-P3-
Eternal Punishment
Note: I own nothing of Atlus' property (Persona, Devil Summoner, etc.) any likenesses to actual people in this story are purely coincidental or intentional.
All right, schedule in school just changed and I will be able to update Fridays and Sunday in HK time. This will be a direct continuation of my previous fic, "Burn My Head". Separating it into 2 parts is due to a big genre shift due to me reading A LOT of dark fics and Gary Stu/Mary Sue styled stories. This fic will be a combo of the two with gritty violence, sorrow and loss, but balancing it out with happy fun time feelings as it reaches the end.
"Papillion Heart I"
The series of dreadful surprises had taken their toll on Minato, the loss of SEES, the invasion of Shadows and this new threat from supposed Anti-Shadow weapons. The pair of mechanical maidens approached the group, Takeharu drew a pistol and opted to stay in the rear, Souji left Margaret in his care, joining Minato and Kurosawa.
"What fresh hell of a mind screw is this?" Gig cursed at the universe.
"Careful, these two were designed to fight Shadows before you two started, their movements are above human," Takeharu said, cocking his pistol, "who is this woman anyway?"
"She's someone impor-" the white-haired youth was interrupted by a sudden impact to his gut.
*Thud*
"Holy Shit," Minato said as calmly as he could.
The Anti-Shadow weapons were fighting the group off effortlessly, their movements were akin to those of marionettes held by a master puppeteer.
"Damn, Ikutsuki must have upgraded them," the President swore, firing a futile shot that was simply caught between the blonde unit's fingers.
"They...aren't even...using their weapons," Souji Seta observed, a pained look in his face.
"They don't need to, we're only human to them, they don't perceive us as threats," Kurosawa analyzed while dodging blows.
"Then we need to finish this before they start getting serious," the bluenette answered.
"He's right, we're fighting an uphill battle here," Souji agreed.
"Gig!"
"Izanagi!"
The two Fools yelled in unison.
The area was bathed in a radiant light, the Anti-Shadow Weapons were forced into using their sensors to keep tabs on their targets. However, the light soon faded and the mechanical maidens were met with swift strikes from the summoned Personae. Gig had struck both of them with his scythe's Blade of Fury while Izanagi targeted the masked one with a strike of Primal Force.
"Re-evaluating enemy threat levels," the blonde one spoke aloud.
"Not so fast, go Oberon!" Officer Kurosawa beckoned his summon.
"Right, Ziodyne!" divine lightning erupted from the king's palm, making contact with the blonde unit.
"Sister!" the masked one faced her partner.
"You shouldn't let your guard down my dear, Garudyne!" Titania summoned an otherworldly gust of wind that caught the masked one out of balance.
"Ahh!" the brunette screamed as the wind knocked her down.
"Everyone, now is the time for an All-Out-Att-" Kurosawa was cut off by the two Fools charging towards the two Anti-Shadow Weapons with swords in hand.
Minato and Souji were soon followed by Oberon and Titania while Kurosawa and Kirijo took clean shots at vital areas. The onslaught continued on and didn't seem to stop until...
"Activating Orgia mode!" both foes said in monotone, gaining a red tint from the extreme heat that was emanating from their bodies.
"Oh shi-" before the bluenette could finish his curse, the masked unit made impact with a bludgeon she seemed to have drawn from out of nowhere.
With quick action and strength of will, Minato held his ground and aimed his Evoker once more. Staring at the brunette, the high school student gasped for air as he said, "Asagi!". The gunslinger girl drew another armament from what must have been Hammerspace and stared her enemy right in the eyes, "God's Hand(Cameo Star)!". The opponent's mask was broken by the impact on the blow and revealed a pair of deep red eyes, capitalizing on this situation, Officer Kurosawa revealed a long knife from his nightstick and said only a single word, "Jackpot!" knocking the mechanical maiden towards the end of the corridor.
"Everyone, we have to get moving, the Shadows have made it to Iwatodai, my limo service is just outside," the President ordered as he carried the bleeding Margaret towards the stairway.
"Retreat order received," the blue-eyed blonde reported as she skipped passed the combatants and retrieved her "sister" and jumped out the window.
The ragtag bunch made their way outside the dormitory if only to be greeted by a large Shadow infestation. Fortunately, the limousine was intact and the chauffeur had balls of steel and an ironclad paycheck.
"Where are we headed sir?" the hardfaced man gripped the steering wheel.
"As far from the Island as possible, now gentlemen, I'm going to make some calls to have the Island sealed off," Takeharu said as he grabbed his phone.
"What about all the people left behind?" the bluenette wondered aloud.
"There's no one left...the Shadows, they're chasing us because there are no other people left behind," Souji Seta replied with disgust.
"I can confirm that, but what I don't understand is how all these Shadows started running amok in such a short span of time," the officer scratched his head.
"Maybe it's that big, red and shiny thing from Gekkoukan," the chauffeur pointed outward.
"...Your limo driver has the "potential"?" Minato suddenly realized.
"Yes, but I don't believe he has a Persona," Takeharu answered.
"Don't cut me out of this boss, remember when Nanjou recommended me for this job? He and I go back to when demons went nuts in SEBEC," the man behind the wheel explained.
"I was suspicious as to why Nanjou-san personally convinced me on the matter," the President sighed.
"Okay, so we have a summoner and three Persona users and a few thousand Shadows after us," the bluenette groaned.
"This is bad kid, that light over there, heralds the end of your world," Gig motioned the youth's mind towards the tower.
"Uh, my Persona just told me that we're dealing with Apocalyptic stuff here," Minato relayed the message.
"He isn't a Persona," the President rubbed his face.
"We need to start hearing the truth if we're going to piece anything together," Souji demanded as he cradled the wounded woman.
"Agh..uh" the Velvet clad woman winced.
"Right...Ten years ago there was a car crash in the Moonlight Bridge," the elder Kirijo began telling his story.
"!" Minato's eyes lit up.
A strange silence filled the room, both Souji Seta and Kurosawa knew that something was off.
"What caused the crash wasn't a truck or some such, it was caused by two otherworldly beings locked in combat," the President continued.
"The hell?" the Master of Death grew serious.
"We dispatched the blonde unit you fought earlier as a means to neutralize both creatures, but she only managed to seal them away,"
"Where!" Minato demanded loudly.
"When she arrived the two had worn each other out, but her strength did not suffice. To alleviate this, the seal was placed. One figure simply vanished, the recording would imply that it lost much power and the other was placed inside the mind of a young boy who survived the crash that killed his parents."
"What was his name?" the bluenette grit his teeth, knowing the answer.
"Minato Arisato..." Takeharu replied.
End
Exposition and Aigis' side of the story will be in the next update.