Ch. 26
**Gore warning**
DH:34 (34 Minutes into the dark hour)
As soon as she saw the Emperor's sword, Yukari knew it meant trouble.
She agreed with Hamuko's decision to prioritize destroying the Empress, the Shadow that had (effectively) a scattershot artillery blast. Even now, she was pretty sure it was the right choice. However, while the Emperor didn't have magic missiles, it still single-handedly carried a medieval weapon the size of a small battering ram with the same ease that Junpei would heft his baseball bat. Anything struck by a sword that size would suffer no small damage, and Yukari wouldn't have been surprised to learn that any human struck by the blade would have no chance of recovery.
In other words, the Emperor's sword should have killed her.
But it didn't.
Smashing into the two personas must have misaligned the Emperor's aim, as instead of hitting Yukari with the sharpest part of the blade, she was hit by a blunter side. So, instead of shearing it clean off, the sword shattered Yukari's right arm (still raised from summoning Io), failing to stop its momentum as it collided into her right shoulder. The force bludgeoned her into the ground, the crunch of her body crashing into the pavement overtaking a sharp pop Yukari heard come from her shoulder. A piercing wail resounded across the street, and it took her a moment to realize she was the one screaming.
She lost focus. After a long moment, her vision refocused on her right side, but Yukari wished it hadn't. Blood splattered on the pavement from the open wound on her forearm, now rammed against her shoulder from the blade's concussive force, and forcing her into a grotesque pose.
And then she realized, hazily, that despite the Emperor's poor aim, the sword must have twisted slightly. The weapon was now jammed partly into her arm.
"T-Takeba!"
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Yukari barely registered Hamuko's hoarse screams. "E-everyone, get over here! Quickly! Now, nownownow! Please, someone, anyone, help her!"
Yukari couldn't think straight, eyes still locked on the wound, and her continued shrieking tearing at her throat. She had a vague sense that she should run, that she should really get up and get out of the way soon.
She was reminded why a moment later.
The Emperor yanked its sword up, attempting to pull it out of Yukari's arm, but instead dragging both weapon and girl several feet into the air. Yukari's eyes, barely open through all the pain coursing through her body, briefly met Hamuko's- horrified and wide as the moon.
Then, with a slick, wet noise, the sword slid free of Yukari's arm. Gravity took hold of her again, and she was dumped unceremoniously back to earth, landing hard on her eviscerated arm and left screaming raw on the callous ground.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Towering above the downed junior, the Emperor lumbered forward, paying no heed to the distressed sounds forcing their way out of Yukari's throat. It adjusted its stance and grip on the sword, paying no mind to the comparatively minute stain of fresh blood covering a section of its massive edge.
The Emperor began to raise its sword once more, and Yukari closed her eyes, not wanting to watch her fate approach.
Then she became aware of rapidly approaching footsteps from her side (Left side? Right side? Yukari couldn't tell at the moment), just before she found herself roughly lifted up. With zero care given to her arm.
Given the proximity of the Emperor, the rough retrieval probably saved her life. But in the moment... it felt like the worst option. Her eyes slammed shut as her ruined arm violently protested, and another round of screams erupted from her battered body. As she was shuttled away, that pain became the final straw for that night, and darkness took over Yukari's senses, enveloping her in a blissfully numb cocoon as she took one final, slow breath before falling unconscious.
...In...
...Out...
...
Dammit.
Dammit!
Damn it all!
Minato cursed himself and his apparently rusty situational awareness as he sprinted towards Yukari. Why the hell hadn't he seen the Emperor attack?! Why hadn't he predicted what it was going to do?! What was wrong with him?!
Damn, damn, damn.
He couldn't afford to let his thoughts (and curses) affect his actions. Minato sprinted as fast as his untrained legs could carry him (which, now that he only had his saber on his back instead of his entire backpack, was actually pretty quick), determined to reach Yukari as the Emperor prepared another set of three strikes. As he approached his injured companion, he swooped down, snatching her with his left arm beneath her back and right arm cradling her legs, taking no great care for her injury and barely breaking stride in his run. Yukari flinched and screamed as he grabbed her, pressing her scrunched-up face against his chest. After a few moments, she went limp against him, her strangled yell quickly fading away as her head lolled forward and her arm leaked blood on the front of his blazer.
Minato's drive-by rescue came not a moment too soon. A few seconds after he picked her up, the Emperor's sword collided with the street in its now-expected set of attacks right behind him, dangerously close as they tore up the pavement behind him.
crunch
Crunch!
CRUNCH!
The shockwaves reverberated through the street as he fled, and as he felt the third strike shudder through his legs, he peeled back around to look at the others, panting as he recovered.
Hamuko stood several meters away, Junpei still on her shoulders, and stared at Yukari's limp form with an expression stretched between shock and horror, dead to the world except for her focus on Yukari. Minato glanced to his other side. Akihiko and Mitsuru stood next to each other, Mitsuru still on her cycle, while they too stared at Yukari's form, continuing to leak blood on Minato and into the street.
Minato wanted to scream at them.
...actually, he'd better.
"What are you doing?!" he roared, making all of them jump (feeling just a tad guilty when Hamuko, still burdened with Junpei, nearly fell over). "Focus! Akihiko, you're the strongest here, come get Yukari. You and Hamu need to get around the Emperor and go back to the shop with my backpack in it; there's some supplies in there. Stabilize Junpei and Yukari, then give a signal once you're done. Mitsuru and I will distract the Emperor until then."
There was a brief pause in action, while the team digested his words, before Minato bellowed. "Now! Go!"
His voice brooked no room for argument, and the Emperor's looming threat (emphasized by a loud step forwards) supported that. Unsurprisingly, Akihiko sprang into action first, tossing the elegant fleuret back to Mitsuru (she caught it, though fumbled with it in a surprising show of normality) before running up to close the distance between him and Minato. He gently took Yukari's small, broken form from Minato's arms and started jogging, trying as much as possible to not to jostle his passenger's arm as he skirted far around the edge of the Emperor's range. Hamuko followed suit with a face still as glass, adjusting Junpei's position on her back before following Akihiko at a slower clip, her jog a strained affair with the burden of her ward weighing on her body and mind.
Both of the retreating members of S.E.E.S. momentarily caught the attention of the Emperor, though thankfully not enough for it to chase after them. Unfortunately, that was because it had found a closer target: Mitsuru… who had yet to fully gather herself, instead watching the fleeing duo, and hadn't noticed.
Well, I'm not going to make that mistake again.
"Mitsuru!" He yelled, jamming a finger towards the Emperor as he started sprinting (again) to her, stumbling for a moment as his freaking bad leg cried in pain beneath him (as he'd been doing for the rest of the night, he told it to shut up). "Get out of range!"
Twitching at his cry, Mitsuru took a moment to realize what he was saying. Then, she jammed her cycle into first gear.
Minato was torn between despair and facepalming. Ditch the cycle, you damn gearhead! Your acceleration isn't that great!
"Get rid of the cycle, there's no time-!"
Too late. Mitsuru started to roar forwards on her mechanized steed, but the Emperor's sword was too long, and (sure enough) Mitsuru's acceleration too slow.
The sword crashed down on the back of the cycle, missing Mitsuru by just a hair. But Minato still winced as he heard the grinding, crushing noise of metal being crunched, and the shrill whine of an engine revving too hard. The tip of the sword shattered the back of the motorcycle, ripping all the way through to the wheel and slicing into it with a sharp popping noise as the tire burst. Although she wasn't hit directly, with the rear of her vehicle destroyed, Mitsuru was catapulted, flying forwards and letting out a surprised cry as she hit the ground. She tumbled, rolling several times before coming to a limp stop on her side, arms sprawled out in front of her.
The downed cycle continued skittering forward. Having crashed on its side, sparks flew as the gleaming metal of the cycle's carcass scraped against the ruined city streets. No fire was started as it continued its doomed trek... partly because it came to an abrupt stop when it rammed into a fire hydrant, wedging itself partly inside.
And like they didn't have enough problems, as soon as the cycle collided with it, the hydrant burst.
FFFFPPPSSSHHHHHHHHHH!
Gallons and gallons of highly pressurized blood shot forth, surging out with a mighty rush and firing into the streets. Minato was directly in the line of fire as he ran, and while he was far enough away that the pressure didn't push him back, he winced as his sight was obscured in crimson, and he was completely and thoroughly soaked in sticky gore.
Damn. Minato took a moment to shake his head in exasperation as he ran, sending droplets of blood spraying in all directions. Really can't catch a break today, huh?
Minato had the presence of mind, despite his annoyance and resignation, to take another peek at the Emperor. Instead of finishing the rest of its two remaining strikes, the Shadow had stopped and moved forwards, staring down at its injured quarry.
So it can attack anywhere from one to three times in quick succession, depending on the situation. Noted.
All the while, Minato had continued his mad dash towards Mitsuru, adjusting his course now that she was on the ground. He passed by the Emperor, who looked down at him as if to say, 'What is this ant running around my legs for?'
Fortunately, he moved quickly enough in and out of sword-swinging range that it didn't seem to deem him worthy of being targeted at the moment, and so he escaped unscathed. That was a win in Minato's book.
After a dozen more pounding heartbeats and steps, Minato finally reached Mitsuru, thankfully with a decent lead on the Emperor. He hadn't noticed, while his vision had been blocked by the hydrant's blood, but Mitsuru was already sitting upright, Penthesilea summoned and casting a dia on her summoner. As he arrived, he dropped to one knee, breaths heaving out of him (he really needed to ask Akihiko for a training regimen when this was all over and done).
"You okay?"
Mitsuru looked to the side, maroon eyes reflecting his azure locks, while the gushing of blood from the hydrant continued in the background. "I am more bothered than anything, yes." She winced as she moved her leg experimentally, flinching with a hiss before firing off another dia on herself.
Minato glanced around the area quickly (he wasn't making the mistake of only focusing on one part of the battle again). Akihiko and Hamuko had nearly reached the broken shop, while the Emperor had progressed to about 7 steps away from striking range. Then he looked down at Mitsuru, more specifically at a hole burned through her uniform's skirt, showing the cracked skin underneath. "What happened?"
"My motorcycle's engine clipped me as I was thrown off." Mitsuru experimentally began to stand as Penthesilea disappeared, briefly stumbling before finding her balance. "It was only a second-degree burn, so it should heal fine."
Minato nodded, shifting his eyes from side to side to re-check the Emperor (5 steps away) and the other group (inside the shop and setting their injured teammates down) before he stood as well, but Mitsuru had a question.
"…Arisato." At her word, Minato turned. His visible eye locked onto hers, although he quickly glanced down when he noticed her slightly shaking limbs. He glanced back up again when she continued to speak. "...What now?"
Minato barely needed to think about that, tilting his head behind them as his substitute for pointing. "Let's get further back, at least 30 meters. That should still be close enough to keep its attention from the others. Until we can get you to a safe place to scan it, there's no point in trying to attack. I'm not leaving it up to chance if we hit a weakness or resistance." The whole time he spoke, Mitsuru watched him with rapt attention. "Got it?"
Mitsuru nodded, and he let out a breath. "Alright. Let's move."
The two began jogging in the indicated direction (no need to sprint since they were out of the Emperor's range… and, Minato was exhausted), a minor limp in both of their strides: Minato from his bad leg, and Mitsuru… actually, from her bad leg too, albeit hers more recently caused.
As they ran, Minato had a thought. He threw a sidelong glance at her, taking a moment to wipe some excess hydrant blood from his eyes, which had dripped down from his now-sticky hair. "Do you have a concussion?"
Mitsuru blinked, before returning the glance and coming to a halt as they arrived at their new destination 30 meters back. She cast her eyes downwards as she rubbed her injured leg. "No, I do not believe so. Why?"
"You're listening to my ideas."
Mitsuru froze, gaze riveted to her leg. Maybe she was repeating that phrase in her mind, because it took her a few seconds before she slowly glanced up at him, revealing the utter disbelief covering her face. "You… Arisato, was that a joke?!"
"To be honest, it was half serious."
"You just… after everything that has happened, you…" she practically sputtered, trying to figure out how to respond. After a moment, she paused, her mouth just slightly hanging open, and then…
She dropped her head again, long bangs reaching downward, and with a wry smile on her red lips, she snorted.
Yes. Kirijo Mitsuru snorted. Minato almost raised an eyebrow as she continued.
"…I am listening to you, Arisato…" she flinched as the Emperor took another step, fortunately still focused on them (maybe unfortunately, but better than focusing on the other group). "…because without you, many of us would likely be dead. You stopped everyone from attacking the Empress' resistance, you moved us all into action a few minutes ago, you most likely saved my life mere moments ago, and you absolutely saved Takeba's life after the Emperor… s-struck her down."
Mitsuru went on, clenching her fist as the Emperor moved another step towards their potential doom. "I do not know where you get your unflappable demeanor, or how you hid your shrewd mind. When the situation calls for it, you speak with the authority of a leader, and you make strategic decisions like a veteran. The idea for Akihiko to wait to attack, and to use my sword, did not come from him. And while you were not perfect tonight… you have been better than the rest of us."
She straightened her back, releasing the tension from her frame, before turning back to Minato. The Emperor drew closer yet again (10 steps away from striking distance, Minato calculated), but this time, Mitsuru did not react, her attention wholly devoted to Minato. "If we are to survive tonight, S.E.E.S. needs a strong leader. Your sister is understandably hysterical. Iori and Takeba are out of the fight. I cannot trust Akihiko to lead, not when the stakes are so high. And though I am loath to admit it…" She let out a harsh chuckle, glancing down at the ground as she raised her own arm, madly jittering around. "...I have begun to shake like damned first year before homeroom."
Minato looked down. His own frame was solid as a rock, excepting the slight inhale and exhale as he worked on catching his breath.
"It seems that you have noticed it too. You are the most emotionally stable and tactically-minded member of S.E.E.S. present."
"Tonight, Arisato, you must be our leader."
He hesitated, digesting Mitsuru's proclamation. As wonderful as that would be in many respects, he had to admit that in this universe… "...Hamu is still the best choice. I'll ask her first."
"Why? Do not downplay your skill, Arisato. That will only get us all killed. And-" she had the presence of mind to glance to the side, at the Emperor, worryingly close to them. "...we should get back."
Minato hummed in agreement, and they both took another few steps back. Unfortunately, after doing so, there was nowhere else for Minato and Mitsuru to run except sideways: their feet were at the curb, right next to the hydrant, which Minato had tuned out during Mitsuru's heartfelt speech, but was still gushing blood like an arterial wound.
…Minato internally winced when he had that thought. Not my best analogy.
"Arisato, listen." Minato turned to face Mitsuru, for once not attempting (or not able) to fully mask her emotions, showing a pinch of the fear that Minato knew from the past timeline she carried with her. She paused, then exhaled, her visible eye drifting sideways, while her right hand grasped her left elbow. "If you tell anyone I said this, I will execute you. But... I am afraid, Arisato. I may have lost two team members tonight, and I... I do not wish to lose a single person more."
"...You won't."
Mitsuru blinked, and looked at Minato again. Minato's expression hadn't changed... but his eye was now focused directly on hers. Somewhere in his peripherals, Minato noticed the Emperor three steps away from striking distance.
"Doesn't matter who's the leader. No one else is getting hurt tonight."
Minato glanced back at Akihiko and Hamuko. By now, all four of the remaining team were inside the shop with Minato's backpack. Hamuko sat still, but Akihiko scurried about rapidly, finding items to stabilize their injured teammates.
However, in their bustle, and due to the limited viewpoint from inside the shop, they had neglected to keep an eye on their surroundings. That included two Spurious Books, the jellyfish-like Shadows with books for brains, which had twirled around from one side of the street, and were dangerously close to noticing the four members of S.E.E.S. in the shop.
And for all the mistakes Minato had made that night, he was not about to break the promise he made, oh, maybe five seconds earlier.
No time to wait for their signal, after all.
"Mitsuru." He spoke, and she fully turned to face him. "The others are about to be attacked by two smaller Shadows. They may need backup. So I'll make a distraction for the Emperor. Grab Hamu's naginata, and when… it happens, run to the other group. Don't stop."
"Understood. But…when it happens…?" Mitsuru questioned, a quizzical look popping on her face as she jogged to the side to grab the naginata, just a few meters from their current position.
"Yes," he replied. With a steady hand, Minato reached down to release the strap of his evoker's holster with a click, gently sliding his hand inside, between the soft leather lining and the frigid metal of the evoker.
"It."
Why.
Why?
Why!?
What the hell is wrong with me?!
God, they're… they're both…!
Hamuko was dying inside.
Her thoughts paralyzed her as she knelt above Junpei's limp form. He wasn't bleeding as profusely as before, but a few larger pieces of metal still leaked blood, pulsing out in time with his slow heartbeat. The evoker limp in her hands, she sat unmoving as Akihiko scurried about behind her, occasionally firing off a dia.
Hamuko's half-lidded crimson eyes moved to look at Yukari. As bad as Junpei was… Yukari was far worse. Thankfully, Akihiko had immediately taken over her recovery when they'd arrived, tearing open Minato's backpack and dumping all of its contents out. He started by grabbing a dagger and Minato's peacoat, using the blade to cut off a sleeve from the coat and tie it around Yukari's arm as best as he could, attempting to stop the massive bleeding.
But it was also clear that dias and a makeshift tourniquet weren't going to be enough for Yukari. She needed real medical attention, soon.
Her forearm was shattered, clear even to the naked eye (as her bones had broken through her skin), and she continued to bleed on the floor, although at a slightly slower pace than Hamuko would have expected. But her entire right side was still contorted and mangled, the collision with the Emperor's blade having also affected her shoulder in some way. Hamuko wasn't sure how, and she didn't want to think about it.
(She supposed that she should feel lucky that Yukari still had an arm at all. Thank goodness for Io, and for the Emperor's apparent disregard for which edge of the sword to use.)
All in all, if it wasn't for the fact that Yukari's persona was giving her slightly increased healing, she wasn't sure if one of her two favorite ramen buddies would survive the night. And she still wasn't sure.
Her thoughts rushed at a million miles per hour, but her hands were slow as molasses. She glanced back at her ward, and just watched the slow, shaky rise and fall of Junpei's chest as he breathed.
…I'm just so… so worse than M-
"Hamuko!" Akihiko called from the other side of the room, and the evoker fell from her nerveless fingers with a clatter. "How is Junpei?"
"…He's… breathing…"
At the weak comment, Akihiko turned to look at Hamuko. "Hey, you alright?"
She sniffed in response. She hadn't realized she'd been crying, but her tears fell on Junpei, soaking into his shredded shirt.
"I've… I've seen a lot of injuries before, but… these…"
"Hey." Suddenly, Akihiko was next to her, grasping her shoulders. She slowly looked up. "I know it doesn't look good, but you can't let that stop you from doing things. Trust me, I know how you feel, I froze earlier too. But we've gotta help them, alright? Remember: Always plan for a second strike. That means a lot of things to me, but right now, it means taking action to make sure they can make it."
"…Yeah… yeah, I-I know." Wiping a hand across her nose (covering it in snot, but whatever). "I... what can I do?"
"I've already done as much as I can for Yukari for now. Cast a dia on her occasionally, to prevent some of the bleeding. I'll take a look at Junpei."
Hamuko nodded and rose, still half-dazed, as Akihiko knelt by Junpei, carefully moving Junpei's limp arm around as he inspected the injuries. Junpei wavered between consciousness and unconsciousness, occasionally moaning when Akihiko moved him but for the most part just breathing with quiet rasps of breath.
Yukari seemed even smaller and frailer up close as Hamuko slowly strode towards her. She lay almost perfectly still (Hamuko was barely able to see that she was breathing), head turned to the side away from her injury. Her normally well-kept caramel hair was tangled and matted with blood, pooling from beneath her as it slowly trickled from her arm. It stained her cardigan, turning her usual shade of delicate pink a dismal red, only growing darker and heavier with time.
Hamuko placed her evoker to her head and fired, summoning Alp. Her persona appeared above her, for once subdued as it raised an arm towards Yukari, and the warming light of a dia fell upon the wound.
Yukari lay unmoving, but the bleeding continued to slow. Hamuko would've given a sigh of relief, but all she felt was the ache of her regret, slowly expanding within her as she continued to stare down at Yukari.
There was a musty breeze that moved through the shop's broken window, brushing by Hamuko's face and rustling her skirt as she raised her evoker to fire another dia. She looked up at the window just before she fired-
And found herself staring at a Spurious Book, about one meter away.
It was hard to tell who was more shocked: Hamuko or her surprise guest.
It was also hard to tell what would have happened next. Hamuko changed tacks and switched her persona to Omoikane, finger just starting to squeeze the trigger (despite her internal numbness, she had barely enough presence of mind for her fight-or-flight response to kick in for this spinning Shadow). The Shadow twirled, raising one of its tentacles and starting to form a spear with it, a klaxon of chattering noises bursting from it.
But then, a shattering noise from across the street halted both of their actions. Hamuko's eyes glanced behind her enemy, while the Shadow itself flipped around to look.
And as she drank in the vision that greeted her, she could feel her jaw involuntarily slacken. Akihiko had also seen it, and he aptly summarized the sight that greeted both of them, smirk clear as a breaking day in his voice:
"Guess it's time for a comeback!"
Summoning a persona for the first time has a certain power to it.
Minato had seen it time after time, especially in combat: himself, Hamuko, Fuuka in his original timeline… the list went on, even beyond just S.E.E.S.
It's not that time stops… but it's as if every being present, from people to Shadows, everyone, knows that something remarkable is happening.
Minato could feel that energy as he took a step towards his foe, easily within striking range. The Emperor watched his movements with its blank gaze, and Mitsuru stared at him, presumably realizing what he was doing as she murmured "Arisato…?" in a stunned voice.
Across the street, Hamuko had moved next to Yukari and was healing her, while the smaller Shadows approaching them drew closer, closer, closer…
Minato took a deep breath, and cleared his mind as he exhaled.
His hand, inserted into his evoker's holster, fully closed around the still-sheathed summoning tool at his hip.
[...At long last…]
[...the time has come.]
It was the first time Minato had touched an evoker with true intent to use it since he had arrived in this universe. And as its cold steel settled into his grasp like a familiar kiss, he heard two voices ringing inside his head, speaking as one: Minato's own voice combined with something deeper, gruffer, older.
[I am sure you, too, have been waiting for this moment.]
[After all, we are not so different, you and I…]
Drawing his evoker from his side, Minato took another step forwards, his blood-smeared face staring up at the blank mask of the Emperor looming far above.
[Individually, we were smote by unjust Gods presiding over an unfair world.]
[Gifted with, yet beholden to, knowledge and abilities far greater than mortals understood.]
Boy and monster faced each other down with swords in their right hands, mirroring each other. The Emperor took a mighty step forwards, mirroring Minato's previous move with its earth-shattering weight.
[But as one, we shall soar higher than them all!]
[We shall reach new heights and scrape the very gates of heaven itself!]
Minato raised his evoker, giving it a twirl in reflex just before he pressed its tip to his temple.
[So come!]
[Show them our power!]
[Thou art I…]
[And I a-]
SMASH!
Unfortunately for the voice, Minato didn't have time for the full monologue.
Not waiting for it to finish its speech, Minato pulled the trigger, interrupting it mid-word. A familiar shattering noise surrounded Minato as the voice gave a surprised pause, and Mitsuru (thankfully remembering her instructions) started to run, taking a moment to glance at Minato when she passed by.
[…Impatient, I see.]
[No matter. We are the same.]
[You know what must be done.]
Minato did. He knew exactly what to do.
And so.
Despite potentially losing two comrades...
Despite all the stupid mistakes he'd made tonight...
Despite how dire the entire situation was...
Minato just couldn't stop the feeling bubbling up from within him.
When he spoke, the syllables rolled off his lips like a well-practiced prayer, while the fragments of glass from his mind continued crashing and smashing together above him. His heartbeat struck through him with the power of adrenaline, and an ecstatic smirk tore across his lips as he gripped his blade even tighter, the blood splattered over his face and covering his S.E.E.S uniform making his expression utterly demonic.
Now… he was complete.
[SAY]
"PER-"
[MY]
"-SO-"
[NAME!]
"-NA!"
...
["ICARUS!"]
As the boy and the voice in his head roared the name together, their world burst into light, and Minato's new persona became whole under the dark hour's green full moon.
...
...
...
AN:
I don't want to ruin the mood, so I'll make my comments here relatively short. But quick note: I have not started writing ch. 27 or 28, so they won't be out for a while yet! I won't give a time estimate, since I'm not sure when exactly I'll get them done and edited.
Also, I'm so happy that I'm FINALLY able to say what Minato's persona is! That final part of this chapter is an idea I've had in my head since 2014, and it is an AWESOME feeling to finally, finally have it published! I'll discuss a few more of my thoughts on Minato's persona after the end of Season 2, but I do want to quickly say thank you to everyone who had suggestions for Minato's persona! Now that his persona is revealed, I can say that I knew what his persona would be from the start, but it was awesome seeing all your ideas.
Also, thank you to my beta DisasterNoj with coming up with the line "drive-by rescue", I loved that line so much I had to include it here!
Here's his site info:
www(point)disasternoj(point)tumblr(point)com
www(point)archiveofourown(point)org/users/Disasternoj
Shout-outs to:
animangafreakZX, i throw rocks at retarded kids, ENDDRAGON369, Marionette Ame, Phearo, XxmaniaxX, Video games are good, LDLFQ, and Kirawe for fav'ing;
Sp1r1t, Evankey, Jenztsch, ENDDRAGON369, Marionette Ame, Holy Specs, Gungnir – Odin's spear, Phearo, Blue Bragon, kudogio, XxmaniaxX, Video games are good, Kirawe, and Ultimate Programmer for following;
And wellhaithar, Guest, KageFuego4, DarkPrince2002, i throw rocks at retarded kids (once again, plz don't), and 0lcra for reviewing!
In response to:
Guest: Haha well yes, yes you will! Thanks for reviewing!
(And in response to Guest's earlier review: Yep sorry for the wait dude, but hopefully it wasn't as bad as it could've been! Like, as you mentioned, the multi-year gap I took… Whoops. Thanks for reviewing!)
Ok, that's all for now folks. Thanks as always for reading, and I'll see you all in the next update!
(Quick side note: sorry for keeping those "2 MORE DAYS" chapters in the story, I'll remove those from the story in a few days!)