A/N: Greeeeetings, audience! I hope you've all been enjoying your existence this far! I know I have. But regardless, here's this chapter! This one is a bit different than the previous ones. It's "Combat", but I couldn't think of a way to work the timeline into a place where the two of them could be in combat together, so I wrote a bit of a "What-If?" scenario, from the perspective of S.E.E.S. back in High School, but with Labrys along for the ride this time. Without further adieu, enjoy the chapter!

"Hah!" Labrys unnecessarily exclaimed as she brought her axe down on the head of the Shadow in front of her. Whatever form it once held was only destroyed, melting across the floor into a puddle of black liquid, fading away into red smoke as they always did after being defeated/ The puddles had a knack for blending in with the blood coating the ground, only giving the place a more ominous feel as the bright green moonlight shone in through the cracks in the walls. Labrys let out a deep sigh, trying to calm her ragged breaths; even though she didn't need to inhale or exhale, it was a psychological reaction to the physical stress. Combat never got any less exhausting, even for an Anti-Shadow Suppression Unit.

"This is Labrys," she said into her communicator. "I dealt with these ones." She let out yet another sigh, awaiting her reply.

"Great!" Fuuka giggled energetically, seeming almost out of place in such a morbid environment. "Leader should be on that floor somewhere. . . If you don't mind, could you please look for him? He should be somewhere by the stairs."

"Yeah, sure. Thanks, Fuuka-san." Labrys heard the communicator flicker shut as she let out yet another sigh, eyes scanning the floor in front of her. The pale mist and bright red blood. . . It was like the only sign of color on the floors. If Labrys had to describe what she saw in front of her with one word, she'd probably pick "awful".

Tartarus was everyone in SEES's least favorite place. No matter what the circumstance, they were hard pressed to find anyone (other than maybe Akihiko and Junpei, in their false bravado) who enjoyed being there. Labrys was no exception; the lifelessness of the halls reminded her of a part of her she'd rather forget, as if always waving it in her face as a constant reminder. And apart from the negative atmosphere, there were also the murderous Shadows that treated Tartarus as their home; they wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who invaded their territory.

Labrys was pulled out of her mind when she saw the blue haired boy in front of her finishing off a Shadow, feeling her heart leap into her throat. Although he was clearly in the advantageous position here, the thought of him potentially being in danger still spent shivers down her spine; it scared Labrys even more than the thought of it happening to her. She watched as he danced around the Shadows, pulling his Evoker to his head. "Persona!" he said, in a calm and collected voice.

A white figure appeared behind him, holding its hand over its chest with coffins draping from its other hand. It looked up towards the ceiling, almost as if in regret, before waving the hand it held over its chest. "Messiah!" he continued, as it unleashed its attack. Megidoloan rained from the heavens, tearing the Shadows apart bit by bit without relent. After the chorus of white and purple lights died down, no trace of the Shadows remained. He's strong. . . she thought, awed by his strength. I wonder what it took to get that powerful.

"Hey, Makoto!" Labrys shouted across the hall. Makoto looked towards her, letting out a sigh of relaxation, relief washing over his face. "Fuuka-san told me to come look for ya'. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, everything's fine." He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes with a short, stale sigh. After several more seconds, he opened them again, and spoke to the air. "Mitsuru-senpai, is your group okay?"

The reply trickled into his mind, Fuuka's Persona doing its job as needed. "Everything's fine. There aren't many Shadows on this floor, for whatever reason. How about you? Have you met up with Labrys-san yet?"

"Affirmative." He twirled his sword in his hand idly. "We're progressing upwards. Feel free to go back if you get tired."

Mitsuru agreed to his conditions and the mechanical maiden and the blue haired boy started walking up the stairs; in front of them, yet another floor of Tartarus.

"You don't really like this place too much, huh, Makoto-kun?" Labrys let out an awkward laugh, trying to dispel a bit of the negative mood. "N-Not that I blame you, of course. It's a really messed up place. . ." She continued laughing until the sound died out into nothingness, leaving her with a blush on her face. Even though they were dating now, Labrys still couldn't help but get flustered around Makoto.

"It's . . ." Makoto's lip curled into a frown as he thought of the word he'd use to describe Tartarus. ". . . Tiresome." That's the word.

The duo reached the top flight of the staircase as Makoto pulled his hand out of his pocket and entered a readied stance. "Be prepared for anything."

"R-Right," she said, as she swung her battle-ax off her back and into her hands, giving the jets a little juice to get a reaction. Just focus on the battle, Labrys. . .

"G-Guys!" shouted Fuuka into their ears. Makoto grabbed his ear, with a frown.

"What is it?"

"Something about that floor. . . Th-There's far more Shadows than usual! And they seem hostile!"

"Tch." Makoto scratched his forehead, hand instinctively moving towards his evoker. "Thanks." His face held a look of both anger, disappointment, and slight surprise, but not what she was expecting. Not fear. As usual, her boyfriend seemed unshaken, as though nothing in this world could frighten him. That lack of fear was almost ominous. . . I'll have to ask him about it later.

"Don't worry about it, Makoto. We'll be fine." Labrys gave him an encouraging smile, to which he couldn't help but smile back, if only ever so slightly.

"You bet. Let's go."

Their footsteps, those of a human and those of a robot, rang out through the hallways as they ran forward.

Makoto gasped as they ran into the dead end, resting his hands on his knees as he breathed heavily. He quickly spun around, intent on checking to see if the Shadows had managed to follow them all the way there.

Fortunately, they hadn't.

"Whew. . ." He let out a sigh and slumped back against the wall, taking a seat on the ground. Labrys joined him.

"Dang, Makoto, tired already?" Labrys laughed, trying to use this as an opportunity to poke fun. "I know you're a whole lot stronger than that."

Makoto raised an eyebrow, but then proceeded to laugh. "Yeah. . . Guess I'm out of shape, huh?"

"Nah, just outta' practice, I'm sure." Labrys laid her ax against the wall, looking down the dark hallway in front of her. It seemed to twist and contort in all directions, blood dripping from the ceiling and pouring through the floor. She felt herself shivering in fear as the sight sucked her in, seemingly intent on devouring her whole. "D-Do you think. . ." She cleared her throat, trying to bolster herself for the question.

"Do you think we'll ever make it to the top? I-Is there a top?" Labrys had always questioned the possibility of Tartarus not having a technical top. The thought scared her; her friends were risking their lives, almost on a daily basis, to get to the top of this thing, and if there wasn't a top. . . That would just be too cruel to bear.

"Don't worry." He patted her on top of the head as he gave her a reassuring smile, one hundred percent confident in what he was saying. "We'll get there." His eyes, deep grey, seemed to radiate certainty. "I'm sure of it."

Labrys slowly smiled, nodding a couple times. "I am, too. . ." She closed her eyes, looking over the memory of Makoto's. Those deep grey eyes, the certainty inside them. . .

"Guys, one big Shadow coming your way!" shouted Fuuka in their ears. Once again, Makoto grabbed the side of his head.

"Tch." He stood up, grabbing his sword. "C'mon, Labrys. Let's see if we can't deal with this thing."

Labrys nodded, her confidence totally renewed. "You bet!"

It was not going well.

No matter what they threw at it, it didn't seem to care. The Reaper either danced around their assaults, or simply ignored them entirely.

"M-Makoto! I don't think it's working!" shouted Labrys, barely skirting out of the path of another one of its bullets. She slammed the butt of her ax into its face, but it ignored her assault and turned its free gun towards Makoto.

He gritted his teeth as it skidded past him, raising his evoker to his head. "Persona!" he shouted, calling upon the white figure, Messiah, once again. It put its hands together in a form of mock prayer, and above the Reaper formed a giant golden hand. Makoto waved his sword forward as the hand came down upon the reaper, decking it clean in the face. Of course, this still barely managed to dent it.

"I-I don't know if you can beat it with just the two of you!" said Fuuka, clearly panicking. "I-I'll see if I can get Mitsuru to come help!"

Labrys, if she could sweat, would definitely have some on her forehead in this instant. "Ariadne!" she shouted, as her persona, The Weaver, appeared behind her. Ariadne didn't hesitate to summon five or six red threads, sending all of them plunging through the Reaper at Labrys's request. It cringed, contorting in pain as the energy flew out the other side and dissipated. It was going to draw attention to her for sure, but at the moment, she was only concerned with Makoto's safety.

The Reaper only got angrier, though. It turned all of its full might on Labrys. One shot to the air, as it began charging its attack . . . and another, to commence it.

The Bufudyne struck Labrys with a force she'd never felt before. Of course she'd been hit by Shadows. It was part of the job description. But this . . . was something different. It was like six trucks topped off by a continent slammed into her full force, knocking her into a wall. She couldn't feel any permanent damage, but it was definitely enough. There's no way I can get up again after this. . .

She looked upwards, staring at the thing that would be her undoing. Slowly, she closed her eyes, letting her thoughts drift to a happier place. At least Makoto might get away. . .

"Armageddon!" shouted a familiar voice, as her eyes snapped open yet again.

The purple lights danced in the same fashion she'd seen earlier, but with far more power. Labrys had to squint just to see, and even then, nothing could be determined within the bright light. And then, after several more seconds, it ended. The Reaper was nowhere to be seen.

Makoto rushed over to Labrys's side. "Labrys, are you alright?" He immediately grabbed her hand, holding it comfortingly. "Mitsuru's going to be here soon. Does it hurt?"

"I-I'll be fine," she said, sitting up slowly. "Just a bit of a shock, that's all." True to her words, she stood up just fine. Although there were a few dents and scratches, and she'd definitely be needing some maintenance, she and Makoto were alright, and that was all she could ask for. "But, what was that back there? You were crazy strong!" Labrys giggled, leaning on him for support as they started to walk towards the nearest access point. "Why didn't you do it sooner?"

"S-Sorry."

"Hey, it was just a joke! I was kiddin'." Labrys laughed a little, and as usual, her contagion spread to Makoto as he started to laugh as well. "Let's go home," she said, grinning.

"Let's."

Now back in the dorm, Makoto was getting a firm scolding as he sat on the couch. Mitsuru walked in front of him, chastising his decision.

"What were you thinking? You had no chance of defeating such a powerful enemy alone, and yet you insisted to take it on. . . And you didn't mention that there were so many enemies?" Her rambling continued for quite some time, as Makoto stared forward nonchalantly. Regardless of how he looked, however, everyone in the dormitory was fearing an execution.

"Uh, Mitsuru-san?" Labrys interjected, clearing her throat. "Uh, I don't wanna' be rude, but maybe this can wait 'till tomorrow? Makoto's kinda' exhausted, so I think we should get him up to bed. . ." True, he looked like he'd either just woken up or was about to get knocked unconscious. That spell earlier sure took a whole lot outta' him, huh. . .

Mitsuru sighed and agreed to Labrys's request, quickly turning to head upstairs. "But this isn't over!" she insisted, before finally leaving.

Labrys allowed Makoto to lean on her shoulder, lifting him up. His eyes drooped. "You look exhausted. . . Don't worry about Mitsuru-san, she's probably just worried about you." Labrys chuckled, trying to dispel the negative mood.

"I hope so. . ." He tried to laugh, but it ended up sounding more pained than natural. "The last thing I need right now is an execution."

They found themselves in front of Makoto's room. Labrys opened up the door, and walked him inside. It was her first time seeing the place. Believe it or not, it was actually quite orderly. She'd have to compliment him on it when he was actually awake.

She laid him down in the bed. "You have a nice nap now, alright?"

"Mm. . ." Makoto was clearly already almost down for the count. He didn't have enough energy for this kind of thing before using Armageddon, after was just overkill.

"Oh, and Makoto?" she said, spinning around. She saw an evident quirk in his eyebrow, indicating he was still awake. "I wanted to say thanks. Uh, for protecting me. I owe you one, okay?"

"Anything . . . for the woman I love. . ." he said, before letting out a deep yawn. With that, he rolled over, and went to sleep.

Outside, Labrys was blushing beet red. Th-The woman he loves!?

. . . Actually, I think I'm okay with that. . .

A/N:Duh duh duh duuuun! That one was kind of fun. Combat's not in my usual repertoire for writing, but I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Maybe I'll incorporate it in future stories? That seems kind of neat. Next prompt is not one I was looking forward to, to say the least. . .

Arguing. Yaaaaaay. . . It's going to be a 2 parter of Makoto and Labrys not getting along. So I hope you enjoy some of that. If not, I apologize, but 2 more chapters to go. Can you believe I only have 8 chapters to go? I hope you stay with me for all of them. See you next time!