This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
I Won't Be Let Down
I'll Just Keep On Rising
Failure Ever Fading
Growth In Every Pain
4/14 Sunday (Two Months Ago)
Afternoon
Distantly, as if gradually rising out of a trance, Noel Vitienne realized that his mouth was hanging wide open.
Exactly how long it had been wasn't something that came to mind. Awareness of self, awareness of time... it had all become lost when a barrage of realizations had struck him like a sequence of well-timed punches.
This is real. This is not an illusion, or a hallucination.
This is a place that couldn't possibly exist on Earth.
And yet, here it is.
Therefore, we are not on Earth.
Then, where are we? Heaven? Or...
Cecille Yumika maintained her previously offered courtesy, keeping a fair distance and letting him soak in every bit of the bizarre place she had brought him to. Suspended in the middle of a oily black sea that somehow reflected stars that were not visible in the sky, the island looked like a Japanese feudal festival expanded over several dozen square miles. Pagoda architecture that had to be carefully preserved in modern times or else built from scratch in order to invoke cultural nostalgia in an otherwise modern city sprawled in every direction, upraised red gates and railings leading through a myriad kingdom from a forgotten age, culminating with the enormous sloping castle at its peak.
The more that he looked around, the more things appeared for his frantic mind to process. Not only the architecture, but the men, women and children there, all of them dressed up to match the part in a way no mere cosplay session could ever hope to match. Classical lanterns bobbed down from the roof corners, illuminating sliding screens that concealed entrances to rooms clad in mats, while banners adorned with archaic Nipponese iconography drifted on a brisk wind.
The last main element, the steady patrols of tall armored and masked samurai, he had at least managed to remember to far stay away from.
"I know how you're feeling", the ice-haired woman said beside him, trying to snap him out of his daze. "I remember back when I first saw it. I pretty much reacted the same way you did."
He idly wondered if he might have stood in astonished silence forever if she hadn't spoken up, then forcefully turned away from the lights and colors and people. "What... what is it?"
Casually flicking one of her diamond earrings, Cecille shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said we don't really know for sure? We caught a traveler here once who said this place is called Faraway Lands. But that's just a name. It doesn't tell us anything. What it is, if my source is correct, is a world formed by humanity's collective subconscious desires."
"Collective subconscious?"
"Yeah see, I don't completely get it either", she admitted, staring up at the argent-stained sky. "I'd say that Lady Scorpio could tell you more about it, but you don't want to talk to her. Trust me. It might be the last thing you ever do as a free, sane man."
"Lady Scorpio?" He knew that this routine of blank questions was quickly wearing thin, but there was no helping it now. Despite their various differences, when it came to curiosity he was very much like his friend Shukiji. There were things about this place he simply had to know before he rested. "Who is she?"
Cecille scowled, waving a hand in dismissal. "I told you. Someone you don't ever want to meet in person. And I'll thank you for not asking any more questions about that crazy bitch."
Momentarily thrown by the touch of biting anger just as strong as her wrath towards her own older brother, Principal Tetsuo Yumika, he paused to consider what else to ask. "So all of this is... made by humans?"
"Close", she nodded. "By just one human, actually. It's the world of his dreams. When people come in here for the first time without a guide, this dimension creates a Land from their hidden thoughts for them to rule over, so they will remain there. That's why I said we need to stay near the gate, and not go too far in. Those samurai guys aren't just for show, you know."
"B-but the people here..."
"Those aren't people", Cecille corrected him sternly. "Not in the way that you think anyway. They're 'conceptions'. People from the ruler's life changed to meet his desires for them. To explain it better, they're kind of like his window dressing to make the place feel more authentic, run through the filter of his private wishes and memories."
Despite her harsh words, Noel studied the various kimono-garbed citizens, trying to grasp what she meant. They certainly seemed authentic enough, even having conversations with each other in some obscure, fluent dialect which he could only grasp word in twenty.
"Don't try to talk to them", she advised him right before he could ask, putting an arm out in front of him. "You sound like you've been studying well enough, but your use of Japanese isn't very good and theirs is... well... ancient. Even I'm having some trouble following it, and I've lived in Japan for most of my life. You'd probably get Shadows called down on you on suspicion before you got a sentence out."
"Shadows...?"
"The samurai guards", she explained, gesturing. "Their armor and masks disguise something much more dangerous inside. Don't mess with them either. They serve the Shogun's whims, and he'd probably execute you for a laugh. This might be a dream world, but dying here is still the same as dying anywhere else... or at least that what we know. I'm not eager to check."
Catching sight of several solemn black sword hilts at the belt of each guard, a pristine katana sheathed within each, he nodded. "I see. It seems a shame for us not to be able to enjoy such grandeur up close, but never worth risking one's life."
"Because it's not for us", Cecille nodded back, glad to see he appreciated the potential danger they were in. "It's for the ruler of the Land. A whole world for him to live out his deepest fantasies in."
Stepping back from it, Noel frowned. "You keep on saying 'him'. Do you know this Shogun?"
At last, exasperation began to creep into her tone. "No, but come on. Do you really think that a woman living in our time would long for a feudal-age kingdom like this one? It's got to be a guy. A guy who apparently loves this kind of stuff. I've met a few like him, old men always going on about the 'good old days'. Beh."
Since their meeting at the hospital in Tosashimizu city, Noel had begun to realize that there were quite a number of things in the world that earned Cecille Yumika's ire, a very different mood compared to how mild-mannered their bespectacled principal usually was.
In this particular case, her feeling on the topic on discussion was shared. "My family back home, the noble household of Vitienne... They are somewhat known for glorifying the distant past as well. Or at least, my grandfather and a few of my extended family. They are... well, were... members of a certain collaboration that they call 'The Last Battalion'."
For once, he'd actually managed to impress Cecille instead of the other way around. Or at least, shock her, making her azure blue pupils widen behind the tiny square lenses of her own glasses. "Oh. Oh. Oh my God. Seriously? They're actually... wow. No wonder you wanted to go live somewhere else."
"Grandfather provides for us all", he said defensively, not wanting her to get the wrong idea about him. "While we disagreed on a great many things- such as anything and everything pertaining to that particular group- I must respect the great generosity that he has shown to me, and my mother and... the rest, even if I cannot respect his opinions on certain matters. He is not the reason I left. At least, not the entire reason. Blut ist dicker."
"If you say so", she shrugged. "Just because they're family doesn't make them immune to criticism in my book."
"Nor mine", he agreed glumly, idly tapping the sketchbook in his pocket. "I've never told anyone else outside of my family this. I figure it only fair, since you've now shared this great secret with me."
"Thanks. It was nice for you to do the talking for a while", Cecille considered, "but this isn't the place for that. I just wanted you to see it for yourself."
"Why?", he asked, some stray flicker of fire making his voice sound more demanding then he wanted. "Why did you bring me here, to see this strange place?"
She looked worried too. Worried that the truth might be too much to bear, but it was too late to back out now. "Because I saw just how miserable you were, sitting there in that gloomy hospital lobby. I mean, most of the people who are there have good reasons to be sad, but you... Despite what my bratty students might tell you, my heart isn't completely made of ice. I thought that if you agreed to keep this a secret, I could show you."
"Show me what?"
"Show you what happened to your girl."
Finally, the truth. It was as if the feudal kingdom he'd been so enraptured with had suddenly vanished, leaving him staring out along the horizon instead, making note of each tiny dot that represented a Land.
"One of those is hers", Cecille explained quietly. "Furusato's Land. And before you ask, no. We're not going there, no matter what. Even if I knew where it was, we can't help her now. She's stuck in here permanently, mind and soul."
Naturally, his first impulse was to cry foul, to rant and rage and demand that she help him locate Ayano Furusato's Land. So that I may finally find my answers. It's not fair. Not fair that I am to be teased with that knowledge, and unable to act on it.
But Noel had mastered his anger long ago in a past encounter, to a degree that few other boys his age could boast of. Anger was merely a distraction, and rarely useful. He made sure to turn away from her, so that any lingering resentment would not be seen on his face.
"... I understand. Of course. It's far too dangerous, and the only reward being a chance to speak to her. A tempting prize, yes. But once again, not one worth risking our lives for."
"Maybe I shouldn't have done this", Cecille groaned. "Should've figured once you knew the truth, you'd want to try to find her. Sorry. Not happening. The seas here are just as dangerous as the Lands. When we're done here, I'll be taking you right back home again."
He grimaced. The large pontoon 'disk' Cecille had brought with them into the strange gate of green light that had appeared at the Yume Bay had seemed laughable at first, but then she had demonstrated some kind of power to affect the water around them, generating impossibly swift currents that carried them to their destination. All the same, the ride had felt horrifyingly perilous on such a tiny craft, especially with how dangerous she insisted the water was to fall into.
"If I may", he requested. "I would like to make a sketch of this place. So that I can know for sure that this is all not just a dream after all."
She grinned back. "It is, in a way. Just not yours. Go ahead then, just make sure you keep your distance from the Shadows."
"A landscape then", he acknowledged, eagerly reaching for his book.
6/14 Saturday
Evening
Makoto Nijima stared out the hospital window into Tosashimizu's rain-drenched city streets.
It wasn't as though she had much in the way of other options for entertainment. The doctor had asked repeatedly if she wanted some kind of distraction between the exercises and exams, some kind of portable game or perhaps a television, but she'd surprised him by refusing. Video games had never been her thing.
Besides, she had plenty of other things to occupy her mind.
'Take it up with God'.
That was what Akira had told her. I thought we had, in a fashion. What was the Holy Grail- Yaldabaoth- if not that?
No. Wrong.
She and her family were the furthest thing from religious, so using others people's conceptions of 'God' was all she had to go off of. And even that loose outline was enough to make it very clear to her that while Yaldabaoth was perhaps the closest thing to that outline she had ever seen with her own eyes, he had lacked numerous things that the most pious humans believed God was.
"A true orthodox God", she murmured softly, speaking into the glass window without realizing, "wouldn't have lost to us. The concept of God which much of humanity believes in couldn't even be hurt by mere humans."
No. Can't do it. Not enough information for me to construct a proper thesis. Theology was hardly her field. Every approach she took to the problem arrived at the same conclusion. There were still too many unknowns in that area, far too many things they'd been too busy saving the entire world to investigate in the kind of analytic depth she usually preferred for her assignments.
And every time she tried to analyze it, she inevitably ended up trying to take in everything else she'd experienced in her time as a Phantom Thief. Conflict between ideologies of right and wrong. Justice and corruption. Humanity's eternal search for the creator. If Yaldabaoth didn't create the cognitive world, then who did? Igor?
A pity then, that she couldn't ask him directly. She could certainly ask Akira, but he hadn't talked with the strange long-nosed creature for six years going. She would have to request Aiko to ask for her... assuming, of course, that Igor could be trusted to speak the truth about such matters to his 'guests'.
And assuming that she would ever be able to speak with Aiko Tsuruga again.
The niggling fear, the worry had been subtle at first, but it gripped her more and more after Akira had left her, an invisible pressure in the stuffy room dulling muscle control, altering heart rate and raising her pulse almost back to the level it had been when she'd first learned of the new Land appearing. A premonition of dread. Only a feeling... But hard experience had taught Makoto to be mindful of her feelings. They were usually correct, if not always in the way she expected.
Reaching up and feeling the smoothness of the glass window, she studied the endless stretch of ocean beyond Tosashimizu's rocky southern coast. They were out there now, not in that churning, rain-swept ocean but another, far more hostile one. In a Land that belonged- irony of ironies- to a woman named Kaneshiro. And no matter what Akira said to her, no matter how much she wanted to trust in his judgment, in the abilities of the Dream Voyagers, the bad feeling wouldn't leave.
And she was still helpless to do anything to aid them.
This is why, she decided rigidly. This is the other reason why we didn't want to share the specifics of what it is that the Phantom Thieves do to change people's hearts with anyone else. Not even with Sojiro, or Sis, or those other people in Tokyo Akira made friends with during his year there.
Because they'd make themselves sick with worry about all the dangers, all the powerful Shadows and traps we faced in those Palaces, wondering every time if we might never come home again.
Is it even worse then, for someone who has fought Shadows, and experienced those dangers firsthand?
Perhaps it was. Perhaps that was one of the myriad curses of having an active, creative mind- if not quite as creative as some others she had met. Clearly, vividly imagining what exactly they were dealing with over there in Kaneshiro's realm only made things worse.
So she wouldn't. Shutting down idle attempts by a terrified mind to construct waking nightmares wasn't always easy, but it was something she'd had a great deal of practice at. More time spent talking with Sae had taught her about how her older sister handled her fears. Fear, Sis had explained to her, was an animal instinct. It didn't actually help anyone. Least of all an infirm patient in hospital who still couldn't quite walk properly without falling over.
"They will make it", she told the window's reflection. "They have to." And I have the easy part. All I need to do is sit here in bed. and believe in them. Believe that they're just as dedicated, just as tenacious as the Phantom Thieves were. And that like Phantom Thieves, they will triumph against all odds and come out alive, victorious.
Please... whatever God there might be... Help them.
No, she reconsidered. Not God. Faith had never been her family's forte. Yet, it surprised her most of all to discover that after years spent exposed to some of the very worst minds that Tokyo- that humanity- had to offer, she still had some room in her heart to believe in a happy ending.
Bless the children, give them triumph now.
"They took her", Jiachi repeated in a deflated voice completely unlike him. "All her Personas... they stopped working again, and..."
Unable to stop herself, Mira rose up from her seated position, the grainy lights of the harbor playing off her golden mask. "And you left her?!"
"She ordered us to flee", Pelagio explained, just as dour. "The enemy's strength was overwhelming, and their intent to capture instead of kill was clear."
"And so you just left her", Mira accused, the previous depression forgotten as her voice rose in outrage. "Are you really that hopeless? You can't disobey even if she tells you to-"
"She was trapped", Julian cut her off. "Even I could see that if we tried-"
"We can't leave without her!"
"I know! But we had to escape-"
"This is your fault!"
"My fault? You're the one who went against her orders and brought along this useless-"
"If her orders are wrong, then we should!"
Pelagio waited another minute, letting the argument between the two of them simmer on before smashing the flat of his broadsword into one of the metal shipping crates, producing an clangor that silenced everyone, made them turn to him.
"What is done", he said, the beaked helmet accentuating the severity of his tone, "is done. Our captain ordered our retreat because she did not wish for us to be captured by the Shadows as well. This way, we at least have a chance of saving her in turn."
"Some chance", Mira murmured, gesturing at the dark city skyline helplessly. "She could be anywhere in this Land. And you expect us to be able to take down a Shadow that she couldn't beat?"
"If that is what must be done to save our captain, then that is what we will do!", he regarded the others, Noel included. "Or have you all forgotten how often she has put her own life on the line to save both of you?"
"I'm not saying we won't try", Julian argued. "I'm just saying, with all these strong Shadows, and us without our leader... This feels like a freakin' suicide mission even if we didn't have this guy to protect as well."
"Isn't that your favorite kind?", Mira spat back. "So you can show off more? Make jokes, twirl your guns around like you're some kind of action movie star? This is reality, not-"
Pelagio had to rap his sword again to shut off another potential shouting session, and Noel was next to speak. "I feel terrible. I am indirectly responsible for this situation. Thus, I feel I should do everything I can to aid in Tsu- sorry, in Saber's recovery."
"What're you gonna do?", Jiachi scorned him, too upset to hide his disdain. "Pray really hard?"
"No, I-"
A warbling, inhuman shriek cut him off, heralding the arrival of several Shadows. A smaller group than the teeming hordes they'd become used to seeing in this Land, but no less formidable looking. The woman-headed spider creatures scuttled along the ground while the floating prisoners gabbled through their garrotes. Worst of all, they all recognized the tall humanoid figure at the back of the formation, encrusted in coral and other sea fauna until it looked like a walking reef with a clamshell head.
"The noise", Julian realized, glowering at Pelagio. "Way to go, dude. Always wanted to die screaming."
4/30 Tuesday (Two Months Ago)
After School
His screams had been silent. He had no idea how much longer they would remain so, and so he had returned.
Eyes closed, Noel took a deep breath, expecting the worst. "I have to know. I must know."
Cecille Yumika had approached his request for a meeting with a mix of dread and resignation, but seeing the question coming over the horizon for two weeks didn't change her answer. The bus stop they'd chosen to meet up was at least a less stifling environment than the hospital's dour lobby, but she looked uncomfortable nonetheless.
"...No. No you don't, child. What you need to do is get on with your life. I never knew the girl myself of course, but I have a hard time imagining that she would want you to spent the rest of it wallowing in grief."
"I have a hard time imagining her deliberately walking into the gate to Faraway Lands", he countered so swiftly that the argument had to have been prepared beforehand.
"Furusato-chan... Niyoga-kun and I, we both liked her. She had other friends too. Not once did we ever catch a hint that she would wish to surrender the beautiful life that she has been granted by God. And I should mention also that Niyoga-kun is currently the top graded student at Koashimizu academy. He is, by nearly all accounts, a certified genius, particularly when it comes to spotting hints in a person's body language."
Cecille made a show of apathy, trying to make it seem like she was tuning out his words. "Did you tell him?"
"No. As I promised you before, I haven't told anyone."
"Good", she noted in relief. "In retrospect, I shouldn't have shown you at all either. If I'd known it would eat away at you like this..."
"Why?", he demanded sullenly. "Why is it so important for us to keep that realm's existence a secret?"
Matching his agitation with her own passion on the subject, she regarded him with a frigid gaze. "Would you prefer chronological or alphabetical? The big one, the one you might not have figured out even if you stopped to think for a while, is that the more people talk and think about that world, the more the gate becomes visible. The bigger pull the gate has, the more people get suckered in. Rinse and repeat and I don't even want to think about what happens next."
The resulting mental image did give him pause, but only for a moment. "I do not desire a home in that place. I already have a home. Two homes, in fact."
"No", she remarked sordidly. "What you want is to take a trip deep into a Land that's probably crawling with Shadows, just so you can talk to that girl."
"It might not be", he began to protest. "Shadows are attracted by strong negative emotions, yes? So she-"
"There would be Shadows there", Cecille cut him off testily. "It varies from person to person, but I've never once seen a Land without any Shadows in it. Someone with enough despair in their minds to enter the gate in the first place is going to draw Shadows in to insulate them. I don't mean to insult Furusato- I'm sure she seemed just fine back when she was with you- but that's just the truth of how that place works. Rulers don't care for intruders, and the Shadows enforce that hostility, disguised as guards or some other type of guard."
"I see", he slumped in defeat. Even blind, she would have sensed his mood, and even someone who spent so much of their time among easily upset children couldn't help but want to soften the blow. Or at least, she did.
"Hey, I understand. Hardly the first time I've seen young love. You wanted to end things properly with her, right? Even if you can't get her back out again, you want to know from her own mouth why she left, what exactly caused that despair."
Noel nodded silently into the wall of the station.
"Because you're worried you might have helped to cause it. Or at least, might have been able to do something to help her if you'd known. But answer me honestly, Vitienne... how exactly is that knowledge going to help you now? Will it help that poor girl's parents? Would it stop them from prosecuting you? Yeah, I heard about that by the way. Evidence and testimony from another world isn't permissible in a court of law, you know."
More alarming to her than any other reaction he could have given, he actually barked out a short laugh before dashing out of the bus stop, suddenly desperate for some fresh air.
When she'd caught up to him, she carefully stretched an arm over his shoulder. "I know how you feel. That's why I took the risk of letting you know about it, and taking you there so you could see the truth for yourself. But those risks are as far as I go. It's too dangerous to just go blindly searching for Furusato's Land. In case the Leviathan Shadow you saw last time didn't spell it out for you, that place... it's hell."
Noel laughed again, short and sharp just as before, worry quieting Cecille and giving him room to speak slowly. "Yes. Yes. That's the real question, isn't it? Is the other world truly 'hell'?"
More than slightly perturbed, she moved around to catch his face, locked into a melancholy grimace and revealing almost nothing. "And if it is 'hell'... then, where is 'heaven'?"
"I don't-"
"That's what I need to know, Yumika-san", he confessed into the damp afternoon air. "Not just for me, but others as well. Millions of others who have spent their lives adhering to faith."
6/14 Saturday
Evening
The score of Shadows advanced, caring nothing for the fear or resolution on the faces of their victims and only paying closer attention to Pelagio when he drew his sword and shield.
"It was not as loud as the two of you", the bird knight remarked, focusing on the enemy. "Regardless, we must work together to triumph. I shall strengthen your defenses with Galahad and focus upon the leader. Kindly try to keep the others off me, will you?"
No one offered any further arguments. They were almost grateful to be able to vent their frustrations on actual deserving targets. Every Shadow that tried to move in and cut Pelagio's sudden wild charge off found itself shot down by the staccato barrage of Julian's bullets, while any attacks that made it through were swiftly healed up by Mira's skills. That was enough to get the lesser ones to obey their leader's clawed command gesture and charge in return, ignoring Noel's frightened-looking form to focus on the Persona-users.
Sparing them for now, Pelagio drove his blade deep into that claw, anticipating and blocking the shark-formed torrent of water that the hideous Shadow called upon to counter. Even during the times when Dancer was able to boost his speed, dodging had never been his main way of avoiding damage, instead simply taking it on his shield or hoping his armor could hold out. By the amount of mottled scar tissue and marine shell covering this enemy, they utilized a similar battle strategy to his.
"Hmph. Yet, the difference between us is clear", he claimed, flashing back to the brutal duel with the fire-using automaton Shadow in Mira's Land, the one that had awakened Galahad's power and resolve in him. "I fight for my leader because I truly believe in her cause! You fight out of naught but unthinking obedience to your foul master! En garde!"
The hideous coral giant gave no coherent reply, merely a few subdued hisses and growls before bringing its other claw down on his shield and nearly tearing through it. Pushing back with it and slashing into the follow-up, Pelagio focused his mind instead. "Strike now, Galahad! Freila!"
The resulting domed explosion was enough to actually obscure the enemy for several seconds, leaving behind a scalloped crater in the concrete and throwing several of the lesser Shadows off balance as well. Enough for Mira to sneak several dagger strikes in, shredding one of the spider women and blasting another one back on a shrill-screaming green wind blast. For a moment it looked like the battle's momentum was with them, then Pelagio saw the figure shrouded in smoke open up at its head, several rows of curved teeth peeling apart like some sort of carnivorous plant, releasing the swarm of impossibly swift strikes that left all three of them momentarily dazed and confused.
Before he could regain his bearing, the leader's tattered, moist claw slammed into him as well, tearing through armor plating just as easily as shields. The pain was expected, but when his retaliation failed to even make a furrow in the enemy's tortured flesh, he gaped and left himself open to another blast of water.
Disease, he recognized the symptoms at last through a feverish haze. Having traveled Faraway Lands alone for years, he had learned to recognize the various abilities used by Shadows, and this was one of the most insidious types. The foul red liquid dripping from the enemy's claws contained a fast-acting retrovirus that leeched away the strength of its host. The fact that it could be transferred by proximity only made it worse, and when he saw Mira heading over to him with concern in her eyes he held up an arm in protest, unable to miss the revolting orange growth already running along it, draining his energy away even as he spoke so that every word was an exertion.
"No! Do not come near me Dancer, or it will infect you too!"
Terrified by the fear in his words just as much as the growth, Mira stared back in horror. "But... what can we do?"
Before he could muster an answer, more Shadows charged her and Jiachi, allowing no time for further talk. Fighting the horrible numbing sensation and fatigue with everything he had left, Pelagio cried out and was rewarded with the sight of his sword cleaving into the leader's flesh... but that wound wasn't enough to stop the giant from seizing up and throwing him clear away into a shipping crate, nothing more than a gnat.
Stand, he frantically demanded of his infected leg muscles, struggling to comprehend the larger battle. Damn you, stand!
Finally, he could see clearly again. For all that was worth. Julian had managed to pick off more of the enemy, but now they had surrounded him, soaking up his shots without flinching. Once she'd lost sight of him in the mob, Mira had tried to intervene only for the leader to rush in, much faster than expected of his size, and slash fresh infectious wounds across her flank.
"Damn it!", they could hear Jiachi's frustration from inside the crowd of foes. "What's with these assholes?! You're supposed to go down when I hit you!"
"Hold on!", Mira called. "I can-oh no..."
Too late, she saw the shark-shaped deluge of water descending on her, the Shadow leader giving them no respite. "This... This is impossible...!"
Pelagio's shield spell covered her, the transparent gray shell deflecting the next strike, but he could see that Mira was already panicking, about to give up or give in to the draining disease that now covered her left hip. Clenching up, she managed to release a lightning bolt on the leader, only barely fazing it.
"Vitienne!", she shouted, eyes focused on the red claws moments away from taking her life. "Vitienne, run! We can't beat this thing! Not without-"
"Enough!", Pelagio thundered back, the edge of defeat lending him the strength to yell if little else. Julian did better, unleashing a surge of fire that blasted his attackers back. "We cannot give up just yet!"
"But... I can't...!"
"Yes", he echoed. "I know. I feel it. The disease is weakening us more and more. But we cannot lose here! Our captain is counting on us to save her! We must win!"
As he spoke, he saw the culmination of that danger; Julian had managed to destroy all the minor Shadows, but that had left him open for the coral giant's dizzying mouth swarm, followed up by a cut across his midsection that left the noxious infection behind.
"No", Jiachi croaked in despair. He could stand and run and shoot for now, but his fire quickly proved nothing more than an inconvenience to the Shadow. "He's right... We gotta win! But..."
"Vitienne!"
Hearing that pained cry from Mira brought the other's gaze back to their hapless 'guest', the realization that he hadn't run away as requested. Just the opposite; he now stood between Mira and the coral giant, his arms spread wide in defensive posture despite having no visible way to fight back.
"No", Pelagio wheezed, trying to move in to help with legs that no longer wanted to obey. "Don't..."
"It's alright", Noel announced, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I'm sorry. I should have told you before. I-"
The Shadow didn't care what meaningless noises its prey made. Nor did it care which of the four targets fell first. The red-dripping claw descended, shredding not flesh but paper, the torn pages of Noel's sketchbook scattering every direction across the wharf on the wind.
Seemingly not bothered by the loss, he turned back to Mira, coldly confident. "-I suppose... That you'll see the truth for yourself."
Only thrown off for a moment, the giant roared, swinging the claw's jagged talons down again towards his head-
And halted on nothingness.
5/5 Sunday (One Month Ago)
Afternoon
He stood in light.
Against Cecille's claim, the Land he'd found had a sparingly few number of Shadows, and fewer conceptions. Instead, a number of storm-wrought rock spikes jutted through the grass- the smallest signs of the place's dominant feature, an enormous craggy mountain carved to look like some unknown face.
Both the Shadows and the conceptions here bore helmets and armor he could recognize as Nordic-inspired, with beards to match. None of them seemed to be interested in a random wanderer, so long as he didn't try to climb the mountain trail any further upwards, and he hadn't bothered with them. Instead, he had simply come to an well-illuminated copse among the foot to sit.
And think.
At least, Cecille hoped that was all he'd done since arriving. Carefully pushing her irritation down so as not to attract the Shadows, she ambled up to him, eyes down.
"Learned anything yet?"
Noel said nothing. His eyes remained shut.
"I'm pretty sure I was clear about this, you know. You're just lucky you found a Land that isn't too hostile to start with. Now... are you going to come with me, or do I have to drag-"
"Why did you do it?"
Thrown off by the sudden force in his voice, Cecille stared back into a face streaked with tears. "I can't stop thinking about it", he explained into the mountain air. "I have to know!"
Exasperated, Cecille rolled her eyes. "We discussed this. Several times. You don't have to know. That knowledge isn't worth your life, or mine. You don't know right now, and you're still alive. Which is more than you'll be able to say if you stay here for too long."
He rose, focusing on her with an ire she'd never seen in the face of this young blond man who had seemed so courteous in all of their previous talks. Only now did it seem like he was actually capable of true anger, and the sight of that anger made it abundantly clear why he usually kept it under careful lock and key, more frightened of it than even she was.
"So I should just forget about it?", he rasped. "Just ignore the absolute demolition of everything I have ever believed in?!"
"Vitienne", she warned. "Don't-"
But he didn't care. Any concern he might have normally afforded her warnings was entirely invested into the intensity of words heated enough to burn the air.
"Hence do the ways of men part!", he screamed up at the mountain's snowy peak far above, half expecting it to respond. "Daher, scheiden sich die wege der menschen! And yet... I cannot...!"
"Vitienne! Enough! You're going to attract the Shad-"
She stopped. Past experience had left her with a sense that told her that it was already too late. Three horn helmeted, armored, bearded warriors stood against them, eyes glowing pinpricks of blue light and armed with curving axes heavy enough to imply they were in fact their main weapons instead of their transformed states.
Cecille didn't understand their words, but she knew what they meant. They were here to either capture or kill the two of them. "They're all the same", she grumbled. "Guess I've got no choice but to use-"
But something else, louder and even more deafening than Noel's earlier howl rang out, stealing away other considerations as soon as she realized it had come from the same place as before. Words screamed loud enough to echo along the mountain peaks, in a guttural language she could not begin comprehend.
What she could comprehend was the sudden surge of energy blasting her back away from him along with the Shadows, prompting them to discard their shells of flesh and become monsters.
"Hence do the ways of men part", Noel spoke, his earlier wrath vanished to be replaced by a strange, timorous echoing that had nothing to do with the mountain. "If you truly wish to strive to achieve peace of the soul, then you need only to believe. If you wish to be a devotee of truth, then... inquire."
She stared up at the floating figure, not fully comprehending what she was seeing. Sensing her fear, he turned and offered her a tiny, strangely serene smile.
"Don't be afraid."
6/14 Saturday
Evening
"Don't be afraid." The words didn't make sense to Mirambela at first. How could she not be afraid of death, when it was so close?
They had already lost. With the disease draining their strength away, no one could stop the giant coral Shadow now. Pelagio and Jiachi were both making visible efforts to stand up no matter how much their bodies protested the movement, but they looked just as depleted as she felt, ashen and pale.
"Don't be afraid", Noel repeated, smiling brightly for the first time in months. "I am your shining one."
The giant roared, swinging the claw's jagged talons down again towards his head-
And halted on nothingness.
No, she realized, heart leaping into her throat. It's not nothingness. That's...?
It was as though a microscopic sun had begun to emerge from the horizon behind them, blanketing the entire harbor in a sweeping, radiant light that caused the giant to flinch away from it, still roaring and thrashing about in vain. It was too bright for her to look at directly, involuntarily covering her eyes until the rays of light from the morning star had dimmed to a more reasonable level.
The star had also resolved into a top-heavy cross shape devoid of any hint of legs, instead floating several feet up off the ground behind Noel. Seemingly composed of light-toned metal plating and festooned with rows of multicolored gems along both sides, a brilliant kaleidoscope of larger crystals jutting out from the left and right ends along with the bottom.
Everywhere else that she looked, tiny holes in the sleek frame still emitted illumination from within that hurt to look at too closely. The largest crystal, a beautiful glittering ebony spike, protruded up from the middle of the chest, acting as a partial cover for a mouthless metal mask with large, curved eyes radiating with the same light. Seeming almost like an afterthought, four flimsy looking metal arms dangled down on both sides of the central crystal.
Is that... A Persona? It's so bright...!
Only Noel wasn't stunned by the new arrival. It floated forward with him as he spoke, his voice growing into a mournful, soul-sick howl that even gave the Sadow pause.
"A devotee of truth has no other choice but to seek it. If this world is one of Gods or Demons, then we must inquire, and learn the ultimate truth of them. If it is my destiny to redeem faith, then I must accept it. Let us ride forward to the beckoning of a new dawn, oh lord of revelation's light... Dellingr!"
Whatever awe the Shadow had felt seeing the way the light reflected off the new Persona's gems faded quickly, and it roared and lunged. The floating cluster of gems which Mira had assumed was Dellingr raised a round, pearlescent head aggressively, but no direct form of attack came. Instead, its wielder thrust one arm forward, calling on a skill: "Let tranquility soothe your hatred... Tarunda!"
The bloody claw still cut into Noel's flesh, leaving behind distinctive orange flecks indicating the onset of infection, but to her amazement there was little other sign of injury. Still, the hit made been made, and now it was only a matter of time until Noel's newfound strength fled him just as it had the others.
Looking down at the orange blot, he shook his head, still serene. "Me Patra."
Dellingr's spherical head reclined with the same strange calmness, and rays of bright green light stretched out from its dozens of apertures to reach everyone, stinging as it scoured the noxious orange blight out of their bodies. Within moments, Mira could breathe properly again, and see that everyone else was back to normal as well.
And Pelagio was suddenly running forward, screeching a war cry as if trying to outperform Noel's earlier volume.
The giant was still focused on Noel and the new Persona. It was raising a claw to summon the buffeting stream again, leaving its side open to a flashing, spinning cut from Pelagio's sword. A hail of shots from Julian peppered the other side of it until the creature flinched, giving Mira her own opening to refocus Oya's power within her mind.
"Don't bother us any more... Zionga!"
Lightning descended in a piercing fork and the Shadow roared, this time in legitimate pain instead of rage. The clamshell maw opened again to release the dizzying swarm attack, but even as stars erupted in front of her eyes, Mira knew that Pelagio and Julian were both too enraged to let such a thing delay them for more than an instant. Fire and the domed blue explosions struck anew, and when she looked back the giant had Pelagio hanging from the center of its chest, suspended by a sword buried up to the hilt in the organic crust.
Giving one final roar, the Shadow collapsed to its knees, disintegrating into shreds of formless darkness. Her body sensed the victory even as her eyes did, finally letting go and drifting off into the sleep of exhaustion that adrenaline and resistance could no longer delay.
Hurts...
It hurts...
The stinging pain didn't bring Aiko Tsuruga out of the trance she couldn't remember falling into, but the sudden lack of it. She had discovered early on that her bonds had some kind of thorns hidden inside that could jut out at seemingly random times and pierce her arms. Though there was no sign of the blood she had expected, this and the scalding pole from earlier had already managed to drive her into a level of agony that eclipsed anything a Shadow had ever done to her in combat.
She couldn't remember the screaming. Only that at some point, her senses had simply overloaded and shut down, leaving her in the trance state, deprived of feeling. She could hardly believe how much more vulnerable she felt now that they had taken her hat away, leaving her hair exposed... How much more vulnerable, without her power.
If she had still been able to summon her Personas, to tap into their power to boost strength and agility and survive damage that would normally break bones, she might have lasted much longer... But not this long. It was impossible to say exactly how long it had been.
She hung there in the void without time, dimly exploring the spectrum of pain as it ravaged her nerves. She couldn't say if having a witness to it all was helpful or not.
It hurt to lean forward. It hurt to lean back. It hurt to stay in the center.
It hurt to much to think about it. The nerves used for deductive processes felt too scorched to use any more than what was necessary.
The tall Shadow woman in the black dress with Reiha's face, the one who had called herself Mistress Kaneshiro, studied her closely, clinically, her expression devoid of the malice expected of a torturer. Certainly, the way this one dished out endless pain made it easy to view her as nothing but a monster who enjoyed the torment of others.
But the longer this went on for, the more Aiko began to realize that wasn't quite accurate.
"You take it well", Kaneshiro observed, disturbingly casual-sounding about everything that had transpired in this cushioned room, blazing yellow eyes locking into her captive's. "Better than I expected of your type. But as you can see, with the application of enough external pain, you can forget all about your internal pain. That... is true bliss, wouldn't you agree?"
It hurt too much to talk yet. All she could manage was a frightened shake of her head, and even that caused the skin across her neck muscles to flare up an alarming red.
Kaneshiro hardly seemed bothered by the refusal, surveying the welts and bruises sympathetically. "I understand. Not everyone has to resort to this, of course. Those lucky people who remain unmarred by tragedy can live peaceful, happy lives, blissfully ignorant of the pain that exists for others in the real world."
Trying to reply and failing, Aiko released a hideous rattling cough before finding her throat again. "L-Like the cognitions... right? You keep them locked up, never seeing the Shadows outside their windows..."
"Our citizens?" Kaneshiro seemed momentarily surprised, dark lips sliding back into a satisfied smile as she reached down to grip and lift her chin up. "I suppose, yes. And those of us who understand the curse of pain may defend them from criminals. But you see dear, I wasn't speaking of them. I spoke of your tagalongs."
Freshly irritated blisters turned her angry scowl into something that sounded closer to a hissing cobra before she could break free, her attempt to bite the hand that held her chin barely missing. "...They're my friends."
Raising her curled lashes in mock surprise, Kaneshiro regarded her intently. "Mm. Half a lie, I think. I can smell it. I told you before; pain always reveals the truth. The truth of who you really are."
"S-shut up...!"
Gaze narrowing, Kaneshiro shook her leonine head in pity. "Why? Can't you see that I'm only trying to help you? To help you understand? You're not like them, dear. They cherish their normal lives, and seek to avoid pain whenever they can. You, however..."
With an amused laugh, the lithe female Shadow knelt down closer. Close enough that Aiko could now see a set of four sharp-pointed fangs protruding several inches out of her incisors, ahead of the other teeth.
"You value yourself... not at all. No. You're like me. You seek out the bliss of external pain to block out the internal."
"S-s-s.."
Kaneshiro clucked her tongue, returning to her feet. "And now, I see why. Such a sense of worthlessness in you. Something buried deep within, from long, long ago... And to block out those awful memories, you seek out pain. To find some worth in your life, you sacrifice yourself to protect others, taking the abuse so that they might be spared."
"What..." The quavering whisper had more hurt in it than anything the Shadow had done to her physically. "What?"
"I'm sorry, dear... but I have seen human friendship, and that is not it. No more than the citizens I protect are my friends. They are your protectorate. Not your friends."
"N-no. You're... lies...!"
Baring the horrible fangs again, the tall Shadow transitioned the hissing expression into a sad smile, the normally sinister reverb in her voice lowering slightly.
"Complete denial. So very typical of humans. The only way for you to accept the truth is to behold it for yourself then. You actually believe that they will come and rescue you, don't you, dear?"
Aiko said nothing. She didn't know what the answer was anymore, afraid to admit that uncertainity even to herself. Only her eyes revealed the fear, not of the physical pain but the awful poison in this woman's seemingly compassionate words.
Kaneshiro blinked slowly, waiting for a response before sighing up at the cushioned ceiling. "Of course. That was your plan all along, wasn't it? Allow us to capture you and bring you to justice, in the hope that your poor stray lambs might escape and rescue you. Once again, you willingly forfeit yourself for them. Because you believe that you are worthless next to them."
Shut up. Shut up shut up shut up shut up...!
But she couldn't actually form the words. It was too painful.
At least, that was the reason she wanted to be true.
Black-gloved hands wound and folded around each other like spider webs. "You are not worthless, dear. In fact, your absence is the very reason that you will not be rescued. Without you to guide those poor lambs, they are lost here... they've become far too dependent on your support to function without you. That's why I assign particularly strong Shadows as my lieutenants, so that the others can stay focused without me."
Lieutenants... right. She'd seen and fought those. The revolting coral giant with the enormous claws and a clamshell head, and the frilled, white-masked scythe-bearer, the latter of whom had eventually left this room to resume hunting for 'criminals'.
'Criminals' like her friends.
Or...?
"No", she blurted, desperation making it sound more like a plea than a denial. "No. They..."
Hazy yellow eyes focused in on her tears with morbid interest. "You will have to see it for yourself. It would be for the best if they left my city, went back to live the happy lives you've suffered to give them. This place... is not for them."
"Not... for anyone...!"
The Shadow gave a polite chuckle. "Not for anyone, you say?"
"No... This is..." Finally recovering enough from a combined physical and mental assault to speak clearly again, her eyes focused and alert. "This place is... is just a Land. Just someone's dream world. Hayato-senpai's dream. You? You're nothing. You're just her Shadow. Just a fiend stealing her face. And before long, my friends will come and kick your ass!"
Disappointingly, the Shadow barely reacted to the glob of defiant spit she'd managed to work up and release, staining the waist of the form-fitting gown but only for a moment. The tattoos adorning its face curled up like snakes as she smiled back.
"Oh, poor dear. The pain of being so consistently wrong about everything isn't nearly as much fun as we've been having, but you seem to be a fan of it. I told you before- I am only trying to help you realize who you are. Who you can be."
Something above her made a noise and every erg of the resistance Aiko had managed to build back up vanished in an instant, nearly swallowing her tongue from biting down as the black thorns and poles dug back into her wrists and the white swallowed up every other sense. Enough to stop her from forming coherent words, but infuriatingly, not enough to block out the Shadow's.
"You see, pain is itself a God. The true God. A God that will strip away your pretensions of morality, and allow you to realize that you belong here. With me." Kneeling down, the Shadow pressed a bone-pale, tattoo-laden forehead into her young victim's own, no longer even trying to hide its own excitement at the prospect of what it knew was to come.
"With your Mistress."
Considering the harbor to be a safe haven no longer, Pelagio had ordered them out to a covered area in the main part of the city, far enough down the structure to be invisible to the zeppelins. All the same, he maintained an alert vigil while the others rested.
"Please forgive me", Noel said earnestly, staring back into Mira's curious eyes without regret once she had woken up. "I might have shared the truth with you all earlier, but I couldn't be sure that you really were the ones that I saw in my dream."
Considering how Aiko would approach him if she were there, Mira quickly decided it didn't matter. "You just saved our lives. I think that's more than enough to make up for a little secret between friends. Besides, it's not like we can talk."
"As though anyone else would understand even if you did", he snorted drily at the absurdity. "The truth of this world can't be explained through anything as simple as mere words. It can only be seen and felt."
"Just like with Personas", Jiachi remarked. All of his earlier anger towards Noel had diffused with the Shadow leader's destruction and their recovery. "I just didn't think that someone... I mean..."
The other boy smiled back neutrally. "It's okay. You can say it, Ros- I mean, erm, Gunslinger. You didn't believe that someone like me could awaken to a Persona, yes? Someone who took an oath to never bring harm on another? Yet, there are so many skills that don't involve hurting, yes?"
"Point", Mira agreed happily. Asking had confirmed that while the strange gem-encrusted Dellingr had various useful abilities, mainly powerful healing skills, none of them actually involved doing any damage to Shadows. Noel bore no weapons at all in his new garb, and he showed no desire to carry one. "That Persona of yours sure is pretty though. I'm actually a little jealous, but it'll be nice to not be the only healer."
"Speakin' of", Julian noted, "I guess you already know why it is we shouldn't use your name here too much. So, what should we call you while we're here? Just 'Healer'? Kinda boring."
Mira was more contemplative, carefully looking over the outfit that had materialized over Noel's school vest and pants back when Dellingr had appeared; a wide-sleeved robe of white and gold trim, decorated with several black marks in the form of stylized eyes, a thin fiber cloak laid over the back. The mask was a separate affair, a full face cover looking to be composed of the same light metals as Dellingr was, a triangular design replacing the mouth Though the eyes had only a tiny slit for visibility, Noel had assured them he could see perfectly. He had removed it here though, so that they could see the piercing light of his eyes.
"Priest? Cleric?", she tried after a long period mulling it over.
He chuckled politely. "Hah. Perhaps if father Shigetsu ever came here. I am no priest. How about 'Dawnbringer'?"
Jiachi grinned. "Hey, cool! But, uh, there's no sun in this world."
"Then I shall become that sun", he offered, laughing at his own solemnity for a moment.
Mira drummed her fingers against grimy brick. "Better to keep it simple for this purpose though. You can tell the Shadows that you're Dawnbringer. But for us... Mender?"
"Perfect", he nodded approvingly. "In all of human history, there are none I respect so much as those who seek to heal the sick and injured."
"Really?" Mira blinked in confusion. "Then how come you wanted to become a manga artist, and not a doctor?"
For the first time since arriving in Kaneshiro's Land, fear crossed onto Noel's face. "I... we can discuss that at a later time, yes?"
"Prolly 'cause doctors have to spend like six extra years in college", Julian remarked teasingly. "Sure, he can afford to pay for it, but c'mon, who really wants to go to school for that long? Jeez."
"Moving on", Mira said, remembering where they were. "I just want to say it now, that last fight was really messy. I think that we need to elect a new leader before we start looking around this place for Saber."
"Reasonable", Noel agreed.
"Yeah", Julian remarked grudgingly. "Even I gotta admit, that was like a total fustercluck. I mean... I think if Saber had there been there with us, directing us like she usually does, then we might not have needed Mender to jump in and save us from that freaky Shadow. Or y'know, maybe that's just hurt pride and I'm talkin' out of my ass here." He shrugged.
"It was the disease which crippled us", Pelagio remarked, speaking for the first time in nearly half an hour, and in a way that startled Noel. "Yes. Perhaps our captain might have devised a stratagem to deal with it in time, perhaps not. I attempted to use the anti-venom that you purchased at that farm... place, yet it had no effect."
"It's called a pharmacy", Mira giggled. "For that, I suppose we'd need to buy some other kind of medicine. A vaccine, maybe. At least we don't need to worry so much about poison any more."
"So of course they go and use other stuff", Jiachi complained with a grimace. "Sleep and brainwashing and diseases. Come of think of it, that seems to be the overall theme of this damn place. Shadows that take forever to die and drop really annoying bullshit on us. I swear, when we finally find that damn Kaneshiro lady..."
"We save Saber first", she reminded him. "As for our temporary leader... I vote for Guardian."
"Guardian?" Noel sounded confused, prompting Mira to gesture towards Pelagio. "Ah. Yes, I suppose that makes the most sense."
"Aw man", Julian grimaced, snapping his fingers. "I thought now was my big chance."
"Sorry, Gunslinger", Mira lowered her head in embarrassment. "After the way we were talking to each other just a moment ago, I don't think either one of us are really fit to lead. And Mender's just starting out, so that leaves Guardian."
"Temporarily", Pelagio emphasized with a grim nod towards each of them. "Of course, I will be happy to lead this effort. We absolutely must rescue the captain at any cost. Please be aware however, that I remain unfamiliar with many aspects of your human society. In such cases, I would value your input as well."
"Count on it", she agreed. "Even Saber couldn't avoid my nagging."
Noel's eyes widened at that comment. "Nagging? Sora- I mean, Dancer. We discussed this earlier. Sharing your private worries with your teammates doesn't make you a burden."
Her returning stare was directed at none of them, skating around each to pierce a wall. "And yet, if I hadn't done that... brought you here..."
Feeling his hands pressing against her shoulder alerted her to the fact that she was actually shaking. "If you hadn't brought me here, then I might never have had the chance to join with you, and see my mission through."
Julian frowned. "Huh? What'd ya mean 'mission'?"
Looking just as shamed as Mira for a moment, Noel regarded Pelagio and the others nervously. "Well... Please don't misunderstand. Of course, rescuing Saber certainly comes first. As does saving whoever is this Land's ruler, yes?"
"Actually, we know her name now", Mira noted casually. "The Shadows here call her 'Mistress Kaneshiro'."
"Kaneshiro...", he mused quietly. "Doesn't ring a bell, I'm afraid."
"With us either", Julian admitted. "Won't stop us from saving her though. The real Kaneshiro, I mean. Not the Shadow."
"Then", Noel clasped his hands hopefully. "Then, when that is done..." Realizing how that looked, he withdrew a step and stared into Pelagio's foreboding raptor eyes to speak, as if actually realizing for the first time that Pelagio wasn't someone he recognized from school.
"Erm. Guardian, wasn't it? You said earlier that even you, one who grew up here, don't truly know what this world is, or how it came to be, yes?"
Pelagio's wide steel pauldrons rose up and down in an exaggerated shrug. "It is a world formed from the random dreams of humans. Is that not enough, Mender?"
Their new teammate smiled sadly, feeling just as he had with Cecille. "For some. But not for me. Not... now. In that aspect, at least, I am no different from Niyoga-san. My burning need to know, to discover this world's connection with the divine... that was the mote of desire that erupted into my Persona, Dellingr. The personification of dawn. The dawn of knowledge of this world. My sole interest is uncovering the truth." Finishing with a self-derisive laugh, he studied the looks on Mira and Julian's faces as well. "I'm sorry. That was a little over-dramatic, wasn't it? But when I heard that voice in my mind, I knew it was the truth."
Far from being judgmental, Pelagio nodded in comprehension. "You heard the voice of your inner self then. Just as Galahad spoke to me when I was lost."
"And Oya spoke to me", Mira followed, looking enthusiastic for once.
"And Wild Bill", Jiachi muttered far more reluctantly, clearly the least impressed by Noel's speech. "It sounds like you already think we're going to help you out with this, yeah?"
"When there isn't any kind of time-dependent crisis", Noel reminded him, ignoring the way his voice was cracking. "Aren't you all curious as well? To learn the real truth of this world?"
Pelagio stepped forward, placing himself between them and staring into Noel's anxious eyes. "As you said, that decision can wait. The captain will decide. After we rescue her, and escape from this world. Understood?"
"Understood", Noel replied without hesitation. Even with all he had seen since first coming to Faraway Lands, Pelagio's inhuman gaze combined with the sudden undercurrent of menace in his voice remained something he couldn't stand for very long. "I never meant to suggest otherwise. Of course, saving Tsuru- saving Saber from the Shadows is our first priority."
"Once we find her", Julian pointed out, glancing out at the vast Noir city spread before them. "I think that's gonna be the hard part, prolly."
Turning back to the mission at hand, Pelagio took a moment to reach out with every one of his enhanced senses, picking up lights, sounds, cognitions living peaceful, happy lives within the structures, ignorant of the Shadows prowling around outside... completely unaware that there even was an outside...
"Hex", he spoke just when Jiachi was about to wonder aloud if he'd fallen asleep. "Hex will know. We merely need to find, and question him."
Mira blinked in surprise. "What? We can't go back to Tosashimizu now, we have to-"
"We're not", Julian explained, his voice strangely harsh as he slammed a hide gloved hand into his palm. "Hex showed up here. He messed up our infiltration. He's the reason Saber got caught. No mercy."
"Some mercy", Pelagio corrected without looking back at him. "For one thing, we are still not sure if this version of Hex is human, or merely a cognition. For another, we need him to be able to talk if we are to properly question him."
"The urban vigilante", Noel commented, a momentary surge of excitement tempered by the realization that they would soon be going up against Tosashimizu's very own urban legend.
"Or at least, a cognition of him", Julian admitted. "I kinda hope that's the case. Then we don't need to worry about roughing him up so much."
"I do not", Pelagio said. "A cognition in this place will likely possess little information for us, and merely repeat what they have been ordered to. But enough idle speculation. Let us hunt."
Then, before any of them could protest, he stepped out of the stone alcove and dropped.
"Dramatic as ever", Julian noted with a half chuckle, vaulting off his feet, smirking despite their situation. "Well, you heard our glorious new featherbag leader. Let's roll!"
Neither Noel or Mira moved to follow him for a moment, instead staring at each other in some mixture of disbelief and amazement. "I know it's hard to believe sometimes", Mira admitted, giving a shy smile towards their new member. "It's a completely different world here, with its own rules. Sometimes, I wonder if I'll wake up some day, and find none of it actually happened. But I'm still waiting for that to happen. And... Believe it or not, this world actually helped me out."
Pushing off the grimy brick, Noel nodded slowly. "I... I know what you mean, Sorano-chan. When my Persona awakened, I..."
Mira's warm smile grew. Somehow, even in the middle of all this horror, some small part of her could still appreciate and find comfort in Noel's bright crisp hair and handsome young face, the look of abject wonder on it, of awe at the new world spread out before him as well as the changes it had clearly wrought in him.
Just as it had in her.
"Remember", she said in a teasing tone as she walked up to the edge, one foot dangling over it. "Code names now. We've both changed. I'm Dancer. And you're Mender. And... welcome to our crew."
Spreading her arms outwards, she fell, the supernatural grace of her namesake helping her safe descent down to the street below.
Less enthusiastic about the drop ahead of him, Noel took a moment to stare into the space where his Persona had suddenly materialized, the cross-shape floating in the air without any visible sign of opinion, metal arms dangling limply down from the crystals.
"Dellingr", he murmured. "Is this really...?"
Silence. The machine-like Persona was incapable of communicating in the traditional sense. Instead, a series of tones emerged from the tiny holes in the metal like music, a message drifting through the air that only he could understand.
"...I see", he nodded, eyes fluttering shut and snapping open. "Yes, of course. They're all good people. Even if they would not aid me in my ends, I would still help them."
It was all he needed to take the final step, following his new comrades downward into the darkest depths of the city.
Enemy Profile #13: Saint Elmo
Arcana: Star
Strength: Water (Drain), Curse
Weakness: Bless
Abilities: Aques, Malaqua, Infectious Claw (Disease), Tentarafoo (Confusion), Rakunda
Background: Originally known as Saint Erasmus of Formia, the patron saint of sailors and abdominal pain. Martyred by the Roman Emperor Maximilian and thrown into the sea in a barrel, but later brought back to life by an angel. He is said to have continued preaching even after a thunderbolt struck the ground beside him. This prompted sailors, who were in danger from sudden storms and lightning, to claim his prayers. The electrical discharges at the mastheads of ships creating plasma were read as a sign of his protection and came to be know as 'Saint Elmo's Fire'.
Persona Profile #10: Dellingr
Arcana: Death
Strength: Bless
Weakness: Curse
Abilities (So Far): Tarunda, Media, Diarama, Patra, Rejesho
Background: High-ranking Norse God and the father of Dagr, the personified day. Dellingr in turn is considered to be the personification of the dawn's light as it spreads across the land to reveal the new day. Passages in the poetic Edda describe his marriage to Nott, the personification of the night.
A/N: 'I'm not quite dead!' Just job hunting, and now working full time. I'll try to keep up as best I can now that I have some backlog again, but no promises as these chapters are getting longer and longer, and there's a lot of big fight scenes coming up.
.
.
.
Also Persona Q2.