Miss Violet: Hello Class. Two days late but here it is! The Double Heist ends today. Let's start the lesson!
Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Seventy-One
[Opening Scene: Brothel of Fraud – 99th Floor (The Queen's Chamber)
Theme of Boss Battle: Master of Shadow from Persona 3]
"This has not been fun!" Mona screamed as an explosion of energy sent him off of his feet and into the arms of Noir, who spun upon impact, which caused another beam of nuclear energy to sail past her.
"Why must we be the bait?" Mona complained as Noir quickly ran off, avoiding the explosion of flame pillars that erupted from the ground.
"I know you don't like it, but Pawn has a plan and I know it'll help us beat Lilith," Noir said as she skillfully maneuvered away from large pellets of ice. If there was one thing Noir never expected, it was her pulling out years of ballet skills to avoid Lilith's attacks. "So until then, we just need to keep moving."
Above Noir, Mage skated in the air, avoiding the ice pellets and beams of nuclear energy, and then skated down to Noir's level. "This absolutely sucks," Mage panted.
"I know, but we need to give her more time. Just stay in the air and keep dodging. Pawn will see us through this. She's our best chance," Noir said, only for Mage to take into the air while Noir jumped to the side to avoid another beam of energy.
Pawn flew against the edge of the ceiling, sparkles from Mage's skill floating from her body. For the past ten minutes after Mona and Mage were free from their frozen prison, she had seen more of that orb that hid in Lilith's snake hair.
She had reason to believe that the reason her attacks were so powerful was due to her feeding directly off of her treasure. If she could separate Lilith from her treasure, it may weaken her.
"But the question is, can you get close enough?" Ching Shih asked. "Most of the snakes seem to act on her actions but some may be autonomous. We may be put into a less that favorable situation if we fly straight into it."
Pawn frowned and said, "High risk, high reward. That's how I've always played. Might as well translate that into being a Persona user." Ching Shih chuckled as Pawn flew toward Lilith. The minute she got to her snake hair, some of the snakes shot out toward her.
Pawn used her umbrella to swat and block the various snake heads that came at her. She quickly pulled out her sword and sliced off two of the heads and then flew back, causing several snake heads to dart after her.
Pawn pulled out her Magnum Research BFR and shouted, "Ching Shih!"
Behind her, the air rippled as if a pebble was dropped into a surface of water, only for the ripples to freeze and then exploded as Ching Shih walked out from the void, their flintlock pistol already in her hand.
"Zan!" Pawn shouted as she fired her shot. Ching Shih fired her pistol, causing her gold bullet to superimpose over Pawn's bullet, where it ripped and shredded the snake heads that had come after her and collided against the side of Lilith's head, causing her head to sharply whip to the left.
Pawn watched as the orb with her five-year-old self become visible and she quickly flew towards it and snatched the orb free from the snake's mouth. "No!" Lilith wailed as Pawn's body skidded against the ground until she stopped at the foot of Noir and Mona.
"Gotcha," Pawn whispered as she observed the sleeping child within it.
Noir smiled in relief and said, "I knew you could do it," as Pawn stood to her feet to face her and Mona, who decided that was the time to jump out of Noir's arms.
"Thank you both for distracting her long enough for me to snag it," Pawn said. "Now, let's—"
Mage floated down and said, "Um, guys? Something is happening to Lilith."
The group turned to see Lilith squirming on her thrown, pulses of black and purple energy rushing through the scales of her body.
"Give her back!" Lilith roared as the snakes on her throne and hair hissed and fury while her body began to glow with intense grey light.
"That does not look good," Pawn whispered before the entire room was bathed in the light.
[Theme of Boss Battle (Second Gear): Awakening from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
As the grey light faded and Pawn was able to see, the first thing she realized was that the throne of golden snakes was gone.
The second thing she noticed was Lilith.
Lilith was still a large, imposing figure, but the bottom half of her legs was now the bottom half of a snake's body, but instead of scales, the tail was made up of black human skulls. Her torso was still bare but now had death-grey skin, with black scales lining the side of her body and the entirety of her arms, with her fingernails being as sharp as claws.
Pawn looked up at Lilith's head and saw that she wore a black colored snake skull as a face mask, with the eye sockets of the mask being a dark void with dark purple orbs within them. And finally, on her head where the golden snakes had once thrived now had the skeletal remains of those snakes.
Lilith let out a roar, causing a wave of purple and black energy to slam into the ground, but while Mage and Noir stood strong, Pawn and Mona looked visibly shaken.
"I will not let you take what belongs to me!" Lilith screamed with such a desolate rage, that it made Pawn's legs give out, sending her on her knees while Mona's body trembled. "All of you will die here."
[Scene Change: Museum of Vanity - Courtyard
Theme of Boss Battle: Master of Shadow from Persona 3]
Blade and paintbrush clashed as Fox faced down his former master, the top half of his jumpsuit torn off, leaving his chest bare and half of his fox mask gone, leaving the left side of his face bare.
Despite how hard he's been fighting Azazel, Fox could feel his strength dwindling against this fearsome foe. And despite the battle, Fox could see a hint of exhaustion in his former master's eyes. But despite this, Azazel smirked and taunted, "What is wrong Ronin? Growing weaker?"
Fox shoved Azazel away and swung his sword at his neck and when it was blocked by Azazel's paintbrush. Fox then repeatedly lunged his katana at Azazel at a rapid pace, but Azazel spun his paintbrush to deflect every stab before black ink coated the bristles of the paintbrush.
Azazel then smacked Fox's katana to the side and with a swipe of his paintbrush, Fox was coated with black ink.
Azazel then smacked Fox with the bristles of the brush, which sent Fox falling to the ground in a spiral, but Fox bounced back to his feet and slashed Azazel's right cheek, causing an inky-black slime to ooze from the wound.
"Ngh. D-Damn brat," Azazel growled as he touched his wounded cheek. "Is this how you show your gratitude to the man who raised you?"
Fox smirked and pointed his katana forward, a gleam of defiance in his eyes.
Azazel sneered and immediately launched into a wild attack, his paintbrush whipping anywhere and everywhere while Fox backed up, his blade blocking each attempted strike. Fox jumped over an attempted sweep and kneed Azazel in the face, sending the artistic shadow staggering back.
Fox charged forward and this time, it was his turn to go on the offense but unlike before where he could barely touch Azazel, he found most, if not all of his strikes meeting his former master's flesh.
And for a split second, Fox felt guilty at causing his former master pain, but as quickly as it appeared, it vanished as Azazel leaned away from a slash that could have cut his neck and then smacked Fox's chest hard with the paintbrush, sending Fox skidding back as he coughed up blood.
Fox fell to one knee as blood dribbled from his mouth and shouted, "Goemon!"
Goemon appeared behind Fox and blew into his large pipe axe, sending a crescent arc made of ice to fly from his weapon, with icy mist flowing around it. Azazel swiped his paintbrush, creating an inky frost-blue streak that absorbed the ice.
Azazel then spun his body and swung his paintbrush, making the inky white streaks that the paint had created the kanji "万能" (Almighty) which then briefly morphed into a disfigured white kimono wearing Madarame, which glowed a bright light and then exploded, sending Fox sailing backward into the air with white flames coating his body.
"Damn it! I, the great Azazel... made an error!?" Azazel swore as Fox's back collided against the ground, only for him to immediately roll back onto his feet. Fox was confused. What had just happened? Azazel had been creating these clones of himself since they defeated his painting forms.
Why had this one not taken form?
"These aren't just normal clones," Goemon's voice noted as Fox watched Azazel attempt to create another Ruby Madaramce, only for it to follow its predecessor, appear disfigured and then explode. "These are nothing more than an ersatz, an inferior version of what was perfect arts. Notice our allies."
Fox looked around and the first person he saw was Lioness.
Lioness lifted her shield and blocked the small fireballs from a Pale-Pink Madarame, who looked sickly pale, The fireballs themselves were tiny and moved so slowly, that by the time the fireball came to her, it was nothing more but a hot puff of air.
Fox then turned to Panther and Joker, with the former brushing off the faint sheet of snow that hit her chest from a nearly white kimono-wearing Madarame, who had that same sickly pale expression.
And as for the latter, Joker stared at the Pale Green Madarame as a gentle gust of green wind hit their leader.
And all three of them had a look of confusion on their exhausted faces.
Fox then understood what Goemon was saying.
His former teacher had created so many counterfeit versions of the dangerous elemental clones, that not only were they pale imitations of the originals, but he couldn't even create any more of them.
"Despite the war and the blood we've all shed, this battle is almost over," Goemon announced as Fox stabbed his katana into the ground and pushed himself to his feet. "It's time to make him experience true art."
Fox nodded with determined eyes and then charged toward Azazel, his katana scraping against the ground.
"Goemon!" Fox yelled as he uprooted his sword from the ground in a swing, causing Goemon to appear behind him, where they both unleashed a powerful slice, which cleaved through Azazel's paintbrush, shattering it into two pieces as his opponent screamed in shock.
Fox quickly advanced, his blade meeting his opponent's skin several times, marring Azazel's golden blood with an inky black substance in various places. Azazel staggered back and wheezed out, "Damnit... Damnit... Stop it, you brat, or else...!"
"Your threats will not hinder me any longer," Fox announced as stalked toward Azazel. "You have done so many unforgivable things, and my blade will deliver justice unto thee."
Azazel spat and hissed, "Enough of this!"
Ink pooled beneath Azazel as the ersatzes melted into pink, pale green, and near-white ink in front of their opponents and then shot toward Azazel. The ink melded into Azazel's body as he melted into the ink below, only to come out as the four paintings.
Lioness, Panther, and Joker ran behind Fox, each of their Phantom Thief uniform showing signs of battle damage, from Lioness' cracked mask, the tears in Panther's suit, to the tattered remains of Joker's jacket and vest.
The four watched on as the mouth painting of Azazel yelled, "Dammit... I'm the great Madarame... The Madarame who gathers a full crowd every time he opens an exhibit! I'm not someone that worthless brats like you are allowed to defy...!"
"What gall," Fox spat while he noticed Joker staring at buckets of black paint out of the corner of his eyes. The same black paint that Azazel had been using on them before the copies.
Ingenious.
He watched as Joker mouthed, "Stall him," And nodded.
"You still have such a nerve to say such things?! You will fully taste the wrath of those who were preyed upon by you!" Fox continued.
"You are such a fool!" Azazel screamed. "They asked me to take advantage of them to turn them into true artists! It is not my fault that they willingly surrendered themselves to me!"
"We heard this line of bullshit before!" Panther shouted.
"Yeah! We didn't buy it then and we don't now!" Lioness followed up. "You lured them in with promises and then threw them away when you leeched all of their talents from them. Leaving them with nothing!"
"And if they tried to fight against you, you ruined their lives and the dreams!" Fox concluded. "From Nakanohara-san to Kana-nee!"
Azazel's mouth painting sneered. "Nakanohara learned firsthand that It doesn't matter who painted it, all that matters is who unveiled it to the world. He also learned that if my name didn't grace his paintings, they would be absolutely worthless. And Kana….You could never forget about that little bitch, could you?"
Fox flinched as Joker grabbed the paint and returned to the group, the bucket of paint hiding behind his back.
"She was more of an artist than you ever could be," Azazel spat. "A talent that reminded me of your mother. If only she didn't try to advocate against me, I wouldn't have had to bury her light in such a callous way."
Fox narrowed his eyes.
"You will learn that a good pupil devotes their whole being to their master! Anyone that doesn't, will be buried with the rest of them!" Azazel exclaimed as the four paintings shot through the air toward the four.
While Lioness rolled to the left while Panther and Fox jumped to the right, Joker smirked and slung the black paint, causing it to splash on the four paintings. "N-Nghhhhhh...!? Wh-What the...!? My powers... They're suddenly draining!" Azazel screamed as he flew above Joker and went into the air. "No matter! I will kill you all! Thunderous Clap!"
The right eye of Azazel's painting winked, causing multiple bolts of lightning to fly toward the group. The four thieves swiftly avoided them, with Fox jumping into the air with his katana pointed at the sky with Goemon's ethereal form superimposed around him.
"This ends now! Vicious Strike!" Fox yelled as he swung his katana downward while Goemon swung his pipe axe in tandem. A mist of ice formed around the four paintings before they solidified into slice marks, that cut into all four paintings with a sharp slash.
But while the eyes and the nose paintings with down, the mouth painting still floated in the air. It attempted to bite Fox's form, but Panther threw out her whip to wrap around his waist and then tugged him down to avoid the bit. As Fox was tugged to safety, both Joker and Lioness pointed at the mouth and shouted, "Ame-no-Uzumi: Freeze it/Drown it, Boudicca!"
Streaks of electricity floated off the ground along with shards of ice before a powerful white tornado formed and then exploded, revealing Ame-no-Uzumi. Beside her, An orb of water appeared before it took a humanoid shape. With an explosion of water and ethereal blue energy, Boudicca. Stood.
Boudicca twirled her spear and launched it at the painter's mouth, where it then morphed into an orb of water that trapped the painting within it. Using her left fan, Ame-no-Uzumi blew a cold gust of wind, freezing the orb of water, which then became a thick frost tree before exploding into shards of ice that skewered the painter's mouth.
But while the painting looked heavily damaged, it was still up. Until Panther shouted, "This ends! Carmen: Incinerate!"
A pillar of ethereal flames exploded from the ground as Carmen stepped out of it, her eyes glinting in fiery delight, while her ensnared captives crawled after her on their hands and knees.
With a wink of her right eye and a swing of the heart-headed shadow's thorny chain that Carmen held in her right hand, a fireball slammed into the painter's mouth, sending its wailing form falling to the other paintings, where it dissolved into ink.
Azazel rose from out of the ink, his shimmering gold kimono torn in various places and his hair, which once sat in a neat top knot, now flowing down his back.
The four immediately surrounded him, their respective guns drawn and pointed at him. "Ngh. D-damn brats... Even if you cry for help someday... you'll regret this... No adult will help you..." Azazel groaned as he barely got to his feet.
"Silence!" Fox barked. "Don't waste your breath, Azazel! Your time has come! Let us finish this!"
Joker, Panther, and Lioness smirked and without hesitation, the four changed into four-colored blurs, streaking across the downed artists with quick, overwhelming strikes before a blur leaped backward from the fray.
Fox gripped the hilt of his katana, which was hidden within his sheath as the upper half of Goemon's body appeared above Fox, smoking his pipe axe. Goemon smirked and blew a pale blue mist out of his mouth as Fox's eyes glinted frost blue.
With a trail of ice beneath him, Fox dashed forward while Goemon put his pipe axe to his side, unsheathed his blade, and together, both Fox and Goemon delivered a clean sideways slash before he skidded to a stop behind Azazel. He twirled his katana and sheathed most of it until there was a small inch of his blade left uncovered.
"And the curtain falls," Fox concluded as he sheathed the rest of his blade, causing a frozen snowflake to form around Azezel's body and then explode, causing snowflakes to fall around them as Azazel fell with them.
Fox turned around to see Azazel on his back, reaching for the Sayuri, which was placed on an easel nearby his former master. Fox walked back to the man, who turned and saw him coming.
The defeated con artist scrambled to get away as he stammered, "N-No one cares for true art. All they want are easily recognizable brands. I'm a victim in this too…! Wouldn't you agree?"
"Excuses now?" Panther asked with disgust as she stood in between Joker and Lioness, both of them looking annoyed by the shadow's words.
"The art world revolves around money after all….you can't rise up without any money," Azazel pitifully continued.
Fox walked straight past him, not even paying the man attention as he stopped in front of the true Sayuri. Tenderly, he traced his mother's face and whispered, "I'm sorry that I've been blinded by this man for so long…."
"Yusuke, you understand, don't you?!" Azazel asked as Fox continued to gaze at his mother's art, feeling the warmth and love within it. Fox grabbed the painting with loving hands and then took a deep breath as Azazel shouted, "Being a poor artist is truly miserable. I just didn't want to return to that life!"
[Theme of a Shadow's Fall: Regret from Persona 5]
Fox whipped around and shouted, "A fiend like you has no right to speak about returning to any sort of life, let alone the world of art!"
Azazel flinched at the contempt in Fox's eyes. "You didn't just rob people of their art, their passion, and their dreams. You robbed them of their lives. Things that my mother or Kana, or anyone else that has taken their lives can never get back!" Fox screamed.
Fox walked to the man and grabbed him by his kimono and hissed out, "You're done for, along with this unsightly, abominous world."
Azazel shrieked and whimpered, "No…Please don't kill me…. Please…."
Fox pushed the man back on the ground and turned away from him, no longer able to see the cruel, cowardly, and pathetic man his once beloved master truly was. "Return to yourself in reality and confess your crimes—all of them! And once you put an end to all this, maybe then….you can earn some semblance of redemption…"
Fox then walked away, with Sayuri tucked in his arms as he whispered, "It's a shame I won't be there to ever see it, or you, again."
He could feel the world crumbling around him and was aware of Joker and Azazel sparing a few words to one another, but as he heard Azazel shout his name, Fox didn't look back.
He never wanted to see or hear of this man ever again.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 99th Floor (The Queen's Chamber)
Theme of Boss Battle (Second Gear): Awakening from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
Lilith slithered forward at shocking speed and swung her right arm toward the group. Noir quickly scooped up the fearful Pawn and jumped back while Mage picked up the terrified Mona and flew back, allowing Lilith's claws to clash with the ground, causing a wave of black and purple energy to erupt from the ground.
"Don't run from your death! Maeiga!" Lilith wailed as the skeletal snakes on her head opened their mouths and fired black and purple beams of energy at the group. Mage skated into the air, his body moving diving, swaying, and rising to avoid the beams.
Noir danced around the beams that attempted to strike her down but she was noticeably slower with Pawn and the treasure in her arms. "Milady: Fire back!" Ethereal red roses swam around Noir's form and with a burst of wind, Milady stood in front of Noir, with her Gatling gun moving out of her Rocco dress.
Milady quickly fired her rose-red bullets at Lilith, who hissed and swung her body to swat at Milady with her tail. Milady and Noir both were struck but the tail, sending the entire group crashing against the wall.
Noir groaned in pain and then looked down at Pawn, who continued to look terrified while holding onto the treasure. "Stay put until this passes," Noir urged as she sat Pawn down and watched as Mage's body weaved from the wild flailing of Lilith's arms.
Noir charged ahead with her axe as she shouted, "Milady!"
Milady appeared beside her and coyly asked, "Need a lift, Hime?" Milady then put her fan beneath Noir's feet and flung her toward Lilith. With a battle cry, Noir sailed toward the large opponent and swung her axe down on the side of Lilith's face, causing the large snake woman to wail.
Noir landed on the ground as Lilith screamed, "It is all your fault my tool has disobeyed me! If I can't have her, then neither shall you! Fall into eternal darkness! Mudoon!"
Noir stopped dead in her tracks as she felt this deep red matter trap her in place. She then watched as a strange straw doll appeared in front of her chest, with four pins. Suddenly, all four pins stabbed into the doll and Noir felt her heart stop.
Noir staggered forward, confusion written on her face. Her body felt so numb all of a sudden. "H-Hifumi?" Noir whispered as she turned to look at the Pawn.
The sounds of battle began to fade into the background as she started to reach out for her, only to fall to her knees and then onto the ground, where the last thing she saw was Pawn's horrified face.
"Noir!" Mage yelled as he watched Noir fall to the ground, unconscious. He attempted to skate toward her but was forced to fly into the air to avoid a swipe of Lilith's claws.
"What in the world?" Mona groaned as he looked around in confusion. "Why am I up here?"
"Damn fly! Come and die like your friend! Eiga!" Lilith roared as a wave of black and purple energy shot toward Mage and Mona.
"You got intensely scared," Mage explained as he dove beneath a wave of black and purple energy and then shot into the air. "Fear effect."
"Well, that tanks," Mona said as he looked at Lilith's new form and cringed. "Yeesh, she looks radically different now. We gotta take her out! Zorro: Blow her away!"
A green tornado appeared behind the flying Phantom Thieves and then exploded into blades of wind as Zorro appeared. But to both Mage and Mona's surprise, Zorro looked down at Noir's body and shouted, "Milady!" Zorro then swung his rapier toward an oncoming wave of Eiga, blowing it away.
"Mona, what's happening to Noir?" Mage asked as he aimed his staff and fired shards of light at Lilith, who swatted them away with her hand.
Mona paled and said, "Noir is dead…."
"Noir is what?!" Mage exclaimed.
"She's Dead!" Mona shouted."Noir is dead!"
Pawn was terrified.
From the minute Lilith's new form appeared, Pawn was unable to shake off the terror that had petrified her. But as Noir crumpled to the ground, her irises fading into white, Pawn felt that far wash away with the deep dread that something horrible had just happened.
Sitting down the orb that contained her five-year-old self, Pawn slowly stood up and approached Noir's eerily still body. As the sounds of Mage and now Mona battling Lilith faded into the background, she kneeled beside Noir's body and cradled her head.
"Haru?" Pawn asked with fear in her voice. "Haru, wake up." Pawn began to shake Noir's form as panic filled her veins, tears falling from her eyes and onto Noir's pale face. "Haru?! Haru! Please wake up!"
And through the sounds of battle, she heard Mona's scream shout, "She's Dead! Noir is Dead!"
And with that, something snapped in Pawn's mind.
[Scene Change: Sea of Souls
Theme of Sea of Souls: Poem of Everyone's Soul (Arrange Version) from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
Haru stood in the middle of a vast starry night, with water beneath her that was so crystal clear, that it gave the reflection of the starry night.
It was breathtaking to Haru.
But in the distance, she noticed something.
In the distance, there was a large golden door with something hanging in the middle of it.
What was that?
"You shouldn't walk too far, Hime," A soft, familiar voice warned her.
Haru turned around to see…..herself, dressed in the attire of Milady, with Mildary's mask over her face. "Unless you are prepared to return from whence we came…." Milady smiled, her warm glowing yellow eyes staring at her.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 99th Floor (The Queen's Chamber)
[Theme of Unstoppable Rage: Old Enemy (SMT IF….Remix) from Persona 5]
Pawn let out a guttural scream to the heavens as ethereal blue flames rose from her body. But all too quickly, that ethereal blue morphed into pale gold as Pawn continued to scream her heart out, cradling the body of Noir.
A scream of absolute rage filled the air, which was then followed by a gravity-breaking pressure that caused Mage to dip in the air.
"Oh no…." Mage whispered. "This feeling….It's back….."
"Oh, this is going to be bad," Mona whispered.
Lilith turned her attention from Mage and Mona and stared down at Pawn, the purple orbs within her mask's eye sockets trembling. "What is this?" Lilith questioned.
Pawn wailed as the golden flames enveloped her and Noir's bodies. The flames then coalesced into a golden ethereal Ching Shih, who towered in the place of Pawn and Noir's form.
Suddenly Ching Shih's form began to shift uncontrollably. One moment, she was herself, and the next, she was a humanoid woman with metallic gold skin, flowing black hair, and large silvery-blue almond-shaped eyes.
The shifting figure also wore a black leather bodice with a pleated leather lace-up skirt attached to it, a gilded cuirass that covered her breasts and stomach, gilded black leather pteruges, black leather armbands with swirling golden armor attached to it, gilded black greaves and gauntlets, and leather black Krepis.
On her back was a long sword and on her left hip was a chakram with plain silver color on the outer ring and an 'S' shape that runs through the middle with a split. On one side of the split was gold and on the other side was copper.
The shifting Persona lifted their blade and removed their flintlock pistol/chakram from their left hip and without hesitation, the Persona slashed their blade down on Lilith's chest, causing the shadow to scream in agony.
Lilith swung her left claw down at the pale golden shifting persona, who blocked it with their right forearm and swung her left hand while the pistol shifted into the chakram, leaving a diagonal gash across Lilith's skeletal snake mask.
The gold vibrating rings floated across Lilith's mask and shattered it, revealing a dark void with glowing purple eyes. "Die!" Lilith screamed as the cursed energy of Eigaon flew from her mouth and toward the shifting persona.
The Shifting Persona reared her head back and then lunged it forward as she let out a powerful war cry, causing a shockwave to not only shred apart the cursed energy but also sent Lilith skidding backward on the ground.
The Shifting Persona lifted her blade into the air as golden energy coursed through it. Around Lilith, golden blades that replicated the Shifting Persona's blade appeared surrounding her, twirling in the air and then stopping, all of them pointed down at her.
Without any fanfare, the Shifting Persona swung her blade down and sliced the front of Lilith while the glowing blades swiftly penetrated Lilith's body with such force, the blades, the Shifting Persona, and Lilith's forms exploded out of existence.
"Whoa…." Mona whispered as Mage's electronic eyes were comically large.
"She just defeated her….Just like that.." Mage mumbled. Mage then noticed Madam Mitsuyo on the ground, holding her side, while Pawn, with a pale golden aura, sat Noir's body down on the ground.
Mage then noticed Pawn grip the hilt of her parasol blade, remove her sword, and begin to stalk toward Madam Mitsuyo.
"Oh no," Mage whispered. "We need to stop her right now. She's not in her right frame of mind."
"But what about Noir?" Mona asked.
Mage faltered but then he heard Lady Eilistraee whisper in his mind, "I have the ability to bring her back. Her soul has not sunk into the Sea of Souls quite yet. But if her beloved kills the palace ruler, we will lose the chance to save her."
Mage frowned and said, "Lady Eilistraee can bring her back. But we can't let Hifumi kill the Madam." Mage then skated down to the ground as fast as he could.
[Theme of Horror: Just Like This from Persona 3]
Madam Mitsuyo groaned in pain as she heard footsteps slowly approaching her. She lifted her head off the ground and saw her property stalking toward her, a pale golden aura flowing listlessly into the air.
There was so much malevolent pressure coming from her, that she knew that if her property made it to her, something dreadful would happen.
Madam Mitsuyo felt terror settle in her heart as she began to crawl away from her property, stammering out, "P-Please, no more. You've beaten me! You've w-won!"
But her property didn't respond to her plea. She just kept marching toward her, her blade scraping against the floor. "W-Why are you doing this to me?" Madam Mitsuyo asked as her property continued her stalking. "I was just doing what I was promised!"
"You treated me as a prostitute," Her property stated with an emotionless voice. "You made me a fraudulent star by rigging my games. You forced me to do skimpy photoshoots, you attempted to sell me off to the highest bidder…. And when I finally found friends and someone that I adore, you kill her…."
Madam Mitsuyo growled.
"You act as if I haven't been what you've been through, because I have! I've been through the heartache, the betrayal, the anger! But I survived it and learned to thrive!" Madam Mitsuyo snapped. "Tell me, did your father and I ever tell you how we me—"
"I don't care!" Her property screamed, that pale gold aura flaring. "I don't care about any of your excuses! Not anymore….Time and again, you've ruined everything I care about with your corrupting touch….No more….This is where our paths permanently diverge, Madam."
Just then, the annoying gnat and the big-headed creature landed in between her and her property. "Hifumi!" The gnat shouted. "You have to calm down. The fight is over, see?"
But her property continued to walk forward, but it was then she spoke. "Get out of my way."
"Hifumi! I know that you are upset about Noir," The big-headed creature shouted. "But Mage's persona….She can bring her back!"
Her property halted.
"But we can't do that if you kill Madam Mitsuyo," The gnat told her, causing Madaram Mitsuyo to gasp.
"I-I don't want to die!" Madam Mitsuyo exclaimed.
The big-headed creature turned around to her and said, "Shut the hell up and let us handle this."
The Gnat then said, "So please, Hifumi….If you don't want the chance to bring Haru back….Please don't do this."
Madam Mitsuyo watched as the pale gold aura fade away from her property's body.
"Fine…." Her property said. "Bring her back, please…."
The gnat nodded and quickly, the two fled to the lifewrecker's unconscious body, leaving her along with the big-headed creature. "Why?" Madam Mitsuyo asked. "Why doesn't she understand….? I set her up for a life of luxury. The things I did….Was all for her…."
"It was for yourself," The creature told her without looking at her. "The money, the fame, everything she had, it was to give yourself a better future, never know how much it was hurting her."
The creature then turned to her and said, "I might be late to this thing, but I managed to hear everything that you said. You said that you went through everything you put her through and learned to survive…But why would you put your daughter through that pain? I may not remember much about my human life or the things I went through, but if I had a child that went through the pain of losing their human form, I wouldn't force them to go through the same path I'm going through. I would do everything I could to show them the love and life that they deserve….Without this strife…"
Madam Mitsuyo frowned as she looked over at her property….Hifumi, who held that girl in her arms. The creature was right. All of her life, she was sold into slavery, all to pay off her family's debts, until she met the young man that would run away with her, freeing her from all of the misery, degradation of her self-worth, self-destruction, and poverty she had gone through.
She was so afraid of going back that she groomed her daughter into being a tool, the vcry same thing she had been for most of her life….
What kind of mother was she?
"Your time abusing her this way is over," The creature said. "Go back to your real self and give Hifumi the love she truly deserves or at least give her the truth and set her free…."
"You're right…." Madam Mitsuyo whispered. "I….I will do that….I…."
[Scene Change: Sea of Souls
Theme of Sea of Souls: Poem of Everyone's Soul (Arrange Version) from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
As Haru stared at herself and took in the attire that she was wearing, Haru realized who she was looking at.
It wasn't her.
It was….
"Milady?" Haru questioned.
Milady smiled and said, "Hello Hime. I wasn't expecting to be back here again so soon. Let alone with you this time…."
"Where is here?" Haru asked her.
"We are within the sea of souls," Milady answered. "It is where all souls come from and where all souls will return to it when the person it belongs to dies."
Haru gasped.
This was the afterlife?
As if hearing Haru's thought, Milady nodded. "Do you see the stars all around us?"
Haru nodded.
"Look closer at them," Milady gently commanded.
Haru walked to her left and squinted her eyes at the closest star, and upon closer inspection, she saw that the "star" was actually an orb, with a naked being within it. "Those are human souls," Milady told her. "Both of us came from here and now, at our end, we will return here."
"At our end?" Haru repeated. "Then that attack….I-It killed me?"
Milady gave a heartbroken smile and answered, "It did. And unless someone knows Recarm out there, we will be born anew."
Haru felt as if the air was knocked out of her lungs. She died. She died without seeing the rest of her friends, and without telling Hifumi how much she treasured being with her. Despair filled her heart as she fell to her knees, tears flowing down her face. "No…." Haru whispered. "This can't be it….I can't believe that!"
Instead of responding to her words, Milady looked at the water beneath them and it was then a single tear fell down Milady's cheek, her fan pressed against her chest. "Forgive me, my dearest Captain…." Milady whispered. "I failed again…."
Haru looked up.
Again?
What did Milady mean by "Again?"
As Haru opened her mouth to ask, a glowing teal butterfly with translucent wings fluttered down from the sky and floated between Haru and Milady. "What is this?" Haru asked.
Milady gasped. "A Recarm Butterfly….It seems our time amongst the living has not ended yet. Hime, hurry and touch it before it is too late and it fades away!"
Haru slowly reached out and touched it, only for everything to turn white.
But through the white light, she noticed that in the distance, where the golden door was, there was a figure sitting with a golden butterfly hovering over their right shoulder. The figure looked up and gave an excited wave.
[Scene Change: Brothel of Fraud – 99th Floor (The Queen's Chamber)
Theme of Returning Life: Snow Queen Chapter (Good Ending) from Megami Ibunroku Persona]
Noir let out a sharp intake of breath as she found herself staring up at Mage (with Eilistraee behind him), and Pawn, who had tears falling from her eyes. "You're back," Pawn whispered with disbelief. "You really are ba—"
Without hesitation, Noir's lips met Pawn's in a hard kiss as she lay in the lap of the girl she adored.
Without warning, the world began to crumble around them and Mona quickly ran past them, yelling, "I convinced her to repent her ways, now let's G-T-F-O and kiss later!"
Miss Violet: And just like that, the double heist has ended. Until next time, class dismissed.