Chapter 51: Oni Slayer
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
Joker did a backflip over the incoming blades of wind, twisting in midair as he emptied his gun's magazine at the approaching Shadow, and his free hand launched a Rebellion α, both for the damage and to strengthen himself, even as it drained his spirit.
He landed and immediately had to somersault over another slice of wind that had been intended to separate his head from his torso, landing on his hands and then pushing off to the side to avoid a vertical blade of air. "What, am I fighting Aang right now!? Goddamn!"
Focus, young one!
At first, he had attempted to play their little cat-and-mouse game close to the Shadow, using his comparatively smaller body and faster speed to dodge around the Shadow. Ducking around his swings, slipping between its legs, jumping over its shoulders…
Worked well enough until the bastard had suddenly let loose with an eruption of wind from its very body, and he'd been too close to dodge. He was just thankful that he didn't have a Persona weak to wind spells equipped, now that would've been a problem.
Now he kept his distance, having learned his lesson. The Shadow snarled and tried to get closer, swiping its blade through the air as it did, sending more blades of wind toward him. Ducking beneath one and rolling into a jump over another, he ripped his mask free and summoned Jack Frost, commanding him to cast a Mudo. The straw doll appeared and three nails stabbed into it, and while the Shadow did stumble for a moment, it shook off the attack and continued its charge towards him, forcing him to scowl and return Frost to his mask.
He was getting tired… but he probably only needed to last a little while longer.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Yusuke•
He sprinted as fast as he could, dodging missiles of ice that drew near. While he may not be as damaged by them as the others or Panther, they would still hurt him, and slow him down.
The rest that had been aimed towards the other Phantom Thieves were blown away by Mona, and Panther melted a few midair with several precise fireballs. After that, she resumed casting Dormina spells, which the Shadow was beginning to succumb to, while stubbornly trying to stay awake.
"Frei!" Queen drifted under a swipe of its sword, its sluggishness preventing it from keeping up as Johanna let loose a nuclear blast. The Shadow grunted as it was sent stumbling back, and Skull capitalized by roaring and sending Captain Kidd flying right into it.
The boat slammed into its midsection and caused the Shadow to double over, and the Captain's perpetual skeleton grin seemed to grow wider as he placed his cannon hand beneath its face before launching a bolt of lightning from it.
The Shadow reeled back in pain, and before it could swing down and cut Kidd and the boat in half the Persona vanished and Skull's mask reappeared. Snarling in fury the Shadow surged forward and tried to cut him in two, before Queen sped by on Johanna, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him along.
When he was out of the way he pulled out his rifle and he saw Mona bring out his slingshot, and they began firing at the Shadow. Bullets and pellets riddled the Shadow and it snarled in pain, slamming its sword into the floor and creating a massive pillar of ice that filled the hall, hiding it from sight. "Panther! Burn it down!"
"On it!"
An Agilao erupted against the pillar and melted a hole through it, and missiles formed of ice flew through in response. Mona was ready and blew them all away before Queen sped through on Johanna. He ran after her but chuckled as he went. Perhaps he wasn't needed, considering the beatdown and screaming from the Shadow he could hear on the other side of the ice.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
Nekomata appeared before him and let out a Magaru, her whipping winds clashing with the Shadow's attack. While his Persona's attack was weaker, it was at least deflecting the air-blades.
"Time for a vanishing act!" He threw down a smoke bomb and pulled out his gun, activating his Third Eye while firing through the cloud. He watched the bullets strike the glowing red form of the Shadow before he activated Mimic and shot his grappling hook into the ceiling.
A powerful Garula from the Shadow washed away the smoke close to the ground but thankfully not near the ceiling, and revealed his illusion pointing its gun at the wind-manipulator. The tall monster snarled as it twirled its blade and swept it through the air, sending a cutting gale straight for its neck.
When it passed through and did nothing to the illusion the Shadow paused and took a step back in confusion. When the illusion dispersed it began looking around trying to find him, and as soon as its back was turned he fell from the ceiling, activated PSI Shadow, and appeared on top of the monster. "Surprise, asshole!"
Before the Shadow could release its gale-force winds to throw him off like it had the last time he'd strayed too close he stabbed it in the neck, his dagger freezing its tendons and ice beginning to creep along its body. "Agh!" The Shadow cried out in pain, and he pulled the weapon free before stabbing it back in, then repeated the process again and again.
He got as many stabs in as he could, freezing the Shadow as best his weapon was able, before shoving himself away from the creature just as it roared and let loose a whirlwind from its body. He winced and clenched his eyes shut as he felt blades of air cut his body, slicing through his clothing and drawing blood from shallow cuts all along his body, one coming dangerously close to his eye. The fight was unfortunately too fast for him to risk summoning a Persona to cast a healing spell, so he'd have to live with them for now.
That was much too close! Arsène barked. Thou must stop trying this hit-and-run strategy and simply stick to evasion!
'But that's no fun,' he smirked, feeling the blood start to leak down his face from the… multitude of cuts. 'I've got to keep myself entertained until the others get here, don't I?'
I agree with Starr-sama, Oni chuckled darkly. What better way is there to fight than in the thick of it?
That sounds really dangerous, Nekomata cut in. Just make sure to stay safe, Myaster!
He paused. 'Did you just 'nya' at me?'
He was then punched in the gut by the Shadow and sent flying. Shoulda stayed focused, dumbass!
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Makoto•
Roaring, she buried her fist into the Shadow's gut and then uppercut it. After it stumbled back Captain Kidd slammed into it and sent the monster flying back onto its back.
She spotted Fox sprinting up behind the Shadow and apparently, the Shadow also noticed him. It rolled backward onto its feet and turned, blade swinging towards him. Fox's eyes narrowed and he jumped, legs pulling up beneath him as he leaped over the sword while she and Skull charged at the beast from behind.
"Ha!" Fox pulled his katana free and began swinging for its neck, right where he'd sliced through the first time. The Shadow, surprisingly quickly, brought its weapon around to block.
"Dormina!" Panther once more hit the Shadow with the sleep spell, and it finally worked. As it fell asleep and dropped its weapon, Fox swung with all his might, and his sword sliced through the previous cut in the Shadow's neck before pushing through even further.
It slowly cut through, flesh making way as black blood began spurting out, but the pain quickly woke the Shadow up. It attempted to reach up to stop Fox, but she and Skull interrupted it, roaring together as she slammed her fists into the Shadow's stomach, and he slammed his Warhammer into its head.
As they forced the Shadow one way and Fox's blade cut the other way, the katana finally managed to cut clean through its neck, separating the head from the body. After only a moment both dispersed into black smoke, and she grabbed the key card it dropped before running to where Joker had jumped over the rail, the other Phantom Thieves running after her to provide him backup.
She landed hard and narrowed her eyes when she saw Joker practically dancing away from the Shadow he was fighting, parts of his outfit damaged and slowly repairing itself, but not fast enough to hide the bloody cuts underneath. He noticed them and grinned before refocusing on his opponent. "Wow, you guys took your time. I've got this one on the ropes but you're only now getting here?"
"Quit bullshittin', you're clearly gettin' your butt whooped!" She fought down a smile at Skull's admonishment and instead reached for her mask. She ripped it free and jumped, landing on Johanna before speeding toward the distracted Shadow. By the time it realized they were there, she sent Johanna into a drift and took its legs out from under it.
It hung in the air for a moment, seemingly shocked, before several fireballs slammed into it and exploded sending it flying. It cratered a wall and hung there a moment before Captain Kidd crushed it with the Adventure Galley's ram while wildly laughing.
She pulled out her revolver and heard everyone else pulling out their ranged weapons as well. "Light it up!" Joker ordered as a hailstorm of slingshot pellets and bullets filled the Shadow with holes. It groaned in pain, shoving itself off the wall and stumbling forward, but Mona and Fox appeared behind it, their swords ready to slice through and kill the Shadow.
Some instinct had it spin and bring its double-blade up, struggling to hold them both back as their weapons clashed, as injured as it was. A pillar of fire erupted beneath it and the Shadow screamed in pain, letting Fox and Mona finally strike and cut through it.
The large gashes spurted black blood, and the Shadow groaned as it attempted to unleash one final attack before Joker was suddenly on top of it. Wisps of darkness drifted off of him as his hands were placed against the Shadow's chest and unleashed a silver and red energy burst as his eyes glowed bright silver, near white. "PSI Rebellion β!"
The Shadow visibly rippled, blowing up like a balloon before exploding in a shower of light and blood. Everyone stumbled back from the shockwave, and Joker tumbled over himself across the floor, coughing as Shadow ooze splattered on his face. "Oh, that's nasty!"
Fox just narrowed his eyes at Skull's groan and examined Joker as their leader lay on the floor. "…I wonder what Shadows taste like…"
"Not good," Joker grumbled. "Can't believe I unlocked that Beta level attack at the end of the fight… would have loved having that earlier."
She listened to the byplay as she walked up to the keycard the guard had dropped when it died, which meant they now had both. All they needed to do now was unlock the vault door and begin descending.
"You're really cut up, Joker. Are you alright?"
He huffed at Panther's question. "Well, the cuts certainly hurt, but the damage to my face is the worst part. It's a crime against all the women of the world to deprive them of my handso—"
"Alright, that's enough of that," Panther huffed and kicked him lightly in the side as she and Mona finished healing him. "You're a real drama queen."
"And his codename ain't even Queen!" She turned and shot a glare at Skull, who instantly looked away.
"It isn't being melodramatic if it's true," Joker chuckled as he continued lying on the floor.
"You're healed, and we need to keep moving, Joker. Please get up," she sighed as she held a hand to her metal mask.
"Hey, just because I'm healed doesn't mean I'm not tired. That was a tough fight, and I used a pretty powerful PSI attack at the end." Joker grinned at her, before looking up at Panther. "Dear Panther, would you lend me a hand and—"
"Oh my god, Skull would you just grab him?"
"Yup." Skull snickered at Panther's exasperation as he grabbed Joker by the waist and hefted him up, throwing him over his shoulder.
"Such beautiful camaraderie," Fox smiled. Mona just shook his head at the entire scene.
"For the love of…" rubbing her temples, she handed one of the cards the Shadows had held to Fox. "We'll likely have to use these at the same time. Go to that terminal and I'll use this one, then insert them when I say so, alright?"
"Very well," Fox agreed, thankfully following her orders.
"Not what I was hoping for, but I'll take it."
"Well, at least I'm getting an okay workout," Skull laughed.
"Were you hoping I'd give you a princess carry?" Panther asked while bending at the waist to smirk at Joker face-to-face as he hung on Skull like a sack of potatoes.
"Just because I'm a handsome man doesn't mean I don't like being pampered," he sniffed haughtily.
"I'll keep that in mind," the flame-wielder replied.
She did her best to ignore their conversation as she nodded at Fox. "I'll count down from three, then we insert them."
"Understood."
"Three, two, one!"
…
"Fox, why isn't it opening?"
"I'm not sure, I inserted it when you said to."
"Alright… let's do it again. Three, two, one!"
…
"Fox, when are you inserting the card?"
"After you count down from three."
"Yes, but when?"
"When you say one, of course."
"No, you have to insert it after I say one."
"Wait, why wouldn't I insert it when you say one?"
"Because I said after I count down, so we'd be inserting after I say one!"
"Queen, there's no notice after you say one. How would we know when to insert it simultaneously afterward? After another beat, as though you were also going to say zero? The instant after you say one?" Fox continued listing options, and she groaned as she slammed her forehead into the terminal, her metal mask dulling the pain.
How exactly had the Phantom Thieves infiltrated two Palaces so far? Johanna just gave her a metaphorical pat on the back and some murmurs of encouragement.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
After he flirted with Panther some more, lazily let Skull carry him further into the Palace, and Queen had some sort of mental breakdown, they fought more Shadows, some of them the same type that Shimizu's Shadow had transformed into. Thankfully they now knew about the Oni-Kagura before it could use the attack, and avoided it every time it was used.
The area after the vault door was a massive room with money floating down from above, and gathering in large piles at the bottom, while they used walkways and hallways around the area to descend further.
"You sure you can make that?" Mona peered over the ledge, seeing the endless sea of money beneath them, while across the massive area was the door to a Will Seed room.
"Sure. I can have the grappling hook start to reel me in as I get closer to the floor, and the momentum will slingshot me up onto the ledge. After I grab the seed I'll rendezvous with the rest of you up there."
Let's hope it goes according to plan, My Lord.
"Well, Joker should be able to make it," Skull grinned, "he's the best with that hook after all."
"Maybe, but it'd be funny if he faceplanted," Panther laughed.
He just scoffed at the suggestion. "Stand back and be amazed." He hopped up and down, before sprinting and jumping off the ledge, shooting his grappling hook up where it wrapped around a walkway. His momentum carried him forward in an arc, and as his feet skimmed the air just inches above the sea of money began reeling himself in.
He snapped upwards and the hook dislodged as he did a flip, landing lightly on his feet. He heard cheering in the distance and turned to take a bow.
Myaster, watch out for the—
His hook landed on his head as he did, and he scowled as the cheers turned to laughter.
Ω • Ω • Ω
The elevator they stood in slowed and they filed out to find a hallway with another dog Shadow patrolling. Once they easily defeated it, they entered a long room in front of them, two staircases on either side of them led down to what looked like yet another elevator, and standing in front of it was Kaneshiro and a strong Shadow.
"Ain't that Kaneshiro? What's he doin' down there?"
"It is difficult to hear what he is saying from where we are now."
"Hm…" He looked around the room and noticed the few Shadows patrolling the staircases, and motioned everyone to follow him. "I'd like to jump down there and eavesdrop from behind those statues, but If we're spotted we'll be swarmed. Let's take those Shadows out first."
Waiting for the nearest Shadow to get close enough, he lunged forward onto its back, ripping off its mask. "Show me your true form!" The ooze it exploded into reformed into two Leanan Sidhe, and one Yaksini, as he'd learned the blue-skinned warrior women were. "Panther, focus on the Sidhe! They're weak to fire! Mona, Fox, back me up!"
The Yaksini snarled and clashed with him, their blades creating sparks as they scraped off of each other. His Blizz Dagger deflected an overhead strike from one sword and he ducked under another strike before slashing her in the back. She quickly spun before he could jump away, and he grimaced as her swords slammed into his dagger and he felt himself get pushed back, still tired from the earlier fight on his own.
Of course, he wasn't alone now as Fox was suddenly there, katana slicing up into one of the Yaksini's arms and cutting it off at the shoulder. She snarled and tried to attack with her other sword, but Mona jumped in and blocked it before Zorro stabbed his blade over the not-cat's shoulder straight through the Shadow's throat.
Joker heard the sounds of flames exploding behind them as Panther battled the Leanan Sidhe but he focused on their fight. The Shadow was choking on the rapier stabbed straight through her throat, black blood flowing from the wound, but she was still alive. She dropped her sword and tried to grab Zorro's blade, but the Persona vanished causing her to fumble for a moment.
Mona grinned and spun, his saber slashing out and separating Yaksini's head from her body. Before her body's goop had even hit the ground he'd spun and lunged towards one of the Leanan Sidhe still fighting Panther. Both Shadows were scorched to high hell, but Panther was beaten up as well, their powerful Psio attacks having done a number on her.
The Shadow he was aiming for spotted him coming and attempted to throw one of the psychic attacks at him, but with a flex of his own PSI, he dispersed into darkness and flowed around it, reforming above the Sidhe and slamming his foot into the side of her head. "Now ain't that a kick to the head?"
Ugh.
"You need to work on your humor," Panther called as she snapped her whip and lashed the Sidhe she was fighting on the wrist with the tip. The Shadow screamed in pain and the attack she had been building up was interrupted, before Panther twirled her arm again and grabbed part of her whip with her offhand, sending the tip to swirl around her and then snap straight into the Shadow's face.
"Yeah, honestly I should turn the puns down…" He shivered as he landed, then dropped onto his hands to let Sidhe kick the air inches above him, before doing a push-up to throw himself to his feet and pull out his gun and blast it in the face. "I'll turn into my Old Man at this rate…"
Both Sidhe were blinded now, one from a whip strike across the eyes, the other thanks to his bullets. Mona bound up and summoned Zorro, the masked swordsman unleashing a whirlwind that, even though they resisted the wind, still managed to crush them together. Fox was suddenly behind them, sheathing his blade, and the Shadows cried out as they were slashed through, black blood exploding from their cuts, and finally silenced once Panther and Carmen unleashed an Agilao upon them and they disintegrated into nothing.
"Amazing, Panther! You're so gorgeous!"
"Jesus Christ," he chuckled at Mona's purring. Panther just shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Come, there are still Shadows we must defeat if we want to be safe while eavesdropping on Kaneshiro."
"Fox's right. Let's move."
They continued to make their way down the staircases, clearing out more Yaksini, Leanan Sidhe, and the Pixie-like fairies. When they reached the bottom of the room they found a Safe Room but didn't go inside it, not wanting to waste time when Kaneshiro might leave at any moment.
They began creeping closer to the Shadow that was talking with Kaneshiro, but it seemed to sense their presence and turned towards them. "Kaneshiro-san, wait a moment… I believe the intruders are nearby!"
"Shit…" He sighed and gripped his dagger. "Looks like we aren't getting any information from eavesdropping."
From the rearguard, Queen cracked her knuckles and stepped forward. "Fine by me! Kaneshiro!"
"Y-You bastards… How did you get this far?! What about my security?"
He smirked and shrugged. "Well, most of them we killed, and some of them I convinced to join me. Maybe offer your employees a dental plan?"
"Yeah, these guys were a piece of cake for us!" Skull called from the back.
"I… wouldn't say it was that simple," Fox sighed.
The Palace Ruler scowled and took a step back. "H-Hey, finish off these vermin here! Keep them away from the elevator at all costs!" As the Guard Shadow ran towards them, Joker narrowed his eyes as Kaneshiro fled, dropping something from his pocket, before entering the elevator and descending even further into the bank.
"Alright, Phantom Thieves!" Mona bound up next to him, pointing his saber at the approaching Shadow. "Let's take this guy down!"
The guard tried swinging a baton at them, so he slipped under it and stabbed upwards, piercing the Shadow's stomach. It convulsed from the attack, and he jumped back as it exploded into three separate Shadows.
Two of them were familiar, the Shadows they'd fought to get the keycards to the vault, while the third was new. An oni dressed in golden armor larger than both its subordinates. It held no weapon, instead just clenching its fists as it stared them down.
"All right, we're getting everyone in on this! Skull, Mona, take the wind-user! Queen, Fox, the ice-user! Panther, with me! We're taking on Goldilocks!"
"Gotcha! C'mon, Monamona!"
"See if you can keep up with me, Numbskull!"
"Come, Queen! Let's do this!"
"Right behind you, Fox!"
Panther stepped up next to him and readied her whip, side-eyeing him with a smile as the Shadow cracked its knuckles. "So, were you splitting everyone up to take advantage of the Shadows' strengths and weaknesses, or because you haven't fought side-by-side with me in a while?"
"Panther, you wound me. Why can't it be both?" He asked while twirling his weapon. There was a moment of stillness before the Shadow roared and threw a punch. Panther jumped to the left and he jumped to the right, both of them wearing grins as they dodged, and Panther quickly snapped her whip out, wrapping it around the outstretched fist.
As it was held in place Joker ripped his mask off, sending Oni forward. The red demon snarled as he swung his massive blade at the Shadow, who deflected with his free arm. The edge skittered off its golden gauntlet sending sparks flying and Oni grabbed its arm, before Joker flipped over Oni's head, winking cheekily down at the gold beast and stabbing down into its neck.
It was resistant to physical strikes going by the lack of reaction to Oni's blade, but he managed to dig his dagger in deep enough that black blood spurted from the wound and the Shadow snarled. Its eyes flashed as it jerked the arm that Panther had entangled her whip with to tug her off her feet, but she moved with the pull and spun midair as she summoned Carmen. "Ready, Joker?!"
"Of course!" Flames washed over both him and the Shadow, but as he had expected Panther's attack, he'd switched to Flauros to nullify the fire, while the Shadow took it full force. The flames scorched the monster and Joker had Flauros strike while it was flinching, striking it in the gut and then uppercutting it as he flipped off and away, before finally grabbing it by the throat and slamming it into the ground.
Flauros dispersed just as Panther landed on it, smirking as she dug her heel into its neck, one hand on her hip, the other tightening around her whip's handle. "Got you right where I want you! Now, squeal like a pig!" She unleashed a barrage of whip strikes directly to the Shadow's face, sending sparks flying and even creating small gouges in its metal face, which black blood began leaking from.
Joker whistled from behind her, keeping his eyes on the Shadow and resummoning Oni to hold it down as Panther did her thing while glancing at a certain part of her suit once or twice and taking the chance to catch his breath, still exhausted from his solo battle earlier. "Now that looks like it hurts."
After enough strikes the Shadow had enough and slammed its arms into the ground, shaking it enough that Oni lost his footing for just a moment, as well as his hold. Panther quickly jumped away just as the massive Shadow, in a surprising show of agility, spun its body around and swept Oni's legs out from underneath him.
Joker winced when he felt the pain in his shins and quickly returned Oni to a mask before the Persona hit the ground and he risked feeling the pain of a snapped neck. However, in the same moment that it was sweeping his Persona's legs, the Shadow burst forward at high speed and swung its fist straight for his stomach. "Oh shit—!"
The Sledgehammer attack knocked the wind out of him and he felt himself be thrown back several meters. He bounced along the ground like a stone on a pond, before managing to get his feet and a hand beneath himself, sliding to a stop. Thy enemy hits like a truck and is surprisingly nimble.
"Yeah, no shit… Wish I could hit it with Rebellion β, but with everyone else running around fighting the other two Shadows, I don't want to accidentally hit one of them… Nigi Mitama, Diarama." The teardrop persona appeared and healed him while Panther made her way to his side while having Carmen launch Agilaos.
"You alright, Joker?" She winced when shards of ice flew past them, the Shadow that Queen and Fox were fighting having unleashed more Mabufu missiles. Luckily, Fox had destroyed the ones that looked like they were going to strike near them, or Mona and Skull.
"Yeah. I'm just more hurt that this Shadow doesn't have the grace to go down after it's seen just how outmatched it is," he chuckled. The Shadow huffed, whether in amusement or anger, he couldn't tell, before crouching down and preparing to charge toward them again. He licked his lips, watching the Shadow, before Panther and he, in sync, pulled out their guns and rained bullets.
The golden enemy completely ignored each one, the projectiles simply bouncing off its body. Of course it's immune to bullets, Leanan Sidhe scowled. He got ready to dodge the incoming attack, but instead of striking him directly the Shadow leaped into the air and brought its hands together before slamming them into the ground. The strike unleashed a Vajra Blast and he grunted as the force of the shockwave sent him flying back.
He snapped his grappling hook out and it wrapped around the Shadow's neck. Once the wire began reeling him in he flipped over the golden beast to avoid its fist as it tried to strike him, landing on its back. "Ame-No-Uzume!" The Persona appeared and unleashed a Mazio, sending lightning coursing through the Shadow's body.
It didn't do much, as Ame-No-Uzume was one of his weaker Personas now. However, while it may not have hurt the Shadow, it did shock it. He grinned and hopped off its back as it struggled to move, Uzume disappearing and his mask reforming. It flashed once as he switched Personas, and he rolled his shoulders. "Why don't I give you a boost, Joker?"
Panther pointed the Ring of Lust at him and he could feel his strength increase, something he had been about to ask her for. Grinning at their synchronicity, he removed his mask and summoned Oni, who gripped his blade with a savage snarl. "Now then, Oni, finish that thing off. Giant Slice!"
"Let's do thiiiis!" Oni roared and swung with his full strength. Shocked as it was the Shadow couldn't move to dodge or defend itself, and Oni's weapon struck with overwhelming force. Even with its resistance to physical strikes the edge of the sword dug into the Shadow's shoulder and destroyed the golden pauldrons, and then cleaved through its chest as it gushed blood. Finally, it slashed through its hip, separating the Shadow into two pieces as it oozed everywhere.
Taking a single step back, it slowly reached out before dissolving into ashes. Joker breathed out, the final attack had drained most of what remained of his stamina. But, the battle with the other Shadows was still ongoing. He turned and twirled his dagger, Panther joining him as they prepared to join whichever duo was having more trouble, only to find that both were finishing their fights at about the same time.
Skull and Mona were breathing heavily while arguing, the not-cat covered in cuts from the wind blades he needed to prevent from hitting Skull, while the faux-blond had multiple bruises from the blows he'd blocked to protect Mona.
Fox and Queen were doing better, while they were also injured, they at least weren't arguing with each other, and instead discussing the battle and what they could have done better, Fox had some ice flaking off his torso and arms while Queen had a few wounds of her own.
He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention and looked between them all. "So, is it safe to say we're all getting pretty tired?"
"I could certainly use a sit-down," Fox sighed.
"I agree," Mona nodded. "I've got enough left in me to help heal everyone up."
Queen crossed her arms. "In that case, I think we should start backtracking and leave the Palace for today. We've gotten far in, and we've opened some shortcuts that will make getting back here easier next infiltration."
"Uh, when's the elevator goin' back up, anyway? We gotta hurry back?"
"I've been keeping track, don't worry. We have some time… but even then, let's start returning. Better to be on the safe side," he answered.
"Good," Panther sighed. "Using Champion's Cup to finish that Shadow off drained everything I had left."
Looking around at them all, Mona hopped in place. "Then we're all in agreement. Let's head back."
"Before we do, I noticed Kaneshiro drop something when he was running away." He walked over to the elevator and knelt, picking up a journal.
"Then let us see what lies inside," Fox spoke as they all approached. Looking over his shoulder, the artist frowned as he read from the page. "'R=C=0, I=1, H=2'… What could this mean?"
Queen held a hand to her chin in thought. "The pages afterward have been torn out as well. Could it be a code of some sort?"
"If so, then it looks like we'll need to do some codebreaking on our next infiltration," he spoke with a small grin. "Fun."
"Ugh, yeah… fun." Skull rolled his eyes. "Can we get goin', then? I'll leave that code crap to you."
"Considering Kaneshiro's earlier reaction, that elevator there might lead to the innermost part of the bank. If so, it'll be the most secure area as well. Let's make sure we're ready for whatever awaits!"
"Mona's right. Let's head back to the entrance, heal up, and I'll note down what we'll need for the next time we come in. Now, let's go!"
Alright, a chapter all inside the Palace. Honestly not much to talk about, was mostly battles this time around. Had some fun with the Queen and Fox having trouble with the door and key cards. I could've gone longer to get in some student life stuff in, but the chapter already reached the minimum I always go for and figured it's been long enough without an update. And yes, the chapter title is a reference to that anime. Figured it fit with how Fox took down the Sui-Ki lol.
I guess we did get Rebellion Beta, so I'll probably do another PSI Description here. Ah, I also was wondering why the hell Queen and the others just run right at Kaneshiro and the Shadow he was talking to. Pretty sure they already explained to her they're there for the Treasure, not just to beat him up, so I don't quite get them just running at them lol. Either way, I changed it to the Shadow detecting their presence to make a bit more sense. Other than that, guess that's it for this chapter. Hope it was a fun read, let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!
PSI descriptions:
PSI Rebellion— β
Akira's special PSI named after his favorite thing. It is an area of effect attack that can raise Akira's attack power by 1.
A deadly PSI Gift that only Akira can use. It's a psychokinetic wave generated by concentration that, when in the Metaverse, deals 120 damage on average to each enemy. Full range is 60-180. Requires 14 PP. When in reality, it deals 150 damage on average to each enemy. Full range is 75-225. Requires 13 PP.
Phoenix's Notes: Since it's just the Beta version of Rebellion, it's basically the same thing as Alpha, just like Rockin' Alpha and Beta are very similar in Earthbound, as well as Gamma and Omega. Once again it costs less than Rockin', with a lower damage range than Rockin', but with an attack boost for himself. And, again, costs less while doing more damage in Reality. I'm sure the time will come when Akira gets to use his powers much more frequently in Reality. Probably on a certain Day of Reckoning, after some fusion shenanigans.
Side note, goddamn do the costs jump up. You go from Rockin' Beta costing 14 PP for an average 180 points of damage to Rockin' Gamma costing 40 PP for an average 320 points. Let's not even get started on Omega…