Note: Ahaha... Well, my deep apologies for taking so long. I haven't died and I hope my readers haven't died either. I hope everyone's doing okay and staying safe. Sorry for this, I haven't really been having the inspiration lately, but I'll slowly get back to it soon. I hope... Lol Anyway, I hope it's okay. Or at least decent... Lol Until then...
"I can't believe this..." Ryuji looked up at the castle with disbelief. "It's the castle!" He breathed out a laugh, "That means the other day was for real, too- Yeargh! Those clothes...!"
Ren chuckled with disbelief, noticing his unusual attire has returned.
"That happened last time, too. What's with that outfit?" He asked with a look of surprise.
"I don't know." He responded.
"What's goin' on here!? This makes no effen sense at all..." He said, looking back up at the castle.
"Hey! There you are!" Morgana shouted, "Where did you go?! I was following behind you and next thing I know, you disappeared!"
"Morgana!" Ren smiled, "Did you see where the guards took Shiho?"
"Yeah, they took her up to the second floor. She's stuck in one of the cells." Morgana responded, "We best hurry though, from the looks of it..."
A sound of a woman's scream echoed from above.
"What was that!?" Ryuji stepped back.
"Shiho..." Ren's eyes widened, feeling as though his heart was about to stop, but then narrowed out of anger, "Morgana, do you know the safest route up to the cell's?" Ren asked, looking up at the direction the scream was coming from.
"Not that many safe routes, but I know a way where there are less guards." Morgana said, heading towards the front. "What's more, you two escaped the other day. He must have lost his temper quite a bit." A male student hollered, showing evidence of what he was about to state.
"That son of a bitch...!" Ryuji tightened his hands out of anger.
"Ryuji...?" Morgana looked over, seeing fiery in not just Ren's, but Ryuji's as well.
"...This is bullshit!" Ryuji growled, running into the doors, "You hear me, Kamoshida!?"
"Doing that isn't going to open it, you know..." Morgana said, "Still, it seems you have your reasons."
"Hey, Monamona!" Ryuji walked up to him.
"It's Morgana!" He hissed.
"Do you know where those voice's are comin' from...?" Ryuji questioned.
"You want me to take you to them?" He looked at both of the teens, "...Well, I guess I could guide you there. But only if he comes."
"Let's go." Ren responded, eager to head up.
"It's settled then!" Morgana hopped as he walked ahead.
"For real...!?" Ryuji grinned, "...Thanks, man."
"Shiho first though." Ren looked over.
"Roger." Ryuji responded.
"All right, let's do this. Follow me!" He looked over at the teens, heading towards the vent, "This is our infiltration point."
"Ain't that where we escaped outta last time?" Ryuji asked, looking up.
"That's right. Not barging in through the entrance is one of the basics of phantom thievery." Morgana responded.
"How're we supposed to know about that stuff...?" Ryuji looked back at Morgana.
"I'll make sure to teach you as we go. Come on, follow me!" He said hopping up to the window.
"So, uh... sorry for draggin' you into all of this..." Ryuji said, feeling bad. "But I just can't forgive that bastard Kamoshida doin' whatever the hell he wants! Really though, thanks for coming along. I owe you big time!"
"I should be the one apologizing and thanking you..." He chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck, feeling slight guilt. "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to come back here. So if anything, I'd say we're even."
They both nodded at each other with a grin before heading into the castle through the vent. They hopped out and landed on the floor, seeing Morgana wait for them at the door.
"Man, this place is as creepy as always." Ryuji said, looking around the room.
"Mm-hm. Now, make sure you do exactly as I say, all right?" Morgana said with the look of leadership. "...Follow me!" He scurried ahead.
"Hey... We went by here when we came in the front..." Ryuji said, then suddenly jolted once seeing the surrounding change to the school for a split second. "What the...!?" It happened again, "I was seein' double or something just now...! Was that Shujin!?"
"I've told you before. This place is your school." Morgana said, turning around to look up at Ryuji. "Regardless, we don't have the time to stand around. Who knows when a Shadow might show up." He started to run ahead.
Ren ended up leading the way, remembering the corridors and pathways. Now... the dungeons should be somewhere around here... He turned a corner and stepped back quickly to hide.
"Darn... I had a feeling there would be guards here..." Morgana groaned lowly. "It looks like we won't be able to avoid conflict from this point forward."
"F-For real...?" Ryuji said, concerned.
"Oh well. I'll just teach you the basics of battle right now. You had better remember all of this." Morgana said, giving a look of seriousness, "As a rule of thumb, try to ambush as many enemies as you can. Attack the from behind wherever possible." He looked up at Ren, "You'll need to rip off their masks to momentarily break the control the Palace ruler has over them. If you succeed, the enemy will be caught off guard, allowing us to jump in for a preemptive attack."
Ren nodded to that explanation.
"So we wanna ambush 'em and go for the first strike... All right, I got it!" Ryuji gave an ecstatic grin.
"Uh, you know you're just going to be watching, right? You can't use a Persona..." He looked over at Ryuji, giving a look of seriously? "Anyway, let's go!"
Ren nodded with a hum and snuck up to the enemy ahead of them. Thankfully there was only one enemy they ended up having to deal with, so it was a quick battle. They went down some hallways and ended up at the cells.
"Why ain't anyone here...?" Ryuji asked, giving a look of disbelief.
"I thought you said she was here, Morgana?" Ren looked over with a look of confusion and concern.
"Dammit, they were here before! Where'd they go!?" Ryuji looked down at Morgana frustratingly, his voice loud enough for others to hear.
"I don't know!" Morgana looked at Ren, "Quiet down!" He changed his view to Ryuji.
"Oh yeah, there were more of 'em further in too...!" Ryuji remembered, running ahead of the two without even talking to them.
"Ryuji!" He growled, looking at the direction he was heading to.
"They might have been transferred already..." Morgana looked up at Ren, nodding his head in the direction Ryuji was running towards.
Ryuji was quite a bit away from them, "Crap, I can hear footsteps comin'! Lots of 'em!" Ryuji stopped in his tracks.
"It would be a problem if they discovered us now..." Morgana said as he was catching up. "Hey, let's head into that room. We should be able to hide in there until they leave." He said, heading to the door on the right side.
They followed behind him. "The Shadows probably won't come in here." He jumped on the table, looking at the two teens.
"Another safe room?" Ren looked around.
Ryuji gasped and panted, trying to catch his breath, "How can you tell?"
"There's a lack of distortion here, meaning the ruler's control over this area is weak." He smiled with relief.
The room changed into a classroom for a split second again, making the two teens jolt. "Is this a classroom...!?" Ryuji caught before it changed back.
"Now do you understand?" Morgana scoffed. "This place is another reality that the ruler's heart projects."
"This is Kamoshida's reality...? Shit makes no sense at all!" Ryuji growled, exposing a similar expression as Shiho.
"One could say it's a world in which one's distorted desires have materialized." Morgan spoke up, "I call such a place a Palace."
"A Palace...?" Ryuji looked over, trying to process this whole thing.
"This is happening because he thinks the school is his own castle." Morgana added.
"So, it became like this 'cause he just thought of it like that!?" Ryuji laughed with a look of shock, "That son of a bitch!" Ryuji growled with anger boiling deep inside him, stomping his foot down.
"You must really hate this Kamoshida guy." Morgana looked at the two adolescents.
"Hate doesn't even cover how I feel." He gave a deadly expression, "Everything is that asshole's fault!"
"I don't know what happened between you two, but don't let your emotions get the better of you. His lack are everywhere inside." He looked back at the door, imagining what await behind those doors. "You're curious about your outfit, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I'm curious as hell about it too." Ryuji added himself into the conversation.
"That's also because of this world." Morgana responded, looking over at Ryuji.
"More stuff that makes no sense..." Ryuji groaned, frustrated.
"Anything distorts according to how a ruler pleases within his Palace." He looked at the teens, "A school can turn into a castle like this, after all." He shook his head, looking down. "In order to prevent such distortions, one must hold a powerful will of rebellion. Your appearance is manifestation of that. It's the image of rebellion that you hold within."
"Uuugh, I'm so fed up with all of this!" Ryuji growled, irritated by the lack of getting a grip of the whole situation. "I'm more curious about you than his clothes! What the hell are you anyways!?"
"I'm a human-an honest-to-God-human!" He answered immediately with a glare.
"No, you're obviously more like a cat!" Ryuji started to fight back.
"This is, well... It's because I lost my true form...I think." He looked away, a bit dejected.
"You think?" Ryuji asked with disbelief.
"But I do know hot to regain my true form." He smiled with a look of confidence. "The reason why I snuck in here was for a preliminary investigation of those means. Well, I ended up getting caught though..." His look of confidence soon draining. "Besides, I've been tortured by Kamoshida too! I'm gonna make him pay for sure!" He stated with determination.
"What is this, a comic book? This is seriously crazy..." Ryuji groaned.
"If we're gonna keep going, we should hurry along." Morgana suggested, "I'll be counting on your skills this time too, rookie. Got it?"
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna force it all on you. I though it might help, so..." Ryuji said, pulling something out from his back pocket. "I brought this just in case! It's a model gun though, so it only makes sounds!"
What the... Ren gave a look of shock, feeling perplexed.
"That's a toy!" Morgana instantly said, his brows furrowing.
"But it looks totally real, so it'll at least fake 'em out." Ryuji responded. "I brought some medicine too. "You know what the say: "Providin' is pre... something." Huh? Huh?"
Seriously...? Ren stifled a chuckle.
"So you were planning this from the start..." Morgana gave a concerning look, "Well, fine. If you're ready to go. we'll resume our infiltration." He sighed.
Okay... Ren sighed along, heading over to Ryuji to grab the Tkachev handgun and medicine.
"Hm, there are probably still sentries making their rounds out there." Morgana assumed. "Let's use this time to hash out our current situation."
The three of them were about to plan out the safest way to explore the castle to get clues to where Shiho and the other volleyball players are at. As they were...
"NO! Stop!" Someone screamed from above.
"Shiho!?" Ren assumed instantly from the feminine voice, leading into a bit of a panic after hearing her cry out. "Morgana, what room is above us?"
"I think that's where the torture chambers are..." He tensed up.
"Lead the way. NOW!" Ren demanded.
"Okay, okay! Let's go!" Morgana peeked out the door and led the way up the stairs stealthily.
They headed up and saw big two double doors straight ahead. As they were heading over, thinking of a way to sneak in, they heard her scream. In that instant, Ren rushed his way through the door in a panic.
"Wait! You idiot!" Morgana hopped on his head and blindfolded him, making him fall back, "We need a plan! We wouldn't want to go in as a stupid hero and get ourselves caught in that mess or else we won't be able to save her! We're not like that! We're thieves! We sneak in and not be noticed!"
Ren groaned, rolling his eyes, trying to calm himself down to think of a way through. "Okay, do you see any- Aha!" Ren noticed a window on either side of the doors above it, "Do you have any idea on how we can climb up there?"
"Hm..." Morgana had to think for a moment, "Aha! Here, I have just the thing!" He pulled out a grappling hook from the back of his belt. "Use this to climb up there."
Ren nodded, taking the item. He looked back up at the window and aimed at it. Once it latched on, he swung his way up with grace and landed on the windowsill.
"Nicely done." Morgana whispered beside him, "Now, time to think of a safe way to get her back."
"Why are you doing this!?" Shiho cried out.
"Why, you ask?" He laughed, "Because you're my pet. And if my pet doesn't listen, they need to be punished." He grabbed her by the chin, "So why not make this easy for yourself and obey?"
Shiho's wrists were tied up by a rope that was hanging against the wall. She looked like death warmed over her. The tears on her face looked like she suffered through hell. She looked all scratched up and her clothes torn by being dragged while struggling to fight back. Her wrists were bruised up and looked like she was in severe pain. As more tears escaped, giving a look as if death was heading her way, they couldn't take much more of the sight of that. They knew they needed to hurry.
"That damn bastard..." Ryuji growled, both teens disgusted by Kamoshida.
"Guards, bring me my crop." As the king waited over by his throne, the trio took that as a chance to silently untie her.
They quietly jumped their way down by the flower pots. The trio was succeeding, until by the last step... Ryuji slipped and fell to the floor, making a big thud. In that instant, they were sighted.
"Seize them!" The king ordered.
"Damn it!" Ryuji said, Ren and Morgana growling.
"Joker, get ready!" Morgana forced, getting into position.
"Ren!" Shiho lit up with a weak grin.
The two got in position and tried to make the first strike. Joker got an advantage and found one of the weaknesses on one of the enemies, giving him a chance to hit the enemy again, leading it to vanish in minutes. Morgana was able to do a few strikes with Zorro and knocked some down. They had a few hits in turn, but were able to succeed through the battle. They were on their final one, but it was bigger and tougher than the others. They were a bit concerned, but once remembering they're there to save her, their determination risen to the top and tried their best to pull through. But alas, their energy was reaching zero. Ryuji tried to join in, but he was knocked down and pinned down. Within the last few minutes, the leader fell to the floor.
"Shi...ho..." Ren groaned, clenching his hands tightly, trying to stand up.
"NO!" Shiho instantly struggled to free herself from the ropes so she could run to Ren, hoping to aid him.
With a few tugs and pulls, she finally freed herself, ignoring the burning sensation as she ran her way towards Ren. As she ran over to him, she was knocked down by one of the guards shield, keeping her away from the teen. One of the guards stepped on him, making her worry even more. She was about to stand up and rush to help him, but she was knocked down again and kept down by one of the knights heels. Kamoshida spit on the trio before he stride his way towards her with his usual smirk and knelt down.
"It seems I need to tame my little bunny a little longer this time." He chuckled, "I don't mind though." He placed a hand on her cheek, caressing it, leading Shiho to feel chills go up her spine. "I have always liked taming and playing with my little pets."
Shiho froze. Her eyes were about to be filled with tears again. Her will to fight back reached zero. Her energy was little to none. Shiho felt powerless, about to admit her defeat and submit to him once more. She closed her eyes, preparing herself for the worse. But before she did, she suddenly heard someone speak to her with a soft tone, making her finally feel at ease which shocked her when it came to such a situation, leading her to question as her surroundings turned blood red.
"Are you really going to let them keep doing this to you?" Somebody asked.
"Who are you?" Shiho whispered.
"You have let them take away your freedom. You have always followed the rules for the sake of others. You have always given a part of yourself up just to please others. But will you finally have the will to stand up? Will you finally have the power to speak up? Will you finally expose your true nature of what you once were? Will you take back everything you've once owned?" The calming voice continued.
The black haired teenage girl gripped her hands tightly, her nails and fingers leaving a trail of blood as she clenched her hands. She remembered every single moment she regrets. She remembered all the tears, all the fear, everything that she lost along the way to where she is now. She remembered all of it, reminding her of what led her to being who she is now and who she is not proud of being. Anger finally began to boil inside of her. She began to gain her strength back.
"Yes..." Shiho struggled her way back up on her feet.
"Unite and fight what you believe in. Let us form a covenant... I am thou, thou art I... The lives of others lose their way during such wars if there is no strength, no will, no beliefs. I shall lend you my sword and my shield for it is time to show people the power of ones will to fight for your beliefs and never lose your way again! Gain back your freedom! Let your words and actions be heard!"
Soon after those words, a gust of tough wind blew the guards off.
What the...? She felt something on her face, putting effort into tearing it off.
Shiho stood up, gripping her head that began to throb. Her whole body began to ache. Her chest began to tighten. She suffered her way through pain and stood tall and screamed once ripping off her mask. It was the shape of a small shield, the decoration of a sword in front and center with wings on either sides. Blood streamed down her face once she tore it off, but then turned into blue flames. It instantly spread over her whole body, surrounded by a blast of light flying straight up into the air, knocking everyone down to the floor, leading them all into fear.
Her outfit changed to a metal armored breast plate, with a torn blood red colored scarf wrapped loosely around her neck, connected to the armor with a golden buckle shaped as a shield. Metal plates wrapped around her wrists with small chains as bracelets. A blood red skirt, covered with a thick, rubbery skirt with decorated metal at the bottom. Knee length red socks and golden shoes. Her weaponry was a long silver sword.
"You have taken my pride! You have taken my trust! You have taken my strength! You have taken everything from me!" Shiho shouted, stomping towards him after every sentence, "But no more will you take away pieces of me! No more will I surrender to your sinful desires!" She stared daggers at him with a look of determination, "My power against your threats will exceed and my will to fight will be continuous! I am done with your indecency! I am done with your ignorance! I am DONE!" Shiho scowled, "Hear my words... hear my prayers... hear my pleads... Joan d'Arc!" She screamed out.
"No way... Not her, too!" Kamoshida trembled, looking up at her persona.
A knightly goddess like figure appeared behind her. A halo above her beautifully angelic snow face. Her hair colored gold with pure white petals around the top of her head. And her nicely built body covered in a bright and shiny silver armor that could blind ones eyes.
"You will regret everything you have ever done to every student you have mistreated!" She held up her sword, "You will pay for your actions and will be shown no mercy!" She shouted with the feel of her confidence boosting its way back up.
Joker looked amazed and was impressed on the sudden change Shiho just exposed. The petite and sensitive girl he admired finally showed her true self in front of her enemy with the look of courage and bravery. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the gentleness in her brown eyes turn confident and the soft smile turn into a smirk. At that moment, an overwhelming feeling spread inside him, giving him back his strength to stand beside Shiho.
"Happy to see you standing, Shiho." He peeked over at her, "Let's finish this." She nodded, getting in position.
"Guards! Get rid of them and bring my bunny back to my room!" Kamoshida growled, ordering them as he fled the room.
Shiho scoffed once hearing the word bunny. She glared at the king and gave a smirk as if showing he will pay for everything. They got in position and started taking down all the guards, one by one.
"No way..." Ryuji and Morgana was amazed.
The team was getting tired, but they didn't give up nor give in. They gave it their all until the very last enemy.
What the...? What are these words...? Shiho questioned, as she called for Joan d'Arc, I never heard these words before... Never mind... let's save it for later. We need to end this. She thought, getting her attention back to the battle.
As they ended the fight, the team huffed with a big smirk on their faces. They finally caught their breath and looked at each other with proudness.
"We need to end this." Shiho was about to walk ahead, wanting to end this fight with Kamoshida, but as she headed towards the door, she collapsed.
"Shiho!" Ren ran up and caught her before she fell to the floor. "Goodness..." He sighed, "Huh...?" He jumped, Shiho's clothes turning back to her uniform.
"It looks like the battle was too much for her..." Morgana pointed out. "Let's get her back to the real world before anything else arises."
"Yeah... we should take her to the hospital when we return." Ren said, noticing her bruises and cuts.
"Are you crazy?" Ryuji coughed up, trying to catching his breath after being stood on. "If you take her there, you'll be questioned! Aren't you in trouble enough already?"
Ren clenched his teeth, "I'm willing to go through anything. I just want her safe and sound and not in anymore pain..."
"Then take her to the infirmary. That's the closest thing. If the nurse thinks it's worse, she can call the hospital then." Ryuji pointed out.
Ren growled and shut his eyes tightly, "Fine..." He sighed out, I'm sorry, Shiho... I need to be careful with my actions in the future. In order to help you... I need steer clear from anything close to the police.
"Let's return now." Ren said, heading to the front to return back. "So much for a good day for her..." He hugged her gently as he carried her back.
"You owe me big time. You got that?" Morgana said to Ren, but the teens ended up ignoring him as they focused on what to do once they return.
"I'll walk with you." Ryuji said, hoping that it will help him even a little.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." Ryuji's phone said.
They ended up finding themselves on the rooftop and cautiously headed towards the infirmary, knowing they're already in deep trouble for being late. They succeeded their way through the halls and ended up in front of the infirmary. The two teens walked in with a look of deep concern, setting Shiho on the bed and telling the nurse a lie so they wouldn't seem crazy nor get into any deep trouble. She was spectacle about the two boys, but put her main focus on the girl.
"I'm going back to class. You keep track on how she's doing and keep me updated." Ryuji said, heading out the door.
Ren nodded then looked back at Shiho with a look of sorrow. I am so sorry, Shiho... He held her hand and kissed her wrist gently.
"Nnn... Huh...?" Shiho slowly awoke, "How'd I get here?" She looked around, "What am I doing in here? Weren't we in class not long ago?" Shiho spoke weakly, parched.
Ren was about to ask if she remembered anything, but he bit his tongue, trying to think of a better way to bring it up without sounding suspicious.
"How are you doing? The nurse told me that you should rest for now and she'll take care of your injuries once you're a little more energized to move." Ren said.
"What happened?" Shiho asked.
"You... Do you remember anything from earlier?" He asked, concerned.
"No... I just remember coming to school and... Nnn... ow!" Shiho groaned, gripping her head, "I'm trying to remember, but my mind hurts so much, I can't think straight..." She covered her eyes, trying to endure the pain. "Were we in a castle fighting something? Or was that just a...?" The young woman was frustrated she couldn't remember most of anything.
"Just rest for now. You might be able to remember things later, okay?" Ren lightly pushed her back down to rest, "I'll be back to check on you again." He kissed her forehead without thinking. I hope she'll remember soon...
"Okay..." Shiho's face turned a little red, but she didn't mind. It warmed her up, making her ignore the pain for just a few seconds.
"Sleep well." He smiled kindly, before getting up to leave.
She nodded and turned on her side to get into a comforting position, as she did, Ow... What the...? Where did I get these rope burns...? She noticed the pain from her wrists and began to wonder if the thing that happened was really a dream or the real deal.
