Turn 5: Until It's Over


"Only when your near the end will you get to shine."


Screams of agony and struggled were vocalized like some sort of messed up symphony dedicated to the Goddess of Death. The ruined structures act like the stage of this part of the play, conveniently acting as cover and grappling points for the Doctor and his allies. Amiya supported him from the rear as she was still recovering from her own awakening, ideally she would have been sent to the Ark immediately but they still had a friend to save.

"It's that guy!" A member of Reunion shouted in fear as he went towards them with an amber blade intent on cutting them down.

In response they shoot out a fusillade of bolts all directed to kill him, their eyes glazed with fear and a slight sense of relief at the delusion of how easy this battle will now become once the Doctor is-

Mid-air he spun himself with his sword, deflecting all the projectiles directed at him. While the enemy was still flabbergasted at the maneuver he was slashed in his chest and his friend followed suit. Dobermann and the other experts who taught him in battle truly made their mark on this battlefield.

"Advance!" The Doctor called out, he deployed himself before the squad he is currently overseeing as the enemy formation was particularly problematic. He was a force of nature at the moment however, those tactics are irrelevant.

After securing the point this squad needed with a well-placed grapple and Sukukaja spell he dashed towards the next one. On the way he took out his communication device and called back to Ch'en and Amiya, the two went back to the main formation after the dragon girl was done on her end and the bunny needed to catch a breather as she slowly recovered from both the burden of fatigue and the support that she graciously gave earlier.

"No explosives in this path either, over."

One of the things the three decided upon was to use the Doctor as a way to lure out explosives, his resistance towards those attacks would reduce casualties even if Amiya was rightfully reluctant at first. The Doctor promised that he would be cautious in unraveling whatever W had left to turn the tables, and this time he truly took care of himself.

"Beagle and Cuora should support squad LG-2 and have Blue Poison assist them in dealing with the crowd."

The Cautus relayed his orders back to the current squad they have and they followed suit. Well Cuora needed Beagle as her guide for directions while the Perro held her co-Defender on the way but Blue Poison went to her point swiftly.

The simple addition of those Operators made the struggle against Reunion akin to an annihilation.

Without a doubt, there was no way for the Reunion Movement to escape. Now they've retreated to the furthest stronghold in the vicinity, a mine. The hostiles that were positioned outside to stall them were cut down without so much as a struggle. Melantha's refined swordsmanship was worth twenty of the ruffians that dare hurt her and with Ansel's assistance her value as a unit was indefinite.

"If she comes here, that Sarkaz W; What are our chances against her?" Ch'en asked towards her co-leader, she and her men had a taste of the woman's skills and her men couldn't beat her. The Lung had a feeling that she was toying with her when they were fighting, like she had a different objective other than defeating them.

Amiya shook her head that was deep in thought, before she was not sure as to what an encounter with W would end up with but now. She looked at her hand it was the one that had a claw emanating from it, the hand that tore through Skullshatterer's lingering sentiments like paper. The feeling of elation when she gave into what that voice called out to her.

"I think we can manage that much." Even with fatigue spreading throughout her body she confidently affirm her newfound strength, if she had to give in to that maddening state once more to protect the Doctor then she'll be his guardian beast, "We are familiar with her combat capabilities and the Doctor can protect us from her explosives."

"Either way, I should be sending some of my men as well." Her own pride in her comrades wouldn't allow her to rely on Rhodes that much, it was one part of patriotism and one part of despondence as her part was nothing but a burden on the first part of mission. Making her friends adjust to the shortcomings of her chain of command, "Still, what made you this confident? Usually you would be more unsure of your capabilities while overestimating others."

Before Ch'en could honestly relate to the Cautus' insecurity, keeping up a strong front yet still breaking at the seams. It was eerily familiar of her old self but now she learned how to keep the strength while hiding what breaks, not knowing the downsides of not showing weakness. What awakened inside the young leader of Rhodes when they were dealing with an unknown piqued the Lung's curiosity.

"I just came to understand myself a bit." Amiya wanted to leave that topic at that, as much as she want to tell the exact details of their battle from before they still have to win this one, "We're going to assemble our Operators, the Doctor is gonna join us afterwards since he already notified me that he's done with his tasks."

That said, it didn't took long for everyone in their disposal to follow at all since whatever remained to fight was easily snuffed out.

O-O-oo-O-O

However, not everything came that easily for them what Reunion lacked in manpower they had for sheer persistence, the tenacity of these people came from their desire for justice and vengeance after all.

That being said, the Operators on Rhodes Island's side aren't lacking in willpower themselves even if they are lackadaisical in their work on the battlefield.

"Deo Volento" With those words a rain of bullets graced the sandy battleground, it cut down the already small opposition to shreds. Bodies scattered, while not dead where better off if the LGD caught them.

Exusiai let out a huff like a worker who was powering through overtime and looked at her partner Texas, thinking if she should support her immediately or continue taking a breather.

Before she could make a decision, in a millisecond swords of light rained down on Texas' opposition.

"She's fine." The Sankta deadpanned while opening a can of soda she had before joining the fray. Texas on the other hand decided to take in some of her needed insulin with a biscuit stick, stretching out her arms just in case they go sore from overuse.

"I wonder if Sora and Croissant are doing good back at the Ark." Texas mused as they both receive the order to rendezvous to the main force.

"Well, they don't have to get sand in their eyes." Exusiai moaned as some particles got onto her baby, and by that she means her gun. Fiddling around her weapon she reloaded with impressive speed like she had done the same process of shooting and reloading a million times. It is quite scary how she can be so cheerful and be so experienced to the point this flow of action is ingrained into muscle memory.

O-O-oo-O-O

Franka charged towards the small group of Reunion Soldiers and while normally they would laugh and proceed to charge themselves, they have been exposed enough to Rhodes' Operators that they wouldn't underestimate them anymore. Instead they raised their shields and where prepared to counter Franka's bullheaded maneuver.

If they think that was enough to take her down then they were dead wrong. The Thermite blade that Franka wielded slashed through the shields like they were paper-mache. Not one to pass up they shaken looks of her enemies she cut through them as well, not severely they will still fight another day however it's more than enough to detain them, they will answer for their crimes no matter justified it seems to be.

Franka stretched out her body, and walked over to her partner Liskarm, her blade now strapped at her hip she nonchalantly open her communication device as she saw that the Doctor was done with his task and is asking for them to converge now.

"Hey Liskarm, Doc's calling us."

"Hngggh..." A groan came behind, unbeknownst to Franka.

He was still alive? He wondered how as he saw the one who defeated his friends and himself chatting nonchalantly with her friend. They let their guard down and they were going to pay the price, how dare they look down on them when they are the same.

The Reunion soldier jumped and was prepared to skewer Franka with the fragmented sword that he held.

However, there was a mistake to that plan of attack; For BlackSteel employees you should never assume that they are letting guard down.

He suddenly collapsed to the ground as he wondered that instead of that Vulpo on the ground, why is he eating sand instead and judging by the reddish sand it was soaked in his blood. Then he felt something foreign was lodged in his shoulders and legs.

"I missed." Liskarm was annoyed that she had to use four bullets instead of the one to incapacitate Franka's would-be assailant, "Why didn't you just countered him Franka?" She didn't care for her friend's safety as it wasn't threatened at the moment, she was more annoyed at the fact she wasted valuable ammunition. Bullets are expensive after all.

"I didn't feel like it, besides you always have my back right partner?" The Vulpo teasingly said.

"Oi."

O-O-oo-O-O

All hostiles they could ever detect outside were gone, even W as reported by Courier who saw the Sarkaz putting up a fight with his squad, she retreated after Matterhorn took a grenade that was aimed at the others head on with his shield. She cut her losses and fled and judging by the direction she escaped, they were sure she also went to this strange place.

An abandoned building, it was nearing it's collapse and the foundation of the building would have been blown off by a swift breeze. "Would" being the operative word as it looks like it was lived in and it was fortified by duct tape and polyester gel. It was too big for a ruined residence anyways so the short group that the three leaders carried with them wouldn't be cramped exploring the place. They rushed through the corridors with graffiti and chalk art, searching for Misha and hoping to God that she's still in Lungmen.

There were no explosives of any sort in the vicinity, it was strange to be sure. They were prepared for an explosive trap and ambushes that is why they took more Operators that are durable, A single Medic with an Area-Of-Effect Healing Arts, four Guards, and three Defenders. They already have Amiya as a Caster so risking any other fragile Caster was out of the question.

"It seems that W hasn't rigged this place with all of her tricks." The Doctor thought, while their professional relationship was hidden; he'd expect more clever tricks from his Associate. The devil woman would always test his skills for a few missions she gave him so he knew that even if she wasn't trying to kill him, she would at least have something to keep him and his command on their toes.

Amiya gasped as she found a weird circular plate underneath the last room the squad inspected. It was made out of cast-iron metal, "Wait a minute..." It was a manhole and then they noticed the scattering of unfamiliar footprints in the room.

"They are that desperate!?" Ch'en exclaimed with a tone of amazement and annoyance, "They would go so far as to go into the Lungmen Sewers to survive and flee?" On second thought, no it wasn't leading to the sewers they took a manhole cover and used it as a cover for a tunnel, a Manhole.

The Rhodes Island leader's eyes were downcast, "Misha must have been..." They failed on their mission and by all means the Doctor should have come to the same conclusion, but why would she even send a video message that was abruptly interrupted if she was going to abruptly leave?

Where is Red when you need her?

Since they have nothing else to go by he called out, "Hellhound." He called out one of his Personas much to the surprise of the LGD members of the squad, it may be his soul given form but it is still a dog. "Can you look for who this scent it belongs too?" The Doctor took off his jacket and brought the outer back of the article of clothing to his Persona's nose. He was carrying Misha just a while ago, so the scent wouldn't disappear that easily.

Hellhound scurried around the room with excitement in its face then suddenly stopped, whimpering in disappointment. "Tch, Misha didn't even set foot in this room."

This all but confirms to them that all of this was planned as a fail-safe, they have been preparing for the worst all for her. However if this was a back-up plan once Reunion got what they wanted why wasn't Misha immediately forced to go here while Skullshatterer was fighting. It's not like it was connected to the sewers in Lungmen. There was no point in going after them now, by now they must have been regrouped with the ones in Chernobog, by now it must also been heavily blocked so securing this hidden path is a lost cause. So why did the battle happened as if Reunion wanted them to go here, the only reason it would be is to separate them from their main forces; to cut the chain of command.

Realizing this, the Superintendent quickly called the outside communications team, however at the same time an SOS Signal was sent out to them.

"Madam Ch'en! This is bad!" A panicky voice came through as sounds of fighting run along the audio feed, "He, Skullshatterer-"

The signal was cut off, Ch'en saw a blur of him moving out of the way. At the very least no one is getting killed in her absence. She tried to reconnect immediately and couldn't find anything, every single communications team unavailable.

"We have to go back, ASAP!" The Doctor was also trying to do the same it seems, and like her had little to no luck, "This is gonna drain a bit but we have no time...Sukukaja."

By saying those words, everyone felt lighter and quicker. If Ch'en would guess, this must have been the power of the familiars the Doctor can summon. Without another word they rushed towards the new battlefield.

"They seem to be trying to break the encirclement." Amiya guessed, "We have to assume that we are going to fight a large number of hostiles when we get there." The Cautus was still dazed and tired so she had to be carried via the Doctor Express again, she was contacting every possible connection they have right now as they ran towards the distress signal.

"Fine by me." Ch'en muttered and while no one noticed, her eyes shined a brilliant crimson unnoticed by the sandy winds billowing.

O-O-oo-O-O

From afar, W observed the wreckage unfolding with both amusement and intrigue. She had the exciting task of escorting the few men that she had towards a path that she secured for them when she was fighting a combination of LGD and Rhodes Island Operators, the fierce determination from a familiar face was this close to accidentally blowing her up when he aimed for her grenades.

"Still though..."She looked pensively at the shadows clashing, their true figures obscured by the dusty clouds, "To think such a power existed within her", the Sarkaz observed the silhouette take down and clash with the combined forces of the LGD and Rhodes.

"Granted, they aren't dying." The Sarkaz chuckled as she opened a can of soda, canned beer isn't something she wasn't fine drinking casually. Carbonated sugar water however, now that's the shit.

She knew the events that would play out after this, the grim eventuality that needs to happen. While she was a fan of making chaos and backstabbing those who aren't close or crucial to her, both the necessity of this plan and the one in question gives her a bad feeling in the chest.

"It doesn't make things any easier..." On second thought maybe getting crunk wouldn't be so bad after all, "But still..."

They wanted to do this alone and she granted that, that didn't make it any easier to find sympathy for the cruel hand they were given.

O-O-oo-O-O

How in the hell did this happen, there was just no way...
The returning group were first relieved to no one hurt too drastically but then they saw who was their group fighting.

"Skullshatterer..." The Doctor and Amiya's eyes widened. Amiya killed him in front of everyone, they killed his corpse and now are they expected to kill him again?

Without hesitation the Doctor launched a Bufu spell at him using Ophiuchus, the revived Skullshatterer without even looking at him jumped high to dodge the ice attack.

In response, Skullshatterer fired shells from that launcher they carried and before it could hit anyone they were made irrelevant by Amiya's claw. Cursed energy shredded so much of the artillery that they couldn't even explode.

There was something off about this Skullshatterer, something very off. Even if this was just another Shadow they have to isolate this element. The Doctor and Amiya are the only ones that can match Skullshatterer without risks, granted Amiya was still recovering from Persona fatigue however,

"Don't worry about me, I-no... We can do this." That was all he needs to hear from her.

"Everyone, back away from Skullshatterer!" Everyone, even the LGD complied except one, Ch'en.

"That includes you Ch'en!" The Doctor sharply ordered at the Lung, she was adamant on holding her position however.

"Are you a fool Doctor, you two aren't enough for him!" Ch'en objected, she didn't know any of this Persona business so she was speaking from a lens of realism, "It took the rest of our men to stave him off."

Suddenly, Skullshatterer jumped backwards and proceeded to flee it seems that he was sick of the group arguing.

"Hey! Wait!" The Doctor and Amiya without a word, followed suit. They even ignored Ch'en calling out to them, demanding an explanation.

The two leaders of Rhodes chased after the revived Skullshatterer, through ruined buildings and wading through the sandy terrain they followed him. The strange thing is that, he didn't even bother to fire shells at them. Amiya and the Doctor knew that they were being led on, for what they didn't know. Skullshatterer had no one by his side when he fought the others, he was a one-man army.

They didn't speak to each other but they where asking the other the same questions.

O-O-oo-O-O

The dust settled and the Doctor and Amiya found themselves in a more ruined, well ruin. It felt like an arena with all the circular space. The pavement was solid as it was made of concrete, the coarse sand powdered the area like some sort of hot snow.

"...Skullshatterer?" The Doctor called out to the figure who led them here, they steeled themselves for traps surely they have been called out here because this place had a territorial advantage for Skullshatterer.

They waited for a response, whether it was a growl or words they need to know if this was a corpse or an actual person.

"Not quite." There was something different about that voice yet something familiar as well. They took off the gas mask they wore, it felt like an eternity when the two Rhodes Islanders witnessed the mask being took off.

A bomb would have gone off and the two wouldn't even hear it, the weight of the mask's impact was more damning to them. The only thing in the mystery person's head was the hood of Skullshatterer's apparel. The Doctor and Amiya look horrified as they saw a pair of gray orbs, it can't be but deep down they knew who wore the mantle of Skullshatterer now.

"Misha..." Amiya already realized what was going on when they saw Skullshatterer once more, they knew but knowing a thing and processing it are two different beasts.

"It's been a while, Amiya, Doctor." Misha smiled at them, something was different about her she looked more calm and liberated.

The Doctor gripped his fist, he can already tell what her motivation was for doing this, however.
"We're glad you're safe Misha, now we can-"

Misha raised her palm, cutting off the Doctor's words, "No." She then looked at her Cautus friend, "I'm sorry Amiya but I'm not going with you two."

They knew how this would play out but there was the slightest chance to change her mind then...
"Please Misha, we don't have to do this. The fighting will end if you decide to come back to us."

"The fighting has already ended right? I left your group alone." Misha replied, her fingers fiddling with the trigger of the firearm, "No it hasn't, there is still one enemy alive."

The Doctor saw the look in Misha's eyes the fire of determination kindled within her gray orbs. There is no feasible way to convince her to stop this battle, however at the very least he wanted to hear the why of her actions, for Amiya's sake.

"You're related to Skullshatterer aren't you Misha." Amiya was surprised by the Doctor's question, but now that she thought about it, Misha wore Skullshatterer's clothes snugly as if they have the same body type.

The one in question glazed her eyes downcast, "That's correct Doctor. Skullshatterer was my brother."
Amiya upon hearing that conformation was horrified, her face filled with dread, "Misha I'm-"

"You don't have to apologize." Misha coldly said, "He tried to kill the Doctor right? And you protected him." She already accepted the cruel end of her brother? Then why is she insistent on still fighting.

"Then why!? Why do we have to fight Misha!?" Whether it was the liberated emotions that Amiya was keeping inside now having a chance to be expressed or the general stress of this long day, Amiya was on the edge of breaking she was still reeling from the battle earlier after all.

Misha smiled, however this time like a bear seeing a rabbit as prey, "If you defeat me, then I will tell you." The vicinity seemed to get hotter around Misha, a familiar aura widened the Doctor's eyes.

The Doctor readied his weapon and Amiya was alarmed, is he rally serious in entertaining Misha's insane request? She was their friend, there was no need to fight.

"Misha is now an enemy, and we don't discriminate our enemies." Fitting for whose starting Persona was an ice-oriented one, he spoke coldly to Amiya. However Amiya noticed that the Doctor was gripping his offhand tightly, he was also not pleased with these turn of events. With a heavy heart, Amiya called out readied her ARTS and her claw.

The enemy on the other side, smiled genuinely she was relieved that they were all at the same page now. There was still one surprise that she has yet to show her dear friends.

Cerulean flames surround Misha as she stretched out her offhand, she shifted it to a finger gun gesture. "This is what you call your power right Doctor?" She pointed it to her head and then suddenly...

"A mask?" Misha's face suddenly had a black visor plastered to it.

She fired the pretend trigger and with it the mask shattered, "PERSONA!"

It was like Igor had said before, three ways to obtain the power of a Persona was to seek out the truth, rebel and let loose the inner you chained inside and lastly, was to accept death.

What more could have been a giveaway of that than pretending to commit suicide with a finger gun?

The Persona rushed towards them with snakes that were lit aflame, the Doctor and Amiya evaded the direct attack but the snakes curved towards them.

"They are homing attacks!?" "If they are made of fire then this should be something that..."
The Doctor took the attack head on, and yet he was unscathed, Ophiuchus' naturally nullifies flames that would dare burn the Doctor. Talulah's flames were hotter than what these reptiles can make.

Amiya on the other hand sliced through the snakes with her claw, no need for Miseria to intervene.

The two then took a step back as they also evaded grenade fire, must have been fired while Misha's Persona fired fire at them.

Misha was truly going for the kill in this fight, she didn't waste time as she let loose more shells from her grenade launcher, a Blast Volley shot out of the intimidating barrels and the charged and ready-to-detonate load was directed at the two.

Every fiber of Amiya's being is telling her to rip the enemy to shreds, her instincts and her heart were at odds. She couldn't even think of hurting her friend especially when they both have the same power now. Why is the Doctor able to keep up and fight back while she couldn't even go near her?

The Doctor dodged fire spell aimed at him, among the flaming serpents Misha's Persona fired at them it seems that she was also capable of firing regular Agi spells. He sliced a snake then he followed it up with a kick at Misha's side, the Ursus reeled at the pain but countered with a slash at his torso, courtesy of her brother's knife.

The steel had only cut air however, he was behind her and readied his weapon to plunge into Misha's abdomen but that only pierced embers, slightly tinging his face with the warmth.

For the first time in a while, Misha felt fulfilled with this battle. She appreciated that the Doctor understood her wishes and entertain her veiled request. However, she wasn't satisfied; it may have been selfish of her to ask especially since she had secure the safety of her brother's comrades like what she did to the children at the slums and now she is going down on her own terms, but there was something missing.

That is why she took a step back from the Doctor and as he tried to anticipate her movements, she rushed towards her other friend, Amiya.

"Amiya!" Last wish or not, there was no way Misha is going to kill Amiya! He called out Ophiuchus and fire a Bufu spell with all his might, hoping to reach the target.

A clash of energy was heard all throughout the area however, he didn't need to fight desperately as Amiya by instinct raised her claw to block the attack.

"I have no reason to fight you!" Amiya begged for Misha to stop the battle, they can still live together at Rhodes Island after this.

"Then make one!" Misha rebutted, the flames of her Persona coated her knife. Curse and Fire clashed and no one was letting up, "I don't have any reason to live but at the very least this fight will be my reason to die!"

With enhanced agility because of her newfound power, Misha back-flipped and did the same gesture when summoning her Persona. "To cinders! Ognyena!" Flames were fired at Amiya, seeking to burn her flesh but it was fruitless. Miseria slashed through every flames with the curses within Amiya's soul.

"Nagidyne!" Ognyena threw the flaming snakes towards Amiya, so that was the name of that attack. This attack was more troublesome to deal with, only because the fire was also a snake and like one they always go for the kill.

Suddenly, it was cold then the snakes froze into ice. The Bufu spell finally something and the reptiles faded into icy mist.

"Amiya, you should understand by now what Misha truly wants." The Doctor reassured her from behind Misha, "I'm a Doctor so my word is usually the best thing for my patients but Misha isn't only my patient... she's our friend."

"Doctor-"

"You should know by now what Misha asks of us, after all you can peer through the hearts and minds of people better than any neurologist major."

He didn't like doing it, why should he feel anything other than dread and sadness at what Misha asks of them however this is what Misha needs otherwise...

"I'm getting tired of this Amiya..." Misha decided to relax for a bit, before the fighting can continue she must first ignite Amiya's will. In all fairness she should have told this stuff earlier, "If you don't wish to fight me then I will return to fighting your men again, I know that even with my power I will still die because you have better numbers and strategy." She didn't tell this to them but when she was fighting their combined forces she was having the toughest time of her life.

Misha sighed, "Are you willing to let your people die all because you couldn't let go?" Amiya was still not sure about fighting her, and then she realized why the difference between the two of them.

"You didn't cry or doubt yourself when fought Reunion with your friends, you didn't question yourself when you assisted your people in killing or capturing my brother's friends." Misha silently seethed at Amiya, "If you truly fight for the Infected with what Rhodes believes in then defeat the one who will fight your people, defeat me!"
The amplified emotions a first-time Persona-user is influenced by, even still this was the call of her heart.

The Doctor will respect her choice that is why, "We need to end this Amiya." at the very least the last thing she'll see is her friends.

Amiya will always put her faith to the Doctor even when what they are going to do will haunt her forever even with her true self liberated from the shackles of her heart, she did oath to herself that she will become as much of a monster as she needs to be to protect Rhodes Island and monsters will have to kill their friends.

Resolute and with determination, she took up her fighting stance as well as Misha. Misha had time to choose and this is the result and when she was denying her the result of her choices, Amiya realized that she was insulting her friend and that is why, "We are going to end this."

O-O-oo-O-O

Deliberately becoming feral, Amiya rushed towards Misha her claw ready to tear her face but Misha wasn't going to go down easily. She may have accepted death but her burning will, will keep the reaper waiting. To atone she will live until she dies; a paradoxical wish formed from the events that occurred.

"Nagidyne." The serpents serpentined towards Amiya and the Doctor, with Ophiuchus shrugging off the fire but it was a diversion for her fusillade of explosive shells. With the heightened durability of their bodies because of their Personas they managed to survive the attack, they barely managed to evade it and they were still slightly in the blast zone after all.

The Doctor saw Amiya's bleeding hand and soot ridden jacket and without skipping a beat cast "Dia."

Following up with the recovery, the Doctor decided to guess Misha's weak point Ice clearly didn't do the trick, "So then Sui-Ki!" A mask appeared near the Doctor and upon saying the Persona's name it shattered and burst into cerulean flames.

The Oni that he brought out raised it's blade and spun the double-bladed pole-arm, blocking more shells from Misha's seemingly endless supply of explosives.

"Aqua!" After Sui-Ki was done with it's preparations it fired water at Ognyena, while it hurt Misha and her Persona for a little it wasn't the affinity to bring her down.

Reeling, Misha launched another salvo of Nagidyne towards the two she knew it was fruitless on the Doctor but Amiya was fair game to her.

"Malice Cutter!" Amiya's resolve was shaken to be sure but now that she had no choice but to fight and even kill her friend if need be she stood her ground because a more tragic fate will occur if she didn't.

At the very least she could send off their friend on their own terms.

The cursed energy pass through the fire and scales like a hot knife through butter landing a direct hit to Ognyena and yet it wasn't enough. Curse wasn't the weakness they needed.

"High Pixie!" The Doctor then decided to switch gears and use wind this time after all a strong enough wind can cut off any fire right?

Well, that was assuming that Garu spell was strong enough as fire and wind clashed fire won, singing the Doctor for his miscalculation.

"Doctor!" The Doctor was still composed, after all those flames were still not the same flames that Talulah can create with her ARTS, "I'm fine Amiya focus on defeating her."

Wind failed spectacularly, fire is an obvious repellent or immunity to Misha's Persona. Water and Ice don't play nice with her flames either and the fact that she can control snakes made out of fire made blocking them with rocks are big no-no since unlike a fireball these guys have path control.

So then, the last element that he has left should work if not unless Amiya has either a Bless attack, nukes, or mental prowess made into an attack then this going to be one taxing battle. Even then it's risky to test those elements especially since there is the off chance that Misha doesn't have any weaknesses and takes damage equally.

"For a battle favor, you're not making this easy Misha." The Doctor joked just to catch her attention.

"If you can't beat a single Infected then saving them is out of the question." Misha said her eyes glinting yellow, "Prove to me that I could trust our wishes to you two!"

Misha was also tired from this battle, pushing herself to the brink she used one last attack and from what she knows is her strongest one...

"Managidyne!" The blood-curling call of the spell was accompanied by a myriad of flaming serpents surrounding the two and they countered with their own attacks.

"Malice Cutter!" "Omoikane! Mazio!"

A large explosion can be heard all throughout Lungmen and they wondered what was that it was as if ARTS users where clashing at full force.

The dust settled at Amiya was surprised that there was barely any fire that touched her, she opened her eyes and looked at her surroundings. Sparks were still visible around her, electrical discharge was all over the ruins. Beside the Doctor was a floating brain with eyes, that must have been the Persona that let out that power.

"Hehe...you hit my weak spot Doctor..." Misha was kneeling on the ground, using the big grenade launcher as support, "You guys did it."

"Misha, why?" Amiya immediately rushed towards her friend, letting out the tears that she hid from the battle, "Aren't we supposed to go to Rhodes together, get you some help and prevent you from dying to Oripathy!"

Misha sighed and breathed heavily but suddenly she coughed out blood, the residue had sharp black pebbles in it and that means, "Oh dear...I should have known..."

The Doctor should have expected this, it's all likely that Misha must have inhaled some Originium Dust in the vicinity while looking for her brother. Almost everyone uses Originium to fight in this world, the Reunion Casters and the explosives they possess are powered by the stuff they didn't have the luxury of the technology from that other world the Velvet Room had come from. Reliable firearms that simple mechanisms and cheap explosives whose ingredients are a store away.

So that is why Misha was able to obtain her Persona through that method of self-actualization, she knew she didn't have long and wanted to use up her remaining time to the best of her knowledge. Her wish had been answered in the form of a Persona.

"Doctor, you can heal her right?" Amiya insisted and the Doctor's eyes were glazed, "Use your Persona!"

He already tried that before, and it only made the symptoms tolerable for a time enough time for a meeting with the LGD and a return to Rhodes Island. Now that he thought about, if her brother didn't try and take her back then Misha would have been saved and healthy. Was it cosmic irony? Probably and the Doctor did not find it humorous.

With a disappointed voice the Doctor might as well say it straight to her, "I can't. I can only heal minor ailments and physical pain." He couldn't even bear to see Amiya's realization and despair, and so he could only clench his fist in anguish, "I can't cure Oripathy."

Amiya's heart sunk, she knew that she was asking too much from him but she couldn't just give up on saving Misha, "No...it can't be..."

"It's alright Amiya, Doctor." Misha lost all strength in her hands and suddenly fell to the ground, a combination of the Oripathy and her own exhaustion is already creeping at her, "It's better this way..."

"My brother's friends will get to live for another day and both the LGD and Reunion won't get what they wanted from me." So she had rationalize her thoughts before acting upon it, how fitting that the last act she will do was also similar to the one that orchestrated their meeting.

Amiya knelt in sorrow and gripped her jacket intensely, "Still, we have no business fighting Misha!"

"I deserve this fate too Amiya, I-I know that Reunion was the one who destroyed our home..." Eyes widened at the sudden revelation, "I let my family be separated while I hid in my room afraid and as a coward."

Misha coughed out blood and more Originium crystals, "He-he my bro-brother came for me even after w-we got separated and yet I still couldn't decide...The LGD and Rhodes or Reunion, If I just firmly chose one side then all this fighting could have been avoided."

"None of this is your fault Misha!" Amiya shouted, crying with her head down she gripped her jacket even tighter than before, "It's unfair to pass all the blame on yourself when you were just trying your best to survive!"

"Who's really to blame for all of this in the first place?" Misha's eyes started to glaze darkly, "Why do the Infected have to kill each other?"

No one had an answer to that, it's that way because of difference in solving the disparity but does that really justify killing? Still they have to raise their swords in response because Reunion will never stop getting blood on their hands for what they believe in. No matter how destructive they've become they have to fight, since the fight isn't to the people living at Lungmen at was at the systems that benefit from this discrimination.

"But one thing is for certain, you guys are people I can trust about that..." Misha smiled at them through the hellish pain her body is going through, "You know I was just hoping that I was good enough of a fighter like my brother and lead some men to go out in a blaze of glory but awakening to my Persona...it made me able to save everyone..." She laughed somewhat relieved that all she wanted to happen worked out in the end. The first plan wasn't well thought out for her intentions in all honesty, at the very least the ones who would be left behind will have no Lungmen dogs sniffing for them.

With whatever strength she had, she used her hand to rummage through her pocket and produced two key-chains, they were small plushies of Jack Frost attached to a chain.

"Here, the blue one is yours Doctor," She raised her right hand towards him and he grasped it clutching both plush and hand, "And the red one is yours Amiya...at least I'm not staining them with blood haha..." The Cautus did the same thing and cried into her hand.

Misha's eyes started to grow heavy, she can feel her skin starting to feel heavier as well. One of Oripathy's final throes of pain. She coughed internally so as to not spread the plague, Amiya is like her but the Doctor; the thought of possibly infecting him as her last action alive was dreadful.

"Misha!" She can hear Amiya call out to her, and she can see her blurred figure cry and can feel the tears hit her skin.

It was systematic process when dying to Oripathy, first was her lungs being punctured by the Originium growing inside her. Then came the intestines and so on, she couldn't even process the pain properly as her respiratory system is an in-salvageable mess. Still, she was happy that her friends are beside her when she finally conks out.

"D-d-doctor..." There was still one friend that she wanted to see, "Ca-can you br-bring ou-out Jack?"

He didn't even say anything but she saw the blurred image of Jack getting near her cheeks, the snowman was crying beside her.

By now, her heart would be the last thing on Oripathy's way; it felt like eternity but she thought about the people she is going to leave behind, her friends beside her and the friends she had in the slums. She'll just trust Rhodes to help those kids so that they wouldn't meet the same fate someday, a life where if not cured of Oripathy they can live like normal children.

In truth, she was scared to die like any other person in the world, even if she accepted her mortal coil's end she couldn't help but be afraid of the encroaching darkness. Her past actions of sacrifice and recklessness would tell anyone otherwise but it's something she has; she is still a kid after all. If she was lucky enough, maybe she'll be reunited with her family and her brother, heck she might even get to show off Ognyena.

"Th-thanks guys... I'm go-going to miss you three..." Misha's eyes were closed and Amiya finally let everything loose, her cries and screams for their friend reverberated knowing that calling her name was fruitless.

"Misha...hee ho..."

Without a word, the Doctor carried Misha's body in a piggyback like before, and as they were about to regroup they were stopped by...

"Ch'en..." The Lung could see what happened from Amiya's face and the limp body that the Doctor was carrying.

"Took me a while to come here, so is that..."

The Doctor nodded, he knew what Ch'en was going to say, "Yes, it's exactly as you think." The Doctor sighed he was clearly tired of all this and Amiya is as exhausted as well.

"So what now? You two are going back to Rhodes right? Everyone has already retreated since the last hostile was gone." Ch'en typed words at her phone, she was probably texting to Hoshiguma confirming the incident to be over.

"Not yet, I still have to do something." The Doctor did his own texting, towards Kal'tsit she should probably seen the energy readings that Misha's Persona used before and would ask as to what the hell is happening in his end.

He sighed and as he thought, there was a lot of personal messages on his phone. She should understand as to why he wasn't responding since he was on the field and his phone is silent.

"Amiya, you need help?" He said towards her as she was struggling to stand, her energy for the day has already been depleted, he stretched his hand towards her.

The leader of Rhodes shook her head but was fine with taking his hand for support, the help he was referring to was a different kind. The loss of a friend was the metaphorical weight that she was suddenly carrying after all.

The tactician on the other hand looked beside him for the expression of the faux commander of Reunion, her face was peaceful and at the very least she deserve a more dignified place to rest than here. From what he observed it was littered with burnt sand, ARTS attacks and much more from what his Personas have wrought.

"She knew that is what was going to happen to her Ch'en." The Doctor's expression softened, it wasn't the guarded face of a leader it was the face of someone who was dealing with loss, "She wanted to secure the safety of Reunion's men...Skullshatterer's friends."

They will wonder where Skullshatterer and Misha are and they will soon understand what happened to the both of them, and they will blame Lungmen for it. It will just go on and on like a loop, hatred piling on like a snowball. Humanizing Reunion, perhaps that is one of the things he needed to understand in order to have them reformed or removed.

Ch'en was puzzled however she couldn't fathom as to what Reunion must have offered her to be a willing decoy for people she had met for a few hours.

"She did it for her brother, Ch'en." Amiya quipped, the Lung was surprised that she could tell what she thinking, "Skullshatterer was Misha's brother."

"I see, so that is why they were willing to do so much for her." Perhaps that is why Skullshatterer's group was the one to lead the mission to secure the key to Chernobog? It didn't matter anymore, in a way that man will be satisfied with these turn of events.

The area was silent for a while, the mission was over and the ambiance of the sandy ruins was as the same as it was before all the fighting; dead silence.

As such even a whispering voice could cut through the wind, "You coming Amiya?" The Doctor asked her as if the man was going on a different route than what Ch'en had thought they were going through.

However, without even asking Amiya knew what the Doctor was going to do, after all it's common procedure for these things especially in their line of work. Decorated in crimson fluid and black fractals they may be, they still had the decency to give some dignity to the departed.

"No...it's alright I'll go on ahead." Amiya wanted to be there however she knew the aftermath of all this, "Besides Dr. Kal'tsit should probably take a look at me as soon as possible." She was tired, plain and simple. Both her soul and body wanted repose after all is said and done, as much as she wanted to see her off her body won't permit her. Instead she took out her plushy keychain and tossed it to the Doctor at the very least she had the strength to do just that, the man caught it easily much to her relief she thought that it might hit the ground since her arc was too low.

"At least I could be there in spirit Doctor..." The Cautus was slowly succumbing to fatigue, noticing this the Lung Inspector carried her friend on her back, mirroring what the Doctor is doing for Misha.

"Easy, I got you..." Ch'en hefted the bunny load she was carrying, "I'll make sure that she gets to Rhodes safe Doctor."

With a smile the Doctor was glad, "Thanks."

O-O-oo-O-O

On the way back home, Ch'en saw red decorating the sands. She fought a lot and suffered a lot and those sights didn't really faze her anymore. In all honesty she wished she still did, to have the luxury of seeing these things as a rarity... to be a greenhorn in the force once more...

A greenhorn like what the Doctor is now.

At least that's what she saw in the Doctor before she regrouped with them, as skilled as the man can be in tactics and having a talent in battle to boot; she pegged him to be still innocent to all the fighting and bloodshed especially since the man lost all of his memories.

She was slightly off however.

The man accepted all of this as the reality he lived in all too easily, there was no tears and immediately did whatever he could to lay Misha's body to a proper rest. He wasn't even trying to hide his sorrow, his eyes just looked empty yet there wasn't any confusion or despair. It was disappointment accompanying his sorrow and pain, as if it was a normal thing in his life to see these things.

It was an unnerving sight, a man with the moves of a rookie yet the world-view of a veteran. Ch'en wondered if it was because of what happened to them in Chernobog, or perhaps he remembered a bit of who he was?

Still, even with all of that he wasn't consumed by it. Is his heart indifferent to his emotions? With Amiya by his side that shouldn't be the case as he had the "partner" that she needed in her life, someone that she can fully trust.

Ch'en could only sigh, she would rather not see that look on anyone's face.

Amiya on the other hand had took that loss hard, Misha was akin to a kindred soul to the Cautus it seemed. It was only for a few hours and yet they were mourning her fate as if she was a dear friend, and perhaps it was. The Infected had their lives on an hourglass of blood so without medical aid, any show of kindness and camaraderie is like gold for them.

The two were forced to cut that bond short and they took it two different ways. Amiya took it like a grieving soul, her heart was on the verge of breaking but it's normal. The Doctor on the other hand had taken it like a commander, hiding his grief and making a facade of stability.

She couldn't fathom as to why Misha would fight them, from what she could infer Misha must also be the one fighting them from before; the fake Skullshatterer.

She must not have seen her brother try to kill her friend, or she cherished family more and wanted revenge for Skullshatterer's death. That wouldn't explain the peaceful smile she had on her face, she didn't even kill any on our side and some of her brother's men were apprehended.

"This is what she chose, at the very least she took the consequences of her choices seriously." She wondered if she too was willing to go in alone just to secure the safety of her home. It sounds easy to say but in practice the average heart can't muster enough courage.

What she didn't know was Amiya heard her briefly before drifting back into sleep.

O-O-oo-O-O

"Haah...haah..." The Doctor panted as he set two bodies down, he and Lancet-2 are the only people left in the ruins to his knowledge. No one would really come to the badlands anymore since it's no longer a good place to camp out of.

Misha and Skullshatterer, unlike the former Skullshatterer's body was less Infected than his sister's. While he did not approve of the child commander's reasons for fighting he at least understood the reason as to why, the darkness inside Talulah had many more with that idea rooted into them after all.

"The fireproof body bags as you requested Doctor." Lancet-2's nozzle gestured to its compartment, he called for two of those to be delivered from Closure, the woman wondered why two were needed since she had a grasp as to what happened based on his tone but respectfully heeded.

"Thank you, you can return to base now." The Doctor smiled while the robot gestured a nod, "Adnachiel's group is waiting for you, you should have the point in your database no?"

"Affirmative Doctor, but please be careful." Now that Lancet-2 decided to respect Doctor's privacy he put both bodies in one body bag the zippers still open so he can gaze on their faces, one at peace and one blank face staring back at him. Even the robot could tell the Doctor is not off the right mind at the moment, such is grief.

He found two twigs and set it down a pot he also found along the way it was broken but was still able to contain things. Then he lit the two twigs on fire and put it out, still letting the charring burn through the wood incense. One of the books he read about nations like Yen and Higashi usually do these things in a funeral, it's a shame that he couldn't found any branches from sweet-sap trees but it's expected in a wasteland like this.

The hooded man knelt down the warm sand and prayed a lone prayer, it was mostly because they lost a friend but also because of what cruel fate they were dealt with. Would the two be saved by Rhodes if they were secured by a team like what happen with the Ursus Student Self-Governing Group or was it too late for that. Strangely even now, his eyes refused to cry and while he is undoubtedly feeling sorrow after all this he wasn't able to shed a single tear only emptiness glazed on his visage.

"Heh, I said all that and I too was hesitant in respecting your wishes." A mask shortly adorned his face and then flashed into blue embers, without a word Hellhound set fire to the two bodies and zipped the bags with its mouth. A mask appeared once more and blazed off into non-existence, replacing Hellhound with Jack Frost who only had nothing but sorrowful "ho" s.

The flames danced around his eyes, still filled with nothing yet his heart only felt sadness those who soon have life return to them as he heard someone behind.

Retreating his Persona as his muscles suddenly tensed, he sense the familiar presence within the makeshift funeral site, he however relaxed when the identity of the newcomer was confirmed, it was W. No doubt she was watching him from afar, maybe because she had some explosives left not detonated.

"He-ya Doc." She raised her hand, her speech maybe playful but her tone was slightly awkward perhaps it was because she came in on a funeral, "I chimed in on a bad time huh?"

The Doctor shook his head, "Not really, the two knew you before all this." He sighed as he took out a can of juice chilled into cold richness with his power, "In all honesty, I'd prefer his comrades to be here too they at least deserve that."

"How unlike you..." W's remark was silent but still audible if not for the gust that is.

"Hmm, you said something W?"

"Nothing, it's just I find it odd that you'd do this for people who tried to kill you."

"We aren't better at that regard too but he was Misha's brother and I am her friend. The least I could is a respectable send-off." His tone was slightly embarrassed because she does have a point and he did resent Skullshatterer's actions however he still had to respect the boy's desire to see Misha well and living. "He too was a victim in this shitty bigotry that Ursus and Lungmen spout."

Satisfied with the answer, W decided to sit on a rock near them and also prayed for the two. While she was doing that he took out two ceremonial pots, they came with the body bags; a thing that the Doctor mandated and more Operators agreed upon when he proposed that change. Maybe next time he should propose adding incense as well. Not every destination would have some cracked porcelain and aromatic twigs lying around in the sand.

He set the pots aside and knelt near W and then he looked at his mentor in merc work, "Thanks W..." After she was done, she rose and return to her seat and stared at the ground, her face solemn.

The ashes were collected and put inside the respective jars and he too was solemn, this day was awful to say the least.

"Still, I wish there was a way we could have prevented this..."

W couldn't help but feel a bit of guilt for some reason even though she was the one who goaded her to this path.

O-O-oo-O-O

As they were loading the munitions and sharpening weapons W decided to speak with Skullshatterer in private, an idea to break this deadlock.

"That's pretty much it, how about you act as the vanguard and we back you up." No doubt that the LGD and Rhodes would be taken aback at the sudden revival of Skullshatterer especially since the two commanders saw through his death, "They'll be pretty shell-shocked that your back from the dead."

Yet, that outcome would not be ideal to W. Her goals and the mission goals just don't line up.

"Still, I think a lot of our men will either be captured or worse." W sighed as she fiddled with a grenade, "Buttttt if we have any hope of breaking this deadlock then we don't have any options."

Yeah, they failed at killing him and W just lead Skullshatterer to a trap. Faust and Mephisto were pretty adamant of steering clear the Doctor's area of attack but the Sarkaz played dumb about that. It was brilliant move in all honesty.

The operation was a bust the moment Rhodes was confirmed to be working with the LGD.

"I have an idea..." Skullshatterer spoke silently, "But it requires all of you to leave immediately."

W hummed in response, "You sure? I know what you're going for but those guys will never abandon you."

The figure went silent, shaking at the thought of what they were going to say, "Alright, about twenty men is all I require make sure they're separated into these sectors."

"When the fighting starts we leave from the back right?" Skullshatterer nodded, "So we're gonna take the tunnel?"

Skullshatterer shook their head, "No, they will go search this ruin base for their target I assume you know some routes that even the LGD nor we have any idea?"

The Sarkaz's eyes expanded, "My...you're asking a lot from me...Misha."

Misha chuckled, "Yeah...but this is the only way...you should know that it's pointless...to ensure my...safety...anymore."

Originium was everywhere in this place, from the blades to the conduits their Caster use and a lot of them were broken, freeing the rancid illness from their confines. At least her bombs got rid of the toxic rock in the ensuing explosion, but what's worse is the place having loads of Active Originium increasing the rate the effects of what Oripathy does to the body.

The girl didn't care about that and just went to look for her brother.

W, as cruel she can be for the sake of her goals felt bad for the child. Still it all works for them in the end so... "Alright, still your desired outcome could use a few adjustments...here's what I think you should do..."

O-O-oo-O-O

"By any chance did she say that she had not long anyways?"

The Doctor stared at her in surprise, did W and Misha talked before the battle? "Yeah..." Then she must know about her plan, it was her charges that he had to check and possibly disable after all.

"I see...well you should know by now that I was colluding with her for the plan." Goaded more accurately, but for some reason she thinks that Misha was going to do that kind of plan regardless. Well as a Mercenary she would prefer that she caused some influence on the Ursus rather than her having autonomy.

W expected rage would follow soon after but if the Doctor gets mad at her at least she wouldn't feel the need for restraint if they face-off in the battlefield again.

"I guess that went off without trouble then?" The Doctor instead spoke jovially, "She really wasn't the best in doing these kinds of things alone...still for a kid she can think of such wild tactics." He reminisced of their fight and the Ursus girl's use of her Persona was already good. Then again he used her weakness too late in the battle.

She expected hate or being pointed at the business end of an icicle but here he was a bit elated to find out about that, "You know I expected you to be mad..."

"I've come to terms with the facts about this mission..." He reverted to a more solemn tone, "There really wasn't anything we could do...the infection was at that point already."

Now however, her body and clothes were all incinerated with his Persona's embers she wouldn't have to suffer Oripathy anymore.

"She wanted lesser casualties and it did happen, most of the Reunion members we fought are probably in interrogation now." The Doctor recalled on what Misha said before as well, "She wanted Reunion nor the LGD to grab a hold of something...the thing that made Misha a person of interest in the first place."

"The key...to be honest I agreed to that partially since I don't want either party to get that thing..."

The Doctor nodded agreeing with that, W was acting out of utilitarian reasons for her own interests and they too were doing the same it would be hypocritical to criticize that.

He took the urns and bound them and twine, he proceeded to give the two to W who was slightly confused, "Here, bring them back to Reunion this isn't a place were they belong."

A sorry smile left his face as he paused, "I would take Misha's but she deserves to be with her brother after so long." He looked down his pocket for the small plushy key-chains, "Besides I have my own memento from her.

"So what should I say? The Doctor from Rhodes Island did the funeral service?" The Sarkaz woman sighed as she took the urns off him, "My employers would get suspicious as to how I got their remains you know."

Talulah would probably not question it or know that it was him that attended to her subordinate's body, the shadow within her would probably leave that be as well since the thing was not something that will interfere with their goals

"You can say that you attended to them in my stead, after all you do have a good reason for staying behind or returning here right?" It's not like the man was asking for compensation because he was doing a diener's job, especially from the enemy faction.

She seemed alright with the idea, so without a word the Sarkaz took the urns and left the Doctor alone. Based on the silence, she too had a lot to process after this sequence of events.

"Never knew that she had a more mellow side..." The Doctor whispered while looking at her retreating figure. While there was some remorse in the Sarkaz it was not the reason as to why she was also shaken and grounded as opposed to her usual renegade self.

After all, she saw the fight before from above.

She had a front row seat of Persona-users clashing, the Doctor's proficiency with the power is frightening the ability to use multiple types of ARTS, while probable, was to that extent a feat of superhuman knowledge of the topic.

W was not aware of the Doctor's status as a Wild Card and of the true nature of Persona, so being shell-shocked was understandable.

Amiya on the other hand, was already formidable as an ARTS Caster but now she's able to take the fight to the face and those claws seemed to be made of the same energy as her ARTS that prospect of facing that is terrifying.

All that is good and all but something to her did not make any lick of sense, why is Misha able to use one of those things? Other than that she was able to keep up with them until she got hit by some lightning. As far as she knew, the Ursus girl did not have some receding Sarkaz genetics so it really bugs her that this little girl has one of those Persona things or Spirit ARTS as the Doctor had formally stated.

The mystery of the powers that the three hold, she'll hold her tongue for now because the truth will come to her eventually. She'll do what it takes to get answers as a renegade.

O-O-oo-O-O

Returning to the Ark was uneventful, he passed by the Lungmen streets sparing some of his SP to some Infected children that were injured in the slums. Making a mental note to remind Ch'en about the slums situation, Lungmen's mistreatment of the Infected was a contributing factor of this mission's conception after all. Rhodes Island would be happy to take some of them of their leader's unreliable hands.

Nobody wanted to approach the Doctor when he came back, word got around about the outcome of the mission. They knew that the man would want some time alone to mourn, that and he looked like shit and smelled burnt and that told a lot about his mood.

Angelina Ajimu, a Supporter Operator who was finished with her current tasks, wanted to console him but Texas stopped her.

"It's best that we should leave him alone." The Vulpo heeded her Lupo co-worker, slightly down at the fact that she can't help him. However something caught her eye as the Doctor's figure slowly receded.

It looked like some sort of plush keychain.

O-O-oo-O-O

The Doctor lied on his bed, he had nothing to do and nothing to say after the battle. He was not even motivated enough to look for the phenomenon of the darkened crystal that erupted from Skullshatterer's body. All he could do was stew in his thoughts, a swirling pot of confusion and acceptance not of his or her actions but of what could have been done to make things better. As much as he wanted to forget the what ifs, he couldn't help himself as the answers to that would help him one day as he is the tactician of Rhodes Island.

"I guess this also what it means to mourn..." He surmised, aware of the reality of what he is doing but to ignore that was missing the perspective of being of human.

Mentally and physically exhausted his body couldn't take all the abuse it had taken today, for all the Personas he had, he wasn't able to remove the fatigue that came from this mission. Still, Amiya was able to summon a Persona like him and words couldn't describe the pride and relief for that. He had a feeling that Amiya was holding something back for them, not just him but to Rhodes Island in general.

Insecurities that would have been ironed out by external forces later in life were removed early when she decided to accept that part of her. She too was suffering so much from this task, and she had endured so much more whilst he was absent.

The Doctor expected his return to be full of scolding in all honesty, but he only received solemn looks from his co-workers. Not even Kal'tsit decided to scold him from his earlier mistakes, or the risks he had to do to ensure their safety, his body was riddled with so many wounds after all.

However, he wanted to hear it. He needed someone to call him out for mistakes, to say that he screwed up, there was so much more he could have done anything. Not even that snarky Sarkaz W, was able to call out mistakes in his planning or decisions.

"Don't look at me like I'm a wounded dog..." He whispered to his room, ashamed of himself. How he wished that he was as strong as what they revere him for.

On paper, the mission was somewhat of a success, Reunion did not acquire the key they needed for Chernobog. Grim was the outcome, however it did not deter the fact that it was effective. There were no serious casualties on their side as well so why is the Doctor still hard on himself? He had come to terms to Misha's decision and he respected it.

Maybe, it was because if he had his old memories and skills would he be able to do better? What if he applied himself more on this part of his work or did he spend his time as effectively as he thought? If was not able to save one life, how can he be expected to save the world as what his contract had set?

Even with a Persona, heck even with two Persona-users they still can fail.

It was simple anxiety all along, every second he laid in his bed is time wasted fearing for the unknown.
Was it normal to be scared of doing anything when the first thing that comes to your consciousness is the weight of the world?

Misha's decision to die was not something he had control over, thus it was unfair to him and her to think otherwise.

He still had chances to do better after all, as long as he still breathing he could still make all this worthwhile and so for now he will carry on. Even if his brain exudes anxiety the best thing he could do for everyone is to keep moving forward. They won't make the memento she left behind be all for nothing.

Amiya's rings cracked earlier from what he had heard, her limiters that once removed would release so much ARTS that it would consume the little Cautus. Her condition wasn't peak too so the man couldn't help but be concerned for well-being even if Kal'tsit was most likely tending to her seeing as she was involved in the creation of the set. They both probably felt awful after all this so he figured that they'll be both better off reflecting, she was more affected by all this than him who if they heard his thoughts before would berate him for being unfair on himself again.

"Might as well stop by Closure's since these things..." He stared at the underutilized grappling hook that is on the verge of falling off after all the abuse it had to take, explosions can really do a number on pieces of machinery, "...are starting to fall apart."

Needless to say, the engineer was distraught at the condition of one of her better pet projects.

O-O-oo-O-O

"You should get some rest first Doctor." Kal'tsit sharply said as she was looking at the still sleeping Amiya, the awakening of her inner self must have tuckered her out more than he would have thought. Then again, he too was asleep for almost half a day during his initial awakening.

He took a seat and sat beside Amiya, "I am resting, you don't see with a pen and paper on hand ya?" Cheekily saying that so Kal'tsit wouldn't worry if he was alright, news travels fast in the Ark and the news of the two's quickly formed friendship with the target and the subsequent falling out would have reached her ears if it wasn't because of Ch'en's report.

"It really is nice to see that Amiya is like me now." The Doctor said with pride in his voice, "Whatever was bugging her before, is something she now has control over." She took her first steps to her own recovery and she plunged the syringe into her body, he was relieved that those eyes didn't darken as much.

The lynx beside him just sighed as she handed him a piece of paper, a table of data about Amiya's condition, "It appears that this power you have doesn't even harm her..." She then looked at one particular piece of data, "In fact, this Persona phenomena made her Oripathy less of a burden."

As Amiya's surrogate parent she was glad, but as a medical professional she was baffled and is trying to understand the mechanics of that case. An exercise in futility looking back since the first user of that power likes to break conventional logic just by existing.

That was news to the Doctor, but looking back he did managed to relieve the burden of Oripathy on Misha using his spells. However that was only pain relief, he couldn't cure the damnable illness in its entirety. Still if having a Persona made things more bearable to an Infected person why did Misha succumb to her own?

Perhaps, awakening to it; Misha was too late when she awaken to her own, her Persona was probably lengthening her life by the hour.

Kal'tsit saw his face dropped, with a frown of her own she took a stool and sat beside him, "It wasn't your fault Doctor."

It's strange for her and the Doctor to be this upfront but she didn't even realize that time, still the Doctor didn't even try to refute her he was still taken aback by her sudden forwardness.

"There were a lot of things I wish I could have done differently too..." Her mind went back to a certain time, a time where she could say that every tomorrow was a day to look forward to, "Still, it doesn't mean I should stew in my thoughts every time I'm reminded of the fact."

She didn't knew why she was this open with him, even if he lost his memories he was that man. Yet she couldn't help it, this weakness and doubt in his eyes is something she wanted to remove. They need him to be strong and confident in himself once more, even with all his past sins Rhodes Island needed him.

Kal'tsit didn't know if what she said worked on him but, "Thanks..." It seemed like he just needed to hear that from another person.

"You always were forgetful of what you say..." The lynx mused, "If a group fails, then all are to blame?" How many times did that saying of his got repeated today god only knows.

They looked at the sleeping bunny, no doubt the girl would be distraught by all of this but now they'll be there to support her.

Things aren't over with Reunion after all, their tactician and leader needed to be in the right mind if they want Rhodes Island to navigate through the storm that will no doubt come. It's quite relieving that they even have the time to rest after all this.

"I'm really glad that you're my friend Kal'tsit..."

The woman was disarmed by what her fellow doctor had said, and with a face like that who wouldn't especially with what she knew. His face reminded her of someone important to the both of them although the other person doesn't remember.

She couldn't help but smile as well, perhaps it was because maybe she wouldn't fear the worst from him for now. With the little reprieve they had in the midst of a tragedy that two had bear witness too she might as well be with the people she was closest too.

The lynx wasn't the best person especially at social interactions that much is known and for all her knowledge of medical practices and science that all revered her for; she sucks at forming bonds. The people from a bygone time where the ones who initiated contact first and she was essentially adopted into a friend group but that was all she had and that was fine...until that day.

History seems to repeat itself perhaps, she was ready to hate this Doctor once more but found that she couldn't not even muster an iota of disgust. It was like comparing night and day with the man, it might have been selfish of her but she hoped that he wouldn't remember anything at all. A Rhodes Island with Amiya and this version of him looked beautiful to her.

"I- We're always here if you need us." Kal'tsit felt happy for once in her life to be of some help, not as a medical professional but as someone helping a friend get through loss. It's a weird feeling of fulfillment but something she didn't she dislike. "It's unfair to think that you should be strong for us all the time you know."

She looked to the game console on her desk and reached for it, sitting back to the spot she previously left. Seeing this the Doctor took out his, it's still amazing that his device stood strong after all the damage he took.

"How about it?" Kal'tsit began, "A game while we wait for her to wake up?"

The Doctor had spent a long time with Kal'tsit.

The two workaholics didn't mind wasting time while they watched over Amiya, since to them every second was put to good use.

O-O-oo-O-O

Time had passed as per the world's rules and yet it did not matter in this place. A room of velvet blue, the Velvet Room was a foreigner to this world and yet a resident of it was a guest here. The clinking of glass can be heard as the guest awaken from his slumber from the real world.

"I guess I'm going to get answers now?" The Doctor, ever the fool awaiting answers for his unique situation asked. Sherry nodded and Igor stared back at him after he was done examining vials and crystals.

"Yes, we assume that you wish to know things about that crystal you purified?" The long-nosed man said and the Doctor produced the crystal in question one of the spoils of war he had obtained.

The crystal gleamed a bright light, distinct in color surrounded by the bluish area. Igor was intrigued as put the medium-sized stone in a petri dish.

"This seems to be the purified form of the core of a Shadow..." Never had this phenomena occurred in what they have witness, physical matter being manifested by ill will, "Normally, it's impossible to have such a core to exist even in the other worlds that other Persona-users have went to."

Was it because the world that the Doctor lived in was so full of strife? So much darkness and disparity that even their world would shudder at how minorities get treated as?

"Still, if such an obscene condensation of delusion and malice can be refined into a possible Persona..." Sherry analytical stated the possibility, the flipside of this situation was budding light and the strength to overcome the miasma of malevolence. A way to not forget what matters and why you are fighting.

Igor agreed with his assistant, he had seen the minority overcome the flaws of their humanity and yet in this world the people are more capable of changing because of the looming threat they have to live with. Maybe these cores aren't inherently of shadow, from what he can understand with this stone this was the lingering sentiment of a boy who was wronged and desired justice.

There were three parts of a human's psyche after all, the ego a mask of reality and identity that lets humans interact with the world, the superego which is the covenant of a man's ideals and self-image and lastly...

"Id." The long-nosed man suddenly said, The Doctor narrowed his eyes as he too was familiar with topic and the Id was the carnal and natural desires of humanity; the wild side.

Igor let go of the stone and it returned to the body of the Doctor, "The Id is not evil as it has no morals it had to heed, that core of a Shadow represents that concept it seems."

That crystal was exuding darkness before but when the Shadow was defeated and when the Doctor interacted with it shined a brilliant light before entering him. Like Id who was neutral as it was more a desire compass than higher level conception of the self, the stone had the aspects of both warm light and obscene darkness.

"That still doesn't explain why it turned into that however." The Doctor raised an eyebrow because this Id was not his, why would it change when he was not the owner of this will?

His contractor just closed his eyes in deep thought as if awaiting for him to make the connection. Thus, he recalled what had occurred...no, what he had felt after defeating the lingering Shadow. Why did he respect the boy postmortem after the kid attempted to kill him.

All the boy ever wanted was to be reunited with his sister, his vengeance and vitriol towards Ursus and by extension the non-Infected were important but only when it came to his family did the Doctor saw him reassured because W had retrieved her, or distraught and angry when his sister's security and life were threatened if the assault when he discovered that they gave Misha to the LGD was anything to go by.

Even though all the kid did was stupid and harmed more than what he should have, the Doctor and he's sure that Amiya didn't hate him.

"Empathy..." The word was suddenly spat out by the man, he understood why things are such. Skullshatterer's thoughts and emotions needed someone to deeply understand it, not just to agree or denounce but simple understanding. The heart only needs to be understood not be sided with to be whole after all.

Igor nodded solemnly and Sherry smiled, "Yes, understanding the perspective of another is truly an ordeal for most men but that is what the heart wants most... to be understood."

"So empathy is the key to this whole shadow ordeal?" Is it really that simple? How can simple understanding be able to quell beings of chained emotions is beyond him but if that's the only way then...

Sherry saw the doubt in the man's face however, she can see why. "While being understanding is ideal, Shadows are still prevalent from people that have no qualms about being impassive and malicious."

"Correct you are Sherry." Igor chuckled as if it was inside joke to them, beings who have seen another world's human nature, "Not all are deserving of empathy like the owner of this stone." It's matter of perspective once more it seems, it always loops back to that word; perspective.

The Doctor understood what they were trying to say underneath, that understanding perspectives is the right path to take but understanding which perspectives deserve sympathy and those who are downright awful is the nuance of his journey.

"You have power to take aspects of another person's soul." Was Igor referring to Soul Forage? "You have been taking the parts of one's view that will benefit yours overall, hence this should be an easy concept to grasp."

While the Doctor agreed on his words, heaviness dwell on his head once again signaling that his time in the Velvet Room is cut short and a new day will begin once more.

He could only groan as he forgot to request a fusion whilst he was receiving the lecture.

- Chapter END-


Extra Turn: Reform

The last thing he remembered was plummeting to the pavement in Lungmen. His bones were broken but he felt blessed by the lucky stars above that a broken skeletal system was the only thing he suffered from.

"It could be worse...paralysis would be even worse..." He mumbled in the darkness of his mind, his eyelids were too heavy and after living through such a fall it would only make sense.

Eventually he managed to open them and found himself inside some sort of room. A blank white room and feeling around his surroundings he discovered that he was in some sort of hospital bed. Somebody took him to the hospital even when he's obviously an Infected.

He tried to raise his head to look around, "I see you're awake."

The recovering man looked over to the sound of another person, to his left was some sort of staff member who had his hood down, he was sitting beside another patient maybe he was a nurse. Said patient was a stranger to him, a young Vulpo man with white hair who was still unconscious.

His head was still heavy so he could only whisper a question, "Where...am...I?" Thankfully the man heard it and responded in a similar quiet tone.

"You're in the Rhodes Island Medical Bay." While his head was hurting he was still able to process that information clearly and to that his body triggered it's fight or flight response.

Why wouldn't he after all he's part of the Reunion Movement.

He couldn't even articulate his thoughts properly, probably because he's in the heart of the enemy's base with no discernible way to call for backup, no wonder he can't find his weapon or jet-pack.

"What are you going to do me?" He didn't know how Rhodes Island treats their enemy but if they are working with the LGD then he should assume the worst right? Unless he doesn't know that they took in a Reunion member.

The man just stared at him with an understanding gaze, it's like he can peer through his head.
"I understand your anxiety but there's no need to be afraid." Strangely, it was calming to hear him reassure the other man, "Reunion or otherwise, if we can help someone we won't turn a blind eye."

"So you know..."

The man chuckled lightheartedly, "To be fair you had a mask on ya when we found you, don't worry we're not gonna do anything that the LGD does to their captives." He said that last bit with so much disdain, did he not approve of how the LGD do things? If so why are they working together?

"It's not like you have a say in my fate" All those words are nice and all but what does this nurse guy have any say in what's going to happen to him.

The man looked astonished, confirming the Reunion soldier's suspicions at least at first it was not until he said, "Why is that?" Innocently, he asked the recovering soldier however he did not wait for him to answer.

"Ah...you think I'm just some guy working here?" Is he not that? Is he some sort of big shot here?

The man smiled, "I don't mean to be arrogant but I'm actually the Doctor of Rhodes Island." The Doctor? What's the difference this place had loads of doctors in this pharmaceutical company, he hid a chuckle at the irony of a medical company having a military unit.

But then he remembered a meeting before his deployment, a warning to avoid the man in-front of him at all cost.

"Do not in any circumstances engage this man, if you see him in the battlefield run!"

"Isn't he the guy who's said to have ice ARTS that can rival big sis'?"

The man could only swallow in fear that this flee-on-sight unit was in the same room as him, but then he double-checked is he really the same guy he looked like he wouldn't hurt a fly and he knew he was Reunion so why?

"Well, if you are wondering why we put you in the infirmary." Did he read his mind or was he that perceptive? "Judging by your surprise I was right in my guess...other than pure altruism we wanted to give you an offer."

This intrigued the man, what would Rhodes Island want with their captive? He isn't a mercenary that can be bought with a few stacks of blue paper, he's just a regular dude who used to work as a bartender.

"What would that be?" He asked cautiously, still some shakiness leaked out from his voice and the Doctor picked it up.

Yet the man refused to capitalize on his fear and said this in earnest, "Simply put, work for Rhodes Island."

The man was astonished, work for Rhodes Island they want him to turn on his fellow Infected? Furthermore is the man an idiot? Why would he want to hire a Reunion soldier when it was easier for him to be locked in a cell and be sold off to the LGD and get a holiday bonus of some sort?

"Yep, figured that you would be gobsmacked at my proposal."

The Reunion soldier refused to look at him, "Of course I will and you would lock me in a cell if I refused right?" To that the Doctor nodded solemnly.

"Naturally, but we won't ship you out to the LGD." The Doctor calmly said, did he expect everything that he will say, "Besides our cells are more lavish than how the LGD treats their prisoners." He said that last bit with so much disdain once more, that really is a cause for concern.

"We're not asking you to fight, only work. We're not that cruel to ask you to fight your former comrades." If it were up to the Doctor, they wouldn't have to fight at all.

Give up the ideals of his comrades in exchange for a chance at a normal life? Why should he take that chance when his people are suffering, people like him who just want justice and fairness.

"Don't worry about any discrimination for being Infected, I mean a majority of the people here share the same plight." The soldier figured as much, the others called them traitors but he can't blame them for taking the olive branch. Still, his mind is questioning whether he should switch allegiances what place should he decide to belong even if some parts of Reunion treat him like a butt monkey they still have one goal, to liberate the Infected.

He had to wonder though, how did he end up here did his jet-pack malfunctioned?
"I made sure that it's fine this time..." He didn't meant to say that but the Doctor had caught wind of this unfortunately.

"Fine? You mean your jet-pack?" The Reunion soldier's eyes widened like dinner plates, "Funny thing about that we found it and tried to repair it, it's a personal request of courtesy even though it's probably a dumb idea on paper...figured that you would trust us if we did...Reunion isn't exactly our best partner at the moment."

"Wait? Tried?" Was there something wrong with his flying apparel, the mission to secure those things was hell for him now that he recall.

The Doctor shook his head in frustration, he must have not have a good time with the attempt.
"Yeah, me and one of my experts in Engineering tried to fix it but even they went quits." He sighed as he remembered a certain vampire's tirade, "They were the ones who made these babies..." The Doctor flashed his grappling hooks, the micro-sized feats of engineering.

"So, what happened?" He and the Doctor are puzzled but since the other guy had examined the thing internally and externally then they should see a problem.

To that, the Doctor sighed and scratched his head in annoyance, "We found a bunch of Originium crystals inside the thing, it was like the thing was deliberately sabotaged."

"..." A brief silence at the revelation was unexpected, the Doctor expected surprise of disbelief yet the man before him knew more than him, "I see...I figured as much..."

No wonder they were eager to put him in the aerial squad, they were going to use him as a suicide bomb. That seemed to affirm the suspicions that he had in the back of his mind, he believe in Reunion only because he had nowhere else to go as well. However he had no friends pre-Infected life, not because of Oripathy or his own words, he just had a bad hand when dealing with others.

A theme that they all shared was they see him more as an avenue for what they want rather than a person, a friend.

"...I was never well-liked by my comrades in Reunion I was just another peon that parts of the group bullied..." He has nowhere else to go, so he might as well confide some of his struggles, this Doctor guy seemed nice enough compared to his squad leader at the very least.

The Doctor sat there listening pensively, the other man seemed to have realized something and it must have been devastating enough that he will confide in anyone.

"Still, I believe in Reunion's message...because even with Oripathy I think I can live a normal life or at least die fighting for that." Then he re-examined the information that was given, he didn't even tried to verify what the Doctor had said because from the looks of it he already experienced similar.

"At least that's what I thought of until now.." Now he had nowhere to go, he'll probably be put in a mission that would likely kill him again, "I guess going back to them would not be in my best interest huh?"

The other man nodded, he too probably deduced what happened to him as well. He looked insightful enough to not ask him about that. Now that he had see it, Rhodes Island seems to be a different faction compared to Reunion a much better place for the Infected, at the very least they have better healthcare.

What's strange is that the Doctor did not take the opportunity to coax into joining Rhodes Island, he just sat there listening to his plights.

Feeling disturbed of that fact he decided to ask the question, "Shouldn't be trying to demonize Reunion right now? Try and get me to your side?"

His response was a sigh, then the hoodie-wearing leader said, "That would be the optimal decision but as I said...we're not that cruel." Still, the Reunion soldier knows that he doesn't have much autonomy in his life now, either way no matter what the Doctor says the only way he wouldn't be put in a cell is to make nice with them. Yet, the man would probably see through that and since he's not forcing him to join Rhodes out of principle...this is a dilemma.

Then a bright light dawned on the Doctor apparently as he somewhat excitedly said, "How about...we hire you as a bartender here?"

"Wha?" There's no way the Doctor could know about his former profession but the prospect seems to be appealing to him better now, the longer he stays in Rhodes the more his superiors in his squad will doubt him and no doubt he'll die as a martyr in a mission orchestrated by them.

"I mean, you seem like a guy who's earnest enough." Then the Doctor saw the glint of interest the man had at his proposal, but he was still on the fence? Was it something else? "Ah...I see you feel conflicted on having the possibility of a better life in captivity than fighting alongside Reunion."

He could only nod in response, at this point he's not surprise that the Doctor can read his heart.

"You don't need to worry about that, we only responded to Reunion because they tried to kill us before..." Now this was a surprise to him, he nor his comrades were told as to why Rhodes Island is an enemy they just are to Reunion. Judging by how calm the Doctor was in saying that it's not a way of demonizing his, now becoming old, faction; his words would make that gap in information make sense.

Reunion is at odds with them because they attacked Rhodes Island and the higher-ups decided to cover that up. Knowing his superiors that makes a lot of sense, and as his mind drifted to that Mephisto kid that was superior and his squad leader that was hated his guts for some reason, he realized something.

"I was fighting for a bunch of hatemongers?" Even in Reunion, he didn't have any friends to speak and all he felt was pain and harassment from his co-workers maybe because he's not one of them. It was all pretty words all along, and it all was what he needed to cling to when he was at his lowest. Rhodes Island was just trying to protect itself from the movement's destructive maw all along, to think that he was fed propaganda once more like his time as a non-Infected in Ursus, the posters and speeches about Infected danger still fresh in his mind.

The Doctor on the other hand wondered if saying that small tidbit was wise, he truthfully didn't want to manipulate someone into working for them. He saw someone who was earnest and didn't want the man to compromise on what he believed in the Reunion Movement, even if it was the truth.

Yet, that was only good as an explanation as to why this man was fighting, "I have made up my mind, please hire me." He realized his position on the board, he was a pawn and if this man who had everything that can sway into fighting for their side just offered a chance at being out of the game entirely then he will take it; perhaps he can even see why other Infected choose Rhodes Island as their savior.

He didn't even care as to why he was made a suicide bomb in that mission in Lungmen, at this point he had no intention in being a part of the fighting anymore. The Originium that made his jet-pack malfunction instead of being a remote explosive was a blessing in disguise it seems.

"Alright, do note that you're gonna have a some sort of probation period based on your actions as a part of Reunion...is that fine?" The conditions were understandable since he did worked for them so the now ex-Reunion member nodded, "Ethan got a probation period of two weeks since he used to be in logistics and some minor missions." So there are other ex-Reunion members here, that was a huge relief to the man.

The Doctor then opened his phone, tapping frantically as he contacted from what he could surmised to be their human resources department.

"Oh, speak of the devil you're in HR duty right now huh?"

The bartender hire could only wonder what the other end was saying to him, probably some employer jargon and policies.

"Name huh..." The Doctor realized something that he forgot while he was talking to the recovering man, "I forgot to ask you about your name..."

"Oh yeah, hahaha...that was rude of me I'm sorry." Since, he decided that this for the best to watch the clash on the sidelines he should properly introduce himself to the guy that is willing to give him a chance, who knows he might be a shoulder to lean on in the future after all the people here seem to not be consumed by their ideals or anger.

"My name is Kevin."

O-O-oo-O-O

Nightfall soon came after fixing Kevin's papers and he's put into a temporary holding cell. He was informed that he will still stay in the cell while they are still arranging his residence on the Ark. Luckily, Kevin didn't mind with the arrangements the man even said that the cell looked to good to be for prisoners.

At least as a show of goodwill, the Doctor gifted him with a kotatsu; one of those Higashi things that he found comfortable while browsing online.

Silence was a common resident during the night, and the Doctor's words cut through the darkness in his room; the naturally melodic voice was being used to answer a call.

Specifically, a call from Talulah.

"I understand, thank you for taking him under your roof Doctor." It is really unrealistic that Talulah has full control over her chain of command, if so then her commanders would be a moot point.

"You're welcome." There was a brief pause, "Kevin doesn't belong in the battlefield and it's understandable that you wouldn't see the misdeeds inside your forces."

He's just acting in everyone's best interests and he did not wish to influence the bartender's thoughts. Objectively, he kind of did when he mentioned the instigation of the conflict between the two "Infected equality" factions. At the very least Kevin won't be in the board of this stupid game.

His charge yawned before replying, "Yes I have been blind to the inner conflict inside my organization." It seems that they are both ready to check out for the day.

"Not just that, there is a particular commander that did something quite unforgivable." There was a sudden chill in his voice that was unbecoming of his earlier earnestness.

Talulah did not mind however for that incident was indeed quite horrifying when she caught wind of it. The only reason as to why the misguided child is not exiled is because of some restrictions she is trapped by, and the fact that he's one of the few Medics Reunion has.

She could not even count on one hand how many leaders of prominent militia have this Jekyll and Hyde scenario she has. If she breaks character then Lungmen would extrapolate that and possibly see the Doctor's connection with her, that and she can turn at any moment.

"At any case, I'll tip Patriot about this he'll be sure to enforce proper conduct."

"Thanks." The call ended after that, after saying proper goodbyes the Draco girl decided to get some much needed shut-eye. The Doctor sighed and wondered when will all this acting could be over.

His thoughts of going to sleep have been interrupted by a sudden knock however, promptly he opened the door to his room and saw Kal'tsit.

"Well, what can I do for ya?" He dumbly said, drowsiness did set it awhile ago.

The other doctor made her intentions known as she went inside, and look over his shelf.
"I'm going to borrow a book is all." She said not even looking at him, the girl didn't even opened the lights as her eyes are better in seeing in darkness; she is a Feline or something close to that.

"It's the middle of the night..." The Doctor groaned and while he didn't see it he could sense her impassive eye-roll. The woman really does things at her own pace, well he's too drowsy to be annoyed at her.

Once Kal'tsit found the book that she was looking for, a book detailing about Psychology that looked a bit ancient but was still one of the best things to learn about the aspects of one's self, she looked back at the drowsy yet awake man and wanted to inquire about something.

"I always wondered when you brought it up but why did you hired Kevin?" There really wasn't anything to gain from the procedure and on the surface it would be risky since he was a former Reunion member, "Ethan is a different case, but you did hire him as a meager bartender."

"On the surface, it would seem odd that I would go to HR for that personally and attend to his wounds as well." He didn't deny at how odd he was for the day, well odder if his other Operators would say. Yet he didn't see anything wrong with his decision, it was a low-risk olive branch to a guy that was beaten down to the ground from what he can connect, "I admit it was more a personal thing Kal'tsit..."

If there was a chance, a sliver of redemption for someone and he can give it why wouldn't he?
"But, it's because I believe in the path to reform."

And that was all Kal'tsit needed to hear, and while the Doctor didn't noticed she smiled in approval.


Closure Report 1

I got the data from the Doctor's bout with Saria and Ifrit after Dr. Kal'tsit allowed me to do whatever with it. Surprisingly she came to my workshop with it instead of me pestering the woman like usual asking if the Doctor's data would be something that should be looked into deeper or be left alone.

Naturally, I was happy to comply and the data I have seen was alarming to say the least. The ability to completely nullify Ifrit's fire was no easy feat and if not impossible. It can only be attributed to his Persona's properties, ice so cold that it can froze intense flames in a flash, how poetic.

The Doctor called the Persona as Ophiuchus, a name foreign to us and yet somehow is very familiar to our tongue. Such a name doesn't even exist in Terra, and legends about this character are legends in itself. The only explanation I got was the information he got from some very mysterious benefactors, a power from another world...not even the Abyssal Hunters possess such mystery.

Just as the Doctor couldn't surprise anymore, he did. A day after his testing and the subsequent distribution of the data, he summoned another Persona and in turn changed his variables once more. Not only that, it appears that he can use different ARTS elements innately with the only downside is unlike the common ARTS user what he gets in variance and potency he is limited by some sort of reservoir for his power to manifest.

With consent from Dr. Kal'tsit (This was hard to get in Rhodes Island by the way.) I took some of his blood, my Sarkaz genes didn't even urge me to drink it as my inquisitive mind wanted to learn more about him. Not only did this phenomena improve the Doctor's physical abilities, it appears that the Doctor truly is a wild card with this power of his.

Yet...his blood is consistent with what data from the past had. So the power of a Persona truly is rooted at the core of his soul, can such a thing even be tangible? My mind was muddled and I surrendered the blood vial to Kal'tsit afterwards I was not even in the mood to drink it after what I have discovered or the lack of discovery.

I spent a night looking at the sky, wondering if souls truly possess that kind of power or if this limited to whatever the Doctor is. That goes back to what we, the first staff of Rhodes Island knew of the man. He did not have any of the features of the Ancients, our species. Yet he looked human, and he had no abilities that would be anything to write home about.

The only thing special about him is his blood.

However, now I could say without a shred of doubt that his potential eclipses Amiya's role at the time of this report's writing.

The next day, out of curiosity I added the battle data I obtained to the Doctor's base data folder. I have no idea as what happened but the data merged into a single executable.

That was the time that I decided to not toy with his data anymore. At least at the time of this report's writing.


Party Information

Personas

The Doctor LV15 [Lv Up!]

OphiuchusLv15 [The Fool]
Jack Frost Lv13 [The Magician]
Hellhound Lv10 [The Chariot]
Sui-Ki Lv16 [Level Exceed Due to Associate EXP Bonus] [The Moon]
Omoikane Lv13 [The Hierophant]
High Pixie Lv15 [The Lovers]

Hooksword: Amber Hook
"A hooksword with a mystical stone on the pommel, the metal of the blade shines brilliantly. It's mystique strengthens magical prowess.."
Protector: Hardened T-Shirt
"A t-shirt that is made of hard fibers, not sacrificing the aesthetic appeal of casual wear.
Accessory Ring: Silver Ring
"A common ring made of silver, shines bright."
Accessory Pendant: Silver Cross
"The cross is a religious symbol of Laterano, its religion is starting to spread even overseas."
Outfit: Modified Tactician's Jacket
"A modified version of the Doctor's apparel, symbolizing the birth of the Doctor's new identity."

GET! Blue Frost Keychain
"Some of Misha's will and consequently her Persona's latent powers, thus it was imbued with some magical enhancing properties."
Increases MA slightly. (Cannot be discarded.)

GET! RedFrost Keychain
"Like the blue Jack keychain, this has some of Misha's will imbued in it, however for some reason this enhancing physical properties."
Increases ST slightly. (Cannot be discarded.)

Amiya LV 14 [Lv up!]
Claw Ring: Beast
"The power that manifests with her Persona, it is a ring that assists in making a physical construct out of her ARTS."
Protector: Combat Blouse
"Made out of hard fibers, it does not discount the grace of the blouse's design."
Unchangeable Accessory: Limiter System of Ten Rings
"Special rings that limit Amiya's ARTS output lest she be consumed by her own power, it's a mystery how they came to be. A riddle that Dr. Kal'tsit is not inclined to share. "
Accessory Pendant: None
Accessory Ring: None
Outfit: Old Jacket
"It belonged to the person that Amiya holds dear, she personally does the laundry of this specific article of clothing."

Persona

Miseria LV 14[The Magician] [Level Up!]
Skills
Eiha, Malice Cutter (Light Physical Skill with Curse), Tarukaja
Maeiha [Level Up!]

Personal Skills
Spirit Burst
Cooldown: 4 turns (160 seconds)

Curse Claw [Level UP!]
Cooldown: 3 turns (90 seconds) 10 SP
"Amiya's basic attacks imbued with the Curse element, as well as buffing it's power."

Boss Data

Misha [The Hanged Man]

Ognyena

User: Misha/Skullshatterer
Skills: Agilao, Fire Dance, Patra, Nagidyne, Managidyne
Personal Skills: Grenade Launch, Blast Volley

"The sister of Perun in Slavic mythology, also known as Fiery Mary her mythology is scattered as in some myths she was a bearer of snakes, and in other she is a rain deity. She acts as her brother's assistant as well"


Author Notes

We're done with the Episode 3 and now going to Siesta. I'm aware that Siesta probably takes place a year after the whole Reunion debacle but for some introductory reasons and another character added to the Party I have to take some liberties, so I could fit the first Dungeon. The villain of the event is shoe-in for a Persona narrative.

The token phenomena of this story (for now) is the Id Crystals who are essentially batteries for both Shadow and Persona. In a story that wants the Doctor to understand perspectives, I think that the concept that does not care about differing perspectives in order to achieve what they want is a good foil.

Since, this time I took too long to update because I spent October on Intokber to further my drawing skills and because of online classes I was only able to work on this Chapter for a little while on that month. Then I heard that the last episode of the Reunion Arc is coming to JP so I stayed my hand and just work on some Persona designs for the others for now. I fear that Genshin Impact took a lot of time but that didn't turn out to be the case, I spent the majority of my time preparing for finals on my modular group for college.

I'm glad that I decided to wait for new information to be honest, I was overjoyed to see that Talulah survives and that Amiya is now a Guard; basically a lot of new information about the story dropped and I couldn't wait to see these turn of events play out, guess that the Strength and Justice Arcana will be shifted after all. (Also I had to tie in Kevin somewhere.)

To make it up for you guys I'll post the Associate Chapter and first part of the Siesta Arc in the next update. If things are swell enough I will even add in a Christmas special, and by the chance that the next update will be at late December that particular special will be added.

I'm also thinking of adding the Le Tarot de Maléfices so that more characters would be featured in the future, since it's the Tarot of Evil Acts maybe the darker Operators of Rhodes Island would fit, or at least the ones with more baggage. The possibility of Arknights being set far into the future of Earth is also a promising plotpoint to connect the Persona Universe to.

Still, I really thank you guys for sticking around. Game development classes chew through both my game time and art time huh? I find it a tad ironic.

Once again I, WordBound thank you for reading.

You guys are a godsend in all honesty.

Next Turn: Turn 6: Way of Life
Next Interlude: EX-1: Palpitation