Chapter 3: Baptism by Fire, Part II
Standard disclaimers apply. Relevant characters are property of Atlus, etc. etc.
Some of Kamoshida's knights were still laying on the ground, disoriented like their master. Some though had gotten up and began to transform into a sludge, only to reform into jack-o-lanterns in witches' clothing.
"Hee-ho!" the Jack-o-Lantern cried out enthusiastically. Arsène, though, stopped this Jack-o-Lantern on the next "Hee-ho" by promptly digging his sharp claws into the Jack-o-Lantern's face. A once cheerful talking pumpkin was now crying in fear and pain like a kid getting his vaccinations. Arsène then gave the Jack-o-Lantern a dosage of cell wall and dug its claws even further. Another Jack-o-Lantern appeared behind Arsène, appearing identical to the one being pummeled into the craggy prison wall. It pulled out a small lantern from under its cloak, and from it shot a fireball straight at Arsène. The fireball hit behind Arsène's shoulder.
Akira felt an intense burning sensation creep into his shoulder as this occurred. Arsène, though, cackled again. As this was happening, Akira, for some reason, was drawn to his back. Under his new overcoat was a large 12-inch knife tucked into a secret pocket. Feeling as though he should return the favor, Akira cracked a devilish smile and charged at the other Jack-o-Lantern.
He was going to lunge at the thing, but launching into the air felt easier, like he was floating on air. Another fireball came at Akira, but this time, he dodged it by darting to his right. Now on the Lantern's left flank, he lunged forward, cutting through the Jack-o-Lantern's stub of a neck and leveraging it upward. It turned into a black mist shortly thereafter.
After 5 seconds of Arsène slamming his Jack-o-Lantern into the wall, the demon, now unrecognizable, whimpered out, "Hee...hoooo" and faded into a mist.
Meanwhile, Sakamoto, still awake despite being pummeled by Kamoshida's guard, was watching with a slack jaw. This transfer student he just met: he didn't seem at all like the violent or athletic type. And yet he was weaving through these monsters as if he were in a circus act. At this point, Sakamoto was wondering whether his mind or his bladder would go first.
Arsène was continuing his rampage on the guards by grabbing one, in each hand, by their blue masks and dragging them outside the cell. He then tossed both of them, one into the river running inside the dungeon, and the other at a seemingly empty cell down the way. Akira noticed that one of Arsène's victims dropped a set of keys on the ground. Akira grabbed them quickly and threw them over to Sakamoto.
"Catch," Akira quipped.
Sakamoto, still dazed, caught the keys with his forehead.
"Ow, what the hell!" Sakamoto cried out.
"The cell keys!?"
"Oh right," Sakamoto said, finally catching up to speed. Sakamoto got up off the ground, following Akira, glasses in hand, out of the cell. Sakamoto locked the door behind them with Kamoshida, still inside and still bloodied from nose to torso. Seeing how trapped he was, he rushed to the bars like a dog in a cage lashing out.
"Goddamn thieves! When my guards find you-"
Sakamoto immediately interrupted him with a punch to his already bruised nose. Kamoshida fell back to the floor once more, growling in agony.
"That was for the punches to the gut, you son of a bitch! And wear some normal clothes, you effin' sicko!" Sakamoto then turned back to Akira, still host to his overcoat-and-red-glove combo. As he did, though, his ensemble burst in flames, only to reveal him dressed in his school uniform once more. At the same time, Akira's winged friend disappeared in flames too.
"What the hell, man?" Sakamoto commented. "You're really weird, you know that?"
"I dunno about that," Akira responded as he put on his see-through glasses. "But I have to say, I kind of missed that outfit I had on. Wasn't too shabby on me."
"Dude! This is not the time to be cracking jokes right now!" Sakamoto said panickily.
"If you realized the type of trouble we're in, which I think you do, given your expression," Akira said in a more solemn tone, "then you'd want to try to laugh a bit too."
"Hey!" A voice called down in the corner of the walkway they were at. "What kind of amateur lets his Persona go berserk like that! I'll let you know I could have been crushed if the soldiers it threw crashed through here!"
"What the hell was that?" Sakamoto said, expecting anything to happen at this point. Akira was about to say something, but he was starting to hear metallic footsteps echo across the river from the hallway leading to god knows where.
"More guards; hide!" Akira then began to drag Sakamoto behind some boxes down the way. Just as Akira heard, two more guards with swords drawn began to show up on the opposite face of the river. They weren't that diligent, as they went back the way they came after only walking around a few minutes. That, and they didn't hear Sakamoto's loud, exasperated panting.
The same voice they heard earlier was now saying, "Hey! Blondie! Frizzy hair! Behind you!" though in whispers. Turning around, Akira saw traces of Arsène's work: black sludge painted all over the prison bars. Past that, though, was a small, rounded black cat with white coloration around its mouth and paws. It also was wearing a yellow bandanna while walking on its hind legs like a human. Like a cat, it pawed out towards them like a cat, begging for something. "You're not soldiers, right! Get me out of here! Use your Persona again and bust me out, whoever summoned it!"
"Persona?" Akira said out loud, wondering if he...she...it meant Arsène.
"Wait, never mind, you have the key to this cell on that key ring! Just get me out!" The strange creature was pawing in the direction of Akira's keys, which were jingling in his coat pockets.
"Why should we even trust you?" Sakamoto said, now sounding outraged. "For all we know, you stupid cat, you look like one of the monsters that tried to skewer us!"
"HEY!" The strange creature cried out. "I am Morgana, and I AM NOT A CAT. Say that again, and I'll make you regret it! Besides that, how can I be an enemy if I'm locked up, you moron?"
Sakamoto groaned and decided to pull out his phone. "No service? Seriously? GAH, I wish I could just call someone to get out of here!"
"Hey!" Morgana yelled, calling the two back towards the cell. "You want to know where the exit is? Let me out, and I'll take you there. You don't want to get caught and executed, right?"
Akira was still wary. And that self-assured tone from the cat didn't help either. Still, Ryuji said there was no service here to contact for help. Plus, he'd doubt in someplace supernatural, they could just pull out a navigation app and direct themselves out of here.
"You better not be lying," Akira replied, his voice now lower and gruffer than before.
"I'm not lying! It's the truth," Strange Creature replied with equal solemnity.
"This thing sounds like all talk..." Sakamoto said, cocking his head to the side while still staring at the cat-like creature.
The cat didn't take kindly to his stubbornness. "If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!" the cat-thing grunted. "Besides, if you don't hurry, the guards will come back and find you at some point and catch you."
Mouthy Sakamoto was now waiting to form his words. Akira, feeling that they shouldn't dawdle about any longer here, glared at his eyes pleadingly.
"Urgh...fine," Sakamoto said, conceding to Akira's silent request. Using the key ring, Sakamoto let Morgana out. Morgana in return greeted both of them with a smile of smug self-satisfaction.
"Ahh," Morgana said, now more relaxed. "Freedom tastes so great."
More metallic footsteps were coming.
"Follow me!" Morgana then said. All three turned attention to a hole in the base of the wall. It was tight and dusty, but at least it could fit all three of them in a line. They proceeded to crawl into it, and at the end waiting for them was a tower staircase. One out of a dark fairy tale it seems, with medieval-style church glass windows casting a rainbow of colors on the walls. It didn't matter, though, as all three were more eager to get out of here rather than sightsee. After a few minutes of running, they reached a door. By that point, Sakamoto was hunched forward over the ground.
"Are...we...there...yet?"
"Not yet!" Morgana replied. "It should be past this door and a few corridors."
On the other side of the door was another dungeon, minus the little river flowing through it. Though instead, cages were hanging on the ceiling...
...With people in it?
"What the..." Akira said out loud.
"No time! We got to keep moving down this corridor! Escape isn't too far!" Morgana quipped.
Down the corridor and another was another river with a bridge laid down. Their escape was cut short, however, as another guard came from around the corner. This time, they couldn't hide, and Sakamoto, charging like a bat-out-of-hell, slipped backward trying to turn himself around.
"Ahh shit, it's them!" screamed Sakamoto; by this point, he seemed deathly afraid of these guards, and for a good reason. The guard began to transform into a pair of creatures: another Jack-o-Lantern and a new type of monster: a devilish imp with wings, floating above the ground.
"Tch, amateur; stay still!" Morgana scoffed, as he jumped off Ryuji's head and in front of the group. Akira then was engulfed briefly in blue flames and came out in his garb, as if he were a magician appearing back onto his stage for an encore. Morgana then pointed back at Akira.
"Hey, you! You can fight, right? Help me out here. These Shadows are on intercept patterns. They're here to kill."
Akira probably shouldn't have been smiling given the gravity of their situation. But something about this situation prompted him to feel nostalgic about a certain someone, and how she would consider situations like this.
"I'd be happy to oblige," Akira said, pulling his sharp new gift out from his undercoat.
"Good. Now come...Zorro!" After Zorro, a jet of blue energy began to shoot out of Morgana, blinding the room briefly with light. After it dissipated, Akira could see a being hovering over Morgana, a man clad in a black suit with a comically huge set of arms and chest that contrasted with its small, straight legs. In its right hand was a rapier, and by the manner it was handling it and twirling it, Zorro meant business. With a touch of flair added.
Is this what Morgana meant by Persona?
"Hmph, we'll promptly shut them up!" Morgana said, crossing his arms. Zorro then twirled its rapier forward, not to attack, but summon a green colored wind to envelop the Jack-o-Lantern. The gust knocked the creature on to the ground, where the wind tore it apart like thinly cut paper. "That is how you fight; some of these Shadows have natural weaknesses; exploit them to save yourselves the hassle!" Zorro then cast more wind on the devilish imp, with the wind having only ripping small holes in its wings. Still, it was floating readily over the ground, hosting a wide ear-to-ear grin. It was short-lived though, as Akira then, upon ripping off his mask, summoned Arsène to swallow the imp in a thick red-and-black darkness. And just like a rabbit in a hat, it was gone.
With the coast clear, Morgana decided to relax next to a pile of boxes. "Not bad; your Persona is pretty powerful," punctuating his statement with a grin.
"Y'mean the thing that comes out of both of you, all dramatic-like?" Sakamoto interrupted.
Morgana nodded his head. "You saw how Frizzy Hair here ripped off his mask when he summoned it right? Well, everyone wears a mask deep down in their heart, so once they remove it..."
Before Morgana could explain even further, Akira burst into flames and turned back to normal once more.
"Again?" Ryuji wondered.
"Looks like you don't have full control over your power yet, Frizzy Hair. The transformation shouldn't disappear like that. After all..."
"Urgh, all this stuff hurts. School sounds better than this crap!" Sakamoto yelled, hitting the front of his head.
"Would you shut up and listen for once, Blondie?!" Morgana yelled.
Sakamoto took a step forward towards the cat. "Hey, stop calling me Blondie. And the name's Ryuji. Ryuji Saka-"
"I don't have time for this!" Morgana yelled. "Just follow me, the exit's near."
Another set of dungeons and a wooden, rotting drawbridge were down the line of approach. Approaching the bridge, however, Ryuji had to stop for something. He walked to a cell, which held a man in some type of red athletic uniform with the number 8 on his back in white lettering.
"I've felt like I've seen that uniform somewhere..." Ryuji commented. His face scrunched up. "Dammit! I'm too flustered to remember a thing!"
"We don't have time to worry about other people!" Morgana yelped. "We need to keep moving. Besides, he-"
"Too late!" Akira said. As the drawbridge went down, another guard greeted them, only to turn into a swarm of pixie-like creatures, all clad in skin-tight blue clothes and with red hair.
Morgana despite the swarm turned his direction angrily to Ryuji. "You should have listened to-"; Morgana was then interrupted by a Pixie rushing at him, knocking its head into his, prompting a "NEOW" from him.
"Hey! Like this is my fau-" Ryuji was also knocked back as well by a Pixie, knocking himself into some barrels behind him.
By this time, Akira was bracing himself against a set of nearby boxes, his knife already drawn. Morgana and Ryuji, despite being a little dazed, dashed to Akira's location. A few of the Pixies were swarming about them, but the majority formed a wall between the drawbridge and their one chance at escape.
"Well," Akira said, "This looks like a job for us again, Morgana. Blondie, stay close. I can only slash through so many with my knife AND cover you."
"Dude, YOU TOO? C'mon! You should treat me better, I was going to sacrifice myself so you could escape!" Ryuji replied while jamming his fingers into his hair.
"Don't listen to Blondie over there. Either way, I'm glad you stick to your guns," Morgana then said with growing enthusiasm.
Akira and Morgana then nodded to each other; in times like these, their silence said all that was needed.
"Guys, I already said I'm Ryu-Eff it!"
Morgana summoned Zorro once more to produce a large gust of wind in front of them. The wall of Pixies ahead of them were blown all over the place, mostly down into the river.
"There's our opening! Let's go!" Morgana yelled.
"My legs can only take so much!" Ryuji said while launching himself off his back right leg. Despite his limp-looking leg, Ryuji took off, keeping pace with Morgana and Akira. A few pixies had reoriented themselves back in front of them, about to engage them in a double column formation. Morgana, however, pulled out a scimitar in his right paw, leaping upwards to slice the first Pixie on their right with a lateral slash.
With the first Pixie down, Morgan proceeded with a downward slash, taking out the next Pixie in front of him. Not wanting to be outdone, Akira, now holding his blade with its sharp end inward, lunged forward. Akira then, horizontal slash after horizontal slash, cut each Pixie in front of him in half.
Then, there were two left in line, with the one on the right being banged up significantly. Akira decided to go all the way with a long dash-and-slash from left to right, his hilt ready to stab.
The Pixie to the left, seeing Akira on its flank, curled into a ball and summoned a weird energy that drifted to the other Pixie.
Akira, looking straight ahead, seemed to have caught both of the remaining Pixies as his blade came to his side readily as if he cut through them like air.
Ryuji, behind Akira once more, tapped on Akira's shoulder. "Uhh, dude." Ryuji turned pointed towards where Akira's blade was. Akira then turned to find a Pixie, still alive, stuck to it.
"Urgh...this sucks. Can we just end this already?" the Pixie said, in the most unexpectedly bored tone.
Akira stared in bewilderment. "How the hell are you surviving being impaled right now?! I just cut up your friends with ease!"
"Do I have to explain it to you? Nevermind...just make it quick."
Morgana then out of nowhere slashed through its midline, leaving a mist hovering above Akira's blade.
"Guess I sent her down the way...to Hell," Morgana said with a self-satisfied smile on his face.
"Dude...that was the worst line I've heard," Ryuji said.
"Shut up Blondie," Morgana replied curtly. "Let's go already!"
The trio, after running down the hall ahead, found themselves in the entrance hall Ryuji and Akira found themselves in at the beginning. Morgana then directed them to a nearby room; a study or small library perhaps, given the assorted armchairs and bookshelves.
"D'you trick us you jerk? There are no windows here to escape from!" Ryuji said.
"Don't jump to conclusions, you amateur," Morgana said, shaking his head as he pointed to a grating above one of the bookshelves.
"We're getting out through a ventilation shaft?" Akira said, now curious.
"I'm glad someone here understands the basics," Morgana replied.
"Ohh...I get it. Lemme take a crack at it." Ryuji then jumped onto the top of the bookshelf and pulled on the grating, the cool air rushing past him. Within seconds, the grate fell off the top on the ground, along with him.
"Oww...I hope no one heard that. Seriously though, I can't believe we're getting out!"
"Celebrate when YOU guys get out of here," Morgana replied.
"Wait," Akira then said, his hands now back in his resting position in his pockets. "Are you staying here, after all that?"
Morgana nodded. "There something that I still have to do. This is where we part on our separate ways."
Akira nodded in agreement as he climbed up to the newly created opening with Ryuji. Before entering the shaft, Akira turned back to Morgana, his glasses slightly down. "Thanks again, Morgana; don't get caught again."
"Such good manners," Morgana said, smug as ever. "Same goes for you. Be careful on your way out."
As they parted, Morgana, still in the room, said to himself:
"Those two seem useful; especially the frizzy-haired one if my judgment's right..."
Going back out where they came and out towards the entrance, Akira and Ryuji found themselves in what seemed like the real world; at least, this world, Akira thought, has less of a headache-inducing purple, and normal-looking people walking by.
An automated voice from Akira's phone then greeted them:
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."
"...Did we actually escape?" Ryuji said, bending forward out of exhaustion while doing so.
"Depends," Akira said, smiling while wiping his glasses. "Are the cats talking?"
"Dude...I dunno what to think anymore. The castle...the cat...Kamoshida...that speedo...Dude, what the hell?"
Two beat cops decided to walk forward to talk to them.
"Ditching class, I see?" one of them said. In typical, haughty, authoritarian tone, Akira observed.
"No, we were escaping from a castle just now!" Ryuji said, not with the slightest bit of self-awareness.
In turn, the police officers just stared at each other, each wondering what the hell he just heard.
"Ok, kid," the other police officer said. "Show me your bag for any drugs."
Akira couldn't help but imagine yelling violently in Ryuji's face. "You fucking amateur," Akira said to himself groaned under his breath.
Meanwhile, Ryuji continued his argument with the cops, insisting on the castle while the cops insisted that they saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Man, now I'M saying 'amateur' now," Akira said, groaning once more to himself.
There was only one thing to do in situations like these.
"Officers," Akira said as he put his glasses on. "I'll be going now."
"Wait, that's not what I wanted you to say, of all things! Dude, are you for real, say something! You were there!" Ryuji said.
Akira kept on walking towards the direction of Shujin.
"...Fine, I'll get going!"
As the officers said, Shujin appeared normal when they finally arrived.
Ryuji stood there, confused once more. "I'm sure we came the same way. What the hell is going on?"
By this point, Makoto was in her homeroom on the first floor, waiting patiently for her math teacher to arrive. She was currently occupied with reviewing old notes and writing new ones for the upcoming textbook chapter. She had to stay one step ahead after all.
And considering how expensive ballpoint pens like the one she's using can be...she reckoned boredom should produce results, not doodles.
Though today, the general crowd wasn't helping.
"Hey did you hear about the transfer student coming?"
"Assault? Really?"
"I've heard he cut up the last person. With a knife no less, based on the fact there was blood!"
"Dude where you hear that?!
"Is Shujin going to be safe with him around? I don't want to be stabbed!"
That, and:
"I've heard Kamoshida can be rough, but still he looks so cool whenever he spikes!"
"Kamoshida's so boss! He's definitely going to take home another trophy for us this year!"
Speaking of rough:
Behind her. A third year. Swollen arms. Swollen legs with visible bruising. It was quite similar to the first year she saw. This was getting to be quite troub-
"I'm sure we came the same way. What the hell is going on?"
That rather boorish voice came outside. A quick turn to her left towards the stairs outside revealed a blonde Shujin-looking student hunched over with his hands in his pockets, eyes agape as if he didn't recognize the school for a minute.
And next to him was...Kurusu-kun?!
The talk outside continued:
"That what I want to know. We got a call from the police about a delinquent blonde spouting nonsense. I expected it to be you, Sakamoto, but this time you're not alone."
Looks like one of the counselors was going to wait for them. What, did the blonde expect NOT to be reported by the police for delinquency?
"Damn cop snitched out on us after all!"
Her eyes dimmed for a minute. Nevermind...he DID take them on their word. Though...is Kurusu-kun really associating himself with people like him?
If so that would be unfortunate...What did Sis say about these type of situations? "Never trust a kind face, but a kind act."
I suppose it applies here...
The interrogation outside continued:
"Where were you roaming all this time?"
The Blonde replied, "Uhh...a ca- a castle?"
The urge to facepalm was stronger than ever before...What sort of lame, dishonest excuse was that?
"What was that about a castle?"
Her eyelid twitched. Nails on a chalkboard would be better than THAT voice.
"Kamoshida?!" replied Blond Boar.
And that haughty, self-serving tone...
"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto. Quite a difference when you did morning practice on the track team." Makoto could just imagine him ending that with a wide, beaming smile. "Stuff of nightmares," she said to herself. Though the name sounded vaguely familiar, and not for the best of reasons. Sakamoto?
"SHUDDUP! IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT-"
"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO MR. KAMOSHIDA IN THAT MANNER!" roared the Counselor.
Makoto was somewhat startled. That was quite lo-
"OMG, is that the transfer student down there with that blonde doofus?" An audience was now forming around the windows that were facing Makoto.
"Don't worry, Counselor. It was my fault, I shouldn't have pushed it," Kamoshida said.
"...Fine, I'll take you word for it. Either way, Sakamoto, you're coming with me for skipping out on half of the school day."
"THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
Sakamoto followed the Counselor, stomping on the school steps as if he were trying to flatten them to the ground. Akira, however, stood still, calm and composed, as if he was just drift-
"Holy shit, that dude sounds SOOO pissed!"
...if only being Student Council President came with a mute switch, Makoto mused to herself.
Still, Kamoshida was at the top of the stairs, and Akira at the bottom. And Kamoshida seemed to want to gloat.
"Hey...you're the transfer student, aren't you? Akira Kurusu? Haven't I've seen you before?"
Makoto was noticing that Akira was pausing a bit before starting to speak. Like Shibuya.
His glasses slightly down, he said:
"Yeah, you were picking up that natural blonde in the car. Quite the Samaritan you are..."
Natural blonde. Who is he-
"Dude, is he talking about Takamaki, the second year?"
Back outside:
There was a notable hesitation from Kamoshida. But after a while, with his hands now on his waist:
"...Well, I'll overlook look this today. I'm sure you've heard from the principal, but cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"
Akira was leaning back on his left leg. "Can you overlook more?"
The class couldn't believe what this transfer student was saying to Kamoshida. The insolence coming from his mouth. Makoto herself couldn't help but cover her mouth in shock. Though...
She couldn't stop smiling for some reason.
"...Just head to Ms. Kawakami in the faculty office. Good luck trying to enjoy your time here."
Makoto could only see Kamoshida tightly clenching his fists. Behind him, a creeping sense of self-satisfaction on Akira's face.
That amount of self-satisfaction should have sent her boiling. But something about it...felt like approaching him was like heading into a lion's den. Where was he hiding that part of him?
Either way...a small detour in her schedule today was needed.