Wings flared, the Velociraptor pounced at my Shadow, but Quasimodo stepped in and swung its bell. Velociraptor grabbed onto the iron instrument, using it to claw its way up Quasimodo's arm, digging in its claws and causing the misshapen Persona to bellow in pain.

"Stop this, you fool!" my Shadow screamed at me. "If you hurt me, you only hurt yourself!"

"Funny," I retorted, "I thought you said you weren't me anymore?"

The Shadow gave a start as he realized his mistake. I pressed on. "It doesn't matter how much you deny it. You're still me, and if I have to beat that into you, I will."

"Shut up, SHUT UUUUUPPP!" the Shadow screamed. Waves of force and darkness emanated from the armored humanoid, and it began to grow to an enormous size, its features quickly becoming increasingly grotesque.

"Hey, Silver Head," I told Yu, "I'd like to borrow that sword if you don't mind."

Yu gave me a look before unsheathing the silver blade and offering me the hilt. "I don't mind you using this as long as you're careful with it. I do mind you calling me that."

"Well, I think it describes you pretty well," I said lightly. I glanced over at Velociraptor and Quasimodo. Velociraptor had hooked its claws into Quasimodo's back and shoulders and was hanging on desperately, trying to get in a good bite to the hunchback's neck while it bellowed and sloshed fire out of its bell.

"I don't think Velociraptor will be able to hold out for long against Quasimodo," I said briefly. "All it really has is attack and speed, and it's still only half-formed. Any healing or support you can give me is appreciated. Also, just in case, Quasimodo's weakness is curse."

"Got it," Yu acknowledged. He put a hand to his mask. "Ongyo-Ki, Sukukaja!"

A burst of green energy erupted around me, and every muscle in my body tensed. The world around me almost seemed to slow down a little as I felt my own agility increase. "Much obliged," I told my senior Wild Card before turning to face my Shadow.

He was now entirely unrecognizable. Now over eight feet tall, he carried a silver sword in each hand that contrasted mightily with his new draconic features: black scales and clawed fingers coupled with black iron armor fitted with horns and spikes. The ensemble was completed by the pair of wide black bat wings sprouting from his shoulders.

Scratch that. He had only one black dragon wing. In fact, as I looked closer, I realized that it wasn't just his one wing. One of his swords was dull and chipped on the back edge and missing its point. On the same side that bore his wing, he was missing the vambrace on his forearm, and the pauldron was cracked. He was also missing the opposite boot, and his bare foot was clawed and scaled like a dragon's.

"Enough of your little games, my former other self! I am a Shadow, the true self, and I don't need you anymore!" the Shadow boasted, readying his swords as he towered over me.

I lowered my stance, holding Yu's katana at my side in a drawing position. Off to the side, Velociraptor was finally thrown off of Quasimodo's back, and my Shadow attacked.

The point of a sword darted in towards my chest, but my enhanced reflexes smacked it to the side, causing it to spark against the asphalt. The other sword came around, and I was forced to duck before it took my head off, and then I was in. I lunged forward with Yu's sword, aiming for a gap in the armor in his side. Right as I pierced the Shadow, I heard Yu chant, "Futsunushi, Tarukaja!" and strength surged through my limbs again. The blade bit into my Shadow's side, eliciting a howl of pain.

The booted foot caught me in the chest before I could retreat, knocking me sprawling across the ground. Velociraptor scampered over to my side and stood over me, snarling at my Shadow and Quasimodo. I shoved the pain to one side.

"Magaru!"

The name of the multi-target wind spell sprang to my lips as Velociraptor obeyed, beating its wings and arcing its tail over its head as it cast the magic-edged gales at the enemy Shadow and Persona. The weak magic did little damage, but it pushed them back and bought us time to get back on our feet.

The Shadow laughed again. "I'll admit I was surprised when you pulled that little trick, but that ancient bird is as weak as you are. And beyond that, all you have is a single sword and some stupid wind."

"You mocked me for hiding alone," I told him. "Well I'm not alone anymore. Opening up to people gave me the strength to stand up to you." I took a deep breath.

I ordered the Velociraptor, "Rakunda."

Velociraptor displayed his feathers again and screeched, casting a dark spell at my Shadow. It gave a loud grunt of discomfort as it felt its armor weaken. "Ngh! Damn you!"

With a loud cry, my Persona and I leapt back into the fray, instantly swapping targets. Velociraptor raced ahead of me and went for my Shadow, dodging his blades and aiming to hamstring him with a Kill Rush. I dodged Quasimodo's bell and slashed with Yu's katana at his side, rushing past the injured Persona in the direction of my Shadow as Velociraptor and I swapped targets again.

I rolled with a strike from my Shadow's blade, danced around his injured leg, and finally drove the katana into the base of his sole wing. When he roared in pain, I shouted, practically in his ear, "You mocked me for keeping my head down, for running from my problems! Well guess what? I've had it with that!"

I withdrew the sword, but I felt a burst of pain as Quasimodo managed to grab Velociraptor off its shoulders and hurl my Persona into the ground. But before it could get off a follow-up strike on the downed Persona, I heard Yu shout, "Isis, Tetrakarn!" Quasimodo's bell bounced off an invisible wall and hit it in its own misshapen skull. When Quasimodo stumbled back, Rise called out, "Eiga!" and Quasimodo dropped like a sack of bricks.

My Shadow stared. "You...you actually told them Quasimodo's weakness!?" he accused me.

"Friends need to know information like that if they're going to watch your back," I reasoned. "You have to be honest about your weaknesses. Otherwise, they can't protect you."

"You can't trust them!" my Shadow screamed. "They'll only use it to betray you later! The only person you can rely on is yourself! You don't know them!"

"Maybe not," I replied. "But they're not the ones trying to kill me right now. You are."

My Shadow could barely contain its rage as it heard what I was implying. He surged to his feet with a massive battle cry, but Rise struck him with a force blast from above and flattened him against the ground. My Shadow raised his head, dust falling from his flattened helm as he raised his head from the asphalt. "Kill me then!" he screamed. "Kill me and be done with it if you're so much better off without me!"

"I'd just as soon put my brain in a microwave," I spat. "You're me! I don't care how much you say you hate me because I know it's just that damn Vane of Order talking. And if you can't see that, then I'll make you!"

Behind me, Yu muttered under his breath, "Izanagi-No-Okami, Heat Riser."

I dashed in at the helpless Shadow, still on its knees and one sword abandoned on the ground. It raised its other sword, but I slammed Yu's blade into it and it spun away down the street. Then I stabbed at the cracked pauldron, shattering it. Another blow to the chestplate's shoulder strap, severing it and leaving it and the other pauldron dangling. Now behind him. I chopped down at the base of the wing, severing it and causing the Shadow to scream in pain. Finally, I spun and slashed upwards right as the Shadow raised its left arm in a vain attempt to ward me off.

The hand bearing the Vane of Order was severed, flopped to the ground, and dissolved into a puddle of black.

My Shadow froze. He barely seemed to comprehend that I had just severed him from his primary power source. He looked at me as I stood there panting, Yu's katana now leveled at his throat. My elbows were skinned, my ribs were bruised, my right hand still bled freely despite how I'd forgotten about it during the battle, and I was almost completely out of energy. Still, I stood there, Velociraptor at my side, as I waited for my Shadow to make his move.

A tear fell down his face. Then another. And another. My Shadow's armor and monstrous form dissolved completely as he began to sob in earnest, still on his knees like a heartbroken child. Yu and Rise walked up to me, their faces compassionate. I wordlessly handed the sword back to Yu, knelt down, and hugged my sobbing Shadow.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry for ignoring you all this time. Because no matter how hard either of us try to deny it, you are me. You're my pain and resentment, my self-loathing, my insecurities, my fears...and my loneliness."

I loosened the hug and held my Shadow by the shoulders. "But we don't have to be alone. Because I think I want to try making friends again. And yes, some people aren't going to want to be friends with us. Yes, people are going to try to hurt us. But that's just part of life. And if we can overcome all the bad stuff that comes at us, it'll make the good times all the more incredible. We don't need to borrow an evil god's power. We'll make our own. And if people want to stop us?"

I looked my Shadow in the eyes, sea-grey into gold. "Let them try."

My Shadow's smile was filled with joy even as his eyes still streamed with tears. His voice was now little more than an echoing whisper:

"I am thou, thou art I."

A blue light shone from my Shadow's chest as I rose to my feet. The body of my doppelgänger faded into azure light, as did the prone form of Quasimodo and the Velociraptor at my side. The three joined together and reformed into a large, muscular man standing at an anvil. He was bare-armed and wore leather overalls. He was hairy, his skin covered in old scars, and his face was misshapen, but his eyes still twinkled with kindness and intelligence.

"And may we stay together this time," I told my new Persona.

"Hephaestus."

The man smiled at me before fading into azure light and being absorbed into my chest.

I barely had the time to smile with satisfaction before my legs gave out. Yu caught me before my head could hit the asphalt. "Whoa there," he admonished me.

Rise summoned Kouzeon once more and had her Persona start to restore a little energy to my body. "It's always exhausting, facing your Shadow," she told me. "Don't worry, you'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

I let out a breath. "That's good to hear." I took another breath, relishing in the cool air. Then I blinked and took another. It hit me what was going on.

"I can breathe."

Yu blinked. "What? Of course you can…"

"No, no, I can breathe," I insisted. I inhaled a long and deep breath before slowly letting it escape from my lungs. "I had asthma when I was a kid, and it kept me from building up a lot of stamina because I had a hard time breathing. But I can breathe!" I laughed out loud, despite still being held up by the older Wild Card. I barely remembered telling Yu and Rise which house was my family's, getting home, or getting immediately sent to bed by both of my parents. My afternoon had spun completely out of my control and virtually nothing had gone as planned.

But in the end, that wasn't a bad thing.

In fact, now that I no longer had a Vane of Order in my hand and Yu had healed me up, I had never felt better.

Next day.

Somehow We Are All Still Alive

Yu: So, how well do we all know Kenzo Okuda, the next Wild Card this generation?

Mitsuru: He was there at the party to welcome Ren's parents to the city

Mitsuru: I got dragged in as well, so we had a little talk

Ren: And he actually managed to make a social link with me

Yu: Really? What arcana?

Ren: Star

Yu: Wow. Then some things make a little more sense

Yosuke: Cut to the chase already, what the heck happened?

Kanji: Give us the details already!

Rise: So Kenzo-kun faced his Shadow last night.

Futaba: Wait, already?

Akihiko: What do you mean, already?

Futaba: I texted him yesterday morning

Futaba: he told me he planned to draw out his Shadow and accept it without a fight

Futaba: So he's Sage Class now?

Ryuji: For real? That's awesome!

Sumire: I must congratulate him!

Yu: Hold on, it wasn't that easy.

Makoto: Oh no, is he hurt?

Rise: Nothing a Diarahan couldn't fix

Yu: He accepted his Shadow, but the Shadow somehow used the Vane to reject him instead

Yu: Then Kenzo fused a Velociraptor Persona on his own and fought his Shadow and Quasimodo with a little help from me and Rise.

Mitsuru: He did WHAT?

Ryuji: I knew he was cool!

Ren: How the f*** did he fuse a Persona on his own?

Chie: That's insane!

Minako: That's supposed to be impossible!

Yu: I don't know how he did it.

Yu: He said something about Velociraptor having been a part of him ever since he was a kid

Yu: Maybe it was also because he was still tied to the Vane of Order?

Yu: idk

Junpei: I just chalk it up to more dumb Metaverse stuff.

Yukari: Of course you would.

Makoto: Okay, still trying to wrap my head around this.

Ren: Agreed.

Ryuji: Same.

Yusuke: You speak for all of us.

Chie: My head hurts…

Mitsuru: Does this mean you obtained the Vane of Order, Yu?

Yu: I grabbed it after Kenzo cut his Shadow's hand off, yeah.

Ryuji: Dude, that's so badass.

Yukiko: Wait, why was the Vane in his Shadow's hand?

Makoto: Could you please explain from the beginning, Yu?

Rise: I'll help!

Yu: Thanks, Rise.

Yu: Buckle down, this is going to take a while.

A figure in a face mask and dark coat panted hard in his hiding place. He'd finally found one with no Shadows. He reached into his coat and pulled out his walkie talkie.

"Base, this is Shadowhunter. We've hit a bit of a snag."

"Go on."

"The initial assault failed. The Target took me by surprise and overpowered me, but some very interesting events soon followed. I was able to glean some information that the boss will very much want to hear."

"If that's the case, he may forgive your initial failure. Return to base at once."

"Roger that."

The walkie talkie crackled and was silent.