This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.

5/20 Monday

After School

The dusty town portion of Julian's Land which bore the name 'Freedom City' looked the same as it had on their first visit to it. It only felt different to Saber, to Aiko, knowing that stepping back into the wide sunny concourse framed by wooden shacks and stables was returning to a place where their enemy, Julian's Shadow and the Shadows that served him, held all the cards.

And speaking of cards...

Before any cognitions could stop and point at them (though they did get a friendly welcome wave from old man George), she was leading the team into one of several lively saloons lining the main street. Aside from the bank and the rail station, they seemed to be the most popular places for Freedom City's people to gather.

Or at least its adult male cognitions. Sure enough, several of the round wooden tables in there were fully engaged in various types of ante-focused card games, while the rest of them were either actively talking, drinking, or both. The plinky piano melody that had been a distant lure from the outside grew into full volume, its source lying across the way from the counter.

"Saber...", Mira's worried voice came from behind her almost at the exact time she had predicted, grabbing her sleeve to stop them moving further into the crowd. Naturally, she would have at least one concern about such a risky move.

"Yes, Dancer?"

"Um... over there?"

However, following the place she was pointing to led to a shock even she hadn't seen coming and stopped her in her tracks. Mirambela's finger was pointed at the antique piano. Or rather, at the person stationed there on a flat wooden seat, playing the song that filled the room and beyond.

There was a young woman in an elegant black satin dress, her slender fingers working the keys like a master, only the instrument's apparent age marring the simple jaunty tune she played. Only when she stopped her song and took a short break, leaning herself forlornly against the instrument did Aiko truly understand.

It was her own face staring back at her.

A bit older-looking perhaps, wearing the kind of dress she'd never dared try and bearing all the signs of her new 'environment', but the light gray hair and round green eyes were unmistakable.

"She's a cognition", Pelagio hissed in her ear behind her, justly concerned that their leader would freak out over this new discovery. "Just a cognition. Merely a replication of how Mr. Rosea views Saber through the...erm... the filter of his dreams."

"Y-yeah", she muttered blankly, deliberately forcing her eyes as far away from the piano player as possible. "She's just a cognition. Just an illusion, right? Right?"

All the same, the group gave her a bide berth until they got to the bar. While Aiko ordered some cheap drinks for appearances' sake, no one on their team was thirsty enough to try a sip, so instead they got to sit back on the creaky wooden stools and watch the crowd play, inwardly impressed that everything they were witnessing was all a product of one boy's subconscious mind.

"Not that I'm questioning it, Saber", Mira's concern resumed next to her after several minutes. "But is there a reason we're doing this?"

"Of course there is, Dancer", she tried not to sound offended as they studied the various card games hand by hand, wager by wager, keeping their eyes resolutely away from the piano player. No one had been accused of cheating yet, but it felt like that might happen at any moment with this atmosphere, and then there would be a fight. "We're watching the games here."

"Oh", Mira noted blankly, processing what she'd said. "And, uh... is there a reason that we're watching cognitions play poker instead of going off to save Rosea-kun like we should?"

There was a long hesitation after, smothered under the bustle of the other saloon denizens until Aiko pointed to something that had been put down on one of the tables. A small patch of dark leather with a colorless metal star buckled to it, the word 'Freedom' engraved in the bottom.

"There", she announced. "At that table, with the beard. One of the deputies. He's a Shadow in disguise, not a cognition. Get ready to fight." Rising up from her seat, she stopped to glance around. "Wait a second. Does this place have a... yes it does. Follow me."

No one bothered them as the trio made their way up to the second floor, which was really just an extended portion of raised floor surrounded by a railing and joined by the staircase, with one wall holding a row of doors leading into small, vacant bedrooms. No one else saw Aiko slowly drawing out and raising the new weapon that officer Nijima had acquired for them, a dark, smooth-handled flintlock pistol with a busted firing mechanism that would never work anywhere outside of Faraway Lands. Exactly as desired, and one that fit into her white glove like it was made that way, feeling sleek and polished.

Mira's weapon was more modern, but no less unusual. It was a small metal piece with a square, angular handle and no barrel. Instead, it had an air pressure-based launching system for firing thin tranquilizer darts instead of bullets, a clip of four weaker shots instead of just one powerful one. Even here in a Land of human cognition, her distaste of actual guns shone through with her choice of weapon. "I suppose if I ever really meant business", she murmured softly to herself, "I could just throw my simi daggers."

"Aim", Aiko ordered her, pointing her weapon and praying that she wouldn't mess this up somehow. "Pela-chan, watch out for other people who don't just scream and run when this starts; those ones are probably Shadows too."

The bushy-bearded man who held a metal star denoting him as a deputy in Freedom city was just celebrating having won the majority of his friends' money with a full house when Aiko squeezed the aging trigger and a bullet came crashing into his balding head, straight through the hat's brim. An impossibly loud bang ran through her arm bones and into her head, only to be quickly replaced by the sounds of utter pandemonium.

They all fled, more terrified by the shot than the way the supposedly 'dead' man hadn't simply fallen over onto the floor, but instead dissolved into a familiar dark puddle. Only two other there- the deputies -didn't run. They drew their revolvers, searching around for the source of the shot until a neon blue explosion from Pelagio's Galahad Persona blasted one off their feet.

That caused the three Shadows clad in human skin to abandon all pretense. Two more black puddles formed, and from them three angry monsters violently emerged. Two of them appeared as eight foot tall humanoid ghouls with the same revoltingly desiccated green skin as the jailer Shadow from earlier, blood red mouths extending past their chins all the way down to their waists, the entire opening framed by vicious teeth the size of a human arm. The third also bore a similarity to the jailer, taking on the form of a pink-skinned bipedal horse wearing Roman-influenced bronze armor.

None of the Shadows bothered talking, the two big-mouthed ghouls merely howling incoherent rage. They knew they were under attack, even if they couldn't yet place where it was coming from. Not until Aiko's Persona materialized above the chandelier, her gesture dropping a gushing torrent of water down on not one, but all three of the Shadows.

"Malaqua!", Aiko announced the skill with a smirk. "Go for it, Dancer!"

Their third Persona-user followed suit, Oya's lightning blasting down to crackle tiny bolts in the water that already covered them. "Go! Shock them, Oya! Mazio!"

The synthesis of the water and electricity seemed to accomplish what they had hoped and planned for, with one minor exception- the pink horse had been bowled over onto the floor by the water, but the electricity merely ground into his dark hooves, leaving no sign of injury.

"Hmph. Immune to electricity, are we?", Pelagio remarked reservedly. "Then he shall fall at my hand!"

Without another word, he plummeted from the railing to strike the Shadow directly, the momentum of the practiced fall merely adding to the strength of his downward swing. Saber and Dancer followed after, though not as a form of attack, but evasion; they had spotted the two ghouls releasing some kind of acrid yellow fog from their massive mouths, a cloud that spread itself upwards past the chandeliers until it had engulfed the entire second floor.

"Some kind of poison, probably", Mira noted. "Again?"

"Oh yeah!", Aiko fought to keep herself from smiling as they repeated their earlier elemental combination on the two Shadows. Normally they would have been more careful, using their various skills to increase hitting power, defense, or speed. She had decided from the start to try a more immediate approach with this bunch, an all-out offensive that gave the enemy no time to strike back with whatever powers they might have had, partly out of the fear that they might possess a skill as dangerous as Mudo, or worse.

The pink horse Shadow didn't have Mudo, but he was strong. Strong enough to throw Pelagio across the building and into the wall behind the bar, shattering numerous liquor bottles and glasses. Pelagio rose up from the wreckage with a violent mood about him not unlike the Shadows had held moments before the attack started, and raised his own blade with his Persona following suit.

"Demolish them, Galahad! Mafrei!"

Three pocket-sized explosions rocked their foes, and apparently that combined with the previous injuries was too much even for the hardy ghouls, both disintegrating and leaving only the large horse creature behind. It began gathering the energy for its own spell, a blast of lightning like the kind Mira used, only for her to step in front of him and soak up the attack without a single noise of complaint.

"Just a pinprick", she surprised even herself by boasting. "You know nothing of the ways of lightning and storms, my friend."

The Shadow raised one hooved arm to strike in a more direct fashion, but another shot from Aiko's pistol impacted it, leaving it whinnying on the floor. "N-no... no! It ain't suppose to be like this! I'm supposed to beat up the weaklings, not get beaten up by strong folks! It ain't fair!"

Sensing the end of the battle, Aiko sheathed her cutlass, an expression of revulsion on her face now. "In other words, you only joined this place to bully others? You're disgusting!"

The creature's whinnying was getting on her nerves, but she forced herself to listen as it dropped the twangy western accent, speaking purely as itself. "If I don't, nobody will know how badass I am! That's the rule! The strongest are the best!"

Waiting a beat to check her companions' reactions, Aiko carefully studied the eyes of the pitiful monster splayed before them, lying among hundreds of dropped playing cards. "If you want to be truly strong, then become a part of me. Pay attention, and you'll see what true strength really is."

"You're stronger", the Shadow acknowledged hesitantly. "That means if I join you, I'll be stronger too, right?"

"Sure, if that's how you want it."

The pink horse creature became still then, beginning to transform itself into something new and continuing to speak as it did. "Oh, yeah! I remember now. I'm Touki Mezuki. Make sure you tell all your friends about what an awesome badass I am, okay?"

"Amazing", Pelagio remarked once the light had faded, joining Aiko's other Personas. "You really do have quite the gift for taming Shadows, my- I mean, Saber."

Their leader shrugged as if it were nothing, knowing that her display of confidence would boost their own. "Most of the Shadows I've seen here are pretty simple-minded. If someone stronger beats them, they're willing to give them a chance to make an offer for partnership. I suppose that's why Julian-kun's Shadow was able to get so many of them on his side here. He must be really strong."

"Probably", Mira agreed nervously, remembering her own Shadow all too well, the strongest and most malevolent Shadow of her own Land by far. "This 'wild card' thing... how many Personas do you have now?"

She made a show of counting on her white gloved fingers. "Let me think... I have Anne Bonny, Onkot, Lilim, Jack Frost, that golden birdie we found on the island last time, Vidofnir... and now Mezuki. That makes six masks. Why?"

"Do you think maybe, there's some kind of limit on how many masks you can have?"

Her eyes narrowed. She hadn't considered that. All further consideration of Personas went by the wayside when a figure came shrieking out of a dark hiding spot beneath the saloon's ruined staircase, wielding a short knife normally used to cut food until Pelagio's sword extended itself between the figure and her intended target.

For the second time, Aiko stared into the eyes of her own cognitive duplicate. They were mad eyes this time, driven by a mixture of anger and terror, but not enough to completely disregard the edge of the sword that was lying at her gut.

The burden of the next decision settled down across her shoulders then, and she honestly would have rather fought a dozen more Shadows just as tough as Mezuki or the jailer than make it. Leave or kill? If we leave her, will she come after us? Will she alert the other Shadows?

Is she a Shadow?

"She must die", Pelagio sounded as melancholy as could be expected of someone pronouncing a death sentence on a copy of the one they had sworn to protect. "This is something which I feared might happen, Saber. I have beheld Lands in the past where the cognitions themselves become hostile to intruders, not merely the Shadows. In this case, most of cognitions are merely frightened of us, sensing that we don't belong there, but it seems there are a few here with a different outlook."

She was shaking, she realized. Just looking at the furious expression on this near-perfect copy of her own face was enough to make her tremble. Her, who had now defeated dozens of horrible Shadows of every shape and color imaginable.

Easily sensing her reluctance, Mira drew her dart gun. "I know. I'll do it. I don't mind, really."

But a wide-sleeved arm shot up before her. "No", Aiko murmured, steeling herself for an ordeal just as wracking as high school exams. "Let me do it. Guardian's right. It's better for me to get used to doing this now, instead of a place where we would have to choose while we're being attacked."

Deep breaths came involuntarily now, and she sensed the confusion in her copy as well. Though she still couldn't quite look directly into the eyes, she was able to raise her pistol and take aim. "Sorry."

The cognition spoke to them then. Unlike with Kujou or Mattora, it was her own voice that was snarling threats at them, with only a slight touch of the 'local' accent.

"Y'all are gonna rot in hell. You can't beat a sexy guy like my master Julian! He's gonna kick all your ass-"

Just a cognition. Not the real me. Not the real me, the real me, not not not NOT-

Eyes closed, she fired, the sound of the gun even louder without any accompanying noise.

Seconds passed, and she felt nothing. There was the mercy of the body merely vanishing like Shadows did, not transforming as they had feared, but still she felt nothing. Mira and even Pelagio were being tactful, both keeping a fair distance and waiting for her to be ready before they spoke again.

"She... she wasn't me", she managed to breath out at long last. "She was not me. Just Julian-kun's cognition of me. Right?"

"You are correct, Saber", Pelagio said, even more respectfully than usual. "It would be more accurate for us to say that girl was the person that... she is the person that Mr. Rosea secretly desires you to be for him."

Admittedly, that idea was fairly sickening to think about as well. Aiko had to remind herself that this was just like the drooling, brain-dead versions of Kujou, Mr. Noriyama and Ms. Mattora she had seen in the previous Land.

Someone's imagination gone way, way, way out of control, wanting only to see what they desire without a care for any other reality. A man with a high opinion of himself would see any woman who they lo- any woman they like in the same way here.

So, I guess it's kind of like a compliment?

That notion helped a little. Her hands weren't shaking any more, and she was able to holster her new pistol without difficulty. One more lingering nightmare that Ishinagi-sensei won't be able to help me with.

"I hope this was worth it, Saber", Mira remarked carefully as well. "Why did we come here instead of just heading out for Oppressor's Gulch?"

Shaking the last of the malaise away, Aiko knelt down into the wreckage of the saloon's floor, eventually retrieving the metal star. "A few reasons. Firstly, I wanted to make sure our guns worked as we expected them to, and that the Shadows here would react to them the way we wanted them to. Not that I didn't have faith in Guardian, but just in case, you know?"

Mira nodded as Pelagio gave a casual wave showing that no offense was taken. "I guess that makes sense. Though I'm sure you didn't expect that", she waved at the empty air where the revolting cognitive Aiko had been a moment before.

She gave back a weak smile. "Nooo. But that's not the only reason. I talked to some of the men here earlier, grilling them for information, and it's way too far for us to walk to the Gulch. We either have to use the train, which is actually controlled by the 'sheriff's' men... or we can take horses across the plains."

As expected, Mira's eyes lit up at that idea. "Oooh! I can see why you'd want to do that instead of risking the train. Definitely the safer option too! Good thinking!"

"Exactly", she nodded, holding up the metal star she'd picked up. "If anyone tries to stop us from stealing a ride, we just show them this and pretend to be the sheriff's deputies. No one will mess with us then."

"A wise move", Pelagio considered. "The cognitions here seem to be more frightened of them than they are of us. With good reason, I suppose. How fortunate for us that the Shadows here are disguised in human skin instead of metal shells."

"Yeah", Mira looked more withdrawn now after being reminded of the robot servants in her own Land. "Lucky. Though you might be able to pass for a robot if you wanted, Guardian."

"Hmph! Only if those I sought to deceive were fools."

Aiko paid no attention as they continued to exchange banter, obviously trying to take both their minds and hers off what had just happened and what they had just witnessed. Casually surveying the room brought her attention to a single unmarred table in the corner. Every other card was littering the floor along with several drinks and other debris, but this one had a single intact hand laying on it.

Two eights, two aces. Hope that's a good omen.

The sun was high and the miasma of dust that plagued the rest of Julian's Land had become thin. Outside of a momentary diversion when one of the horses had turned out to be another Mezuki, they had found their rides, which now took them across the peaceful plains outside of the town at an impressive clip, allowing one to simply enjoy the authentic-looking scenery.

Aiko devoutly wished she could have enjoyed it all. "This... is... insane", she managed to grit out in-between the wild bucking of her thin-boned horse, which seemed to only have one speed setting no matter what she did. "I could never... get seasick... yet now I'm... landsick!"

Leading the way on a brown mare, Pelagio looked to be having similar trouble even with his lower center of gravity. Only Mira seemed content with it, her long-maned ride lagging behind at a more manageable pace.

"It's the reins", she called to them more coherently. "You have to really haul them back if you don't want them to go full speed. They want to run. It's their nature."

After tugging on them for what seemed like hours, she finally felt the unwilling creature shift to a speed less extreme than a sprint. Every time it bucked she could feel the movement travelling through her body up into her arms, but at least this way she wasn't in danger of eating her own tongue when speaking.

"I thought this would be fun!", she commented in a mix of relief and irritation. "Come on, getting our own horses? How could we say no? I thought this one looked cute!"

"He is cute", Mira pulled alongside her, watching the beast's gently sloped head as though she would have nuzzled it were it not in motion. "He has a lot of energy. It's not his fault we never learned how to ride before. I think I'll call him Redding."

"I guess", she relented. It wasn't like her to complain like this. "But remind me never to go on a roller coaster. I always thought of trying one, but if they're like this..."

"I must... urp... confess a similar sentiment, my lady", Pelagio said, his voice still wavery from what he was enduring. "Why humans would choose to place themselves into such contraptions is... ugh... beyond my understanding."

Adjusting their course due north, Aiko shrugged. "For the thrills. We've got all we ever want and then some here, but most people live pretty boring lives most of the time."

She was amused to note that their talk about roller coasters had summoned a rail line running parallel to their course across the dusty plain. It was a welcome sight since it confirmed there was indeed something of note in this direction, and more so when she heard the blaring of the train's horn and its shrill whistle from somewhere behind them.

It was just one more thing about the cognitive world that impressed her to no end. The steam engine and the cars arranged behind it looked authentic to the 'setting' in every possible detail, a wide cylinder of ashen metal plates shielding an 18th century steam boiler with an endless geyser of smoke emerging from the stack up top, leaving a lengthy trail of soot for miles behind it.

"There's either cognitions or Shadows in there", she pointed out more seriously towards the elegant-looking passenger cars, where several moving figures could barely be made out inside of the windows. "I don't think they'll care, but have your gun ready just in case."

"We should be fine", Mira said more optimistically, smiling and actually waving to the train cars. "They can't recognize us from this distance. Like Guardian said, all the Shadows here are disguised as humans, so we might as well be too."

"Perhaps", Pelagio allowed, drifting back to ride directly alongside the two of them. "Regardless, I shall keep a close eye on- wait..."

His last word sounded so concerned that Aiko could only share in his worry, watching the way that his massive side eyes were studying the ground around them instead of the way forward. Fortunately the horse continued its path without any need for management, and then Guardian's helmet shot back up, his beak set into a grim line.

"Saber. The tracks. It is gradual, but... look closely."

Ten seconds later, Mira gasped. Pelagio was right. It was such a slow motion that a casual glance might miss it, but closer observation revealed that the rail lines stretching ahead of them into the horizon were suddenly much closer to them than previously.

"Hard left", Aiko commanded without needing to think about it. "Give it a wide berth."

Everything seemed fine then. She was ready to kick back and relax and just enjoy the feel of the sunlit day's breeze in her hair when Pelagio slowed down even further and cleared his throat. "The tracks. Look again."

She looked, and looked well. Once again, the change was slow enough to be difficult to notice, but the final conclusion was obvious to anyone who knew this to be a world of human thought, and studied the full length of track that they could see.

It had begun to curve. Not merely a gradual course across an embankment of sand, but a sharp turn away from the straightest path, heading straight towards them. As she watched, the rails continued their shift until they were suddenly directly in the path of the train. The train which had, until now, been content to lag behind them at substandard speeds, only now opening up to full throttle.

"Full speed ahead!", she ordered, no longer caring if she would feel sick afterwards. "Go west! There's a ravine over there!"

Both riders and their surprise pursuer proceeded to drop all pretense of their actions then. The three horses powered on ahead, forcing their riders to cling tightly to the reins until they began to show the first signs of depletion. The train remained tucked in behind them, not quite making the speed needed to catch up and run them over, but only just. Its horn was now loud enough to be a distraction by itself.

Though the temptation to look back and check how close the thing was getting was strong, Aiko used it as an excuse to lean back and unload a pistol shot into the engine, with Mira following suit and putting a dart straight into the large number 8 that decorated the front plate. When repeated attacks by both gun and Persona magic had no visible effect they returned to guiding their steeds, focused entirely now on the moderately wide ravine that would save their lives.

"Ten seconds!", Aiko shouted over the suddenly deafening howl of the train behind them. "Haul back as hard as you can!"

There was the roughest bucking yet, a horse's high whinny of protest, the briefm giddy sensation of flying through empty air... and then she was slamming down hard on the other side of the gap, accidentally biting down not on her tongue after all, but equally painful cheek flesh. The horse continued its sprint as she swallowed down blood, recovering enough to turn around in her saddle and look as they continued to restore their safe distance.

This gap was not a wide one as ravines went. Only a meter across at the most, but it would be enough. The engine was a hundred meters away from the ravine when she turned. Eighty. Sixty. Thirty...!

But whatever someone would have rightly expected from a trail derailment never occurred. Instead, as the two rails slid themselves over the ravine, a network of wooden beams materialized beneath them to support their weight, and that of the train's as it rocketed across faster than ever a moment later.

"Oh COME ON!", Aiko shouted into the uncomprehending sun overhead. "Screw cognition!"

"We cannot continue our current speed much longer, Saber", Pelagio reminded her, fear not unlike the kind he had of the Reaper gradually creeping into his tone. "And I do not see any sign of Oppressor's Gulch just yet."

Sensing equal terror from Mira that had been carefree enjoyment mere moments before, she shut her eyes for a moment in contemplation. As an experiment, she gave her weakening steed the smallest of side motions, watching as the train followed them exactly, annihilating an unlucky cactus and narrowing the gap between them back to a mere hundred meters, its whistle sounding more akin to a hungry animal's growl now.

"Fine", she whispered before repeating it again, more loudly. "Fine! Ditch the horses."

Mirambela's eyes shot open in fright beneath her mask. "Are you crazy? It'll catch up to us!"

"Yes. And when it does, we need to dodge it!"

Dancer's apprehension only grew with that proposal, but she also seemed to realize that the only other choice was pushing the horses until they gave out altogether, leaving them at the mercy of this sudden murderously intelligent steam engine.

"A-all right... I hope you know what you're doing, Saber."

"Yeah. Me too", Aiko agreed. If she was wrong, they were dead. But if they didn't try this, they were dead anyway, just a little later on. Nijima-san... I won't disappoint you, after all you did to help us.

"We must use excellent timing", Pelagio said a bit more confidently, having understood the plan as they released the reins and stepped off. Unprompted, the trio of horses sped away, not wanting to be run over. Maybe they're smarter. "I shall employ a Praesi shield just in case."

All this preparation had allowed the engine to close the gap even further, and they could actually feel the ground rumbling beneath them now. There was no time to give any last words to her comrades, or even a prayer to whatever God she chose.

There was only time enough to hurl herself away from the rail line at the last moment, and even then it felt like she'd been hit anyway from the way the rumbling kicked up to moderate earthquake, preventing her from regaining her feet or seeing if the others had made it alright. If Dancer got hit, or Guardian...

But if she couldn't easily stand or hear anything beyond the cacophony of whistling and heavy metal wheels hammering on rails, she could still crane her neck and tilt her shoulders to see if the plan had worked. The train blasted past her faster than ever, the rail line curving in response to the change in target-

The rail line that curved back with all its might, far tighter than any real track ought to, missing her prone form completely. It continued to try however, curling around into a house-sized circle until it intersected itself.

The results were as predictable as they were catastrophic to behold.

It felt like a bomb was going off. The whistling and clanking from earlier was a cell phone's ring tone compared to the noise of the crash that now echoed across the plain. Keeping her head down, Aiko could only watch as the entire steam engine smashed into and through one of its cars, erupting wooden splinters in every direction until the entire bottom chassis gave way.

When it was over, the train had been completely derailed, the engine and cars lying coiled around her in a lifeless heap, pulled free of the tracks that guided it.

Once her breathing had returned to normal and she had made doubly certain that she was not permanently deafened, she stood, easily spotting a gap between the ruined cars to escape the circle through. "Guardian? Dancer?"

"Here, Saber", Mira waved her over to a small jutting rock, embarassed to reveal that she had thrown herself to the left of the train instead of the right.

If anything, Pelagio seemed even more miffed, having jumped up onto the engine with his enhanced agility, then off again when it began to derail. "It went right through my shield spell, like it was nothing", he complained. "It did not even slow down. Hmph! Worthless! At least your plan worked out in the end. Well done, Saber."

Aiko paused, not quite sure how to feel about accepting praise for a plan that had nearly gotten them all killed. Still, the results couldn't be denied. The entire train lay sprawled across the sand without any of the energy that had driven it before, and there was no sign of Shadows boiling out of the cars to attack them either. I don't like that, actually... something's up.

She was about to work up an answer for him when another noise, as loud as the train but far more brief, cut into her words and stopped her in her tracks. It was like nothing she had heard before, but the closest approximation was a hundred thousand sizzling, bubbling pots.

Turning back to the train's wreckage, they saw the source and gripped their weapons. The titanic hiss had been only a prelude- now the entire assembly reared itself up out of the sand on its own, a thing alive instead of a construct of metal. As the 'head' reached its maximum height over them, another furious hiss rang out... and the enemy discarded its mask.

The coaches, whatever of them remained, burst apart like rotten fruit, starting from the bottom and travelling up a rapid pace. Each time they did, more and more of a great mass of vibrant blue scales was revealed, culminating when the engine itself exploded, casting its parts and plates in every direction to reveal the fanged maw, forked tongue and terrifying slit eyes of a mighty serpent that was somehow even larger than the train housing it had been.

For a long time, none of them could think of anything to say. The enormous Shadow roared once more, though its body showed nothing of the damage the train had taken, or the figures who had dwelt within the cars. Had they been mere illusions after all, lacking even the substance of a standard cognition?

"Have I mentioned how glad I am that we didn't take the train?", the leader managed to stutter at last. "Because I am."

"Hmph. A Shadow all along", Pelagio grunted, recovering enough to bring his Persona and weapons up, already starting to add to the defense of his comrades- defense that would likely be put to the test soon if the length of the snake's fangs were an indicator. "Its strength is considerable, but we dare not retreat."

"No", Mira agreed, pushing down her own fear at the sight of a train-sized snake. "It would just follow us, right? If anything, this is a good thing. Better to fight it now than later, when we're all tired out." No one bothered to comment on how much it sounded like she was making excuses not to run away, but Oya began bolstering everyone's speed even as she spoke.

"Onkot!", Aiko called her own Persona choice, deciding on a plan of attack while boosting the team's offensive power to start off. "Looks fast. Better to hit it from a distance. Spread out, and back off if it gets too-"

That was all she could get out before the viper lunged forward, covering the distance between them at a rate nearly as quick as the train would have. Naturally it focused on the target who was firing ineffectual pistol shots into it first, but thinking back to the way it had curved after her earlier, Aiko wondered it if had singled her out for some other reason.

It didn't matter now. What mattered was avoiding those ophidian jaws as they sank down to try and devour her in one gulp, instead gulping down a playground's worth of sand before receiving a more harmful response.

"Burn it down, Lilim!"

The flames washed over the creature with her gesture, leaving some charring but nothing that looked serious. Pelagio's nuclear detonation spell and Mira's lightning struck it from either side at the same time, the lightning seeming to do the best as it lit up the creature's strange ribbed skeleton from within, the creature itself reeling back.

No... It wasn't just reeling back, she realized in dawning dread. It was coiling up, its barbed tail bracing with tension before releasing it, flying out in a grand circle to strike all three of them at once. The impact felt like it should have been far worse than it was considering the creature's sheer size, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

Blocking out the pain, she shifted Personas once more, this time calling up Jack Frost. The tiny blue-white imp seemed like a ludicrous match for this behemoth, but there was one thing she did remember about the disgusting diagrams of reptiles from science class- they were cold-blooded. The ice seemed to be more damaging than Lilim's fire at any rate, battering the head as it continued to rear back, until...

The head opened, lunging forward as it did so, but not far enough to reach any of its targets. Instead, an ugly purple fluid poured from its maw, coating the entire field until Aiko felt the disgusting muck pouring over her as well. A sensation of profound weakness combined with a stomach ache like the kind she'd gotten from drinking expired milk on a dare in middle school followed. Looking down, she could see that her left boot had taken on the same shade, the color gradually creeping up towards the rest of that leg.

"Poison", she muttered angrily, seeing that the violet goop had infected Pelagio as well even if Mira's Sukukaja-enhanced dancer moves had dodged it. "Can't let this drag on too long, or we're finished... Let's try Vidofnir! Zio!"

The Shadow didn't seem inclined to cooperate with that plan as the golden bird screeched overhead. The creature's maw hissed again and weaved away from the lightning this time, soaking up the others' attacks before responding in kind with a spinning dervish of wind that was somehow visible by lieu of being green. That was made it possible, if difficult, for Aiko to throw herself out of its way much like she had with the train, and counter with additional pistol shots to drive it further back.

The jaws opened to release more venom, only to break off and focus on a different spot- lacking a gun, Pelagio had apparently come to the same realization she had, and charged into direct combat instead of ineffectually dropping nuclear spells. Have to hurry. I can already feel it starting to get worse.

Mira had changed tactics as well, she noted as she duplicated Pelagio's move, hoping that they could finish the beast before its tail lashed out again. Green energy of a different, more soothing shade covered them as Oya gestured, providing a temporary respite from the pain. Nice, a group heal. Only putting off the inevitable though. Have to hurry.

The tail did fly out before she could get there. It was in response to Pelagio, who had dug in sword in deep enough that the Shadow was suddenly desperate to throw him off, thrashing the tail back and forth as if their Guardian was some kind of metal-clad parasite. This surprised reaction also set off numerous wind attacks in seemingly random directions, but Aiko dodged through the field of storms until her cutlass was ready to strike as well, her Vidofnir's magic no longer dodgable at this range as it poured forth to shock the enemy.

Attack, she roared silently at herself, shifting back to the Onkot Persona for even more raw physical power since her mental reserves were just about empty anyway. Attack, attack, attack. Poison will take effect soon. Don't let up, keep hammering away no matter what he does to me. Mira can heal us through it until he's down. Attack, attack, at-

Too late, the tail caught her in the chest and sent her sprawling across the dust. More than the damage, it was the distance it had taken her away from the snake's exposed belly that made her wince, more healing from Dancer only barely keeping her on her feet now. More green wind came down, eliciting a shriek from Pelagio before the poison amplified that pain to the point that he could barely speak until he was healed back into a lucid state.

But that deadly storm had still failed to dislodge him. With his sword as a mobile anchor, he had now reached the pouch beneath the viper's chin, a fact that it clearly loathed. As it screamed and thrashed about trying to shake him, Mira renewed Oya's electrical assault, buying Aiko the same to stab back into the beast's belly with all her remaining strength.

The barbed tail flew out once more, but Aiko had caught on to the plan as well now, carefully timing her cutlass to stab into the tip, holding it helpless. That's it. Its flesh is much lighter than we thought. It has to be, to move around so quickly. Meaning its skin is thin enough to be pierced.

That act deflated the Shadow's venom pouch, sliding the awful fluid back down the throat which had spawned it and allowing Pelagio to leap up and bring the full weight of his armour down on the head, leaving a significant crater as it impacted with the earth. Before it could recover, or try to escape from the trap, his magic-bolstered broadsword was sliding across the immobilized neck segment.

There was one final disgusting splorch of the purple venom, and then the creature's head was flying clear away from its body. The crumpled heap it left on the sand writhed gruesomely for a moment, and then the malevolent light in its eyes faded away as it melted back into the black ooze seemingly common to all Shadows, even one of this size.

Aiko felt like she might do the same now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off. It was probably a relaxing experience, and one that might purge the awful ache that had run up her leg to torment the rest of her body until all she could think to do was stop. She could see Pelagio doing the same thing once he'd leaped clear of the slain body, the awful venom spreading across his chest and limbs at a renewed pace.

More healing magic struck them but the effect was hardly noticeable any more, any respite it gave them quickly eroding. The ravine, she managed to think, even if her lips were too chapped and dry to say it. Need to get to the ravine, and wash stuff this off. The ravine... need to...

She had time enough to see the railroad track regenerate itself before tumbling down into a void of bubbling purple pain.

The distinctive scent of sea breeze roused Aiko back to awareness, most importantly the awareness that she was no longer dying of poison. Every other realization was secondary to that vital news, and came on more slowly.

They were not in Julian's Land any more, for one. The indecipherable symbols of orange afternoon light wheeling by overhead as she lay there meant that they were back on the waters of Faraway Lands, the comforting boards of Pelagio's deck floating beneath her. Mirambela sat there, watching over her patient and thrilled to see signs of life from her at last.

"You did it", Aiko said weakly, looking up from the floor at Dancer with a faint smile. "I knew you could. Thank you."

Mira allowed herself one genuine moment of pride, her eyes nearly shut... and then her usual routine of self-recrimination was back in control. "I had help."

The rest of what had happened seemed easy enough for her to process now that her mind was back up and running, but this gave her pause. "Help? Did Pela-tori-"

"Not quite", Pelagio's voice issued from every direction, though still at a reasonable volume. "Remember that I was afflicted by that vile poison just as badly as you were, my lady. No, Dancer handled this crisis alone. And quite well, I must say."

"Then why-"

"I dragged you back to the ravine", Mira explained, her hands clutched nervously. "I-I was trying to wash off the poison. It did, but then you two were both too weak to move, and I couldn't drag you both all the way back to town... or even out of the ravine."

"Fortune smiled upon us then", Pelagio announced brightly. "She inadvertently discovered a Breach in the ravine's waters."

"Breach?"

Mira made a spinning gesture with her hands to indicate what she had found. "A great big whirlpool. I didn't know it was there until it was already swallowing us up. Next thing I knew, we were washing up in a stream in the town."

"Breaches are points where the waters of Faraway Lands are able to peek through the surface layers of a Land", Pelagio explained. "A most fascinating phenomenon, which occurs only in exceptionally large Lands such as that one. They form linked gateways capable of transporting their user to various places throughout."

"Lucky", Mira remarked more soberly. "Lucky to find it, and lucky that the Shadows didn't find us while you two were out cold."

Lurching her to her feet in one movement, she shook her head and was surprised to note the lack of her usual feathered hat, leaving her hair exposed. Her previous pixie cut had lengthened in the last month "No. 'Lucky' would have been not getting ambushed by an evil train that was actually a huge poisonous snake."

Retrieving it, she leaned to the rail, proving more to herself than anyone that she could stand, and bark out at the reflective water. "Attention world; I am an idiot. Of course there would be poisonous Shadows there. Of course I'd forget to bring anything to deal with it."

"Enough", Pelagio's voice sounded oddly reprimanding. "Saber, please. If anyone here is at fault, it is I. I am the only one here who has witnessed poison-using Shadows in the past. Not merely that, but Shadows which are capable of lulling their prey to sleep, causing nausea, disease, rage, or even uncontrollable fear."

"And... infatuation as well?", Mira guessed curiously, remembering Marin Karin, one of the powers of her own Persona.

"Yes", he admitted hesitantly. "That as well. At any rate, I should have taken precautions against such attacks. And you... I must apologize to you as well, Dancer."

Mira turned around, searching for a large portion of the ship that might serve as representation of a 'face'. "Apologize? How come?"

Contrition wasn't an emotion the two of them heard in Pelagio's voice often, but it suited his formal tone. "I... after I witnessed your Land, I only agreed to allow you to join us out of respect for Saber's wishes. At the time, I secretly believed that such a weak-minded human would only be a hindrance to us on our missions. This... is clearly not the case. I was wrong. I ask your forgiveness."

With an amused snort, Aiko kicked a boot into his railing as 'punishment'. "I'm sure there's enough blame to go around, Guardian. We just need to find a good drug store, right? One that sells medicines for those kinds of things?"

"You're learning", Pelagio said appreciatively. "Yes, I have already scouted several such places in Tosashimizu city. I merely could not successfully enter the store to make the necessary purchases."

The laughter summoned by the mental picture of Pelagio swooping through the door into a normal pharmacy and buying things helped them shake off the last of their near-death jitters. The memory of it was still fresh however, and Mira leaned heavily against the main mast.

"I appreciate that, Guardian. Really." Leaving the rail, Aiko could easily spot the growing fear in her friend's eyes. "That was way, way too close. Julian-kun's Land has such strong Shadows, and we haven't even fought the strongest one- the ruler- yet. I don't... I don't want to die."

Aiko put a comforting hand around her shoulder, remembering well when she had gone through something similar with only Pelagio there to support her in that moment of crisis. "None of us here want to die, Mira-chan. But Julian-kun doesn't want to die, either."

"Right... right. That's the thing", Mira said, trying her best not to sound deliberately contradictory as she stared back at her roommate. "I know. He's probably just like I was, back then. He wants to stay here in this world. He doesn't care if he never returns. That's what I thought. That's what I believed, until you..."

"Mira... come on."

She gave a sad smile back. "Guardian's right. I was a fool, wanting to drown myself over something stupid like that. No... it was more like I was willing to try anything that would let me escape from it all, from the world... and I didn't want to listen to you either."

"You said that there was a voice", Aiko reminded her, instinctively defending her when she didn't want to defend herself. "A voice that promised you a paradise if you walked through the Yume Bay gate, right?"

Mira searched the bizarre horizon for the ruins of her Land as if it might hold the source of that voice, then pushed her own costume's mask up so that her eyes could be seen clearly. "That voice... yes, I'm sure that it was my Shadow speaking to me. The spiteful, angry mind that I try to repress, given its own form. And only I could hear it."

"Luring you into a false paradise", Pelagio observed neutrally. "But, why? What do these Shadows stand to gain by trapping their true selves in this dimension?"

"I doubt you'd get a straight answer from them", Aiko remarked sternly, by now all too familiar with Shadows of that type. "They're not what you'd call rational by any means. Not Mira-chan's Shadow, or Julian-kun's. Probably not Furusato-san's either, I'd guess. Every time they see us, they just get mad and try to kill us. All we can do is beat them up, and hope the real person comes back to their senses."

Mira joined her on the ship rail, nodding. "Maybe that's what I'm really worried about. You remember what I was like when you found me, how much effort you had to put in to convince me to leave?" She shuddered in suppressed horror. "I remember. I was actually convinced that place was 'heaven'. Julian-kun will probably be thinking the same thing if we find him."

"When we find him", Aiko corrected. "But that's a good point, Dancer. If he says he doesn't want to leave, then there's not much we can do. Taking him by force wouldn't be a good idea. We'll need to be prepared for him."

"I know that you can do it", Mira assured her. "You did it for me, after all."

"Yeah", she smiled back, laughing. "But my plan totally backfired at the last second, remember? I had your dad-"

"Record a message on my phone for me to tell me how he really felt", Mira interrupted. "I know. I listened to it after we got back. It was... nice."

"So... It sounds like you didn't need it after all."

Mira sighed happily. "No, I definitely did. You saw it. The cognitions of my family delivered the message for you, telling me what I needed to hear from them."

Aiko clapped a glove to her shoulder, more firmly this time. "That wasn't my message. It was theirs. It was something your own memories of your family did for you. Meaning that you freed yourself from your Shadow, from the grief that brought you there, all by yourself. All you needed was a little push in the right direction, right? So... don't you ever tell anyone- even yourself- that you're weak, Dancer. Because we both know it's a lie, and now Guardian does too."

They sat together staring into the mirrored sea for many minutes, Mira leaning over so that her expression could not be seen beneath the colors of her headdress and golden mask as she drew closer. "Saber... Asante sana. Sometimes, I still can't believe that you're actually the youngest person on this team."

Aiko smirked back. "Well, we don't exactly know how old Guardian is. He might be younger. I mean sure, he talks like an old man-"

"Excuse me?!", the surprised exclamation issued from the ship exactly as she predicted. "Hmph! I am by no means old! May I remind you that I am capable transforming back into my smaller form whenever I wish?"

"Yeah", she replied teasingly. "But you wouldn't. Not until we're on dry land again."

In fact, it wasn't long before they returned through the gate to Yume Bay, the evening sky darker than usual.

"I'm glad this beach isn't used much at night", Mira noted once they'd changed at the cave. "Can you imagine if someone saw?"

"Two girls in swimsuits and a falcon emerging from a dimensional portal in the water", Aiko pretended to consider jokingly. "Oh well, we can just pretend to be aliens."

"What are aliens?", Pelagio asked as he glided from rock arch to rock arch above them.

The two looked at each other for a moment as if they could hardly believe what they were hearing. After she'd recovered, Mira pointed upwards. "See those stars, sir Pelagio? Aliens are other beings that come from there."

"From the stars?" He sounded both confused and a bit excited. "May I... erm... may I meet with these aliens?"

"Of couse", Aiko carried on without missing a beat. "I'll rent you the movie on Sunday. I thnk you'll enjoy it."

Mira's ringing laughter echoed across the water.

5/21 Tuesday

Afternoon

Aiko gave a short, sharp cry when the blade slid past her guard to take her in the shoulder. It wasn't that which had prompted the cry however. It was the sudden noise which had distracted her enough to let it through.

Seeing her fall back, Mr. Umaeda withdrew his weapon and lifted his mask, and Keta and Kotone followed suit despite not having such a problem. The mesh-masked fencing suits prevented any actual injury anyway.

"I suppose I should have mentioned this earlier, miss Tsuruga", her teacher said in reproach. "Please make sure that all of your phones are turned off for our sessions, or at least set to silent mode. As you've just seen, distractions are not welcome here."

More than the shock of the hit, which had of course done no damage to her at all after being absorbed by the thick protection of the fencing outfit, it was the scolding which filled her cheeks with heat to bursting. He must think I'm just like the majority of the girls here, spending more time texting on my phone than I do sleeping.

On the heels of that was the realization that she'd looked down on students who got caught out by a teacher that way, thinking them to be careless. No longer. I have no right to judge them now, after being caught out myself.

"I'm so very sorry about that, Umaeda-sensei!", she bowed down to him in a genuine contrition she hadn't felt in a long while. "I'll take the message later."

"Please do that", he said not unkindly. "Aside from that slip, I must say that you've come along very well in just a few sessions. You've learned the proper stances, and how to guard against all the standard strikes of kendo, even in combinations."

Seeing the other two students nod their agreement with his assessment even with their faces concealed by mesh masks, she felt a different kind of heat, one much more welcome. "Th-thank you very much, Umaeda-sensei. I've been trying my best, to try and make up for-"

"Stop", the aged instructor cut in more sternly. "Don't you dare make any excuses for that foolish boy. Perhaps he truly is in some genuine trouble, but I would consider it more likely that he ran away from his problems, not caring about broken promises or how terrified his parents must be right now."

You have no idea.

That brief incident seemed to have drained the energy away from the session, and though they resumed after it was without the vigor they had displayed previously. Still, the fact that Keta and Kotone seemed to be legitimately enjoying it brought her hope.

Removing her fencing outfit, she took the text message outside in the hall.

All the better for the crowded hall's noise to swallow up her next cry of surprise as soon as she read it.

RH: holy shit, he's back 3o

AT: who?

RH: Jiachi Rosea, duh

MS: impossible!

RH: yeah, that's what I thought until I saw him.

RH: in the front lobby now.

Impossible. Mira's text reflected Aiko's thoughts. He's trapped in his Land right now. Unless... could he have decided on his own to leave?

Only one way to see for sure.

She wasn't quite sure what to expect in the main entrance lobby. As far as she understood it, Julian wasn't exactly popular, but his disappearance seemed to have drawn the attention of dozens of students who wouldn't have even known who he was otherwise.

There was a gathering of at least fifty people now, and even though the brief bout of excitement already appeared to be scattering to the winds, she could only see him by the pen being twirled overhead on his hand as if he were putting on a show for them, faster than ever. No... two pens.

Then Yuuichi moved aside, as she could see the 'guest of honor', looking as though he'd never left. "Hey there. Sorry for scaring everyone. I kinda had some... things to take care of, and I guess I forgot to mention it to my parents."

Mr. Takao was already there with him, looking just as upset as Aiko felt. "That was extremely irresponsible of you, Mr. Rosea. Particularly in light of the recent disappearances at this school. You've made many people worry about you."

"I know", Julian agreed in a more reserved tone that didn't quite manage to conceal just how much he was enjoying being the focus of everyone's attention for once. "Guess I didn't consider that. I really didn't mean to."

Mr. Takao shook his head in amazement at how lightly he was taking this. "I suppose this can only be a good thing. I'll report this to the principal... but you stay here until we've called your parents and the police."

That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the crowd to scatter to the winds. Most of them didn't even know who Julian was until he'd gone missing. They all had studying to go, friends to talk with, clubs to visit. Only Mr. Takao, Aiko and Mira remained watching him.

"Miss Tsuruga", the home room teacher said. "I must ask you a favor. I need to go alert the proper sources, but... for some reason, I don't like the idea of letting Mr. Rosea out of our sight. Could you please watch over him for a moment while I make a call? Bring him to the nurse's office if you would."

She couldn't think of what to say. Instead, Mira covered for her. "I'll watch him, Takao-sensei. Don't worry."

"Thank you. I'll be quick, I promise."

Julian seemed happy enough with the arrangement too, seeming to spring to life once Mr. Takao was gone. "Hey there, Tsuruga-chan. Sorry for all the trouble. I'm hoping we can still get together some time, maybe go to a movie tomorrow?"

Mira began to move towards him, only to pull up short when she realized what Aiko had already seen, raising an arm to warn her away from something she wasn't sure either of them were fit to deal with at the moment.

Gulping, she looked back up. Back up into the eyes of the being who had shot Pelagio, who had locked up them up in jail at gunpoint and prepared their execution by hanging in the other world.

The eyes which only they could see blazed with the hatefully familiar poisonous yellow, which had never been a part of their world... Until now.

Enemy Profile #5

Mezuki

Arcana : Chariot

Strength : Elec

Weakness : Earth

Abilities : Zio, Rakunda

Background:

A horse-headed demon from Chinese Buddhist lore. Along with Gozuki, he works in the underworld under King Enma.

He tortures the damned with lethal punishments, and when they are brought back to life, he continues their torture anew

Enemy Profile #6

Ouroboros

Arcana : Fool

Strength : Wind

Weakness : Elec, Ice

Abilities : Zan, Mazan, Tail Swipe, Venom Spray

Background:

A dragon that signifies eternity. In biting its own tail, it forms a never-ending circle. In alchemy, the art of Hermes, it is considered an important material to create the Philosopher's Stone. Some of Ouroboros' aspects are similar to those of Oceanus in Greek lore and the Biblical Leviathan.

A/N: Surprise!

Lots of action here, and I feel like the battle against the 'mid-boss' might have dragged on a bit too long. I actually cut quite a bit out of stuff to shorten it, but it still feels too long. Oh well, I'll just have to wait until the battle against Julian's Shadow to really go all-out. Hope you enjoy.

'Boi': I hope that was enough of a 'blow up' for you. Thanks for the review!