensical to most, but after tracking down the mysterious 'mermaid' of Yume Bay, Aiko had learned to speak her language somewhat. "So after work you head to the coast and put on one of those mermaid costumes after work?"
"No", the young costume aficionado denied it. "After work, I go become my true self. This is just a disguise."
Surprisingly, she understood that part too. "...Yeah. I know how that is. But your real self remembers me, right?"
"Of course I do", Nie shrugged, smiling up at her. "You're Aiko Tsuruga. The human who found my lair. How have you been?"
"Not so great. But better, now that I found you." She couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about meeting Nie right before going on a two week vacation.
Nie seemed to echo her happiness, but switched just as quickly to a more stern look. "Remember that you can't tell anyone where my lair is. Otherwise, the mermaid's curse will strike you, and you'll lose the ability to speak."
"Whoa. I'll be careful", Aiko promised. "I won't tell anyone."
"Great!", she beamed. "Now, you said you were looking for a white robe, right? Something fantasy-inspired, maybe?"
A bit of searching later, she was amazed to discover an article not too far removed from Noel's Dream Voyager garb. It was perhaps a bit longer and not as shiny, but otherwise a good match, and any further details could simply be added. "It's perfect", she announced, holding it up to examine. "Better than I'd hoped."
Seeing Nie ring it up without her mask made her realize just how young she had to be. "...You don't go to school?!"
"No", she kept her gaze down, focused on processing the order. "I can't. I have to run the store. Mermaids don't need to go to school."
"But-" She caught herself. Trying to use logic last time hadn't gone over so well either. It was only a sense of social responsibility that had caused her to speak out, and further worry about how much of this was really her concern that kept her from asking more.
She must have looked as troubled as she felt, because she'd barely gotten twenty paces out of the store with her new costume bagged before another person stood before her, pleasant-looking but unmistakable.
She'd never actually met the woman before now. She had first planned for the whole team to visit, but Noel and Reiha had dashed that plan by visiting her beforehand and getting the necessary information. Since then, getting ready for their vacation had kept her too busy to bother with something that wouldn't give them any kind of further advantage. Considering her attitude, that had likely been the right call.
Still, she was unmistakable. There might have been some other women in Tosashimizu who wore those distinctive blue crystal earrings, but they wouldn't have singled her out like this.
"Yumika-san?", she wondered.
The older woman's severe looks didn't give way, but she seemed pleased to be identified. "Aiko Tsuruga, I presume? I suppose we should talk now. We'll do lunch. My treat."
Taking full advantage of the offer, she asked for a large-size shrimp salad and a spiced omelette, heading to the one restaurant in the mall that made them. Cecille went with a less extensive meal, settling on a boxed mix of unusual-looking sprouts and berries.
"So you're the leader of this bunch", she remarked once they'd settled in. "Vitienne said that you were a worthy leader, one he'd gladly follow."
"I haven't been feeling that way lately", Aiko admitted graciously before taking a sip of her shake. "But they all seem to agree that I'm the best choice. I can't let them down."
"True", Cecille stared into her anew, an icy teacher's gaze that had surely been tailor-made to unsettle people her age and shock them into discipline, even more than her brother the principal. "Just what exactly do you think you're doing, young lady?"
While taken aback at first, Aiko recovered quickly. Reiha and Noel had already told her all about the dim stance that the former Queen Aquarius took towards all things Persona-related. She took a moment to prepare her words ahead of time, so that she wouldn't stutter or flinch.
"Your old friends in the Masked Circle are still out there", she pointed out calmly. "And even without them, Faraway Lands keeps luring people in with promises to grant them the world of their dreams. There's another one in there now, and he won't leave easily. If anyone else could do this, I'd be more than happy to let them... but we're the only other ones with the power."
Far from angry, Cecille's motherly look shifted to one of amusement. "I wasn't talking about that, miss Tsuruga. I was talking about you with that shopkeeper. You entertain her bizarre fantasies about being a 'Mermaid' without correcting her."
"...Oh."
Snorting, she dived into her food for a moment to buy time to reformulate her answer. "That... well, I'm pretty sure there's a dark truth involved there that she's been fighting to avoid. It's not my place to force Maruyuki-chan to confront it right now." Leaning forward, she nodded. "You teach primary school kids, right Yumika-san? You know how it is. Denying them any kind of fantasy isn't good either."
"That one isn't a primary schooler." Despite her harsh tone, Cecille looked less severe. "She's a grown adult. Your age, at least, and she should be going to school. Still, I understand where you're coming from." taking a long sip of her camomile tea, the teacher shook her head. "Her parents should be ashamed."
"Assuming there are parents", Ai pointed out darkly. "That's what I'm afraid of, actually. Everything I've seen so far suggests that she is actually the sole owner of that shop."
She looked genuinely troubled now. "That... that can't be. The mall wouldn't grant rent to someone that age. There must be at least one person involved who is 18 years or older."
"Whoever that is", Aiko acknowledged, "I never see them around. It's always Maruyuki-chan running the store all by herself, always wearing a costume so people don't notice."
"A mystery with many possible answers", Cecille considered. "None of which I particularly like." Shivering, she shook her head. "All of this madness... it shouldn't have to fall to you kids. This is supposed to be the time when you all should be focused on getting through school, on learning who you want to be when you grow up."
Aiko thought for a moment, nodding. "...I agree. But like I said, we're the only ones. Besides, it's summer vacation. If we weren't busy with all this, we'd prolly just sit around on our butts for the next month, killing time with other dumb stuff." Pausing, she shrugged back mischievously. "Not that I wouldn't mind doing that of course."
"Of course", Cecille nodded back, her expression lightening just a shade as she leaned back into her seat. "I can still remember the carefree leisure of my youth. We slept in and played endlessly like it would never end... until one day, it did."
"When you found the Karma club?", Aiko guessed.
"Exactly", the older woman agreed sadly. "Now? I'm a cautionary tale. A warning of the dangers of hate, and what it makes people do. I once believed that the power I gained could give me what I wanted." With a weak chuckle, she raised a hand to her forehead as if in pain.
"I was so young, and so foolish. I'm glad to see that you don't seem to be that way at least."
Recent events allowed her to easily recall the various mistakes that they'd gotten into, and Aiko snorted politely. "I think you'd change your mind, if you saw us in action more often."
"No doubt", Cecille echoed. "But you won't drag me back into Faraway Lands that easily, Tsuruga-chan. I'm an adult. A teacher. That period of my life is over and done with. I only did it for Vitienne as a kindness because I wanted him to know the truth. He deserved that much... But no more. 'Queen Aquarius' is gone, and good riddance."
Easily taking in the hard resolve on Cecille's face, Aiko blinked. The answer hadn't surprised her. "We... would always be happy to have you, if you ever change your mind."
"Thank you, but no." Satisfied that there would be no further attempts on that front, she took a longer drag of her tea to calm down. "As I told your friends before, I'd be of much more use as an adviser about the Masked Circle."
"As well as other things." Fully convinced now that the woman's bite wasn't nearly as bad as her bark, Aiko leaned towards her. "We're going to be busy for the next few weeks. Too busy to watch Maruyuki-chan and figure out what her deal is. But you-"
"I am a teacher", Cecille told her mock-indignantly. "But it's the summer vacation for another month. Hm. Yes. Perhaps I can do something to help you there."
"It only has to be for a few weeks", Ai promised with more confidence than she felt. "After that, either we'll have saved Shu, or..."
"Or he'll be lost", Cecille acknowledged with more calm than she expected. "It happens. You've seen evidence of others there as well, I'm sure."
Blinking, she sighed. "I have." That realization was old news, but was surprising was how blase Cecille was being about it. "No sign of Furusato-san though."
Initially sympathetic, the older woman snorted. "I certainly hope you don't expect to be able to save her."
"...No." Aiko felt her own double-reaction manifest on her face as well: Gloom from the subject matter, but happiness that an outside party could finally confirm what Pelagio had been telling them all along. "Vitienne might have had some ideas about it, but we're not going searching for her Land."
"Good." Yumika paused, as if remembering her own experiences with the 'other world'. "I should have guessed he wouldn't listen to my warnings. He still thinks he can save her?"
"His hope won't let him give up completely", Aiko admitted, a bit embarrassed. It wasn't something that had sabotaged his performance as their healer any, but she remained fully aware that Noel still held onto the notion that if they ever actually found Ayano Furusato's Land, he would he able to persuade her to leave and come back with them, no matter what anyone else said about the impossibility of it.
Like I can talk. How many times did I come back to try and save Mirambela no matter how many times I got chased out of her Land and told 'no'?
And her dogged persistence had gotten them... here. We owe Shukiji the same efforts. "We can all be a bit stupid... when it comes to our friends. And Vitienne-kun knew Furusato for several years longer than he knew any of us."
"Of course, I just had to take sympathy on an idiot child with his head in the clouds", Cecille agreed with a wry smile. "You'd think he would already know that's impossible, considering..."
"Considering...?"
Seeing her own surprise, Cecille froze for a moment, then abruptly corrected herself. "Considering the... method that miss Furusato's body was found in. Vitienne will know more, if you want to know."
The transfer student cocked any eyebrow. She honestly couldn't imagine a thing she wanted to do less. Despite everything she'd experienced in the last six months, just the thought of the corpse of Ayano Furusato raised the hairs on her neck. Only Noel had ever seen the body up close. The only one of us to have such a close brush with death.
Still, the way Cecille had quickly covered up her mistake suggested exactly that; something that she and Noel knew about Furusato that he hadn't shared with the others.
"...I don't think I need to ask him that", she announced finally. "I trust him. I trust them all." Even Julian.
Especially Julian?
"If that's your choice", Cecille observed kindness at last shining through her earlier veneer of anger. "A team that trusts is important. Just remember, child, that I trusted Lady Scorpio once."
The reminder brought back recent memories of her own first meeting with the mad proprietor of the Karma Club... and fresh worries about what she might be up to now. "You said it yourself- you were young. I already know she's not someone to trust."
"Which already places you a few steps above how I was at your age", she agreed with a wistful chuckle. "Just so long as you also remember that she won't stop until she reaches her goal. None of them will."
"Neither will we", Aiko promised back, the hardness of the Dream Voyagers' captain returning to her own gaze. "Not until it's over."
8/5 Wednesday
Afternoon
"Now remember", Jiachi told the team as they gathered at the cave for their usual meeting with the gate of green light to bring them into the ocean beyond it. "Shukiji expects us to be beaten. Angry and frustrated, yeah, but beaten. Defeated. Humiliated. Cowering to his 'superior intellect' or whatevs. Try to remember what you felt like right after our first visit to his tower of 'fun'."
"I doubt that will be too difficult", Noel remarked casually as the others arrived. "He is, after all, at fault for our current lack of crew."
Reacting to his mention, Mira faced their devoted healer with concern. "Are you sure you want to play it like this, Vitienne-kun? What if he doesn't let you leave?"
"Then it will be up to you to come and save me, Sorano-chan", he folded his hands in that same serenity that never failed to quell the worries of his closest friends. All his friends except for Shukiji, of course. "But I doubt we'll be forced into that. He understands perfectly well that I have no desire to remain in that world for so long. If anything, I would only be a distraction to his 'work'."
"What if you've read him wrong again?", Reiha accused. Incredibly, she actually looked more worried about the onrushing possibilities than Mira did. "What if he says no?"
"Then he'll stick with us until we can figure out some other way to make Niyoga let his guard down", Julian reassured her. "Look, we've planned all this out in as much detail as we possibly can without knowing exactly what he wants us to do yet... but if the way our last plan worked out is any sign, things can go wrong. We gotta be ready to adapt in that case. Don't say anything that might tip him off. Just follow my lead."
"And how long to do you wanna bet he's been waiting to say that?", Reiha teased him, thought the mockery felt slightly harsher than usual due to her leftover disquiet about the fake 'mutiny' plan Julian had begun just a day prior. "Try to remember that this is gonna be just an act, right? You're not actually the captain of this team, Rosea. Tsuruga is."
He smirked back innocently. "Hey, I'm the acting-captain. And the more you learn to act like I'm the real deal, the less likely it is he'll figure it out."
Sighing, she looked over at Mira in accusation. "He paid you to make this a part of the plan, right?"
"No", Mira confirmed. "But I figured this was what would make Niyoga-kun underestimate us the most of all."
"Not nice", Julian shot back in mock exasperation. "Come on now. At least give me a chance, yeah?"
"Hmph. There is no chance to be given, sir Rosea", a new, stuffy voice called down to him, precluding their feathered ally swooping down out of the cavern to join them. "You are our leader by lieu of our true captain's orders and nothing more. When this is over, her leadership will resume. That is the plan."
"That's the plan", Mira agreed, growing serious again, and with her serious meant worried. "Though it will feel very strange without her there."
"Imagine how she feels, Noel pointed out, "letting us go off like this without her. She's used to being able to watch over us, and protect us. Imagine her worry."
"She shouldn't worry", Jiachi promised. "Whatever this ends up being, we'll deal. We always do, right?"
The worry on their own faces told him all he needed to know. "We'll make it", said with more sincerity. "If nothing else, this might help us learn how to function better without Tsuruga."
Mira surprised them all by looking briefly angry before thinking better of it and sighing, head in her hands. "...You're right. Just the fact that going in without her has us all so anxious makes it clear that we could stand to be less dependent on her. I know she doesn't like being smothered."
"Not even by her dear 'Dada Yangyu'?", Noel suggested teasingly.
"Not even by me", she confirmed without missing a beat.
"Of course not", Reiha concurred, briefly chuckling as another thought occurred to her. "You have to give people their space sometimes. I know that better than anyone. Only..."
Sensing her reluctance to continue, Noel stared. "What's wrong?"
"N-nothing huge", their newest crew member stammered, cursing herself for being so easily read. "Just... We're trying to save Niyoga, no matter how he says he doesn't want to be. No matter how much he pisses us off. Tsuruga wants to do that. Do we? Would we want to if we weren't friends with her?" Taking a deep breath, she threw up her arms. "...Um. Sorry. I know that sounds selfish."
But Mira hardly looked offended. In fact, she smiled. "Not at all. I had the same idea shortly after I first started working with her. For a time, I believed that it wasn't worth us risking our lives to try and save someone else. Or... Rather, I didn't believe that we could."
"Understandable", Noel remarked, nodding emphatically at Reiha. "I am fully aware that Niyoga-san is not the most likable person. There is a good reason that I am the only one left that he considers to be his friend. But he is still human, Hayato. He deserves our help, not to be left behind in that demon-ridden sea. And for my part, I will do my very best to provide that for him."
"And there ya go again", Reiha complained sourly. "Making me look like the bad one for saying it."
"Questions aren't discouraged here, y'know", Jiachi pointed out with his own cocky grin. "Just keep in mind that he'll prolly be watching us the moment we step through the gate, trying to figure out if we're sincere. We should assume he can pick up on anything we say too. And besides..."
He was satisfied to see everyone else lean slightly closer to listen to him, even Pelagio.
"Honestly? That crazy 'Puck' Shadow of his is kind of a relief to me. A Shadow's the suppressed self, right? So that means Niyoga-san actually does have a sense of humor beneath all that grumpiness. He's not as dead inside as I first thought, yeah?"
He kept his eyes on Mira and Reiha, the ones who had encountered their own Shadows as well, the thoughts they had kept suppressed for years until they became an illness. While both instances had been hateful monsters, it was clear to them now that wasn't the only thing that they could be composed of, but merely the emotions that humans were most likely to conceal from others.
Of course, the same rang true for himself. He still shuddered at the memory of it.
The talk had clearly accomplished its objective, he saw now. The reminder of how their own Lands had been had gotten both girls re-focused back on their current objective, no longer feeling like it was appropriate for them to complain.
After a few more minor questions they knew it could be perilous to ask once they had set sail, they were ready. The towering spire of Shukiji's lighthouse seemed taller now, and the ray of light from its peak followed them the entire way in.
They saw the fresnel lenses shifting mechanically even before they disembarked, a quartet of them moving together to project the same enormous yet familiar golden head as before. "You've returned", Shukiji observed in a rare tone of surprise. "I didn't think that you would. Where is 'Saber'?"
Taking the initiative in a way he knew would have to become automatic for him now, Julian gave a guilty, despondent look. "She... quit. Said she didn't want to join us any more."
"Because of you!", Reiha followed up, sounding just as furious as she had yesterday.
Hardly threatened by her, the giant head instead pondered the sudden departure of their former leader. "Have you decided, then?"
"I have", Jiachi said, maintaining his earlier dejection. "We fought, and I won. I'm the captain now. We can't beat you. You made that clear last time. But if you're serious about learning more on Faraway Lands, then I don't see any reason for us not to help you however we can."
"That's... an unexpectedly wise decision from you, Rosea-san", Shukiji considered.
"Gunslinger", he interrupted without losing his 'mask' for an instant. "Here, I'm Gunslinger."
"Of course", his facsimile nodded graciously, surveying the rest of them in turn. "And Dancer and Guardian and Mender and Witch. I'll make sure to remember."
The elevator opened, already occupied by several of the clockwork insect soldiers they all knew were actually Shadows in disguise. They carried a short, round column that seemed to be composed as the same strange machinery at them, topped by a large bronze eye plate. "What's that?"
"A relay", Shu explained. "While my sight from here is very long, I can't completely observe all of this ocean. I lack a reliable means to move them to the required location myself... but you have a ship that can travel even to the areas I can't see. Yet."
"Hmph", Pelagio grunted, despondent as could be expected. "I am not some cargo barge to deliver random burdens to-"
"Guardian", Jiachi reprimanded him, inwardly hoping that the objection was just the angry bird trying to make the scenario seem more realistic. "If it will help us learn more about the truth of this world..."
"It will", Shu promised him. Incredibly, he actually seemed to be remorseful for how things had gone on their last visit. "The relay should extend the range of my observation considerably. There are coordinates included there with it. By the time you are done, I will have another one prepared and ready for you to transport."
"Assuming we're not too tired after the first drop off", Julian suggested. "Lemme guess- Shadows galore over in that area?"
"I can't see it yet", Shu told him. "But I would certainly expect it. Go prepared. As I said before, I have no desire to see any of you die."
"Says the guy who sicced Shadows on us last time", Reiha chipped in.
"Witch", Julian called in warning.
"I would like to remain behind as well", Noel cut them off. "I'd like to speak with Shukiji."
"Now?", their new captain asked, trying his best to sound panicked at a 'sudden change' in their plans. Have to make him think this isn't what we decided on. "We could really use ya, Mender."
"That you could", he acknowledged. "But Dancer can heal too. If you find the enemy to be too strong, please retreat. I'll be happy to accompany you the next time in that case."
"Let me assist you then", Shukiji offered, invisibly signaling his servants to open another box they'd brought with them. "Healing medication for all of you."
Another surprise, but a welcome one, and Julian accepted the extra supplies gladly. "Wow. And you said you didn't expect us to come back?"
"I was in the middle of trying to work out another way to transport the relays", Shukiji explained testily. "But this will be much easier. Thank you. I'm aware this must have been difficult to accept."
"For some of us more than others", Mira claimed, maintaining her practiced combination of repressed anger and acceptance. We'll get him one day. One day, this will all be worth it.
One day.
Noel watched Pelagio's departure with more misgivings than he'd wanted, his gaze instinctively following the distant speck on the horizon her had become until it was no longer visible at all.
Which left him here. Here, in the false construction of a Land ruled by his friend. Safety... in theory.
To his dismay, the next sight to greet him as he followed the Shadow guards onto the elevator was the pale skin, spindly fingers and hair of 'Puck', Shukiji's own Shadow. "What a play toward!", the deceptive court jester remarked, exhibiting the victorious satisfaction that his master dared not admit. "I'll be an auditor." Just when Noel looked about to relax with his guest however, his acid eyes narrowed into daggers, an invisible yet murderous force that Noel could easily sense emanating from him as he spoke final words in a far more threatening manner, placing one thin arm on his shoulder. "An actor too, perhaps. If I see cause."
While Noel had never actually read the play that this Shadow had apparently based himself on, the message remained unmistakable: If Noel tried anything that might actually succeed in convincing Shukiji to leave this Land behind, then 'Puck' wouldn't hesitate to 'act' and destroy him.
"You're preserving your own existence", he commented flatly, trying not to be bullied by the menace, not even slightly. "I understand that desire, certainly. But it doesn't change what you are. Your existence isn't natural. You're merely a Shadow. An accidental by-product of your Lord 'Oberon's arrival in this world."
Far from pacified by his words, the Shadow's menacing glower only seemed to grow, his laughter far from sounding amused any longer: "I'll follow you. I'll lead you about a round. Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier."
"Lord 'Oberon' wishes to see me now", he countered without breaking. "Don't waste my time any more, demon."
Unable to risk waiting any longer, the creature with Shukiji's face and voice gave up its intimidation, simply taking the elevator up without any further comment. As before, the elevator stopped three times to pose a difficult question to the lift's occupants, and all three times, 'Puck' answered them swiftly, allowing them to move up to the next floor.
The beacon dome was the same as before as well, the projection of his friend actually waiting there for them this time, the same size as the one that had greeted them.
But despite the welcoming expression on the projection's face, Noel frown at the sight. "No. This is not the real you. I want to speak to the real you."
The growl his demand produced from the Shadow's throat was recognizable as any kind of play lyrics, or even legible words at all. He might have attacked Noel there and then if Shukiji hadn't responded. "As you wish. I suppose I can spare some time, until the relay is finally ready. Begone, servant."
When that command failed to make the incensed Shadow leave, the projection reflected its creator's own anger perfectly. "I said, go. Now."
"I go", the creature rasped at last, sending Noel one last hateful glare as he spat the words. "I go. Look how I go. Swifter than arrow from the tartar's bow."
He waited several seconds after it was gone before speaking again. "There is a lift behind the north bank of lenses. Take it up."
Following the instructions took him up to the highest part of the dome, the only part of it not composed of wrought glass. Instead, the metal rings converged here, creating a large enclosed space, almost like a cage save for the round glossy flooring. There, his friend sat atop a featureless metal chair, having looked to have disconnected himself from a set of advanced-looking crown, wrought-iron cables running into openings in the wall.
Shukiji didn't look entirely satisfied with this arrangement, but he forced an unruly smile beneath his wild bush of hair, speaking in a stilted yet passable dialect of Noel's own native country's tongue. [I should have known you would make this difficult, Vitienne.]
The blond teen snorted at the suggestion and the attempt at making him feel 'comfortable' in this strange place, but easily lapsing back into his home language. [Me, making it difficult? You are the one who insisted on this spectacle show. There's no need for it, my friend. Not with me, or with anyone else.]
[You are half right], his friend remarked, turning back to the dome's windows with arms folded behind his back. [With you I am safe, but I am fairly certain the rest of them would love a chance to knock me out and drag me back there.]
[If that was what it took to bring you back to your senses.]
Shukiji sounded disappointed. [Ah, there it is. Of course. You think that you can convince me to leave this place before my work here is done? I thought I had made my point clear the last time you visited.]
[You did], Noel acknowledged grimly, switching back to Japanese to signal his friend to do the same. "But I'll continue to return, for however long it takes."
As always, his stubborn hope never failed to produce a noise of mild annoyance from his friend, even as it also brought forth a grudging respect from him, a strange mixture of disgust and appreciation with a higher mixture of the latter. "You only reached the top because I allowed it, Vitienne. If I wanted, I could shut you out completely. My work won't wait for long."
"Why?", he tested, joining him at the window. "Why? Why is that so important that it can't wait?"
"I suppose it could wait", Shu mused out loud. "But it shouldn't. If there's even the slightest chance that we can save humanity..."
"Save... humanity?"
Incredulous, Shukiji laughed in mockery. "What, Vitienne, you thought I was doing all this solely for my own sake? No. This... this may be the most important thing I've ever done with my life. Assuming I'm successful, of course. Only once I've scanned and cataloged every last bit of this world will I concede defeat."
"The last I checked", Noel tried almost defiantly, "humanity didn't need saving."
"No?" His mockery was darker now, born from years of fruitless worry. "Then you haven't been keeping your ear to the ground, mein freunde. You could see it every day on the news. Everywhere you look, the resources shortages grow bigger. Everywhere, another dispute forces nations into another bloody standoff that neither one can afford... but they can't back down from it or risk losing 'face'. Everywhere, the tides rise higher and no one can stop it."
Knowing full well what his friend thought of those concerns when he'd voiced them earlier, he chose a different subject. "You're among many other foreigners who've suffered greatly because of JCAP insisting that Japan should be for the Japanese only. I think I've brought up at least one time before that groups like them are partly the result of people's growing fear that they won't be able to provide for their growing populations in the next century."
"Adults have had to deal with those worries for longer than either of us have lived", Noel reminded him. He remembered that talk too, and felt the same way now as then. "They've managed. Certainly, there is starvation in many nations, but that has always been the case. Those nations still exist, intact. And..."
Carefully, he reached to the ruler's shoulder. "And I recall the other thing I told you then too: That solving such enormous problems isn't for people our age."
Hardly placated, his friend drew up in a huff. "Who is it for, then? Our 'glorious' leaders? No. Because of those imbeciles, six years ago a mass murderer and a rapist was nearly allowed to sweep into the highest seat of power, of Prime Minister. It's their fault that JCAP was allowed to spread as far as it has since then." Pausing, he softened slightly. "Isn't that one of the messages that principal Yumika keeps using in his speeches to us? You know: 'the future is yours to create'?"
"It is only meant as encouragement", Noel assured him. "He certainly doesn't expect any of us to solve all of the world's ills ourselves."
"Someone has to solve it", Shukiji claimed, brushing him away angrily. "And from what I've observed, it certainly won't be any adult who does it. But this? This world has opened my mind to an entirely new level. There are possibilities here that I haven't even considered yet."
"Possibilities?", Noel wondered. "What possibilities? It is an ocean of death, designed to entrap and swallow poor unfortunate souls. Nothing more."
"Wrong as usual." Returning to his seat, Shukiji clasped his temple as if in pain before emphasizing his words with his most serious gaze.
"Think, Vitienne! Think! You've been able to take bring objects you've found with you- money, medicine, weapons, protective gear, even jewelry- back to our reality! That means that any other resources it may contain can be harvested as well. Even if this world fails to yield any food, or drinkable water, or any of a dozen other crucial resources, my research has indicated that it's partly composed of the fabric of humanity's collective dreams. All you would need to do is have enough people dream of it together, and it would be there, ready for the taking!"
The idea hadn't actually occurred to Noel until now, and it took him a while to process it, and realize what madness his friend was actually suggesting. "You are saying we could use this world to replenish our flagging resources? But... There are deadly Shadows around every corner, and most ships would be torn asunder by the currents here. It's far too dangerous."
"So are coal mines", Shukiji argued back. "It would certainly require a lot of preparation, research and forethought to avoid any deaths. That's why I'm here. Performing research. But you've managed to avoid that yourself, haven't you? You've undergone several trips without losing anyone. Well done. All it would require is a few qualified Persona-users to guard the operation. Who knows? In time, it may even be possible to make the Shadows into a resource as well."
That suggestion- the suggestion that losing Furusato was 'not losing anyone'- spent the last of his civility, and he shook his head, eyes closed. "No. Never. Shadows are demons. They only exist to plague us. Even yours, that false fairy trickster who pretends to be your chief servant, is manipulating you."
Opening again, he wasn't shocked to see disappointment on his friend's small face, but he remained undaunted, dramatically spreading one arm around the length of the tower. "This will not save humanity, Niyoga. It was never an issue of resources. It's faith, and hope in each other. With enough of that, anything is possible."
"Of course you would say that." Shukiji rolled his eyes, sneering. "Hope and faith. The same belief as Shigetsu, right? Just stand back, do nothing, and wait for God to save us instead of acting for ourselves." Blinking, he stood in his seat. "Well, this will be the first time you'll be right. The God that I've become in this world will save humans. I'll do anything I can to learn the truth of this world, this new frontier... and how we can use it."
"Your father always loved you, mein freunde", Noel protested. "And now, you know that he was right all along. A Shadow did attack him six years ago, taking his leg."
"And I've apologized to him for my grievous mistake", Shu pointed out. Despite the dismissiveness of his voice, Noel could tell that remained a difficult subject for him to broach, and he looked momentarily thoughtful. "In a way, I'm doing this for him as well. He deserves to have his prayers answered, after suffering for so long." Pausing, he admitted a honest chuckle. "Wouldn't he be pleased though, to find out that he's given birth to a 'savior'?"
"You are not a savior, Niyoga", Noel emphasized firmly. "And this world is no paradise, or solution to any problem of ours."
"In your opinion." Once again, he looked more jubilant than his correction suggested, even smiling slightly. "I must say, 'Mender', I wish you'd debated me with this kind of passion more often before when we were together at school. It would have been nice to have a challenge."
Returning to his seat, his brief enthusiasm faltered. "Still... that doesn't change that most of your arguments are based on nothing but naivete and blind hope."
"Hope is the most powerful human trait." The healer's gaze hardened, repeating his words like they were a protective mantra. "Even when we're told there is no chance of success, we have to try anyway. Just to see for ourselves, Bismillah."
"So you've told me before." Glancing at the 'crown' on the seat, his friend shook his head, as if deciding on something. "Was it 'hope' that made you give up on yourself? Or was it what you told me before, about what you did to your-"
And just like that, his face was burning, burning out of control as the old, buried memories came flooding back, his mouth gone dry and his head throbbing out of control until he could barely think of anything at all, much less a prompt reply. Fortunately, Shukiji patiently waited for him to recover from it and speak again.
So he did, furious boiling anger spilling over into his glare. "You promised you would never speak of that. That it was the one secret you would never trade away."
"And I haven't", his friend claimed. "There's no one in here but the two of us. Nothing said here will leave this dome. At least, not through my lips."
He found himself at a recurring loss for what to say next. Instead, Shu stepped up, waving a hand to him and kneeling slightly. "If you truly believed in these new 'friends' of your so much, wouldn't you at least trust them with that secret? Let them know that you weren't always this kindhearted saint you've tried so hard to be, since that time back home?"
"I am that person", Noel growled harshly. Despite his claim, his words carried a chilling threat in them that Aiko, Reiha, Mira, Julian or even Pelagio would have ever guessed their normally serene, gentle friend could be capable of producing even on his worst day. "I have chosen to be that person over whom I once was. I have chosen to live with hope and faith in my heart. The hope that some day... someday, that I might be forgiven for my great sin."
But even this threat display failed to intimidate Shukiji in the slightest. It never had. Instead, he clapped his hands, standing again. "You're clearly growing tired. I think that will be quite enough for now. My work awaits. Feel free to explore my new home if you want, until the others return from their mission."
He raised a hand in silent protest, but it was too late- Shukiji had already begun re-applying the strange crown device to his head. Within moments, the rings embedded in the walls slowly ground back to life, the dome once again surging with energy and his friend's eyes closed to him.
The Leviathan was enormous, a gaping, talon-clad marine atrocity larger even than what they had come to expect from that type of Shadow. Fortunately, it was also slower than usual to match. Pelagio was able to stay clear of the beast until their gunners- Reiha and Julian- wore it down with their cannon fire and left it to crash loudly back into the waters from which it had come.
"I thought the captain was supposed to stay at the wheel", she remarked once they were sure it was dead. In the same tone, he couldn't help noticing, as she had given out all of her recent chain of thinly-veiled jabs at his ability to be the captain, even a temporary one.
"We're a crew of three now", he pointed out irritably. "We go where we're needed, and we needed Dancer to patch up that hole while we took care of ugly." Blinked. "Also, she's not as good a shot as me."
"That's usually Mender's job", she noted as they returned to the deck to see Mira finishing her own task. "Maybe we shouldn't have let him go? There's gonna be another fight here, I can already tell."
The island ahead of them certainly looked like she was right, larger than normal with a large mesa in the center where the 'relay' was supposed to go. The overall arc of the hill coupled with the ruins peppering it gave the place dozens of places ideal for ambushes, and Jiachi could already sense the cold malice of nearby Shadows of the more conventional type gathering.
But that wasn't what worried him and made his skin begin to itch with annoyance. Fighting Shadows was old news for them by now, even if doing it without their captain- their true captain, he acknowledged bitterly- was a bit of a new twist.
So when they finally got to the shore, he didn't step off right away as he usually did. Instead he waited, turning to face Reiha directly. "I won, Witch. I'm captain now. If you want to challenge me on it, go right ahead... but not here. Not while there's Shadows around."
Her response took a moment for him to decipher through this strange game of pretend they were all playing now. There were, of course, many things that they couldn't discuss or refer to here. Not with the ever-present possibility of Shukiji watching them. They all had to keep up the act, make it seem like Jiachi really had forcibly taken command away from Aiko, which naturally would trigger resentment in many of the crew, Reiha and Pelagio especially, creating the desired image of a defeated crew that was beginning to fray apart completely, collapsing without a strong center to hold.
The problem with it was that Reiha seemed to have increasing difficulty separating her factual anger from her fictional anger. Every last word she'd said since leaving Shukiji's Land seemed aimed to cast doubt on his ability to lead. Here, she managed to narrow her eyes in a way that could be taken as both chagrin and secretly winking at him... and he couldn't honestly tell which one it was, or even ask for confirmation.
"I think we'll do that back home", she declared, pounding one fist into an open palm suggestively. "Easier that way, aight?"
"Whatevs", he shrugged, trying to let his aggravation slide out into the dark waters beneath them. "Just make sure you protect Guardian, alright? They'll prolly focus on him when they see what he's got."
Mira, at least, had no desire to make any trouble. "I'll take point", she said. "If any of them try to jump us I can put them to sleep and give you time to deal with them."
"That should work", he agreed. This, too, would be a difficult change to deal with. Normally Pelagio was one of their best fighters, never requiring much direction to fulfull his role well. But now, he was the one being tasked with carrying the strange disc-shaped 'relay' up the hill, a task that would occupy both of his arms and leave him open to attack.
"I'm so getting a drink when we're done here", Jiachi whispered to no one but himself, but he saw Mira react subtly to it anyway. "A non-alcoholic drink, natch."
The first wave was waiting to meet them- a trio of squat cyclopean hunchbacks, balding heads crowned by bright leaves that extended down into a healthy spread of ivy and moss covering most of their upper bodies, their large blue orbs slitting open vertically to glare before their more humanlike jaws and teeth bared, growling in greeting.
"Larger than the usual", Pelgio observed, oddly calm despite their predicament. "At least for the opening. Here... Mapraesi!" The trio of Voyagers saw a brief flicker as transparent barriers covered them all, a temporary protection against damage.
"Nice new skill, Guardian", Jiachi smirked back, giving a thumbs up. "Looks like I'm not the only one who's been workin' out."
"After our previous humiliation, it seemed a wise course of action", the armored knight figure's pauldrons shrugged, and he reached for the relay. "I only regret that I will be unable to use Galahad's power any further while moving this contraption to our destination."
"We got you covered, angry bird", he promised, unleashing a triple shot of fire against the Shadows and frowning when they hardly flinched at it. "Darn."
"As our new captain says", Mira strode past the two of them, invoking Oya and barraging the trio with lightning bolts. "Even without Saber's arsenal, odds are good that we have something that will work here."
When that skill failed to produce the desired result, Reiha stepped past her, calling on Adrestia instead of her fists for once and unleashing a torrent of fluid, seething darkness that halted the enemy's charge, tripping one up while the others forced their way through it only to be met by daggers and flames. "Called it", she considered after they were done. "Weird though. I thought that the flames would ignite that disgusting moss, aight?"
"The strengths and weaknesses of Shadows are not always logically dictated by their appearance", Pelagio commented, carefully hefting the relay until it felt comfortable across his fluted shoulders.
"They're Shadows", Julian shrugged. "Expecting consistent logic out of 'em's like expecting snow to fall this month. Everybody ready?"
He sensed their consent more than heard it, the easy destruction of the first wave having restored their confidence that this mission would, in fact, be possible. "Flank Guardian", he ordered. "They seem to like to focus on him even before he started carrying that big thing around."
"Hmph. Of course", he grunted back, either still bitter or pretending to be. "The more that focus upon me, the fewer to attack the rest of you."
Mira looked like she wanted to say something, but then remembered their situation and turned back to finishing the last of the cyclops Shadows. This 'acting' is going to drive us crazy before long, Julian considered, actually worried for once. One slip and its all ruined, and we can't even correct each other.
The fighting, thankfully, was simpler. The moss giants were followed up with a spread of deceptively cheerful-looking blue birds wearing white caps whose black-tipped beaks were capable of inflicting the same revolting orange dust as many in Reiha's Land had, preventing even Mira's more limited healing skills from having any effect at all for a stretch. Taking care to each to shoot each one out of the air, the acting captain spent the rest of his time watching the others, making sure they didn't too far away from the group or otherwise surrounded.
After several such annoying encounters, the rest of the birds flew off and he could feel the presence of what he could only assume was the top dog of the area: a wild-looking blue skinned dragon with lighter turquoise fins along the side of the head and spines, but with a torso so bloated and heavy that it was forced to crawl along on all fours, lacking wings and a tail equally atrophied, mere bulging flesh dragging uselessly behind it.
"So I'm curious now", Reiha remarked, directed at no one in particular. "Can Shadows go on a diet? 'Cause this one really looks like he could use one." Despite her easy mockery, she kept her guard up, ready to move as soon as the beast made a move.
It seemed to react to her words, fins flaring out as it screeched before releasing a bright blue breath weapon that chilled to the touch. Mira's responding hurricane winds barely seemed to move the beast, and its follow-up shriek seemed even louder, actually stunning and driving her to her knees with the volume overload.
With their earlier shields long-since spent, Reiha winced as the creature's frigid wind washed over her as well, but didn't let it stop her from socking it in the face, knocking it back until it came back down to release a thick spray of icicles. For a moment she feared the worst, but the next sensation was sharp warmth instead of cold: Jiachi had repeated his earlier move, melting an icy skill with Wild Bill's fire.
"Hate freezing guys", he grunted, pinging bullets off the Shadow's scales. "Hey grumpy bird, any ideas where we can hit this one?"
If their armored comrade was surprised to have their 'acting captain' asking for advise, he didn't let it pause him for long. Placing the relay on the top point of the cliff as he'd been instructed, he gratefully drew his weapons. "Perhaps the tail or the side of the stomach? It may be too thick to allow serious damage, but this Shadow seems to be slow at turning."
"Go for it", Reiha offered, again focusing her Persona's power. "I'll distract him."
Instead of striking the enemy directly, the curse energy spread out across the dusky ground, forming a pentagram within a circle. The skill seemed to have no direct effect on the Shadow, but it did make it pause for a moment to consider what the strange symbol was.
That was enough. "Just like with Mender", Julian observed. "Of course, if this thing wasn't so damn strong you could prolly kill it with that move straight up."
As Pelagio had predicted, the creature was slow to turn. It clearly could feel the sword slashing into its ample gut, but could only strike with its maw and breath. Finally becoming frustrated, it released the sonic shriek from before, stunning him, giving the Shadow time to line its head up... and exposing its side to Julian's prepared Agidyne.
The damage wasn't as devastating as he'd expected, but it was enough to make the bloated serpent howl, opening its mouth for Pelagio to stick his blade into the exposed neck, ending the threat.
"Using that move again", Mira remarked, recovered from her earlier hit with nothing more than a headache. Now she sounded concerned. "It takes a lot out of you though, doesn't it?"
"I'm fine", Jiachi insisted, forcing himself to stand and stop panting. "It's all good. I got this. I could do that a few more times if I had to."
"Excellent", her smile seemed balanced between genuine appreciation and sarcasm. "Maybe we can find another one of those things for you. Or we could just call it a day, pick up Mender and go home?"
Halting, he exhaled, blowing out his pain from the earlier hit, nearly falling over again. No matter how desperately tried to hide it, using the powerful rose-shaped fire skill always hit him like several particularly well-aimed kicks to the gut. "...Yeah. That's... good too. Shit."
"And it looks like you're still exhausted after your fight with Saber yesterday", Mira sighed as she caught him, forcefully propping him back up. Her touch on his chest felt cold, but welcome. "Of course you'd never admit it. Honestly. You're as bad as she is. Always pushing yourself too much. Like you've got anything to prove by now."
"G-guilty as charged... heh. Too bad Saber can't tkae that one as a Persona, eh?"
The relay activated then, the top section gradually spinning to life before the middle and bottom followed suit. As it rose into place, the center opening let out a car-sized column of blue light high into the air, as if trying to pierce the very darkness of the night sky above. Perhaps that was the intent.
"That's it, then", Reiha observed, scanning the area for threats one more time. "Shu said that once it activates, the relay generates a field that can protect it from any Shadows that try to mess with it."
They took care not to look at it too much as they left, sailing back to the lighthouse.
8/5 Wednesday
Evening
Mirambela could feel the difference the moment they sailed through the gate. There had been a difference before of course, but now it felt far more pronounced. It felt like they all let out a collective sigh of relief, no longer having to mind what they said or did quite so closely, like actors stepping off the stage to relax and simply be people again.
"Okay, yeah. This masquerade is slightly tougher than I thought", Julian spoke first, recovered since the fighting but still faint. "Slightly."
"At least it's working", Mira pointed out, turning to Noel. "He seemed to buy it, right?"
"As near as I can tell", their sorely-missed healer said, looking troubled. "He might have been faking, just to make me think he's fallen for our act."
"But he spoke to you about that other stuff", she reminded him more cheerfully. "About how he wanted to try and search Faraway Lands for resources, right? Why would he share his goals with you if he suspected you?"
His gloom only deepened however. "I don't know. He might have done that to make me think he didn't see through me. Or maybe..."
"Or maybe you're over-thinking it", Reiha finished for him, barking out a laugh. "Dancer's right. Definitely gonna be hard for us to keep that up though."
"Mira", she corrected the older girl with an easygoing smile. "Or Sorano, if you prefer. We have to keep the names straight, right?"
"Yeah", Jiachi considered. "As cool as it might be to have people call me Gunslinger here, it'd get boring real fast. Also..."
"Also, those code names are merely used as masks to prevent your true names from permeating the collective human subconscious overmuch", Pelagio followed up.
"Something like that", their acting captain admitted sheepishly. "Guess you don't have to worry about that."
"Indeed." Scouting out ahead of them as usual, he perched up on a cliff to stare back. "I only chose the code name 'Guardian' to better fit with the rest of you all. As near as I can tell, the name 'Pelagio' is not a common one among your people, though perhaps it is in other nations."
"None as far as I can tell", Mira considered thoughtfully. "I've never heard of it before now. Who gave it to you?"
"Hmph. No one gave to me." The bird's usual snoot concealed his note of distress at the knowledge. "I gave myself the name. I merely required something to refer to myself as. Even the Shadows have names."
"It's a fine name", she agreed, turning back to the others. "By the way... Shu doesn't know about that either, does he?"
"Not as far as I can tell", Noel mulled cautiously. "He never mentioned it, though he did express some interest in seeing our powers firsthand again."
"Right", Reiha grunted. "He prolly was watchin' us the whole time we were busting our butts fighting those Shadows. Perv."
"I'm certain that was hardly his goal", he assured her. Sniffed the breeze that had greeted them home. "Wait... where is Tsuruga-chan? I thought for sure she would wish to see our safe return. She seemed so worried before."
"She had to work a shift at the Starlight", Reiha explained. "I told her she could just cancel it after all she'd been through lately, but... you know how she is."
"And yet", Pelagio's voice sounded suddenly concerned. "There she is. On your left."
It was very far to the left along the beach, so far that only Pelagio's eyes could have spotted it, but as they drew closer they could all see it. Their leader lay huddled in the sand, several bags stuffed with items clustered around her. Though her hair was messy, she looked comfortable at rest.
"All the things we needed for the plan", Reiha spoke at last, once they'd checked to ensure nothing was wrong with their captain besides a simple lack of energy and started checking the bags. "Yep. The costumes, the gear, and the medicine too. And she's still dressed in her Starlight uniform, so..."
"She ran out to catch us after finishing work", Mira sighed exasperatedly. "After buying all that stuff for us. And doing who knows what else all day. I'll take her back to the dorm."
"And I'll carry the bags", Reiha offered. "Need to avoid Ekuya-san's wrath after all. She even scares me."
"I'll call tomorrow", Julian promised, annoyed that he couldn't do more to help. "Let her know everything that happened today."
"I'll let her know of Shukiji's intentions", Noel followed. "Anything can help us for the next part of the plan."
Silently, Pelagio took flight after them, leaving the setting sun behind for the time being.
Enemy Profile #19: Typhon
Arcana: Emperor
Strength: Ice (Drain), Wind
Weakness: Fire
Abilities: Bufula, Tentarafoo, Zanma, Tarunda, Piercing Claw
Background: The last son of Gaia, fathered by Taratarus into the deadliest monster of Greek mythology. Husband of Echidna, and the father of a large number of additional monsters. His children include Cerberus, the Hydra and the Sphinx. When Zeus imprisoned the Titans, it caused great pain to Gaia, and caused her to sent Typhon to destroy Zeus as an act of revenge.
A/N:
EnPassant4264: Thanks plenty for the review! I was hoping that twist would throw a few people for a loop as well as establish the kind of character Julian/Jiachi is. A bit of Junpei in there, constantly trying to compete with the Wild Card's abilities despite having a much more limited Persona. And as you saw, he went to great lengths to try to catch up to Kakaro- I mean, Aiko's power, something that Junpei eventually gave up on. Likewise, it's very common to see a responsible leader of a group blaming themselves TOO much for serious misfortunes, perhaps best exemplified by Batman, Spider-Man or Wedge Antillies in the Star Wars EU.
Andalucia is Matador's signature attack, a barrage of fast sword strikes perhaps best known from his deadly appearance in SMT3: Nocturne. Hydrocaras is a brand new move I made up, using the root word 'hydrocarbon', as in oil. I'm trying to give each Dream Voyager one brand new skill that compliments their roles and characters (Rejesho for Mira, Praesi for Pelagio, Reiha and Noel... we'll see).