Chapter 3

Unholy Priestess

Mitsuru brandished her rapier. The steel shone grimly against the green-tinted windows. Penthesilea sensed something. The Queen encased her eyes with its cold hands and whispered things only Mitsuru could hear. Its blue-helmed head regarded Mitsuru and for once, Mitsuru sensed the forming of a smile on her Persona behind that mask. The chains around Penthesilea's torso jingled, became taught and Mitsuru forced herself to stop the incoming nausea whenever Penthesilea's coverage has reached its limit.

Junpei gulped, trying to dissipate his wariness. This is the the first time he'll fight a Shadow with a bigger reading, but his excitement quickly flooded over the initial wariness. Akihiko was being complacent that night when he was told to step down from the fight and he left to guard in front of Miki's room. Yukari's grip on her bow faltered, Mitsuru glanced around and nod to Arisato, the boy noticed her silent command to calm their primary healer. Minato touched Yukari's shoulder and she eased her tense muscles, a shaky smile on her face as Minato talked her out of her paranoia. The main powerhouse of the party grunted at the tenseness of his juniors and he flexed his upper arms, testing the familiar weight of his axe.

The reading had pinpointed a railway and Mitsuru quickly dismissed Penthesilea to avoid further headache. Mitsuru took a deep breath, "I found it! Everyone, get ready and meet me on the railway station!" she commanded and all at once, they dispersed, quickly moving out with their signature weapons with Shinjiro leading the way. Mitsuru clasped one hand over her ear, "Akihiko, on standby. We're leaving,"

Getting an affirmative from Akihiko, Mitsuru ran to the garage and retrieved her beloved bike. She inserted the key into the ignition and the engine roared to life, bringing quiet satisfaction to Mitsuru's smile. She pulled the trigger once again to summon Penthesilea and the Queen-like Persona disappeared into the thin, stale air of the garage. Penthesilea showed the limited viewpoint of the railway on her helmet's visor and she pushed the bike to its limit out from the dorm and passed through the empty, desolated street filled with coffins, swerved with practiced ease and the thrill of deadly speed exhilarated through the helmet, took her breath away.

As she rode through the illuminated quietness of the city, Mitsuru pushed to the top speed. Freedom is enticing, capturing and dangerous all the same. This speed is the only thing that Mitsuru could recall as a hobby. She had spent her earlier years of middle school to aid with the Persona Project, and the bike was the first hobby Mitsuru had found after she realized that being a Persona User meant that she must have the resolve to die in the line. The lengths she could go to protect Father. Laughable, really. Father wouldn't need an artificial Persona User to protect him while he had many armed mercenaries under his command. A daughter's wish to protect him is but a fickle, childish determination left behind by Mitsuru's younger self.

It had became simply a part of her truth.

The ride ended too fast for the heiress' liking as she arrived in front of her teammates. Everyone looked surprised except Shinjiro who had gotten used to Mitsuru's love for bikes, some whistled in interest and Mitsuru took off her helmet in time for Penthesilea to reappear. The faint buzz of Penthesilea's power swirled and Mitsuru took its gloved hand to help her out from the bike. At once, her face exuded the air of control. She's the commander. She's the strategist.

"Penthesilea detected a larger Shadow than usual outside Tartarus. It's affirmative that we neutralize this threat as soon as possible. The presence was confirmed to came from the train. I'm sorry that I can't detect much about it, this is the limit of its power. Yes, Iori?" Mitsuru glanced at the confused Junpei. "Train? Isn't that supposed to be, like, really dangerous?"

"The Shadow took hold of the train, but don't worry, it'll be okay because no machine operates during the Dark Hour." She explained. It perked Yukari up, her earlier tenseness replaced by strong curiosity, she inherited her father's keen sense of details natural to a scientist, Mitsuru acknowledged grimly. "But how about your bike? Isn't it a machine?" Mitsuru smiled then, "It's confidential issue, but it's special." Mitsuru took a glance to her teammates, surprised that Minato's eyes darken before he returned to his usual calm that supported the team. Maybe it's just her imagination.

"Shinjiro, lead the team," Mitsuru considered.

"Heh, gotta show 'em who's the boss, huh" her friend said sarcastically, alas boosted the juniors' competitiveness. Iori yelled, "Hey! Let me lead for once! It's always Minato or Aragaki-senpai" he sighed as he adjusted his well-worn cap. Mitsuru would've let him lead if the boy showed more ability to calm himself. There was one time where he ran panicly through the Tartarus on the team's second trip where he got separated from everyone else. He did looked like a headless chicken back then. Seeing his distress from Penthesilea's eyes doubled the enjoyment. She did nothing to help him found a portal.

What a sadist.

Mitsuru composed herself, disguising her beginning of a laugh with a cough. She signaled to the prepared team, "Operation, commence!"


Mitsuru operated the Sight Enhancer on her bike, it lets her to tap into Penthesilea's limited coverage and gave her bird view on the team. She closed her eyes as she touched the Enhancer, her Persona hovering with a shining blue, shard-like glow supplied from her Spirit behind its mistress. A Router's duty is to ensure the team's communication line in battle, guide them to an escape point should any danger comes close and give her suggestion to the team leader. Mitsuru had to admit that her capabilities as a Router are lacking, but she wouldn't ponder about it now, the mission's success is their current priority.

Mitsuru touched the Sight Enhancer with better contentration, smiled slightly when she saw Yukari glared hole at the males, threatening Junpei to not look up to her skirt. She called to their earpieces once they got into the train. "I suspect that the Shadow on Penthesilea's reading is located on the first train. Proceed carefully." Earning nods from them, Mitsuru watched their movements from behind. Mitsuru berated her breath when her teammates got trapped in the train, she should've seen it coming, it's her duty as a Router. Her teammates are trapped and she suggests them to proceed with extreme caution. The Shadows knew that her teammates were there. Taunted us. They're baiting, waiting. Why? Shadows has yet to show intellectual ability to form strategy, that was what Mitsuru knew from the research.

They encountered a weaker Shadow, perplexed by its movement. The Shadow didn't even try to defeat them, it perished quickly under Shinjiro's reckless swing. But more Shadows showed up from above. Mitsuru saw Junpei got riled up, quickly restrained by Minato's arms. "They're easy! I can defeat them alone!". Mitsuru spoke through the earpieces, "Wait, Iori! Something's amiss, the enemy is acting strangely". He shrugged Minato's hands and replied "But we can defeat it, Senpai! Drat, I'll do it first,"

Junpei was about to take off alone when Shinjiro glared, "You're gonna overstep my order, Junpei? Hell, I don't care if you got beaten up by Shadows, calm the fuck off!" he said roughly and put his axe to the train floor, effectively blocked Junpei's path. Junpei has yet to yield but he knew that he won't get any help from his fellow juniors. "If small victory like beating a weak Shadow to a pulp satisfy you, then run your sorry ass and beat it," Shinjiro sneered. He rarely did that, Mitsuru saw him did that once when Akihiko nearly lose it, but that was years ago.

In his own way, he does care.

Junpei snorted derisively, "Fine! I'll defeat it to a pulp, like you say". And boy, did he took off with pure anger. Mitsuru sighed through the earpieces as Shinjiro muttered curses under his breath. "Continue with caution, we have to retrieve Junpei before we're picked off one by one," she hugged herself with her prone arms. Suddenly, her senses tingled, "Be careful! Above you!" Mitsuru warned as Minato shielded Yukari off from the Shadow and quickly recovered to give the weaker Shadows a beating.

"Yukari! Stay to the back, dumbass!" Shinjiro ordered with a gruff.

"I'm not dumb, Senpai!" Yukari yelled as she threw a Magaru that blew out the first wave of Shadows through the windows. Shinjiro took lead with Minato on his side, avoiding to use his evoker and charging with brute strength while Minato summoned Nekomata to roast the Spurious Books to a yelping mess.

The fight ended quickly, quite an overkill to take out those weaker Shadows, "Tch, they can't even put up a fight". Minato twisted his sword to get rid of the gooey, "Senpai's too strong, you even beat me and Junpei up during spars," he said with a monotone which suspiciously sounded like a resigned sigh. "Heh, you can't beat years of street fighting," their current leader snarled and they ran to the next car, trying in vain to find Junpei.

"Not here," Yukari said, her sight catching up with the empty car.

"Next car," Minato scanned with a glance and ran to the next car, only to find Junpei being surrounded by three Spurious Books. "Dammit! I can take care of this!" Yukari was about to go and help him when Minato grabbed her hands, "Let him defeat those Shadows," Yukari looked at their leader and Shinjiro grunted a nod. They stood in the sideline while Junpei frustatedly pulled his way through the Shadows and defeat the mob, albeit not unscathed.

Junpei stood while leaning heavily on his Katana, tired and wounded but smirking triumphantly. Minato smiled approvingly at him and extended his arm to help Junpei got up. "See that? I can beat them just fine!" he snickered at Shinjiro. "You have a bloody nose, Stupei," Yukari said indignantly and she huffed. "Really? Shoot!" Junpei panicked, Yukari casted Dia at the minor injury and the team became quiet after that.

"...M'sorry, Senpai, but I guess thank you for not interrupting the fight" Junpei said guiltily.

"I hope you got nastier bruises next time you run off." Junpei sweatdropped at Shinjiro's words.

Outside from the railway, Mitsuru looked at the train faraway from her current position, the lone train seemed harmless from here. "I haven't sense anything yet, but stay alert! Don't let the Shadows separates everyone,"

Almost immediately, the train shook and rumbled with great velocity. Mitsuru gaped as the train shoot froward along the tracks. This is bad. "The Shadows took control of the train!" she felt their panic arises as the train sped up. She tried to ignore the blatant worry she felt and try to calm her teammates.

"Penthesilea sensed a strong presence in the front car. Calm down and proceed quickly to the front car, it seems that this Shadow is the one we're after," trying to ease her teammates' worry, Mitsuru said quietly.

"Be safe,"


Her teammates ran quickly to the front car, they tried to ignore the swamping minions of the stronger Shadow but they caught up quickly, so Minato shouted to them to form line position. Penthesilea's eyes calculated the remaining time. 7 minutes. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped on her uniform. They'll make it. They'll make it. They won't crash.

Yukari ran in the back, protecting them from the Shadows behind, occasionally switching with Minato. Shinjiro ran in the front, annihilating the hindrance and he alternated with Junpei if the Shadows didn't evaporate first. Hermes spun to a kick and filled the cramped train with bursting fire. 4 minutes.

They reached the front train, the juniors panted slightly out of breath. Assessing the looks from his underclassmen, Shinjiro nodded, his jaw set in a promise to vaporize the Shadow behind this mess. With a push, the front car appeared in their vision.

"Is this a friggin' boss?!" Junpei gaped openly. It's huge. A naked giant with black-white offsets grinned at them, covering the control bank completely with its body. Strands of dark and light paper-hair looming at them dangerously. "There's no time to gape at the enemy, Junpei! Let's go!" Minato snapped Junpei to reality and the boy fiddled with his broad sword clumsily before he joined the fray. 3 minutes.

Mitsuru urged Penthesilea's senses to its limit, the Persona glowed brighter and she felt her draining Spirit sapped from her mind. Nothing. The Shadow showed nothing except its Arcana. Mitsuru contemplated her evoker and the bike. She won't make it. She couldn't outrun a bullet train. It frustated her that she could see them but do nothing. She saw Yukari being tied by the Arcana Priestess' hairs while Junpei and Shinjiro hacked away at the Shadow, but being hindered by the minions it spawned although they can annihilate them easily. Minato pulled triggers after triggers, switching Personas quickly and casted elemental skills, it does damage to the Arcana Priestess but nothing could take it down. Junpei swung his Katana to free Yukari, after which she loaded her bow with experienced speed and shot the arrows at the Priestess' eyes. 2 minutes.

"Hit!" Yukari yelled through the ruined train. The train has gained speed and she grasped anything she could hold onto. Terror clear across her face. The Priestess shrieked in agony, latching onto its eyes and removed the arrows. It went berserk and trashed around the party. "Uh oh" Junpei noted cleverly as he dodged hairs after hairs, he caught his cap before it got thrown away to the broken windows. The wind crashed wildly into the battlefield and everyone shielded their body from broken patches of iron and glass. 1 minute.

Minato summoned Rakshasa, his current strongest physical-oriented Persona. "Getsu-ei!" Minato yelled. Rakshasa twisted its sword, obeying the command. A shining light cut through the Priestess and cut off its right arm. It dissolved into a black misty goo. The Priestess is still alive, it focused its attacks to Minato and he managed to dodge most of the attack before a Bufu hit his shoulder. 40 seconds.

"Minato!" Yukari called out from her position, the speed made her queasy and her trembling hands struggled to reach her evoker. Amidst the chaos, fear quickly ebbed the party's will. Junpei aimed wildly at the minions, his face showed his fear. Minato laid on the floor, he grabbed his frozing shoulder as he tried to thaw the ice.

Shinjiro stood there silently. His beanie was long disappeared from his head, uncovering wild shoulder-length brown hair that rebelled against the wind. He took a deep breath. 30 seconds.

He pushed the nuzzle of his barely-used evoker to his chin. The doctors had prohibit him from summoning Hector, some tried to coax him into giving up on the evoker. Mitsuru spent more time helping with the project, and she returned with pills for him, uncaring of her frizzled hair and the dark ring below her eyes. The Sanada siblings visited him everyday after he collapsed, again. Twenty seconds.

And he knew he only have himself to blame.

BANG!

A dark horseman rose from his mind and he struggled to keep his lungs from the scorching numbness. The sword that cut through its skull formed a stream of blood to flow from its chest and a girdle was fastened to its heels. A gleaming bronze war helmet adorned its mouthless face. Its mangled body was tainted black, but it stood proudly behind its master.

Long time no see, Hector.

Shinjiro grinned with a bloodlust glee. This fight is over.

"FATAL END!"


"Shinjiro!" Mitsuru didn't care anymore. She rushed to her bike and raced with the bullet train. It's too far. No. No. She'll make it. Through Penthesilea's eyes, she saw the Arcana Priestess dissolved into nothingness, taken down by Hector's attack. But the train is still moving. Mitsuru saw a train on the next turn. "What are you waiting for?! There's another train ahead!" she pushed her bike's top speed. Ten seconds.

Junpei rushed to the control bank, "Dammit! I don't know how this thing works!" he wiped his sweating forehead. Eight seconds. Yukari sat beside her unconscious Senpai and applied Dia after Dia. Minato, the ice had thawed slightly from his shoulder, ran quickly to Junpei's side. They held one of the many brakes together, his hands atop Junpei's. Six seconds.

"Dude, if we pulled the wrong break... I'm sorry that I called you an asshole." Junpei's grin faltered slightly. Minato nodded. He looked behind him, Yukari gave him a smile as she supported Shinjiro's back.

"Ready?"

"As ready as I can be!"

We faced life and death. Together.


The train came to a halt. Only 5cm left from actual crashing to the train ahead. Mitsuru couldn't believe their luck. She parked her bike beside the train, shakily opened the front car's door and found her teammates sat hurdled on the floor with shaky legs much like her own. "D-did we stop?" Junpei said in disbelieve. His shirt was covered in sweat.

"Very much so," Minato replied breathily and they grinned at each other.

Yukari cried in her hands, Shinjiro had started to regain his consciousness. The heiress sat on the floor with her teammates. They made it. They're still alive. She smiled genuinely, this time... It doesn't feel like a chore, like how she's supposed to smile in front of her Father's colleagues. It feels good to smile like this, in this circle.

"Good job, everyone"

Mitsuru informed Akihiko and Mr. Chairman in the dorm, receiving his status report that nothing happened while they left.

"If only I and Penthesilea had more power, we could've made this easier for everyone,"

"Now, now, don't blame yourself, Mitsuru. Everyone did came out alive, right? You're doing just fine." The Chairman consoled her.

"I don't sense anymore Shadow, so let's go home," Mitsuru said, relieved as she supported Shinjiro on her shoulder. Junpei groaned, feeling hungry and Yukari chided him but they heard a loud rumble from Yukari's stomach. She felt embarassed and they laughed it off.


Author Note: Ha, that's what a level 37 Persona does to a level 10 Arcana Shadow. About Shinjiro, I deliberately changed his Persona to Hector the First Prince of Troy although its initial level is still the same with Castor. Hector was also one of the Nine Worthies honored for their nobility and chivalry. By extention, I also changed Akihiko's Persona to match the mythology. You can google it up if you have time, it still hold the same link to Castor and Polydeuces' story. It's an interesting take on the Greek Mythology, particularly because the Troy has been regarded as a power hungry Kingdom.

I found some time to upload this chapter. Whew, my schedule is cramped. Thanks for reading.