Chapter3
4/12/20XX
After everything that had occurred the day before, Jolyne's first full day of school was uneventful, almost painfully boring. Everywhere she went, people were talking about the green haired transfer student. Some of it was just them wondering about why a person like her was at their school and hoping that she stayed away, but most of it was discussing her various crimes and illegal activities. Some of the rumors were either exaggerations or just plain falsehoods, such as how Jolyne had been arrested for almost killing some businessman or how she was caught "hooking up" with Ryuji, but not all of it was exaggeration. Especially the rumors about her life in America…Jolyne did her best to ignore them, heading straight to class and not interacting with anyone, save for a nod to Ryuji as she passed him in the morning.
The actual classes themselves were bordering on tedious. It was basically a bunch of teacher's blathering on about one subject or another, none of it really sticking in Jolyne's brain. When English class came around, a subject that the three parts American was already well versed in, the transfer student's mind began to wander, gazing at her finger and thinking back on how she had unlocked the door in the palace. Jolyne had never done anything like that before in her life, yet when it came time to will the strings out, it had felt as natural as breathing. Igor had called it her 'birthright', although Jolyne had no idea what that meant. Come to think of it, her Great-Grandfather Joseph used to tell her stories about how he had possessed strange powers in his youth, but Jolyne had simply dismissed them as the stories of a very old man. Now, though…
Arsene, on the other hand, was a different sensation altogether. After the palace and her chat with Igor last night, Jolyne felt…clearer. Like she had once been incomplete, but now Jolyne had finally found the part she was missing. Closing her eyes, she could feel Arsene's power humming inside her, almost as if she was hiding in the back of Jolyne's head, biding her time until her mistress would have need of her power once more.
Jolyne's eyes snapped open. Mistress? She'd never thought of herself in that way before, but just now…it had almost felt like Arsene had said that. How weird…
Jolyne's phone vibrated in her desk, signaling she had a new message Making sure the teacher wouldn't see her, she cast her eyes at the screen.
RS: Hey, you made up your mind about that thing we discussed yesterday?
JC: Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?
RS: Dude, it's just History. Besides, I've got more important stuff to worry about right now.
RS: So did you think on it?
JC: Yeah, I thought about it on the train ride over.
RS: And?
JC: …I'm in. I want to find out just what the hell is going on around here.
RS: Awesome!
RS: Meet me on the roof after school. We've got a few more things to I need to talk to you about.
Jolyne sighed, staring out the window while doing her best to concentrate on the lesson at hand. After the school day ended, Jolyne began making her way to the rooftop. On her way there, she spied Kamoshida talking to Takamaki by the staircase, and hid around the corner, eavesdropping.
"It's becoming awfully dangerous to ride the trains. You never know when one of this accidents might occur. If you want, I can always give you a ride home." Kamoshida suggested slyly, though Takamaki simply smiled.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll be fine. I got called into work today. I think it's a swimsuit issue, so we're shooting down at the beach today." The blonde replied, the coach shrugging.
"Are you sure? You must be feeling awfully lonely lately, what with your best friend staying at volleyball practice all afternoon." Jolyne noticed the grip on Takamaki bag tighten at the mention of her friend. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. Regional's are coming up, so I need all my starters in tip top shape."
"…it's fine. I still see Shiho plenty on the weekends." She maintained a friendly tone.
"Well alright. Just don't work yourself too hard, you hear? Oh, and maybe see if I can get a sneak peek?" He laughed after the last sentence, giving the impression the coach was just joking, and Takamaki giggled with him. However, as soon as he turned and walked off, Takamaki smile morphed into a sneer, her grip tightening on her bag until her knuckles were white.
"Bastard…" she muttered under her breath, when she caught sight of the spying Jolyne. Without another word, she turned and walked down the stairs, leaving Jolyne alone to think. Next to her, Takamaki was the main subject of gossip, with many of the rumors focusing around the exact nature of her relationship with the volleyball coach, with many referring to her as "Kamoshida's slut" and using the car rides he kept offering her as evidence. Though after the conversation she had just witnessed, Jolyne began questioning the exact validity of those rumors. Heading to the rooftop, Jolyne saw Ryuji waiting for her, clutching his bag awfully tight to his chest.
"Finally! I was starting to get worried you weren't going to show." Ryuji greeted as Jolyne walked over. "So, you ready?"
"In a minute. Didn't you have something you wanted to talk to me about?" Jolyne asked, and the former track star snapped his fingers.
"Oh yeah, that's right! Look inside here." He instructed, handing the bag to her. She raised an eyebrow, and opened the bag, only to shut it as soon as she saw what was inside.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Jolyne demanded.
"Dude, calm down. It's just-"
"No, I won't fucking calm down! What the hell are you thinking, bringing something like this here?!" Jolyne opened the bag, looking to make sure her eyes didn't deceive her.
Inside the bag was a small black handgun, a pistol that was unremarkable in every way. Except for the fact that it was, well, a gun. "Pretty real looking, isn't it?" Ryuji asked, pulling the gun out of the bag. "It's just a fake. One of those pellet guns." He explained, ejecting the clip and showing its contents to her, which consisted of several multicolored beads. And when Jolyne looked closer at the gun itself, she saw that it had it a plastic sheen to it.
"Where the hell did you even get something like this?"
"There's this place in Shibuya that deals in realistic airsoft guns. Whole place is filled with 'em. Bought this a couple of years ago, but never really had a reason to get it out until now."
"And that reason is?"
"Well, remember how those guards were chasin' us? I was thinking that if we ever get cornered like that again, we whip this thing out and get them to back off!"
"…Ryuji, this is a toy."
"They don't know that! They won't even be able to get close enough to tell!" Jolyne followed Ryuji's logic. She supposed it made sense, but she was still a little unsure about it. "I also brought us some medicine and first aid stuff from my house. Figured it could come in handy."
"Not bad, Ryuji. Not bad at all." Jolyne congratulated.
"I do have my moments. Oh hey, have you figured out how you did that thing with the strings yet? Even that Morgana thing seemed confused by it." Her friend asked, and Jolyne looked at her hand. Back then, bringing out the string had felt natural, like she was extending her shoulder. She took a deep breathe, and began to concentrate. That's when several strings began emerging from her hand, not just from the spot on her finger. As the length of the strings increased, it looked almost as if her hand was starting to unravel, yet it didn't hurt at all.
"Whoa…"
"What…what're you doin'? Is something wrong?" Ryuji questioned. Jolyne looked up, seeing an expression of confusion on his face.
"I'm doing that thing with the strings. See?" She held her string releasing hand up with the strings, earning a tilt from him, clearly confused by something.
"I don't see anything. You hit your head on something this morning?" Now it was Jolyne's turn to look confused.
"You seriously can't see them?"
"See what? Your cut your hand on something?" Jolyne's eyebrows furrowed, and she moved the strings over to Ryuji, tickling his nose and causing him to sneeze.
"What the hell? That came out of nowhere…" he muttered, and Jolyne's strings retreated back into her hand, restoring it to full shape.
"You seriously couldn't see any of that?"
"For the last time, see what? You just started spacing out and staring at your hand!"
"…never mind." Jolyne waved it off. "So, what now?"
"Well, I was thinkin' we could head back to the station and retrace our steps from there. Big place like that, we're bound to find it sooner or later." Jolyne didn't exactly have any better ideas, so soon they were right outside of Aoyame-Ichitome station, right where they had first met. They followed the exact route they had taken to the castle…only to end up right in front of Shujin once more. "The hell? We take a wrong turn?" Ryuji demanded, only for Jolyne to shake her head.
"No way. We followed the exact same path we took yesterday." Ryuji sighed and scratched his head.
"Jeez, and here I was thinking it'd be easy if we knew where we were going…" he muttered, when a lightbulb went off in his head. "Hey wait, didn't you have some sort of navigation app on yesterday right before we got there?"
"Yeah, I think so." Jolyne replied as she pulled out her phone. She touched her finger to the strange eyeball, which Igor had referred to as the "Meta-Nav", and laughed the app.
"Please select a destination." Its voice chimed, and Jolyne tapped recent history, selecting "Kamoshida's Palace." "Beginning navigation." And that's when everything began to change. Ryuji's phone screen changed to show the strange Meta-Nav icon. Around them, the world took on a purplish hue. Ripples began swirling around Shujin. When it cleared, the duo found themselves standing in front of the castle from yesterday.
"Whoa…" Ryuji gasped out.
"Well, guess this proves yesterday wasn't an accident." Jolyne mumbled to herself, when Ryuji noticed her clothes.
"Dude, check it out!" He yelled out, and Jolyne looked down at herself. She was once more dressed in the strange attire that had appeared inside the dungeon, complete with the mask and everything. Jolyne gingerly touched the outfit, only this time it didn't disappear.
"Well that's a relief…" she sighed out, and the two began approaching the castle entrance. They were about to open the door and enter, when a familiar voice called out to them.
"Hey!" The two turned to see Morgana, hiding behind a corner.
"Hey, its that cat thing from yesterday " Ryuji whispered.
"Over here, quick!" Morgana beckoned, and the two walked over to him. "What're you two thinking, waltzing in the front door like that? You'd be killed for sure!"
"It's good to see you too, Morgana." Jolyne dryly retorted, and Morgana began to analyze her.
"That hair…that voice…oh, you're the girl from yesterday! What are you two doing back here? You barely managed to escape from this place the first time."
"And what exactly is 'this place?' Is it the school?" Ryuji asked, and the cat-like being sighed.
"I did promise I'd give you two some answers…well, you're not entirely wrong, Blondie. This castle is your school, but only to the castle's ruler." The thief explained.
"Castle's ruler…you mean Kamoshida, right?" Jolyne asked, and Morgana nodded.
"That's right. This castle is how his distorted heart views the school." Ryuji adopted a quizzical look.
"Distorted heart? What is that, some kinda condition?" Jolyne slapped him in the back of his head. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"Stop saying stupid shit and pay attention!" She ordered, Morgana sighed as he continued.
"I shouldn't have expected an idiot to understand. What's the best way to describe it?" Morgana pondered. "Basically, this is a realm shaped by the ruler's cognition, or the way he perceives the world around him in regards to this location. Tell me, how does he act in the real world?" Ryuji scowled.
"That asshole has the run of the place, sayin' and doing whatever the hell he wants to whoever. The principal let's him do it too. It's almost like that bastard thinks he's some…kinda…king…" Realization dawned over Ryuji's face. "Wait, wasn't that other Kamoshida dressed like a king or something?" Morgana nodded.
"This is a realm formed by Kamoshida's distorted desires and molded by his cognition. Everything in this world is shaped in some way by how he views this school." Jolyne raised her hand.
"So what's the deal with that other Kamoshida, the 'king' here?"
"That is Kamoshida's Shadow, a representation of the person he truly is. Here, he doesn't have to maintain appearances."
"So how come the real Kamoshida didn't seem to remember anything that happened here yesterday?" Ryuji asked.
"Let's see, how to explain this…ok, so this world's Kamoshida is a reflection of the one you know, sharing his personality, memories, and desires. Events that happen in the real world to the actual Kamoshida will affect his cognition, and by extension, this world. However, it doesn't go both ways. In most cases, the real Kamoshida will remain unaware of anything that happens to his Shadow." Morgana explained, when the trio heard the sound of faint screaming, causing Ryuji to dryly swallow. "It sounds like you two really pissed him off by escaping yesterday. There's been more of that than usual today."
"Than usual…?" Ryuji gasped. "We…we saw a guy with a uniform from our school down there yesterday. Are there other people like that here?"
"Dressed like that? I believe so. Every day I'd see a bunch of them dragged away to a place called the 'Training Hall', likely on Kamoshida's orders, and that's usually be when the screaming begin." Morgana explained, and Ryuji sneered.
"That damn bastard!" He turned to Jolyne. "We gotta go in there and see this for ourselves!"
"Believe me, I'm worried about those people too, but we can't just charge in there blind again. We barely got out last time." Jolyne answered.
"…I might know the way there." The two turned to Morgana. "I was able to move freely about this Palace for several days before they caught me, so I have some idea about the layout."
"Dude, are you sure?" The fake blonde asked, and Morgana nodded.
"It's the least I can do to repay you two, seeing as you freed me and all." Jolyne smiled at the short creature.
"Thank you, Morgana."
"However, you two need to follow my instructions down to the letter. No deviations. Understood?" Jolyne nodded, and Morgana looked at Ryuji. "I wanna hear you say it."
"Ok fine, I'll do whatever you say." He said, and Morgana grinned.
"Excellent. Now, the guards will be on high alert throughout the castle. Because of that, Blondie here will have to stay in the back, since you don't have a Persona, while me and Green Hair will take the lead."
"In that case, take this." Ryuji took the airsoft gun out of his bag and handed it to Jolyne. "They'll probably be more intimidated if you hold it, what with that mask and all." Jolyne took the gun, tucking it into the waist of her pants.
"Hmmm, it looks real enough that I wonder…" Morgana mumbled. "Alright, now follow me." He ordered, jumping into an open window. Jolyne and Ryuji followed him, ending up in a storage room similar to the one they had escaped from yesterday. In fact, Jolyne was pretty sure it WAS the same one. Morgana cracked open the door just a smidge so he could look outside. "Coast is clear. C'mon, down the stairs. The place we're going to is back inside the prison."
"Oh joy, my favorite place…" Jolyne snorted, following Morgana through an open doorway that looked like the door had been destroyed.
"Remember, the darkness is our friend. Stick to the shadows, and the guards shouldn't see you." Morgana instructed as they approached the end of the stairwell, hugging the wall and hiding behind a corner. The trio moved across the walkway, sticking to cover and avoiding any passing guards. This time, instead of going straight down the walkway, they turned at the cell that had held the volleyball student, now empty, to cross a drawbridge. Jolyne noticed Ryuji clenching his fist, forcing himself not to think too hard about the student's fate. Soon, they arrived in front of a wooden door with a banner over it that read "Training Hall", only this one had a guard standing in front of it.
"Well now what? I don't think we can sneak around this guy." Jolyne questioned.
"That's right, we can't. Our only option is to ambush him and force him into a fight."
"Wait, won't that just make him call for backup?" Ryuji asked, and Morgana shook his head.
"Not if we move fast. See that mask?" He pointed to the light blue mask that was over the guard's face. "I'm not sure how or why, but shadows tend to drift together and combine their essence into one form, held together by that mask. In a palace, the Ruler's will often shapes the composite's appearance. By ambushing them and removing the mask, we'll be able to temporarily disrupt the control over them and forcing them to revert into their true form. Afterwards, they'll only be able to focus on the battle at hand, and won't call for backup." Morgana explained, and turned to Jolyne. "You ready?"
"Yeah." She nodded, and rushed the Shadow, jumping in top of its back and grabbing it's mask. She ripped it off and jumped back as it began to contort, its appearance blackening and red cracks spreading across its body before it exploded into shadowy energy. When it cleared, Jolyne and Morgana were face to face with one of the pumpkin headed creatures from her cell and a small, female looking creature with wings that resembled a pixie. Jolyne felt a dagger materialize in her hand, while Morgana now held a scimitar in his hand.
"Let's finish this quick! Let's go, Zorro!" The muscular Persona from yesterday appeared, and waved its sword in a circular motion, causing wind to circle around the Jack O'Lantern. It howled with pain as it dissolved into shadowy ash, and that's when Jolyne made her move, her mask disappearing from her face.
"Persona!" As soon as she called out, Arsene appeared behind her, and lunged at the Pixie. Arsene swiped her claws, obliterating the small creature in one move before dispersing back into flame, Jolyne's mask appearing back on her face.
"Not bad. Your Persona looks like it's a strong one." Morgana complimented as Ryuji emerged from the corner where he had been hiding. "Now, they won't all be that easy. Keep in mind that as we progress up the palace, the Shadows will grow more and more powerful."
"Got it." Jolyne acknowledged, and looked at the door. The sounds of screaming they had heard at the entrance had grown louder, clearly emanating from this location. She turned to Ryuji, who looked a little nervous. "You ready?" He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Y-yeah. I need to see this." He replied, and the two pushed open the door. The part of the Training Hall they entered was a rather spacious hall dimly lit by torches, with several small cells filled with members of the volleyball team lining the walls. There were several large segments of iron bars along the walls. Ryuji approached the bars, and what he saw made him sneer and grab the bars. "That son of a bitch!" He yelled, and Jolyne approached the cell he was looking at.
It wasn't so much a cell as a different room being overlooked by the main training room. Inside, several young men, all dressed in volleyball uniforms, were clutching the net, crying out in pain as they were savagely beaten with sticks by guards. "Pain is progress! Pain makes you stronger! You cannot be a champion if you are weak!" Kamoshida's voice yelled over ceiling mounted speakers, likely a recording of some sort. Jolyne moved over to the next cell, a similarly sized room, and saw more volleyball team members running on some sort of large treadmill, only at the very end was a spiked roller. "If you can't keep up, you're useless to me! You might as well be dead! There can be no place in my volleyball team for those who cannot push past their limits!" The voice blared. In another large area, there was a student being held suspended in the air in front of a cannon by ropes. Every few seconds, the cannon would fire a volleyball that would hit him straight in the chest.
"So this is what they do in here. I never imagined it'd be something so brutal…" Morgana muttered as they watched what could only be described as torture.
"Hey, Morgana." Ryuji's voice growled, and the two looked to see him visibly shaking, seething with rage. "These guys…they ain't real, right? Like that guy you tried convincing me about yesterday?"
"Yes, that's correct. They're cognitive duplicates, based around the way the real Kamoshida perceives them. Essentially, they're fancy dolls."
"I ain't gonna pretend like I even understand any of what's goin' on here or how it works, but if this place and these guys are based off of Kamoshida's perception…then does that mean these guys are goin' through something similar in the real world?"
"…I'm afraid so." Morgana answered, and that's when Ryuji snapped.
"I fucking knew it! That goddamn monster…who the fuck does he think he is?! He ain't got no right to put people through this shit!" Ryuji yelled. "That's the exact same crap he told everyone on the track team. 'You'll be stronger for it. Pain is just a sign of weakness…' I'll make him pay for this!"
"Ryuji, calm down." Jolyne beckoned.
"Fuck that! You don't know…you don't know what he did to us!" The former track runner yelled, and pulled out his phone. "I was plannin' on getting these guys outta here, but if it turns out they ain't real, ok getting This is all the proof we need to prove that the rumors are true! I'll take pictures, and get that bastard fired!"
"…it's no use." A weak voice called, and the trio looked to see it had come from a bruised, beaten boy in a cell. Jolyne recognized him as a boy from her class. Mishima, she thought his name was. "King Kamoshida's word is absolute…no one dares dispute it. He knows what's best for all of us." The Cognitive Mishima said, and Ryuji sneered, moving his phone so that he could get a clear shot of the bearings.
"Fuck that! This stops here and…dammit!" He yelled. "Why ain't my camera workin'?! I thought I charged this thing?!"
"You can't capture images of the cognitive world. It doesn't exist the same way as the real world does." Morgana explained.
"Then…then I'll memorize their faces! I'll find the real them, get them to rat on Kamoshida, and finally get rid of that bastard!" Jolyne watched as Ryuji began doing just that. When Ryuji had told her his history with Kamoshida, Jolyne had figured he may've harbored resentment for being taken advantage of. But this…this was pure hatred. She had never seen anything like this before.
"Ryuji…"
"Kamoshida must be a truly extraordinary monster in order to cause him to harbor this kind of animosity." Morgana wondered out loud, a concerned look on his face as Ryuji went from cell to cell, memorizing the faces of the inmates.
"Alright, and…that's the last one. I recognize most of these guys, so this shouldn't be a problem." He stated, clearly still enraged, but for now he looked like he was keeping it in check. "C'mon, let's get outta here and-"
"Stop right there!" A voice called, and the three turned to see a guard had entered the room. "Wait, you three are the intruders from yesterday! Your defiance ends here!" It yelled, exploding into shadowy energy and emerging as one of the small Pixies. Jolyne quickly dug the gun from her waistband and pointed it at the Shadow, causing it to widen it's eyes.
"Stop right there!" She commanded, finger on the trigger. "Just walk away and forget you ever saw this, and-"
*BANG!*
The two humans were both surprised by the very real gunshot that came out of the toy gun, the shadow dispersing into ash with a scream. "What the fuck?! I thought this was a toy!" Jolyne shouted, dropping the gun.
"I-it's supposed to be!"
"Hmmm, so it looks like my theory was correct." Morgana spoke up, causing the two to look at him. "You brought that so the shadows would think it's real and back off, right?"
"Yeah."
"This is a word based around perception. As long as an item like that is seen as the real deal, it'll be treated as such." Morgana explained.
"Really? That's awesome!" Ryuji exclaimed, as Jolyne bent down and picked the gun back up.
"This place gets weirder and weirder." She sighed as she tucked the gun back into her pants. "Ryuji, you got their faces memorized?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah I got 'em all memorized."
"Good, then we need to get out of here. I don't want to stay around here any longer than we have to." Morgana instructed, heading towards the door with Jolyne behind him. Ryuji cast one last look back at the guys in the cell, before going after them, catching up with the two outside the door.
"So what's the deal?" The masked girl asked as Morgana looked around the corner, surveying the room.
"They know we're here now. It looks like they have guards watching the way we came down here." Morgana reported, and Jolyne cursed.
"And I don't suppose we can fight our way out?" She asked, and Morgana shook his head.
"Our Personas would be useless in a confined space like that. Besides, I don't think you have the stamina for a prolonged battle like that yet." He explained.
"C'mon, big place like this, there's gotta be another way out!" Ryuji inquired, and Morgana scratched his chin in thought, and Jolyne felt an itch in her hand, just like she did at the lock the other day. She knelt down and placed her hands on the ground, closing her eyes. "…what're you doin'?" As soon as he said that, strings began spreading out from her body, starting with her hand, and beginning to travel around the dungeon area, working their way through the cracks.. "Whoa…" As the strings got further away, Jolyne's body began to unravel, before her eyes snapped open, the strings rapidly retreating into her and revealing her body.
"There's a way upstairs back through the training hall we just came from. It'll put us right in the central hall by the exit. If we hurry, we can make it there before they get guards there." Jolyne reported, and she noticed the two staring at her. "What?"
"How did you do that?" Morgana asked.
"It just felt…natural. I was thinking about how we could find a way out, and I just…knew how to do that." Jolyne explained. "It almost felt like I could 'hear' the guards talking through my strings, talking about places they could look for us."
"So like that thing where you put a string between two cups, and it works like a phone?" Ryuji asked, and Jolyne shrugged. "Is this part of that Persona thing?"
"I don't think so, but I could be wrong." Morgana pondered, and Jolyne thought back to Igor's words last night. He had told her that the trick with the strings was completely different than Arsene, calling it her 'birthright.' "Well, I suppose we can't look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's go." The three ran back through the training hall, Ryuji doing his best to avoid looking in the cells, and coming out the other end into a small hallway. Moving through the hall, they were soon in front of a stairwell leading straight up. Without a word, the three climbed it, opening the door at the top and emerging in the room that Jolyne and Ryuji had first arrived in.
"Well this place looks familiar." Jolyne said. "C'mon, let's hurry and-"
"There you are! And here I was thinking I'd have to search every nook and cranny myself" A disturbingly familiar voice called out. They looked at the staircase, seeing a grinning Kamoshida descending, flanked by two guards in ornate gold armor.
"An ambush…why am I not surprised? Having an unguarded door right by the exit all seemed too convenient." Morgana cursed to himself, and Kamoshida merely laughed.
"I won't allow myself to be made a fool of twice, you worthless thieves!" Ryuji scowled and clenched his fist.
"This school ain't your castle, you asshole!" He yelled, getting a sneer from Kamoshida.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you Sakamoto? You're even dumber than I thought!"
"I memorized the faces of those guys you're torturing down there. As soon as we get out of here, you're going down, you son of a bitch!" Kamoshida simply sighed.
"You're the same as always, Sakamoto. Rushing off half cocked, dragging everyone else down with you. It's the track team all over again." This sent Ryuji over the edge.
"You shut your damn mouth!"
"Or what? You'll punch me again?" Kamoshida tainted.
"Hey, asshole." Jolyne called out, drawing his attention. "Everyone around here treats you like some kinda sports god. But me? I see what you really are. You're not a god, a king, or whatever else you see yourself as. You're just a perverted control freak that gets off on picking off on those who can't fight back." Kamoshida laughed at this.
"Oh yeah? And what're you going to do about it?" Jolyne smirked, blue sparks beginning to emanate from her mask.
"I'm going to make it so that you shit out teeth for a week. Arsene!" Her mask vanished as her Persona appeared behind her. "Take him down!" Arsene obeyed without a word, flying at Kamoshida and raising her claw. However, just as Arsene was about to bring her claw down, the gold Armored guards crossed their staves together in front of Kamoshida, blocking the swipe.
"Tch. So be it." Kamoshida stated, Jolyne having Arsene fall back as the staves separated. The guards each began to change, both taking the forms of an angelic being with red wings wearing some sort of medieval themed armor, complete with a sword.
"Archangels! Be careful, these are powerful shadows!" Morgana warned as he brought out Zorro. Kamoshida held out his hand towards them.
"Kill them." He ordered, and the Archangels spread their wings and flew towards the group, each swinging its sword. Zorro parried one with his rapier, while Arsene brought her wings together and blocked the other one, although it forced her back, causing Jolyne to be moved back as well, almost as if on some sort of wires. Arsene broke the stalemate and began swiping with her claws as the two took to the air, with the Archangel avoiding each swipe. Eventually, once there was enough distance, the Persona attempted to use its energy blast, although the archangel avoided it. It retaliated by firing a small ball of pure light that hit Arsene square in the chest, exploding into energy and knocking her on the ground, knocking Jolyne down as well.
Morgana was faring mildly better with his archangel, parrying each strike of it's sword with Zorro's rapier. However, the Archangel was slowly forcing the Persona back, and by extension Morgana, backwards with its strikes. Morgana attempted to use a gust of wind to blow back the shadow, but it had no effect. The Archangel seized its opening and grabbed Zorro by the theist, throwing it and Morgana over to the ground by Jolyne. Ryuji dropped to his knees, dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed. "No way…" Kamoshida merely laughed, the Archangels reverting back to their guard forms as he walked over to the downer thieves.
"How pathetic! This is what you get for defying me!" The Shadow taunted, stepping on Morgana's back.
"Agh! You piece of…" Morgana began to curse, and Kamoshida looked at Ryuji.
"I bet you came here on a whim and dragged these two along with you, right?" He asked, and Ryuji began to shake.
"That's…that's not…"
"What a worthless piece of trash, getting worked up so easily. How dare scum like you even think of raising your hand to me! Have you not forgotten the kindness I showed the track team by supervising them after your coach left?" This unnerved Ryuji, and he found his words again.
"You call that shit kindness?! You abused us simply because you didn't like our team! Nakamura almost died because of you!" Ryuji shouted back, and Kamoshida sneered.
"That track team was an eyesore! The only one who deserves accomplishments and recognition is me alone! To think that trash like you believed you could have a future. Who else was going to show you the truth? That you were merely worthless trash, the same as your father!" Kamoshida taunted, and Ryuji slammed his fist in the ground.
"You shut your damn mouth right now, or else I'll-"
"You'll what? Punch me again? It'll just go down the same as last time! Hell, I'll tell the exact same story I did then, too!" Kamoshida said, his face adopting an expression of false empathy. "You have to believe me, Principal Kobayakawa, I didn't have a choice. I was merely acting in self defense!"
"Shut up!" Tears were now welling up in Ryuji's eyes.
"Your son was trying to kill me, Mrs. Sakamoto! It's unfortunate that he'll never run again, but I had no choice but to break his knee!" A shocked expression spread across Jolyne and Morgana's faces, as Ryuji collapsed onto his knees, visibly shaking.
"So that's why…" Morgana stated. Jolyne's reaction was less subdued.
"You bastard! When I get my hands on you, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your ass-" She started to shout, when a guard came up behind her and shoved her face to the ground.
"This is what happens when you dare to oppose me!" Kamoshida taunted, and Ryuji was shaking as he stared at the ground.
Am I gonna lose it all again? He took it all from me…my scholarships…the track team…the friends I had…all gone, because of him! Now this…What's even the point… He thought to himself, tears falling to the ground as he gave into despair…
"Ryuji!" Jolyne's voice called out, and he looked up at her struggling against the guard's grip. "Don't let him win! You have to stand up for yourself! Otherwise, you'll-"
"Silence!" Kamoshida cut off, grinning at Ryuji. "Watch as these hopeless scum you've dragged down die, simply because they associated with trash like you!"
"…you're wrong." Ryuji's comment caught Kamoshida off guard, wiping the grin off his face as Yuji began to raise himself up off the ground. "All you do is use people, casting them aside as soon as they're not useful anymore. If anyone here is trash, it's you, Kamoshida!" He got on his feet, weakly moving to Kamoshida. "Right now, the only thing I want…no, the only thing I need…is to make you stop looking down on me with that stupid smile on your face!"
"Finally! You've made me wait quite awhile, you know." A voice declared within Ryuji's head, one that sounded suspiciously like his own, and he gripped the side of his head as splitting headache began to form. "You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact." As the voice spoke, the headache grew worse, forcing Ryuji to the ground as he writhed about in pain. "Your name has already been disgraced, so why not raise the flag and wreak some havoc? The other you who resides within desires it thus." Ryuji began crawling towards where Jolyne and Morgana were being held down. "I am thou, and thou art I! There is no turning back!" As he approached the guard holding down Jolyne, blue embers began swirling around his face, originating from his downturned face. "The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!" Now, Ryuji looked straight up, a skull shaped mask manifesting around the top half of his face as he stared daggers at the gold Armored guard.
"Hmph. What can you do? Simply cower in fear and watch!" The Shadow asked, beginning to raise its sword and preparing to bring it down on Jolyne…
Ryuji began to stand up, hands grasping the skull shaped mask as he rose to his full height. "I…ain't…gonna let you take…anything else from me…ever again!" Ryuji yelled as he ripped off the mask. As soon as he did, a pillar of blue flames erupted, consuming Ryuji and blowing the guards and Kamoshida back. When it cleared, Ryuji was clad in a black leather jacket, black leather pants with knee pads, combat boots, yellow gloves, and a red ascot around his neck. In his hand, he held what looked like a pipe.
Behind him stood an ethereal figure dressed as a pirate. It had a skull like face with a single red eye and an eyepatch, with a tricorn hat on its head. Two crossed swords were mounted on a leather belt across its light blue skeletal chest, with black pants on its legs. In place of its right hand, there was a small cannon. The entire figure was mounted on top of a small black boat modeled after a pirate ship. Up until now, Ryuji's face had been down turned, until he looked up, a maniacal grin on his face.
"Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Wassup, Persona?" Ryuji grinned as Jolyne and Morgana got off the ground , and saw the gold guards beginning to get off the ground, holding his hand towards them. "Take 'em down, Captain Kidd!" Captain Kidd lunged forward, crushing one of the shadows under its boat before it could could transform. However, it didn't reach the other Hurd in time, and it transformed into it's Archangel form once more. Captain Kidd simply aimed its arm cannon at the Shadow, and a blast of lightning came out and hit the shadow head on, knocking it down to the ground.
"Now's our chance! Let's hit it while it's down!" Morgana ordered, and the two humans nodded as they all attacked the archangel, using both their melee weapons and their personas, destroying it.
"It won't be long before more guards show up. We should get out of here while we still can." Jolyne instructed, and Morgana and Ryuji nodded, his mask reappearing on his face as Captain Kidd dispersed. The three ran out the entrance, leaving Kamoshida behind to cower on the floor.
"Another one with the same power as the other two? This shouldn't be possible…" he whimpered out.
Outside the Palace, the trio ran across the drawbridge, stopping and hiding in the alleyway they had first arrived in. "Nice job, Ryuji!" Jolyne congratulated, and Ryuji smirked.
"What can I say? Easy as…wait, what am I wearing?" He asked, noticing his change in clothes. "How'd I end up in these clothes?"
"That's what happens when you awaken your Persona in this world. They clad you in attire that they feel best compliments your personality." Morgana explained.
"That…doesn't make any sense. At all." Jolyne answered, and Morgana shrugged.
"That's just how it is. I didn't make the rules."
"Then who did? And how do you know all this stuff, anyway?" Ryuji asked, and Morgana's face fell.
"I…I'm not sure. I just…do." Jolyne and Ryuji blinked at this.
"How can you not know? You've been here longer than we have!" The green haired girl asked, and Morgana sighed.
"I'm missing a large chunk of my memories. All I know is that I woke up in this form one day, and I've been searching for my memories ever since. I came here looking for any sort of lead. All this information about the palace feels like instinct, sort of like your trick with the strings." He explained, and Jolyne sighed.
"And just when I thought we were finally going to get some answers, too. Gimme a break…" she lamented, and turned to Ryuji. "Well, I don't think we're going to get anything else done. Wanna head back?"
"That sounds great. I dunno about you, but I'm absolutely exhausted." Ryuji answered, and the two turned to Morgana.
"Well, see you around, I guess." Jolyne said, and Morgana nodded, watching as the two retreated back into the real world.
"To think I would meet not one, but two Persona users here. Talk about a coincidence…" he mused to himself.
Evening
The bell above the door chimed as Jolyne entered Leblanc. "Welcome back." Sojiro greeted from behind the counter. "I didn't get a call from the school today, so I'm assuming you actually went to school today."
"Yep. No problems this time." Jolyne responded.
"Still, you're awfully late getting back tonight. Where were you?"
"I…made a friend, actually. He was showing me around the city." Sojiro's eyebrows perked up at this.
"'He', huh?"
"Nothing like that, you old old geezer. He's not my type."
"Whatever you say. It's none of my business what you do or who you do it with, as long as you're not getting into trouble. Here, take this." Sojiro tossed a key at Jolyne, which she caught. "I can't stay here all night waiting to lock up until you come back, especially if you plan on having a social life. Just make sure you lock the door when you leave, and when you come back at night." He explained, and she smiled at him.
"Thanks, Boss. I won't let you down." Jolyne said, and began heading towards the stairs towards her room.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Your father called this afternoon." Jolyne stopped dead in her tracks, hand gripping the stair rail. "He wanted to see how you were settling in. I just told him you were doing well, but I didn't mention the incident yesterday." Jolyne remained silent. "I told him you'd call him as soon as you got a chance. Left his number on the desk up there."
"…thanks, I guess." She replied, and her guardian just sighed as she ascended the stairs. Jolyne set her bag on the counter by the stairwell and walked over to the desk. Sojiro had left the number by the locket, and Jolyne picked up the number.
Jolyne watched from the window as he walked away towards a cab, not even glancing back as he got in.
She scowled, and ripped up the paper, tossing it in the trash can. Her phone chimed, and she pulled it out as she sat on her bed, seeing a message from Ryuji.
RS: Dude I'm so exhausted. I can barely type this right now.
RS: Was it like this for you yesterday?
JC: More or less.
RS: I don't think I've ever been this tired before, even after track practice.
RS: So about what Kamoshida said in there…
RS: Sorry I didn't tell you the whole truth yesterday.
JC: It's fine.
RS: No it's not. I made you think it was just some grudge.
JC: You barely know me. I understand.
RS: Still, I shoulda been upfront with you.
JC: You at least remember the faces, right?
RS: Yeah. I only recognized a handful of them, though.
JC: It's better than nothing.
JC: There's a volleyball rally or something tomorrow, right?
RS: Yeah.
JC: Than we can start there and ask around.
RS: Sounds good.
RS: Oh hey I almost forgot.
RS: When I got home today, there was this weird eyeball app thing on my phone.
Jolyne's eyes widened, and she began typing once more.
JC: Delete it. Now.
JC: And reboot your phone, just in case.
RS: I tried all that, but it just showed back up.
Jolyne thought back to her conversation with Igor last night. The long nosed man had mentioned that he would gift the app to any who might aid Jolyne in her "rehabilitation".
JC: Don't worry about it.
Several minutes passed by with no response, so Jolyne had figured Ryuji must have passed out on his end, something that sounded really good right about now. Jolyne changed into her sleepwear, and hit the sack, closing her eyes…
…only to open them to a familiar sight. "Y'know, this is already starting to get kind of old." She called as she sat up from the stone cot, turning to Igor and the twin wardens.
"Welcome back, Inmate." Justine greeted, now holding a clipboard.
"Our master wishes to speak with you once more." Caroline stated.
"And here I thought it was because you missed me, Shorty." Jolyne snapped back, and turned to Igor. "What do you want now?"
"Simply to congratulate you, Trickster. Your rehabilitation is off to a fantastic start." Igor replied in his deep, almost sinister voice. "To think that you would meet another who shares your aesthetics and has also been robbed of his place to belong…Fate truly appears to be on your side. You have formed what is sure to be the first of many bonds that shall aid you upon your rehabilitation." Jolyne gripped the bars as a glowing card began descending from the ceiling. It landed on Justine's clipboard, on top of a blank piece of paper. There was a flash of light, and when it cleared there was a picture of Ryuji, with 'The Chariot' written above it. Before Jolyne could ask what was going on, the chimes sounded once again, her vision darkening as she exited the room…