Persona: Duality

by Sraosha

Amara Furaha is an aspiring artist living in the idyllic metropolis of New Motus City. One day, she is stranded in another world, and is attacked by unholy creatures - the Shadows. She, along with many others, will begin a journey to eliminate them and put a stop to the organisation that has jeopardised the safety of her beloved city. Yet, she must also try to live a normal life.

81. Necromancy

AN: I'd forgotten how much I like doing the Trauma Shadow fights. Originally I had two planned for this chapter, but that felt excessive. The last time I had more than one, that went over 20,000 words. :P Anyway, it's good to have MoldyJellyBean back! The duo of crossover chapters can finally be completed, but until then, here's another chapter. Read, review, favourite, follow, and tell all your friends! Maybe enemies too. And as ever, thanks to all my readers.

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Chapter 81: Necromancy

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|October 23rd|Aeternus HQ - Metalworks|6:15 am|

Typically, a day in the Metalworks Floor was rather dull. Usually, all that needed to be made were weapons for the Ornatu Legion, amongst other items. Thanks to the automated systems, all the employees needed to do were to upload the digital models of whatever it was that needed to be made, use those to create moulds, then use the equipment to build the items piece by piece. Today, however, the staff had received an urgent request.

"So we've to make these pod things. Tons of them, too." One worker said. "At least it keeps us busy."

"Yeah. I hate it when I have nothing to do. All you hear is people whining. Like those dykes." An dim middle-aged worker said, dismissively. "At least we have jobs, even if our city's under lockdown and our homes got blown up."

"Hmm." A lady said, looking at the model on her laptop screen. As she rotated the image, she noticed the components were rather odd, with complicated machinery and parts with no discernible use. "What are these going to be used for?"

"The higher ups never said." The older man said, scratching his stubble. "But if these are gonna be used to get rid of those damn terrorists, fine with me. I swear, there's way too many of them now."

"I have to say though, some of their women are gorgeous." The young worker said, dreamily. "Oh man, to be invited to look at flowers with Bianca...it'd be a dream come true!"

"What? You've got to be kidding!" The older man said. "Have you never seen Karen? Never thought ladies her age would look so good in skirts!"

"Knock it off!" The lady said, slamming her laptop shut. "We must begin production by 6:30 am! We're going to need a lot of metal for this job, so the less time you spend on this perverted debate, the better!"

Soon, the employees got to work on their strange task. These devices would require a lot of electrical work, so there was no room for errors. Meticulous checking throughout every stage was done, and finally, the first 'pod' was formed. Little did the staff know that their every move was being closely scrutinised...

|October 24th|Secret Base|20:00 pm|

The team had just arrived, after a few days of absence since Zao's funeral. Amara was worried in case there had been progress in the Eternal Road, but she recalled what Stella had foreseen. They had time. Deo had made everyone promise to continue the fight, so that his grandson could rest in peace. That thought gave Amara purpose.

"Everyone!" Aimee said. Her head dropped, and she bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come to your world. I just had to see Zao's resting place."

"It should be fine. You weren't seen." Nathan said. "At least, no one that would recognise you."

"So you're safe." Karl said, patting Aimee on the shoulder. "By the way, is Kaman feeling any better?"

The mere mention of that name made everyone stop what they were doing, and stare at Karl with incredulity.

"...What?" He said, perturbed.

"That's right. They don't know yet." Alastair said. "Do you recall that Kaman didn't join us at Nakanobu?"

"Yeah, but he was ill." Blaine said. Then, he looked up in alarm, clenching his fists. "Oh shit. How bad is it?!"

"It's not that he's dying." Kazuya said. "But...long story short, Kaman ditched us to become a Last Soldier. He's not coming back."

"What the - that's - no!" Amara said, stunned. "How can that be? He was our friend!"

"So we thought. At the end of the day, though, he just wanted to get his wife back." Dan said, angrily. "If I ever see him again, I'm gonna thrash him way harder."

"This is a nightmare..." Serena said. "As if things couldn't get any worse for us! What now?"

"Forget him!" Kazuya said. "Guys like him don't value honour or loyalty. If he's willing to betray us, there's no sense in crying over it!"

"He's my boss." Blaine said, sadly. "The only boss that I can call a pal. Now I've got to fight him over here. There's no fucking justice in this world!"

"Um..." Kyle said. "There's more bad news. Kaman's the new owner of the Gold Coin Casino, the one next to Riqueza. There's been a lot of rumours over the way he does business. He forces the ladies to dress in outrageously racy clothing, and if a customer loses all their money and can't pay them back, they're forced into hard labour."

"What?!" Bianca exclaimed. "That's inhumane! How dare he get away with that?"

"There's more." Kyle said, scrolling down on the web browser. "The Ornatu Legion are the only ones allowed to gamble there for free. Most nights, they are the only customers. Which means there's no one around to kill Shadows."

"So basically, unless we pull our finger out, the people of this city are screwed." Other Blaine said.

"Things are getting really bad." Other Amara said. "It's time we did something. A massive counter-attack, or whatever!"

"Yeah! Like, blow up their entire HQ!" Lucy said, cheerfully. "They made Blaine blow up Kanaloa, so we return the favour!"

"That would lead to unnecessary casualties, Lucy!" Karen said, alarmed. "Not to mention the fact that we'd be destroying complicated machinery keeping this city afloat! We'd kill everyone without fail!"

Roger nodded in agreement. He got up from his chair, and went to the seat by Kyle's at the computer. "Let's have a looksie. There was something strange going on yesterday you guys might find interesting."

"What?" Blaine asked.

Roger browsed through the various folders on the computer, until he finally found it. After a hasty double click, the image showed up in PDF format. A strange schematic, detailing many different electrical components and a power source. Amara recognised some of the terms, from her brief time experimenting with a fellow student's Arduino.

"Apparently, this is for something called a 'Corpus V2'." Kyle said. "I can't get a lot of info on it, but it's connected to a huge databank that transmits data, and it has the ability to use energy sources all over the city - wirelessly."

"It's unsettling." Bianca said. "Not just the name, but the fact that it's designed to nearly always have power. The Ater Vox don't want it to fail, no matter what."

"That's not all." Roger said. "Yesterday, huge steel crates were transported from the Aeternus HQ to the Farawell Shadow Development & Research Centre via heavily guarded armed vehicles. And ever since then, Aeternus personnel have been inside there again. The main entrance is completely sealed off now."

"They went that far?" Serena asked. "So how do their own employees get in and out?"

"Uh, duh!" Lucy said, rolling her eyes. She was lightly nudged in the arm by Other Blaine however, and quickly dropped her attitude. "They'd use the NDD. I think."

"That place - it was the first part of this world I got to see." Amara said. "There were locked doors everywhere. No one was around. Then the Shadows started appearing. I thought I was going to die right then and there, but Hathor saved me."

"That's right. All four of us wound up there!" Blaine said, in realisation. "We've been coming to this place for so long, I forgot about it!"

"Of course, you guys came back when I fought you in that big gym." Roger said. "Which...was the same time Zao - never mind. That was a pretty crummy day for all of us."

"Really should have taken him up on that Chianti, huh?" Amara asked, giggling.

"Not only that, Rudo took us there so we could go to the secret lab." Nathan said, upon reflection. "If we go again, we're bound to run into more trouble. At this stage, I'm inclined to face whatever happens head on. We've already suffered the worst."

"Well said." Karl commented, looking proud. "So come on, how do we get inside this place? We've got the NDD code, right?"

Seraphina looked up in fright, and began to speak, stammering. "We certainly have it in our possession, yet there has been an unfavourable change in the building's security. Not only is the main entrance barricaded to all, the NDDs inside have all been restricted to Aeternus employees only."

"Then there's no problem! We just use your ID!" Other Amara said, happily. "...What? Don't tell me you lost it! You really need a dress that has pockets!"

"My lack of storage pouches has nothing to do with our situation!" Seraphina snapped. "I have retained the ID from the day Tomas gave me one. It could only take us so far into the HQ, as well as a lab. Alas, after the lab's destruction, it was deleted from the server! Thus, I can only hold onto it for posterity."

"Oh, well that's okay then!" Lucy said. "We'll just let Nihane and his gang do their stuff, then we'll all die!"

"Lucy, that's a bit rude!" Bianca said, wagging her finger. "There has to be another way inside, right? Surely there is more than one entrance."

"Indeed there is!" Kyle said, pulling up a full map of the ground floor. Amara recognised several areas - the grand lobby she and Nathan met in, and the generator room she fought the Harlequin.

To the right of the building was the large steel shutter door that allowed large vehicles in to deliver supplies, which would be unpackaged and transported to their designated areas. To the left was the courtyard, filled with trees, benches and a drinking fountain. There were two paths that led to it - one that connected it to the main building, the other was a gate that could be reached via Farawell's side streets.

"I do like the look of that courtyard. It's not unlike the one Albion Inc used to have." Priscilla said, nostalgic. "This place certainly is detailed for one that was left abandoned."

"Well, Aeternus once used it as their HQ. Didn't take them long to turn some old warehouse and other big buildings into the whole area, thanks to their fancy Shadow technology. But it wasn't big enough for them." Other Blaine said, bitterly. "...So they figured they'd clear some space." Lucy gulped, and looked at her feet, ashamed. "Hey. They had me fooled too. Don't get upset..."

"Okay, we need a plan!" Aimee said, suddenly energetic. "Then here it is. We get inside via the courtyard, and secure the escape route - the cargo door. Once we've done that, we'll look around, and if there's something we need to sabotage, we'll sabotage it big time!"

"I wish I could join you. Unfortunately, we can't come tonight." Bianca suddenly said. "...I haven't seen my parents since I became one of the Holy Cross. If I leave it any longer, the Eternal Road could kill them. I can't take that chance."

"Oh..." Matthew said. "Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. Hang in there, okay?"

"Thanks." Bianca said, smiling slightly. "Alastair, Kazuya, Richard. You will still accompany me, won't you? Being there alone seems so daunting, especially after the way I left them..."

"Of course I'll go." Kazuya said, proudly thumping his chest. "You guys will be fine, right?"

"You kids forgotten what I do to Shadows?" Other Blaine said, grinning. "Nothing scares me! C'mon, scram!"

"Right. Then as soon as we're ready, we're off!" Aimee said, grabbing her weapon. "This time, we won't fail! We'll stop whatever it is they're planning in no time!"

|FSDRC - Testing Room A1|20:31 pm|

"Once again, we find a use for this place." Josephine said, gazing into the shiny surface of the newly constructed capsule. The power lights were on, and so was the 'standby' light. Now it was ready to receive data, which would be transmitted over a modified version of Wi-Fi. "I must say, these do look stunning. Far better than their old design."

"Oui, I have to agree!" Pierre stepped closer, and looked through the glass pane of the front door. "We certainly practice attractive hardware design. Far more efficient, too!"

"These certainly are fascinating devices." Nihane said, gazing into them. "Especially now that we've reversed-engineered them. The original technology was mildy impressive, but this blows that out of the water."

"Soon enough, these capsules will be hidden everywhere in the city." Archibald said, grinning. "We won't have to worry about losing a single soldier anymore. Wonderful, don't you think?"

"After ten years, it's high time our soldiers put aside their weapons and relaxed. The generations that gave their lives before them will rise again." Carlos said, deep in thought.

Nihane watched the five of them in silence, standing in the far corner of the room. He shut his eyes, and immediately saw the land of Inanis, now a red land burgeoning with chaos.

How pathetic. They're just mechanizing the same process I used to bring them back. I could use Janus to recreate the bodies far faster than those capsules.

Lord Nihane, you surely realise that would require a lot of your care and attention, something you will not deign to administer to anyone else yourself. And us, we hope.

What are you saying? My only care is that Amurdad is revived to its former glory. Thousands of people were killed in the name of so-called 'justice'. I'd happily give seven billion to restore their lives.

Be that as it may, your comrades now support you without fail. If their allegiance were to waver again, would you begin a cycle of never-ending resurrection?

I just told you I'd commit genocide. Keeping my friends trapped in false bodies is nothing. Once it's all over, there won't be any need for such extreme measures. Are you constantly judging me now, Janus?

On the contrary. We merely seek to prove your conviction is true. If you were to submit to cowardice and flee from your responsibility, we would have no choice but to erase your existence - and ourselves.

Once the Eternal Road finally gets here, you two better quieten down a little. I can't even think to myself anymore. Even when I'm asleep, you keep showing me days of Amurdad's past in my dreams.

As you wish, Lord.

"...okay with you, Nihane?" Nina asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I was just resting. It's been a tiring time." Nihane said. "Thankfully, having you all here with me makes me feel more secure about the future." A few platitudes ought to placate that wretch.

"That's the nicest thing I've heard you say in ten years." Pierre said, startled. Carlos laughed, yet it was rather half-hearted. "So who are we testing first?"

"Joanna, Kyosuke, Lars & Nicola." Josephine said, looking at her tablet. "Let's begin - huh?"

Suddenly, the siren stared blaring, and the red alarm lights flashed brightly, blinding everybody.

"Argh!" Nina cried. "Someone's broken in!"

"Who?!" Nihane demanded. "Show me the security feed!"

Pierre dashed to the computer on the desk, and checked the CCTV footage from where the intrusion had been detected. Soon enough, they saw the culprit. A young man had sneaked in somehow, and had made his way into the kitchen.

"Get them out of here at once!" Nihane ordered.

|Outside FSDRC - Courtyard Area|20:37 pm|

The large group had just come out of the nearby alleyway, when they saw a young man rushing past them, panting for breath.

"Huh? Who's that guy?" Other Amara asked. She looked to the ground, and noticed something had fallen from his pocket - a blueberry muffin. "...The hell?"

"Awesome! I haven't had dinner yet!" Matthew said, licking his lips. "Mind if I have it?" Other Amara handed it over, and he pocketed it cheerfully.

From around the corner, the group saw two Ornatu Legion soldiers shaking their heads in dismay. They were too distant to hear fully, other than they wished they were 'at the casino'. Without a care, they ran back inside the building, leaving the gate wide open.

"...Perfect." Kyle said. "We better try and keep quiet, though. This place could be packed with guards. And the traitors could be here, too."

"Come on, let's get to this garage place." Dan said. "We gotta be ready to scram once we're done."

|FSDRC - Garage|20:45 pm|

Compared to the rest of the building, this area was rather dull. The walls were various shades of brown brick or metal, and there were lights above head - yet it still felt dark. Around the group were many trucks and other vehicles.

"Sweet." Dan said. "Right...I'm stayin' put here."

"Right." Aimee said. "We'll need at least one of these things to get out of here. So I'd suggest...five of us remain in this garage, and when it's time, get the motor running."

"Leave that to me." Dan said. "I'm good at driving big-ass vehicles!"

"In that case, I'll stick with you!" Shirley said.

"As will I." Tara said. "You never see anything this size in Clairdol. This might just be fun!"

"Grand Theft Auto: New Motus." Kyle said, giggling. "Dan looks like the type who'd be in those games, doesn't he?"

"Oi!" Dan said, messing up Kyle's hair. "Beyond this rough exterior is a true gentleman! Believe me, I know how to drive safely. Even if that was ten years ago."

"Oh brother." Other Blaine said, amused.

"Right...I'd better stay with you too." Matthew said. "I...actually passed my driving test last year. Although I still can't afford the right car. And I'm the cop fighting monsters off-duty. That's life, huh?"

"Can I stay too?" Priscilla said. "I'd rather you didn't get into trouble."

"Are you sure about that?" Other Nathan asked. "With Dan behind the wheel, there's no telling what will happen."

"Fuck's sake man, you're always poking fun at me." Dan said, annoyed.

"The reverse happens more often, wouldn't you say?" Other Nathan replied.

"I...think you guys will be alright." Aimee said, smiling. "The rest of us are going to explore! Time to go."

|FSDRC - Lobby|20:50 pm|

"Nathan, do you remember? For a while, I thought Albion Inc. were the ones behind all this." Amara said, gazing at the monitor above the door. "If we hadn't met Aimee, we might never have understood what was going on."

"I was angry at the possibility my father was involved with shady business." Nathan said. "How...little did I know."

"And those weird computers!" Serena said, running over to one of them - the one Amara and Nathan had examined. "Do these even work at all?"

"Trust me, if me and Kyle can't get them to, nobody can." Roger said, coming over to the machine. Sure enough, they had switched it on, and swiftly bypassed the password screen. "See?"

Karen and Other Serena nodded approvingly, and watched as Kyle scrolled through the mysterious files, most of them in proprietary file formats. However, try as hard as he could, Kyle couldn't identify anything pertaining to his hacked PDF.

"What the hell?" Kyle said. "Damn. This might take a while."

"Yeah, I think so too." Roger said. "Hang on, I'll take another computer. How about some of us stay down here, and the rest go upstairs to look around?"

"Okay, but...there were Ornatu Legion soldiers here. If you have to escape, get to the Garage." Aimee said. "Karen, Serena and...hmm...Lucy, you stay here on guard."

"What?" Lucy said, dismayed. She glanced around, and sighed. "But computer stuff is boring! I don't even know what SQL means!"

"Yet you still ordered that iPad with the $50 case." Other Blaine teased. "And you only used it to look at cat videos and beauty tips."

"They were cute videos, jerk! And you thought so too, I remember!" Lucy said, embarrassed. "Fine, I'll stay here...try not to get into trouble, will you? You always get reckless when we're breaking into places."

"Oh come on, there was no one on that boat, and - ahem. We'd best be off, then!" Other Blaine said, face turning red. Other Amara rolled her eyes in disdain.

While Kyle and Roger continued their research, the three ladies kept a close watch. If there were only two measly Ornatu Legion soldier on patrol, they wouldn't have much to worry about.

|First Floor|20:59 pm|

Amara, Nathan, Serena, Blaine and Karl elected to check out the first floor, while the other five took the stairs. Unfortunately, however, most of the rooms they had tried were either empty or locked.

"I can't believe I thought this place was scary. This is boring." Serena said, rolling her eyes. "How do we even unlock these doors?"

"Don't look at me, I don't go breaking into to people's houses." Blaine said, frowning. "Hang on, I know what to do." He took a few steps back, and concentrated on the emblem on the door. Then, with a huge leap, he extended his foot out into a kick. "Ha - OWWW!" He merely collapsed to the ground, and began caressing his sore foot. "Motherfucker..."

"Are you crazy? Why did you think that would work?!" Karl shouted.

"Says the guy who tried punching his TV to fix it last week." Nathan deadpanned.

"ONCE, Nathan! Blaine, are you okay? You...can walk, right?" Karl asked. He helped Blaine stand up, anxious.

"Yup. Thanks...ouch." Blaine said. "Sorry about that. What the hell are we gonna do?"

"Let's try that door over there." Serena said, pointing across the hall. They went over to it, and this time, Amara merely pushed it - and it opened. "Phew. At least Blaine didn't have to break a foot for this one."

|Testing Room G|21:10 pm|

"...No! Not again!"

Amara couldn't believe her eyes. Even if it had been updated, it was still the same deplorable concept. Foul coffins that conjured false bodies of the dead. This one was floating just like the ones from that day...the worst day in her adult life.

"How dare they do this?!" Karl shouted. "Why did they take inspiration from that madman? Why?"

"...It's turned on." Blaine said, disgusted. In fact, he had to stop himself from throwing up. "You guys, we have to destroy it -"

"Taking this beautifully crafted hardware, only to dismantle it so profanely? Now that is a travesty beyond all other."

Materialising out of nowhere came Nihane Kronos, arms folded. Amara gasped, but clutched her sword anyway. This man...she felt pure evil radiating from his eyes. Those orange eyes of hatred.

"Ah, good to see you, Ethan." Amara said, smirking. "I was wondering when we'd bump into each other again. Looks like you've been busy."

"What the - how?!" Nihane screamed. "Why do you, of all people, call me that?!"

"Once upon a time, Ethan, you saved me. You rescued my mother's necklace." Amara said, solemnly. "You were kind, but quiet. I could tell you had a good heart. Now look at you! At this thing! You're not the Ethan I remember!"

"Grr...Precisely!" Nihane said, voice as cold as ice. "I will never be Ethan ever again. Janus broke the chains of a life of falsehood, and delivered me from subservience! Do you expect me to become shackled to the cruelty of this world again? To regress to pathetic shy student with no idea of his legacy?"

"What's really pathetic is you bringing back the Interitus Legion!" Serena shouted. "Are you that desperate? You're gonna rip off Tomas?!"

Nihane laughed, and neared the capsule. He patted it affectionately, like a child demonstrating a science project. "Oh, we're not plagiarists. The technology to develop the Interitus Legion arose from our wealth of knowledge and unsurpassed technology, after all. These Corpus Capsules - or rather, Necromancers - were ours from the very beginning."

"So that's it. You're gonna give the Ornatu Legion holiday time, and make these zombies do all the hard work." Blaine said. "Why bother, though?"

"Why bother?" Nihane asked. "It's quite simple. The Divine Sparks all originated from events hundreds of years ago. Yet why limit ourselves to the past? Would it not be possible to birth a new one? More, if necessary?"

"...The Casino!" Amara gasped. "So you'd murder all your soldiers for that?"

"Perhaps. It all depends on my patience." Nihane said, smirking. "Ten years is an awfully long time to wait for something, you understand. I'd rather not drag things on. It won't take long to issue the order for Kaman to carry out some kind of atrocity there. He's more than enthusiastic, of course. And with the ghosts of past soldiers roaming the streets, it should be easy to imagine the unsurpassed terror that will ensue!"

"My god. You're even more insane than I thought!" Nathan said, aghast.

"No kidding. Ethan, you've outdone yourself. I thought you were better than this, but you really are a psychopathic, arrogant, greedy baby." Amara said, anger flowing through every syllable. And when it comes right down to it, it's because of you that Zao...

"Ah, I get it. You blame me, don't you?" Nihane said, now amused. "If you hadn't taken so long, you might have gotten there sooner! Perhaps I should be thanking you, though. I didn't like the smell of fish anyway."

Everyone gasped. While everyone's hateful eyes fell upon Nihane, it was Amara's sword that landed on him. Without holding anything back, she swung her fierce blade through him, ignoring his howls of pain.

"What are you doing?!" A voice screamed. Suddenly, Nihane was dragged back by Nina.

"You've been an annoyance from the very start!" Nihane shouted. "If you ever call me that disgusting name again, I swear there will not even be a molecule of you left in this universe! Nina, let us go! Instead, they can face the dead!"

"Yes, Nihane." Nina said. "Mark my words. We will do whatever it takes to commence the Eternal Road! Even this!"

They both vanished into the ether. Suddenly, the Necromancer pulsed into life. Beyond the windows, the group saw a green holographic humanoid form appear. Then little by little, pieces of bone, skin, flesh, organs and other parts manifested over the base model, as 'blood' poured into it. Also, a blue uniform seemingly stitched itself together around the body.

The doors finally opened, and stepping out was a Japanese looking youth, wielding a sword. According to the computer mounted to the wall, his name was 'Kyosuke Namikawa'. Then other names began flashing in three windows beneath it - Joanna Anderson, Lars Dahlberg, & Nicole Ellis.

"Shit!" Blaine said. "Let's get out of here!"

"Can't we shut them down like last time?" Serena asked.

"Not with them coming after us!" Nathan shouted.

Kyosuke called upon his Persona, the impressive Okuninushi. Immediately, the group fled to the hallway, only to be confronted by three other Interitus Legion soldiers - the redhead Joanna, the brunette Nicola, and the blonde Lars.

"Oh, and before we leave, I'd like to say one more thing. From today onward, this location shall be deemed the New Interitus Legion Compound!" Pierre's voice said over the intercom. "Just remember that if you want to come back, okay? These guys will always be ready for battle. Always!"

"Damn you Pierre!" Karl shouted. The soldiers summoned their Personas. Joanna used Atropos, Nicola conjured Hariti, and Lars summoned Jarilo. "...We mean no disrespect. Forgive us."

Kyosuke's eyes were just like the Other Zaos. That very thought sent a shiver down Amara's spine - all of her attempts to reassure Zao had been for naught. And now if these devices were to go into mass production, she would never forget the nightmare of October 10th. She parried Kyosuke's sword attack, and drove her own into his 'flesh'.

Despite his wound, he managed to manifest Okuninushi's power into being, and sent an Agidyne at Serena. Amara gasped, and ducked under Lars' sweeping kick. "Marakukaja!" She cried, and Isis protected her comrades with the ever-useful magic.

"We have to work quickly..." Karl said to himself. "Power Charge!" Aeneas doubled in strength, and as Karl punched Nicola away, his fists did as well. Nicola's Hariti used Masakunda on the entire team, which was quickly negated by Cu Chulainn's Masakukaja. If Nicola had been an Ornatu Legion soldier, or even a Shadow, she would have expressed great irritation. However, her face remained doll-like, not even blinking.

"Malaquadyne!" Serena shouted. Selene's fierce waters struck her foes, yet even as their bodies were knocked into a wall, they emitted no sound, not even a single breath. Joanna used Atropos to Wind Break Nathan, and fired bolts from her crossbow at Blaine.

"Ugh..." Blaine said, angrily. "At least we don't know who these guys are..."

"Maybe we don't, but someone in this city will." Nathan said. "If they see them, what will they think? Will they buy Aeternus' lies?"

"Just focus on killing them now!" Amara said, dodging Nicola's spear. She breathed a sigh of relief, but before she knew it, she was being attacked by Jarilo's Tempest Slash. "Argh!"

Blaine gulped. Looking at his gun, he knew what needed to be done. Swiftly, he had Quetzalcoatl appear. "Matarukaja!" Now everyone was much stronger, especially Karl. With any luck, they could destroy this wave of enemies in mere minutes.

"Zao, watch me! Helios!" Amara roared. Her heart burned with the memories of Zao, and thus so did the flames that Isis released. Her foes did not even sweat, however, but their bodies briefly lost their colour. "

Kyosuke fought back with Okuninushi, using the potent Akasha Arts. The former ruler of Izumo was indeed kingly in strength, and Amara almost felt her body tearing from the onslaught.

"Urgh! Stupid ghost!" Serena moaned. "Go, Selene, bust him! Lunar Scope!" A tremendous rain of arrows impaled the homunculi that wore the faces of humans, yet did not eliminate either of them. "...Why do I even bother with that attack?"

"It looks kinda cool, at least." Blaine said. "Ziodyne!" A powerful bolt of lightning hit Joanna, prompting her to invoke Atropos' Magarudyne. Even Nathan couldn't stop the storm that struck the hallway, and it was hard for anyone to stay on their feet from the wind.

"Garudyne!" Nathan cried, and used his own masterful aerial blast upon the unfeeling Lars. Without any emotional response, or even basic instincts of pain, it was difficult to ascertain when they were close to 'death'. Yet from their battle strategy, it was clear they were intent on winning. Lars and Jarilo knocked Blaine down with a strong Aquadyne.

"Fuck!" Blaine grunted. "Man, how many times do I end up face down in this world? I'm getting pretty bored of seeing floors up close!"

"Just get up and fight back!" Karl said. "Now...Mass Destruction!" Aeneas, augmented by two different powers, took great pride in wielding his mighty blade. However, while Karl was distracted, Nicola had unleashed an art of Haritis - Hamaon. Before he saw Kyosuke be slain, and disappear, he would be engulfed by the banishing circle of light. "Ugh...sorry..."

"One down...both sides." Serena said. "Better not slow down, everyone. Kyosuke might come back while we're beating up his friends!"

"No way am I letting that happen!" Blaine said. "Damn tenacious zombies! I'm gonna tear you all a new one!"

|NILC Garage|21:19 pm|

Dan and Priscilla were leaning against a large bus, rather bored with the drab environment. While it was free from the hostile, morose nature of the Aeternus HQ, it was thick with a heavy monotone aura. Matthew was yawning, as he looked through his notes from the police station.

"Hey Matthew, what are you up to?" Tara asked, hovering over him. "You know, as a detective, you're wasted in Clairdol. Even at night, when you're having drinks, you're either looking over your case notes...or down Linda's shirt."

"What's that now?" Dan asked, curious.

"She's...exaggerating!" Matthew said, blushing. "With everything that's been going on, I have to keep an eye over my real job. Good thing hardly anything ever happens in Clairdol, huh?"

"Yeah...but when something does, you're there to get to the bottom of it." Tara said, proudly. "Like with those baby snatchers. Still can't believe something like that happened..."

"I'll say. We still haven't been able to make any sense out of the guy we caught." Matthew said, scowling at his notes. "Nor have I been able to arrest the other man. By this point, he's bound to have left the island, and there's no telling where he'd gone. We might not be able to solve this one..."

"So? A great detective isn't one that can solve every case." Priscilla said. "It's one that never stops trying to. So don't lose heart. I'm sure that island is thankful for all your hard work!" Priscilla said, happily.

"You say that, but...in all honestly, I'm just in the station most of the day with my feet up on the desk, waiting for a call. I should be glad to live in a village with a low crime rate, but...they don't need me." Matthew said. "So once this city's back to normal, I'm coming back here. It'll take a lot of hard work to restore law and order, right? That's where I'm meant to be. Saving the world doesn't end with toppling Aeternus, after all."

"Hey, that almost sounded profound." Tara said. "At least you won't be bored over here. You'll be so busy, there won't be any time to bug me to play with you!"

"I only did that once! Twice! Six...ten...it wasn't every day!" Matthew said. "You liked having me around, didn't you? Certainly livened things up around town. The people of Clairdol had to put up with me running around raising hell, but at least it broke up their routine. I'll miss it when I'm gone..."

"Just come and pay them a visit every now and then." Dan said, proudly. "It's your second home, remember? Sounds like you made some great friends over there. And Tara's bound to miss you, ain't she? You were her little brother too!"

"Um...yeah, I guess so!" Matthew said. "Although that village is where me and Keisha...no, that's in the past now. She's with the enemy now. If I have to fight her, I'll do it. I might cry a little, but I can handle that."

Tara nodded, and patted Matthew on the back. He smiled, closing his eyes, and sighed with relief.

"Looks like he's every bit as sweet as his older brother." Shirley said, leaning close to Dan. "I bet it won't be long before he's got another lady walking down that beach with him."

"Same here! Too bad he takes after Blaine when it comes to romance. But look at that guy now!" Dan said, grinning. "Matthew's grown up a lot since he joined us. Hard to believe he's twelve years my junior, eh?"

"Thanks, Dan." Matthew said, face turning red. "Now then, anyone want to try this muffin? It smells good - oh come on!"

A rather nasty commotion interrupted the muffin's consumption. Several loud Shadows had arrived, made up of Jotuns & Tanks. The five leapt into action, and Dan called upon his Persona first.

"Go! Tezcatlipoca!"

As soon as it was summoned, however, Tezcatlipoca became enveloped in bright light. It seemed that Dan's heart had strengthened, and now so had his Persona. The new form, unlike the previous instance, did not cover its face. Instead, it bore slicked back spiky black hair and brown eyes, as well as an orange-jewelled silver crown with incredibly sharp spikes. Fittingly, it had a muscular physique, and wielding its heavy black scythe with ease. It wore black armoured gauntlets and boots, as well as a cape and belt.

I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy sea, I am reborn. I am Mictlantehcutlli, Death's unsurpassable champion.

"Alright!" Dan cheered. "Just wait till I sic this guy on Kaman!"

"Too bad his name's even weirder than before." Shirley said, amused.

"So what?" Dan said. "We've had some weird names as it is. I'll just call this guy Mictlan. Come on, get in there! Nocturnal Clutches!"

The sheer cruelty of this move was heightened by this grim-looking Persona. Mictlan had managed to render one of the Jotuns utterly defenceless. Before it could rise up again, it had been crushed by Scathach's Crystal Queen.

"My turn!" Tara said. "Beloved Meadow!" The land around her victims was sundered, and the Tanks had been overturned. Acol's Berserker finished one of them off. Matthew pumped the air with his fist, and gave Tara a thumbs up.

"Well done, everyone." Shirley said. "Rhiannon, aid them!"

Rhiannon entered the fray, yet soon enough, the aurora around her changed, signalling the end of that name and the beginning of another. The new form became clear, and it was a rather tall, agile-looking woman, with long blue hair with several pink streaks. On top of her head was a feature blue velvet hat, with purple feather plume. She wore a blue coat and high heeled boots, and twirled an ivory musical baton that glowed a pleasant blue.

I art thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Cerridwen, one who enchants the hideous and the beautiful with inspiration.

"Alright!" Shirley said, amazed. "Ever since I got that book back...I've felt stronger than ever before! All of you, I'll do my best! For Joanna, too!"

Cerridwen wasted no time in the devastation of her enemies. To start with, she shattered one of the Jotuns with a swift Paranoia Impulse. A Tank fired one of its shells, in the form of a Ziodyne. Shirley winced, but kept standing.

"HA!" Shirley cried, as she kicked at an approaching Papillion. Now these creatures held no fear for her. Instead, she let her courage soar higher than the sky. "Mirage Sabre!"

The new weapon Cerridwen had might have looked weak, but as it struck, it proved just as deadly. She held her baton outwards, but then from other directions, copies of her appeared, doing the same stance. They all rushed at the Papillion, slicing it with ghostly energy. In an instant, it was destroyed, the scales on its wings fluttering into non-existence.

"That was amazing." Priscilla said, clapping. "Graceful Blizzard!"

These Shadows were no match for this onslaught. No matter what they threw at the group, their attacks were met with greater force. Finally, one last Shadow - a Crestfallen Gallows - was left, and Shirley and Dan stared it down, grinning.

"Follow my lead!" Shirley said, glancing sideways at Dan. He nodded, and called upon Mictlan.

He and Cerridwen, using the power of shadow, turned the entire battlefield into a dark black void, and then disappeared, leaving the Gallows to float in the empty vortex. Then suddenly, powerful red arcs of light appeared out of nowhere, and something seemed to have the struck the Shadow. Then similar trails of blue did the same, at a swifter pace.

"Perfect Murder!"

Cerridwen and Mictlan reappeared, and together they brought down their weapons into the Gallows' disgusting body. As it died, the void vanished, and the others could see the garage once more.

Matthew panted for breath, his palms sweaty. He dusted off his jacket, and leaned against a pillar.

"Is that all of them?" He panted.

"Looks like it." Dan said. "But we really ought to be prepared. Now - hello..." He looked at the ground where the fallen Shadow horde had once been. There was a strange device that looked like a modern car key. Dan took it, and glanced to the bus that the group had been standing near. He pressed it, and the doors opened.

"Now that was lucky..." Matthew said. "Come on, let's get on!"

"We really need to wait for the others." Shirley said. "With the NDD ought of bounds, if we drive off they'll have to try their luck with the courtyard."

"Don't worry. Nathan and the others will be alright." Priscilla said. "I know it in my heart. We'll escape, no matter what obstacles we face!"

"Man, I wish I could tell the guys at work about all of this. Breaking and entering top-secret facilities run by a dictatorship!" Matthew said, cheerfully. He got in the front passenger seat, right next to his old brother. "Alright. Once everyone's on board, we get the hell out of here! I can't wait to see this baby in action!"

|Biencello Crescent|21:30 pm|

Biencello was one of the less opulent neighbourhoods of Nova Albion, yet still had a sense of elegance with the light grey walls and decorative streetlamps. What really made this area stand out was the beautiful mansion that once stood here, which had been demolished several years ago after fire damaged it. However, the beautiful garden had been kept and allowed to grow, although now only Bianca tended to it.

"Which number do your parents live at?" Kazuya asked. Bianca pointed to No. 15, and so the four walked up to it. Hesitantly, Bianca rang the doorbell. As they waited for someone to answer, Kazuya held her hand tightly.

"Um...I'll be alright." Bianca said. "...What if no one's here anymore?"

"I thought I saw a light on upstairs." Alastair said, reassuringly. "Stay calm. Oh!"

The door opened, and a man wearing a thick blue jumper opened. His hair was black, and curly, and he had a scowl on his face. Richard politely waved at him, but the gesture was not returned.

"Um...hi, Dad." Bianca said, staring at his shoes. She slowly gathered the courage to stare into his eyes. "It's good to see you..."

"What are you doing here?!" Mr Summers said. "You've been declared a terrorist! This place isn't safe, Bianca."

"I know, Dad, but it's alright. We all have our own base we can hide in." Bianca said, although her voice faltered. "We...We couldn't side with Aeternus anymore -"

"Just typical, isn't it? You couldn't stick to their rules, so you had to rebel!" He said. "Just like your uncle - a free spirit! Perhaps too free..."

"Um, Mister, we never got a chance to meet before, but...I'm Kazuya. This is Alastair, and that's Richard."

"Pleased to make your acquintance." Alastair said, holding out his hand. Mr Summers reluctantly shook it.

"What's shakin'?" Richard said, but his handshake was rejected. Suddenly, a woman came to the door. She was very much the image of her daughter, except for her lighter hair and narrower eyes. "Hey, you're Bianca's mom, right? We're -"

"They're her Holy Cross companions. You know, the ones that disappeared only to become rebels." Mr Summer said. His wife shook her head in dismay, and turned to her daughter.

"Bianca, why are you suddenly here now? You never bothered to turn up before! Sure, you liked that garden of yours, but not once did you come home!"

"I...We were kept really busy." Bianca said, anxiously. "And ever since we joined the rebels, it's been really hectic. This is the first chance in a while I've been able to come home..."

"I can vouch for that." Alastair said. "So much has happened. We almost perished because of -"

Bianca quickly pulled him to one side, and whispered quickly. "No, we can't tell them the truth about Aeternus. Just follow my lead, okay? I don't want to scare them..."

"Uh..." Richard said, awkwardly. "Never a bad moment for Chinese Whispers, right guys?"

"Shut it, Richard." Kazuya groaned.

"I'm really sorry I haven't been home. I mean that, truly!" Bianca said. "Cross my heart. I just wanted to see that you were both okay. There won't be many chances for me to come back like this..."

"If only you hadn't rebelled. Then you could have just come home..." Mr Summers said. "Listen to us, Bianca. You have to turn yourselves in. Otherwise, you'll endanger yourself, and everybody else. Do you want us to turn up like the Ellises? Their daugher tried the same thing, only to end up dead!"

"I...I can't." Bianca said, shaking her head. "Aeternus is wrong...I can't say why. But I want to bring the city back to normal. When that day comes, I swear I'll be back!"

"You foolish girl! You're only going to get killed!" Mrs Summers said. "Your uncle didn't like being anyone's servant either, and look where that got him! Right up until the end, he insisted on being himself! Conforming to society might seem a chore, but it won't make you a laughing stock!"

"But..." Bianca said, yet trailed off. Alastair lightly squeezed her hand. "...That's another reason I never came back! Even now, you still judge uncle Sebastian! You never tried to understand, not even once! How can I ever forgive you for that...?!"

The two parents were silent, and eventually Mrs Summers ran back inside, head in her hands. Bianca broke free from Kazuya and Alastair's grip, and ran away in tears.

"Sebastian was very important to her." Mr Summers said, sadly. "Yet...he never stopped to consider what his lifestyle did to us. Or to himself. The amount of death threats he received, the times he had to change jobs...he should have given up crossdressing. It might have made him happier in the end."

"It's not his fault. It's the ignorant masses." Alastair said. "But...you're alive. That's good. If Bianca had discovered her parents had died, and she wasn't there to save them...I don't know what she would have done."

"We'll keep an eye on your daughter, Mister. I promise." Kazuya said. "You two, please be safe."

"Yeah! And once everything's more normal, we can hang out properly." Richard said, smiling. "See ya!"

The three of them left, and Mr Summers watched them run into the distance. Sighing, he shut the door, with a silent smile. His daughter was alive - that was enough for today.

|NILC - Lobby|21:35 pm|

The ladies were either pacing themselves or sitting down bored. Kyle and Roger, however, were hard at work. No matter what security measures were in pace, they had the knowledge to bypass all of them, even managing to decrypt complex codes.

"This is going on and on..." Roger said, yawning. Suddenly, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. It was Karen, who put down a cup of coffee. "Thanks babe. Kyle, how you holding up?"

"I'm alright, but this really is starting to bore me." Kyle said. "Almost everything I've come across is from eight or seven years ago! I thought the Ater Vox could have practised better file management than this, too!"

"Hang in there." Other Serena said, giving Kyle an iced tea. "You can crack this, I know it!"

"Hold on, Kyle. Check out the 'IL' folder on the :/K drive." Roger said, suddenly apprehensive. He clicked on a few things, and he and Karen gasped. Kyle found the same files, curious - and nearly screamed in fright.

"What?!" Lucy shouted, running over. "Wait - what is that?!"

"It's like...those things from the Interitus Legion place!" Kyle said, stunned. "How can that be?! Tomas is dead!"

"His ideas sure aren't." Roger said, gravely. "What the hell drove them to this?"

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the computers were completely destroyed by bolts of electricity. Everyone leaped in fright, and turned around. There, with Thor behind him, was Archibald.

"Oh, goody." Lucy groaned, slapping her forehead. "I thought being with two geeks was dull enough."

"You consider all of this boring, Lucille?" Archibald questioned. "You need to open your eyes. We've done the impossible - reanimating the dead! We create a false body from scratch, bones, flesh, and all! Then we bestow upon them the power of a Persona! The worries of losing said soldier, or more importantly, the Persona, are over! Now the Ornatu Legion can put aside their arms and rest until the day of judgment!"

"...You sociopath! Have you not done enough to destroy society?!" Karen asked. "Don't you understand what will happen? These...ghouls will roam the streets, wearing the masks of the dead! Those who knew them will lose their minds!"

"And if that births a new Divine Spark, all the better." Archibald surmised. "Yes, that's right. Our new goal, cowardly woman, is to investigate that possibility. We have found six Divine Sparks, and assumed that would be enough. Yet tragedies have transpired since time immemorial, whether at the hands of Mother Nature or by the schemes of the unhinged!"

"That last one sounds like you..." Roger grumbled. "Well you're not going to pull that off. It doesn't matter how many zombies you can throw at us. Die, Archie!"

Archibald was unmoved, and simply raised an eyebrow in derision. He simply watched as the others summoned their Personas. He may have been outnumbered, yet that fazed him none.

"Ha! No one's here to help you now!" Lucy taunted. "Come on, bring it!"

"Now now, Lucille, you need to be a little more courteous. My guest has yet to arrive." Archibald said. He clicked his fingers, and the sound strangely echoed rather loudly, ringing through everyone's ears. Then a black portal appeared on the ground, and out of it arose a huge book, covered in a sturdy white leather spine with golden edges. The pages were a light blue, and on the front cover was a strange silver symbol depicting a weirdly angelic face.

"The Demonic Compendium...?" Karen asked, standing backwards.

"It was this summer, anyway. Now, however, it is revived. I present to you the Seraphic Compendium!" Archibald proudly announced. The mighty tome began to float in the air, next to its master, flapping its spine as if it were wings. "I do like some light reading, hence why I demanded I tether myself to it."

"You stupid jerk! No one wants to hear your puns!" Lucy hollered. "Inanna, get him!"

Inanna took her axe, and begin slashing Archiblad like mad, each cut emitting a peculiar pink dust. However, it did not have the intended effect.

"Hehe...were you expecting to addle me?" Archibald inquired. "Ridiculous. Blitz Sphere!" Everyone gulped, and felt the shocking field of Thor's electricity engulf them. It short-circuited most of the machines in the area, and some of the lights briefly dimmed.

The Seraphic Compendium, being an animate book, had no words to say. However, it flipped to Page 54, which showed an illustration of two Wrathful Book Shadows. These drawings came to life, and dropped off the page, floating besides their summoner.

"No!" Karen shouted. "This can't be!"

The Compendium, however, was not yet finished. It bashed into Kyle, who had been planning to strike it down, and then flipped to page 125 - which depicted a rather strange eye, The Record of Despair. The illustration shined, and everyone was forced to see that eye in their mind.

"What was that?!" Roger asked, concerned.

"Isn't it obvious?" Archibald said. He fired blasts from his gloves at Serena, who tried to whip them out of harm's way. "Now it has recorded everything about you." Kyle managed to see a glimpse of Page 124, and saw his face there, along with the other four. "This Shadow is a tactical one. You won't force it to waste it's energy this time!"

"Fine by me!" Kyle said. "At least this won't be a total pushover, then! Magnadyne!" A blast of rocks pierced one of the Wrathful Books, wounding it gravely. Just then, Roger used Kanaloa to bolster himself with Rebellion. He and Archibald stared each other down, and while the latter fired his glove blasts wildly, Roger homed in and stabbed him as hard as he could.

"Aeshma! Black Ice!" Karen called dark frost that came forth trapped the second Wrathful Book, causing it to fall to the floor with a heavy thud. Serena, feeling anxious, cast Aquadyne on the Book Kyle had struck, eliminating it swiftly.

"Burn in hell! Agidyne!" Lucy cried, using Inanna's fire upon the Compendium. Flames scorched the book, and managed to destroy Pages 185/186 - used for Anima Freeze and Old One. "Phew!"

"Don't get carried away." Archibald said, amugly. "That's the only page you'll be removing tonight. Megingjard!"

An intensely bright energy barrier was shot from Thor's mighty cannon, and covered Archibald, the Compendium and the still incapacitated Wrathful Book. Right before this happened, however, Kyle had begun using Demon Crag - thus, Megingjard turned the full-force assault back in his face twofold.

"Argh! Dammit..."

Now protected, the Compendium made its move. First was Page 100 - Eruption. A volcanic eruption, as painted onto the page, struck Karen and inflicted dire pain. Next was Page 110 - Aqua Laser. A rush of water blasted Kyle, sending him and his wheelchair crashing into a desk - knocking the computer onto the ground, breaking the screen.

"Those were insured, right?" Serena asked.

"...Must you joke around?" Archibald said. "There must be no more mistakes. Which is why you all must die here! There won't be any more mercy, not for you or your comrades!"

"Since when were you guys merciful? Don't give me that shit." Roger said, folding his arms. "Karen! You know what to do now, right?!"

"Yes!" Karen said. The Compendium flew itself at her, but with a swing of her katana, it instead landed on top of the Wrathful Book - shattering both the icy covering and the smaller text. "Makara Break!"

The barrier of Megingjard briefly was distorted, and seemed to grow thinner. Archibald frowned, but continued to hurl blasts from his hi-tech gloves.

"Kyle! Please, stay calm. Diarahan!" Serena shouted, healing up Kyle's wounds. He looked up, angry, and sliced the Compendium as hard as he could. Lucy fired a bullet at Archibald - only to completely break Megingjard, whilst harming herself in the process.

"None of you thought to use Tetra Break?" Archibald asked. "Idiots, the bunch of you!"

"Whatever, Archie. You oughta just take a hike. Old farts like you can't keep up with us!" Roger chided. "Grave Scourge!" Kanaloa, tightly gripping his trident, swung it sharply upwards, then downwards, finishing with a deadly thrust, resulting in a minature explosion.

"Grr!" Archibald was irate. He shoved Roger to one side, then somersaulted away from his sharp katars. Now he was on top of one of the cleared desks, with Thor ready to go. "Mind Charge!" Everyone gulped, and watched as his Persona charged for a powerful next attack.

Lucy charged in with Passion Ablaze, singeing the Compendium - but to her dismay, no pages were ruined. Instead, it shrugged off the flames, and began to browse its pages. Page 206 called upon three Change Relics, all of them divine in power.

"Oh crap, we're in trouble." Roger said.

"Yeah...if this thing keeps summoning Shadows, we might be overwhelmed. Everyone, concentrate on the book!" Kyle shouted. "Magnadyne!" Earth struck the Compendium just as it reached Page 105 - Air Thrust, a torrent of wind blades. Lucy winced, but kept standing. She shot Archibald right in the chest, but got hit by all three Relics.

"Ow! Why are these things targeting me?" Lucy said. "I'm not even the healer!"

"So they should be pummeling me instead!?" Serena asked, annoyed.

"It's our strategy to wipe out the healer in a fight, isn't it?" Lucy replied. "Common sense..."

"You can have your catfight later, ladies. Marakukaja!" Roger beckoned, and soon everyone's defence was reinforced. "For now, we do as Kyle suggested. Destroy the Compendium!"

Archibald scoffed, and leapt away from Kyle's laser sword swing. Serena whipped him from behind, and also kicked him, knocking him to the floor.

"Tranquil Sea!" Selene became the master of celestial waters, and steered them to aggravate all five enemies. Archibald howled in pain - and there was something off about his voice. It sounded more like it was coming from a speaker than actual vocal chords. Now, however, was no time to dwell on this subject. The three Relics were already making their next move.

"Here goes nothing. Aeshma, I'm counting on you. Mamudoon!"

Karen took a huge gamble - and to her surprise, the cursed spell claimed the lives of all three of the Change Relics. Roger whistled in pride, and she politely bowed.

"Hmmph. I should have investigated the Shadows it could summon." Archibald mused, angrily scratching his head. "Still, it won't matter. I shall prove myself to you all! Krevad Mjolnir!"

Thor soared high as it could, and began charging supreme power into his canon. Then with extreme recoil, it shot forth a tremendous blast of mighty thunder, electrocuting all in sight. Aside from severely shocking everyone, especially an unfortunate Serena, the eletricity completely ruined most of the machines, and caused the glass to shatter, spilling water all over the floor.

Amidst the devastation, the Seraphic Compendium seemed to realise it must grow stronger, or it would face destruction. Thus, it gave itself both types of Charge, and began bashing an already weakened Kyle.

"Serena...you going to be okay?" Lucy asked, coming to her aid. She lent a hand up, but soon saw Archibald preparing another attack. "Damn you! Ravaging Hell!"

Dark flames were sent everywhere, striking both targets. The pages of the Compendium were more resilient than before, however, and did not burn. Diabling its arsenal of attacks would prove trickier than expected. Kyle, despite his pain, managed to cast Tetrakarn on everyone. If he could protect everyone from at least one nasty attack, that would be enough.

"Everyone..." Serena wheezed. "Me...Mediarahan! Selene, hurry!" To her relief, her faithful Persona nursed everyone back to health, irritating Archibald even further. He let loose with his glove blasts, causing them to explode upon contact - yet eventually, he seemed to have worn them out.

"Useless pieces of tat!" Archibald grumbled, tearing them off his hands. During his brief tantrum, however, he failed to notice the incoming Mabufudyne, courtesy of Aeshma. "Argh!"

"Good one!" Roger said. "Should have tried a bit harder to keep me on your side, huh?"

"...I would have no long-term use for someone like you!" Archibald snapped. "You're lucky I took you in! If I hadn't, you'd still be sleeping rough in that trashy boat!"

"Luck certainly played a part..." Karen said. "But you and Josephine used us for something as abominable as world destruction! We may have found each other again, but if this planet disappears, then so will any future for us!"

"Any day now, Kaman and Keisha will wake up and smell the that happens, you'll have no one left to ruin!" Roger said. Clenching his fists, he cast Malaquadyne, further soaking the area. Not a single computer was left operational now, and the monitor above the door had fallen, smashed to pieces.

Archibald scowled, but did not say a word. Instead, Thor did the talking with a potent Ziodyne on Roger, sending him to the ground in pain.

"Roger, are you alright?!" Karen asked. She saw the Compendium rushing at her, but was too slow to block with her katana, and collapsed on the wet floor. After this, it opened at Page 115 - Stalagmite. Naturally, a powerful sharp rock burst up from the ground, hitting Serena. Next, it went to Page 120 - Atom Pressure. There was a sudden sphere-shaped explosion in the centre of the room, and everyone was caught in the blast, which bombarded them with a series of violent shockwaves.

"Shit..." Roger said, kneeling on the floor. "How the...hell am I still alive?"

"These attacks seem familiar..." Serena said to herself. "Oh! Right! Diarahan!" Swiftly, she brought Roger back to health. Archibald lacked any weapon, so all he could do was avoid those of his enemies. Serena's whip struck him across the face, causing him grief.

"Power Charge, Inanna!" Lucy demanded. Hastily, her Persona gave her the strength she needed. She had to leap backwards from the Compendium, however, which was getting more and more annoyed with how the battle was progressing. This was even more apparent after Kyle smashed a Crushing Eagle into it, and it began wailing on him.

"Damn! Kyle's always got his nose in a book, huh?" Roger said. Karen folded her arms, shook her head, and tapped the ground with her foot. "...Sorry! Ocean Stampede!" Dark blue waves were directed at both enemies, crashing into them with tremendous splashes.

"What a waste of good equipment." Kyle said, sighing sadly at the sea of ruined computers.

"Didn't you say their specs were outdated a few weeks back?" Serena asked.

"Yes, but...it's still computer parts..." Kyle moaned.

Karen had no interest in the machines, and continued her assault. "Black Ice!" A dark crystal of ice emerged from Aeshma's mirror, enfused with wisps of dark power. Then it collided with the Seraphic Compendium, knocking it flying into a pillar, breaking it in half.

"If we had taken you out earlier, you wouldn't have reached such strength. How could we have become so pathetic?!" Archibald growled. He stomped on his gloves, breaking the beam-firing mechanisms on them. "Why could you not have died at our hand earlier?! What drives you to continue on with your futile quest, to simply maintain the world as it is!?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyle said. "The world isn't some stagnant place where nothing can change. Throughout the centuries, mankind has progressed! We've come so far, but we still have a long way to go! We can reach a golden age, like the one you desire! But it won't mean anything if we have to abandon the world to do it!"

"A weak hormone-ridden teenager has no right to criticise me on ethics!" Archibald shouted, clenching his fists. "Mana Leaf!" Thor aimed his cannon at Lucy, and she braced herself for a powerful blast - but instead, she felt something come out of her. A considerable mass of power flew from her body, and condensed into a leaf.

"Eh?" Lucy asked. "That was weird.."

"The Purified Yggdrasill inspired me..." Archibald said, smug. Thor guided the Mana Leaf to the scratched cover of the Seraphic Compendium, and it was absorbed into it. "Now, my book! Attack!"

The Seraphic Compendium first tried to go to the Anima Freeze page. Alas, since it had been lost, all it could do was emit a Stagnant Air. Its five enemies burst out laughing, yet Archibald simply chuckled, and stood back in anticipation. The magical book flung open to page 777 - 'Apocryphal Revelation'.

The illustration was peculiar, depicting humans of Antiquity kneeling before dark storm clouds, distraught at the cruelty of the world they believed God had dealt upon them. Soon, the entire area changed to resemble said scene, and from those dark storm clouds, the almighty hand of the Lord pierced the skies with an almighty peal of thunder. Then, from that hand, a tremendous bolt of lightning sundered the barren land, completely shattering it, and all victims were at its mercy. They felt themselves fall endlessly, until they landed right back in the Lobby.

"Ugh..." Kyle said, lying next to his wheelchair. "How...many times..."

"Ha!" Archibald said, looking around at his weary foes. Roger had completely fallen unconcious, and was lying in a puddle of water, with a small trickle of blood coming from his cheek. Archibald took it upon himself to kick Roger's body, and burst out into laughter all the while.

"H...How..." Lucy muttered, unsteadily standing up. "How dare you! This time, you really better die! Crazy Cutter!"

Archibald's instincts betrayed him. He attempted to fire a blast from his gloves, only to realise they had been destroyed by himself moments ago. Thus, he was at the mercy of Inanna's axe, and felt it slice through his flesh. Strangely, however, it seemed more like attacking thin air.

"So...even after that...you still won't die." Archibald said, looking at the group in rage. "Compendium! Go and -"

"Not yet!" Serena said. The electricity that had been tormenting her tonight would have killed any normal person. Yet Selene somehow managed to hold on, even if she could only sustain Serena with a pittance of life energy. Using that remaining vitality, Serena ran to aid the injured Kyle.

"No! You're not getting any further!" Lucy shouted, firing all her bullets at the sinister tome.

"Serena...are you okay?" Kyle asked. "You'd think I could have put a seatbelt in by now, huh?"

"We can go make one later!" Serena said, gently raising Kyle onto the seat. "Now we have to finish that book...every last word!"

"Right on!" Kyle said. "Hephaestus, join Selene!"

The Persona gathered what seemed to be a glowing lump of silver, and using his sword and strength, began working the unrefined metal. Meanwhile, Selene rose as high as she could via a jet of water, which seemed to be bathed in pale moonlight. Hephaestus finished his work of art - a gigantic silver arrow, shimmering with holy power. He gave it to Selene, who gave him a quick kiss of appreciation (Lucy started gagging at this point). Selene loaded it onto her magnificent bow, and Hephaestus held her tight. Finally, Selene shot the arrow.

"Silver Serenity!"

The arrow landed squarely into the Seraphic Compendium's leathery spine, and with amazing splendor, exploded into a stardust of divine power. The nefarious book could not cope, and fell to the floor, shaking violently in pain.

"W...What?!" Archibald spluttered, unable to believe his eyes.

"Archibald..." Karen began. "I prayed and prayed for salvation, and when I became a Last Soldier, I was certain that would bring peace for everyone! Yet my memories of that time were ridden with sorrow, and your false hope could not sustain me. Now you will face that same sorrow! Tearful Reflection!"

Aeshma stood still, and raised her mirror. She stared directly into it, and before long, hundreds of tears poured from her eyes, all being sucked into the bizzare vortex of the mirror. Then Aeshma turned around, and wiping away her tears, managed a smile. Archibald shrugged in confusion - only to be suddenly hit by a sharp icicle. Before long, he and his Compendium were being bombarded with a rain of ice, all of them colder than the last. Finally, it was done, and the mirror had run dry.

Now, the Seraphic Compendium had truly been ravaged. The pages that had been torn or damaged began to fall out, burning to ash before they could touch the ground. The spine began to tear, as more and more pages were released into nothingness. Finally, the putrid remains of the text fell onto the floor in a pitiful heap, every line of text or illustration fading into the void. The Hermit mask, as ever, was the last component to disappear.

"Thank...god!" Lucy shouted. Then she turned to the collapsed Roger, and the weakly groaning Kyle. "Serena! We need some help over here!"

"Okay! Samarecarm!" Serena quickly commanded.

Archibald stomped the ground yet again, aghast. "This is - how?! The Trauma Shadows should have been even stronger revived! But still they fall! Why did I even bother?!"

"You guys beat that book, right?" Roger asked. Karen nodded. "Good job...let's finish this."

"Don't you dare presume I'm finished!" Archibald snapped, hysterical. "I am of the Ater Vox! I will not be stopped here!"

|NILC 1F|21:44 pm|

The four spectral foes had been slain, yet Amara knew they would be back. To be dragged into an endless battle would be utterly pointles. Instead, they needed to regroup.

"Everyone, well done." Amara said, sheathing her sword.

"The machines are still active..." Serena said. "You know what this means, right? They're going to keep spawning!"

"How are we gonna stop that?" Blaine asked, panicking.

"I don't know! Best bet is just get the hell out of here!" Serena shouted. "Come on, let's get downstairs!"

They ran onto the stairs, only to bump into Aimee's team. They looked rather weary, and in Aimee's case, horrified.

"You had to deal with the Interitus Legion too?" Amara asked. "Aimee, are you okay?"

"Not really...it reminded me of...Zao." Aimee said, wiping away a tear. "And I thought, one of you might have..."

"It's okay." Karl said. "We're all alive. Now, we have to get out of here, as fast as possible."

"Absolutely." Other Amara. "Aimee, I swear it's going to be fine! This is not going to be a repeat of that night, I promise!"

There was a brief moment of quiet, as Aimee sniffled, wiping away tears from her eyes. Then there were many footsteps, and the sounds of doors opening.

"Okay, now we really have to go!" Other Blaine ordered. "Move it, you slowpokes!"

Everyone did as they were told, frantically dashing down the steps.

|NILC - Lobby|21:48 pm|

Just as the team stormed into the lobby, there was a mighty sounding explosion, as well as an intense heat. It seemed the hackers had been drawn into a fierce battle. Every computer that had been here was either overturned, displaying corrupted graphics or utterly smashed, and the floor was covered in a puddle of water that had come from the broken pillars.

"Guys, we're here - Archibald!" Blaine said, stunned. The other Blaine gasped, and pulled out his gun. Archibald had backed into a corner, clutching his chest, as blood trickled down his chin.

"It's okay. He's done for." Lucy said, twirling her gun in the air. "Blaine, do you want to finish him?"

"N-No!" Archibald said, frightened. "I'm not going to die here! Absolutely no way!"

"You're a joke, Archibald." Josephine walked out from behind a pillar, and stood in front of him. She eagerly scrutinized his fear-stricken face, and then she let out a laugh. "How many times must these fools defeat you?"

"Excuse me, Josephine, but you've never conquered them either! Don't you dare lecture me on weakness!" Archibald snapped. "Let's depart!"

"With pleasure." Josephine said. "The Interitus Legion will not be limited here, by the way. The majority of the Necromancers are to be within our headquarters. Other locations as well, if necessary."

"Not that you'll get to see them, you fools! The NDDs are locked to only us! That front door is unbreakable! And we've ensured that the courtyard is off limits! If you can find another way out, feel free - but you're not getting in here so easily!"

Josephine chuckled, and the two of them disappeared as well. Kyle, breathing heavily, put aside his weapon.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked, looking at her other self. "I mean, am I okay? Wait..."

"Yes, you're fine! I mean, I'm fine! Oh, whatever..." Other Serena said. "Important thing is, we found out the truth. The Interitus Legion's made a comeback, so that means we've got to do something about them!"

"I agree, but what?" Karen said. "It won't be as simple as breaking into Control Rooms. And we still don't have a safe way into getting the HQ! We've got our work cut out for us."

"Don't get upset, Karen. Now's the end of our setbacks." Roger said, confidently. He wiped his mouth, and grinned. "If they're going to pull out all the stops, we do the same. The Interitus Legion won't get to exist for much longer!"

"We've got to head to the Garage. The others are waiting for us!" Other Nathan said. "I hope the Ornatu Legion haven't gotten to them!"

"Relax. Those guys will have the motor running by now. Trust me, we're in for a wild ride." Other Blaine said. "And your Priscilla's one tough broad. Another thing we've got in common." Lucy blushed, and let him ruffle her hair. "Right! Off we go - shit!"

The door to the stairs broke down, and out came many Interitus Legion soldiers. Immediately, the group of fifteen ran towards the Garage.

|Garage|21:55 pm|

"Thank god you're safe!" Shirley said, standing in front of a large sleek yet robust bus. Sitting in the driver seat was Dan, with Matthew next to him. The others all ran up to her, anxious. "...What's wrong?"

"We'll explain later! Now's the time to get the hell out!" Lucy shouted. Shirley gulped, but ran onto the bus with Priscilla and Tara. They quickly opened the back doors, and everyone followed. Just before Shirley shut the doors, a flood of Interitus Legion soldiers stormed in, brandishing their weapons.

"What on earth?!" Priscilla said, incredulous. "How could that be? There's no way they'd -"

"It's true. The Interitus Legion is back!" Amara said. "Dan, we've got to get moving!"

"I know! But...fuck! The button that opens the garage door isn't working!" Dan shouted. "What the hell do we do now?"

"This isn't good. Perhaps Archibald was right. We're trapped!" Karen wailed. "How could we have been so stupid?"

"It is not too late." Seraphina said. "These vehicles are truly behemoths of the tarmac road to hell. If we can enhance this beast somehow, we might just penetrate the wall of doom."

"Ah. So with our Personas?" Matthew asked. "What do we do, just channel power into it?"

"Yes, just try to imbue the bus with your power. All of you, and fast!" Seraphina ordered. "Dan, you must begin moving! At full speed!"

"R-Right!" Dan said, anxiously. "Everyone, fasten your seatbelts as tight as you can!" The bus's engine pulsed into action, as the mighty vehicle began to vibrate. Just then, however, something struck them from behind. Something rather hefty was ramming into them, and it was getting louder. Dan took this as the cue to leave, and the bus started to move forward, rapidly gaining speed. Everyone's Personas flew outside, charging up the vehicle with their power.

So are these things designed to be able to defend against and attack Shadows? For safe deliveries? This might just work! Oh god, I wish there were seatbelts!

"Amara! Everyone! Hang on tight" Karl shouted. They did so, and immediately, the bus collided with the massive steel door - sending out endless series of blue shockwaves. Slowly, the doors started to crack, until finally, there was a huge flash of light. A huge explosion rocketed the bus down the lane, and it was soon through the residential areas of Farawell. Dan looked into the rear view mirror, and saw many of the ghostly soldiers collapse from the sheer magnitude of the explosion - enough to tear apart most of the wall.

"We...did it!" Matthew announced. "That was close! Good thing we stole a combat vehicle!"

"Yeah, no kidding. The good old Obliterators. Been ages since I was in one. " Other Blaine said, sitting back. "Aeternus built all their vehicles this way, same with the delivery trucks. They can withstand anything that's thrown at it - anything normal, that is. And the Ater Vox sure didn't want to ruin their precious capsules..."

"What capsules?" Priscilla asked. "Oh! The ones we saw at Interitus!"

"Yeah. The Ornatu Legion has been retired. Now, it's up to Interitus to protect our citizens." Kyle said. "The plan is to create new Divine Sparks...they're really desperate now. Even if they don't pull it off, it's still going to be a headache. People all over are going to see people they know are dead as living dolls! It's a nightmare!"

"You're right, this is terrible." Other Serena said. "We stole one of Aeternus' military vehicles! And blew up their garage! Roger said this is the end of our setbacks, but -"

"He's right, Serena!" Other Amara said. "We could have died back there, but look! We're driving through these streets, for the first time in ten years! So you know what? I think we can destroy the Interitus Legion too! And there's no way they're going to start a new Divine Spark!"

"Sound pretty confident." Blaine said. "But I'm with ya. Aeternus aren't getting their own way anymore. We promised Deo, right? We'll do this!"

"I concur. In the meantime, we have to pick up other passengers." Seraphina said. "Dan, if you wouldn't mind, take us to Biencello Crescent."

"Right you are!" Dan said, eagerly. Masterfully, he turned the Obliterator towards Saragel, ignoring the hysteria of the people watching from their windows.

|Biencello Crescent|22:00 pm|

The group melancholically walked down the street. The dark skies had enveloped the city with gloom and despair, much like what had happened at the house.

"We should head back to the base, then." Richard said. "Maybe something to eat would help."

"Richard, are you stupid or something?" Kazuya snapped. "Cakes and coffee aren't going to fix things!"

"I know." Bianca spoke up. "But it's better than staying here. This place used to be my home, but it looks like it's just another street now."

"I'm sorry it didn't go well." Alastair said, turning to her. "Perhaps we should be thankful they're alive. Even if you resent them, there is still a chance to resolve your differences."

"Thanks, Ally, but I'm not so sure about that." Bianca said. "Even with my uncle's death, they weren't willing to accept him. What more is there to say?"

With no one sure what to say, they continued to walk, as the crickets chirped. In the few clear patches of sky, the moon could be seen. Bianca stopped for a minute to stare at it, and smiled.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Kazuya said. "Tsuki, we call it. It's thanks to the moon that all of us are alive."

"I love it." Bianca said. "It was my uncle that got me to admire the night sky. So many stars out there, far apart, but they all make up this brilliant view. He should still be here to see it."

"Indeed." Alastair said, standing close. "But...we are."

"Hmm?"

"You know that we're in this together, no matter, what, right?" Richard said. "Ever since we all got rounded up and taken to HQ! I thought it'd be like at school, when you're forced to go into groups with people you never speak to! But you three have kept me going!"

"Spending time with you all made dealing with our duties bearable. Taking abuse from Blaine, fighting Shadows, being ordered around by the Ater Vox, and forced to stay in the HQ most of the day...if it wasn't the four of us that came together, would I have lasted more than a day? Or would I constantly be pining for my old life?" Alastair said, musing.

"Right now, at this very moment, everyone's still suffering. Us, our comrades, and the helpless citizens." Kazuya said. "Getting rid of every single Shadow is only the beginning, I know that. But once we do...we can work on all our problems together. Maybe then, Bianca, we'll talk to your parents once more!"

"You guys..." Bianca said, tearfully. "Hearing your voices is a blessing. I wish I had realised that before now. Even in a place like this, flowers can still bloom. I know our hope isn't dead! It just needs tender love and care."

Everyone nodded. They huddled together, and held hands, gazing upwards at the sky. A shooting star shot past, completely astonishing the group.

"Wow!" Alastair. "Now that's a sign!"

"Do you believe so?" Bianca asked.

"He's right! It's a sign...to not give up! Come on, we've got a real home to go to!" Richard said. They all turned back to the road, only to see a group of tank-like Shadows.

"Crap." Alastair said. "Let's go -"

Before either one of them could summon their Persona, something out of nowhere came rushing down the road, completely flattening the tanks. The four of them turned to the vehicle - a rather heavily armoured bus - and gasped.

"Yo!" Other Blaine said, leaning out from the back window. "We came to pick you guys up!"

"That's..." Alastair said, stunned. "That's one of the Ornatu Legion Obliterators! I thought they were out of commission!"

"Maybe for Aeternus, but we don't play by their rules no more!" Other Blaine said. "Get inside! Some comfy seats with your names written on them - and not literally, Richard. You won't be needing your permanent marker today!"

"Aww..." Richard said. The four, however, climbed onboard, and the bus quickly left the area.

|Ornatu Legion Obliterator|22:10 pm|

"...So the Interitus Legion's back." Alastair said. "And we can't get rid of them."

"Not yet, at least." Karen said. "I thought Tomas was the height of inhumanity, but he just learned from the best."

"There's not much we can do now." Kyle said, sadly. "Although snagging this awesome bus kind of makes up for it."

"Yeah!" Amara said. "Just think, with the guns on this thing, not to mention the super-charged tyres, they won't even need the Interitus Legion! We can just do the job ourselves!"

"Unfortunately, we can't exactly hold onto it forever." Other Nathan said. "If we leave it parked on a street somewhere, Aeternus will just take it back. Shame."

"What are you talkin' about, Nathan? I thought you were cooler than that!" Dan teased. "I ain't gonna just leave it on the road. Didn't I tell you guys about me being a bus driver? I know just where to leave this baby, trust me."

"What?" Matthew asked. "You mean -"

"Yup!" Dan said. "Sit tight, ladies, gentlemen, and Blaine. I've got just the plan."

|Nova Albion - Motus First Bus Station|22:14 pm|

Sure enough, the former Motus First Bus Station came into view. Amara had seen it plenty of times, mostly on the media whenever there were planned fare rises or controversial route changes. However, it was locked, and had been for several years now. The somewhat appealing logo of a bus, with eyes for headlights, cheerfully driving along the road had completely rusted over, and was barely hanging onto the wall. The letters that read 'NOVA ALBION STATION' had all fallen off, and there was an abundance of cigarette butts and drug paraphernalia around the doorway.

"There's still old buses left here. I say we hide this beauty in here, where no one can see it!" Dan said.

"Hey, not bad!" Shirley said.

"Dan, this is rather risky, you know that?" Aimee said. "We shouldn't use this vehicle - Obliterator - unless it's absolutely crucial."

"Hey, I hear ya." Dan said. They were now inside the huge garage where many old buses, some with outdated adverts still on them, were parked permanently. With careful manoeuvring, Dan slowly parked the bus against the back wall, hidden behind regular buses.

"That was more exciting than I expected!" Priscilla said, whilst the group got off. "Normally, I wouldn't encourage running over anything living, but it felt good to hear those Shadows getting crushed!"

"Maybe you shouldn't get behind the wheel next time." Other Nathan said, nervously.

"If only I had the resources to customise that thing further!" Kyle said, dreamily. "Gatling guns! Rocket launchers! The works!"

"Easy there, kiddo." Roger said. "As it is, this thing's tough."

"I think that's enough excitement for one day, don't you?" Aimee said, giggling. "After all...very soon, we'll have to watch out for the Interitus Legion. We still have a chance to turn everything around, so we can't waste any time!"

The team walked out of the bus station, and to their relief, no one was around. Amara wondered what was happening back at the New Interitus Legion Compound - the explosion would have sent the nearby civilians into a massive panic. Eventually, the group neared the site of the nearest NDD - in a bank. However, standing in front of it were Archibald and Nina - the 'other' ones.

"You guys?" Matthew asked, as he chewed on his muffin. "What's up?"

"We will be brief." Nina said, stoic as ever. "The Eternal Road threatens to commence at any moment, or so you al believe. Our alternate selves are hard at work trying to force it to happen."

"Yes." Archibald said. "Alas, the destined time is not now, nor can it change. We know it to be true. The chosen day will be near Christmas. If all goes to their plans, the world will never see the year of 2013, and not a single molecule of the original universe will be untouched."

"We have until December?" Aimee asked. "That's...that's longer than I expected!"

"Perhaps, yet two months does not give you much to work with." Nina said, flatly. "If you fail, no one will be around to say you at least did your best. Do you understand, Serena? All of you, too. You must strive against the dark machinations of our past."

"Of...your past?" Matthew asked.

Archibald was momentarily flustered, and he and Nina stared at each other, anxiously. "She...means what occurred ten years ago." He said. "Had I never put together that infernal project, none of this would have occurred, and Ethan's future would have been full of prosperity."

"Quit feeling sorry for yourselves." Roger said. "Fat lot of good that does anyone. You wanna do something about it.? Just do something!"

"We did." Nina said. "However, it seems it wasn't quite enough. It seems all we can now is entrust both futures to you."

They vanished, and there was now silence. Their words made little sense, yet it rang true with what Stella spoke of. Time was running short, just like she said. The two universes will collapse entirely, leaving nothing behind. So it'll be around the time of the Mayan Apocalypse, too? As if they could have predicted any of this. Yet I wonder how we're going to stop all of this.

The entire team returned to the base. They may only be a group of twenty four, but their conviction would not be swayed by those who had once fallen. Two months remained - not a single hour could be wasted anymore.