(I changed two monsters because the ones I used previously had nothing to do with this dungeon. If you read anything about a bird or a butterfly, please yell at me. Recall that an Ardent Dancer is like two monsters in one, so it was confusing whether or not to refer to it as one or two monsters. Blarg, I say. Also, I have tests and crazy homework and I proofread the last of this at like 1:00 a.m. Yes, I am a hypocrite for uploading while sleepy. :P)
By then, everyone knew to make sort of a tumbling form to roll on the ground. Zero had taken more of a dive and skidded gracelessly on the ground; you thought you heard him swear under his breath before he stood up and put on his new black glasses.
When Zukin stood, you had to ask: how well did anyone really know Alice?
"I know enough," she said. As she called her Persona yet again, you had to question her relationships with the others; she knew Rage because she had some attraction to him. Zero, you weren't sure about, but they could probably tolerate each other, being quiet and all. She lived in Yuni's residence, but she didn't know Yuni well (probably because Yuni was never home). What made her know about Alice?
… and what could she tell you about her? You thought about asking later...
"She is there," Zukin muttered, holding a gloved hand out and pointing in one direction. Ouze faded and Zukin opened her eyes.
You asked her to lead the way for you and the rest of your team.
-.
You ran through the streets of a city that looked different than the ones you'd seen before in this world. The buildings were cramped together as if the city would've been heavily populated if anyone resided in this dimension.
You found one large building that was likely some sort of entertainment center when Zukin stopped running. There were a few posters outside, advertising shows and times. You noticed that one had a picture of a hat with cards coming out that said "Tonight: Alice the Illusionist!"
"She's definitely here," Rage remarked. "At least this is less creepy than Zero's place."
The aforementioned man had an offended frown.
You took the lead from Zukin and headed inside. There were several clear doors for you to choose; you randomly chose one to your right and pulled it open. The others chose a few that were adjacent to yours.
Inside, you were in a lobby with more posters of Alice performing more than just magic. At least, you believed they were Alice. The blue-haired dancer was depicted in two-dimensional art without a face and with pure white skin, dancing alongside two other girls and singing on stage.
"Welcome!" Alice said from above. "You're just in time! The show's about to start, so hurry up and get a seat before it's over!"
You had three doors and a hallway to choose from... where should you start? You decided to use the strategy of following hallways until you met their ends, where you would then open the doors. The first floor was absent of monsters, so it only took about five minutes to find the first spiral staircase to the next level up.
After everyone climbed the stairs, you found yourselves in a blue-tinted hallway when you heard Alice speak.
"Stand back and watch me," she requested, "but don't get too close. I can't reveal any of my secrets."
"Be careful," Zukin warned. "There are Shadows on this floor."
You unsheathed your sword and looked back at your team, who had also begun unleashing their weapons.
It occurred to you that you had a lot of people to watch out for. You were used to only having about three other people on your fighting team; you could exclude Zukin, but Zero's addition began to make it complicated to organize your group for combat. You stood there, wondering how to arrange your party. You wanted Zero on your team, both as a healer and to train him. Without knowing what kinds of monsters were ahead, it was difficult to choose your other party members. You decided to run forward until you had a better idea of what to expect.
This dungeon was like running through some sort of theater without any stages. Each door led to another large hallway and so on. You assumed there was only one real stage, and that it would be at the end of this maze.
You were about to open the fifth random door until Zukin spoke.
"There is something behind that door," she said. You nodded and fearlessly ran in.
You recognized the Ardent Dancers from the past; two headless couples were linked by the hearts that floated above each of the pairs' shoulders. A card soldier taller than Akira guarded them with a scepter; you wondered if it had any magical attacks.
"It can help its allies," Zukin confirmed. "Exterminate it first!"
"Raaaaagh!"
A wave of fire flew from behind you. Rage and Benkei had been beyond ready. He darted to one of the Dancers and began to solo it. Akira and Yuni teamed together to work on the other dancer, so you summoned Loki to take out the walking card.
Weak to ice, the soldier fell after a harsh Niflheim attack. You were about to finish it off, but a small ball of light ended the match for you. You looked at the others; the other monsters recoiled from the same bits of light. It resembled the very basic Almighty attack Megido... where did it come from?
After watching Rage's opponent fall to his burning inferno, you turned around and noticed that Zero's angel Persona, wielding a holy sword, was floating behind him. Zero had his hand held out as he apparently guided the angel to cast his Almighty spell. Megido was the easiest of spells to cast, but you were proud of Zero nonetheless.
Akira and Yuni took down the Dancer shortly afterward. When the battle concluded, you knew you wanted Rage and Zero on your team, but you weren't sure how to split up Yuni and Akira. Their Personas could hardly be more different, but you knew they preferred to work together. Perhaps they worked well enough as a team that you could count them as one person? That would work for the time being, unless you had to dismiss one of them due to type disadvantages.
You congratulated Zero on summoning his Persona again.
"Hey, what's that guy's name, anyway?" Rage asked.
"His name?"
"Yeah, hasn't he told you his name yet?"
Zero looked at his winged partner. The two seemed to communicate telepathically. "Maion."
"Just like the real Zero," Yuni said, "he won't give you his name unless you bother him about it."
Maion disappeared and Zero said nothing in reply to Yuni's comment.
Based on that battle, you had an idea of how to organize your team. You said you and Rage would be in the lead; Zukin and Zero would be in the middle, while Yuni and Akira would stay in the back. Your party agreed, and Rage excitedly came up to help you lead.
You weren't fortunate enough to run into the enemies you expected the entire way. You told Rage to take down any Dancers and you would cover the increasing number of magic cards, but you found a different kind of monster. It resembled a single Ardent Dancer, but it was only the female. Her head was replaced with a microphone.
Rage, mistaking it for the other monster, launched a flame attack in its direction.
It launched back!
You and Rage braced yourselves, but Loki was able to disperse the fire. You looked back up and saw that the Shadow was unaffected.
She emitted a screeching feedback noise. That noise was her ability to summon Ardent Dancers. You nodded to Rage, and he and Benkei began to take them on. You dashed to the summoner and tested a small Bufu move.
"Do not use ice or fire," Zukin advised, "the singer is strong to ice moves."
"Duck!"
You didn't even know who said it, but you quickly fell to the ground anyway. You instantly knew it was Akira when you heard a gunshot afterward. He aimed right for the microphone, which crumbled into pieces. Though he disabled her ability after that, the Shadow had been able to summon about three couples before losing her power. You got up and thanked Akira for eliminating the source's power before you slashed at her with your sword.
Yuni came to assist you, knowing that physical moves worked well. You wanted to give her a chance to show her strength, so you backed away, using yourself as a distraction so that Yuni could punch the Shadow from behind. She hit the monster about three times before finishing the Shadow off with an uppercut from her bladed knuckles.
Rage seemed to be having fun burning off two of the three monsters, while Akira was calmly yet efficiently destroying the last dancing couple in Lu-yan's waves of electricity.
At no point did you see another Almighty move. You wondered if Zero was saving his strength or if he wasn't paying attention...
That aside, your group kept moving. Door after door, path after path, you found another room with a set of stairs. You looked back and saw that Akira was lagging behind, having to fend off a magic card. You waited for him to catch up in a second before going up the stairs.
"You're getting closer!" Alice teased. "Maybe a little too close..."
"What's she talking about?" Rage asked. "We can't even see her."
"She may not want to be seen," Devil Zukin suggested.
After opening the first door, an Ardent Dancer's sword lashed in your direction, but you swung your sword in front of you to defend yourself. Rage and Benkei rushed to your aid and began to slash the Shadow away so that you could get through. You and Zero made it in before Rage's fight blocked the door for another second. The two of you saw another summoning Shadow ahead. While you were trying to call Loki, it screeched and a few more pairs appeared. It had to recharge before calling more, so you took that shot to freeze it in ice moves; you directed Zero to combat one of the Ardent Dancers.
He didn't seem prepared, as you looked out of the corner of your vision. You had to leave him on his own while you occupied the singing Shadow. Trying to avoid wasting ice moves, you had to slash at its body; however, you were too short to accurately reach the microphone.
When the Shadow disappeared after a slash, you looked around for Zero. He was skillfully dodging the wind spells, by jumping and tricking the monster; you thought he looked like he was in some kind of dance battle. Maion was no where in sight, but Zero took it upon himself to combat the Ardent Dancer physically. He tripped the Shadow before kicking it into the direction opposite of its fall and finished the small battle with a series of kicking moves.
While Zero had finished his first real battle, panting and exhausted, it seemed that the others had finished off the rest. The room was empty. After checking if everyone was all right, you continued running through the maze.
The dancers seemed to only exist whenever there was a singer around; the walking cards (each a different suit and color; you were hoping not to see more than 52) paraded in the hallways and occasionally guarded another Shadow; you and Rage eliminated them quickly, whenever they appeared. After reaching the third floor, you heard another message.
"I didn't want to be in Japan..."
It was the real Alice's voice, speaking a piece of her thoughts.
"I left my whole family behind for my career. Am I selfish for that?"
Your wanted to tell her she wasn't. You had to. You felt a surge of determination to find her, so you quickened your pace. The monsters on that floor were scarce and easy for you and Rage to handle on your own. You handled most of them by using your sword, and Rage plowed his shield into the Ardent Dancers.
He wasn't skilled at fighting the thin cards, though. A small ambush of about three of them charged into your group. They weren't particularly strong; you told Zero to try using Megido again.
He listened to your command, it seemed; more specs of light struck the cards. After they were stunned, Akira shot each of them in the center, as if he was in a target practice range, causing them all to fall to the ground. You and your team rushed to the fallen Shadows and beat them into bits.
The battles only took a minute or two with your large team. You were pleased by how easy it was going to be to get through the dungeon. At least, that's what you believed for that moment...
At the second floor, you could hear another voice.
"I just wanted to dance for fun," she said, "I didn't want to be popular. But everyone kept telling me it was for the best. I can't disappoint everyone by saying 'no'..."
You noticed that she almost never said "no" so someone. Was she willing to let others control her easily? What made her so passive? You wanted to learn more after you saved her, and thus you continued to move. Curiously, you asked how Zero was doing with his Persona; did he know any other moves?
"I haven't had the opportunity to use many," he said. "That... Megido attack combined with the rest of you is enough to take down everyone so far."
You knew that it seemed to work, but Alice's Shadow would be a much more difficult opponent. Deep down, you wished someone would get hurt so that he could practice his healing powers. You wondered if he had any supportive moves. Unsure, you encouraged Zero to try any spells that Maion had at hand if the angelic Persona felt it was the right time.
You were distracted while running, and found yourself trying to swat something out of your eyes. You noticed that it was some sort of confetti; you looked up and saw a magic hat held by a gloved hand; another hand possessed a wand. If it could hurt you, it probably would've done so already; it didn't seem like a threat on its own. You and Yuni quickly slashed it into pieces.
"There are more of those farther ahead," Zukin noted. "I'm not sure what powers they possess, but they cannot harm us directly."
It didn't take long before you heard Alice's voice again.
"Why do people decide for me? Stop telling me what's right; for once, I want to decide on my own..."
Even in her thoughts, she seemed to find it difficult to be very assertive. You could tell she was frustrated, but she didn't sound threatening to you.
"That chick never tells us anything," Rage complained. "I'm surprised she even talked to Zukin enough for her to find her. I'm nice to her, but when we first met, I think she was scared of me."
"That's just how she is," Yuni reasoned. "If she doesn't wanna talk, she doesn't have to."
Before even opening a door on the fourth floor, you could hear a familiar screeching noise. The Shadows must've known that your team was getting closer; a microphone Shadow had already been summoning its allies before your arrival. You had no idea how many to expect, but you asked Rage to come back to your side.
You opened the door. Two summoning monsters led an army of probably ten pairs of Ardent Dancers. Above them were about three magic hats. You wondered whether you needed to take out the hats or the summoners first; Rage didn't seem to care for your instructions and he rushed blindly into the others.
The hats were weak, so you took them on for yourself. You told Yuni and Akira to take the summoners. Yuni darted to one with her fists ready, and Akira ran to the other.
Zero was left to... try casting more Almighty skills. The element had no weakness or strength against anyone; like Yuni's unreliable Mudo skills, they weren't something you needed him to master. But if he communicated better with his Persona, perhaps he would find something else to use.
You turned back to the hats in the sky, who were excitedly waving their wands and dodging your moves. Seemingly pointless confetti fell showered over you and the others before they enemies could fall from your sword. They were a bit too agile for you.
"Souji! Help, nothing's working!"
You ignored him in hopes of striking out the hats, but you quickly found out what he was talking about. Loki's Mabufu skills completely missed the monsters; they were changing someone's stats, but you had no idea what exactly was going on.
"They combined skills," Zukin told you. "One raised their evasive ability; the other lowered your team's accuracy."
Akira tried tilting his head in different angles and blinked several times. "She's right, my depth perception is off."
"Just do some more smashing!" Rage said, launching large fire attacks across the room. "One hit is bound to get something!"
You knew that wasn't going to work; everyone's spirit power would fall quickly with useless attacks. You scrambled to think of a Persona with stat canceling skills...
But you felt a surge of power...
Afterward, you tested your accuracy with a Mabufula attack and managed to harshly strike both two of three hats. They fell from the air, weak to your Persona's ice powers.
Apparently, everyone's accuracy had come back. Akira was able to hit the singing Shadows, and Yuni had been making use of her mass instant-kill moves. They weren't perfect hits, seeing as the monsters were still able to avoid the moves, but you knew they were better than before.
After exterminating the third magic hat, you could aid everyone else in destroying the remaining several Shadows. You tended to avoid Rage whenever you had Loki out; in fact, avoided the man altogether, because even Norn made Rage's fiery moves almost too dangerous for everyone. You tried attacking the Ardent Dancers at a far side of the room.
You switched to Norn in hopes of gaining some of your spirit power back; while you blasted your opponent with varying levels of Garu, you were concerned for the others who lacked an Invigorate ability. You instructed everyone to use fewer spells and to focus on combating the Shadows physically.
Taking your own advice, you pulled out your sword while Norn distracted the dancer with a spell. You briefly looked for the best opening before you swung your weapon into its body.
You made a critical hit! The Shadow fell, and you recklessly pounded it until it faded away.
You turned around to see how everyone else was doing. Yuni was fist-fighting a dancer, while Akira was shooting from a distance. Rage continued to plow through enemies with massive attacks. Zero had apparently commanded Maion to team up against a dancer; Zero kicked from one side as the angel slashed from the other. The first duo finished the microphone Shadows before everyone else, then they split up. Akira went to Rage and Yuni went to Zero. The agile fighters quickly defeated the remaining Ardent Dancers. You were proud of your teammates; they didn't seem to need your help at that point.
After the room was cleared, everyone gathered in the center. You asked if they were all right.
"Yeah, that was nothing," Rage said through breaths. He leaned on his large shield to support himself. "That's just a warm up before we get to Alice."
"You don't look so good," Yuni commented.
"What're you talking about?" he argued, coughing out his last words. Out of everyone, he seemed the most exhausted. It didn't surprise you; he was the most reckless member of your team, and he was the only one launching more attacks when his accuracy was off.
"Your stamina was lowered when using powerful moves," Zukin said. "The fire spells may lower spirit power, but Benkei's harsh attacks come from your regular health."
"You mean if I do stuff like his Mighty Swing or his Black Spot, it has an effect on me? Crap, I've just been doing what he wants; I didn't know there was a drawback."
"Your Persona is about as impulsive as you are," Zero butted in. He raised a hand, and Maion appeared for a second to engulf Rage in a healing light. The light disappeared as the angel did.
Rage stood tall and swung his arms in a small circle, as if to check if they were working properly. He grinned. "Thanks."
Zero didn't say anything to him. Instead, he directed his attention to you. "We should get going."
You nodded and directed your team to the door opposite the one you entered in. Your team took the same formation as before, but you were hesitant to have Rage side-by-side with you if he was running low on power. If Rage used most of his strength on physical attacks, you were sure he used just as much on magic skills.
You were happy that Zero was using Maion more. You wondered... was it him that restored your team's ailment in battle? You asked him if he used a different spell during the last battle.
"Dekunda. My Persona suggested it to me, and I saw no harm in trying it."
You remembered that it was the cure-all penalty power. He didn't seem to have any power-boosting skills, but you were learning that Maion's abilities specialized in healing. With the ability to fight physically as well, you felt that he was an important addition to your team.
You quickly found another set of stairs after a single hallway. The floor was another step closer to Alice.
"If all I do is what other people tell me... what kind of person am I? Am I a person at all?"
"She's only a floor away," Zukin said. "We're getting very close to her.
You were relieved, and more ready than ever to get to the end of the dungeon. Without saying a word, you darted forward, keeping your sword in front of you. On an adrenaline rush, you quickly slashed away at card soldiers that tried to block your path. Rage's blasts of fire cleared the path of stray monsters. He let out so many battle cries in the process that you were wondering if his voice was going to deteriorate faster than his spirit power.
The further you went, the more the monsters seemed to multiply. You and Rage would be occupied by card swinging their scepters at you, and Yuni would have to kill them instantly with Mamudoon (the attack was working more often; you assumed Tsutomu was strengthening her dark power). You weren't sure what was going on behind you, but you could hear sparks of electricity; it sounded like Akira was busy with his own opponents. The monsters refused to die in one hit, so you had to stop and organize everyone for a battle.
You traded Loki for Norn to continue your strategy of aiding Rage's fire attacks. Once the floating women appeared, Rage knew what to do, and Benkei leaped to Norn's side. The two Personas combined wind and fire across the room, exterminating one of three Ardent Dancers.
You looked to Yuni and Akira; Yuni was taking her own route of working on her Mudo powers while Lu-yan and Akira protected her when a giant card got too close. The Mazio spells managed to stop them from moving so that Tsutomu could either kill them or so Akira could shoot one with ease.
Zero and Devil Zukin were being passive. Zukin's Persona, of course, could only detect powers, strengths, and weaknesses. When Zero was able to cast a spell, it was usually a minor Almighty power that struck the monsters in the room. He was likely trying to improve so that Maion could use the next power.
The ambush was causing damage to everyone, so you asked Zero to try a mass dealing spell. His eyes closed, and Maion glided from a monster to his side. His dark wings outstretched as the angel released his healing power to you and your allies...
Judging by the strength you felt restored it was... Media. The first mass healing spell. It definitely topped Dia, at least. You hoped he would master more spells as time progressed.
Though chaotic, the battle lacked the odd spells of the magic hats, and it was rather short. You ran up the next set of stairs, and you were ecstatic to be at the last hallway. You noticed the glowing portal, not as an exit, but as an indicator that you had finally reached your goal. You took a breath and began to charge for the door until-
"Wait, Souji."
You halted after hearing Devil Zukin's voice. You were the leader; why was she stopping you? No, you dismissed the selfish thought and asked her what was wrong.
"We came this far, is that not good enough for today?" she asked. "You recall that we barely made it out alive in the last dungeon. I suggest we come back tomorrow; Ouze tells me that everyone's strength and spirit energy is notably low."
You thought about what she was saying. At the same time, you thought you could understand, finally, how Zukin and Akira felt when you told them to wait an extra day. You knew you would remain anxious through the night, unable to be calm when Alice was probably scared just behind the door you stood in front of, but it would be best for everyone if you all rested...
(I find this chapter kind of boring but mainly because I can't write adventure. Or read it without getting bored. :P I write overdosages of shoujo drama, darn it, and drama is what we will see soon.)