Disclaimer: Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha belongs to Seven Arcs and all respective license holders. The Persona Series belongs to ATLUS. I only own this fic and nothing else. I also own all the mistakes too.
Chapter 32:Sunrise Eclipse
"Akechi… I mean, Crow! What are you doing!?" Yoshizawa asked in a panic. She wasn't the only one in a frenzy, others were just as quick to yell out their disbelief.
"What is the meaning of this?" Signum's voice cut through the chatter.
"Aren't you two supposed to be friends?" Yuuno was next to be heard.
"Oh come on I thought we were over this! Like dude, you couldn't have done this… I don't know… Not now!?" Skull sounded equally tired and frustrated at the situation. "But if it's a fight you want, we'll give to, ya!"
"Please stop this-" Hayate's plea was cut off as a gun shot rang out. The barrel of Crow's gun smoked, pointed into the air.
"All of you shut up! You're all so damn noisy." Crow's voice had some how become even more of a guttural growl than it was before, an excited menace dripping from it. "This is between me," he pointed his gun back at Joker, "and him."
"Crow… Whatever is going on, can't we at least talk about it? There's still time-" Nanoha's own words were given the same treatment as Hayate's, another gun shot to get her to shut it, then pointing it back at Joker.
"No… there isn't. Whatever could be said has already been said, and even if there was, there's no time. He and I have a score to settle, and this may be the last time we can. After all, you still have it right?" Joker didn't even need a fraction of a millisecond to know what Crow was referring to.
Joker gave his answer, by slowly drawing his own gun, then raising it higher and higher until it was now point blank at Crow's head, and Crow's pointed at his own. Crow allowed it, perhaps as a twisted sense of honor, or maybe instead a desire for the moment of victory to be all the sweeter after fully crushing him.
"Good, good…" Crow's voice was sounding more and more deranged by the second.
"Joker!" Nanoha cried out, wanting to try and say anything to get this to stop.
"Everyone, stay out of this," Joker finally spoke after having Crow point a gun to his head. He was remarkably calm despite the situation, or was it instead because of the situation, much to the surprise of the youngest among them. "This is between me and him. And yeah, that includes you guys too…" He gave a wry smile to the other Thieves. They also had history with Crow, some more than others in ways that would never go away. However a part of Joker knew that this had to be, as he had said, just between the two of them.
"A duel then…" Shamal had guessed. "As knights it is easy for us to recognize such a thing."
"But-" Another attempt at an interjection, by Fate this time, but just like the others from the young girls, this too was stopped.
"A duel is something that has to be handled by those in it, and just them. We can't interfere," Vita of all people was the one to explain. "Don't you lose now, you hear!" Vita cheered Joker on in her own way.
"You can have your little cheer squad. All I care about is finishing what we started." Crow pulled the hammer of his gun back, as did Joker. "Someone, begin a countdown." Various of looks of hesitation were shared among the onlookers, agitating Crow even further. "Did all of you go deaf in the time it took me to speak? I asked, relatively politely I might add, for someone to start a countdown."
"Fine, I'll do it…" Mona volunteered, not that he really wanted to, but he thought that things might get worse if someone didn't. At the beckoning of the Knights, the rest of them backed off to give the two ample space. Only Mona remained nearby for the countdown. Once everyone had moved a sufficient distance away, he began.
"On zero. Three…" An urge to try again rose up in Nanoha, but, "Two…" She looked into Jokers eyes, they felt somehow relieved. "One…" she realized that Joker… "Zero", needed this.
A gun shot had rang out not even a fraction of a second the moment the count hit zero. Joker had already pushed Crow's smoking gun to the side using his own gun arm. Joker then pulled out his twisted looking knife with his free hand, and thrust, aiming at Crow's now exposed side. Even at an awkward angle, Crow still had enough footing to clash Joker's knife with his own blade, a clean ping echoing out into the night at the moment of impact. Then a grinding, a sickening grinding as the two's weapons were pushed against each other via the edge, screeching, and sparks from whenever one side gave way for a fraction of a second before redoubling itself to an uneasy stability. And then Joker's weapon met air.
Joker's knife at that range had the advantage, and so Crow had backed off, before attempting another strike that was optimal for his sword's reach. Then it was Joker's turn to back off, since he was now out spaced by Crow's longer weapon. Joker didn't simply give ground however, covering the space lost with gunfire, forcing Crow to block or dodge the oncoming shots. Block, parry, side step; Three shots, but they were enough to make distance between the two of them.
The distance didn't mean much given that Crow also had a gun, one that was aimed to fire back. And so it did, first shot, second, third, fourth. Joker zoomed to the side, dodging the first two bullets flying his way, before hiding behind a tree to block the third and fourth. Crow holstered his gun before dashing forward towards the tree, his sword drawn.
"Don't you dare run away!" Those watching could barely catch the moment Crow's blade had cut the tree horizontally, but the cut was clean. At least it was clean enough such that it hadn't disturbed the rest of the tree. Agitated by the lack of response, Crow kicked the tree, causing the cut part to fall, first slowly, then getting faster, before crashing into the ground with a thud that could be felt through the ground.
"We're here to duel you little shit, not play hide and seek!" Crow yelled out into the forest. Of course no answer was returned, but it still pissed him off all the same. "If I have to cut down every last tree here to get you to come out I will. Loki!"
Though it was the same Persona Nanoha had saw before, something about it had all of a sudden turned far more menacing in its countenance. She never truly noticed how hazy it was to look at it, it's unusual patterns of black and white in strange directions was almost a bit sickening. The only other color to catch her eye on it was the sinister shade of orange red that exuded from the sword, almost like blood. It was so easy to see in the dark, as it was raised into the air.
"Laevateinn!" It was a named shared by Signum's weapon, something the knight felt a bit of an unnamed emotion over. The same name, and yet so different. Her elegant, noble weapon, as compared to this savage and brutal swing. It cut a swathe of the trees in front of it, leaving only an ugly wake of destruction before it. Even so, Joker was still no where to be seen.
"Not there…" Crow muttered to himself as Loki returned to him. He then looked around himself, trying to see, trying to hear, even the smallest signs of where his quarry went. He turned once more-
He heard a rustle from the bush behind him, fired his gun right at where he heard the sound, but nothing. He fired again, and then fired again, and again. He then returned to looking as-
"What the-" Was the only words he was able to get out before he felt a massive weight mount itself on his shoulders. It was so swift fast that by the time he heard the grass behind him rustle, it had already launched itself onto his back and into the position it was now. The weight, obviously Joker, currently held Crow by mask.
Crow himself was off balance, one wrong move and he would fall over, giving Joker an even greater advantage. Thinking quickly, he instead intentionally threw himself onto the ground while aiming his gun to hopefully but throw Joker off of him, and get a shot in at the same time. Before he could try however, Joker, feeling the shifting weight beneath him, jumped off, summoning Arsene at the same time.
"Brave Blade!" Arsene flew down with a wicked serrated kick. Crow lurched himself to the side, still not fully regaining his footing, and was nicked at the side by the very tip of the strike, the rest of it kicking up earth and grass when it impacted the ground.
"Urgh…" he swallowed down the pain. It was not the worst it could have been, having dodged the brunt of the attack. Still, it was damage that he had to deal with for the rest of the fight. He turned his focus away from that. "Debilitate!" There was nowhere for Joker to run, still falling in the air, as he was engulfed in three rotten orbs of magic of varying colors, sapping his strength.
Joker scowled, but before he could do something about it-
"Riot Gun!" He heard Crow yell out. He didn't even bother looking up, instead opting to try and dodge to the side. He couldn't move fast enough because of his shackled speed, getting caught by one of the falling shots, though only one. He tumbled by instinct, trying to minimize further damage, and managing to somewhat right himself, but only a bit. He breathed heavily, trying his best to ignore the pain that spread throughout his back.
"Ishtar… Dekunda! Diarahan!" He cast one after the other while he could, ridding himself of the curses and healing the damage he took.
"How annoying…" He heard Crow say while he switched to a different Persona. "No matter. Just delaying the inevitable." Joker couldn't help but see it as bravado, but knew better than to underestimate Crow. He readied his knife, just as Crow readied his sword.
-0-0-32-0-0-
Above and in the sky to avoid the fight, the onlookers saw too dark entities clash again after a small respite, sparks flying, magic being cast, and movements that were difficult to see both due to sheer speed, but also because the darkness masked them well.
"Hey, so I have to ask… what the heck is wrong with Akechi?" Yoshizawa asked, a sentiment that was somewhat shared by those who weren't familiar with him.
"You sound like you knew him in some capacity beyond his Second Detective Prince persona," Fox said, observing the way she spoke closely.
"Well, my dad is a TV Host and he's had Akechi on his show before he disappeared. Because of that I had the opportunity to meet him in person and… well it's just that he seems totally different here. He's nothing at all like how he was before," Yoshizawa explained.
"Disappeared… yeah, I guess that's as good an excuse as any," Queen muttered out loud.
"So just who is this ass hat anyways? She says he's a nice guy. Even been on TV and junk," Vita said, pointing at Yoshizawa, "But then clearly you guys," now pointing at the Thieves, "know he's a crazy psycho. And down there, he's being a psycho. So what's his damage?"
"It's… complicated," Queen tried to answer.
"He's a bastard," Oracle jumped into say. "He has the same powers we do, and he used them to kill people for his dad, wanting to be recognized. People like my mom..."
"Or my own father…" Noir's expression that was usually so peppy had become crestfallen to the surprise of the others who had never seen her so forlorn. Not helping was the sudden revelation.
"He killed your parents?" Fate asked, shocked, looking between the two who had just shared something she could never have predicted, given the way Joker seemed to regret not saving him.
"And it still did not bring him the recognition he so desired. He painted himself in such ink black corruption, only for it to be used to paint a barren canvas. His father only saw him as a disposable tool until the very end," Fox's words were spat with equal parts venom, disgust, and pity.
Fate could feel her thoughts become twisted, constricted, turning in on themselves trying to wrestle with the new information. On the one hand, it was clear Joker regretted the apparent death of Crow, but on the other, this was a murderer who did horrible things to want to be recognized by his father… but in that sense he was very much like herself.
"Fate…" Arf let out as she hugged her master, patting her head while doing so.
As Fate looked back down, seeing the two clash evenly over and over, her thoughts wandered back to past; the way he looked at her when she and Joker truly talked for the first time. It was a mixture of guilt, pity, sadness, and hope. The source of those emotions she could better understand now, but it was still a tangled mess with which she couldn't pinpoint them as either regret over Crow, or genuine sympathy for her… No. He later admitted it was foolish of him to overlap her image with Crow's. She didn't understand then, but she did now.
Fate couldn't help but wonder…. Could she have ended up like that if it weren't for him and Nanoha? She threw away those thoughts. That horrible 'what if' would never come to pass. She had Nanoha, Joker, Arf, the others, and her Mother before it was too late. But it was still harrowing to watch the proceedings below, and see the path that she could have fallen into: a dark reflection of her and Nanoha.
"As I said Hayate, it's a matter of honor between them," Fate could hear Signum explain to the side.
"I mean… but it… it still doesn't seem right." Hayate struggled to find the words to convey what she was feeling. It just felt wrong. She didn't understand why they had to fight. Joker was practically family to her, just like the Knights and now Reinforce. Normally she felt like she had a decent read on her surrogate older brother, but right now she couldn't for the life of her fathom what compelled him to accept this duel.
"It's just guys being stupid," Vita offered her own explanation, but it was of little consolation to Hayate.
"Some things just end up this way, just like with Quelle. In this case, there's a lot to this that we just have not seen." Zafira's comment was better, but Hayate still couldn't truly settle it in her heart. She could only just watch with the rest, doing her best to hold back her desire to interfere.
As for Nanoha, "Don't lose…", she muttered so quietly only she could hear it, and only just barely. Even though she also couldn't truly fathom their history, she believed that Joker's reason was good enough. She trusted Joker that this was the right course of action. Most of all, she wanted Joker to finally be able to heal. That distant look when he talked about Crow… she felt deeply, though not consciously, that Joker needed this. The only thing she wanted, was for him to win. And so she hoped her thoughts would reach him.
-0-0-32-0-0-
Mental and physical exhaustion had long encroached themselves upon Joker. To some extent, the same could also be said of Crow, but Joker was by far the more expended of the two thanks to going the distance in order to defeat of that, as of now, he and Crow were evenly match thanks to those circumstances.
Though Joker still had the upper hand in variety, Crow's ruthlessness combined with not having exhausted himself as much as Joker did evened the playing field. Crow's strikes were more forceful than his own thanks to having more energy, and combined with the longer weapon placed greater disadvantages in Joker's hands. It was why he had attempted a stealthy approach early on, but Crow's doggedness had made trying it again an impossibility.
And so it had devolved into a continuous back and forth, slinging spells or gun shots and the like with only the smallest of pauses, a fire works show of the deadliest had gained ground on the other, not for lack of trying, especially on Crow's Joker was to win this he had to find some way to catch Crow off guard, even for just a fraction of a second.
Joker and Crow had paused again, their breaths heavy, chests heaving, sweat visible on both of their brows. However neither had dropped their guard, still aiming at one another. Joker's eyes looked too and fro, trying to see anything that could serve as leverage for an opening, something he could use. The forest however could only offer itself, and that had already been tried. But then his eyes flickered upwards. It was for only a moment so that Crow couldn't use it, but he remembered. He still wasn't used to it, but it might be what he needed…
Joker jumped, a silhouette of wings appearing behind him and a magic circle below. He had forgotten about the storage device that hung on his neck. He wasn't just a Persona user, but also something like a mage.
"Photon Lancer!" He said, calling on one of the more mundane spells recorded within. Precia, the one who gifted it to him in the first place, had of course chosen spells for him that she was familiar with. Chief among them were ones that were in Fate's arsenal. He'd never called the spell before, but he'd seen just how creative one could be with simple spells. His first volley was straightforward, a set of yellow lightning blasts that struck through the air straight downward to where Crow stood.
Crow trivially dodged the strikes, but had no recourse to chase for a counter attack. Of course he shot back with what he could, but Joker deftly flew around his attempts to hit him. The both of them knew such a farce couldn't last forever. Joker would need to fly back in in for the best chance to hit as well.
It wasn't long before Joker did just that, only following behind him were more Photon Lancers covering his had fired immediately, distracting Crow with the need to stay out of harms way. However Crow noticed that some had instead remained at the ready at Joker's side. Though he'd already figured out what would happen, he was in no position to meaningfully stop it, too preoccupied with dealing with the earlier assault.
Joker closed the gap, slamming his demonic knife against Crow's saber, the two weapons sent sparks flying. And then one of the readied spells fired. Crow, still stuck trying to keep Joker's knife from slicing him, caught the spell dead on, searing into him with the heat of lightning, as well as launching him a few paces back from the kinetic force behind the attack. Before Crow could recover and get back any semblance of momentum, another Photon Lancer fired at him, this one he managed to parry, but then a third-
"Loki!" At Crow's call, it swiped the third shot out of existence right as Crow knocked away a fourth, but where had- "Grrgh…" Crow swallowed the pain down. He could feel his back scream from pain, but he would not do the same. He couldn't allow himself too, either from pride, or because it would worsen his situation. What nerves hadn't been sliced, sent him the message that something wet was running down the length of his spine. "Dammit!"
"Photon Lancer…" Joker jumped back from the frenzied swipe that Crow threw his way when turning around, all the while generating even more floating spheres of lightning to stand at the ready by his sides. He kept himself ready, both his gun and knife aimed right at the opponent, watching how Crow stumbled, trying to keep himself upright despite the gaping wound carved into his back.
"The difference… it's gotten even worse," Crow let out a frustrated lament as he heaved as much air as he could into his lungs, fighting against the pain of his chest contracting. "This isn't the end… I won't let it end here!" Crow's legs were shaking, his vision blurring, and his arms limping, but even so he pushed himself as much as his dying body could. He would finish this. He wouldn't just-
"… Akechi…" That fuck! He's hesitating. Now of all times? Crow could feel the cold in his body begin to recede, instead being filled by a blazing hot anger. His teeth grinding against each other, his gaze flaring into a rage and being dyed in crimson. How dare he do this.
"Don't you dare fucking pity me! Don't you fucking dare look down on my choice. This is what I chose, and you agreed. But now… now you have the gall to fold over your stupid bullshit feelings over my life? A life you already gave up on? Do you think I'm happy being shown mercy now? Get over yourself. What…" Crow heaved in another breath, the pain giving him even more life. "What I want is to be able to see this to the very end, no matter what that outcome is. Stopping now is a betrayal to that."
Crow saw it, Joker's eyes flickering, wavering. "If you truly want to do something for me…" Joker's gaze snapped to attention when Crow resumed speaking. "Then stop being indecisive. Now say it… say that you'll see this through to the end…"
"I…" That's right. Crow wouldn't want to be pitied. Crow was a stubborn bastard that did as he pleased, and knew the consequences of what that would be. And of course, would accept what was. Crow was resolve embodied, and Joker had to meet that head on. If not now, then it would be never. "We're finishing this."
"Hehe..." a chortle escaped from Crow's lips. "That's right. That is the choice we made, our will to make our choices." Crow's aim steadied, as did Joker's. He wouldn't have this any other way, to make a choice and see it through.
But then something snapped. In Crow's head, he saw it. Robin Hood and Loki, his two Personas standing next to one another, facing each other. Then a flash, as the two Personas dissolved into azure flame, and then merged as one. The two flames roiling against one another until they were indistinguishable. And then the flames were blown away, revealing but one Persona, a blackened Robin Hood standing as the solitary Persona in Crow's soul.
When Crow's vision returned to reality, he took a second to analyze his surroundings. He was still standing across from Joker. Upon closer inspection, Joker seemed as puzzled as he was. Perhaps Joker had also seen what he'd just seen. Regardless he kept up his aim… but it was easy. There was no struggle to keep his arm aloft. He had recovered. Whatever that was just now had also returned a large portion of Crow's strength. Though it was not all of his strength, it was enough.
"Ha…" it started as a small gasp, but it grew, and grew, becoming louder and louder until it broke into full blown laughter. Joker kept his aim on Crow as the man threw himself back in a fit of uncontrollable laughing, manic and crazed. "It looks like this fight is just getting started. Now it's my turn… come to me, Hereward!"
Just as Joker had seen, the black Robin Hood was what had emerged as Crow threw his mask off. Questions raced by the dozen in mere seconds. How did this happen? Was that fusion? Was it another kind of Awakening? How much more powerful was this new Persona? Those questions and more would have to wait for an answer, as Joker dove out of the way of another strike fired from Hereward's bow. Even as he dodged clean of the arrow, the impact still unleashed a concussive forced that pushed against Joker, launching him a bit further than he had intended. Indeed, it seemed that Hereward, despite resembling Crow's other persona, was order magnitudes stronger than even Loki.
He righted himself as he flew through the air, halting his momentum while making sure Crow was still in view. He didn't have to strain to see Crow, as he had already rushed in. Joker barely raised his knife in time to block the strike.
"Laevateinn!" Crow said, summoning Herewrad in tandem with his own attack, the two striking at Joker in perfect sync. Joker for his part managed to summon his own Persona to block Hereward's attack.
"Olivie!" The princess knight gallantly strode on to parry the opposing Persona's attack, diverting it, but not with ease. A visible effort was seen on the Persona to protect its user. The same effort was seen on Joker's face as he only just barely managed to do the same with Crow's sword swing. The attack so heavy that it actually pushed Joker back, his feet skidding across the floor until he came to a stop, grass and dirt strewn about and gashes into the earth where Joker's feet had been.
As the two's Personas returned to their masters, a small chortle escaped from Crow's lips. "As much as I'd like to keep using this new found power, we're running out of time. So if you don't mind, I'm going to try to wrap this up." At his word, an ink black darkness began to spill out from beneath Crow. Joker had already guessed that it would come to this, but didn't expect it so soon.
"Urraaahhh!" Crow had induced madness within himself, just like he did a year ago. The power now emanating from him eclipsing that memory entirely thanks Crow's new Persona, as if the darkness that now enveloped him had somehow grown even darker than before. Joker had to raise an arm in front of his face in order to be able to see past the wind blowing past him. He could only just keep his feet barely on the ground in the face of the air pressure. And then it calmed, focused. A bead of sweat dripped on the side of Joker's head. If he didn't end this soon…
-0-0-32-0-0-
"Is that normal what happened just now?" Chrono asked as he looked down at the proceedings, watching now as Joker had been caught on the back foot thanks to the new found power on display from his opponent.
"Well uh… no? I mean it's similar to something else but this is completely different from what we're familiar with," Panther was tongue tied to try and explain, but not to any real success.
"All of us here have under gone something we tend to call a Second Awakening with our Personas. We all initially had different Personas that got stronger thanks to strengthening our hearts," Queen stepped in to say. "Well I suppose except Kasumi-san I'm guessing."
"If you mean counting awakening to your Persona to being the First Awakening, then I suppose that's right," Yoshizawa semi-confirmed to the group.
"But it usually is just our Personas evolving, not merging like that," Noir said to the confusion of the mages she was explaining to.
"Merging? What are you talking about?" Shamal sported a quizzical look, one that was shared by everyone except Hayate.
"You all didn't see it?" Hayate asked, having clear as day seen what the Phantom Thieves had.
"Well, maybe it's a Persona user thing. Regardless, this isn't normal. We've never seen a Persona change like that, not even with Joker," Oracle began to say. "Also that aura isn't normal either, it's a power of Crow's, exclusive at that. He can induce insanity in anything he can get a hold of, increasing its power by an incredible amount. That includes even inducing insanity in himself."
"That's… uh… that's crazy!" Arf said, not believing what she just heard. "He could do that this whole time? I mean I'm glad he didn't make any of us go insane, but why didn't he use it?"
"He was probably saving it for this duel," Signum spoke up. "Despite his antagonism now, I could sense during our fight with Quelle that he had full confidence in our victory. To that end he saved his strength in order to have as much of it as he could spare to finish his business with Joker. That being saidI doubt Crow intended to gain as much of an advantage as he did just then." Signum looked down to see Joker struggling more than usual. He was exhausted. It was admirable how much he was able to fend off his opponent, but he was nowhere near full strength, where he would probably have mounted a better counter offensive if he was.
"Such was the nature of the situation. Crow had no control over how much effort Joker would exhaust to save the day, but beggars could not be choosers. He had to take the duel now, or else not have one at all. We can see Crow as many things, but he seems to want to do things correctly, if nothing else," was Zafira's assessment, an extension of Signum's own opinion.
A sigh escaped from Skull. "Yeah I guess that tracks. Well I mean it's not like didn't play dirty back in the day, but… He is the kind of guy to have some twisted sense of honor. Crow would want to win with Joker at his best if it was that means though is we just have to cheer even harder for Joker to win."
"I agree," Fox said with a wry grin. "We just have to redouble our efforts. Now everyone, in unison!"
"Uh, no thanks Inari. I'll just keep cheering in my own way," Oracle interrupted.
Everyone ignored the argument between the two that ensued, but all of that had already been distant noise to Nanoha and Fate who never once peeled their eyes away from the duel.
"You can do this Joker."
"Don't lose…" their whispers were soft, but full of their hearts desire, hoping that it would reach him, and that he would return the winner.
-0-0-32-0-0-
Of course such things were easier said than done. Joker had banked on finishing it at that point, pushing what he could out of his options and going all out to defeat Crow then and there. However with that plan having failed, what remained of his energy was a small fraction, a had a limit to his available options, not in amount but with cost. One wrong move would be fatally wasteful, and then it would be checkmate for him.
And that's why he remained on defense in order to try and scramble together something of a plan to win. He could still spare enough to block and dodge the onslaught, but that time was ticking away. Even he could only remain so cool headed when under direct pressure from Crow's crazed attacks, while on an ever worsening back foot. Each hit, again, and again, and again took what attention he could spare away from his trying to formulate a counter attack, all the while chipping away at what was left of his strength.
Crow's strikes were heavy, overflowing with frenzied zeal and power. "What's wrong?" His voice was halfway cackling mad, twisted in mania. "Nothing left in the tank? No clever little tricks? Nothing?" All Crow received was silence, save for Hereward's strikes crashing into the ground, or Crow's blade clashing against Jokers for the smallest of moments as they slid against one another in a parry. "Not even a tiny rejoinder either?"
Joker wanted to, but he held back, knowing he just couldn't spare it. Neither that or time, of which was running further and further out. And then his luck passed the finish line first.
It was a two pronged attack, as were most of the others, but this time it was a vicious tactic.
"Megidolaon!" Joker heard Crow scream as whilst subject him to another heavy strike that caused sparks to fly as blades clashed. Jokers eyes frantically swept the area, trying to find where the spell would land, but in his exhaustion and need to keep his enemy in view, he neglected one particular location. It was too late, and he only found out after Crow's latest strike pushed him into it, right where the spell would land, a few steps behind him.
It was already well underway, the blinding light of exploding almighty magic that consumed him that turned his world white in the starless darkness of the winter night. And then it went dark, a high pitched screeching in his ear was all he could hear. His senses overloaded, his body heavy, he tired to force something to move, but couldn't even get his fingers to so much as twitch.
But he kept forcing and forcing, eventually he got his eyes to at least pry open, if only barely. What little he could see was doubled, and straining to glimpse anything in the darkness. Even so he could see him walk up to him. When his ears stopped ringing, he could hear the grass and the tiniest beginnings for a blanket of snow crumple and give way beneath light steps. When he could feel again, just an infinitesimally small bit, he pushed against the ground, only for his arms to give and buckle. He pushed again, blood on his tongue, pain scorching his nerves,but there was no more time.
"Rebellion Blade!" Not a single shred of hesitation, Crow knew better than to do so. Joker only had milliseconds to register the name of the attack he'd never heard of before. In the back of his mind he'd realized it was probably gained from his Awakening, but that was very far in the back. At the forefront was more agony. He could just barely understand that his body was sent flying, the attack more vicious than anything else he'd experienced thus far.
Then a sudden stop, and cruel one at that, his back slammed against a tree with a brutal and cruel body shook, but with a single small drop of adrenaline that finally came through, he pushed himself against the tree that had so crudely brought him to a stop. He then tried to getanything else he could to try and stand up, but he could only muster enough strength to sit up with his back to it. It was then that he realized that Crow was pointing a gun to his head.
"No tricks to get you out of this one. I would have preferred you being in tip top condition, but such as it is. Hmm?" Crow noticed that Joker's hand was twitching, trying to move, even at this point. "It's good to see you haven't given up yet. That makes this all the better. Makes me feel less bad about my victory."
Jokers eyes were still bright, the fire had not yet been snuffed out. The light had perhaps dulled, but it still continued to burn. He gathered in himself as much energy as he could, chains whipping about to and fro, his last desperate gambit.
Then a gun shot. Jokers heart stopped, if only from shock, as standing before him, Olivie had deflected the bullet, right back at Crow using her metal arms.
"Dammit!" Crow cradled the bullet that had lodged itself in his shoulder. He stepped back, both from pain, and wanting to get distance. He'd seen how fast this Persona was. He kept his eye on it as he grabbed his blade for an impromptu surgery.
Meanwhile, Joker looked at his own Persona in confusion. He didn't mean to summon her. She'd appeared on her own. He'd meant to summon Satanael, but she interrupted him, saving his life granted, but it was still without his command. The Persona surrounded by iridescent light glanced back at him, still keeping itself between her and Crow, as he worked to remove the bullet. And then her Persona shook her head at him. It was… it was telling him no.
Satanael was not the answer. Joker's mind fired up, and quickly came to the conclusion… Olivie was right. Satanel, even if it had been summoned would have been too slow, needing time to form and then descend. However his other Personas, as powerful as they were, would not be an efficient use of what strength he had left, Olivie's appearance not withstanding as it was almost as if she was an entity unto itself, with its own soul. A question for another day as he instead focused on other possibilities.
Physical strikes with his Personas were out of the question. He didn't have enough vitality to spare. Healing would leave him completely drained and thus no way to finish the fight after. He would have physical strength, but nothing to enhance it with which would not finish the recovered Crow. Magic would deal good damage, but his spells weren't strong enough to finish the job eitherand so not a good use of his reserves. And all of that assumes he hits, rather than Crow dodging out of the way.
"Hereward…" he'd run out of time as he saw his enemy approach and Olivie run out of whatever power had called it. Crow, inched closer and closer, his new Persona behind him, the fusion of Robin Hood and Loki… fusion. He could do fusion too. Granted it took the Velvet Room, but Crow did it without it…
What if he could too? But which ones? He didn't know the possible results off hand. There were patterns, but he'd ignored that in favorof being told outright what was possible by the attendants. But then would that even do anything? It wouldn't change his lack of power, but then Crow was in the same boat before he fused his Personas… of which were the ones most attuned to him rather than the ones that wandered the sea of souls.
What if he did the same? Fusing those two… Not that he knew how to do it on his own, but perhaps he could force it. It's not like had any other ène… Satanael, he pictured them in his mind.
Crow closed the distance once more, this time even more cautious. "Was that it?" Almost mocking and yet still wary. "No…" As he'd feared, and yet expected entirely, Joker was not done. This time it was his turn to witness it.
Wreathed in azure flames, Arsène and Satanael appeared side by side before being consumed in their entirety. Their rolling flames crashed into one another just as they had with Crow. Joker didn't know what it was like for Crow, but Joker could feel it pushing against him. The fire that the two Personas had merged as was pushing itself apart. A strange incongruousness, and yet not. The pieces felt like they could fit, but he had to force it. It was both unnatural, and natural all at once. Despite that, he pushed, and pushed, more and more. The two Personas that were distinct began to finally fuse into one. He could not see the result, obscured in the light of that mess of azure flame, but he could feel it, compressing, binding, becoming stronger. And when the final piece snapped right into place-
It burst, like a dam. The wave of pressure pushed Crow back, the dust and snow kicking up from the force of wind partially blinding him, but he could still see it. Above Joker was a new Persona, one forged just like how Hereward was. Its shape resembled Arsène's, but only in a vague silhouette.
Rather than a devil from hell, it was more like gangster in appearance. A slick red jacket with gold trims, a white dress shirt and black tie, with matching slacks tipped at the foot with bladed heels, but that wasn't all. There were its wings. Rather than the black wings of a bird, these were metal, mechanical, and shaped like a bat's. And then there was its face. On its head was a red fedora, a white streak running across it, adorning a darkened demonic visage highlighted by red eyes and cigar burning the same color hanging from its jagged, fanged mouth.
The Persona raised a hand to its face, removing the cigar and letting out a slow exhalation of black and red smoke. "I am Raoul. How delightful! You've awakened my true form. Let us walk your chosen path without fear of mistake." It let out a hardy laugh before munching on its cigar again, and placing a hand on its fedora, ready for whatever was next.
Joker stood up, and just as he had hoped, this third Awakening had restored his strength, just as it did Crow. It was not a complete restoration, some of his body still ached and he could still feel a bit of emptiness in his reserves,but he'd take it all the same. He looked up at his Persona. Raoul, he remembered, was Arsène's true name, and in a way its appearance, more grounded with the illusion of the demonic having been dispelled, was like seeing behind the curtain. He could only muse for so long, as he looked back at Crow who was now standing across the way from him.
"It doesn't matter if you've gotten another Persona. Get a thousand more for all I care, you're still going down," Crow's defiance had not wavered in the slightest despite the changing tide. In response, Joker raised his gun at him, a gesture eagerly matched by Crow.
Joker, though restored, had no more tricks, and Crow's injuries were piling up, still aching thanks to only being partially restored upon Hereward's awakening. Theircards were all on the table, they could only place their hopes in what the river would deal, andit was time to make that draw.
Crow was the first to move, rushing in with a hail of bullets as Hereward covered him, firing a Riot Gun that was aimed right were Joker was. Joker deftly moved out of the way, his legs no longer heavy.
"Heat Riser!" Joker had Raoul cast it on him as he rushed past the last of the rain bullets, floating between them like a butterfly, and even more gracefully once he'd been enveloped in those pillars of light that gave him a boost of strength.
"Olivie, Accel Smash!" Crow for his part was able dodge the strike by the smallest of margins, but it required him to dive as fast and as far as he could out of the way of the blindingly fast gut punch. "Power Charge!" Crow could only hear it while he was in the midst of dodging the previous strike, Joker already switching again to another Persona. Crow was beginning to miss the advantage of a tired and exhausted Joker.
"Hassou Tobi!" The area of effect was too large for Crow to dodge, so he had to do the opposite.
"Hereward" Crow summoned his Persona between himself and Joker's. The attack came right after. Though his Persona tried its best to shield its user, the vicious strikes still lashed at him. Crow braced himself as each strike met their mark, but each one sapped at his strength. He only knew that the attack had ended once the pain had stopped spiking. His Persona disappeared, and an arm went limp. He struggled to breath, his lungs wheezing and a pain at his side made it even harder to take a full breath. He forced it on through regardless.
The injuries were mounting. He had no means to heal himself. Even the induced insanity he'd subjected himself too couldn't completely dull the pain, or make cut tendons work again. But he could still fight. He summoned Hereward again, wordlessly. He let go of his limp arm, instead grabbing his gun. He fired first, wanting to force a reaction from Joker. A swift dodge. Not what he wanted. He fired again, this time a block. Just what he was looking for. He fired more as Hereward aimed his bow.
"Debilitate…" At Crow's haggard word, Joker was engulfed in the rotten orbs of light. However that didn't stop him as he continued to rush in, blocking more shots as he closed the distance between them. It was now or never. "Rebellion Blade!" Hereward appeared once more, but this time Joker was ready.
Joker's mask flashed azure before disappearing, Raoul entered the stage, meeting Hereward's colossal strike with a wicked kick of its bladed heels. When the attacks met, a flash of light was emitted, before sending the two combatants back from the repelling force. Joker slid back, but Crow, with waning strength, lost his balance. This was Joker's chance.
"It's show time!" On cue, Raoul once more appeared, this time a blue moon appearing in the skywith flourish of a cape. "Phantom Show!"
"What is… this…" Crow's eyelids became heavy, his consciousness fading. This wasn't him… this wasn't him being beaten… he was… falling asleep. And then fall he did, but it would not last long.
Joker's mask flashed azure one last time before burning away in same colored flames. Behind him, an angel of metal with rainbow wings was summoned. "Metatron…" It was perhaps fitting that this was the Persona he'd used to finish this. "Concentrate…" Crow was still asleep, unable to prevent the approaching end. "Makougaon!"
Spears of light formed from the ether right before they launched straight at their target. In one final desperate act, Hereward manifested itself to try and shield its master, but it was to no avail. The spears of light pierced its body, its weakness to the light forcing it to crumble beneath the spell. Even as its body broke apart, It still fought with whatever strength it could still manifest, trying to catch another, only for the same to happen to its remaining hand. And then there was no more strength to draw upon, and it disappeared. The remaining spears of light met their mark.
-0-0-32-0-0-
Crow lay on the ground, his body numb and cold. He couldn't move, he couldn't feel. But he could at least look up. "The hell are you looking at me like that for?" he spat with as much venom as his broken body could muster. He could see everyone, not just Joker, had gathered around him, though two of the younger girls held his arms tightly, a brunette and blonde. "I already told you. I don't want your fucking pity."
"I know…" was the only thing Joker could think to say.
"If you do, then get over yourself. Makes it even worse that I lost to you if keep this up…" Crow had already accepted the outcome. "One thing before I go…" Crow could see his body dissipating in the same way the other Fools had, the motes of light floating gently up into the air. "You don't think the real me was pathetic enough to die like that do you?"
"What are you saying? I saw your signature disappear myself!" Oracle started argue, only to held back by Queen.
"He's out there; the real me. I can feel it. He won't lose, and you better not die until you see him." Crow didn't even have the strength to cough, despite his body wanting to. "He'll still want to settle the score."
"I'll be ready," Joker's voice held no hesitation. Then he felt as if his mind was playing tricks on him… was that a smile on Crow's face?
"Good…" Not another word was said. Joker felt that there didn't need to be, and he also felt that Crow probably felt the same. The last bits of magic that held Crow's body together faded, and reality let him go. Nothing of him remained,only an indentation in the snow was left. Joker's mind still lingered on that smile, it was small, and still twisted, but it was there. Not only that, but what he said… the real him. He couldn't tell what he was feeling, but, his heart… it felt lighter.
"I… don't know how to feel about that," Noir admitted, the idea that the real Akechi was still alive.
"We'll deal with it when the time comes I suppose," Queen said, just as confused, but more sure of the thought.
"Yeah, let's just put that away for now, because I think it's time to celebrate! We won!" Skull shouted in glee just his Phantom Thief attire faded into the ether with a flare of azure. "And that seals it!" Ryuji taking that as a sign that the supernatural happenings were surely over. The other thieves' costumes followed suit, disappearing just the same, Morgana returning to his cat form.
"Merry Christmas!" Futaba shouted.
"Yeah!"
"Whoo!" Various shouts one after the other rang out into the early hours of the Christmas morning.
"Let's celebrate at my apartment. There's plenty of room to go around," Hayate offered, her voice piercing through the cacophony of celebrations.
"We should call Alisa and Suzuka to let them know where we're going," Nanoha told Fate as she took out her cellphone.
"Chrono, we'll finish up things on our end, you go have fun with them." One could see Lindy on call with her son at one corner of the proceedings.
"Sorry for the intrusion," Ann apologized in advance to Hayate.
"Oh not at all, we'll be happy to have you," Hayate said as she started to walk home, the Knights in tow.
Ren looked at the whole thing in a bit of disbelief in how quickly it had all devolved into merriment. However in a way it was nice to finally be able to relax. He stretched a bit as everyone followed Hayate home… except for one person.
"Reinforce?" Ren asked the book as it floated in the air, not having followed Hayate just yet.
"Yes?" It seemed almost like it was caught off guard.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, a bit surprised that it could seem so absent minded, enough so to be caught off guard at least.
"I'm… fine. Everything is fine…" Reinforce sounded, confused for some reason. To Ren's mind it sounded like she was expecting the opposite. He couldn't think why she expected the opposite, but if he could help...
"Well, if you say so. But if it isn't, you can let us know," Ren told her, wanting to let her know that she wasn't alone. He could only hope she understood.
"Yes… we should get going." Ren only nodded as he and the floating book rushed a bit to follow the rest of the group home.
-0-0-32-0-0-
"So Okumura-san, what's this about organic grown vegetables I overheard you talking about earlier?" Shamal tried to be as polite as she could bringing up the topic so suddenly.
"Oh? Well first off it's fine to just call me Haru, and secondly, it's a new line of products that are being rolled out soon by Okumra Foods-" Haru was settling into business speak, almost advertising as she expounded.
"Ooh those sound quite nice. I think I'd also like to hear more about this organic vegetables, if you don't mind," Lindy said as she leaned in to hear better.
On the other end of the room, "I see. I suppose that does make sense to diversify the options available to each unit in your group. However I do not believe it would be a good fit for us to try and add more weaponry," Signum sat with Makoto, discussing battle tactics.
"Well I suppose in the face of the versatility magic provides, and the ability to learn new spells, it would seem extraneous, but it works for us since our options, aside from Leader of course, are limited," Makoto took another sip of the hot cocoa that was just beginning to cool; the sweet spot of hot, but not scalding.
"Well that and some of us kind of were given guns to start with…" Yoshizawa remembered how she just suddenly had a flint lock and rapier when she first awakened.
"One more round!" Ryuji's indignant scream broke over the cacophony of conversations as a screen displaying his not so great performance was visible for all to see.
"No way, you said you'd get off after one more round last time. Let me play Vita-chan," Ann said as she yanked controller out of his hands.
"Pfft, it'll be easy either way," Vita bit another Pocky as she confirmed to go back to the character select screen.
"Oh we'll see. I've been watching how you play and I think I know just how to beat you."
"Ooh Ooh, then me next!"
"I want to play, too!" Alisa and Suzuka excitedly jumped up and down with their hands held high. This and more was spread all over the apartment, stuffed to the brim with party goers. But on the balcony there were four guests who were quiet by themselves, watching the snow gently fall from the sky.
Eventually, one of them felt the need to speak. "Fate-chan, how is your first Christmas?" Nanoha asked the girl whose eyes still sparkled with wonder as she saw the world slowly be blanketed in soft fluffy white. She never had the opportunity before to really appreciate it.
"It's nice… I just hope next year I can celebrate it with my mother," Fate said wistfully as she tracked a particularly fun snowflake's flight. That was before Fate turned to Hayate. "You don't mind having us all here?" The apartment was getting quite cramped, but at least it wouldn't get worse.
"No it's fine… I think," Hayate scratched her cheek.
"I have cast a silencing spell to isolate the outgoing sound so as to not disturb our neighbors." Reinforce spun in the air proudly, or at least as proudly as a floating book could look.
"That's good, don't want to be a nuisance after all," Ren said as he leaned his back against the balcony railing. "By the way, what did you talk about with that guy?"
"Who? Oh you mean Admiral Graham. Not much. I just wanted to thank him for all he's done for me. And before you say anything, yes I do understand that he was only doing it because he planned to seal me away with the Book of Darkness forever, and wanted me to live a relatively good life before then. However that doesn't change the fact that thanks to his support, I can even live in this apartment, and get medical care to look at my condition, even if it did end up being futile. Without him, I wouldn't have a home, let alone be able to live to now."
"…" Ren wasn't convinced. He knew logically all of that, but he still didn't like it.
"Ren, thank you for being worried about me. But without him, I wouldn't have met you, or Nanoha-chan, or Fate-chan. Can you at least accept that much, for me?" Hayate pleaded, not wanting for more trouble to be caused, especially not on Christmas day.
"… I'll still force him to pick somewhere else to retire," Ren scowled as he said as such. A brief talk with Lindy had already let him down in that he wouldn't be punished for his actions, and that much of the TSAB would have agreed with Graham. He didn't want anything to do with him if he could help it, but that was something to do another day. And besides that, Hayate was right about how he helped her at least, even if it was for hypocritical reasons.
"I guess that's as much as I can ask for. If anything else, he does say he's going to resign voluntarily," Hayate tried another olive branch.
"I'm with Ren, I don't like him either. It's that pragmatism that would have gotten me eliminated without a second thought," Fate said, a matching expression to Ren's painting her face.
"I guess that's true too," Nanoha had to admit, remembering how she and Ren had to defy orders so that she could face Fate properly. "Well we shouldn't worry about that. We have Christmas and soon the New Year to look forward to. In fact…" Nanoha nudged Fate who, after a brief moment of surprise, seemed to hop on the same wavelength as the other girl. Nanoha then reached down in to her bag which she had brought along, and pulled a present box out.
"Here, Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas, Ren!" Nanoha and Fate said in unison, holding a present out to him.
"Hmm?" Ren let out a small grunt surprise. He hadn't expected that at all.
"Oh shoot, we don't have anything," Hayate said as she and Reinforce sunk down a bit.
"It's okay, I mean you were hospitalized the past few days so it's reasonable not to expect a present from a sick person. You can just get something for him next year," Nanoha said, patting the other girl on the back.
"You're right, next year!" Hayate pumped a fist with renewed vigor. "Well Ren, are you gonna open it?" With her disappointment in herself out of the way, it was then replaced by curiosity.
"Go ahead," Fate said as she and Nanoha pushed it into his hands, not that he was going to refuse.
"I hope you don't mind that I didn't get you two anything. It just slipped my mind with all the stuff going on," Ren sheepishly admitted, beginning to feel bad as well.
"Well as Nanoha-chan said, there's next year," Hayate was met with nods by the other two girls.
"We're just happy to give you something, to show our feelings."
"I just hope you'll like it," Nanoha and Fate said with warm smiles, enough so to melt the snow around them if it had the chance to get close.
"I promise to remember next year." Ren then placed a hand on the cover of the box, and lifted it up.
Inside, was a cloth. Upon lifting it out of the box, it was in fact a muffler. It was a messy looking one, not because it was dirty, but in the fact that it was a mess of colors of pink, and yellow in haphazard and unordered patterns. It was at least shaped like a muffler, it's just that there was no cohesion to the yarn that was used, an amateur work… but underneath that he could feel the effort placed into it and couldn't help but smile. Without a word, he unfurled the full thing, which had somehow looked even more like a mess then, and wrapped it around his neck.
"Not really my colors, but I like it. Thanks you two. I'll treasure it." The two girls' faces lit up upon hearing approval for their gift. They knew that it was… aesthetically challenged, but they tried their best.
"I'm happy you like it, Ren."
"it was our first time knitting anything. I'm just happy it even looks like a muffler at all," Nanoha and Fate's reactions to the news though slightly different, still conveyed affection in their own ways.
"Aww that's so cute," Hayatae said as she closed in to get a better look at the gift. "How about we show it off to everyone else." Before anyone could say anything, Hayate had already rushed into the room, already used to using her legs again.
"Wait, stop!"
"It's too embarrassing!" Ren didn't know who between Fate and Nanoha said what since the two spoke over each other along with chasing after the other girl. That then left behind just Ren and Reinforce. All sat quiet, Ren not sure if he should follow them.
"...Ren…" Reinforce's sudden words caught him off guard.
"Yes?" he instinctively replied.
"Be careful…" Reinforce's cryptic words left him at a loss. Careful of what? But Reinforce had already floated inside to chase after her master, leaving him alone, and confused. Unsure of whether or not to follow, he remained on the balcony, thinking on it, but it was of no use. He couldn't figure out what the tome meant. It wasn't harm, but it didn't tell him much else.
"Ren, get inside!" He heard Hayate shout from indoors.
"No! Stay outside!"
"Don't!"
A devilish smirk appeared on his face as his steps became ever so cocky. Oh well, he figured that whatever Reinforce meant, it could be saved for later. For now, he should enjoy a bit of normalcy. He strode on in to the room, making sure everyone could see his present, and of course all the while enjoying the red that had flushed the faces of his gift givers. Yes, it was time to just enjoy what he could.
-0-0-32-0-0-
Something tickled Ren's nose as he slept. Not physically, but by smell. Something smelled, nice. It was slightly vanilla, fruity, but not overbearing, just enough to be pleasant. It felt familiar, as if he'd smelled it a hundred times. It was comforting. That being said, for as comfortable as the smell was, it still woke him up much to his chagrin. Well it was to his benefit anyways since it was the New Year and he needed to head to the shrine for the first day of the year.
His eyes fluttered open… and then snapped open.
"Who…" he let out as he saw an unfamiliar woman sleeping right next to him. She had long blonde hair that draped over her and even partially onto him. She was completely defenseless, wearing what looked to be- that was his shirt… except the fabric was not meant to stretch that much around the chest area. Now that he looked at her, she was beautiful, and what he could see, covered by the blanket, were curves in all the right places, and a chest that was at least-
"Sorry, forgot to bring stuff with me into the shower." Ren's gaze snapped right towards the other intruder who… was another incredibly beautiful woman. A brunette whose hair was also quite long walked into the room, slightly dripping with water wearing only panties and a towel over her shoulders that kept all of her from being exposed thanks to itconveniently covering the most sensitive part of her chest. That still left Ren slack jawed to see this stranger just barge into his room, nearly naked, and rummaging through the closet like she owned the place. Only for her to grab a sports bra from the closet… that he didn't recognize.
In fact he didn't recognize the room at all. His head whipped about the room, partially to look at his surroundings, and mostly to avoid looking at the woman shamelessly dressing herself in front of him. This wasn't his room. Wait no, there were some things in the room that were his, like the alarm clock and some of the décor, but this otherwise was not his room.
"Ren what's wrong?" He was snapped out of his confusion to see the brunette woman right in his face looking at him with worry and affection. Said face was difficult to focus on given right below was a sports bra that showed off her remarkable sizesqueezed together. "Is something wrong?"
"I'm… I…" he ripped his eyes away to try and match the woman's eyes. They looked just like… no it can't be. "Nanoha?"
"Yes, that's my name Ren…" she smiled with a teasing smugness, then she looked down at her chest that she realized she was inadvertently showing off to him. "Later, okay?" Sticking out her tongue and winking at him. "Come on, we have to get ready for the shrine visit. Fate, get up, we need to get the Kimonos on."
"Mmh…" Ren looked back at the woman to see her stirring…
"Wait, Fate?" It had only dawned on him now that the woman indeed looked like a grown up Fate as she rubbed her eyes and yawned, going into full stretch that gave him a view of how she'd apparently filled out, not lagging behind Nanoha in the slightest, if not actually pulling ahead.
"Good Morning…" Fate said as she leaned in on him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before giving him a warm and loving, if not still sleepy, look of content.
"No fair!" Nanoha shouted as she grabbed said kimonos out of the closet. She then went on to say something else, but it all faded into the background, same with how Fate was also taking off her, well his, shirt, revealing way more than he needed to see at the moment. It all was eclipsed by a singular thought that took over his entire consciousness. So much so that he had to yell it out or else he'd lose his mind.
"What the hell was going on!?"
Author's Note:
Yep, we're going straight to the third semester. It took longer than I wanted it to take to get here, but we're here. Hopefully this arc want take as long, but it will still be a bit.
I still feel like Raoul should have been a secret fusion akin to something like Alice or Shiva, where it's a specific hidden recipe, with your only hint being how the other Third Awakenings go. But ah well, Atlus do what Atlus does.
As for the third semester, most of this fic I tend to write from Joker's perspective since he's experiencing stuff for the first time from the Nanoha side of things. For the third semester I want to try and lean the other direction, getting more of Nanoha's thoughts on situations ratherthan Joker's. Joker will still get stuff when it's significant, but I want Nanoha to be the focal viewpoint for the arc, since now it's her experiencing Joker's world in full. I hope you all are looking forward to it.
I don't have much else to say other than the usual. As always I hope you've enjoyed yourselves and to leave a review if you'd like. Again, I still like reading them. Take care of yourselves, and have a nice rest of your day.
As a side note, I'm wondering if writing his fic acted as a catalyst for my FGO Rolls. This year and last year too I got Himiko in just one multi pull. For why that's significant, Himiko's voice actress is the same as Nanoha's… I'm thinking too far into it, but hey, can't complain about NP2 Big Booby Armpit Miko.
