Wasting no time, Yu immediately teleported his group into the Peak of the Volcano Safe Room, and then proceeded to make a mad dash to the Treasure, ignoring the heat and smog from the volcano. When they arrived, Morgana was correct about the calling card's effect. Instead of a golden gas cloud, they instead found a golden stamp seal hovering in the air, as if it was dangling from an invisible string.
"Well, on the bright side, this'll be easy to carry." Yu said reaching out to touch it.
He soon heard the whistle of a rocket and was immediately pulled back by Shiho. She was able to get him out of the domed shrine just before a rocket slammed into its foundation. The building crumbled, and the team slid down the mountain face, all the way to the courtyard where Shadow Kobayakawa was giving his speech. And that was the very same man who fired on them, only this time, he stood alone. Yu and his group were able to be behind most of the rubble that fell, but the impact kept them from landing gracefully.
"I underestimated you, Narukami." He growled, throwing the rocket launcher to the ground and picking up the Treasure.
"Kobayakawa! About time you started to fight your own battles!" Akechi yelled as he and the others picked themselves up and readied for battle.
"A fact that you and the scum you call friends shall soon regret. Worthless brats, every last one of you! You scream and cry for change and revolution, but you stubbornly and arrogantly refuse to accept that what I did, I did with everyone's best interest in mind! All the sacrifices I made, I made for the happiness of the students Shujin! I decide who is worth having, I decide the worth of all who come here!"
"How was leaking my record for everyone's best interest?!" Yu demanded.
"How was hospitalizing me supposed to make anyone happy?!" Shiho yelled.
"How are Eiko's and Mishima's corpses your sacrifices?!" Akechi roared.
"Who said you got to decide the worth of other human beings?!" Morgana hissed.
"ENOUGH! I don't have to explain myself to worthless rabble like you. I'll expunge you like the trash you are!" Was all Kobayakawa could retort, a dark, twisted energy beginning to flow all around him. It swirled and swirled until the Shadow grabbed its skull, almost like it was trying to summon its own Persona. But instead of an inner self, the stomach exploded, and torrents of sickly red pus began to coat the ground. Then, the vile fluid began to reform itself around Kobayakawa, and when it was done, everyone's eyes widened in fear and shock. They didn't know what to expect, but they certainly didn't expect this.
Standing where Kobayakawa once was, was a tank.
But not just any tank. In the center, where the cockpit would be, was a giant metal head of Kobayakawa, and on the left and right sides of the head were long cannons. On the back of the tank were several small holes that miniature missiles could be launched from, just in front of the metal head were three machine gun turrets, all locked and loaded. Finally, planted right beside the cannons, were two Shogun flags, all four bearing the emblem of Shujin on its crimson fabric.
"Uh guys. We need to run!" Yu declared.
They all turned their backs and made a break for the door. They barely managed to start making it down the ramp in time before Kobayakawa barreled through, the tank going overboard and plunging into the lava below. Or he would, if not for the thrusters propelling him back up, allowing him to hover and keep up with the team.
"Oh come on! He can fly?!" Shiho yelled as Kobayakawa fired a shell, fracturing the volcano wall, but thankfully missing anyone.
"Keep going!" Yu replied, narrowly avoiding the rocks that were launched from Kobayakawa's shot impact.
The four barely dodged another tank shell as they followed Yu's lead, entering the next passage to the pool, and then back into the volcano.
"Seeker, what are we doing?!" Akechi yelled as they ran down the second ramp.
"We can't fight him here! If we draw him to the airport, Carmen will have enough space to use the Mona-mobile!" Yu explained.
"The what?!" Shiho questioned.
"A car that has enough firepower to rival that tank!" Yu answered, barely dodging a volley of missiles. Kobayakawa was still on the previous ramp, started firing on them from his vantage point like artillery, this time aiming for the ramp to try and trap them.
"Ace! Distract him!"
"On it! Aim true Robin!"
Robin Hood materialized, firing arrows back at Kobayakawa. Despite the fact that his body was made of metal, the arrows hit him like he was still flesh and blood. Kobayakawa activated his thrusters and rushed the Persona, which withdrew to Akechi just in time. Kobayakawa crashed through the volcano and went completely through. The team managed to enter the main lobby of the mansion, the chandelier still hanging proudly from above. Yu almost made it to the dual oak doors.
"Alright. Carmen, as soon as we're outside, summon the Mona-mobile and-"
Yu was cut off by Kobayakawa ramming through the door, reducing it to splinters and knocking the Wild Card down. Yu summoned Izanagi and was able to pull himself away from the caterpillar tracks before they could reduce him to a red smear on the marble. Kobayakawa situated himself in the center, while Yu and his team split up; Akechi and Yu on one side, Morgana and Shiho on the other. Kobayakawa began to rotate, like a turret, his two cannons firing an unending barrage wherever he was pointing at, while his machine gun turrets fired non-stop, preventing anyone from popping their heads out of cover. Right now, he was turned to Morgana and Shiho, the tank shells kicking up a storm. Yu saw a piece of rubble hit Morgana, trapping her arm underneath, then heard a loud hissing from Kobayakawa. Missiles were starting to poke out from their miniature holes, ready to finish Yu's allies. Whipping out his pistol, he fired at the exposed warheads, setting them off.
An action that did nothing but angering Kobayakawa in the process.
The furious president now had his attention locked on Yu and Akechi, while Shiho tried to free Morgana, and casting a healing spell when she finally did. Kobayakawa began his assault anew, and the two boys took cover behind a pillar.
"We need a plan Seeker! We can't hope to reach the door without being blown apart!"
"Really Ace?! I had NO idea! And here I was, ready to give us the order to march to certain death! Thank you for your wisdom!"
Another explosion. Akechi was right, they needed to act, and fast. Yu activated his Third Eye and peered through the pillar he was hiding behind. He saw that Kobayakawa was stationed in the center of the room. And centered directly above his metal head…
"Carmen! Try to reach that chandelier and cut it down!"
"On it!"
Morgana sprinted out of cover, and Kobayakawa turned to take her out, falling for the bait hook, line, and sinker.
"Ace! NOW!"
Akechi nodded. The archer revealed himself and let loose a single arrow while Kobayakawa was focused on Morgana. But one arrow was all that was needed to cut down the object directly above Kobayakawa. The chandelier hit him square on the head, creating a sizeable dent in the armor.
"Goddamn brats…can't think…straight…"
"This is our chance! Everyone! Go for an All-Out Attack!" Yu ordered, coming out of cover.
Everyone charged, summoning their Personas, getting up close and personal with their weapons, or even firing their guns, the team did anything and everything to hurt Kobayakawa. By the time they were done, most of the tank's armor had been crushed, bent, melted, or some other form of destruction. Kobayakawa let out a pained scream.
"You damn brats! I will see you all burn for this!"
Suddenly, they heard a very distinct sound come from Kobayakawa: TSCHE-CHU-CHU-CHU-TSCHE. Shortly after, Kobayakawa's armor began to shift and move around.
"Uh oh." Yu muttered just loudly enough for his team to hear.
"Uh oh? What's uh oh?" Morgana asked.
"That sound…"
"What about it?"
"Any Transformers fan worth his salt will know that sound. We have to move, NOW!"
Yu and his friends made a break for it, now finding themselves on the road that lead from the mansion to the airport.
"Carmen!" Yu ordered as they didn't even slow down.
"On it!"
Morgana put her whistle up to her mouth and blew hard. A sudden dust cloud appeared ahead of them, and the Mona-mobile burned rubber to reach them. The group climbed in, Morgana at the helm, when they saw the roof of Kobayakawa's mansion explode. From the rubble and dust, stood an imposing figure.
"Quick, take us to the airport!" Yu instructed.
As soon as the bus began to move, so did the figure in the house. A sudden boom was heard, and everyone looked back to see that the mansion's lobby had been reduced to rubble, and standing proudly in the wreckage was a figure that was no doubt Kobayakawa. But instead of a tank, he was now a humanoid robot. His right hand was replaced with the twin tank cannons, on his shoulders were the Shujin flags, and underneath his feet were all of the thrusters, granting him flight. It didn't take him long to catch up to the group, and when he did, he hovered in front of them, and readied his tank cannons.
"Evasive action!" Yu yelled.
Morgana swerved to avoid getting hit, from a shell, and then another, and another, making Kobayakawa's ammo seem limitless, and everyone knew it would be a matter of time before Morgana screwed up and they got hit.
"What does this thing have?! Seeker said it could take on Kobayakawa when he was a tank!" Shiho exclaimed.
Morgana pushed a button on the dashboard, bringing up a whole arsenal to choose from.
"Take your pick!" Morgana said, barely dodging another shell.
The group flipped through their options. Side flamethrowers, jammers, spike strips…
"Missiles!" Shiho squealed, smashing her thumb against the green button. Outside of the bus, several cartridges full of missiles extended from the sides. Slamming her fist on the 'fire' button, several dozens of missiles fired off, locked right onto Kobayakawa. He activated his machine guns, trying to destroy the missiles before they hit, but there were just too many. The few missiles that survived hit him hard, but not enough to bring him down.
"Alright, what else?" Yu asked as he continued scrolling.
EMP, ejector seats, harpoon…
"Railgun!" He yelled, pushing a button. Suddenly, the bus shook as Kobayakawa finally managed to hit it.
"Warning! Mona-mobile armor is down to 67%." a mechanical voice informed.
"Alright you bastard." Yu growled, aiming the railgun right at Kobayakawa's right foot. Another tank shell landed, reducing the armor to 31%. Yu squeezed the trigger, and a blue energy bolt collided with Kobayakawa, forcing him to flail around to try and stabilize his flight.
"Look! We're almost at the airport!" Akechi yelled.
Yu then targeted the left leg, firing once again, and with the same result. The four cheered as Kobayakawa's last thruster exploded and the president began his fall to Earth.
"Carmen! Ram him! Don't give him a second to recover!"
"On it!"
Morgana activated the turbo boosts as Kobayakawa was starting to get back up.
"Bail! Everyone BAIL!" Yu yelled, jumping out of the bus, the others following suit. The plan was for the bus for the bus to ram the President, leaving him vulnerable to an All-Out Attack. But the giant mech was able to react just in time, slamming his foot into the bus head on, forcing it back and buying him enough time to get up.
"MY BABY! YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT!" Morgana screeched.
"Everyone split up! Carmen, start up the Mona-mobile and try to use whatever it has left to take him down! Everyone else, try to split his attention!" Yu ordered, calling out a giant sludge puddle, which slammed itself into Kobayakawa, which surprisingly left a dent in his chest.
"You little brats! Hundreds more skilled and talented than you have risen to challenge me!" Kobayakawa yelled as he grabbed the slime and crushed it in his hands.
"Then we'll finish what they started! Robin Hood: Masukukaja!" Akechi ordered, and soon, a green spiral enveloped all four Tricksters. Kobayakawa tried to launch a tank shell at his arch-nemesis, but Akechi dodged with the grace of a professional ballet dancer. Yu, Shiho, and Morgana too felt more limber, flexible, and agile, easily managing to avoid the tank shells and the resulting explosion and debris.
Morgana had finally managed to start back up the engine and squealed "SHE LIVES!", before getting a wild look in her eye, and grinned maliciously as she turned the car to Kobayakawa. The president slammed his fist down, sending a shockwave that knocked Shiho off her feet, and was about to finish her off, but Morgana had other plans. Firing a harpoon at Kobayakawa, the sharp object pierced his armor just below his neck. She then put the gears in reverse as Yu summoned what could only be described as a living turnip and cast a healing spell on Shiho. Kobayakawa was forced to lean back, taking small baby steps so that he wouldn't lose his balance. The others saw what she was trying to do, and joined in, hitting Kobayakawa in the feet and upper chest to force him to go down, but the mech just wouldn't fall.
"Warning! Warning! Tire blowout imminent!" the Mona-mobile warned, earning a growl from Morgana. The woman then suddenly put the gears in drive position, and the bus sped through and slammed into Kobayakawa's left foot, but she was able to bail at the last moment. The impact destroyed the Mona-mobile for good, but it did the trick; Kobayakawa was forced down to the ground, weak and vulnerable. The group didn't even need Yu's orders for the All-Out Attack.
"BOUDICA!"
"LADY TRIEU!"
"ROBIN HOOD!"
"IZANAGI!"
Kobayakawa was engulfed in a beautiful maelstrom of fire, lightning, wind, and holy power. Powerless against the onslaught from those he wronged, Kobayakawa could do nothing but wail in agony. Yet even then, the Tricksters didn't let up, pouring every last ounce of power into their attack, if this didn't finish the job, nothing would. Finally, the destruction ceased, and there was quiet once more. Kobayakawa lay on the ground, his once seemingly unbreakable armor was broken, his mighty weapons reduced to twisted scrap, and the once proud banners of Shujin were torn and burned.
His behemoth form faded to ash, and all that was left was a sorry excuse of a man at the mercy of his victims. He grabbed the golden seal stamp and hugged it close, like it was an idol that would save him if he prayed hard enough. The group marched towards him, with the same malice in their eyes that he showed all of them.
"M-mercy… please…" he begged.
"Mercy? Mercy?!" Shiho yelled, grabbing Kobayakawa by the throat.
"After everything you've done to me?! To Ann?! You have a lot of gall to beg for mercy!"
"Easy Pariah! If we kill the Shadow, we kill the real Kobayakawa!" Morgana yelped.
"No one will miss him." Shiho countered with burning contempt.
"Maybe so, but if we do this, then we abuse our power for our own personal gain, just like him. We have to be better than that, so let him go." Yu ordered. Shiho, after a few seconds, numbly obeyed.
"P-please… it was all for Shujin's reputa-" he choked out.
"Shut up." Akechi spat.
"You don't care about Shujin, you care about yourself. After I removed Kamoshida, you were afraid that you'd be next, so you quickly took over the power vacuum left behind, intent on saving yourself from justice. All you needed an excuse. A reason to do so many horrible things. And you found that pitiful excuse in Shujin. And you told the lie so much, you started to believe it yourself." Akechi explained.
"I… I…"
"You've committed so many wrongs on so many innocents. We'll let you live, if only to see you pay." Morgana continued.
"Thank you! Thank-"
"We're not doing it for you." Yu interrupted.
Yu walked up to the sorry creature that was Shadow Kobayakawa, and extended his hand. The president, slowly but surely, placed the golden seal stamp in Yu's clawed glove. He looked up at the group, tears in his eyes.
"W-what happens now?"
"Now, you repent." Yu answered.
"Y-yes… I have done so many awful things. This is what I deserve. Goodbye rebels." Kobayakawa said sorrowfully, as he began to turn to a bright light, and then… vanished.
"Good riddance." Akechi sneered.
"Now what?" Shiho asked.
"Oh, now the Palace… uh oh."
"What? What happens to the Palace?" Yu asked.
That's when the ground began to shake, like there was a massive earthquake. Then, a bright orange light began to engulf the pavement. The four looked back and saw the volcano starting to erupt. Everyone looked to Morgana with fearful eyes.
"The Palace is collapsing! We have to exit now, WITH the Treasure!"
"To the Safe Room!" Yu suggested.
"Those won't work! Not with the very essence of the Palace tearing itself apart!"
"Look! The airplane is still around!" Shiho yelled, pointing at the private jet they used to get here.
"Let's go!" Yu ordered, pocketing the Treasure.
"What if the pilots aren't there?!" Akechi asked.
"Then we figure out how to be pilots!"
The four entered, and, much to their surprise, the Shadow pilots were still there.
"What the?! It's the rebels!"
"Take us to the mainland! Now!" Yu ordered, pulling out his gun.
In the panic, the Shadows took off immediately. Before they left, however, Morgana blew into her whistle once again, and the Mona-mobile, or what was left of it, vanished in a puff of smoke. As they barely escaped the lava consuming Kobayakawa's private island, the team took a break. A break that didn't last long as the plane began its descent.
"What did you do?!" Yu demanded.
"If Shujin Nation dies, you die with it!" One Shadow yelled, prompting Yu to kill both of them. Taking the helm, he saw Shujin Nation in the distance, and it didn't look pretty.
"Everyone! We're coming in hard! Get ready to bail!" He yelled, setting the plane on a downward flight, then heading back to the passenger area. Everyone stood ready as the plane got closer and closer to the water.
"Ace, pair up with Carmen! Use your Personas to break your fall!" Yu suggested.
"Alright!" Morgana acknowledged.
"On the count of three! One, two…. THREE!"
Yu and the others jumped out at just the right moment. Taking Yu's advise, each used their Personas to make the landing actually comfortable, Boudica shooting jets of flame, Izanagi hovering, and Lady Trieu using the wind. They landed on the beach, the private jet exploding on impact. They heard screams of terror, and looked to see what all the commotion was. They could only stare in horror at what they were witnessing.
Shujin Nation was experiencing a massive earthquake, with several massive tornadoes to be seen in the distance, and several flies buzzing about like the whole area was just a giant pile of meat for them to feast on. Buildings were falling apart, students were falling and dying, and Shadows struggled to try and maintain a sense of order, and the propaganda that was being spewed out earlier was now just incoherent gibberish. Eventually, Yu was able to snap out of his shock, and nudged his teammates.
"Come on! We have to go, now!"
The four made a sprint for the exit, ignoring all of the chaos. The earthquake got worse, as a giant rift was starting to form in the center of Shujin, and it was gaining on them, fast. The team doubled their speed. Yu looked behind him and saw that the ground was giving way to an empty pit, and he forced his legs to run faster, the protesting muscles doing little to dissuade him. He looked at his phone. It was mostly static now, but the purple circle was there, and he was so close. He and his team almost ran out of ground to run on. They were so close. So close to winning, so close to surviving, so close to freedom…
The ground underneath began to give way. Yu closed his eyes, and took a leap of faith as the nation of gluttony finished its collapse.