Turn 13: Panic Addiction


"Smoke and mirrors, layer by layer are lies and deceit."

[If you wish to see this opening sequence, please play INFECTED by STARSET. I won't hold it against you if you decide to skip this opening for this addition is just for fun. Thank you for reading and we hope you enjoy.]


Persona Series by Atlus

[I think we did it this time.]

Darkened skies.

Arknights by Hypergryph, Yostar, and our lord and savior Lowlight

[There's something in the air inside the star shine,]

A blue comet descending.

INFECTED by STARSET

[There's something in the air we'll never know,]

A familiar coat billowing with the wind.

Fanfiction Written by WordBound

[I can feel it take hold...]

A mask falls from their face and...

[Infected.]

It explodes into a million specks of blue light.

[They're calling on the landlines,

The senators are standing on the shorelines,]

We circle around an empty meeting room with lavish paraphernalia in a bird's eye view once it reaches a flag, it then cuts to a legion of Ursus generals in salute.

[The warning lights are burning all aglow,]

A close-up of the glow of red from a broken traffic sign then zooms out to see the a street ablaze in Reunion's inferno, as the song reaches the next line the camera looks up to a crumbling building.

[Now we reap what we sow...]

A large hunk of debris falls towards the camera, the building having Reunion's sigil carved in flames.

[Infected.]

Then darkness. A graph of a heartbeat goes along with the song and rips the screen up as the next line starts.

[We do it one by one,]

The Doctor's silhouette appears, then Amiya's, then Kal'tsit's. They then leave in the order they appeared but in reverse, leaving a stylized Tarot Card of the Arcana they are associated with.

[Put your hands up and run,]

Hands are raised as masks descend to the hands' palms.

[We're addicted to the panic,]

The shot cuts to someone putting a syringe gun to their head, pulling the trigger as checkered stars pop out instead of blood.

[And we hate the way this world has become,]

The gun drops then looks up to the Doctor then cuts to the side of his hand, gripping a queen piece tightly.

[But there ain't no cure for it.]

The word "Cure" is displayed crossed-out as the singer finishes the line, it then changes to a question mark.

[ We've been... infected.

Infected, infected. [×4] ]

A white crystal appears in a black space then slowly descends down to see more silhouettes along with Ceylon's glowing with yellow eyes.

Then the shot descends even deeper to see a black crystal floating on a red sky being surrounded by countless smaller ones, the smaller fragments are like pieces of metal to the black crystal's magnetic pull.

A wounded white bird is on the ground, then a black snake opens its jaws and devours it.

A blank chessboard.

[Here's a challenge for all mankind.]

A hand moves a chess piece from a bird's eye view, then fades to white.

[The preacher man is warning of the end times,]

Zoom to a bunch of Sniper Operators shooting at the enemy off-screen. Then it cuts to Dur-nar and Zima making quick work of Reunion Defenders.

[The weatherman agrees but he don't know,]

An opposite hand moves a white piece, cutting to the Doctor getting caught in the hole that made him fell underneath Chernobog.

[So he's got to go now.]

Then the Doctor drops, fading to black.

[We do it one by one,]

Ch'en's silhouette appears along with two familiar silhouettes, each fading as their Tarot Card accompanies their leave.

[Put your hands up and run,]

Falling chess pieces decorate a checkered floor.

[We're addicted to the panic,]

Reunion soldiers rush through the streets, some of them having mad glints in their eyes.

[And we hate the way this world has become,]

Igor and Sherry look at the Velvet's Room's clock and the scene cuts with the latter's mirthful look.

[But there ain't no cure for it.]

The word "Cure" is displayed crossed-out as the singer finishes the line, it then changes to a question mark.

[We've been... infected.

Infected, infected. [×4] ]

Still shots of a tattered book falling from the Doctor's hand, an altar with a muted ivory aesthetic, a glimpse of Theresa on a plain of lilies but with a black and white filter. A still shot of FrostNova, then it cuts to a dark sky over Chernobog's highest building.

[One if by land and two if by sea.]

One speck of light floats over the Ark, then cuts to another floating at Chernobog.

[Maybe it's both and we'll all get lucky.]

W looking at Chernobog, then cuts to her point of view but with a red filter on it.

[Go to the end, man. Don't quit on me.]

The Doctor gritting his teeth, using his hook sword as support looking at the enemy.

[Get what you wanted:]

The PRTS logo shows up front and center.

[Anarchy.]

Fade to black.

[One by one,]

One by one, stars in the night sky shine forming the constellation of Ophiuchus.

[Put your hands up and run,]

The ten stars rain down, transitioning to them spinning in a ring then dispersing into an X (Wheel of Fortune) creating another transition.

[We're addicted to the panic,]

A close-up on W's face as she destroys enemy lines with glee in her face.

[And we hate the way this world has become,]

Amiya shattering a ruined wall with her energy claw, the poster supporting the persecution of the Infected.

[But there ain't no cure for it.]

The Doctor looking at the carnage being wrought, then the word "Cure" flashes on the screen for a second then afterwards he disappears.

[We've been... infected.

Infected, infected. [×4] ]

A still shot of an excited crowd as the words "Ark Knight vs Plastic Knight" light up on the screen. Bard Skadi looking over the Ark while the screen is in a muted filter. Eunectes looking horrified as something seems to be towering over her.

The amused look of an ivory-wearing gentleman.

The last shot is a broken chessboard, the vicinity in disarray as pieces are strewn all over the place. The camera zooms in a chess clock, trying to tick but it appears to be stuck in the same position

The screen fades out to present the logo.

Persona RX.


...

"You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, please don't be afraid. I'm not here to lecture you or anything..."

"Alright, then why did you summon me? If there is a change in our form-"

"No, nothing of the sort. I'm just here to give you one order."

"An order that trumps anything else."


Mephisto ran, ran as far he can like his friend, his only true ally, told him to. He was so caught up in just running away from Lungmen that he could barely care in controlling his ARTS, he left a trail of white dust as he fled unaware of the consequences of what he was doing.

"Damn it! Damn it all!" Where on Terra are the reinforcements they were promised? Who was that man that Faust staved off? A myriad of questions were running through his mind unanswered, there wasn't even any time to theorize about a possible reason.

Mephisto did as he was told, an action that he would only do if Talulah or Faust asked him, he ran until he can head back home. Some of the Phantom Crossbowmen spotted him fleeing and decided to follow him. The two were inseparable it was redundant to ask how things were on their end, he was fleeing because the mission failed.

"What's with him, I've never seen him so unstable...well more than usual anyways." Zeke asked to his fellow comrades as they stealthily fled with Mephisto, avoiding the gaze of even the lone LGD agents scouting around.

"Beats me, where's the boss anyways? If there's one thing I know about that Mephisto is that he and Faust are like glue."

Zeke went silent, not bothering to look at his communication device.

"I...I tried to contact him awhile ago." He confessed, his voice harrowed a sense of dread, "He hasn't responded..."

All of his comrades stood in silence, the possibility of his fate dawning on them.

"You think we can get away?"

"I can't answer that Markov...but if Faust is...then we should be extra cautious." Zeke was hesitant to continue, "We have to consider the possibility of someone watching us..."

They dare not look at the buildings, they started to realize that all of this was a trap. Lungmen planned for their arrival and it shows. Drones hovered all across the city, ensuring that this was all evacuation exercise; dampening the people's anxieties and the last flames of terror they wanted to wrought were all snuffed out.

As tempting as it was it was to blast them, that would just giveaway their position.

"We have no choice...we have to survive."

0o0

After taking back their territory there were still a lot of loose threads to tie up, on one horizon was the remnants of a maddened horde, the other was the stragglers of Reunion Movement that were unaware that they were trapped by Lungmen.

Blaze looked over her quarry, sighing in annoyance over the situation. Really, was Lungmen that careless that they need Rhodes Island to clean up their mess? Infected fighting other infected was never subject that she wasn't fond of.

But orders are orders.

"We really got a raw deal this time." Blaze said absentmindedly as a squad of Reunion soldiers looked at her in confusion, she just jumped towards them without a care in the world.

She hefted her equipment like it was another day doing regiments and the occasional paperwork, there was no doubt in her mind that she's going to continue fighting them given how stubborn they are.

"The hell!" The enemy was already on full alert, which was already high given their current situation, "Who the hell are you!? Did you just drop out of the sky? We need to back up, this chick might actually be able to fly."

"I really can't..."

"Identify yourself!" A L.G.D agent beside her demanded, to which Blaze just sighed.

"Buddy, my allegiance is in my jacket." The Feline pointed to the big bold black "RHODES ISLAND" print on her clothes, "Whatever, use your scanner and you'll know."

Blaze readied her chainsaw, its hum was contesting with the noise of the battlefield. After confirming her identity, the agents relented and let her be.

"Look...I'm from Rhodes Island and I can handle this myself. Don't really wanna account for crossfire when I'm fighting so you guys should head to the next roadblock." The L.G.D did not have the will to question her capabilities seeing as the woman descended from an outrageous height, so they decided to leave it to the Feline content with watching her work from a distance, "Alright, back to you guys."

"What's up with this chick?" One of the guys was a bit offended when she didn't see him and his posse as threats.

Blaze's eyes twitched at the callous remark but continued anyways. She was a patient girl after all, mastering her kind of ARTS required that.

"I'll explain, I'm sure you guys can understand...probably."

Blaze cleared her throat, for her looks one can tell that she isn't fond of doing these kinds of speeches.

"I am Blaze, one of Rhodes' elite Operators. Current objective being to cripple all of your combat capabilities. The intentions of your attempted invasion of a foreign city-state notwithstanding, we chiefly aim to disarm you." Which was Kal'tsit talk for "what you attempted was pretty bad but we still aim to just subdue and not kill you."

Continuing her plea, she caught on to the look of the enemies in front of her, even still she ignored that.

"Setting aside the physical injuries and property damage you have inflicted upon others, and attendant penalties, any attempt to resist at this point is pointless. Put down your weapons. You still have a chance." Blaze was as always put off at how formal this all is, but hey standard procedure is still a procedure.

Even though, the Reunion members she was trying to pacify saw it as insincere.

"My fellow Infected, I give you a choice:
Surrender and I will escort you to Rhodes Island, and subsequently deposit you somewhere more welcoming to the Infected." Columbia sounded like a good place to start over, a lot of people flock their whenever they get sick of living in these tyrannical nomadic societies.

"She-he blocked it with her bare hands!?" Blaze held a rusty blade in her palm like it was nothing, then she flipped over the attacker using his sword as a lever. That is without saying the other attackers were quickly repelled in almost lazy manner. At this point a futile attempt on her life was about what she expected if these geniuses didn't think that invading one of Yan's premier cities was a stupid idea.

Blaze patted her hand and sighed for the third time, "Sorry, but I did gave you an easy way out." A hot mist accompanied her breath, her eyes twinkled a scarlet red.

"You think we will let you just lock us up? Like we're children in a time-out? As if!" A one-eyed Reunion Soldier barked at her.

"There's a time and place for fight and for flight, of course the time is for the latter." Blaze explained like a mother would to their three-year old, "If that's your decision then all I can do is to retaliate, no hard feelings."

The elite then raised her hand almost like she was summoning a powerful force.

"Either way, I don't need my chainsaw... and for what its worth I don't want to fight my fellow Infected."

Blaze's hand started to glow red, of course it was pretty clear on what she was doing to the onlookers. The world in her eyes started to tint red as she used her ability, her inhibitor collar glowing brightly.

"That cat is using her ARTS!" They rushed towards Blaze, but it was all in vain, "Her body is steaming up!"

They were mistaken however, it wasn't just her body that was heating up. The steam can be seen throughout the whole vicinity, streetlight posts turned molten in a red-hot light the definitive proof that they were exposed to heat, glass was melting while the ground was like a cast-iron and every pore in their bodies sweated; cooking them inside their clothes like a sick sort of dumpling.

The question was if the air was getting hot around her or them?

Blaze taunted them with a smirk. "Come on, Rhodes has a hot spring now too...or you guys would prefer a Sami bath instead? Either way...it's on me."

The Reunion soldiers there couldn't even scream in terror as their breaths vaporized inside the furnace they were stuck in.

It took four minutes for her to dispatch the whole squad of grown men, the intense heat made it more difficult for them to fight back. Their baggy clothes were like that tin-foil cooked them alive in the steam.

One of them made a weak left hook that Blaze countered easily. Another tried to cut her open but it was in vain as Blaze easily knock his weapon to the open skin of his comrade, the crude steel branding him with his ally's weapon.

The rest readied their attacks, their acts of desperation was just a downer on Blaze's spirit.

She sighed heavily as sweat dripped on her face. "Lungmen...is too humid..."

0o0

"Hah..." Blaze stretched her body upwards, moaning in delight as her sore joints were popping out of their rigid state, "Luckily I already had a bit of a warm up back in Chernobog but really, I didn't even break a sweat."

Blaze looked at her defeated captives, one of them still standing, looking a bit amused at how much of a fight he was putting. As much amusement a fight like this would give someone anyways.

"You...you're a disgrace to the Infected...How could you turn on your own like that just to help Lungmen?" Those were the ramblings of someone who can't accept defeat, Blaze sighed at his outrage like she heard the same spiel before.

Oh wait, she kinda did.

"So you'll hand us over them, Phah! Bullshit! How could you live with yourself? Don't think that will clean your hands!"

Blaze didn't show it but his words rang in her ears, she was almost impressed at how well he was holding out compared to his friends, still his skin was clearly red-hot because of the heat.

"Not bad...you ate quite the beating and you still have the energy to talk trash." Blaze lazily waved her hand, she was now leaning on her chainsaw to relax but it was time to turn things up.

"But you've got it wrong."

"Mmf!" He could feel hot air go through his system, he was choking but he could still freely talk. Yet his words are nothing but gargles of pain.

His insides felt like steamed fish, tender, moist, but also slowly and surely, dying.

"Have trouble breathing? Feel like your lungs had breathed in a Sichuan farm?" Blaze ignored the man gagging on his breath, "It goes down to your sinuses, then crawls down your windpipe until in finds itself cozy in your diaphragm. All I have to do is to wiggle my pinky and..."

He will implode from the inside out, heat will incinerate his organs and erupt out of his pores; cooking his exterior to a tasty steam.

Blaze lazily raised her hand. "The funny thing is Lungmen might let you live...but me and my pinky..."

The Reunion Member looked at her in horror, it was like what she said. The pain had no words and they were all so stupid to be literally wrapped under her little finger.

"Noooo! Let me go! I beg you!" Underneath the veneer of a revolutionary, this guy was just a dude. He would happily drop this gig to live a normal life and Blaze knowing that smiled at his surrender.

"Fine, luckily I'm a merciful person." Blaze cheerily said to suffering man, "Hey officer, you mind taking this guy away? Oh and my new Ursus buddy, try and put up a better fight next time."

An L.G.D Guard looked at her in confusion, but shrugged anyways. Leaving while muttering something about "weird ARTS users..."

"Oh hey! You made it Doc!" Blaze glanced at the Doctor dropping down from his grappling hook, catching a glimpse of his Persona, she was still confused at how that thing worked, "How's the L.G.D leader?"

From her tone, she wasn't exactly fond of Ch'en. As cool and determined as she was, to her she is still fighting for a place that mistreats the Infected. Not to mention she did technically left them for the wolves back there.

The Doctor sensed the edge in her voice, there was some slight annoyance when she addressed her. Was it because she prioritized Lungmen over them went it was attacked? They knew what was at risk when going there so him and Amiya didn't really see as abandonment. After this is all over, he hoped that Amiya and him can talk to the woman about that since she seemed to beating herself over it.

Amiya herself admitted that she would have probably done the same thing if the Ark was put under the same situation, as much as she dislikes the idea.

"She's called Ch'en..." The Doctor replied, a bit miffed at how she addressed one of his friends; Blaze at the very least knew what her name is, "She's fine, since she's a more experienced fighter than the previous awakened the medicine worked quick; she's actually on her feet after I did some curative ARTS."

Nothing like a Diarama to patch those nasty cuts and scrapes.

Moving on from talking about Ch'en he decided to focus on the previous matter at hand. "Still...that's a bit harsh...I won't deny that it works though." The Doctor was considering if he should take some pointers if he needed a bit of intimidation. He didn't think of himself to be the scary type.

"Hey! That's rich coming from you Doc." Blaze bit back in mock anger, "I heard that you froze a whole room using your ARTS back at Siesta." It was more or less because she goaded Amiya into telling her what the Doctor did previously, the bunny herself only heard that from Vigna after the rest of their band performed.

The Doctor hand-waved it off. "I just bound them temporarily is all, Vigna was the one who knocked them out."

"Details, sides if I can put the fear of Blaze in em' then that would demoralize them right?"

Again, the Doctor cannot deny the results. That guy was begging to be detained after Blaze did her handiwork and he still had all his limbs, although he might have developed a fear of saunas on that instant.

"How about we don't steer the Doctor astray..." A certain bunny interjected, Amiya was just finished coordinating with the rest of Rhodes' currently deployed teams.

"Bunny!" Blaze suddenly picked up Amiya like she was a stuffed toy.

The Doctor could have sworn that he saw Blaze generate an afterimage with her swiftness.

"Don't scoop me up like a toy!" The toy in question protested, the Doctor weakly smiled at how carefree one of these Elite Operators can be. The bunny girl struggled to break free from the physically stronger cat girl.

"But you're just so soft...hey stop struggling." Amiya was pinching at her nose in hopes of breaking free, even with a Persona she couldn't hope to stand up against the touchy-feely types, "Come on, just it let it happen. I don't bite, I promise."

If you have to reassure that to someone, then you probably don't have the best of impressions.

Amiya's struggle was in vain however, as she had her face headfirst onto Blaze's chest. Smothered by the bear hug the Feline was doing she was still flailing.

"Blaze...the girl can't breathe." The Doctor finally said as the Feline realized that she was overdoing it, Amiya was freed from the embrace that was her prison.

Amiya coughed a bit before pouting at her in annoyance, "Geez, we've been separated from only hours...please take things more seriously."

"I take it back, you aren't cute." Blaze childishly pouted back at her, only to feel her head being penetrated by a particularly vengeful drill, "Ow, ow, ok sheesh. Don't screw with my emotions like that."

Blaze clutched her head like a beaten dog, her gaze falling on a familiar figure on accident.

"Wait..." Her tone darkened, "She's here with you?"

There was a newcomer that tagged along with Amiya, it must have been one of the Operators that Amiya contacted to assist them. It was young woman, if the Doctor would guess she was at least as old as Folinic.

Then again, appearance and age are not consistent given how Liberi and Sarkaz biology works.

She wore grayish apparel bearing the Rhodes Island logo, from her hefty crossbow it was pretty obvious that she is a Sniper. A perfect choice given that most of the fighters in their little party are either melee or mid-range.

That being said, The Doctor should really take his Sniper training to heart after this conflict.

"Hello." The newcomer greeted politely, there was no enthusiasm or hesitance in her voice only firm assurance that she will do her role, "I'm-"

"I know who you are-" Blaze rudely cut her off, looking at her comrade like she wanted to singe her skin but before she could continue the Doctor stopped her.

"Well I don't." The Doctor was already getting irritated at the elite Operator's lack of tact, a far cry from Ace's warm resolve, "Please continue."

The young woman bowed in gratitude, ignoring Blaze's sharp gaze, "I'm Greythroat, Amiya told me a lot about you...I hope we get along."

Blaze coughed mockingly.

"Ah, R110. Now I remember." The Doctor said as he remembered what was on the files he skimmed, "Well then, glad to have you Greythroat."

He outstretched his arm, offering a handshake as a gesture of trust and goodwill.

"Hmph." Blaze heckled, "Just know that if you talk to my fellow Infected like that again, I'll rip your throat myself."

"Blaze!"

"Sorry Amiya," Her face didn't hold any remorse however, "But that's just how it is, she deserves a warning anyhow."

There was clearly some bad blood between two, that statement was even harsher than her callous remark about Ch'en earlier. This wouldn't be ideal if they had to fight together as a team, but then again that might be the reason why Amiya chose her.

As he is, the Doctor is still inexperienced compared to his past self so maybe this was a test for him as much as it was for the unlikely duo.

"I don't know what happened between you two, but please keep that to yourselves while were here." The Doctor already had a feeling that Blaze was a loose cannon, a woman of emotion rather than logic, so he had to intervene. Blaze calmed somewhat as she noticed the Doctor getting annoyed at her surprisingly abrasive side, "We can't drive Reunion out if we ourselves aren't cooperating."

"Ok." Blaze replied, not facing the Doctor, "I'm gonna rendezvous at the next waypoint, later."

Blaze left under the guise of the mission but both Amiya and the Doctor knew that she also wanted to go cool off. The Doctor had a point, those mooks were weak but they did have solidarity and sometimes a stronger friendship is more lethal than any sword. However she couldn't stomach teaming up with a person that would disrespect her people like that.

And so, the Feline left the trio in a bit of awkward situation.

"Greythroat, I think Blaze might have misunderstood you." Amiya tried to break the ice, it was an understatement if Blaze's attitude was anything to go by.

"It's fine." Greythroat didn't seem to bothered about it, she seemed to expect such reception, "I really did say those things."

Interpretation aside, it was probably something touchy about the Infected's situation in Terra, of course he had no right to press if it really was a personal dispute. However, if it was a matter of ideals then...

"It isn't right to bring your past like that just to hurt the person you are now."

The Doctor looked at them confused, where did that outburst come from? He did not know about the past of his Operators so who was he to talk. Yet, for some reason Greythroat's plight resonated with him. His words sounded more as a refutation to someone else rather than the person in question.

Amiya however, agreed with his sentiments. She was a person who was full of weakness in her past as well, change was not foreign to her anymore.

"The Doctor is right, she has no right to-"

"Whose to say that I did change?" Greythroat dryly asked Amiya, "What if I'm still the same?"

Greythroat's words were an echo of his doubts, those doubts themselves were something he cannot describe. Countless times he asked what he was like before only to be met with a vague answer of changing to those who know him. What changed within him? It was frightening thought, all he could do is take their word for it. He knows his trust isn't misplaced but he wouldn't have been so sure if there wasn't any doubts.

But that's why he's here, faith is the only thing he can have.

"I'm sorry but this "you" is the only one I know so far." The Doctor apologized, "But as first impressions go...well your already better than Kal'tsit."

He laughed at his own joke, trying to defuse the mood a little even Amiya joined in with a little chuckle of her own. Although that's another enigma in the back of his mind, what warranted Kal'tsit's original coldness? Why couldn't she tell him so that he can make up for that transgression? It pained him that he might have hurt this kind woman in the past and he did nothing to make amends.

"It doesn't matter. I'm here because I have a mission, I won't be deterred no matter what that Blaze says."

So she says, but there was the slightest twitch in her mouth as those words left her. Greythroat left the two alone in order to reach her assigned point, looking back from her the Doctor noticed how swift the girl actually was even with the hefty crossbow on her person.

"Greythroat isn't Infected right?" The Doctor asked Amiya, nodding shyly, "I see...then no wonder. She might have a grasp on our current situation."

"Hey Amiya, she seems lost to me." It was pretty clear even to him that she exudes an unsure aura. Her demeanor was professional but forced, it's rigid and inflexible. Something that you can only develop when you're so used to taking orders and doing things by the letter.

Amiya sighed as even she didn't know how to describe Greythroat, "Yeah, she's a solitary person. But she's a reliable person even if we can't help her, she can still help you."

"That doesn't seem fair."

"Perhaps, but she's the only who can find herself." Amiya looked beyond with a pensive stare, "She has no malice, actually she's a well-meaning person. It's just that this operation might be what makes her stay or leave Rhodes."

"You sound like Kal right now, only more understandable."

"You think so?" Amiya's eyes lit up, "However, as much as it we look outside sometimes we have to look inward. I mean I learned that from you Doctor."

The Doctor looked at his Persona, the reflection of his self. Having one after all meant that you know who you are, at least that was what was told to him by Igor. If an amnesiac like him can cultivate a semblance of a self, then Greythroat had better ground to work on.

However...

"Are you sure Greythroat isn't the only one we have to worry about?" Amiya already knew on who he was referring to, "Blaze has a lot in common with Reunion..."

If he was talking to anyone else, he would be berated for even entertaining the thought of such a thing. However, Amiya who had a better background with the Guard agreed. Blaze had the fiery impulsiveness that many of Reunion's men live on, she's also pretty volatile when her fellow Infected are brought into scrutiny or being mistreated.

"I'm not saying that she might turn traitor but I fear that she might clash with Greythroat and jeopardize the mission."

Both Operators don't know the full story but in contrast to Greythroat's avoidance towards the topic, Blaze is like a fireball. A big sister who wants to protect her kin. Bias is as much of a shortcoming as someone's lack of empathy.

Skullshatterer taught the two the dangers of being clouded by one's perspective, the ending was nothing short of unwanted but in a dismal sort of way, expected.

"It's a fair observation, if Reunion was still what it used to say it was years then Blaze might have considered absorbing them to Rhodes Island. However, Blaze knows when to be professional even though it's hard to imagine." Amiya added her two cents, "Even so that incident killed whatever sympathy she had for Reunion."

It almost did the Doctor's in as well, if not for learning about the layer of darkness that skewered strings in Reunion's heart then he would be the on the forefront of destroying the husk of an organization.

Amiya chuckled. "Believe it or not, she was giving the training gear the business after you were rescued. She sees hypocrisy when she sees it, asking Reunion if they were any better than the ones they were fighting."

The Doctor bit his lip, knowing that a demon seduced many of Reunion to do its bidding.

In hindsight, he was so focused in helping someone that he forgot the discrepancies of their first meeting. That thing looked so confident in its plan that it met with him at the same restaurant he met the girl that was the catalyst of all this. The Talulah he was helping was under borrowed time, even though he can feel his bond with her as genuine.

Just how long has this assault been planned? If it went this deep then why did it fail so badly?

"Ace...I hope that after all of this, his and our other comrades' sacrifices were worth it. What did Mephisto mean when I was suppose to be with them?" The Doctor did not expect an answer from Amiya but asked anyway, "What made me so valuable to Reunion?"

It was somewhat puzzling to ask this of Amiya. Of course she had no idea, Reunion knowing of the Doctor's existence was already a puzzle in it of itself. However, it didn't take her power to know that he was grappling with some heavy thoughts right now. But that wasn't important given the current situation at least to the Doctor's point-of-view.

"That...I cannot say." The Doctor nodded, he was just venting somewhat to her. This situation is nothing but stressful for all of them, if being there for him would mitigate him losing his sanity then that's what Amiya will do, "Although, we both know that it's only a matter of time for that to be answered."

She was right, they do not have luxury to think about anything other than the mission right now.

"By the way...where's Gavial?" The Doctor looked to the side to see said Archosaur's palm cracking the ground causing the leftover Reunion members to screech in fear.

It didn't take a genius to see that the correct answer was to whistle innocently and pretend to have seen nothing. Deciding that the best course of action was to steer the conversation into something more important.

"Anyways, I need more detail on the surroundings..." The Doctor then looked at his own map data but then...

The duo's eyes narrowed as they felt something amiss, a dark gale started to envelop a certain perimeter.

0o0

Reunion was trying to flee from Lungmen.

The entourage that Mephisto and Faust had assembled had lost their commanders, their temporary stronghold broken, and their morale was at an all time low.

They were being hunted down like the rats that they are, of course they only option they have left is to flee towards the slums of Lungmen where they could have more than enough time to leave this over-sized bear trap of a city.

That would all be good however, but there's a problem...

The LGD.

To signal their hopes being dashed was the flash of lightning accompanied by a rain of bullets, the only noise that was heard was the fleeting crash of thunder. Several of their people defeated in an instant, unable to rid themselves of their future incarcerations.

Swire and Ch'en were breathing heavily on the other hand after their squad took down twenty or so of Reunion's remaining forces in the enemy's squad. The dilemma that Reunion posed for them was that while they were hilariously weak as a guerrilla terrorist group, they had a stupid amount of people in their ranks. They were had no consistent strength, but they are mobile comparatively.

The objective was to break the enemy forces that are attempting to join in with their main formation. While their own forces are stalling the arrival of the enemy's main force, they'll be eliminating each of the remnants one by one.

Ch'en herself was still fighting with a heavy head, the medication that the Doctor administered help with coping with the fatigue her awakening gave her. The man was generous enough to give her items that can restore some SP, the quantitative term for the resource of her Persona, but it wasn't a full recovery.

"Zionga!" Ch'en blasted a faraway caster with a single word, the bolt easily penetrating its target.

Her colleague was surprised but like hell will Swire show that to her. Not to mention the giant dragon behind her was quite terrifying.

"Since when can you do that?" Swire wondered as she struck an enemy trying to break their formation, "Last time I checked, you didn't have any ARTS nor are you an Infected."

"Same deal with Rhodes and Miss Ceylon's ARTS." Ch'en said as she had her dragon thing slash through a Defender's armor with ease, granted it took two bolts of Zionga before, "What? You jealous?"

"Yeah, right." The scion scoffed but Ch'en's cockiness set her off for sure, "Just clarifying if your an Infected, cuz that would force you to retire!"

Drones emptied their payload as Swire finished her insult. For all the time in the force that she accumulated there was nothing weirder than these past few days. The cherry on top was that her superior for some inexplicable reason can shoot out lightning and cleave entire squads with a giant dragon.

Her detective instincts were failing her as she tried to make sense of any of this, with a heavy heave of frustration she slashed through a guy's face with her trusty whip.

"Alright! You bastards...I'm gonna go blow off some steam." Her whip crack might as well been the very lightning Ch'en can use with the glint in her eyes.

"Madam!" One of her own tried to stop her from going ahead of their Defenders, but Swire didn't heed him.

"LGD Defender squad, shields up! Stand firm!" Swire called out, "Play it like we have countless times and never forget, your brothers and sisters are right behind you!"

The LGD roared in unison, their morale boosted their already sturdy defenses. They will never show any mercy to those who dared to invade their home. Right now, even if a Catastrophe decides to pierce through their great wall they could never hope to break through.

"That's more like it!"

Ch'en meanwhile slashed through another poorly-maintained shield and kicked the enemy's gut. She parried a bolt of ARTS headed her way and countered with a Zionga, luckily her Persona covered her weakness as a swordswoman.

The enemy didn't know how to deal with her, get in close and she will just tear you apart with her blade and get far from her and she will strike you with lightning. Reunion has yet to realize that the dragon she can summon had better aim than her, but they do know that electricity hurts.

"Phew," Ch'en sighed as she was done with her half, "You good?"

She looked back to see Swire, strangling a guy by the chain. Behind the woman was a row of knocked down Reunion soldiers, slash marks decorating their bodies like a red ball-pen on paper.

"I'm good!" She shouted back at her, then looked back at the hapless soul fleeing with his comrades, "Oh no you don't!"

"No you're not, you're taking too long!" Ch'en dashed towards her colleague to support her, striking a Caster that had Swire dead to rights with her momentum.

"I saw that you know!"

"Sure, sure!" Ch'en rolled her eyes as she blocked a rusty pipe from a desperate Reunion thug, smacking him with the blade's blunt side to knock him out.

"Fine be like that!"

Swire fiercely shouted at her, sprinting towards the enemy to generate some momentum. The tiger girl had her drones occupy the attention of her prey, dive-kicking the guy who had his back turned on her with the cumulative force that she procured; using his body as a platform she leveled the ground with the gigantic end of her flail, creating a small crater from the road.

Frustration was the right word to describe what she was feeling right now, anger wouldn't be accurate. How long was it since they fought together? Then again knowing her she would deny that, it was more like they were fighting the same enemy together.

Semantics, yeah.

"Crossbows!"

A rain of arrows descended from their Snipers, there was no way that Reunion could dodge this attack. Reunion's forces dropped like flies as they just ran towards an arrow while trying to flee. This of course left them with only one choice.

"With me!" One of them rallied, raising his weapon to air, "We can break them."

Strung along by his words and their desperate situation the remaining hostiles rushed towards their main obstruction. Ch'en and Swire went out of the way as to not get trampled by the stampede.

"Pikes, hold!"

Their Vanguards raised their lances to meet the enemy, there was no way to change their direction. The momentum was too much as the middle cannot retract with their movements, this was an all-or-nothing gambit. They get to live if they managed to break through but they will be dead or worse of they fail.

Reunion did not mind either outcome.

0o0

I wonder...if we haven't met would thing turn out different?

I knew from the start that we never really had a chance to defeat them but I stood by you even after all that. They were too strong, we underestimated how strong these people are, they were far from the cowards that Ursus had, the citizens that we tormented.

The people we killed, the people that were minding themselves, did they actually deserve what we did to them? We didn't stop at the guards haven't we, we also hurt the women and the children of that place. We justified all of this as retribution as justice but that wasn't it, is it?

They looked like a lot like us, a lot like you, when we fed them to the wolves we saw their faces of despair; their faces of desperation. I knew all along that it wasn't right, this wasn't war, this wasn't liberation anymore.

This was terrorism, nothing more.

Was this the only path we could have taken? How did we free our people when we carved our sigil onto their buildings? How did we made a paradise for our friends when the air wafted such a fowl smell? Where was the light that our Movement promised when we took over Chernobog?

Ah, the light our banner was supposed to create dimmed when she died.

There was something wrong with her ever since that day, the grim look in her eyes, looking back on it there was a burning fire in those things. Flames that threatened to consume anything in her way, leaving nothing but ashes for her goal even we become kindling on that path.

Yet, I stood by. I was complicit in all of this, I let you become this, I...

!?

If this is my punishment, then I suppose it is fitting. This is my fate for not running away, the one time that fleeing wouldn't be cowardice. The one time I...

It's dark...so dark...so cold...

I'm sorry Eno.

You have to...live on...

In another time, I wish that we could just run away.

0o0

Dark skies turned darker as the crackle of thunder signaled a dreadful arrival. Winds bellowed and trees shook in fear. Everyone near a half-mile radius saw it, an abnormality that they were sure isn't caused by Reunion this time.

No, this preceded the need to deal with them.

"All Operators, do not engage with the abnormality! I repeat do not engage!" Amiya shouted firmly from her communications device, she fiddled through every ally channel she had. Moreover, she called Kal'tsit and Ceylon to deploy surveillance drones and to assist them respectively.

However, for some unknown reason the Feline was nowhere to be seen.

"You got through Ch'en?" The Doctor asked, swinging right and left from every street lamp and post that he could find while carrying their leader on his back. He was wondering where Kal'tsit would be at a time like this still but there were bigger problems currently.

"Yeah! I warned her about this anomaly." She replied, looking at the Doctor with a worried face, "How could a Shadow even manifest here?"

The Doctor gritted his teeth, how indeed. But there was no denying it, that feeling was all too familiar to the Persona users. The dread, the repressed darkness finally spilling out from the unfortunate heart that failed to control their Shadow. The stronger the Shadow, the stronger the potential of the Person to be a Persona-user or at least the ones that manage to manifest spontaneously.

"This is different from that time in Siesta, it isn't corrupting a location using the gathered negativity to its ends." The Doctor recalled every instance that they had to fight these things, "You feel it too right? It's a singular Shadow..."

Then it clicked.

"This is similar to Skullshatterer's..."

The way the walking corpse frittered while carrying a monstrously cartoonish grenade launcher, its strongest attack was condensing his comrades into a pulsating dark round for his weapon. If that is what they were going to fight again, they would rather fight that corrupted Originium Slug again.

"Then..."

"Yeah..."

They landed near the target area, the only open area was the small parking lot near a few offices and a convenience store. The area was enveloping a presumably deserted part of this sector of Lungmen, the only way get inside the shadowy boundary conventionally was going inside the alleyway leading up to it.

How a Shadow can manifest like this, not to mention the area its enveloping is beyond them.

Retracting his grapple back to him, the Doctor checked his current equipment. Having to forge another hook sword courtesy of Vulcan, his Brightclaw gleamed against the darkness that this dome in front of them foreboded.

"You ready?" He looked over Amiya who was putting on a new ring that they made together, making those things was a breakthrough in itself that was only exclusive to Amiya's use for the time being but this catalyst had more power behind it, three more micro-lines grafted inside it.

As Amiya confirmed him, six people dropped nearby. Blaze was barely waved eagerly at the two while Greythroat sighed at her antics.

"I'm sorry Amiya, I try to warn her but she wouldn't listen."

Pretending that Greythroat wasn't there she approached the two, dropping her cheeriness. It was clear to her that the two are very serious about this thing that just popped at.

"So...what's this?"

"Yes, I would like an answer to that too." A voice came from behind, "Amiya, Doctor."

Ch'en looked at her subordinate who had to follow her around, "Swire, you should really fall back."

"Likewise, beside we already got the warning that we shouldn't even touch this thing." Swire retorted, "And yeah...what is this thing? Can any of you explain why there's a giant shadowy dome eating up Pai Sho Dry Cleaners?"

"Well...if I had to wager a guess..." A new voice came from the south, "It's similar to the one we encountered before...Amiya, Doctor?"

Unlike the other four, these two were actually called for by Amiya. Ceylon's weapon looked a bit different and Schwarz was more vigilant than ever.

"Yes...that's right." Amiya spoke for the two, "We don't know how but we have to go inside that thing, or else it will just be worse."

Forget Reunion, this thing was a bigger threat than what anything Reunion did up until this point.

"Finally, something simple." Ch'en popped her joints as she tried to enter the barrier, "I'm gonna go-"

The Doctor this time was the one to interject, stopping her from going in.

"What?" Ch'en asked, "Look, I can handle this. If you want to join me, I won't stop you."

"You should sit this one out Ch'en." The Doctor bluntly said to her, the Doctor wasn't that dense to see her being hurt at that, "No, I mean it's just we four have experience in dealing with this phenomenon. Your responsibility is to the city, this...this is ours."

Blaze grinned, eager to take action as ever.

"You heard em, come on Doc, Amiya, let's g-"

"That goes double to you Blaze." Amiya looked at her with a steely gaze, there wasn't any room to debate this time. "You'll be worse off compared to Ch'en here."

"Ch'en?" Blaze raised an eyebrow, picking up on how familiar Amiya is to her.

"She's a friend."

"I see..." Thankfully Blaze was tactful enough to drop her questions, besides there's a bigger threat looming right now, "That being said, I won't let you four just go there."

There was no hope in talking them done, Amiya sighed and looked at the Doctor. He nodded, they might as well cave in since these two don't know how to listen. Ch'en is going to have to fight them in the future anyways since she has a Persona now.

"Alright. Whoever wants to join us, go ahead." The Doctor proclaimed, earning a grin from Blaze, "However, you are under my command for the rest of the battle. Don't deviate, don't be cocky, and don't get killed, got it?"

Satisfied at the two nodding, he looked over to Ch'en's comrade.

"Miss Swire, thank you for the assistance back at Chernobog." The Doctor's demeanor turned gentler, "May I ask you to assist Greythroat in securing the perimeter here? We can only ask for ten minutes and the less people get involved with this, the better."

Caught off-guard at how amicable the man was, she took a second to think. Of course, they both would like involvement with this anomaly to be fewer and clearly this people know what they are dealing with compared to her.

"Fine, you guys are welcome by the way." Swire nodded, calling for a few of her men nearby to form a perimeter around the area, "You two make sure that this idiot doesn't get herself killed." Referring to the Doctor and Amiya.

Before Ch'en could bark back at her slight jab, the Feline already left to get into position; all the while calling upon some of her drones to scout and eliminate any stragglers that are unfortunate enough to be on her prowl.

"Greythroat, if we aren't here after ten to fifteen minutes you must move on the next checkpoint without us." Amiya relayed, giving her a transcript to be used on her communications device, "Send this to Doctor Kal'tsit."

Coordinates and an SOS Message.

Even though she was driven nervous at how serious the four are acting, Greythroat heeded her words nevertheless. Orders are orders after all, but the idea of going in alone if they fail was something that she doesn't know if she can accomplish.

The Liberi Sniper then left to guard her post after accepting the role she was given, although she was ready to commit to their directions why did she felt anxious at how Amiya delivered it?

Was the situation really that dire?

"Schwarz, do you need me to lend you a Persona?" The Doctor asked, ironically enough the only Persona he could lend that wouldn't be bad is Ifreet. He didn't fuse a good Hanged Man before this venture.

"You need all the choices you can get Doctor, besides you four are sufficient enough." The bodyguard is as logical as ever in the midst of battle, "I'll provide covering fire as I ever did to protect all of us."

Who was he to dispute that against someone who's been fighting longer than he is.

"Now that all that has been settled..." He really should thank Swire for not asking too many questions about this, "Ready?"

With serious looks they nodded unanimously.

[Entering: Distorted Soul Space]

Darkness.

That was what the party expected when they entered this anomalous boundary, but what they were treated with was something far different.

Towering buildings of Ursus surrounded the moderately sized concrete circle, it was almost as if they were looking down on them. However, the four who knew of this anomaly can already see this as nothing but a mirage. There was no air and yet they found themselves able to breathe.

"Good lord...were we teleported?" Ch'en couldn't begin to fathom what ARTS this is supposed to be, is this a liminal space or a wormhole of sorts?

"Not quite..." The Doctor noticed the difference between this and Skullshatterer's boundary, the latter was more of a one-way forcefield this was like a pocket dimension of some sorts, "Skullshatterer pulled out something like this before but there wasn't any background covering the area."

At least he has something to ask Igor and Sherry after this.

Ch'en on the other hand was taken aback, they had to deal with this as early as their first few weeks in Lungmen? No wonder the two looked worse for wear after they dealt with him, and no wonder he was insistent on them falling back.

Blaze who was confused as to what was going on, decided to look around for anything of note. The vibes this place was giving her was already high on the spookiness to her. All the stoplights were glowing red sort of like eyes and thanks to the vast haze surrounding them they looked the part.

All she knew was that there's supposed to be an enemy here, but where?

Behind!?

A black arrow spurted out of nowhere, it would have hit her directly if it wasn't for her keen hearing.

"It's here!?" Of course it was, the Doctor looked at where the Shadow could be but as they already confirmed it was nowhere to be seen. The attack came from the haze surrounding them.

That meant only one thing!

"It's hiding inside the haze!" Amiya and Ch'en shouted in unison, the former readying her ARTS, the claw and her bullets. The pulsating scarlet claw of energy was surprising to both the dragon and the cat.

Chink! Tink!

Ever vigilant, Ch'en used her sword to predict and deflect the next attacks coming their way. But they can't keep on fighting like this, they were nothing but sitting ducks in this state. What can they do though, the enemy is hiding within the very boundary of the distortion?

"I'll be bait!" The Doctor announced, the others looked at him with concerned, "Don't worry, I have just the Persona for the situation." He said as he called out Shiki-Ouji, an invaluable asset in his new work on the field.

"Are you insane Doc!" Blaze protested as she parried another projectile, she had an idea of how strong he is but that was a proposal than even she thinks is stupid.

"I have to agree with her, tch!" Ch'en flinched, was it her or the attacks just keep getting faster and stronger, "I'll go-"

"No." Schwarz interjected after firing three shots, "The Doctor's the best person for this role."

Schwarz remembered the strange spirit that blocked all of her attempts in attacking him back then, of course she was holding back herself but returning an attack back at her was pretty strong.

"I'll go return fire the moment they attack!" Schwarz offered as she started to take aim, "Ceylon, Amiya can you cover for me?"

"On it!"

The Doctor split off from their little legion in order to draw the Shadow's focus on to him, running around the arena like a chicken with its head cut off. While Schwarz adjusted her aim to an angle where she can hit the enemy while the Doctor's running around.

The moment they fire a shot, the Doctor will step back to absorb or deflect the blow an in turn it would hopefully leave a window to which she can make her move.

Shadows are primarily made of base emotions and impulses after all, no matter how crafty a Shadow can be then its easy to exploit their behavior. When the Shadow attacks it also designates its whereabouts.

Fwish!

The ebony bolt fired towards the Doctor as planned, dashing backward he was ready to take the attack. If any other Sniper was appointed to do this it would be a risk, but with Schwarz it was a sure bet.

Fwish!

A direct hit.

The environment warped around them after the shot collided with its target; the Shadow letting out a low growl, but as soon as the distortion cleared a shadow zoomed out of the haze.

"This is..." Ceylon looked at their enemy, this wasn't like before where she was running ragged and barely accustomed to the tides of conflict. She was an Operator now, this wasn't her first encounter anymore.

Yet, what they were looking at was another beast in its entirety.

A tall lithe figure arose from the veil it was hiding from, a raggedy jacket enveloped its body with the ends of it crackling like the molt from a snake shedding its skin. The Shadow had dark aquamarine hair, its eyes were covered by a black cloth but it didn't its eyes to fight from what they knew of.

It wasn't even the worst part.

It slowly dawned on the six as to who was the cause of this distortion, the Doctor in particular whitened in horror. Not because it was strong, not because of those strange abilities, and definitely not because of its look.

No.

It was because of the two crossbows and the white bird perched on its shoulder.

[Play: Vim and Vigor from Kingdom Hearts 2]

Rapid-firing arrows, the Shadow blasted an enumerable amount of arrows towards them; forcing them to split up and avoid the precise bolts as best as they can.

"Tch!" The Doctor gritted as he was scraped by one of the arrows, so in retaliation he fired a big hunk of ice at his enemy. Then another and another and finally a slash of ice for good measure.

While it focused on him, the others were preparing their own attacks.

"Now!" The Doctor beckoned to Amiya, Blaze, and Ch'en as he was busy fending off the brunt of the enraged Shadow's assault. Amiya blasted the Shadow with her ARTS and Ch'en shot a bolt of lightning with her dragon.

He rolled to the side, then to the front of the Shadow, for each maneuver they made the party was in danger of being grazed by its attacks. The Doctor would prefer not to find out if those things did anything other than slice his epidermis.

Ceylon on the other hand was in rotation of firing water at the enemy and healing any injuries her comrades might have, she was thankful that years of study translated to being pretty efficiency in using her Persona. Meanwhile Blaze was tearing through the thing with her chainsaw, struggling to cut through the horror even a centimeter deep.

"The hell is thing made of!" Blaze shouted, "Our weapons are barely doing scratches to it!"

Even the top-grade Raythean sword that Ch'en wields was no more than an iron pipe to this thing. Amiya's melee ARTS was the best thing they have in terms of weaponry here but that if the fight prolongs her use of it she won't have any left in her, but the claws stuck to the Shadow's body and dug through it as it should.

But as she sectioned the monster bit by bit, the Shadow reformed from all its injuries.

It wasn't recovering per se, Amiya can sense that this thing felt the pain her and other's attacks are doing. She can feel that the Shadow was losing its power with each hit, the monster was shambling ever so slightly amidst its calculated rampage.

However, she was suddenly hit by an arrow out of nowhere.

Amiya paled. "Behind!? How!?"

Their opponent won't ever give them the luxury to think, there was no time to come up with something. The Doctor tried to respond in a fit of outrage but even that was too slow, Sukukaja couldn't help in reaching that distance.

"Miseria!" Instinctively she called out to her power as a porcelain mask cracked in front of her face, Ch'en and Blaze had yet to see her Spirit ARTS so this was a surprise in it of itself.

Its roar echoed throughout the field and its claws radiated a crimson curse. With a silent command she tore through her attacker, a mechanized armament generated out of nowhere.

"A turret!?" The Doctor exclaimed for her, confirming to the two the true owner of this Shadow.

Amiya however wasn't going to let them do as they please, now knowing of its abilities she charged her own ARTS. Alongside her Persona she cut through enemy fire, chasing after the Shadow while the others locked it in place; barely holding on as the Shadow blasted them with wind.

"Miseria!"

The graceful monster focused energy on its crystalline horns, more devilish than bestial, cursed energy swirled and as the Shadow was preoccupied with the others.

"Eiga!"

The cursed bolt hit them square in the head.

0o0

Amidst the chaos of Shadows and the remnants of Mephisto's hoard skulks a familiar face. They were no stranger to wandering about, like a cat that couldn't sit still after their caretaker left for work. Indeed, her true race was a mystery, but those ears weren't all for show it seemed. Kal'tsit had her own personal business to attend to, she trusts that Closure and the others can fill in for her at least for a few minutes.

While she was still wary of the Doctor, she can admit that he is trustworthy. He truly did lost his memory, which was at first disappointing since she was ready to treat him like she used to in the past. Although in retrospect that was short-sighted of her, he was extremely amicable to an annoying degree.

Lungmen as always was a caricature of its bigger nation, this was Yan's golden goose after all. Any commander with a modicum of intelligence would see that attempting to invade this city was suicide. Even if they succeed, there was no chance that Yan would let them get away with pillaging their prized city nor can Reunion garner enough resources to make Lungmen more than over-sized paperweight.

That meant to Kal'tsit that whoever is playing this game wanted this conflict so badly, an attempt to stoke fires of warfare once more. A return to a more straightforward battle, not the deep espionage and capital wars of modern Terra.

Twisted it may be, it was a genius move. The reservoir of Infected is everlasting as long as Originium exists so it did not matter who was leading the charge to Lungmen, if they win then Reunion has a temporary stronghold even though its technically unusable but Yan would be busy taking it back, not to mention the massive resource sink they have to pay in order to accomplish that. If they lose then, there would be incentive to strike back harder.

Whatever the result will in turn make the paranoia and mistreatment of the Infected even harsher, pushing them back to Reunion's fold and thus, more soldiers with a myriad of abilities.

Yet there was still a missing piece to this mystery, the strategy and rationale is there but who benefits from this?

There was no doubt in her mind, that Ursus or at least those detestable nobles are somehow involved with this. A lot of people died because the nobles recognized the mobile city's value, the Sarcophagus alone even in its neutered state was a valuable asset to Ursus. Could it be that they let the mobile city fall for this purpose?

What purpose does the keys of Chernobog hold to a Draco with ties to Lungmen? What does Ursus stand to gain in starting a war using the Infected and Chernobog?

The current Ursus was a shell of its former self, could it really stand up to an economic power like Yan?

Kal'tsit stopped musing as her subordinate stopped fighting, instead she was pinning her prey down with a low growl.

"Projekt Red, don't kill her."

0o0

The Shadow's body, scarred by Amiya's attack was left still. Stuck at a state of free-fall it went spastic, denying the inevitable demise that the rabbit brought upon it. It still had a mission lying in its core. The white bird cried at its broken figure.

It had to protect someone right? To stall out the enemy? Then who is the enemy?

Enemy?

It had to be these people right?

The Shadow blipped out of existence, like a TV screen after closing the channel and like such the dome around the area went static. It left the white bird wondering where it went then the bird faded out of existence.

"What's going on?" Blaze wondered aloud as this abstract nightmare started to feel even worse for her.

Distracted by the strange occurrence she didn't see the bolt aimed to her head.

"Blaze!" Blaze saw a strange paper figure and the Doctor get in her line of sight, it all happened so fast that she couldn't even process what was happening.

The Doctor pushed her out of the way, ready to take the shot that was meant for her. Why was he doing this? Was he really going lay down that sacrifices her comrades made to retrieve him?

"Gah!" The Doctor on the other hand was shocked, his body felt like it was being ruptured by a javelin thrown at his torso.

Shiki-Ouji was supposed to reflect this attack back right, that was reason why he elected to be the decoy that the Shadow should focus on. The attack pierced through his iron defenses like it was made out of paper.

Admittedly, it is.

"Doctor!" The rest of the party called out as the Doctor was flung to the end of the arena like a high-schooler getting punched in the abdomen, crashing through the wall and ricocheting due to the impact. If it weren't for his Spirit ARTS, he would have been a flaccid pancake.

"Aquadyne!" Ceylon cried out in fury as she summoned her Spirit ARTS's strongest attack, but as it impacted the Shadow shrugged off the pressured water.

Taking a moment to stabilize himself, he called out Ophiuchus. Diarama coated his body and magically cured the gaping doughnut hole in his body, his organs restored but his clothes stayed punctured.

"Stay vigilant!" The Doctor hoarsely said, "This thing is just getting started, avoid its attacks at all costs and protect Ceylon."

If he goes down, Ceylon's the only one who can patch them up. He can argue than she might even be a better healer than him at the moment as she has more reserves to spare and she can still heal using her ARTS once her Persona's energy is used up.

Schwarz of course had that as her highest priority from the start.

Hooksword at the ready, the Doctor closed his eyes. Two or even three keen eyes are worthless against an enemy cloaked in darkness, in comparison his hearing had better odds.

Fwish!

"Do not rely on your eyes alone when facing a foe, do not only see with your eyes."

As the air around them changed he "saw" the bolt heading towards them, with rigid but practiced motion he swiftly met it with this blade.

"Kuh!" But the charged attack was much stronger, physical deflection or not, he would not take his chances on whether this attack can pierce through his defenses.

"Strength is important but so is wit and skill, you must be ready to sort your thoughts in a moment."

He cannot overcome this power head-on, that much he knows. But he didn't need to repel it fully, all the Doctor had to was to redirect it.

Tink! Came the chime of an excellent parry.

Fwish! Fwish!

Two!

The number, the action, and the speed of it was all that mattered to him at the moment. The arrows came towards Blaze's side and to Ceylon's leg.

Tink! Tink! Two down.

It was lighter attack; normal enough that Shiki-Ouji could deflect with ease, yet it helped it getting accustomed to the speed of the enemy.

Ch'en saw what he was doing and decided to imitate him, she had better skill with the blade than eight of the Doctor combined and if the best way to survive this phase was to parry the shots then she will concentrate with everything she's got.

As soon as she hears a change in the wind, she'll go towards it and slice the bolt in twain.

Fwish!

The arrow was blackened beyond shadow, the ebon bolt screamed powerful as it whizzed towards the target. It was towards Amiya this time, the bunny girl stayed still as she saw Ch'en rush towards her and deflect the attack. In that very moment, the experienced assassin had her arrow nocked.

"Schwarz, you know what to do." The Doctor beckoned to his reliable Operator, nodding affirmatively.

Like last time, the two will protect everyone as best as they can and the moment an attack from the enemy appears, Schwarz will return fire.

"Now!"

With a loud roar, her crossbow fired a grayish bolt of her own. ARTS filled the conductive arrow as it was ready to rip through the Shadow's body.

But in that instant.

BOOM!

The Shadow had a turret to intercept it.

"It used its own attack to shield itself!?" Blaze was guffawed, but as she processed what happened a white bolt flew towards her. She was a split-second late in dodging the attack, rewarding the enemy with her grazed leg.

"This is getting us nowhere!" Ch'en said in annoyance, she didn't like the fact that they are at the mercy of this cowardly enemy, "Show yourself coward!"

As if it heard Ch'en's anger the Shadow phased out of the barrier, its appearance drastically different from its initial visage.

The visor it had on its was cracked, the cloak looked even more tattered and ripped while its dark aquamarine hair turned erratic and savage. The fangs on its visor had cracks and dark energy started to surge towards it. After a while it was surrounded by an impenetrable dark cocoon.

USHAAAAA!

Tattered feathers descended as it broke out of its prison, the Shadow's snake tail was longer and darker and now it was adorned with a crown of feathers and a pair of broken wings.

Dread coursed through the party, the nightmare decided to grow ever stronger. Ch'en's eyebrows were twitching while her eyes are narrowed. Blaze breathed heavily whether it was because of the pressure the thing exuded or fear she didn't want to answer. Ceylon and Schwarz were holding up well in comparison but they too were shivering both in anxiety and anticipation, the former's Persona was practically screaming at her to end this monstrosity.

The ones who were there from the beginning, the Doctor and the CEO. To them their fear was expected, it was a horrifying sight yes but that did not compare to the idea that they had to be the ones to deal with this.

But hey, if they did it twice. A third one is just routine at this point.

"Rhodes Island, prepare for combat!"

0o0

Wei's hands were tied.

These turn of events were expected of course but to be this cornered...

That damn snake just wouldn't give up.

The horde that Liberi kid left behind was nothing more than a nuisance to his subordinates, yet it was taking too long to neutralize the enemy. The supervisor graciously gave their assistance in dealing with these pests, Wei was not a fool that they would do this without it being hold at it in the future.

But that is the price you have to pay for efficiency sometimes.

"Chief Wei, there is an unknown anomalous area detected nearby. What should we do?" By "we" they meant their comrades, normally he would let them deal with things now that the situation escalated, "Should we intervene?"

If it weren't for Rhodes Island's intel that Swire had relayed to him he would have more gray hairs after this is over. To think that ARTS in this fashion would exist...

"Negative, I have been notified of the situation regarding that." While he wasn't aware of the true nature of these things, he had a hunch that it would be disastrous if he ignored Swire's words, "Continue as you were, the Superintendent and Rhodes Island volunteered to deal with this anomaly."

"The Superintendent is fine but can we trust this organization?" Another member interjected, clear skepticism laced in her voice, "The people that raises flags the most are this so-called Doctor Kal'tsit and the other doctor without a name."

Wei grimaced at the mention of the former, there was something off about that woman even though her actions and motives were clear and understandable. He always had a feeling that the woman knew of every move he would make; as if she knew his hand before they deal.

It was interesting but not a feeling that he wants to experience again.

However, the Doctor on the other hand seemed trustworthy. He was however a mystery, was he an Infected or someone who sympathizes with their plight? Nevertheless, he was a fool if he didn't noticed that the man felt long-lived he might have seen his fair share of bloodshed as well. He radiated power and trusting a man who has yet to reveal all of his cards was the height of foolishness.

"Trust? Our relationship is a give and take, trust is mutually assured." There were still things Rhodes Island would want from them, they lack resources that Lungmen would happily compensate them for after this mess is sorted out, "Do not approach or even have them catch a glimpse of you."

"Might I remind you that you do not possess the authority to order us." The woman bit back, "We are willing to cooperate but if they themselves are a threat to our lands..."

Wei sighed deeply as he took a swift huff from his pipe, looking at the slums with a knowing grimace as his eyes glossed over sand streaming towards it.

"It wasn't an order, it's a warning."

0o0

"Parvati!" The Doctor called out the floral goddess to his side ordering her to fire psychedelic spheres towards the enemy, he dashed towards the fleet-footed hunter as they were distracted by the attacks his comrades added.

The Shadow wouldn't sit still, not lingering in one place it dashed towards the right; firing a wave of arrows to its enemies. Ch'en was setback by the fire while Blaze blocked it with her ARTS.

"Tch!" He grunted narrowly dodging a Garula meant for him. It wasn't the first time where his gift from Closure would be useless against an opponent. He couldn't tether the enemy and any attachment the hook had would be like a mosquito bite to it. If Blaze's chainsaw and Schwarz's arrows were nothing than a plastic knife and plunger arrows then what does his little trinket amount to?

Seeing himself cornered by all fronts by arrows he called out within...

"Ifreet!" The djinn blasted his opponent's attacks with a blaze of its own.

"Gah!" But the summoner was with by a harsh gale, as he was sent flying he bumped into Schwarz; sending the two back.

Ch'en and Blaze did not let this stand however, the two were doing their best to lock the monster in one place. Blaze was calling through every pore in her body while Qing-Long was raring to unleash its power.

"Zionga!" She roared as sparks struck the Shadow, to her surprise it frittered for a second; but that was all Blaze needed to bring the pain.

Releasing her chainsaw's extension module, the weapon roared as it was filled with both ARTS and her fury. It was crude and highly ineffective to a Shadow but a dull blade is just a slab of thin metal, it was still something you can use to bludgeon.

"Take this!"

The Shadow was pushed back by the heavy blow, Blaze sent it flying to the walls of the arena she even managed to crack the border. Yet it still stood, it was clear that it was sustaining severe damages from the way that it was limping. The Shadow's mask cracked even further to the point that it was on the brink of shattering.

"It's a monster but damn is it persistent." Blaze sweated as this thing double her size that she batted so hard was still alive albeit on its last legs. However, she was never one to underestimate the ferocity of cornered animals.

She was in their spot before after all.

GRAAAAA...

Suddenly its eyes shined a bright gold at them, burning its gaze to their eyes. The arena suddenly turned dark and it melted to the shadows. The party was now encased in an arena of pure darkness.

"Ifreet!" The Doctor called out, ordering it to generate a ball of Agilao. This was their only torch in the caress of the shadows.

Ceylon called out Amphitrite as well, casting Rakukaja on all of them.

The familiar sound of a nocked crossbow echoed like a shrill chord, as they were waiting for the shot in the dark their eyes narrowed.

Ten crossbows, twenty crossbows, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred.

There was no point in counting anymore nor was the purpose of dodging an attack. If it was endless so be it.

All they can do is confront the assault head-on.

"Doctor..." Blaze called out, "I think I can stop at least fifty-percent of these attacks if I went all-out. That enough to close in the gap with our feisty friend here."

"Blaze!?" Amiya said in shock, "No, you'll burn yourself to a crisp; if I use my Spirit Burst then..."

"No one's doing anything reckless!" The Doctor interjected, "Got it? You two need to conserve your strength and especially you Blaze."

Blaze bit her lip in frustration. "Why not? It's not like we have a choice."

"Then I'll go!" Ch'en butted in, "I can manage a single draw from this sword. After that I'll either turn to dust or be out-of-commission for a while, I still don't understand the specifics of this Spirit ARTS but-"

"NO!" The Doctor shouted this time, "No one's sacrificing themselves alright! No one's throwing their life away!"

The idea sickened him, he didn't saw himself as someone too important to die for. Not when even he doesn't know what he is worth, no after seeing so many people forsake their own well-beings to protect him. No more, if he was truly someone worth saving then why can't he save them?

Come on Doc, use that head that Rhodes prides itself on having!

The fusillade will come, whether it was all at once or at random it was hard to say. They cannot sustain the attacks nor can they dodge to the best of their abilities due to inherent nature of this predicament; they would soon ran towards the path of an arrow than avoid one.

They didn't need to reflect it, dodge it, or take it.

All they had to do is to redirect it.

After all, no matter how many shots you fire a miss is still a miss.

"You can heat up and manipulate hot air right Blaze?" The Doctor asked.

Confused she still answered him, "Yeah, but with the way things are I need to make my own heat and air. Things would be different if I had a draft going on but our friend here stopped throwing air blasts at us."

"Alright! Persona!" A blue glow radiated as Ifreet disappeared along with the flame but it was replaced with the cry of a hippogriff, "Astolfo, Garula!"

Wind blasted out of the paladin's blade, shrouded in darkness all they could hear was a loud gale reverberating.

"This good enough Blaze?"

Twice, thrice, and so on. He was all out of spirit, if he still wanted to cast ice magic then he will have to pay it in blood.

Ophiuchus's Trait, hopefully it wouldn't come to that.

He cast multiple instances of the Garula Spell, like what he did in Chernobog to create that massive icicle that punctured the building. Wind spells were lighter on the spirit compared his other magical attacks but to go this far was still draining on his energy but he can recuperate quickly. Holding on the power stored within Astolfo's sword once a single arrow is fired, he'll unleash it.

"On my signal..."

Ten arrows came from the darkness.

"Now!"

A loud gust spurted out of the paladin's blade, the air rippling through the darkness shrouding the enemy's assault. At the same time, Blaze heated the air around them, the only breeze near her; like what she did before the now hot gust was all she can use.

The flaring tempest was more than enough.

"I'll help too!" Ceylon fired small drops of water at the whirling barrier around them, the water turned into steam and thus more hot air for Blaze to manipulate.

The swirling dome ever expanded, Blaze's arm sparked red as she cycled the flow of the air taking care at how much heat should be inside as to not cook or suffocate her allies. Being on defense was a first for her but her team is counting on her focus, they gave her the means so she should return with the result.

Twenty arrows, thirty arrows, each arrow was dangerously close to dispersing the rhythm of her ability, One good shot from the enemy would break the barrier she meticulously made, as in the time it will take to reform they would all be shot dead from every place imaginable.

Don't get too heated, focus on each stream of air. Adjust the flow to match the deficit each arrow will make.

Arrows are made to fly through wind resistance and the arrows fired by a master would cut the air around them. What Blaze needed was in that split-second to be stronger than that wind, stronger than which can defy the current.

The Doctor was impressed, ARTS is the most complex science he had ever seen. Blaze must have studied and experimented with ARTS for a long time or she must have such innate talent and control over it.

Every arrow weakened the barrier but thanks to Ceylon's efforts the wind kept being renewed, as for each whisper of hot air that left her steam will be the air that replaces it. After the three-hundredth arrow or so, perhaps it could be argued that the Doctor had little if anything to do with that as each gust of wind was replaced by Ceylon's steam.

At a glance what she is doing is moving the hot air around them but it is much more complicated, Blaze's ARTS is constantly retracting and expanding the air around them giving it movement. So she has to also account for the exact moment an arrow hits the barrier in the middle of retraction or expansion and to do it constantly in a fast enough cycle that the Shadow's arrows would be cast aside.. The only reason why she isn't generating a tornado by accident is because this draft is the only air in the arena.

Four-hundred, five-hundred, just a few more seconds.

The rain became a hail as arrows kept firing faster and faster, Ceylon went into overdrive as she concentrating in splitting her water ARTS into many minuscule droplets while Blaze at this point closed her eyes to concentrate harder.

Seeing that Blaze was on the end of her rope in terms of mental fortitude, Amiya focused as well. Going into her friend and comrade's head, if she can irritate others using her ARTS then she has the ability to soothe the mind as well.

I got you Blaze!

The cloudy fog in Blaze's head started to clear as Amiya mentally redirected her thoughts to protecting her comrades.

All right thanks Amiya!

Six hundred, seven hundred, there was no point in counting anymore. Blaze and Ceylon pushed through while the Doctor tended to the others. Ch'en was marveled at their display of unity, so this is how Rhodes Island truly operates. They did not back down even when the enemy is terror given form, there was no order to retreat nor a sacrifice to be made.

Rhodes Island is determined to brave any storm.

Just a little more...

They can feel it weakening with every attack, the darkness started to fade away. Bit by bit each arrow lost a lot of what made so perilous to begin with.

Blaze you can do it!

With all her might as her eyes shone a deep scarlet, her focus was reinvigorated.

Once the thousandth arrow was cast aside, they were left with a world of pure white.

The Shadow in front of them, still in silence.

Awaiting the end.

0o0

It was begging to be ended.

Schwarz raised her arrow to deliver the killing blow but the Doctor stopped her, instead he went one step forward and called upon his true self. This is what he was meant to do.

"Ophiuchus," The Doctor bit his lip at the transaction, "Cure him."

The Shadow slumped down to the ground from the blast of ice, its mask falling off and dispersing into black dust.

"It can't be!?" Ch'en stood agape, of course those attacks, that choice of weaponry, and the black tail.

Faust.

"So it is..." The Doctor's eyes darkened knowing that he fought this kid twice; once in Chernobog while he was drunk on his own power and just now when they were helping Ch'en.

How did it become like this? Did the L.G.D got to him first? No it can't be otherwise the guards would be the first ones to be caught up in all of this.

Someone else killed this boy, someone powerful.

"But how?" Ch'en then asked the Doctor, unnerved at how the man was taking this revelation. Did he had a hunch? "How can the kid garner so much power in such short time and why didn't he use it?"

The Doctor paused for a moment, everyone barring Amiya was waiting for his answer. It was hard to articulate the basic gist of it all.

"Shadows are the repressed part of a person, they are the things that we don't like to admit are true about ourselves. Everyone has one but only a few can turn that Shadow into a Persona. Personas are its tamed state, by accepting this part of you that was locked away you'll be in turn be given its power."

"That's the basic foundation of Spirit ARTS."

Feeding off their owner's negativity, the longer one denies that part of themselves the larger the Shadow they cast. The bigger the Shadow the stronger the Persona would be when they overcome themselves.

And that meant...

"What we just fought was a potential Persona User. When one with that potential dies without coming to terms with the Shadow they have then, they become this..."

Faust's Shadow started to fade away into black dust, dropping the corpse of the boy from its dark shell. The soot wasn't Originium it was just the ashes of the shell that housed its owner till the bitter end.

As his body laid there, a crystal started to pour of out his chest. Hovering over the lifeless body as an indication its existence. The Doctor sighed as he approached the object, Ch'en warily looked at the man wondering what happened to them that he was looking at these bizarre events like it was routine.

Putting both of his palms in between the ominous fragment, he focused once more. He was purifying another lost soul, the crystal slowly changed from a jet-black stone to a silver white gem. As soon as he was finished the stone jammed itself to his head.

"Doctor!" Ch'en and Blaze both shouted, worried at this horrifying display. Amiya reassured them that it was alright, this was always what happened. She wasn't fine with it as well but this is the only way they knew of to get rid of the distortion.

Time slowed down within his mind, and it all turned into a clear white.

0o0

Pure white?

I woke up to a tundra with fresh falling snow, I was expected the freezing winter of a Ursian tundra but I did not feel cold.

On the contrary, it was very warm.

I looked around to see nature, birds chirping and the occasional badger skirting around shruberry.

It is a beautiful sight to behold, I can feel a sense of camaraderie here yet it was also full of sorrow. No rage or anger just a string of regrets laced within this place of nostalgic memories.

Was this the place that poor boy longed to be once more?

I took a step forward; ready to face what's beyond this image of peace, of better times.

"You..." Faust suddenly appeared before me, was he not a part of the mirage? "Why are you here?"

We fought the monster you've become before anybody else got hurt. Skullshaterrer also experienced this same fate but admittedly on a much lower scale, that didn't discount his threat however.

He breathed a sigh of relief, even though we were enemies I couldn't help but be glad for this kid. Yet the main question running through my mind was...

Who killed you?

"Killed?" Faust raised an eyebrow then he realized it himself as if he was remembering something, "Ah, I failed to protect him..." He uttered with a pang of regret.

Protect who? Mephisto? Were you two really that close?

"...Yes...we were friends..."

Then how could you let him do all of this? Why did you let him continue his rampage of terror? Why were you complicit with this madness?

Faust couldn't come up with an answer but he uttered, "I wanted to run with him...I just didn't found the strength to go through with it."

You must be aware that this war you waged with Lungmen was a bad move right? There was nothing to gain and everything to lose, all it did was made things harder for the Infected.

Faust looked at me with a knowing look, hesitant to acknowledge my point.

"I suppose dying like this is fitting for a coward like me."

You were a coward, but that didn't meant that you were wrong.

I couldn't acknowledge that, where else was he supposed to go? Even if he could, where exactly are they going to go to? His friend went mad because of all of this and if Amiya or Kal'tsit became as insane as that child then I didn't know if I could just abandon them to their fate.

"You're a strange one..."

That I am, but to be honest nothing in this world makes sense. Commanders profiting over spill blood that they haven't spilled themselves. I don't agree with Reunion but Ursus and many others that exploit you people...

"You remind of when she was younger...too determined."

I chose to ignore that, I already know who he was talking about.

Back to my earlier question...was it the LGD? Rhodes Island? Somebody from Lungmen.

Faust shivered, "No...he looked Victorian but I don't think he's associated with them... He paraded through the streets while wearing a clean cut suit. He was strong...too strong..."

That didn't make any sense, why would some random person be there and engage with Reunion personnel? Why did they pick a fight with Faust to which he met his untimely end.

"That's all I can say... seems like my consciousness is starting to fade..." He struggled to utter his words but he was hanging on to life just to relay the truth to me. An enemy of Reunion, responsible for the deaths of a commander and the commander's sister.

"Please...end this madness...this was a fight we should never have started..." Faust then opened his palm, letting out power from it, "I know...I am...not in a position to ask...but save my friend...steer as much of my comrades from this march..."

Of course, every Infected on Terra is my patient after all.

"I see...take this...maybe this will give you more power to carry out your oath."

As power flowed through me Faust's memories came flooding like a river, the little happiness the boy found before they were a part of Reunion. The optimism and hope they had before Reunion's descent to radicalism. War and suffering truly changes a person, his friend went insane rationalizing the cruelty they did.

We were right to fight and maybe even end some of Reunion's forces but if ignored how they came to be then...how can this madness ever end?

What's stopping someone from being another Reunion?

But before I could answer that we need to end this conflict once and for all.

Isn't that right Apsat?

0o0

Amidst the panicked cries for help that the Reunion grunts made as they were running from something far more terrifying than the LGD, one group stood stalwart against their opposition. The Yetis held the line, a tactical capture of one of Lungmen's valuable areas. However, they were not there to loot and steal like many of the Infected that came under their wing. They were their under orders and a simple purpose.

To protect their leader and to see this fight to its conclusion.

Cold winds were blowing around, traps scattered across the wreckage. Yetis ready to defend their hold over Lungmen and ready to finally end things with their counterparts, no one shall interfere in this clash.

The ones that had everything stolen from them and the ones that have given away the possibility of a new tomorrow.

FrostNova sat on the wreckage of one Lungmen's facilities. Alone she stared at the ground, waiting for someone to appear.

Popping a piece of candy onto her mouth, she sighed at the inevitability of it all.

0o0

Meanwhile back in Chernobog, the sky glistened ominously as purple twinkles can be seen from the sky; barely obscured by the smoke.

The Patriot's forces let out a bellowing cry as they were ready to defend their motherland, W's mercenaries sharpened their weapons; ready to get their pay in blood.

As the gears of war start to turn, she or rather "it" couldn't help but smirk on the porch. It looked down on all its followers, conscripts, and soldiers like it was the ruler of its nation.

However as the elevator rang from the tower, its visage of a lord faded into the face of a revolutionary.

- CHAPTER END -


Closure Report: Ascent 1

A Simple Code Encryption: Node Talker or abbreviated to ASCE: NT is the name of a secret division within Rhodes Island. Unlike SWEEP this force is made of preexisting members of Rhodes Island, ever since the discovery of the hidden data within the Doctor's memories Doctor Kal'tsit authorized for a more organized squad to be made seeing that to access said data it appeared that a virtual avatar that is guarding the floor must be defeated.

Night Tower 1 is the first division with the chain of command, they are front-liners that are tasked to enter the digital tower now code-named: El Spira. They make up of Operators who willingly swore to secrecy what they are doing, which is conducting investigations and expeditions within the virtual space using our virtual combat simulators.

VCS are modified models from medical equipment used to create virtual spaces for psychiatric treatment. El Spira's data for some reason allows for full combat simulation within its world when the application is run through our devices even allowing multiple devices to be used for our excursion.

So far I, Ada "Closure" Church have been appointed as both ASCE: NT Scribe as well as Commander while Doctor Kal'tsit is not present. I've been instructed to bring at least two Medics in ASCE: NT, currently as of writing this report being: Gavial and Sussurro, to check on combatant vitals.

Night Tower 1 consists of Operator Plume, Yato, Meteor, Midnight, and Fang (per Operator Dobermann's suggestion.) In the event of my absence, Operator Dobermann will be coordinating excursions and skirmishes with El Spira.

As for the name of the division, it's long name also acts as a call sign for Operators when they are needed. For example, if someone from ASCE:NT approaches them for an expedition while there are Operators unaffiliated they can just answer "A simple code encryption."or "A sudden call emergency." if they are asked by the Operator.

Although Doctor Kal'tsit wanting an appropriate acronym for a fitting purpose is also a part of its conception.

Now that we are officially sanctioned group ASCE: NT members also enjoy increased salaries and leaves. However if progress after two months is still the same then our benefits for the two preceding months after that are revoked. With plans of expanding ASCE: NT and finding more candidates for ASCE: NT the organization will not be experiencing that any soon. Doctor Kal'tsit personally scouts for potential members based on experience, battle ability, tactics, and a myriad of other things.

As for current progress, we are pleased to report that we so far have ascended onto Floor 5 with our limited resources. After defeating the Doctor facsimile on the first floor, we expected to fight more of the same but we were caught off-guard when that is in fact not the case.

Based on the data we acquired about BOARDs and the Shadows native to that area, the entities on those floors were in fact similar but not quite. They lack the energy signature emitted by either a Shadow or a Persona when compared by our equipment which naturally makes sense as it is a being made of data.

But it is puzzling that if the data within the Doctor is ancient then why did these new beings came to be identical to the real-world's Shadows? However, with our pace I am certain that we will get our questions answered.

As for the data that we unlocked, that being a blueprint of some kind. We still do not have the information to acquire materials to conduct tests in making what is said. Although we have ordered to stop by Doctor Kal'tsit, saying that our best bet was to have this be examined by the Doctor as well. It makes sense given that the data came from him unaware as he was. Making it seem like an unrelated discovery however is going to be difficult, most of us in ASCE: NT dislike the idea of hiding secrets from the Doctor but given the nature of this data, it might be better to keep it all under until it is completed.

The Doctor already has enough responsibilities as it is.

Closure's Thoughts

Why do I even need to type so formally when this is just a glorified journal Kal'tsit?


Boss Data

Faust, The Morose Arrow

"The remnant of Faust's regrets, one so young shouldn't experience things like this but alas Terra is a cruel world. Its gales cut through like a maelstrom of grief, its arrows are plentiful and quick like rain although perhaps it may be tears."

Phase 1

Magarula/ Gale Shot/ Masukunda/ Sukukaja
Myriad Arrows

Gale Shot
A wind-imbued projectile attack that hits moderately.

Personal Skills
Eagle Eye
Increases critical hit rate moderately.
AP Arrow
Camouflage

Increases evasion to attacks

Phase Two Skill Change:
Garudyne/ Storm Blast/ Shadow Snare/ Myriad Arrows
Piercing Arrow
A strong projectile attack that ignores Persona defenses.

Personal Skills
Faded Camouflage
Increases evasion to attacks and speed.
Hawk Eye

Increases critical hit rate highly.
Shadow's Gaze
Temporarily gives the user, Sure-Hit.

Weak to: Electricity
Resist:
Curse/Water


Persona Data

Apsat Lv35
The Hanged Man
Trait: Hunting Mastery
Critical Hits deal 150% more damage.

Resists: Electricity/Water
Weak to: Curse

"A male deity of birds and the hunt hailing from Georgian mythology, As the primary god of the hunt some say that he is the source of all hunted game."

Starting Skills
Myriad Arrows/Gale Shot/Triple Arrows/Masukunda
Trigger Happy


Author Notes

Happy New Year Guys! Sorry for taking this long to update, most of why I took so long is college being college. Thanks for holding out this long my readers, you really are the best. Thanks to Kazragoth for being my beta-reader as always and TheAuraKing for sticking with me as I write this manuscript.

I have a lot of plans up ahead this year, a few one-shots and another compendium for something that I'm sure nobody could predict so hopefully your excited for that. Especially if you are fond of games.

[Warning: Heart-To-Heart Stuff]

One of things writers like us have to control is our own self-indulgences and while criticism is good and I even encourage that doesn't mean that people are often well-meaning in their words. That being said I cannot stress the fact that I am pro-criticism here since sometimes we can miss those small words. I think its great that people think my works are worth their time that they can comment about it even though my upload schedule is so bonkers at this point.

However, not to take away your own perception of the story or anything (that would go against one of themes this story is trying to tell after all.) I hope that you can at least understand the material that you are reading, that doesn't go just for me, no I mean for anything you consume. It's so easy to get lost in reading, watching, or even playing something that you've become numb and start to sift everything you've consumed into neat little piles. I get it, we are human beings and it is an evolutionary function even though it makes us lazy. We are cognitive neat freaks and there is no shame in that, things like subtlety and nuance are going to be lost and those things are what make media shine.

I'm saying this not as someone who got a bad review, in fact it made me reflect on how subtle and how blunt I must be in order to convey the dynamic of a character's relationship. Intrigue and affection can sometimes be use interchangeably after all and seeing one from another is nothing to be blame for. Another reader whom my friend known personally had their own take on my work and I decided to adjust with some things I agree with, the thing is most writers are actually more of a critic to themselves than their own reader-base.

I confess, I'm not a fan of harems, I most of the time don't watch, read, or write stories about that genre. It's a nightmare for actual competent writers to write harem stories that actually treat every love interest equally but there is a difference between a harem route and multiple heroines. So far I have ideas on how to approach W's Route, Kal'tsit's Route, and Mostima's Route (ooh spoilers.) That being said in terms of a canon ship...there is none! This is after all meant to be like a Persona Game originally and while I realized thanks to my friend's friend that some of the gamification I did is debilitating to write some of the concepts I think would be good like a [Hard-Lock] in a relationship would be sound, that being said I also had a [Harem Route] in mind for future omakes to use although I figured that such a fantastical dream should have a nightmare of a trial in exchange, beat a certain secret dungeon, have all the candidates at Bond Level 9 (since Bond Levels are locked at 5 until a certain story arc.) and interact with all of them in a specific order. I'm not afraid to give my readers what they want to see if the demand is reasonable.

Sides, even though I love W and Kal'tsit; they are going to get the biggest dunkings come the future story arcs. The Doctor too isn't exempt from this, they too have character flaws and weaknesses that I plan to highlight in future chapters.

The point is, it's both satisfying to lay the groundwork for future payoff and frustrating when people perceive incompleteness for genuine oversight. I am aware that even this section may be misinterpreted in a bad light, that I am shielding myself from my fears and criticism or that I'm too pretentious to be taken seriously. However, acknowledging the negativity and the harsh takes of one's work takes a lot out of a person and affirming that even though some of them are made haphazardly that maybe they have some merit should be good enough right?

I know what I've signed up for when I first posted the first chapter of this tale, to be honest I was expecting more negative than positive reception but really over the course of two years as small as my readerbase is, I am eternally thankful to you guys for taking the time out of your days to wind down with me as I spin a tale about the Doctor who wants to help everyone, about accepting the actions you have made never excusing yourself of sin.

As the new year starts with the challenges a new dawn faces, I hope that this small story can give you a bit of repose.

[This is the end of the more personal thoughts. Thank you sparing a moment.]


So, the story so far...

I hope you like how I handled Faust's final bow from the story, I already have a grasp on how Personas are formed aside from seeking truth, longing for freedom, and accepting death so that will be discussed in the future. I'm not a physics expert or anything so I don't know if what the team did against his desperation move was actually plausible but it beats writing three paragraphs of variations of descriptions of being hit hard. Plus, I want to show some synergy between the team and while the Doctor is strong, he's beat when it comes to stamina compared to the actual heavy hitters of Rhodes in his current state. Greythroat's moment to shine will be in the next chapter since I took her moment away.

For my sake I'm gonna make a list of skills and items featured in these chapters separate from this story for convenience since forgetting is pretty easy with a disorganized mind. As for the pseudo-opening sequence, well I did it for fun so if you don't like it it's fine. The thing is just exclusively for this chapter and just the written storyboard for something I want to animate in the future.

So yeah, I have things in the works hopefully I can do something at May which is the second anniversary of this story. I'll try and not get too preachy and lengthy in future Author Notes, it's just this is the section where I can talk to you guys heart-to-heart. You guys are the lifeblood of writers like me as I also am to the writers whose works I enjoy, there are a lot in alone haha.

Hopefully you guys are enjoying CC#6 as I have gotten myself the trim medal at long last. I also hope that you got all that you have wanted from the gacha, whether it's BALANS, Mizuki, or something different like Sei Shounagon or Yae Miko. To you Ayato Enjoyers in the audience may your rolls be as tasty as whatever is in his boba tea and to you fellow Yelan Seekers, we will get her. We will win!

Anyways, I'm WordBound appreciating every reader as always. In order to get the what we wish for in the cruel, cruel wheel of fate known as the "gacha." you have to...

"Keep an open mind."


Ah, took that long for the segue huh? Well don't mind that here's another sneak peek, take it away!


PRTS: Open

Do not be mistaken, I trust you Doctor. However, your comrades...can I put my faith in them? Can I really trust the future of my brothers and sisters with them?

Since you do not wish to join us then let us settle this...

You win, we will swore ourselves to Rhodes Island. You lose, swear that you will abandon them to help us.

"You're asking him to betray Rhodes and help Reunion!?"

Who said anything about helping Reunion?

Turn 14: The Last of Her

"The candy was good..."

Promises, oaths, and vows what power can be derived from such resolve is a mystery.