Chapter 13: Who is like God?
|June 12th|Farawell|19:30 pm|
After a somewhat relaxing Monday, the team decided they would go into the other world tonight. She wasn't looking forward to it, so Amara tried to enjoy her work as much as possible. Stella was being quiet and aloof as usual, and she saw Alastair again. She said hello, and he waved back but said nothing. Perhaps she shouldn't have turned him down, but right now, she had a job to do. Later that evening, she met the others outside the warehouse again, and she and Nathan told Serena and Blaine about the other selves.
"Oh fucking hell. Two Nathans running around? Are there enough blue polyester suits to go around?" Blaine said, but no one else was laughing.
"That's not funny, Blaine. None of my suits were ever made from polyester." Nathan said.
"Wow, so maybe my other self is here too! I bet she's some super cool mercenary with rocket launchers!" Serena said. "She could probably beat the Holy Cross with her hands tied behind her back!"
"Or maybe she's about to cause a crisis in this city, too." Nathan said, angrily. "Fortunately, the other Amara left for the other world last night, so we shouldn't have to worry about her for now."
"No, Nathan! What if she's being hunted by the Holy Cross too?" Amara said. "If she gets caught, they'll know we're the same person! They'll figure out there's another world for themselves!"
"Uh, really? You think they're that smart?" Blaine said.
"Amara is right. We can't let the other Amara fall into Aeternus' hands. The Ornatu Legion must not capture her. Anyway, we should go inside. Perhaps we can just train for tonight." Nathan said.
|Secret Base|19:35 pm|
"Hey guys!" Serena said, as she took out some pretzels from her bag. "I brought you some snacks!"
"That wasn't necessary, but thank you anyway." Kyle said. They were Kyle's favourite snack, but this Kyle didn't seem as enthusiastic about them. Still, he was the one eating most of them, even as Aimee glared at him.
"I don't know how he can stay so thin, with all he eats!" Aimee said, sighing. "Well, anyway, there's nothing to report from yesterday. At least, nothing Aeternus didn't announce to the public. So I presume the Holy Cross and the Ornatu Legion are still hot on our trail. Nothing we can't handle."
"Are the others still on training? I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever see them." Serena said. "Or are they invisible?" Serena started feeling around, expecting to touch someone in front of her. Amara couldn't help but giggle.
"No, but that would be a useful spell. I'll have to look into that. Anyway, some are training, but Kyle's here as always. Oh, and Seraphina's already at the place I want you to go to." Aimee said.
"Who's Seraphina?" Amara asked.
"Oh, she's...very eccentric. Has a weird way of talking. But she's amazing! Her Persona's got psychic powers, like telepathy." Aimee said, continuing to boast Seraphina's abilities.
"Hey, she sounds like that Stella chick." Blaine said to Amara. "Wait, is Stella even her real name?"
"I have no idea, I just assumed it was. Anyway, what place is it?" Amara asked.
"In Legarte, there's a shopping centre. In 2002 it was just a regular mall with lots of run-down stores, and was failing pretty badly. Yet after Aeternus took over, they turned it into a completely generic general purpose place, for people all over Legarte to get supplies like food, water, medicine. All the entertainment was completely sucked out of the place." Kyle said. On the screen, a drab building appeared. The bland, almost colourless building had a sign that read 'Aeternus Supply Complex'. Kyle was glaring at it, rather intently.
"Wait, isn't that Solar Ray Mall?" Nathan asked, surprised. "Such a dull and dreary place."
"It looks worse than before Roger bought the place." Blaine said. "You know, the guy who bought the place and made it look good again."
"Oh, that's his name? I couldn't remember who it was..." Amara said.
"The mall is great in our world. Me and Kyle are there almost every day after school!" Serena said. "In fact, that's were we met Blaine. He was working at the Korean restaurant."
"What can I say? I have the charm that draws in the crowds!" Blaine said, with another one of his smug smiles.
"It sounds like you have a lot of fun in your world. I wish I could see it." Aimee said, sadly.
"Aimee, focus!" Kyle said, shaking his head.
"Sorry! Kyle, continue!" Aimee said.
"On the third floor, above the cafeteria, is a secret room that the Ornatu Legion guard during the day. During the night, they simply use Shadows as guards. Put it this way, they're more effective than any guard system you could think of." Kyle said. "But even if we defeat the Shadows protecting the secret room, we won't be able to progress without the key. Luckily I replicated it." Kyle proudly unveiled a silver key, which matched the one in the photograph on the screen.
"How did you do that?" Nathan said, impressed. "Don't tell me you're a locksmith!"
"No, I used my Persona. He can do anything with a lump of metal. It's quite wonderful, having such a versatile Persona." Kyle said, full of confidence. "Now then, tonight we go to Legarte's Aeternus Supply Complex. Seraphina's waiting for us."
"Okay, then let's get going!" Serena said. "Aimee, you coming with us?"
"I shouldn't. I need to stay here as back up. Don't worry, once you're down, I can just use Traesto again. Good luck everyone!" Aimee said, as the others went through the NDD.
|Legarte Aeternus Supply Complex|19:39 pm|
Without any lights on, the place was almost completely pitch black. Amara could only just make out the floor beneath her feet. Just then, however, two powerful flashlights, that were attached to Kyle's wheelchair, turned on.
"Whoa, Kyle, you modified your own wheelchair too? That's incredible!" Serena said, giving him a pat on the head.
"Don't do that! It looks silly!" Kyle said, embarrassed. "This isn't really that special, I just got two flashlights and put them on my wheelchair. Of course, I also made sure the design looked good too. Hence all the flame patterns."
With Kyle's flashlights, the mall was clear for all to see, and it was empty. There were some stores, but very bland generic ones, with just names that told customers what was there. Without any decorations whatsoever, the place felt dead, with all the grey walls and floors.
Just then, the escalator going down turned on, and a person walked down it. Wearing a beautiful floor-length purple and pink dress, that sparkled in the darkness, With dark onyx head jewellery, a strange small cape covering her arms, and her piercing blue eyes, she had the look of a fairy tale princess. Her turquoise hair, tied in a ponytail, and her purple eyes were incredibly familiar.
"Stella!" Amara said. The others gave her weird looks.
"I beg your pardon? That is not my name! Nor a name destined for me." the woman said. Amara made a mental note not to call her Stella, going by this reaction. "The moniker the fates have determined I must bear is Seraphina."
"Got it. Seraphina." Amara said. This meant one thing; Stella wasn't her real name. So what was it? Amara was so curious, but now wasn't the time for that. The others introduced themselves, and Seraphina bowed.
"It is an honour to make your acquintance this night. A dreary place this has become indeed. It's glorious days have long since passed, and now only misery and shadow fill the vacant halls. Tonight, however, shall be a day the darkness here is unveiled, and we discover a secret beyond the reach of the mundane." Seraphina said, with a strange accent to her voice.
"It's like she's an actress." Nathan said.
"Yeah. Except she hasn't got any botox." Blaine said, staring. "Um, Miss Seraphina, the secret room's on the third floor, yeah?"
"You are correct, Sir Blaine. The secret is something of such importance, they would populate the entire place with their shadowy vanguard!" Seraphina said, pointing to a stray Shadow that had yet to notice them.
"Oh, fucking hell." Serena said.
"What the - why are you talking like that?" Blaine asked. "Leave the potty mouth to me, kid."
"Sorry! I thought it'd be funny!" Serena said, sheepishly. Nathan and Amara sighed, and raised their weapons.
"Do not bother to raise your armaments! I shall dispatch of this unholy slime myself. Oh Hecate, release yourself from within me!"
And so her Persona appeared. 'Hecate' was a sorceress, with a long flowing black dress and a white feathered sash. Also, she had pale purple skin, and deep purple eyes that seemed to have stars in them. Her incredibly long raven black hair spread out in many directions. Hecate, raising one hand, blasted the Shadow with a simple blast of force, killing it instantly.
"Wow!" Amara said. "What was that attack?"
"It's called 'Zanma'. The stronger form of Zan. Almighty spells are very useful, as no one can resist them." Kyle said, as if it was obvious. "Of course, no one is weak to it either, but with Hecate's incredible magic aptitude, that doesn't matter."
"Well, Kyle, there's no need to flatter my every move!" Seraphina said, with mock laughter. "Enough with the exposition! We must ascend to the next level of this grim labyrinth!"
"Does Stella talk like that? Because she's freaking cool!" Serena said.
"A little bit like that, yeah." Amara said, as she walked on ahead. "Wait, we're going to have to use the elevator for Kyle."
"Thanks, but there's no need. I've made more modifications than you think! Watch." Kyle said, with a smug look. A few rocket-like devices attached to each leg of his wheelchair started firing, and it started floating in the air. In no time at all, Kyle reached the upper floor.
"All right! Go Kyle!" Serena said, cheering. "Maybe he invented rocket launchers for us after all!"
"Rocket launchers already exist. I can't invent something already in existance, can I?" Kyle said. He was trying to act all cool and unflappable, but Amara could see him trying his hardest to contain his laughter. "Now come on, we have secrets to unveil!"
On the second floor, a group of Shadows had noticed the team. They were of the 'Idol' variety, which Seraphina claimed belonged to the Priestess Arcana. Blaine looked rather repulsed by them. They were women sitting on a reversed pyramid, their hands in a meditative pose and their faces covered by red butterfly masks.
"Stand back, everyone. I'll handle this. Come on, Hephaestus!"
Emerging from Kyle's body was a young male Persona, with red spiky hair and a blue plasma visor covering his eyes. Brandishing a curved red sword, he had a radiant red cape and matching red vest, shoes and gauntlets. With strange head jewellery that resembled a pair of headphones, he looked like a lead character from a manga series.
"Wow, so this is your Persona! Show us what you've got, Kyle!" Nathan said. Kyle, grinning, called for his Persona to cast 'Mamagnara', which blasted them all with large rocks. They cried out in terrible agony, and they were weakened by the assault. Hephaestus quickly dispatched them with a blindingly fast series of slashes, then vanished.
"Not bad, Kyle. Especially for a kid." Blaine said, clapping. "We've got some catching up to do!"
"Indeed you do." Kyle said. "I've had my Persona for quite a while. Since about six years ago."
"Yes. Six long years ago, Kyle discovered his Persona ability at last. Yet, Aeternus heard rumours about him, so he had to flee. Unfortunately, his mother was killed that fateful day." Seraphina said.
"That's when I found Aimee. Or rather, she found me when I was - um, never mind." Kyle said, embarrassed.
"Sounds like the both of you want revenge..." Serena said. Kyle nodded. "So...it was just you two at the start?"
"Correct, Lady Serena. It would be some time before they encountered me. I had known about my Persona for some time, but I used her great insight to flee from the rogues that chased me. So, when I saw Kyle fighting some Shadows around four years ago, I knew right away that I must grant them my power." Seraphina said. "It was only two years ago that we were able to make our base secret, free from the clutches of the Ornatu Legion."
"You guys must have had it rough, huh?" Amara said. "I'm glad we're part of the team now."
"Me too. I don't want this to last any longer. Let's continue!" Nathan said, with determination.
"That's the spirit, Sir Nathan! Now, with that exposition out of the way, off we go again!" Seraphina said, as they moved on, killing more Shadows.
"What's exposition mean?" Blaine asked.
"I'll tell you later." Amara said.
|3F - Outside Secret Room|19:54 pm|
"Whoa. How many steaks do you think we could get out of that guy?" Blaine said. Kyle groaned audibly, and smacked his forehead with his palm. The Shadow in front of them was a lion-like beast, with a jet black coat and completely red eyes. It was a muscle-bound monstrosity, and a heavy ball was chained to it's hind leg. Whilst it was not an agile creature, it was full of strength and energy.
"Oh crap. C'mon, let's do this quickly." Serena said, and everyone called up their Personas.
"This behemoth is called the Vicious Beast. Be on your guard, it will not hesitate to rend us to shreds!" Seraphina shouted. The Vicious Beast struck Amara with it's claws, and not only was it a powerful attack, it seemed to drain more of her energy.
"Oh crap, Poison!" Serena said. "Hold on, I think I can heal it! Posumudi!" Artemis' light healed Amara, and then she hit the beast with a new water spell - 'Heavy Rain'.
"Well done. Let's see how far you four have come along. Don't fear. If you can't beat that thing, just leave it for us!" Kyle said. Angry, the Vicious Beast started to rampage across the room, hitting everyone with it's claws - but Amara noticed it's strength was weaker.
"I don't need assistance Just watch!" Blaine called upon his Shade Jolt attack, but it had absolutely no effect. "What the fuck? It's not working?"
"It cannot be pierced by your lightning. Alas, all is not lost. I will be able to learn how to penetrate it's defences. Please, give me a moment!" Seraphina said, and she closed her eyes, concentrating.
"Take this!" Amara swung her sword, and then Hathor appeared to cast her Flare Hail spell. The fire did some damage to the Beast, but not enough to injure it. Still, it had enough power to call upon a powerful Mazionga attack.
"Oww!" Serena cried. "That really hurt! You're gonna pay!"
"Revelations! I have uncovered it's Achilles' Heel!" Seraphina said. "Sir Nathan! Unleash the gusts of Setanta!"
"Got it. Here goes!" Nathan did so, and the Beast growled in pain, falling down. Taking advantage of it's weakness, everyone attacked the Beast repeatedly with their weapons, causing it incredible pain. One more Air Brake was enough to kill it.
"Well done. You didn't need us at all!" Kyle said. "For outsiders, you're not half bad."
"Hell yeah, we're not! We kicked ass!" Blaine said, twirling his gun.
"Yes. We did indeed 'kick some ass'." Nathan said, shuddering. "I can't make myself sound cool saying that."
"Then find something else to say to satisfy your cool requirements." Seraphina said. "Now then, it is time to open the secret room. Whatever it is, we shall learn at once!" The six of them gathered around the door, and with Kyle's special key, they unlocked the heavy door.
"Wow, I can't believe that worked! You know what would be funny? If Aeternus were all "Who the hell unlocked that door?" and no one knew!" Serena said.
"Yeah! If they started fighting amongst themselves, we could get away with more of this stuff." Amara said. "Now hurry up and go inside already!"
|Secret Room|19:58 pm|
The room was entirely different from the rest of the mall. Bearing no resemblance to any interior the six of them had seen, the room was entirely black with neon green designs. In the centre of the room, however, was a cryogenic tube, and inside was an entirely bandaged male, with wires attached to his body.
"What in the name of Belphegor is this?" Kyle asked, moving towards the tube. "I can't even tell if he's alive or not."
"This is messed up. Why is this even here?"
"His heart remains beating. Yet, it feels like his spirit is somewhere else. What takes it's place is nothing less than false shadows." Seraphina said, with a solemn look.
"Wait a second. Does that mean this has something to do with the Ornatu Legion? Why the heck is that here?" Blaine asked. "I mean, why store their experiments in a fucking mall?"
"I cannot say." Seraphina said. "One day, we will discover the answers to your questions, but right now, we must not tamper with that man. One day, I know he shall be saved. With the sacrifice of another."
"Another what?" Amara said. "Oh god, I don't even wanna think about it. Aeternus are sick! Let's get out of here!"
"Right!" Seraphina said - but the minute they came outside, someone was waiting for them.
"Alastair Clark." Amara said. It was indeed the same gentleman who tried to invite her to lunch with him. Wearing a long black elegant shirt, with a blue ribbon tie, he was armed with a long sword with a elegant gold hilt.
"Correct. Of course you should know who I am. I'm the leader of the Holy Cross, second only to the Commander!" Alastair said. "And your actions must be stopped! Your criminal activities, if lift unchecked, will simply endanger the civilians of our city. We, the Holy Cross, are the ones who will administer true justice!"
"Hardly, Alastair. Your friends haven't done a very good job so far. If they were serious about capturing us, they'd send the Commander!" Nathan said. Alastair scowled at him.
"Oh, please. You're hardly that important a threat." Alastair said. "Even so, there is something rather peculiar about you four. I can't say what it is, but once I have you in capitivity, we'll find out."
"Yeah, you might just do that, pal. Problem is, you're going to have a wait a long time!" Blaine said, as he took out his gun. "So c'mon, hurry up and summon your angel! We beat the others, we can take you!"
"...You're not like him at all!" Alastair said. Like who? "Very well, I will do as you wish! Oh, glorious archangel Michael, come forth! In the name of justice!"
Bursting out of Alastair's body was a glorious angel, with blonde hair and a face that resembled Alastair's. Wearing a long elegant white cape with gold designs at the ends, he gallantly held aloft his exquisite sword, complete with long blue tassels. With a blue tabard and armoured boots, his angel form was complete with golden gauntlets with wing designs on them.
"Seraphina! What's he weak too?" Amara asked, sword at the ready.
"Allow my insight the moment of truth. Patience." Seraphina said.
"Ha! I am the best of the Holy Cross! I will not be beaten so easily. Sacred Feathers!" Alastair called out. A flurry of holy sharp feathers attacked everyone, causing some damage.
"Go to hell!" Blaine shouted, as Tlaloc pounded Alastair with his hammer.
"That's where I want you to go! Behold! The almighty power of justice!" Michael, with a triumphant twirl in the air, struck everyone with the spell 'Megido'.
"Argh! That was sore..." Nathan said. "Seraphina, hurry!" He cast another Air Brake spell, but it didn't seem to slow Alastair down.
"This is most unfortunate! Alastair lacks a weakness. You must outmatch his strength! You will win, I'm sure of that!" Seraphina said.
"The weak grow overconfident when they band together, I see. Well, allow me to disabuse you of your arrogance!" Alastair and Amara clashed swords, both of them giving every swing their full strength. However, Michael's Megido spells were brutal, and Artemis' Media wasn't enough to cover the damage.
"I didn't think he'd be so tough..." Serena said, after taking another beating. "This is divine retribution, right? Then let's fight harder!"
"Don't be so sure of yourself! I'm not going to go down like the others! Justice will prevail!" Alastair said, attacking Blaine with his sword. "Mahama!"
"No!" Seraphina cried. "May this barrier reflect all peril that tries to break it! Makarakarn!" A magical barrier covered everyone, just as the holy cards appeared. Instantly, the Mahama spell was sent back to Alastair, yet had no effect on him at all.
"You're a clever little witch. If you hadn't done that, this battle would have been over by now." Alastair said. This time, Michael hit Amara with Zanma, which was less severe than Megido. Still, Alastair definitely was the best of the Holy Cross. Neither of the others had caused them this much trouble.
Serena continued casting Media over and over again, but it was hard for her to keep up with Alastair's damaging Almighty attacks. Neither fire, ice, water or lightning was enough to weaken Alastair, and he wasn't ready to give up yet. Another Sacred Feathers knocked Nathan to the ground, and Amara knew she couldn't hold on for much longer. Serena and Blaine were exhausted, too.
"Goddammit! Die already!" Blaine shouted as he sent another Zio spell. Alastair took the hit, and was getting tired himself, despite his attempts to hide it. He dodged a few hits from Serena's whip, but a Heavy Rain got him.
"Alright, I've had enough of this! Let's finish him off for good!" Amara shouted. Hathor, Setanta, Artemis and Tlaloc raised their weapons high, and they were charged with great power. Alastair gasped, and had Michael guard. Alas, the severe force of the weapons was enough to break Michael's stance, and Alastair was struck with a great slash, then a powerful thrust, then a piercing arrow, and finally a hammer pound.
"Damn you to hell!" Alastair said. "As long as you fight against us, you are no better than demons!" Alastair's eyes were filled with absolute rage, and even though he was bleeding all over, he still had the energy to cast another Megido spell.
"Owwie... I can't take much more!" Serena said, stumbling. "Guys, take him down!" Alastair charged at her, but before he could attack her, Amara slashed with her sword.
"Agi!" Another blast of fire sent Alastair to the floor, dropping his sword. Michael disappeared, and everyone struggled to catch their breath.
"You did it! I wasn't sure if we'd need to help." Kyle said, relieved. "Awesome!"
"Your victory was assured! The Holy Cross is nothing before you!" Seraphina said, proud.
"What the hell?" Alastair said, punching the ground in frustration. "Neither one of us could best you, not even me! How can the agents of justice lose this way?"
"The Holy Cross is supposed to be an elite unit. Of course that's just what Aeternus say to comfort the poor folks of this city." Kyle said. "Reality is, they just need to make them feel like something's being done. But you're not good enough to end the Shadows!"
"How dare you! You ungrateful brat, the Holy Cross has saved countless souls since the day the Commander recruited us! We may not compare to him, but our powers are true!" Alastair yelled, painfully standing up. Amara felt a chill down her spine, as she stared at his desperate expression.
"Give up. You're not good enough to beat us. We'll beat you as many times as it takes, and we'll never join you!" Amara said.
"But if you did, you could be heroes like us! The Ornatu Legion would grow even stronger, and one day we could finally end this nightmare! The Shadows the Ater Vox couldn't hold back!" Alistair moved backwards, still bleeding.
"Ater Vox? I assume that's what the six leaders of Aeternus call themselves." Nathan said. "Who exactly are they?"
"Hahaha...They have hardly ever spoken directly to us. They are counting on Persona users like us, and they have established the Ornatu Legion in the name of Justice!" Alastair said. "You will never bring Justice through these confrontations! Only dire suffering!" With this, Alastair ran off as fast as he could, leaving behind the fallen Ornatu Legion members.
"Another Holy Cross member done with." Blaine said. "They're all morons!"
"Perhaps, but we've only fought them one at a time so far. If we were to take them all on at once, we could be in for a tough battle." Nathan said.
"I'll say. It'd be like trying to take us down. A real challenge!" Serena said. "Anyway, what do we do about this secret room?
"We'll keep looking into it. But as for today, you did a great job. I'm proud to have you in our team!" Kyle said. He was smiling, which for this Kyle, was rare. "Come back soon, okay?"
"I already foresee your return. As trying as the fight is, please don't resent coming here. We may be faced with endless Shadows, but remember this: Shadow only exists if there is still light. The light of our Personas will one day pierce all the Shadows, and you four shall guide us to daybreak!" Seraphina said.
"You know, she really should go into the theatre after all this is done." Serena said. With nothing else to do at the mall, they returned to the base.
|Secret Base|20:10 pm|
"Alright! You guys are fantastic. I knew asking you to help would be a good idea!" Aimee said. "Even if we're a bit more experienced than you guys, you'll catch up. And we'll help you, too!"
"Thanks, guys. So that weird body in the tube... Is it some Ornatu Legion experiment gone wrong?" Amara asked.
"As I said, it is hard to say." Seraphina said. She seemed disappointed. "The spirits are vague on this one."
"Well, I'll start by checking the list of registered Ornatu Legion members. Perhaps one of them has been reported missing." Kyle said, immediately typing on his computer.
Tired, Amara and the others returned home, eager to get some well-earned rest. Now that they had faced the fourth of the Holy Cross, what else lay in store?