Disclaimer: Fate and Persona are owned by different companies and I hold no ownership and all that jazz.
8/25
Haru couldn't join them for their initial expedition, although they didn't have too long of one planned for today. However, she assured us she would have the day after available for most of the afternoon.
But at least they could try to aim for the first Safe Room and make a battle plan using the information they gathered today.
The ground was dusty and dry, cracks spread out and as typical as it was they were not directly inside the Palace they were looking for. However, they were in their Thief outfits already which never boded well.
The evening sun gave the area a red hue and the sight of a city in the distance was all she could make out alongside what might be some tracks on, if she was being generous, the nearby road. And…. well…
The Sweltering Heat.
It was nowhere near as bad as the outside of Futaba's Palace, but it was far more uncomfortable than outside during the actual heat wave they were dealing with. She was glad that their outfits somewhat protected them from the extreme temperatures, but it was a bandaid on a gushing wound.
"Hm… I was expecting to be underground," Yusuke added, "To think I would have a chance to see a western Town like this with my funds…" Huh, she watched as a nearby tumbleweed smacked into the artist, "Magnificent."
"Ugh… my paw pads are going to burn… Oracle, sense anything yet?" Morgana groaned as he climbed onto Akira's shoulder.
"Just… no Morgana," The lead Phantom Thief swatted the not-cat off.
Futaba groaned beside her, stretching the top part of her extremely skin-tight outfit to fan herself, Hakuno had to advert her eyes. "I'm a navigator, not a miracle worker… The train should be in town right?" Necronomicon appeared around her, and a few beeps, "Sweet, I got AC."
Ann waved Futaba down, "Is there room for two?"
A thumbs-down and a smile emoji were projected in front of the airborne Persona causing the other girl to groan.
She idly wondered if they could get sunburned inside a Palace… She better clip her cloak to cover more of her body just in case, she thought she heard something when doing that but a glance towards Futaba's Persona made her sure it was just one of the strange engines it had. She really appreciated having a mode of transportation that wasn't just walking.
"Morgana transform~" With a pop they loaded into their totally not-a-movie rip-off not-a-cat-mobile came into being and everyone, sans Futaba, climbed inside. She was disappointed when the 'AC' came out as lukewarm at best, but at least it was something.
"Hey let me in!" Futaba's Persona landed on Morgana, the not-a-cat-car swerved slightly. "I don't wanna use up all my energyyyyy." Hakuno opened the sunroof.
"Geh, Get off me Oracle! Don't encourage her Hakuno!" The speakers crackled out their complaints that she chose for this moment to ignore.
"Watch out!" Futaba's fall was anything but graceful, her bony body fell onto hers, and Yusuke, "Oof. We are so going to have to get used to that…" Futaba groaned as she shifted into the seat between her and the Fox.
"How would you like it if a huge weight slammed into you from above." The speakers whined once more.
"Mommmmm, Mona just called me fat." Makoto facepalmed and ignored the hacker. Hakuno could barely hold back a giggle.
"Don't make me turn this car around now." Akira's response just added onto it egging her favorite orange-haired friend on.
"You are practically a twig swaying in the breeze Oracle," Futaba's death glare needs some work, Yusuke was completely unphased, "As Skull has mentioned in the past, your neck is the perfect diameter to be strangled like a goose."
"Oy! Don't bring me into this!"
Futaba groaned a small sparkle in her eye, "Memes? Do not cite the deep magic to me I was there when it was written." The two began to argue and Hakuno zoned them out.
As weird as it was, it was nice to see Futaba having full fun conversations again. She enjoyed seeing her childhood friend in such a calm and relaxed mood, even as a kid she was hesitant to talk to anyone other than her and Kana. Seeing her so free was nice, and made something she wasn't sure of bubble in her chest. Something she can ignore from the comforting flickers of Avenger's flames. He might be the Avenger of Monte Cristo, but she had a feeling as a full Servant he would be a nice person to speak to.
The first group of Shadows actually caused an ambush on them, they were near the town but weren't paying attention to the Cacti. From her recollection, they hadn't come across any stationary Shadow-Guards before and were taken by complete surprise.
Avenger's Terror Claw raked against the Long-Hand Lady's Power Slash as Ann's Carmen burned the Shadow into ash, nearby Hakuno saw Akira talking to a Shadow that was a cross between a Mosquito and a Lady.
She had a feeling she had seen it before, maybe from one of Futaba's animes that she watches when they hang out. The Demon turned to dust and flew into Akira's mask, "Sweet, Druj Nasu, another Curse Persona…"
"Ooooo, I sense a Will Seed nearby!" Morgana purred out, the town was close by, and she had a strong expectation that they would find some access to the 'train' in it. Perhaps it was underground? Or as it was a train it might not be stationary, Kaneshiro's Palace wasn't until they broke into it.
Hakuno mused it over but decided to keep her thoughts to herself until they could find some evidence of which it would be. Both would kind of be fun, although living in Tokyo she would rather the train be above ground, they deal enough with the Subway already.
"Safe Room next door, might as well grab it and see the memory before we head out," Futaba added, safe room and will seed? Stange, they were next to each other, but Palaces are strange by nature in her opinion.
She kind of wished they were the basic arenas designed by Seraph, just empty hallways with minimal puzzles… She does seem to recall another labyrinth but… it's just out of her reach… the Ring on her finger felt slightly warm as she chose to ignore it for the time being to focus on her surroundings.
The first thing she noticed about the buildings as they approached was how similar they all were, every single building looked exactly the same, sure some were different sizes but the aesthetics of the buildings were cookie-cutter.
"Freaky…" She heard Ryuji mutter out as he used his mace to push aside a wooden rocking horse the wood creaked strangely, but perhaps it was due to the temperature. Which made this place even more eerie as the town had only the tumbleweeds passing through on a windless day. The Cacti-Shadows weren't even in the main part of the town, they seemingly only appeared in the more desert area so she was expecting they were going to fight something inside the buildings.
Mona sniffed the ground as he stood at attention pointing at what had to be the smallest building in this town, it was almost hidden behind another that she could smell the faintest whiff of alcohol.
From her limited information about the Wild West, it wouldn't be a surprise if this particular larger building was based on a bar of sorts. Doesn't Akira work at one? Or was it a flower shop?
Now that she thinks of it, that smell might be the first thing other than wood she has sensed in this area. The small wooden building had telltale signs leading to a Will Seed, although instead of ivy or police tape it was boarded up with more wood.
"Alright, let's see…" Akira's knife didn't make a dent in the wooden barricade. "Well… Queen, would you do the honors?" Hakuno has seen his knife cut through monsters and dragons but it being stopped by wood was wrong.
Makoto sighed as she reeled back her fist, something shifted slightly on the… "Queen Stop!" Futaba's yell sprung her into action. Hakuno pulled Makoto back with the hook on her new staff as the door of the building erupted into a storm of blades and teeth.
Fucking hell mimics were stupid. Why was so much of what they had been fighting managing to hide from her sensors? She will have to try and tweak them after this. Necro formed around her and half a dozen pings came from the nearby area. Why the fuck were they all hidden! And how did they set up a trap?
"Shadows on route! More Mimic Shadows!" The telling sign of Masks echoed onto the ground, as a pair of Werewolf Shadows turned the corner and a-
"Fuck!" Necro swerved as an Armored Gryphon-Rider swooped in joined by a trio of bird-looking assholes. Her cloaking kicked in a moment later as another burst of lightning erupted in the space she was previously in.
"For Conductor Sagara!" The Gryphon Rider's shout was annoying but at least it gave a hint, they gotta find that stupid train. Portioning a part of Necro's power, she did sense something that might be railroad tracks leading into a building in the North…
"Group up, this will be annoying!" Refocus, the battle is commencing. She could feel a few more distant pings of Shadows removing their masks their visible combat data made her frown.
Why were the first two shadow variants so much weaker…
It didn't seem like a trap trap, she didn't think the Black Mask could boss around Shadow Mobs, but it wasn't completely off the table. They hopefully just got unlucky… and now to rectify that.
"Supports on your way!" A few button presses and a small wave of lethargy as everyone was covered in red…
"Fox!" Ryuji grunted as he smashed his mace into one of the werewolves, their fur hide sending the attack back to him, "Switch with me!" The Pirate-Mugger and Fox-Artist dodged past each other joining the other's minigroup.
"It's weak to ice!" And to record that, Werewolves weak to cold is weird but helpful in this situation. Necro shifted in the air as Hakuno's cursed flames covered the Gryphon Rider without dealing any damage, luckily it was followed by her cheat spell that stunned them causing them to fall into Ryuji's path.
Her sensors flicked towards Akira as was holding off the Mimic who, for some reason, looked straight out of a Souls game with disproportionation limbs and the wooden door as a body-head with tentacles erupting out stabbing at their Leader. Luckily he seemed to have either an immune or physical reflecting Persona equipped as the attacks didn't seem to hurt him.
Her eyes glazed over as she saw Makoto join him, her previous Motorcycle Persona now a robot waifu blasting nuclear fire onto the Shadow that almost took her head. They won't be needing help other than a slight nudge of defense for the hot biker.
"Fuck off and burn!" Neither would the trio of Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana. While the Blonde bombshell was usually being hit on by the not-cat all three of them worked strikingly well together as they brought down the Bird-Men and Gryphon Rider with ease.
Hakuno and Yusuke were focusing on the werewolves, her cursed fire and his ice made a nice-looking picture, so she had Necro snap a quick pick she will have to bury it into her phone once she figured out a way to transfer the data to the Real World just in case anyone asks why she has pictures of Hakuno in action.
"Fox, on your left, birdman incoming." A subtle boost to speed, gave the painter an edge as he switched to his gun and fired a flurry of bullets into the upcoming birdman.
"My thanks."
Maybe she should look into a gun for Necro, she's been working on the bombs that Necro could make, but it still wasn't ready. Not like she could manipulate it too much out of the Metaverse. She ain't a cheat like Haku is.
Speaking of Hakuno she was bashing her staff against a birdman's skull as it turned to dust, her Not-Persona causing a werewolf to turn to ash just by making it scared. Terrify was perhaps the number one status she was afraid of, it just ignored everything. Hakuno and her Not-Persona were really living up to the Witch and Assassin aesthetic. If only she wasn't as dense as a harem protag things would be easier, but… She does have a good reason…
Getting that train of thoughts out of her mind before Necro messed with it she refocused on the battles that were going fairly swimmingly, a little increase in defense for Ryuji before the blade knicked him while keeping an eye and making sure nothing else approached them.
The battle intensified for a moment when Akira brought out another new Persona that Necro auto-scanned… Huh, Hermit Arcana Chrysaor, the Almighty barrage it released cut through the Mimic's stupidly high defense and finished it off. The attack drained a ton of Akira's SP though…
"Good Job Joker!" The headset was a godsend, she couldn't imagine just yelling her responses to the whole world to see it would totally give the Palace Rulers a chance to interfere. "Last push, no more coming, let's wrap this up!" A flush of her energy went into the Magecraft/Super Move as the world warbled and warped and the thieves now surrounded the two remaining Werewolves and lone Birdman.
Watching her fellow thieves' bodies move at speeds that reminded her of a certain blue hedgehog was always fun. No more pings, nothing out of the ordinary, and a Saferoom right next door with the first Will Seed Memory! This expedition was going well in her eyes.
Inside the Will Seed Room was vastly different than the run-down wooden buildings outside, it was made of sleek metal and had an almost futuristic vibe to it, she could faintly make what might be pods lining the walls but they appeared empty. The Will Seed rested with the only greenery as vines created the arm it rested in.
Hakuno oddly felt she had seen this place before but wasn't too sure, although she felt the bubbling rage of Avenger as the room warped around them, the memory taking into full effect.
The area reminded her of a small one-bedroom apartment building, the man was wearing a white suit with a purple t-shirt he had a smile so radiant it practically lit up the staircase he was ascending. His slick blonde hair was covered in way too much gel as it spiked over his face.
"I still can't believe she said yes." His words lingered as he trudged up the final step, his eyes focused on someone sitting beside the door to what was most likely his apartment. "Who are you?"
The man on the ground groaned as he stood up, "Sagara right?"
Instantly their blonde target was on guard, "...Yes?"
"I'm going to tell you something you won't like," The man shifted, his expression one of exhaustion, "Celenike is my Fiance, well was my Fiance."
Sagara frowned, "Excuse me? This has to be a joke."
The man pulled out a flip phone, and several pictures of a Silver-Haired woman with multiple different men appeared, "She goes after guys who have money, once she finds a new man she drops the old one like dust. You're the fourth guy that I've found she goes after losers like us and gets a kick out of draining us for all our worth before cutting us off."
The Blonde man took a step back, "That's… That isn't my Celene! She isn't like that!" He growled, "Get the fuck away from me before I call the cops, I'm in school to be a lawyer and I will do everything I know to lock you up!"
The man shrugged, "Can't say I didn't warn you, her daddy's a police chief so complaints and warrants don't get out. Just be careful one dude to another." The unnamed man left, brushing past Sagara as their blonde target leaned against the apartment's door.
"I refuse to be tricked by that man…"
The memory faded as Reality warped to show the sterile white room once more, the vines retreated into the ground. Hakuno could faintly hear the sound of a whistle in the distance.
"That… was sad." Ann's utterance broke her from her stupor, and Hakuno shook her head. She didn't like Will Seeds, it messed with her mind too much, tried to turn their Targets into more human. Showing their slow change from a normal person into the monsters they've become, just like the ones that surely her Will Seeds showed the original thieves.
"Him having a bad love life doesn't give him the right to mess with anyone's life as he has." Akira solemnly said, "Even if he wasn't connected to the Black Mask, him covering up Kamoshida's acts in the past warrants an investigation."
"Maybe after the Black Mask," Morgana joined, "We should take the Principal's treasure, it's been long enough from Kamoshida's case that the dots shouldn't be as easily connected."
That… would tie up their loose ends, as long as nothing crazy happens that is. Shaking her head again, the party left the room and headed towards the Safe Room, luckily encountering no new Shadows.
The Safe Room shifted into the Shinto exhibit before turning back, "Alright, so we'll break here and come by tomorrow?" Makoto asked, "Oracle, Mona how close are we?"
Morgana glanced at Futaba, "The Palace is smaller, probably another three or four expeditions."
Futaba nodded in agreement, "Yeah, the Mini-Boss Mimic was around the level of the stuff in the Crazy Clown's Palace, so we should be able to tear into them easier than normal."
"Sound's good to me." Hakuno replied, "I got nothing planned for the week." Other than doing a job hunt, she needed some money to try and make a Mystic Code for the rest of the thieves… Akira, Futaba, and Ann were hard to make things for and she wanted to try a few different things at the Leyline Shrine.
Seeing everyone else's agreement Akira spoke up, "Alright, we meet back here tomorrow. Be safe, and take care of each other."
Author's Notes: Started a new job! Working 6 days a week and gone most of the day. Am going to try and still juggle the chapter releases every other week but I might be late sometimes now lol. More so the next few chapters as I will be in training, like Wed. I gotta drive 2.5 hours away and be somewhere at 7 am.
Anyways plot moving all that jazz, comment review, or whatever if you feel like it, cya next time!