Captain Blues: Ahoy-hoy! Captain Blues of the SS FleetingDream and I'm back with a brand new chapter. So after months of re-writing/posting on my AO3 account, all of the changes to this fic has been completed! So if anyone wants to read back and view all the changes, I strongly suggest you do as everything from here on out may not make sense. With that said, time to set sail!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Forty
[Opening Scene: Metaverse – Museum of Vanity (Outside - Air)
Theme of Battle (Second Wind): A Lone Prayer from Persona 1 (PSP Ver)]
"Mishima Yūki, it is time to begin your road to redemption. Let us begin!" Eilistraee exclaimed as Yūki nodded and pointed his staff into the air.
The crescent moon at the end of his staff glowed with a soft light as Yūki murmured, "Eilistraee: Goddess of the moon, I beseech you. Please heal my friends of their injuries and replenish their energy. Moon's Light!"
Behind him, Eilistraee's eyes glowed as she spread her arms while her headpeace glowed with a radiant light, causing a wave of sparkling white light to fly from her body and spread around the area.
[Scene Change: Metaverse – Museum of Vanity (Outside - Air)
Theme of Battle (Second Wind): A Lone Prayer from Persona 1 (PSP Ver)]
Joker panted as he stared at his three opponents. He was all tapped out of energy, and he was pretty beat-up at this point. "Let's finish this," The Captivating Dancer said as electricity streaked across her fans.
On each side of her, the two Waterside Nymphs held out their hands to allow water to flow into their palms. Suddenly, Joker saw the radiant light in the distance, followed by a wave of sparkling light.
The minute the sparkles rained against his body, Joker felt his energy rapidly returning until reaching full power. 'What in the world?' Joker questioned.
"Ren!" A familiar voice shouted before a shard of white light flew and pierced the Captivating Dancer in the back before coming out of her front, causing the shadow to gasp out in shock before it dispersed into an inky black substance.
The second she did, Joker could see a figure floating behind the two shadows in the distance with a staff in their hands. "Mishima?" Joker questioned as the two shadows turned around in alarm.
"I saw that you were in danger!" Mishima exclaimed with a wave before the electronic eyes narrowed.
"You will pay for killing our sister!" one of the Waterside Nymphs exclaimed before the two flew towards Mishima.
"Not so fast," Joker shouted as he stood up and jumped out of the hole he made with a shout of, "Arsène!"
Dark clouds with twinkling stars formed around Joker's jumping body before Arsène's form took shape, opened his wings, and flew in the air with his arms wrapped around Joker's torso. Arsène flew Joker at the back of one of the Waterside Nymphs and slashed his knife down her back, causing the shadow to turn around and kick him in the stomach.
Joker flew back from the kick as the shadow pointed her palm at his retreating form."Malaqua!" The shadow screamed, causing bullets of water to fly towards Joker.
Arsène managed to recover from Joker being kicked and flew in a wide arc, avoiding the water bullets.
"This is so not fetch!" Joker exclaimed as he pulled out his pistol and began to fire, but as the shadow's name implied, the Waterside Nymph avoided the bullets with the grace of a gentle spring.
Meanwhile, with glowing white orbs at the bottom of his feet, Mishima skated through the air as he avoided the water bullets from the other Waterside Nymph. "Stop moving!" The Waterside Nymph yelled as Mishima smiled beneath his mask
"Sorry, but I do not wish to be hit," Mishima said as he glided through the air, holding his staff like it was a gun, returning fire with shards of light that flew from the end of the scepter, but she was too fast for him to hit.
"Eilistraee: Goddess of the moon, I beseech you. Give me the ability to defeat this water-like foe," Mishima prayed before he ripped off his mask while continuing to avoid the bullets of water.
"I hear your call, my child," Eilistraee told him with a serene voice as she appeared behind him.
The Persona lifted her arms and shouted, "Let the moon's gravity bring your opponent to heel! Gry!" which caused a white shroud to appear around the shadow's body.
"W-What is going on?!" The Waterside Nymph exclaimed before she was forcefully taken down to the ground below, where the shadow exploded into a black substance upon impact.
"Whoa…." Mishima breathed out before he heard the sounds of combat behind him. "Ren-kun is still in danger…." Mishima said before narrowed his eyes and flying forward.
[Scene Change: Metaverse – Museum of Vanity (Inside)
Theme of Battle (Second Wind): A Lone Prayer from Persona 1 (PSP Ver)]
Skull stood on trembling legs as Bringer of Misfortune stepped towards him. If he was going to die, he was going to die swinging. Suddenly, a wave of sparkling light collided against his body, causing his wounds to heal completely.
Beside him, Panther and Mona stood up as well, with Panther going, "Whoa….I feel totally energized!"
"Nye-he-he," Mona chuckled. "It seems that new persona user is making themselves useful. I am back at full power!"
Skull smirked and said, "Good. Now let's go full tilt! Panther, weaken this bitch ass!"
"Carmen: Tarunda!" Panther shouted, and with a flourish of fire, Carmen appeared and snapped her fingers, causing the Bringer of Misfortune to shrink as its bright white body dulled into a grey-ish color.
"Stop them!" Bringer of Misfortune shouted at Captivating Dancer, who immediately flipped open her two fans, which sparked with electricity.
"Mazio!" Captivating Dancer exclaimed as she swung her fans, causing a wave of electricity to fly towards the trio.
The trio avoided the wave of electricity, with Panther and Skull jumping to the left while Mona rolled to the right.
Mona skidded on one knee as he shouted, "Zorro: Lucky Punch!" Zorro appeared with a whirlwind and delivered a brutal right hook to Captivating Dancer, which knocked her to the ground.
"Captain Kidd: Tarukaja!" Skull shouted as he pointed to Panther. Captain Kidd appeared holding his cannon arm with a burst of electricity before shooting out a red lightning bolt, which struck Panther, causing her eyes to glow with an electrified red aura.
"Carmen: Incinerate!" Panther shouted. Carmen flourished to life behind her in a pillar of fire. Then, with a glowing right eye, Carmen launched a buffed-up fireball from it, where it collided with Bringer of Misfortune, causing it to skid back on its feet, its body stunned from the intense heat.
"Zorro: Blow him away!" Mona exclaimed.
Once more, Zorro appeared with a flourish of green wind. Zorro began to spin before swinging his rapier upward, causing a mini-green twister to fly from the sword and towards Bringer of Misfortune, which caused the small spurts of flames on the shadow's body to explode into a roaring inferno rapidly.
Bringer of Misfortune fell to its knees as its body trembled from the amount of pain.
"Time for an all-out attack!" Skull exclaimed before looked at Panther and Mona and shouted, "Let's finish this shit!"
Panther and Mona nodded before the trio jumped into the air and changed into three-colored blurs, streaking across the two downed enemies with quick, overwhelming strikes before a blur leaped above the fray to reveal Mona.
"Zorro!" Mona shouted.
A green tornado formed around Mona's body before a burst of ethereal flames appeared Zorro in a solid form. Zorro let out a victorious shout as he twirled his rapier in his hand before crashing to the ground in between the two shadows, knees first, with his sword piercing the floor.
Suddenly, a powerful shockwave of wind exploded around Zorro's body with a swirl, slicing through the shadows' bodies before they burst into an inky black substance.
Zorro stood up and flourished his rapier before becoming ethereal and vanishing, revealing a smug-looking Mona. "Nye-heh-heh. Game over," Mona said.
"Holy shit," Skull said. "I give that a SSS ranking. StyliSh Showtime!"
"You have to teach us how to do that," Panther said.
"And I will, but right now, we need to find Joker and Mishima and help them!" Mona said.
The two teens nodded.
[Scene Change: Metaverse – Museum of Vanity (Outside - Air)
Theme of Battle (Second Wind): A Lone Prayer from Persona 1 (PSP Ver)]
Joker twisted his knife and blocked the quick lunges from the Waterside Nymph's hands before he delivered a knee to her face, then followed up with a kick to her chest, separating the two opponents.
"We know her weakness, but without being able to switch, we can't capitalize," Joker hissed out as he eyed down the opponent. "And if I weaken her, I can probably convert her…."
"Perhaps we can try a quick switch?" Pixie mused.
"If we can time it right, we can…." Arsène stated.
"Then let's do it!" Joker exclaimed before Arsène chuckled and flew towards the Nymph.
"Malaqua!" The Waterside Nymph exclaimed, causing a wave of water bullets to shoot out towards the Phantom Thief Leader.
Arsène flew through the rain of bullets with a spin as he said, "It is time to finish this, Joker!"
"I'm going to be so scared after this!" Joker exclaimed before Arsène turned himself upright and spun rapidly, and launched Joker at the Waterside Nymph. "Switch: Pixie!"
Arsène's form in the distance suddenly brightened before it shot over to Joker's airborne form in a bolt of lightning, flew around him before landing on his finger-gun. "Weakness Identified: Zio!" Joker shouted as Pixie immediately flew off Joker's finger-gun in a bolt of lightning.
The Waterside Nymph shrieked in horror as she disengaged and tried to glide away, but the small Persona was faster. Pixie collided against the curve of the Nymph's body, causing the shadow to let out a warbly wail as electricity streaked up her body before she descended to the ground.
"Yes!" Joker screamed in victory before it quickly changed into terror as he cried, "Oh no!" but before he could start to fall, a hand grabbed his wrist, halting his descent. Joker looked up to see a mysterious figure.
"I almost was too late," the figure sheepishly said, which caused Joker's eyes to widen in surprise. "Mishima? Is that you?" Joker asked.
Mishima nodded, his electric LED eyes arcing in a smile. "It sure is. I have a Persona now!" Mishima chirped, which caused Joker to grin. "But enough about that for now. Are you okay, Ren-kun?"
"I'm fine, Mishima," Joker said with a wide grin. "We should land where that Shadow fell. I need to speak to her."
Mishima nodded and descended to the roof below, where the Waterside Nymph laid, dazed and in pain.
"Wow….That was a really neat trick," the Shadow said as Joker landed on the roof, with Mishima floating beside him.
Joker pulled out his pistol and held it at the Shadow, and said, "Thanks. You were a damn good opponent."
"I was, wasn't I?" The Nymph asked as she opened one eye. "Of course, someone as handsome as you were able to beat me. I'm impressed."
"Well, I do try," Joker said before he holstered his gun and said, "Since this handsome thief defeated you, would you like to work alongside me?"
"Work beside you, huh? Well, what the hell? This should be fun!" The Nymph chirped before her eyes widened. "My name is Apsaras, and I drift within the sea of the human heart and, as of this moment, your heart as well. Let's make some good memories!"
Apsaras formed into Joker's domino mask with a flash of light and flew to his face, causing a brief blue ethereal flame to burst against his face before he grinned.
"Whoa…." Mishima murmured in wonder.
"Whoa is right," Joker said with a smile as he turned to Mishima and ruffled the teen's hood. "Look at you. All suited up. I suppose I have you to thank for healing me?"
Mishima nodded and said, "T-This is all so amazing….But I'm getting really sleepy…."
Mishima's eyes flickered close before he fell forward, but Joker caught the boy before he could hit the ground. Joker smiled and said, "You did good, Mishima…Rest up. You deserve it."
[Scene Change: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Evening)
[Theme of Okumura Residence: Have a Short Rest from Persona 5]
"Okay, I have the food set out. Otou-san won't be returning for another week. I should be okay," Haru said as she eyed down the buffet table filled to the brim with food. She had to make everything just right for all of her friends.
Friends.
It was so weird that Haru had those now. She was so used to being by herself due to her distrusting nature regarding who her father was. But her friends didn't seem to care about that at all. They actually liked her.
Hifumi liked her.
Haru blushed a bit at the thought of the emerald-eyed girl but shook her head. She needed to keep away from those thoughts until they could talk about whatever this thing was between them.
Just then, Haru heard a knock at her door.
"Coming!" Haru announced as she walked to the door and opened, only to see a haggard-looking Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana, with an unconscious and equally haggard Mishima on Ryuji's back.
"What in the world happened to you guys?" Haru breathed out. "And what is Mishima doing look as rough as you four?"
"It's a long story," Morgana yawned out. "But in short, we have a new teammate, and we need a nap."
Captain Blues: And that is the end of the chapter. Next chapter will be coming soon so until then, Time to set sail.