Vangran: Hey, glad you liked the evolution reveal. Well, I didn't know really that much about the other games but it's interesting to hear the difference in the SLs. The whole explanation about Futaba is actually my own understanding of the situation so I'm glad to know you appreciate that. Can't say who I really want to pair with Ryuji but I have to admit I did picture him with Ann after learning about the games. I can agree with you about him though.
This chapter includes an explanation of a little event I introduced in Kaneshiro's Palace. But I'll explain more about it in the second author's note. Here we go!
While Namine was working with Sojiro at Leblanc, the news displayed another talk about Medjed and their challenge to the Phantom Thieves...
''This again?'' The barista glanced at the TV. ''I get that it'd be a big deal but it makes you wonder if everyone's just leaving it all up in the air for those Phantom Thieves to deal with the trouble. One would think the police would actually be doing something here.''
''I guess so...for all we know they could be.'' When she thought it over, she came to understand his sentiment. Especially since part of his annoyance on that issue likely had to do with Sae.
''Point taken.'' Sojiro acknowledged. ''So Futaba's told me about your visits...'' Namine looked surprised. ''...it wasn't much but knowing her, I think you've really gotten her thrown for a loop. She thinks you seem pretty nice...from the sound of it, you probably would've been a bigger help if you had been around earlier.''
''Oh-well, I'm glad you think so. Actually, speaking of, did Grandma and Grandpa know about any of this?''
''I told them a little about Wakaba and stuff but that's it.'' was the response. ''They wouldn't have left things like this if they had known. You're enough proof of that, you've learned plenty from them.''
She beamed ''Thanks!''
The Phantom Thieves headed back to Futaba's palace a couple of hours later. After finding a new path due to their previous excursion, they came across a hall that had some treasure chests which held money and some useful equipment.
''First we had a castle, then it was a museum, next a bank and now a tomb practically chalk full of traps...'' Panther trailed off, sighing. ''...the Metaverse is just loaded with surprises isn't it?''
''Yeah, I think I see what you're getting at, Panther. It's probably because of how all are our targets were.'' Mona remarked.
Fox looked curious ''How do you mean?''
It was Queen who answered ''Well, it seems that whenever the Phantom Thieves interfere, the situation is extreme enough to call for it.''
He hadn't thought of that but she was right ''Ah, excellent point.''
''There's no point sweatin' the small stuff, we just have to deal with what comes our way.'' Skull stated. ''Besides, can't Joker's Third Eye help us with the traps?''
''It doesn't work like that.''
Queen looked at their leader ''Actually, I've been wondering, how does it work, Joker? From my understanding, it's something that enhances your senses.''
''That's pretty close, actually.'' Joker returned. ''How do I put it...? Hm, I think it might boost intuition too. I block out most things and focus on a particular area and that lets me really get a new look on a target and I pick up on things that might have been missable before. It's like getting a completely new perspective.''
''Heeeh, that's interesting...'' Mona trailed off as Queen hummed in agreement.
It wasn't long before they were near the area they reached back at their first arrival here, leaving them to overlook a long set of stairs that led to a tall door. But then, a dark figure appeared in front of them, materializing into a Mot shadow. It flew up and unleashed a Megidolan at the party, who did their best to either dodge or defend.
Panther and Mona proceeded to shoot at the shadow but its coffin shut and the projectiles simply bounced off it as a result. A dark aura gathered around Mot as it concentrated before it cast another Megidolan.
It was then tackled by Seiten Taisei, who blasted it with lightning. Unfortunately, it seemed to do just a little better than the guns, giving the Shadow room to tackle Skull, who jumped out of the way. Mot's next attack was halted by Joker, who summoned Principality to counter strike; with the Persona managing to knock it down.
Mona and Queen took the chance to strike then, with the former's use of wind magic seeming very effective. Seeing the dazed enemy, the party struck with an All-Out Attack. Despite taking plenty of damage, Mot pulled itself up and roared, unleashing a beam that hit Mona, covering him in smoke. It cleared up quickly, letting everyone see that he had been turned into a rat.
''The heck?!'' Skull yelped while his friends stared in shock.
''How is that even...?'' Queen shook herself and picked their teammate up, figuring that he'd be vulnerable like this. She only hoped whatever this was would wear off, it wasn't like they had any time to make sure which of their healing items would fix this up.
Luckily, Mot was very much weakened by now and even as it struggled to hold them off, there was only a matter of time till it fell. As it was thrown down by Carmen's Agilao, Mot's spell on Mona wore off and a there were visible burns over the shadow.
Picking up on this, Queen got an idea ''Joker, with me!'' She summoned Johanna and as she expected, the girl caught on and summoned Phoenix. The girls combined the Personas' powers again for a powerful Freidyne spell that felled the enemy.
Fortunately, Mona had transformed back moments after they defeated the Shadow. As one might expect he had taken that strange technique rather badly...
''That lousy, stinking shadow!''
Joker patted Mona's head, deciding it was best to let him vent ''Feel better?''
He nodded ''...That kind of really ticked me off...''
''We can tell.'' Panther stated dryly.
''Can't say I'm surprised, a cat being turned into a rat and all...'' Skull trailed off.
''For the last time, I'm not a cat!''
''To be fair, you do have a cat's form.'' Fox pointed out. ''Your car transformation is because of people's cognitions, correct? Perhaps this form is influenced by people's expectations of cats and the like.''
That was actually a really good point. ''I...didn't think about it like that...it could be." The feline tilted his head, noticing something not too far away. ''...is that a ballista?''
Queen raised an eye ''It is...that's strange. Strange, I never thought a pyramid would have that. I think there might be another one on the level above us too...but why?''
After defeating more Shadows, they came across an odd reflective panel and a cracked wall, but it seemed as if they stumbled upon a dead end.
''What do we do now?'' Skull wondered.
''This part seems much weaker than the rest of the area.'' Fox noted, examining the cracked wall. ''Perhaps if we had something strong enough to hit it, we can break through and find a new path.''
''That could work.'' Panther agreed. ''Using Personas is probably a bad idea, considering it'll just get more Shadows on our backs though...''
Joker tilted her head a bit, thinking things over ''What about that ballista?''
Skull perked up ''Oh yeah, that's worth checking out. Looks like we might have found a use for them after all, guys!''
As it so happened, they were on the right track. A close up examination of the ballista let Mona find a button to activate. The weapon directed itself in the cracked wall's direction before firing a spear that destroyed it, this revealed a path that led into a new chamber.
After a stop at the new Safe Room next to the chamber, the team was back at it. Dealing with a few enemies and some more traps along the way, they were forced to change course due to a locked door. The party came to stop upon noticing a particular shadow wandering the area ahead. This one had a particularly intense aura, stronger than the ones they had seen before. With the help of Mona's smoke bomb, they were able to ambush it and in seconds the thieves were facing an Isis, a Naga along with an Anubis shadow.
The first shadow began by casting a spell that formed an odd translucent shield over the Anubis before it faded away. The latter used a spell none of them recognized, creating bursts of light which hit Joker, making her hit the ground hard.
''Joker!''
Mona bristled, having sensed the power behind that spell. ''Guys, whatever you do, avoid that spell. It's really strong-I'll help her. Just keep them off our backs.''
''Got it.'' Queen nodded, running to punch the Anubis then. Fox prepared to slash it but was forced to veer off and fend an oncoming attack from the Naga instead.
Isis cast Agilao on Panther, who was easily able to endure the worst of it and so whipped the shadow twice in return before summoning her Persona to burn the enemy. Anubis swiped at Queen and Skull, who happened to be the closest, before using some curse magic which they were able to defend against. Fox called on Goemon to stop the Naga in tracks, leaving the Persona to dispose of it.
Skull hit Isis' side before it got to finish another spell, giving Queen enough time to ram it with Johanna before she hit both it and the Anubis with a Flash Bomb.
Joker shook her head, any lingering pain having been taken care of by Mona. ''What was that? I know I'm weak to Bless magic but...''
''Yeah, I'm not sure that was your standard variety spell.'' The feline glanced at the damage the Hamaon spell caused to the area nearby. ''Anyway, come on, let's finish this!''
The two made it just as the Anubis was casting a second Hamaon, but it was forcefully stopped as Joker's bullets hit it a number of times. Mona dashed in, slashing the shadow twice before summoning Zorro to finish it off by trapping in a powerful gale that ended the battle.
The enemies gone, they were able to take a good look around the room, bringing the Anubis statue in its center to attention.
''So what's with this thing?'' Skull cocked his head.
''We did see another one before but this one's missing an eye.'' Mona observed.
Queen looked pensive ''Anubis was known as the god of the dead. Considering this Palace...I'd say this seems important.''
''Oh!'' The two looked Panther curiously, seeing her hold up a little gem which matched the statue's eye. ''This should help. I found it after one of the Shadows we beat disappeared.'' She placed it in the eye indentation and hummed. ''Perfect fit.''
There was a rumble somewhere nearby as the ground shook a little, causing some confusion.
''What was that?'' Panther blinked.
''Maybe something changed nearby, let's go take a look.'' Queen returned.
That 'something' was actually the locked door, it seemed that inserting the gems released a lock and now it was open.
''All right! We can keep going now.'' Mona smiled and they headed over.
''So guys, is it just me or does it look like there's a whole lot of locked doors here?'' Skull asked the group.
''Good observation, Skull. I think it's because Futaba's just so used to keeping people away. Knowing what we do, I'd have to say it actually makes sense.'' Mona offered.
''Yeah, it really does...'' Panther sighed. ''...it definitely explains the traps too. I hope we can reach out to her.''
''We will.'' Joker assured. ''We just have to keep trying.''
It was as they made their way through the new area that the party discovered a nasty surprise. The coffins, which just seemed to lay in plain sight, could actually function as a hiding place for shadows. It was this discovery that lead to them battling two Anzu shadows along with a Daisoujou. Due to the ambush, things hadn't started off so well for the party but they were getting their second wind back...
The Anzu shadows flew in to ram those nearby while the Daisoujou cast a Makouga spell. Mona forced one of the Anzu back by attacking before it could while Skull had Seiten Taisei hit back with Rampage, sending it spinning with a couple of strikes to its wings.
One of the Anzu cast Garula but Queen, the intended target, was already speeding past it on Johanna while Joker cut the bird while she kicked Daisoujou. Fox trapped one of the Anzu in ice before Panther burned it and the two attacked together next to finish it off.
Mona saw how the Daisoujou began glowing, recognizing the feel of the oncoming power ''Everyone, this feels like that Bless spell that Anubis Shadow used. Watch out and stay away far away from that thing!''
The warning was heeded and it came in good time as Daisoujou conjured a powerful blast that would've hit Panther otherwise. It became evident that Mona was competely right as the spell caused a crater on the area where it landed. Daisoujou then moved on to cast healing magic on the remaining Anzu.
''Okay, that's it. We need to focus our efforts on this one first.'' Queen stated before leading the charge. Daisojou managed to avoid her attack but it was caught off guard by Skull, who managed to strike it down then. Mona summoned Zorro, who trapped it with wind magic. This gave Fox an idea and he proceeded to call on his own Persona to mix his ice in, this created an ice tornado that caused a lot of damage. The three attacked together again, finishing it off.
Meanwhile, Joker and Panther were handling the Anzu, making sure to keep it from their friends. The latter was able to throw it off balance with her whip, giving the former a chance to shoot it down and leaving it dazed. Panther proceeded to have Carmen attack then while Joker slammed the shadow down thanks to Setanta's Assault Dive. With it very much weakened, the girls got to hold the shadow at gunpoint and Joker was able to have it become one of her masks.
''Another of those things?'' Mona paused at the sight of an Anubis statue, this one's eyes had no gems.
Skull took a moment look around before he paused and squinted at something to their far right ''Hey, there's another door over there but it's locked. So we need to find two of those gems, right?''
''Looks like it.'' Panther nodded. ''So then...'' The girl stopped in her tracks at the sight of a familiar figure at the base of the stairs.
It was Futaba's shadow.
''You're still persisting and you've come this far...'' She trailed off, sounding oddly pleased.
''This far? You mean we're gettin' close to the treasure?'' Skull wanted to know.
If the shadow heard him, she made no indication of it. ''Would you still carry on? To see this through to the end?''
''We're not about to leave things as they stand.'' Queen stated.
''I see. Well...''
'Freak!'
'Murderer!'
'It's all your fault!'
Fox grimaced ''Those voices again...''
Shadow Futaba winced and held her head, Panther spared her a concerned look ''It's even worse to hear now that we know the whole story.''
"I know it's just a memory so we can't stop it but damn it pisses me off !" Skull snapped.
''Me too...What do we do though? We couldn't get through to her before either.'' Mona frowned.
''...It's not true.'' Everyone looked at Joker as she stepped up. ''They're wrong-no, this whole situation is wrong. Calling it cruel would be an understatement...We've all heard enough to understand that. Isn't that why you wanted our help? This doesn't have to go on. Please, don't give up and try to hold on. We can help you if you'd just let us.''
A moment later, the girl was surrounded by an aura of silvery energy that suddenly pulsed around the room. Everyone present felt something warm and gentle wrap around them, it even seemed to make the voices go away.
Joker was bewildered, what just happened? She had just wanted to help Futaba but then...
Shadow Futaba stared at Joker in barely concealed amazement ''...Thank you...'' She disappeared.
''That was great, Joker!'' Mona exclaimed.
The girl stiffened, feeling a lot of energy leaving her before she fell to her knees, to her friends' alarm. Panther helped her up, keeping an arm around the girl's frame to steady her ''You all right?''
She nodded, smiling weakly ''...Just tired...''
''You did great, just what happened back there though?'' Queen couldn't help but ask.
''I don't know...I just wondered if there was some way to stop what was going on...'' Joker trailed off.
''Something about that power feels familiar...'' Mona mused.
''...That's because Joker did something similar before.'' Fox informed, to their surprise. ''I thought I saw something strange back in Kaneshiro's vault. I'd imagine that was how she calmed you down.''
''Oh yeah!'' The cat's eyes widened at the memory. ''That was it! I wonder if this is a new ability...''
''Why don't we debate that later? Let's go back to the Safe Room, Joker needs to rest.'' Queen pointed out.
''Right!''
''Mona, do you remember anything in particular from the time back in Kaneshiro's Palace?'' Queen asked once they were all settled down.
''Besides that I felt something really soothing back then? No.'' was the response. ''I think I might have an idea about what Joker pulled off.''
''You do? Come on, spill!'' Skull urged.
''It's only a theory, so I can't be sure.'' Mona warned before going on. ''Joker's a Wild Card, able to connect to many spirits. She told us that Pixie even mentioned how her presence helped her deal with the distortions. Based on all this, I think Joker has the ability to counter distortions and soothe others in the Metaverse.''
''Whoa...'' He uttered, while the others looked just as awed by this news.
Queen thought about it ''I wonder if this has to do with the shadow negotiation.''
''That's actually what gave me the idea.'' Mona admitted. ''It looks more and more like she purifies the shadows of the distortions before using them as Personas.''
''Ah, you think it might relate to this ability.'' Fox understood.
Mona nodded ''Joker, you just keep exceeding my expectations! This ability will be a pretty good help. Do you know how to use it?''
Panther spoke before the girl could respond ''Either way, we are not trying this now. Mona, she's worn out!''
''Ah, right...'' The cat looked guilty. ''...sorry, I got carried away...''
Joker shook her head ''It's all right. I'd like to know more about this too. You may have the right idea, Mona. To answer your question though, I'm not sure if I could use it whenever I want to just yet.''
''Well, I'd imagine the circumstances don't help. We've all had quite the time in here. Why don't we call it a day? I think we've made decent progress now.'' Queen stated.
''Agreed, I'd imagine we could all use some good rest ourselves.'' Fox added.
''Yup, and we'll do even better the next time.'' Panther smiled as they nodded. With this turnout, they were content to settle for this and head back for now. The team was entirely oblivious to Shadow Futaba watching them as they stood at the pyramid's entrance, her eyes focused on Joker...
And we're done.
How was this? Good, I hope. To clarify, Mona's theory is more or less spot on. Namine's new ability is an idea I got ever since I finished reading up about Persona 5. They've basically got the main character and Akechi being polar opposites and all, right? I figured it would make sense for the main character to have an ability to counter Akechi's power to drive shadows berserk. Also, considering how he used it on himself in canon, I'm pretty sure it doesn't just affect shadows either. When I thought it over, this ability came to mind. Now awakening it was a bit hard on her and she can't really just use it readily yet but it'll come in handy.
Oh, and the explanation about the third eye is basically how I understood it. I didn't want to include too much at once and trying to get Futaba's Palace in the story is kind of a pain so I hope this was all right.
Anyway, thanks for reading so far and I hope you keep it up. Till next time!
Confidants:
Sakamoto Ryuji (Chariot Rank Max)
Morgana (Magician Rank 4)
Takamaki Ann (Lovers Rank 8)
Takemi Tae (Death Rank 4)
Okumura Haru (Empress Rank 4)
Igor (Aeon Rank 4)
Sakura Sojiro (Hierophant Rank 4)
Mishima Yuuki (Moon Rank 5)
Suzui Shiho (Temperance Rank 6)
Yoshida Toranosuke (Sun Rank 5)
Caroline and Justine (Strength Rank 3)
The Phantom Thieves (Fool Rank 3)
Kitagawa Yusuke (Emperor Rank 5)
Akechi Goro (Justice Rank 2)
Ohya Ichiko (Devil Rank 3)
Nijima Makoto (Priestess Rank 2)
Mifune Chihaya (Wheel of Fortune Rank 2)