"ERINA!" Toshiro cried out, gently shaking the wounded girl. He didn't even realize that her blood was covering the glove on his hand. She was badly hurt...this is exactly what he was afraid of...! "Come on, open your eyes! Hey, answer me! Please!"
There was no response for a few seconds. But Erina's breathing was extremely light and shallow. Her eye struggled to open, but she was fighting for consciousness. "Nnn..."
Bolstered by the fact the Rebel Corp leader was down, Marie's soldiers were going to try and ride this momentum into stamping out the Rebellion here and now. "For Lady Marie! For Lady Marie! Stamp out every traitor! Wipe their existence from this Kingdom!"
Seeing how Toshiro and Erina were out in the open, a few of these soldiers did charge them, attempting to take them down. Dragon, however, slammed them away with her extended staff. She slid in front of Toshiro and the wounded Erina, calling forth Bella so her shield would intercept any attacks. "Defensive formation! Agh, I knew this could happen, but I was really hoping it wouldn't..." Erina going down was something she had to account for, but that didn't stop it from being the worst possible scenario.
"Shit, this is getting worse..." Skull cursed. The others were still fighting, but if they couldn't make any progress, this was going to be a downhill fight.
"This was the worst time for her to get so reckless!" Viper hissed.
Erina weakly looked up at Toshiro as he supported her. "You have to...finish it..."
Toshiro's eyes widened at Erina's words. Why was she looking to HIM for help!? "I...have to? Don't say that. You know I can't. I'm not like you." He wasn't Erina or the Phantom Thieves, he couldn't muster the courage to fight. That's why he excelled on tactical retreats, because he knew when to flee...
Erina slowly shook her head, despite how painful it was at the moment. "I know...you can do it...it's just like before..."
"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Queen laughed loudly and mockingly in response to that. Marie couldn't contain her amusement from Erina's desperate plea. "You must be getting delirious from the blood loss if you think that man's capable of anything on his own. He is nothing without my control."
Toshiro closed his eyes, his expression twisting in confliction emotions. Marie's words struck him in the heart. Even if he couldn't remember, he knew these words. These words that always knocked him down and forced him to stay there. "She's right...I can't help at all." He was no fighter.
"Is that really how you feel!?" Joker shouted to Toshiro. What Toshiro needed right now was a good kick in the back. "Are you just giving up!?"
And that kick was exactly what Ichinose delivered to Toshiro, much to his surprise. "Ah!?"
"You think you can't help...but I can see the look on your face. You want to." Ichinose said while staring down Toshiro. She'd been in his shoes before, when wanting to make amends with the Phantom Thieves.
"I..." Toshiro paused for a second. He felt the eyes on him. These kids, Wolf, and Ichinose were all risking it all by putting themselves on the battlefield, and he was, his legs shaking! If Erina thought he could do this, then dammit, he had to try for her sake! He couldn't let her faith in him go to waste! "Dammit, I'll do it!"
"Atta boy! Don't worry, I'll cover you!" Ichinose said with a smile. Everyone was doing their best out there, and she could no longer afford to be a bystander. Before Toshiro could even ask how she planned to do that, she pulled out a rocket launcher.
"W-Why do you!?" Toshiro gasped. Dragon looked back with widened eyes.
"W-W-!?" Dragon could barely get the words out.
"Noir inspired me! And if Joker is paying for them!" Ichinose just smiled. "I'll make sure nobody hurts Erina."
"Scary..." Dragon and Toshiro thought at the same time...
But there were more important things to worry about. The members of the Rebel Corp were slowly being surrounded by Marie's forces, and the situation was looking extremely grim. "This is it...! We're finished! We're not making it out of this one allllllive!"
"Don't give up!" Toshiro exclaimed, holding Erina's flag tightly in both hands. "We can't let this one setback make our efforts meaningless! Stand and fight!"
Mona turned at the sound of Toshiro's voice, surprised to see the man taking a stand. "Toshiro!?"
"He found a backbone...!" Viper gasped.
"WHAT was that!?" Fox snarled. How DARE Toshiro try and defy Marie like this!? "You imbeciles! Don't just stand there - stop him this instant!" Fox was going to move in himself, but Violet intercepted him with a thrust of her rapier. "Tch...!"
"Toshiro-san, go! We'll cover you!" Violet declared. Fox was her opponent and she wasn't letting him out of her sight.
"Go ahead!" Wolf exclaimed, keeping Queen at bay.
A soldier took aim at Toshiro with his gun. "No one who defies lady Marie will be left alllAAAAAAGGH!?" They were unable to finish that sentence, because Skull launched them away with his pipe.
"Well, look at that! Toshiro finally found his guts!" Skull grinned.
"We should step up our efforts, too!" Noir exclaimed, dragging her axe along the ground before swinging it upward. The force of this knocked a few soldiers back.
"I will give it my all as well!" Sophie shouted, spinning around with her yo-yos to entangle and toss as many soldiers as she could. Crow and Joker followed this up by slashing through them.
"One final push, guys!" Oracle reported. "We can do this!"
"You don't have to worry about us! We're just getting started!" Panther said while slipping behind cover, using her gun to shoot at the enemies.
Toshiro ran ahead, much faster than Dragon expected. "Toshiro, wait!" She said, rushing after Toshiro.
"Protect Erina!" Toshiro told Dragon. For this moment, he was running purely on adrenaline, and reckless abandon. These two feelings were something he'd never done in his life, but this moment demanded it of him.
"Stop right there, traitor! Another step and you're dead!" A soldier shouted at Toshiro, firing their gun. The bullet struck his arm, causing Toshiro to stop for a moment.
His arm burned, but he barely felt the pain as well. The mission was more important. "I'm not...giving up yet!" Toshiro kept running. The soldier aimed another shot at him, but this one was properly blocked by Dragon's Aegis, much to the soldiers surprise.
"What!?" The soldier turned, only to see Ichinose pointing the rocket launcher at them. She fired, and the missile exploded outward, and collided against the soldier, felling them instantly.
Toshiro sprinted through the battlefield. The Phantom Thieves and Ichinose were covering his sprint in various ways. He had a straight shot to the empty flag and went right for it. With everyone's help, he was able to make it, raising the flag high over his head. "Now it's OOOOOOOOVER!" He slammed the flag down, and it shone brightly as Toshiro's act of defiance opened the way.
Makoto gasped in horror at Toshiro's actions. "No! How could you, Toshiro!? YOU BASTAAAaaaaard..." Her voice weakened as Marie's control over her and Fox was finally relinquished. The two of them collapsed; Wolf caught Queen, while Violet brightly struggled to hold Fox up. With the successful efforts of the flag, the surrounding soldiers vanished as well.
Toshiro was hunched over, sweating up a storm, but he wore an accomplished grin on his face. "Heh...hahahahaha! How about that? I actually did it! Ah..." And then he felt himself beginning to collapse, but Skull was the one who supported him.
"Whoops! Looks like the adrenaline finally ran out." Skull laughed a bit. "Hey, how's everyone else holding up?"
"Erina's wound is bad, but she should pull through if we get her back quickly. She's just unconscious. Same goes for Fox and Queen." Oracle reported.
"Hup..." Noir took it upon herself to carry Queen on her back. "Don't worry, I can carry her back! I have a lot of upper body strength."
"Probably for the best." Wolf nodded, deciding to ease Skull's burden to carry Toshiro on his back, since the man was rightfully exhausted after such an ordeal. Violet was capable of carrying Erina, and Skull took Fox from her instead. "That's everyone."
The surrounding Rebels were in shock at the situation. Things looked so bad, they were completely surprised that the situation was saved. "We did it...we won!?"
"Yes, victory is ours." Dragon said with a sigh of relief. "It got a little touch and go at the end there, but I'm glad we were able to pull through."
"That was stressful." Violet said with a heavy sigh.
"We're not out of the woods yet." Wolf told the others. "We won the battle, but we need a safe retreat before we can celebrate."
"I agree." Crow said while glancing around. "Staying out in the open like this is a poor choice. That was an annoyingly tough bout, and we have multiple people who cannot fight now."
"Yeah, we can't go through another round now." Mona agreed to this. They won, but it was a hard fought victory that nearly slipped out of their grasp.
"Mm." Dragon nodded in agreement. "A warrior is most vulnerable after a victory! So it would be in our best interest to..." She trailed off. A faint, vaguely familiar noise catching her ear. "...?"
"Uh...does anyone else hear that?" Viper looked around.
"It sounds like it's getting closer." Ichinose looked at the ground, noticing how bits of rubble were beginning to shake. "Is it a vehicle of some kind?"
"A vehicle?" Sophie tilted her head.
"Oh sh-!" Joker realized it too late. A line of soldiers were already in front of them, clearing a path to the tank that slowly drove forward.
Marie made an appearance herself, standing atop her favorite armored chariot. "Who's the ruler of this land?" Just like before, she made her entrance by speaking to her faithful followers.
"Our lady Marie!"
"And having your lives in my hand!?"
"BRINGS US JOY EVERY DAY!"
Marie snickered at their perfect recitation of their mantra. "Ahahahaha! That's...right."
"Oh, man. This sucks haaaard...!" Oracle winced. This was the last thing they needed!
"I knew the worst case scenarios could happen, but why did they have to happen in succession" Dragon groaned softly. Things literally could not get any worse than they were right now.
"That's Marie!?" Wolf was a bit surprised. She was a lot bigger than he was expecting! But that face, that voice, and that hair...it was no mistake. That was Marie Anto, the woman he met hours before being whisked into the Kingdom.
"Oh, my. She's a lot more pink than I was expecting." Ichinose said, because that was the first thing that caught her attention.
"Is this a Shadow, or a Cognitive Being?" That was Sophie's question. How they proceeded against Marie really did determine on that answer.
Marie, however, look downtrodden at the sight before her. "I poured my heart and soul into preparing the ceremony, and look what you've done to me...On any other day, I'd drag you from the back of my carriage through every street in my Kingdom until there was nothing left." She then took a haughty stance. "But that might be too much! After all, you're nothing but some stupid children!" Her eyes then gazed upon Wolf and Ichinose, the only other adults present beside Toshiro. "And some fools who don't know any better!"
"I'll pass on another joyride, thanks." Joker spat.
"Foolish kids!"
"Thick brats!"
"Idiotic rascals!" The soldiers just berated the group at the behest of their Lady Marie, which led to a collective groan from all of them.
"I don't even have it in me for banter..." Mona sighed.
"Man, I want to claw her eyes out so badly..." Viper's expression twisted into an annoying, anxious one. She really wanted to pay Marie back for her ever so gracious welcome earlier.
"But I admit, I didn't expect you muster up such a resistance." Marie shrugged her shoulders, before laughing. "But in the end, you were still ground down to nothing! Just look at the state of you!" She was relishing this moment far too much. "How fortunate. It's almost as if my fiancé was destined to be here for our ceremony!"
"Aw, hell! What do we do?" Skull looked to the others.
"We have to retreat, but we are in the worst position to do so." Dragon grunted. They had an escape route planned, but the problem was time. They didn't have any. They could run, but Marie's tank would catch up to them before they got too far. The last ditch effort was a sacrificial play. "If nothing else, I'll try to buy us some time...we need to get the others to safety first."
"No!" Panther shook her head. She refused to let Dragon stand alone against Marie. "If you're going to do this, I'm doing it with you...!"
"Wh-!?" Viper looked to Dragon and Panther. "Now wait just a second!"
"We don't have time for this!" Crow barked. He was right. They were staring Marie down and she was looking down at them like the insects she thought they were.
"Planning on running away again?" Marie lifted her hand up, once again forming a very dreadful, familiar sight for everyone. It was the same attack she used to subjugate the Phantom Thieves in their first encounter. "Now, why would I let you do that? I just had a fantastic idea!"
"If she uses that now..." Dragon grit her teeth. This was bad but she had a way to stop this. It was absolutely insane, but she had no choice...!
Marie was relishing in what she was about to do, but the most surprising thing happened. Before she could actually do so, she was getting swarmed by the members of the Rebel Corp. "W-What the...!?
"The time has come to pay back our debt!" One of the Rebels exclaimed to the Phantom Thieves. "Please, take the captain and retreat! We'll cover your escape!"
"Rebel Corps, charge! Open a path for their escape!" Another Rebel exclaimed.
"Whoa, look at 'em all!" Skull shouted.
"There's strength in numbers!" Sophie said. While she did feel bad about leaving the Rebel Corps member behind, this was for the best.
Marie was swinging her arms with an annoyed expression. "What the hell!? Get off of me you filth! What are you doing!? Quit standing around and seize them immediately!" Marie snarled at her soldiers, who immediately went to work in putting down the Rebel Corp members. The Phantom Thieves took this chance and started to run.
"We will make sure your efforts aren't in vain!" Dragon shouted while looking back over her shoulder.
Ichinose turned around quickly, deciding to give the Rebel Corps a bit of a helping hand. She fired her rocket launcher at the base of the scaffolding around the cake. The explosion caused it all to fall on top of Marie and her soldiers. "Here's a wedding present!"
"AGH! MY CAKE?!" Marie growled. She had no choice but to watch as the Phantom Thieves fled the scene. She would get them back for this...!
.
.
Thanks to the Rebels, the Phantom Thieves were able to flee the scene quickly, with their wounded and exhausted members in tow. "This is one of the escape routes Toshiro mapped out!" Dragon exclaimed. "If I remember correctly, this is also the shortest route back to the hideout!"
"So all we gotta do is make it through? Great!" Skull liked the sound of that. But of course, that wasn't going to be so easy. They rounded a corner, and saw some of Marie's troops patrolling the area, standing guard. "Ah, shit!"
"This is expected." Crow stated. "But their numbers aren't so great."
"Most of them probably came to deal with us during the Wedding Ceremony." Wolf surmised. "This is probably the best case scenario. We can tear through these guys and get moving!"
"Wait!" Oracle said quickly. "I'm picking up a new reading...from those ones!" She pointed at a new type of enemy. They were used to the standard foot soldiers and brutes by now. But what stood amongst the enemy ranks this time, was a drummer. "But I'm not detecting a lot of offensive capabilities from this one..."
"Then it must not be a threat." Viper shrugged her shoulders. She leapt onto a building, deciding to get the height advantage. "Nuwa! Take them down!" As her mask burned off, her serpentine Persona appeared and shot a bolt of lightning towards a group of soldiers. The Zionga struck the foot soldiers and knocked them now. Viper flipped her hair, but before the others could react.
"You're alright!" The drummer said, beating his drum a few times. Just like that, a few of the soldiers were healed and stood on their feet.
"W-What!?" Viper gasped. "Are you kidding me!?"
"Great...combat medics..." Crow groaned.
"Were this a real war, targeting them would be considered a crime..." Dragon was briefly pondering their next move.
"We're not in an actual war, remember!? The law doesn't matter in here!" Joker exclaimed.
"Uh, yeah, hey, let's not get carried away there." Wolf said sternly. Regardless, they had to fight through these soldiers! Luckily, Viper did catch their attention with her failed attack.
"There's one of them!" A soldier took aim at Viper, who darted along the rooftops to avoid being hit.
"Celestine!"
"Bella!" Dragon and Panther leapt from behind cover, the two of them launching attacks with their Personas. Celestine's fire and Bella's sword struck down the first wave of soldiers in their way. After that, Joker, Crow, and Sophie all launched themselves ahead, taking on the soldiers to buy the others time to escape.
"All we have to do is make it to the other side!" Violet said. She, Wolf, and Noir were carrying Erina, Toshiro, Fox, and Queen respectively. As such, they were unable to fight and had to leave it up to the others.
"We shall cover you!" Sophie said firmly. "You just run ahead. Not a single hair on your heads will be hurt!"
"You heard the little AI!" Skull said. "Oracle, you got us?"
"You don't even need to ask!" Oracle said while adjusting her goggles. Even though the others were slightly exhausted, they were still doing a great job of keeping the enemy at bay. Long enough for the others to slip through the carnage unnoticed. It was one heck of a fight, but they were able to push through the small blockade unharmed. With this small victory, and with the help of the Rebels, they were finally capable of returning to the front of Leblanc. It was a hard fought battle...
"We made it..." Violet said while letting out a small sigh.
Toshiro groaned lowly. "Ugh..."
"Aw, he's sleeping like a baby." Ichinose snickered.
"Ew." Viper just shook her head.
"Everyone's in one piece, too." Sophie commented. "This was our victory!"
"Nnng..." Even Erina was beginning to stir. She was feeling a lot of pain, but her eyes shot open the moment she realized she was conscious. "W-What happened!? Is everyone okay!?"
"It's okay, Erina." Joker said while looking towards Erina. "We took care of it. We'll fill you in when we get inside. I think everyone here could use a rest and some time to recover."
"Ah, okay..." Erina winced. She just realized she was in pain. But even in her haze, she could see they were carrying a few more people. So it was a success after all. "Good..."
"We've finally made it this far." Dragon said while looking at the others. It took some time, but they've finally recovered all of their teammates. The Phantom Thieves were reunited at long last. This meant they could finally begin a proper offensive...! The Revolution in Marie's Kingdom was only just beginning, and they would be certain to bring it to a swift end now that were back at full power.