Captain Blues: Hello my loyal crew, it's been a while. I'm not full back yet but your teacher, Miss Violet, decided she needed a small breather. So I'm back to write this chapter for her. I hope you all enjoy as I lead this ship for this chapter!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Sixty-One
[Opening Scene: Brothel of Fraud – 30th Floor (Champion's Arena)
Theme of Torn Desire Battle: Parade's Lust from Granblue Fantasy Versus]
Music blared above the Phantom Thieves as The Torn King of Desire wildly cackled. Beauty Thief took a step back with fear throbbing in her heart as she faced the large shadow.
Skull looked around and saw the crowds cheering and chanting for the shadow. "This thing gets its own theme?!" Mage shouted.
"I suppose," Lioness whispered. "It is the champion here."
"Man, if only we got our own themes," Panther grumbled. "That would make battles so much easier to stomach."
"Don't get worried," Skull said. "We faced off against Slim Mara before. This one can't be too different."
"Yeah, but Slim Mara was tiny, this is nothing like that," Lioness said.
"So, it digivolved," Skull remarked. "They still have the same weakness. Weaken its attacks and agility, break the fire resistance, and then hammer it down."
"It's time to start this Parade of Lust souls!" Torn King exclaimed as the chariot it rode dashed forward.
"Scatter!" Skull shouted.
Lioness, who stood next to Beauty Thief, immediately lifted the powerless girl into her arms and jumped to the left while Panther, and Skull jumped to the right, and Mage skated into the air to avoid the chariot's ram.
Skull skidded on the balls of his feet as two of the Torn King's tentacles flew toward him. Skull hopped to the right to avoid the first tentacle and then swatted the second one with his spiked baseball bat.
"Forget conserving your Spirit Power! Blast this fucker with everything!" Skull shouted. "Captain Kidd!"
A portal of ethereal lightning formed behind Skull, who jumped in the air, just for Captain Kidd to explode from the portal and launch himself at the Torn King. "Spear this dickhead!" Skull commanded.
Captain Kidd let out a yell as the ship attempted to collide with the Torn King's body, but the King's tentacles held the ship back. "Nice try!" The Torn King taunted. "But you're not piercing this body anytime soon! Assault Dive!"
The Torn King leaned his head back and then shot it forward and smacked Skull through Captain Kidd, dispersing the Persona in an ethereal flash.
Mage, seeing Skull getting hit, immediately shouted, "Lady Eilistraee: Lunkaja."
An ethereal blue moon appeared above Mage, only for it to quickly go through the moon phases to become a crescent moon until Eilistraee made her appearance known the light from the moon formed her body.
Eilistraee smiled and pointed her sword at the falling Skull and said, "Fly, Lightning Chariot."
Silvery-white sparkles flowed around Skull's body as he skated against the ground and flew into the air. "Thanks, Mage. Now slow his ass down."
Mage put his hands together and reverently whispered, "Lady Eilistraee, I also ask of you to please use your light to weigh down this hard foe. Lununda!"
"I hear your prayer, my child," Eilistraee replied as she lifted her blade into the air, where it glowed with a bright light. "The Lust-Filled Mara! Be weighed down by your sins!"
Meanwhile, Lioness used her shield to block the whip-like tentacles of the Torn King of Desire, while Beauty Thief was pressed against the wall in terror of the large beast. To their right, Panther was dashing back to avoid the tentacles as well, only stopping to whip the tentacles away from her.
Lioness was then smacked in the side by a thicker tentacle, which sent her crashing against the arena wall.
Lioness rebounded off the wall and fell to the ground, but as the thick tentacle moved to strike her again, a soft silver-white glow aura appeared around the Torn King's body. The King's chariot sunk into the ground as it grunted in discomfort.
Lioness noticed that the tentacle was coming down slower, which gave her the chance to scramble to her feet and jump to the left to avoid it.
"Weighed down by my girth. No matter! I will still win!" The Torn King of Desire screamed as it turned to Mage and Skull and shouted, "Mapsiodyne!"
The world shifted around Mage and Skull as yellow, magenta, light blue, and black orbs formed around the pair. The orbs then flew toward Skull and Mage, who quickly flew to avoid them, but to their horror, the orbs followed.
"Panther, You know what to do!" Skull screamed while flying higher in the air to avoid the oncoming energy.
"Got it!" Panther shouted. "Weaken him, Carmen! Tarunda!"
A pillar of ethereal flames exploded from the ground as Carmen stepped out of it, her eyes glinting in fiery delight. With a wink of her left eye, The Torn King of Desire's deep green skin paled and its rigid form softened and slightly bent.
"This won't stop my hard attacks!" The Torn King shouted.
"Then let's see if this will, skewer him, Boudicca!" Lioness commanded. An orb of water appeared behind her before it took a humanoid shape before it exploded in a wave of water, revealing Boudicca.
A stream of water surrounded her spear and with a yell, she pierced its upper chest, which caused the screaming Torn King of Desire to skid backward. Lioness smirked and shouted, "Now drown him!"
Boudicca drew the water from her spear into her left hand and fired an orb of water against the Torn's King's face, causing it to scream.
"Mind if I cut in? Carmen: shatter its resistance!" Panther added, summoning Carmen to wink with her right eye, which revealed a swirling fiery vortex around the Torn King's body and then shattering it.
"Now incinerate!" Panther exclaimed. Carmen reared her hand back and bought a fireball to life and then launched the burning orb into the Torn King's chest wound, causing it to scream but not in pain, but with desire.
"That's it!" The Torn King screamed as a girthy tentacle whipped out and struck Panther in her chest, sending her flying back into the arena wall beside Beauty Thief, where she crumpled and fell to the ground
"Panther!" Lioness screamed, only to turn back to the Torn King with rage in her eyes. "You're dead!" She yelled as she launched herself toward the shadow.
Beauty Thief kneeled next to Panther's body and helped the Phantom Thief up as she whispered, "Are you alright?"
"That hurt, even with it being weakened," Panther grunted with fire in her eyes. "Stay back, alright?" Beauty Thief nodded and Panther immediately took off running.
Beauty Thief felt helpless as she eyed Mage and Skull in the air trying to avoid those strange beams of energy, and then looked down at Lioness and Panther charging toward the Torn King.
She may not have a Persona, but she couldn't let them do this alone.
Beauty Thief looked around and noticed that there was a wall of weapons and saw a gigantic ax, grinned, and ran toward it.
As Beauty Thief ran to get her weapon, the enraged Lioness blocked two lunges of the girthier tentacles with her shield as the Torn King of Desire cackled.
"Yes," The Torn King of Desire hissed as it whipped out its tentacles at Lioness, who jumped from left to right to avoid each strike. "I can feel the fire between your thighs escalating at my pain. This is what I wanted. Now, embrace my burning desire! Brain Jack!"
Magenta and light blue energy flew from the Torn King's mouth toward Lioness, who had jumped into the air with her spear cocked back, in the process of throwing it.
Seeing the energy coming, Panther whipped her whip forward, where it ensnared Lioness' hips, and then tugged back hard, causing the wisps of energy to barely miss Lioness. Panther then jumped into the air and caught Lioness as she shouted, "Carmen! Weaken him further!"
Carmen appeared in a flourish of flames and winked her left eye and the shadow became further flaccid as Panther landed on the ground and lowered Lioness down. "Thanks," Lioness whispered.
"No problem. But I wonder what that attack does," Panther said as The Torn King of Desire cackled in excitement.
"And just like that, I have filled the hole within her that no one could!" The Shadow laughed.
Lioness opened her mouth to respond to the shadow when she heard something dragging in the distance. Panther and Lioness turned their heads to see Beauty Thief dragging a giant ax against the ground, her right iris glowing magenta and her left iris glowing light blue, the white part of her eyes swirling black and white, and wisps of magenta energy flowing from her body.
"Beauty Thief?" Lioness whispered.
Beauty Thief smirked and then she charged forward while hoisting her ax into the air. Alarmed, Lioness pushed Panther to the left and used her shield to block the giant swing of Beauty Thief's ax, all while the Torn King of Desire cackled and Skull and Mage flew behind him.
"These things are like heat-seeking missiles!" Mage shouted as the four streams of energy chased after him.
Skull heard the Torn King laugh and scowl. "Let's test that theory!" Skull shouted as he performed a U-turn in the air and flew toward the large shadow, with four streams of energy coming after him.
"Don't know why you're laughing, dickhead!" Skull shouted, which caused the Torn King to turn around, only for Skull's bat to smash against it, causing several gashes on its head as Skull flew up.
The Torn King scowled and said, "You little we—" The Torn King was suddenly hit by four very powerful streams of energy that made it realize that it was his own attack.
Mage skated down on top of its bent head and moved down his body, causing the remaining thick streams of energy to collide against its body. Mage then jumped off of the Torn King's large body, twisted his body, and shouted, "Let the moon's gravity bring you to heel! Gry!"
With a gentle glow of a crescent moon, Eilistraee appeared behind Mage and shouted, "Let the weight of redemption crush you!"
The Torn King of Desire screamed the aura around him sharply weighing him into the ground, sending his chariot deeper into the ground.
"Shock the World: Captain Kidd!" Skull shouted as Captain Kidd formed behind Skull with a burst of electricity and fired a bolt of lightning.
The lightning crashed against The Torn King's body, sending streaks of lightning coursing up his body, but still, the Torn King of Desire cackled. It looked toward Beauty Thief and yelled, "No matter what is thrown at me, I'm still standing tall and can go all. Night. Long. But let's see if you all can! Tarukaja!"
Lioness dashed back after a swing of Beauty Thief's ax and said, "Haru! What the hell is going on?!"
Haru laughed as a red gleam appeared in her eyes. The wisps of energy changed from magenta to red as Panther looked back at the cackling shadow and said, "He must have her enthralled. That's why he's been laughing."
Lioness scowled and changed her spear into a sword. "Go help them," Lioness told her. "I'll take care of Haru."
"You can't do it on your own," Panther said as the Torn King laughed louder.
"Rakukaja!" The shadow screamed as blue wisps of energy appeared alongside the fiery red.
"The sooner we defeat him, the sooner we get Haru back," Lioness argued. "Go help them."
Panther looked back at the Torn King, with Skull and Mage laying into him with the spiked bat and magical shards respectively, and then back at Haru.
"Sukukaja!" the King of Desire called out.
Green wisps joined alongside fiery red and calming blue as Haru stalked closer.
Panther closed her eyes and let out a shout of frustration. "Fine, I'll go. But if things get rough, I will come back!" Panther shouted as she turned around to help Skull and Mage.
"And finally, the climax! Rebellion!" The shadow called out, adding a fiery black and orange aura alongside the other three.
Lioness gripped the handle of her shield and narrowed her eyes.
The Torn King of Desire swiped his thick tentacle from left to right and while Mage managed to avoid it, Skull took the hit and was sent flying into the crowd, where he crashed into several cognitions and caused a crater in the stands.
"Shit!" Skull cried out as he held his side.
Had he just broken two ribs?
"Damn it," Skull swore as he picked himself out of the crater. 'That thing is just too tough….' Skull thought before his eyes turned to see Haru and Lioness battling. 'And judging by that, I'm by what I overheard that damn penis-head say, Haru's under his uncontrol…I need to end this now. But how?'
The world darkened around Skull and the second-in-command of the Phantom Thieves watched as a familiar face appeared.
[Theme of Inner Voice: I Will Give You… From Persona 5: The Royal]
It was himself, but he was dressed as Captain Kidd. The pirate hat was tilted forward slightly, causing the hat's shadow to cast over the top half of his replica's shadow, showing his electrified glowing yellow eyes.
"Captain Kidd?" Skull asked.
"Bingo," Captain Kidd answered. "It seems shit is quite real right now. Facing off against an enemy like this. Me and the others didn't have to face this until near the end of our journey together."
"Okay, that's something to throw at me at a time like this," Skull stated. "Well, how did you all defeat it?"
"Well, we were strong enough to do it," Captain Kidd replied. "You're nowhere near that level…Yet."
"Yeah, great, really cool. But how about telling me how to defeat it at the level I am at now!" Skull yelled.
Captain Kidd crossed his arms and answered, "Well, there is one other way to do it, but the strain might leave you unable to fight for a few days."
"Well, tell me what I have to do," Skull said.
Captain Kidd closed his eyes and whispered, "Fuck…. Never thought we'd be in this position again….' And then said, "Alright. When it comes to our power. I can only give you so much at one time. If I give all of it, the strain leaves us so powerless, we can't even stomach being in the Metaverse. And our connection is severed until your body recovers."
Skull nodded, understanding so far.
Captain Kidd unfolded his right hand and held it out toward Skull. Skull could see the wild lightning coursing through Captain Kidd's eyes as he questioned, "Before you do this and weaken yourself severely. You need to ask yourself: Is this worth it?"
Skull frowned and without skipping a beat, he answered, "All of us were riding high off of Kamoshida and getting to the final stage of Madarame, we thought this would be a breeze. We were wrong. And for that, Ren, Yusuke, and Hifumi were captured. Hell, I should be in Ren's place and he in mine. Saving them and saving our friends from the upcoming danger now? It's more than worth it."
Captain Kidd snorted and then smirked. "Alright. Then take my hand, and let's light up the night," Captain Kidd concluded.
Skull nodded and took Captain Kidd's hand.
[Theme of Torn Desire Battle: Parade's Lust from Granblue Fantasy Versus]
Steel met steel as Lioness's sword collided with Haru's ax.
"Come on, Haru, you need to wake up!" Lioness screamed.
Haru smirked and replied, "King Mara wants you dead, I shall not fail him!" The two clashed weapons again and then Lioness broke apart and dashed back from the brainwashed socialite. Lioness skidded to a stop and opened her mouth to summon Boudicca, but she stopped.
Lioness couldn't do it.
Haru was not an enemy Persona user. This was her friend, the sweet and caring girl that saved her life, and the girl she protected from Kamoshida.
Lioness gritted her teeth and held up her shield as she blocked a hard blow from the ax. Lioness used her shield to block two more swings of the ax and then bashed Haru in the chest with her shield, causing the girl to skid backward.
Blood fell from Haru's cheek as she looked up and smirked.
Lioness hated that smirk.
It was so unlike Haru and yet, weirdly, it fit Haru to a tee.
Haru licked the blood that flowed down to her lips, charged forward, and then jumped into the air. "Die for my king!" Haru screamed as she swung her ax down toward Lioness. Lioness gritted her teeth and blocked the hard strike with her shield.
Lioness looked up into Haru's eyes and saw smug satisfaction in her eyes, only to hear the metal from her starting to bend against it. Lioness gritted her teeth and pushed Haru into the air with the shield.
As Haru flew back with the shield stuck to the ax, Lioness felt her left arm trembling from the impact of the blow.
Haru landed on the ground and glanced at her ax. She grabbed the shield and ripped it off of her weapon before tossing the warped shield aside.
Lioness gripped her sword and held it out in front of her, her eyes narrowed as the sounds of battle raged on behind them.
"Haru," Lioness started. "Stand down. Now."
"I don't take orders from a dead girl," Haru answered. "So prepare yourself because for King Mara, I will keep fighting until I rest your head at his chariot. That is your final destination."
Lioness shivered from the chilling tone of Haru's words. "Not in this or any lifetime…." Lioness rolled her right shoulder before the two charged at one another to renew their combat.
"Gry!" Mage shouted as The Torn King of Desire crashed against the ground but the king's tentacles flew up and past the area of effect and slammed into Mage's chest, sending him slamming against the ceiling.
"Mage!" Panther screamed. She turned toward the cackling king and shouted, "Carmen! Incinerate!"
Carmen appeared and threw a fireball at the king, but to Panther's annoyance, the resistance break that she used against him had worn off, allowing him to absorb her fireball and bolster his still rigid form.
"Nice try!" The Torn King of Desire yelled as it swiveled toward Panther and launched two tentacles at her. Panther avoided one of them but was slammed into a wall by another. While the air was knocked out of her, the tentacle wrapped around her and pulled her to the head of the laughing shadow. "It's over," Torn King of Desire taunted as he held Mage to the ceiling.
"My first toy is moments away from killing your friend," The King started as Panther turned to see Haru and Lioness battling, with Lioness losing the edge in the battle when her sword was knocked away. "Your friend is trapped up there. And the other should be knocked out. It was fun, but now, it's time for you to become my loving toy! Psycho Fo—"
The king was cruelly interrupted as a thick and violent white lightning bolt collided against the stands.
[Theme of Limit Break: Awakening from Persona 4]
Panther turned her head and gasped when she Skull. His mask was off, revealing his full face, but his eyes were glowing a bright white and his hair was sticking straight up. Behind him was Captain Kidd, but his form seemed to shift between his normal form and that of a form of a furry humanoid riding a black cloud.
The two forms kept flickering back and forth, never solidifying into one image.
Skull laughed, revealing the warbling and echoing in his voice as lightning streaked up his body.
"What is this?" The Torn King of Desire hissed out as it discarded Panther and turned to Skull. Panther crashed to the ground and groaned as she looked up at Skull.
"This?" Skull asked. "This is you losing! Tarukaja!" The aura of lightning flared around Skull's body as he smirked.
[Theme of Unlocked Power: The Almighty from Persona 4]
Skull then jumped into the air and landed on the shifting cloud/ship and Skull's Persona charged forward.
"I won't let you! Assault Dive!" The Torn King of Desire screamed as it sharply whipped its head forward but Skull's shifting Persona stopped it. The rapidly shifting persona smirked and took a stronghold of the shadow's head as Skull smirked.
"Looks like you will! Wild Thunder!" Skull screamed.
White electricity streaked around them as parts of the arena's ground shook and cracked before being lifted into the air as if it were defying gravity.
All of the tentacles the shadow had wrapped around shifting persona in an attempt to pull them away from it.
Mage immediately skated down and grabbed Panther from beneath them and flew to the other side of the arena as more electricity started to build up and form pulsating orbs of lightning. The shadow screamed as four of the pulsating orbs of lightning exploded in a brilliant flash of light.
Lioness stepped back to avoid the wild but powerful swings of Haru's ax as the brainwashed girl advanced. Lioness knew that eventually, she would get caught but she couldn't allow herself to summon Boudicca on her friend.
She wouldn't survive being hit by any of her attacks.
Especially now since the spells that were keeping her strong had worn off, leaving the brainwashed girl using her own strength, which was still terrifying. "Why not you let me win? You can't dodge forever!" Haru screamed as Lioness ducked a swipe from the ax and then pushed Haru back as hard as she could.
Haru staggered back and chuckled, her eyes gleaming with malevolence.
"Why do you keep struggling?" Haru asked. "Deep inside, you know that the end can't be evaded. Do you think I might decide to stop if you stay patient?"
Lioness panted and yelled, "This isn't you, Haru! This isn't who you are! Wake up!"
"You keep telling me those words in a slime hope that I would understand what you mean," Haru remarked as she sauntered toward Lioness, who took a step back to prepare to avoid the girl's attack. "But I can tell you're really tired of fighting me, so let me ease your exhaustion, and let me kill you!"
Haru rocketed forward and continued her wild, swings, putting Lioness back into the blender.
Lioness backed away, avoiding each swing of the ax until Haru's foot slammed into her stomach, sending Lioness off the ground and onto her back. Lioness scrambled backward until her hand touched the hilt of her sword.
Lioness grabbed the hilt and rolled to the left to avoid the downward swing of Haru's ax. Lioness scrambled to her feet as Haru laughed.
Haru sauntered forward, her ax scraping against the ground as she taunted, "This is where stops. This is where it ends. Your determination to stay alive is admirable but I am stronger than you…."
Lioness panted and gripped her blade.
"You can stall all you want, but I won't give up my attack. Can't you understand that all you're good for is a trophy to present to my king?" Haru questioned.
Lioness' irises shrank as her breathing quickened as her mind flashed to a memory.
[Scene Change: Kamoshida's Office (Flashback -Day)
Theme of Horror: Just Like This from Persona 3]
Shiho sat in Kamoshida's office, humiliated and violated as she stood in front of Kamoshida with her shirt and bra missing. She could feel Kamoshida's hands gliding against her stomach and breasts and felt as if she was going to throw up.
"Your body is perfect," Kamoshida whispered with a slimy tone.
The urge to throw up increased.
"Just remember," Kamoshida gently taunted. "Ann's virtue is at stake. As long as you be a good trophy for me to touch and watch, she will remain unharmed."
Shiho sniffled but she thought about Ann being in her position and felt her stomach curl in disgust.
She couldn't allow Ann to feel the way she was feeling.
"U-Understood, Kamoshida-sensei," Shiho struggled to get out.
Kamoshida laughed and whispered, "That's a good trophy," as he slowly pulled down her bloomers.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 30th Floor (Present Time - Champion's Arena)
Theme of Horror: Just Like This from Persona 3]
Kamoshida's sick laughter echoed in Lioness' head as she fell to her knees.
The walls felt like they were closing in on her as his laughter increased around her. Mingled in that laughter was that word.
Trophy.
He was calling her a trophy.
His Trophy.
"I-I'm not…." Lioness shakily whispered as she wrapped her arms around her trembling body and started to hyperventilate. Despite how dark the world looked, she could see Haru's shoes stop in front of her.
"You've finally surrendered to your fate…." Haru whispered as her hand softly ran through Lioness' hair. Haru then gripped it and forced Lioness to look up at her."Your death will reward me with a pleasure none has ever known. Thank you,"
Haru twirled the ax and reared it back into the air and swung it toward Lioness' neck when she suddenly stopped inches from it Those crazy-colored eyes Haru had faded away, revealing the warm eyes that Lioness was familiar with
"What happened? How did I get here?" Haru asked as she looked at the ax and tossed it aside. Haru then looked down to see Lioness and gasped. "Oh my goodness, Lioness, are you ok—"
Haru was interrupted by a large explosion that shook the large arena, followed by a blinding light. Lioness and Haru turned their head to where the explosion took place, only to see Mage and Panther slamming into the ground and skidding until they stopped beside the kneeling Lioness.
Panther immediately scrambled to her feet and ran toward the explosion as she screamed, "Ryuji!"
The explosion soon ceased and once the light and the smoke cleared, the majority of the Champion's arena was destroyed. The Torn King of Desire was nowhere to be seen, but the group could see a figure on the ground in the middle of a giant crater.
[Theme of Somber Victories: Kurosu from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]
"Ryuji!" Panther and Mage shouted. Panther shot a quick look at Haru and noted that her eyes were normal and that Lioness was still alive, albeit looking deathly pale and breathing fast and hard.
Panther wanted to make sure her friends were alright but Ryuji had just been caught up in an explosion and could possibly be….
Panther shook her head.
She couldn't think like that.
Panther and Mage scrambled to their feet and ran the long distance to the crater, leaving the confused and panicked Haru to stand in front of a downed Lioness.
Mage was the first to make it and he skated down to Skull.
Skull was no longer in his Phantom Thief uniform.
Instead, he was in the torn remains of his street clothes and while he was breathing, it was very shallow. "We need to get him to a saferoom and heal him," Mage whispered to himself. He grabbed Ryuji and flew up to Panther.
"Is he okay?" Panther asked Mage with a panicked tone in her voice. "Damn it, I thought I told you no heroics…."
Ryuji didn't respond.
The two thieves went back to Haru and Lioness, where they saw Haru on her knees with Lioness' head in her hands. "Shiho, why won't you answer me? Are you okay? Are you alright?" Haru asked but Lioness couldn't speak.
All she could do was hyperventilate.
"Shiho, please," Haru begged.
"What the hell happened?" Panther asked Haru.
"I-I don't know," Haru stammered. "I-I just woke back up."
"Woke up?" Panther whispered. "You attacked Lioness and me!"
"What?!" Haru yelled.
"ATTENTION EVERYONE! WE HAVE A WINNER! THE FIVE CHALLENGERS EARNED THE RIGHT TO OUR VIP PRIZE, FIVE GOLDEN TICKETS TO THE 56th FLOOR!" The announcer exclaimed.
The group ignored the raucous cheers of the crowd as the bunny waitress who assisted the group earlier appeared and held out five golden tickets. "Your prize," the waitress stated as she held out the tickets.
"Thank you," Mage softly whispered as she took the tickets.
The walls where the champion entered opened and the group could see the golden elevator that would take them a floor above their target floor.
"Come on," Haru whispered as she bent down to Lioness and scooped her up into her arms bridal style. Haru could feel the girl trembling violently in her arms and frowned.
What in the world had happened?
The group didn't wait for the waitress to speak as they immediately ran toward it, praying that there was a saferoom to lay Ryuji down.
Once the group entered the elevator and saw the 56th floor, Mage pressed it and the elevator started its rise.
The elevator ride was filled with tension as Ryuji's shallow breathing felt louder than their own.
After a long ride in the elevator, the golden doors opened to a hallway and Panther noticed a shimmering door down the hall. "Thank God, a saferoom!" Panther exclaimed as she and the group ran toward the room, opened the door to enter it, and then closed it behind them.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 56th Floor (Safe Room)
Theme of Somber Victories: Kurosu from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]
"Quickly, we need to lay him down," Panther instructed as she moved all of the chairs away from the table and laid Ryuji's body on top of it.
"Okay, ready to heal him?" Panther asked Mage, who nodded in response.
"Carmen: Dia/Lady Eilistraee, please heal my friend. Dia," Panther and Mage said in unison.
A warming flame and a soft glowing light appeared behind the two respective Phantom Thieves and both Carmen and Eilistraee placed a hand on Ryuji's chest. The group watched as the two energies flowed from the hands of the personas and into Ryuji's body.
"Come on, Ryuji, wake up…." Panther whispered while Mage watched on.
Near the door, Haru turned to an exhausted-looking Lioness and opened her mouth to say something, and then closed it with a frown.
For what felt like twenty minutes, the pale tone that Ryuji's body had taken slowly flushed with color, and the shallow breathing evened out into normal breathing. "It's done," Carmen whispered.
"He will be okay," Eilistraee soothed as she rubbed Mage's head in comfort. The two Persona looked at one another, nodded, and then took a step back as they faded away.
"We should have another way to get here," Mage whispered. "That shadow was far tougher than anything we had faced before…."
"Yeah, Kamoshida was pretty tough, but we were able to defeat him just fine. That shadow was tougher," Panther remarked. "Which means Madarame and Mitsuyo will be even tougher than that…."
"What do we do now?" Haru inquired, her expression filled with regret and worry. "We made it, but we're down our leader."
Panther stared down at Ryuji's face and let a hand run through his hair. "Idiot," Panther sighed. Panther removed her hand from his hair, squared her shoulders, and announced, "We save them, and then get out of here. We've come too far to stop now."
"But there are only three of us," Mage argued. "We can't do that alone!"
"No," Panther stated. "There are only two of us." Panther then turned to Haru and said, "After what happened to you down there, you need to stay here."
"What?" Haru breathed.
"You heard me," Panther replied. "You're staying. We can't have what happened to you at the arena happen again."
"But I don't know what happened!" Haru yelled. "All I remember was getting an ax so I can help everyone and then waking up to Shiho's hair in my hands my that ax near her neck!"
"Yeah, you wound up as Ren did! Brainwashed!" Panther shouted. "Ryuji didn't even want to bring you because he worried about something like this happening!"
Haru flinched and looked down at the floor.
"And it did! You attacked us and now we're down Shiho because of whatever you did during that!" Panther continued. "So you can sit your ass in here and watch over them both, just like you promised Ryuji at the start of this mission, got it?!"
Haru nodded.
Panther turned away from Haru and walked to the chair Lioness sat in and pressed her forehead against Lioness'. "It'll be okay. I'll be back…."
Panther stood and with a nod toward Mage, the two walked out of the room.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 56th Floor
Theme of Brothel of Fraud: Club Zodiac from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
The moment Panther and Mage stepped out of the saferoom, they were finally able to take stock of their location.
The 56th floor of the Brothel of Fraud.
Like those cognitions mentioned, the floor was made of glass, which gave the duo a full chance to scope out the 55th floor.
The room was opulent. Not as opulent as Madarame's palace, but it was just about. The room was as large as an opera room, with golden walls and silk banners hanging from the rafters. They also noticed that on the floor, there was a large stage where they could see Joker and Fox chained down on the platforms beside the stage.
And on the stage itself was a giant bed with Hifumi chained to it, sleeping.
Panther narrowed her eyes at the sight of her "brother" and recent acquaintance being chained down like animals. "It seems the room hasn't been filled yet," Mage whispered.
"Yeah, it looks empty. This might be our chance!" Panther exclaimed. "Come on, let's go save them!"
Mage nodded and the two quickly ran down the hall and searched for a stairwell. Thankfully, they managed to find one and traversed downstairs until they hit the 55th floor.
The two walked out of the stairwell and they found themselves in the vast room opera room. The two looked around for a moment to make sure they were alone and once they were able to determine that, they quickly ran up toward the platforms, with Mage going to Fox and Panther going to Joker.
Panther watched as Mage kneeled in front of Fox and started to try to wake him up before she slid to a stop and patted Joker's cheek several times as she hissed, "Ren, wake up!"
But he didn't stir.
"Did you two think it was going to be so easy?" A voice teased from behind her.
[Theme of Danger: Desire from Persona 5]
Panther and Mage turned around to see Shadow Mitsuyo standing alongside Oiran Hifumi and in front of several Twilight Prostitutes.
"You!" Panther exclaimed.
"When I heard someone felled my champion, I had a feeling I would be seeing your faces again," Shadow Mitsuyo divulged with a smirk. "It seems three of you are missing, according to the accounts of those that were in attendance. You wouldn't happen to know where they are, now would you two?"
Shadow Mitsuyo then shrugged and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter. I will not allow you two to interfere with my plans for tonight. What I will do, however, is allow you two to be a part of the festivities."
Shadow Mitsuyo turned to her Oiran Hifumi and caressed the side of her jawline. "Capture them. Chain the boy and then prepare the girl. She will fetch a high price," Shadow Mitsuyo commanded as she turned and walked away. "I will be back down in ten minutes. I have a guest to entertain."
Oiran Hifumi smirked and shouted, "Get them!"
The Twilight Prostitutes surged ahead toward Panther and Mage, who prepped themselves for another battle.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 56th Floor (Safe Room)
Theme of Safe Room: 3-31 from Persona 3 FES]
Haru sat in silence as her eyes gazed at Ryuji's sleeping body and then at Shiho's painfully still body. She had finally managed to calm down but she had remained completely silent, despite Haru checking on her several times.
All Haru wanted to do was to take Shiho in her arms and beg for forgiveness over what happened, tell Ryuji that he was right all along, follow Ann's instruction to remain in the safe room, and beg Hifumi for forgiveness for not being able to rescue her as she had planned.
But Haru couldn't.
She had to get out of this room. It was just far too tense for her to stomach any longer.
Despite being the reason that tension was there, to begin with.
Haru walked outside of the safe room and saw a long window that allowed her to see down to the 55th floor. But what she saw was chaos.
Mage and Panther were battling against several shadows, and they looked to be losing. Haru then turned her head to see Hifumi, standing there watching them. Haru knew at first glance that this wasn't the Hifumi she knew.
This Hifumi was dressed like an Oiran.
Something Hifumi wouldn't be caught dead wearing.
She had to help them somehow.
"Ryuji didn't even want to bring you because he worried about something like this happening, and it did! You attacked us and now we're down Shiho because of whatever you did during that!" Panther's voice yelled in her mind, halting Haru's thoughts.
Panther was right.
Ryuji had told her to stay behind because of the risk of her shadow attacking. Instead, something happened to her and she wound up attacking them and hurting Shiho to the point where she wouldn't respond to anyone.
[Theme of Thy True Self: Bomb Shelter from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP Ver)]
"What a precarious situation you are in. Haru-hime."
Haru looked up to see her replica standing behind her through the mirror as the world darkened around her. Haru suppressed her fear as best as she could, but her body couldn't stop trembling.
She despised being in the dark. It always bought up the memories she wanted to forget.
"Of course, you're here," Haru whispered.
"Where else would I be?" Shadow Haru questioned. "It's amusing in a way that you keep forgetting that you and I are the same…."
Haru watched through the reflection as Shadow Haru walked forward until they stood side by side. "It's been such a trying day, don't you think?" Shadow Haru questioned.
"More than you know," Haru sighed.
"Seeing the girl that you fancy, someone as strong-willed as her, be seen and treated like a common whore for her mother must bother you," Shadow Haru stated.
Haru sighed.
"It only makes me wonder how our father sees us," Shadow Haru said. "Does he see us as a daughter? Or subservient puppet?"
"Why must keep bringing everything back to him!" Haru exploded. "None of this is about my father so just shut up!"
Shadow Haru turned to her and gave her a sympathetic smile, "Because you see it. Look around you. Look at what Mitsuyo is doing to Hifumi."
"Mitsuyo is not our father!" Haru yelled.
"No. In a way, he's worse," Shadow Haru said, stopping Haru in her tracks. "And you know it. You know what he is like and you've commented on it so freely. And yet, you cling to him so tightly. Willing to bend to his every whim. Willing to marry Sugimura, and for what? For him to acknowledge you as your own person?"
Haru bowed her head.
"You know that will never happen," Shadow Haru whispered. "You know that he will never see you as a person. He sees you as a tool. And you willingly accept that role, not because you love him, but because you're so afraid of being thrown back into the isolated prison he made for us."
Haru's eyes widened.
"All of your life, you never allowed yourself to connect to anyone, not since our mother died. You may not remember it, but we were close to her. We admired her. We loved her more than anything in our lives. After she died, so many women tried to get into your heart to get to father," Shadow Haru revealed. "Because of this, we lashed out at those vipers, costing father chance after chance of furthering his station. Until one day, we finally crossed a line and he banished us into that prison."
Haru took a shuddered breath as the memories of her crying in a small, cramped, dark room played in her head. Sometimes for hours, or even days, she would be locked in that room until she felt hollow.
"We never learned our lesson, however. Every time we lashed out or threw any sort of tantrum, he would lock us up. Each time felt like an eternity. Minutes turned into hours, hours into days. We remained in that cold, dark, room for a week straight until we finally broke," Shadow Haru said. "We did everything to please him and make him love us as a father should. Just so we could never go back there."
Haru rubbed her arms with a frown on her face, trying to soothe the terror that was in her heart. "He made us fear him and that cursed room. So much so that we allowed ourselves to be subjugated to his will. He took away our agency in how we dress, how we act, how we live, and even who to love…. We get even allow ourselves to feel anything negative because we're afraid of being locked away again. The only thing we've been genuinely able to have is our friends. And even then, how long will that be?" Shadow Haru queried. "What kind of father does that to a child missing her mother? A mother whose face we can't even remember now? A mother whose face he has hidden from us?"
Haru shook her head and said, "He's still our fa—"
"How long will it be before he finds out about your affection for Fumi-chan? How long will it be until he decides that he needs us to further debase ourselves as Mitsuyo has done with Fumi-chan? Tell me, how long will it be before he ruins everything good that we have to further his own ambitions?" Shadow Haru pressed. "He's already sold us to a slimy man like Sugimura. What is stopping him from breaking that off and giving us to Shido like his original plan? He's betrayed us already by using us as just another tool in his arsenal. Why wouldn't he betray anyone else?"
Whatever fight that Haru attempted to have was snuffed out by her words.
Shadow Haru suddenly chuckled. "But, even with that said, we probably have already done him favor with our actions since we found out about Fumi-chan being taken here. We f-fought with Ryu-kun, Ann is angry at us, we already made Ren upset due to the last talk we had, and your actions, while you were brainwashed, have harmed Shiho's mind and heart."
"And now we put Ann and Mishima-san in further danger down there. They are fighting for their lives and the lives of our friends, while we watch on, unable to help, unable to protect because despite all that you have gained, you are willing to give it all up because of that fear that he will lock you away again," Shadow Haru calmly revealed.
"All you have to do is accept this truth and I can give us the power to not only save them but to save ourselves. But I can't do that alone, Haru-hime. I need you by my side to do it," Shadow Haru continued. "We can be free of Sugimura, free from our father, and free from the cage he threatens us with if we don't follow his rules."
"Why?" Haru weakly asked. "Why can't you just stop?"
"Because despite what you may think, I'm not your enemy," Shadow Haru answered. "I never was. I'm you. And I want us to be free of the mental prison that he has us in. I want to fix the damage that he caused us. Not just with trying to keep us under his thumb, but for the things you haven't realized his actions caused us…. Is that so wrong to want?"
[Theme of Realization: The Voice of Someone Calls from Persona 3]
"No," Haru whispered. "T-That's not wrong…. I-I was just so afraid. Afraid that he would lock me away again. Afraid that I would be alone again. Now more than ever. I've used every excuse in the book to hide and fight the depth of that fear…. But now, it's that fear that's making me lose so much more…."
"Then what will you do?" Shadow Haru asked.
"I won't allow him to control me through the threat of locking me into a lonely, dark, solitude," Haru revealed. "Even if I lose my riches, my plants, and even my life, at least I will no longer be a willing subservient puppet to someone like him at Sugimura. And at least I won't be alone anymore."
For the first time, Haru saw a smile form on her replica's face as her eyes turned a familiar ethereal blue.
"Thank you. For finally seeing the truth, my dear, fated, Haru-hime."
[Theme of Awakening: Awakening from Persona 5]
The world suddenly brightened and Haru stood alone in the hallway. Before Haru could question what had happened to her, her legs buckled as she felt a powerful pulse of pain reverberate in her chest.
"For so long, we've searched for freedom from our gilded cage. But now you understand that freedom from you must stem from betrayal." Haru closed one eye as she held her head as a royal-sounding voice echoed in her mind.
"You have tasted the sweet kiss of freedom that you yearned for the moment you opened your heart to your friends and to the heroine of your heart. Now that you yearn, you must not err," the voice continued as the pain continued to grow in Haru's head.
"Now tell me, who will you betray to keep the freedom you desire?"
Haru gritted her teeth as she clenched her eyes shut, the pain becoming unbearable. "My heart has been set. You should already know!" She let out a scream as a black domino mask formed across her eyes in an ethereal flash.
Haru's eyes finally snapped open, revealing her glowing yellow irises. "There it is, that gaze!" the voice rallied. "Yes, now we can finally show our true strength!"
Haru reached for the mask and began to tug at it as the voice said, "I am thou, thou art I….Let us adorn your departure into freedom with a beautiful betrayal and a dashing rescue!"
Haru ripped off her mask with a scream, causing ethereal roses to fly around her body and fill up the hallway, along with cracking the glass panes beneath her.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 55th Floor
[Theme of Awakening: Awakening from Persona 5]
"This is really bad," Panther whispered as she gripped her whip. Beside her, Mage held his staff up, preparing to fire his magic shards at the remaining group of Twilight Prostitutes.
"Just once, I wish we weren't on the receiving end of a butt-kicking," Mage mumbled.
Just then, ethereal rose petals fell from above and rained over the entire room. "What in the world?" Panther whispered. The sound of glass shattering suddenly filled the room, prompting Mage and Panther to look up to see a surprising sight.
It was Haru, except her clothes were radically different.
She now wore a dark purple cavalier hat with a feather plume tucked into a royal purple hatband, a long-sleeved pale pink blouse with a white neck jabot that was held by a red gem pin, a black corset vest with gold buttons, bloomers that match her hatband, black pantyhose, a holster belt carrying ammo, lace-up pumps and violet gloves.
Falling behind her was a headless figure wearing a black and pink Rococo style dress, with red and pink vertical striped puffs on the sleeves of the dress that extends to her elbows, and wearing pink gloves.
The bottom of the dress was pink with a golden trim around the dress, which has a golden lip on the center of the dress that makes it resemble a smiling face. There are black and red curtain drapes around the dress underneath, a pink heart-shaped frill around her waist with a red bow tied on the drapes, and a knife next to the center of the heart-shaped frill.
Beneath the dress, the figure wore a white pinstripe blouse with a light blue neck choker around her neck. The headless figure held a pink mask inset with yellow eyes that were attached to the handle she was holding in her right hand. And in her left hand was a yellow and pink colored fan with black fur.
"Milady!" Haru commanded. "Fire at will!"
Milady laughed as her dress opened up to reveal an array of ranged weaponry, including two Gatling guns, a bazooka, and a missile. The Gatling guns fired down on the Twilight Prostitutes and shredded them to pieces before Haru and her Persona landed on the ground, with Haru landing in front of Panther and Mage, and Milady landing beside her.
Oiran Hifumi scowled and barked, "Who are you?!"
Haru twirled her ax and grinned. "Your new dance partner," Haru responded. Without looking back, Haru said to Mage and Panther, "You two get our friends unchained. I will handle this mockery of the girl I adore."
Oiran Hifumi scowled and with an explosion of inky black energy, the Woman Who Brings Ruin stood in Oiran Hifumi's place.
"I will now allow you to take what is rightfully my mothers!" The Woman Who Brings Ruin screamed as Haru smirked and hoisted her battle ax.
Captain Blues: And that's the end of this chapter. Miss Violet will be back for the next chapter and the foreseeable future until I'm fully ready to return. Until then, time to set sail!