Disclaimer: Fate and Persona are owned by different companies, and I hold no ownership and all that jazz.
7/24
Panther flopped onto the ground, Caroline had her baton and was poking the blonde girl, Justine was scribbling notes as Joker looked on nervously.
He was the last to go, most of the thieves were in balls on the floor or just passed out. Mona had woken up though! Although he passed out again shortly after for sleep! Fox was the only one who was also awake being the second person who had the 'surgery' done, the art student was doing what he did best.
Painting the scene, although…Hakuno was very confident she didn't have some strange flamethrowers as her fingers.
"I'm almost tapped out… give me a few minutes." Hakuno had an inkling she would find more Magic Circuits inside of Joker, his eyes seemed to be a sort of Mystic Eye that she didn't know the name or type of.
But…
Hakuno was confused about just how every member of the Thieves had circuits… from what she was told they are scarce among non-magi families. Perhaps… the ability to have a Persona is the same as the ability to cast Magecraft? If so, then that could be why Persona users were rare…
To Hakuno's knowledge, she has never met another Persona user who wasn't part of their current group.
Although the ones that the Thieves had are very different than her own, Hakuno was fairly sure they could still use Mystic Codes, but…
Hakuno felt a strange concept infused into them, so similar to the ones that lay inside her Mystic Codes, Hakuno had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to do Magecraft as a normal Magus would.
But Skull was the strangest.
His core was gone, a warmth rested in its place as if something was right.
Ann's was nearly broken apart as well, barely held together by a single sliver of whatever the material was. She could see no harm damage inside of Ryuji from the shatter and Hakuno had a small theory on what it could be.
One that she would share with the rest when they were well… A quick glance showed that most just stayed on the ground in pain. Perhaps tomorrow?
"Come on inmate! Squeal like a pig!" Caroline's tsundere persona was in full swing, Justine had a radiant smile… Caroline must've heard Panther say that that was one of her more common threats to the Shadows.
"Perhaps we can do it later? How about tomorrow?" Joker's joker persona was shifting to his normal Akira, but less… cocky? Hakuno could guess that's the right word.
"Is this not like one of your human shots? Quick, swift, and best to do as early as possible, get on the table inmate." Justine motioned to the table, "Don't you intend to join your companions?"
The twins pushed him onto the table. Latching him onto the bed, "Just think of all your Personas that go through our guillotines…" Hakuno chose to ignore that.
Hakuno had done this six times so she was getting better at it than she expected, although… the sight that she saw made her pause. For one…his core was solid and pitch black similar to her own although… while hers was cold his burned in her sight.
Then there was that each Phantom Thieves held some reflection of their Persona deep within themself, boundless and free, barely able to be perceived in her strange sight, but…
Arsene was bound by chains, patchwork hands of dozens of somethings reached out from deep within Akira's soul, far deeper than she would ever go for fear of possible permanent repercussions. So solid and so real, her senses flickered over the bound Persona as it h̷̨̦͉̮̠̙̆͐̋̄͊ę̸͎̙͚͚̣͎̍̓̋̇͌͊̆͗l̶̘̪̮̗͚̖̬̅̐̊̐͊̑d̷̹̜̙͗̇̀̽́̂͂̐ ̴̤̙̬̬̺̱̞͕͇̰̍̎̈́̎͋̏̍̋̓̐̇͐͠h̴̬̙̃̑̾̈́̒̚e̷̢̢̻̙̺̬̯͕͎̜̖̼͔̙̋̃̅̍̈́̄̀͌̀̓͌̈́͗̋͘ͅȓ̴̺͎̮̙͈̫̱͉͇̑̈́́̑̀͂͒̄͜͜͠͝͝ͅ ̴̪̭̭̲̬̖͍̣͔̖̦͙̞̟̑̆̿͗͑͐̂̐̽͐̕͝͠g̵̨̛̛̟̺͔͙̳̤̣̣͔͔̤̺͖̼̐̎̌̾̇̐̍̉̓̑͘̕͝a̶̧̞̤͖̼̹̔̆̋̉̐̓͌̒͜z̶̦̩͎͍̟̙̫̼̺̖̼̮̖͒͛͛̏̚͜͠ę̵̼̝̝̳͙̗͐͛̃̋̓.
Hakuno pulled back, she had already found the nerves that ran down Akira's soul, most seemed to have been warped into his eyes, so he had scarce few that seemed actually like her own.
She pulled back, his circuits were there, and while minuscule in number compared to the ones in his eyes… Hakuno would have to build specialized Mystic Codes that he could use…
She had borrowed some paper and had written down ideas on what their 'concept' was, while she wasn't 100% certain that all of them made sense, they will have to do some testing…
Caroline had slammed the ether shard into Akira's mouth before she could even say anything, but with the twins here… no one should be in any permanent danger? Probably.
Magus's awakening of their souls inspired him.
Her fingers wove through their very souls, For brief moments Yusuke thought he saw their other selves, their Personas flicker to life around their bodies. Oh, how he felt lucky to have been the second one that went through their surgery.
He never knew his sight was clouded until that moment. Ever ruffle of clothing, a slight crease in their movements, he now could witn-
Oh. Why is there red on his canvas now?
Why is the room spinning?
Hearing a thud, Hakuno looked up from her book. It seems that Yusuke had passed out? He seemed to have handled the awakening a lot better than the rest, perhaps he was just high on adrenaline?
"Caroline if you could?" Caroline nodded a smirk on her face.
"Gotta say Hakuno, you showed us some great ideas, I think we should be able to do something interesting now!" A phantom Pixie floated over Yusuke for a moment, the blue-haired boy's breathing became much more relaxed as a familiar green glow covered the boy.
Hakuno could only shrug… but perhaps… "Tell me about the Velvet Room."
The twins froze, their golden eyes focused on her, "I see… the Inmate mentioned it?" Justine asked slowly.
"Is he not allowed to?" They looked at each other, Hakuno could feel the nervousness that passed between the pair.
"Master didn't say that…" Justine mumbled glances filled with purpose danced between the pair as Hakuno sat on her chair, choosing to ignore the groans coming from everyone.
"The Velvet Room is our home. The inmate's prison, where we help him overcome R̴̭͊u̴̼͗̄į̷̈̽n̶̬͋̊. Our master resides in there, he w̷̨̧̳̰̥͍͍̤͙̮̳̳̠͗͌̃̑͗͆͑̋̊̎͜͝͝͠i̷̢̢̦̹͚͚̰̘͓̟̖͖͑͒̌̑́͒̓̄̎̃̓̑̚͜ͅͅs̵̪̩̤̝̘̙̻̲̝͖͂̇̈̈́͛̏͌͒̌̈́̄̓̚͘͠h̸̡̺̼͕̼͉̦͈͙̭͉̹̬́̋͛̀̓̈́̒ę̸̘̱̯̈́͑̈́͐͑̐̕s̴͔͋̄̇͐̈́̐̈́͗̽͐͐͘̕ for mankind to overcome it…" Justine's voice sounded strange.
Justine paused as they both shared a look words were conveyed between the two with no sound, Caroline shook her head, "I think… we should go, We have paperwork to do,"
"Y-yeah, thanks for the advice Hakuno!" With a flash the twins disappeared, Hakuno only felt the wind rustle around them, not teleportation… just incredibly fast?
"Hey… You, you're finally awake, you were trying to cross the border?" Hakuno watched in mild amusement as Futaba shook their grey-eyed leader awake.
"So… three ground rules for Magecraft." Hakuno had thought long and hard about it, and with her extremely limited knowledge of Magecraft/Code Casts, she was the closest to a teacher in this setting…
"Magecraft is dangerous, my body remembers how to cast the Code Casts I do because of just the amount of time I've used it." At least that's what she thinks is the cause, "And… everyone's circuits are vastly different than mine."
"Wouldn't that make sense? Everyone is different." Makoto pointed out, which was true, but Hakuno wasn't referring to that…
"Your circuits feel like… they already do something?" Futaba perked up and her words.
"Ours are preprogrammed while yours are in a blank state." Hakuno nodded, that would be a better description than involving concepts or the like.
"I think you guys can use Mystic Codes I create but… probably won't be able to deviate from whatever that is tied to your circuits." Hakuno debated on continuing, "But… the first rule should be that you should only do it in the Metaverse for the time being, without relying on my Mystic Codes."
"Wait! That's not fair!" Ryuji stood up, slightly shaky but was still able to stand without support, "You use it all the time!"
"He's got a point, Magus." Ann said which was true.
"But she does have experience that we lack." Akira pointed out, "And… if that event was a taste of Magecraft then…" The group shuttered at the remembrance of their shared pain.
Hakuno nodded, "The trigger that you set for yourself and the follow-up usage will cause a lot of pain until you get used to it." Hakuno herself was born used to the spiritual pain, a thankful continuation of her time as an NPC.
"If it helps, think of it as a new limb, one that needs time to grow. I made a few of these…" Hakuno had a few of the basic ice and wind rings, the two she felt were the best… as Fire and the like could prove dangerous."Fox and Skull can learn how to recharge using their personal Mystic Codes." Hakuno handed everyone, except for the two boys, a ring along with a rough idea of how she uses the Mystic Codes…
"Wooo Summer homework." Hakuno made a note to work on Makoto's personal Mystic Code if she would accept… it would help in battle and in their normal reality if the worst comes to it.
"Two, Don't try and do new things without someone nearby… And the most important rule… don't be stupid, overuse can hurt you permanently," Something she vaguely knows about, her overuse caused her to faint not even three weeks prior.
"Aren't we forgetting about our next target?" Mona pointed out, which wasn't really true, but the excitement of magecraft moved their focus onto it for the moment.
"While everyone was on the ground I was reading up on Ran Rū, a…" Hakuno turned the book over again, "Nikolaevna, wrote about rumors and myths regarding her alongside numerous other Serial Killers of our modern day." Hakuno wasn't sure why someone would use the name of a Russian Duchess as their pen name, more so Hakuno had an inkling that the author was actually male due to a few strange word choices...
"Spill the deets!"
Hakuno rolled her eyes as Akira spoke up, "First… everyone on board with letting Futaba join?"
A chorus of agreement came from the group, and Hakuno nodded, She wasn't thrilled about Futaba joining, she would prefer her friend to be safe from harm but…
It was Futaba's choice.
"Code name?"
"PHARAOH!" Ryuji sounded so excited.
"I'll curse you." Futaba wasn't threatening at all when she said that. Hakuno could already tell that the hacker's abilities relied solely on support.
Her Persona's a navigator, something that Morgana was doing with his mastery of wind and general knowledge, that would remove a lot of his duties letting him focus on healing and fighting in the front line.
"Navi?" Akira suggested which Futaba flinched at.
"Hey, listen!"
"How about Mech?" Was Ann's suggestion.
"Oracle." Futaba shook her head, "With my vision, I'll guide you all to victory."
7/25
"Now…where would the evil clown's homebase be?" They had met up at Leblanc, deemed the safest place and well away from where they were attacked…
"Jinbocho?"
Candidate Not Found
"We already suggested that… Ugh… Shibuya? Akihabara?" Ryuji suggested.
Candidate Not Found
Hakuno's belief was right, their Magic Circuits did work well enough to fuel the weaker Mystic Codes she had given them, with only Akira seeming to be struggling with it. Most likely due to the minimal amount of circuits that aren't located in his eyes.
The pain did stop them from trying to do anything really stupid for the time being. Well… Except for Yusuke. Yusuke seemed to be using a trickle subconsciously to focus better, she noticed that his eyes became redder and redder as he drew, his eyes darting extremely quickly from his book.
"Yusuke… calm down." His eyes moved fast as he focused on her, "You're going to hurt yourself."
He blinked, as his expression changed to one of confusion. "Inari! You didn't get x-ray vision did you?"
"Ah… my apologize, I think… I am using my own powers…" Perhaps he has already found his ability? Perhaps it's a type of reinforcement?
"Well, just use it sparingly," Hakuno sighed, knowing that the Artist most likely would keep on doing it, "Overuse can potentially render you blind."
Hakuno didn't know if that was true, but seeing the shock of the artist she knew that he would then take it seriously.
"Kanda" Akira was still trying, Hakuno decided to head downstairs and get some food, a single step down the stairs Hakuno heard…
Candidate Found
She sighed, she was happy they found it but curry was now put off.
"It's Chiyoda, the entire ward." Now it's time for the final keyword…
"She is a serial killer dressed as a clown that is also a cannibal…" Hakuno spoke as Ann looked in thought.
"How about a restaurant?"
Candidate Not Found
"Darn…"
"Perhaps a hunting ground?" Yusuke suggested, rubbing his eyes.
Candidate Not Found
"I think that's closer," Makoto spoke up, "Maybe it's something in the middle?" Futaba's fingers deftly moved across her keyboard as the rest of the group continued, a chorus of Candidate Not Found echoed from the phone.
"Ughhh…. A Den?" Morgana suggested, which was a decent idea. An animalistic killer wou-
Candidate Not Found
Hakuno sighed as she brought out her book, rereading the section about Ran Rū once more… Serial Killer who was active for three years was a loving wife until her miscarriage, and used to work for a defunct fast-food chain as a mascot…
"Chase," Futaba spoke up, a vague memory surfaced maybe something someone mentioned in the Moon Cell?
Candidate Found
"What?"
"A term used in Britain about land reserved for hunting for its owner… The Clown mentioned 'The Wolf' and took him out… and well, she mentioned that she has been looking at Hakuno for a while but didn't do anything even when she was in Yongen alone. So she seems territorial so I looked up words similar to owning a hunting ground..."
"So… we should be fine as long as we don't go to Book Town?" That would make sense, some Serial Killers are very… particular in how they do things…
"For a while… But, we shouldn't be careless." Makoto was right, "She seemed solely focused on Hakuno so at the least, you shouldn't go out alone. Everyone should else should at least try and stay in populated areas."
Hakuno nodded begrudgingly she didn't like being treated as she was the strongest of the group, her ability to summon Avenger and mastery over her code casts meant she was someone that could take care of herself.
"No arguing." Ann looked her in her eyes, "I know that look of yours." Hakuno blinked, she didn't even know she was looking at them differently.
"Yeah… Hakuno you get this serious aura around you like blam!" Futaba chimed in, "But yeah… uh, going by yourself might not be the best thing for now."
"Come on! We can all pick ya up from your place, go out to eat and just chill when we ain't diving into her Palace!"
"And you can help our 'magic circuits'," Akira pointed out, which was true.
"Ok, then… How about we head there now?"
Akira smirked, "Let's go."
Author's Note: So, yeah to explain what I mean about their Magic Circuits, eventually I'll think of a different name for them but they are in a way, inbuilt Mystic Codes. Basically, if Rin is good at everything, and Shirou is good at Sword-related stuff but can still do other things, they are far more limited in their abilities.
They can still use Mystic Codes, at least the ones that Hakuno but overall they have one 'Mystery' embedded into their very being, They can stretch it a bit but overall will be limited to what they can and can't do. The only two I'm not 100% sure about are Makoto and Futaba.
(Example being if say one of their ability was to generate water out of their fingertips, they might be able to splash a lot of water if they punched someone. Minor changes and such, nothing crazy.)
The others I have pretty solid ideas that will actually be put to use, mostly involved in combat but can have some utility use such as Yusuke and his ability to focus which will be exclaimed later on.
The artist is really good at figuring out his powers mainly due to the fact he is really good at details, his ability to become so focused in his art lets him get a bit of understanding of what his Mystery is.
But, if anyone has some really good ideas I'm open to suggestions!
Oh and if anyone is still wondering, Beryl is dead and Ran Rū is an antagonist in Fate/Extra.