And now we hit chapter FIFTY! The big 5-0! Awesome, awesome awesome! Almost like Prussia…OK, sure we'll say that.
/= "Autumn Leaves Dancing In the Heaven Far" by HetaOni =/
The room was nothing more than a throne room filled with Nazi banners and a rug. There was just something in it that was just unnerving her, though…maybe it was the random German symbols. Maybe not. She couldn't put her finger on it. As they walked closer in, they saw what they were looking for.
"Gilbert…! Arthur!" Kiku darted his head around.
"Papa! PAPA!" Charice went flying to his body. "What happened, papa?"
"They're all unconscious…?" Li Xiao looked up and tensed. "Guys…!"
They all looked up and saw a rather tall young man staring at the banner in front of him. Charice could barely see it, but it resembled a map of some sorts. It was then that she realized who the man in front of the map was. She had to know: the boy was shivering in her arms.
["Ah…so you brought him…perfect."]
I just played into something, didn't I? "What the hell is going on?"
["It's for the eternal strive of true perfection!"] The Shadow answered, echoing in a way that creeped her out just a little bit. ["Humans cannot achieve it, but we can. For we are nations, born to strive for eternal glory for all of time and space!"]
"Ludwig…?" Kiku stood up.
["I have risen and fallen from grace so many times…but I will rise again and stay in the realms of the God above."] He pointed to the sky. ["For that is my true purpose…"]
"Eh?" Charice darted her head to the others. "Kiku! Li Xiao! Get the boy and the others back!"
Charice tossed the boy to Li Xiao and looked up to see the German Shadow had warped into the sky, laughing insanely as the clouds started to grow upon him. As it faded, she was face-to-face with the image of a metal beast on fire and leaking lava, the German's human form pinned onto the chest the same way Kiku's Shadow was the dragon's head.
And people wonder why the hell I'm scared of Germans…
/= "The God of Melodicspeedmetal" by HetaOni =/
["I AM A SHADOW…THE TRUE SELF…"]
Charice tensed up, her nerves trying to get the hell out of there, as the monster roared up above her head and she could feel the heat rolling down her back. She could hear footsteps echoing from behind her, and saw Li Xiao and Kiku quickly dash to her side. Which was good, concerning that her nerves were starting to fail.
["ALL IMPERFECTS MUST BE DESTROYED…I CANNOT AFFORD ANY FLAW IN THE SYSTEM!"]
"Since when did he get so obsessed about perfection…?" Li Xiao charged.
"Bad parenting! I mean, come on, he's been raised by Mr. Awesome-Pants over there!" Charice jumped over a crater. "How are the others?"
"They will be fine. Arthur's coming out of unconsciousness and will take care of the others." Kiku nodded. "We will handle Germany."
"I know you can, but how can I? I can't concentrate long enough to make a Persona!" She shivered. "God, is this how Feli-chan feels all the time?"
"Well then, snap out of it!" Li Xiao screamed. "Your phobia's keeping us back here! We need you to focus!"
Charice nodded, holding her breath and looking up to the German Shadow that was before her. She heard a bit of rustling and mumbling from behind, and saw the others charge into battle with guns blazing (mainly Alfred, but you know what I mean). Her fingers were twitching hard over her poleaxe.
Come on, come on, come on, come onnnnnn…! She took a deep breath. If you're not going to be using Persona, just…whip him over the head or something!
She charged, screaming and swinging right over the Shadow's head. Charice was able to land a few hits before the Shadow retaliated, throwing a stream of fire that reeked of darkness and threw everything back. His metal claws kept her in place and hung her helplessly in the air as the human face licked his lips.
["AH…YOU, MY DEAR, ARE WHAT I LIKE TO CALL SECOND BEST."]
Li Xiao shook his head and tried to regain his balance before seeing the Shadow's other hand reach out and caress her leg. Through the bit of fog, he could've sworn he heard faint whimpering and panicked flailing.
["DIDN'T YOU EXPERIENCE THIS SO LONG AGO…? DON'T YOU LIKE IT? SOON, YOU'LL BE PART OF THE PERFECT SUBJECT…"]
His eyes widened and saw the metal claw move to reach up her skirt, causing her to scream and flail again. He could even see the tears going down her face. Before he could even think he was already in the air, kicking the claws out of the way and grabbing her as they fell onto the floor.
"Charice! Charice." He grabbed her flailing arms. "Look at me, look at me. You're OK now, all right? Look at me. Look at me. See? I'm not him."
She calmed down just a little bit, clinging onto his shirt and sobbing onto his chest. He looked up from their position and saw Gilbert and a rather enraged Antonio standing in front of everyone else. The look on his face made Charice cringe again: she had only seen it once before, a long time ago.
"Geez, in any other situation, I'd be proud." Gilbert sighed. "But that is totally unawesome."
"Awesome or not…that bastard laid a hand on my daughter." Antonio had a psycho grin on his face. "I hope he knows how to withstand the wrath of the Spanish Inquisition."
"Oh god, please don't make the joke-"
"NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!"
"Crap. All right, let's keep going."
Everyone charged toward the monster, flailing their Personas around and giving them huge dents in the body. Li Xiao turned back to Charice, who was calming down but still suffered through the phobia. The fear translated into her eyes, and he took a small breath while he squeezed her hand.
"I'm right here." He stated. "I'm not leaving."
Another hand touched her and she flinched. They turned their heads and saw the little boy staring at her with concern in his eyes. It was then that they saw something else: familiarity. He knew who they were.
"I…I didn't hurt you, did I?"
"…Ludwig…?" Charice smiled. "Your Shadow is just insane. But he didn't hurt me much."
"Thank god…"
"Hey, I thought I told you to stay in the back." Li Xiao stated.
"I can't just stand here while everyone else suffers by a creature of my creation." The boy spat. "I need to do something!"
It was then that she felt something throb in her hand, and she looked up to see the Death Arcana had appeared before them. It was still upside down, but there was color slowly appearing on the image. She looked up and saw the boy standing right in front of them, his feet ready to dash. Sure enough, he started screaming and charging toward him.
"Hey-!"
"The card...it's spinning!" Li Xiao grabbed her wrist. "Smash it! Now!"
Charice blinked to snap back into it before crushing it in her hand. Instantly, the boy jumped into the air and changed forms, turning into a little girl with a light blue dress. Charice paused for a minute as s/he levitated over the Shadow with her/his finger in the air. Did I just turn him into a woman…?
"You who represented me…begone!" He spat. My god, he sounded like a girl too… "DIE FOR ME!"
It quickly began to rain spears and cards, slicing the Shadow into ribbons. Instead of the clouds forming away from them, Charice couldn't help but notice that it was the wailing souls that she had been seeing all over the place. The big figure faded as the boy turned back into looking like a boy.
/= "Parting Song" by Pandora Hearts =/
"You who represented me…do you remember me?"
The Shadow looked up at the boy as he walked to each other. Gilbert seemed to be a little squeamish about it, and only Charice and Li Xiao knew why: they had seen the past and knew that they looked exactly the same. In fact…would they be the same? The Shadow stared for a few minutes before nodding.
["You are…me. The part that I have been seeking this entire time."]
"And you are me. The part that I have been too afraid to talk to." The boy looked up. "You were harsh, violent, the many things that scared me…yet at the same time you were brave, unafraid, the things that I wanted to be."
["And what of you? You are the final piece that I looked for since the beginning of my birth."] The Shadow stated. ["You were the past that I never knew, the memories of a happier time that I have never experienced by memory."]
"The stronger part of us…can you make me stronger so that I can protect the ones that I care for?"
["Only if you promise to give me the last few pieces that I need to be complete…I need to know why I keep fighting."]
"You don't know?"
["I can't remember. My mind is as cracked as the world around us. I fight only because there was something there that I needed to do. There's a gap there…that I need filled."]
"I will help you. For us."
They stood a few feet away from each other as they fused with each other, the purple cloud forming into the blond girl that she had seen before and mixing with the now upright card in her hand. She smiled: a job well done, really. It was then that she heard the screeching.
/= "It's Coming" by HetaOni =/
"W-what's that sound…?"
"Hey, Antonio! What the hell is up with you, you bastard?"
"Arthur? What's going on?"
Charice turned her head and saw that they had turned into something resembling possessed vampires. She looked up and saw that the same ghosts that she had been seeing before were now descending onto the small Ludwig, screaming in languages that she couldn't catch, but nothing pierced the screaming that she heard out of that boy.
"The time has come for your punishment…" Antonio hissed.
"What have you done to us…?" Arthur shuffled forward.
"Wait a minute, this doesn't make any sense!" Alfred ducked a few ghosts. "I thought these things were supposed to be Shadows! What the hell are these things?"
"…guilt." Li Xiao gasped.
Charice was about to say something when she saw the ghosts swarm around the poor boy who was now calling for mercy among the rest of the crowd. Before she knew it, she saw it: a faint light that was buried with the boy. She took a deep breath and charged toward the crowd, smashing the light in her hands.
/=+=/
Alice is the ultimate Death Persona that is used a lot in the Persona games. She is usually associated with the Alice from Alice in Wonderland or with the legend of an Aryan girl who died and acquired so much magical powers that she went insane. People apparently use Alice to discipline their children. [Ludwig Beillschmidt - Death]
Damn, I have to put up the rating now, huh?