"Shirley has a Palace? And her Deadly Sin is lust?" Milly frowned. "Normally, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to tease her about not being as sweet and innocent deep down as she seemed. But this is no laughing matter."
"I would have thought it would be envy…" Kallen replied. "Not that I expected her to form a Palace in the first place," she added quickly as she got several glances from the other girls. "But she never liked it when she saw me around Lelouch."
"I'm surprised it isn't tristitia…" Leila murmured. "Though I suppose that was combined with acedia…"
"Britannian, please," Milly asked.
"Tristitia is Latin for sorrow, melancholy, or despair," Leila explained. "It was once considered a Deadly Sin in its own right. Acedia came into Latin from Greek, and is most commonly rendered as sloth today, though it's more like ennui than simple laziness. The other Deadly Sins are superbia, avaritia, luxuria, invidia, gula, and ira, though sometimes vaingloria is added to them."
"Show-off," Kallen muttered under her breath.
"You learned all of that at St. Lucy's?" Milly marveled. "You really were raised Catholic, weren't you, Leila?"
"That's enough, all of you," Lelouch said irritably. "Shirley is in trouble, and here we are, wasting time!"
Euphemia placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "We'll save her, brother," she told him gently. "I can tell that she's important to you… and your friends."
He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Is everyone agreed? Our top priority is the infiltration of Shirley's Palace and stealing her heart?"
"This is a lot more serious than when we were just searching for her Shadow in Mementos," Milly said.
"We can't ignore this," Kallen frowned.
"She is a member of your student council, after all," Arthur added.
"I know." Milly nodded.
"So there are no objections?" Lelouch pressed.
There was only silence.
"Then let us begin the infiltration without a moment's delay! Commence navigation!"
Ashford Academy twisted around them, transporting them to the Sinking Ship of Lust.
xXx
The Black Knights found themselves on the deck of a wooden vessel, dressed in their thief costumes, facing the bow of the ship. The smell of brine filled their nostrils. It was nighttime in the Palace, but there was a nearly full moon in the sky, casting illumination on the vast ocean surrounded them as far as the eye could see in all directions. The seas seemed peaceful, with only a gentle rolling back and forth in the waves, but the Black Knights couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a 'Sinking Ship'?" Kallen asked.
"Ssh! You'll jinx it!" Milly hissed. "Guts!"
"Is that supposed to be some sort of a spell?" Euphemia asked in confusion.
"Ignore her," Lelouch told his half sister sternly. He had little patience for Milly's antics right now.
Turning around, the Black Knights saw the true form of the Palace - a galleon, larger than any real galleon, though Lelouch supposed that Ashford Academy, the real location that the Palace was based on, had always been larger than life. It was festooned with streaming white banners, ribbons, and blood-red roses. A band could be heard playing in the distance, a tune that seemed joyous at first, but as one listened closer, the undercurrent of a dirge could be heard woven into the melody. Cognitions of party-goers milled about the deck, engaging in small talk with each other. The males wore black uniforms, richly embroidered in styles that would be best described as baroque or rococo, while the girls wore fancy dresses from the same period in Britannia's history when such styles were popular, and in a wide variety of colors. But there was something deeply unsettling about the Cognitions; each wore an identical, hard white mask, their lips spread into thin, mocking smiles, and all that could be seen behind the holes for the eyes were black voids.
"I was expecting something more modern," Kallen murmured. "But who is the wedding for?"
"Shirley was always the romantic type," Milly replied. "It doesn't surprise me that she'd imagine some sort of fairy tale wedding like this for herself."
"Is it really for her, though?" Leila asked.
"We'll know soon enough," Arthur said. "But I don't like this. Something's not right."
"Let's go," Lelouch told his fellow Black Knights.
The Cognitions did not appear to be hostile, and let the Black Knights move among them unhindered. They overheard several references to a 'Black Prince', who was apparently the groom, and was to marry a beautiful princess.
It didn't take a genius to figure out who that was supposed to be, and Lelouch could feel the eyes of his companions settling upon him.
As they neared the stern of the ship, they saw that where there should have been the great cabin, there was a recreation of Ashford Academy's Clubhouse, perched atop the vessel.
"Her Cognition shows increased levels of distortion ahead," Leila reported. "I'm detecting Shadows within and below deck. Wait… there's a powerful Shadow, incoming!"
"Oh? It seems we have more guests!" A familiar, cheerful voice said, but at the same time, it had an otherworldly and malevolent quality to it that was alien to the original.
There was a splash, and the Shadow leapt out of the water, a blur of green and copper, and gracefully landed on the deck of the ship. For a moment, the Black Knights saw a fish's tail, covered in scintillating scales, before it shimmered and reformed into a pair of long, toned and distinctly human legs. Rising upon its new limbs, the Shadow turned to face them.
"I was wondering when you would come, Lulu," Shadow Shirley smiled at him.
"Be careful, Zero!" Arthur hissed. "We're all in our thief costumes… that means…."
"I know," Lelouch whispered. Shadow Shirley might look friendly at a glance, but to be forced into their thief costumes from the moment that they entered her Palace meant that she saw them as a threat.
However, Shadow Shirley made no move to attack. She continued to stand before them, her coppery-red hair glistening in the moonlight as water dripped from it. Unlike the guests, her outfit was… revealing, to say the least. No, practically nonexistent was more accurate. Her breasts were partly covered only by thin, dangling strands of hair protecting her modesty, and tenuously at that. They were quite a bit bigger than Lelouch had realized. Her nether regions were covered by some residual green scales between her legs, she wore a strand of pearls around her neck, and a tiara made of assorted seashells crowned her head, but that was it. Besides the scales, she outwardly appeared fully human, except for fanned, regal fin-like protrusions that she had in the place of her ears, and a Shadow's glowing golden eyes.
"Well, say something, Lulu," Shadow Shirley said. She leaned forward slightly, a coy look on her face, giving him an even better view of her chest, while keeping her arms behind her, as if to show that she was harmless.
Shadow Shirley was the very definition of a siren. He had never seen Shirley in this way before. The real Shirley would have been mortified by such a display, and Lelouch could almost feel his hormones begging to be let free, the more primitive part of his mind enthralled by the sight before him. But he held himself back with an iron will. He knew that to approach Shadow Shirley unguarded would inevitably invite his own self-destruction.
"Wh-what do you think you're doing?" Kallen sputtered at the Shadow. "Shamelessly parading yourself in front of him like that?"
"Yes!" Euphemia agreed with unusual vehemence.
"No one asked you, Kallen!" Shadow Shirley snapped, her golden eyes flaring in anger. "You might be dressed differently here, but you're always hovering around Lulu!" Her gaze fixed itself on Milly. "And don't think I didn't notice you running those lecherous eyes over me, you pervert! You were probably thinking about giving my chest a feel again, weren't you?"
"How is that fair?" Milly complained. "Zero's eyes were all over you too!"
"You too, Arthur…" Shadow Shirley sighed, shaking her head. She looked up, glancing and Leila and then Euphemia, her golden eyes narrowing as they settled upon the princess. "And who are you, anyway? It was bad enough when Lulu started going out with Kallen! Don't tell me he's been seeing you too!"
"It's not like that," Euphemia protested.
"Just wait until he breaks your heart too!" Shadow Shirley shot back. "What do you want from me anyway?" she asked miserably. "This isn't how I wanted to spend my birthday, you know."
That was right…. It was July 8th… Shirley had turned seventeen that day.
"You all forgot, didn't you…" Shadow Shirley frowned. "You were all too busy doing whatever you do as Black Knights. Isn't it enough that you killed my father?" She hung her head. "Listen, I'll give you one chance, for old times' sake. Just leave this place now, and I won't hurt any of you."
"Shirley…" Lelouch said slowly. "We're here to help you, but we can't do that if you fight us. Stand down, and I'll be happy to face whatever punishment I deserve for putting you through this when it's all over."
"No!" Shadow Shirley shouted. "You're a liar! You're all liars! You just want to steal my Treasure and get me out of the way! But I won't let you! I'll avenge my father's death, here and now!" She held out a hand, power swirling around her. "Scylla! Charybdis! Hear me!"
Darkness converged on the deck, and a large Shadow appeared, in the form of nymph, which must have once been beautiful, fused to a monster with six snapping heads that could be none other than Scylla.
"What our your orders, Princess Shirley?" Scylla asked its ruler.
Lelouch thought he saw Shadow Shirley grimace, but only for a moment. "Kill the Black Knights," she ordered. "It's the only way."
"As you command, Your Highness," Scylla replied dutifully.
"This is really bad!" Arthur shouted over Scylla's roar.
"There's another Shadow in the water, on our port side!" Leila called out. Glancing in the indicated direction, Lelouch saw a vast maelstrom open up, large enough to swallow the ship whole, sucking enormous quantities of water down into its maw. Of course, real whirlpools didn't work that way, but that didn't matter in the Metaverse. The public saw whirlpools almost as if they were black holes of the sea, inexorably pulling in everything around them, and with a quick mental calculation, Lelouch estimated that they had less than two minutes before Charybdis devoured them.
That wasn't enough time to dispatch both Scylla and Charybdis. Scylla was the immediate threat, but every second they spent fighting her brought them closer to Charybdis. There had to be another way.
Swiftly searching his surroundings, he finally found what they needed. On the front balcony of the Clubhouse there was the ship's helm. If they could seize it, they could steer the ship away from Charybdis. But Scylla stood between them and the Clubhouse, and was poised to intercept anyone who tried to make their way past it.
There was only one solution; they would need to distract Scylla.
Mobility would be essential for the operation. They didn't have much time to begin with, and the Black Knight sent to man the helm would have only a narrow window to dart past Scylla while its attention was elsewhere, and then they would have to reach the balcony. Clearly, the only suitable candidate were those Black Knights with flying Personas, which meant Kallen or Milly. He immediately ruled himself out, as Shadow Shirley's attention was fixed on him moreso than any other Black Knight, so she, and by extension, Scylla, would be sure to take notice if he was the one to take the helm. He was more valuable as part of the diversion. Kallen's offensive output was far greater than Milly's, and would further serve to maintain Scylla's focus on the Black Knights in front of it, and they would need Kallen free to fight if they got too close to Charybdis. Besides… something felt right about Milly steering this Cognitive version of Ashford Academy.
All of this was decided in a matter of seconds.
"Diamond," he said, just loud enough so that she would hear him but Scylla and Shadow Shirley would not. "Use Medea and take the helm on the Clubhouse balcony! We'll give you an opening!"
"Right, Zero!" She nodded. "Leave it to me!"
"What are you planning?" Shadow Shirley hissed. "You're always plotting things behind my back, aren't you, Lulu?!"
Ignoring her, the Black Knights launched their diversionary assault on Scylla. Guren Jigoku led the charge, going toe to toe with the Shadow, a blur as it streaked back and forth, nimbly dodging Scylla's relentless attacks. Scylla tried to trap Guren Jigoku between three of its heads, but Kallen's Persona triumphantly decapitated one of them with a large knife before retreating to a safe distance, leaving radiation burns across Scylla's body.
Euphemia and Arthur were next, striking Scylla with ice and wind. Euphemia's spell proved ineffective, but Arthur's at least gave Scylla pause, though any damage from it was minor. Leila stayed in the rear, working on analyzing their foes' defenses and casting healing and protective spells as need.
Lelouch summoned Shiki-Ouji, now resistant to nuclear attacks following a stay in Lockdown after Alciel's defeat. Scylla targeted him at once, the remaining five monstrous heads converging to try to devour his Persona. But Shiki-Ouji was impervious to Scylla's fangs, and Lelouch knew that they had their opening.
"Diamond! Now!" He shouted.
"Right!" Pulling off her mask in a flourish, Milly summoned Medea, who took hold of her and flew over Scylla, safely dropping Milly on the balcony.
"What?!" Shadow Shirley shouted in disbelief. "Stop her!" she ordered Scylla.
Scylla turned to attack Milly, but it was encumbered by its bulk, and could not do so quickly, giving Milly the opportunity to start turning the ship away from its collision course with Charybdis. The other Black Knights took the opportunity to redouble their attack. As a monster that normally spent its time hidden among rocky crags, Scylla was unaccustomed to being attacked from the rear, and accordingly vulnerable, allowing the Black Knights to cut deep into it. Scylla howled in pain, and again when Kallen cut off another of its heads, collapsing onto the deck, but not before managing to make a lunge at Milly. The attack veered to the side as its body crumpled, dragging the head down with it, but it still managed to take a large bite out of the balcony's railing.
Lelouch wasn't going to give Scylla another chance to rise and threaten Milly. "Launch an all-out attack!" he ordered.
The Black Knights on the deck descended upon Scylla, and after a sustained assault, its body burst into black wisps.
"Zero, we have a problem!" Leila said telepathically, cutting through the din, her voice urgent. "Charybdis is pursuing us! We can't outrun it at the rate it's gaining on us!"
Charybdis could move on its own?
"Diamond, angle the ship to cut across the edge of the maelstrom!"
"Are you sure?"
"Just do it!"
Charybdis was nearly upon them, but by moving tangent to its vortex, they would stay out of its maw for as long as possible.
"Yikes!" Milly called out, able to see into Charybdis' depths before they could from her high vantage point. "That's way too many teeth!"
In another moment, Charybdis came into view for the other Black Knights. Row upon row of fangs lined the bottom of the whirlpool's funnel, the mouth of an enormous Shadow that seemed more like a horror out of the fevered nightmares of H.P. Lovecraft than anything else.
The Black Knights hardly needed to be told that they had to unload everything they had upon it: grenades, bullets, lightning from Lelouch's Personas, and strafing beams of nuclear energy fired from Guren Jigoku's palm as it flew over the maelstrom. Charybdis didn't actively fight back, but it didn't need to, drawing the Palace ever closer to its maw.
Lelouch was starting to experience a sinking feeling, but with one last blast from Guren Jigoku, Charybdis let out a low moan, like that of a whale yet far eerier. The monster released one last belch, violently rocking the Palace back and forth, and then sank under the waves, vanishing from sight. After a few more moments, the sea was calm again.
"Is it….?" Euphemia started nervously.
"You're asking if it's dead?" Kallen replied. "It had better be."
"The target is silent…" Leila murmured. "I can't sense it any longer."
"Is it dead or not?" Kallen asked impatiently.
"I can't say for sure," Leila frowned.
For her part, Shadow Shirley seemed distressed by this turn of events. "Why couldn't you just make it quick, Lulu? You're only making this more painful than it has to be! Just go!"
The ambience of the Palace changed, and the skies began flashing red.
"She's calling up Shadows from below deck," Leila reported.
"Time to make ourselves scarce!" Arthur shouted.
Lelouch hated to leave now, but fighting through a horde of Shadows was not an option. With a heavy heart, he signaled for the Black Knights to make a tactical withdrawal.
They would be back before long. He swore that to himself.
xXx
"Shirley tried to kill us!" Kallen fumed once they were safely out of the Metaverse and away from prying eyes or ears.
"Her Shadow did," Lelouch corrected.
"What's the difference?" Kallen asked heatedly. "It's part of her, right?"
"Did you ever know Shirley to intentionally hurt someone, much less say an unkind word to anyone?" Lelouch asked.
"Well, no, but…"
"Yet at the same time, there was a lot she was bottling up inside her," Lelouch continued. "Coach Nu's abuse…. Her father's death… Discovering our true identities…"
"To say nothing of jealousy," Kallen added.
"Jealous yourself at how her Shadow was putting the moves on him?" Milly asked.
"Quiet."
"Everyone represses certain thoughts and actions that are unacceptable to society or themselves," Leila said. "Your friend was jealous of your relationship with Lelouch, but I'm sure the thought of lashing out at you would have been horrifying to her. The thought must have still existed within her, but she probably censored it and shoved it out of her conscious mind as soon as it occurred to her."
"And that thought became a part of her Shadow," Arthur concluded. "That's what a Shadow is, right? All of your dark, hidden desires…"
"It doesn't strictly need to be a dark desire," Leila corrected. "Just a desire or a trait that you don't recognize as being a part of yourself. For example, someone with social anxiety might have a gregarious Shadow. It can be a source of great creativity as well. At least, that was Jung's view on the Shadow."
"But he wasn't writing about the real Shadows that we're facing in the Metaverse, was he?" Milly asked. "Besides, haven't the Shadows of the previous Palace Rulers been pretty much exactly like the real ones?"
"They allowed themselves to be taken over by their Shadows," Lelouch replied. "Hence why there was scarcely any difference between the Shadow and the real person at that point. We can assume that Shirley's Palace only formed recently, so she hasn't been fully possessed by her own Shadow yet."
"I don't think the real Clovis truly appreciated how vain and monstrous he had really become, not until we changed his heart," Leila said softly. "His Shadow exulted in its vanity though. So the theory still holds up."
"I wonder what my own Shadow would be like…" Euphemia murmured. She shuddered. "I don't think I'd want to meet her."
"I don't think a Persona user can run into their own Shadow," Arthur replied. He nodded at Lelouch. "Our leader turns Shadows into Personas all the time. I think your Persona is your Shadow, but working with you rather than against you."
"We're bogging ourselves down in minutia," Lelouch said. "That may well be true, but infiltrating that Palace remains the priority. Everything else can wait for now. Go and get your rest, everyone. As soon as the alert is lowered, we're heading back in."
xXx
Shirley was having nightmares again.
She had skipped classes, terrified of facing her fellow members of the Student Council, or as they had been revealed to her, the core of the Black Knights. Instead, she had spent most of her day in bed, fading in and out of consciousness, getting whatever rest she could after several sleepless nights, but even that was fitful. She kept dreaming of a sinking ship and horrifying monsters. But worst of all were her dreams of masked classmates, staring at her with soulless eyes that were just black voids, offering her cruel smiles even as they whispered behind her back. All in all, it was the worst birthday that she had ever had.
She heard someone at the door. It had to her roommate, Sophie Wood, returning back to the dormitory for the evening. Sophie had been bringing her food, enabling Shirley to stay in her room except when she needed to use the restroom, for which she was grateful, but at the same time, Shirley couldn't help but worry. What if Sophie was just keeping an eye on her for the Black Knights?
No! That was crazy! Sophie was her friend. But then again, she had thought the other members of the Student Council were her friends as well…
She shook her head. She was letting her imagination get the best of her.
"Come in," she said glumly. It wasn't as if she could stop Sophie from doing so, since her roommate had the other key to their room.
The door opened, and at once Shirley realized something was very wrong.
"I'm pleased to meet you, Miss Shirley Fenette," a mocking male voice said.
"Huh? Who are you? Where's Sophie? What did you do to her?"
"You're concerned for your roommate? How admirable!" The man said, holding up his hands and clapping several times. "Of course, you're far more concerned about the Black Knights, and how your precious Lulu is one of them!"
"No… how could you…" Shirley gasped. She had never met this man before, but somehow he knew the secret that had been torturing her.
"I know everything about you, Shirley Fenette, and your sin. But it's not just your sins you have to pay for. The sins of your father must also be punished."
"My father's already gone!" Shirley sobbed. "And he never hurt anyone! I don't know what you-".
"It's too late to play the tragic heroine. Deep down you know that you're a wicked witch who thinks only of her own heart and deserves to be punished. And you will be."
"Beginning navigation," a mechanical voice announced from the man's phone.
The world distorted around Shirley and the stranger, transporting her away from Ashford Academy and into her nightmares.
xXx
"Master Lelouch, come quickly," Sayoko said, knocking on his door. "There's something on the news that you should see."
What was it now? Still, he knew that Sayoko would not interrupt him as he was trying to go to bed unless it was important, so he rose and followed her to the living room.
"I repeat, we are being forced to air this pre-recorded message," the anchor was saying as Lelouch arrived in front of the television. The terrorist known only as Medjed has threatened to kill members of our board of directors and our newsroom staff if we do not comply or if the broadcast is interrupted or altered in any way. He has already demonstrated his ability to carry out these threats, and so, as his hostages, we have no choice but to acede to his demands."
The screen cut to the word "MEDJED" emblazoned menacingly over a green background.
"Good evening, Black Knights!" a male voice with a maniacal edge to it began. "You've been causing quite an uproar here in Area 11!" The sound of clapping as if in mock congratulations could be heard on the recording. "But hearing you talk of your false justice is so tiresome," the voice continued petulantly. "I am the true knight of justice!" The speaker clapped again, and when he resumed, his voice was filled with condescension. "However, I am magnanimous. I shall give you an opportunity to do penance for your wicked ways! By the time this message is released, I will have taken something important from you, and brought it to the palatial ship where one drowns in their evil desires. If you can find me there and retrieve what I've taken, I'll even admit defeat!" Medjed laughed and clapped for several seconds. "But if you reject my offer, I will reveal your secrets for the entire world to see! Since I'm so generous, I'll even give you two weeks to do it! That counts today, by the way. But I would hurry if I were you… I might get restless if you keep me waiting for too long, and then what I've taken might not survive.…" he added on a note of mock sadness.
"I am Medjed, the Smiter," the voice concluded, the last word punctuated by a particularly loud clap. "I am unseen. I eliminate evil."
"And there you have it," the anchor announced. "The terrorist Medjed's ultimatum to the Black Knights. What does it mean? We've assembled a panel of experts…"
Lelouch didn't care what the so-called experts had to say; it was doubtlessly drivel from Area 11's finest talking heads. What Medjed had said was very disturbing to him. Medjed had made a clear reference to Shirley's Palace, a cryptic reference to any not already familiar with the Metaverse that the media would doubtlessly spend many hours poring over and invent many creative theories to explain. But the only way Medjed could possibly know about Shirley's Palace was if he had been….
Lelouch felt his cell phone ringing.
He picked it up at once, and heard Milly's frantic voice on the other end.
"Lelouch! Shirley is missing! We found her roommate, Sophie… She was knocked out but should be okay… But there's no trace of Shirley anywhere!"
"She's been kidnapped by Medjed," Lelouch said, clenching a fist, not daring to raise his voice louder lest he wake Nunnally. "That's the only explanation."
"But why?" Milly said.
"Medjed must have been stalking her for some time. I don't know how, but he must have discovered her Palace before we did. Once inside, it would be easy for him to discover her connection to us. Now he's using Shirley to force us to play his little game."
"That's awful…"
"Shirley should be okay in the short term," Lelouch replied, clamping down on the chaotic swell of emotions in his chest, "provided that Medjed keeps her in one of the Palace's safe rooms. But we don't have long. Medjed gave us two weeks, but we may have much less than that."
"It's a trap, Lelouch. You know that, don't you?" Milly asked.
"Of course it is," he replied. "Shirley is the bait. But you don't honestly expect me to believe that you of all people are telling me to leave her to die."
"No, but…"
"It's a trap, yes," Lelouch replied. "And we have no choice but to walk into it. But we'll turn the tables on Medjed… and rescue Shirley!"
Days Until Shirley is Killed: 13
A/N:
Thanks to my reviewers and beta reader, who through their suggestions helped me refine the details for this chapter. Shirley's Palace was always going to be a ship, but they helped me settle on a Galleon instead of a cruise ship (like in P5), as a Galleon better fit the motifs I plan to include in the Palace, and galleons often served as treasure ships, which is fitting for a Palace.
Shadow Shirley's attire (or lack thereof) was chosen to be in line with more traditional depictions of mermaids, rather than the Disneyfied version of them. Plus, I thought it served to better emphasize her Deadly Sin of Lust and her yearning for Lelouch's attention. Further, Shirley consciously rejects presenting herself in such a shameless manner, so naturally her Shadow does the opposite.
"Medjed" makes his appearance. His ultimatum is based on the challenge issued by the game's Medjed, though its delivery is altered to suit his personality. I think I might have been influenced by Death Note a bit with him threatening the TV station, but as this version of Medjed is not a hacker, I thought it better fit his modus operandi.
Next time, the Black Knights will get a closer look at Shirley's Palace. Thanks for reading and your continued support!