A/N: Hey all. Many apologies for the unannounced hiatus. College finals have kept me extremely busy and I also went overseas for a while so that kinda halted my updating schedule. I'm back now though, so hopefully it'll be back to business as usual.
Regarding this chapter, it's going to cover the underground fight with the Shadow and SEES' first meeting with Strega. I always felt that Strega's introduction in the game was quite lame and the fact that they didn't do anything significant made them, in my eyes, pretty weak villains. As a result, I've done something very different here and turned up the intensity level.
Hope you enjoy it and for those who have been leaving reviews and messages, hopefully you're still around with your ever appreciative comments.
A throbbing headache welcomed Shinjiro with open arms when the Dark Hour struck yet again. Compared to those that had greeted him in the past few days, the throbbing tonight was worse and to the point where ignoring it was almost impossible. It's only because I haven't taken the pills in the past few days, he thought as he entered the courtyard that had become home to so many scuffles. Out of boredom, he had made it a hobby to keep a tab on each and every one he'd watched. His overall conclusion? They were all the same: drunkards and stressed businessmen staggering into areas that were supposedly the property of the local troublemakers. Only one scuffle stood out among the rest and that of course, was the one on that warm summer evening. The one where that Arisato kid and his friends had come looking for information on that Yamagishi girl.
And trouble.
He recalled with great clarity at how the blue haired boy almost looked like Akihiko in combat. Darting around with speed and precision. Shooting well-timed jabs. Using evasion as a means of sliding into another attack. He knew the kid had trained under Akihiko but the resemblance was uncanny. Shinjiro never understood all the fancy techniques the boxer mucked around with that made fighting a dance routine. He just understood that fighting was business. A mean, merciless business whose end products were bloody knuckles, broken bones and in some cases, death.
Like what happened two years ago.
As fast as he shunned that thought, he wasn't quick enough to stop his mind from thinking about the other day where he had encountered Akihiko and Arisato heading for Ken's dorm. Shinjiro hadn't given their reason for doing so much thought but from experience, he knew that 'keeping a watch' really meant assessing how fit you were for joining the team. He sighed. The very idea of Ken being a part of S.E.E.S. made him fear for the boy. Didn't Akihiko and Mitsuru know what they were getting themselves into by doing this? Weren't they smart enough to realize the dangers and how this could end up damaging the kid even more?
Shinjiro guessed not, though he supposed that it was his fault. While it was only by chance he'd come across the boy during the Dark Hour, he had decided to help the kid. Escorted him back to his dorm and away from the growling Shadows a few streets away. Informed Akihiko and Mitsuru of what he had done. He could have very well turned a blind eye and left the boy to fend for himself. It would have been so easy.
And yet I didn't. The reason why had been gnawing at his brain the way a beaver gnaws at a piece of wood, and even after having several days to think it over, the answer remained a fossil that refused to be unearthed. Oh he did come up with a couple of theories; one being that he'd done it to make up for the accident, the other due to pure impulse, but something told him neither–
His mind pulsed. The headache grew heavier. His vision blurred. Moving to lean against a wall, Shinjiro clutched his head. His Persona was coming. Again. He took a hesitant look around. It was five minutes into the Dark Hour and they still weren't here. What was taking them so long? They were never late. They were always on time. His mind continued to throb and just when he thought the gates of his psyche would be smashed open, he saw them approaching him.
Takaya and Jin.
Shinjiro summoned as much willpower as he could and forced his Persona back down. Inhaling deeply, he then walked to meet them in the middle of the courtyard, where the moon's infected glow shone the brightest.
"Where's the girl?" Shinjiro asked, taking a cursory glance over Takaya's shoulder.
"She has a duty to attend to tonight," Takaya replied. He once again gestured for Jin to pass the capsule over.
Shinjiro took the capsule out of Jin's hand. And raised an eyebrow as he inspected its contents. "Running low on supply are we?"
"Hmph. You're lucky to be even receiving these," Jin said, scoffing. "We could cut you off anytime."
"Hush Jin," Takaya said. To Shinjiro, he continued, "You are correct. We are low on supply. However, it is simply because we've had to increase our dosage for tonight. And to do that, we had to use a few of your pills."
"Why would you do that? You know I need those."
Takaya said nothing and instead pointed upwards. Shinjiro looked up and sure enough, there was the yellow full moon.
"You're planning on stopping them aren't you," Shinjiro said, returning his attention to Takaya.
"Perhaps," Takaya said with a shrug. "I like to think of it as persuading. Don't worry, we will make sure no harm comes to the boy."
"Boy?"
"Oh you didn't know? The young boy has joined their ranks."
Shinjiro was speechless. Ken in S.E.E.S.? Mitsuru… Aki… Why?
"They must be getting desperate, sending such a child to the battlefield," Takaya continued. "But then again, they have nothing to do with you, correct?" When Shinjiro didn't answer, Takaya turned on his heel. Jin did the same. "Either way, we must be going. It wouldn't do good to be late now would it?"
Shinjiro watched them leave and considered his next move. He'd heard snippets of how the full moon operations were becoming more difficult from Akihiko, specifically the one where Arisato had suffered an injury. If that was as serious as he was told, and if Takaya and Jin were indeed planning a visit, then they were in danger. Shinjiro hadn't seen the extent of Takaya and Jin's powers but with them as well as the Shadow, it would be more than enough trouble.
Opening the capsule, Shinjiro took out the single pill, examined it for a few seconds, then popped it into his mouth and swallowed. Right away, he felt the urge of his Persona die down to a dormant state, ready to be called upon at will. He hadn't wanted to use the pill so early, especially when he had no idea when the next shipment will arrive, but if he was going to anything effectively, it had to be now while the pill's suppressive effect was at its strongest. Praying that he made the right choice, Shinjiro kept to the shadows and followed Takaya and Jin.
The musky scent of sewerage and damp undergrowth assaulted Minato's nose as he led the others deeper into the underground facility located in Iwatodai's northern harbor. According to Aigis, the facility was a military bunker; the scars of war illuminated by the green moonlight that shone through the ruined ceiling. Old blast marks disfigured the brick walls painted with bloodstains, and there were a few decaying skeletons lying about. Despite the earthy smells, Minato admitted walking through the dim, cave-like passageway was preferable to walking through a love hotel with intoxicating odors. It allowed him to focus and keep his thoughts solely on the mission at hand.
The passageway then opened into a wide and high-ceilinged clearing.
That was empty.
"Who would've thought there'd be something like this down here?" Yukari remarked as they entered the clearing.
"Hard to say," Akihiko said. "I'll tell you one thing though. This place could be turned into a boxing arena."
"You think so senpai?" Ken asked.
"Why not?" Akihiko walked forward and indicated at the large space before him. "You'd put the ring there and the audience can just surround it. It's perfect. Not to mention the dark atmosphere."
Mitsuru sighed. "Honestly, stay focused on the mission Akihiko."
Koromaru barked.
"Koromaru-san agrees with Mitsuru-san," Aigis said, causing everyone sans Akihiko to chuckle.
"Fine," Akihiko said, folding his arms. "But when this is over, I'm definitely coming back here to train."
Junpei resisted a face-palm and walked further into the clearing. "Hey guys, it's just a dead end. Are you sure we're in the right place?"
Fuuka summoned her Persona. Enveloped in Lucia's glass sphere, she clasped her hands, closed her eyes, and concentrated. "Well, Lucia's telling me that the Shadow reading is the strongest here. So it's got to be around somewhere." Dismissing Lucia, she turned to Mitsuru. "Can you sense anything Mitsuru-senpai?"
"Not much but I can feel its presence," Mitsuru said. She crossed to where Minato was standing. "Perhaps we should split up and investigate the area for any hidden switches or control panels."
Minato nodded. "Sure, that's–"
"Unnecessary," a new voice said.
Everyone spun and saw two figures standing by the doorway to the clearing. The one on the right was taller, had long grey hair, tattoos on his exposed arms, and dressed only in a pair of ripped light blue jeans that had a revolver tucked behind the belt. The other had short blue hair, was carrying a silver briefcase, and with his orange-tinted glasses, looked to be some sort of computer geek.
"Who are you?" Minato asked, stepping forward.
The tall man smirked. "My name is Takaya." He gestured to his companion. "And this is Jin. We are known to some by the alias Strega."
"Were you following us the whole time?" Mitsuru demanded.
"Hardly," Takaya said. He lifted his arms and spread them wide. "It's a full moon tonight. Which means another Shadow shall rise from its slumber."
"How do you know that? And more importantly, how do you know it's here?"
"My my, and here I thought the heiress of the Kirijo Group was smart. You should know, you aren't the only ones with data at your disposal."
Fuuka gasped. "Wait a minute. If you're not coffins, then does that mean you're Persona-users as well?"
"Well at least one of you can figure that out," Jin said.
Takaya folded his arms. "Now then, we've been observing all the hard work you've put in as of today. Climbing the beautiful tower. Eliminating the Shadows on nights such as this. I hear that you all look upon what you're doing as a noble act to protect the people of this world. And of course, why wouldn't you? Shadows are bad, evil creatures, determined to destroy humanity if not taken care of."
"Well they are!" Yukari said.
"And I agree with you. But have you even stopped to consider what might happen once the Shadows and the Dark Hour are eliminated? Our powers could vanish. Do you want that? Do you want to go back to your former, pathetic ordinary lives when now you lead such a full one?"
His question was met with silence and Minato gripped his saber tighter. Strega had a point and Minato himself had been wondering what exactly would happen if the Dark Hour was gone. To have another set of minds thinking the Persona ability could vanish alongside the Dark Hour made the prospect that much more believable, but then Minato remembered what Yukari's father had told them to do. To stop the world from ending, you must eliminate all of them. But was that really the case?
"You don't know if that'll happen," Minato said.
"But it might," Takaya said. "You people need to understand that eliminating the Dark Hour is no less than a rejection of our power. And that is something I cannot allow you to do. Therefore, we kindly ask you to make your exit now."
"And let the Shadow run loose?!" Yukari exclaimed. "Are you insane? What about all the innocent people who might get killed because of it?"
Takaya shrugged. "Let them die. There will always be disasters, whether they are caused by Shadows, nature, or human folly. Death will come to all eventually. So, what will it be?"
Minato felt everyone's gaze on him. Whether Strega was right or not, there was no chance any of them would dare adhere to their demand. They had finally found the means to end the Dark Hour – by someone who had possessed a background in Shadows and actually experimented to create them no less – and that missing piece of information had helped in strengthening the team's cohesion among so many other things. To have everyone questioning if what they were doing would lead to something that had no evidence was just a ploy, a tactic so that Strega could catch them off guard and recreate the infighting.
That's not going to work this time. We've been through that already, Minato thought.
He glanced at Mitsuru, who nodded, swapped his saber out for the Evoker in his left hand, and raised it.
But Takaya was faster.
The hippie clutched his head and grunted. A red glow enveloped him and crimson light swirled upwards. It then dispersed to reveal a disfigured body with black wings growing out of its spine and red veins running all over its dark green skin, crisscrossing this way and that like a subway map. Seeing such an invocation froze Minato and he could do nothing but brace himself against the green gale whipped forth by Takaya's Persona.
To his surprise however, the wind curved around him. Lowering his arms, Minato pivoted and saw the others had been blown further back into the clearing. On instinct, he took a step towards them but stopped short when he heard another grunt from behind. A split second later, a wall of bright orange fire surged in front of him, extending to the ceiling and side walls.
Strega had cut him off.
"Oh how I've been waiting for this moment," Takaya said, smirking.
Minato returned his attention to Strega, taking care not to inhale too deeply. There was now a platinum plated, pendulum shaped, bipedal robot with one arm hovering above Jin, who had placed his briefcase down. Minato was confused. Why had Takaya spared him? Had it been on purpose?
"What are you talking about?" Minato asked.
"You of course. I must confess, the power you hold has interested me greatly. That show you put on at Shirakawa Boulevard? Absolutely delightful. The encore in your dormitory? Truly magnificent."
"You know about my incident?"
"How could we not? Anyone with an awakened Persona would have felt it. I thought it was just life and death situations that would set you off but as you have so demonstrated, it appears that isn't the case." His smirk transformed into a crazed grin. "Now that we won't be disturbed, tell me Arisato, do you trust the Kirijo Group?"
Mitsuru watched as the fire spread upwards and outwards, separating her and the others from Minato. The blaze lighted up the clearing and radiated a heat that, when combined with the natural humidity, made her head throb. She couldn't believe she had allowed something like this to happen and the worst thing was that she had no one to blame but herself. Seeing Persona-users other than themselves did come as quite a shock, though she never thought it would stun her to the point where awe and fear crept into her bones. She was awed at the way Strega had invoked their Personas, and fearful for what they could do with their powers.
These emotions invaded her thoughts and multiplied her concern for Minato. There had been just one outing to Tartarus ever since they returned from Yakushima and although Minato seemed to have gotten back into the groove of combat, Mitsuru noticed that he was still easing into it. His movements were less fluid than before. His tolerance for the Dark Hour was at a lower level. And his experience in fighting against other Persona-users was untested.
It's even worse than the time Akihiko broke his ribs, Mitsuru thought. Getting to her feet, she helped Yukari and Fuuka up, all the while attempting not to stare at the flickering flames that was blinding in the dim clearing. "Is everyone okay?"
"Nothing major so we're all good," Akihiko said. He moved to hoist Ken up. "You doing alright kiddo?"
Ken nodded and picked up his spear. "What do we do now?"
"We must find a way to get back to Minato-san as soon as possible," Aigis said.
"And kick Strega's ass," Junpei added, straightening his cap.
"But what about the Shadow?" Yukari asked.
"It'll have to wait. For now, Arisato's safety is our priority," Mitsuru said. "Aigis, do you think you can–"
Koromaru growled. Everyone turned to look at him and saw he had taken a defensive stance; head lowered, tail raised. Mitsuru wondered what had agitated him when she heard a whirring noise. The sound grew louder and louder until there was a click that signaled some sort of mechanism locking into place. Her heart sank as she saw what was standing on the elevated platform.
The Shadow.
It took the form of a mud-colored tank, with triangular treads optimized for standing instead of rolling, and a hatch that was a winged helmet with a pair of dead yellow eyes peering out.
"A tank? Man how are we gonna even dent that thing?" Junpei asked.
"The same way we always have," Akihiko said. He raised his Evoker and gunshots, as well as Aigis' Gatling cannon cracked the air.
Bullets and the elements smashed into the tank's hull, smoke billowing all around them upon impact. It then cleared to reveal the Shadow tilted to one side but still very much alive. Iori was right. We barely made a scratch.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Yukari said as she noticed their non-existent handiwork. "Now what?"
"Aim for the helmet!" Fuuka called from Lucia's glass sphere. "That's its weak point!"
"Understood!" Mitsuru said.
She directed Penthesilea to strike again only to halt when the helmet detached itself from the tank's hull, hovered, and used the cannon it was holding to blast Penthesilea into blue shards. Pain sank its teeth into Mitsuru and she dropped to one knee.
"Mitsuru-san!" Aigis said, running towards her and helping her up.
"I'm fine Aigis," Mitsuru said. "Come on, we've got to…"
The words left her mouth as she watched the tank's hull use its hind treads to lift itself up. Now standing, Mitsuru saw a yellow square mask etched onto the hull's underside that grinned haughtily. There are two of them!? The new Shadow swatted at Hermes and Nemesis, who were nearby, with its front treads. Mitsuru heard Ken and Junpei grunt at their broken connections and as she looked for them, she saw the other Shadow blasting Cerberus and Io.
As the two Shadows converged on Polydeuces (the last remaining Persona), Mitsuru quickly surveyed their surroundings. Unlike the lobby of Tartarus or that room in the love hotel, this battlefield had no cover to hide behind and offered them no means of escape; the barrier of fire had blockaded them in.
So how are we going to balance two enemies at once in a place like this?
The answer came to her as she watched Akihiko and his Persona draw the Shadow's fire away from those who had taken a hit. Mitsuru summoned Penthesilea, commanded her to assist Polydeuces, then turned to Aigis.
"I need a distraction," Mitsuru said. "Can you keep the flying Shadow occupied while the rest of us take down the other one?"
"Certainly Mitsuru-san," Aigis said, before taking off and unleashing a barrage of bullets at the flying Shadow.
Satisfied, Mitsuru called out to Akihiko, dashed to where the others had gathered, and relayed her plan. Everyone nodded and together, they re-engaged. As flashes of cool blue burst forth, momentarily dimming the orange glow of the room, Mitsuru stole a glance at the wall of fire a couple of meters behind her.
Hang in there Arisato. We're almost done here.
"What kind of question is that?" Minato asked.
"One which needs to be answered truthfully," Takaya replied. "So I repeat, do you trust them?"
Minato stood still for a few moments, resisting the urge to shrug. He'd learned enough about how body language could weaken and even contradict an argument. Saying he did trust them while shrugging was something Takaya could pick on, and would likely lead to further questioning he did not have the time for.
But do I really trust the Kirijo Group? Minato thought about how their research into Shadows had backfired and led to the creation of the Tartarus and the Dark Hour, causing the deaths of so many people, Yukari's father in particular. Both were things that could cause mistrust (if the general public knew) but both were also remnants of the past. Right now, under the leadership of Takeharu, and to a lesser extent, Mitsuru, the Group was doing its best to fix the problem they had created. Despite their questionable methods, at least they didn't turn a blind eye.
"I do trust them," Minato finally said.
"More like you trust the little lady over there," Jin said, sneering.
"Little lady?"
"He means little Miss Kirijo," Takaya said, shooting a sharp look at Jin before returning his attention to Minato. "I'm sure you trust her don't you?"
"Well yeah," Minato said. He bit his tongue to stop himself from adding a retort. Even though his relationship with Mitsuru was in a state of limbo, there was something about the title 'little Miss Kirijo' that he disliked greatly. "But what does that matter?"
"Because for you to understand why the Dark Hour must not be eliminated, we have to be on the same side. Considering the amount of exposure you've had to the Group as a child, I thought at the very least you would know about her and the experiments. But as it stands, you do not."
"I think I know about her and the experiments quite fine," Minato said. Amid the crackling fire barrier behind him, he heard a gunshot followed by shouts piercing the air. Was that the Shadow? Back there with them? He hoped it wasn't. "They made a mistake in underestimating the Shadow's powers and the resulting explosion gave birth to Tartarus and the Dark Hour."
Takaya cackled. "Oh they did more experiments than that. Once they learned that Shadows could be combated by using Personas, the Group conducted more, shall we say, immoral experiments. They toyed with human life. Used people as test subjects. If you don't believe me, then how do you think little Miss Kirijo obtained her power?" When Minato couldn't answer, Takaya smiled. "It seems she didn't tell you. A pity but I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. She loves keeping things to herself after all."
"How…How do you know that?" Minato asked, his eyes widening. "Do you know her?"
"As a matter of fact, Jin and I are quite acquainted with her. Of course, she doesn't know this. Because why would she? To her, we were just two of the many other faceless candidates the Group experimented on. Even though we were among the lucky few that survived the initial stage, it didn't matter. We were treated no differently from those who had lost their sanity. I had thought maybe she would try and do something, perhaps convince the experimenters to stop for they definitely had more than enough data to work with. But no. She couldn't do that because she didn't want to befriend or get to know anybody. She feared she might lose them the same way she lost a good friend of hers."
"Or so she said," Jin added.
"So you're saying that the Kirijo Group experimented to forcefully give you the potential of summoning a Persona, and used that knowledge to ensure hers awakened naturally?" Minato asked.
Takaya clapped his hands. "Precisely. This power? It's a blessing few can have and after all the suffering we've endured to receive it, they want to take it away. Perhaps for people like you, it isn't an issue but for us, if we lose our power, we will die. Not physically but mentally. Because without a Persona, what is our purpose?" He shook his head. "That is why I am kindly asking you all to stand down."
"Well if you wanted to do that, shouldn't you have told your story to all of us? Or Mitsuru-senpai at the very least?"
"I would have but your friends aren't very good listeners. I also tend to act rather impulsively so if I came anywhere near little Miss Kirijo, who knows what I might do. My hand may just slip to my good friend here," Takaya tapped his revolver, "and I could make her feel the pain I felt all those years ago."
"You wouldn't dare do that."
"I would. But since I'm reasonable and prefer to avoid spilling blood, I've come to ask you to do it. Why? Because you have an influence on her that nobody else holds. I thought the reason she treated you differently was because you are the field leader, but after your wonderful show at Shirakawa Boulevard, I realized straight away it's because of something else. Am I right in assuming something happened between you two in that hotel?"
Minato loosened his grip on his Evoker and nodded. There was little point in lying. Takaya could read him as if he were a children's picture book. "So all I have to do is tell her and everyone else to give it up?"
"That is correct," Takaya said with a content look. "If you don't, well…" He tapped his revolver again.
Minato looked at the dancing flames as he thought long and hard. Convince her and the others, or let her be hurt. Neither option was appealing. Hell, the former was impossible. Everyone would think he'd gone crazy and he knew nothing would stop Mitsuru from seeing the Shadow threat gone. But I can't risk her getting hurt either. Not after Shirakawa Boulevard. Not after Yakushima. He closed his eyes (he'd stared into the flames long enough for it to be imprinted onto the back of his eyelids) and when he opened them, he saw a silhouette. Slim, feminine, with long hair. It faded just as fast as it appeared but he knew who it was. And in that moment, feeling her eyes on him through the flames, Minato made his decision.
"Activating Orgia Mode!"
A surge of power coursed through Aigis as she evaded the flying Shadow's cannon blasts. Her duel hadn't lasted long but the constant running back and forth to keep her opponent occupied was tougher than she had anticipated; the amount of room she had to maneuver in was confined and each shot from the Shadow created small craters in the floor. With a restricted battlefield and uneven terrain, it was difficult to do anything other than fire short bursts from her finger cannons.
That was until now.
Where she had simply been playing a game of cat and mouse before – and she was the mouse – entering Orgia Mode reversed their roles. Upon releasing all the limiters in her body, Aigis felt herself lighter. Stronger. And faster.
The Shadow seemed unaware of this and Aigis pounced on its slowness. She pointed her fingers at the Shadow and fired another burst of metal at a rate that rivaled a minigun. The bullets slammed into the Shadow and the sparks appearing on its helmet-face were like tiny yellow spiders jumping about in frenzy. Small dents formed on the left side of the Shadow's helmet-face as it screeched. It launched a series of cannon blasts at the floor, hoping that at least one tank round would strike Aigis down.
None did.
Once the smoke cleared to reveal the decimated flooring, the Shadow turned a complete circle and found its opponent nowhere to be seen on the ground. It looked toward where its companion was busy fending off Mitsuru and the others and–
SMACK.
A metallic thud hummed through the room as the soles of Aigis' feet came stomping down on the flying Shadow's head. Positioning the thrusters that were placed behind her shoulders and on her hips skyward, she ignited them and pressed the Shadow to the ground. They both descended and a moment before impact, Aigis gave one final push and backflipped off to land safely away from the imminent impact.
The Shadow crashed into one of the mini craters it had created. Through the dust that rose, Aigis saw it lay there, stunned. That was it. Game over. Her work done, she then turned to join Mitsuru and was in the middle of summoning Palladion when she felt an electric discharge in her thrusters. She gasped as she understood what was happening and was cut off halfway when her system overloaded. There was a soft boom sound, like that of a muffled shotgun, and all her energy was drained. Tendrils of smoke drifted off her thrusters, her arms dangled from her sides, and she fell to her knees, unable to move anything but her head.
No! Not now. Not when Minato-san is still in danger.
The thoughts were somehow louder than the internal alarm repeating in her head 'Warning! Overload!', and slowly, she looked toward the flames.
If only my systems were functional, she thought. Then I can see what is happening.
She shifted her attention to Mitsuru and the others, who had the remaining Shadow cornered. At least they were now safe and didn't have to worry about–
What is that flapping noise?
Turning her head towards the space where the flames cast shadows, Aigis saw something rise up from the floor. Something with a cannon and a pair of wings. Normally by now, her systems would have detected a hostile enemy and instructed her to move into a better position. But she was overheated. She couldn't do anything and even moving her head was already exhausting. The one thing she could do was watch with a sense of hopelessness as the flying Shadow glided to ambush the others.
It was the loss of focus that hurt Mitsuru the most.
One minute it was all there, as calm and steady as a placid river in an untouched forest. The next, it was vaporized, just like Penthesilea. The blow was something she was getting accustomed to but Mitsuru didn't think it would happen again so soon. She was confident in Aigis buying her and the others enough time so that they could finish off the tank hull Shadow. A part of her even foolishly thought that the android could take care of the flying Shadow herself, destroying it with the ferocity of Minato's unknown Persona. Aigis was designed to do so after all. Wasn't she?
Unfortunately, mistakes were always a hop, skip and a jump away and when Mitsuru cringed at being disconnected from her Persona, her eyes found Aigis. The android was on her knees with her head drooped, and smoke was rising from her shoulders and hips. It appeared that she hadn't been harmed by the Shadow but rather herself.
She must have done something that improves her performance at the cost of overheating. Oh why? Why at a time like this?
She looked away from her comrade and watched as the flying Shadow continued its trigger happy havoc. With cannon blasts coming from multiple directions and the tank hull Shadow swinging its treads back and forth, Akihiko, Junpei, Yukari, Ken and Koromaru could do nothing except use their Personas as shields for themselves and Fuuka. The result was disastrous. Their Personas dropped one by one and as they did, so did their owners. Seeing her friends fall again like that brought Mitsuru back to the night they initiated a rescue operation for Fuuka. The night where everything that could have possibly gone wrong had gone wrong. It was difficult to believe that she found herself in the same predicament and a sensation similar to the one she had felt when captured by the floppy armed Shadow rose in her chest. Except this time, all the hope had winked out like a candle being exposed to winter's wind. There was going to be no thundercloud raining down electricity on the Shadow, which had now recombined into the tank. No Orpheus to catch her. No Minato to save her.
But I don't need saving, she thought. I promised I would be ready for when he isn't around.
I know, her other voice said. Right now though, you need him. And he needs you. He's in trouble back there and you know it.
That voice was right. Minato had to be in trouble. If not, he would've found a way to lower the flames by now.
We may have repaid each other back at Shirakawa Boulevard. But I still need to make up for my mistake the night we rescued Yamagishi.
Channeling her willpower into those thoughts, Mitsuru stood up and summoned Penthesilea. Instead of engaging the Shadow however, she turned her back to the cannon that was aimed at her and prepared to take down the flaming barrier.
On the other side of the fiery wall, several minutes before Mitsuru began her plan to extinguish the flames, Minato was fighting an uphill battle. His decision of taking the unspoken third option, which was to eliminate Strega, hadn't exactly resonated with Takaya. But it was the only logical decision. Giving up the fight against the Shadows wasn't going to happen and he certainly wasn't going to allow Takaya have his way with Mitsuru. Yet as they fought on, the air crackling every time Orpheus and Takaya's Persona – Hypnos – clashed, Minato felt he had started something he shouldn't have. It was a fleeting thought however, for all his concentration was directed at keeping up with Takaya.
The fight was nothing like fighting Shadows and the difference was obvious from the moment Orpheus first parried Hypnos' wings with his harp. In that instance, Minato felt a desire to kill flow through his body and tasted something bitter in his mouth. The feeling left as soon as Orpheus and Hypnos broke apart but returned when they struck each other again. And again. And again. He didn't know what it was until his concentration stumbled and Orpheus was struck by Hypnos. All at once, a sudden onslaught of those emotions engulfed him.
Hatred.
Anger.
Sadism.
It ran through his veins, collected in his heart and zoomed to his brain. His vision slowly turned grey and the desire to kill, to torture, to see the pain on someone's face returned in full force. Looking at Takaya, Minato felt an urge to seize his neck and watch as he struggled for air, the blood draining from his face, the wheezing noises–
NO!
He blocked off the thoughts and in doing so, a jolt of pain rippled through his mind, causing him to drop his saber and stagger for balance. Somehow, he managed to keep himself upright.
"What…did you do…to me?" Minato asked. He closed his eyes in an effort to focus on anything other than those deleterious thoughts.
"I've shown you my will," Takaya answered, commanding Hypnos to fall back.
"Will?"
"Yes. You see, a battle between two Persona-users really is a battle of wills. Since a Persona is a physical manifestation of a person's thoughts, a successful hit has the power to instil those thoughts and emotions into another person. It is why you felt what you felt." He smirked. "Isn't it wonderful?"
Wonderful? How is all this hate wonderful? It crossed Minato's mind that Takaya was insane when he spoke of keeping the Dark Hour around and threatening Mitsuru, but what concerned him more was how he had felt, no, how he was Takaya. Even if it was just for several moments, having those thoughts in his head was dangerous. The worst part? He wanted to think those thoughts. He wanted to inflict pain. He wanted to see his victims writhe in agony.
Then does that mean the loser of this fight loses their mind to the person with the stronger will? Minato didn't want to find out and with renewed vigor, he directed Orpheus to attack. Fireballs spiraled into Hypnos and Minato saw Takaya wince as his Persona was hit.
"Not bad," Takaya said, shrugging off the pain. "However, your will is nothing compared to mine. Do you know why?"
Minato ignored the question and had Orpheus attack again. This time he was not so lucky, for Takaya anticipated that and had Hypnos deflect the oncoming flames with gusts of wind.
"It is because you are holding back. If you want to beat me Arisato, you mustn't hold back."
Minato thrust his arm forward and Orpheus readied a swing at Hypnos. Again, Hypnos parried the blow with ease and countered. Sadism once more poured into Minato and he bit his lip hard to prevent it from corrupting his mind.
"Your actions deceive you," Takaya said. "Why? Why aren't you unleashing your power? Surely it is not because you hope to help your friends when you're done here."
Minato stiffened and watched as Takaya smiled. The hippie had guessed right.
"You do realize that you cannot help them in your current condition don't you?" Takaya continued.
"He lies," a voice whispered in Minato's head. "You can help them. But only if you allow me to."
"Who are you?" Minato asked mentally.
"You know very well who I am. So don't waste time. Let me out and I'll see to it that they are eliminated. Then you can go and help your friends."
In hearing the words 'let me out', it occurred to Minato that this was the being Takeharu had spoken of. The unique singular entity that was unlike any of his Personas, and responsible for causing the mayhem in the dorm all those weeks ago. Why was it speaking to him now? And how had it awakened after he'd sent it scurrying back to the depths of his mind?
"Remember what your girlfriend's father said? I exist to protect you. So hurry up and let me handle this."
Minato pondered over the idea. He could allow the thing to have its fun. It would at the very least end the imminent threat hanging over Mitsuru, as well as prevent any future encounters with Strega – both of which were more than viable reasons. But even so, there was a risk. What if it got out of control again? What if it destroyed Strega and the Shadow, but also harmed the others? Memories of the dorm chaos flashed in his head and while they were vague, he could clearly remember the horror on his friends' faces.
No, I can't, Minato thought. It's too risky.
"Risky?" the voice asked, astonished that at Minato's indecision. "It's all or nothing right now. Besides, do you want to save her or not?"
Minato's reply was interrupted when he felt a change in the clearing's temperature. It was getting cooler and the orange glow of the room was steadily fading into darkness. He glanced at Strega, and through the dark, he could make out a pair of faces that were in utter disbelief. Minato turned around and saw an exhausted Mitsuru standing inside a large dome of ice several meters away from him. She was the last person left standing against the tank-like Shadow – which was behind her – and using the dome to protect herself from the cannon blasts, she had somehow managed to extinguish the fire barrier. From his quick observation, it appeared that she had been at it for quite some time, as the ice dome didn't look like it was going to last another hit.
He was right.
A few seconds later, the Shadow fired off another round. The cannon shell slammed into the ice, cracking it, breaking it. The dome began to crumble and as it did, Minato's heart lurched. Everything but his fear for Mitsuru left him and in that instant, the unknown conscience in his mind moved forward. He cried out as he felt himself being shoved into the passenger seat of his mind but didn't bother struggling for control. He was too overwhelmed. From the heat of the room that made his head cloudy. From feeling Takaya's will that sickened him. And now from seeing Mitsuru unable to save herself. It all conglomerated into a giant sphere of emotions he couldn't hold onto.
But one that his other conscience could.
And when it did, Orpheus was ripped apart from the inside by an all too familiar Persona. Instead of destroying everything in sight however, it slashed open a pair of dark red rifts in the air. The tumbling ice was sucked into the one above Mitsuru, and then came plummeting down from the one above the Shadow moments later. Buffeted by the ice, the Shadow collapsed under the weight and disappeared momentarily under a cloud of dust and vapor.
With Mitsuru safe, the familiar Persona withdrew from combat and the other conscience pushed Minato back into control. When he felt his senses coming back – feeling the heavy air, inhaling the faint whiffs of smoke and seeing the battered state of the clearing – his eyes found Mitsuru and he ran to her.
Takaya was amazed.
He was also disappointed that their fight was interrupted but witnessing Arisato unleash that fascinating power made up for it. After all, the boy wasn't going to do so in their fight anyway. Regardless of how much he pushed, Arisato was committed to holding back. It was admirable, Takaya supposed, though he was more interested in how that burst of power had only seemed to happen when the boy saw little Miss Kirijo in peril. Was there a connection there? That seeing her inches from death triggered something? And what of the other Persona's actions? If he remembered correctly, Jin had noted down that last time it was much wilder and out of control. Again, did it have something to do with little Miss Kirijo?
Even with his hunch, Takaya wasn't sure and from the look Jin gave him, neither was he. It was irrelevant though. Because not knowing was part of the fun. It was what made finding out the truth so satisfying. Dismissing Hypnos, he gestured to Jin and turned to leave the clearing. Although he would've liked to personally finish off Arisato and the rest of S.E.E.S., there was no need to do so. He had had enough observing for one night and could feel the suppressive effects of the pill wearing off. The Shadow was already recovering anyway and Takaya doubted that they would be able to survive another attack. It was a real shame, since he was confident that Arisato's demonstration tonight was only a mere fraction of his full potential.
But the boy had made his decision.
And in refusing to choose the diplomatic option, he had paid the price.
Perish with her together then. Saves me from wasting a bullet.
"Are you okay Mitsuru-senpai?"
In spite of the fatigue, Mitsuru opened her eyes and through her fuzzy vision, she noticed Minato kneeling beside her. She nodded weakly to his question and then all at once, everything that had transpired came back to her. The ice dome she created to protect herself from the cannon shells. The amount of energy she had used in keeping a steady beam of dry ice flowing from Penthesilea to extinguish the flames. The sharp crack that signaled her dome breaking, followed by the rift in the space above her sucking in the ice like a vacuum cleaner, and then seeing–
"That Persona," she murmured. She sat upright searching for it. "It appeared again didn't it?"
Before Minato could answer, a mechanical noise turned their attention to the Shadow. It had recuperated from its beating and was pointing its cannon right at them. Mitsuru cast a glance towards the others and grimaced. Aigis was still overheated and everyone else too weak to fight. Feeling Minato's hand on her shoulder, she placed a hand on his and looked into his eyes. They were as grey as always and looking into them made her feel calm, as if all the worries in the world had gone away. It suddenly came to her that if they were to be killed by the cannon blast, spending her final moments together with Minato was an acceptable way to go. Even if she didn't get the chance to explain her thoughts on their relationship, it was alright. For Mitsuru, just knowing that she had found her best friend again after all those years was more than enough. It–
"Castor!"
A loud whinny sounded out in the clearing and a rush of wind blew over their heads as something large sailed past. Hauled to her feet by Minato, Mitsuru allowed him to take her across the clearing to where Aigis and the others were. They both then turned around in time to see a black, blonde-haired being on an armored horse with one leg ram the Shadow into a wall.
Is that Persona what I think it is? Mitsuru looked to the entrance of the clearing and saw a tall figure walking in.
"Shinji?" Akihiko muttered from behind her.
Mitsuru blinked and as the figure got closer, she saw it was indeed Shinjiro. Her old comrade gave them a passing look before commanding his Persona to finish the job. Castor continued to bash the Shadow and after a couple more hits, the weakened Shadows finally exploded.
Mitsuru let out a long sigh and relaxed.
Another night was over.
Following the Shadow's destruction, Shinjiro dismissed Castor and crossed over to the sorry lot that was S.E.E.S. He was relieved that he had chosen to follow Strega though upon seeing everyone's dreadful condition, he was ashamed that he had just waited outside the complex instead of crashing the party sooner. As soon as he saw Takaya and Jin walking out, he should have known that something was wrong.
I guess my expectations of them were too high, he thought. After Akihiko's bravado about how they were stronger and more cohesive as a team now, Shinjiro expected that they could've taken care of themselves. Destroyed the Shadow and dealt with Strega. With someone who could switch Personas, how could have that been a problem?
The first reason came to him as he wrinkled his nose at the faint whiffs of smoke that lingered in the air. It must have been those two assholes. They did more than just talking. They fought.
But just who did Strega do battle with?
Shinjiro looked at Aigis, who was slowly lifting herself up, to Akihiko, to Mitsuru and then to Minato. All of them appeared to be more worn out than the other four; Minato and Mitsuru in particular looking even worse. On arrival, he noted that those two were together and separated from the others so perhaps Takaya and Jin had defeated them, walked out, and left the Shadow to finish them?
Shinjiro thought it possible and reminding himself to find out all the details later, he moved on to the second and more concerning reason.
Ken.
By choosing to involve the kid, they had to make sure he was kept out of harm's way as much as possible. And that meant babysitting him instead of focusing on the enemy. Combined with the fact that the clearing was such a confined space for fighting, and Strega's presence, it was a recipe for failure.
Kneeling, Shinjiro placed his hand on Ken and shook him gently. "Hey! You still alive?"
"It's you," Ken said, sitting upright. "You saved me again. Thank you very much."
Shinjiro avoided the aspiring look in the boy's eyes. "No need to thank me." He shot a questioning look at Akihiko as he helped Ken up. "What the hell happened to you guys? And what's the meaning of recruiting the kid?"
"He wanted to join," Akihiko said, rising to his feet.
"Really?"
"Affirmative," Aigis said. "I have the record of the conversation in my database. Would you like me to replay it?"
"I don't think that's necessary Aigis," Fuuka said.
"Aigis? Since when did you guys have a robot?" Shinjiro asked. He felt something furry brush his ankle and looked down to see Koromaru sniffing him. "And a dog?"
"It's a long story," Junpei said. "By the way, thanks for saving us aga–"
Yukari smacked a hand over his mouth, muffling his words.
Mitsuru cleared her throat. "A lot has happened Aragaki so if you're curious, we'll be debriefing the Chairman in the next few days. You're welcome to attend if you wish."
Shinjiro looked around at the eight pairs of eyes that were staring right back and groaned softly. He was cornered. After staying out of such matters and vowing not to return down this path for so long, he was finally cornered. A small smile broke out on his face but quickly vanished when he noticed Minato looking off to the side with a certain look. Something about that look made Shinjiro edgy, and reminded him of the way he felt every time he finished dealing with Strega.
Returning his attention to everyone else, Shinjiro considered Mitsuru's invitation. Now that he knew there would need to be another pair of eyes looking out for Ken, and that Strega had communicated something to Minato, it was difficult to say no.
Those assholes definitely did something. I better find that out while Strega still don't know I'm with these guys.
Letting the smile creep back, Shinjiro said, "Just save me a seat."