Welcome back here's chapter 5 or the second part of chapter 4. Whichever you want to think of it as. Also, this chapter name is a song in persona 1. So, I'm not a complete rip-off of Buku the names are gonna be coming from songs across the series. The main 6, The Q games, the Arena games, and even the drama CDs are fair game here. If you got any suggestions or favorites let me know

Credit goes to my Beta NJGrasshopper and a special shout out to asdfo789. Go check out his story "The Charming Joker" I promise you. it's really good

Also, you guys are crushing it, we're close to or over 50 in both comments and follows on FF and over 1300 hits and 60 kudos on AO3. You guys are awesome, and it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

Anyways. I've finally switched jobs, unfortunately, it still won't pay enough to buy the rights to Persona and Percy Jackson. Those are still owned by Atlus, Sega, and Disney Hyperion Books.

Now, let's start the show

Around 9 pm, after Ren finished his shift, the Mona Mobile was racing up the slick highways of Long Island. Inside was Joker, Panther, Oracle, Skull, and Violet. Joker just couldn't shake the feeling he had so he decided to check in on Sally, remembering she said she was going to Montauk. Skull and Panther had refused to stay behind. Oracle had joined for her tracking capabilities, and Violet for her light affinity that could help at night, and with visibility during the deluge.

Oracle had gotten close enough to Sally to where she could track her via Prometheus, but it brought on the risk of increased monster attacks. Thankfully, that was mitigated by the speed of the van they were in. Most monsters could seldom keep up with them without risking getting run over by Mona's increased durability.

Joker had taken the wheel as he was by far the best driver out of the current group, and the most likely to talk his way out of a speeding ticket should anything happen. Off to his left, he could see intermittent lightning flashes and angry waves in the oceans threatening to gobble up what land they could. Joker even thought he saw what looked to be a gigantic fin at one point, ascend through the waves. He had a glance at Oracle and the fact she was staring in the exact same direction while adjusting her goggles said all he needed to know. He hit the gas, unwilling to risk an unnecessary fight

As they sped through the highway, Oracle suddenly told him to stop and turn into a weather-beaten trail that led into a forest. Joker was forced to slow down lest he risk flipping the Mona Mobile and he didn't think Mona would take too kindly to that, despite the fact he could just transform back into a cat.

"Wait! Stop right here!"

"What again, Oracle?" Skull said as the van rumbled to a slow stop in the middle of the thicket.

"We've got enemies around us, and there's a big one right up ahead where Sally and two others are."

The group got out of the van and Mona managed to change into his bipedal form, a skill that he had only regained recently.

Joker looked around him and just as Oracle said, the shadows were growing, writhing, and twisting. He saw a milky white hand claw its way out of the shadow revealing a skeleton, holding a sword no less, typical at this point. Several more were following its lead as various appendages started to come up out of the ground and other shadows. He also heard the familiar hiss of Dracaena not too far behind.

Before he could issue orders, he heard the chipper voice of Violet behind him. "Senpai, let me handle this one! You and the others go on ahead!"

"Are you absolutely sure Violet?" worry tinged his voice for the youngest member of their team.

"I mean have you played a video game senpai? Undead are usually weak to light."

"The noob does have a point."

"Stop calling me that Oracle! I've been a part of this group technically for six months now."

Joker then felt a hand on his shoulder and turned and saw the slightly shorter form of Skull hunched over with his other hand in his pocket.

"I'll stay with her, Joker. You go ahead."

Then a voice he didn't expect also chimed in.

"I... I'll..stay behind too," came Mona's voice. His breathing was labored, and his paws were clamped to his head. His oversized head kept turning to further up the path, and he looked afraid. Joker didn't have the time to question it with the threat of a powerful monster nearby. He dashed off up towards the path, Panther, and Oracle falling into line behind him.

Skull watched his best friend and leader dash off into the night rain. He surveyed his two companions and immediately knew he was going to have to do the lion's share of the work. The cat looked out of it (he wasn't complaining about the lack of mouth) and Violet, for as good as she was getting, simply wasn't as durable as he was. To pile on everything else, the conditions were shit with the storm going on.

He wasn't the smartest person around, but he knew his role. To protect and attack, he was the vanguard. The stalwart wall that kept Halloween rejects like these guys from getting to his friends. Most important of all he'd always have his best friend's back, never again would he run away even if it hadn't been said.

Skull took a step in front of his two teammates, boots squelching in the mud, and rotated his shoulder. He summoned his pipe and took his stance. He wouldn't dare bring out his shotgun in these conditions, Queen had hammered into him to not take shots blindly in the dark during their countless mementos runs. He personally didn't think it mattered much given it was an 'effen shotgun, but he wasn't one to question training from the team's vice-leader.

At the mark of a flash of lightning, Skull charged forward with a reckless abandon; he could feel Violet shadowing his movements. With surprising swiftness, he unleashed a front kick on the nearest skeleton, the undead warrior only managing to barely guard with the thick part of his sword. Skull loved this part, as soon as the skeleton recoiled from his kick, he followed up with a diagonal pipe smash to its unguarded sternum, crushing most of its rib cage. The walking bone creation crumbled into a pile. Skull back stepped as he instinctively knew Violet was about to follow up. Not a moment later he saw a blast of light from the red and black Vanadis utterly vaporize the pile of bones.

Again, Skull wasn't a genius, but even he could see Violet's obsession with Joker. Her costume looked way too similar to his. Even her goddamn persona looked like a female version of Arsene. Then there was that showtime attack. It felt as if a love god themself was shitting on them. Combine that with what he saw a couple of weeks ago with Haru and he was pretty sure he could put two and two together. Man, some guys had all the luck. He'd at least need to have a chat with the smooth-talking, curly-haired bastard about it later. Oh well, he couldn't dwell on it now: he had monsters to fight.

He took stock of the baddies in front of him. Five Skeletons and a shit load of Dracane if all the hissing was anything to go by. Just another day at the office he supposed. He saw the familiar sight of the Cat's Masukunda wash over the enemies, though with none of the bravado to accompany it. That set off red flags for him.

Skull decided to hell with it, he needed to wrap this fight up quickly before someone slipped up. He summed his persona and felt the familiar presence of Seiten Taisei hover above him. He slammed his staff into the ground which Skull mirrored. A purple wave accompanied by black shadowy hands spread out in all directions. Deathbound: one of his strongest spread skills. Agnyastera was stronger but it was inaccurate as shit even with Masukunda and Skull was sure flaming meteors from the sky would bring unwanted attention. Not to mention, Deathbound still looked pretty cool to him.

He heard the hollow crack of bones breaking and being ripped from sockets. The death screams of snake women sang to his ears. He was no Noir, but he did feel a sense of accomplishment at hearing a defeated enemy. He grunted at the backlash after finally letting up on the physical based skill.

Just like before, a blast of light from Makougaon finished off any straggling skeletons. Like Violet did to him, Vanadis had also hidden in Seiten Taisei's shadow. If he wasn't in battle, he would have snorted at the sight given her persona's element, it was freaking meant to be seen. It sucked being the responsible one. How did Joker and Queen do it?

Skull felt Mona's healing magic surrounding his body in a green glow. He sighed in relief that it was over as quickly as it started until he heard Mona's yowl.

"Look alive bonehead! Incoming on the horizon from the beach!"

He looked up, and a dark figure was rapidly closing in on them from the sky. It landed with a gigantic thud, splattering mud everywhere. It had the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the top of a woman, whose hair was done up in a bun. Her chest was covered in a plume of fur and a leather corset (He certainly wasn't staring at her impressive tits). The monster eyed them curiously, its hoop earrings jangling as she cocked her head at each of them. Skull was happy it was something he recognized.

"Finally, something I know. It's a damn Sphinx. But ain't that an Egyptian monster?"

"You do know the Sphinx appears in both Egyptian and Greek myth, right? Matter of fact: Greece ruled Egypt for a while." Violet informed him

"Were you even paying attention when Fox was ranting on and on about the Ptolemaic rulers?" Mona chastised him though it seemed to be taking a lot out of him as he squeezed the words out while still clutching his head.

Skull mock picked his ear using his pinky, "Whatever brainiacs. Anyways, Mona, it's time for a rematch don't you think? I'll take the lead, Violet you follow, and Mona just support when you can." His blood was racing and the thought of facing down the monster. His close-range techniques were of little use in the battle against Wakaba Isshiki, not to mention she kept his ass on the floor with wind skills. But he had grown since then, and now it was time to put it to the test. Despite this one being smaller than the cognitive creation, he was determined to prove his superiority.

"Now, now dear children and cat, I'm only here for the son of Poseidon. Though you'd make for a lovely group of appetizers, especially you, Mercury spawn. I will let you go if you answer my riddle." He didn't expect the Sphinx to actually speak, she had a voice as if it belonged to one of his primary school teachers, particularly when they were scolding him for doing something wrong.

"And that would be?" Violet said with a degree of amusement. Skull couldn't believe she was actually playing along with this crap.

The Sphinx smiled at Violet "What has four legs in the morning, two at noon, and three in the evening?"

"Tha-" Violet started but was cut off.

"Eff that shit. The answer's gonna be you when I'm done with ya!" He brought out his shotgun ready to fire at a moment's notice.

Her wings unfurled at his words. "Such naughty children, man is always ignorant of enlightenment after all. I expected more of demigods from other pantheons. Oh well, I've never gotten the chance to have Norse and Chinese before, so I guess you can call it a form of enlightenment after all."

All three froze at the revelation that the monster knew Japanese. She flashed them a sharp grin that revealed rows and rows of pointed jagged teeth. "Surprised I can speak your native tongue? I like to consider myself an exemplary, well-educated monster. Now then God-spawns let us begin." With her rant over, she made a mighty flap of her wings and sent herself skyward.

Even though his persona could fly, Skull wished he had a weapon like Panther's whip that could keep enemies grounded in the first place. Maybe a chain? He'd have to look into it.

"Not this time!" With a yell, Skull sent Seiten Taisei skyward quickly with the assistance of a Garudyne at the bottom of his cloud from Mona. Before the Sphinx could get too high above the tree line she was shoulder-tackled from behind by the armor-wearing ape, who managed to use his boosted speed to circle around his foe.

The she-beast slammed to the ground in the mud with a meaty slap and Skull's persona raced back to his side. As she raised her torso up Skull fired his shotgun at the right-wing. The buckshot tore a good chunk of the feathers to shreds, thankfully Violet caught on and followed his lead. Vanadis fired a blast of Kogauon at the left wing that left gaping holes in it.

With the beast now crippled, he charged to the monster's right side while Seiten Taisei flew towards the left. They struck at the Sphinx with staff and pipe in a simultaneous blow. The monster blocked using its broken wings as a dual shield. It then opened them forcefully to send both opponents careening away. However, this left its face wide open which Vanadis took advantage of, and a blast of Kogauon appeared before it. Not as an attack but as a flash bang.

The monster keeled over, covering its face with its forelegs. It tried to push back up but was pushed down by a Garudyne cast on its back from somewhere further behind him.

While it was distracted, Seiten Taisei flew around to its flank and grabbed hold around the beast's midsection, just under its wings. The self-proclaimed monkey king flashed a shit-eating grin.

"Take this!" he exclaimed in his baritone voice. The ape's body flashed and sparked as he channeled Ziodyne through his body, shocking the beast in his bulging arms.

He then followed up by jumping up off his cloud, flipping with his quarry roaring in protest in his arms, and suplexed the lioness. The monkey let go and disappeared back into Skull's mind. The Sphinx slumped lamely on its back.

"Violet!" He shouted. The beast now belly up was in the perfect position to finish off. Skull held out his hands clasped together as if he was going to serve a volleyball up. Violet took the hint, jumped, and gracefully landed one foot in his interlocking fingers.

"Mona give her a boost!" with a mighty heave, he tossed the younger girl in the air. He saw at her heels a green-tinged wind propel her further into the air where she performed a flip and roll.

"Showoff..." Skull muttered to himself though he guessed it was no surprise given who she modeled herself after.

In her descent, she pulled out her rapier and prepared to stab the beast. Vanadis appeared next to her and had one leg up for a devastating axe kick. With pinpoint precision, both attacks landed on the heart of the Sphinx. Both persona and summoner flipped off the beast before it could dissolve.

Skull waked over to the slowly dissipating Sphinx, then crouched down victoriously. "Well played foreign demigod, taking out my wings was an ingenious move."

"I've fought one of you guys before, I can learn too". her eyes widened at his statement. "Here's some knowledge for ya'. Your 'riddles' don't mean jack shit ta someone who already has enough power to put you in ya place, better ta back off. Maybe next time it'll save ya a trip ta' hell."

The Sphinx closed its eyes in resignation as the degeneration had reached her torso. "I see… you're very vulgar, but maybe your words have merit…Maybe one day we can have a rematch, young masked demigod."

Maybe this monster wasn't so bad. He let a smile show from the bottom of his mask. "I'd like that, I'll be even stronger next time." With a sigh her head finally turned into sand and blew away in the wind.

Skull stood up and looked around, he spied that she had left something behind and stepped to get a closer look.

"She left her corset behind guys! I got one for the trophy room! I doubt Joker and the others will beat this!" he grabbed the large piece of leather and held it up, waving it in the air.

"That is gross, Skull-senpai. You're really gonna keep that?" Violet was making a face of disgust at him

"Hey! It's not like you bring anything home other than weapons and junk!"

"At least we can use those-"

"Can we stop arguing and get to Joker and the others?" Mona yelled

Skull looked over at the cat and made a decision. He walked over to a nearby rock, sat down, leaned back, and folded one leg over the other. The other two looked at him in amazement. Even Vanadis, who was hovering over Violet like a glow-in-the-dark umbrella, leaned forward.

"Mona, have you seen yourself? You weren't even on the frontline, and you look like you're about to keel over! Besides, we don't know Sally Jackson as those three do. We're liable to freak her out. To top it off another wave of nasties might come at us. So, we stay put. Oracle will let us know if they need us."

"I guess there really is a brain in that skull. Is the world about to end?" Mona teased though he grabbed his head after he finished.

He knew it was in jest, but he could help but look towards the empire state building as he replied "I really hope it isn't…" Mona and Violet followed his gaze, right as a flash of lightning struck the antenna of the building and rain started to pour down harder. He could only hope Joker reached Sally and her son in time.

Joker dashed up the pathway, with the two girls in tow behind him. The colored splashes that came from their boots were indistinguishable from the water that splashed from the puddles. As they were running up the gnarled forest path he saw tire marks, and they looked fresh even with the rain threatening to wash them away. Even more worrying was the hoof marks next to it. He couldn't afford to keep running on the ground, so he shot out his grappling hook and with a dull thud it attached itself to a tree branch. He then launched himself onto the branch to take to the trees.

Behind him, he heard a snap in the air. He turned his head to see Panther's whip attached to the branch next to him as she pulled herself up as well. She took a moment and sent her whip backward and he heard a dull crack as it wrapped around something. As if she was a fisherman she reeled up and slung a struggling Oracle onto a branch further ahead. Joker silently nodded his thanks and the three progressed from branch to branch.

Before too long Joker came across something he wished hadn't. The forest had opened up to a hilly field on the right side of the road. He descended from the tree canopy to get a closer look, and the other two thieves landed close behind him as he started to cross the farm road and up the hill. If he had to describe it, it was a scene of carnage. An old chevy Camaro was trashed and on fire. In the distance, across the field, and up the hill he could see a massive pine tree. Oracle pointed in the direction of the tree, and he spotted four figures about a kilometer away, partially up the hill.

Joker was sure two of them were Sally and Percy. They were split in the field, Percy holding onto a clearly unconscious figure, Sally from his guess was acting as bait further down. The fourth was standing between them stalking like a horror movie villain. He was wearing only tighty-whities with a huge double-bladed axe strapped to his back. Strikingly he had the head of a bull with two thick horns coming out the top of his head. Below his thighs were obscured by the tall grass but it was enough to tell who he was. He was pretty sure even Skull could recognize the Minotaur: One of the most famous monsters ever, even if it was from the back.

Right when he was about to step into the field, the bull-man charged toward Sally. She tried to jump out of the way, but he had his hands outstretched to cover her jump, and snagged her by the neck.

Joker was helpless as he watched her morph and disappear into a golden light. He heard twin shocked gasps behind him. Before he knew it he was racing through the field as the half-bull turned his attention to Percy who was watching in shock in front of the pine tree clutching the other boy.

The distance was too far, the only thing he could do yet again is to give the kid a fighting chance until he could get there. He skidded to a stop and felt a thud on his back and heard a squeak of surprise.

As he had done in the museum, he shifted his persona to Fafnir. Instead of the finger gun method he used the last time, he channeled the energy into his gun, the energy seeping into the bullet. He needed as long a shot as possible, and Fox wasn't around. He felt a hand on his as he charged the shot he looked over and saw Panther also funneling her magic into his gun. He nodded in thanks and hoped this would work.

When he fired the supercharged shot, it came out as a thin laser, tearing through the tall grass. It quickly soared into the hulking monster, sinking into his back, right when he charged the young boy, arms parallel to the ground just like how he had caught the boy's mother.

Percy then did the impossible: he let go of the other boy and leaped on top of the slowed Minotaur. He then somehow mustered the herculean strength…to rip the horn right off his head. He followed with flip into the air (A move he was proud of) and brought the horn down for a stab, but the maze terror proved he was smarter than that.

As Percy came down, he countered with a devastating punch to the gut that sent him flying into the pine tree and hit it with a sickening smack. He slid down where he landed next to the other unconscious boy.

Joker was sure the kid was unconscious after a hit like that. The kid was gutsy alright, and he bought the precious few seconds he needed to bridge the gap through the field.

The Minotaur lumbered over him and pulled out his ax, bellowing in victory as he held it over his head. Joker launched his hook and captured the beast-man's right hand pulling the line taut, just as he tensed his arm to bring the heavy blade down on the young boy.

He turned his huge head with a moo of surprise. Before he could act, Panther's whip entangled his left ankle. With a joint pull, they felled the monster and dragged him downhill toward their position and away from two knocked-out boys. The monster's ax slipped out of his hands in the fall and slid into the grass nearby.

Now that he was closer and facing them Joker could see the huge golden bull ring in his nose. His hair was slicked back almost in a 50's greaser pompadour style. He was almost frothing at the mouth, which combined with the snot coming out of his nose. Joker guessed it was because of the missed prospect of killing his quarry.

"Do you really take that much fun in picking on little kids? Try someone a little older." He wasn't really in the mood for serious banter or theatrics after what he just saw, but he did it anyway. "Joker" was his mask so he could focus, he couldn't dwell on Sally's fate while the beast that did it was still in front of him.

Without hesitation, Fafnir appeared behind him. With a bellow that matched the roar of thunder, the metallic dragon charged forward on all fours towards the Minotaur, who was sliding back. The half-bull managed to grab his ax just in time and swung unhesitatingly in a wide arc in front of him. Sparks flew, and the harsh sound of metal on metal sounded out in the rain.

The Norse dragon stood proud, unscathed as droplets of rain ran through the ridges and plates of his steel body. The Minotaur's growling stopped as he looked on in what Joker could guess was shock. He wound up and swung his ax again, though this time it didn't get to complete its arc. It was caught by Fafnir's gigantic claw.

"Foolish…Hahahaha."

The rumbling throaty laugh of the gold guard resonated in the bones of everyone dragon rarely spoke but when it did was akin to gears shifting in a car.

Fafnir then wrenched the weapon away from the bull as easily as taking candy from a baby. He then tossed the weapon towards the road. He heard the dull thud of the weapon somewhere far behind them

Joker would have followed up the now defenseless opponent with an attack, but it seemed the role was already filled.

Metal chains came from behind, wrapped around the Minotaur's neck and one of his hands as two dog heads wearing spiked collars zoomed back to their master Hecate who held the leash they were on. Joker spied Panther behind her persona, her normally warm and inviting blue eyes, which were now a molten gold, held nothing but ice and contempt as the dogs dragged their struggling prey into the air, legs and hooves flailing.

"It's not so fun when it happens to you huh?"

Panther then snapped her fingers, and the chains caught fire, a fire that couldn't be put out by the rain. The blaze crept closer to the ensnared Minotaur, whose free hand grasped the chains in a desperate but futile attempt to free himself.

"As my mistress commands it, so shall it be. May this hellfire cleanse thy filthy soul, you unjust abomination. Back to Tartarus with thee"

At Hecate's words, the fire finally enveloped the chains around the Minotaur, and when they did, they burst in a blazing blue, instantly cremating the beast. Only black ash fell to the ground underneath.

Now that the monster was gone, Joker rubbed his temple in frustration. Oracle and Panther walked up next to him, their hair slicked from the rain. Fafnir laid down and coiled into itself while Hecate faced in their direction. Joker got the feeling that all six of the goddess's eyes were trained on him

He let out an icy chuckle "Now this is a mess, I let her get killed right in front of us. What am I going to tell her son?" He fired his gun in frustration off into the distance, and then threw the gun itself. It sailed past Hecate, who didn't even flinch, and into the tall grass, its location unknown. "Even in a new world I can't prevent people from dying in unfair ways," he said, fist clenched and trembling.

Oracle grabbed his arm and hand forcefully and held on while Panther hugged him from the front restraining him before he could do anything else "J..Joker I don't think she's dead."

Hearing the words and seeing the actions of the normally meek girl made him relax. He let his mask slip back into place "What do you mean?"

"Normally, I can feel when someone goes down. It's happened enough in Mementos after all," she looked away and Joker felt a twinge of guilt that was also reflected in Panther's face as well. "That didn't happen to her, it almost felt like…" She let go of Joker and made a gesture with her hand as if she was grasping for something "The time the god of control tried to erase us, remember? Then there was that light. Kinda reminds you of the times we used a goho-m doesn't it?"

"So, what you're saying is that she was summoned?" Joker had put two and two together.

Fafnir then snorted a burst of steam in agreement and disappeared.

"Hmm-hmm, most likely leader." She finished with a mock salute, "The question is we don't know what or who."

"You okay now?" asked Panther, still attached to his torso. He nodded in response to her question, and she transitioned into an actual albeit brief hug. She then let go, but not without cupping his cheek as she spoke. "Good, don't beat yourself up over it, there wasn't much any of us could have done in that situation." She then turned her back to him and he watched as her tail arched up "Now, we can't afford to worry about who took her at this moment. Our priority is that we need to get those two over the property line."

She gestured towards the large white archway a little further up the hill. Though it was dark, he could see it said Camp Half-Blood in Greek letters. He knew because one of his personas had swapped for Fafnir and was translating the words for him. He watched as the pigtailed blonde then began to walk toward the two boys.

Before he could walk off himself, one of Hecate's dogs nuzzled up to his side. He noticed it had something in its mouth and he saw it had retrieved his gun. He gently took the gun from its maw and stored it as the hound whimpered. He petted the dog as it barked happily and licked him, before returning to its master. He looked at the red-skinned persona as she looked back with her head tilted slightly, cape billowing and hooks clinking in the gale of the storm.

Joker studied the goddess, he found all his teammate's personas interesting in how they represented the person in question. Hecate had been forged from Panther's realization and confidence of her own strength, and not comparing it to those around her. Hecate was the perfect embodiment of this, she exuded strength and magic regardless of her beauty, compared to Carmen who openly tried to flaunt it with excess cleavage.

Joker also found it amusing in how it was a complete reversal to Fox, whose persona Susanoo, bared its heavily tattooed body as an ugly truth to the world, compared to the facade Goemon put forth with gaudy clothing. Maybe that's why they worked so well together and had a showtime attack.

Joker bowed to the persona, and it returned the gesture before disappearing in a blue flame. He could have sworn he heard her cackling as she vanished.

He then started a light jog to catch up to Panther, Oracle opting to stay back and keep watch in case of something going wrong.

When they got closer to the two boys Joker made two startling discoveries. First, the boy next to him despite missing his rasta hat was the same one from the museum. Second, he was half goat from the waist down. A satyr: no wonder he was sniffing back at the MET. Joker was wondering when he'd meet one, not like this though.

Panther, after encasing the boys in the soft green light of Diarahan, then the blue musical notes of Lullaby, bent over and easily lifted the young satyr on her back piggyback style. Joker cocked his head at her.

"What? He looked like the lighter one. You take Mr. Matador over there," she answered his questioning gaze. He shrugged his shoulders and picked up Percy in a fireman's carry. He could have sworn the boy's eyes fluttered for a second as he grabbed his torso.

Together they brought the two boys up the slick hill, as they climbed the rain stopped, though the thunder still boomed, and lightning flashed. As he walked, Joker had the feeling he was being watched. He couldn't narrow down the position of the peeping tom. But the feeling it gave off wasn't malicious, it was benign, and…almost grateful? He used his third eye, but nothing indicated a presence. Though the pine tree had a tinge of blue to it, he decided now wasn't the time or place to look into it.

They finally passed the archway, and Joker felt as if they passed through a barrier but shrugged it off in face of the view before him, he did note Panther's body shook slightly. As they stopped to take in the sight, Joker could indeed see this was the civilization he had theorized existed. Down a steep valley, through the flashes of lightning, he could see the general features of the camp as he scanned the area.

The closest of which was an old-style three-story farmhouse and a volleyball court. A little further and he saw an amphitheater, an arena… and was that wall spewing lava? He also saw a collection of Greek architecture including what looked like a miniature version of the Parthenon. Even further out he could see an organized field of crops. Which ones? He had no idea. Finally, he could see the long island sound that had a dark cosmic beauty to it under the stormy night sky.

Panther started to take a step further, but Joker held his arm in front of her. He could feel her looking at him for an explanation. "Don't. Someone is probably still on watch duty. We don't want to have to answer a bunch of unnecessary questions right now."

"So, what's your plan then?" He turned his head to her and saw she had her eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Set them down right here." He put down Percy just before the hill descended into the valley. Panther still looked like she had a million questions but followed his lead and set the satyr boy next to him.

He was about to swap personas to Baal, but his active one gave a feeling of hesitation, an obstinacy to passing the mask, which gave him the impression that it would be a bad idea to swap now.

He stopped and thought about it until he realized maybe it wasn't the best idea to use a foreign deity on explicitly Greek property. He then pivoted on his heel and walked out past the archway. "Are you really just going to leave them like that?!" Panther asked, flailing her arms.

"Watch," he responded as he was then allowed to swap to Baal. He summoned the Mesopotamian god in front of him and with a wave of his goblet a gentle burst of Garudyne appeared under the pre-teens and enveloped them. The column of wind then carried the two boys down the valley and towards the nearest building; the farmhouse. He then began to walk down the hill from where they came.

He left Baal out, as the deity was currently soaking in the presence of his domain with a look of intense joy plastered on his face, sipping from his cup. Around him, the waist-high grass was slowly reaching torso level. Some of it interspersed with new strains of wheat.

As he walked back, he heard the rustling of the steadily growing grass next to him, and a red cat mask broke through the bushel. As she struggled to catch up to him, Panther was sneezing and blowing raspberries, trying to spit stray grass from her mouth, along with stretching her chest.

"Pah...pah... Pffffft.. Ah…Achoo! First off, did you really have let him do this? It's itchy enough as is, now it's worse!"

He waved her off, "It makes him happy so I'm okay with it." She shot him a dirty look, pouted, then slid her mask off and grabbed the middle piece of his tailcoat. Before he could register what was happening, she started wiping her face with his coat tails, getting spit and snot on it. "Ugh..c'mon…. Really? Not the tailcoat," he sweatdropped at the sight before him.

"That's what you get for doing this. Even pretty girls need to wipe their face sometimes."

"Not on my coat though?!"

"This one does, just shut up and take your punishment."

Another rustle in the grass approached them from the front and Oracle burst forth arms splayed.

"Dun dun dun da! A wild Oracle appears! Don't wander in the tall grass by yourself." She then adjusted her goggles, "Anyways, I assumed you dropped them off?"

"Yeah. Joker, will they be safe there?"

"I'm certain, besides, we'll check on them soon," he assured her.

"Ooooh I know now! You're planning to infiltrate the camp. Sneaky, sneaky, Joker." Oracle said while emphasizing each word with a poke to his stomach.

He grabbed her hand to stop her onslaught of trying to get a reaction out of him. "Yeah, like I said the other week," Oracle tried to use her other hand, but Joker proficiently caught that one too and suspended the girl in the air. "We just found our biggest group of suspects for the master bolt's theft. Maybe if we're lucky we'll even get a lead on who took Sally."

In a surprising move of dexterity, Oracle swung her legs up and around Joker's upper mid-section, and he stumbled back a bit in surprise at the sudden added weight. She then clung to Joker's head as if she was a cat. He supposed he should be glad the girl was getting more active. In his peripheral vision, he saw Panther watching them in amusement.

"By the way, why did the grass get so tall all of a sudden? And are those patches of wheat I, see? Also, what is up with that creepy-ass laughter I heard? Seriously, whoever is doing it can give Inari a run for his money."

"Tl;dr. Joker did it, Oracle."

"Figures." She put on her best queenly-like voice, "As punishment you now have to carry me like this out of the field and back to Mona-Mona. But for real this stuff is itchy and gets everywhere."

"For real! That's what I said!"

Joker could only sigh into Oracle's stomach as he began walking back. "Hey! That tickles!" He sighed again. He hoped Skull would take the news well.

He did not, there was an extra lighting storm that would knock out the power for the surrounding area before Joker could calm him down and explain.

As Joker drove back the tension was almost thick enough to be cut by a knife.

"So, we're going to infiltrate that camp, yeah?" Skull said with some forcefulness in his voice.

"I don't think it's a good idea for all of us to go, Skull" Joker rejected him.

"Why the hell not?!" Skull argued back, and the three girls' heads followed them as if it was a ping-pong match.

"When I walked past the camp border my persona refused to switch. It leads me to believe it isn't the best of ideas to have non-greek deities in the camp. They'd probably be able to sense it." he explained.

Panther then chimed in, a glove to her cheek as she stuck her head up to the front where the two boys were sitting. "He's right when we went in, I did feel us pass through some kinda magic barrier. It'd make sense if it kept out both monsters and enemy gods.

"So senpais, what you're saying is only Joker, Panther, and Oracle would make it through." Violet summarized.

"Exactly, but I don't think it's a good idea to bring Oracle either."

"Joker's right, my persona is Prometheus: a titan, not a god." she sent a pointed look to Skull "Before you ask, they were atwar with each other. Also, it didn't help that Prometheus gave fire to man, which put him on Zeus' shit list."

Skull rolled his eyes "Alright. Alright, I get it. What about the cat though? Didn't you say Greek and Roman are the same thing?

The voice of Mona filtered through the engine "Surprisingly astute of you, but I don't think that's a good idea either."

"The Romans and Greeks do hate each other," Violet pointed out.

"More than that, as I got closer to the camp my head started hurting and I got an urge…" his headlights became a bit dimmer in the midnight darkness, "...An urge to just level the valley with the biggest Garudyne I could. The worst part was, I couldn't tell if it was Mercurius or me it was coming from."

"... Well…shit." Skull broke the stunned silence the van had descended into.

"...So anyways…It's just going to be Joker and Panther going into the camp?" Violet tried to redirect the conversation.

"I guess so unless we all magically get another persona."

Skull turned his head to the back seat "It's happened before Oracle, you never know what might happen." He nodded his head in certainty.

"Well, I don't know about you guys-" Panther yawned and stretched her arm in the middle of her sentence, "-but I'm tired, let's just get back already so we can tell the others, and go to sleep."

"I second that."

"Agreed."

"Effin Finally."

"Punch it, Joker."

Joker hit the gas pedal, and the Mona Mobile then sped into the darkness of the highway.

Oracle's Bestiary

#15 The Minotaur

This body-building wannabe is like, one of the most famous monsters ever. He has the head and legs of a bull and the body of a man. Complete with a hairstyle that would make Sojiro jealous. He wields a huge double-bladed ax that's perfect for clearing any lower-level trash mobs he comes across. He's also deceptively smart and actually aware of his weakness, despite being incapable of human speech. He got his ass handed to him in our first encounter by Joker and Panther.

Unknown if he's the only one or if he somehow spawned a race of himself. But what self-respecting female would want a man who only wears tighty-no-longer-whities?

Weakness: he sucks at turning but is able to somewhat cover it by holding his hands out, or pivoting using his weapon. Best to jump over or slide under. Joker, Mona, and Fox would run circles around this guy. Matter of fact I recall hearing Joker used to use a Matador as one of his personas. He's also very top-heavy, a good gust of wind to the back could knock this chump over and leave him open for an All-Out-Attack

Drops (As told by Prometheus)

Common:

Ax

Hooves

Bullring

Underwear (Ewwww)

Rare:

Horns

Drachmas

Beads

Very Rare:

Ariadne's String

Theseus' Shield

AN:

And there's chapter 5 the first combat-oriented chapter, what did you guys think? Continuing on from the last chapter it was fun writing a Ryuji pov. He'd obviously have strong feelings regarding an abuse case. Also, he does have a subtle eye regarding his teammates. Which he should have since he's the vanguard.

One of the things I'm going for in this story is fleshing out leadership command. Without Joker and Queen, who's in charge? Logically I think it would be Ann. Morgana, and Ryuji just fight too much for either to have an unquestioning lead. However, in this situation where Morgana is basically incapacitated, Ryuji can take the reins without much trouble. So expect to see more of that as this story progresses, with different characters taking the lead.

The second this Is when I was writing her, I noticed just how much Sumire takes from Joker. She meets him at the beginning of the game and is fed lie after lie that he's a delinquent, then gets to know him as a nice guy so she cemented him as her image of a rebel, leading to her costume. On the other hand, her persona Cendrillion is her trying to copy Kasumi. When she finally realized Joker accepted her for being Sumire and not Kasumi her persona evolved to match Arsene. Then Ella is finally being Sumire, combining both worlds and not trying to be anybody else. The true light to Joker's darkness, that Akechi was pretending to be.

HA "Our Light"

My philosophy aside, please review and comment they really make my day and help me be better with each chapter