Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy.
Chapter 6: - The Maestro of Attachment, Dantalion
"The Treasure is intangible, to me and Phantom, so the question is how to get the Treasure to become tangible," I explained. The Velvet Room's immortal song resonated around us as Igor and Lavenza appeared deep in thought about this issue, as they were the experts on this special kind of lunacy it seemed best to consult them first before things could potentially go wrong.
"A most unexpected development," Igor admitted. His gloved fingers drummed against one another in a rhythm that seemed perfectly aligned to the resonance of this domain since it punctuated each pause in the song. "To alter the Treasure's current form would require us to alter the Palace's nature," Igor admitted. I'm betting that was easier said than done.
"But the Palace is deeply rooted to the mental state of the person who created it. Altering the Palace would require altering Ouvrard's mental state," Lavenza pointed out. I glanced at the girl and saw that, despite her ramrod straight back and proudly stiff shoulders, her hand were twisting together in complex patterns.
Changing a person's mental state wasn't simple, some kind of manipulation would be necessary, but I didn't comprehend other people's emotions. Manipulation required exploiting people's feelings so it would be improbable for me to do that. But as I drummed a rhythm of my own against the table, a buzzing deep within my soul drew my attention.
Phantom: I'd learned all Personas – mine included – had roots in stories, whether mythology, history, religion, or more recent things like books, so I'd done some research. And frankly… my Persona was kind of scary, or at least the origin was. He'd practically ruled over an opera house and a young woman's life… by manipulation!
"I have an idea," I spoke up. Lavenza and Igor looked at me; I just hoped this crazy plan of mine worked.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Sunday mornings were always reserved for singing, unless something had happened to Ouvrard, which naturally meant I was to be in the piano room. Unfortunately, the location also happened to be cognitively linked to the cavern which kept wavering into view, thanks to my Second Sight. In fact, I think I could feel the oppressive atmosphere of the Opera House bearing down on me like some ghastly beast.
"Natsumi, we will begin with Vous êtes mon Prince Charmant," Ouvrard commanded. She breezed through the room and towards he piano I was leaning against, I watched the woman with ice in my eyes, she sat herself down and made to open the lid. At that, I finally moved. Pushing off the piano and twisted around. My left hand darted out to forcibly slam the lid down with a thunderous echo. "Natsumi! What are you doing !?" Ouvrard shrieked.
"Putting my foot down," I stated. I fought to keep my voice steady and calm as the resentment this woman had more than earned began to bubble up within me. Here, I had no power and was nothing more than a simple human girl, but it had been the same when I confronted her Shadow. I did it then, I could do it now. "I am sick and tired of you believing I'm nothing more than a prop, someone who sings on command," I hissed. At that, I leaned down so our eyes were level with each other. "You have mistreated me for the last time. Your fetid attachment to my voice ends today. I will tear that distorted desire from you and reclaim my freedom," I threatened.
With that, I pushed myself up and away from the piano then turned to face the door, all the while beating back the smirk that threatened to pull at my lips. Ouvrard's face when I'd spoken to her with such ice and steel lacing every word; well, it had been immensely satisfying to watch her jaw slacken, skin pale and eyes going wide.
"How dare you! You ungrateful bitch!" Ouvrard shrieked. Such a high note should have at least cracked the glass if not outright shattering it, but nothing happened and the sensation that tickled my mind was familiar; turning around, I looked right into the wrathful golden gaze of Shadow Ouvrard. "I am the master here! You obey me!" Shadow Ouvrard wailed. A reaction like this must have been a good sign.
"Not anymore," I admitted. With that, I left the room to prepare for the retrieval of the Treasure.
*Persona 5 Royal*
By the afternoon, I was prepared as I could be, and my nerves were now little more than sporadic butterflies. I dived into the Metaverse and quickly created a shortcut to the Safe Room nearest the Sanctum, I crept my way there, staying as quiet as I possibly could. Upon reaching the doorway, I quickly looked around before stepping out of the shadows to dart inside.
Nothing much had changed about the room since I had last been inside, except that the glowing orb had been transformed! My crazy idea to scare Ouvrard had successfully caused her Treasure to materialise as an object that could be physically handled. A grin split my face as I quickly moved over and took a hold of the object.
'A musical score.' I realised. The staves were littered with musical notes although I noted that while the tempos were clearly listed in both French and Italian, the lyrics and the title was blurred and when I tried to focus pass the blurriness, it was almost like the pen marks were swapping places constantly. If this is what people with Dyslexia endure every day, I have an immense respect for them tackling school. There was only one portion I could clearly make out, the final word of the title: Triomphante, French for Triumphant.
There was little point in trying to figure out the sheet music. Instead, I turned towards the door ready to dart out of the Metaverse entirely, but something stopped me. A force on the paper shaped Treasure jerked me to a stop. Turning back, I saw the ferocious countenance of Shadow Ouvrard. Her teeth were bared in a vicious snarl. Pupils narrowed to pinpricks, one hand gripped the Treasure until her hand was white knuckled while the other flexed between a fist and a claw as her nostrils flared like she was an enraged beast.
"You would dare to put your hands on my masterpiece! Dare to take what I spent my life building towards! I will not allow this insult to go unpunished!" Shadow Ouvrard shrieked. But I would not falter when freedom was within reach. Flipping my naginata around, I jabbed out with the butt of the pole. Sadly, Ouvrard's Shadow dodged the attempted attack without releasing the Treasure.
"And I will not allow you to continue to dominate my life!" I respond. Without the capability to do harm to the Shadow without inflicting terrible and lasting damage upon the real person, I was restricted in what action I could take. Which basically amounted to these little blunt jabs that she could easily see coming thanks to our proximity. Still, I kept trying, up until she used her free hand to grab the shaft.
"You have no idea the gravity of your crimes," Shadow Ouvrard hissed. I suddenly felt a bone deep chill press itself across my body, some kind of power was growing from the Shadow and it had an ominous feeling to it. "It's time you understood the punishment for daring to think you can escape from me!" Shadow Ouvrard declared.
At those words, the strange power grew stronger. Making a snap decision, I released the sheet of paper and used that same hand to punch the one she was using to hold my weapon's handle. The attack forced Shadow Ouvrard to release it. I quickly flipped backwards twice and swiftly set my stance. Yet, worry gnawed at my mind, since neither Igor nor Lavenza had mentioned this happening.
"This is my stage! I am the master of this place! You may be the Prima Donna! But I control everything!" Shadow Ouvrard howled. The power rose up in a surge of red and black waves, it rose until it completely covered the Shadow from sight. Soon enough, it fell away but the entity inside had been transformed and I could only gape in shock at the twisted monstrosity before me.
Shadow Ouvrard had now doubled in height, with gangly limbs that almost appeared to be double jointed. A skull had replaced her face and I couldn't tell if it was a mask or not. Voluminous red cloth was draped across her form and pooled around her feet like puddles of blood. Her skin had been turned into an obsidian black, looking very glass-like as it moved with light refracted over it. But the most shocking thing, information was pressing itself into my mind when it hadn't done that with this Shadow before.
'Dantalion?' I questioned. That was the name that my eyes were drawing out, yet I couldn't identify where it was meant to be from. It was as if the Shadow was now no longer a part of Ouvrard, could that mean it was safe to attack now? 'No resistances, yet no weaknesses either. And if I want that Treasure, then I'm definitely in for a fight.' I thought. The main threat to me would be if this Dantalion could use any of my three weaknesses, that would make the fight even more difficult.
A bubbling energy began to rise up from Dantalion who lifted a hand that contained a quill. Wafting it through the air, I saw some kind of pink-purple energy start to trail off the ivory feather. Lavenza's training allowed me to identify it as Psy energy. Lucky me. Not that I was going to take the strike anyway. The waves of energy pulsated towards me and I dived in a roll to the side, gliding under the energy and quickly moving to my feet.
Snapping my left hand up, I tore of my mask and used Phantom's Earth magic to launch a counterattack. The chunks of rocks hit home but it seemed more like a light graze than any actual damage, but even so I could just keep piling it on. Dantalion snarled at me before thrusting the gleaming gold tip of the quill down towards me. I dodged back, receiving a nick to the back of my palm, then I threw myself forward in a run. My naginata carved a gash through the glass like skin, it tore as easily as the other Shadows despite the odd appearance.
Another burst of Psy energy began to gather so I immediately darted away from the demonic creature to avoid taking the blast. My eyes darted about, searching for a place to duck down – a precaution – but that cost me. The mind-numbing energy slammed into me, sending me into a roll and scrambling my brain slightly. Damn! So that wasn't just an ability that Lavenza had, it was innate to Psy energy in general.
I immediately began to relax my mind, to remove the slight scramble – thank goodness there was no Confusion or Forgetfulness Ailment attached to it – as experience taught me to. As soon as my mind relaxed, I snapped my eyes open, only to roll out of the way of a golden tip spearing towards me. My mask came off and Phantom unleashed a wave of Gravity from his noose, sending Dantalion stumbling backwards. I used the opportunity to springboard back onto my feet.
Quickly striding forward, I drove my weapon into the nearest piece of glass. A screech that practically shook the cavern earthquake style rang out. I tore my weapon free and jumped back several times. Psy energy chased after me, relentless in its' eerie pulsating manner. I set my stance and brought my naginata up to intercept each of the balls of energy. I could only afford to take a certain amount of damage, any more I'd be unable to heal all my wounds.
Dantalion turned to me and whipped the quill around, the feather seemed to grow longer in tandem with her movements. In fact, it got so long that it began to brush against sections of the cavern. Yet when those two collided, the cavern had gashes clawed into the rocks from the feather's shockingly razor edge. The demon swung the sharp feather towards me with a great deal of speed attached.
Knowing that blocking or hiding wouldn't protect me, I quickly jumped and dived away from the rapidly whipping feather. It tore up chunks of ground whenever it struck as Dantalion kept up the stream of attacks towards me. Finishing another jump, I summoned Phantom and rained rocks down upon Dantalion. It was more to stop her relentless assault than actually bring her harm.
Either way, it worked as Dantalion reeled back, taking the quill with her and giving me an opening. I dived in and dealt another blow to the glassy skin. Hopefully, I was getting closer to defeating her; certainly, every blow I made would bring me closer to victory, but how much closer was I now? I had to end this before I ran out of Soul Power and was forced to rely upon only my physical capabilities. My attention was violently dragged back to the fight by Dantalion hauling her body back up as she glowered at me with the burning flames that had replaced eyes.
I twisted around a Psy blast and had Phantom unleash a burst of Gravity. When an interruption arrived. The doors creaked suddenly; it was unnaturally loud to be heard over the sounds of my clash with Dantalion. Pulling back, I quickly dived behind some rubble for cover as I looked at the interloper… only to blink rapidly several times in extreme confusion, while fighting back my revulsion.
Stood in the doorway when she couldn't have been there was the cognition of me. The disturbing puppet gaped at the destruction that had been levelled at our surroundings. Yet she didn't even bat an eyelash as Dantalion released a pain filled groan while pulling herself up. Instead, the cognition ran over to the twisted Shadow and fisted portions of the silky outfit tightly, I dispersed my naginata and readied my bow.
"Ah, Natsumi. Such a good little songbird. Nothing like that deceptive hooligan attacking me," Dantalion cooed. But her voice, oh gods her voice was horrible! Like some sort of eldritch abomination! It sounded like a wine glass filled with water having a finger trailing along the rim and nails on a chalkboard. I wouldn't be surprised if my ears were bleeding. "Sing for me my bird," Dantalion insisted.
A bolt of fear slice through me. But it was enough of an adrenaline kick to overcome the pain in my ears. Hauling myself up, I drew back the arrow and fired. Whatever this cognition could do, I had to intention of finding out. But it seemed bad luck was the aim of this infiltration, as Dantalion intercepted the shot with one hand and lifted the cognition up with her other.
The puppet turned to face Dantalion as I seized another arrow. A sweet melody, not unlike a lullaby tumbled from her lips. I lined up the shot and loosed the arrow. Once more, it was blocked but this time by some kind of psychic barrier. The cognition's song continued to flow uninterrupted and I faintly saw its' energy twisting around Dantalion.
"Ah, much better," Dantalion sighed. I, on the other hand, felt like screaming as that little performance had gone and healed all the damage I'd managed to inflict. This battle had just become that much harder for the inclusion of that annoying song. "Now, be a good girl and turn that voice upon the intruder!" Dantalion ordered. The puppet turned to face me and I saw her mouth opening.
I made the very wise choice to dive behind a nearby pillar. This was very wise; in that, seconds after I moved, a piercing note struck the rock that I had just left and shattered it. This also resulted in a small crater being left behind. Note to self: avoid being hit by deadly song, it might just kill me. A horrid cackle rattled the air and I knew things had only become that much more difficult for me.
Diving out from behind the pillar, I pulled of my mask and had a Gry Spell be sent flying out towards the cognition. I needed to get rid of her! That would balance the scales again. Unfortunately, the psychic barrier appeared again which blocked the attack. Dantalion swung down her quill tip towards me. I blocked the attack but immediately felt myself pale. The puppet was opening her mouth as she filled her lungs with air.
My father's training kicked in. I tilted my weapon down and away from me as I pulled myself back into a pivot and continued to move away in a spinning fashion. The spinning might rattle my sense of balance, but it allowed perpetual movement. That continual motion safely got me out of danger of the rapid fire operatic notes that flew from the cognition without any pause for breath. I dived behind another pillar and sucked in a quick, sharp breath.
With my lungs refilled and balance restored, I dashed out from the pillar which had brought me to be behind the duo. Phantom unleashed Tera at the duo. If they couldn't see my attack, then perhaps I'd- Nope! The psychic barrier appeared and repelled the attack this time as well. A small hiss of air escaped from my lips. The demonic creature turned to look at me and whipped the quill feather at me.
I flicked my naginata around to divert the attack. But the puppet was opening her mouth once again.Diving behind the gauzy curtain allowed me to dodge the siren attack. However, I didn't get up from the ground and instead lay there wheezing. This fight was going poorly, I was so under prepared that in any other situation would have been laughable. The Treasure was hidden now and I doubt I'd be able to find it and escape with it while the Shadow and her puppet kept attacking me as they were.
"My, you do seem to be struggling with this Shadow," A voice commented. Given the current tension of my situation, I think that I could be forgiven for stabbing out in its' general direction without looking. When I finally did look, I saw the owner of the voice starring after my weapon which had gone wide instead burrowed into the rock. "Well, that was unexpected," The woman commented. She then turned to look at me.
Her hair was a very light shade of blonde, platinum most likely, and it was short enough to tickle her cheek bones, her eyes were a very familiar shade of gold and not of the Shadow variety. She wore an almost knee length dress with five black circles running down the centre, each circle had a gold dot at the centre and a black ring enclosing each circle. The boots were almost knee high – thus exposing the black leggings underneath – and were thick heeled, she also wore a simple hat and gloves that rose halfway up her forearms. She held a thick brown book that reminded me of Lavenza's Grimoire; plus, her dress, hat, boots, and gloves were an exact match to Lavenza's dress in terms of colour.
"Are you one of Lavenza's sisters?" I asked. It was the only logical conclusion due to how much this woman looked like her, plus the sensation she was giving off was similar as well. "Sorry about attempting to stab you, by the way. You kind of started me," I apologised. I also pulled my weapon back so that I could be prepared if that twisted Shadow ended up finding me, somehow it hadn't.
"It's fine, especially since Masakado was active. I wouldn't have felt a thing," Lavenza's sister (?) responded. I wasn't completely focused on her though as I continued to listen to Dantalion's attacks and wailing taunts, occasionally punctuated by brief operatic songs. "I am indeed one of Lavenza's sisters. My name is Elizabeth. Do you need some help?" The woman added on. The last bit, however, definitely drew my attention.
"I thought those of the Velvet Room couldn't get involved in these kinds of events," I challenged. Because so help me, if it turned out that they could then I was going to be extremely angry with Lavenza and Igor. Thing would have gone much more smoothly if I had help, especially right now. It had been a struggle to deal any damage to this blasted Shadow given her puppet would simply heal every little scrape and papercut she got.
"They cannot. But I left my attendant position for a personal reason. As such, I am no longer bound by the laws of the Velvet Room. Do you require aid?" Elizabeth asked. I had never expected that would be possible; but all thoughts of that type were rattled from my head by Dantalion's next attack, she was moving ever closer to my location. My answer was pretty clear.
"Yes! Dear gods, yes! I absolutely need help!" I exclaimed. Elizabeth merely smiled and rose to her feet; she offered me a hand and I took it. Another burst of song rattled the cavern and my lips pressed into a thin line. "We need to do something about that singing," I snarled out. If Dantalion kept healing, then this fight would drag on until I no longer could fight.
"I may have a suggestion," Elizabeth spoke up. I glanced over at the former attendant, curious about what she might suggest. "That is a version of you, born of her mind, but the skill is too real to be dreamed. You have that same skill. Use that to stop the singing as the barrier is only gone when she sings," Elizabeth explained. It made sense and it would make for the perfect swansong. With a nod, I darted out and Elizabeth followed.
"Do you really think someone will be able to help you?!" Dantalion mocked. She struck with her quill, the sharp edge gleaming brightly. Elizabeth moved in front of me and easily caught the tip on her book before throwing it aside. When she did, Dantalion was thrown off balance. The cognition stumbled slightly as she tried to regain her balance. But Elizabeth didn't let up.
Instead, blue flames scorched across her and a figure appeared behind her, pale white skin that looked more like paper than anything else, wild blue hair, a white-yellow robe and a katana in hand made up this Persona. The katana was drawn and the air seemed to be torn asunder. The power of that single physical strike sent Dantalion stumbling backwards even more. The red clothing was split apart and the black glass was heavily damaged. Only the psychic barrier had been undamaged.
Reacting with how she had been designed, the puppet immediately focused on Dantalion's malady. She quickly sang the lullaby song towards Dantalion, repairing the damage once more and removing all evidence of the wounds Elizabeth had inflicted apart from the damaged cloth. She turned her gaze to us and opened her mouth, prepared to strike at us with whatever song she chose. But this time, I knew what to do and dismissed my naginata as I moved in front of Elizabeth.
"As Schonberg once said of Carmen, she would die rather than be false to herself. If that is my fate, then so be it! But I will not lie anymore!" I declared. With that declaration of freedom, I took in a breath and opened my mouth to sing my favourite of Carmen's songs, L'amour est un oiseau rebelle. The passionate song of freedom and love flew from my mouth to combat the operatic tones coming from the puppet. I managed to detect that it was a song from Cendrillion.
The two resonating waves collided, vibrating the very air with their clash. Dantalion did not like this development as she tried to attack with her quill and Psy energy. But Elizabeth intercepted her every time. The blue haired Persona and another with massive butterfly wings, a red shirt, black pants, a sword and crown kept Elizabeth safe as she used her own body as a bulwark against the attacks. I didn't focus on her for long and instead kept my attention on the singing I had to do.
Eventually, I saw the cognition weakening, her song was becoming softer while my remained strong and consistent. Her body began to tremble as her lungs gasped for air. She suddenly collapsed to her knees and I quickly stopped singing. Pulling out my bow, I knocked an arrow and fire at the puppet. There was no psychic barrier there to save her this time. The arrow pierced through her chest, turning her into smoke once more.
"No!" Dantalion wailed. Not missing a beat. I pulled off my mask and had Phantom attack with Tera. The rocks seemed to deal more damage this time around, causing a vicious smirk to curl on my lips, no way to heal and no backup. But this time I had a powerful ally; the scales were now firmly tipped in my favour this time.
"Shall we end this?" Elizabeth asked. A cheerful note laced her words, completely at odds with what we were doing; but I agreed with a sharp nod of my head. Using my naginata, arrows and both types of magic – along with my support spells – I attacked while Elizabeth bounced between Personas at a rapid pace so fast it would have been dizzying to focus on them.
The onslaught of perpetual attacks of all kinds slammed repeatedly into Dantalion. She desperately tried to strike us with Psy energy or quill strikes, most of them were blocked or dodged – or in Elizabeth's case completely ineffective – most of her attacks were focused on me after realising this but any that found there mark were erased by a swift healing from Elizabeth. With a powerful roar of energy from Phantom, the Gry spell struck home on Dantalion, square in the chest.
Dantalion collapsed onto the ground in a cloak of black flakes which was slowly breaking apart. The Treasure fluttered through the air and I swiped my hand out to grab the musical score. My eyes focused on the notes as my arm pulled back and the true magnitude of the music that Ouvrard had dreamed of sank into me this time, unlike before.
"No!" Ouvrard's voice cried. The sound a pathetic wail, but it drew my attention towards the Shadow and it was truly a miserable sight. She was knelt on the floor and curled over; her face hidden behind her arms. "My masterpiece. You can't take my masterpiece from me!" Shadow Ouvrard continued to cry. But her words caused an angry fire to start burning in my heart.
"I can't take it? You don't have the faintest clue what I'm capable of!" I hissed. Flexing my left hand brought my naginata to my hand as my right tightly gripped the Treasure, causing it to bunch up and crumple in my fingers. "You have no idea of what you took from me! And you dare to beg for the same not to be done to you!" I snarled.
As I spoke, my legs carried me forward while my left arm rose as the head of my weapon pointed directly at the quivering Shadow. She had now risen her head and those eerie golden irises gazed at me with very real fear. Good. After all the pain she'd inflicted on me, how the coughs I endured would bring up bloody flecks after I was forced to practice. The muscles, diaphragm and lungs would ache for days, leaving me perpetually breathless and yet still I'd be forced to sing even when reduced to wheezing hacks. The fact that any love I'd once had for singing ended up being completely stripped away… well it was about time.
"You dared to take my voice and eroded my passion! You deserve to suffer for the things you did to me!" I yelled. I came to a stop in front of the Shadow, who shivered and cowered away from me with her eyes scrunched close. "You deserve to feel my pain!" I yelled. With that, I thrust my weapon downwards. A sharp sound echoed out, filling the cavern with its' single note.
"What… what happened?" Shadow Ouvrard asked. She opened her eyes and blinked them in a rather numb manner as she looked around, before landing on my naginata, the tip pierced into the ground beside her, not a nick or graze marred the Shadow's form. "Wh… why did you miss?" Shadow Ouvrard murmured.
"Because even if you do deserve it, it would make me worse than you," I admitted. Stepping back, I pulled my weapon free and then dispersed it, ensuring I couldn't harm her or even make the attempt. "The masterpiece you created, it's beautiful. Like all the pain of an angel's fall from grace and all the beauty of a human's rise to heaven woven together. Atone for your sins. Then make your song real," I encouraged.
"Thank you Natsumi. Truly, thank you," Shadow Ouvrard spoke. At those words, she started to glow with a white light and Shadow Ouvrard's body began to go transparent; my heart leapt into my throat in a panic. "I shall return to myself now. Goodbye," Shadow Ouvrard admitted. Shortly after speaking those words, she completely vanished.
"At last, it's over," I breathed. A tsunami of relief washed over me and I turned towards Elizabeth, prepared to thank her for her much appreciated aid, but the former attendant had vanished. Before I could think about it for long, a loud rumbling followed swiftly by some ominous cracks in the floor drew my attention. "Oh, what now!?" I exclaimed.
"Natsumi! Over here!" Lavenza's voice cried. I quickly spotted my petite mentor holding open a very out of place door. Shoving all questions in a mental box, I sprinted for the door as if my life depended on it; the falling rocks made it abundantly clear that it did.
I weaved, dodged and eventually hurled myself through the opening.