It is I, BlueRaptor629, bringing you with another chapter.
But first, I'd like to apologize for waiting for an update this long. I was busy making a report for my fifth semester in college, so I didn't have much free time for writing.
And on top of that, I got Persona 5 Royal as a birthday present, which is on February 6th. So I spent 20 days completing it. To be frank, While It was such a long playthrough that it took 140 hours (including the "Third Semester" event that included viewing both the "Stay" and "Return" endings), I greatly enjoyed playing it.
Lastly, I changed the second chapter slightly due to me now fully aware what the doors of the Safe Room looked like in Royal.
Now on to the chapter!
Chapter 4: An Electrifying Awakening
(In the Velvet Room)
Ren immediately woke up as he found himself inside a familiar cell as well as his clothes reverted into the same one from before. He proceeded to get up and walked towards the barred door of his cell, where he was greeted by a certain trio.
"About time you've come to, Inmate. Now, on your feet!" Caroline rudely greeted him while banged the door with her rod.
"Our master wishes to speak with you." Justine said. "For your own sake, you are to heed his words carefully."
"First off, let us celebrate our reunion." Igor began. "Oh? You have awakened to your power. A special one at that. Now your rehabilitation can finally begin."
"What are you talking about?" Ren inquired.
"*chuckle* There's no need for you to understand them all just yet." Igor replied. "You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened put into simple terms, Persona is a "mask" to be used to protect yourself when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations of you."
"Expectations about what, exactly?"
"As I previously stated, you will know in due time." The long nosed man answered vaguely once again. "By the by, have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator?"
"The Metaverse Navigator?" Ren thought about before he came into a realization. "It was you who gave me that app?"
"That is correct." Igor nodded. "Using it allows you to come and go between reality and the cognitive worlds that you called "Palaces". I bestowed it upon you as a means to train you into a thief."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master. "Caroline told the young man. "You better make use of it, Inmate!"
"And we shall be here to provide assistance for you, to ensure that you will become a fine thief." Justine added.
"It must be disheartening for you, to travel to the Metaverse for your rehabilitation alone." The long nosed man stated. "Should there be others who would prove to be beneficial for you, I shall grant them this tool as well." He continued. "Lastly, I assume you have encountered the Otherworlders? One of which is a particular young man who commanded these unique creatures called "Pokémon"?"
"You mean Ace?" The frizzy haired young man asked.
"Indeed." Igor nodded. "These "Pokémon" creatures are different from the ones you have fought. Do you recognize the concept of "parallel worlds"? Unlike with the Metaverse, that human and those creatures he commanded supposedly hailed from one of these worlds. However, encountering beings from another, separated world should be impossible."
"What are you talking about?" Ren inquired.
"The only thing you need to know is that there was a catastrophic event that once threatened that world. The offset of that event unintentionally created a bridge of sorts, one that connected that world into this one. You are expected to encounter more of these creatures in your rehabilitation soon enough."
Then, the bells ranged through the room once more.
'"Time's up. Now go back and enjoy whatever rest you have!" Caroline shouted as everything around Ren faded to black.
(Next morning)
After putting on his uniform, Ren proceeded to go downstairs where he saw Ace just finished filling the papers with a plate of curry, which was lying on the table of a booth. He was already in his school uniform, where he wore the standard uniform of most students who go to Shujin, with the exception of him still wearing his trademark knit cap as well as his white wristband, one which he never saw anything compared to the ones he saw.
"Yo. Good morning." Ace greeted him.
"What were you doing?" Ren asked.
"Filling up some papers so I can start going to school as a new student." The Galar Champion answered. "And I was just about done with it. Once we're done having breakfast, how about we head to school together?"
"Sure." The frizzy haired young man proceeded to sit on one of the chairs and started eating his curry. Before heading out, Ace proceeded to use the shoulder bag he received from school along that came from receiving his uniforms. He only put the stationeries he still had when he was just a student in the past, notebooks, the papers he filled out, his Poke Balls and recovery items, in case there was a situation called for it, and some things he could sell to get extra cash. Once he was done, Ace proceeded to leave Leblanc and headed toward the train station with Ren.
After getting off the train in Shibuya Station, they proceeded to walk towards the train platform that leads to Aoyama Itchome. After several steps, they managed to arrive at the platform, where a group of students had gathered up and were waiting for the train that takes them to the station near the school to arrive. While the two boys were standing and waiting, they heard something from the other students.
"Look, isn't that her?" A girl said as she was looking at another student, who has long, red hair that she tied into a ponytail with a red ribbon as well as red eyes.
"You mean the one with a red ribbon?" Her friend replied. "Uh, I guess so?"
"She's so thin… It's not fair, I've got my hair in a ponytail too…"
"Okay, and what's that got to do with being thin?" The boy asked as the aforementioned train arrived in front of them, to which they immediately got onboard.
Ace was able to find a place to sit where Ren was standing. He then looked at the same ponytailed girl, who proceeded to get up from her seat due to an old woman in front of her.
"Please, take my seat." The girl told the old woman. "My station's coming up."
"Are ya sure? Then…" Just as the girl moved out of the way, a man in black suit immediately occupied the seat, surprising said girl.
"Oh wow, what speed!" The girl stated. "I mean— Excuse me, that seat was for this lady…"
The man simply glanced at her before falling asleep.
"Oh…" The girl was flabbergasted as she stared towards Ren.
"Want me to "wake him up"?" Ren offered.
"It's all right. I can understand his position as well." She then looked towards the elderly woman. "I'm sorry I couldn't be any help."
"It's all right, dearie. Don't you worry." The woman assured her.
"Please allow me to carry your luggage, at least." The red ponytailed student offered.
"Thank you! Ain't it heavy, though?"
"Not at all! I train plenty!"
It didn't take for the train to stop at the designated station, which Ace and Ren proceeded to get off the train. But before they could go any further, a voice stopped them.
"Pardon me…" The two boys turned around and saw the girl from before. "Thank you so much for earlier."
"Earlier?" Ren asked her.
"Hmm? You know who that is?" Ace inquired.
"Not necessarily."
"Oh! Sorry. I didn't see you there." The ponytailed girl told Ace after she noticed him. "He was speaking up for me when I offered my seat on the train."
"Is that so? Good for you then, Ren."
"It was nothing." Ren simply replied.
"Hey, are you two second-years at Shujin Academy? I'm a first-year there myself."
"Not me. I'm a third-year there, who just got started attending school." Ace stated.
"Oh really? You didn't look that old compared to your friend here." The ponytailed girl said.
"You're not the first person to tell me that."
"Anyway, I was about to thank you back on the train, but it totally slipped my mind. I didn't want to be rude to my senpais." She told Ren. "Please, excuse me!"
The girl proceeded to go on ahead as both Ren and Ace headed towards the school, but not before opening their umbrellas. In Ace's case, he bought them back on Shibuya before he followed Ren back to Leblanc, using the money he earned from beating the Shadows.
Once they went inside the building, they immediately went into separate ways, with Ren headed towards his classroom while Ace headed towards the principal's office to submit the papers needed to be a student in the school.
Ace proceeded to knock the door that leads to a certain someone's office.
"You can come in." And with that, the Pokémon Trainer proceeded to enter the office, where he saw the principal. "Ah, I see that you have arrived."
"Well, I mean what I said that I planned to go to this school." Ace then proceeded to put the papers onto the principal's desk.
"Let's see, here…" The obese man proceeded to do a quick look over the papers that were submitted to him. "It seems everything is in order." He then proceeded to look at the young man in front of him. "Very well. As promised, you are now a student of this school. And remember, for any form of trouble you do in here, you will be immediately expelled from this school. Especially if you happen to provoke Mr. Kamoshida. Are we clear?"
"I heard you the first time, sir. There's no need to remind me that."
"Good." The principal said. "You should go to the faculty office. Your teacher is waiting for you there."
"Got it." Ace then proceeded to leave the office and head towards the faculty office. It didn't take him long for him to reach the room and entered it. He proceeded to look around the office as he looked for his teacher. Fortunately for him, he didn't need to look any longer.
"You there! Over here!" He turned to see a woman, who was calling him. "I know you can hear me, so hurry up come over here."
"Might as well." He proceeded to walk towards her.
"So… you must be that foreigner who decided to make a sudden transfer here?" She asked him. "The principal has informed me about you."
"Did he now? I see."
"I'm Sora Mizuhara. I will be a teacher in charge of your class." The woman named Sora introduced.
"Nice to meet you, I guess. I'm Ace Wilbert."
"Alright, Wilbert-kun. Let's go to your classroom so you could introduce yourself to the others." With that said, the young teacher proceeded to walk ahead as Ace followed her.
After walking a few steps, including going downstairs, they managed to arrive at one of the classrooms on the first floor.
"If anyone asks, be sure to try not to say something unnecessary, okay?"
"You don't have to tell me that." Ace told her.
"As long as you know what to do, then we're fine." She proceeded to enter the classroom, where the teacher proceeded to stand behind the desk as Ace stood beside her.
"Wait? Isn't that the foreigner who suddenly wants to transfer here?"
"There's no mistake all right. I saw him going to the principal's office yesterday."
"Did you think he did something to make the principal agree to become a student?"
"I hope that's not it. We had enough problems with that underclassmen who showed up late."
Out of all the students who were talking about him, there's a lone girl who just stared at him. She has brown hair in a bob cut with blunt bangs and a French-braid styled headband that matches her hair color. Her eyes were as red as the ponytailed girl who met Ren. Her uniform consisted of a black halter vest over a long-sleeve white shirt with a turtleneck, which was different from the ones the female students wore. She also wears the black & red pleated plaid skirt, black pantyhose, and black-brown ankle boots.
"Okay, settle down now." Sora silenced them before she talked again. "I'm sure you've heard, but we had a new student who will be joining this classroom." She began. "I was informed by the principal that he had "problems" with his previous school, so he had to make a sudden transfer here." The young woman proceeded to turn towards him. "Now, why don't you go introduce yourself to the class?"
"Hello. I'm Ace Wilbert. Pleasure to meet you." Ace introduced himself as he slightly bowed to the class.
"Whoa. He's actually a pretty decent guy."
"Appearance can be deceiving, so I'm not expecting much about him."
"What if he's secretly a criminal, like that underclassman with the glasses."
"Good grief." Sora facepalmed as she saw her students started gossiping towards one another. "Okay. Now where should we have you sit?"
"Excuse me, Ms. Mizuhara." Both her and Ace turned to the short haired girl, who was staring at the latter, raising her hand and calling the teacher out.
"What is it, Niijima-san?"
"There's an empty seat right next to me." She pointed out.
"In that case, why don't you sit next to Niijima-san over there. The brunette girl with red eyes." Sora told Ace.
"Well, don't mind if I do then." And with that, Ace proceeded to make his way towards the seat. Once there, he proceeded to sit down.
"Oh, and while you're at it, Niijima-san. Please share your textbook with him. He hasn't received his textbooks yet."
"Of course." The girl named Niijima nodded.
"And with that out of the way, let's begin today's class."
(Several hours later)
The bells finally rang, which marked the end of today's class.
"Phew. Glad that's done for today." Ace muttered as he was tired from listening to the lectures throughout the whole day. It was nothing back when he was a student at a school in the Sinnoh region, but all the same it's pretty exhausting. "I guess this is what happens when you're away from school for so long."
"You seemed to have some trouble there." He turned to see Niijima, who was right next to him.
"Oh. It's you. Niijima, was it?" Ace called her.
"Makoto Niijima, actually." The girl named Makoto said. "And you're Ace Wilbert, right?"
"Yup, that's me." The young man said.
"So, Wilbert-san… why did you choose to transfer now of all times?" Makoto asked.
"Previous problems from school and from parents." Ace lied on the fly. "All of which are something I don't want to discuss about."
"I see." The short haired girl said. "So what country are you from?"
"England." Ace lied. Before going to Leblanc with Ren yesterday, Ace took the time to buy some books he managed to find with the money he received from defeating Shadows and proceeded to read them before going to sleep. In one of those books, he found out that some places in this world have some similarities to the regions in the back home, especially with how similar the country that is called Britain is to Galar.
"Well, if there's anything you want to know, be sure to come to me. I'll be able to help you what I can."
"Yeah. Thanks." Ace said as he suddenly had an epiphany. "Does that mean you offered to tutor me or something?"
"What!?" Makoto exclaimed.
"You know, there's some subjects I don't get, then you give me some pointers. That kinda thing."
"Oh. You mean that." The short haired girl sighed in relief. For a second there, this foreigner was inviting her to do something… romantic.
"Anyway. I got places where I needed to be." Ace proceeded to pack his stuff into his bag before standing up. "See you tomorrow, then."
"Yes, see you." As Ace left the classroom, Makoto couldn't help but wonder about her new classmate that just joined. "Ace Wilbert… Who are you, really?"
(With Ren)
As soon as Ren exited his classroom so he could go home, he heard a familiar voice trying to start a conversation.
"Hey there, Takamaki." A certain teacher called to the girl, who sat in front of Ren and was also the one he met on his first day of school, by name as the former approached her. "Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents.
Knowing what he was going to ask her to, the blonde girl decided to refuse him. "Sorry, I have a photoshoot today. It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it."
"Hey, now… Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone." Kamoshida told her. "You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"
"Yes. I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy… sorry to worry you."
"You must be feeling lonely too. I feel bad keeping your best friend at practice so often." The coach continued. "Oh, and… be careful around that new classmate of yours. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you…"
"Thank you…" She interrupted. "Please excuse me.
And with that, Takamaki proceeded to go on ahead, leaving Kamoshida alone.
"Tch…" The teacher proceeded to go upstairs, allowing Ren to continue forward.
As he passed through the gate, he was greeted by Ryuji, who was waiting with Ace by the school gate.
"Yo." Ryuji said to him.
"What's up?" Ren asked him.
"I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday." The dyed blonde boy said. "I tried to convince myself it was all just a dream… but I seriously couldn't do it."
"I'd figure that's what you want to talk about." Ace stated.
"I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida, after all." The vulgar boy continued. "I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. Y'know, you two are the only ones I can rely on for this stuff. So, you guys in?"
"Sure. I'll lend you a hand." The frizzy haired boy replied.
"Me too. I also like to find out more about the castle." The Galar Champion added.
"Nice! Okay, glad we're in this together." Ryuji grinned. "Let's start by retracing our steps from yesterday."
"I guess that's a good place to start. Let's go."
And with that, the three boys proceeded to re-enact what happened yesterday, by going towards the main street near the station before going back to Shujin via the shortcut.
Unfortunately, nothing has changed.
"Huh? We're at school..." He said as he was surprised that it didn't turn into a castle. "There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right?" The dyed blonde boy asked them. "I didn't see no castle either. Guess we must've made a wrong turn somewhere."
"What? You wanna try again?" The knit capped boy asked.
"Yeah, I wanna try again."
"I rather just go home now." Ren stated, having grown tired of it.
"No, wait! One more time, I promise." Ryuji told Ren. "I won't mess up. So let's go."
Then, they proceeded to do the same process once more, but only met with the same results from before when they arrived back at the school gate. Ryuji tried to look around to see if he overlooked something, but saw nothing.
"For real?" The vulgar boy frowned before he proceeded to lean on the wall of the gates. "Is it smaller than we think?"
"We also already made sure to not miss any important detail, but I guess that wasn't enough." Ace stated.
"Don't need to remind me, man." The dyed blonde boy then turned to Ren. "What do you think?"
"Have you checked your phone?" The bespectacled boy asked.
"Already did that. I didn't see anything like it around here…" Then, something suddenly clicked in Ryuji's head when Ren said something about the phone. "Huh? Phone…"
"Did you realize something, Ryuji?" The knit capped boy asked him.
"Yeah, I just thought of something." He then turned to Ren. "That reminds me-didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then?"
"I see…" Ren pulled out his phone and showed its screen that has a certain app. "Do you mean this?"
"That could be it, but what's with the eyeball design?" His vulgar friend asked.
"Isn't it cute?"
"Dude, you have strange tastes." Ace sweatdropped.
"Yeah, but lemme see that for a bit." Ryuji immediately swiped the phone from the frizzy haired boy's hand as he tapped the app. Fortunately, he found what he was hoping for.
"I knew it! It IS a navigation app!" He shouted before showing his friends something that appeared on the phone's screen. "See here? It even got a search history."
"You had a good point there." Ace replied.
"Oh man, I'm such a genius!" Ryuji said excitedly. "Let's try usin' it."
"I dunno." Ren said.
"We should really think about this carefully before using some strange looking app. Who knows what will happen if we ended up in a dangerous situation." The knit capped boy suggested.
"Don't worry. We're just gonna start an app. What could possibly go wrong?" The dyed blonde boy proceeded to tap something on the phone.
"*sigh*... Famous last word."
"Kamoshida… Shujin Academy… Pervert… Castle…" A voice that came from Ren's phone said. "Beginning navigation."
"There we go!" Ryuji said. "Then we went a certain direction, and—"
Ren and Ace felt something shifting in the air as the atmosphere around them turned light purple.
"What are you—" The dyed blonde boy finally noticed what the other two was sensing. "Huh?" He then looked at the screen of the phone, which he was shocked by. "What the hell!?"
The screen only has the eyeball logo that belonged to the app, which was flashing red before it flashed brightly for the final time, causing the scenery around them to be distorted. They watched as the school building immediately transformed into a certain someone's castle.
"Look! It's the castle from yesterday!" Ryuji pointed out as he and the others rushed towards the front door of the gate. "This means what happened yesterday was for real."
"Couldn't have said it better myself." Ace added.
"Dude! Your clothes' changin'' again!" After hearing that, Ren also noticed the change of his clothes. It was the very same ones where he fought Shadows at the castle.
"That happened last time too, right?" The vulgar boy stated.
"How the hell can you do that?" The knitted cap young man asked.
"I have no idea." Ren simply replied as he put his hands into his pockets.
"Well, that's no help at all." He continued. "What's goin' on here!? It makes no effin' sense at all…"
"Hey!" The boys turned to see Morgana, who peeked from behind as he approached them. "Stop making a commotion."
"You!?"
"Hey there, Morgana." Ace greeted him.
"I was wondering why the Shadows suddenly riled up, so I came here to see what was the cause…" Morgana began. "To think you came back where even though you barely managed to escape."
"Just to be clear, I chose to go back just to confirm a few things." The Pokémon Trainer corrected.
"What is this place? Is it the school?" Ryuji asked.
"Yes and no." The cat-like creature responded.
"Which one is it!?"
"This school IS the castle…" He clarified. "...But only to this castle's ruler."
"This castle's ruler."
"I think you called him Kamoshida." Morgana told him. "It's how his distorted heart views the school."
"Kamoshida… Distorted… " The dyed blonde boy muttered but he, along with the others, couldn't understand what Morgana meant. "Explain it in a way that makes sense!"
"I shouldn't have expected much from a moron like you."
"What'd you say!?"
"Now now, there's no need to-"
"AAAAAAH!"
Ace's intervention was interrupted by a piercing scream that came from inside the castle.
"What was that?" Ace questioned.
"It must be the slaves captive here." Morgana answered.
"I guess it really is for real." Ryuji muttered. "We saw other guys held captive here yesterday. I'm sure they're from our school."
"It's nothing out of the ordinary. It's always been like that every day." The cat-like creature stated. "But considering that you three ticked him off by escaping, the abuse he inflicts on those captives will probably be worse than usual."
"That son of a bitch!" He retorted.
"Ryuji…?" Ren muttered.
'My guess is that Ryuji has some unpleasant experience with Kamoshida…' Ace pondered. 'I wonder what?'
"This is bullshit!" He proceeded to ram his shoulder onto one of the doors. "You hear me, Kamoshida!?"
"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know…" Morgana pointed out. "Still, it seems you have your own reasons."
Ryuji then proceeded to turn around and approached the cat-like creature.
"Hey, Monamona!" He called out.
"It's Morgana!"
"Do you know where those voices are comin' from?"
"You want me to take you there?" Morgana then turned to Ren. "But I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes with us."
"What's your call then, Ren?" Ace asked him. "I'm also in on this too."
"Let's go." The frizzy haired boy nodded.
"It's settled then." Morgana stated.
"For real? Thanks, guys." Ryuji thanked them.
"All right, let's do this. Follow me!" Morgana then led them into the ventilation that the boys went through the last time they were in the castle.
"This is our infiltration point." The cat-like creature explained.
"Ain't that where we escaped out of last time?" The dyed blonde boy asked.
"That's right. Not barging through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery."
"How're we supposed to know about that stuff?"
"It's common sense, really. Even a kid can do it. "Ace commented as Morgana leaped into the small pathway.
"I'll make sure to teach you as we go. Come on, follow me!" And with that, Morgana went ahead.
"So, uh… sorry for draggin' you all into this…" Ryuji began. "But I can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants."
"Don't worry, Ryuji. I hate him too." Ace told him.
"Yeah." Ren nodded.
"Really though, I owe you two big time." The delinquent-looking boy grinned as the three of them went inside the castle through the aforementioned infiltration point.
(Somewhere in the castle)
A familiar pair of Pokemon was running around in a hallway.
"(I haven't seen the others so far. They didn't get captured by those freaky knights, did they?)" Yamper asked Nickit as the pair ran on their four feet. For some time, they wandered around the castle in hopes of looking for their friends. What they didn't know was that they had already been rescued and had returned to the Pokemon World.
"(I highly doubt that's the case.)" Nickit replied. (Besides, they have Zigzagoon with them so they should be fine.)"
"(I hear you.)"
Sure enough, they immediately ran into a Shadow, who appeared from the corner of the hallway.
"Hmm? You two were one of those vermins that kept appearing in the castle!" The Shadow said. "On the orders of King Kamoshida, I will capture you two!"
"(Gees, they just don't when to quit, do they?)" Yamper whined.
"(They are persistent, I'll give them that. But...)" The Fox and the Puppy Pokemon then braced themselves for an upcoming fight. '(We'll just have to fight our way through, like always.)"
"(Let's show them we are stubborn too!)"
The knight then dissolves into a black ooze before appearing as a green horse-like creature that has red eyes, green messy mane, shark-like teeth, and further half of the body consists of tendrils that are like its mane.
"I shall see to it that you two are imprisoned in cages!"
"(Look alive, here he comes!)" Nickit warned as the green horse lunged towards the duo.
(Inside the dungeon)
Ren, Ace, Morgana, and Ryuji immediately hide behind a barred door when they spot Shadow that was just up ahead.
"Shoot… I had a feeling there would be guards here…" Morgana commented. "I guess we'll have to start fighting our way forward from now on."
"Yeah, that sucks." Ace added. "I guess it's inevitable at some point."
"F-For real…?" Ryuji muttered.
"Oh boy. I'll just have to teach you the basics of battle, so don't forget all of this." The cat-like creature told the boys, especially Ren. "Always try to ambush the enemy instead of rushing to it headlong. Attack from behind whenever you can. "He explained. "You'll need to rip their masks off to break the control that the ruler has over them. If you manage to pull it off, your opponent will be vulnerable enough for us to jump in for a preemptive attack."
"I see…" Ace muttered, taking mental notes of Morgana's explanation.
"So, we wanna get the jump on 'em and make the first strike…" The dyed blonde boy recalled. "Okay, got it!"
"Uh, you know you're just going to be watching, right? You neither have a Persona nor a Pokémon…" Morgana told him. "But anyway, let's go!"
"Leave it to me." Ren said as he ran towards the Shadow when it's back was turned and proceeded to leap onto its back. "Show me your true form!"
"What are you-" The Shadow didn't get to finish its sentence as Ren ripped the mask off of its face, causing it to sink down in a pool of black ooze before appearing as a pair of pumpkin headed monsters from before as well as a red imp.
"Come on out, Mimikyu!" Ace threw a Pokeball into the air, sending out the aforementioned Pokemon into the battle.
"(All right, let's do this!)" Mimikyu said with choking noises as he was ready to battle.
"Whoa, what kinda Pokemon is that?" Ryuji asked. "And did I hear choking? Damn, that's creepy."
"Save the questions right after the battle." Ace said before looking at Mimikyu again. "Mimikyu, Shadow Claw!"
"Ravage them, Arsene! Cleave!"
Mimikyu's eyes on the chest of the rag became starry briefly before a black sharp claw with a purple outline appeared from underneath its rag. He then slashed the red imp with it, killing it instantly. Ren, on the other hand, summoned Arsene by ripping his mask before the red being slashed one of Pumpkin headed Shadows with one of his heels.
"Take this!" Morgana then swooped in and landed the killing blow with his sword.
"Hee ho!" The pumpkin headed Shadow towards Mimikyu and hit him with its lantern, which only fazed right through him.
"Whoa! What the heck is that!?" Ryuji exclaimed as
"Everyone knows you can't hit a ghost through that." The Galar Champion smirked. "Now, use Drain Punch!"
Once Mimikyu formed the claw into a fist, it became surrounded in a green orb of energy before striking the Shadow with it. Then, sparkling green orbs of energy flew out of the Shadow as it dissolved and into Mimikyu, draining its energy.
"For real!? That thing can shrug the hit like it was nothing and then can pack a serious punch?" The dyed blonde boy exclaimed.
"Looks like he wasn't kidding when he says that it can handle on its own." Ren noted.
"At any rate, let's get going." Morgana told them. "We'll talk some more later."
And with that, the group proceeded to move forward before taking a turn to the left, crossing the drawbridge. When they arrived at the other side, all of the students inside the cells were gone.
"Why ain't anyone here?" Ryuji wondered before he and the others approached one of the empty cells. "Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go!?"
"Quiet down!" The cat-like creature reprimanded.
"Oh yeah, there were more of 'em further in too…!" And with that, the delinquent looking boy went further to the left.
"I guess all of them have been transferred somewhere." Ren said.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same too." Ace added.
Then, Ryuji came back with a worried expression on his face.
"Crap! I heard footsteps comin'! Lots of 'em!" He said.
"It would be a problem if they discovered us now…" Morgana said as he, Ren, Ace, and Mimikyu walked to the semi transparent door to their left, with the Pokémon Trainer recognized it.
"Wait, that door… I've seen it before here." Ace commented. "Yeah, I took a nap in one of those rooms before."
"Dude, are you for real?" Ryuji said.
"I can say for a certain that he was telling the truth." The cat-like creature added. "Let's hide in there until they leave."
With no objections, the group proceeded to enter the room. Once they were inside, Morgana and Mimikyu leaped up to the table while the boys stood right near them.
"If Ace's saying was true, then the Shadows probably won't come in here."
"*gasp* *pant* How can you tell?" The dyed blonde haired boy asked.
"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak."
The scenery around briefly changed into one of the classrooms from the school before it returned to normal.
"Is this a classroom!?" Ryuji wondered.
"Now do you understand? This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects" Morgana explained.
"This is Kamoshida's reality? Shit makes no sense at all!"
"I think I understand what you mean, Morgana." Ace stated. "From the way I see it, his distorted desires must have taken shape and were materialized here in… whatever this world is called."
"Wow! You get all that?"
"(Despite how he looks and acts, Ace is very smart on this kind of thing.)" Mimikyu said but all except Ace were unable to understand what's his saying.
"Well, he's not an idiot like you, Ryuji." The cat-like creature said.
"Shuddup, cat!"
"Back on topic, I call such a place like this a "Palace"." Morgana stated.
"A Palace?" Ryuji repeated.
"To elaborate what Ace said, this place becomes a castle because that's exactly what Kamoshida thinks of the school." He explained.
"So, it became like this 'cause he just thought of it like that!? Hahaha…" The dyed blonde haired boy said before he became furious. "That high-and-mighty perverted bastard!"
"From the way you were reacting, I guess you hate him." Ren said.
"Hate doesn't even cover what I feel!" Ryuji replied towards Ren. "Everything is that asshole's fault!"
"I know you're angry for all the things he did to you in the past, but try not to get too heated over this." The Pokémon Trainer told him. "It won't do you any good."
"Yeah. His lackeys are everywhere right now." Morgana then turned to Ren. "You're curious about your outfit, don't you?"
"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too." The dyed blonde haired boy said.
"Samesies." Ace added.
"That's also because of this world." The cat-like creature stated.
"More stuff that makes no sense."
"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases with his/her Palace. A school can turn into a castle like this, after all." He explained. "In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion." Morgana then turned to Ren. "Your appearance is a manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."
While Ren, Ace, and Mimikyu understood it all, Ryuji was unable to comprehend it.
"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with all this!" The dyed blonde haired boy shouted. "I'm more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyway!?"
"I'm a human—an honest-to-god human!"
"Wait, you are what!?" Ace widened his eyes. "Um… Morgana, bud. I don't mean to offend you, but I'm having a hard time believing that you are a human just like the rest of us. If you met any of my people, they would mistook you for a new species of Pokémon."
"Yeah, you're absolutely more like a cat!" Ryuji added.
"This is, well… It's because I lost my true form." Morgana retorted. "I think."
"You think?"
"Do you have amnesia?"
"Something like that. But at the very least, I know how to regain my true form. The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means." He then looked away. "And well… you all know the rest of what happened to me afterwards. Plus I have a score to settle with Kamoshida too. He did imprison and torture me, after all."
"This is seriously crazy…" Ryuji then turned to Ace. "So what about you? What's the story behind you and that ragged thing with a wooden tail."
"Not to mention that fire rabbit and big butterfly too. I think you called them Cinderace and Butterfree." Ren added.
"You see, this might sound even more crazy to you but here's the gist of it." Ace began. "I am a Pokémon Trainer and I come from a world that is different from yours. An entirely different world, to be exact."
"H-Hold up! You came from what!? F-For real, man!?" The dyed blonde haired boy exclaimed.
"I see." Ren muttered. Igor wasn't kidding when he mentioned that Ace and the Pokémon came from another world.
"That makes perfect sense really." Morgana stated. "Seeing that you two have no idea what Pokémon were during our first time meeting until he showed the descriptions of them." He then folded his hands. "But thinking back, I may have seen several creatures that looked out of place. I saw them running away from the Shadows here numerous times. But I got caught when I covered for them."
"I see. Just like with those four…" Ace muttered, remembered about the four Pokémon he met when he first came into the Palace.
"So, how exactly did you end up in our world then?" Ryuji asked him.
"You see…" Ace decided to explain about how the population or Pokémon in the Wild Area began to decrease day after day, the mysterious sightings of eerie blood red light, and how he found himself drawn to one of said lights when he was investigating with friends of his and found himself inside the castle. He also told them he was able to send the lost Pokémon back into his world with a dimensional door that opened up inside the Safe Room, as Morgana called it. Needless to say, the three of them were awestruck, especially Ren and Ryuji.
"Dude, that's… a lot to take in."
"I guess things can get weirder than before." Ren said. "Still, I'm curious to find out what kind of Pokémon that are out here."
"I'm kinda curious about that since after seeing Cinderace, Butterfree, and that…" Ryuji then turned to Mimikyu. "What do you call this one again?"
"Here. Pay attention." Ace pulled out his Rotom Phone before opening up the Pokédex app and proceeded to show it to them when Mimikyu's picture was on the screen.
"Mimikyu, the Disguise Pokémon. A Ghost and Fairy type. Due to being a lonely Pokémon, it conceals its terrifying appearance beneath an old rag so it can get closer to people and other Pokémon. A scientist, who peeked under Mimikyu's old rag in the name of research, died of a mysterious disease."
"Hold up! What!?" Ryuji exclaimed about the last sentence of the Pokédex entry.
"So people can actually die if you do so much as a peek underneath it? Talk about curiosity killed the cat." Morgana said. "B-But not that I'm actually a cat, of course."
"So the reason it wears a rag like that so he could become friends with people? That's… actually kinda sad." Ren muttered. He actually knew some tales that were slightly familiar to Mimikyu's entry.
"(That's certainly a true fact amongst our species.)" Mimikyu told them. "(But as long there was someone, be it human or Pokémon, willing to become friends with us, then I'm all right.)"
"Could've said it better myself." Ace smirked.
"Sorry, Ace. But can you understand what they were trying to say?" Ren inquired.
"Not really, it's just that…" Ace began. "I had a feeling on what they were trying to say. When you live quite a while with a Pokémon, then you'll know what I mean."
"I see." To be honest, Ren was interested in having a Pokémon of his own.
"At any rate, we should be going now." Morgana reminded them as he turned to Ren. "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"
"Yeah." He nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you." Ryuji assured him. "I thought it might help, so…" He then pulled something from one of his pockets, which turned out to be a model gun, much to the surprise of the others. "I brought this just in case. It's a model gun though, so it only makes sounds!"
"That's a toy!" The cat-like creature pointed it out.
"But it looks totally real, so it'll at least fake 'em out." He continued. "I brought some medicine too. You know what they say, "Providin' is pre… something." Huh? Huh?"
"It's "Providing is preventing", Ryuji. Get it right." Ace reprimanded.
"So you were planning this from the start." Morgana said. "Well, fine. If you're ready to go, we'll resume our infiltration."
Ren proceeded to get the model gun and a medicine from Ryuji. Just as Ren was about to open the door…
"Hold on." He turned to Morgana. "I think there are still some guards outside. Let's eavesdrop them and see if we can learn something."
"Okay."
(Outside of the Safe Room)
"Hm, I thought I just heard something move over there… Guess it was my imagination." One of the knights said.
"And what of the slaves?" The second knight asked.
"They're in the training hall. I'd assume they're screaming in pain by now." The first one answered.
"Very well. By the way, I heard we may have intruders around. Stay on your guard." The third one reported.
Then, the three Shadows then dispersed as they all went somewhere. Once they were gone, the group came out of the room.
"Did you hear that? Those guys must've been at the training hall or something." Ryuji told them.
"I think that's just a little further ahead. Let's go!" Morgana told them as they went further down.
It didn't take them long to see a Shadow, who was standing in front of the barred door to the left.
"Ugh… There's a guard on duty here…" He pointed out to the others. "The way to the training hall should be just beyond those bars…"
"So… what're we gonna do? Do we gotta fight it?" The dyed blonde boy asked.
"Seems like it. Just don't let it notice you beforehand… If it does, the Palace's security level will rise.
"All right. We'll keep that in mind." Ren nodded.
As soon as the guard's back turned away from them, the frizzy haired boy proceeded to sneak up on him and ripped the mask off just like before, it then transformed into three humanoid plants. Through the efforts of Ren, Morgana, and Mimikyu, the Shadows were swiftly defeated. Then, the group proceeded to open and went through the barred door to their left. They then proceeded to go downstairs before Ren abruptly stopped.
"What's wrong, Ren?" Ace asked.
"There's Shadows around the corner." Ren told them as he proceeded to listen to the conversation.
"Hey, have you seen anyone who looks like an intruder?" One of the two knights asked the other.
"No, nobody yet… I also haven't seen more of those creatures that kept appearing in the castle."
'I guess those knights haven't seen more Pokemon.' Ace muttered in his thoughts. 'Question is… where do they keep all those Pokemon?'
"Shoot… I had a feeling there would be a lot of enemies. It'd be impossible to dodge all of them…" Morgana commented.
"Then, what do we do? Should we try and take 'em down like before?" Ryuji asked.
"It's not that simple." The cat-like creature began. "We still have a long way to go, so we should be conserving energy."
"Considering how big this castle is, then yeah. It's better to save some energy." Ace said.
"I-I see… Sorry... " Ryuji replied. "Dammit, I wish I could fight… I'd at least be able to help out a bit. But all I got is this toy from earlier… I'm such a loser."
"Huh? Do you mean that gun you gave to Frizzy Hair?"
"Yeah… It looks real 'n all, but it doesn't shoot anything…"
"I see… Well, there is a way." Morgana said, now having an idea. "Okay, we'll use that to take down the enemies!"
"What!? Were you listenin' to me?" The dyed blonde boy asked with disbelief. "It doesn't even shoot pellets…"
Ren then saw one of the guards went further in while the other approached near them.
"Don't worry, I'm sure this'll work." The cat-like creature assured him before he turned to Ace. "For this one, you should just sit this one out."
"Fine by me." Ace replied. "I'm actually curious to see what you are planning to do."
Morgana then turned to Ren. "Attack away, Frizzy Hair!"
"Got it." Ren said.
"Wait, dude! I keep sayin', it's not gonna fire anything!" His warning was ignored as Ren walked up to the guard and swung the knife across its body, causing it to transform into the pumpkin Shadow and the humanoid plant Shadow.
"You have the gun with you, right? Point it at a Shadow and fire!" Morgana instructed Ren.
"Right." The frizzy haired boy proceeded to pull out the gun that Ryuji gave him before he aimed at the pumpkin Shadow. Once he got a clear aim, he pulled the trigger and shot the Shadow five times, killing the Shadow and shocking Ryuji and Ace before he unloaded the remaining ammo onto the plant Shadow.
"W-Wait up! Are you seriously for real right now!?" Ryuji exclaimed as he widened his eyes.
"Whoa. That's actually really awesome." Ace added.
"How about that? Surprised?" The cat-like creature said. "There are plenty of instances where rapid fire's going to be more useful than swinging your knife. Of course, you can run out of ammo, but using it all up does more good than letting it collect dust." He then pulled a slingshot that was as big as him, if not bigger. "All right, I'll show you my weapon too!"
With one shot of his slingshot, Morgana swiftly killed the last Shadow. Once the battle was done, the other three proceeded to approach them.
"Whoa! Did that toy gun just shoot real freakin' BULLETS!?" The dyed blonde haired boy exclaimed.
"As long as our enemies will mistake it for the real deal, it will become as such in the cognitive world." The cat-like creature explained. "It's a good thing it's realistic-looking."
While Ren and Ace understood what Morgana was trying to say, Ryuji, as always, had no clue about it whatsoever.
"I don't get it."
"Because they recognize it as a gun, your ammo capacity is limited in battle. Of course, the same is true to the slingshot I used in battle earlier." He explained. "But because they are expecting you to come at them with guns loaded, your ammo's replenished in every new fight."
"What's this commotion over here…?" The second guard appeared from the corner as both sides noticed one another. "Wha—!? Why, you bastards!"
"Get ready, here comes another one!" Morgana said as all except Ryuji braced themselves for another fight.
(Meanwhile)
"Capture those vermins! Don't let them escape!"
The pair of Pokémon eventually was running on the hallway as they attempted escape from their pursuers.
"(I didn't think that we would run into another knight as soon as we took out the next one!)" Yamper stated while running.
"(Less talking, more running! Let's go!)" Nickit proceeded to when ahead.
"(Hey! Wait for me!)" The Puppy Pokémon shouted as he tried to catch up to his friend.
As they ran and ran, they found themselves in a passageway of sorts, which led to the main entrance of the castle that the group had visited.
"(Come on, this way!)" The Fox Pokémon said as they ran through downstairs, which passed the portrait in the wall.
But as soon as they arrived at the bottom, several guard Shadows suddenly emerged out of nowhere, immediately blocking their way.
"(Oh come on! We were this close!)" Nickit shouted as they immediately turned to the Shadows, who just appeared behind them.
"(This is not good. We're completely surrounded!)" Yamper added.
"So… another of you weird animals again?" The two Pokémon turned to see the Shadows surrounding them step aside, which allowed a familiar golden eyed man to walk towards them.
"(A human!?)" Nickit exclaimed.
Yamper sniffed at him before growling furiously and took a defensive stance. "(Careful, Nickit. This guy may look human, but his smell is the same as those monstrous knights! And he's nothing like the others too.)"
"(So he's an enemy, then?)"
"I expected something like a flying ghost chandelier or some sheep that can roll around like a ball, but it was just a couple of stupid dog and a fox." The other Kamoshida said. "It's a pain really, dealing with a bunch of freaks like you that are popping up in my castle like crazy." He then grinned at them. "But at least, they helped me start a hobby other than torturing the slaves here."
"(What's that supposed to mean!?)" Nickit asked.
"Why, would you like to know?" The king taunted. "You'll serve as trophies for me to show off to everyone. A collection, if you will."
"(Good luck doing that, because we're not interested at becoming your stupid collection!)" Yamper barked at him. "(And while we're at it, we'll be freeing all of our fellow Pokémon that you captured. Just you wait, you pathetic excuse of a king!)"
"Tch. You reminded me of that ape Sakamoto, you mangy mutt!" The other Kamoshida sneered as he swiped his arm to the left. "Men, capture those two! For showing the audacity of standing up to me, I'm going to enjoy torturing the two of you!"
The golden armored guard signaled his subordinates to attack the two.
"(Here they come, partner!)" Nickit told Yamper as they braced themselves for a fight.
(With the group)
"That… was awesome! I didn't think it was possible for that to happen." Ace commented about something amazing that he just witnessed.
After defeating the Shadows, they proceeded to move forward until they noticed a guard who was guarding a door. Morgana proceeded to introduce them to the All Out Attack maneuver, which could deal massive damage to the enemy if they were all stunned after being hit by something that they were weak to, such as how Ren immediately knocked down a fairy looking Shadow with his gunshot. This made every battler, including Mimikyu, jump in and attack the hapless Shadow together. Needless to say, it was a very amazing experience.
"Mm, that went really well! You're definitely fit for this!" Morgana then looked at Ace. "And I didn't think that your Pokémon could jump in with us to attack. I guess possibilities are never ending."
"You said it, Morgana." The Pokémon Trainer agreed.
"Damn… That super move was effin' amazing!" Ryuji complimented. "What was it called again? All Out Attack?"
"Yup. If we're able to knock all the enemies down, you might be able to use it to beat them all at once." The cat-like creature continued.
"Yeah, that was over quick!"
"It's a concentrated attack on defenseless enemies, after all." He then turned to Ren. "Now as I mentioned before, I want you to be the head of our command. You can decide when we use this."
"I guess I could do that." Ren stated.
"I'm sure you could become a good leader, Ren." Ace added.
"And remember: Strike the enemy's weakness, knock them all down, and then finish the battle with an All Out Attack whenever possible. That's the ideal pattern."
Ren took a mental note of it before he led the others through the door, where he was greeted by another door with a sign on top of it.
"All right, this is it!" Morgana stated.
"Kamoshida's… Training Hall… of Love?" Ryuji read the sign aloud. "What kinda bullshit is that!?"
The group then proceeded to go through the door, where they could hear a couple of noises in the distance.
"This voice… Where's it comin' from...?" The dyed blonde haired boy wondered as he and the others went closer, which each time they moved forward the sounds they heard began clearer and clearer. They then stopped near a cell. "Looks like it came from over there!" He pointed as they went over to the barred window and saw a horrific sight.
"Dear Arceus...!" Ace muttered as he and the others saw four students in matching sports attire being lashed over and over by the guards while they were tied up in the volleyball net. It was as if… they were treated no different than some Pokémon that were being abused by bad Pokémon Trainers.
"Dammit! This is bullshit!" Ryuji shouted furiously.
"Didn't I tell you over and over again to keep your voice down!?" Morgana reprimanded the shouting boy.
"But this is beyond messed up!" He continued before looking at the bars. "How do I open this!?"
"Stop it…!" A beaten up voice was heard as they were approached by a boy their age, who covered in bandages. "Leave us alone… it's pointless."
"Huh!?" Another boy in bandages then approached them.
"If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys!" He said.
"You're tellin' me you would rather stay in a place like this!?" Ryuji asked them.
"I see. So you WERE planning to take these guys out of here." Morgana said.
"We can't just leave 'em here!" He retorted as Ren then had an epiphany.
"Hold on." Ren interrupted. "I was thinking about those words you said to us yesterday. Something about how pointless it was to save something that was not real. Are they actually what I think they are?"
"I was thinking about the same thing too, actually." Ace added.
"Well... At least you two are sharper than that blonde idiot over here." Morgana stated.
"What!?"
"I suppose this is my fault for not telling you this earlier, but those are only humans through Kamoshida's cognition." He explained. "They aren't real humans that have entered from reality. They're different from you three."
"Cognition?" The dyed blonde haired boy repeated as the others listened to the explanation.
"It means there's no point in saving them! They're different than the real ones in the real world!" The cat-like creature continued. "Think of them as extremely looking dolls."
"The hell!? Why's it gotta be so complicated!? So the school's a castle and the students are slaves… It's so on point that it makes me laugh." Ryuji ranted. "This really is the inside of that asshole's head!"
Morgana leapt off from the crate and approached the barred window.
"That said, this is horrible. It must mean that he treats them as slaves in the real world too."
"In the real world too?" The dyed blonde haired boy repeated.
"I had a feeling that he might have done something similar to this in the real world." Ren commented.
"Wait… I know these guys!" Ryuji exclaimed, having an idea on who the tortured students really were. "They're members of the volleyball team—the one that Kamoshida coaches for!"
"If anything, they must've been physically abused on a daily basis." Ace remarked. "There's no way that they ended up in a sorry state through normal means."
"So that's what is… They're goin' through similar shit in reality!?" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Considering what we are seeing right now, there's no doubt that he considered them as slaves." Morgana replied.
"So it might be for real…" He then turned to his friends. "I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment. They're just rumors, but… If they're true, wouldn't this be somethin' to report to the police?"
"Hmph, if only were that simple…" Ace muttered bitterly as he was reminded about that incident. This was gone unnoticed by Ren.
'What does he mean by that?'
"I'll use these guys as evidence. If it all goes well, we can take down that asshole Kamoshida." Ryuji pulled out his phone to take pictures of the abused members. But the camera app didn't work. "... Huh? It's not workin!?"
Ren proceeded to try his phone, but even his camera app function didn't work. "Same here."
"What about you, Ace? Can you use the camera?" The dyed blonde haired boy asked.
"I can't exactly use anything besides the Pokédex app." The knitted cap boy asked.
"Looks like anything but the navigation app can't be used." The frizzy haired boy remarked.
"A navigation app?" Morgana repeated.
"Oh yeah, that. We used that freaky app on Ren's phone to come here." Ryuji explained.
"Whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this. We need to head back!"
"Then I'll just have to memorize their faces!" The dyed blonde said as he put away his phone. "Don't worry, it'll be quick."
They then proceeded to move to the next cell, where they saw two members of the volleyball team run on a conveyor belt, which had a spiked roller at the end should they fail to keep running. And it has a can of water dangling in front of them. It was just as cruel as the previous one.
"Please… no more. I-I can't…" One of them pleaded as he struggled to keep running.
"That asshole…" Ryuji muttered. "Not givin' people water when they train is common, but this is seriously messed up…" He proceeded to take his time to memorize those faces.
"Looks like the next cell is the last one. Let's go." Ace told them as they moved to the next big cell, which they saw a volleyball team member was tied up upside down as he was simultaneously being assaulted by volleyballs that was fired from a cannon.
"Agh! Gah!" The boy shrieked in pain while still being pelted by volleyballs, one after another. "It hurts… It hurts…!"
"This is just messed up…" Ace muttered as he tried to wrap his head about why Kamoshida was willing to go through such lengths.
"Yeah… this ain't trainin' at all… It's just violence!" The dyed blonde haired boy said as he turned to the others. "There! I've done memorizing all of their faces! Let's go!"
"About time too! We've stayed too long, so let's go!" Morgana stated as they all exited the torturing hall.
It didn't take them long for them to navigate through the pathway and then exit through the barred door.
"All right, we're back. We gotta get outta here, quick!" Ryuji told them.
"The watch post near the training hall has ceased reporting!" A voice belonging to a guard could be heard by them. "Chances of intruder and strange creature activity are extremely high! All personnel, increase security measures!"
They immediately hid behind some crates and boxes when there was a guard appeared looking for potential threats such as intruders and Pokémon.
"I told you we've stayed too long… let's get out of here!" Morgana said.
"Right…" Ace then pulled out Mimikyu's Poké Ball. "Thanks for all the help, Mimikyu. Return!" Mimikyu then went back inside his Poké Ball before Ace put it away. He then proceeded to run through the path when they first came in today with the others.
After a while, they proceeded to exit through a door.
"The exit this way! Let's hurry!" Morgana told them as they ran upstairs but as soon as they entered the hall of the entrance, they saw something unexpected, with Ace saw a couple of things that he recognized.
"Hold up! Are those Pokémon!?" Ace stated as he saw a pair of Pokémon being stepped on. With a fox-like Pokémon being stepped on by a golden armored knight while the dog-like Pokémon was stepped on by none other than the "King" Kamoshida.
"As I expected. You vermins were nothing more than a pair of garbage!" He grinned.
"(Curse… you!)" Yamper tried to stand up, but Kamoshida put more pressure onto his foot harder that he couldn't.
"(That… was… not fair!)" Nickit shouted defiantly.
"Know your place!" The golden armored Shadow said as he stepped on the small Pokémon again, causing it to shriek in pain.
They couldn't believe what they have just witnessed, especially Ace who has become furious on how the Pokémon was treated. And of course, Ryuji wasn't having it too.
"You asshole! What the hell are you doin' to 'em!" Ryuji shouted, loud enough for Kamoshida and his men to notice them.
"Tch! Just when I thought I was enjoying myself." Kamoshida said as he glared towards them. "To think you peasants would make the same mistake twice! You're hopeless!"
"(Run… you three.)" Yamper warned them.
"So this is the other Kamoshida I kept hearing about." Ace muttered. "I hated him when I first heard of him, now I hate him even more in person."
"Oh? So you must be him. The troublemaker that helped my precious additions to my brand new collection to escape." The other Kamoshida said before he widened his eyes. "I see now. You're that foreign nobody that Principal Kobayakawa was talking about!"
"So you know about me? What about it?" Ace asked. "What do you mean by "brand new collection"?"
"That's for me to know and for you to buzz off." The king retorted. "I knew you're just as much of a troublemaker as that criminal over there."
"Hey! Don't talk shit about my pal, you bastard!" Ryuji shouted. "By the way, I memorized all of the faces real good! You're goin' down!"
"Hmph! I guess it was true when they say "barking dogs seldom bite."..." Kamoshida shrugged. "Just like this stupid dog over here!" He proceeded to put even more pressure into his stepping foot, causing Yamper to howl in pain.
"Hey! Stop that!" Ace shouted.
"What're you gettin' at?" The dyed blonde haired boy asked.
"Don't tell me you forgot about the day when you fell as the star of the track team?" The king taunted, causing Ryuji to tense up. "The "Track Traitor" that acted in violence, ending his teammates' dream. Oh, I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under with your… selfish act."
""Track Traitor"? What does he mean by that, Ryuji?" Ace asked.
"Yeah, what is it about?" Ren added, only for them to be ignored by Ryuji, who looked away.
"What a surprise. So you're accompanying him without knowing anything at all?" Kamoshida mocked. "He betrayed his teammates and smashed all their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever."
"That's not true!" The dyed blonde haired boy denied.
"This is sad, really… You all willingly trust this fool and now you're all going to die because of him." He proceeded to kick the downed Pokémon away from him before turning his back. "Hurry up and kill them. I can't stand their stench polluting my castle."
The golden armored Shadow proceeded to kick Nickit away before he motioned his men to surround the four. The Shadows surrounding them then transformed into several red eyed, black horses with white mane and hooves. The most striking feature are the two, green with black spots horns that curve backwards.
"Dammit!" Ryuji cursed himself.
"Ryuji, move!" Morgana told him.
"Come on out, Cinderace!" Ace threw a Poké Ball into the air, which summoned said Pokémon into battle
"(I'm gonna mess you up!)" Cinderace said as they prepared for a battle.
Not too far were Nickit and Yamper, who tried to stand up and helped them.
"(If only… my body would listen…)" Nickit muttered as he struggled to get up, but only to fall down.
"(Those monsters… really roughed us… good this time…)" Yamper said.
With the group, they found themselves surrounded by the green horned horses.
"This isn't looking good! We're surrounded!" Morgana commented as they stood close to one another.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you 'cause King Kamoshida told us! I'll kill 'cause that's what he wants!" One of the Shadows ranted before it lunged towards Morgana with its green horns, who narrowly dodged the hit.
"Now dodge and use Double Kick!" Ace ordered while dodging one of the horse's attacks.
"(Right!)" The Striker Pokémon proceeded to leap out of the way before leaping towards one of the Shadows and then kicked it twice.
Ren proceeded to reduce the damage from the attack with his arms before retaliating, though it didn't do much.
"This guys are tougher than the ones—" Morgana didn't get to finish as he was blindsided by one of the Shadows, causing him to get knocked down.
"Morgana! I'll—" As soon as Ace's back was turned, the Shadows took the opportunity to knock him down, catching him off guard.
"(Ace!)" Cinderace shouted before he was rammed by two of the Shadows, causing him to be knocked down as well.
"No!" Ren shouted before he was rammed by the Shadow in front of him, causing him to get knocked down.
The four tried to stand up, but a foot was pressed onto their backs, with Morgana being stepped on Kamoshida, Ace and Cinderace was stepped on by two additional guards that just appeared out of nowhere, and Ren was stepped on by the elite knight.
"Rgh… You piece of—" Morgana groaned.
"Damn… I didn't think it would end like this…" Ace tried to stand up but the Shadow who stepped on him didn't allow that.
"I bet you simply came here on a whim only to ended up like this. Isn't that right?" Kamoshida taunted Ryuji, who was the only one left standing.
"No…" He replied.
"What a worthless piece of trash, getting heated up so quickly…How dare you raise your hand at me." The king began. "Though it was only temporary, have you also forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"
"It wasn't no practice—it was physical abuse!" Ryuji pounded his fists into the floor. "You just didn't like our team!"
"It was nothing but an eyesore! The only one who needs to achieve the results is me!" The other Kamoshida added. "That coach who got fired was hopeless too. Had he not opposed me with a sound argument, I would've settled it by only breaking his star's leg."
"You did what!?" Ryuji exclaimed in disbelief.
"What? Should I break your other leg too? It won't matter anyway since the school will call it "self-defense"." The perverted king mocked.
"Dammit… Am I gonna lose again?" He muttered. "Not only that I can't run anymore… the track team's gone too 'cause of this asshole…"
"Ryuji…" Ace muttered.
"So that's why…" Morgana added before Kamoshida put more pressure on it, causing the former to groan in pain.
"Once these four were dealt with, you're next. Hahahaha…!"
"Ryuji!"
"Come on, dude!" Ace tried his best not to get crushed. "Get it together...!"
"He's right…!" Ren told him. "Don't let him win this time!"
"Huh?" Ryuji heard them as he mustered up some courage and anger towards the sadistic teacher. "... You're right. That asshole took everything important to me… I'll never get 'em back!"
"Stay there and watch. Look on as these hopeless scums died for nothing, for siding with trash like you." Kamoshida mocked.
"No… That's what you are…" The dyed blonde haired boy managed to stand up while glaring at the king. "All you care about was using people… You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!" He then proceeded to two steps closer towards the source of his hatred.
"What are you doing!? Silence him!" Kamoshida told one of his men.
"It's about time you stop lookin' down on me, asshole! I had it with that shit eatin' grin of yours!" He shouted defiantly at Kamoshida.
"You made me wait quite a while." A voice appeared in Ryuji's head as he froze in place and then was hit by a sudden headache. He let out some painful grunts while gripping over his head.
"What's wrong with Ryuji?" Ace asked.
"Looks like he has the potential too…" Ren remarked, recognizing what his friend doing all too well.
"You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact." The dyed blonde haired boy then fell to the ground, with drool dripping from his mouth as well as labored breathing.
"No way…" Morgana muttered.
"(Something big is about to happen!)" Yamper said as he was able to stand up.
"Since your name has been tarnished already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The "other you" desired it thus..." The voice continued as Ryuji gripped his head once more, full of tears as he screamed for release.
He then rolled his stomach and clenched his eyes and teeth, pushing off the ground again.
"I am thou… thou art I…" He looked at his friends one more time before he buckled over. "There is no turning… the skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!" In a flash of blue flames, Ryuji's face formed a mask. It was a silver skull with the eye sockets blackened around Ryuji's cheeks.
"Hmph. What can you do? Cower in fear and—"
"(Oh no, you don't!)" Yamper shouted as his fluff began to crackle with yellow sparks of electricity before he ran towards the elite knight and nuzzled said fluff towards the Shadow, shocking him as he took a step back, which also freed Ren.
"What's this!?" The Shadow exclaimed as he felt the paralysis inside of him.
"(That's for Nickit, you jerk!)" Yamper barked defiantly.
Ryuji then hastily stood up before he reached out to the mask that was glued to his face. In a typical gory fashion, he quickly pulled the mask off, his skin violently ripping off with it as well.
"AAAGH!" The dyed blonde screamed in agony as a torrent of blue flames then rose from the ground and enveloped him, causing a powerful gust of wind that blew Kamoshida and his men back, freeing Morgana, Ace, and Cinderace.
Once the gust of wind died down, they saw Ryuji, who not only had changed his clothes, but also had a large figure floating behind him.
His outfit consisted of a black jacket with elbow pads and what appears to be a metal vertebral column attached to its back, a pair of yellow gloves with metal knuckle protectors, a red ascot, a pair of yellow gloves with metal knuckle protectors, matching pants with knee pads & a double-sided holster belt with ammo on each side, and a pair of combat boots.
The figure behind him was hovering above ground by standing on a black pirate ship, with a shark toothy grin and eyes painted on the front. His legs were thin, leading up to a thicker center body with a blue captain's shirt and a pair of swords embroidering the front, forming the appearance of a crossbone. On his shoulders was a tattered red and black cape that fluttered behind him. And on top of his head, he wore a classic black captain cap with the standard skull and crossbones on the front. And his right arm smoking arm cannon.
Ryuji then looked up with a grin of his own.
"Tch! Not him too!" Kamoshida said.
"Right on! Wassup, Persona." Ryuji commented as he felt exhilarated from the sudden rise of power in him. "This effin' rocks!"
The other four proceeded to scramble their way up to their feet before joining Ryuji to his side.
"So that's how someone get a Persona..." Ace muttered before he grinned. "Looks the tide has turned in our favor."
"Now I got this power, it's time for a payback!" He exclaimed as two Pokémon walking to his side. "Yo, I'm ready…" He proceeded to crack his fists. "Bring it!"
"Don't mock me, you brat!" The golden armored knight shouted as he transformed into a larger, full body knight who rode atop a purplish black horse with pinkish red armor.
"Blast him away!" Ryuji shouted as he pointed right at the knight-like Shadow, taking the lead as Yamper crackled with electricity beside him and the figure aiming his arm cannon right at the knight. "Captain Kidd!"
Chapter 5: To Find A Witness
That's a wrap for today's chapter and my goodness I took a lot of effort into it.
Right now, I immediately working on the plot lines of the next chapter so hopefully I could get work on it. As of now, I tried writing the chapter as much as I could around doing some homework and assignments from college.
As always, be sure to leave a review and have a wonderful day/night~!