Captain Blues: Ahoy-hoy! Captain Blues of the SS FleetingDream is here and it's time for another chapter. Here we go!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Forty-Four
[Opening Scene: Shibuya – WORLD BREAKFAST ALLDAY Gaienmae (Morning)
Theme of Starting Mission: Elly's Theme from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
"Beauty Thief, I don't know how you found this place, but fuck, is it good," Skull sighed out in bliss as the group stared at their plates, all of them having an American-styled breakfast that consisted of three stacks of pancakes with a fried egg on top, four slices of bacon and scrambled eggs on the side.
"When I don't have time to cook, I tend to enjoy coming here," Beauty Thief stated as she sipped on her expresso.
"This food smells delicious," Champ stated. "I hate that we have to discuss business before we can officially dig in."
"I agree," Panther sighed out as Lioness' head rested on her right shoulder, and Mage's head leaned on her left, both of them dozing off. "I love how I'm being sandwiched between two people who barely function before noon."
President and Joker chuckled in amusement while Mona growled out, "Start the mission so we can eat already!"
"Thank goodness it's only us. Otherwise, people would be asking where the cat is," Skull murmured to Champ, who nodded in agreement. Panther nudged Mage and Lioness with her elbows, causing the two of them to drowsily lookup.
"Alright, team," Joker began. "Today is the official start of investigating Madarame's palace. Skull, Mona, Mage, and I will be diving into the palace to find the treasure's location."
"Why just them?" Lioness questioned.
"Because Panther will be going to Madarame's shack to model for Kitagawa-san later today," Joker answered. "Turns out, he wants both of us to pose nude for him but doesn't need us there at the same time."
"Forgive me, what?" President questioned, clearly uncomfortable by this reveal.
"Oh yeah, we forgot to clue them in," Skull stated before he turned to President and Champ and explained with, "Basically, he wants Joker and Panther to pose for him buck-ass naked for Madarame's next piece of 'Art.'"
"Wait, are we talking about Kitagawa Yusuke?" Champ asked.
The group nodded.
"Wow, small world. He shares most of my classes. We often talk about his art and my Shogi skills. So we're trying to save him from his teacher, Madarame-san?" Champ asked.
"Yeah," Panther confirmed. Panther explained the entire situation to the two girls and Mage. "From what we've seen, the rumors about him are true, and we're trying to save Kitagawa-san from being Madarame's next victim…."
"I see," Champ murmured.
"I guess saving an entire school wasn't enough," President said with a soft chuckle.
"Blame the hero-complex that leader installed in us," Skull joked as he nudged Joker, who grinned in response.
"The reason why it's just going to be them is that I'm a little uncomfortable being alone in the nude with Kitagawa-san," Panther said. "Since I'm going to be the distraction. So I would be happy if I had some females there as well?"
"Consider us there," Lioness told her with a thumbs-up. Beauty Thief and Champ smiled at this while President raised her cup to acknowledge her assistance.
"I must say, this is pretty exciting," Champ announced. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be helping you guys."
"I agree. I figured we would be enemies more than me helping," President told them.
"In a normal situation, neither of you wouldn't be here. Neither would Beauty Thief since the danger is quite real," Mona said, causing Joker to voice his statement. "But considering you three are special cases; we need to make sure that all of you are safe, even if that risks us as the PTs."
"Understandable," Champ and President chorused out.
"So, what do we do about my situation with principal Kobayakawa?" President questioned.
Joker narrowed his eyes in thought. "He wants you to bring us to justice, right? I have a gut feeling that he's holding something over your head to do this, right?" Joker suggested.
"He is," President confirmed. "He's blackmailing me. If I do not provide results, then he will make sure I can't get into the school that I want to be in…."
"I knew old no-neck was a slimy dickhead," Skull growled out while Lioness looked at President with sympathetic eyes.
"What is up with Shujin and having horrible people in charge?" Champ asked.
"I'm asking myself that same question," Beauty Thief sighed out. "I wonder if he's willing to do this to a student, could he have a palace or a shadow in Mementos?"
Eyes widened at Beauty Thief's question.
"That's an excellent question," Joker said. "And maybe a solution to this little problem. For now, President, do what he asks. We're going to look into this more for you."
"Thank you," President sighed out.
"So, today, you ladies will be accompanying Panther to the shack while us gentlemen will be going through the palace," Mage summarized.
"Then we better eat and fast to gain our strength," Skull suggested.
The group nodded before Mona said, "Don't forget, we have a time limit."
Joker relayed this to the group, which made Panther reply, "Out time limit….Isn't that when the exhibit ends?"
"That would mean we have until June 5th to complete our mission. Plenty of time, considering we're in the middle of May," Mage said.
"But there's no telling what's around the corner," Joker said. "So let's finish this quickly."
The group nodded.
"Now, let's dig in!" Skull exclaimed, officially ending the meeting.
[Scene Change: Sendai – Natsume Mansion (Afternoon)
Theme of Natsume Mansion: Devil's Mountain from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
"Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, Ango-san," Togo Mitsuyo said to the young man sitting in front of her on a chair that looked reminiscent of a throne.
The young man had chin-length light copper hair and a mole on the left side of his nose, thin eyebrows, and narrow brown eyes.
His outfit consists of a black waistcoat with matching pants, black driving gloves, a purple bolo tie, and rimless rose-colored glasses with a narrow square frame.
"When the beautiful mother of the Venus of Shogi asks to meet you, you meet her," Ango said with a charming smile. "So, I take it that you've accepted my proposal?"
"I did," Mitsuyo replied. "When you first told me about marrying my daughter and making her famous beyond my wildest dreams, I truthfully couldn't believe it. But after doing my research, you are every bit as big as you stated. Sendai is certainly your kingdom."
"Of course, the people here adore my work, and once I make the next installment of "Prince of Nightmares," with my future muse as the Prince's love interest, the Venus of Nightmares will be well-known throughout the world," Ango told her with a smirk.
"Such a wonderful vision you have for my daughter," Mitsuyo said with a smirk of her own. "And for you to achieve this, you need me to sign all over guardianship to her?"
"Of course," Ango replied with a carefree grin. "Not to mention the fame that she would achieve, you would also gain a considerable sum of money in signing over her guardianship to me."
"How much are we talking?" Mitsuyo questioned.
"230,450,000.00 Yen," Ango replied.
Mitsuyo's eyes gleamed at the price that Ango gave her. "It's a nice start, is it not?" Ango stated with a smile. "And of course, I will pay 57,612,500.00 Yen every month to you as well from my book sales. All you have to do—" Ango paused and pulled out a manilla envelope. "—Is sign this contract."
Mitsuyo grabbed the envelope and asked the 25-year-old male, "How long do I have until I have to sign this?"
"One month. The sooner I have her, the sooner I can start," Ango replied.
"I will speak to her about this, and I will get back to you immediately after," Mitsuyo replied. "Now that business is done…."
Ango smirked.
[Scene Change: Museum of Vanity (SP Exhibition Room)
Theme of Palace: A Woman from Persona 5]
Joker, Mage, Mona, and Skull landed inside the Exhibition Room. Joker looked around to make sure no security guard shadows were around."Alright, time to scope out this place and get to the treasure room," Joker said.
"I hope the girls can keep Yusuke occupied while we do this," Skull muttered. He was displeased that Ann had to pose nude in front of Yusuke, but nothing more could come out of it with the others there.
Sure, he knew Yusuke wouldn't do something like that, but it still concerned him that she was uncomfortable.
"Well, if we do this quickly, maybe we can stop it before Lady Ann has to do that," Mona said before he charged off, causing the three teens to follow him. The four thieves weaved from stand to stand, avoiding the shadow security guards, only to be stopped by an infrared device on one of the entranceways.
"Just as I thought," Mona grumbled.
"This wasn't here before," Joker muttered.
"I figured this would happen the next time we came here. Because of what happened last time, the place will be extra guarded," Mona told the group. "We'll really have to be on our toes here."
"I'm so sorry," Mage murmured, his LED eyes blinking off before appearing in the "u" shape, signifying his remorse. "If only my shadow hadn't attacked, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Don't sweat it, my little moe," Skull said as he patted Mage on the head. "Shit happens, yeah?"
The LED eyes on Mage's mask blinked off again, only to come back in the "n" shape, signifying he was happy.
"So what happens now?" Joker asked Mona.
Mona closed his eyes. "The Security is at seventy-five percent. If we touch any red lasers, the Shadow could jump us like last time. But there is a way past them. If any of the lasers are green, we can pass them."
"How can we see what color they are? These lasers are hella thin," Skull bemoaned.
"Then leave t-that to me," Mage answered with a confident tone as his white LED eyes flickered into silver. "Nothing can escape my all-seeing eyes."
Joker and Skull smirked while Mona looked on in confusion before the foursome continued their trek, sliding or leaping through the green laser beams at Mage's instructions.
After avoiding a guard seeing them, the group turned down a hallway where Mage said, "Stop."
Through Mage's silver LED eyes, he could see dozens of red strands of lasers going everywhere from floor to ceiling, except for the space in the middle of the air where they could go through.
"There is no way we can clear this room by foot," Mage told the group. "There are lasers everywhere."
"Okay….Now what?" Joker asked.
"There is a space in the middle of the air where the lasers aren't touching. I can get us through it," Mage told Joker.
"Then are you ready to show off, Mage?" Joker asked.
"A-As long as no one has acrophobia," Mage replied before he grabbed his mask and ripped it off as he said, "Eilistraee: Goddess of the silvery moon, please heed my call."
With a flourish of ethereal blue flames, Eilistraee appeared, her eyes gleaming in amusement. She lifted her blade as her hair glowed a bright white light, causing the group to float above the ground as she said, "May the gentle light guide you: Magravkaja."
"Thank you," Mage chirped to his persona, who nodded and vanished.
"Whoa, we can fly like this?" Skull asked.
"Only for a minute. Thanks to my persona's elemental ability of Gravity, I have the ability to slow opponents down with Lununda or Malununda or make us lighter and faster than air with Lunkaja or Malunkaja," Mage chirped out with excitement.
"That's pretty nifty to know," Joker said while he thought, 'I have to find persona with gravity spells.'
"Now, there is no time to waste," Mage replied before he flew ahead into the air, with Joker, Mona, and Skull flying after him, their bodies sparkling with a white aura around them.
As they flew through the room of laser beams, Joker spotted a shadow walking into view on the other side of the laser room, seemingly unaware of their presence in the air behind him.
"No way to avoid it. Get ready for battle," Joker ordered before he flew past Mage, twirled his body as he flew to the left of the shadow guard, grabbed the mask of the shadow, and shouted, "I'll reveal your true form!"
With a forceful yell, he ripped the mask off of the shadow guard's head, causing it to convulse as he twisted his body and skidded on the ground on his feet, the white aura vanishing from around him.
[Theme of Battle: Last Surprise (Scramble Ver) from Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers]
As Skull, Mage, and Mona landed behind the shadow, it exploded into the forms of two Foolish Monks, one Captivating Dancer, and two Hunting Wolf Spirits.
"Round two," Joker said as he pulled out his knife, twirled it against his palm, then grabbed it before dashing forward.
"For Lord Madarame!" The group yelled, with a Captivating Dancer flying towards Joker.
With a yell, she swiped her left fan at Joker, who blocked it with his knife then pushed it away, only to duck the swing of her right fan that could have decapitated him. Joker dashed backward and shouted, "Apsaras: Malaqua!"
With a flash of blue light reflecting off his mask, water coalesced behind Joker before it took the shape of a humanoid. The water exploded to reveal Apsaras, who grabbed her sheer scarf and swung it, causing a barrage of water bullets to fly at Captivating Dancer.
Captivating Dancer's right fan glowed with green energy before she shouted, "I won't let you! Magaru!" When she swung it, three strands of green wind in the shape of claw marks flew from her fan, shredding Apsaras' attack at contact.
She then swung her right fan and shouted, "Mazio!" Three strands of electricity in the shape of claw marks flew from the fan and at Joker.
"Apsaras: Electric Wall!" Joker commanded, causing Apsaras to grasp her scarf and twirl it around Joker, causing the three strands of lightning to shred against the shield.
Captivating Dancer scowled and flew towards Joker, who smirked and dashed towards her.
Mage skated in the air as Hunting Wolf Spirit flew after him. The wolf howled, and glacier blue orbs of energy appeared around the wolf before shooting towards Mage. Mage twirled his staff and fired shards of light at each sphere, causing them to explode in a brilliant flash.
The wolf growled and flew towards Mage and attempted to bite Mage twice, but the thief used his staff to block each attempt before he performed a backflip, causing the orbs beneath his feet to skate up the ghostly wolf's body, sending it higher into the air.
"Lady Eilistraee: Goddess of the moon, I beseech you to bring my enemy down!" Mage shouted as Eilistraee appeared behind him.
She lifted her arms and shouted, "Submit to my Light: Gry!"
The Hunting Wolf Spirit howled and flew forward, only for the white mist to form around its body and send it crashing down towards the ground, where it exploded into an inky black substance.
"Yahoo!" Mage exclaimed before he heard another howl. Those familiar glacier blue orbs formed around him before darting to his body, causing him to wail in agony as each orb exploded against him upon impact.
After the last explosion, a daze Mage, with his LED eyes shaped like a spiral, fell from the air and towards the ground as the Hunting Wolf Spirit flew down after him.
Without warning, Skull, being on the ship of Captain Kidd, caught Mage in his arms and shouted, "Caught you! Captain Kidd: Shock the World!" Captain Kidd held out its cannon at the Hunting Wolf Spirit and fired a bolt of electricity, causing the wolf to whine as it was shocked out of existence.
The LED eyes of Mage's mask flickered before they became solid. "Ryuji-kun?" Mage murmured.
"I gotcha," Skull replied before he noticed a Foolish Monk flying after him.
"Damn thing," Skull snarled before he sat Mage down. "Stay here," Skull told him, and without hesitation, the reckless thief jumped off of his Persona's ship.
"Captain Kidd: Buff me up!" Skull shouted.
Captain Kidd's eyes sparked before he fired a bolt of red lightning from his cannon, which struck Skull's body, causing streaks of electricity to flicker around him. Skull pulled out his iron pipe as he flew towards the Foolish Monk as the monk shouted, "I'll rip you to shreds! Garu!"
"Oh no," Mage said before he shouted, "Lady Eilistraee!"
With a burst of ethereal energy, Eilistraee appeared and shouted, "May my light defy gravity: Lunkaja!"
With a burst of white light, the familiar aura of sparkling white energy formed around Skull's body, causing him to soar down at his opponent at a quicker speed. And thanks to the enhanced speed, Skull maneuvered away at the green twisters that his enemy sent, avoiding the fate of being ripped to shreds.
"Take this, you bastard!" Skull yelled as his pipe collided with the head of the Foolish Monk, causing the mask to crack before exploding into shards before the pipe slammed into the monk's face, causing the monk to explode into an inky black substance.
Using his cutlass, Mona deflected the swirling orbs of wind that were against the Foolish Monk's palms before he jumped above the monk and sliced it down between its wings.
The Foolish Monk growled in pain as it turned around and shouted, "Die! Garu!"
A green twister flew towards Mona as he landed on the ground. With widened eyes, Mona quickly shouted, "Come forth, my other self!"
With a flourish of wind, Zorro appeared and swiped his rapier, causing his own twister to collide with the Foolish Monk's attack, canceling both out before Mona shouted, "Lucky Punch!" Zorro then dashed forward and nailed the Foolish Monk in the face with his fist, making the monk fly into the air, only for Skull's pipe to strike it in the back of the head.
The monk flew towards Mona, who quickly jumped up and swung his blade, slicing the head of the monk off its shoulders, causing the head and body to explode into an inky black substance.
"Thanks for that," Mona said as Skull landed on the ground, the white aura fading from around his body.
"Remind me never to do that again," Skull said, his face turning a pale green.
Joker rolled to the left to avoid another stream of electricity before he jumped into the air with Arsène appearing behind him.
"Eiga!" Joker shouted as he and Arsène snapped their fingers, causing a burst of red and black energy to collide with Captivating Dancer, causing the shadow to shriek.
Joker quickly twirled his body and landed a flying kick to the shadow's face, sending the dancer crashing to the ground, where Joker placed his knife at the dancer's neck. "Game over," Joker taunted.
[Victory Theme: Battle Results from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
"V-Very good," The shadow wheezed out weakly. "You are strong. Stronger than Lord Madarame…."
"I appreciate the compliment," Joker replied. "But you're fairly strong too, and I can use that strength battling against stronger opponents."
"Y-You're asking me to join you?" Captivating Dancer questioned.
"Either that or die. Your choice," Joker replied.
Captivating Dancer laughed and replied, "You've got Moxy. Very well, I accept your proposal.."
With a burst of light around the shadow, the dancer said, "Talking to you has reminded me of who I am. I am Ame-no-Uzume, and I am from the sea of souls. Let's get stronger together." With those words, Ame-no-Uzume changed into Joker's domino mask and flew at his face, causing a brief blue ethereal flame to burst against his face upon collision.
"Mission successful," Joker panted out.
[Theme of Palace: A Woman from Persona 5]
"That was tough," Skull said as he walked up to Joker with Mage and Mona behind him.
"Tough, but we did it," Joker replied as he grinned. "Ready to keep going?"
The trio nodded.
Joker smiled in approval, and the group continued their trek.
Captain Blues: And that is the end of this chapter. The next chapter will be on the girls' side, and things will get a little bumpy for them.
Also, to give you a list of the Personas that Joker are rocking with so far:
Arsene
Silky
Pixie
Kelpie
Jack-o'-Lantern
Apsaras
Ame-no-Uzumi
So one more than his regular max at the start of the game. Now, as you all might have seen, I've added two more -kaja and -unda spells to this which are Lununda or Malununda and Lunkaja or Malunkaja. If you are familiar with final fantasy, these spells are the haste/slow of persona that I created.
I know Sukunda and Sukaja exist but that is for agility/evasion, but the way I think of those skills is like...like dragonball z when they are able to do that quick dodge.
Also, this has officially planted the seeds for Togo Mitsuyo's palace, which means that palace...is right after this one. Until next time!