Chapter 3: I'll Face Myself
Location: ERROR- UNKNOWN
"Okay, why is there a castle where the school used to be?" Loona questioned, looking up at the building. "Did we get sent back to Hell by that creepy navigation app or something?"
"This isn't Hell," Octavia shook her head. "For one thing, it doesn't smell like brimstone, and secondly…" she held up her phone, showing that it now displayed a map. "According to this, we're currently in 'The Castle of Lust.'"
"Well that's just great," Loona said sarcastically. "If this isn't Hell, princess, then where is here?"
"Hey, the only thing I was told is we're going to be part of an ordeal," Octavia defended herself. "And getting sent to a weird alternate world seems pretty ordeal-like to me." She hummed, looking up at the castle. "You know, Raoul is a watcher of the Collective Unconscious, so perhaps this world is that same as that one."
"You mean we're in the head of another person? Gross." Loona tilted her head in confusion. The hellhound's ears started twitching, making Loona growl and reach into her bag, pulling out her gun. "Someone's coming this way."
"You brought your gun to school?" Octavia raised an eyebrow.
"I'm not taking any chances, princess," Loona said. Motioning for them to move, the two positioned themselves against the castle wall away from the door. The hellhound pointed upwards at the ventilation grate above them, waiting for a moment before jumping and reaching into the vent, pulling out a small figure. "Gotcha!"
"Hey, let go of me!" the being said. In Loona's clutches was a small cat-like person with black and white fur, a utility belt around their waist, yellow bandana around their neck, and a bandit mask over their face. The flinched as Loona pressed her gun against their head.
"The Hell?" Loona said, surprised at what she'd caught. "A hellcat?"
"I am not a cat!" the figure shouted. "I am Morgana. The better question is who you guys are. You don't seem like Shadows."
"Shadows?" Octavia muttered. She looked down at Morgana in curiosity. 'I can sense magic in this thing, but not like that of a demon. They're… something else…'
"Yeah, they're crawling all over this Palace. Surprised you didn't get captured like the other guys that came here, considering that neither of you have Persona," Morgana explained.
"You know about Persona," Octavia realized. "Loona, let them go."
"What?" Loona said.
"This guy knows about Persona, which means he can help us with the ordeal," Octavia stated. Loona shrugged, letting Morgana go. "Now then, Morgana, you said that two other people entered here before?"
"Yeah, a frizzy-haired guy and an obnoxious blondie," Morgana said.
"That sounds like my cousin and Sakamoto," Octavia nodded. "Guess that explains why they were late this morning: they got sent here, probably through the same weird navigation app we got here through."
"That guy is your cousin?" Morgana said in surprise. "He was pretty powerful for a newbie, but he was also human, which you two clearly aren't."
"Same could be said for you," Loona snarked. "So, if you're not a hellcat, then what are you? And are you guy or a girl, because your voice is super ambiguous."
"I'm… not sure what I am, but I can say that I'm definitely a boy," Morgana admitted, scratching his head. "I was investigating this Palace to help me find that answer when I was captured and locked in the dungeon. Frizzy hair and blondie busted me out, and in return I guided them out of the Palace." He pointed away from the castle. "If you want to leave, just head that way and you'll be kicked out to the real world."
"That's useful to know, but we actually want to be here… sort of," Octavia said. "You see, my cousin is caught up as the champion for humanity in an ordeal that will decide the fate of the world, and I'm fairly certain than this Palace and other places like it are part of that ordeal."
"The fate of humanity, you say?" Morgana mused. He rubbed the back of his head. "That rings a bell in my head, even if I don't know why." He nodded and grinned. "Okay then, it's decided. I shall lend my skills a Phantom Thief to you and your cousin to solve this ordeal! And besides, I was already planning on stealing the Treasure of this Palace anyway, so having more people to help me out is just one step to me becoming human."
"Oh, so you're under a curse then," Octavia said.
"Something like that, I think," Morgana shrugged. "Either way, you can count on me to help you out!"
Octavia gave a small smile. "Might as well introduce ourselves, then. I'm Octavia, and she's Loona."
"Well, this has all been great, but I'd rather leave and come back later than deal with this cat," Loona said, walking to the Palace exit.
"I am not a cat!" Morgana shouted.
"Loona, maybe we should stick around and learn what we can from Morgana," Octavia suggested. "He seems to know what he's doing, so any information we get we can tell Ren."
"You haven't even told your cousin that you are cousins yet, so maybe you should focus on that," Loona said. "Besides, we don't need a 'Phantom Thief' or whatever he's calling himself when I can just easily beat the shit out of anyone that tries to-" The hellhound was suddenly thrown back as a force hit her in the gut. Loona let out a gasp as the air was knocked from her lungs. "What the Hell was that?"
"Just a taste of what we can do," said a voice. Out of the shadows came… another Loona? This one looked identical to the one Octavia knew, though she was wearing her regular clothes instead of her Shujin uniform. The fake Loona grinned before shaking her head. "Seriously, you say you can take on this entire Palace alone when I just took you out with one punch? Pathetic. Blitzo should have sent you back to the orphanage with how disappointing you are."
"Fuck you," Loona cursed, getting back on her feet and drawing her gun on the double. "I don't know what you are, but you better stop wearing my face before I put a bullet through your skull."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," fake Loona said., waggling a finger. "I am you, after all, so killing me will just make your life that much shorter."
"A person's Shadow appearing outside of Mementos?" Morgana said.
"What do you mean by that?" Octavia asked.
"That other Loona is a Shadow, a manifestation of her distorted desires," Morgana said. "If those desires become strong enough, they can manifest a Palace like this castle, but for someone else's Shadow to manifest in a Palace is unheard of."
"So this is a fake me, huh?" Loona said. "Then I'll have no regrets beating the shit out of you?"
"But why do that?" Shadow Loona questioned. "You always put on a tough girl attitude, but that's only because you hate it when people pity you. After all, if everyone hates you, pushes you away, then you don't have to worry about what they'll think of you because you'll be all alone." She shook her head. "What a joke! After all, you're so desperate for attention and love at the same time! The girl that wants to be loved but can't admit that one person that hates her the most is herself."
"SHUT UP!" Loona shouted, firing off a bullet that missed at her Shadow. "I'll say it again: You are not me!"
Shadow Loona laughed, dark mist rising around here. "Yes, reject me, for I am the Shadow, the True Self! I'll make sure that no one can hurt us again!" The Shadow burst into goo, reemerging as a monstrous wolf-like creature covered in scars and bound in a straight-jacket and chains. Loona suddenly fainted, Octavia catching her as she fell.
"Morgana, what the Hell just happened?" Octavia asked.
"I don't know, this is unprecedented!" Morgana exclaimed. He pulled a cutlass out and got in front of them. "I think Loona rejecting her Shadow must have caused it to transform! Stay back and I'll hold it off. Come forth, Zorro!" Blue flames burst around Morgana, and behind him manifested a larger-than-life swordsman with a long mustache and black attire. "Garu!" Zorro whipped his sword around, creating a gust of green wind that did some damage to Shadow Loona.
"Yes, hurt me, just like everyone else has!" Shadow Loona shouted. The monster howled, summoning another Shadow to its side. This one was an orange and yellow wolf with a spike collar and two tails. "Kill the girl, Hel's Guardian!"
Hel's Guardian leapt over Morgana, going straight for Octavia and the unconscious Loona. On instinct Octavia held out her hand, bangle shining as she summoned her staff to block the attack of the Shadow. The princess struggled against the strength of the Shadow as it gnawed at the staff. 'Damnit, I knew we'd have to fight, but I figured that Loona would be the one to do most of it. I'm not ready for this…'
"No one is ready for their first journey," said the voice in her head. Octavia gasped, eyes turning yellow as she felt a force invade her mind. "Are you ready to stand up for yourself and fight for what you want? Or will you let others put words in your mouths, make decisions that you never wanted?"
"No… I don't want that," Octavia said, her voice shaky. "I never want to go back to feeling like I don't matter!"
"Then call my name and let our pact be completed," the voice said. "I am thou, thou art I… Thou are willing to forsake your title, unbinding yourself from the life you once knew to go out and protect the ones you love."
Morgana stood back in shock. "Woah, is this…?"
Octavia screamed, a wave of energy washing over her that pushed the Hel's Guardian back. As the owlet stood up, she felt something on her face, reaching up to find that a mask had appeared there. It was black leather with red-tinted lenses over the eyes, coming down slightly to merge with the top of her beak. As Octavia felt the object, Loona woke up and looked at the princess in confusion. "What is going on?" she asked.
Octavia ignored her, gripping at her mask and trying to pull it off, though it seemed to be fused to her skin. Grunting in pain, she forcefully ripped the mask off, blood pouring down her face as she screamed out, "PERSONA!" Blue flames engulfed Octavia, Shadow Loona and Hel's Guardian watching as a stunning transformation took place. When the flames fell away, Octavia's outfit had changed, with the princess now wearing a long leather trench coat with a collar that hugged her neck, indigo gloves covering her hands. A being like Zorro appeared behind her, taking the form of an androgynous figure wearing red and jade green Chinese style armor. The being held a Dao sword at their side, and while looking mostly human, their boots had the appearance of bird feet and their helmet flared on the sides like feathered crests, the front coming down over their face like a beak.
"I am Hua, and it is a great pleasure to finally be at your call," the Persona said. Hua pointed their Dao at the Hel's Guardian. "No, fight on until you have vanquished your enemies and ensured all those you care about are safe!"
"Yes. Let's do this, Hua!" Octavia nodded. She readied her staff, a newfound confidence filling her body as she held the weapon.
"Oh yeah, you're definitely Frizzy Hair's cousin alright," Morgana nodded. He jumped back and stood next to Octavia. "How about we take these two down together? Show me what you can do!"
Octavia grinned. "Gladly. Cut them down, Hua!" Her Persona complied to the command, Cleaving at Hel's Guardian with their Dao.
"Pretty good, but let me show you how it's done," Morgana said. He used Garu against the Shadow, knocking the creature over. "Alright, I hit its weakness! All Shadows have different weaknesses and resistances, so be careful when attacking them."
Octavia nodded, watching as Morgana attacked the downed Hel's Guardian with his cutlass, the Shadow crying out as it disappeared.
"You may have defeated it, but you still have me to deal with!" Shadow Loona shouted. The being broke out of its restraints, claws falling to the ground before slashing at Octavia, who cried out in pain as the attack struck.
"Don't worry, I'll fix you up!" Morgana exclaimed. He called on Zorro and cast, Dia, a soothing green light passing over Octavia as she felt the pain go away.
"Woah, the cat has some crazy magic," Loona said.
Morgana gave her a glare. "Ignore her for now and focus on the battle," Octavia said. She called on Hua, sensing the new magic she had thanks to the Persona. 'Incredible. I've never felt this much power before,' she thought. Pointing her staff forward, Octavia shouted, "Gry!" Hua used the spell in question, a purple orb appearing around Shadow Loona before exploding inward, doing damage and knocking the monster over.
"Great job!" Morgana complimented. "I've never seen magic like that, but it seemed to have done the trick. When the enemy is knocked down, feel free to hit it while it's down. Phantom thieves don't have to play nice, so give 'em all you got!"
Octavia nodded, pointing her staff forward. The orb on the end glowed with magic before firing out three bolts of energy, each one striking Shadow Loona to do damage. The Shadow soon got back on its feet, with Morgana taking his turn to attack with his sword. Both sides traded blows, with Octavia knocking Shadow Loona down while Morgana kept them both alive with healing magic. "Hua, give me your strength!" Octavia called, casting Gry one last time, the spelling hitting it's mark and making Shadow Loona cry out in pain as its body could take no more.
The Shadow fell apart soon after, returning to its normal form as the battle concluded. "So that's how it is, huh?" it said. "Well then, princess, I'll leave watching over the pup to you. Loona needs a real friend to be there for her, so here's hoping you can be that friend. I'll return to my other half and aid you when the time comes…" With that Shadow Loona faded away, leaving only a card behind.
Octavia picked up the card, studying it to see it depicted a cresent moon with a lobster overhead and two wolves howling from below, the number on the card reading "XVIII." "The Moon Arcana," she said before pocketing the card. "You okay, Loona?"
"Yeah, I'm fine now," she said. The hellhound patted at her heart. "I feel… different, but not in a bad way, if that makes sense? I can't say I understand all of what just happened, though." She smirked as she eyed Octavia. "Your new outfit is pretty dope, though. Makes you look like a plague doctor of some kind."
Octavia looked down at herself, only to be surprised as the outfit disappeared in a flash of blue flames. "Well that was weird. But I did at least unlock my potential like Raoul said I would."
"You did great for your first time as a Persona user, just as well as Frizzy Hair did," Morgana said. "Either way, that battle probably alerted the guards in the castle, so you two should go before they investigate."
"What about you?" Octavia asked.
"I'll be fine. I still have work to do here," Morgana said. "However, if you or your friends come back here, consider taking me up on the offer to become Phantom Thieves." He hopped back up to where the ventilation entrance was. "See you guys later!"
"Weirdo," Loona muttered.
"I dunno, he was kinda cute in a little brother sort of way," Octavia mused. "Anyway, let's get out of here. I just want to go home and crash after all that action."
"I feel you on that one," Loona nodded, the two heading towards the exit just as the sound of knights in armor came from the castle.
[***]
Location: Octavia's Apartment
By the time Octavia and Loona exited the Palace, it was well past when they should have still been at school, so the two hurried back to their apartment, where some of Stolas' imp servants had made the two a nice dinner. "Say, how did you guys get up here anyway?" Loona asked.
"Prince Stolas provided us a special amulet to transport us from his manor to here," one of the servants explained. "It's a one-way trip to and from, so the amulet only takes us here and will always return us to the manor. Princess Stella insisted on that stipulation so that no one could misuse the amulet, as well as making sure that only servants of the house could make use of the amulet."
"At least we don't have to worry about an assassin sneaking in here then," Octavia said.
"Is that something that happens often with you guys?" Loona questioned.
"Dad apparently had an attempt on his life at the Harvest Moon Festival, but they never caught the guy," Octavia explained.
Loona nodded. "Oh yeah, I was there when it happened. He was some cowboy freak with an illegal angelic rifle named Striker. I know you Goetia have your enemies, but Stolas doesn't seem like the kind of guy to rock the boat enough to get a hit put out on him."
"With how my mom acts towards him, I wouldn't put it past her," Octavia mumbled.
"Woah, I know your parents don't get along, but you think she'd actually do something like that?" Loona said.
Octavia looked away, rubbing a thumb over her wrist. "…I want to believe she wouldn't stoop that low," the princess said quietly. "I just want to feel loved by my parents, not have them at each other's throats all the time. I don't want them to hate each other more than they love me. Is that too selfish to ask for?"
Loona shrugged. "I never had parents, but I do know that both of them seem to want you to return home safely." She grinned. "Besides, you have that Persona thing now, so if they do piss you off you could just beat the shit out of them until they listen."
"What? No! Why would I do that?" Octavia scoffed.
"Works with Blitz when he's being pissy," Loona said.
Octavia sighed. "You have some issues, Loona."
"Who doesn't in Hell?" the hellhound laughed. She let out a big yawn. "Man, I am tired after dealing with that other world stuff. I'm going to bed."
"See you in the morning, then," Octavia said. "We have a full day of school tomorrow, plus investigating that Palace to figure out what it's all about."
"You thought about how you're going to explain to your cousin about the whole demon thing?" Loona asked.
Octavia looked out the window at the Tokyo skyline, briefly seeing her Persona standing behind her in the reflection. "We'll cross that bridge once we get him on our side," she replied.
New Compendium Entry
Name: Hua
Arcana: Aeon
Background: A woman who disguised herself as a man to join the army and defend her family. She won many battles and never had her identity revealed to her fellow soldiers in their many years of service.
Initial Moves:
- Gry Spells (Gravity-based magic. Hits technical damage on Frozen and Confused enemies)
- Cleave (Slash physical damage)
Author's Note
A bit shorter than the previous chapters, but this was the "tutorial" for Octavia and Loona when it comes to Palaces. They got to meet my favorite member of the Persona 5 cast, Morgana, and set up their dynamics with him, Octavia being trusting while Loona is snarky and biting (because you know, cats versus dogs).
Loona's Shadow is based on how bosses work in Persona 4, reflecting the rejected self of whom they are a shadow of. Loona has a lot of self-hatred, so her Shadow takes on the form of an imprisoned beast that lashes out at all around it. Hel's Guardian is the SMT demon Garm, a hellhound that dwells in Hel, the Norse underworld. Fitting that the hellhound shadow summons other hellhounds.
And Octavia awakens to her persona, Hua! Whenever a new Persona comes up I'll give it a Compendium Entry at the end of chapter so you can get an idea of what it would be like in the game. Hua is the family name of Mulan, the famous Chinese warrior whom disguised herself as a man to fight in her father's place. Since all the base Persona 5 party Personas use the character's disguised names or an alias (Zorro, Captain Kidd, etc.) I did the same for Octavia. Hua's design is a mix between Chinese armor with bird features to reflect Octavia.
The "Gry" spell is Gravity-based magic, which originally only appeared in Persona 1 and the 2 duology. Expect the Helluva Boss characters to have unique spells so they don't overlap with the other party members!
Next Time: Octavia and Ren finally connect as they learn more about the Castle of Lust!