Persona 5P: The Phantom Paradox (Persona 5 Royal & Strikers / Young Justice: Outsiders)
Chapter 14: Pirating a Movie
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
August 5th, 2018 4:25 PM JST
It was close to the evening and Ryuji was seen staring at the entrance of the movie theater in Shinjuku's red-light district, with a ticket in his hand. It was ticket to see the latest in a world famous spy movie franchise, "Jet Fusion: Wildfire"! Turns out that Ryuji has a thing for those films, mainly for the action, while ignoring the romantic parts. As for why he's about to watch it here in Shinjuku, rather than somewhere else, is basically because today was the last day it would be seen in theaters before it would get publicly released several months later, and the theater in Shinjuku was the last one that wasn't entirely booked. Of course, given how much of a fan of the franchise he secretly was, he wasn't gonna let the fact that the theater was in the red-light district stop him from seeing it, especially if that red-light district was where a certain Beefy Trendsetter and Scruffy Romantic could be found. That, and the fact that he desperately needed something good to take his mind off of a certain recent something.
Ever since Ren just up and vanished a few days ago, he had been in a funk. It wasn't just him. Everybody is feeling depressed. It was like when they thought the plan to fake Ren's death would go wrong. They kept in touch with each other even after they parted ways. None of them wanted to feel alone. Makoto promised to give them an update on the police investigation regarding his disappearance, but so far nothing has come up. That made everybody worried even more for their friend, even though it had only been a few days.
He had to have been kidnapped somehow. That must be the only explanation. Ren would never ditch his friends like that. Well… except for that one time 2 years ago regarding the aforementioned Beefy Trendsetter and Scruffy Romantic where he currently was in Shinjuku. Of course, regarding the time frame they all left and regrouped at the Buchiko Statue in Shibuya, especially given that people are constantly going to and from, as well as in and out, of that area, they knew that they wouldn't find anyone who had seen him so easily. Not only that, but if it was a standard kidnapping, they would've arrived back to see the area in a bit of a disarray, along with at least some police in the area, but there was none of that. Clearly, it wasn't a normal kidnapping, especially regarding the fact that all the cameras in the area had mysteriously been down during that time frame, which meant that whoever was responsible didn't want to leave too many traces.
"I hope you're alright Renren. Wherever you are," Ryuji muttered before walking inside. After showing the receptionist his ticket, as well as grabbing a drink and some popcorn, he went further in to catch his seat just as the movie started.
It opened showing a large black plane flying high in the sky over snow-covered rocky mountains. It appeared to be an amalgamation of an Antonov An-225 Mriya, an Ilyushin Il-76, or a Beriev A-50, and a McDonnell-Douglas, or a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The scene then cuts to the inside of the planes cargo hold, showing a large number of people in ninja uniforms. One of them walks by a large shipping case, as the said case suddenly opens slightly, as if someone was peaking out to make sure the coast was clear. It turns out that was exactly the case. Once it was made sure that the coast was clear, someone quickly, yet quietly, came out of it. It was a muscular man wearing a tuxedo with the sleaves ripped off, and had his black hair in the form of a pompadour. This was Jet Fusion himself, the main character of the film! Once he was fully out, he peered around the corner, seeing a majority of the ninjas have their eyes on the main area of the cargo hold. Smirking, he takes something out of his pocket, before throwing it out into the center of the cargo hold, which then goes off, revealing to be a smoke bomb. A lot of the ninjas start coughing as the smoke engulfs a majority of the hold. Once finally starts to clear, Jet Fusion is seen in a fighting stance in the middle of the hold.
"Well, gentlemen, I guess this is where I teach you your ABCs: Agony, brutality, & crying!" He said before cracking his knuckles.
A fight then breaks out between him and the ninjas. Despite being severely outnumbered, he manages to knock them all unconscious after a brutal fight, one which Ryuji found totally awesome, as shown by the awe on his face. Once the fight was done, Jet Fusion then dusted himself before making his way further into the plane. After peeking through the door to make sure there was no one inside, he walked into a room with a large computer system. He pulls out a flash drive before plugging it in as he then types his way through the system, before coming across a folder titled "Eternal Cycler", as he then has the folder downloaded onto the flash drive. Once it was done downloading, he put the flash drive back in his pocket, before heading further up to the cockpit. When he gets there, he knocks both pilots unconscious before quickly setting the plane on autopilot. After doing that, he opens the cargo hold door from there before quickly running back there. As the cargo hold door opens, some of the stuff and ninjas start falling out. Once he makes it back there, Jet Fusion quickly takes out a jetpack from the case he was hiding in, along with a handheld explosive, before running toward the cargo hold's door, just as some of the ninjas were regaining consciousness, before turning toward them a smirk.
"Hate to leave ya like this fellas," He says before activating and throwing the explosive further into the cargo hold. "but I've... gotta Jet!"
He then activates his jetpack, quickly flying out of the plane, before thee whole thing blows in a fiery explosion. It then cuts to the theme song.
Wildfire by Against The Current (I own neither of them)
They say it started like a wildfire
It's kind of funny that you had me written off dead
Now we're coming for the empire
So now you love me, but you ain't seen nothing yet
Go tell 'em watch me, keep your eyes on me
I caught you sleeping before, and now I'm in your head
You can't close it, the doors are open
Nah, you ain't seen nothing yet
They say it started like a wildfire
I feel it spreading in a new way 'bout right now
Change the game, build an empire
If you're ready, we can spark it up
We can spark this all right now
I've been dreaming of a wildfire
I keep feeling the flames 'bout to boil my blood
Oh, kingdom getting so tired
It's a damn good day, go and change this up
Just tell 'em watch us, keep your eyes on us
Now I'm running away, I'm living in your head
Can't contain us, there's no escaping
Nah, you ain't seen nothing yet
They say it started like a wildfire
I feel it spreading in a new way 'bout right now
Change the game, build an empire
If you're ready we can spark it up
We can spark this all right now
They say it started like a wildfire
I feel it spreading in a new way 'bout right now
Change the game, build an empire
If you're ready, we can spark it up
We can spark this all right now
They say it started like a wildfire
New way 'bout right now
You ain't seen nothing
You ain't seen nothing yet
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
August 5th, 2018 6:45 PM JST
A few hours after the movie had started, it had just ended, as multiple people are seen exiting the theater, with one of them being Ryuji, with a look of amazement on his face.
"Aww yeah! That had to have been one of the greatest Jet Fusion movies ever!" He exclaimed in delight. The moment was short lived, however, as he heard what sounded like thunder, before realizing that it was now raining heavily outside. "Oh, come on! Did it have to rain!?" He yelled in frustration. "I knew I should've checked the evening weather before heading out." He grumbled before look down at the ground. "Guess this is just some stupid reminder that not all is well in life." He said sadly.
"I've got an extra umbrella here if you need one."
Ryuji turned his head to whoever just said that, as he widens his eyes suddenly. Standing there is a voluptuous woman who looked to a be his age. Her brown hair had purple highlights. She is dressed in a strapless black dress, a short black jacket, a black choker, and black thigh high boots. She was holding an opened violet-colored umbrella in here right hand, while holding a closed-up black umbrella in her left.
"I-I uh, d-don't worry about it, really. Th-This, umm, isn't the first time I had to put up with a downpour like this without an umbrella." Ryuji stammered, a blush appearing on his cheeks. Dang, she was gorgeous as Ann. But they are only friends since childhood, just that and nothing more.
"Really?" the woman asked. There was a look of surprise, but it faded. "You really look like you've had nothing but rainy days recently, even after seeing whatever made you smile a moment ago."
"Are you really giving this to me?" Ryuji asked, slowly taking the black umbrella that she had.
"Uhhh, yes." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "One umbrella is more than enough for me." She then puts on a playful smirk. "Of course, if you say you're fine without it, I suppose I can find someone else to give this to..."
"No, no! I really do need it!" He quickly said before fully taking the black umbrella, before opening it as he then walks out. The stranger then walked beside him.
"I take it whatever you just saw in there was pretty good?" She asked.
Ryuji looked back at here with a smile. "Oh, you have no idea! It was Jet Fusion: Wildfire! The latest in the Jet Fusion film franchise!" He exclaimed.
She then bore a face of surprise. "Oh, seriously!? No way! I've been meaning to watch it, just never really got the opportunity to. Is it still playing there?" She then asked.
"Err, sorry. This was the last day it would be playing in theaters." He apologized.
She then looked upset. "Aww, what!? If I had known that, I would've already been here a while ago! That movie would have been so much better than what this... red-light district has. Everything else around here disgusts me." She then stopped before looking back at him. "Sorry for ranting like that. I came here to get my mind off from personal problems."
"No worries. I came here to do the same."
"Really?" She asked in surprise before cracking a smile. "Well, what do you know? Great minds think alike."
Ryuji then blushed some more. "Y-Yeah... I guess they do sometimes."
"See, I told you he'd be here! I could sense it deep within my loins!" A deep voice spoke.
"Ooh, and he's got a real damsel with him! He is just begging to be hit on!" A brawny voice then spoke.
Ryuji paled as he heard those voices, while the woman looked confused, as they both looked behind them to where those voices came from. Standing right behind them were the Scruffy Romantic and Beefy Trendsetter that Ryuji had really hoped that he wouldn't run into while Shinjuku. The one known as the Scruffy Romantic was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with red hearts, white jeans with a belt, black ankle-high boots, a black tie and a tiny red hat, while the other, whom was known as the Beefy Trendsetter, was wearing a teal and red striped shirt with purple shoulders, a pink button-down shirt, white shorts, purple sneakers and a gray hat. But what would really make others cringe is the fact that they were both wearing blush, lipstick and mascara.
"Guh! You two!? Oh no..." Ryuji despaired.
"Oh, my! I can't believe we've been reunited after such a long time!" The Scruffy Romantic said.
"Smells like destiny to me!" Spoke the Beefy Trendsetter.
"Uh, wait, who?" The stranger asked in bewilderment.
"Oh dear, now where are our manners? Please, allow us to introduce ourselves to you, honey. I'm Angel-straight out of heaven!" The Beefy Trendsetter, now known as Angel, said.
"And I'm Julian. Julie, if you're feeling saucy!" The Scruffy Romantic, now known as Julian, then spoke, before continuing. "But for tonight, we're the Fashion Police! If you don't answer our questions, we'll take you away!"
Angel then spoke up. "So, which of us do you think is more manly?"
"More manly?" She asked, getting weirded out by these two.
"H-Hold up! Wh-What're you talkin' about...?" Ryuji stuttered.
"Oh dear, your time is up! Sorry, but it was a trick question. The correct answer is... We're both lovely!" Said Julian, as both he and Angel smiled.
The smile that Angel had turned into a sly smirk, before speaking. "You interfered with our duties by not answering the question! I sentence you both to... stripping!"
Ryuji got freaked out at this. "S-S-S-S-Strip!?"
"Wait, what!?" The stranger yelped.
"Oooh, my fashionista skills would be perfect for this! Hands behind your heads!" Angel continued, while also making body gestures as to what he wanted them to do.
"A-Aaaaaaaaaagh!" Cried Ryuji, as he made a break for it, with the stranger right behind him.
"The suspects are escaping! After them!" Exclaimed Angel, as both he and Julian took off after them.
After less than a minute of running, both Ryuji and the stranger came up to a shaded parking area for bikes and motorcycles. Before Ryuji could run any further, the stranger grabbed his arm, getting his attention.
"Hold up! I got a rented motorcycle here with an extra helmet! We can use it to escape!" She quickly suggested.
"U-Um, uh... Okay, good plan!" Ryuji frantically agrees, as she quickly runs over and pulls out a lavender motorcycle. She then quickly tosses Ryuji the spare helmet as she puts hers on, before they both quickly hop on as she starts the engine, and they sped off. By the time Angel and Julien had arrived, they had just left.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Shinjuku Central Park, Tokyo, Japan
August 5th, 2018 7:00 PM JST
The lavender motorcycle that both Ryuji and the stranger were on had come to a stop in a parking spot near the main entrance of Shinjuku Central Park.
"Whooo! Thank god we managed to get away from those two." Ryuji exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief, before getting off the motorcycle, as the stranger did the same. "Err, sorry that you ended up meeting those two guys. Out of all people, I was really hopin' I wouldn't run into them this evening." He apologized as both he hand the stranger took off their helmets, before opening up their umbrellas.
She just waived it off "Oh, relax. A lot of people have to put up with embarrassing moments like that, not to mention those who make you feel embarrassed." She said, as they both started walking into the park. "But out of curiosity, how in the world did you meet a pair of guys like them?" She then asked.
Ryuji rubs the back of his head as he talks. "Well, uh... I don't really wanna say too much, but about 2 years ago, me and a friend of mine went into the red-light district to meet up with someone, and while we were looking for the place for the whole meet up thing, a random street fortune said that my near future held relationship troubles or whatever, and then just a moment later, right behind me, err... Well, you can probably guess." He said before letting out a sigh.
"Oooooooh, I see. Talk about rotten luck." She says with a grimace. "Hey, what about that friend you mentioned?" She asked.
"Huh?" Ryuji looks back at her before chuckling. "Well, he just so happens to be one of the best friends I got, even though that time just had to be one of the few times he ditches me. Now that I think about it, I guess I can't really blame him. He probably would've ended up in a world that he didn't want a single effin' thing to do with. Hehe." He finishes before realizing what he said at the end as his eyes widened. "B-But I'm not saying that I ended up in that world! No way! I'm surprised I was even lucky enough to finally escape from those two." He said frantically.
The stranger just chuckled. "Well, he must be one hell of a friend if you still consider him that after ditching you." She said before looking at where they were closing in on and stopped. "Oh, hey! Check it out. The famous Shinjuku Niagara Falls." She said as they were indeed about several steps away from the said fountain.
Ryuji also stops to see the falls. "Huh. Whaddya know?" He said before noticing a pair of crowbars laying on the ground by the right side of the pool that's part of the falls. He then looks further to the right to see what seems like construction work around the park restrooms. "Looks like renovations goin' on with those restrooms." He said, getting the strangers attention, as she also looks in the direction that he was. He also what looked like some more tools laying around closer to them. "Would it have killed them to clean up all their tools before the day was done?" He asked.
The stranger just shrugged. "Meh, some people just can't help but be messy, even in their adult years." She said. A thought then struck her. "Hey you know, why did they name this fountain and park after two popular places in the United States again?" She asked.
Ryuji looked at her in confusion. "Huh? Well... I dunno. Maybe because the guys who established and built them were fans of places outside of Japan, or something?" He said, before realizing something. "Hey, speaking of outside of Japan, you don't really look like you're from around here." He said.
The eyes of the stranger widened before she chuckled a little. "Yeah, you got me. I'm kinda here on a vacation from the States with a few friends of mine. I'm Nicole Callahan by the way." She said before continuing. "By the way, the personal problems I mentioned earlier back there are don't really have anything to do with them. My brother Matt was being a bit of a jerk to me over the phone earlier today." She finishes.
Ryuji grimaces in sympathy. "Family issues, huh? I know what that's like." He said, thinking back regarding his dad leaving him and his mom, before recalling something. "Oh by the way, the name's Ryuji Sakamoto." He finishes, before hearing the notification sound of his phone. "Oh uh, give me a sec, kay?" He asked as Nicole nodded, as he then walks several steps away closer to the fountain's pool, before taking out his phone and sees that he's got a new message, but from an unknown number. "A message from someone I don't even know? Who the hell could possibly-?" He muttered under his breath as he then opens up the messaging app.
As soon as he opened it, he immediately shuts up as his eyes widen in absolute shock as he reads a name in the text message. It was the name of someone that he thought had disappeared a few days ago. "Renren?" He quietly let out with a small smile, but it faded as he began reading the rest of the long text message he got from him. As he read through it, he silently gasped "Uh oh." He quietly lets out as he shifts his eyes in Nicole's direction without moving his head, before turning back to his phone and quickly typing in a text message of his own. As soon as he was done texting and hit the send button, he heard footsteps slowly walking closer to him. He immediately packed his phone back in his pocket as quickly turned to see Nicole walking up to him.
"Is something wrong?" She asked innocently.
"Y-Yeah! Everything's fine!" He quickly replied with a strained smile. "That was just the friend of mine that I brought up a minute or two ago. Said that he met someone crazy recently." He then said.
That piqued Nicole's curiosity. "Really? Did he say anything about this guy?" She asked with a smirk.
Ryuji tried to keep himself calm as he spoke up. "Ummm... I don't really know how to describe it right. It was some blonde guy with a red eyepatch, mostly red bodysuit, and had a bo staff." He answered.
Upon hearing the physical description, Nicole's smirk quickly faded as she flinched slightly. "Uhhhh... Okaaaaaaayyyy? Err, who exactly wears that sort of stuff in public?" She hesitantly asked.
Her brief flinch had easily told Ryuji that Nicole was hiding something. "I dunno, a supervillain maybe?" He answered, which seemed to put Nicole on even more edge. Before she could say anything, Ryuji continued. "By the way, I find it kinda weird that you had this spare umbrella," he gestures to the umbrella he was currently holding. "not to mention the spare motorcycle helmet you had for me. Don't people usually have those if they're taking someone they know for a ride? I mean, we only just met back there and all." He finished, as Nicole started to scowl.
Seeing the look on her face, Ryuji mentally slapped himself for realizing that he probably should've kept his mouth shut, and started sweating nervously. "H-Hey, uh, listen. I really should get going right now. I can always call a taxi to give me ride, ya know, if you're not up to-" He said while taking his phone out of his pocket again, but never got the chance to finish talking.
All of a sudden, Ryuji felt pain in his chest. At first it was faint, but then it became unbearable throughout his body. His breath became hitched, his lungs having difficulty getting air in his lungs. Feeling light-headed, he stumbled a few steps back into the shallow pool of the Shinjuku Niagara Falls, while also dropping his phone on the solid ground, before crumpling down to the floor of the pool, trying to curl up in a vain attempt to make the pain go away. His eyes looked up at Nicole, who looked down at him with a smirk that bordered on psychotic.
Somehow, he knew that she is the one causing this.
"It's a shame that you have to end up like this, Ryuji Sakamato. I was actually really hoping to mingle with you a bit more before killing you." Nicole said as she knelt down and picked up his phone, before accessing his messages. She slightly frowned when she read the contents. "Ugh, sonuva... Looks like that stupid brother of mine screwed up. I suppose that explains why he suddenly went silent on the psychic link a little while ago. Oh, look! You even texted your friend where you were." She then smiles evilly. "Lucky me. When he gets here, I'll definitely be able to prove to my brother that a little finesse can really get the job done." As soon as she finished talking, she swiftly threw his phone down on the ground, breaking it. "Oops, there goes your phone." She says playfully before kneeling down and whispers in his ear. "But that, as well as dying, is what you get when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong. I'm curious about one thing though. For a group calling themselves 'The Phantom Thieves', you guys don't seem like much. No powers, no skills, and no technology. So how did you get Baron Bedlam to fess up?"
"Go…to…hell…" Ryuji grunted through pained breaths. Despite the pain, he was feeling dread crawl up his spine. He wasn't as smart as Ren, but he can tell that she knew that he is a Phantom Thief. Not to mention they were involved with Bedlam's change of heart. How the hell did she know? That wasn't mentioned in the emergency text from Ren, much less the whole Phantom Thief part! That's when it hit him as his eyes widened. She must've known from the start!
"That's not very nice. I really thought we had something," Nicole said with mock pout, before letting out a sigh. "No matter, I should be able to get that particular info out of your friend when he arrives. Also, I'll be sure to have my teammates send your regards, Sakamoto. Assuming my brother is only unconscious and not dead, not to mention wakes up soon. Now, that leaves only one more thing…" She then narrows her eyes a little bit.
Then, his heart stopped beating. Ryuji's bloodshot eyes lost their light as he became still. His vision became black and the last thing he saw was Nicole picking up the broken remains of his phone before walking away. He heard her say five final words in Japanese.
"Have fun in the afterlife."
In a place between life and death, Ryuji floated in a black void. He couldn't see anything, let alone his body. Not to mention he couldn't move. Despite this, he was still aware of his surroundings. The blonde felt cold but couldn't do anything about it. Strangely, he felt at peace here.
"So, this is it, huh?" Ryuji thought since he is unable to speak. "This is what it's like to die."
Nobody knew what it would be like to die. True, he and his friends had their brush with death on their heists, but he never put too much thought into the afterlife. There were so many different versions that made his head hurt.
He saw his life flash before his eyes. Him meeting Ren and entering Kamoshida's castle unwittingly. That was there they met Mona who showed them the ropes. Eventually, they will recruit Ann and officially become the Phantom Thieves after Kamoshida's change of heart. Go on misadventures and uncover a conspiracy involving a metaverse and defeat a false god. He remembered the good times they had together. How they laughed. How they argued. Right until that time Ren disappeared and had hoped that he will be found. He wanted to give his best friend a scolding for making them worry.
And just when he thought he would, Nicole came along and killed him.
The thought of Nicole made his blood boil. She mentioned she'll give his regards to her teammates. Knowing that just further backed Ren's emergency text saying that they were being hunted, and that the rest of their friends were in serious danger. Is this retaliation for Bedlam's change of heart? Well screw them! If Ren wasn't afraid to pay the price to do what's right, then why should he be?
"Like hell am I going to let this end here! If they think that they can lay a hand on my friends, they have another thing coming! I don't care if I'm dead! I'll just crawl out of hell if I have to!"
Then, he heard a hearty laugh. If he could move, he would've flinched at the sound. It was creepy to hear in a place so dark, especially when it seemed to be coming everywhere at once.
"You had me worried there. Good to see that your tenacity hasn't waned since our last conversation. If you still want power, let's us form a new pact."
Once again, Ryuji felt pain. Only this time, it was throbbing inside his head or his soul. Whichever it was, he didn't care. It wasn't as painful as the one Nicole inflicted upon him. He could feel warmth returning to his body.
"Let this moment be the beginning of your new maiden voyage! Hoist the colors and set sail!"
From the cloudy sky, there was a rumble of thunder as a lightning bolt flashed down and struck Ryuji's body in the pool of the Shinjuku Niagara Falls. His body became badly burnt from the heat. After a few seconds, Ryuji's heart began to beat again. At the same time, his skull like mask appeared on his face. His eyes opened to reveal golden bloodshot eyes. Slowly, despite his injuries, he stood up in the water, almost zombie-like, and reached for his mask. On the first tug, it didn't budge. This caused him to grip the mask with both hands. He struggled to get it off, like it was glued to his face. Finally, with the squelching of flesh, he ripped it off with a scream. The upper part of his face looked bloody.
A split second later, he burst into blue flames.
"That takes care of him." Nicole said as she tossed the remains of Ryuji's phone into a nearby trash can. "A shame, though. He really was pretty cute looking, too." She admits out loud. "Now then..." She said before looking towards the rainy sky. "Hey Threshold, you there? It's Bliss. I have Ryuji Sakamoto dead." Nicole thinks aloud in her head, while also revealing her codename to be Bliss. Given that there didn't seem to be anyone else nearby in the park, she decided to take the opportunity to make her report to her team leader, who just so happens to be her brother.
After several moments of silence, she scowled again. "Ahem! Matthew Callahan! You had better not be playing dead on your own sister, mister! Or are you just too embarrassed to answer after the very team leader of ours had failed so miserably?" She yells in her head, revealing the full name of Threshold, AKA her brother. After several more moments of silence, she let out a deep sigh. "Okay, either you're knocked unconscious, or you're dead." She said mentally, before smirking. "Of course, it sounds like you screwed up on your end of the mission, and apparently your target is on it's way right to me. I think I'll take the liberty of taking care of him in your stead." She taunts in her head, before looking around with a frown. "Although, I wish there were somewhere nearby I could go to get out of the rain while waiting for him, in case hypothermia wears me down." She mutters under her breath. Given that the nearby restrooms were under maintenance, she knew that she probably wouldn't be able to go in there.
However, a mere second later, she heard a scream. Turning around, she saw a pillar of blue fire erupt from the pool of the Shinjuku Niagara Falls. The azure light casted a pale glow around the area of the park she was currently in. Not only that, but it was right where she left Ryuji Sakamoto's body.
"What the heck?"
She slowly started walking back toward where his body was, hoping to get a better look. When she just about a couple of meters away, someone started to step out of the erupting blue flames, much to her shock. However, what was more shocking was who it even was. Stepping out of the flames as they finally died down, as well as picking up the nearby pair of crowbars in his hands, was Ryuji Sakamoto! His face was briefly lit by a flash of lightning, followed by thunder. But he was dressed in his Metaverse attire rather than his casual wear. He showed off a big smirk and intense glare from behind his skull mask.
"What's the matter?" He asked darkly, sending shivers down her spine. "Did you really think you could get rid of me so easily?"
"B-But... You're dead! I killed you!" Bliss hissed in fear. This was impossible! She was certain that Ryuji died from a heart attack. There was no way that she made a mistake. Not only that, but he was now wearing completely different clothing. Just what the hell was going on here!?
"If you thought that was enough to take out the Charge Commander of the Phantom Thieves, then you got another thing coming. " Ryuji scoffed as he started walking towards Bliss who was still trying to make sense of the current situation.
"You may have gotten the drop on me before, but that ain't gonna happen this time." Ryuji smirked with a feral grin further enhanced by his mask as he spun the crowbars in each hand expertly before clanging them together in a cross formation. "Now that I know your a bad guy, I'm gonna kick your ass!"
After his proclamation, Ryuji got into a runner position and kicked off the ground charging toward Bliss with speed exceeding what a normal human was capable off. As her enemy approached her, Bliss quickly took action and ducked a wide swing from Ryuji before the latter swung down his other crowbar forcing Bliss to roll out of the way. This proved a wise decision as the moment it struck the ground, a large cloud of dust was kicked up.
When the dust cleared, Bliss was shocked to see large spider web cracks spreading out from the point of impact. Ryuji turned towards her and started running towards her again, but this time Bliss was prepared and quickly activated her powers, causing him to collapse to one knee. Though for some reason, she could feel some resistance that had not been there before.
"What was that about things being different this time?" Bliss taunted after regaining her composure. "Cause from where I am standing, you're looking pretty damn pathetic!"
Her arrogant persona lasted only for a second before Ryuji slammed one of his crowbars into the ground and used it to support himself as slowly pushed himself back up. "Didn't you hear what I said?" Ryuji growled out causing Bliss to up the pressure on him with her powers. This seemed to work for a few seconds as Ryuji stopped moving for a few seconds. However, Bliss was shocked when Ryuji started to move again, as his body trembled. As he looked back up at her, Bliss felt her blood freeze with shock once more that night as she gazed into Ryuji's bloodshot eyes which glared at her with enough animosity that her blood ran cold.
"Things ain't the same as last time!" Ryuji cried out as his eyes glowed with an eerie golden light. Bliss clicked her tongue in annoyance and brought out a handgun, from a hidden holster, which she pointed at Ryuji. "Just shut up already you little...!" Before Bliss could get a round-off, the fountain behind Ryuji exploded with a large burst of water heading her way. This momentary gap in her focus was all Ryuji needed to regain his mobility and dodge the incoming stream of water which struck Bliss, sending her rolling across the now muddy ground.
Quickly regaining her bearings, Bliss looked up just in time to witness Ryuji's leg kick her in the gut, leaving her gasping for breath as pain assaulted her body. As Bliss was rolling on the ground again, she saw her handgun on the ground not too far from her. She quickly darted for it while Ryuji ran towards her. Somehow Bliss managed to grab the weapon first. As she got back up and quickly turned around while Ryuji was in mid-swing, Bliss smirked triumphantly.
"Too slow!" Bliss yelled as she pressed the trigger. However, instead of the loud bang she was expecting, all Bliss heard was an audible click which echoed loudly around them. Her eyes wide in disbelief, Bliss gasped as she saw that her gun had somehow jammed.
'What the hell?!' Bliss cried out internally. This was all Ryuji needed to knock the weapon out of her hands with one crowbar before the other hooked around her leg. Bliss's eyes went wide as Ryuji pulled and swept Bliss off of her feet. After a brief spin through the air, Bliss's body was positioned in a way where Ryuji raised one crowbar above her exposed belly. With wide eyes, she was powerless to stop Ryuji from slamming his weapon directly into her gut and sending her crashing into the ground.
Coughing up blood from the impact, Bliss glared at Ryuji raised her hand towards him and summoned all of her focus once again to concentrate her powers on Ryuji once more.
As expected, Ryuji clutched his chest as he felt Bliss doing her thing. As he collapsed onto his knees panting heavily, Bliss slowly got back up and looked at her opponent while backing away slightly. Her whole body and hair were drenched with water and stuck to her now muddy body and clothes. Combined with her bloody mouth and manic expression, Bliss looked absolutely insane.
"You have been a real pain in my ass tonight!" The meta assassin yelled with bloodlust clear in her eyes. "This time I'm gonna make sure that I put you down for good!"
As Bliss was about to push her powers to their limit, someone did a knifehand strike on the back of her neck, knocking her out cold, as she dropped to the ground.
Ryuji had let out a massive gasp of relief as felt the affects of her powers disappear. As he managed to get himself back up from the ground, he laid eyes on the person that he texted his location to, whom was standing right behind Nicole's unconscious body, panting and looking more than a little worse for wear.
"Renren!" Ryuji exclaimed, dropping the two crowbars he had on the ground, and immediately ran up to Ren, giving him a major hug. "Dude, you're alive!" He yelled in relief.
"Y-Yeah. I'm alive Ryuji, but... I'm not exactly in the right shape for this strong of a hug." Ren said in a bit of pain.
"Huh? Ah!" Ryuji immediately lets go, thus allowing Ren a little breathing room. "Sorry, man. I'm just so relieved to see you alive! This is totally the best thing that happened to me after I came back from the dead so far!" He exclaimed.
"Wait, what? Came back from the dead?" Ren asked in surprise.
Ryuji realized that he just said something that would probably make Ren worried for him next, so he immediately changed the subject. "A-Anyways, what the hell happened back in Shibuya, man!?" He scolded. "You just up and disappeared without a trace!"
Ren scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I really don't exactly happened back there in Shibuya, but I can say that I was definitely kidnapped somehow." He said.
"Kidnapped!?" Ryuji yelped. "I knew it! Who was it? I'll make them pay!"
"It's a long story," Ren said. "But right now, can you change back? You're gonna majorly wear yourself if you stay like that! Just think of changing back into your normal clothes and it should happen."
"Uhhhh, okay?" Ryuji replied in confusion, before imagining changing back from his phantom thief attire. Just a mere moment later, it actually happens in a burst of blue flames. "Whoa! That actually worked!" He yells in surprise.
"Yeah, it did." Ren said, before noticing that he's pretty messed up himself. "And it looks like you had a pretty rough time with her." He then looks at the mess around them. "Also, how exactly did the place this messy?" He asked.
"Uh, hello. I wish I knew!" Ryuji replied before looking back down at Nicole, whom was still unconscious. "But one thing I know for sure is that I don't think I'm ever gonna look at hot chicks the same way ever again after this."
"You can say that again." Ren replied, also looking down at Nicole. It was then that he recalled the powers that he got from Threshold back at LeBlanc. "I wonder..."
He knelt down and placed his right hand on the head of the unconscious Nicole. Right after he did that, he started seeing flashes of images and other info in his head. He immediately found out that her codename was Bliss, and that the guy he and Morgana fought earlier at Leblanc was codenamed Threshold, and just so happened to be Nicole's brother Matthew "Matt" Callahan. What he learned right after that made him feel like retching. He saw Matthew, Nicole, and six others, whom are shaded out, slaughtering just about everyone in the PubSec HQ! However, it wasn't just them doing the slaughtering. Apparently, there were also those in hi-tech tactical gear with knives and guns with silencers, along with masks on their faces. As he saw the killing going on, he also managed to make out someone else outside of the group of eight she was in, as well as those in the hi-tech tactical gear, slashing someone's neck with what appeared to be a bloodied red x-shaped shuriken. That someone was wearing a completely black bodysuit that features a red 'X' (with the lower-right point elongated to stretch across the chest to the bottom of the right pectoral muscle) placed over the top of the left pectoral muscle, an ash-gray utility belt that features a silver/light gray buckle, a pair of vertical cylinder-shaped tubes on the back of each pouch and a thin, horizontal red stripe through the middle of the backside, a pair of serrated ash-gray gloves that feature black outlines around the "serrated" portions, a single, large red 'X' on the palms and the back of the hands, a pair of black boots that feature an ash-gray outline around the edge of the soles (which feature an ash-gray version of the skull on the mask, but with red eyes that lack a thick black outline, and a red 'X' below it, on the heel), a black cape that features an ash-gray interior, a black helmet-like mask that features a white skull (that lacks the lower jaw) and a red 'X' placed in the middle of the "face", with the lower-right point of the 'X' elongated to end beneath the right eye. The "eyes" of the mask are white reflective lenses and are thickly outlined in black. Upon seeing the figure, he also immediately got the name from Nicole's memory, which he was pretty sure was a codename: Red X. He then started to feel a strong migraine come on, which meant that he was still just getting used to the new telepathic power and that he couldn't keep this up for very much longer. Despite this, however, he continued to persist. Using what focus he had left, he saw another image. It showed both Nicole and Matthew standing along with the six others, whom were still shaded out, standing before someone. Despite them being shaded out, he was still able to get names, along with what seemed to be codenames. Leon Carver, codenamed Frostbite, Rachel Goldman, codenamed Sublime, Gem Antonelli, codenamed Copycat, Hector Morales, codenamed Powerhouse, Jocelyn Davis, codenamed Freestyle, and Michael Heller, codenamed Evo. However, compared to them, he got a much clearer view of the person they were all standing before. It was a well-built man wearing a dark purple full-body suit with armored padding. Around his waist is a purple utility belt with golden accents. Around his shoulders is a white cape. He was wearing golden shoulder pads and arm guards covered in armored studs. His face was hidden by a helmet which looked similar to a knight's barred visor though his mouth was visible. Like with Red X, he was pretty sure that what Nicole knew him as wasn't his real name but just another codename: Prometheus.
As soon as he was done with all that and returned to reality, he immediately stood straight up, holding his head in pain, alerting Ryuji.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Dude! You okay there!? And what exactly was that all about?" He asked while helping him keep steady.
"I'll tell you later, but first," Ren said before continuing. "Ryuji, I am about to ask you a serious question." He said seriously, before asking. "By any chance, did you talk with Zenkichi at any point today, and did he say anything about being busy with work?"
That got Ryuji slightly confused, but he still answered. "Well, yeah. He said that he got the day off to spend time with Akane. Why?" He asked at the end.
"'Cause apparently, these guys, along with a bunch others, went as far as to slaughtering just about everyone that was in the PubSec headquarters earlier today, all just to get info on us!" Ren exclaimed seriously.
"Wha- Are you serious!?" Ryuji hissed out while looking down at Nicole.
Ren nodded. "Yeah, and what's weird is that given that it happened while it was still lighter out, I hadn't heard or seen any new regarding that on my way here." He added.
"Seriously!?" Ryuji exclaimed. "Dammit, just who the hell are these guys!?"
"I actually have a pretty good idea, but I don't have to explain. We have to go find the others before the assassins can get to them. We're all gonna rendezvous at Shujin since LeBlanc's compromised." He quickly explained.
"Then what the hell are we standing around here for!? Let's go!" Ryuji exclaimed.
They then both ran off, leaving Nicole's unconscious body on the ground in the pouring rain.
What up, dudes and dudettes! Here's "Pirating a Movie" for you all! I also have to give Crossovernaru credit for helping me out around the end. As you can see with the Jet Fusion movie that Ryuji goes to see, the reference to what I think is one of the best movie and cartoon franchises of the early 2000s is the Jimmy Neutron franchise! I would honestly to see that franchise get an official reboot one day. I mean, it was one of my most favorite things to watch back when I was little. Also, regarding the plane and Ryuji wielding a pair of crowbars, those are basically referenced from Fast & Furious Spy Racers and The Eminence in Shadow, with the plane in the movie being based off of the spy plane from Fast & Furious Spy Racers, and the crowbar wielding thing being inspired from the first episode of The Eminence in Shadow. Just so you all know, I don't own the Jimmy Neutron franchise, the Fast & Furious franchise, or The Eminence in Shadow series. They all belong to their respective owners.
Regard the powers of both Nicole Callahan and Ryuji Sakamoto in this chapter, I've decided to take away Nicole's telepathic capabilities, and only has her empathy related powers, while as for Ryuji's, well... consider the game of Dominoes as a hint on who his are based off of, given that I don't really feel like going into detail right now.
Furthermore, have you all heard!? VIZ Media has officially acquired RWBY! Woohoo! Take that, David Zaslav! You can't take down RWBY that easily!
Moving on, you're all familiar with my Rockman EXE Xros story, as well as my Young Avengers idea, right? Turns out that since I'm gonna be really busy focusing on this story, I'm considering putting them both up for adoption. Well, regarding my Rockman EXE Xros story, I was originally thinking of rewriting it entirely. I mean, I have a whole lot of ideas for a rewrite of it, too. On the topic of ideas, I also have plenty of those for the Young Avengers idea of mine as well. If anyone is willing to adopt them, or do the rewrite for my Rockman EXE Xros story, I'd be more than happy to give you permission, as well as figure out how to send over the ideas I have for them respectively as well somehow, in case you're interested.
Before I forget, I've come up with the title names of the next several chapters of this story, and currently have them much further down this page, so you can easily choose whether you want to see them as a spoiler or not. Of course, given how far down the page you're already at and want to hurry to the next chapter, I recommend covering you're eyes if you don't want to scroll all the way back up, and just focus on the 'Next' button around the bottom. Or, if you're reading on your mobile device, just do the whole swipe thing. Anyways, the title names of the next several chapters are...
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"The Lady in Red"
"Outlaw Hero's Portrait"
"Life Is a Highway"
"Wailing Technomancer"
"Illusory Nobility"
"Escape from Tokyo"
"Welcome to Port Oswego"
I'm pretty sure that from these chapter titles alone you should have a pretty good idea what they'll involved, so stay tuned! Also, quick question regarding something that's been on my mind recently. Do you think a song that would be fitting for Goro Akechi would be the English version of "Shadow is the Light" by THE SIXTH LIE? Also, like the things I brought up above, I don't own either of them.