Author's note: FUH-REAKIN! FINALLY! MY GOD, WAS THIS CHAPTER A PAIN IN THE ASS TO WRITE! :(
Here's hoping you guys enjoy this 3-part chapter! It'll certainly make my work worth it.
Persona 5: Shots Through the Heart
Shot 18: Collision of Pride
Target ⅓: Hell Bent
Prior to the Phantom Thieves' infiltration into Shido's Palace back near the end of November, Akira went through a brutal moment of constant pain while fusing Personas beyond his limits. For him, it was a necessary step in taking down the tyrant of pride.
He finishes fusing another Persona and takes a brief rest. The twin wardens stare at the inmate with worry.
"This is… rather uncomfortable to watch," Justine tells her sister. Caroline gulps and rubs her throat, remembering the red phantom that emerged from Akira and grabbed her.
"Y-Yeah… This is what he wants, though." Justine looks at her sister and rubs her throat too in sympathy.
"I know, Caroline… That… rattled me too." Akira, having caught his breath, glares at the twins.
"Hey… there's one more, isn't there?" Justine hastily scans through the Persona request sheet on her clipboard.
"Y-Yes. Right away. Let's see. The last request is… HUH?!" Caroline walks over to his sister to take a peek at the clipboard, wondering what had her so shocked when she's usually so calm.
"Hm? What's the matter?" Caroline shares the same reaction when she sees the list.
"WAIT, WHAT THE?!" Akira cocks an eyebrow.
"Is there a problem?" Caroline glares at Akira.
"It's more than just a problem! You're not serious, are you?!" Akira glares back at her.
"It's just another damn Persona. I don't see what the big deal is." Caroline stomps her foot.
"NO! Don't even think that! This thing's… way more dangerous than that!"
"Huh? What're talking about?" Justine steps forward with a serious look on her face.
"Allow me to briefly explain. The reason we could not allow you to fuse Personas greater than your own power is because there is a possibility that overpowered Personas will possess their host. True, we have allowed you to create all of the Personas you've requested so far because we have measures to erase, if not reduce, that risk… However..." Caroline bits her lip.
"None of our measures have any effect on this one. It's completely immune to any type of limiter. So not only does it present the most risk of taking control of you, but… there's an unholy presence of great power within this one. Not only will it make you go psychotic… but it's possible that using it may cause you to have a mental shutdown from the strain. If that happens, it'll use your remains to enter and let loose its power on the real world… The destruction would be beyond insane." She glares at him again.
"Look! You already more than enough overpowered Personas! Just leave this one alone!" Akira growls at the twins.
"Didn't I explain it to you already? I need all the power I can get! And I mean all of it! If you say this thing can destroy the world, then taking out Bastard Shido should be a breeze for it. All the more reason for me to have it. Hurry up and start the execution."
"But-" Akira's red eyes return and the red phantom starts to materialize.
"STOP WASTING MY FUCKING TIME AND DO IT! NOW!" The twins step back in fear and Igor chuckles.
"If he is truly intent on receiving such destructive power, there is no reason to deny him. Perform the fusion." The twins look at their master and sigh.
"Alright," Caroline says. "... But can we at least put a lock on it?"
"A lock?" Akira repeats.
"We can't reduce its power, but we can at least make a powerful enough seal to contain it. If you're really serious on using it and risking the world's safety, then we don't want you wasting it on any small fries! So we're gonna put a seal on it that'll only be released if, and only if, you find yourself in a really dire situation! Fair enough?!" Akira sighs and nods.
"... Yeah… Just give it to me."
The twins reluctantly perform the group execution, which puts Akira through a lot of pain again, and the powers slowly merge to create a terrifying abomination.
"Remember, Inmate: For emergencies only."
xxx
"Brave Blade!" Arsene flies towards Shadow Shido's winged beast, swiftly dodging its meteor shower attack, and hits it with a vicious slash attack, severing its right arm. The beast roars in pain and Shido grunts as it ascends to safety.
The Phantom Thieves gather around their leader and glare at their foe.
"Ngh! To think you'd manage this much!" Shido barks. "Why won't you stop resisting?! The nation I strive for is the ultimate realisation of the public's happiness!" Dark energy wraps itself around the beast as it morphs, just like it did before when the beast was still a ground creature.
The beast turns into a massive golden pyramid with a cannon barrel popping out of each side on the top and Shido safely tucked away inside as if it were a tank.
"It changed again?!" Oracle shouts in the safety of her Persona.
"The weak must be sacrificed for the sake of grand ideals; That is the natural order of this world!"
"That's the natural order of your sick ideal world!" Joker yells. "That's why it can't be allowed to exist!" The rebels scatter as the Pyramid Cannons started firing heavy artillery. Everyone focuses on avoiding the cannonballs and the explosions that came with them.
"Can you endure THIS?" The cannons suddenly stop firing and begin glowing with radiant white light. Oracle's sensors pick up a massive spike in energy.
"Shido's offense is going way up!" Everyone stops and Joker quickly analyzes the situation. He notices the golden color of the pyramid start to dim and comes up with a plan pretty fast.
All of his energy is being used to power that cannon, he thinks. Including… his defensive power!
"I got a plan! Oracle, get an Ultra Charge ready! Everyone else, regroup and get ready to hit that thing with everything ya got!" Everyone follows Joker's orders without question, to his surprise.
"You trust me that much?" Everyone smiles.
"When have your plans ever not worked?" Panther asks. Joker chuckles as everyone gets ready for the unison attack.
"Alright, here we go! Super Move! Ultraaa Charge!" Prometheus shines like a star and its light gives the team a surge of power. Their mask are set ablaze as Joker gives the signal.
"Ready?! … Unleash Hell!"
Psiodyne!
Atomic Flare!
Tempest Slash!
Garudyne!
Megaton Raid!
Blazing Hell!
One-Shot Kill!
The thieves let loose all their might and blast Shido's Pyramid with a merciless unison attack, which sets off an explosion just before the cannons fire.
Everyone shields their eyes from the veil of smoke that rolls over them. Oracle descends, dismisses Prometheus, and runs to her bro in the smoke.
"Did you get 'im?!" she asks.
"The explosion from that attack was huge!" Mona says. "It definitely did something!" As the smoke begins to clear, the Phantom Thieves sees Shido emerge from the Pyramid rubble and dust himself off. He turns to the rubble with great discontent in his eyes.
"Useless ignorant masses!" The rubble disintegrates in a clump of black fog as he steps towards the group with crossed arms.
"It seems that even thieves should not be taken likely if they come in great enough numbers," he observes.
"Once you're losin', you're puttin' all the blame on the masses, huh?" Skull asks. Joker glares at Shido as he shoves his hands in his pockets.
"Another perfect reason why you don't deserve to be prime minister, you coward," he says coldly.
Shido's glare meets the Phantom Thief leader's and they both feel the extreme tension that comes with focusing on each other's presence. Both influential leaders of great power with the goal to reform the world. One middle aged tyrant praised by the public who uses foul tricks to rise above others and create a world where the strong survive and the weak are left to die, and one teenaged rebel shunned by the public who uses honest means to help the weak succeed, punish criminals for their sins, and create a world where everyone lends a hand to one another and grow together as one. One who takes pride in his acts in pursuit of elitism and one who takes pride in his acts in pursuit of justice. This is a great confrontation of wills.
Shido observes the rebellious leader before, recognizing his physique in his false death certificate.
"So… you are the one unifying them," he says. "The rebel my useless son failed to kill." Joker breathes deep through his nose and slowly nods without a word.
"A touching reunion, isn't it?" Panther asks.
"The next time you crush a foe," Fox says. "I suggest you do it in a more certain manner."
"Not that there'll be a next time for you!" Oracle adds. Shido looks at the other thieves with slight confusion, then looks at Joker in a different way. Somewhere down the line, they've met somewhere before. That may explain the strange feeling he's been having when he's looking at him.
"You… You're more than just the leader of the Phantom Thieves, aren't you?" Joker closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He anticipated that the tyrant may be curious as to who he really is. In fact, he's more than ready for it. Letting him know that the one that took him down was one of his victims? One that was just a powerless child back then and was ruined for such a ridiculous reason, no less? Nothing could be more sweeter.
Akira slowly uses his right hand to take off his mask and calmly stares at Shido.
"... Do you know who I am?" he asks in a deep tone. Shido thoroughly examines his face.
"This ain't the first time you failed to finish this guy off!" Skull shouts with a grin.
"You took him to court for such a ridiculous reason," Queen says. "And yet you don't remember? You truly don't care about the fate of others."
"No no. It's okay, Queen," Akira says. "It's understandable. He was probably too drunk off his ass to really remember that day. Then again, it's kinda stupid that anyone would forget the day they almost raped someone." After the subtle hints he drop, the clouds in Shido's mind start to clear up and reveal Akira's face within his memories.
"Wait… Could you be… the one from back then…?!" It all starts coming back to him. He was intoxicated will forcing himself on a female colleague, he argued with someone passing by, that someone pulled by the shoulder and made him fall, and he had the police arrest him for assault. There was one similarity between that someone and the boy opposing him. That black frizzy hair.
It all slowly comes together. Those two are the exact same person. And his name came up more than once. In the arrest report… and the false death certificate of the Phantom Thief leader.
"Yes… I remember now…! Your name..." He stomps his foot.
"It's Akira Kurusu, isn't it?! You're that damn brat who showed up and stood against me when I was with that woman!" The sound of him speaking his name from his foul mouth makes Akira's blood boil. He hangs his head and balls his hands up into fists.
"... I've spent everyday since then cursing your existence," he snarls. "I save someone and then you go and turn it on me. You took away any chance I had at a good future… so imagine my shock… my anger…" He shoots a deadly serious glare at the tyrant.
"When I find out that same bastard is trying to TAKE OVER THE FUCKING COUNTRY! Two of my friends' parents, your son and my friend, Akechi! The fact that all of them died because of your shit?!" He puts his mask back on, pulls of his knife, and points it and Shido.
"That's all more reason for me to kick your ass, Prideful Bastard Shido!" Shido closes his eyes and chuckles.
"I see… So it truly is you… Hm hm hm hm ha ha ha ha ha ha… What an interesting turn of fate…" Shido stares at Akira and shakes his head.
"But your efforts will be pointless in the end."
"What?!" Skull barks.
"Small sacrifices inevitable for those who wish to be capable competent leaders. How would ever reach your destination if you stopped to count every ant you crushed on the road?"
"Are you saying the people you killed deserved to die?!" Noir asks.
"He's totally insane!" Panther yells. Joker blows up at Shido.
"WE AREN'T YOUR GODDAMN STEPPING STOOLS! THESE ARE HUMAN LIVES YOU'RE PLAYING WITH! And I didn't need to make any sacrifices to get here, so don't force your shitty logic on me!" Shido shakes his head and grabs his cape.
"I didn't expect the ignorant masses of this country to understand… Thus I shall offer proof.." When does away with his cape, the rest of his clothes, besides the pants and shoes, are done away with too, revealing metallic training gear covering his veiny, muscular upper body. A red aura explodes from him as he strike a battle stance, glares at the rebels opposing him, and roars.
"BY FORCEFULLY CRUSHING THE PHANTOM THIEVES!" Everyone shields their eyes from the blast of wind he sends out and Oracle retreats into her Persona again to check his power. Her eyes pop at the numbers.
"What is this power?! Careful! Those muscles aren't just for show!" Joker walks towards Shido, more driven than ever to win this fight.
"Skull, Fox, and Queen, with me. Everyone else, attack from a distance." Everyone nods and he charges towards his nemesis head on. Shido grins as the two engage in a power struggle when their hands meet.
"I… shall win this game!"
"No! The "game" ends now!" Joker breaks the struggle as Skull comes charging in to smack Shido's face with his pipe. Shido grins, unfazed by the strike, and throws a vicious energy punch that the two guard against, the force blowing them back.
"Shit! Those ain't normal punches!" Shido comes charging at them like a bull with another punch ready, but Queen steps in just in time to deflect it. She throws a barrage of punches and kicks at him, then Fox jumps in to slash him across his chest. None of those attacks even graze him.
"Hmph. Is that all you have?"
"That didn't faze him at all?!" Queen gasps. Joker jumps in front of Queen intercept Shido's combo. While he is able to block him with his Kata skills, every block came with a sharp sting of pain that went straight to the bone. And for a guy with such massive muscles, he's crazy fast. Still, he was more than determined enough to fight through it.
He didn't have to endure alone for long when Skull slides in to help him. Kamu Susano-O and Anat hit him from behind with Ice and Nuclear spells, which only does a little damage, then dodge out of the way of his next energy punch. Joker and Skull use the distraction to summon their Personas and send them at Shido with Arsene getting up close and personal with Susano-O and Seiten Taisei shooting lightning down from his cloud in the air to assist in Anat's long range assault. Shido fights through the assault, blocking physical attacks and deflecting spell blasts with his punches.
He finally waves his right hand to blast them all away with a shockwave of force.
"I won't go easy!" Everyone scatters as he shoots a hail of Megidola rays from both of his hands, creating a field of smoke around him. While Joker is trying to make it out, Shido suddenly appeared in front of him with another punch ready.
"Agidyne!"
"Garudyne!" Panther and Mona's unison attack sets Shido ablaze and stops him in his tracks. Noir has Astarte us Triple Down to attack him from the front as she emerges from the smoke behind him, quickly presses the barrel of her grenade launcher on his back, and pulls the trigger, the blast forcing him forward and making her clumsily tumble backwards back into the haze. Shido, forced to a knee, growls as he tries to stand up.
"Such impertinence- Ngh?!" Pellets from Mona's slingshot come flying out of the smoke and hit him in the back.
"Nya na na nya na!" Shido turns and throws an energy punch behind him. Panther suddenly comes vaulting up his back and onto his shoulders. She wraps her whip around his neck to hang on with her left hand and pulls out her submachine gun with her right.
"Hey! This way!" She shoots him with a hail of bullets at point blank range, holding on for dear life with her whip as he lashes around like a bull rider at a radio.
"Ugh! You little- Ngh!" Joker, Mona, Fox, and Queen fire at his torso, being careful not hit their ally by mistake. Fed up with the bullet barrage, Shido sends out a shockwave to blast Panther off and everyone scatters as he wildly punches in all directions.
"Yo, asshole!" Shido turns around and is greeted by Seiten Taisei's staff across his face.
"Go! Arsene!" Arsene swoops in for an upward kick below his jaw, then the two Personas knock him back with a double punch. Shido cracks his neck, then wipes off the trickle of blood leaking out of his mouth.
"Hmph. Not bad." Joker breathes deep through his nose as he solidifies his stance. Shido's aura envelops his fist in lightning.
"But there is no reason for me to lose to thieves!" He drives his fist into the ground and causes a Deathbound eruption. Joker finds himself separated from everyone by the dark energy hand walls as Shido charges at him.
"Charge, Ongyo-ki!" Joker's Persona rushes at Shido and enters a no holds barred sumo match against him, exchanging and enduring blows with both of their behemoth strength.
Ongyo-ki roars as he slams Shido's face into his knee, then hits him with a headbutt. Joker sees the Deathbound walls come down with everyone on the other side.
"Panther, grab 'im!" Hecate's guard dogs constrict him with their chalk leashes.
"Trumpeter, Debilitate!" Trumpeter hovers above Shido and drains him of his strength. Prometheus shines from overhead.
"Need a hand?!" Oracle asks in a cocky tone. "Here come the buffs!" Prometheus' light gives everyone a power boost.
"Guys, blast 'im! No mercy!" Panther, Mona, Queen, and Noir blast him with a barrage of elemental attacks, then Skull and Fox hit him with Agnestyra and Myriad Slashes. Hecate lets go of a reeling Shido before Joker summons Yoshitsune to perform Hassou Tobi on him. He then switches to his newest acquired Persona.
"Metatron, Sword Dance!" The mechanical angel summons a circle of swords that all slash at Shido at once, forcing him to a knee. Joker's glare intensifies as he looks down at his nemesis.
"I'm not done!" He summons an overpowered Persona for every element, knocking him back with each attack. Cybele, Kougaon. Beelzebub, Eigaon. Kohryu, Psycho Force. Asura, Atomic Flare. Each of his attacks are amplified, fueled by his blazing rage.
"NOT EVEN CLOOOSE!" Odin, Thunder Reign. Vishnu, Panta Rhei. Black Frost, Diamond Dust. And finally, Attis, Inferno.
Shido, having been knocked on his back, slowly gets to his feet as the Phantom Thieves surround level their guns at him.
"Nnnngh…! How are these lowlife brats beating me?!" Joker narrows his eyes at him in disappointment.
"That all you got?" he asks with a cold, deep tone. "I seriously pumped myself up and came all this way for this?" Shido glares at Joker, then bursts out laughing as he stands tall.
"Ahahahahahahaha…! Don't think you've won! The power held by the most elite is what rules over our society!" He gets back into his combat stance.
"It's vexing that I have to use this on some foolish brats.. But I will educate you, through and through!"
"You're kidding!" Oracle shouts. "He's still gonna come at us?!" Joker puts on his devilish smirk.
"Ha. Like it matters. I'm taking his heart either way." Oracle smiles at nods.
"Did ya hear hear that, Shido?!"
Shido hunches over and the ground suddenly starts to tremble beneath everyone as his aura starts pulsating and a gust of wind picks up. With an explosive roar, Shido blasts off his training gear, his muscles double in size, his skin turns dark red, and his aura turns black. Oracle's eyes pop at the sudden increase of power.
"No way! He's even stronger now?!" Joker fearlessly grabs his mask.
"Come, Trumpe-" Shido suddenly disappears from view. Everyone looks around for him, but he's nowhere to be found.
"Oracle, where is he?!" Queen says.
"I can't get a beat on him! The sensors say he's everywhere!" Joker suddenly feels murderous intent stinging him from behind.
"... Die." He quickly turns around only to be greeted by a punch to the gut. At first, he doesn't feel anything, but then he getting the sudden feeling of his internal organs being crushed by a monstrous impact, forcing him to cough up a good amount of blood. Everyone gasps in shock.
"The hell?!" Skull shouts. "When did he-"
"JOKER!" Panther yells. The leader instinctively wraps his arms around Shido's gigantic fist to keep himself from falling as his knees give out, the impact so fierce that he is barely able to even for gasp for air. Shido shoots a sadistic grin at him.
"... Are you scared?" Joker silently groans in absolute pain. Shido shows no hesitation in slamming his elbow on his back, making him crash into the ground, then stomps on him. Joker's mouth opens to scream, but it takes a moment for it to come. Shido chuckles as he hits him with energy punches at point blank range.
"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" At the sound of Panther's scream, Shido sees his comrades trying to rush to his aid. He smiles before disappearing again.
"Guys, careful!" Oracle says. "I have no idea where he'll show up!" Everyone keeps running towards Joker while keeping an eye out for Shido.
The muscular tyrant appears in front of Skull and Fox, conjures up Panta Rhei in one arm and Inferno in the other, and clotheslines them both with their respective weaknesses to send them flying across the roof of the ship.
Mona and the girls, shocked by Shido's surprise attack, keep running towards Joker as he disappears again with faith that the guys will be okay. Shido reappears in front of Noir, who bumps into him and falls back on the ground. As he is towering over her, Mona appeared out of nowhere and attacks his head, clawing and biting at it. It hurts him however as Shido doesn't feel it and his head feels like it's made of steel.
"YEOW! MEOW OW OW OW OW OW OW!" Shido casually pulls Mona off his head and dangles him in front of his face.
"Hmph. Pesky vermin." He conjures Thunder Reign into his index finger and thumb and finger flicks Mona away, sending him flying across the roof as well. He feels a light push on his chest and looks at Noir, who is dismayed that her grenade launcher didn't work. He performs an Atomic Flare uppercut to blast her away, then disappears again.
When Panther and Queen have almost reached their leader, Shido appears in front of both of them and he attempts to grab Panther with his left hand. Queen slides in front of her, offers her right arm, and starts punching him with her free hand.
"Panther, go!" Panther dashes past Shido as he laughs at Queen's feeble attempt to hurt him.
"Is that it?! Harder! Come on! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Shido grabs Queen by her neck with his right hand, uses his powerful legs to jump high into the air, then plummets down to the ground to deliver a Psycho Force choke slam when he lands, creating a crater in the ground.
"Joker!" Panther finally reaches her boyfriend, who's still lying on the ground groaning in pain. She summons Hecate to start healing him.
"Hey, it's alright! I'm right here!" As Joker's pain starts to ease, a large shadow looms over them both. They look up and see Shido readying a Diamond Dust punch. Right before he attacks…
"NO!" A green barrier surrounds them both, protecting them from his attack. Panther focuses on healing her boyfriend as Shido continues to punch the barrier. He stops and looks up at the sky.
"... I think I hear a bug buzzing around." He sets his sights on Prometheus and grins as he fires a barrage of Megidola rays at the Persona. With no way to protect herself, Oracle is shot straight out of the sky and she crashes into the ground. Panther's eyes widen in shock as the smoke clears and Futaba is lying flat on the ground, unconscious.
"ORACLE!" Enraged, Joker's eyes glow red as he glare at Shido.
"ZAOU-GONGEN!" His Persona emerges and uses God's Hand on Shido, but it only pushes him back a good distance. The injured Phantom Thieves slowly rise up and glare at their enemy while he grins and openly taunts them.
"... Come at me!" Everyone summons their Personas, concentrate all of their power, and let loose with another unison attack, putting their all into the assault and it ends with a spectacular bang.
They shield their eyes from the force, then stare at the smoke as they try to catch their breath… but that moment is dashed by the sound of a maniacal laugh. Everyone's eyes widen as the smoke slowly fades to reveal Shido, still standing tall after all that punishment.
"... No way…" Panther gasps.
"He… took all that," Skull mumbles. "And not even a scratch…" Shido closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, his pupils burn with a crimson red and cracks of lightning fly through the air around him, indicating a sudden surge of power as he makes a fist in the air.
"Hmph… You will regret your actions… You've angered me for the last time…" With a flash of his burning yellow eyes, an abnormally oppressive force slams down on the entire group, freezing them in their tracks.
"Ngh! The hell... is this?!" Skull grunts.
"It feels like... something's crushing me!" Mona shouts. The black aura wraps itself around Shido's humongous fist as his grin widens.
"This is true strength. The strength of will over people below you. Now you will understand. This world belongs to the most elite and I am destined to stand at the very top of the food chain. Therefore…" After completing his charge, Shido slams his fist into the ground with all of his might.
"THIS WORLD BELONGS TO ME!" The release of energy upon impact causes a devastating explosion that spreads through the entire roof, leaving the Phantom Thieves with zero chance to escape.
When the thick blanket of smoke finally clears, Shido laughs as he looks at his teenaged opponents as they lay face down on the floor, heavily damaged, barely conscious and able to move. He snaps his fingers and puddles of black ooze surround each of them before covering their bodies, pinning them down. Joker, the most conscious of the bunch, refuses to let his will to fight go out as he tries to fight to his feet.
N-No…! Dammit…! We've come too far…! We can't… go down… like this…!
Shido marches over to a struggling Akira, kneels down to him, and takes off his mask.
"It truly is a shame, Akira Kurusu… You could've easily just went with the flow of the world and accept the future I am creating without going through such pain… It's not as if you would've had any other choice… After all, any future you dreamt of, I've already destroyed…" Akira growls at Shido as he lifts his head up by the hair.
"Did you honestly believe you had any chance of overthrowing me because you obtained a power that lowlifes like you do not deserve?" Akira cringes as his arch enemy twist his hair.
"FUCK… YOU…!" he hisses. The muscular tyrant frowns, slams his head into the ground, and walks away.
"If you are foolish enough to cross me again, then it appears you failed to learn your lesson the first time. Luckily for you, I believe that children are our future and it is my duty to mold them into competent members of society... So I will gladly walk you through that lesson again." Shido eyes the rest of his teammates.
"Judging by your speech earlier… it seems you value that "bonds of friendship" nonsense above all else… so…" He grins as he strokes his goatee.
"Would it be safe to assume… that you value this band of rebels more than your own future?" Akira struggles harder as Shido marches over to his group, knowing what he's about to do. Shido walks up to Skull and stomps on his back, watching Akira's reaction.
"So… which one should I start with first? Maybe this hoodlum?"
"Agh! You… son-o-va bitch!" Akira maintains the same angry look with no change whatsoever. Shido moves on to step on Mona's head.
"Maybe… this annoying feline?"
"Hrgh! You… piece of…" Akira's expression doesn't change, so he moves on to Noir's back.
"This one looks familiar… Is this Okumura's daughter, by any chance?" Noir groans in pain.
"Not her either. Hm, I wonder-"
"STOP FUCKING AROUND!" Shido finally gets a drastic reaction out of Akira. Considering who he was heading towards, he has a pretty good idea who to start with.
"Oh? … I see. Thank you for your cooperation." He walks over to his target and picks them up… pulling them up by their long blonde hair.
"If you insist… I'll start with this one first." Akira starts fighting with all he's got to get out of his restraints.
"You bastard! Leave her the hell alone!" Panther, lifted off the ground, grips her hair and starts kicking at Shido's chest, but it doesn't do anything.
"Ugh! H-Hecate!" Her Persona emerges and shoots twin streams of fire at him to no avail. He conjures Diamond Dust on his fist and punches her in her gut. She cries out in agony as her Persona disappears and her body goes numb from the cold, cutting off her ability to move. She tries as hard as she can to scream, but the severe chill lowers her voice down to a whisper.
"Agh… nn… L-L-L-Let… m-m-me… g-go…!" Shido takes off her mask and stops to take a good look at her.
"Hmmm… I must say… for such a rebellious lowlife… you are quite the specimen…" A nasty grin appears on his face as he turns to Akira, an evil thought rushing through his mind.
"Tell me, Kurusu... I'm afraid it has slipped my mind a bit. That night… you intervened before I could finish my business with that woman, correct?"
"Huh?" Akira's heart stops when he recalls that night when he saw Shido forcing himself on that woman.
"Wait… what're you…?" Shido grabs Ann by the neck with his left hand.
"Maybe it wasn't so bad after all… Her body was underdeveloped and fragile… But now…" He slowly puts his right hand on her waist and moves his face forward.
"I can take that frustration… out on HER." The Joker and the Panther's eyes would be all one needed to see to grasp the horror that struck their hearts at what he was implying… Finishing what he started.
The terrified model desperately tries to get the feeling back in her body as his hand creeps up her waist, frantic gasps escaping her frozen mouth.
No! No! Come on, body! Move! Why won't you move?!
"ASSHOLE! GET OFF OF HER!" The seething Akira roars like a lion as he struggles harder to slip out of the black ooze. Shido chuckles as his hand reaches her left bosom and he starts grabbing it hard. She lets out a terrified and painful whine. Even with her body as numb from the cold as it is, she could still feel his rough hands touching her.
He stops when he feels what he could describe as little bunny punching and tugging at his shoulder. That little bunny being a brave Futaba.
"YOU LEAVE HER ALONE! LET HER GO! STOP IT!" Shido sighs before hammer fisting her hard into the ground.
"FUTABA!" Shido steps on her back to prevent her from escaping. She screams as his foot crushes her back.
"Stay where you are. You're next." In another burst of rage, Akira manages to free his right arm, but the victory is short-lived when the ooze coats the rest of his lower body and tightens its grip.
Shido continues groping Ann, then lets out his extending, slithering tongue. Ann tries to get her numb mouth closed, but it pries her teeth open and wriggles its way deep inside.
His lover being harassed by the monster that took his future while his "baby sister" is being crushed under his boot. Nothing has infuriated the frizzy haired teen so much in his life.
"SHIDO...! YOU BASTARD...! YOU BAS-TAAAARD!" He claws at the ground with his right hand, trying to drag his way over, but the ooze was sticking tightly to the floor and keeping him from moving. His rage continues to grow without end as Ann gasps for air and tries to scream with tears of fear rolling down her face as she is maliciously violated, Futaba screaming in pain trying to wiggle out from under the tyrant's boot, and the tyrant himself glancing his way with sharp corners on his mouth indicating a smile.
"I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME?! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" He reaches out to Shido as the ooze creeps over his mouth.
So many negative thoughts and emotions were pulsing through his blood. Rage. Despair. Frustration. Hate. Malice. Violence. Torture. Humiliation. Murder. All of it just keeps escalating to the point when he sees nothing but red and his mind goes blank.
xxx
He lies on the floor of water in his own subconscious, traumatized by the events that are taking place. He didn't want to believe it. He had been fighting so hard to gain power and make sure it wouldn't be so. But in the end, it's nothing but true.
He has failed. He failed to free Japan from the shackles of corruption and make it a better place. He failed to make the man who so brutally wronged him repent for his crimes. And worst of all, he failed to protect the people that were most precious to him. He failed to do it all. The fact that he had been trying so hard just to fail. He can't help but find it strangely hilarious.
He cracks a demented smile as he pushes himself up on his forearms and snickers. It gradually grows into a chuckles, then a crazed laugh.
"AHAHAHAHAHA! STU-PID! MO-RON! I-DI-OT! DUMB-ASS!" His laugh becomes so loud that it echoes through the infinite darkness. He stares at his reflection in the water, seeing himself in the same clothes he was wearing when he was arrested.
"LOOK AT YOU! YOU'RE SUCH A FUCKING JOKE! YOU HAVEN'T CHANGED ONE GODDAMN BIT! YOU'RE STILL AS WORTHLESS AND POWERLESS AS YOU'VE EVER BEEN! YOU'RE STILL THE SAME WEAK ASS PIECE OF SHIT YOU WERE BEFORE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOTHING'S CHAAANGED!" He just continues to laugh endlessly at his own meaningless existence.
That's right… I can't do anything… No matter what I gain and how hard I try to protect it… there's nothing I can do to keep it from being taken away from me… I'm just… a worthless little brat…
…
"thAt's rIght… yOU cAnnOt dO AnythIng As yOU ArE nOw…"
Akira looks up and sees a humongous steel bar gate towering in front of him with a lock covered in black flames and nothing complete darkness inside. An unholy voice comes out of the gate.
"yOU stIll hOld yOUrsElf bAck… dId yOu hOnEstly bElIEvE thAt yOU wOUld trIUmph OvEr hIm by shOwIng mErcy…? sUch fOOlIshnEss Is lAUghAblE… AllOwIng hIm tO cOntInUE On In thIs wOrld shOUld nOt hAvE EvEn bEEn An OptIOn… sUch A fOUl sInnEr mUst bE cOmplEtEly ErAdIcAtEd…" Chains of magma flow out of the gate and circle around Akira and the arsenal of Personas that start appearing around him.
"hOld bAck yOUr wrAth nO lOnger… AllOw thAt rAgE tO fUEl mE… dO nOt sImply rElEAsE yOUr AngEr… lEt It tAkE hOld Of yOU… jUst… gIvE… In…" Akira continues to laugh as he opens his arms to the chains, allowing them to wrap around his body. A big hole opens up in his chest, a large key dripping with crimson red emerges from it, and it flies into the keyhole of the lock to unlock it. The gate doors slowly open up and a pair of glowing red eyes appear from inside.
The chains quickly pull Akira and his Personas inside, the gate slams closed, and a crimson red light shines as a monstrous roar booms from the cell.
The rebel's rage has been given a suitable form... And is about to rub wild.
Target ⅓: Hit