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.

83. Overdrive

AN: Just two left until this arc is over. I'm getting excited, planning the last chapters of the story. I hope you'll enjoy them! But of course, I hope you like this one too. Thanks to all my reviewers (although I haven't had any for a while...), followers, and readers!

---

Chapter 83: Overdrive

---

|November 3rd|Secret Base|20:00 pm|

The base was rather quiet today, with just Roger, Shirley, Karen, Lucy, Aimee and Dan around. There were plenty of coffee cups around the desk, and many print outs depicting strange program code Amara couldn't understand.

"Hey guys. What's happening?" she asked.

"Ah, good to see you." Roger said, sluggishly turning his chair around. "Everyone else is pretty busy tonight. Most of the guys are out training - smart move, considering we only have until December. Blaine and the Holy Cross decided to check out Lucille Valley High, to see what's happening with the initiation centres. Priscilla, Kyle, Serena and Nathan are down in Nova Albion. Amara, your other self said something about going back to your family home, and Seraphina went with her. Tara and Matthew are probably in Clairdol."

"This is one huge group..." Lucy said. "How do you keep track of where everybody is?"

"I always did have a good memory, even with all this coffee in my system." Roger said, finishing up his last cup. "So, what's going on with your lives?"

"We're in training for our next friendly. I've got high expectations to fulfil." Karl said.

"School's kind of fun." Serena said. "For the first time, I feel like I've got more friends than just Kyle!"

"Still hard at work, and Lucy's away in the states to see her family..." Blaine said, downcast. "I hope that damn Edmond listens to her. If he makes her cry again, I'll punch his stupid heart out!" The other Lucy frowned, but said nothing. Perhaps she had her own issues with this Edmond, whom Amara had heard several negative stories about.

"By the start of the new year, I'm going to be the C.E.O of Albion Inc. Now that's going to be a huge commitment." Nathan said. "I'll be the youngest one on record. At least my father can finally retire..."

"And...I'm just getting by." Amara said, sadly. "Still, I don't feel so lonely, not with these goofballs around!"

"I wish I could go to your world more often..." Aimee said. "But at least you're here now. Remember, you can just come here to talk. And for my cakes! There's a Princess cake from Sweden you'd love."

"I'll have to take you up on that offer someday." Amara said, grinning. Then she looked back at Roger's work, and stared in confusion. "What's all this stuff, then?"

"Oh, this?" Roger said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. "Well, Kyle and me were busy trying to get data from the Lorean Tower server. Until recently, it was mostly used for generating electricity maps for half of the entire city. It's the main generator used by the power tunnels. Yet now, the server's been massively upgraded, and there's tons of new files for the Interitus Legion soldiers."

"So you're trying to analyse that?" Serena said. She looked at one of the sheets, and blinked. "Something about...bone structure, maybe?"

"God knows. The only bit I know for sure is the uniform they all wear." Roger said, pointing to a section he had circled around in red. "Thing is, there's one file on the server that's causing them trouble. If they try and do anything with it, the server will crash and have to be reloaded. Which means there's a ton of reports about nearby homes losing electricity."

"Lemme guess. Aeternus spun a little story about how they're 'looking into it'. Right?" Serena asked.

"As long as they keep the public updated, they won't lose their support. Typical." Nathan said, grumbling. "What makes this file different, Roger?"

"The file size is 10 times longer than all the others - exactly. And it's all garbled, cause every section of code gets duplicated and scrambled randomly." Roger said. "And none of the other soldiers in the system had the same problem..."

There was a moment of quiet, until finally Aimee spoke up.

"Perhaps...you'd all like to have a look?" she asked.

"What?" Amara said. "Us?"

"It shouldn't be a problem by now. It's not like the Commander can trap you this time!" Aimee said. "Just remember - it'll be full of Interitus Legion soldiers now. There's no avoiding them there. Be careful!"

"Looks like we have our mission." Nathan said. "Well, if it's anything like with that development centre, we can expect to see the Ater Vox up to no good. They really should cordially invite us to their projects by now!"

|Lucille Valley HS - Basement|20:06 pm|

After a rather boring search through Sakura Odori High School & Pure Heart Academy, the examination of the Initiation Centres had taken the group to Legarte's Lucille Valley High School. The basement was rather dank, and it was in largely the same state it had been when Amara's group had arrived in June - the time Bianca intercepted them, to discover the other version of her Commander.

"This school..." Bianca said, looking around. "That was when I first saw him. The other you, command - Blaine."

"Must have been scary, yeah?" Blaine asked. "Spooked the hell out of me when I saw him, too. It didn't make any sense at all. But it made me think - there was another world like this one, where we were all happy. That kind of kicked my plans into gear - but of course, those got sidetracked a bit."

"Man, I hope something's going on here..." Kazuya said. "Best part of breaking into Sakura was seeing their old LaserDisc player. Those were pretty popular back in the day, you know."

"Really? Looked more like Frisbees to me." Richard said, shrugging. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get upstairs - huh?"

From above, many footsteps could be heard. Among them were a considerable amount of voices, most of them rather displeased. Bianca reached for her weapon, but was stopped by Blaine.

"Not yet. Wait and see what happens." Blaine whispered. There was silence again after a while, and no sign of anyone coming down the stairs.

"Are we in the clear?" Alastair asked. "I heard people speaking, and they were not happy at all. What does this mean?"

"I'm not quite sure...this school is supposed to be completely empty by 5pm sharp." Kazuya said. "We really need to be quiet. Whoever's there, they're probably not friendly."

"You're not wimping out again, are ya?" Blaine said, with a sly smile. "It's not the Interitus Legion, so at least we can have a chat with 'em. If we're lucky, we won't have to rough'em up too much."

"...I'm having flashbacks now." Kazuya said. The Holy Cross nervously followed the bold Blaine, as he led his men (and woman) up to the ground floor.

|Lorean Tower - Entrance|20:20 pm|

Oddly, the tower's entrance was not guarded at all. In fact, the front doors were unlocked. Amara nervously went in with the others, expecting a confrontation, but there was nobody there. Utter silence, except for the machines controlling the power in the various rooms.

"Seems like before." Serena said. "I wonder if they got round to fixing that trap floor?"

"What's this?" Karl asked.

"Ah, well last time we got attacked by Blaine - the other one - and the Holy Cross. Before we got totally destroyed, the floor collapsed and we were stuck in the Power Tunnels." Amara said, shuddering. "Good thing Blaine didn't see that..."

"That was rough." Blaine said. "I had figured out who the Commander was...but I had to make sure. At least that's all over with now."

"Yes. That did trouble you for some time, however." Nathan said. "I'm glad you weren't discouraged."

"As if, my man!" Blaine said, lightly smacking Nathan on the back. "You oughta know by now. I don't quit, no matter how hard things get!"

Suddenly, there was a lot of whirring noises, and from the ceiling, the dreaded Necromancers descended. Out of all of them came their soldiers, their false bodies created from digital flesh and bone.

The first soldier, one Amara recalled from the Interitus Legion Compound, summoned the strange creature Kinmamon, a Japanese sea god also known as Marebito. It seemed to be a warlock in black robes, except with a strange red huge globe for a head. The other Personas conjured were Hachiman, a god floating on a cloud, Pales the rather skeletal donkey, and Kali the four-armed goddess of destruction. The last was an Aztec deity called Tlazolteotl, who seemed to be a female sitting inside a rather ornate chair, shaped suspiciously like a toilet, but with a stylised face on the back.

Amara felt her blood boil, as she raised her blade.

|Lucille Valley HS - Auditorium|20:30 pm|

There were no signs of the intruders in any of the classrooms, but Blaine did enjoy messing around in the gymnasium, shooting some hoops. Unfortunately, Kazuya could not match this enthusiasm, and ended up missing every shot. Now, the team were approaching the auditorium, when they heard more voices.

"...should be safe here." One boy said. Richard got closer to the door, placing his ear right next to it. "I couldn't stand being in that casino anyone!"

"Me either! Kaman treated me like some kind of pole dancer!" A girl said, angrily.

Blaine, curious, listened even closely, leaning on the door as lightly as he could. Alastair winced, expecting his commander's weight to push the door wide open, but said nothing.

"That sounded like the Ornatu Legion." Bianca said, quietly. "Adam Kennard and Cuiling Chang. I had to go on missions with them both."

"Are all of us really going to hide in this school?" Another girl, whom the Holy Cross recognised as Sheila Rebeau, said. "Is it no longer possible to return to headquarters?"

"No, Sheila." Esther said. "Our only duties were to stay at the casino, and unless Mr Barrs gave us orders, to just enjoy ourselves. We fled from our duties, so we can't possibly go back. Not even to our homes."

"Great. So we're stuck fending for ourselves." Vincent said. "The Shadows are getting stronger, we've been replaced by zombies, and Kaman treats us all like dirt. What the hell are we gonna do now?"

"No idea." Esther said. "Face it, we're useless to Aeternus anyway. We tried, but we couldn't make any difference...why bother trying now?"

Blaine, now enraged, moved away from the door. Then, with all his strength, dramatically opened the doors. He saw at least twenty five Ornatu Legion soldiers sitting on the stage, looking scared, some shrieking with fear.

"Quiet, you maggots!" Blaine roared, eyeing a boy called Daryl. He was quickly silenced, and as Blaine and his crew walked towards the stage, they watched in sheer terror. Angrily, he got on stage. "What's going on here? Answer me!"

"Um..." A girl called Jennifer said. "Commander! Please, we cannot fight! We realise it now...we were took weak! That's why we were cast aside to that casino, so we would be out of the way!"

Alastair and the others looked at the others, and realised. These soldiers had all appeared at the Casino, only to be swiftly defeated. Right after that, however, came Kaman's callous defection.

"I'm guessing Kaman wasn't all that kind to you." Kazuya said. "He and I didn't get along either, but this sounds even worse. When did you all leave the Gold Coin?"

"Last night. We've been hunting around for places to stay, but...we get nothing but abuse from the populace. They think we're cowards, because we couldn't defeat a single rebel..." A boy called Steven said.

"So you thought you'd camp out here?" Bianca asked. "This place is - or was - an Initiation Centre! How are you going to conceal yourself in the daytime?"

"Don't ask us..." A boy called Liam said. "If we let ourselves get caught, we're done for."

Emma, a green haired girl, whimpered. A girl called Catherine held her hand, whilst checking her fever.

"So this is what the Ornatu Legion are reduced to. Squatters!" Blaine said, voice heavily layered with disgust and shame. "I thought I taught you better than that!"

"You abandoned us!" Cuiling shrieked. "If you had stayed with us, we could have handled working at the casino! You threw away your duty!"

Blaine was speechless. The Ornatu Legion members, all looking tired and ragged, started murmuring amongst themselves, exchanging rude remarks about all the rebels.

"Can't believe he's here...what does that make him?" Adam muttered.

"And the Holy Cross, too...Alastair's the most boring guy I ever saw..." Brittany said.

"We should have gone to Sakura Odori, at least the food there was better..." Tess said.

"Perhaps we should leave them be." Kazuya said. "We've still not seen Royal Blue Academy -"

Blaine did not budge an inch towards that school. Instead, he stood firmly still, as he pulled out his pistol. Everyone ignored him, and Bianca almost ran to stop - but he fired, straight at the roof.

"Let me have my say." Blaine began. "You think I gave up on my duty, huh? Then answer me this. What was the oath you swore when you got Initiated?"

"To..." Adam began. "To protect New Motus from Shadow, with the power we are given?"

"That's right!" Richard said. "You guys don't have the natural power like us. It is pretty cool having a real Persona - actually, it's a blast. But all of us rebels want the same thing."

"And what's that?" Vincent asked. "To conquer our city, by getting rid of our only hope?"

"No!" Kazuya shouted. "Haven't you figured it out yet? Aeternus are behind the Shadows! They use them to power their technology! If they're so competent at controlling them, why haven't they eradicated them yet? Saving the city isn't in their best interest!"

"What?!" Emma shouted. "What are you saying? That Miharu died for nothing?!"

"No, she didn't." Bianca said, gently. "She stuck to the oath, and fought to rid the world of Shadows. Aeternus merely used all of us to keep the people from going insane, while they worked on their grand plans. The rebels exist to stop them! If they won't stick to the oath, we will!"

"Not so long ago, we were all fooled by the Ater Vox." Alastair said. "I had lost everything...I had no other path in life to follow. Yet the idea of saving the city gave me a new purpose, and I stuck to it. After learning the truth, I lost all heart, and I thought it was useless to continue. Then I remembered. As long as I have this power, I can continue fighting."

"See that? These four were my best soldiers." Blaine said. The four of them turned to him, in awe. "I used to boss them around, and make them do all the dirty work. Now, the five of us plus our other friends make one tough army - one you can't beat! If all of you still have your Personas, then who cares if they're second-rate? You're the only ones who get to control them. So why waste your time in here? How's that staying true to your oath?"

"I..." Catherine mumbled. "I just figured no one needed us anymore..."

"Bullshit." Blaine said. "There's tons of people all around you, scared and helpless. If they take one step outside, a Shadow might come and eat them alive. For ten years, you and the guys that came before ya have been trying to fix that. But thanks to Aeternus, that was never gonna happen. Stand on your own, everybody. You might just manage something! If you waste time trying to hide away, your power goes to waste, and you really will be nothing but cowards."

The Legion was silent, as they took in these words. Satisfied, Blaine went towards the back room, until he noticed something. The machines once used to infuse Personas into potential soldiers were gone, leaving only their marks on the wooden floor. However, high above them were black capsules - the Necromancers.

"Crap!" Blaine said. He hastily gathered the Holy Cross, and gestured to the machines.

"If we let these people stay here tonight, those Interitus soldiers will eat them alive. There's got to be something we can do!" Kazuya said. "But Roger and Kyle aren't here!"

"Then it'll have to be whoever's the best with machines. You're kind of tech-smart, aren't you?" Richard asked.

"Well, it was mostly video game consoles..." Kazuya said. "But I'll try my best...just don't expect me to work miracles."

"Thank you!" Bianca said. She looked to the door, the one that led to the control room. No doubt there had been modifications for it - and some security measures. Grabbing the handle, she opened it - only to be sent flying.

"Bianca?!" Kazuya shouted, rushing to her. "What's - Damn!"

Stomping out of the Control Room was a rather goofy looking Great King Shadow, surrounded by Avarice Bambinos - baby-like Shadows with flowers growing out of their heads, without any eyes.

"So, these kids are already in high school." Blaine said. "Looks like they learn fast!"

Richard, frightened, pointed to the Necromancers. They descended to the floor, and with many flashes, began to forge their soldiers.

"Oh no!" Cuiling wailed. "They were here too?"

"...Commander!" Adam said. "Please, let us deal with those ghouls! Try to destroy the Shadows. We can support you if we have the chance!"

"Alright...but none of you die on me, understood?" Blaine said, reloading his pistol. "Everyone, we go all out! On my mark! Quetzalcoatl!" His Persona appeared, and let loose with a Maziodyne. Unfortunately, it only harmed the King, completely dissipating upon impact with the babies.

"Go forth, Michael!" Alastair cried. However, upon summoning the angel, a blue column of holy light shone from above, and transformed his Persona. Michael now possessed a beautiful halo, a shining crystal around his neck, and a much stronger, angelic sword, complete with a sturdy crystalline shield.

I art thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Michael Deus...those who falsely call themselves God will learn His wrath.

"Hmm." Alastair said, staring at his 'new' Persona. "This upgrade seems rather slight. Nevertheless, it shall do! Angel Plume!"

This technique was the evolution of Sacred Feathers - as before, Michael flapped his wings, and a huge flurry of feathers fell off, and were sharpened by angelic light. These feathers were flung at all Shadows around them, and cut into the King's diminutive body.

"Well done!" Bianca said. "Here I go! Gabriel -"

Gabriel also changed upon her summoning. The rose she once held became a wreath around her head, and in both hands she held white rapiers, sharper than ever. She too, wore a brilliant crystal and a majestic halo.

I art thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Gabriel Praeco, here to deliver His words to those who have lost their way.

"Damn!" Blaine said. "I must be better at rallying my men than I thought. Go one, Summers, show me what you can do!"

"With pleasure, sir!" she replied. "Nerine!" Crystals of ice emerged from the ground, and collided into a glowing pink and yellow light. Now they bore the image of an icy, misty frozen flower. The flower flew over the enemies, and shattered in a colourful explosion.

"My turn! Please, don't let this one suck..." Richard prayed. "Raphael, I need your help!"

The Archangel appeared, and as with the other two, started to change - alas, aside from the halo and crystal, the only visible change was the much grander staff. Upon closer inspection, however, there was a miniature harp tucked under the other arm.

I art thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Raphael Vita, the one who shall heal all of His beloved children.

"Well, it's something..." Kazuya said. "Not exactly a breath of fresh air, is it?"

"Haha." Richard said, deadpan. "Sometimes it's best to stick to the classics. Ultraviolet Whirlwind!" A huge multicoloured hurricane took hold of the enemies, and hit them all. One of the Bambinos was killed, and the King was now angry. It attempted to cast Ziodyne on Blaine, only for Quetzalcoatl to absorb the shock.

"Damn...I better not get sloppy." Kazuya said. "I am not that weakling back in June, the one that was sent packing by a bunch of newbies! This is my chance to prove the strength of the Holy Cross! Uriel! Inspiration!"

Uriel's appearance would mark the fourth transformation of this evening. Another column of divine blue energy saw this angel gain the crystal, halo, and two shiny new spears. Their heads did look much broader than before, which made them deadlier.

I art thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Uriel Ignis, and with His sacred flame, I shall prevail.

Now free, Uriel did as he was ordered. A bright bolt of divine thunder was sent down, and smote one of the other Bambinos.

"Good, right?" Kazuya asked.

Blaine whistled in approval, and took aim. As he took a look at the fighting around him, however, he became disheartened. Sure, there were only four Interitus soldiers, but they were fighting with stronger force. One of the soldiers only had a measly Jack Frost to work with. As cute as the snow fairy was, it's attack power was 'hee-horrible'.

"Man...we have to hurry up." Blaine said. "These guys aren't meant to be soldiers..."

The reinvigorated Holy Cross easily dispatched the remaining Bambinos, which only knew how to use Brain Shake and Zandyne. However, the Great King was the bigger threat. As soon as Richard killed the last of his children, he used a spell to create another four. Then, he cast Megidola, blasting all his foes away.

"This is becoming a problem." Alastair said. "Sacred Impact!" Michael Deus destroyed another Bambino with his angelic blade, and Alastair slashed another with with his own. Gabriel Praeco was stabbing the King with her Crystanthumum attack, but it seemed largely ineffectual.

"Guys!" Richard said, pointing to the Ornatu Legion. One of them was lying on the floor in a heap, having been struck down by their undead counterpart. "Hold on. Diarahan!" In the nick of time, the fallen soldier got back up, and in a fit of rage, started to shoot their foe.

"This is going to be tough." Kazuya said. "Sacred Flame!" Uriel Ignis ignited a stellar fire beneath the Great King, setting fire to its cartoonish wig. This would-be ruler retaliated with a mighty Aquadyne. "Urgh..."

"That's it! Let's overthrow this tyrant!" Blaine said. Quetzalcoatl hit the ruler on the head with Brutality, knocking him to the ground kicking his tiny legs. "...Although he's kind of fun to watch."

The fight would go on, with the King as their primary target. Even so, they could not ignore the Bambinos, especially as the King started to summon more than four of them. This would be one of their longest battles, and the Ornatu Legion could not last forever either. Blaine had to save them - after all, he was their Commander. It was his duty, whether officially or not.

|Lorean Tower - Ground Floor|20:40pm|

Once again, Amara's team had prevailed. The Interitus Legion were tricky, but were beatable. She sheathed her sword, done with battle.

"Phew!" Nathan said. "We shouldn't hang around here. Remember, we have to look for this strange file on the server!"

"Where would it be?" Amara asked. "I can't even remember which rooms Kyle made us check."

"Then let me jog your memory."

Right in the doorway was Kyle, followed by Priscilla and the Other Nathan & Serena. Amara breathed a sigh of relief - she half expected to be ambushed by the Ater Vox, or maybe the Ornatu Legion.

"Kyle!" Serena said. "Did Aimee tell you we were here?"

"Yes, we got the call just now. I figured I better come see this place for myself. Makes a change from being kidnapped here." Kyle said, examining the structure carefully. "Roger already said what's going on, right?"

"Yup. Don't really get it, but...we have to check out some weird file, right?" Blaine said.

"Yes. If it's possible, we may be able to manipulate the Necromancers from here too." Priscilla said. "Although we're bound to run into resistance if we try that."

"How are we going to locate the server?" Serena asked. "Do we have to check all the floors? This place is huge!"

Kyle shook his head, and pointed to the display on his wheelchair. Soon, he was able to display a map of the area, and projected it onto a bare wall.

"The first three floors above this one correspond to Farawell. 4-6F are Legarte, 7-9 Saragel, 10-12 Nova Albion and 13-15 Takanawa. So what I'm thinking is we need to go to the final three floors, 16-19F."

"Are you serious? We have to go all that way up?" Blaine asked, eyeing the stairs. "No elevator?"

"You can try it if you want, but you'll be a sitting duck for the Interitus Legion." Kyle said. "Come on, be a man!"

"Yeah! After all, it'll be good exercise." Kyle said, smiling. "You don't want to fall behind at boxing, do you?"

"Fine, whatever. I guess it's better than going up that hill." Blaine said. "Well...up we go, then!"

|Lorean Tower - 16F|20:50 pm|

After going up many flights of stairs, all identical to each other, Amara was getting bored. Occasionally, the Interitus Legion emerged on random floors and ambushed them, but by now the novelty had worn off, and she could fight without hesitation. Now that they were on this floor, however, everything looked different.

The walls were much plainer, almost pure black with blue lights, and the layout was a lot more open-plan. Instead of hallways leading to rooms on the left and right, there was a strange metal contraption in the far back surrounded by a reinforced glass barrier, that rose above to the next floor. To either the left or the right were computer terminals, as well as maps depicting the power scheme of the entire city outside the Aeternus HQ. It looked like a mad scientist's lab - and for a second, Amara wondered if Tomas had a hand with any of this.

The only sound was the loud whirring of the machine, comprised of what seemed to be pipes and dark glowing purple wires. Slowly, Amara went further ahead, but no one was there, not even a Legion soldier.

"So is that thing the main generator?" Priscilla asked. "It's rather...sinister."

"Most generators tend to trap Shadows, use force fields based on spells to wear them down, and use the energy released to power their environment. This one will be the same, but on a much grander scale." Kyle said.

"Hmm." Other Serena said. "Wait, that machine looks different..."

She and Other Nathan walked over to it. The other screens displayed data related to the various rooms below, but this one appeared to be brand new. It had a peculiar logo on the front, a strange sleek jet black I next to a bold L, with a red version of the Aeternus emblem in the centre. Below was the text:

Interitus Legion Client v1.26

PROPERTY OF AETERNUS. THIS SOFTWARE IS ONLY COMPATIBLE WITH V1-V1.5 NECROMANCER HARDWARE.

Current State: ACTIVE

"Everyone, it looks like we have our server." Other Nathan said.

"I must say, whoever they hired to do the graphics needs to get fired. That's the ugliest L I've ever seen." Priscilla said. Both Serenas started to giggle, much to the two Nathans' confusion.

"Damn. It's too high up." Kyle said. "One sec." He flicked a switch, and his wheelchair began to levitate, high enough for him to reach the keyboard. "Right, let's see how we get into this."

While Kyle was gathering the required log-in data, Amara and Nathan kept an eye out for intruders. It seemed the Interitus Legion had not followed them, and none of the Ater Vox had arrived - yet.

"Nathan, how are your wedding plans coming along?" Amara asked. He seemed taken aback, perhaps surprised she was willing to inquire.

"Well, with everything else that's been happening, there hasn't been much progress." Nathan said. "I've got so many things to decide on. My suit, the music, the venue, the guests, just about everything."

"One step at a time, then." Amara said. "This time next year, you'll be a married man, in charge of Albion Inc! I guess we won't be seeing as much of you..."

"I do apologise..." Nathan said, sadly, but Amara just laughed. "What?"

"You really don't need to do that. We're just happy you're doing so well!" Amara said. "Serena's got her future ahead of her, and Blaine's having the time of his life with Lucy. And Karl's bound for international fame, I can see it. So that just means one thing. I have to work even harder! Otherwise, you all will make me look bad!"

Nathan, still surprised, started to chuckle. "I'm sure you'll do very well. There's no need to rush, is there? You're only twenty two."

"Right. Zao...would have been that age too." Amara said, grimly. "There's so many things he never got to do. So I'll have to do them instead! ...Well, maybe not fishing."

"You two sound serious. What's up?" Serena asked.

"We were just talking about the future." Nathan said. "There are so many things I have to prepare for..."

"Ah, the wedding?" Blaine asked. "Don't worry so much. All of us are gonna be busy, aren't we? Serena will be finished school soon, and into the big wide world!"

"It's kind of scary, but I'm sort of looking forward to it." Serena said. "I won't be a schoolgirl anymore - I'll be an adult! It feels so strange, being the kid of the group...that's all going to change!"

"Oh yeah?" Amara said. "You're already pretty grown-up. Fighting in this world has been tough, but it's taught me a lot of things."

Karl walked over, and pointed to Kyle's computer, rather anxious. Intrigued, they went to have a look, and saw a long list of names on a blue window.

"Is this the entire Interitus Legion list?" Priscilla asked. "I didn't realise so many in the Ornatu Legion had passed away...horrific."

Amara took a glance, and gasped. She saw Michelle's name there. Serena seemed appalled at some of the names on there as well. Joseph Kowalski caught Nathan's attention as well, and one of them (Ray Blair) Blaine seemed to recognise, as the 'asshole who scratched my bike'. However, tucked away at the very bottom was a name no one could possibly forget.

"...Zao!" Amara screamed. "N-No!"

"You're not serious - oh good god, you're right!" Other Nathan said, recoiling in horror. "So they'd make another Zao..."

"Kyle, we have to delete this thing, post-haste!" Other Serena said. "Please!"

"Alright, but...it's not going to be as simple as right-clicking. I'm going to purge his data from the system. I doubt I can get rid of everyone on here, but I promise you, I will NEVER let Zao be brought back in this way!" Kyle said, clenching his fists.

"Kyle...thank you." Amara said, trying to let the anger out of her system. Yet it was too hard. The vivid memory of the vacant Other Zao was still fresh in her mind. That black humanoid shadow turning into a hollow copy of the man she loved...and his tears. There was no way she could let history repeat itself.

"Amara, I'm sorry. I didn't think anything like this was going to happen." Priscilla said. "Kyle will stop this, and if he can't, we'll get Roger to help as well. Please hold on, okay?"

"I'll be fine. At least we found out about it early enough." Amara said. "Wait a minute. Zao's data is the one causing all the errors, right?"

"Yes, that seems to be a safe bet. While all the files are different sizes, they're usually around four GB, which contains their physical data, uniform and weapon, Persona and the skills they have. But Zao's seems to be 45.3 GB. There's a ton of copies that are even higher than that, too." Kyle said, browsing through a folder. "I wonder how they managed to screw up with his data so badly. I mean, I am grateful, but it seems unlikely that it was a simple mistake..."

Soon after he said this, however, Amara noticed someone walking up the stairs. It was none other than Kaman. And he was dressed in a new outfit, of a white and black sports jackets, gloves and striped trousers. A lot cleaner than the clothes he tended to wear in his rebel days, too.

Kaman, that lousy traitor. On the same night I was about to die in that hotel, he was selling his soul to the devil!

"Everyone, hide -"

Before everyone could follow Nathan's order, however, Kaman saw the nine of them inside. He did not change expression at all, or visibly react at all. He simply looked each one of them over. Then, he took something out of his pocket - a black remote. With that in his hands, he started to go further up.

"He saw us..." Priscilla said, afraid. "Should we escape?"

"Possibly." Nathan said, stroking his chin. "We need a plan. What can we do with this data?"

"Right now, it's useless. They can't possibly fix it, at least any time soon." Kyle said. "So for now, we deal with Kaman. Once he's out of the picture, we delete Zao's file and get going!"

"Okay!" Amara said. "Then I'll go up there. I've been meaning to talk to that bastard anyway. Who else is coming?"

"I'll go, too. I've been wanting to see the Lorean generator in action. The amount of Shadows it must recycle every day must be in the hundreds, maybe over a thousand." Kyle said.

"You're not trying to be the next Tomas, are you?" Other Serena asked.

"N-No!" Kyle said. "No way in hell! I'm no creepy scientist! I'm not even Dexter!"

"...Wait, which Dexter are we on about?" Blaine asked. "Ah, forget it. I'll go too."

"So will I!" Nathan said.

"Me too. He's not going to stop us!" Serena said, readying her whip. "Everyone, be careful! If you have to escape, just go!"

"Alright. We're leaving Kaman to you!" Other Serena said. "We'll make sure none of the Interitus Legion can crash the party! Go teach him a lesson!"

|19F - Main Generator|21:00 pm|

The 18th floor had almost nothing of note there, just a viewing platform to see more of the generator and the maze of pipes connected to all sides of the walls. However, the true horror of the device could be seen from the highest floor.

It was a large spherical machine, with a structure akin to that of a human heart. Inside, countless Shadows of hundreds of varieties were violently thumping against window panes in a vain attempt to break free. Each time they did so, however, they were zapped by what appeared to be a pinkish electricity. This drove them to further desperation, and some began to turn their rage on others.

As Amara watched, a horde of Maya were being reduced to primordial ooze by a Cyclops. Their bodies released an energy that was sucked into a jewel-like core, and using what appeared to be a system of filters and valves, that energy was converted into a strange dark purple substance. This fluid was sucked down into the long cables that connected this heart of darkness to its vessel, the Lorean Tower.

"...As I thought." Kyle said. "This is a lot more macabre than the lesser generators. I almost pity those creatures."

"Screw that! Where the hell is Kaman?" Blaine asked. "He didn't go downstairs, did he?"

"If he had, we would have seen! There's no NDD here, either. Perhaps Kaman can teleport, like the Ater Vox..." Serena said.

Suddenly, there were footsteps, and Amara soon saw who they belonged to. A rather irate Pierre, already holding his swords out.

"You? Where's Kaman?" Amara asked.

"...He's at the Gold Casino! What else is he good for?" Pierre asked. "A better question is, what are you doing here?"

"Like we have to tell you!" Kyle shouted, glaring at Pierre. "Get out of our way! Or do you think you can take us?"

"Cocky little brat. You've gotten rather brazen as of late, haven't you?" Pierre said. "Tonight, I think it's time we showed you your proper place. I've had enough of your hacking! Once we fix that file, we will distribute it as we please!"

"Like hell you will!" Amara screamed. "What if someone used your system to bring back your cousin?"

"Exactly." Karl said. "Except without any soul. Not a peep coming out of their mouths. They don't even breathe. If your cousin was brought back like that, would you be so keen to support your evil technology?!"

"Tch...don't lecture me, you Neanderthal! You know absolutely nothing!" Pierre said. "My cousin would never be like those zombies! The soldiers they're based on were our peons, each and every one of them expendable. Zao was no exception!"

"The only thing here expendable is you." Kyle said coldly. "You just throw people's lives away, and for what? So there's no more victims like your cousin? What makes you think he'd approve of any of this? If he saw what you did to my mother, Pierre, he'd disown you in an instant!"

"How dare you assume Jacques' thought processes? You have no right! Perhaps I need some help...Guardian Warlord, come forth!" Pierre said, with a mischievous grin.

He raised his arm high, and soon a dark magic circle was set upon the ground. Out of it, a large human-shape figure, at least ten feet, climbed out. His armour was jet black, with silver insignias on the gauntlets, breastplate and greaves, and he had a long red cape with gold trim. He had four arms, each clutching a different weapon - a golden sword, a blue and orange lance, a red axe, and a green halberd.

"Hey, I remember this hunk of junk! Your other self was brawling with it way back!" Blaine said, looking at Amara.

"Looks like it's received quite a few buffs since then..." Serena said, anxiously.

"It resists fire and physical attacks, remember." Nathan said. "Amara, Kyle, you may not be of much help this time..."

"I know. But there's no way I'll be a spectator. Not when it comes to my mother's killer! Her death cannot be excused by your cousin's tragic passing, not one bit! Persona!"

Hephaestus materialised, only to be swarmed by the blue aurora of power. Pierre scoffed, but waited to see what would happen. Out of the aurora came a new Persona, a more agile-looking warrior that had shed its red colouring. It had blue skin of various shades, and spiked dark hair with a white fringe. The warrior came equipped with thick metal armguards, armoured shin guards, a cape, and belted shorts. Covering its eyes was a red plasma visor, and in its hand was a curved sword.

I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Vulcanus, smith of the inferno that shall burn away sin and punishment!

"How sad." Pierre said, shrugging. "Kids shouldn't be playing with fire. You're not even fit to light a candle!"

"Who said anything about fire? Apart from Vulcanus?" Kyle said. "Raging Rampart!" The new Persona, with the force of the earth, created a fortress wall. This wall immediately sprung from the floor, and crashed into Pierre. The Frenchman collapsed, yelping in pain.

"This is it, Pierre! I've waited long enough for this chance!" Kyle shouted. "Your're not running away this time!"

|Ground Floor|21:10 pm|

Karl had just delivered the finishing blow to another Interitus soldier. For now, the Ground Floor was clear.

"Phew..." He said. "How are you holding up, team?"

"I'm okay..." Other Serena. Despite these words, her eyes were screwed up, and she clutched her shoulder. "But I think...something got me."

"Oh my goodness!" Priscilla exclaimed. She immediately came over, and examined the shoulder closely. "Oh my - it's bleeding!"

"Serena, hold on!" Nathan said. "I think there's a medical room on this floor - yes, in the northeast! Can you walk?"

"It's not my leg, Nathan. I'll be okay...it just...stings a little." Serena said, with an anxious lilt to her voice. Nathan took her hand, and went inside the first aid office.

"I bet Nathan got a few scrapes in his youth, huh?" Karl said, after struggling for something to say.

"Oh, yes. We once tried rock climbing, so as you can imagine, I was scared stiff! But as ever, he convinced me I would be safe. However, he ended up losing his balance, and had a broken leg for the rest of that summer. He didn't like that, but it did mean I got to fuss over him!" Priscilla said, reminiscing.

"Ah, I know that feeling. I got a few injuries about two years ago. I got better, of course. But I bet Nathan liked having a pretty lady nurse him back to health!" Karl joked.

"Oh my...I sense you're a charmer too!" Priscilla said, laughing. "Did you woo Amara with lines like that?"

Karl sniggered, scratching his head. "Actually, she turned me down because of my pick-up lines. Sort of took the wind out of my sails. But when she got stood-up by her date, I bought her drink and just had a bit of a heart-to-heart with her. That's when I realised this girl was even more amazing then I thought."

"It seems, despite what happened, meeting her changed you for the better." Priscilla said, smiling. "I...I depended a lot on Nathan. For so many things. I thought I was standing alone, but back then I simply let him take care of everything. Then we had to go separate ways, and all I could do was pray Aeternus wouldn't capture him...I never felt so helpless."

"Well...I was kind of the independent one, but Aimee sort of looked to me and Zao for help. Look at her now - leading the revolution!" Karl said. "It's still bizarre, but I've never been more proud. And you've been part of that revolution since the beginning!"

"What? Actually, I wasn't with them until about four years ago -"

"But it didn't really begin until this year, right?" Karl said. "You had to stand on your own, and summon Uathach for the first time! So you don't need Nathan's help, just like Amara doesn't need mine! But sometimes, it's good to have it!" He held out his hand, and she looked at him, surprised. "To us, you're not just Nathan's lover. You're the one and only Priscilla Lancaster, and a part of the team!"

"I see you're good at teamwork." Priscilla said, smiling. She took his hand, and they gave each other a firm handshake. "And now I've made up my mind. I carve out my own place in life, just as Nathan has his!"

Just then, there was loud banging from the medical room. The door was shut, unlike earlier. There appeared to be shouting, too. Karl and Priscilla looked over, confused.

"What's happening?" Priscilla asked. "Is the door stuck?"

"It closed by itself! And I can't...open it!" Nathan said, apparently kicking it from the other side. "Oww!"

"Nathan, that's not going to work! If you break your foot, it'll take more than a Diarahan to cure that!" Serena said. "Priscilla, can you and Karl help?"

"Sure thing - ah!" Karl had been interrupted by a punch from the ceiling - courtesy of Venti.

"Carlos?" Priscilla asked. "No!" Far away, she saw Cybele flying at her, in hot pursuit. Quickly, she rolled to the side, dodging an Alluring Blade. "Show yourself, witch!"

Josephine peeked her head around the corner, and swaggered closer, her high heels clacking. Carlos walked behind, in a less elegant fashion. Karl arose, ready to attack.

"What have you done?!" Karl shouted. "Unlock that door right now?"

"Since that would allow those two to fight us...no." Carlos said. "Are you attempting to shut down the Interitus Legion? That would be an exercise in futility. Pierre will deal with your comrades alone, but we will not be outnumbered."

"Alone?" Priscilla asked. "What about Kaman?"

Josephine raised her eyebrow, and raised her pistols. "He's at the Gold Coin, dear. That's all he's good for. Do you think we'd trust him to loiter around here? I'd rather have an elephant march through that door than that peddler of wine."

"Alright, if you're not going to let our friends go, we'll just have to make you." Karl said. "Carlos! I've not missed a single boxing session since last time. I hope you haven't slacked off either!"

"My fists are stronger than ever!" Carlos said. "Airborne Melee!" As Venti landed wind-charged punches on Karl, Carlos swiftly jabbed at him. Karl could not block the Persona's brutal assault, and Carlos was just as strong.

"I'm not down yet..." Karl said. "But you'll be soon! Gallant Gladius!"

Aeneas held his mighty sword with both hands. Then, the blade bore a golden hue, and sliced Carlos three times. During this, Karl slammed his fist into Carlos' chest, knocking him back.

"Fool!" Josephine shouted. She smirked, and hit Karl with one gun. Then, she hit Priscilla in the chest with the other. "Nathan, pipe down in there! I'll be dealing with you shortly!"

"You will not get away with this!" Nathan said.

"Nathan, please. I'll win this for both of us!" Priscilla said. "Uathach...I'm counting on you!"

Uathach responded well to Priscilla's faith. Her body was enshrouded by a pillar of blue mist, and Josephine gasped. Carlos was so distracted, he didn't notice Karl aiming a punch.

The light had cleared, and Uathach had changed much. She wore a tight red silk gown that had the appearance of a veil wrapped around her body, as well as black gloves and heels. Her hair was white, pleated and with a curled ponytail that was down to her feet. She also had a new addition - a long black pole arm, with purple decorations, that had what seemed to be a rifle built into it.

I am thou. Thou art I. From the sea of thy soul, I art reborn. I am Scathach, she of the shadows who shall teach thy the art of war.

"I've got to show you to Nathan. Before then, we'll have to cast you aside, Josephine! Queen's Cannon!" Priscilla ordered.

Scathach lowered her weapon, and pulled its trigger. From the barrel, a small cannon made entirely out of ice appeared. A freezing cold laser burst out of the cannon, chilling Josephine to the bone. The cannon flew into the air, affixing itself to the ceiling.

"Was that ridiculous weapon supposed to scare me?" Josephine asked, shivering. "Cybele will cut down any who opposes me! Blood Sword!"

Cybele's swords struck Priscilla twice, and a trail of blood-like light flew from those swords as they did. That trail transformed itself into pure energy, which was absorbed into Josephine's body.

"Damn!" Karl shouted. "If we had Serena, this might be easier..."

"Giving up so soon?" Priscilla asked. "We simply have to hurt her for more than she can heal. And thus, I can do it! Just trust me!"

"Will do!" Karl said. "Valour!" Aeneas granted its summoner greater power - unfortunately, Venti did the same with Carlos, using Power Charge. The two men, with boxing skill of different levels, threw a staggering number of punches at each other, almost too fast to see.

"Bufudyne!" Priscilla commanded, and Scathach's ice power was transformed into a severely cold blast. Josephine felt the full brunt of it, but shrugged.

"Do not let your newfound drive delude you. I am the master of this battle!" she boasted, and menacingly summoned Cybele. "Vile Upheaval!"

Priscilla screamed as the ground right beneath her rose up from the sky. She could not move, as even more rocks swarmed around her platform and pierced it, causing her to fall. As she did, she felt both immense pain, and vehement fury.

"Ha!" Josephine cried. "Lancaster, your bad luck strikes again!"

"Shut up!" Priscilla cried. She got up, and charged straight at Josephine. A volley of bullets pierced her skin, but her pain did not restrict her attacks.

"Urgh!" Josephine groaned, as Priscilla's trusty weapon bashed every corner of her body.

"Take this!" Priscilla roared, bringing down her fury. Before she could continue her melee, however, Carlos hit her square in the stomach, knocking her away.

"Shining Blade!" Karl cried. Aeneas' radiant sword shined with brilliance, and in one swift slash cut through both of the Ater Vox. "Priscilla, can you stand?"

"Y-Yes!" Priscilla said, getting up. "Perhaps I should fight a little more gracefully! Crystal Queen!"

Scathach was quick to forge her magic ice into a royal crystalline castle. Satisfied, she flew above it, and cast upon her sculpture a ray of blue - causing the castle to enlarge, and eventually shatter. The force caused massive shards of ice to break through Josephine's body.

"Grr..."

Josephine did not taunt, or even smirk. Now she was serious. Affronted, she cast Diarahan on herself. Priscilla felt her heart sink - without Serena's own brand of healing, taking down these two would be a prolonged battle.

Carlos added to her fears, by performing a most turbulent art - Tornado Strike. Venti constantly spun, reaching mach speeds, until the velocity brought forth a biting tornado to engulf both its foes.

|Lucille Valley HS - Auditorium|21:20 pm|

This King was in no mood to suffer a coup de'tat. Rather, he prolonged his reign, by casting Diarama on himself, and increasing the number of his subjects. Richard was running low on strength, but kept healing his comrades - as well as the soldiers risking their lives.

"Everyone, we must put a stop to this." Alastair said. "Commander! Will you join us?"

"It'd be an honour, Clark!" Blaine said. Quetzalcoatl was summoned, and held his hammer behind his back, ready to attack. All four of the angelic Personas spun around him, praying - and their divine light was absorbed into the hammer. Then, the entire room lit up, and there was the sound of a choir singing in harmony.

"Hammer of Light!"

Each angel took the chance to attack the King, with Michael and Gabriel slashing him, Uriel stabbing him, and Raphael bonking him over the head. Finally, with a tremendous divine smash, Quetzalcoatl's hammer struck the King over the head. The holy shockwaves destroyed all the Bambinos, and left the King in a dizzy state.

Alastair smiled. "Spirit Drain!" The last remaining traces of spiritual power in the Great King were sucked away, leaving him unfit to rule.

Out of energy, the weak king could no longer conjure his infantile militia. He tried to flee, but was decapitated by Kazuya's knives.

"At last!" He said, relieved.

Without any moment to spare, Kazuya knew what had to be done. He ran into the now-vacant Control Area, and rapidly got into the control computer.

"Please...let me figure this out..." Kazuya said, sweating. "Should we call Roger?"

"There's no time!" Richard said. "Just try and shut it down!"

"At this rate, everyone here will be killed. This cannot become the next White Rose Academy...please, let this be it!" Kazuya said, now in a different menu. He saw a very appealing option - total system shutdown, which had a warning label that stated 'EMERGENCY ONLY. IMPROPER USE WILL RESULT IN PENALTIES.' Gleefully, he clicked on it, only to be requested to present a 64-bit password. "No..."

"What's the matter?" Bianca asked, coming over. "Oh...I should have known. How is this good for an emergency if you need a password that long?"

"Well, the Ater Vox can just teleport all over the place, so emergencies don't really matter to them." Richard said, dismissively. Now, he was helping Cuiling and Jennifer take down Interitus soldiers. "Looks like we need Roger or Kyle to help after all!"

"Is this really the best I can do? How do they manage to get through top security systems so quickly?" Kazuya moaned. "I'm not going to give up that easily. I'll shut this system down another way!"

"Kazuya, what are you thinking?" Bianca asked. "If you're not careful, you might kill everyone in this school!"

"Believe me...I think this will work." Kazuya said. "Commander...you're not the only one who's good with electricity. Uriel Ignis!"

The empowered Uriel appeared, and laid a hand on the main machine. Electrical power began flowing from the palm of his hand into it, and soon the computer got very hot, the fan going faster and faster.

"Let's go!" Kazuya shouted, grabbing Bianca's wrist. "Uriel will handle the rest!"

The two of them ran outside, as sparks began shooting all over the control room. The Necromancers, however, seemed to remain operational, as another soldier was being regurgitated. Blaine swore, and while exhausted, started firing at it relentlessly.

"Let me." Bianca said. She summoned Gabriel Praeco, who joined her companion Archangel. Using her power over water, she began to flood the room whilst Uriel continued to electrify it. Richard and Alastair quickly shut the door, yet water started to seep out.

"...Please, let this work!" Kazuya prayed.

Suddenly, everything went dark, and the Necromancers loudly fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Only one Interitus soldier was still standing, but Cuiling managed to pierce him from behind.

"Hiyah!" She yelled, as her Persona, Suzaku, reduced the false soldier to ash.

"...Wow." Adam said. "That was reckless, but you saved us!"

"Thank you all so much, Holy Cross. And you, Commander." Emma said. The other soldiers offered similar words of gratitude. Bianca quickly made Gabriel dismiss the water, and Richard pulled out the flashlight he kept for emergencies.

"You did well." Blaine said, proudly. "But this isn't over yet. Aeternus will stop at nothing to sacrifice this city, and everyone in it. I meant what I said. If you really meant that oath, go and fight for it. Just try and survive."

There was more silence, and each soldier looked at each other, gathering their thoughts. Then, they all turned to their former leaders, and nodded.

"Please, if you can...try and help us." Bianca pleaded. "You won't regret it. If we succeed, there will be no more need of any of this."

"That's correct. Until then, if you intend to stay here, please look after the flowers." Kazuya said. He looked into Bianca's eyes, and she started to blush. "They can survive, but only if you help them. Likewise, we'll help you."

"It'll be a walk in the park, right?" Richard said. "Come on, we'd better skedaddle. We've got to tell everyone the great news!"

"Just like us, we cease to be enemies..." Alastair said. "History has a habit of repeating itself."

|Lorean Tower - Ground Floor|21:34 pm|

The battle was getting worse, with Josephine's healing curing most of her wounds and Carlos having the strength of a bull. Karl was drenched in sweat, as well as growing sluggish. Priscilla, also tired, just narrowly avoided another Blood Sword.

"You can't prolong this duel forever. Very soon, I'll open that door - and Nathan will see your dissected corpse, entrails present on the whole floor!" Josephine shouted.

"Whatever! Stop yelling at me!" Priscilla retorted. "Graceful Blizzard!" Scathach, using her gun-stick as a baton, performed a nimble dance, with considerable glee. This dance was not just for show, however, as a blizzard of fierce cold started, tormenting Priscilla's nemesis.

Josephine, her haughtiness fading, struck her foes with a strong Mamagnadyne. Priscilla gasped, and the earth blast knocked her to the floor, dizzy.

Despite his injuries, Karl managed to hold his balance. Just standing up was proving a challenge now.

"You should surrender." Carlos said, lowering his fists. "If you don't, you will only suffer!"

Karl shook his head, and gazed up in admiration at his Persona. "I'm the only captain of Aeneas. Now go! Mass Destruction!"

Two savage strikes were aimed at Carlos, delivered by Aeneas' glorious blade. The Spaniard, however, had higher stamina, even with this assault. Without a sound, he hit Karl with a Garudyne.

"Argh!" Karl cried, his body slumped against a wall. "That smarts..."

"Karl!" Serena cried. "It's no use...I don't think I can reach you like this! Please, try and fight back!"

Josephine burst out into her cruel laughter, and pointed to the locked door. "I wouldn't get your hopes up! That door will not - hmm?" Her eyes had noticed something on the ceiling - the cannon conjured by Scathach. Just then, it fired a quick shot - at the door. It had apparently been doing this for quite a while, as several cracks had started to show.

"You sneak!" Josephine barked. "Thought you could free your allies that easily? Cybele, take that piece of junk now!"

The cannon had time for only one more shot, just Cybele's blade shattered it into dust. The blast, however, met it's target - the door. The laser finally broke through, creating a huge hole through the sheet metal. Nathan and Serena wasted no time in walking through it.

"Priscilla?" Nathan said. "Did you do this?"

"Someone has to rescue you." Priscilla said, smiling. "Josephine talks big, but when it comes to you, nothing can stop me!"

"You're rather boastful yourself, wretched woman!" Josephine hollered.

"You two...we could hear you fighting!" Serena said, relieved. "Now it's time to tip the scales! Mediarahan!" Selene healed all four of the team, and they readied their weapons, ready to strike.

"Fine." Carlos said. "All we have to do is call upon our allies, and -"

This statement was cut short by the lights dimming, and a loud siren commenced. The sound was enough to hurt everyone's ears, and the flashing red emergency lights were blinding.

"...Forget it!" Josephine said, hastily putting aside her guns. "We'll allow them one more chance to escape. Very soon, remember that your entire revolution shall be halted by progress!"

"If you want progress, start with your makeup." Nathan sniped, arms folded.

Josephine and Carlos did not retort further, and simply vanished. The rebels had escaped from the clutches of the Ater Vox yet again, but the tower was in danger. And above, their comrades were still fighting...

"Please, let them be okay!" Priscilla pleaded, looking straight above.

|19F - Main Generator|21:36 pm|

The Warlord started to advance. Then, it held it's axe out, and with one explosive swing - Otherworld - it slashed all five of its enemies. Not content with this, it tried to stab Serena with it's lance - she barely managed to leap over it, as it landed into the wall. While she could swing her whip quite quickly now, the soldier's armour simply could not be penetrated with arms.

"Aquadyne!" Serena cried, and she soaked the Warlord with her divine water. Nathan followed with the winds of Garudyne, whilst Amara and Blaine bolstered the team with Marakukaja and Matarukaja.

"Good start..." Pierre said. "I'll deign to deem you worthy! But my losing streak ends here. Hehe..."

Loki appeared, and appeared to cast a spell - but the only thing that appeared was an incredibly tiny flame, which fizzled out in the centre of the battlefield. However, Pierre smirked - this was apparently part of his plan, whatever that was.

"That's it? Cooling down already?" Kyle asked. "I know it's nearly winter, but -"

"Oh believe me, by the time I'm finished, it won't feel anything like winter, not even in Russia!" Pierre said, and with his twin swords, he clashed with Kyle's laser blade. Unfortunately, Pierre was more agile, and lacked any disability, so he broke through and struck him.

"Kyle!" Serena shouted. She tried to whip at Pierre, but the Warlord had blocked it with his large broadsword. "Urgh! Moonstone Wave!"

Selene's magical wave was a shimmering white. Not only did it crash over Pierre & the Guardian Warlord, it gave some energy back to the whole group. Kyle breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at Selene in pure admiration.

"Force Sabre!" Amara cried. Isis took up her blade, and flew at Pierre - but before she reached him, a huge fiery explosion suddenly hit the group, cancelling the attack. "Argh! What just happened?"

"That...tiny flame...it must have been a bomb!" Kyle said, astonished. "You bastard!"

"You're still upset I'm trying to defeat you? Get over it." Pierre said, rolling his eyes. "Besides, you should have seen it coming. Did you think that small flame was a genuine assault?"

"Enough. Magarudyne!" Nathan shouted, bombarding both Pierre and Warlord with intense wind. For his troubles, he was knocked aside with an axe attack. "Damn!" Outraged, Nathan swung his rod - and to his surprise, the axe cracked, partially breaking. "Huh?"

"No!" Pierre despaired. Distracted, he failed to see Quetzalcoatl flying straight ahead. "Huh - argh!" It was too late. Now he was the victim of intense Torment, a mighty blow from the hammer charged with glorious thunder.

"Yeah! Suck on that, you sissy!" Blaine yelled.

"Tch...No matter. The Warlord's expertise is weaponry. Three left, and they won't be so easy to break! Now then...Foncé Aroma!"

Loki, with his strange air, afflicted Kyle. This time, the boy knew what to expect, and gulped.

"Yes, you remember what happens now, don't you?" Pierre asked. "But I'll let Warlord give you a reminder..."

The Guardian Warlord's Wavering Sword achieved a ghostly resonance, and as it swung, echoes of it remaining floating in mid air, and they flew into Kyle's body too. Once it was done, the boy's eyes were wide with fear, and he was shaking. Pierre chuckled menacingly, and struck the petrified child.

"Kyle! Fight back, kid!" Blaine shouted. Kyle looked at him, quivering, and shook his head. "Ah, crap..."

Amara saw the Warlord, who was slowly stomping around. Quickly, a flash of inspiration hit her. Isis was summoned, and Pierre watched, poised to attack.

"Fire Break!"

Pierre laughed, but stopped. It was not he who was targeted, but the Warlord. His flame resistance had been broken - for a time.

"Is that really such a good idea?" Serena asked, hesitant.

"Trust me, it's the best way for me to attack that rusty armour." Amara said. "Ha!" In seconds, she was blocking Pierre's multitude of slashes, and she had to use all her strength to hold her sword in her hands. "If you're not careful, you'll break your own weapons too!"

"Oh believe me. I may lack the brute force of the Warlord, but I possess far greater intellect." Pierre said. Nathan cast Masukukaja, however, and Amara experienced her reflexes quickening. She deftly avoided another attack, and parried another, before finally striking Pierre across the chest.

"Tranquil Sea!" Serena cried. Pierre gasped. What was being steered towards him was a sea, but its tranquillity would never embrace him. The water collided with him, and Kyle's head suddenly snapped up, as if waking up.

"What was that?" Kyle asked. "Did I...lose consciousness?"

"No, not really. Fear took over. But you're back now!" Serena said. "So go on!"

"Alright then. Tetrakarn!" Kyle grinned with pride, as Vulcanus cast his spell onto his allies. "Your Warlord's history now!"

"Don't be so sure!" Pierre replied. "Cruelle Couer!" Rings of black and purple miasma polluted Kyle's body, causing him to cough, weakened. "Wondrous, isn't it - OUCH!"

The gloating was interrupted by a massive Stormy Ascent, sent by Quetzalcoatl. Lightning not only shocked Pierre, but the Warlord next to him. Indignant, he struck Blaine with his mighty blade, knocking him into a wall.

"Fightin' dirty, eh...?" Blaine said. "You don't grow up in Kanaloa without takin' part in some bar brawls! So bring it on!"

The Warlord was silent, and with a loud creaking sound, moved its head. There were brief flashes of red from the eye holes. Right after this, a bigger flash of crimson light occurred, and every single person's weapon vanished.

"Huh? My sword?" Amara asked, glancing at her feet. It wasn't on the ground, nor was anyone else's. Pierre's rapiers had gone too, but the Warlord had retained his four tremendous arms. "Crap!"

"Ah, that must be his Weapon Raid. Fabulous." Pierre said, nodding with approval. "Although it seems it took away my blades. Not that I depend on such trinkets!"

"Suits me fine. Means I can do this!" Blaine said. He lunged at Pierre, and with great energy, slammed his fists into his face. However, Pierre managed to roll away, his face bruised.

"You thug! How does any woman put up with that violent behaviour?" Pierre shouted. "Kanaloa was an overripe fruit that deserved to be purged! And you're living proof of that! You and the rest of their oafish survivors! What accomplishments have you made other than finding out how much beer you can handle?"

"Well, getting rid of you would be a good start..." Blaine said, with a wicked smile.

Amara wanted to slash Pierre all over again, but her sword was sealed away by mysterious forces. Thus, she needed Isis. "Tefnut's Raze!" Scorching flames could now erupt from beneath Guardian Warlord, and they inflicted several burns upon his armour. As this happened, Amara noticed Isis was bare-handed. Until their weapons returned, Personas would be stuck with magic alone.

Nathan and Serena seemed to have taken note of this, as they stuck with casting Garudyne and Aquadyne. Blaine, on the other hand, took advantage of this unarmed state - by granting himself Power Charge. Pierre squirmed, much to the Kanaloan man's amusement.

"What's wrong? Afraid I'm gonna snap you in two?" Blaine asked.

"Hardly!" Pierre snapped. "Tetra Break!" Loki swiftly soared, and banished the Tetrakarn into nothingness. "I'm a cultured man, Mr Spencer. You may be only to communicate with your fists, but I have so much more up my sleeve!

"Yeah, right. Your illusions are just cheap tricks!" Kyle said, unimpressed. "Soaring Phoenix!" Vulcanus' sword, now aflame, slashed through the Warlord. "Yes!"

The Warlord did not take well to being burnt alive. In great fury, he slashed Kyle, then stabbed him with both lance and halberd. Finally, he threw his axe blade-first at the boy, and it returned in a boomerang-like fashion.

"Urgh..." Kyle moaned. "What...a monster..."

"Compared to that Cherub, he's kind of charming." Amara said. "...Oh god. There's going to be a reborn version of that thing!"

"Precisely. Perhaps it would be kinder to kill all of you now, so you won't have to face it?" Pierre suggested. "Warlord, crush them!"

The Warlord trusted his four weapons forward, and their tips created an energy circle. Then, at breakneck speeds, eight different symbols cycled in that circle - until it settled upon orange.

"What...nothing's happening!" Nathan said. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now?"

"Oh, the Warlord works independently of myself. I'd be patient!" Pierre said. Suddenly, his weapons returned to his hands. "At last!" Cruelly, he sliced Serena, and expertly parried Kyle's blade. Amara gasped - her sword was back in her hand now. Without a second's hesitant, she stabbed Pierre right in the back. Loki may save him from death, but it would still surely harm him.

"Damn all of you!" Pierre roared. "Flamme Mauvais!" Loki, wagging his finger in the air, spat out dark red flames at the entire team - scorching the ground. Kyle and Amara, however, did not feel the heat at all. Instead, they felt somewhat soothed. "...Crap!"

"Getting sloppy, Pierre. Where's that mastery you showed on that boat?" Amara asked. "Guess we just surpassed you along the way! Force Sabre!" This time, without Blasted Blockade or Weapon Raid, Isis' sword strike could pummel Pierre. He swore, screeching as he stumbled to the damaged floor.

"This is too easy!" Serena cheered. "Don't forget about the big guy, though. Aquadyne!" Her water attack hit the Trauma Shadow, but this immediately triggered a brutal reaction. Somehow, the Warlord was immediately able to strike his enemies with his lance, with four sweeping swings. "ARGH!"

Pierre, getting up from the ground, chuckled. "Quite the counterattack,, wouldn't you say? Perhaps behind all that steel, there actually is some brains."

"He was simply lucky, Pierre. Don't let the dream of victory cloud your judgment!" Nathan shouted.

"Are you trying to give me advice on how to kill you? That's quite kind..." Pierre said, chuckling. "Eat this!" He struck Nathan with both swords, and somersaulted away from his rod swings.

"It wasn't advice..." Nathan said. "It was a warning! Liath Macha!" Pierre's twisted smile vanished, as Cu Chulainn's grand spear assault punished him. "Blaine, I hope you didn't charge yourself up for nothing!"

"Oh, you just wait until you see this! Brutality!" Blaine shouted. He felt strength surge through him, and that same vitality was shared by Quetzalcoatl. Holding his hammer firmly, in both hands, he brought down his full wrath, causing the entire floor to vibrate. This onslaught repeated twice, and each time, Pierre moaned, coughing up blood.

"This is...a nightmare!" Pierre cried, slowly standing back up. "I will never be crushed! Take this!" He stabbed at Blaine, but his jabs were losing their momentum.

"This won't take much longer, then!" Kyle said. His eyes lit up with determination. "My mother and all your other victims will be avenged tonight, I swear it! Demon Crag!"

Vulcanus began to make his move, but the moment he did, an orange emblem appeared above his head. It was the same kind from the Guardian Warlord's Premonition. Immediately, Vulcanus vanished, and Kyle shouted in pain.

"Kyle! What just happened?" Serena asked.

"Felt like...something hit me from above..." Kyle said, wheezing. "But...where did it come from?"

Pierre chuckled, then burst out into wicked laughter. "The Warlord truly was the right choice to support me! Look! It sent all Earth spells back to their target. And you're the only Earth wielder in this room! Did you think it would be this easy?"

The Warlord began stomping the ground, raising all four of its weapons high above its head. Then, there was a surge of strength, and each weapon gained a bright glow. This was Hunter's Chance, and Amara immediately could tell this meant trouble.

"Guys! We have to kill that Warlord now!" Amara shouted. "Here goes...Heartfelt Cry!" Isis unleashed fierce power, that of the almighty - coming straight from the heart. Both enemies were engulfed, but this still was not enough to impede Pierre's attacks. His blades met with Serena once more, and her whip missed his feet.

"Mediarahan!" Serena cried. Much to Pierre's consternation, she expertly healed her entire time. "If only Josephine were here, huh?"

"You mustn't grow reckless." Nathan warned. "Even without a medic, these two are still dangerous. Sky Veil!" A tremendous green column of light surrounded him, and a gust blew around him. Pierre attempted to strike, but his swords were too slow to reach. Amara couldn't believe it - Nathan was going faster than her eye could track.

Blaine tried hitting the Warlord with Ziodyne, and Kyle used Mamagnadyne. Unfortunately for him, this last attack resulted in another Those Who Fight Further - forcing him and his allies to deal with furious halberd strikes.

"Excellent!" Pierre said. "I'll have to thank Nihane for this later. Archibald's dabble with the Seraphic Compendium couldn't even begin to compare to this duo! Maragidyne!"

Amara shrugged, and let the flames be absorbed into her. It felt odd to just stand in the middle of a burning fire, but since June she had been subjected to tons of paranormal attacks.

"Desperate, are we?" Kyle asked.

Pierre smirked, and looked to his shadowy ally. It lowered its sharp lance, and turned to Serena. Then, far faster than Amara thought possible, it violently impaled her, with Force Your Way.

"Ah...urgh!" Serena cried. "That...really hurts..."

"Oh god..." Blaine said, frightened. He shot at Pierre, who simply leapt away.

"Looks like...we need more help!" Amara said. "Marakukaja!" Once more, her team received a boost to their constitution. All she could hope was that Serena would pull through.

"Die already!" Kyle shouted. Vulcanus released another Raging Rampart, which crashed into both enemies. The Warlord's armour was showing several cracks now, and its weapons were also looking worn. It also seemed even more sluggish than before, and it swung its weapons lethargically. Blaine whistled, sidestepping a lance and a sword. He took the opportunity to use Matarukaja again, but had to reload his gun.

"Mór Gaoth!" Nathan commanded. Cu Chulainn was by now an absolute master over the forces of wind, and thus sent Pierre crashing away with the strength of his air. Remarkably, despite the dire injuries he had sustained, he could manage to get up after each and every attack. "Grr!"

"Serena!" Kyle shouted. "Are you...alright?"

"I think so..." Serena uttered. "Everyone, we can do it! Mediarahan!" She and her friends were restored to vitality by Selene, just as she had done in her time as Artemis.

"Irritating...why did I let Carlos take Josephine with him tonight?" Pierre muttered. "Loki! Turn this around for me! Peur Lumiére!" A red beam of fire shot out from Loki, and caught Serena off guard. She nearly fell over from the force of the flame, but her face was stricken with panic.

"Just like what happened with me..." Blaine said.

"Good memory!" Pierre said. "It's a new favourite of mine. I wonder what my friend's is? ...Oh?"

The Guardian Overlord did not seem to have a preference for either of his weapons, as he held out all four at once. Then, he seemed to be charged with a bizarre orange swirl of energy. For this persistent Shadow, it was its Decisive Battle. With sheer reckless abandon, it slashed and stabbed at all five foes, growing faster and faster, until one final smash.

Amara collapsed to her knees, her body overcome by pain. Her comrades sounded in a similar state of distress, too. However, she heard the sound of something shattering. Then another. She looked up, and noticed the Warlord's armour had cracked even further. Not only that, all of his mighty arsenal were breaking into pieces, beyond repair. His campaign was over.

"Looks like it's all over for you." Pierre said. "Consider yourselves lucky. The Eternal Road will make everyone but us cease to exist. You won't be alive to feel that happening to you. I daresay you friends will carry on with this silly rebellion. If they're smart, they'll back down after what happened to you scum."

"No..." Amara said. "You don't know us at all. Even if we were to die, they won't stop! We've already suffered more than you could ever imagine!" She stood up, and glared at her vile foe. "Your stupid plan took Zao away from us! Dying because of you...is never going to happen!"

"Yeah! So you can go cease to exist all by yourself!" Kyle said. "A hypocrite like you could never understand us!"

"Hypocrite?" Pierre asked, slouching.

"Yeah, that's right. You hate what happened to your cousin, so you go around killing others in the name of progress! You're just like those bullies!" Kyle shouted. "Jacques was victimised because he wasn't like everybody else. How is that any different from what you're doing?"

"Alright, that does it! That DOES IT!" Pierre screamed, stomping on the ground. His childish rage summoned an indignant Loki. "Warlord! We attack together!"

Loki attempted to conjure some magic around him, and imbued the Warlord with flame. However, that flame merely bounced off, and the Shadow stared in confusion.

"What are you doing?!" Pierre yelled, kicking the Warlord in the shin. "I SAID, we attack TOGETHER! This is unacceptable!"

"I guess Nihane should have briefed you on what that thing's moves did." Nathan said. "If only he cared to inform you how to fight alongside your partner."

"Don't mock ME!" Pierre shouted. "Fine! I'll do this my way! Maragidyne -"

"Mediarahan!" Serena shouted, urgently summoning Selene. The team's health was propped up, just as raging flames consumed them. As ever, Kyle and Amara suffered no consequences, and felt their strength return.

"No!" Pierre recoiled in horror, backing away. "This wasn't meant to be! I just had to bring back that Yuria fool! You were never supposed to even see this room!"

"Sorry. I promise not to take photographs." Kyle said. "No more jokes. Let's do this, everyone! For my mother! Crushing Eagle!"

There was nothing Pierre, utterly exhausted by now, could do. The mighty eagle carefully carved by Vulcanus fell upon him, and he was toppled to the ground like a doll. He dropped his weapons, and coughed up more blood.

Wait...when he does that, the blood just disappears. What's with this guy? His body seems different...it's like a ghost.

"No matter..." Pierre weakly croaked. "Kill that Warlord...those Shadows are...just tools..."

"And you people are to Nihane what that Shadow was to you." Nathan said. "Or are you so deluded to consider yourself Nihane's friend?"

"We are comrades..." Pierre said. "We are of...great importance to...Nihane...He would never...ah...abandon us."

"Ethan wouldn't." Amara said, under her breath. Pierre stared at her, his eyes bulging. He had heard her, and her words had disturbed him to his core. He shut his eyes, and said not another word.

"Leave him, Amara. There's one left standing." Kyle said. The Guardian Warlord was no longer living up to his title. But he had one move left. Striking a defiant pose, he sent green jets of wind from his gauntlets, a true Movement In Green. While it wasn't a bad move, by this point it was utterly useless.

"Blaine, would you care to help me demonstrate true synergy to this rusted suit of armour?" Nathan asked, holding out his hand.

"Sure, but you've got a hard job, trying to match my strength!" Blaine said. He shook Nathan's hand, rather firmly, and grinned. "Alright. Quetzalcoatl!"

"Storm's Spear!"

Nathan's Persona stuck his spear Gae Bolg into the ground, and it started to spin rapidly. A tornado came forth, and before long, bolts of lightning were being sucked into it, sent by Quetzalcoatl. Then, both tornado and lightning disappeared, leaving a tremendous spear floating in the air. Both Personas grabbed it, and drove it through the Warlord's breastplate together.

After that last strike, the Warlord's suit of armour had well and truly been wrecked. Its helmet topped to the ground, the feathers turning to ash. Soon, each part of the suit also fell, and faded away, with the Strength mask lingering the longest before dissapearing.

"That's it! Good work." Kyle said. Blaine and Nathan high fived, and the former held up the latter's arm in an attempt to mimic a wrestling pose.

"That was great!" Serena said. "Now we can get back to deleting Zao's data!"

Before they could resume this task, the room became filled with red flashing lights, and a large blaring alarm began. Everyone gasped, defeaned by the loudness

"What's going on?!" Nathan asked.

"I'd say it's a cue to get the hell out of here!" Blaine said. "What do we do with Pierre?"

"Leave him behind. One of his friends will come get him." Kyle said. "Hurry, now!"

Amara looked upon Pierre, and her heart sank. Villain or not, he was but a victim of Nihane's plot. And he was once one of Ethan's only friends. Alas, there was no more time to reflect. They all had to get out of here, and fast.

"The elevator!" Kyle said, pointing to the elevator doors. There was a blue light now, meaning it was active. "Let's hurry!"

Everyone got inside, and as they went down, the only lights were the red alarm flashing. Also, it felt like the building was starting to shake. Once they got out, they headed straight for the exit - where the other four were.

"Everyone! What's happening?" Priscilla asked.

"We don't know! We shouldn't linger here!" Nathan shouted. "Move!"

|Outside Lorean Tower|22:07 pm|

Everyone was panting for breath as they got further and further away from the tower. As they did, they saw the lights around them going out, and the alarm from the tower could still be heard ringing perpetually.

"So what did happen?" Priscilla asked. "Did you...tamper with something?"

"We're not that irresponsible. The alarm just started after we defeated Pierre and another of those Trauma Shadows. We were lucky enough to get the elevator down..." Nathan said.

"Pierre?" Other Serena asked. "But...wasn't Kaman up there?"

"No sign of that guy." Blaine said. "Maybe he's still up there - WHOA!"

There was a massive flash, and the ground began to shake. In mere moments, the entire Lorean Tower was engulfed in light and smoke, and it was blasted to smithereens, its fiery fragments flying everywhere.

"Crap! We need to get back!" Other Nathan said. Amara, with the others, ran further and further away, Kyle flying with his wheelchair on top speed. There were countless screams, and the round of a raging fire from where the tower stood.

|Littlewoods Supermarket|22:18 pm|

There was an NDD at the Supermarket, which these days only sold basic essentials. It was the only device still active, and the only source of light in the area. After Blaine forced the door open, everyone filed inside, and headed straight to it.

"W...What was the point of blowing up the tower?!" Other Serena asked. "Without it, the city's not going to have enough electricity!"

"I doubt Aeternus would destroy their own facility..." Other Nathan said. "Although if what Nihane said to you is true, they plan to sacrifice everyone in the Gold Coin at some stage."

"Don't tell me...they were trying to take us with it?" Priscilla said. "Josephine never said anything like that..."

"She was there too?" Nathan asked. "...Pierre didn't escape, did he?"

"I don't...think so." Serena said, sadly. "...No one could have survived that."

There was a moment's silence. It didn't seem real, but the possibility of Pierre being blown to pieces inside that tower seemed likely. Not only that, they didn't see Kaman anywhere after going up to the top floor. Had he been caught in the explosion too? If so, that was a double loss for Aeternus.

"We ought to report to Aimee and the others." Priscilla said. "With Lorean tower gone, our base might not have enough power anymore..."

"Don't worry so much." Kyle said. "With our Personas, we're bound to come up with something. Let's go!"

He, Priscilla, and the other Nathan & Serena went through. Just before Amara's group could, however, they heard someone take a few steps into the darkened, bare supermarket.

"So you got out in time. Good show!"

Kaman was standing there, looking rather ragged. He seemed to have a few cuts on his face, and parts of his clothes looked blackened or torn.

"...Sorry to disappoint ya." He said. "I was only at that tower to check on progress. But looks like that got blown high and wide. How have you guys been doing, anyway?"

"What makes you think you can just chat with us?" Amara asked. "You're a traitor!"

"Yeah, I get you're pissed. But I didn't mind being around you guys." Kaman said. "And just so you know, I didn't like that plan to bring back Zao either. Didn't make any sense to me."

Serena gasped, as the group realised the implication of this statement. "You...blew up the tower?!"

"As if, girly. Lorean Tower supplies more than half of this city with electricity. Sure, the generator was a little creepy, but it worked pretty nicely for all this time." Kaman said, smirking. "Without it...well, the people will just have to wait for the announcement from Aeternus, telling them everything's gonna be A-OK. It might have to be via newsletter, though."

"Look, are you seriously trying to fight us now?" Karl asked. "You don't exactly look well."

"Good eye...getting out of that tower took it out of me." Kaman said, clutching his arm. Amara just noticed there was a red damp patch on his jacket. "That falling debris probably got a lot of people, and Pierre's probably gone...this is a nightmare. How about you go on home, and we put aside our big battle for later?"

"Like you'd stand a chance. Dan totally destroyed you last time!" Blaine said.

"You can say that again..." Kaman said, coughing. "Hurry up. Your friends are probably worried by now."

Amara, sneering at him, went through the NDD, as did her friends. The culprit of the tower's destruction was unknown. While it prevented the dark possibility of an Interitus Zao, it also presented grave consequences for the entire city.

Things are going to be even harder now. I wonder if we can really do this? Come December, we'll know for sure.