Quick A/N here: so apparently even a Shadow can summon a Persona (Teddie in P4 is one instance). And so can a dog, a toaster, a cat, oh my gosh the possibilities.
I never plan on creating a Persona for my OC anyways, so we're still going with the non-Persona-user OC. I still have a plot reason why Luxu doesn't have a Persona (or can't, that may be a better question) that doesn't contradict the Persona lore (or whatever's within P5 boundaries).
Remember guys, I only know P5 the most out of the other games. In fact I got into Persona because of P5, and I'm not intending on getting into 3 and 4 atm at least. So if I get any lore confused or contradictory to past Persona games (I'm aware these are supposed to be in one universe, one timeline), please let me know.
This update's super late since I was on writer's block, I was also writing other OC fics, and as of now I'm invested in other fandoms that kept my time away from FF. Too much things to devote to!
With P5 games such as Royal and Scramble, I don't think my patience will last long. The original is as long as it already was. So, I decided to make this narrative completely through Luxu's eyes. There won't be much dialogue taken from the game, and lots of things will be summarized. Things will look a little rushed but I try to do what I can.
Thank you for reading!
[Came Facing Twilight On and On]
Today is the day. The day where the king will be overthrown by those he had looked down upon.
Luxu transformed into a crow and flew straight for the Metaverse Shujin Academy. She avoids the spotlights roaming around from the rooftop before making her way to the top of the tower.
Just as she swoops in for the window, a poof of smoke obscured the crow to reveal her human form as she then kicked the window and entered. She didn't care if the commotion would attract nearby soldiers. She was determined to steal Kamoshida's heart if it was the last thing she had to do.
Luxu lands on the floor with ease and climbs up the pillar to enter from the balcony of the throne room. She hides behind a dense pillar as she spotted the Palace ruler standing before his throne chair. Luxu could sense the source of his desires manifested into a glamorous crown held in his hand. So that's the Treasure.
There was also the four thieves confronting the king in the same room.
'Them again...'
Red and black miasma overwhelms Kamoshida as he transformed into his true Shadow form. Everyone watched as the shadow casted by his towering form overwhelm the thieves.
'What the hell is that abomination of a fetus?!'
Luxu covered her nose and mouth. The foul odor oozing of lust emanated from the demon embodiment that is Kamoshida. It makes her want to choke to death. The odor was just too suffocating for her sensitive nose to bare.
Luxu didn't think she'd lend a helping hand again for the thieves, but their goals aligned for one thing: beat Kamoshida and steal his Treasure.
Luxu will assist discreetly from the sidelines, starting with a debuff.
'Rakunda.'
With a snap of her fingers, Kamoshida's defense went down. The Shadow sensed his body being more vulnerable to attacks and winced, much to the party's surprise. Whatever it was, they proceeded to attack.
She remained lurking in the dark as she watched the fight begin. She can't risk exposing herself and get dragged into the fight.
Apparently all four of them are Persona-users. However one of them is capable of summoning more than one kind of Persona.
She heard of those kinds of individuals. Usually the users can only have one Persona as it signifies their personality, but those who have multiple Personas are called the Wildcard. It's rare to find one.
Luxu analyses the flow of battle.
They're amateurs when it comes to fighting. They must have only recently awakened to their powers. If those humans fight too carelessly, they will die in the Metaverse. Their fragile human shells can't withstand severe damage as much as Luxu.
Some volleyballs hit the skull masked boy more often than not. Luxu wasn't sure if they were deliberate or if they wander too much.
'Sukukaja.'
Luxu boosts the blond's agility. He should feel a little lighter now. He expressed wonder at the sensation, but couldn't dwell on the thought before dodging a volleyball assault.
At some point Kamoshida healed himself by consuming a pair of a bare woman's legs from the golden trophy in front of him. It proved to be troublesome, as well as morbid.
The group shot at the trophy to take it down. Kamoshida explicitly expressed irritation when they did. It was a precious piece of glory he held in his prime as a volleyball player. Hearing someone tell them to not do something only makes people hear the opposite.
Once the trophy of obsession was destroyed, Kamoshida continued to be stubborn and refuse to surrender his crown, despite having lost his source of vitality. It was clear brute force won't get them anywhere.
They have to change tactics. The leader realized that as well and activated a smokescreen, obscuring them from Kamoshida's sight. The smoke wasn't thick enough to hide their presences from Luxu's nose, however, as she detected them hiding behind a pillar.
When the smoke cleared, three figures appeared. One of them was missing. From Luxu's perspective, she spotted Skull climbing a pillar. Demon Kamoshida hasn't discovered their plan yet.
She presumed they were going to snatch his crown while he was distracted on the three. That was for the best after all. Their objective is to obtain the crown. Beating up Kamoshida, while a tempting priority, goes second.
Kamoshida licks his long purple tongue on his glass of wine with cognitive Ann inside. It was still revolting how he sees Shiho's friend as the queen while in shameless undergarments. That's only disrespectful to the real Ann, and that made Luxu's blood boil.
Kamoshida's attack has gone up. Luxu cursed. Unless the thieves have Tarunda to negate his buff, no one can stop him from getting stronger; neither can Luxu.
Kamoshida tossed a volleyball into the air and leaps for the spike. It was out of Luxu's powers to counter such a devastating move, especially when he increased his power from the wine glass. That was surely going to severely wound the masked thieves.
"Gold Medal Spike!"
Luxu could only watch as they collapsed to the floor from the blow. No, she can't intervene. Not yet. The timing has to be perfect...!
A volleyball is summoned as Kamoshida prepares for the final blow. Once he jumped and raised his pink arm behind him, Luxu took that chance and casted Kouha.
The balls of light blinded him in time for the king to completely miss his spike, the volleyball having been below him by the time he spiked too late.
Kamoshida landed on the floor and stared at his hands wide-eyed. He didn't expect any one of those brats to have light magic. But more importantly...
"I missed... I missed?! Me?! King Kamoshida never makes a rookie shot!" The demon threw a tantrum, screeching, "Which one of you brats did it?" His buggy-eyed gaze lands on the leader, only to dilate furiously at the masked face. "You! You bastard! You ruined my glorious spike, didn't ya? I've had it!"
Luxu's white brows rose dreadfully as she realized her actions. She only invoked his rage, which is driving him to unleash a more powerful, merciless kill shot!
"Slaves! Bind them, chain them! The execution is on!" Kamoshida ordered. His little minions bounded by chains scramble to carry out his order. The three thieves were at a disadvantage now that their health is seriously in the red zone.
The cognitive slaves surrounded them chanting, "Death to the intruders! Death to the intruders!" They pulled at chains before running in a circle to rope them altogether in one big bundle of chains. The thieves struggle to break free, however the chains only tighten the more they struggle.
Kamoshida cackled. "You'll pay for defying your king... with your lives!" He tossed a volleyball -this time golden- in his hand testily before throwing above him.
Luxu sucked in her teeth. Looks like she'll make her debut right here, starting now.
"Gold Medal Spike: Ultima!"
Luxu jumps in right before the gold volleyball would crash into them and held her tonfas up horizontally. Luxu grunts from the weight and pressure of the spinning gold volleyball grinding against her steel tonfas, sparks flying close to her face. The shockwaves caused from the head on contact courses through her arms as they desperately try to maintain their grip on the tonfas. The waves pulled at her hood and allowed her bleach white hair whip behind her.
Luxu buries the soles of her boots to the floor as she was driven back slowly but surely out of her control of holding her ground.
If she moves her tonfas slightly to the wrong direction, the ball would ricochet and become an unfavorable force for her and the humans. She has to get rid of it before she gets thrown back too!
Luxu grits her teeth. Using all her might, she breathes in and builds the boiling blood pumping through her veins and muscles before pushing the ball back. The ball spiked Kamoshida directly in the face, much to her pleasure.
Demon Kamoshida's head rolled back and brought his body to the floor, collapsing. However, one of his two pairs of arms kept him propped up and the other keeping his crown secured on his head.
Luxu pants heavily. Though she has somewhat of a grip on her now battered tonfas, they were tempted to slip away from her grasp. She can't feel her arms. They could almost fall right off any moment.
Everyone stared at the black-cladded figure in complete awe. Who was this person? Their ally? She did just save them from impending doom...
Joker's eyes widen behind his mask. Ghostly white hair cascading her back, a long black coat that hides her identity, and a blindfold...
"You're...!"
Kamoshida nursed his face and points a finger to the new face of the room. He never recognized a girl with white hair at the school, so she had to be an outsider, thus an intruder just like the rest of the brats. Another threat who dares to disrespect the king.
"Who the hell are you! How dare you return my ultimate move back at me! That's not allowed in volleyball!"
Luxu breathes in to speak dryly, "Really? I wasn't aware..." She lifts her chin up to the ceiling. Though her blindfold hides her eyes, the gesture was clearly looking down on him. She smirked. "I'm a phantom. Human rules and sports don't apply to a ghost like me."
Kamoshida growled. Just when he was about to execute the infiltrators, she got in his way. "Damn brats... Slaves! Capture her! Now!"
The slaves who were once watching speechlessly like idiots hasten to bind her. A chain caught Luxu by the wrist from above while another is wrapping around her torso. Unable to feel her hands any more, she dropped her tonfas that fell to the floor with sharp cling and clangs.
Luxu cursed. She has to get out before she gets the front row seat for a volleyball to the face!
Amidst his frustration, Kamoshida pounded four fists to the floor. The floor shook violently that it shot Luxu up into the air, startling her.
Chains... Luxu hates to admit it, but she was accustomed to the feeling of being chained up, in both literal and metaphorical sense. Oh how she wanted to laugh bitterly.
She's tired of it! This stupid puppeteer called Fate playing their lives with invisible strings... Luxu will break out of them and have a will of her own! Then, she'll send her flying fist against Fate right in its face and teach it a lesson!
A rush of endorphins floods Luxu's arms and hands once numb from the volleyball attack. She can't stop, not when she can turn the tide with these chains that love to bind people to their fates. Kamoshida chose the wrong target.
While suspended in midair, the albino holds the chain in her wrist tightly before spinning the opposite direction the metal snake coiled around, unraveling its body as she did. Luxu then snatched the chain with her free hand and swung the long snake at the slaves. It formed a long wide arc as it went, hitting the slaves along its path while the thieves quickly fell backwards and ducked from the whip attack.
The slaves were sent flying to the wall from the chain. They slide down and soon faded away into ashes. His slaves were no more.
"What?!"
The lurking fourth member of the gang took the chance and leaped for his crown. Skull successfully swiped the large Treasure off Kamoshida's head and landed safely to his comrades' side.
Luxu lands to the floor with ease, the chains clattering in a spiral around her. They too disappeared in the same manner after the slaves were no longer controlling them. The thieves were now free from the chains and stood up.
Skull gaped at Luxu. How did she do that?! That... was so badass! It was like watching an action scene from an anime!
Luxu pants for air. Her adrenaline is going to catch up to her. She can't do much after that retaliation.
She looks back to the masked thieves. Now the king is without his crown. "Take him down, now!"
Joker nodded. "Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
The thieves performed an all-out attack, darting from place to place while inflicting a rain of damage upon the enemy. Kamoshida screamed before falling flat on his face, his demonic form slowly fading away to reveal the human form.
They defeated Kamoshida... However their objective has not been completed yet.
Just as they go to retrieve the crown, Kamoshida suddenly snatched it away and flees to the balcony. They cornered him now that he has lost his strength to fight back again and no minion to call upon for help. He has nowhere to hide but to jump instead, if he was bold enough.
Luxu narrowed her eyes beneath her blindfold.
He's seeing the same view Shiho had before she jumped. Oh the parallels... except Shiho had no second choice. Kamoshida will either bite the dust or die royally by their hands.
The girl in red summoned her Persona, two balls of fire dancing in the palm of her hands menacingly.
Luxu drew a sharp breath.
Luxu hadn't noticed because of the foul odor Kamoshida had emanated throughout the battle, but now she recognized the person from her face.
Ann...is a Persona-user? Since when? Does Shiho know?
Luxu had considered preventing them from attacking until she herself gets a clean straight punch to Kamoshida's face, but now she suddenly lost the will.
"Do you want to finish him off? It's your call." The anthropomorphic black cat permitted.
"No, please wait! I beg you... Just forgive meeee!" Shadow Kamoshida pleaded and held his hand out for mercy.
"Shut up. I bet everyone told you the same. But you... you took everything from them!"
Ann's Persona shot Agi to Kamoshida, only for it to miss him deliberately into the wall beside him as a warning. He still has the Treasure cradled to his chest after all.
Kamoshida shrieked before succumbing his knees to the floor, head hung low. "I accept defeat... You want this? Take it."
Joker caught the crown tossed their way.
"Go ahead and finish me off..." Tears and sweat were evident as he smiled bitterly. "You do that... and my real self will go down too... You have that right since you've won..."
Ann's hand clenched tightly into balled fists. She gave her Persona the signal.
She shoots another Agi towards his way.
Luxu's eyes dilated. She's really going for the kill!
"Ann!"
Luxu internally cursed before quickly casting Kouha to counterattack. Light and fire come into contact, resulting in an explosion.
When the smoke cleared, Luxu is seen standing in front of Kamoshida. Everyone is shocked to witness the albino suddenly had switched sides.
Ann bared her gritting teeth at the phantom. Her pink gloves balled into fists trembled violently. "Why...Why did you stop me?! What's your deal?! Isn't he your enemy?" Once she took a few stomps forward, the boys rushed to hold her back. They locked her arms in place as she struggles to resist and go strangle Kamoshida herself.
"Stop it, Ann! You shouldn't do this!"
"It's all his fault!" The blonde screeched, pink lips spilling her emotions continuously. "He disabled Shiho! Now Shiho can't use her arms ever again! Not for volleyball, not for anything! It's all his damn fault! Nothing will be the same! Nothing..." Her voice crippled in the end.
Ann collapses to the floor, bringing the rest of the Phantom Thieves down with her as they still have their arms wrapped around her, except this time they were almost cradling the girl as she broke down into tears on the spot.
Luxu faced her spits as calm and impassive as she was behind her mask. Ann's scent did not betray her. Remorse, agony, frustration... All these feelings incite the same wavelength of emotions Luxu had felt.
Now that Ann has vented her feelings out loud, her scent is replaced with immense sadness and one of tired weariness. Her heart that is usually full of love and affection now resigns to the numbness clenching her chest. She had succumbed to the overbearing feeling of hate that is too much for her to carry.
Luxu detected it all. She listened to her pent-up regrets and hatred and will carry that pain for as long as she lives.
She finally spoke calmly, "If his mind shuts down, he can't admit his crimes. You should have known that."
Ann didn't say anything in response. She swallowed the pill and acknowledged that, despite her knowledge, she still wished for Kamoshida's death.
"However..."
Luxu swiftly snatches Kamoshida by the throat and lifts him off the floor with one arm.
The Phantom Thieves gasped.
"If you truly wish, I shall give him death. You will not be held responsible in the real world, nor in the Metaverse. Kamoshida will die from a sudden psyche attack, not by my hands. After all, something that isn't real can't be filed guilty for murder." Luxu says impassively. It's a bizarre sight to see a girl lifting a fully grown, larger man effortlessly.
Kamoshida visibly struggles to breathe, yet he is not resisting to break free from her grasp. If this is how he will die, then so be it. No matter who kills him, his death will satisfy everyone who despises him for his misdeeds.
Luxu didn't spare a single glance to the captive king as her gaze remained on the Phantom Thieves, specifically Ann as she spoke, "It's your choice. Spare the king's life, or commence the execution. Whichever you choose, I will pay heed to your call, because you are the one who loves Shiho the most."
Ann looks on with wide blue eyes at the offer. She bows her head from view. "Please... Let him go." She mumbled softly.
To Luxu, she heard it loud and clear. She released Kamoshida's throat. The man lands but then collapses to his knees buckled from the relief of tension. He was spared. By the woman whom he had played between his fingers.
His eyes wander to Luxu. When they made eye contact (supposedly), he squeaked before shuffling away from her. He feared she can decapitate him in the blink of an eye.
From behind Ann's mask, she was still visibly discontent to not have Kamoshida gone from the spot. However, she was mature to understand that death is not the solution to everything.
Ann's scent at the time truthfully doesn't want to take his life, even when she wished for it. It's easy to wish for one's death, never physically murder in cold blood. If anyone was going to murder, it was definitely not these humans. They're still teenagers. If they were going for the murderous route, they'll be no better than the corrupt adults.
"I've... I've lost. You're through when you lose..." Kamoshida shook his head defeatedly and stared at the floor. "What am I— What am I supposed to do now...?"
"Atone for your sins." Joker said simply. It was obvious what a sinful adult such as Kamoshida should do from this point forward.
"All right... I will leave now and return to my real self... I'll make certain that I-" As Kamoshida lifted his head to reveal a resigned smile, he flashed away in white light before he could finish.
Luxu could no longer detect his scent. He has truly disappeared.
The whole castle shook. Now that the Palace ruler is gone, the Palace itself will soon be erased from the Metaverse.
The Shadow transforms into her crow form and flies out of the open balcony. She thought she heard someone ask for her whereabouts, but the crumbling debris drowned them out before she would clearly hear it.
There was one last thing she has to do before the Palace would disappear, however.
Human Luxu lands to stand on the ledge of the castle roof, watching as the Palace crumbles. Manifested out of nowhere in her hand was a wine glass filled with blood red liquid. She lifts it to the golden full moon above the crimson sky.
"Long live the king."
She tipped the wine glass and let the wine fall from several stories above ground. She then released the glass. Once it shatters, the castle of lust will officially be erased from the cognitive realm.
Luxu allowed gravity to pull her down as she jumped off the roof. She likes falling from high places as it gives her mind a moment to clear itself and not worry about the worries of life for the duration she is free falling.
The wine glass cracked. It progressed to the rest of the body before it shattered into pieces. Just before Luxu would meet the ground, she turned into a crow and swiftly flew to the exit. The Metaverse distorted for a second before the city appeared normal.
She turns her head to look back. There was no longer a brick castle standing in place of Shujin Academy.
Luxu sighed. She's tired. Deflecting a volleyball was not on her bucket list. Now she doesn't have her tonfas anymore, either.
Luxu knew she can't celebrate just yet. All she has to do now is wait for the change of heart and hope that Kamoshida's heart has truly changed. Only then will she have avenged Shiho and atone her sins as well. The sin that led to one girl's fate become a tragedy by the hands of something that shouldn't exist.
P5P5P5P5P5
The pungent odor from Shujin Academy was no longer present. Luxu couldn't locate Kamoshida's scent in the building. She then learned he was absent from school from the students spreading the news.
What could he be doing now that his Shadow returned to him? Perhaps wallowing in his intolerable actions and thinking of what to do.
Meanwhile during his long absence, Luxu visited Shiho at last.
The albino stood before her hospital bed, the patient dressed in a pale blue hospital gown. Her dark hair splayed around her framing her pale skin painted from the tragic event.
Luxu's expression crestfallen. She hoped Shiho won't stay in her coma for a long time, especially once Kamoshida has handed himself in to the police. She needed to know that she was avenged. All the suffering and abuse that drove her into a corner, where she had clung to what little faith she didn't think she would have... Shiho has to know.
Luxu extends her gloved hand. Her fingertips grazed her hair. She closed her eyes. In that moment, she visualized it.
The phantom lifting a strand of dark brown locks pinched loosely between her fingers and bringing it to her lips and solemnly brush against them.
If Shiho can hear her, even for this instance...
From behind the lock of hair, one may notice the firm line of her lips quiver the slightest.
"I'll be a hero from the shadows. No one will have to know my face, my existence... As long as justice is made, that is all I wish."
Luxu opens her eyes.
Her hand was hovering over Shiho's head, ghostly grazing against her hair that only remained still as her touch did not reach the real world.
Luxu held her hand to her chest and tighten it into a fist.
"Every hero has their origin. You will be the start of it all... Shiho."
She won't forget her purpose of fighting for justice. To save people from the clutches of jaded adults and corrupted social system is what's natural for heroes to do.
P5P5P5P5P5
The whole academy was gathered for an assembly. Luxu had witnessed the moment of truth. Kamoshida had arrived and confessed his sins before the entire gymnasium, and even offered to surrender his life if it meant clearing his name. However, the only just solution was to atone in prison, to which he had begged someone to call the police and take him away right on the spot.
She had stayed only for that specific bit before she vanished from the gymnasium.
Now what will she do?
Sure, Luxu was pleased of Kamoshida being handcuffed and dragged by the police officers -seeing him being a completely changed man really does wonders after all the horrible things he has done- but she is not exactly off the hook.
Luxu scratched her head. The Metaverse has become lively with new visitors that will most likely be regulars.
"The Phantom Thieves, huh..."
Luxu absentmindedly plays with a rusted sword. Now that her tonfas were rendered useless, she has to make do with basic weaponry found in the chests. She could build a tower with the amount of swords accumulating in her storage.
Luxu suddenly paused and sniffed. The air has shifted. Mementos has guests coming in, and they are not strangers.
She eagerly abandoned whatever she was doing and awaits for their arrival. She will only watch from afar, however, as the opportunity to introduce herself formally is not perfect yet. She will be content being the spectator to their activities in the Metaverse and meddle only when needed. She'll need her entertainers up and running to keep her amused.
While the albino patiently waits at the end area, she sensed a presence vanishing from the upper level. A powerful Shadow presence was defeated.
It must be that one Shadow...was his name Nakanohara? Ah, yes! That man who was oddly obsessed with his former lover. The Phantom Thieves must have targeted him for his obsession. Now that he's returned to his other self, Luxu has one less bothersome hindrance to worry about. She was not obligated to resolve every little disturbance on the side of the road and thus had left him alone every time she passed by his chamber.
Luxu transformed into a crow and perched atop a sign hanging from the ceiling. She was still as a statue as four pairs of feet climbed down the escalators and approached the wall.
The crow watched as the diamond slate of the wall slid up and the round corners rotating until they disappeared. A new area has been confirmed in the depths. Never had the Shadow been so delighted to see a new level of escalators in her whole two years!
It was peculiar though. The wall never budged when she returned after the whole Kamoshida ordeal. Perhaps it required the presence of this group as a whole to open. The cat was speculating that it was the reputation the Phantom Thieves that was the key to diving deeper into Mementos.
Luxu was not exactly keen on that. Now she is obligated to keep them alive to secure their presence in the real world. How troublesome. She wanted to be entertained, not babysitting. She'd be risking her life for them.
No matter, Luxu crow thought as she watched the four-man group exit for the day. They are essential to ending her mundane life and out with the thrill and adventure. A little sweat and blood (not that she actually has human blood) won't cost her that much.
Once they disappeared, Luxu's boots land on the floor.
Now to tackle on the world beyond this small Mementos!