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

World's Song Won't Steer Me Wrong

I Sail Through Rain And Thunder

Little Trifles Don't Take Long

I'll Take The World's Plunder

8/9 Saturday

Afternoon

The clockwork tower- Shukiji's Niyoga's Land- felt like a ruin now. The battle between two of them had destroyed so many of the lifts and doors and anything else that the main elevator seemed no longer able to move between the floors any longer, stalled just below the two girls. And no one who saw them fighting now would deny that the damage would become worse still before it stopped.

For the first time so far, Benihime Kujou hesitated in her attack, studying the change in her target. Rusalka hovered loyally behind her, an arsenal of swords and scales ready to carry out her every edict. The weapon in her hand felt similarly reliable, a long naginata spear that had been specially made for her by some weapon craftsman that Prince Taurus knew personally. She had refused to have matching armor made, knowing that no matter how much power her Persona gave her, it would weigh her down.

That was one of the few rules of physics in this strange world that remained immutable, it seemed. Taurus could wear armor, but that was only because his Persona focused on amplifying strength. He himself had admitted that without Mithras bolstering him, he wouldn't even be able to stand up in it or lift his hammer. Going with lighter outfits seemed to be the more popular choice- she had yet to see any of the other Dream Voyagers wear heavy protective gear.

Which wasn't to say that Rusalka wasn't amazing. It was like nothing Benihime had ever felt before. It coursed through her body, through her nerves, through her very soul, an electric current of the purest wrath. It consumed her hate for all who opposed her and fed it back to her as power, lent her an unwavering mental clarity that she didn't think was possible without several strong cups of coffee, or perhaps drugs. With this beautiful power that fed on hate, she knew that there was no way that Aiko Tsuruga could possibly defeat her. She would die for her crimes, as was only just.

That was what the Masked Circle did, Benihime understood. They brought justice. Just like what the Phantom Thieves used to do, until they'd suddenly quit doing it and ditched their impressively loyal fanbase without any explanation or reason... Leaving humanity to fend for themselves.

But that was an old habit for her by now.

She was glad to see that Tsuruga wasn't going to give in just yet. A longer, drawn-out battle was only fitting for this. A pity she couldn't make it last for months on end, equal payback for every single day that Tsuruga had insulted and humiliated her.

Seeing her die here slowly, beaten down and helpless and frightened... that would be enough to satisfy. She could actually feel Rusalka's tail writhing about behind her in response to her thoughts; it clearly wanted Tsuruga to suffer just as much as she did.

Rusalka. Her true self. Her only true friend.

Whatever second wind her enemy had caught receded quickly, becoming nothing more than a slightly brighter than normal shade of the eye. Tsuruga's eyes had always been that peculiar irritating shade of deep green for one supposedly born in Japan, but after that strange burst of flame, the lone visible pupil glowed unnaturally, a competing power that pulled at her senses and threatened to drown them in it forever. The smile beneath it seemed likewise powered by that same fire, savage and happy.

It wasn't hard for her to determine the nature of this sudden change, and Benihime welcomed it. It meant no more pathetic pleading mercy from the pale-haired bitch, no more stupid naive imploring her to stop and give up on the goal she'd decided to pursue months ago- the goal of justice. It meant that Tsuruga was at last going to stop trying to talk her down, drop the sympathy act, and actually fight her for real.

Fucking FINALLY.

How long had she dreamed of this?

Almost as a background gag, more of Shukiji Niyoga's Shadows appeared around her, trying to interfere with them yet AGAIN. Rusalka's array of swords cut them all down in moments, only encountering any significant resistance with a large black crocodile that required that she use her own weapon to pierce its scales, tearing it into two halves with a water blast.

She had only just registered that Shadow's destruction when something much faster than that came flying in from somewhere to her left, barely blocked in time. Only a breath later did she register it as Tsuruga. Tsuruga, and a new Persona hovering behind her looking like a thundercloud in the form of a ferocious blue-eyed puma...

"RAIJU!" Something flashed out of the corner of her eye, the bright flare of a lightning skill surging into Rusalka's protective bulk-

And through it, and into her. Benihime cried out from the pain, so intense and sharp that even her Persona and the protective powers of her queen's gown couldn't block it out entirely. A literal shock to the system.

When she had first gotten this power, before Ryuken Samesaji- Prince Taurus- had helped train her Persona to become stronger, such a powerful attack would have knocked her down and left her helpless.

But not now. Now, she simply shrugged it off, the naginata flying out to clash into Tsuruga's shorter cutlass by sheer reflex. That opening slash turned into a flurry of strikes of different angles, but even the bare pole of the naginata could intercept them without any major damage. When the new Persona behind her charged up another lightning skill, Benihime knew to not let it strike her weapon again, casting it out ahead with enough force to drive her back, out of the range of Tsuruga's own weapon. A shot from the heavy flintlock pistol slammed into her attempted retreat, but it felt more disorienting than dangerous. Still not enough. Even now, she's too weak. She always was.

Just like before, dodging the returning javelin strike proved to be nearly impossible for her, scoring another strong hit along her shoulder. Even Tsuruga's pirate captain outfit was weaker than hers, hardly protecting her in addition to looking completely dorky. Benihime felt no risk at all in taking a moment to gather the power of her hate into a more prolonged attack: "AQUADYNE!"

The result put the previous water blasts to shame. It seemed to generate its own brief whirlpool around it, the current pummeling its target with the full force of a raging tsunami- something that any Tokyo citizen had learned to beware of on an instinctual level. The frothing cascade forced her back further, shattering a wall and again threatening to throw her out of the tower entirely.

She barely hung on, clinging to a demolished wall strut until the pressure passed. "Sorry about all this destruction, Niyoga-kun", she spoke at last, her earlier battle fever seemingly gone.

"Don't apologize, Tsuruga", Shukiji's reply rang down to them. "This isn't your doing. I'll send in some more powerful Shadows shortly."

"...No", she surprised them both, her gaze growing hard, the glow returning. "Don't bother. It's my problem. I'll deal with it now."

"Oh, you'll 'deal with me', will you?", Benihime laughed in mockery at the notion. "You've barely managed to survive so far!"

"It's cute that you think that", Aiko echoed, frustratingly calm. Vaulting off the strut, she raised her free hand to her cap, adjusting it. "Rise, Titania!"

The new Persona was smaller than the previous one, but radiated with unmistakable power- a fairy woman of regal bearing with long blond hair, pixie wings and an opulent forest green dress. Wasting no time, the newly-summoned ally invoked her own power, causing three piercing rays of light- blue, red and yellow- to descend and intersect on Tsuruga's body. Benihime had seen enough combat against Shadows by now to recognize what it was: a combination of the three main types of buff skills, a boost to attack power, defense and speed all in one.

Which won't help her at all, Benihime told herself. She can't dodge this. It's too big.

Smirking, she gestured, Rusalka copying the move and releasing a fast chain of white geysers across the transparent floor. Tsuruga took it head on, charging in with cutlass drawn until the next jet rose beneath her feet to propel her skyward.

It look a moment for Benihime to frown, realizing that was the intent. Somehow, repeatedly firing the flintlock pistol slowed Tsuruga's downwards momentum, the shots ringing out loudly but again failing to do anything more than distract until the next attack appeared; an intense sphere of cheery blue nuclear power, descending along with the one who had created it, only throwing it when they were within twenty meters of each other: "Freila!"

Alarmed, Benihime threw her hands up, producing the Aquadyne skill by sheer defensive reflex to surge forward and detonate the sphere before it could reach her. The result still shook the chamber along with everything else, knocking her over. Another reflex had her roll to avoid the descending blade and letting it embed itself in the floor.

Recovering, she cackled. "Not even a Dyne skill this time? Don't waste my time with weak-"

For the third time in a space of seconds, something screamed at her to act, to dodge or block the next approaching danger. One of the square lifts, previously damaged, now completely dislodged by the nuclear detonation and falling-

Falling down on her, until Rusalka flew up to take the full brunt of it. She had only a moment to register that spectacle before she felt something cold and narrow and quick cut directly into her protective gown.

Tsuruga. She hadn't even been slowed down by the water attacks any more. She'd dashed in with the speed and grace of Matador. More than that, thanks to the earlier boost. The naginata rose to block a follow-up, but to her astonishment Tsuruga's empty hand shot out to grab the center of the handle tight, preventing it from getting into a parry position.

And only then did she realize that cold, narrow blade was now sitting directly at her throat.

"Yield", Aiko commanded, the intensity of the green flames in her lone visible eye brooking no argument. "You're done. You lose. Go back home and confess your crimes!"

And for a moment, Benhime felt a chill. Felt... fear. The exact same fear that had gripped her heart back then at the dorm. Back when Reiha Hayato, who she had believed to be her best friend, had suddenly turned on her, becoming a monster gripping her with inhuman strength and spewing accusations of injustice into her face in a way that suggested pain or even death to come.

She'd never, ever known that kind of fear, until then. And at the time, it had reduced to her to a wailing infant.

But not this time. Benihime Kujou might have known fear, but Queen Aquarius didn't.

Queen Aqarius only smiled back, lips curled. "-Or you'll what? You'll cut me? Kill me?"

The realization of how limited her options were at this stage seemed to come as a shock for Tsuruga. Just enough leeway for another Aquadyne to blast her away, howling, no longer shielded from it as she had been.

So that was it, Benihime mused. The Titania Persona protects her from water skills.

Informed, she cast the spear out again. Recovering quickly even as she fell, Tsuruga switched to Asherah, generating a fire blast aimed not at her enemy, but at the thin channel of water connecting her to the flying naginata. The spot of impact became a burst of steam and the deadly weapon fell with a clatter, failing to hit its intended target.

Rusalka created a new connection, retrieving the weapon before Tsurga could take advantage. Not that it seemed that urgent- she still looked stunned by her previous words, the earlier green fire fled with her anger. Capitalizing, Benihime twirled her weapon about like a baton, showing off and laughing.

"Of course you won't do that. You'll never do that. Because you're WEAK!"

With an almost careless twirl, she conjured the blade storm that had eviscerated so many helpless Shadows. She saw Tsuruga switching back to the Matador Persona, gripping her blade to unleash a counter-move: "Andalucia!"

For once, Benihime was impressed by the spectacle of it. Tsuruga's blade somehow flew into an endless flurry of precise, lightning-fast slashes that blocked every blade before it could tear into her. One did manage slide past her guard in the end though, severing a lock of her pale hair that seemed to float before them both before falling to the ground.

Far from angry, Tsuruga stared at her rival again with those disgusting teary eyes. They seemed a bit haunted now, perhaps understanding for the first time that there really was no way for her to win. When one side was willing to go for the jugular and seize the kill and the other side refused to, the outcome was obvious.

"Kujou", her voice was the barest whisper. "Kujou-san. Please. Please listen to me. You're a high school student. You don't want to be this. You don't want to be like them. You don't want to be a murderer."

"I won't be", the older girl agreed without missing a beat, slowly walking forward. "I'm just disposing of some weak, useless trash. Just like the garbage men. Except I'm better dressed and more elegant."

Seeing her rise, trying to get away, Benihime focused again, drawing on a new skill. The eyes adorning her sleeves suddenly all flew open at once like something had jabbed them, all of them gushing out converging lines of noxious purple vapor: "Poisma!"

By the time Tsuruga saw what was happening, it was already too late. At the final moment she tried to summon Simurgh and blow the descending cloud away with a wind skill, but it was surprisingly heavy and the gust did little more than delay its fall, and before she knew it the venom was all over her, forcing its way into her lungs and throat, every breath and exertion becoming agony.

"You're trash", she heard Kujou repeat, drawing closer to a wounded prey. "You were born from nothing. A nonexistent father. No real friends. A mother who couldn't even stand to to look at you. Can't blame her, really."

The reply, however, was so shocking that she actually stopped her advance and raised her weapon, wary of a trap.

Because Tsuruga laughed. Her laughter echoed through the ruined tower. And her laughter was not born of mockery or malice, but sheer hysterics until she nearly doubled over, her face peering into the glass floor.

"Poison?", she cackled out loud, falling to her knees. "That's so fitting for you I can only cry. Because with what you're doing right now, everything else I've seen you do? You are poison, Kujou. Poison and hate and resentment. That's all you are now. And if you keep this up? Pretty soon, you lose the potential to become anything else. Ever."

Too late, Kujou saw the sneaky hand on the flintlock, reaching in to grab it before Aiko could use it to surprise her. "Trash like you... has no idea what I can be." Pausing for a moment as if considering whether to use the stolen weapon or her own, she scowled and raised the nagnata for a final blow. "I'm beyond all of you. I'm your que-"

The flying skull Shadow had no subtlety. It just barreled into her full force, taking her all the way across the width of the tower to slam into the wall before exploding. The second one was the same, deepening the crater.

Gasping, Aiko carefully downed the store-bought poison cure- one of several they'd all been carrying for just this situation- and stood, blinking through the smoke. A caterwaul of frustration that had to either be coming from Kujou or some extremely rabid animal clued her in to her opponent's location.

Wasting no time, she charged, Matador speeding her steps until she drew close enough to strike, switching to Titania just in time to blunt the defense water blast as it gathered. It was impossible to see her target clearly, but instinct guided the blade to its destination all the same-

Or near enough.

She saw strands of shiny black hair glide to the ground, heard a woeful scream of denial.

Smiled. Even if Kujou might not see it. Satisfied, she called on Simurgh's wind to clear all the stinging grit from the air, and as she did so she saw her opponent on her knees in the corner, running one arm along the earlier gash in her garment as if feeling it for the first time.

"Y'see", she said, a grave whisper until she heard it and raised her voice further. "I trained too. There's this guy who I met... Bartholomew of the Velvet room, or... Bart-kun. He dresses a little weird and he's pretty grouchy sometimes. But... he's also like the deadliest fighter ever. Even Umaeda-sensei is nothing to him. I spent this last month or so sparring with him. Getting destroyed by him. Again and again and again and again until I was totally sick of it. But..." Regripping the blade, she shook her head. "He said that I was slowly improving. And now? I believe him."

The words roused Kujou from her daze, her rage returning as she stood. "You know that was luck, not skill. I'm not finished with you, bitch. Besides, you can't-"

She lunged. The naginata was ready to parry, but she angled the slash to strike into the middle of the handle, the precise spot she'd identified from the start of the fight-

There was a warped clanging sound, and Kujou fell back clutching two shorter poles, the opposing ends mangled and broken.

Reluctantly dropping the shattered remains of her weapon, she reached for the stolen flintlock pistol, shakily aiming it at its rightful owner. Taking a step back, Aiko shifted Personas back to Simurgh once more.

"This totally isn't what I wanted. This is completely insane. The two of us trying to kill each other? I don't want this. All I ever wanted was to make a fun home at Koashimizu. I didn't want to become a fighter like this, some captain of a crew trying to save the world. But... I guess we can't steer away from what we are."

Kujou fired. The shot struck home, straight to the heart... and bounced clean off, fully protected by Simurgh's power.

"But I feel like I'm getting there. Like I've finally found a home. It's just a shame that you had to be the one to pay the cost for it." Tilting her hat, she made a slight bow. "I'm truly sorry for that."

Kujou fired the gun. Again and again, the shots struck and did nothing, their shells plinking emptily on the floor. Finally they stopped, replaced by a rapid clicking noise.

"It needs to be reloaded", Aiko explained flatly. Again, her Persona shifted, changing back to the fairy queen Titania. "I'm going to put you to sleep now, Kujou-san. When you wake up, we'll be back home in our world."

The fear returned then, paralyzing her, shortening her breath. This isn't how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to win. Tsuruga was supposed to scream out her undying hatred for her, and unleash her full fury, only to lose in the end and grovel for mercy before her rightful queen. That was how it was supposed to go, how she'd always imagined it in her mind's eye a hundred, a thousand times.

Fear, then hatred. It reminded her that Rusalka was still there, still with her for as long as she could draw on the power of her hate.

"If you think that's happening", Kujou snarled, her power rising with her. "Then you're still dreaming!"

Gathering Titania's power, Aiko gestured, generating a large glyph that manifested into a hypnotic eye. "Dormina!"

But Rusalka blocked this too, easily resisting the attempt to make her sleep, to put that burning hate to rest even temporarily. Smirking in triumph, her opponent let loose: "RAIN OF GRIEF!"

At first it seemed like nothing happened. Aiko searched the chamber for some sign of an attack, and finding it in a scant handful of rain drops. By sheer chance, one fell directly into her gloved hand, and she flinched it back in sudden pain, ripping the glove free just in time to see the wisp of smoke coming from it.

Then the rain hit, a vicious deluge contained entirely within the tower that was suddenly everywhere. In the space of a breath Titania was there, positioned like a living umbrella to block it with her gossamer wings at the expense of herself, and as Aiko stared she saw that Rusalka was doing the same thing for her master, preventing her own technique from killing her.

Knowing she had only moments before the Persona's sacrificial protection was gone, she fled beneath one of the lifts, only to watch in horror as the mechanism melted apart and the panel fell. Unleashing Freila cleared that before it could crush her but then the rain was there was well, tearing through Titania until she screamed and vanished in a flash of white light.

Headaches came on gradually, but this one was instantaneous-the backlash of having a Persona destroyed by a powerful attack. Shaking it off, she called up Inti to replace her, relieved to see that the rain had finally subsided, the steam it had created feeling mildly acidic on her clothes but no longer lethal-

Until the javelin naginata- composed of water this time instead of metal- jetted through it, concealed until it was too close to dodge or parry, impacting Inti's sun mask and knocking him back.

Kujou stood among the fresh mists, her hair a tangled mess, her dark eyes wild with triumph. No longer possessed of enough energy to taunt and fight at the same time, she merely glared daggers, pulling her new weapon back to fire it out again, even faster than before until-

"Tetrakarn!"

A brief flash, a flickering in the air betraying the new existence of a strong barrier, and then the spear crashed into it, ineffectually bounced back to sender. Suspecting a last-second effort from Aiko at first, she saw the armored figure of Pelagio emerging from the mists, shield and sword ready.

The falcon that had slashed her arm. Still Tsuruga's protector and her bane. Even now.

Green light engulfed her main target, not the fire again but a more traditional healing skill. Seeking its source, she saw Noel perched on a lift above, Dellingr focusing its radiance into erasing the damage.

She barely had time to process that when a giant black-wrapped fist flew down to crush Kujou into a wall. Her retaliation cut into the knuckles with sharp blades, but neither of Adrestia's giant arms halted their attack. Behind her, Reiha walked up, adjusting the brimmed hat of her outfit. "Sorry we took so long getting here, captain. All that destruction made it a bit difficult for us to track you down."

"Hmph. It's as I feared", Pelagio followed up. "I told you, an enemy always remains an enemy. And this one is particularly tenacious."

"Kujou-san!", Noel called down from above. "It's over! You don't have to be with them any longer! Please, for your own sake! You can come with us!"

Aiko tried to say that he was wasting his breath, but even that exertion made her realize just how close she'd come to blacking out entirely. "Now I know she was trained by Prince Taurus", she complained. "Just like him, she saved her best move for last. Stupid, stupid... If she'd used that one earlier, I wouldn't be here now."

"That rain?", Pelagio considered, his helmeted visage nodding to her as his strong arm helped her up. "However, seeing it is what drew us to this spot to save you."

"Thanks, Guardian", she smiled back at him. For a moment, she'd thought she was finished. "Where are Gunslinger and Dancer?"

"Back at the foot of the tower", Reiha explained, passively continuing her assault on Kujou just to keep her at bay. "Keeping Scorpio company."

"Lady Scorpio?", she rose up in alarm. That was far more worrying than this fight, considering Cleopatra's power.

"Don't worry, captain", Noel promised her. "She said she came in peace, to stop Kujou-san from breaking our truce."

Only Kujou's earlier words about a 'clueless old hag' stopped Aiko from doubting that statement, but she felt worried regardless. Have to take care of this first.

While her opponent had regained some of her former energy, the sight of Reiha perhaps serving as a reminder of the hate that drove her, as soon as Pelagio joined the battle her fatigue became apparent. Every attack she tried left her open to a strike from the other until even Rusalka was looking worn out and weak. Whenever she did manage to inflict damage, Noel and Dellingr would cover them in blessed light and heal them back to full strength. It was an impossible situation and before long, she knew there was only one way out.

"Get ready", Aiko warned them, shouting to be heard over the noise of the battle. "She's gonna use it again!"

"That rain?", Noel wondered.

"That's right. Use your Persona to block it. It'll hurt... but not as much as getting full blast of it would."

Sure enough, within moments Kujou let out a wordless cry of fury and unleashed the deadly rain once more. They all had to stop and generate cover, but instead of doing that she ran for one of the ragged holes in the tower's wall. Even that led to several drops eating into her protective gown, the eyes twitching at the touch.

"Next time", she called, voice choked with impossible fury. "Next time, you die."

She didn't even get the chance to jump. Instead, several dusty-looking bandages reached into the opening to grab her arms and legs, hauling her out of the tower and down to the bottom. Running to the opening confirmed that Scorpio had been there waiting, the dozens of long bandages belonging to Cleopatra.

Growling, Reiha started forward, but Noel raised an arm to stop her. "We can't stop her. Not in our condition. Besides, we had a deal to honor."

Sobering, she shook her head. "Man. I just can't believe she actually went and did it. I mean, I knew she was crazy, but to go this far just to get back at Tsuruga-chan..."

"Yeah", Aiko sighed, watching helplessly as the two enemy Persona users returned to their golden ship. "She made it pretty clear that's her only goal now. To hurt me. She'd have gotten me too, if you hadn't shown up. Thanks again. All of you."

"As though we would allow such a vile woman to harm our captain", Pelagio harumphed. "That one has no honor."

"We should be grateful that at least Lady Scorpio does have some", Noel agreed, leaping down from his perch to complete his healing of the group. "Whatever her intentions, it seems her word can be trusted."

"For now", Aiko warned him. Watching the golden ship pull away from the tower and set off into the dark seas of Faraway Lands reminded her of her previous encounters with the Masked Circle's chief organizer. "Some day, I really think we'll have to have it out between us. But the longer we can put that off for, the better."

"Maybe", Reiha grunted. "Just keep in mind that she wouldn't do that unless she thought it gave her side an advantage too, aight?"

"I don't know about that", a new voice answered her. Mirmbela walked into the chamber, happy to see them all more or less intact. "I spoke with her just now. I think she really, honestly believes that some day we'll join her side."

"It's nice when your enemy is so deluded they make stupid decisions, yeah?", Julian agreed beside her, one revolver spinning, becoming more concerned as he surveyed the catastrophic damage to the tower. "Hey... are we sure this thing is gonna hold up okay?"

"It will", another, louder voice answered him. The few remaining fresnel lenses in the room flickered back to life, forming the now familiar large golden head of Shukiji, looming over them. "I control it. It's in no danger of collapsing."

Seeing the avatar, Aiko smiled through her exhaustion. "I owe you my thanks as well, Niyoga-kun."

"Not much of one", he admitted, for once looking strangely contrite. "Clearly, my Shadows weren't strong enough for the job. They died so easily."

That news shocked several of the others. "His Shadows helped you out with Queen Aquarius?", Jiachi wondered. "Would've liked to see that."

"You think that's a surprise?", Reiha chuckled. "How's this for one: Queen Aquarius is Benihime Kujou."

She seemed content to watch the 'what the hell' slowly appear on Mira and Jiachi's faces, so Noel spoke to Shukiji instead. "I hope that this has shown you the truth of the matter, mein freunde. This world and the forces that rule it are far too massive for any one person to be able to handle. You were only sent here at all as bait for Kujou-san's cruel trap."

Aiko didn't think it would be quite that easy, but it was still nice to see that moment of consideration on that enormous face. It meant that all their efforts, all of their work earlier, hadn't been in vain after all. Even if it was just a little, they were getting through to him.

Wasn't it just a little while ago that he was threatening to kill us?

The look of disappointment on Noel's face as his friend spoke was much less enjoyable.

"...No", Shukiji announced at last. "No. I won't be leaving. Not yet. There's still much more I need to understand about this world. This is a unique opportunity that I can't pass up on so easily. There's no knowledge in this world, or any world, that I shouldn't possess."

"What?!", Reiha cried out in protest. "After everything we just did-"

"After you tricked me", Shukiji corrected her with a hint of his earlier rancor, giving her a fish eye before softening his features again. "Still... I do have to reconsider the data presented to me today."

The entire avatar tilted slightly, focusing its gaze on Aiko. "Tsuruga. I saw every bit of that battle you just fought. It's clear to me that Personas are directly tied to the mind in some way. And if that's the case, then your mind is just as agile as that Matador Persona of yours."

"I kinda like that one", she shrugged back. A compliment was a compliment. "It's not as powerful as it used to be when I made it, but you saw what it can do."

"Indeed I did", he nodded graciously. No amount of his usual arrogance could hide that he had actually enjoyed their previous 'game' of questions to an extent, at least until she'd asked him some deeply personal ones. "If you really want me to leave this world so badly, then you'll have your chance. You've earned it. Come back here once I've finished fixing everything. Tomorrow, the day after... whenever you want to stop by. We'll have another test, to determine which of us is correct. Once and for all."

"Another test?!", Jiachi shouted back in dismay. "After the crazy crap you pulled last time?"

"Gunslinger", Aiko warned him. She wondered if she would ever stop being surprised by the fact that he actually did stop at her request, then turned her head up to Shukiji. "I'm sure it won't be like last time."

"You don't think so?", Pelagio asked archly. "You don't believe that this will be another unfair exercise designed to isolate and humiliate you, captain? That seems to be this one's main goal."

But Shukiji merely laughed at his accusations, and not unkindly. Not like Kujou had been laughing. "The data proves that kind of test would be pointless. I can see that now. You all have such strong faith in your captain that challenging it would be futile. I don't consider your faith to be justified... but it's clear to me that nothing I do will convince any of you to work for me."

"Damn right", Reiha affirmed, pounding one gloved hand into the other.

"You're welcome to those relay stones though", Mira remarked.

"Those will be helpful, yes", Shu agreed. "They allow me to see much farther than I could before. I have some others ready to go, but whether or not you want to help me place them is up to you. For now, you all should go back and rest." Looking around, he grimaced. "As you can see, I have a quite lot of work to do repairing this place."

"By which you mean you'll make the Shadows do it?", Aiko joked back, earning another equally genuine laugh from their host.

"You really are most amusing, Tsuruga-chan. A one-of-a-kind person, as I thought when we first met at school. I look forward to seeing how you perform next time. Until then..."

With that, the central lift ground back to life with an unhealthy-sounding noise, still able to move down through the floors. The damage to the inner working only grew worse as they descended, but their motion didn't slow until they reached the very bottom where the shore awaited them.

Aiko waited until they were all through the gate before finally yielding to the exhaustion of battle, her knees impacting the sand roughly. "We might need more than one day to be ready for what comes next", she considered out loud to any who might hear. "Just saying."

"I don't get it", Reiha confessed, frowning. "What comes next? Far as I can tell, our plan is all kinds of screwed thanks to Kujou."

"No", Noel shook his head, having been uncharacteristically silent until then. "I don't believe it is. If anything, her intrusion helped us to achieve our goal."

"Help us?" Her face twisted. "How the hell did that help us?"

But Jiachi smirked, twirling a spare pen idly. "No, no. I know what it did. It made him take the stick out of his ass. I've never heard Niyoga-san laugh like that before now, there or any time at school." Seeing the growing cheer on Noel's face, he palmed his chin. "Heyyy, maybe we can figure out how to make a weapon out of the process and shoot grumpy bird a few times with it. He could use it."

"Hmph", Pelagio's noisy flapping mixed with his words. "As though any weapon conceived by you could ever hit me. I would avoid it easily."

Chuckling at their banter, Mira gazed back at their captain, nodding. "I thought so. He seemed much more at ease than the last few times. Like... like he was remembering how to smile and laugh after forgetting for a long time."

"Curiosity has always been his weakness", Noel admitted with a shrug before reconsidering his words. "Well, not exactly a 'weakness'. Merely the only thing that can draw his interest away from his studies or gathering rumors or the growing despair in his heart. Curiosity about anything he doesn't yet know of."

"You make him sound like a cat", Aiko snorted. "Wonder what Morgana would make of him?"

"I have no idea", Noel shrugged. "But he did express an interest in meeting with Jok- I mean, Kurusu-kun."

"The other wild card user", she acknowledged before raising her voice. "And just so we're clear, we don't need to keep that up any more either. He already knows."

"Thank god", Julian echoed back. "That was drivin' me nuts. Hard enough just to keep everyone's code names straight, yeah?"

"Maybe for you", Reiha challenged him. Despite their shared exhilaration, her face fell as she turned back to Aiko. "And, um... sorry about all this. Kind of my fault, isn't it?"

But their captain would have none of it. Her gaze remained firm. "None of what Kujou-san did is your fault. She might have had a nasty run-in with your Shadow, but that didn't change her." Letting Mira help her up, she shook her head in surrender. "Kujou-san's choices are her own. We can try to talk to her, try to persuade her of the wrongness of her actions, convince her that she needs to abandon the Masked Circle... but I doubt it will ever be that simple."

Her words caused Reiha, Mira and Jiachi to pause. It was obvious they were all thinking of the incredible amount of effort it had taken to convince them to abandon their own Lands. The awkward silence was too much to bear for her, and she whistled lightly to perk them up again. "Hey. Don't be like that now. You all changed. You all admitted that you were wrong, and...", she blinked, trying to order her thoughts. "You... you freed yourselves from despair. It's a very difficult thing to do, but you all did it. I'm just saying... I don't see any good way for us to do the same for her. Not while she's so determined to pile all her problems on me."

"You're prolly right", Reiha admitted bleakly. It felt like she was bitterly acknowledging the death of a long-lost friend. "If she's really that far gone, then..."

"Then we must try all the harder to make her understand, and bring her back to the light", Noel cut her off, nodding to their captain. "I know it wasn't easy for you. For any of us, actually. But we've now dug deep enough to find the kindness remaining in the heart of my old friend." Watching Pelagio take off and glide across the sunlit sky towards the dorms, he smiled. "And for that, I thank you all. If we can mange that, then perhaps there's still hope for us to save Kujou-san after all."

Despite her own misgivings, Aiko couldn't help but smile along with him. The guy's optimism was just too much to handle sometimes, but he definitely knew how to make a speech.

Reiha wasn't so easily convinced though. "We can celebrate after we win", she reminded him. Studying her gloves, she was surprised to find a blemish where she'd struck Kujou, and quickly smoothed it out. "Niyoga-kun said he was going to give us a 'test'. He didn't say it would be easy."

8/9 Saturday

Evening

Such a well-lit dressing room hardly seemed the appropriate place for this, but Benihime vastly preferred it to some dusty old store room, of which she knew the Karma club had in spades. Apparently there was even a series of chambers designed for an 'escape room' style game somewhere in here, but she had yet to see it in action.

She had naturally felt the surge of Lady Scorpio's anger brewing for the entire trip back. In the intervening time, it had gone from somewhat intimidating to hilarious. She honestly couldn't wait to see it erupt.

Queen Aquarius had nothing to fear, after all. Especially from this used-up hag.

Seeing Ryuken Samesaji sitting across from her without his armor only threw her for a moment as well. He seemed more than a bit nervous, which disappointed her. Did he not understand that there was no real way for Scorpio to punish him? She needed him to run the cover business for them, and so his position was absolutely secure. He looked tired and resigned. Two more things that turned her off. Instead, she secretly clutched the handle of the pistol she'd taken from Tsuruga like it was a lucky charm.

Finally, the masked woman locked the door behind them and spun around to face her directly. "I'm fairly sure that you're already aware of what a mistake you've made", she begun, the motionless mask failing to hide the anger in his normally motherly voice. "Just as I'm sure you've already come up with a reason why you should be allowed to get away with it. So I'll just state this for the record, and for our dear Prince here."

It wasn't just the voice either. Most areas of the club's basement had recycling streams of Dreamwine running through their ventilation systems that allowed the use of Personas and Shadows, even if it took a bit more concentration to manage here than in the other world. She could feel pressure from Cleopatra's power as well, pounding nails into her head with each syllable.

Likewise, she had to fight the temptation to summon forth Rusalka and have it out right there. The only thing that stopped her was the knowledge that she was still weary from the last fight, while Scorpio was still fresh. That difference eliminated even the slightest chance of victory, and so for now she would have to wait.

"You deliberately used your powers to send a young student into Faraway Lands", she accused. "Entirely as bait to draw out the Dream Voyagers, so that you might trap and kill their leader there. Ignoring the fact that we have a truce with them. Using the Xibalba as your personal war chariot, when it should be out there gathering additional Dreamwine for us. Many of the fishermen have stopped shipping it to us as of late, no matter what payment is offered. We must conserve it. We need it."

You need it, Benihime thought to herself. One more pathetic thing about this hag- she couldn't stand to be outside of a Dreamwine zone, couldn't bear to lose her precious Persona's power even for an instant. Without younger people like herself and Ryuken to take care of things, she would be helpless. Her archaic kimono robes only reinforced the idea of a sheltered Feudal-era princess, unable to function without her servants tending to her every need.

"So", Benihime blurted once she was sure the hag was done with her litany. "Do you want me to apologize for trying to destroy our enemies now? You know they're still trying to take you down. Or are you really as senile as you seem to be?"

The insult earned a warning glare from Ryuken, one that she ignored. Lady Scorpo's long sleeves folded in on themselves, a well-practiced gesture. "It's never too late for them to embrace the truth. Regardless, I have no desire for them to die. They are welcome to their childish games. Nothing they do will impair our plans in any way."

"And what are our plans, exactly?!", she demanded, rising from her seat. "As far as I can tell, our plans are just to sit here on our asses and run the Karma club and hope that idiotic phone line draws in more people! That's your plan, not mine!"

Once again, the look of unease on Ryuken's face confirmed her contempt. "Prince Taurus and King Leo", their leader spoke softly, "have been taking care of that. While you were busy pursuing your childish vendetta, they used the Torifune. We have now located two of the four shrines necessary to begin the next step. It should be possible for us to triangulate the remaining two soon enough."

"Four shrines", Benihime repeated. "...Yay?"

Scorpio's facepalm looked funny with her mask on. "You were not given your power to pursue pointless vendettas", she managed at last. "You were given your power to help bring about the Salvation our world desperately needs. Even after the shrines are all secured, we will require a minimum of four powerful Persona-users to complete it."

"This is the plan, Kujou-chan", Ryuken spoke up at last, imploring her. "We're all counting on you. You're going to help us restore justice and honesty to the world. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"I wanted", she glared fire back, "to make Tsuruga suffer for all that she did to me. And then die for it. That's what I wanted, and Rusalka gave me the power I needed to make it happen."

"Only because we aided you", Scorpio pointed out, ticking off pointed on her gloved fingers. "You used our ships, our Dreamwine, our training in how to use your powers, our weapons budget..."

The last of those was of course intended to remind her that her naginata had been destroyed. All she had now was the stolen flintlock. She would need another main weapon- a stronger one- before she could resume destroying Tsuruga. The pistol, which still stank of her, would be her lingering reminder of what still needed to be done to balance the scales between them.

Scorpio sensed her thoughts as well, and sighed helplessly. "It's no use. This child, like so many of her generation, has been corrupted by her environment. She believes that everything in the world is hers for the taking if she desires it. That she can take from anyone who is unable to punish her for it."

"And you can't", Benihime reminded her. It felt so satisfying to feel that stymied anger coming from behind that frozen geisha face. "You just said it yourself. You need me. You need my power to achieve your 'Salvation'."

"Perhaps", the older woman glowered back. "But that does not mean we are unable to punish you for your transgressions."

She had a moment to process that statement and see the pity in Ryuken's eyes before she felt the power gathering in that room, felt Cleopatra's manifestation. The various long bandages that had pulled her out of the tower before had been strong, nearly unbreakable.

And so too, was the power that poured out of her now. Before Benihime could gather her own hate and summon Rusalka, an invisible something in the air held her transfixed the same way Tsuruga's strange fire had earlier. She couldn't look away, and it only pulled her in deeper until everything was completely whited out.

"Argh... Screw... You...!"

She toppled over ingloriously, face down on the carpet. Ryuken surveyed her sadly, though the occasional wild twitching indicated that she was certainly alive without needing to check for a pulse.

"Aquarius will sleep for the next two days", Scorpio pronounced the sentencing matter-of-factly. "Wracked constantly by nightmares pulled from the very darkest corners of her subconscious. When she wakes up, she will no longer be permitted to use the Torifune or the Xibalba for anything except training under your direct supervision."

Ryuken stared down at the fallen body for a moment before grimacing, straightening up. "...I'm sorry about all this."

"Don't be. You were tasked with training her, and you did it well. She is the one who chose to use that power to threaten everything we've done. Perhaps when she wakes up, she may reconsider that choice."

He exhaled loudly. As usual, Lady Scorpio knew exactly what he felt. When he'd first heard the news, he'd been annoyed too... but he hadn't wanted Queen Aquarius to die for it either. Which, to hear the leader speak, had nearly happened. "I warned her that she wasn't ready yet."

"And she ignored your warnings. To her loss."

"And... I suppose I can't pay them back for that yet?"

Far more gentle with him than Aquarius, she laid a robed arm over his shoulder in sympathy. "They are not our main concern. They race around in the dark, failing to accomplish anything. Attacking them is equally pointless. Our main goal for the moment is locating the shrines, and securing them."

"Shadow scum", the rainbow-haired lad guessed. Despite his words, he couldn't hide his enthusiasm at getting to fight once more. No Shadow could defeat him, not Taurus.

"They flock to the energies there", she acknowledged. "Still, I hope you'll forgive me for not risking sending you in there alone. It could be dangerous, and not merely due to Shadows."

"King Leo?", he groaned. He wasn't the biggest fan of their eldest member. "Do we really need both of us to be there?"

"I suppose I could accompany you there as well", she admitted with a slight tilt of the mask. "Just so long as one of us remains to supervise Aquarius. I don't want her getting out of line like that again. She nearly killed the poor Tsuruga girl."

"Isn't that what we want too?"

"No!", Scorpio shook her head, slightly irked at having to repeat herself. "I still believe that once the Dream Voyagers come to understand just how cruelly they're being manipulated by that servant, they may yet come around to our side."

Taurus frowned. He didn't believe that would be happening any time soon, but he also knew which of them was better-equipped to predict such a thing. "Did you see that?"

"No", he felt a slight impression of a smile pass through the mask into his mind. "I merely hope. I hope that it will not turn out to be necessary for us to destroy such fine young children, so full of life." Turning back to Kujou's sleeping form, she shrugged. "I would have greatly preferred it if it were the Tsuruga girl who had taken the abandoned mantle of Queen Aquarius, not... that one. Or any of her comrades, truly."

"They've definitely got some potential power in 'em", Ryuken agreed, for once sounding as regretful as she was that they had to be enemies. "But you said it yourself, my Lady. They're kids. Sheltered. They haven't yet seen for themselves just how dishonest this damned world can really be. Until that time, they'll continue to see us as 'bad guys' for them to fight."

"All the more reason for us to leave them be for now", Scorpio claimed. "Though I believe I am making some progress with the Kenyan exchange student. The one called Mirambela Sorano, or 'Dancer'."

"Maybe", Ryuken considered. His own impression of that one hadn't been so positive when they'd met. "Maybe she hasn't been ruined by watching too many kids' shows where the 'good guy' always wins. Sorano-chan would understand that being 'virtuous' doesn't mean shit." Staring back at their unruly new recruit, he sighed in regret. He wasn't wearing any of his battle gear yet, but he could still imagine it, flexing his hands as though he could grasp the handle of his mighty hammer. "In the end, the battle isn't good and evil. It's between competing ideas, visions for the future... and they don't even have a vision yet."

Checking the mirror, he tested the smile he knew had ensnared the hearts of many young ladies.

"And so, this fight can really only end one way."

A/N: Short chapter, just wanted to cap off the current conflict.