Prisoner of Glory Chapter 12: The Warrior Princess, a persona series fanfic

Chapter 12: The Warrior Princess

Summary: The Phantom Thieves fight Ayelet, the cognitive clubs champion, for the third and final Core.

Friday, August 11th 20XX, Daytime
Odori Park, Sapporo Jail

The Phantom Thieves were making great progress in their quest to infiltrate Sapporo's Metaverse Jail. It was still mid-morning, and they had already taken two of the three Cores they needed to get through Yuri Hikawa's Castle. But as they returned to Odori Park and passed by a roadside clearing, a voice blared from a flying drone Shadow. "You, thief! Return what you stole at once!"

"Stole, my ass!", Skull retorted indignantly. "We won this fair and square!"

Unswayed, the drone transformed into a giant Mothman. "You have no idea what kind of torture awaits us if the Monarch finds out…"

But Panther was unswayed. Standing defiantly, she responded, "Sorry to hear that, but there's no turning back!"

As with the smaller Mothmen they had dealt with recently, this fight was entirely one-sided. The Phantom Thieves' gunfire, in particular from Panther's SMGs and Noir's grenade launcher, rendered the flying bug grounded and helpless, leaving it a sitting duck until Joker and Mona joined in to finish it off for good. Once they were out of danger, Panther asked the group, "So, who do you think that Shadow represented?"

Queen paused to ponder the question. "Someone else who feels threatened by Yuri-san… Maybe one of her teammates?"

Noir's gaze fell from the sadness and empathy she was feeling. "Are you saying she treats her own teammates the same way she treats her opponents? That's awful!"

"Well, it's not like gymnastics is a team sport," explained Oracle. "Apart from the group events, but that's not her department anyway. In tournaments like the Madicce Cup, a team can only send a couple of participants."

"It's just like what Violet said about her Castle," Queen deduced. "She sees everyone as a competitor. And with Yuri's reputation, her teammates have basically conditioned themselves to let her win."

Mona nodded understandingly. "At any rate, the road is clear now, and we've only got one more Core left to take. Shall we?" Joker agreed, and motioned his team to continue down the road heading back east, where the third and final Prison Keep lay in place of the Sapporo Tower.

Sapporo Tower

Being located so close to their campsite in the real Odori Park, the Phantom Thieves did not have far to go to reach the Sapporo Tower's Keep… or so they thought. While the Keep itself was just off the side of the road they were on, its front entrance was barricaded by yet another ice wall.

"But the core is just ahead, right?", asked Skull. "What do we do?"

"How about up there?" Fox pointed towards an enormous mass of icy pinnacles in front of them, easily dwarfing the Keep itself, not to mention the barrier blocking their access to it. The Thieves all craned their necks skyward and followed the path of the many spires, which led up to a towering snowy plateau. "We may be able to drop in from above, as long as we're willing to climb."

"Nice thinking, Inari!", Oracle said in enthusiastic encouragement. "Then let's head over there!"

Following Joker's lead, the Phantom Thieves headed up to the mountain and leapt from pillar to pillar, their grip and balance sure-footed like a mountain goat. At the top, Joker activated another Checkpoint, then turned around and surveyed the smooth and snowy slope leading down and around towards the back of the Keep. Panther spotted a rack of snowboards, just like at the Arboretum, and suggested, "Hey, don't you think we'd get there much easier if we slid down?"

"Good idea," Sophie complimented. "You're sharp, Panther."

"Witness as we gallantly soar down these slopes to safety!", Fox dramatically declared. "This may just be the inspiration I need."

"You consider this inspiring?", laughed Queen.

Skull stepped up and clapped a hand on Fox's shoulder. "Hey, if this guy can get inspired from our enemy's gymnastic routines, then anything's possible! Am I right, Fox?"

"Just so. ...Though, now that you mention it, there is something I feel I should tell you now, before it would become inconvenient. I'm afraid I have fallen in love with Yuri Hikawa-san. That is what Skull and I were discussing after our last battle." Fox could sense his teammates tensing themselves at the news, and so he added, "Please do not be alarmed. This does not mean I plan to betray you all. On the contrary, this makes me wish to change her heart even more."

"What the what!?" gasped Oracle. "Even after all the nasty stuff she said about you, Inari?"

"In all likelihood, her prejudices are merely a product of her cognitive distortions. On top of that, for all I find beautiful about Hikawa-san, I also have the impression that she does not feel… happy, in her current state."

"So basically, you wanna save her from herself." Oracle allowed herself to crack a smile. "That's… actually really noble of you, Inari."

"Why, thank you. Then let us waste no more time and venture forth to the Keep!" With that rallying cry, the Phantom Thieves shared a cheer together before strapping on their snowboards and pushing off down the hill.

"Woohoo!", Skull yelled, feeling a rush of adrenaline. "Shred the gnar, baby!"

Nobody else understood his lingo, but they were having too much fun to care. "Ahh, I love the feeling of wind in my hair!" Noir thought aloud while she shoved away packs of Jack Frosts.

"I really like the motion," added Sophie. "Shooooom!"

"Hey, careful!" warned Queen. "Look ahead!" A flying Shadow was laying down a dense stream of machine-gun fire, which Joker swerved to avoid.

Upon reaching the small clearing at the bottom of the mountain, a phalanx of Shadows holding riot shields waited for them, but the Thieves' downhill momentum was too much for the guards to withstand, and so they were sent flying like black bowling pins. No sooner did they take off their snowboards than they were sprung upon by several Kaiwans, floating star-shaped Shadows with bearded human faces. "Shadows!", Oracle warned, as if that was necessary. "Defeat them and move on!" The bizarre-looking monsters launched strong psychokinetic attacks their way, and occasionally hung back to focus their mind and make their magic even more powerful. However, the Phantom Thieves were keen to keep clear, and dispatched them without any trouble.

Once out of danger, the team searched around the clearing. There was no apparent entrance to the Keep, just a section of the ramparts that was too tall, and too slick with ice, for them to climb. That was, however, until Fox found something of interest. "As I suspected, it seems we can enter from here."

But Skull couldn't make the connection. All he saw was a featureless, insurmountable wall and no way to climb it. "Really? How's that?", he asked in confusion.

"That ice block over there," Joker answered, pointing out an object the likes of which he had used during his recent battle. "Watch this." He got behind the block, carefully found his grip against the slippery ground, and pushed. The block slid ahead, coming to a stop just in front of the Keep wall.

Mentally, Skull chastised himself for his ignorance, but he didn't show it. "All right, let's do this thing!" he cheered, as they all climbed up and over the ramparts.

Before making their ascent, Haru hung back to ask her girlfriend, "Aren't you going to eat your ramen?"

Queen shook her head. "I think I'll save it for once we're inside, so its effects will last longer into my fight. Both you and Fox seemed to have some trouble once they wore off - uh, not that you performed anything less than wonderfully in your battle, Noir!"

But Noir simply flashed a smile. "Why, thank you, Queen-chan! Good luck in your own duel, too! Shall we?" And together they helped each other up to meet their friends inside the Keep.

Sapporo Tower Keep

Once they dropped down into the third Prison Keep, the Phantom Thieves were treated to the familiar sight of the central tower retracting into the floor, and a gymnastic mat covering the spot where it once stood. Yuri Hikawa's haughty voice rang out to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to round three of my challenge! Representing my Snow Stadium, fighting with the clubs, is my third guardian… Ayelet Weiss!" As the Monarch said this, her cognition of the so-called "warrior princess" teleported into being. True to her appellation, the olive-skinned, short-haired brunette showcased an extra bit of muscle definition in her bare arms and legs, while her leotard depicted a sort of art deco-styled breastplate and skirt, glittering in white and gold. "Who among you wishes to challenge this gymnastic gladiator?", the Monarch asked the opposing crowd.

Without hesitation, the biker strategist stepped up and declared, "I, Queen, accept your challenge!" As expected, Queen's costume transformed upon declaring her intent, although not by much. She now found herself wearing a sleeveless midnight-blue bodysuit, the chest criss-crossed by shimmering silver lines. The toned curves accentuated by her new unitard drew silent, secretive stares from her friends, even from her newly-declared girlfriend Noir. Emboldened by the attention, Queen spoke out again before Yuri could get another word in. "And let me tell you something, Hikawa! I'm in love with my best friend, Noir! And there's not a damned thing you can tell me to make me feel any shame, or to quench my desire to take your precious Core! So what now, you conniving bitch!?"

Yuri and the Phantom Thieves alike were stunned silent at Queen's sudden display of ferocity. A long, awkward moment passed before the Monarch flatly and impatiently asked, "...Do you want to fight the champion or not?"

"Yes… yes I do," Queen replied, returning to her usual polite self. With that, the start of the five-minute warm-up period was declared, and she asked Joker for her serving of miso ramen. He was surprised that she hadn't eaten it yet, but when she explained her reasoning, he procured a bowl for her without any further questions. She let Noir feed it to her while she stretched, using Joker's body as a makeshift barre set. In between Skull's orders for her stretching regimen, Oracle quizzed her on the battle tactics they had planned out. Queen swallowed her mouthful of noodles to answer, "Strike when she throws her clubs high!"

"That's it! She'll be a sitting duck!"

"Hey, uh… what's gonna happen if Queen gets knocked out?", Skull asked nervously to no one in particular. "Is the champion gonna get healed up or somethin'?"

"Don't say that!", Noir urged. "Queen-chan will take her down! Right?"

"Right!", Queen affirmed as she got up to start her dynamic stretches.

"Worrying too much about what could go wrong will only make you lose concentration when you need it," advised Mona. "Just focus on how to overcome those situations."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Mona. If I didn't know better, I'd say I was about to head into a real gymnastics competition!" Queen giggled to herself and downed the last of her ramen broth, just as Yuri's voice declared the end of their warm-up period. As she walked up to her corner of the mat, Noir ran up to wish her good luck. "Thank you, Noir-chan. I've got this." She gave her girlfriend a quick hug before taking her place and picking up her clubs. They had an unusual heft to them, like they were made of solid iron, but by now she expected this from Yuri's challenges.

Both combatants took their starting positions, their unmoving muscles tense in anticipation for the starting signal. When it rang, they began to dash at each other, but Queen stopped in her tracks and held her ground. Rather than charging in blindly, her plan was to wait and react to what Ayelet would do first. Taking advantage of what she perceived was a moment of hesitation, the cognition threw herself into a mighty strike, but Queen brought her clubs up suddenly and swiftly to parry the blow. The effects of Joker's ramen were so pronounced that her body seemed to move faster than her brain could command them to, and her mind was already extraordinarily quick and keen under normal conditions. When they clashed, the weight and momentum of the clubs made them shake and ring in both combatants' hands, but their strength kept them flying out of control. "Heh," growled Ayelet, "you're pretty strong."

"I could say the same to you," replied Queen. "But, strength isn't everything in this battle."

"I agree." With that, Ayelet drew back into a walkover, tossing both her clubs up high. Queen registered her momentary loss of control and took a swing, but her clubs hit only empty air as her opponent completed another back walkover, then stopped in the middle of a third to hold a penche split balance. From this position, she caught her clubs and crossed them above her head, triggering a spell that manifested as a purple glow around Queen. No immediate harm was apparent, but she felt weaker somehow, and she recognized what just happened. Ayelet had lowered her body's defenses with a Rakunda skill. While Queen did know a spell of her own to counteract the effect, she would need a free moment to charge it up, and that time was a luxury she did not presently possess.

Already, the cognitive combatant was charging up a follow-up attack. By tossing her clubs up once more, spinning in her step three times, and catching them in a back walkover, she cast a Memory Blow attack. The hits seemed to come out of nowhere, but Queen was able to cartwheel out of danger, suffering only minor scrapes. Tossing her own clubs and accentuating the motion with a split kick, she then leapt into a backflip, flying high without any support from her hands, and landing in a crouch. But even as she neatly caught her clubs, her suit nonetheless discharged a mighty electric shock. "What the hell?", Queen argued to the void. "I caught that!"

Yuri's voice laughed at Queen's misfortune, before explaining, "That was an illegal move. Mid-air flips are not allowed in rhythmic gymnastics."

On the sidelines, Panther asked, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen any flips like those in the routines we watched. I wonder why that is?"

"Hmm… I think I read about that somewhere," answered Oracle. "It's partly to keep the style of rhythmic gymnastics separate from the other kind, and partly for safety reasons. Rhythmic gymnastics mats aren't springy like those used in artistic gymnastics, so it's easier to keep your balance and do spins, but you're more likely to hurt yourself landing after a big jump. Basically, some part of your body has to be touching the ground for acrobatic moves like that."

Skull gripped his head in frustration. "Aargh, why's there gotta be two kinds of gymnastics to keep track of!? It's so friggin' confusing!"

"Psst, nobody tell him about acrobatic gymnastics," Oracle whispered to Panther, who shared a giggle.

"This is nothing compared to teaching monkey-boy how the Metaverse works," Mona added smugly. "Even he should be able to comprehend what you said, Oracle."

"What'd you say, you stupid cat!?", Skull shouted, shaking his fist at the feline Phantom Thief.

"Who are you calling a cat, monkey-boy!?", retorted Mona.

"Stop arguing!", urged Noir. "You'll distract Queen!" It hardly mattered, though, as before Queen could recover from her mistake, Ayelet had completed a penche pivot, spinning five times with her back leg pointed straight up, which triggered a Maragion fire spell to blow up in her face. Momentarily blinded by the flames, Queen fell down, but kept rolling on her side to put out any lingering fires on her body, and to avoid a knockout countdown. That took a lot out of me…, she chastised herself. I've got to be more careful from here on out!

Springing up to a standing position, Queen's first order of business was to restore her weakened defense. She lifted her right leg straight up while spinning her clubs in mills in front of her, adopting a sort of meditative state until Johanna appeared in its motorcycle-like form and drove in a quick circle around her. As it disappeared, Queen's body emitted a brief violet glow, indicative of a Rakukaja spell. Watching from the sidelines, Skull jabbed Joker with his elbow and, smiling, said, "Wouldn't it be awesome if gymnasts had motorcycles or other junk they could trick off for their routines?" Joker chuckled and gave his friend an acknowledging fist-bump.

But as far as Queen was concerned, this fight was no laughing matter. She opened her eyes just in time to witness Ayelet bearing down upon her, flipping her way in a sequence of lightning-fast walkovers, and noticed that her clubs were nowhere in sight. She must have thrown them for her signature move… Now's my chance! Forgoing any skills of her own, Queen simply launched herself forward to intercept Ayelet, bashing her clubs upon her foe's face just as she righted herself. While the blows did not seem to leave any lasting damage, they were enough to distract her from catching her clubs, earning her a penalty shock and causing her to lose balance, to boot.

Yuri's voice began its countdown when Ayelet landed hard on her back, but it didn't get further than a couple of counts before she sprung herself upright and retrieved one of her clubs. The other club she left on the floor and picked up as her body swung downwards in an illusion turn. On her way up, she tossed both clubs just high enough to pull off another illusion before catching them once more. As she struck a pose, her body flashed with a red glow for an instant. This, Queen recognized, was a Tarukaja spell meant to strengthen her attack power. So much for my fix, she sighed to herself. I could cast Rakukaja again to build up my own defense, but she could just bring it down again. Besides, I don't have time to waste! Instead, she did a pair of sideways splits kicks, tossing up a club and shouting an aikido-like "Hyah!" with each one, then swung her clubs fiercely at Ayelet. Both blows were parried away, but their impact left her reeling and open for a follow-up attack.

Jumping back, Queen twirled around with one leg pointed straight out, her clubs crossed high above her head. She made four revolutions, and when she began to slow down, she kicked her free leg to give herself the momentum for a few extra spins, turning her pivot into a fouetté. While this was happening, Johanna burst into being to drive itself around her, doing donuts in pace with Queen's own rotations, and spraying golden orbs of light all around themselves. Upon hitting the mat, they each exploded in a violent flash. Ayelet was attempting to prepare a Swift Strike attack, leaping multiple times with her clubs spinning in her hands, but she got caught in one of Johanna's Flash Bombs. Blinded and dizzy, she stumbled upon landing one of her jumps and fell to the ground, suffering another penalty shock in the process.

The success of her gambit emboldened Queen to keep up the pressure. She swung her body down and around in an illusion and began to do another, only to stop in a penché balance, with her leg pointed high and her body level with the floor. Staring down her opponent, she drummed her clubs against the floor and let her knee bend until her toes tapped the top of her head. After giving her clubs a short toss and catch for good measure, she tumbled forward and leapt up high, slamming her apparatus onto the disoriented Ayelet's skull with a sickening crunch. A trickle of black blood flew from the cognition's nose as she fell back onto the mat one last time. Yuri's voice began the countdown anew, and this time the defeated champion remained motionless, seemingly not even breathing, until the ten-count was reached and the Monarch declared, "Ladies and gentlemen, the winner is… Queen! She and her friends have won the privilege of facing off with me in my Snow Stadium… if they can survive the challenges awaiting them inside, that is!" And with a haughty, high-pitched laugh, she signed off.

As the Prison Keep's mechanisms restored the ground and tower, and Queen's clothes to their original states, she stumbled off the mat, panting heavily yet smiling, and collapsed into Noir's arms. "Are you okay, Queen-chan?", her friend asked.

"Yeah… a little exhausted, but I'm fine."

"I'm so glad. You were fantastic out there!"

"Aww, thanks Noir!" Queen then kissed her friend with a peck on the cheek.

Joker led the other Phantom Thieves in a round of applause. "Congratulations, Queen!", he told her. "You all did great, too," he added to the rest of his team. "I'd say we've earned ourselves a break, right after we steal this last Core. Girls, would you care to join us?" Queen and Noir broke their embrace to follow their friends up the tower, where the light that was the third Core descended from on high to meet them. It took the form of a photograph which depicted Yuri with her arm around a brown-haired girl, wearing an ornate pink leotard and holding a large gold trophy in one arm. Despite bearing a silver medal upon her chest instead, Yuri was smiling and making a peace-sign gesture with her free hand. Behind them, a backdrop bore the logo of the Junes Cup, the predecessor of the current Madicce Cup.

"That's Yuri alright," observed Panther, "but is she… smiling? I don't think I've ever seen her smile, even during her routines."

"So, there truly is more to Hikawa-san behind her frozen facade. Surely all the victories she has ever claimed in her career could never match the happiness exhibited from bonding with one single friend. I almost feel a personal obligation to change her heart, if only to rescue her from herself. By the way, who is that other girl? She seems oddly familiar…"

"That's Kasumi Yoshizawa, Sumire's late sister," Joker explained. He had already explained Kasumi's situation to the other Phantom Thieves before, but some of them had not yet seen any pictures of her. "This must have been taken a few years ago, while she was still alive."

Oracle looked closely at the inscription on Kasumi's trophy. "Yeah, that checks out. This was at the Junes Cup two years ago, the last one Kasumi competed in. It's sad, really… She never had the chance to compete at a senior level. No offense to Sumire, but she would've killed it out there."

"Yuri-chan must have made friends with her," summarized Noir. "I wonder if Kasumi's accident is what made her become so…"

"Salty?", offered Oracle.

"If that's the case," Panther asked, "why didn't she just move on and make friends with Sumire?"

"I don't know," responded Joker, "but I have a feeling we'll find out once we reach the top of her Castle. Now that we have all three Cores, let's head back to the real world, take a break, and meet up with Sumire. Once we storm the Castle, we'll need all the help we can get."

"I hope I will get the chance to fight like you all did," said Sophie.

"Yeah," added Skull, "I gotta say, you made that look badass, Queen!"

Queen blushed and smiled at the compliment. "Why, thank you, Skull. You think you're up to it?"

"Sure am! I feel fired up just from watchin' you!"

"Me too!", Panther chimed in. "I can't wait to show my stuff!" As she said this, her stomach gurgled loudly, causing her to pause in embarrassment and add, "I mean, after we get some lunch. Shall we?" With a confirming nod from Joker, the Phantom Thieves all made their way out of the Keep, past the now-melted barrier which had barred the front entrance, and reached the nearest Checkpoint, where they finally departed for the real world.

AN: Special thanks, as always, go to Deathmanstratos and SupremeKnight3 for editing and support. This chapter felt smoother to write than the last few, I guess because there was less content outside the Prison Keep scenes that I needed to copy and describe, but the fight scene was still the most difficult part for me. I don't know why, but writing dialogue seems to come more naturally to me than action scenes. Unfortunately, I'm not out of the woods yet, since the next few chapters will focus on the battles in Yuri's Castle. Wish me luck…

In the meantime, I'll be taking a break from Prisoner of Glory in order to try a few short stories for ShuSumi Week, from May 30th through June 5th. For more information, please visit the event's Twitter page, ShuSumiWeek. I will return to writing the next chapter of this story afterwards, so expect it sometime in the middle of June.

Makoto's fight choreography is based on Nicol Zelikman's clubs routine from the 2020 European Championships. Coincidentally, another Israeli's performance from that same event served as the basis for Ayelet, if you'll recall my notes from chapter 9. The story abut why rhythmic gymnastics doesn't include acrobatic flips comes from a post I read on the RG blog "Her Releve". Like Ann, I'm surprised I never picked up on that sooner.