The morning seemed to speed by. As I completed my chores, all I could think about was infiltrating that Palace, with three teammates at my side. I was used to working alone; nevertheless, something inside me was giddy at the thought of leading a team of vigilantes to strike down corrupt hearts… just like a certain man I used to know.
...when did I start feeling like I was following in his footsteps? I had every other advantage over him, both experience and skill. But he could take me one-on-one, while I could wipe out the rest of his team. He had, at best, months of experience compared to my years, and yet he came out on top in the end. He had teammates, yes, and more Personas, but there had to be something else he possessed which I lacked. How did his many Personas all become so powerful? And now, how could I replicate that myself?
I shook my head. That didn't matter anymore, it was in the past. The only thing that mattered was here and now, getting ready to take down a Palace of my own.
Once again, around midday, I took off toward the Shrine. Before starting up the trail, I stopped by the market to pick up food and medicine items I felt would be useful for aiding infiltration - energy and healing to recover from sustained combat and running around. Eventually I loaded up on herbal medicine, wraps, assorted vegetables and ready-made tea. Once I had everything, I headed up.
A thought occurred to me part way up the trail. I had been running and walking around, since I was used to only being able to do that. But… I could fly now as well. I looked behind me and saw I was out of sight of the village. So, I focused, lifted off the ground, and flew through the air the rest of the way to the Shrine.
Once I arrived, I saw I was the last person to get there. Of course, Reimu lived here, and Youmu wasn't too far away, but I didn't know where Marisa lived; I guessed her schedule was different from mine and so she could get here sooner.
"Took 'ya long enough," Marisa said as I touched down. "Some leader you are, gettin' here later than your teammates."
"Well, I have to earn my keep somehow," I told her. "Masato doesn't let me stay there for free, after all."
"Well, why don'tcha hole up at my place? I won't keep ya' busy for no-" then Marisa stopped herself, and her face started reddening once she realized what she was saying.
"F-forget that I said anything!" she stammered as she pulled her hat over her face and turned away.
"No, please do go on with your suggestion," I smiled.
"D-d-d-dummy…"
Reimu sighed. "Should I go make the marriage arrangements?"
"Ah, that won't be necessary," I said. "In all seriousness, let's discuss our plan of attack before we go into the Palace."
Reimu chuckled. "Ah, yes, strategy. We're not used to using it. Usually in an incident I just go in and kick everyone's ass until it's resolved."
"Infiltrating a Palace requires a rather high degree of tactics and planning if we don't want to get endlessly swarmed by powerful shadows," I explained.
"But weren't the shadows in there fairly weak?" she asked.
"Yes. Because the security level was low," I said.
"Security level?" Youmu wondered.
"Yes, security level. People don't like having their cognitions actively messed around with by invaders, especially if they are aware of it. Usually, if we go into a Palace without the owner knowing, the level will be low because they don't perceive much of a threat. Only a few weak shadows patrol most of the premises, with the stronger ones withdrawn closer to the treasure or other critical areas. However, if we get noticed by guards or the real person sees us as a threat, then not only does the number of guards go up but more of them are stronger, too. If it gets too high, the place will be absolutely swarmed with strong shadows, and we'll be lucky to make it out alive."
"Sounds intense," Marisa said, joining into the conversation. "In that case, how do we lower it?"
"How? By sneaking up on guards and killing them without being noticed by them before that ambush, or by any other guards. Killing a guard removes a component of the security, which makes the Palace ruler less paranoid and induces some sense of calm, thereby reducing the security level. We should avoid getting into too many engagements, but also take out any guards we come across. And," I paused for a moment, "by battling shadows, our own combat technique improves, and we need to be constantly doing this to train for taking down even stronger enemies."
"Alright, sweet, so we do have to fight a lot!" Marisa grinned, pounding her fists together. "And I'm assuming that includes Shadow Yuyuko herself?"
"Most likely, yes," I answered. "Once the treasure appears, Palace rulers will make a last stand to defend it. Palace rulers are very, very strong, stronger even than their most capable guards. But while we must beat her, we - and I must make this absolutely clear - we cannot kill her."
Youmu gulped. "W-why not?"
"Because," I said, "while the treasure represents their distorted desires, the shadows themselves represent a person's desires as a whole. I assume you met your shadow when you awakened to your Persona?"
"...so that was my shadow?" Youmu said.
"Yes. Your shadow represents both your conscious and unconscious desires. Fusing with it allows you to be in full control of those desires, which include the desire to eat, sleep, fall in love, and do other basic things. Killing a person's shadow, then, turns them into a complete empty shell, thoughtless and without emotion or feeling, in effect rendering them braindead, and usually leading to death shortly after. We call such deaths 'Mental Shutdowns.'"
Youmu jumped back. "Wait, so Yuyuko-same could - wait, she's already a ghost."
"That may be so," I replied, "but she still has a shadow. Therefore, she still has higher functions and desires which can become distorted. So in this case we don't know how a Mental Shutdown would manifest in her, which in my opinion is even more reason not to do it. We have to persuade the shadow without killing them to make them better people."
Marisa raised her hand. "But, what about the treasure? Ain't stealin' that the goal?"
"Simply stealing the treasure isn't enough," I added. "Stealing the treasure without doing anything else just causes that person to be a grovelling, weeping mess repenting for their crimes. Once you defeat a shadow-self, they are at your mercy and can be easily manipulated. We should be using that opportunity to convince them to improve, if that is our goal."
"Man, this keeps getting more and more complicated," Marisa complained. "I thought we were just gonna be looting stuff, but this incident is already startin' to sound more tiresome than sortin' everything out with Kosuzu's youma books."
"Because it requires actually thinking and strategizing," Reimu said.
"Says the lazy shrine maiden who I gotta poke in the butt with a pitchfork to do anything."
I facepalmed. "Like I said, can the two of you get along? We have a mission today, believe it or not."
Once I got those two settled down, we went forward with our final preparations, which included one particular step which we hadn't gotten to yet even though we should have been doing it from the beginning.
"Alright," I said, "now it's time for us to come up with code names."
"Code names?" Marisa asked. "You mean, like, fake names? Or because you're the secret agent guy?"
"Partially, I suppose," I answered. "But I'm sure you would agree that using our real names in a Palace could lead to detrimental effects to us, if not now then later. Besides, what kind of heroes of justice go around using their real names?"
"Hm...hmmm…" Marisa thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "I actually like that idea!"
"Splendid. And you two?"
Reimu nodded. "Well, you're the expert, so I guess we have to play by your rules."
"I don't mind," Youmu said. "I'm still new at this."
"You all are, don't feel like you're lower-ranked than everyone," I said to her.
"Oh, well… okay…" Youmu said bashfully.
"Anyway, I already have a code name, from my time in the Phantom Thieves." I held my hand to my chest. "I am Crow."
"Crow?" Reimu asked. "Like a Tengu?"
"Well, he is clever like a crow," Marisa added. "And his mask is kinda crow-like."
"Exactly. Now then," I turned to Marisa, "what should we call you?"
"Eh, me?" Marisa jolted up. "Oh, um, well, huh. Can 'ya guys help me out?"
Reimu thought for a moment, then suggested "maybe 'Slayer?'"
"Eh, too generic," Marisa rejected.
"How about… 'Wolverine?' Because of the claws?" Youmu added.
"Too awkward, plus a real character already uses it," I replied.
Marisa herself mulled for a moment, then shot up with a smile. "Oh, I got it! How about 'Starburst?'"
We were silent for a second, then Reimu said, "oh, because you like star-based attacks so much?" She chuckled. "It certainly suits you."
"I know, right?" Marisa smiled.
I smiled too. "Alright then, Starburst it is. Next," I turned to Reimu. "What do you want to be called?"
Reimu took a moment to think. "Well, I don't think 'Shrine Maiden' is that great, since that's literally just my job. And 'Miko' is also a name. So…"
"Well, your suit's like half-angel, half-demon," Marisa added.
"Yes, but I feel like my codename should convey a level of power that a simple angel doesn't have…"
I mulled some ideas of my own, and came up with the perfect one. "I've got it. How about 'Seraph?'"
Reimu's ears perked up. "Seraph?"
"High-ranking angels in the Christian pantheon, whose appearance before man heralds the end times. Is that powerful enough for you?"
Reimu thought it over for a moment, then smiled, "I like it. That way, I'm not just some common Valentine's angel."
"Excellent." I turned to Youmu. "Last but not least. What would you like your code name to be?"
"Eh?" Youmu seemed surprised. "I, er… can I have more time to think it over? Like, a day or something?"
"No can do, we're goin' in today," Marisa told her. "You can always change it later, so it's not like you have to commit to anything right this second."
"T-that doesn't make me feel any better…" Youmu seemed to shrink down further to the ground with a… ah, moe face.
...was this that "Imouto" thing that people often talked about? Nonsense, I thought. Youmu told me she was old enough compared to me to be my grandmother.
...AND YET…
I shook my head and cleared my thoughts. Now was not the time to be thinking those kinds of things. This was purely a business matter. Now, what was a good code name for her?
"Samurai?" Reimu suggested.
"Too awkward," I said. "Generally, we should keep code names to about one or two syllables and have them roll off the tongue easily." After thinking for a second, I then suggested, "how about… Blade?"
"Eh… it sounds badass, but it's also a little too simple." She noticed the little spirit behind Youmu's head, and giggled. "Heh, she's actin' all cute right now, maybe we should just call her myon~ or-"
Suddenly, Youmu's eyes flashed red and in one swift motion she grabbed Marisa by the neck and drove her into the wall with a loud bang which rattled the door. "You know how much I hate that word," she hissed icily. Me and Reimu were completely startled by her sudden change in tone.
"I-GAAACK-it was just a joke!" Marisa choked out.
"Put her down, Youmu," Reimu commanded.
"...as you wish." Youmu released Marisa, who fell on her knees terrified and gasping for air.
I took back my initial observation of her: she was utterly strong-willed and terrifying when she needed to be. Of course, she claimed to be a samurai in training, but nonetheless had many decades of fighting experience under her belt, and likely also had the demeanor that came with such discipline. What few moments of action she got in yesterday after awakening her Persona also heavily reminded me of Makoto, right down to Youmu having a very similar-sounding voice.
"Okaaaay," Reimu said, "so basically no one has any good ideas, least of all Marisa apparently."
Marisa, still coughing, managed to choke up, "goddamn, Youmu, you're all cute and stuff 'till you go friggin' murder mode. You're like a completely different person when you fight!"
"One must completely focus on the opponent and let go of their other desires during a battle," Youmu replied. "Hiding one's fury until it's needed allows you to seem less dangerous than you truly are."
"Hiding one's fury…" I snapped my fingers. "That's it! Fury!"
Youmu turned her head. "What about Fury?"
"I think what Goro means is, would you like for Fury to be your code name?"
Youmu mulled it for a second, then said, "uh… sure, I guess?" Wow, she dropped her serious tone just like that. What was it with her?
In any case, our code names were decided. "It sounds like we all have our code names now. I'm Crow,"
"I'm Seraph," said Reimu,
"I'm, uh, Fury," said Youmu,
"...and I'm Starburst!" Marisa smiled.
"Great. Now, we must remember to use only those names when we are in a Palace, be it Yuyuko's or any that come after. In other words, we have to divorce ourselves from our real-world lives when we are acting as Heroes of Justice, from the moment we step in to the moment we leave. Are we all clear on that?"
"Clear as mud," Marisa said.
"Then it's settled. Now, let's get ready to head out."
After gathering our supplies together, we hauled out to the Palace. Youmu revealed en route that she had received a blue key similar to ours while she was sleeping; I realized the girls' keys all had colors matching the magic types they used, so if we picked up any new members then their key colors would serve as good indicators of what their abilities would be even before awakening a Persona.
"Hey, so there's something I forgot to bring up at the meeting," Marisa said.
"What is it?" I asked.
"When we get inside the palace, I wanna test something out." She took out her mini-hakkero. "Y'know how yesterday Youmu was gettin' totally drained from just bein' in the Palace? Well, I was lyin' in bed starin' at the ceiling and thought about how I couldn't use my real-world magic, nor did Reimu have any of her abilities either when we first entered. Of course, bein' a magician I want to know why that is, so this morning I configured the hakkero to pick up magic signals for me while we're in there so that after I go home I can examine it."
"Fine by me, as long as it doesn't interfere with the operation," I said.
"It won't. For now at least it's pretty much a brick while we're in there otherwise."
"Well, alright." I had to admit: brash as Marisa came off to me, she showed promising intelligence and strategic mindset. I knew she would be a highly useful and valuable ally going forward. Most interesting was her devotion to researching magic, which of course I knew nothing about since magic didn't exist in the Outside, or at least not to my knowledge. As much as I had abused the Metaverse for my own gain and that of the Antisocial Force, I actually didn't understand how it actually worked that well. Perhaps having a magician's insight would improve my knowledge of its inner workings, which in turn would aid our investigations.
Several minutes later, we were in the Palace, ready to blaze a path to the treasure.
"Alright," Marisa grinned. "Let's head on in and bust ass!"
"Are you ready, Fury?" Reimu asked, looking over her shoulder.
Youmu adjusted her mask, and gripped her swords. "Yes. Let's not waste time." Marisa was right: Youmu was just like night-and-day with her personality.
"Good on you for remembering code names, Seraph," I commented. "Now, let's be consistent in using them. It's vital that we do."
"Understood, leader," Marisa responded.
"Good." We started walking toward the entrance, when all of a sudden the world flashed blue, and time seemed to stop, except for me. I looked around, and caught sight of an open blue door, with Lavenza beside it.
"My master wishes to speak with you," she said. "Please, come inside."
I didn't understand. What was going on here? Was that an entrance to the Velvet Room? Why here, and why now? I shrugged, and did as she requested, walking inside with her following just behind.
Once inside, I looked around, and sure enough, this was the Velvet Room. Igor sat at the desk just ahead, lacing his fingers in anticipation.
"I have brought our guest here as requested," Lavenza bowed.
"Magnificent," Igor said. He looked at me. "It seems your skills have begun to improve. I can tell you already hold many different Personas within your heart."
"You have successfully freed many shadows from the distortion cast upon them by the owner of the fortress," Lavenza added. "These stray beings from the sea of souls flowed into the fortress by chance, where they were cursed to lose their identities and become guards. By negotiating with them and helping them remember their true names, you gained their trust and allowed them to enter your heart as a Persona."
I removed my mask and inspected it. "So, those shadows are actual spirits of people?"
"Not necessarily," Lavenza said, shaking her head. "These shadows are all beings shaped by the Collective Unconscious. They take the form of beings, myths and figures impressed upon the cognition of the world. They even retain memories gained by other shadows of their shape."
Memories gained by others… so the Jack 'o Lantern I killed and the one I recruited weren't the same individuals? Or perhaps maybe ALL Jack 'o Lanterns were parts of one being? This seemed very confusing, even for a two-year Metaverse veteran like me. Perhaps I just never thought about those shadows as anything more than cannon fodder due to the nature of my job.
"I… see," I said. "So, by gaining the shadow's trust, they become part of my psyche and lend me their power?"
"That is correct," Lavenza replied. "As the holder of the Fool card, you can gain and wield the power of multiple Personas with powers different from the Persona closest to your heart, the one born of your own shadow."
"Interesting. So, I just need to be constantly recruiting shadows to use as Personas?"
"That's partly true," Lavenza said, "but there is more to understand about them."
"Hm?" I wondered. "Is there a catch, by any chance?"
"I suppose one could call it that," she said. "First, there is a limit to the number of Personas you can hold within you. Any Personas you attempt to hold within you will be rejected and forced back into the Sea of Souls. Second, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ensure that all of those Personas gain power at the same rate, which in turn will affect your own power when you use them. Finally, Personas not born from one's shadow only have so much room to grow, and can never master more than a few skills. Therefore, a given Persona will stop being useful to you after a certain point."
I scratched my head. "Is that so… that's quite a conundrum, if the Personas cannot grow much more powerful, and I can only have a few at a time. Is there a way to solve it?"
"Indeed," Igor spoke up. "It is the reason we have brought you here today. We would like to introduce the range of services the Velvet Room has to offer to our guests."
"The services my master speaks of pertain to Persona fusion," Lavenza explained. "By fusing together two Personas, one can create a new, stronger Persona with the powers of its reagents and more besides. With fusion, you can create more Personas with more diverse skills than the ones you might find out in the wild."
"Fusion… well, Ren did speak of creating new Personas quite frequently, and would often demonstrate ones which he did not have during a previous Metaverse visit. Is this that then?"
"Indeed," Lavenza nodded, "although because of the malevolent entity which inhabited this place before, he was only given sadistic, inhumane methods for doing so. Normally, my master would fuse Personas for you, but because of his confinement his powers haven't fully returned. Therefore, we have recently had to… ah, outsource our fusion process."
"Outsource?" I asked again, confused. That's when I felt a dark, heavy and imposing presence come up behind me. Turning around, I saw what looked like a large, winged black eye with a halo float towards us, stopping just in front of me in the center of the room. I could feel its hum as it hovered there, its red eye staring straight into me… before the hum stopped, a set of mechanical legs deployed from the bottom and it came to rest on the ground. I could hear something clattering around inside it, before a hatch opened up on the top, out of which emerged a brown-haired girl with long, twin braids, shorts and a tank top holding a wrench.
"Oy, Lavenza!" she said. "Long time, no see!"
"It's good to see you too, after everything that's happened," Lavenza smiled.
I looked up at the strange girl. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The girl slid down the side of the giant eye-machine and touched town on the floor beside me; she was also fairly short, about the same height as Marisa, and seemingly just as forceful in her personality. "For your information, pretty boy, I am the GREAT and MIGHTY tank engineer Rika! My skills are at Tokyo University-level, I'll have you know, and I've built more than 2,000 custom battle machines, like this one!" She slapped the side of the machine. "Evil-Eye Sigma! One of my finest creations! She's a beaut, ain't she?"
I looked up and took in the machine, which stood tall, about ten meters, and whose eye seemed to follow me no matter where I walked. Although "evil" wasn't the sense I got from it; more like "overpowering" and "intimidating."
"Er, yeah…" I said awkwardly. "I'm sure it's quite powerful."
"You bet it," Rika boasted. "It's got six heavy-caliber gatling guns and can fire rounds composed of pure, ambient magic at a combined rate of 300,000 rounds per minute. Twenty missile batteries, each rocket packs a punch of more than 1,000 tons of TNT. It can fire ripper-lasers with a six-pronged attack, and they can cut through pure neutronium. Eight arms which can wield anything from swords, chainsaws, sawblades, spears, claws, drills and plungers. It's tricked out with multiple layers of vibranium armor plating which can repel a nuclear blast even without the special enchantments which let it drive straight through a black hole and survive! Plus," a small door opened up on the side, and two arms came out, one holing a cup and the other a kettle, "onboard tea maker for prolonged missions!"
"Looks and certainly sounds impressive," I commented, "but what does this have to do with fusing Personas?"
"Nothing," Rika said bluntly, "'cause it's also my main ride." She snapped her fingers, causing the tank to brandish a cannon which shot out two objects. Landing behind me, they first resembled large, metal balls before unfolding and deploying into turrets with very thin, rectangular gun ports. "These babies, on the other hand, can fuse your Personas better than any other method! Just turn 'em into cards, load 'em up, and BAM! New Persona born, just like that! They'll even tell you the possible fusions from the ones you've got on you! Pick which skills the new Persona will keep from the ones you used to make it! No fuss, almost no chance of an accident… hehe."
"Almost?" I asked, warily.
"Well, you can't eliminate all risk, you know," Rika grinned. "Now, why don't you give it a try? Just walk right up to one and throw a Persona in there!"
"Okay…" I had no idea how this was supposed to work. So I just walked up to one cannon, which lighted up as I got near. Then, a projection came out, seemingly from myself, showing all the Personas I had gathered so far: Pixie, Slime, and Jack 'o Lantern, each on a tarot card with their corresponding Arcana on it.
"Slick, huh?" Rika remarked. "You can literally just drag and drop one onto the machine and it'll take it in."
"Alright... what about Bond?"
"Oh, him? That your initial Persona? Yeah, you can't fuse him away," Rika said. "That's 'cause he was born from your shadow, so naturally he's inseparable from your heart and grows alongside you more, unlike the others. But the rest of 'em, fuse 'em how you like!"
Interesting, I thought. So Bond followed different rules than all the other Personas. Perhaps the same was true of Robin Hood and Loki, if I still had them. I thought Pixie was the weakest link of the three options, so I put her into the machine, which glowed blue as a result.
"Excellent! Now, go to the second cannon," Rika instructed. I did as I was told, approaching the other cannon and being presented with Slime and Jack 'o Lantern.
"Oh yeah, one more thing before you throw a second one in there," Rika cautioned. "The safety mechanism won't let you fuse anything higher than your current level of power. That's cause powerful Personas have a tendency to, well, possess their owners if they're stronger than the person tryin' to wield them, especially if there's a really big power gap. But don't take my word for it; if you run into this gal's sister Elizabeth she'll tell you all about what it's like to be possessed by a Persona."
I jumped back. "Wait, so a Persona can actually-"
"Yep, but like I said, this machine won't let that happen," Rika said. "If you try, it'll just stop you. Now then, throw a second one in there!"
After some hesitation, I threw Slime in, since I thought it rather ugly. Soon after, a screen flared to life on the cannon, showing a picture of a Makami and its arcana, Temperance. A green checkmark let me know I could fuse it.
"OK, cool, so that's the form the fusion should take," Rika explained. "Now, under the Persona should be a list of skills it'll come with upon fusion. On the right side, all the skills the two reagents have, and the system will let you import some of them onto the new Persona. And, there's a final twist. Lavenza, you explain it. It'll make more sense coming from you."
"Understood," Lavenza nodded. She brandished a scroll, which unfurled into a list of the twenty-two major Arcana. Next to some of them were names, and next to those names either one or two stars.
"As I explained before, forming bonds is an integral part of your journey. Forming deals with various people you meet in your daily life and deepening them will empower your own soul as well as theirs. You have already formed some bonds, but they are still weak: you must continue to deepen your connection to them, and stake out new relationships as well."
I eyed the list, and realized the names matched up with other people I had met in Gensokyo so far. Most intriguing of all, though, was who filled the "Fool" slot: Ren Amamiya, a.k.a. Joker, a.k.a. the object of my envy, hatred, admiration and respect at the same time, the man who had nothing and yet everything, the one I looked down upon and yet still felt inadequate in comparison… I did form a deal with him, which according to Igor let me enter this place, so I guess it made sense. Even so, how could I deepen my bond with someone I no longer had contact with?
I shook my head. I could ask that question later. "I see," I said. "Then, I'll do my best."
"Y'know there's another benefit in for you if you keep up with your drinkin' buddies," Rika shouted. "The stronger your bond with a person, the more power a Persona of their arcana is born with, and they'll gain extra abilities, too!"
"But didn't you say that was dangerous?" I said back.
"Er… yeah, good question, actually. After you fuse 'em, they're loyal to you, no matter what. It's only if their base power is higher than yours that trouble happens. So, feel free to load 'em up with power, and crush everything in your way!"
"I see." After confirming the fusion, I was instructed to step back, and after I did, the cannons began a countdown, before firing blue energy spheres which collided with each other, drawing in white lights before the new Persona materialized.
"Me Makami. Me become your mask and howl at enemies!" It then got sucked into my mask. Process complete.
"Whaddya think? Impressive, innit?" Rika asked excitedly.
I still wasn't too sure what to make of what had just happened. Why a Pixie and a Slime, of all things, fused to make a Makami. I thought I knew all there was to know about the Metaverse, but now it seemed the more time went by, I understood the place even less.
"Er… what now?" I asked awkwardly.
Igor chuckled. "What you have just done is discard two old paths to tread a new one. With this new possibility comes new power."
"Personas you fuse are stronger than the ones you find out in the wild," Rika said, "but on the other hand, you gotta get fusion fodder from somewhere."
"There is another service we offer as well," Lavenza added. She brandished the large tome she carried. "This is the compendium. It contains entries for all the Personas you have obtained. I can resummon any Persona you have realized from this tome… for a fee in yen, of course."
I jumped back. "Wait, you mean, I have to pay money?! What do you even use it for?"
"Even the Velvet Room requires funds to maintain itself," Lavenza shrugged.
"Plus, I don't work for free," Rika bellowed. "I got parts to buy for my tanks, food, tea, power and rent - Shinki isn't exactly the most forgiving landlord. But don't worry, those shadows are money pinatas and you know it! So just mug 'em for cash or something and you'll be fine."
"Indeed," said Igor. "Recruit shadows to your side, then bring them here to create stronger and stronger Personas." He chuckled again. "I look forward to your coming endeavors."
Lavenza bowed again. "You may be dismissed to continue your fortress infiltration."
"My appreciation," I bowed back, walking toward the exit. Before I did, however, Rika ran up to me and tapped my shoulder.
"Oh, uh, one more thing," she asked.
"What is it?"
"Well, this is more of a personal request than anything having to do with your mission or whatever. Truth is," she crossed her legs, "despite what I said back there about the fusion tanks, I kinda rushed 'em through because of how sudden the request was. Which means I'm still workin' out all the kinks. So if you could, I'd like your help in makin' them even better by fusing Personas with certain specifications."
"I see," I smirked. "So why did you lie about their effectiveness?"
"I didn't lie!" she snapped back. "It's just, ah… me and Lavenza go back a ways and she gives me shit if I make myself look weak. So, will you help me out, please?"
"Well, I'll consider it if there's anything in it for me," I said slyly.
"Don't worry, I'll make it up to you if you help me out," Rika promised.
"Alright… well, what do you want me to do?"
Rika took out a list, and pointed at an item. "To start, I want to see a Jack Frost! Oh, but it can't be just any Jack Frost, it's gotta know Mabufu too!"
Jack Frost with Mabufu… I barely knew how to fuse Personas, so it seemed tricky for a beginner like me to do. Nonetheless, this sounded like a useful deal, so I said, "I'll look far and wide for one."
"You don't have to comb the entire Metaverse to find one, you're free to fuse it right here in the Velvet Room if you need to! Actually, every item on my list is something that can only exist by fusing it, except maybe that Jack Frost. What I'm saying is, don't be afraid to experiment!"
"Understood," I nodded. "I shall see you again soon."
"If you wanna succeed, you'll be comin' here a lot!" Rika shouted as I left.
Just outside, the Palace appeared in the distance, and Marisa came up to me.
"Dude, you alright? You were just standin' there like a Jizo."
...oh. I guess my comrades only saw me standing where the Velvet Room entrance would be. I shrugged, "ah, sorry, I was just reflecting on some things."
"Well, don't forget you're the reason we're here, now let's go!"
"Indeed." And so, I led the charge into the Palace, me and my comrades.
