"Trickster? What are you talking about?" Yu asked, nervously thinking back to his dream, the one with the prison, with that long nosed man, those girls. It had to be a dream. Right?
"Well duh! I'm talking about you silly! Someone who uses their Persona to oppose ruin!" Morgana answered cheerfully.
Before either Yu or Akechi could ask anything, Morgana cut them off.
"But we don't have time for explanations. Another batch of guards will be coming around any time now. Help me get out of here!" She pleaded.
"You have a sword and a utility belt." Yu pointed out.
"Ok Mr. Smartypants. Why don't you try to use your sword to break me out?" Morgana replied, irritated.
Yu did as she said, using his sword to stab the glass, only for his blade to bounce off, doing nothing. Morgana crossed her arms. He then tried to slash at the glass, only for his sword to leave scratches. Morgana raised her eyebrow as if to say 'Told you so.'
"Uh-huh, that's what I thought. Now let me out!"
"Why should we?" Yu asked.
"You owe me! Those guards would have caught you if it wasn't for me!"
"Why should we trust you?" Akechi asked.
"I'm locked up! How could I be the enemy?"
"I don't mean that, I mean, how do we know you won't double-cross us to save your hide?"
"One, my top priority is to guide and protect the Wild Card. Him." Morgana said, pointing at Narukami.
"Two, if I wanted to sell you out, I'd do so with the guards from earlier. Three, I want to get out of here too, since that scumbag, Komowaka, or whatever, put me here. Now come on! I can sense the guards getting closer!"
"Should we do it?" Akechi asked.
"Why are you asking me?"
"Because she has an interest in you."
"Not only that, but… I can get you out of here." Morgana added, saying the last part in a sing-song voice.
"Looks like it's a risk we'll have to take. If we get you out of the cell, you'll help us get out of here, deal?"
"Deal! Just kick the control box next to my cell door." Morgana said.
Yu did as the woman said, and sure enough, the glass lifted itself. Morgana walked out, doing stretches once she was out of her cage.
"Ahhhh, freedom, how I have missed thee!" She said, as she stretched her back.
"We held up our end, now it's your turn. I'm Yu Narukami by the way." Yu said.
"I'm Goro Akechi."
"Thanks for freeing me. Now come on. There's only one way in and out of either prisons; the elevator. And getting to it won't be an easy feat. But we'll cross that bridge when we reach it, so for now, let's go. Guards." Morgana said, breaking into a light jog, Yu and Akechi following shortly behind.
Just like before, they were able to avoid the guards, following Morgana's lead. Eventually, they were able to successfully reach the elevator, but there was a problem, it was guarded, and unfortunately the guard looked strong. Unlike the previous ones, which had a standard police uniform, this guy was dressed in a full military setup, from the bullet-proof vest to an assault rifle. The only thing that didn't belong was the riot helmet.
"Alright, if we're gonna get out of this, you'll have to learn, Wild Card." Morgana whispered, turning to the boys and looking at Narukami.
"Learn what?"
"As you may have guessed, these guards aren't human beings. They're called Shadows; suppressed and twisted human desires given form. The best way to fight these things is with something called a Persona."
"Persona? That's what you yelled before you summoned Izanagi, Narukami-san."
"He's already awakened?! Sweet, that makes this so much easier. Alright, get ready to call forth this 'Izanagi', because we're gonna have to fight to get out of here."
At the thought of calling Izanagi, a blue flame engulfed Yu, vanishing just as quick as it appeared. Akechi let out a gasp.
"Narukami-san, look at your clothes!"
Yu turned to a nearby cell and saw his reflection. He wore the same outfit as before, when he first called Izanagi. But there was something there that wasn't before. On his face was a silver and white masquerade mask with its nose curved like a hawk and the Roman numeral "II" was branded in gold in the center of his forehead.
"Not going to lie, I look good in this." Yu said, admiring his set of clothes.
"You sure do. But you can admire yourself later. Right now, I need to teach you some of the basics to fighting." Morgana whispered, motioning him to come closer.
"Ok so… how do I put this. Izanagi, your Persona, can only be summoned by revealing your true self. To do that, you have to take the mask off."
"Like this?" Yu reached for his masquerade mask, but Morgana stopped him.
"Not now you idiot!" She yelled a little too loudly.
"What was that? Who's there?!" the guard yelled, leaving his post and approaching the group.
"Crap! So much for ambushing. Alright Wild Card, we'll have to do this the hard way."
Morgana reached onto her back and pulled out the scimitar, ran from their hiding spot and slashed at the heavily armored guard before he could react. In response to the sudden attack, the guard bent his back backwards in a way that shouldn't have been possible, and soon, his body dissolved into a black puddle that reformed itself into no less than three Jack-O-Lanterns and two floating orbs with mouths, purple tongues slobbering as they moved into attack formation.
"Alright, listen up. In our battle against Ruin, we'll encounter all kinds of enemies. Each will have strengths and weaknesses. Let me show you."
Morgana stood to her full height, the blue light of her irises expanding until her entire eyes were azure in color. When she spoke, her voice boomed and seemed to fill the whole prison, and the same fire that consumed Yu when he first called Izanagi erupted behind her.
"Come, Lady Trieu!"
The fire gave shape to a woman wearing a red kimono that had orange leaves scattered at the bottom in a pattern that looked like a raging fire, while imprinted on the back was a single yellow star. On her head, she wore a Japanese straw hat that hid her upper face, showing only her black hair tied in a loose ponytail and her black lipstick-colored lips, which seemed fixed in a sly grin. At her feet lay a small mound of corpses that supported her spiked wooden sandals, and on her left shoulder was a square wooden shield that had 'I'd like to ride the storm, kill sharks in the open sea, drive out the aggressors, reconquer the country, undo the ties of serfdom, and never bend my back to be the concubine of any man.' written on it in blood. Her left hand was on her hip, while in the her right was a nodachi resting on her right shoulder.
The Jack-O-Lanterns' advance was brought to a halt in the face of this new adversary, while Akechi went wide-eyed at their new friend having the same power as Yu. Morgana crossed her arms and smirked as Yu stood next to her. Ripping off his mask like before, only this time, his upper face caught fire rather than bleeding. Strangely enough, the fire was more comforting and empowering than painful.
"IZANAGI!" Yu cried out, and like he said he would, the god appeared behind Yu, ready to battle. By now, the Jack-O-Lanterns and floating mouths had regained their senses and resolve.
"Alright, watch and learn. Every enemy has a weakness. Lady Trieu! Garru!"
The woman behind Morgana raised her curved weapon to the sky. Yu expected her to attack with the blade itself, but instead, green swirls formed underneath one of the Jack-O-Lanterns, erupting and knocking it down. The others were stunned, before Lady Trieu raised her katana again, with the same result on another Jack-O-Lantern. The third moved and fired a fireball at Morgana, who yelled at the pain. One of the floating orbs approached Yu and rammed into him hard, knocking him back into the wall. Yu recovered quickly, wiping the blood from his cut lips.
"Zio!" Yu ordered.
Once again, Izanagi spun his naginata, causing a bolt of lightning to strike the orb, making it fall to the ground, dazed and confused. Before the second one could try anything, Yu repeated the action, with the same result. By now, Morgana had recovered from the fireball and a final green vortex knocking the last Jack-O-Lantern down. All five enemies laid down on the floor, dazed and vulnerable.
"Alright! This is what happens if you manage to hit their weaknesses. Once they're knocked down, we can go for an 'All-Out Attack'. Just get in there, hit hard and hit fast, and hold nothing back!"
With that, Morgana leaped into the air, pulling out a slingshot and firing metal balls as she fell before pulling out her scimitar, while Yu charged like a bull. The two slashed at the Shadows with wild abandon, kicking up a massive storm in the process. No enemy was spared from their onslaught, Yu utilizing his kendo club skill and Morgana using her experience, and soon enough, the dust cleared, revealing all five Shadows bleeding before turning into ash. Yu turned to Morgana, who gave a smirk in approval.
"Nice! You're a natural at this Wild Card!"
"I already gave you my name."
"Yea, yea. But I won't use it while we're in here."
"Why?" Akechi asked.
Before Morgana could answer, they heard footsteps and voices.
"I heard yelling and sounds of a battle. This way!"
"No time to explain. We need to hurry!" Morgana said and the three made their way into the elevator. There were only two buttons: an up arrow and a down arrow. All three of them slammed their fingers into the up arrow several times. The doors closed as hundreds of guards arrived, readying their guns and firing, but to no avail. Yu pulled out his phone and sighed since he saw that the purple circle had gotten farther. As the elevator went up, a blue flame engulfed Yu, the sensation of his clothes changing becoming more familiar.
"Huh, seems you don't have full control over your powers yet." Morgana said, sounding a little disappointed.
"What do you mean 'yet'?" Yu asked
"It appears your powers only activate when you're in immediate danger. Don't worry. With enough time, you'll have full control." She assured.
There was a ding of an elevator and the three stepped out, carefully looking around to make sure they were alone. They were standing in the middle of a regular police station, the same police station Yu and Akechi were hauled to.
"Alright, coast is clear. Let's go." Morgana said, the three walking through the station, walking as if they were in a minefield. The lobby was completely empty, any civilians evacuated and officers down in the prisons. They soon saw the exit sign and walked through, and were greeted with the outside world, an empty parking lot right in front of them. They tasted freedom as they breathed a collective sigh of relief as fresh air smacked them in the face. Until they heard the PA system turn on.
"ALERT! ALERT! AKECHI AND NARUKAMI HAVE ESCAPED THE PUBLIC PRISON WITH THE HELP OF AN ADDITIONAL ACCOMPLICE! ALL OFFICERS, REPORT TO THE POLICE STATION AT ONCE! SHOOT ON SIGHT AND SHOOT TO KILL!"
Shortly after that announcement was made, sirens could be heard in the distance. And the other guards would no doubt cram as many as they could into the elevator to flank them.
"Crap. And we were so close too." Akechi said with a grimace.
"We're not finished yet evil-eye!" Morgana said
"Evil-eye? That's the best you could come up with?"
"What? Your eyes are red, and only bad guys have red eyes!"
"Are you serious?"
"Hey! Run for our lives now, complain about poor taste in nicknames later!" Yu yelled.
"Alright, but what I said was true; we're not finished yet."
Morgana reached for the whistle around her neck and blew into it. No one could hear anything at first, but then, a big black bus with blue headlights could be seen driving at about 80 MPH down the road before turning the corner and entering the station square, never slowing down as it approached the group.
"Um, isn't it going to slow down?" Akechi asked.
The bus got closer and closer, until right in front of them, it screeched to a halt, its whole body bending in a comedic fashion like it was in a cartoon. There were three doors on the side, the middle and front doors opened up as soon as the bus stopped.
"Here it is, our getaway vehicle, the Mona-mobile!" Morgana declared proudly, gesturing for the boys to get in as she went through the front door and taking the driver's seat.
Akechi and Yu went in through the middle. The bus itself wasn't that big, maybe nine people tops would be able to fit in here, but it was state of the art, with leather seats, cup holders, air conditioners and heaters, and even small TV screens on the back of the seats to play movies on. And on the dashboard itself, where the radio, AC and other control functions was a massive computer screen with several buttons. Akechi let out a whistle at the sight, and Yu noticed a trigger attached to the stick shaft.
"Glad to hear you're impressed, I designed her myself. Now, I'd say we overstayed our welcome. Wild Card! You were looking at your phone earlier?"
"Right. Take us to this." Yu said, leaning forward, showing her the purple circle on his phone. The cop cars pulled up and Morgana slammed her foot on the gas.
"Hang on!" She ordered, the Mona-mobile ploughing through the cop cars like it was a tank. As it speed off, three more cop cars arrived and began pursuit.
"Oh great. Come on then. Let me show you what my car can do." Morgana whispered to herself, grinning as she did. One of the cars got close enough to ram the bus, lining up to make the kill. And it probably would have too, had Morgana not flicked the turn signal lever, firing off thrusters at the side of the bus, slamming into the car full force, sending it off the roads and on its sides. The passengers heard the roar of blades and looked up to see a police helicopter approaching. And directly ahead was a roadblock composed of armored cars. This prompted Morgana to speed up, aiming right for the roadblock.
"What are you doing?! We're going to hit it!" Akechi yelled.
Morgana maneuvered the Mona-mobile so that it was aiming right for a space between two trucks.
"We're not going to make it!" Yu yelled.
Morgana sped up, her grin only getting wider from the discouragement.
"WE'RE NOT GOING TO MAKE IT!" Akechi repeated, the words having no effect on Morgana.
Seeing that nothing they could do would deter her, they both took what cover they could behind the seats, waiting for the inevitable crash. And waited. And waited. And then they waited some more. Finally, they poked their heads out just in time for the Mona-mobile to rush past the roadblock without even scratching its paint job. The cop cars however, weren't so lucky, both crashing into their own roadblock as they attempted to mimic Morgana's driving.
"Made it." she said with a smirk.
Making a U-Turn at the end of a street, the helicopter got ahead of them, and dropped a spike strip. Morgana swerved around it and began to speed down the beach. Dodging another spike strip from the helicopter, she pushed a button near the dashboard, causing the screen to light up with an image of an EMP.
"What are you doing?" Akechi asked
"Getting rid of that chopper." Morgana answered, pushing the down arrow, cycling through screen after screen. A female mechanical voice piped up with each image.
"Side flamethrowers, missiles, jammer, spike strips, turbo boost, harpoon, ejector seats, railgun."
"There we are." Morgana said as she pushed a green button, making the front windshield light up, a target reticle moving until it found the helicopter. Akechi and Yu could hear activity on the roof as the center opened up, and from the opening, a railgun popped up. Morgana reached down to the stick shaft and pulled the trigger. A light blue energy beam shot out from the car and slammed straight into the helicopter's tail, the metal tearing like it was styrofoam.
"Alright Morgana!" Yu yelled as the chopper fell down, exploding on impact.
"Well done! We're sorry we doubted you."
"Awww, thanks. Looks like there's no immediate threats, so let's get going."
Ignoring the total destruction they unleashed, Morgana drove the trio to the purple circle. Yu and Akechi got out, looking around. The area it was in was in the middle of a road that led to a tropical jungle and Shujin Nation. From where they were now, it looked like something out of a brochure, a peaceful resort bathing in the golden light of the setting sun. The only thing that ruined the scene was the sign that said 'Welcome to Shujin Nation! Obey President Kobayakawa and you'll enjoy your stay!' Akechi and Yu looked at his phone, they were just outside the circle. Upon entering it, the map turned into a single question.
"Do you wish to return to the real world? Yes. No."
Before Yu could slam his finger down on the 'yes' button, Akechi stopped him.
"Wait. I have questions."
"Who cares?"
"I do. Let me ask Morgana-san a few things before we go back."
"Fine, but make it fast."
Akechi turned to Morgana, who was still in the driver's seat of the Mona-mobile.
"Thank you for all of your help Morgana-san."
"Anytime. I'm glad I got to meet you two. Both of you head back to the waking world, I need to go. Now."
"Wait, I have too many questions!"
"You'll have to ask them when you come back. I have other business here. Go, now."
Before Akechi could protest, more police sirens could be heard, and the Mona-mobile sped off. Yu grabbed the teenage detective and slammed his finger into the 'yes' button. They felt a small headache as the world seemed to shift around them, the lines that made up shapes distorting, twisting, and blurring, until finally, it stopped, and the world looked much more familiar.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." A mechanical voice chipped from Yu's phone. They looked around. They were in the alleyway that Ryuji used for a shortcut to the school. They looked at the direction they came from, and instead of seeing the resort of Shujin Nation, they saw the building of Shujin Academy. They had indeed returned to the real world from wherever that other place was.
"We did it. WE DID IT!" Yu yelled, his smile stretching as wide as it could as he held his hand out for Akechi to high-five. Which he did, a smile also on his face.
"Indeed. Though, I wish I could get some of my questions answered."
"I'm just glad we escaped certain death."
"YU NARUKAMI!" a voice erupted that made both boys go wide-eyed and their blood freeze in terror. They both turned and saw two very angry Niijimas making their way to the pair.
I spoke too soon.
Author's Notes: Hey guys, just here to answer/reply to some of the comments!
Helel, the Guardian of Light: Thanks for the kind words dude! To answer your question, Morgana is light-skinned, like Ann
Platypus-Books: I'm glad you're enjoying it man! Any and all critique is welcome!