Hello, fellow readers! Back once more with another, let's see what we got:
Maelaeran: It would be funny, but P5 doesn't have it as far as I know. I should say that the skills and personas used in this story are based on Persona 5's system since I'm most familiar with it.
TheBeatles211: The song was there. Oh, you meant a Persona song? Sorry, should have been more clear on that. Though, I may include one, I don't know.
hnh058513: That is a great point, which makes this more interesting.
Alrighty then, let's get going!
Chapter 2: A Fallen Fool
After Sunset wrote the message to the princess, the group went outside to the statue to wait. Knowing that they'll be there for quite a bit, Rarity brought out a red and white plaid-patterned blanket to sit down on in front of the portal.
"Well, since we're waiting, how about that rematch?" Rainbow remembered her challenge she offered to them.
"Now? Well, I don't see why not." Yu did accept it before they left.
"Not all of us can go watch, though. She may come out without us knowing." Ren pointed out.
"OK. Anyone want to watch our match?" Rainbow asked the group.
Ren, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset decided to stay while Applejack, Pinkie, and Morgana went with the two to the soccer field. As the second group went off, Ren sat down with the girls.
"So, I was curious about something." Rarity started a conversation, "Do you have a girlfriend, Ren?"
"W-Where did that come from!?" Ren was actually caught off guard by her question.
"I asked Twilight about that before, but she didn't have an answer. So, I figured to hear it from you." Rarity then smirked, "So, who's the lucky girl?"
"O-Oh, um..." Ren doesn't really have anyone that close. Sure, there was the girls in their group, but they only have a mutual bond between each other. Then there was the girls outside the group. They are nice, but don't really tickle his fancy like that.
"Well, I've met plenty of girls back in my world. Though, I don't really have that 'special someone' you're thinking of." Ren decided to be honest with his answer, "I guess you found an interest in me?"
"Wha- I was just curious! I had that question in my head for weeks, I'll have you know!" Rarity was a bit flustered at his teasing.
"I wondered what you think about other than fashion..." Sunset said offhandedly, which Fluttershy giggled a bit to.
Meanwhile, at the soccer field, Rainbow and Yu have already started their match. After Yu took off the slingbag and his jacket, they established that it will be the same rules as before, first to five goals win. The two are already tied one-to-one while Applejack watched with Pinkie and Morgana providing commentary.
"Our two players seem to be giving it their all right at the start!" Morgana commented as Yu had the ball with Rainbow following right behind him.
"Dashie is seeing an opportunity to take back her momentum and..." Pinkie halted her sentence for dramatic effect.
Right before Yu was able to kick the ball, Rainbow leaped right past him as she swiped the ball away. She ran back down the field as Yu tried to catch up.
"Dashie performs a swift interception! She's getting the match back in her favor and..." Once again halting her sentence, Pinkie waited.
Yu caught up with her as Rainbow delivered a swift kick, hitting the ball into the goal.
"Rainbow takes the lead! Two-to-one!" Morgana called out.
She then passes the ball back to Yu, "I see your skills are as sharp as before."
Yu catches it, "Battle reflexes help out a lot when it comes to sports."
"Really? Hmm, maybe I should take karate or something." Rainbow thought about those dojos that are around town.
"I have a friend that trains by watching kung fu movies." Yu remembers Chie uses techniques that was shown on them when they battled shadows.
"Sounds like someone I can get along with." Rainbow smirked at that before they heard a shout from the bleachers.
"Talk later!" It was Pinkie as she was being impatient at them.
"Oh, right." Yu was pretty unaffected by her shout as he casually drops the ball back down to the ground.
The two got right back into their match as Yu ran across the field with Rainbow chasing after him.
"Wait, the princess from Equestria is able to lift the sun and the moon?" Ren was surprised at the fact that their ruler can do that.
"Yeah. I know her sister raises the moon, but she was banished after the two battled each other. That's how the tale went, at least." Sunset recalled.
"Siblings fighting each other like that?" Rarity can't think of a reason as to why that came to be.
"Princess Luna became jealous of the fact that people don't appreciate her night as much as they do the sun. That manifested as an form of hers named Nightmare Moon." Sunset remembered reading the tale multiple times before becoming the princess's pupil.
"That's awful. I've been out in nature on during the night sometimes, it's always beautiful to see the stars." Fluttershy was one of the few who would enjoy it.
"Well, I'm usually in the city when it's nighttime." Ren only seen the stars in the planetarium he went to from time to time.
"I'll take you out on a nature walk then. Trust me, you'll appreciate it." Fluttershy offered to him.
"When we're not dealing with some threat, sure." Ren knew their priorities right now, but accepted the offer.
Rarity finished painting Fluttershy's nails as she asked a question, "Has Twilight responded back yet?"
Sunset opened her journal to the recent message she sent, seeing no response back to it. "Not yet."
"You sure she's gonna show?" Right after Ren said that, the portal from the statue opened to shoot out a familiar girl and dog.
The two landed on the ground, shaking off the dizziness from their landing as the four got up to their feet. "Twilight!"
Twilight pushed herself up to her knees, "I'm back."
Sunset walked over to her and held out her hand to help her, but Twilight was actually a bit hesitant at first. Though, it only lasted a few secs before she accepted it, Sunset pulling her up to her feet.
Rarity and Fluttershy went to hug her briefly before Twilight noticed Ren, "You're here too!?"
"Me and Yu got here earlier. Though, it's been awhile since we last met." Ren clarified.
"I'm glad that you got my message." Sunset chimed in.
"Yeah. Funny enough, it was among the books that I was being given to add to my library." Twilight couldn't help but think that was a coincidence, "And I was able to research what you said in the journal. Unfortunately, I don't really have good news to tell about it."
"Then let's get the others. They're at the soccer field right now." Rarity mentions to her.
"I was wondering why everyone wasn't here." Twilight realized.
"Yeah. Rainbow really wanted that rematch." Ren chuckled a bit at that.
"Of course she would." Twilight remembered that she offered that to the two before the group headed to the field.
"The game is tied four-to-four! It is match point right now as the players are trying not to show their fatigue to each other!" Morgana commented as the two are running across the field, bouncing the ball from each other to gain momentum.
"Dashie hates to lose! She took this match wanting to win!" Pinkie commented.
Yu had the ball now, but knows that the constant running is wearing him down. Seeing Rainbow's goal open, he sent the ball flying with a hard kick despite being more than halfway in terms of distance before dropping to his knees to rest. Unbeknownst to him, Rainbow wasn't ready to drop yet as she sprinted full speed to intercept the ball as it landed on the ground bouncing.
The commentators were silent watching as Rainbow managed to stop the bouncing ball with her foot by jumping in the air to deliver a high-flying kick to sent it back across. However, Applejack saw where the ball was going in its trajectory.
"Yu! Look out!" She called out to warn him, getting his attention.
Unfortunately, he looks up just in time to see the ball-
SMACK!
He fell back onto the ground on his back as the ball hit the goal's frame, not counting it as a point.
"OH! That's gotta hurt!" Pinkie pointed out the obvious as the three headed over to check on him.
Ren's group reached the field as they saw the aftermath of the match. Seeing Rainbow on the ground with Yu getting checked on by the others, they went to find out what happened.
"Rainbow! What happened?" Fluttershy and Rarity went to check on her as Ren and Twilight went to Yu.
"I... think I won." Rainbow was out of breath as she answered.
"You sure, darling? Yu appears to have taken a hit." Rarity figured from the way the others are checking on him.
"Wait, what?" Rainbow slowly got to her feet with help from Fluttershy to see what happened.
Meanwhile, Pinkie was looking over Yu with a magnifying glass as Applejack tapped her foot. "I got it! My diagnosis: out cold." She concluded.
"Wait, knocked out!? How hard was he hit?" Twilight was surprised at that.
Applejack and the others noticed Twilight, "Oh, hey Twilight. Glad you made it."
"Sorry about the lack of a welcome, but Rainbow decided to have the match while we waited for you to respond." Morgana explained.
"I can see that. Though, I didn't expect this." Twilight simply said in response.
"Was it her foot?" Ren questioned.
"It was the ball. Yu kicked it from here to her goal, only for her to barely intercept the ball with a reckless kick back towards his. The trajectory, however..." Applejack explained.
"I see. The fact that the ball knocked him out shows how strong she is." Ren muttered.
"Is he all right?" Rainbow had walked over with Rarity and Fluttershy.
"Yeah, just taking a nap." Ren joked, which Applejack nudged him with her elbow.
"Best we take him to the nurse's office to make sure." Morgana offered.
After getting their stuff and Morgana hopping in his slingbag before Ren puts it on, the group entered the school to go to the nurse's office. Entering it, they saw the nurse was inside checking her files.
"Excuse us, miss." Ren said, getting her attention. "My friend here got injured playing a soccer match."
"Oh my. Please, place him here." The nurse was quick to get to work.
After they placed Yu on the examination table, they let the nurse examine him as Ren and Rainbow sat in the two seats in the office as the others stood outside the door due to not having enough space for them. After some time, the nurse had finished and had her diagnosis.
"It seems that he doesn't have a concussion, but there is a bruise where the ball had hit his forehead." The nurse then placed an ice pack on Yu's head where the bruise was, "Right now, let him rest here until he wakes up."
"OK. Thank you..." Ren then sees her name tag, "Nurse Redheart."
"It's what I do." She smiled as he and Rainbow got up to exit the room.
Rainbow was quiet as he closed the door behind them, seeing the others nearby.
"How is he?" Fluttershy was the first to ask.
"Thankfully, just a bruise. Just some ice and rest will get him back on his feet." Ren informed them.
"Thank goodness." Rarity muttered.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, feeling a bit guilty at what happened as Sunset spoke up. "Well, since the rest of us are here, we may as well hear that information about what those girls might be."
"Oh right, that's why I came here." Twilight sheepishly reminded herself before continuing, "Well, with what you mentioned in your message, the closest thing I found was these beautiful and deadly creatures called the Sirens."
Ren snapped his fingers, "I knew it was something like that!"
"Does your world have them as well?" Twilight asked.
"We had myths about creatures of the same name." Ren briefly mentions before realizing something, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."
"No, it's OK." Twilight shrugged off before continuing, "Anyways, in order for them to use their charm, they had to feed off the negative energy from others by creating distrust between them. The more they absorb, the stronger their power becomes."
"That's definitely dangerous." Ren muttered.
"Before they could divide and conquer Equestria, StarSwirl the Bearded was able to send them to another world where he believes their power will fade away. Unfortunately, it seems that the world they appeared in is here." Twilight finished, leaving the others to think about what was told to them.
"So, if they were sent here by this StarSwirl wizard, why are they just now showing up?" Applejack questioned.
"I'm not sure. Right now, all I know is that we have to stop them before they get too powerful to defeat." Twilight warned.
Morgana popped his head out of the slingbag, "Actually, if their magic is created through the negative energy they absorb, then we gotta figure out how they're absorbing it."
"Wait a minute..." Sunset remembered what they did at the cafeteria, seeing the mist enter through... "Their gems!"
Ren immediately caught on, "That's why she was protective of them! Not because of their frailty, but it's their power source!"
Twilight then remembered seeing red gems in the pictures of the Sirens, "That must be it! If we can only find a way to separate them from the gems..."
"Do I hear a request for the Phantom Thieves?" Morgana climbed onto Ren's shoulder as he asks that.
Ren had a smirk on his face as the girls looked at the two, "Definitely sounds like that."
"Wait, you actually meant it when you told us that?" Rarity recalled.
"Of course I did! The Phantom Thieves are always serious business!" Morgana felt a bit offended at her words.
"So, are you two like thieves that steal treasure and stuff like that?" Spike was strangely quiet throughout the entire time they were talking until now.
"Oh, you're here too." Ren didn't notice Spike also showed up with Twilight.
"Wow, you're very observant." Spike sarcastically remarked.
"OK, Ah can get that you're a Persona user. But, how does that equal you being a thief?" Applejack was doubtful about that.
Morgana hopped down to the ground as the two burst into flames to change into their Phantom attire, "This isn't just for show." He pointed out.
"We use codenames to suit the looks. Along with hiding our identities." Joker smirked, "Now, huddle together. I got a plan."
The girls got into a huddle with him along with Spike and Mona in the middle before he realized someone was missing. Seeing Rainbow still next to the door, he went to check on her.
"This is the most quiet you've been." Joker started the conversation.
"Who, me? Who's quiet? I'm... just thinking." Rainbow was quick to deny what he said.
"...That kick wasn't intentional." Joker decided to play it straight.
Rainbow sighed, "I know, but it probably wouldn't have happened if I wanted to even the score so badly... and this isn't the first time."
"I'm not really surprised." Joker admits.
"It's always unintentional, but I injure other players when I get too competitive." Rainbow remembers the times during the Friendship Games where her team loses because of her getting disqualified.
"I see. Well, you can't win all the time. Losing is part of how you learn the flaws in your style." Joker remembers his friend Hifumi who was a shogi player that assisted him with tactics.
Rainbow rubbed the back of her head, "Guess I'm just a sore loser..."
Joker places his hand on her shoulder, "Doesn't mean you'll never win again."
Rainbow gives a small smile, "Yeah, you're right. Though, you think he'll forgive me?"
Joker chuckled a bit, "Of course he would."
Once their conversation ended, the two returned to the others and started on their plans to stop the Dazzlings.
And done! Well, this changed course fast. Going from having little info on them to building a plan to stop them, but with the leader of the Phantom Thieves along with Twilight and Sunset being as smart as they are, it shouldn't be that hard to place the pieces together.
However, Yu is out of commission thanks to Rainbow, leaving Ren and Morgana to watch over the girls. Will they be able to pull this off?
Find out next chapter!
P.S. Don't worry about the updating pace, I want to slow it down a bit to spend a little more time on ideas I can use. That and I'm currently playing KH3, which might bring me back to my other series I'm working on. Either way, this story is still on my radar.
Thanks for reading and see ya then!