"Hey, you guys free?" Kotone asked.
School had already ended, but she had a job to do. While she mainly wanted her brother to come with, she figured it wouldn't hurt to invite Yukari and Junpei as well.
"Hm?" Yukari looked over. "Oh, Kotone. What's up?"
"Sanada-senpai asked if I could bring the class roster for my class to him. He's getting a check up in the hospital but he said it was kind of important," she answered.
"Well, if you need someone reliable, I'm always available," Junpei tried to act smoothly.
"Right… Makoto, you free? You wouldn't let your sister go somewhere she wasn't familiar with alone, would you?" She tried to plead with him.
He raised an eyebrow. "It's a hospital. And besides, I've got nothing to do anyway. No need to try and convince me."
Kotone nodded in satisfaction. "That's the brother I know," she said.
When they arrived in the hospital room, they were met with an empty bed and an unfamiliar boy with a beanie.
"Um, we did go to the right room, right?" Junpei asked. "Sanada-senpai's supposed to be here?"
"Well yeah, that's what he said, right Kotone?" Yukari poked the girl in the shoulder only to receive no response. "Kotone? Hello?"
The girl in question shook her head, clearing her thoughts. "S-sorry, yeah. This should be the room."
"What're you all doing here?" Akihiko asked as he entered the room. "You know, I probably should've expected this…"
"Heard you needed the class roster for 2-E? Ain't I the most dependable?" Junpei tried to boast.
Unfortunately, he was ignored as Kotone handed Akihiko what he had asked for.
"Thanks for that. Though, did you really need all four of you to deliver one piece of paper?" He questioned.
"We wanted to see you," Yukari said. "But, it looks like you're doing alright."
"I'd hope so. I was just here for a checkup. Have to make sure I'm good to fight whenever. They said I'm gonna be fine, but I've got a bit of work left to do before I'm able to head back out into the field," he explained.
The other boy spoke up. "We done here, Aki?"
"Yeah, thanks," he answered.
Shaking his head, the boy got up to leave. "I don't have time for this shit…"
But as he passed the group, he got a good look at Kotone and stopped. "Wait… you're… no, never mind."
He left the room without another word.
"Damn, who was he?" Junpei raised an eyebrow, pointing at the door.
Akihiko sighed. "Shinjiro Aragaki. An old friend… sort of. He said he knew about some people with cases of Apathy Syndrome, so we spoke about it a bit."
"Did anything new come up?" Makoto asked.
Akihiko shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. There's no pattern or anything for these cases. Seems like pretty much anyone is susceptible to it."
"There's been more cases popping up more often. At least compared to a few weeks ago. Paulownia mall has a lot of cases," Makoto sighed.
"We'll do what we can. Doesn't matter how many show up, if we can help them, we'll do it. Keep it up you guys."
-M-
A month had come and gone in no time. And with it, the cycle of the moon has once more reached its peak. As Makoto sat in the lounge of the dorm, it was only a matter of time before the dark hour would commence.
He had spoken with Mitsuru regarding the full moon just as Pharos had warned. She trusted his word, and per his warning, had been paying extra attention, monitoring the area for any strange activity.
The other members of SEES were also awake and on standby. While Mitsuru and Akihiko sat in the command room, the second years were all in the lounge.
"So what's up with us being awake? I'm not tired, but this is new…" Junpei asked.
"Something happened during the last full moon," Makoto explained. "A few days after we moved in, a large shadow attacked. That was when Kotone and I first summoned our personas. That's why we were gone for so long."
"Damn, that put you out for a week? Man, what're we gonna be up against today then?"
"It shouldn't be like that. It was the summoning that had them exhausted. Don't you remember what it was like for us? It wasn't as bad as them, but we were out for the entire day after. Considering they can both summon other personas, it makes sense they were unconscious for so long," Yukari reminded him.
Junpei had a blank stare. "Oh yeah…"
Makoto looked at his sister who had been sitting silently for some time. "You alright?" He asked.
"Hm?" She looked up at him. "Oh, sorry. Yeah I'm fine. Just thinking."
A lot was on her mind. The full moon had her worried. Remembering the fear she had felt when she saw her brother collapse during the last full moon left a lasting impression. She knew he was plenty strong. Their expeditions into Tartarus more than proved that. But still, a part of her was afraid of losing him.
She knew she had a problem too. Keeping everything bottled up and putting on a happy front was taxing. She rarely showed her negative emotions.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Mitsuru's voice called out to them. It was time for them to move. The group of second years got ready to head out, weapons and evokers in hand. Their destination was the train station.
"Hey, Kirijo-senpai, how does your bike work if machines and stuff aren't supposed to work during the dark hour?" Junpei asked after Mitsuru had arrived to the scene.
"My bike was specially made to be able to work during this time. I'm not entirely sure how they did it, but it seems to be one of the only machines that functions at this hour. I'm sure they can manufacture other things that also work during the dark hour, but I'm certain it's difficult so they haven't implemented it everywhere," she explained.
"And your gear is…?"
"It helps me amplify my persona's range for communication and navigation. It's how I'm able to speak with you all when we're in Tartarus. Without it, my range is severely limited. But enough talking, our target is along one of the monorails that's stopped on the tracks. You guys are going to have to run along the tracks to get to it."
"Is that even safe? How-"
"Junpei, electronics don't work. That includes the train," Yukari reminded him.
"Makoto, you're in charge as usual. I'd advise you all get going before it gets too late."
"Understood," they responded.
Their operation was underway. The idea of this being their first major operation was exciting.
"Man, it's weird," Yukari began. "The silence is deafening. Even in a place like this, there's always some sort of sound. But with the dark hour… everything is just silent."
"Yeah, being out during the dark hour is really surreal," Kotone nodded. "The darkness, sound, the atmosphere… it's pretty creepy."
Their chatter was cut short when Junpei called out to them. "Hey, let's go girls! The monorail is right there!" He said excitedly.
"This is it?" Yukari asked. "It's just the monorail. Doesn't seem to be too out of the ordinary."
"The readings are definitely coming from that monorail. Proceed with caution and stay together. Makoto, it's all you out there," Mitsuru said to them.
"Alright, let's move in," Makoto said.
Yukari was the closest, yet as she began to climb up, she felt a slight breeze and rushed to hold her skirt. She glared back at the two boys. "Don't you dare look up."
"Yeah yeah," Junpei said. "But don't blame me if I catch a glimpse."
Yukari looked at Makoto. "Say, why don't we dig Junpei a nice grave?"
"I'll keep an eye on him," Makoto said, trying to deescalate the situation. "Junpei, go next. Kotone, you can go after. If you could, try to see if you spot anything."
"Fine…"
"Got it," Kotone nodded.
By the time they were all in there, Kotone had already been able to figure out what was going on.
"It's in the last cabin. I'm not sure what it is, but there's definitely something big back there," she told them.
But before anyone else could say anything, the door behind them closed.
"Hmm. Won't budge," Makoto said as he tried to open the door they had entered from.
"What happened? Are you all okay?" Mitsuru asked.
"So the big bad is all the way at the front and trapping us in here, huh? Leave it to me!" Junpei said before rushing forward without them.
"Junpei!" Makoto called out. But it was too late. As the door closed to the next car, shadows had popped up to surround them.
Without Junpei, they had to be more careful at close range. Makoto was their frontline as Yukari stood in the back with Kotone covering her. But they made quick work of the shadows that had appeared and knew they had to keep moving.
"God why is he like this?!" Yukari shouted in frustration. "Stick to the plan! Just stay together like Kirijo-senpai said and we'd be alright. Ugh, it's too dangerous to go alone like that!"
Fight after fight, they were stopped. By the time they made it to Junpei, they were glad to see him still holding up. It didn't take long for them to come to his aid.
While Yukari healed him, Makoto made a quick step forward to attack one of the shadows that Junpei was fending off.
Their battle didn't take long, but Makoto still had something to say.
"You can't be going off on your own like that. We don't know what these shadows have planned for us. You could've run into a trap, you know," he scolded him.
"Look, I'm fine, aren't I? Relax, it's not like-" his words were cut off as they felt the monorail begin to lurch forward.
"Something's wrong," Mitsuru said. "The monorail… it's moving? But how!? It seems like the whole thing is being controlled by the shadow. If you four don't stop it, it's going to crash into the monorail at the other station. We need to hurry."
"Understood," Makoto nodded. "Everyone, let's move. Don't get caught alone in a train car. Make sure these doors aren't locking before we all make it through."
The group went through fight after fight, making their way towards the front of the monorail. And by the time they reached it, they found just what they were looking for.
"What the hell? That's our target?" Junpei asked.
"It has to be. There's nowhere else to go," Yukari answered.
"You're approaching the other train. You have to hurry!" Mitsuru told them.
"Hurry? What the hell are we even supposed to do here?!" Junpei asked.
Before he could even receive an answer, the shadow ahead swung. He was caught off guard, but thanks to quick thinking by Makoto, Junpei was quickly pulled out of the way of the attack.
"We do what we've been doing," he said, pulling out his evoker. He looked back at his teammates. "You all ready?"
The look in his eyes was all his teammates needed to be reassured. With nods around the room, he summoned his persona.
"Jack Frost!" He shouted, firing off an ice spell.
The four worked in near perfect unity to take down the shadow that held them captive. While Yukari focused on support, the other three did all they could to wail on the thing.
But after a few minutes, they noticed a shift. The monorail had sped up. With a wave of summoned shadows, the large shadow began attacking with renewed vigor.
They were running out of time.
"Ignore the small ones! Yukari, sorry, but you're gonna need to heal us a lot more! Everyone else, target the main shadow!" Makoto commanded.
It was basic, but it worked. And although they ended the fight with a few bruises and cuts, they would live from their wounds. But the train hadn't stopped.
"We're going too fast!" Yukari shouted. "We need to hit the breaks or-"
Makoto rushed forward into the front car as his hands guided him straight to the brakes. It was unprecedented. He had never operated a train before, yet he knew with absolute certainty that he could stop it. And as he pulled back on the brakes, the monorail came to a screeching halt.
"Do you read me? Is everyone alright?" Mitsuru asked.
"Y-yeah… we're okay. M-my knees are shaking," Yukari said through deep breaths.
"Dude, I'm like, drenched in sweat…" Junpei sighed.
"All good here," Kotone said as she sat down.
"The mission was a success. Everyone is alright," Makoto replied.
Mitsuru breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness you're all safe. I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end. I don't detect any more shadows. You can come back now."
Everyone looked at one another. They had done it. But a question still remained.
"Hey, how did you know which one was the brake?" Yukari asked.
"A memory," he replied. "I've seen a train like this before, I think. I… can't seem to recall when though."
"Ah who cares? We got the job done, didn't we?" Junpei smiled.
"Well, you've saved me again… thanks," Yukari said.
"Oh? Is that some affection I hear?" Kotone teased.
"C'mon, cut it out…" Yukari said. "I'm too tired for this…"
"Damn, I'm starving. Anyone wanna grab a bite to eat on the way back?" Junpei asked.
Makoto nodded. "If we make it back after the dark hour ends, sure."
As they got up to leave, it was clear that Yukari was having a tough time. Makoto was quick to pick up on this and leaned down in front of her.
"Um…" she raised an eyebrow.
"Get on. I'll carry you. It's my fault you're this exhausted. I had you healing a lot more than you usually do," he apologized.
Yukari was conflicted, but the threat of teasing was far outweighed by how tired she was. Seems they still had work to do to get used to fighting during the dark hour.
She accepted his offer, grabbing on and wrapping her arms around his neck as he held her legs. Even with all that fighting they had done, he was surprisingly still capable of easily holding her as they walked. Kotone gave her a cheeky look, but Yukari didn't even bother trying to defend herself.
Unfortunately for Junpei, by the time they reached the station, the dark hour hadn't ended. It seemed he would have to resort to his cup noodles once again.
And when they reached the dorm, Makoto went up to put Yukari in her bed. When he left her room, he saw his sister poking her head out of her door, signaling for him to enter.
"Can we talk?" She asked.
"Of course," he nodded, entering her room.
While she sat on the bed, he sat at her desk. Then, Kotone spoke.
"I've been having strange dreams lately… Last night, I actually dreamt of what happened today. But you weren't there. It was just me, Yukari, and Junpei. It's been happening for a bit now, but whenever I have some of these dreams, you're never there," she told him.
"I mean, dreams don't really reflect what's happening though, do they?" He said. "I'm sure there's nothing more to it."
"I'm sorry, it's just that when you asked me if something was bothering me, I said I was fine. In reality, I've been having all these thoughts about losing you to one of these missions in the dark hour…" she admitted.
He shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere," he smiled gently at her. "Trust me."
"You promise?" She looked up at him with pleading eyes.
"I promise," he nodded. "Whatever problems we face, I'll be right there with you. Who else is gonna lead us?"
She smiled at his words. Even if her fears weren't completely alleviated, she knew they were going to be alright.
-K-
"Are you guys familiar with a 'Fuuka Yamagishi'?" Akihiko asked.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm friends with her!" Kotone raised her hand. "Though, I haven't been seeing her that often. Whenever class ends, she's usually gone pretty quickly."
"Well, that might make things a bit easier. Turns out that she has the potential. She might be joining us if she wants to. We'd like to talk with her, but as you've pointed out, she's a little difficult to get a hold of."
"I'll try to talk to her in class tomorrow then. How'd you find her? Oh, is that why you asked for the class roster?" Kotone asked.
"Yeah, she was at the same hospital that I was at. Same floor. But since we didn't know who she was exactly, I needed to see who she was so we could properly identify her," he sighed. "Well, that takes care of that then. If you can contact her, that makes things easy."
The next day, Kotone had waited for Fuuka. But she never showed up. She told the rest of her teammates. But they thought nothing of it.
And the day after, the same thing happened. Perhaps she was sick? She did say she often got sick and had to miss school.
Another day went by with no sign of her. Kotone was worried.
But then strange cases began to occur on school grounds. Just a week prior, a girl had gone missing one day but had suddenly been found at the front of the school gate. A few days later, the same thing happened again.
Some claimed superstition. Mentions of ghosts, spirits, and the like spread amongst the student body. Others believed it to be an elaborate prank, though these beliefs were quickly squashed when the victims displayed the obvious symptoms of Apathy Syndrome.
With no concrete leads to follow, the members of SEES were unsure what to do. And so Yukari had taken it upon herself to do all she could to gather information.
Unfortunately, this had led them to some less than ideal places. With the sun down and most of the riff raff about, the backstreets of Tatsumi Port Station was not where they wanted to be.
"Oh, well look who we have here. You kids look like you've taken a wrong turn," a man had said. "You should get out of here. You're ruinin' the vibes."
After a bit of back and forth between the delinquents and Yukari, one of them swung. But as Junpei tried to brace for the impact, nothing happened.
"What the!? Hey! Let go!" The man said.
Opening his eyes, Junpei found that Makoto had already stepped forward, catching the man's fist mere inches before his gut.
"I don't think you'd want to be caught doing something like that now, would you?" He asked, eyes cold and dead as he intimidated the people around. His grip on the man's hand wouldn't loosen.
"The hell's your problem? We're just minding our own business. You're the ones that came to our place and killed our vibe!" The man tried to argue.
"You wanna run that by me again? You called her something, didn't you?" Makoto asked.
The man yanked his arm free from Makoto's grasp, stumbling backwards as he did so. And in his anger from being embarrassed, tried to swing once more.
"That's enough," a familiar voice called out. The voice was familiar both to the students and the delinquents. And as they looked back, they came face to face with the boy that had been in Akihiko's hospital room.
Though it seemed the man who had been speaking wasn't familiar with him.
"Who do you think you are, dumbass?! What, you think we're just gonna let 'em go like that? You want some too!?"
A swift headbutt was all it took. Had the man taken the time to read the room, he would have seen the looks on everyone else's faces.
"Ah, shit!" He said, clutching his head. "You just crossed the line! You think you're going home alive now?"
But Shinjiro just crouched down to meet him. "You wanna find out?"
"Dude, just let it go! Don't mess with that guy. C'mon, let's get out of here!" A few of the bystanders had recognized Shinjiro. Without much question, the area began to clear out. It seemed his reputation preceded him.
"You guys alright?" Shinjiro asked them. "Seems like it could've gone worse. Good reactions," he nodded towards Makoto. "But you shouldn't be here. What the hell were you thinking?"
"We were looking for information. Anything regarding the recent cases of missing persons at Gekkoukan High. We figured someone has to know."
"Oh, that," Shinjiro acknowledged. "The ghost rumors, huh? Those girls that went missing always came here late at night. Bragged about making fun of some Yamagishi girl. Some of them think her ghost is what did 'em in."
"G-ghost? What do you mean by that?!" Yukari asked.
"Turns out that girl might be dead. Seems she's been missing from home for over a week," Shinjiro told them.
"A week!? We gotta save her! There's no way she's just… dead!" Yukari said.
"I see… trying to make up for the past, eh Aki?" Shinjiro muttered to himself.
"Hmm?" The three students asked him.
He shook his head. "Nothing. Well then, we done here?"
"Yes, of course! Thank you, thank you!" Junpei said, bowing with each token of appreciation. "Come on guys, thank him!"
"It's all good. Honestly, you looked like you were handling it yourself, but I couldn't let someone still in school get some sort of charge for beating up some guy. Doesn't matter how much he might've deserved it," Shinjiro frowned.
"Thanks for stepping in then," Makoto said.
"No problem. Now, you should get going. Don't stick around too long or else they might come back with other questionable people. Be seeing you all," Shinjiro offered a peace before heading off himself.
The other members of SEES figured it was about time they also went home. And with a few answers in tow, they went back to ponder it.
-K-
Over a week had passed since Fuuka's disappearance when Kotone came to a realization. Students of Gekkoukan High, a sudden appearance at the front gates, cases of apathy syndrome.
"Tartarus!" She had shouted to no one in particular. It was late at the dorm and most of the others were already asleep. But Kotone was in a hurry. She had to help her.
Before she even made it all the way downstairs though, the opening of a door alerted her that she wasn't alone. And as she looked back up the stairs, she saw her brother looking at her.
He shook his head. "Don't. I know how much you want to save her, but we can't. Not tonight. It's only us four. We can't go in there without a navigator."
"But Makoto, we can't just-!"
"I know. I want to help her too, but we'd only be putting ourselves in danger if everyone isn't ready. Fuuka's smart. Trust her, she'll be able to hold out for us," he assured his sister.
"Fuuka…" Kotone muttered.
She felt her brother's arms wrap around her, comforting her in a way that they always would for each other.
"Can I sleep in your room tonight?" She asked. "If I'm alone, I'm not sure I could stay put…"
"Sure. Go get a blanket. You can take the bed," he shrugged.
And as they both laid there in the dark, Kotone spoke up.
"Makoto?"
"Hm?" He responded, looking up at her.
"Do you… do you think she's alright? I'm worried…"
"Like I said, I'm sure she'll be okay. Fuuka's smart. She can take care of herself," Makoto answered. "We'll go in tomorrow when everyone's here. Trust me, if Mitsuru and Akihiko were back, we'd already be there."
"Okay… Tomorrow is a full moon again, huh? Do you think…?" she asked.
"Yeah. Just like last time. I'm sure we'll end up running into something. But if we don't get enough rest, we won't be ready for it. Get to sleep, okay?"
And as the night passed and a new day came around, the other students were surprised when both Makoto and Kotone came out of the same room.
"You two were sleeping in the same room?" Junpei asked.
"Yeah? We're siblings. If one of us ever has any problems, we're always there for each other," Kotone said.
Yukari smiled. "I think it's cute… how you two are really close to each other."
"A-anyway, now that everyone's here, I think I figured out what happened!" Kotone changed the subject. "She's in Tartarus."
Eyes widened as her words reached everyone. It made complete sense.
"We'll meet at the school tonight. Goodness, I can't believe we hadn't realized earlier," Mitsuru shook her head.
"Then that settles it. We've got a job to do, everyone," Akihiko nodded.
The school day couldn't have felt any slower. Every member of SEES was waiting, anticipating their operation that night. A life was on the line and they knew they couldn't mess this up.
But when the time finally came, they knew what they had to do. Before their operation began, Makoto knew he had to brief them.
"Last time there was a full moon, we dealt with a few problems. It happened the same day we got here too. We need to make sure to pay extra attention whenever the full moon comes up from now on," he told everyone.
"Understood. What do you suggest we do then?" Mitsuru asked.
"Stay in groups. Two each. We've never entered Tartarus like this, so anything could happen. Groups shouldn't matter, so if anyone has any preferences, make it known now," he said.
It wasn't a surprise when Kotone asked to pair up with her brother. And with the other four having no preference, Akihiko and Junpei paired up while Mitsuru and Yukari paired up. While four of them would be going into Tartarus, Mitsuru and Yukari would remain outside.
But when the time came, everything began to fall apart.
The transformation of the school brought about unexpected changes that they had no way of preparing for.
Mitsuru immediately noticed that their positions had all been scrambled. Whereas she and Yukari were in the usual entrance of Tartarus to provide navigation, the other four were in a much higher Tartarus floor than they had ever been.
"H..lo? Ca-… h..r me?"
Mitsuru's voice was breaking in and out as the other SEES members realized that they were in unfamiliar territory.
"You..- separated. Plea..- to re..oup."
"Is someone there?"
Whereas Mitsuru's voice was breaking in and out, the other voice was clear as day. But only two of the students knew who it was.
"Fuuka?! Where are you?" Kotone asked, her concern clear in her voice.
But they were met with no response. Makoto and Kotone knew they had to find her. But they knew they had to find the others first.
"Come on," Makoto said calmly. "We'll find her. Don't worry."
The two kept moving, taking out shadows with utmost efficiency. No words had to be spoken between them as they fought. They both had a strategy in mind and executed it without fail.
It was Mitsuru's navigation that told them to move up a floor. Despite the choppy and broken communication, they were able to decipher her words. And as they rounded the first corner of the floor above them, sure enough, both Akihiko and Junpei were waiting for them.
"Good to see you two doing well," Akihiko greeted. "No sign of Yamagishi yet, but we were waiting for you two to show-"
His words were interrupted when, from behind one of the structures, the girl in question rushed out, running straight for the Yuki sister.
Kotone quickly embraced the scared girl, comforting her in her time of need. It was clear from her face that she was exhausted. But they knew they weren't out of it yet.
"You alright?" Makoto asked.
"Yes… thanks to you all. I… don't know how long I've been in here. Wh-where are we?"
"We'll explain everything later," Makoto replied. "We should get out of here. I can't imagine you want to stay any longer than we have to."
"Wait… there's- two large presences at the bottom! Far below us! And… maybe another one?" Fuuka told them.
"Let's go. Today's a full moon. There's no telling what danger showed up this time," their leader commanded.
"Here, hold on to this," Akihiko handed Fuuka an evoker. "If something happens…"
"A… a gun?!"
"It's not a real gun. Think of it like… a lucky charm," he told her.
The group made their way back down. Their mission, for all intents and purposes, was done. They found the girl they were looking for. But if her intel was correct, they had another problem ahead of them.
Taking the teleporter on their floor, they were able to return to the entrance of Tartarus just in time to see both Mitsuru and Yukari thrown to the ground.
"In positions!" Makoto told everyone. "Keep them safe!"
But before any fighting happened, they noticed another person wandering in from the entrance. It was one other than Natsuki Moriyama, one of the girls that had locked Fuuka in the school.
And before anyone could stop her, Fuuka ran to her aid. No matter what she had done to her, Fuuka knew how dire the situation was. And pulling out the gun that Akihiko gave her, she knew what she had to do.
"Persona…" she whispered as she pulled the trigger. And from behind her, the two shadows that had been converging on her position fell flat on the ground.
Both her and Natsuki were surrounded by the blue glow of Fuuka's persona. As Fuuka opened her eyes, she realized she could see even more than before.
With her newfound powers, it was time for them to eliminate the threats that had nearly taken out Yukari and Mitsuru.
"I think I can see more… Give me some time!" Fuuka called out. "Just a bit longer and I can tell you what they're weak to!"
"Take your time. Calm down and don't worry about it. We'll protect you," Makoto said calmly. "Stay focused."
"O-okay…" she said through deep breaths.
As the two large shadows continued to attack, the SEES members simply endured. They trusted their leader and his faith placed in Fuuka.
"Got it! The one with the staff is weak to blunt force! The one with the sword is weak to fire!" She called out.
"You heard her!" Makoto shouted. "Junpei, call out Hermes! Akihiko, you know what to do!" He shouted as he also pulled out his evoker.
"You got it!" Junpei nodded with a confident grin.
"On it!" Akihiko replied as he rushed forth.
Meanwhile, both Yuki siblings were in sync with one another, summoning their own personas to aid the other two. While Makoto focused on supporting his teammates, Kotone was busy weakening their enemies.
As the fighting continued, Fuuka watched as the shadow with the staff raised it, casting something. But in no time at all, she had already figured them out.
"Wait! Their weaknesses- they're shifting! The staff is weak to piercing attacks now! The sword is weak to lightning!"
Makoto didn't even have to call it out. With Fuuka's guidance, Akihiko and Kotone went straight to work. Time and time again, the shadows continued changing affinity. After a long and drawn out fight, the two shadows fell.
Battered and exhausted from their battle of attrition, the students of Gekkoukan High nearly all collapsed. Fuuka had fallen unconscious due to the fatigue of summoning her persona for the first time while the rest of them, as experienced as they were, still felt the aftermath.
Makoto and Kotone immediately went to work, summoning their personas to heal both Yukari and Mitsuru respectively. And as they managed to get back on their feet, they made their way to the two unconscious girls.
"Damn, she held on for a while," Junpei commented as he tried to control his breathing.
"Good thing for that. What a strange foe. Haven't seen anything able to change their weaknesses like that before," Akihiko crossed his arms.
Mitsuru dusted herself off before standing, still hurt, but still alive. "I'm glad you all found her. Any issues?"
Makoto shook his head. "No. But it seems you might be losing your job," he joked. "Seems her persona has far reaching navigation abilities. Not to mention that weakness scan that she was able to do. She's tough."
"Well, only if she wishes to join us. Like I told all of you, I don't want to force anyone to work with us. If she refuses, I'm sure we'll come up with something. The Kirijo Group has already been experimenting with far reaching communication devices after my suggestions," Mitsuru explained.
"Um, what're we gonna do about her?" Yukari asked, pointing to the unconscious Natsuki. "Won't she know about all this now?"
"Only those with the potential remember things that happen during the dark hour," Akihiko answered. "She'll forget everything that happened here."
Yukari frowned. "That doesn't seem right… After all Fuuka did to save her, she'll forget all of it?"
Shaking her head, Mitsuru replied. "I have a feeling that it might not play out that way. Although their memories may not remain, their feelings may still change. Give her time. And if the time comes and I'm wrong, then…" she looked at Kotone.
"I'll keep the peace," she sighed. "But I think you're right. Honestly, I've told her off before for getting on Fuuka's case, but even I could tell how shaken up she was about everything. Knowing Fuuka, she'll forgive her."
"I think she already did," Makoto said. "She didn't seem the type to hold a grudge. But anyway, great work, everyone. Let's get them out of here before anything else shows up."
"Of course," Mitsuru nodded. Without delay, the entirety of SEES got to work. While Kotone picked up Fuuka, Akihiko and Mitsuru grabbed Natsuki.
For now, they would bring them back to Iwatodai Dorm. The walk back was quiet as ever. As they sat in the station waiting for the dark hour to end, Mitsuru struck up a conversation with their field leader.
"You always seem to impress, huh?" She mentioned with a grin. "I suppose we should monitor the full moons now. Honestly, I was a bit skeptical at first when you mentioned how there would be larger shadows out and about on full moons. But after seeing it today? I'll admit, I was wrong."
Makoto shook his head. "It's fine. Honestly, I wasn't even entirely sure if it was true or just a dream. I asked Kotone and she mentioned the same thing. Full moons aren't safe for anyone involved. If my hunch is correct, we'll keep running into these big guys until there's no more."
"Well regardless, we'll do as we have these past two months. No matter what comes our way, I'm confident that we'll all grow stronger. No matter how hard it might get, we'll do what must be done," Mitsuru said confidently.
"C'mon, no need to worry so much all the time," Yukari said as she came over to sit with them. "I mean sure, we'll deal with them as they show up, but lighten up a bit! We just beat two of those things and saved someone while we were doing it!"
Mitsuru smiled. "Alright alright, you win. I'll pester you all about it when the next full moon approaches. Celebrate as you please."
"Not like there's much we can do right now though…" Makoto pointed out. "Not to mention…" he trailed off as he looked towards Kotone and Fuuka.
"You think she'll want to join us? I feel bad about asking someone to put themselves in our position…" Yukari asked.
"Since she knows Kotone is involved, I'm sure she'll be more than happy to join, honestly," Makoto told her. "But besides that, I'm glad you two are okay."
"Well, we have you to thank for that," Yukari tapped his shoulder. "So, thanks… Honestly, it's a bit weird feeling the effects of that healing magic. Is that how you guys always feel?"
"Yeah. It perks you right up. Though, I'm not sure how accurate it really is to call it healing magic. Sure, you don't feel the pain, but the damage is still mostly there," Makoto explained. "That's why Akihiko was out for so long. If it were that easy, we could've healed him right away and he would've been with us on that monorail."
"True… Still, I think there's some merit to calling it healing. I've seen bruises disappear off of you guys when we're fighting in Tartarus. Eh, it's too much to think about. What matters is that it helps and that's that," Yukari shrugged.
"Fair enough. No complaints."
Just then, the lights around them all turned back on and the coffins became people once more. The dark hour had ended. And with it, memories had been altered of those around them.
Although none of them had been around when the dark hour began and the people had transmogrified, no one questioned their sudden presence in the station. Instead, life went on. And as they boarded their train for Iwatodai, zero questions were asked.
The dark hour was a strange thing. The world it hid, the effects it had on one's cognition, the secrets it held. All were hidden to those that didn't have the potential.
When they arrived back at the dorm, they set the two girls up in the vacant rooms on the fourth floor. And as their fatigue overcame them, Iwatodai Dorm fell silent once more.