You will find the playlist for this chapter in the comments, I recommend reading this chapter while listening to it.
CH. 20: THE ANTI- SHADOW ARMOUR
Thursday 14 October Evening / Cloudy
"Please, you have to tell me, Victor!" your teacher demanded sternly.
"I can't tell you." you told her.
"You have to tell me, I can't help her if I don't understand what her problem is, Victor!" Sonia nearly shouted.
"..." you turn your gaze elsewhere in order to not meet the eyes of your teacher.
"I'll ask you again, is your classmate Gloria Tyr really okay?"
"Gloria… is fine, again I don't know why you are insisting on asking me about her." you said, becoming defensive.
"Are you really sure about that?" she asked inquisitively.
"I-"
"Victor!" all of a sudden, you hear the voice of Gloria herself calling you from the entry of the corridor.
"Ugh, why were you taking so long." Gloria grunted.
"Oh hi, Miss Kleio I didn't see you there." Gloria's tone of voice changed quickly.
"Ah, g-good evening to you, Miss Tyr." Sonia's authoritarian facade collapsed as soon as she saw the girl, she was worried about getting closer.
"What's going on, were you lecturing him? In that case, sorry for interrupting you." Gloria brazenly told Sonia.
"Of course not, I was just telling Mr. Sandmann about my day, nothing special." Sonia immediately comes up with an excuse to cover up the interrogation she was doing on you until a second ago.
"Oh I see, anyway Victor, Hop, and Aion are getting tired of waiting for you, that's why they sent me to look for you." Gloria explained quickly taking you by her arm.
"Right I forgot about them, let's get going then, or is there still something I can do for you, Miss Kleio?" you quickly took the chance created by Gloria.
"Sure, you don't even need to ask me." Sonia answered.
"Thank you, then I wish you a goodnight."
"See you, tomorrow." Gloria, drag you away with her.
"Yes, goodnight to you too…" while you were returning to the common room with Gloria, you spotted with the corner of your eye Sonia's expression changing into one of concern.
As soon as you were at a distance such as not to be heard, you immediately thanked the girl.
"Phewwwwww, you saved me, thank you."
"Don't worry, actually take it as an exchange of favor." Gloria smirked.
"How did you know I was in trouble?" you asked her jokingly.
"Hehehe, I accidentally saw her as she was headed down toward the corridor, and I thought you might need my help."
"What did she ask you?" Gloria asked you.
"Nothing new, the usual things." you told her.
"That's it?"
"Come on, I'll explain it to you as soon as we get back to the others."
You spend the rest of the evening in the company of your friends, speculating what to expect tomorrow at the Macro Cosmos offices.
Friday 15 October Afternoon/ Cloudy
After the lessons as scheduled, you immediately headed to the Macro Cosmos. Beet was already there waiting for you and with him, you went to Mr. Prendragon's office, where the chairman was waiting for you together with his assistant Oleanna.
"Good afternoon, guys, nice to have you back again." the chairman greeted you, you and the rest of the group reciprocated.
"I'd like to start this meeting by giving you a positive announcement right off the bat," said Rose Pendragon.
"The cures for the Alienation Disorder will soon be tested in our laboratories, and as soon as we find the most effective way to apply them correctly, we will immediately proceed with the treatment of Miss Tyr." revealed the business leader gaily.
The news made you euphoric, it made Gloria and Hop particularly happy.
"Finally, let's hope everything goes well." you said to yourself.
"I am very happy that you were able to bring these documents back." Rose said.
"Not only did you manage to retrieve the dossier with the treatments, but you also managed to retrieve the files containing the ANTI - SHADOW projects."
"You mean that blueprint of that strange armor to take down Shadows?" said Gloria.
"Exactly, the project in question had been thought and developed by the engineer Nikola Teak."
"The idea of creating exoskeletons with which to counter the attacks of the Shadows came from him, he was one of our brightest minds, and the Macro Cosmos spent a fortune on a lot of his ideas."
"Wait a minute... but if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Teak was reported missing, wasn't he?" Gloria said suddenly.
"Wait, seriously?" you exclaimed, amazed.
"Now that you bring that up, I also remember seeing the story of his disappearance on the news, the relatives of the engineer have reported his disappearance to the police." Hop added.
"The name of the Macro Cosmos came up as well..." Gloria said as she fixed her gaze towards President Rose, who remained completely calm on his side.
"Chairman Pendragon…" You mumbled.
"Watch your mouth you lot, what are these accusations!" Beet yelled at you, as contemptuous as ever.
"Calm down, you all, it's not what you guys are thinking." Aion invented both sides to calm down.
"D-do you know anything about it, Aion?" Hop, I ask the alien.
"Before meeting you, besides my mission, I was given a particular mission by the chairman, and that mission was to find and bring back Nikola Teak." revealed Aion.
"WHAT? ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT-" Hop yelled.
"Exactly, right now the engineer, Nikola Teak, has been lost for over seven months in the Darkest Den." the chairman revealed calmly.
For a moment, silence fell in the room.
"W-why… why didn't you tell us anything?" you asked the chairman.
This time around to speak up was Oleanna,
"We don't know if he's still alive or not, and we don't even know how long he has been in the Darkest Den, before Aion's arrival, the portal that was in the Wild Area didn't work, we don't know how he got there."
"We too wouldn't have known anything if it wasn't for this note left by Nikola himself before disappearing." Oleanna then pulls out a letter and hands it to you.
"I have to find the Sefirot, don't come looking for me." you read aloud the message written on the paper.
"The Sefirot? What's that?" Gloria asked confused.
"We have no idea either, nor the scientists that went to the Darkest Den." replied the scientist.
"Aion?" you turned to your alien friend.
"That goes for me too, I have no clue what this Sefirot is..." Aion said.
"But something leads me to think that this Sefirot thing, is the reason my other colleague and I came to earth." added the silver-haired boy.
"I also have this feeling… the feeling that my colleague is waiting for me where this Sefirot is… don't ask me how I know, because I will not be able to explain to you why.
"... well, this is certainly strange." Hop commented on the odd words of Aion.
"Chairman, the scientist in the laboratory are ready." Oleanna warned Rose.
"Perfect, guys, I want you to come with us, we have something important to show you." having said that, the tycoon got up from his chair and you followed him.
The chairman and Oleanna took you to the internal laboratories of the Macro Cosmos.
There were some scientists in the lab experimenting with the armor.
"Hey, isn't that the Anti-Shadow Armor thing?" Gloria asked, you can almost touch Gloria and Hop's enthusiasm, Aion and Beet remained impassive as usual.
"This one you see right now, is the first prototype built by Professor Teak himself, as you can see, it's quite rudimentary in appearance." Rose said.
"Given the different gravity and different space-time laws of the Darkest Den, Professor Teak's goal was to make the armor as light and dynamic as possible."
"Wait, like a Power Suit?!" Gloria asked.
"Yes, just like the Power Suits in Neo Feathermon!" replied the tycoon with a big smile.
"Our engineers are now looking to implement the latest features in the armor." Rose motioned for you to follow him to a nearby room.
In the room you had entered, there were gray suit-like armors.
"These are the suits we are working on, and we would like to deliver these suits to you directly once they are finished."
"To us?" repeated Gloria as if she hadn't heard the first time.
"Yes, right to you." the chairman remarked.
"But why? I thought you were making these suits for your staff." Gloria said.
"What good would they do for us? We already have our Pokesoul, don't we?" you added.
"... This is precisely where the problem lies..." the chairman's face darkened.
"The reality is-"
"The reality is that our Pokesouls are no longer enough, are they?" Aion says suddenly.
"How did you know?" Beet, who until now had been silent on the sidelines, asked the alien.
"Simple, because of the incident you suffered in the Darkest Den, of course."
"..." the silence of the amethyst-eyed boy was more than a sufficient answer.
"... But how is it possible... I thought that due to the nature of the Darkest Den, it was not possible to be physically injured." Hop comment.
"The Darkest Den is not a place where human logic can be applied." Aion said.
"Beet, that wound of yours, can you show it to us?" you firmly asked Beet.
Beet without adding anything else bows in order to raise the bottom left part of his trousers to show you his affected leg.
Beet's leg was bandaged.
"The worst thing is the fact that I felt no pain, if I had not returned to the clinic on that day, I do not dare to imagine what could have happened to me." Beet said.
"You didn't you feel the pain?" you echoed Beet's words.
"Exactly, as I said, it seems that the battle with Shadow Mary has even exacerbated the condition of the wound.
"This last factor, together with others, made us think a lot, the battles against these Shadows, the way you guys describe them make them seem quite dangerous, these armor will not only increase your speed and offensive potential but will be used above all for defensive purposes."
"But most of all, I want you to use every possible tool to help the Macro Cosmos advance our goals." declared the president.
"We don't know if Professor Teak is still alive, wandering in the Darkest Den or not, but if even the slightest chance that he is still alive, then he must be saved at any cost."
"Well, one more mission to complete isn't a problem for us." you answer.
"It's not an issue for me either." Hop said.
"Idem, even though..." Gloria uttered.
"Uhm? What was that Gloria?" the president asked her.
"I'm tired of this behavior of yours, why don't you ever give us the necessary information beforehand? Why do you keep hiding things from us? Don't you trust us?" the girl complained.
"What are you saying, Gloria?!" Hop whispered to his friend.
"That's what I think, unfortunately, it's from the beginning that the higher-up of the Macro Cosmos continues to hide important information from us and the public," Gloria started to vent her frustration.
"First the deaths of the various scientists who took part in your experiments years ago, the laboratories used for research on the Shadow, and now the disappearance of Mr. Teak as well!" Gloria almost raised her voice to the president.
"..." Rose could not and did not argue with the girl's accusations.
"Gloria, the matter is complicated..." Beet gently told the girl.
"… well, that doesn't matter now, if we want to have a chance of succeeding we can't afford to fight among ourselves..." Gloria added.
"I will do everything in my power to save both Professor Teak, my mother, and anyone else who will be threatened by the Alienation Disorder,"
"But you must promise me not to hide anything from us, after all, aren't we the only hope that the Macro Cosmos has left?"
"..." at first the words of the girl leave the president puzzled.
"You are absolutely right, I apologize for not involving you fully... I wanted to be as sure as possible before revealing every piece of information to you guys, but from now on, I can say with absolute certainty that you are people I can trust." Rose admitted.
"And I can say that from now on there will be no more secrets between you and me, I swear."
"I know this is definitely not enough to get your trust back but I hope this is a possible first step." Rose said.
"I hope so too," replied Gloria.
After these exchanges between Gloria and the president, the situation in the room seems to calm down.
"So our next mission will be finding this Teak, right?" Hop recapped.
"Yes, that's right, I would say this mission can start after that the power suits are completed."
"Well, I can't wait." Hop said enthusiastically.
"... I would like to say something." Aion suddenly stated, catching everyone's attention.
"I would like to abdicate the position of leader." Aion proclaimed.
"Huh? Why? What's wrong?" you ask him confused.
"I'm leaving the potion simply because I think there is someone who fit this role better than I do, and that person is you." Aion point toward you.
"Me? What brings?!" you fumbled, panicking.
"It's true that among us, I am the most experienced, but by staying and observing you, I came to understand that experience is not the only quality required, indeed it does not seem to be the most important either."
"And apparently it's not strength or intelligence either, obviously all these characteristics are important qualities as well, but a team with a leader who has no resolve, courage, and selflessness is a group doomed to failure, and as an alien, I think you most of all of us are the one who displays these qualities better than anyone. " Aion remarked.
"I fully agree with Aion." Hop said.
"Absolutely, all this time I had this feeling that indeed two leaders were the ones leading our team instead of one." Gloria declared.
"Not to take away merit from you, Aion, but at times it really seemed that Victor was driving us more than you did." Hop explained.
"More than once, you even sacrificed yourself for the success of the mission, sometimes putting the lives of others beyond yours, you are definitely the person that the team needs as his captain." Aion continued.
"I believe that your willpower, your wisdom, and your empathy are the turning points that will lead us to reach any goal we set for ourselves." the alien concluded with a smile.
"Guys..." you whisper.
"Look, three people are already in favor of the change of leadership, the only missing vote is yours, Beet." Hop said.
"Hmph, do as you wish, be it Victor or Aion it makes no difference to me." Beet answered.
"Ouch sharp reply as always, don't tell me you wanted to be the one to take the reins of the team." Gloria playfully teased Beet.
"Wh-what n-nonsense, didn't you hear what Aion said." the boy blushed at the girl's provocation.
"I don't have the qualities described by Aion, and neither I have the desire to lead you bunch, all that matter to me is to carry out the missions Mr. Pendragon gave us.".
"Well now that we heard everyone's opinions, what are your final thoughts on the matter?" Aion finally asked you.
"... I don't feel very sure of myself yet, but if you are really going to put all this trust in me, I... I'll do my best not to disappoint you..." you stated, both reluctantly and determined.
"Perfect, from now on you are the team captain!" Hop put his arms on your shoulder.
"Now, make sure we don't regret our decisions." Gloria teased you too as well.
"Guys, stop putting this much pressure on me already." you told the others.
As you said this, your mind gets filled with the mental image of an orange card for an instant.
The Spirit
THE TRAINER ARCANA RANK 04
Later after the end of the meeting.
You bid farewell to the chairman and his assistant, now you and Aion were in the corridor waiting for Hop and Gloria who were using the restrooms to return.
"Hey Aion, do you really believe I'm suitable for the role of leader?" you asked your friend once again.
"I have already explained it before didn't I" replied the alien.
"Well, yes but... sigh, forget it."
"... You shouldn't take my proposal as a gift or an offer of some sort, you know." Aion then stated.
"Come again?" you asked him surprised.
"I have all the intention of taking back the title of captain." he declared.
"To get it back, however, I have to train and acquire all those qualities that I have told you about before, and the day I feel ready to reclaim the role of captain, then that day you and I will have a challenge Victor, and whoever wins will be the undisputed leader of the group. " Aion said.
"If that's what you are planning to do, then I accept your challenge." you smile at him.
"But don't think it will be a piece of cake to claim this role from, know that I'm aware of your ambitions I'll will give my absolute best as well." you declare to the alien, offering him a punch which he reciprocates.
Through your rivalry, your friendship seems to be strengthened.
Your mind gets filled with the mental image of an orange card for an instant.
The Spirit
THE DETERMINER ARCANA RANK 02
"..."
"Hey you two, have you seen Gloria!" Hop yelled as he was returning from the restroom.
"Uhm, nope, weren't you together just now?" you asked the tanned boy.
Meanwhile, back in the Macro Cosmos laboratories.
ROSE POV
"It's time to go, sir Pendragon." Oleanna warned the Rose that, given the occasion of the visit, have taken some time to have a friendly chat with his scientific staff.
"Once again I would like to thank you for your work dear ladies and gentlemen, I am sure that in a not so distant future this researcher will not only benefit the Macro Cosmos and Galar, but the whole world will draw benefit from our discoveries." Rose declared solemnly, his word was followed by a brief round of applause.
At that moment, Oleanna spotted Gloria returning to the laboratory.
"Gloria, what are you doing here? I thought you already left with the others." Oleanna said.
"Are you here to look for Beet perhaps, if that's the case he's already go-"
"No, there was still something that I wanted to ask the chairman." Gloria said, interrupting her secretary.
"How can I help you." Rose asked.
"Before you made it clear that you will do anything in your power to restore our trust in you, right?" Gloria asked the tycoon.
"Correct you need something?" Rose replied with another question.
"Well, the truth is that there is something I would like you to do for me..."
...
Wednesday 20 October After school/ Cloudy
The following week.
You were invited once again to the cinema by Gloria.
"This time the movie we are going to watch is the new movie about the superhero Galar Knight." Gloria revealed.
"Oh, the patriotic hero, if I'm not mistaken?" you tried guessing.
"Yup, him." the girl replied joyfully.
"The new film is a prequel that tells the origin story of Galar Knight during the Great World War, he was a former soldier of the Galarian Royal Army, who was chosen for an experiment that attempted to transform a simple human being into an Esper." began explaining the girl.
"..."
"In the comic during the World War, Galar together with his allies was fighting against the Gladius Empires who were making similar researches and experiments."
"Gloria..."
"Imperial Kanto in particular was doing experiments in which they tried to create not only an Esper but also a being capable of transforming into any living bei-"
"GLORIA!"
"WHAT!" the girl jumped on startled.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, but if you keep talking, you will spoil the whole movie." you told her.
"Oops, you're right, sorry, then I will save all my thought for later." after she apologized, Gloria took you by the hand and dragged you to the cinema.
Upon arrival at the GMAX cinema, you notice someone familiar at the cashier.
"Hey, isn't that Marnie?" Gloria, point to your friend.
"You are right, well... that was completely unexpected." you replied.
Marnie was holding the hand of a young boy.
"Hey, Marnie!" Gloria called out to the girl as you were heading toward her.
"Oh hello guys, what a surprise!" the girl greeted you with her usual gentle tone.
"Sup." you greeted Marnie as well.
"Who is the kid together with you? Hey there." Gloria asked curiously, the boy quickly hides behind Marnie.
"Is my little cousin, his name is Anteros, as you can see he is a rather shy little guy, come now don't be afraid they are my friends, say hello at least." Marnie encourages her cousin.
"Hello..." the child said, poking his head from behind his cousin, he had the same black hair and pale complexion as his cousin, and his eyes were light blue.
"Hi Anteros, nice to meet you, my name is Gloria, and he is Victor."
"Hello." you and Gloria introduced yourself to him.
Anteros did not react.
"Are you here for the Galar Knight movie too?" you asked Marnie.
"Yup, Anteros is a super fan, we are not alone either, my auntie his here with us too."
"Are you a super fan too?" you asked Marnie.
"Not really, action movies aren't really my thing." Marnie replied.
"Truth be told, my uncle was supposed to come too, unfortunately, he had to leave this morning because of work." she told you.
You and Gloria notice the sad expression of Anteros.
"I see..." Gloria said with less enthusiasm.
"Well, we were going to buy the tickets, can we come with you?" Gloria asked Marnie.
"Um, yes, why not." Marnie answered.
"Cool, let's go get the tickets then." said Gloria.
Not long after Anteros's mother joined the group, you introduced yourself, and together you headed to the room where the film was going to be screened.
Anteros at the beginning of the film still behaved shyly towards you, but during the course of the film, he slowly got carried away by Gloria's enthusiasm.
At some point toward the end of the film.
"What! Aren't those two Lady Gardevoir and Galladhe X ?!" Gloria exclaimed in surprise, other people around you including Anteros seemed to be agitated and as enthusiastic as Gloria.
"You know Galladhe X ?!" Anteros asked Gloria with bright eyes.
"Obviously, Lady Gardevoir and Galladhe X are among my favorite heroes." Gloria told him.
"Wow, a lot of my friends at school don't even know them." Anteros said.
"It doesn't surprise me, this duo was famous when I was your age, what amazes me more is that you know them." Gloria said.
"They are my favorite superheroes..." the boy said, blushing.
"Really?! That's awesome, this means you are happy as I am to see them back on screen after so long." Gloria said.
"Y-yes." Anteros said.
As the movie entered its final act, Anteros gradually opened up to Gloria, at the end of the film the two seemed to be long-time friends.
Later, at the nearby Solga - Leon.
"The movie was great!" Gloria happily exclaimed.
After the end of the film, you went to your favorite fast food restaurant, where Gloria was continuing her discussion with Anteros.
"Above all, the ending was beautiful, Galar Knight was incredible and so was Galladhe X!" an enthusiastic Anteros declared.
"Hey, don't forget about Lady Gardevoir." added Gloria.
While the two continued to debate and eat, you and Marnie and her aunt were having a conversation.
"I didn't expect Gloria to be such a fan of the superhero genre, she reminds me of some groupies of my brother." Marnie commented.
"And it seems that she met an equally super fan today." you chimed in.
"You say it, Anteros has always had a preference for the older superheroes, however, this always led him to self-ostracize by his peers at school, who instead, were more into the most modern superheroes." Marnie's aunt told you.
"Now that you mention it, this is the first time seeing Anteros speaking with more enthusiasm than usual." noted Marnie.
"WHAT? YOU ALSO LIKE NEO FEATHERMON!" your attention and those of other customers were attracted by the sudden loud words of Anteros.
"Of course, the Neo Feathermon are the best!" Gloria replied cheerfully.
"Not even my friends don't even know Neo Feathermon!" the two continued to talk passionately.
"It's incredible, this morning he was very sad because of his father, even when Marnie proposed to come, wasn't enough to make him smile again." said Anteros's mother.
"Well, he does prefer watching these movies with uncle, after all."
"Unfortunately, my husband has been very busy lately, and this seems to have had a negative effect on Anteros." Anteros' mother said worriedly.
"It has been a while since I saw a smile from him, I guess I should thank Miss Gloria for it." giggled the lady.
Later, after you finished eating, you headed to the S-BUS station.
You were waiting for the S-BUS to come.
"Oh, here's our S-BUS, well then, see you tomorrow at school." Marnie said as the S-BUS for their borough arrived.
"Certainly, barring unforeseen circumstances of course." you tell her.
"I had a lot of fun with you today, especially with you, Anteros." Gloria said.
"I had a lot of fun too, will you like to go with us to the cinema again?" Marnie's little cousin asked shyly.
"Of course, I would be more than happy." the girl smiled at him.
Gloria raised her hand and, immediately, Anteros reciprocated by giving the girl a high five.
"Super! Take care Anteros, and see you next time!" Gloria bid farewell to the small family.
"Bye-bye!" Anteros and his family waved to you and Gloria as the S-BUS departed.
"What an overwhelming day..." you commented after the S-BUS set off.
"phew... of course children have endless energy after all." comment a tired Gloria, smiling.
"So should we go?" you ask her.
"Yes let's go."
While you were sitting in the S-Bus.
"I hope you didn't feel left out today." Gloria said jokingly.
"If so, I'm sorry." she then says, a bit apologetic.
"Don't worry, I am happy for you that you enjoyed your time with Anteros ." you answered her.
"Anteros is a golden boy, and his passion for early 2000s superheroes is very cute." Gloria chuckled.
"Apparently this passion of his, leads him to isolate himself from the other children at school, I think he should make this quirk of his a strength, unfortunately, the others and he seems to not perceive it as such." you commented.
"... You know, Anteros reminds me a little of me when I was in elementary, like Anteros I was also passionate about the old-fashioned superheroes of the previous century."
"The one from your grandfather?" you asked her.
"Yes."
"Did you end up ostracizing yourself over it?" you ask as tactfully as possible.
"Nope, on the contrary, this knowledge of mine gave me a certain status at school, something like a superhero "Know it All" of sort ." giggled Gloria.
"The moments when I felt different from the others was when instead of my parents, my grandparents came to parental interviews, parties, and school plays..."
"That's why I might have immediately entered into this strange harmony with Anteros, I'm sure that's why he also wanted his father to come too."
"That's nice of you Gloria."
"Thank you."
You can feel Gloria's compassion.
Your mind gets filled with the mental image of an orange card for an instant.
THE CONQUEROR ARCANA RANK 03
"Hey, today was fun, make sure to invite me again the next too, oh and let's go together with Anteros."
"Sure." smiled Gloria.
End of Chapter 20
CONFIDANTS
0. The Trainer (Victor): Rank 4
1. The Exchanger (Hop): Rank 3
4. The Determiner (Aion): Rank 2
5. The Calmer (Kabu): Rank 3
7. The Conqueror (Gloria): Rank 3
12. The Empathazier (Milo): Rank 1
19. The Saver (Leon): Rank 1
やあ皆さん！(Yā minasan!) How are you guys doing? I hope everyone is having fun with the cross-platform release of Persona 5 Royal.
Like always, I invite you to leave your opinion or critique in the comment, check the Deviantart account and the Pokesona Instagram account, and the playlist for this chapter is in the comment section. And with that said stay safe and until next time, farewell.