Chapter 7 The Final Countdown
Minako had a purpose now. No longer was she merely following orders, kept in the dark about what was happening. Now, Minako had something she wanted to do, to become. She was going to stop Perseus, she was going to earn a place in the United States, she was going to become a new woman. Minako checked her equipment as the halftrack rolled towards the city. Her XM177 was fine, as was her 1911, and her Evoker was tucked tightly into her jacket, for luck. Of course, there was also her new favorite piece of equipment, the Hawk HM1 Grenade Launcher. The beast of a weapon was a twelve round, 25mm grenade launcher capable of launching a flurry of grenades in mere seconds.
"We only have a few minutes so we're gonna make this quick." Adler yelled to them. "We move into the monastery, destroy the first AA gun, then move through the Monastery. We then push to the graveyard and destroy the last one, clearing the way for the B-52's to come in and bomb the radio dishes."
"Let's get this done." Minako responded, a smirk forming on her face.
"Oorah!" Woods and Mason chanted simultaneously. The half track picked up speed, rushing to the monastery. As Woods gunned down anything ahead with the machine gun mounted to the vehicle, Minako let loose with the grenade launcher, destroying anything the machine gun didn't already cut down with intense fury. As Minako was reloading it, however, an RPG struck the vehicle, sending her flying, and destroying her new favorite toy. Minako stood right back up, using her rifle to gun down the forces in front of her, mimicking Woods' style of aggressive, fun times combat. Within mere moments, the first AA gun was destroyed.
"Great work Bell, let's push up to the next one." Adler congratulated. "Woods, Mason, hang back and clean up the rest."
"See you on the other side, Minako." Woods stated.
"You too, Woods." Minako responded. Adler took Minako through the Monastery, entering the catacombs beneath. There, the two encountered a Soviet heavy. Clearly, Perseus really wanted them dead. Minako and Adler traded shots with the heavy, getting nowhere fast. They only had five minutes left and it was clear bullets wouldn't work. Fortunately, Minako had an idea.
"Adler, do you have any grenades?" Minako asked. "I'm all out." Adler nodded, tossing her a frag grenade.
"Catch, hope you have a plan." He responded. Minako smirked. She snuck around the heavy, finding a soldier too busy suppressing Adler to notice her.
"Surprise, asshole." Minako spat at the soldier. The soldier whipped around, getting Minako's hand over his mouth, and a grenade stuck to his rig. Minako pushed the soldier into the heavy, knocking him off balance for a moment. The moment was just enough time for Minako to shoot the grenade off the soldier's chest, setting it off, killing both the heavy and the soldier.
"Nice work, let's keep moving, we only have three minutes." Adler stated. The two left the monastery, entering the graveyard. There were far too many soldiers for them to take out, maybe if Woods and Mason could get there, they could take them out and destroy the AA gun with time to spare. Unfortunately for her, the two got caught up in another firefight, leaving Adler and Minako to deal with it themselves. It was hopeless, there was no way they could kill them all. Minako shut her eyes and accepted defeat. But just as fast as she shut her eyes, they opened. Time seemed to be frozen, bullets stuck in the air as if someone hit the pause button. Minako could see them cutting the air around them, splitting through like it was nothing.
"Why are you quitting so soon?" a voice asked. Minako turned to face the voice. Standing just outside of the monastery was her brother. He stood there, in his usual nonchalant stance, just watching Minako cower.
"Because, there's no way Adler and I can kill all of them." Minako responded.
"Yes, there is a way." Minato stated. "You still have your Evoker, right?" Minako pulled the Evoker out of her Jacket, holding it tightly as the familiar device molded into her palm.
"But the Dark Hour is gone, Orpheus won't come." Minako stated.
"You're right, Orpheus isn't coming. Because someone else is." Minato stated. Minako thought for a moment, before turning to face the combat. Time moved again as Minako pressed the evoker into her temple.
"HAH! She lost hope, she's doing our job for us!" a trooper laughed.
"Minako, what the hell are you doing!?" Adler shouted.
"Trust me, Adler." Minako softly answered. She put her finger on the trigger and shut her eyes. She felt the energy forming between the device and her mind. A link established, ready to be unleashed.
"Minako, get down!" Adler shouted. Minako ignored him, focusing on this new link.
"Persona." Minako stated. She pulled the trigger, blue flames erupting around her as a massive figure appeared. Sword in one hand, bearing a skull head and a cape made of coffins, this was her new Persona. Thanatos, death personified. Thanatos let out a primal roar, swinging it's sword wildly, cutting the troopers in half. No survivors were left. Minako then focused on the AA gun. Thanatos shifted his gaze over to the gun, slicing it in two, the halves collapsing as Thanatos dissolved into the air.
"What in god's name…" Adler murmured. Minako dropped to one knee. She had forgotten in those five years just how exhausting it was to summon a Persona in the Dark Hour, and she just did so in the real world. Minako took deep breaths before standing up once more.
"We did it." Minako stated, watching the bombers destroy the radio dishes just ahead of the duo. "We stopped him. We stopped Perseus."
This news was troubling to Hudson. Sure, Bell single handedly destroyed the last gun, and she arose to a power that could help the US, but for one person to have that power and no one else come even close, it was not comforting. Bell could decide at any time that she wanted to take over the country and she could do so without resistance. Black certainly agreed.
"She's a liability." Black confirmed, his voice weaseling it's way out of the phone. "Best case scenario, we can take the device away from her and she keeps working for us. Worst case scenario, she decides to kill us with it."
"Exactly, that's why I want to know, what do you want done with Bell?" Adler asked.
"Kill her, tie up the last loose end, finish off Perseus, and make sure no one can use her power." Hudson ordered.
"Understood." Adler responded. "Although, the files we got from the KGB include how to replicate her power, if you change your mind."
"I'll keep it in the back of my mind." Hudson stated. The dial tone blared out. Hudson called another number.
"This is Lieutenant Shepherd." the voice on the other end responded. "You are connected to the US Army secure line. What can I do for you sir?" The young lieutenant certainly knew his place, and soon, he could do great things. For now, however, he had to prove himself, and Hudson had just the plan for him to do that.
"Lieutenant, this information is for your ears only, and will be your first assignment." Hudson began, grabbing a printout of the file Adler mentioned. They couldn't control Bell, but a loyal US soldier, however.
Bell loved the view from the ridge. Ahead of her was a sunset, a rare sight in arctic regions. With the cloudless, unpolluted sky, it was probably the most beautiful one she ever saw. Adler lit a cigarette as she admired the view.
"You fought for this, Bell." Adler began, taking a drag on his cigarette. "You had a choice, and you chose right, and I applaud you for that. You're a hero, Bell, and heroes have to make sacrifices. It was never personal, Bell." Minako didn't understand, she helped save the world from a terrorist who was separated from Soviet High Command, saving a country she once hated, and all she was getting was a "Good job, now die"!? Enraged, Minako drew her 1911, pointing it squarely at Adler as he drew his own. Minako, however, was slower on the pull. Two gunshots rang out, one after the other. Minako felt a bullet pierce her chest, blood slowly seeping out. Adler didn't say anything, he just walked off. Those bastards, it was just as she should have thought, those capitalists used her to accomplish their goals and tossed her aside. Now, she was nothing, soon to be a corpse never to have a grave. As Minako's view turned to black, she let her final words part her lips.
"Just, die." Minako managed to let loose before her last breath escaped her lungs.
The procedure was a success. Minako was breathing again, her heart beating, albeit somewhat weakly. Perseus felt pity towards the young woman. No, not pity, remorse. Remorse for her identity being taken, remorse for her being betrayed by people she thought she trusted, remorse for, for what? He didn't know what the last thing he felt remorse for was. He thought about it, he felt he should have been there for her, he should have been taking care of her, he should have given her more guidance. That was when it clicked, he felt remorse for not being a father to her. She was missing someone to take the role of a father, and he could have taken that role, but he failed to. Maybe, all of this could have been prevented if he was there for her, and he wasn't. He sighed as he looked over the file about the treatment they gave her. It came at a cost, supposedly. The way they administered the Plume of Dusk was simple, they crushed it and made a cold tea from it using purified water. This was the easiest method that could cure her, but it had an unfortunate possible effect. The tea acted as an elixir of youth, somewhat. From here on out, Minako would age one year every five years. Considering she had that Persona thing her documents mentioned, it may be longer, there was no way of knowing. But if it was true, she would be twenty two in 1989, an unfortunate situation for her. Perseus heard Minako shuffling, her heart rate and breathing rising. She rose up from the table, finally awake.
"Perseus, sir…" She weakly pleaded. "I'm sorry, I failed, I killed our own, I have no excuse…" Tears were rolling down her face, like dew dripping off a leaf after heavy rain.
"Fret not, Minako." Perseus stated, holding her in a hug. "You were not yourself, you were poisoned by the enemy, made into someone you aren't. You weren't killing them, Bell was."
"I'm sorry…" She kept pleading. Perseus sat there, holding her as she cried.
"Minako, I want you to take a break, for your own health." Perseus stated. "You're like a daughter to me, and I don't want you to be hurting."
"I'm going to kill them." Minako hissed. "Every last bastard in the CIA, then, America will burn. I'll do it all myself."
"You will do that, but I want to rest, you have been through alot, you need a few years. After that, take your rage and turn it against the ones you hate." Perseus responded. "But rest, please, if not for yourself, then for me." Minako nodded, continuing to cry. She was broken, but she was safe, and that was all that mattered to him.
A/N: It's finally done, this fic is over. The epilogue will be up soon, as will the prologue to the next entry in the series. For the future of Minako in this series, she's going to play a primarily antagonistic role, maybe joining forces with Ryuji and TF141 at some point. But for now, she's going to be the anatagonist Persona User. Hope you enjoy and have a great day.