Chapter 5: As She Foretold
Amara steeled herself, clutching her weapon. Rushing at the vile jester before her, she slashed at him, each swing wider and stronger than the last. And she was not alone in her assault. Nathan was striking too, with slightly more grace than the brutal swings Blaine was inflicting upon his enemy. Serena's whip was a piercing, deadly weapon in her hands.
"You had enough yet?!" Blaine taunted. "Something this skinny shouldn't be this hard to take down!"
Right then and there, the Trickster Juggler got to its feet, shrouded in a red aurora. With a rather elaborate spinning jump, it threw the balls into the air, and their energies were absorbed into it – and the balls were now plain grey, with sharp metal spikes. The face on its body had become a rather ominous skull.
Nathan, alert, was somewhat befuddled. "What is it trying to do now?"
"Going through one hell of a goth punk phase, I bet," Blaine said dryly.
Amara chuckled. "I think most goths and punks have better taste in fashion than that. Let's see if this works now! Agi!"
Hathor's flames struck the Shadow and actually seemed to work this time. The new skull symbol did not change, much to her relief. Whatever enchantment was on it before was broken.
"See that? Just keep that up, and it'll be dead in no time!" She said, smirking.
"Wait!" Serena cried, anxious. "It's different than before!"
Just then, the Shadow began chanting and sent chunks of cold ice at everyone via its Mabufu spell. Amara gasped when she saw it, but it was too fast to dodge. Again, she collapsed, barely able to resist the sheer cold.
"A-Ah!"
"Crap! Hold on, this should help! Artemis, Dia!"
Amara found herself surrounded by a soothing white spiral of light, that phased into her body. It was enough to heal her, the pain from the Shadow's spell fading.
"Thanks...I'm glad at least one of us has healing powers..."
The Shadow was advancing at Blaine, preparing to attack. The scruffy man, however, did not seem afraid in the slightest.
"Take this!" He cried, slamming his hammer onto the Shadow's foot. While it did actually hurt the Juggler this time, it didn't seem to have the desired effect, as it continued to attack, throwing all of its spiked balls. "...You asked for it! Tlaloc, buddy, I need your power!"
A fearsome bolt of lightning struck the Shadow, right as, Nathan sent forward a Garu, guided by Setanta's lance. This seemed to resonate with the Zio spell, creating a small tornado of Electro Wind.
"Wow, how'd you do that?" Amara asked the two men.
"I have no idea, actually. Our two attacks seemed to synergise with each other into something new." Nathan said, eyes fixed on Setanta.
Blaine shrugged. "Works for me. Wish Philemon had told us about that earlier, though..."
Aggravated, the Trickster Juggler jumped high in the air, and threw all four of its balls at each of its human targets. Each throw was fast, leaving a blood-red trail that lingered for a second, and each hit was strong. Amara gasped, reeling from the blow. Somehow, the spikes had not pierced her skin, yet the pain was genuine.
Did Hathor protect me, even if just a little? If I didn't have my Persona, I probably would be dead by now. Still, this hurts. We have to finish him off, now!
"Serena! Let's try what the guys just did!" Amara cried. "You think you can do that?"
"Oh, a combination skill! Artemis, appear!"
The lunar goddess joined with the sun deity, forming a huge sphere of boiling water. It flew towards the Shadow, who watched it with trepidation. Before it could react, the Burning Bubble burst, drenching the Juggler with scorchingly hot water. It screamed in terror, and let go of each of its balls.
"Yeah!" Blaine roared, punching the air with his fist in triumph. "Burn that bastard to ashes!" Nathan sighed, but made a small smile as he kicked one of the balls away.
"Well done. This vile circus act is over at last."
It was finally done, everyone could see, as the Shadow's body began convulsing. Slowly, it floated into the air, arms and legs shaking, desperately grasping for anything that could help avoid its fate. Yet no salvation was at hand for the Trickster Juggler, as its body began to break apart. Finally, it ceased moving, and every single trace of it began dissolving into black particles of energy. These started to be absorbed by the huge apparatus in the centre of the room. Only its mask was left, which fell to the ground. Soon, the mask changed into a card; this one was of the Magician Major Arcana.
Confused, Amara looked at the three beside her, but they had no idea what this was for themselves. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards it, only for it to float up, right in front of her face.
"What the hell? It's just a card now, and it still wants to fight?" Blaine asked, bewildered. "Rip it up!"
The floating tarot card stayed there, but then it suddenly flew above them and passed through the ceiling. As it did, the power generator activated, emanating a dark aurora, and the red lights became white. Amara breathed a sigh of relief. The battle was finally over, and it seemed like power had been restored to this building.
Serena, weary, dismissed her weapon. "That was harder than I thought a first boss battle would be..."
"First…boss?" Nathan asked, curious. "What do you mean by that? Do you know something about these Shadows we don't?"
"It's a video game thing, doofus," Blaine said, sticking his tongue out. Ignoring the scowl from Nathan, he continued. "But there ain't any point staying in this room. That portal door thing must be working now, right? I say we hurry down there and get the hell home!"
"Right!" Amara said, looking around her, cagey. "I don't want to still be here when these 'operatives' show up, either. We better move fast!"
The four left the room, ever cautious for Shadows – or anyone who may hinder their escape.
|Portal Room|
As soon as the group entered the room, Amara dashed to the door's console and punched in the key. To her relief, the door began to glow a bright white light. It would now allow her to return, along with her new friends.
Nathan, Serena, and Blaine. Someone wanted us all to meet today. But who, and why?
"Wait."
A deep male voice started to speak, echoing throughout the room. Everyone looked around in surprise, unable to find the speaker. Then, Amara noticed a loudspeaker in the top right corner of the room.
I've heard this man's voice before. But where?
"Well done for overcoming the Trickster Juggler. That wasn't quite my plan for you all tonight. Yet, for you all to have defeated it so soon after awakening your Persona ability is quite the achievement."
Serena frowned. "Yeah, thanks and all, but who are you? You were the one who sent us the weird texts, right?"
"And you also provided us with those Aeternus ID cards," Nathan added, arms crossed.
"So are you gonna tell us why you made us come to this weird world and fight monsters?" Blaine demanded.
"Not tonight. You must go, now. The power generated by the defeat of the Trickster Juggler will only last for a short period. But you must return here, all as one. The truth behind that disaster a decade ago will become clear soon. Now, leave this place. But if you never return, this world will eventually consume yours. We will speak again."
The voice stopped. Amara, not willing to risk being trapped here overnight, jumped through the door…
|Farawell – Abandoned Warehouse|20:00 pm|
It was a much less painful experience, going through the door the second time. It was like she had just walked into the warehouse. Soon, the other three followed her, and the door turned off.
"It's good to be back!" Amara said, stretching her arms.
"Is everyone alright?" Nathan asked, concerned. The others nodded. "Thank goodness. I was worried in case it was going to be like before."
"Me too. It was like I was hurtling through space." Serena said, shuddering. "We didn't properly introduce ourselves earlier, did we? Well, Blaine and I did, since we found each other first."
Blaine chuckled. "We were interrupted by that Trickster, though. Didn't get much of a chance to chat. I'm Blaine Spencer. Good to meetcha!"
"And I'm Serena Auer. You two are Nathan and Amara, right?"
"Correct. My name is Nathaniel Albion."
Blaine rolled his eyes, still smirking.
"I'm Amara Furaha. This has been one weird day. I had my fortune read by my new colleague Stella, then I ended up in this place, and wound up in that Shadow place."
"You have a co-worker who can read fortunes? What exactly did she tell you…?" Nathan said, cautious. "Actually, we should probably get out of this horrible warehouse. We could probably use the fresh air, after what we've been through."
And so, after stepping back outside, Amara told the three of them about what Stella had foretold. They looked on, intrigued by this story. She hadn't planned on telling anyone about this, not even her father, but now it felt like these people needed to know.
"This Stella sounds like the real deal..." Serena said, amazed. "I mean, everything she said came true! Must have rolled some good stats in character creation. I wonder what else she can predict? No one say the winning lottery numbers."
"Did you have to look at me when you said that?" Blaine said, sighing. "Seriously, though, you ought to ask her for more psychic readings! We can find out more about the other world, and all the Shadows, everything!"
Nathan frowned. "We can't expect her to be able to foresee everything. If her abilities truly are genuine, it's unlikely they're unlimited." Blaine looked away sheepishly, but said nothing.
"I guess we're going back there at some point then?" Serena asked, hands behind her back. "We better exchange numbers then, so we can meet up here. I don't think we should go back there unless it's all of us."
Amara nodded. "I wouldn't want to go back in there on my own anyway. Tomorrow, we'll meet here again. When is good for you guys?"
Serena smiled. "I guess I'll be good after school. Doesn't matter if I'm late back. Dad never usually minds, and if he does ask, I'll just tell him I was at my brother's or at Kyle's – that's my best friend."
Sounds like her home life is complicated. I shouldn't ask too many questions, though.
"I'm usually finished with my work around five, or before if I start early. So any time after that will be fine. Although it will be hard to explain to my wife..." Nathan said, looking guilty. "I hate having to lie to her, but there's no way she'd ever believe anything that's happened tonight."
Blaine chuckled. "Got that right. At least Dan's working late tonight, so I don't have to worry about him being...uh...worried."
"Who's Dan?" Amara asked, curious.
"That's my boyfriend," Blaine said. "He's a bus driver. Today he was doing the morning shift, then the evening – so he had a long rest in the afternoon."
Huh, bus driver? I wonder if this Dan was the one that I saw this morning?
"What about your occupation, Blaine? Isn't that what we need to know about, so we can rendezvous all at once?" Nathan asked, impatiently.
"Alright, dude, keep your hair on. I work at a gym most days, usually finishing at five too. Some nights I work at a pub near me, the Raven's Nest. It's not much to look at, and the same goes for most of the people there. Apart from me, of course." Blaine said, chuckling at himself. Serena and Amara laughed, but Nathan did not react. It was quite possible he had taken Blaine at face value. "It's a shithole, basically. But it's easy money, and I'm only staying around until I can find somewhere better."
Serena, thinking about this place, seemed to recall something. "Raven's Nest? Didn't someone get arrested there last month?"
"That's right! It was in the newspaper, something about a drug dealer in Mouehane trying to hide from the cops in a rundown pub!" Amara said, recalling the article.
"Yeah, I was there. Was still pouring the guy his drink when the police barged in. Not that he missed much. Let's just say that no one comes to my pub for something good to drink. They just want something cheap."
"Ah, so the total opposite of the Rayo De Sol." Serena said "How about we meet there, actually? We can have something to eat before we head back to that other world!"
The Rayo De Sol was a massive shopping mall in Legarte, that had replaced a rather ugly brutalist shopping mall from before. After a lengthy redevelopment, the new building was a more pleasing glass and chrome dome, with many trendy stores and eateries. Amara hadn't been inside for a few weeks, but had been meaning to look at the art supply store for some new paints.
"That sounds good to me! How about you two?"
Blaine nodded, enthusiastically. "Oh, it's on! There's a great Korean street food place there now, some of the guys at my gym love it."
"Great! Nathan, that's good for you, right? What time?"
"Hmm. Let's make it for half past five, if that suits you all. Now, I must get home – but first, we have to exchange numbers so we can keep in contact."
After taking down everyone's numbers, Nathan began briskly walking home, barely having enough time to give them a farewell.
"That guy's not really fun, is he?" Blaine said, amused. "Maybe he just can't switch off after work. Or maybe fighting Shadows is already work for him now."
It's not to this guy? I mean, he looks pretty tough and all, but did he actually have fun fighting Shadows?
"Guess we're all stuck with each other for a while, then," Serena said. "I should probably get going too. I've still got homework to do."
Blaine chuckled, with a wistful look in his eyes. "Leaving it to the last minute again, huh? Just like my school days. Anyway, I better get home and cook something for when Dan finally gets home. If I leave it to him, we might need to replace the oven. Again."
Amara waved goodbye, as her new friends went their separate ways. Soon, she was making her own way to her home, eager to rest her weary head. There were many more battles ahead of her, she could tell. So she would need to be ready for them.
For a split second, just as she was about to enter the apartment building, she thought she was being watched. Yet, the only other person she could see was an old woman walking into her house across the world.
"I'm just being paranoid...aren't I?"