Shin Persona Evangelion

by Ultra Sonic 007

Shinji Ikari stared, bewildered by the bizarre-looking man, who gave an intrigued smile. "An interesting guest has arrived. My name is Igor. Welcome to the Velvet Room, young fool...we have important matters to discuss, you and I." (A fusion of the realms of Evangelion and Persona, where not all is as it seems.) (Cover art by Renu of the Sufficient Velocity forums.)

69. Sunday - August 9, 2015

Author's Note: A new piece of art (commissioned by Renu) depicting Kensuke Aida and his Persona Ozymandias can be seen on SpaceBattles, Sufficient Velocity, AO3, or TVTropes.

Now, on with the story!

xxxx

This time, Sokila wasn't there.

Instead, there was only Igor, sitting behind his desk on the stage within the Velvet Room. "Welcome. It feels like it has been some time since we have last seen each other...and yet it hasn't been very long at all."

For some reason, just this once, he found himself capable of speaking. (Perhaps that was why the music of the Velvet Room sounded...different.) "Mister Igor...I feel so tired..."

"You have encountered a rather unusual person...one whose impact upon destiny is variable, yet no less important."

Visions of a wild brute with cold eyes and a streak of red hair came to mind. "...Minazuki..."

"Indeed," said Igor with a nod. "Did you know that Sho Minazuki was once meant to be a guest of the Velvet Room?"

He blinked, almost numb with shock.

"It was a time where the wondrous flourishing of Yu Narukami made us confident. We desired to help others attain to their potential, so that humanity would have more champions in the existential conflict that encompasses us all. It was at that time, so shortly after that triumph, that Sho Minazuki became known to us. His spirit and soul and mind...they called to the Velvet Room. However, to our dismay, he rejected our assistance."

At that moment, echoes of voices from the past sounded out. One of them stood out: "You are fated to refine your power. You will most definitely require our assistance...eventually."

He blinked out of surprise. "That...that was your voice."

Igor's smile was ever present, yet it now possessed a note of melancholy. "Alas, the child never did return to the Velvet Room...even after his short but noteworthy encounters with a prior guest. Never did he sign a contract...and it seems that, in the passage of time, other powers stepped in to fill that void."

"Other powers...?"

"You will find out in short order, I'm sure. It is unfortunate, when good intentions do not pan out as we expect them to."

"...so...Minazuki...does he remember? About his old life?

Igor chuckled knowingly. "I believe you will find out...if you have the determination to face him again."

"...but he beat me." Unambiguously. "How would I...how would I be able to face him...?"

"Circumstances can change surprisingly quickly, my dear guest. The stakes of your prior conflict...and the stakes of your next conflict...may not be the same. And let us not forget...that you are not alone. Even if you must face enemies by yourself...even if the world itself stands against you...you are never alone."

It was at that moment when tiny arms gently wrapped around his neck from behind. "Never...no matter what..." assured Sokila.

"...thank you," he murmured quietly, briefly brushing his fingers against Sokila's little hands.

The faint haze of blue began to brighten-

xxxx

/Sunday: August 9, 2015/

/Okayama/

Within a particular hotel room, Shinji Ikari opened his eyes. He was...in a bed, staring at a digital clock on a nearby nightstand. It's...11:52 AM...? He still felt sore from last night...come to think of it, how had he gotten back? "Urgh..."

"Hey, sleeping beauty's awake!" Shinji blinked as Kensuke Aida's face filled his version. "You've been out of it since Mana-san brought you back last night."

"...huh...?" He heard the sound of a nearby television, relaying the news...but in a panicked tone. (But why?) "Kirishima-san...?"

At that moment, the digital clock flickered and went dead, as did all the other lights and devices in the room. "Aw damn it, the power went out!" exclaimed a familiar voice. "There goes our live updates!" yelled Toji Suzuhara.

Shinji slowly rose, grimacing as he looked around the room; aside from Kensuke and Toji (who had been sitting by the foot of the other bed), Mana Kirishima was standing by the windows, staring outside. She was clad in her familiar bodysuit, with AIGIS and LABRYS affixed to her back. Looking over her shoulder, Shinji could see that she was wearing the silver circlet with the tiny emerald centered over her forehead. "Kirishima-san...what are you doing here?"

"Junpei Iori gave us a call about some situation you ended up getting involved with. Katsuragi told me to pull you out. Which I did. She got here shortly before sunrise, and was waiting for you to wake up...until, well..."

"...until what?" Mana stepped aside, allowing him to see outside the window from his bed. What he saw...was inexplicable. "What...?" Smoke was rising from the parts of Okayama that he could see; of particular note was that Kijō Mountain — the site of the Olympics — was on fire in the distance. "...what...what happened while I was asleep?!" he exclaimed out of sheer shock.

"Yeah, that's a bit of a story..." nervously admitted Kensuke.

"So basically, we got woken up Sakamoto-sensei late last night," explained Toji. "And he wasn't happy."

xxxx

The pointed knocking at their hotel door prompted Toji and Kensuke to scramble out of their beds; tiredly turning the lights on, Toji could only blink at the sight of Ryuji Sakamoto standing outside. "Hello boys. Would you happen to know where Ikari went?"

"...Ikari's not here?" dumbly said Toji.

"...oh crap, he's not here," said Kensuke with pained realization.

("Then we got a call from Iori-san...after he had called Katsuragi," admitted Kensuke.)

As Ryuji irritably paced around Toji and Kensuke's room, his phone rang. Pulling it up, he made a face. What kind of face? A heady mix of frustration, resignation, and expectation. Sighing, he put it on speaker. "Katsuragi."

"How the HELL is it so hard to keep track of one kid?!" roared Misato from the other hand, her tone causing Kensuke and Toji to impulsively yelp.

"Clearly you've forgotten what being a teenager can be like," groused Ryuji. "Especially when you add superpowers to the mix."

("And that's where I come in," said Mana. "Katsuragi woke me up and told me to get over to Okayama as soon as possible. I emerged a couple of times to coordinate with Sakamoto and Iori as to where I should be heading.")

Junpei Iori tried VERY hard not to scream when Mana emerged into reality. "Sheesh, you can give a guy a heart attack!"

Mana gazed at the buildings around them, not much caring for the bystanders who were either staring in surprise — she had just appeared out of thin air — or fleeing in terror at the sight of her humongous weapons. "Where's Ikari?"

He gestured down the alleyway around the corner. "He's inside that building. My hunch is that it probably goes underground."

"Got it."

"If you find Ikari, take him straight back to hotel where the Captain and the other kids are staying. You know where that is?"

"Got the details from Sakamoto." Without another word, she slashed at the air, diving back into the Metaverse.

("...what did that place look like in the Metaverse?" asked Shinji.)

("Lots of violent Archetypes, for the most part. 'Shoot first, ask questions later.' That sort.")

("...ah.")

("Anyway, Mana-san brought you back here," explained Kensuke.)

Kensuke nearly jumped as Mana emerged with Ikari in one hand and her axe in another. "...I think I've seen a horror movie that begins like this."

Ryuji frowned as Mana set Ikari down onto the nearest empty bed. "Where's that Nagisa kid? Junpei said that Shinji followed him."

"He handed Ikari to me," answered Mana.

Ryuji frowned. "And you didn't think to bring him along?"

"He said he was a civilian who wouldn't do well in the Metaverse, so I left him."

"...you left him in a place run by the yakuza?!"

"He said he'd be fine on his own," replied Mana with a shrug.

Ryuji threw his hands up into the air.

("Katsuragi got here shortly thereafter, because I think she was worried," explained Mana. "Don't know why though. You just seemed sleepy.")

Misato's arms were crossed, one finger tapping on her elbow incessantly. "So he's out like a light, huh?"

"He won't wake up," said Junpei. "He doesn't look injured...I wish we had Nagisa to get a second opinion on what happened."

Mana shrugged. "I wasn't told to grab him. What do you want from me?"

"...maybe we should sleep it off?" nervously offered Kensuke. "I'm sure he'll be fine by the morning!"

"...that...that actually sounds like a good idea," said Misato, fighting off a yawn. Glancing towards Ryuji, she asked, "mind if Mana-chan and I take your room?"

Sakamoto nodded, taking up the chair in the corner with a tired sigh. "We'll make do in here."

As Misato and Mana retired next door, Junpei looked seriously at Kensuke and Toji. "So...we have a couch...one free bed...and the floor."

Kensuke and Toji immediately held out their hands.

Much to the man's consternation, his scissors were beaten by Kensuke and Toji's rock in the first round.

("Sometimes I wonder if Iori's just that unlucky," wondered Toji.)

("Anyhow, come morning, you still weren't coming around...and we were starting to get worried when..." Kensuke sighed. "...well, it wasn't pretty.")

On the television, everyone — eating some takeout noodles that Junpei had delivered — saw various Olympic medallists being paraded into an open stadium. "I remember when the closing ceremonies were held in the evening," groused Ryuji. "There were fireworks and lots of light shows. It was awesome."

"Too many people are terrified of nighttime events," remarked Misato before she slurped a long thread of lo mein. "Greater chances of Ghost activity and whatnot."

"Before this year, I'd have agreed with you. Hell, before this summer, I'd have agreed with you," said Junpei. "But these past couple of months, the worst of the new moon incidents have been occurring during the day...and not after sunset. Something's changed."

Something indeed, had changed. Yet they couldn't quite put their finger on it.

"In that case, take us back to closing ceremonies at night!" griped Ryuji. "The kids may not be old enough to remember the good ol' days, but I do."

"Keep playing the old timer card," joked Misato. "I'm sure it'll do you good."

"...wait a second, isn't that that boxer we saw yesterday?" observed Toji, squinting at the television. "Minazuki, wasn't it?"

Confused, everyone stared at the television, where the cameras had zoomed in towards the cluster of athletes in the center of the stadium; they had reacted with shock by the sudden appearance of a Japanese high school student with a red streak in his hair.

"How'd he get there?" wondered Kensuke aloud.

Mana's whole form seemed to shudder. "...what...?"

At that precise moment, the cameras caught a bloodthirsty grin. "Hello!" exclaimed Sho Minazuki. "Strega says hi." Without warning, he manifested a swirling maelstrom of orange, translucent octagonal planes around him. "But I say DIE!"

As Minazuki's A.T. Field began to slice and crush at the athletes around him, Misato — stunned at the display — whispered, "...what the hell kind of A.T. Field is that...?" At that precise moment, her phone, as well as Junpei's and Ryuji's, buzzed. Looking at it with a grim expression, she growled, "Pattern Blue...and a big one."

"How many Angel Syndrome victims do you think there's gonna be?" murmured Junpei.

"Don't even want to think about it," said Ryuji, rising to his feet. "You kids stay here and look after Ikari. If by any chance any Acolytes turn up here...head to the Metaverse and use your Personas to make a break for it."

"I can fight," grumbled Mana.

"While Ikari's out, you're the most combat-capable cognitive combatant here, Mana-chan," said Misato, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I'm trusting you to look out for them, okay?"

For some reason, that was enough to silence her. Without hesitation, the three adults promptly reached for their badges and transitioned into the Metaverse, leaving the four children behind.

xxxx

"...and that was about an hour and a half ago," said Kensuke, finishing their brief summation of the events that had transpired since last night. "So...yeah. You slept through quite a bit."

That was a sentiment Shinji could readily agree with. "...so...Minazuki...he's a member of Strega?" he said, almost out of disbelief.

"Yeah. Crazy thing, ain't it?" said Toji with a huff. "I mean, we just saw him yesterday at a boxing tournament."

"...it's not that." Was this why?

Kensuke frowned. "It's not what?"

Was this why he seemed to hate me? "...Minazuki was there. At the underground fighting ring." That sentence elicited bewildered blinks from the others. "...I actually fought him." That sentence elicited looks of surprise. "...and he beat me in a fight." That sentence broke the camel's back.

"...I think we need to back up, because I'm missing some context," demanded Kensuke. "I get that you followed Nagisa to this fight club or whatever, but how did you get roped into joining?"

"They threatened Nagisa-kun's life," explained Shinji, looking down at his hands. (Hands hadn't so much as laid a scratch on Sho Minazuki.) "The yakuza, I mean; they wanted me to fight with my Evangelion. For the spectacle."

Mana snorted. "Gee, they must have had a death wish."

"Everyone fighting was capable of manipulating their A.T. Field...or so Nagisa-kun told me. The first guy...couldn't even touch me. I just let him punch away until he tired himself out."

"I bet that was quite a show," murmured Kensuke as his fingers tapped furiously on his phone. "Wonder if anyone tried taking video with their cell phone...?"

"Then Minazuki came out...and...well, I'm not sure how to describe it. He had overwhelming power behind him." Looking out the window (towards the smoke, towards the fire), a hollow sort of realization fell upon him. "...maybe...if he's a part of Strega...then that must mean he has power from the Angels..."

"...it would explain things, if he managed to beat your Evangelion." A rather dark look of frustration fell over her face. "...but I bet you held back, didn't you?"

Shinji grimaced. "...yes."

"Why?"

"...I don't know."

Toji snorted loudly. "Eh, I bet you do know. Just talk about it! If nothing else, it'll make you feel better. Believe me...I know that much."

Shinji nervously scratched at the back of his head. "...I only fought to keep Nagisa-kun safe...but when Minazuki escalated...I didn't...I just didn't see the need to use all of my power..."

"...concerned about collateral damage, maybe?" offered Kensuke. "I mean, as far as the real world's concerned, you've only ever used your Evangelion around Ghosts, right? That usually means there's not much in the way of other people to worry about. And...well, if it was an underground fighting ring run by yakuza, I bet there were a lot of people around."

"There were," Shinji readily admitted. "...wait a second." His brain was finally catching up. "What happened to Nagisa-kun?" He remembered...something happening. Kaworu had faced Minazuki...somehow. The details seemed blurry and out of focus, in retrospect. "...I hope he made it out..."

Kensuke shook his head. "Katsuragi asked me to inquire with the Hakone Academy Boxing Club members once people got out and about; even though I was discreet about why I was asking, they weren't able to provide me any details. The boxers he had been rooming with hadn't even realized he'd left last night." Adjusting his glasses, the boy added, "and with all of the havoc spreading from where the Olympics are being held, the clubs that were still here have elected to leave early, to try and get out of the city."

"...oh." Reaching down for his phone, Shinji noticed that there had been no new messages since last night. Nagisa-kun...what happened...wait. It suddenly buzzed.

K. Nagisa: Are you finally awake?

Without hesitation, Shinji dialed Nagisa's contact and waited for him to pick up. When the other line clicked open, he asked, "Nagisa-kun?"

"Ah, so you are!"

Shinji glanced at Kensuke, Toji, and Mana, who were looking at him with pointed expressions. "Where are you?"

"Outside the hotel, near the bus that's about to take the Boxing Club back to Tokyo-3."

"...where have you been? What happened last night?"

xxxx

On the ground floor outside, leaning against the back of a passenger bus, Kaworu Nagisa pondered and wondered.

(What response would produce the most fruit?)

(What would propel Shinji Ikari the furthest?)

(What would push him towards the desired endpoint?)

"...what happened last night was regrettable, I will admit. But I think it provided great insight, nonetheless."

"...what do you mean?"

"Well...it showed me that, for all the power you are purported to possess, you yourself are still restrained. I wonder...for all the questions I have about where I'm going, are you any different?"

xxxx

Shinji blinked, almost staring at his phone before bringing it back to his ear. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it seems quite apparent...at least, to me. However great your power is, your control is...suspect."

"...it is?"

"Why else would the likes of Sho Minazuki have been a threat to you?"

"But...if I went too far-"

"And who is the one to decide? Is that power yours to command, to control as you will? Or are you its puppet?"

Shinji went still.

"My fists...and my own strength...and the choices they enable me to make...are mine, and mine alone. As vexing as life may sometimes be, I find comfort in that knowledge. Can you say the same?"

All the power he possessed seemed to do him little beyond combat as it was. (If someone else could willingly shoulder the burden, he often wondered, even now, how quickly he would give it up.) "...what good would it do?"

"Everything."

"How?"

"Power that can't be controlled is simply a vicious master...or perhaps a wild dog, ready to bite and tear. If you cannot control your own strength, are you anything better than a slave to it? If you fear your own power...is that not a condemnation of yourself?"

Shinji paled at the sharpness of the accusation...because it was true.

His Other gazed at the peak of a great and mighty fortress.

"How dreadful, is the shadow upon thy head? How long will it block the sun of wisdom?"

"...I...I guess I'm scared," he managed to say with a gulp. "There's stuff that's happened that you don't know about..."

"I'm sure. But what does it matter? Are you not alive, capable of change? Are you not still breathing, capable of facing whatever the day may bring?"

"...I guess."

"Then make your choices, Shinji-kun...and accept whatever may come from them. Fear will only keep you chained down, after all."

"...Nagisa-kun..." There was the sensation of pending discovery, and that frightened him. (Somehow. But why?) "...how did you get me away from Minazuki last night?"

There was a knowing chuckle from the other end. "Now now, I don't think we're quite that close...allow a boy to retain some secrets~"

"Eh?"

"Now...I believe you have more pressing matters to attend to. I'm sure we'll have plenty to talk about once you return to Tokyo-3. See you later~" And with that, Kaworu hung up.

...Nagisa-kun...who are you? Shinji couldn't help but wonder what other mysteries his enigmatic roommate concealed (even if he felt as though Nagisa had unveiled just a bit more of himself...), even now.

xxxx

Kaworu stared at his phone with a pleased expression. Let us see how you will proceed. After all, the battles to come would only devour Ikari whole if he were taken by trepidation...and that would be unacceptable.

With a nonchalant grin and hands in his pockets, he walked around the side of the bus and towards another one that was a few dozen meters away; sure enough, Akihiko and Miki Sanada were standing at the passenger doorway, looking around with palpable concern.

Miki saw him first. "THERE you are you troublemaker! We've been calling your phone nonstop!"

"My apologies," he said. "I went out for a stroll very early...and before I knew it, I found myself in an unfamiliar part of town. I would have used my GPS, but my phone died while I was out," he lied.

Akihiko huffed. "You sure took your sweet time getting back. The bus driver was going to leave in five minutes, with or without you."

Glancing towards the noonday sky — hazy from distant smoke, marred by the sound of distant conflict — Kaworu's smile faltered ever so slightly. "...I can only imagine why. It looks like a fire broke out from the northeast?"

"If only that was the problem," griped Miki. "Now get your butt on the bus, mister!"

With a disarming bow, Kaworu did so; before long, as the bus began its journey southward — to cross the first of many bridges that would take them on a circuitous route through Kagawa, Tokushima, and Hyōgo Prefectures before veering back on the main expressways eastward — his (seemingly) youthful dalliance with the streets of Okayama would be glossed over by the teenagers onboard. After all, the terrorist attack on the Olympics was far more noteworthy.

(Sometimes, he pitied the ignorance of the lilim.)

(Far more often, however, did he envy that same blissful naivete.)

xxxx

Shinji stared at his phone, almost dumbfounded.

"...so?" Blinking, he turned towards Kensuke, who was looking at him expectantly alongside Toji and Mana. "Where was he?"

"...out by the buses, actually. I think he was about to head back to Tokyo-3 with the Boxing Club."

"Seriously?!" Toji threw his hands up into the air. "Way to make us worry!"

"That stuff sounded pretty heavy," remarked Mana, a rather shrewd look entering her eyes. "...so...what now?"

Shinji stared down at his phone...or rather, at the hand holding it.

The world was aflame.

The Beast held a box full of kindling.

"Will you inflame the fires that this world has created?"

His Other held a bucket of water.

"Or will you quench those wretched flames?"

Their free hands were held out, as if in invitation.

"Either way," they chorused, "your own hand must take hold of something."

With a resolute sigh, he pocketed his phone. "...have you heard from Misato-san or the others?"

Kensuke shook his head. "Not since they left, no." As if to punctuate his remark, a fireball erupted from a distant section of northern Okayama. "...was starting to wonder what we should do once you woke up."

"...I hope you intend to go after them," said Mana, resting LABRYS upon her shoulders. "Now that you're awake, there's no reason for us to stay here."

Shinji nodded. "I think we have to...and I think the best thing for us to do is to go after Minazuki."

Kensuke and Toji blinked, stared at each other, then looked back. "Uh...hate to break it you Ikari, but we're not that combat capable in the real world," said the latter.

"I mean, sure, we've got Personas and whatnot, but they can't exactly be used in the real world!" added Kensuke.

"I know."

"...you've got an idea, don't you?" asked Mana.

"...sort of," he said, slowly stretching his arms. This power I have...I don't know what all I'm capable of...but I have to learn. One way or another, he would learn. It would be for the best if he did so of his own volition. "So...do you remember the ferry?"

"Kind of hard to forget that," griped Toji.

Shinji grimaced, because that reaction was completely justifiable. "Well...here's what I'm thinking..."

xxxx

The Metaverse in Okayama had become a war zone.

The city's Cognitive Protection Center — shaped in the form of a giant peach, held aloft by a skyscraper-sized statue of the folklore hero Momotarō — was buzzing with thousands upon thousands of Agents, seeking to quell the numerous residents' Shadows that had transformed into Acolytes within their cells. This fit in well with the landscape of Okayama, wherein the cognitive doubles of numerous landmarks — cherry blossom groves that seemed to swamp whole swathes of the city, spawning from the Korakuen and Handayama Gardens; the looming black monolith of Okayama Castle, overshadowing the adjacent Asahi River; the voluminous organic farms on the south side of the city that were practically endless fields of food that were labored over by sweating humanoids — flickered with fire and twisted voids that were growing like mold (or perhaps cancerous tumors). Acolyte had seemingly spawned from nowhere, their Shadows yanked from great distances.

Although there were literally thousands of Agents, Cognitive Freelancers, and foreigners with cognitive capabilities, the sudden upswing had been beyond even their expectations.

Of the various pockets of fighting, one included Misato Katsuragi, Ryuji Sakamoto, Junpei Iori, and a certain Munehisa Iwai. Stationed at an intersection near the downtown area, the quartet of Persona-users had surrounded two corrupted Shadows, which were busy trying to tear apart the very air itself, to render the area into a cognitive void.

Not if they had anything to say about it.

"Vorpal Blade!" Trismegistus rushed by, slashing wildly with its arms; the Acolytes' Shadows held their beefy arms up to block the shimmering lines of white.

"God's Hand!" Seiten Taisei unleashed a great golden fist, rocketing around in a circle before striking an enemy in the back,

"Heat Riser!" Tokoyo's right sword glowed a myriad of colors, aimed towards the fourth Persona of their group.

The Persona in question was a dapper humanoid in a long gray coat with a brown scarf and a similarly-shaded fedora; the only thing that betrayed his nature was the stirling white mask over his face, bearing the infamous diamond symbol of the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza clan; the yellow eyes of Yamaguchi glinted mercilessly as he pulled out a long pistol-grip shotgun from his coat. Empowered by Heat Riser, he growled, "One-Shot Kill." A gigantic slug shot out from the weapon, slamming into the front Shadow and knocking both of the hulking beasts over.

Ryuji chuckled as he rested his gun-cane on his shoulders. "Always struck me as funny that a Superintendent's Persona is a glorified thug."

Iwai snorted; unlike most A.T. Agents, his uniform didn't quite conform to the standard. Besides the waist-length cloak of dark blue, he looked like nothing like Misato or Junpei; wearing a light gray two-piece suit and a maroon dress shirt with a popped collar, the middle-aged man looked like an actual yakuza from a bygone age. "Since I'm not actually a yakuza, it doesn't mean a damn thing."

"Can we focus?!" yelled Misato, reloading her pistol with practiced ease.

"Here they come for another round!" warned Junpei as the two Acolytes' Shadows rose back to their feet.

As the four continued their battle, they were unaware of what was about to go down, mere miles away...

xxxx

In the real world, upon Kijō Mountain, in the Olympic Stadium that had been built constructed and built for the events in question...Sho Minazuki was bored.

Boredy bored bored.

Sure, the initial flurry of activity had been fun in a chaotic sort of way. However, the various snipers stationed within the stadium had been unable to pierce his A.T. Field, and those laughable excuses for A.T. Adepts — various Shinto priests and Buddhist monks had been present, alongside a few exorcists from overseas — had been equally unsuccessful.

(The sutras, the paper wards, the prayers, and even actual A.T. Field manipulation had been deployed against him: every single one had failed without exception. The power of his patron was simply too overwhelming.)

Of course, it hadn't taken long for the mere influence of Zeruel to start poisoning the very souls of the people around him; as more and more bystanders began transforming into Acolytes, the attention upon him had been diverted to the berserkers that were spreading out en masse from the Olympic grounds towards Okayama in general. Even with all the proverbial firepower mustered by the Anti-Terror Task Force for the sake of safeguarding the Olympics, it was an unprecedented outbreak of Angel Syndrome...outside of a new moon, that is.

Sitting atop the pyramid of raised pedestals where numerous athletes were supposed to have stood as part of the closing ceremonies, Sho couldn't help but scoff at how things had turned out. Running like chickens...can't even hendure a little bit of death...heh. Not like it actually means anything.

(Atop the tower emerging from Yasogami High School, two high school students prepared for one last duel under the light of a full moon. "If fighting is the only way you can form bonds, then I'll fight you 'til the cows come home," promised the steely-eyed wielder of Izanagi. "Just...don't drag anyone else into it.")

Hmph. As if you had any clue at all. Words...nothing but meaningless words, for a life that might as well have never been.

Maybe if everyone else were in on the truth, they'd actually give less of a crap about their own lives and actually do something exciting, like a suicidal death charge!

At that moment, a few dozen meters away, the blade of an axe seemed to manifest out of nothing at all, tearing a hole in the air.

Sho couldn't help but smirk at the sight of four kids stepping out into the open air. "Well well well...look at what the emotionally traumatized loser dragged in!" he crowed, taunting Shinji Ikari, two boys he could recall from the stands at the arena yesterday, and an unfamiliar girl who — judging by the giant shield and axe (and oh what a nostalgic sight that weapon was!) — had to have been the sibling of Sakaki's two newest patsies. "Ikari, Four Eyes, Dumbass, and Token Female...

(Kensuke and Toji bristled at their chosen nicknames. Mana merely mouthed, "...what's a token?")

"...welcome to the Summer Sholympics! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Heh, that one was pretty good.

The bespectacled boy's eyes impulsively widened as he finally gazed at the carnage wrought upon Sho's dramatic entrance not even two hours ago. "Oh gods...they've really been torn apart-" His next words were cut off by his own gagging.

Sho cackled as Four Eyes began to vomit onto the grass. "Hah! What's the matter, don't got a stomach for sports?"

"Hey, screw you, ya psychopath!" yelled Dumbass, pointing an angry finger at him. "The hell do you think you are, murdering so many people?!"

"Ah, spare me the pretend outrage," Sho retorted with a snort. "You probably didn't even know any of these people. Why the shit would you care?"

Dumbass sputtered with impulsive indignation.

Token Female huffed, wielding her axe and shield with an ease that shouldn't have been possible for someone her size. "And why would you care if we care? You're just another enemy for us to defeat."

Sho snickered. "Blunt and no-nonsense, huh? How fitting..." He leaned in, leering maliciously at her weapons. "I wonder...if you even have any concept of what you're actually holding..."

Mana blinked. "What do you-?"

"Hey now, no need to axe me anymore questions!" interrupted Sho, his eyes turning towards Ikari, who had remained...silent. "And you...good ol' wonder boy...why the silent treatment? You gonna find a new way to knock yourself out?" When Ikari didn't answer, he pressed on. "You know, it's poor manners not to respond when someone's trying to talk to you!"

Shinji Ikari opened his eyes, revealing that they were glowing yellow.

Sho blinked as the core of his being felt a shift begin to occur.

His Other perked up.

"\Oh...how interesting."

xxxx

Shinji Ikari knew very well what phasing into the Metaverse was like.

He had had much practice at pulling his allies into the Metaverse with him.

However...his mind was on the events of last week: the Ai ferry, where in a fit of panic and desperation, he had pulled an entire ship into the Metaverse, along with everyone on board.

(There were only five souls within the immediate vicinity: his own, Aida's, Suzuhara's, Kirishima's...and Minazuki's.)

(Just like before: your will is paramount.)

Opening his eyes, he felt his A.T. Field expand invisibly, even as body and mind and spirit began to synchronize...and without saying another world, he forcibly pulled all of them into the Metaverse.

For one moment, the Olympic Stadium's cognitive double — once host to living athletic equipment and numerous Archetypes, of the Chariot and Strength Arcana, locked in non-mortal combat — was empty of living beings, having been reduced to a chaotic mismash of ragged tears in thought and upturned landscapes. The corpses of a few Agents could be seen, consequences of the sudden emergence of Acolytes en masse. By now, their combat had spread far beyond the confines of the stadium.

In the next moment, five human beings manifested amidst its fields, drawn by the will of one.

Shinji Ikari, Kensuke Aida, and Toji Suzuhara — all knowing what to expect — impulsively summoned their Personas. Mana stepped ahead of the trio, AIGIS at the front and LABRYS ready to swing.

Sho Minazuki actually looked a bit surprised by the sudden shift. "The hell...?" As his eyes fell upon the rhythmic black and red lines of the sky, he seemed to realize where they were. "Well well well, ain't that a fancy trick! You got a hobby as a magician on the side?"

Shinji stood with Shiki-Ouji at the ready, holding his shovel with both hands. (Part of him wished that he had brought Amamiya-senpai's gifted knife from Nishiawakura.) "Just stop, Minazuki-san."

"Ah, still gonna be so respectful, eh?" The older boy sneered at them; the pyramid of pedestals that Sho had been standing upon in the real world did not have a cognitive double with much 'mass' to speak of, so it seemed to pop with one step. Landing on the ground with no concern, the killer bore an expression of utter condescension. "For all the shit you've been through, I can only imagine why you'd stick your neck out...and for what?"

As Ozymandias's crook began to glimmer, Kensuke warily looked around them. "How long do you think it'll be until we get backup?"

"Knowing how our battles tend to be, the noise will draw attention before long," remarked Mana.

This comment actually elicited a laugh from Minazuki. "You hoping a battle for attrition, are ya? More like a battle for attention, eh? HAHAHAHAHA!" With aplomb, Sho stomped his foot into the ground.

At the precise moment, the world changed yet again, as an A.T. Field manifested around the stadium's blasted field. The very air within the boundary seemed to take on an oppressive quality, and why did it seem like a grimacing skull hovered above them all, just outside his field of vision?

(Little did he know of who Sho Minazuki's patron was, whose presence, even if it couldn't be seen...could certainly be felt.)

"What...what's going on?" asked Kensuke. "I feel...not so light."

Mana grimaced. "Something's wrong...we're not just in the Metaverse anymore..."

Sho cackled. "Looks like Token Female's got some good sense! A fight in the realm of pure cognition...that can be fun. But that's not putting all of who you are on the line, now is it?!"

...this feeling, pondered Shinji, impulsively grimacing as Unit-01 manifested, overshadowed by the form of Shiki-Ouji. It's...it feels like that place where I fought Shamshel...and where I fought Ramiel. Namely, a realm where soul and mind and body coincided: of Potential made Actual, of Being and Essence and Existence.

The Beast chortled.

"Deep down, you realize it, don't you?"

A vortex was centered over its heart.

"At the place where reality and cognition and metaphysics coalesce...where else can you be all that you are?"

"As for me...maybe you haven't quite gotten the picture yet, if you haven't already." With a sudden flare, his clothes began to shift into something casual yet distinct: yellow and black tennis shoes; a black high school uniform whose jacket was wrapped around his waist; an olive green button-down shirt with a popped collar; and at last, for a splash of color, a yellow band around one sleeve. "I don't care what your piss-poor reasons are for fighting...they don't mean shit to me." The red streak in his brown hair spread like water, dying every single strand with a bright and bloody red. "But what I do care about...is seeing humanity get its just desserts." A cross-shaped scar manifested over his face: a large and ragged 'x'. "And I'm serving up enough to kill a fella!" In his hands, his Metaverse weapon of choice appeared: a pair of razor-sharp katanas.

"...seriously, who pissed in your soup to make you so damn angry?!" retorted Toji, holding his staff at the ready, while Gilgamesh prepared to charge.

Sho grinned. "We'd be here all day...and where's the fun in that?! Besides, you four came here to fight me, didn't ya?" Spectral fires began to coalesce behind him, as his blue eyes briefly flashed yellow. "Then I might as well fight with all I've got...madness in my right hand, tenacity in my left...let's break em' apart, Tsukiyomi!" The blue fires converged to form a humanoid Persona that was more than double Sho's height: clad in a black and white-striped bodysuit from head to toe, Tsukiyomi's upper body was shrouded by a gray overcoat split into six wide strands over the arms and the front and back of the legs, fastened to his form by a red belt that ran between the legs and up the back. With a splash of red along the front of the overcoat, a large black collar, and a white tucked-in ascot, it would have seemed someone with avant garde fashion...were it not for the golden helm with a flaming crest that looked like black fire with white veins sprouting from the skull. Red eyes gleamed maliciously at them, fit for the burning black katana held in his right hand.

All told, the both looked the part of those who were fit to murder without a moment's notice.

"...dude, that Persona looks sick," admitted Kensuke with admiring eyes.

Toji snorted. "Damn it Ken, you can fanboy later-!"

"No time like the present!" yelled Sho, interrupting them with an enraged howl as he and Tsukiyomi both charged.

Shinji braced for impact. "Here they come!" he yelled, rallying his three friends to action.

Tsukiyomi barrelled into Shogoki, whose arms were crossed; the blackened blade smashed against ethereal skin, the physical force seemingly doing nothing against Shiki-Ouji's inherent power.

It didn't save Shinji when Sho Minazuki charged beneath Tsukiyomi's legs, kneeing Shinji in the torso; he gagged from the blow, flying backwards by several meters. Each impact felt sharper than those he was accustomed to in the Metaverse, more raw; grimacing, he quickly rose to his feet, seeing that Mana had already engaged directly with Minazuki, using her wide shield to block his blades and swinging her axe at any opportunity she had. (Judging by how Minazuki darted in and out with a mad grin on his face, he was toying with Mana.) "Everyone, don't let him isolate you-!"

"Already focusing on it!" yelled Kensuke, even as Ozymandias's swung his shepherd's crook. "Dazzler!"

The flickering light actually seemed to affect Sho and Tsukiyomi's vision, judging by the haze of distracting lights around their faces; that didn't stop them from swinging their swords with abandon, unleashing waves of cutting wind and blazing black fire.

"Didn't work, didn't work, didn't work!" screamed Kensuke as Ozymandias scooped him up, running as far away from the maelstrom as they could get.

Gilgamesh held his gauntlet-clad arm forward, serving as a living shield for Toji; similarly, Shinji was behind Shogoki, whilst Mana had ducked behind her shield. "Damn it, how much power do they have?!" yelled Toji.

"Doesn't matter," growled Mana, rising to her feet with AIGIS at the forefront. With a defiant howl, she unleashed a torrent of light from her shield: devouring light, a hollow scream-!

SHWING.

Tsukiyomi split the beam in twain; as the dual streams crashed and exploded at the edge of the stadium, Sho stepped up alongside his Persona, a confident sneer on his face; the effect of Dazzler had already worn off. "Turning my own power against me? I'd say that I'm rubber and you're glue...but you ain't even glood enough to be GLUE!" With a cackle, Minazuki dashed forward, even as Tsukiyomi roared "Abyssal Wings." The Persona's overcoat flared as bolts of darkness erupted from the ground, tinged with aura red as blood; arching into the sky, they descended as a roaring rainfall.

"Oh crap, that definitely looks like a Dark Skill!" yelled Kensuke.

"I'll take it!" yelled Shinji, grimacing as Shogoki swelled in size; the silhouette of Shiki-Ouji shimmered as his Evangelion's arms spread wide, serving as a living shield for his friends.

Sho cackled at the defensive maneuver. "You've managed to get yourself a pretty handy Persona!" The scar on his face seemed to glow. "Let me give you a hand!" In a blink, Tsukiyomi was upon Shogoki's face, his hand glowing brightly. "Life Drain."

Life energy was siphoned from Shogoki with a violent suction, eliciting a groan from Shogoki and a simultaneous headache (like a knife to the brain...!) in Shinji; with a defiant roar, his Evangelion swatted at Sho's Persona. Tsukiyomi nimbly leapt away, giving Unit-01 time to shrink back down; the aura of Shiki-Ouji faded, replaced by the nimble and lithe shape of Nekomata. Need to be faster...less of a target...! As he tried to shake away the pain in his head — barely cognizant of Gilgamesh and Ozymandias double-teaming Tsukiyomi while Mana charged once more at Sho — he felt more than heard Kensuke hustling toward his side. "My head..."

"Here, swallow this," said Kensuke, keeping a wary eye out as Toji stood protectively in front of them. In Aida's hand was a small brown tablet. "It'll help with the pain."

Shinji didn't even think to question it; swallowing the small pill in its entirety, he felt the tension in his head fade. "What was that...?"

"Just some ibuprofen. Occasional headache from studying too late into the night, you know? But it's always helped."

"Isn't that the same bottle you've had since first year?" said Toji, falling into casual banter as a coping mechanism; it kept him from panicking as Tsukiyomi kept dodging Gilgamesh's charges, whether they be Speed Buster or Speed Riser. "Come on, you can hit him!"

"Hey, if it works, it works! My subjective thoughts about my medicine are all that count!" His protest complete, Kensuke helped Shinji to his feet. "Any ideas?"

The fact that Aida was even asking that was bad news. "...does it feel that different, to you...?"

"...it kind of does," admitted Kensuke, looking nervously at the giant A.T. Field separating them from the rest of reality. "In the Metaverse, coordinating with you guys in training felt...normal. Expected. Even if it was exhausting at times. But this...it's like my body recognizes the fact that more's at stake." He briefly winced as Tsukiyomi evaded a bolt of Eiga from Gilgamesh, slicing through the blurry distortion that was Ozymandias's Pulinpa skill before kicking his Persona in the stomach. "I...I can't even really describe it..."

"Like a giant thundercloud hanging over your head?" offered Toji.

"That works!"

"...I think I understand," murmured Shinji. The otherworldly sensations of Shamshel and Ramiel's realms...for all of their hatred and malice, they had not felt as oppressive as the sensations that Minazuki and his Persona were exuding. Was it because he truly feared for his own wellbeing?

(He knew better than that.)

(You fear anything happening to your friends,)

"...I need to fight harder," he whispered to himself; he hadn't anticipated Sho being able to actually pull them out of the Metaverse and into a place that bordered mind and body and spirit at once. The combat capacity of both Kensuke and Toji was reduced as a result; Mana was still keeping apace, but Sho was simply relentless. "I have to..."

"Come on man, you don't have to shoulder this burden alone!" yelled Toji,

"Yeah, why else would we even be here?" said Kensuke, nervously reaching into one of his pants' baggy pockets. "No time like the present..." He pulled a small, light-colored block with a small trigger mechanism; pulling at it, the device unfolded to reveal itself as the Pearl Phoenix crossbow he had gotten as a gift not two days prior. "Bet I could hit him."

"...but with what?" retorted Toji. (In the distance, Tsukiyomi tripped up Gilgamesh and slashed at Ozymandias, who barely blocked with his flail and crook; at that precise moment, Shogoki dashed in with clawed hands.) "I don't see you packin' any arrows!"

Aida sputtered, "w-well I've been thinking about it, and those tokusatsu shows all used fake projectiles and effects to make it look like energy blasts! Same principle applies, I just need practice!"

Before the two could talk any further, Shinji watched Sho kick Mana in the side of the head before turning towards them with a manic grin. "Can you argue later?!" he protested, clutching his shovel tightly.

Sho dashed towards the trio, swinging his blades; they slashed into Shinji's shovel and Toji's staff, barely digging a centimeter into the wood. The force behind his blows, alas, nearly drove the two to their knees. "Brave little boys...with grave, brittle toys!"

"Geez-!" growled Toji.

Panicking, Kensuke pulled the trigger of his crossbow.

PEW.

The white energy bolt slammed into Minazuki's forehead with a bright flash and a shower of sparks...but little else. Sho sneered, relishing the look of disbelief on Kensuke's face. "Just got a little gadget, huh? Still thinking of it as a sentai prop, are we?!"

"...crap," whimpered Kensuke.

With brute force, Sho bull-rushed past Shinji and Toji, kneeing Kensuke in the stomach. The bespectacled boy gurgled, nearly collapsing with a pained wheeze. "OPEN WIDE!" roared Sho, raising his sword to slice down-!

BONK.

The force of Shinji's shovel against the back of Sho's head actually sent the older boy staggering, stumbling several feet ahead. "...that hurt a bit." He looked over his shoulder, smiling with glee. "Not bad."

Shinji stood protectively in front of Kensuke, shovel at the ready. "I won't let you."

Sho snorted, turning back towards them. "Gotta be willing to hit harder if ya wanna stop me!"

And that's when a massive shield smashed into his side, flying as a giant discus. As Sho slid several meters away with a pained grimace, AIGIS warped back into the hands of Mana Kirishima. Skidding to a stop adjacent to the trio, she — bleeding from a small wound on the side of her head — growled, "I think we should leave your Personas to fight his." Less than fifty meters away, they could see a Nekomata-empowered Shogoki struggle against Tsukiyomi, whilst Gilgamesh tried to wrestle away his sword; Ozymandias — a proverbial David to the three Goliaths that were Unit-01, Gilgamesh, and Tsukiyomi — was still inflicting Ailment skills to disorient Sho's Persona, even if for mere moments at a time. "...any thought about how we're going to put him down?"

"Effort," huffed Toji. "...not used to letting my Persona fight separately like this."

"Well, they're still us," emphasized Kensuke, rising to his feet with a grimace. "They know they have to fight the enemy...and it's only appropriate for Personas to fight Personas, you know?"

Shinji nodded. "I think I know what you mean..."

The Beast grappled with a raging monster.

"A self-styled beast, unworthy of the name!"

His Other struggled against an incarnation of agony.

"A fighter who has given in to his own despair..."

Howling, they sought to finish the fight.

"He must be put down regardless!"

Clutching his shovel tightly, he yelled, "you're outnumbered, Minazuki-san! Just stop this!"

"Ah, so the kids know how to count, do they?" mocked Sho, his hair seeming to blaze in the otherworldly light of the realm around them. "Well here's a little remedial lesson: four times zero...is still ZERO!"

At that moment, Tsukiyomi kicked Shogoki away and punched Gilgamesh in the face; wrenching his sword away from the bronzed giant's hand, the burning Persona snarled, "Vorpal Blade!" Gripping his burning sword with both hands, his arms swung about in a quick and vicious blur; lines of blazing black crashed into Shinji's Evangelion, cut away at Kensuke's and Toji's Personas.

The sudden blow made Shinji feel woozy and sick at his very core; Kensuke and Toji all but collapsed from the sudden feedback of pain and shock. Mana's eyes briefly flickered towards them. "Hey-!"

Sho was upon her in an instant; yanking her shield down to create an opening, he punched her in the face with his other hand, still clenching tightly to his sword's hilt. Mana barely got her shield back into place in time to block his dual-blade slash, which still had enough force to send her crashing to the ground.

"Damn it!" growled Toji, impulsively swinging his staff-!

Sho ducked underneath it, tucking his left leg in to deliver a vicious side kick to Toji's torso. The younger boy gagged loudly, collapsing out of sheer pain.

With a wordless yell, Shinji raised his shovel to smash the back side against Sho's head; the redhead bent backward at the waist, using his momentum kick Shinji upside the chin.

Stars flickered across his vision, and his jaw rang with a pain like fire; blinking through impulsive tears, he barely recognized the fact that he had fallen to the ground, staring up at Sho's face. With the grin and his two swords...he looked the part of an executioner who was happy about his job.

The bolt of white energy exploded ineffectively against the side of his head. Sho's grin faded as he turned his gaze towards Aida; the boy's hands shakily held his crossbow, for all the impact it had had. "...really?"

"...points for trying?" he squeaked.

Sho snorted. "Welp, you've proven that you're too dumb to live." Gripping his dual katana, he fully turned towards Aida. "Cogito ergo sum? More like cogito ergo dumb!" With that last pun, he lunged forward, thrusting the tip of his sword towards Aida's face.

Shinji paled, his eyes taking in every square inch of Kensuke's stunned shock. He's going to die.

(His friend was going to die.)

(You're going to let him die.)

In that instant, there was clarity. ""KENSUKE!"

xxxx

At that instant...

...Rei Ayanami was miles away (so to speak), shifting through a world of grayscale.

The morning had started so innocuously...until her Ghost-hunting mission in the Sapporo Dead Zone, all the way in Hokkaido, had been beset by at least twenty Acolytes.

The sudden onslaught had forced her to utilize her Ascended State without thought of the consequences.

"NERV...to call the manifestation of Evangelion an act of ascendance," spoke her Other with a trace of irony. "They know nothing of true Ascendance."

By the time she had woken back up, it was past noon, and news had reached her about Strega's attack in Okayama.

"To be so far away, to be incapacitated in such a manner..." whispered the unseen Beast. "Is this not an example of enemy action?" she bitterly hypothesized.

She couldn't help but agree. After all, Ikari-kun was supposed to be in Okayama Prefecture for the near future, was he not?

It was the only reason she could explain the feeling of anticipation and dread at the core of her being.

Was Shinji Ikari unlocking more of his power...?

She pushed herself forward with desperate haste.

xxxx

/...meanwhile, Elsewhere...and Elsewhen.../

In a dark and desolate place, stinking of blood and mold and mildew...there was a change.

INTEGRATION NOW STANDS AT 31%.

INTEGRATION NOW STANDS AT 36%.

WHAT AN UNEXPECTED INCREASE. WAS A THREAT TO A SOCIAL LINK'S LIFE ALL IT TOOK?

The cycle continued onward.

xxxx

/The Metaverse/

Sho Minazuki blinked as his sword crashed into something solid. "What the?" An A.T. Field, to be precise. "No way...you're an Adept?!"

Four Eyes fell to the ground, staring dumbly at the concentric orange octagons that had manifested in front of him. "...eh...?" he dumbly sputtered.

"...no." It wasn't him; if Sho focused, he could barely make out the afterimage of the horned Evangelion's shape that seemed to permeate the A.T. Field. "You're just borrowing power that ain't yours."

His Other hummed thoughtfully.

"Is it borrowed...or was it given freely?"

With a sudden roar, Sho's attention turned back towards Ikari-

CRASH!

-and good on him for doing so, because that was the only thing that saved him from getting his block knocked off by the kid's damned shovel; as it was, his attempted parry wasn't enough to stop him from skidding backwards by several meters. "Still kickin', are we?!"

"I won't let you hurt him!" defiantly yelled Ikari, seemingly unaware of what he had just done to save the life of the four-eyed chump. "Not while I'm still standing!"

Sho snorted, uncaring for how the quartet of kids stood once more at the ready; their Personas regrouped, with the giant bearded one actually casting Diarama on all of them. Tch. What a pain in the ass. Had Ikari somehow split his own A.T. Field apart in order to protect Four Eyes from a fatal blow? New powers at the eleventh hour...who the hell has time for that? Masking his irritation with a cocky grin, Sho answered, "well if you want to take a seat, that can be arranged! All you need to do...is take a beat!" Cackling loudly — feeling the mania bubbling up from within — Sho charged into the fray, with Tsukiyomi at his side.

xxxx

The first thing Sho did was strike at Kensuke Aida, apparently keen on stress-testing the power of his protective shielding (not that Shinji had completely connected the dots as of yet; all he knew was that Aida's life had been in danger, and that that had been unacceptable).

Shinji stepped in front, shovel at the ready; the edge of the latter's katana struck against the shaft, which flashed once more with the light of the A.T. Field. "Still got your own, eh?!" growled Sho.

The Third Child had no time to wonder, for Ozymandias whacked Sho across the face with his grain flail, even as Gilgamesh, the Nekomata-empowered Shogoki, and Mana engaged in combat with Tsukiyomi.

"Magaru!" Unit-01 slashed with both hands, unleashing a brief burst of wind that kicked Sho and Tsukiyomi away by a brief distance. However, it served to separate them even more.

"Speed Buster!" Gilgamesh glowed green as he shoulder-charged into Tsukiyomi; even though the force was blocked by his burning blade, the effect of Sukunda carried over.

This gave Mana to perfect opportunity to finally start attacking Tsukiyomi with earnest, as the Persona's agility was inhibited just barely enough for her axe to become a threat worth parrying instead of dodging outright.

All the while, Shinji and Toji were whaling away with their shovel and staff, acting with such frenzy and haphazardness that Sho could only block and parry their blows. Any opportunity for him to exploit the gaps in their defense was blocked by Ozymandias unleashing another status ailment.

"Evil Touch."

Sho grinned, cutting through the hand-shaped orb of crimson and violet light. "You think I'm afraid of weak shit like that?!"

"Dormina."

Tired and lagging, Sho resisted the sudden fatigue, refusing to fall asleep. The heavy smack of Toji's staff against his shoulder chased away his slumber. "You kids think you're doing something worth a damn..."

"Makajama!"

As a question mark floated above his head, Sho didn't forget how to defend or block...but he did apparently forget his train of thought.

"Finally, that shut you up!" roared Kensuke, looking more confident behind the aura of his(?) A.T. Field. "Keep at it, Ozymandias!"

The pharaoh's crook glowed a dark purple. "Ominous Words!" he roared, unleashing a similarly-colored miasma that clung to Sho's head like flies on rotting meat.

Sho's grin only seemed to get more manic. "Despair?!" The older boy outright laughed with derision. "You don't even know the meaning of the word!" With a defiant roar, he slashed horizontally, pushing Shinji and Toji backwards. "Kill them all, Tsukiyomi!"

The red eyes of Sho's Persona blazed; raising his free hand, he growled, "Psycho Blast!"

Multi-colored eyes manifested, flashing cyan, magenta, and yellow; as the air glowed with white and black patterns, the seven bundles of psychic-aligned energy whirled and sought out their targets-

"Rrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggggghhhh!"

With a roar of defiance and agony, Mana — LABRYS glowing brightly — zipped towards each of the seven eyes, smashing AIGIS into them with preemptive strikes; the red gemstone in AIGIS glowed brilliantly ever more, blazing as a star.

(It was a repeat of Shinji and Mana's conflict at the very beginning of July.)

(This time, her opponent did not possess Counter.)

With a wretched scream, Mana forced the absorbed energy in AIGIS to transfer to LABRYS; with a great swing, she smashed her axe into the ground, unleashing a torrent of crimson energy at Tsukiyomi. The enemy Persona barely got his sword up in time to block the surging tide.

Judging by how Sho Minazuki actually faltered, it actually did some damage. "Oh, you bitch..."

Mana spat on the ground as she collapsed to her knees, still holding onto her weapons. "There's...more...where...that came from..."

Even as Shinji stood protectively in front of her, he kept his eyes trained upon Minazuki. "...this won't end well for you."

Sho snorted. "You really don't have a clue, don't you?" Before he could say another word, however, his eyes shifted towards the northeast. "...so, party's over, huh?" With an irritated grunt, he stomped his foot onto the ground.

With a sudden snap, the great A.T. Field faded; the oppressive sensation disappeared; the colors of the Metaverse itself gave way to the harsh ruins of reality, marred by smoke and rubble and the bodies of the dead.

Shinji blinked at the sudden shift; although his Evangelion remained standing, Gilgamesh and Ozymandias vanished; as Toji and Kensuke fell to the ground, Mana — fatigued as she was already — actually collapsed into unconsciousness from the strain of shifting dimensions. "...what?"

Sho, now reduced to his more mundane appearance in the real world, looked at him with an expression of begrudging disgust. "...feh. You got lucky...I did my job anyhow." Then, without warning, he seemed to disappear from sight.

Moments later, before he could even realize what had happened, Rei Ayanami and Unit-00 phased into existence, looking around with wary gazes. "...the Angel's presence has departed."

"...Ayanami-san?" muttered Shinji, blinking confusedly. (Was the battle over?)

Rei looked stoically towards him and his compatriots, taking in their condition at a mere glance. "Ikari-kun...you seem to have endured quite the ordeal."

"...s'putting it mildly..." grumbled Toji, his face planted into the ground. "...feel like crap..."

Kensuke wearily tried to speak. Key word being 'tried', because when his eyes fell upon the bodies of the various dead athletes, his expression turned queasy. "Oh that's right-" was all he managed to get out before he proceeded to vomit onto the ground.

Mana, being unconscious, said nothing.

Rei gazed at the wreckage of the stadium and the corpses of the fallen; turning her crimson eyes towards them, she said, "I believe we should make ourselves scarce."

"...right..." Shinji dumbly said, his mind moving in too many directions to focus. (The battle was over...but it didn't feel like a victory in the slightest.)

In the minutes it took for any A.T. Agents to converge upon the proverbial ground zero for Strega's terrorist attack, Shinji and Rei had absconded with their three peers, disappearing from sight.

xxxx

Back in Nishiawakura, Ren Amamiya and Ken Amada were quietly watching the television in rapt silence. Sojiro Sakura was working at his cafe just down the hill, and Mayumi Yamagishi was outside doing whatever; as such, given how abruptly Misato and Mana had left the night before, it was just the two of them in the old ryokan's living room.

"-we're now getting reports that as of twenty minutes ago, the incidents of Angel Syndrome abruptly stopped multiplying," explained the newscast, sitting in front of a background depicting a map of Okayama and the surrounding metropolitan area; whole sections were colored red, spreading outward like mold (or perhaps cancer) from the vicinity of the Olympics facilities. "Local Agents have begun to successfully quarantine the existing Acolytes for disposal, but initial estimates of civilian casualties are in the thousands at minimum, with property damage having a lower bound of-"

"I should have been there," growled Ken.

"It wouldn't have changed anything," remarked Ren. "I mean, with all the people that were already there, you'd just be one more Persona-user, right?"

"Probably. Still doesn't change how I feel."

"Plus...what with your back and all..."

"Are you going to make more jokes at my expense?"

"...what exactly did you and your wife get up to?"

Ken sputtered, "that is very inappropriate for a child to talk about-!"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, do you not remember being a teenager? High school students talk about sex. A lot. Sometimes to an uncomfortable degree. But you and Mrs. Amada were not exactly subtle about the cause of your injury."

"..."

"I'm just curious, because aren't you like...twenty years younger than her?"

"The age gap isn't that big," growled Ken.

"I'm just saying, your wife seemed all fine and perky, so how exactly did you pull a muscle?"

"Just drop it-!"

At that precise moment, a bundle of teenagers manifested in front of them, phasing in like static. As their forms solidified, they revealed themselves to be Rei Ayanami (her right hand holding LABRYS), with her left arm resting on Toji's shoulders and resting upon Mana's back; her left hand was linked with Shinji's right hand, whose arm was resting upon Kensuke's in turn, for his left hand held AIGIS. Both Kensuke and Toji, in turn, were supporting the unconscious Mana with their own arms and bodies.

Ken impulsively stood. "You're back!"

"...that felt kind of weird," murmured Kensuke, looking rather bewildered.

"Your minds and souls were mingling with ours, Kirishima-san's, and the essences of her weapons," explained Rei. "It was what allowed us to get here so quickly."

"That's not going to do something freaky to us, is it?" remarked Toji, allowing Mana's weight to rest entirely on his shoulder. As he slowly lowered her onto the floor, he asked, "cause I don't wanna wake up and find out that I'm inside her axe or somethin'."

"The risk was entirely on myself and Ikari-kun." Rei glanced towards Shinji. "Are you well?"

"...I'm not sure," said Shinji, impulsively walking towards an empty easy chair. As he plopped down, he added, "I'm just...confused by it all, I guess..."

"Mind filling us in?" inquired Ren, trying his damnedest not to look inquisitively at Ayanami. "Because it sounds like some craziness went down."

"That's putting it mildly," griped Toji.

"...I'd like an explanation as to what happened in detail," demanded Ken. "But first...where are the Captain, Junpei, and Katsuragi?"

Shinji and Toji blinked. Then, without another word, that promptly pulled at their phones to at least inform Misato and Ryuji as to their current location.

"I bet you guys are going to have one heck of a debrief," said Ren, eyes glancing towards the television set with narrowed eyes. The newscaster was displaying a still shot of the young man that had suddenly appeared amidst the Olympic athletes before beginning his bloody rampage. Strega...and Sho Minazuki. Things were starting to escalate, as had been foretold.

(Ayanami had said as much, long ago.)

(You're anticipating the challenge. Don't lie to yourself.)

He only hoped that Morgana would be okay, whenever he enacted his little 'stunt'.

Still, he mused to himself as he heard angry shouts of concern coming from Ikari's phone, I'm glad Sojiro was never one to get shouty. Alas, it probably had to do with the fact that Shinji was still, on some level, seen as just a kid...even if he was anything but.

(Like he was one to talk.)

xxxx

Back in Tokyo-3, within Room 4 of the Vulcanus Dorms's third floor, Minato Arisato watched the news stream on his phone with a dead stare.

"-we're just now getting information that this individual responsible for the terrorist attack has been positively identified," explained the newscaster, showcasing a photograph of a high school student in boxing equipment; most prominent was the red streak in his brown hair. "Sho Minazuki: an amateur boxer who was in Okayama for a tournament called the Okayama Summer Smash, representing Hikawa High School in Kōfu-2. His school has been reached for comment, and they've publicly disavowed any and all knowledge of his affiliation with Strega-"

Minato briefly glanced towards Narukami, who was quietly swinging a mop handle as though it were a sword. "...you know that the janitor's going to get on to you if he sees that."

"That's why I've mastered the art of both stealth and the sword," coolly remarked Narukami as he thrust the wooden handle forward.

"...there's probably at least one club here that would have let you use a real sword."

"Probably. Not the point." Grunting with visible effort, Narukami's eyes were hard like steel, cold as ice, and burning with fire, all the same time. Improbable and contradictory, but that was Narukami for you. "...do you think Minazuki remembers?"

"I wouldn't bet against it."

"It'd mean he gave up."

Minato shrugged. "I'm not exactly in any position to throw stones on that count."

"...fair enough." Slashing with one arm, he grunted, "still, this probably means I'll have to beat those old lessons into his head again."

"That's if Ikari doesn't beat you to it."

"...maybe I should give our kouhai some pointers," seriously considered Yu.

"Please save it for something worthwhile."

"No seriously, there was one timeline where there was a popular kid's show with an assassin that was still able to talk most of his sworn enemies into surrendering or becoming his allies before he even carried out his hit. I think it was called 'diplomacy no jutsu' or something."

"...why would a kid's show star an assassin?"

Yu gave him a weary side eye. "Don't pull the old man card on me."

Minato huffed. "Just saying. Don't think diplomacy's going to help much when most of Ikari's enemies appear to be of the 'shoot first, ask questions never' type."

"...the use of force is also an important part of diplomacy no jutsu," admitted Yu.

"You just want to give the kid another excuse to beat up Minazuki."

"Why does it have to be an excuse instead of a reason?"

Thus did the two Wild Cards continue their banter...because otherwise, they'd have to ponder the reality of another face from the past making himself known with gruesome abandon.

xxxx

Within Okayama, atop the great spotlights overlooking the Olympics Stadium, Minako Arisato watched in silence, untouched by sight and thought and spirit.

Her eyes gazed upon the parts of the city that were burning, before focusing back on the ruins within the stadium grounds: within it, the bodies of the dead were being recovered and processed for the funerals which would inevitably follow. There were many foreigners among their number, so there would undoubtedly be much international criticism to come Japan's way because of this...not that she cared.

For what use was geopolitical trivialities in the face of her master?

The One Who Sat Upon the Throne rubbed at their brow in consternation.

"Sho Minazuki...a name I've not considered for some time."

How frustrating.

"Strega...they are acting under the mantle of the Angels."

They could focus on reining ADAM in...but it would come at the cost of keeping their eyes away from the world, and all of its unique developments.

"Hmm...so long as Ikari continues to advance, we will let things play out."

Folding their hands, they leaned forward with curiosity.

"Return to Nishiawakura. Keep an eye on Ikari."

Before long, Minako Arisato vanished from the area.

xxxx

Within an unseen dimension, a grimacing skull gazed down upon the ruins wrought by his thrall.

"AN ACCEPTABLE OUTCOME."

There had been much that he had learned about Ikari's growing power, if only by proxy.

"THE CRUDE AND RAGING LILIM WILL SERVE AS A USEFUL TOOL FOR A WHILE, YET."

If there was one thing that Zeruel had learned over the untold timelines that had elapsed, it was that the lilim could become quite pliable if they were given a means by which to obtain what they wanted...or what they thought they wanted. Strega was no exception.

At that moment, a familiar voice echoed across the ether. Turning towards the shadow of a golden ring, he thundered, "ARMISAEL."

"They-have-returned...in-somewhat-acceptable-condition..."

"YOU INTEND TO STRIKE?"

"At-the-appointed-time...the-consummation-of-my-host...nears-its-apex..."

(In the real world, Mayumi Yamagishi was leaning against the back of a cedar near Sojiro Sakura's house, staring blankly at the sky.)

"DO YOU INTEND TO KILL?"

"...the-Third-Champion-of-Lilith...he-will-desire-to-become-one...his-nature-is-more-agreeable-to-that-outcome..."

"HIS NATURE STILL POSSESSES A DEEP AND UNYIELDING WRATH. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE HIM."

"Do-you-fear-him...?" mournfully inquired Armisael.

"I AM MIGHTY IN ALL THINGS...INCLUDING PRUDENCE AND CAUTION. YOU WOULD DO WELL TO REMEMBER THAT."

"As-you-command," murmured Armisael, their essence withdrawing from the greater Overmind of the Angels.

(At that moment, Mayumi Yamagishi blinked. "...feel tired," she murmured, rising to her feet. "Even after that nap..." Sighing, she slowly made her way back to the ryokan, unknowing of the fact that Ikari and his compatriots had returned.)

Zeruel's gaze pierced through the veil of the world, seeing many great and terrible things in their fullness.

"THE PASSAGE OF FATE WILL CONFORM TO OUR DESIGNS...THE USURPER IS FINALLY BOUND BY CIRCUMSTANCE AS MUCH AS WE ARE."

Such was a cause for rejoicing...and he and his kin would do whatever was necessary to keep it that way.

"AND NOW..." he rumbled, turning his sight away from Japan...and towards an entirely different land, across the sea and far to the north. "...BARDIEL'S THRALLS HAVE UNSHACKLED YET ANOTHER PAWN WITH A WILL OF THEIR OWN."

Only time would tell of how this new self-professed player would behave.

xxxx

It wasn't until hours later that Ryuji returned to Nishiawakura, well ahead of Misato and Junpei.

("They're still technically Agents, so they have a lot more legalities to deal with than I do as a Freelancer," the middle-aged man had explained, leaning on his cane for support. "Which is fine by me, because I can already tell that untangling this mess in Okayama is going to be a PR nightmare.")

As such, he was the one who debriefed Shinji, Kensuke, Toji, and Rei regarding everything that had happened, starting with his impromptu 'fight club' outing with Kaworu Nagisa.

(It hadn't escaped Shinji's notice that Ayanami seemed rather perturbed by the whole affair. Then again, who wouldn't be? He had been in an underground fighting arena run by the yakuza!)

As Ren Amamiya and Sojiro Sakura prepared dinner in the kitchen, Ryuji and Ken Amada were mulling over and trying to piece everything together. "...I imagine that Katsuragi-san will have words for you when she and Junpei return," said Amada.

"Hell, I have words," griped Ryuji, leaning forward in his chair to point his cane at Toji. "Even if you're all empowered, only Ikari and Kirishima have dealt with combat enough to the point where I'd be comfortable with them taking on a member of Strega. So why'd you and Aida go along?"

Toji looked honestly offended (and a tad bewildered) by his sensei's inquiry. Aida just seemed mostly hurt. "I mean...we have Personas, don't we?" asked Kensuke, impulsively adjusting his glasses.

"You could've died. Hell, judging by what you told me, you would've died if Ikari hadn't pulled a new power out of his ass at the last minute."

Shinji squirmed at the stark rawness of Sakamoto's comment. (But he had a point. What else are you capable of that you don't know?)

"That ain't fair, sensei," protested Toji. "Were we supposed to just sit on the sidelines and do nothing? We got the power to do something, and it turned out okay, didn't it?!"

"...yeah. It did," admitted the man, suddenly sounding tired. "But it sounds like there was quite a bit of luck involved. The way types like Minazuki are, he probably hadn't even shown you everything up his sleeves. If Ayanami hadn't shown up, who knows how things would have escalated?"

Ayanami quietly nodded. "I apologize for not responding sooner. My morning missions in Hokkaido ran into unexpected difficulties."

"...so what are they supposed to do?" honestly asked Shinji.

"For one, you have to make sure that you're not reliant on luck in the future...because I have the strangest feeling that you kids are going to ignore our warnings and wind up in trouble regardless." Ryuji glanced towards one of the hallways adjacent to the living room. "Just hope that Kirishima will wake up before Katsuragi gets back, or she's liable to have my head."

xxxx

Within the room they had been sharing, Mayumi Yamagishi was kneeling by Mana Kirishima's side, staring quietly at the unconscious girl.

The girl's hands were clutching tightly to the handles of AIGIS and LABRYS; the gemstones in each seemed to pulse in union with Mana's own heartbeat.

"...I hope you wake up soon, Mana-san," whispered Mayumi.

(A hollow pit within her whispered that it would be pointless; that it would be kinder if Mana slept the rest of her days away.)

(For some strange reason, the idea felt reasonable.)

xxxx

Ryuji grimaced, tapping his foot angrily. Impulsively gulping, Shinji dredged up his last dregs of determination and asked, "um...is there a reason you're upset, Sakamoto-san? It...seems like you're angry at more than just the fact that we fought Minazuki-san..."

"...that's putting it mildly," growled Sakamoto. "The whole thing smells rotten; Sakaki and Shirato-kun went out of their way to warn us about an attack in Okayama...and then it turns out this whole other kid does the deed? I don't like it."

Shinji blinked, as did Toji and Kensuke; Ayanami didn't react visibly, but somehow he felt that she too was perturbed by this. That's right...Sakaki and Shirato didn't show up at all.

So where had they been...?

xxxx

/Hours Earlier/

/The Metaverse/

As the Olympics came to an abrupt and fiery end courtesy of Sho Minazuki, something else was occurring within the Metaverse, hundreds and hundreds of miles away — over four thousand kilometers in total — at the cognitive double of the New Siberian Islands.

As a low-lying archipelago located in the Extreme North of Russia, its natural geography was notable for tundra, frost, rock, and ice; even during the summer, average temperatures rarely exceeded ten degrees Celsius (i.e. fifty degrees Fahrenheit). As such, its cognitive double was one of an everlasting chill, utter desolation, and sheer emptiness...for this far north, it was common for whole expanses of the Earth to be utterly without structure in the Metaverse, as there were no human thoughts to form such things.

It had taken the dedicated presence of dozens upon dozens of men and women over the course of months to cognitively engineer this place, for it was a proverbial void otherwise. Now, on an isolated island amidst a cold and icy sea, a singular structure existed: a grand tower that also delved deep underground.

It was a prison, designed and created by the Anti-Terror Task Force in the early 2000s to contain the Shadows of the world's most dangerous, deranged, or unstable individuals: although many of them were criminals awaiting trial (or even execution), their Shadows had been deemed too dangerous to be kept within the standard holding facilities of the local Cognitive Protection Centers. Such was the fear of their psyches 'infecting' the Shadows of other civilians. Thus had they been sequestered within this place, by request of various governments throughout the world.

The Great Northern Tower, as it had been colloquially known by those with the authority even know of its existence, had stood tall for well over a decade. Its dedicated staff of five hundred were some of the hardiest and most dependable Agents, recruited from various Task Force contingents all over the world. It also possessed the means of contacting Task Force outposts elsewhere in Russia, China, and Japan in the event of catastrophe, thanks to the trio of MAGI that had been built specifically on the New Siberian Islands to facilitate transfers in and out of the Metaverse. With the MAGI facility protected by a whole company of soldiers from the Russian Naval Infantry, it was one of the best-kept secrets in global politics.

That morning, coinciding with Minazuki's attack on the Olympics, a crawling plague of blue mold had infected the MAGI in the real world, consuming both the facility and the men who had been guarding it.

Jin Shirato, through the use of his Persona Moros, had used the MAGI to nullify many of the protections and wards that the Great Northern Tower possessed.

Takaya Sakaki, through the use of his Persona Hypnos, had spread an aura of gloom and melancholy through the prison, deadening the instincts and combat capabilities of its staff.

Thus did the two watch as the Great Northern Tower — now truly isolated from the world at large, which was far too preoccupied with the Olympic chaos to even think of this place — fell to pieces from the inside, as the Realms of wretched criminals leaked out into the surrounding atmosphere, and as tired and shocked Agents tried in vain to fight back against the vengeful Shadows. With well over ten thousand Shadows incarcerated there, all released at once...they were doomed from the start.

Fearing no man in the slightest, Jin quietly led Takaya into the depths of the prison, its sturdy architecture now warped and twisted by the chaotic thoughts and desires of the Shadows within, as various Realms seemed to fight and compete for dominance. "A truly wretched place," remarked Takaya, idly watching as a monstrous Shadow — whose self-image had limbs formed from mutilated genitalia — thrashed at two tired Agents, even as another Shadow expelled noxious miasma from his eyes. "It surprises me that you even knew of this place."

"Sakamoto-sensei and his team had taken down some criminals whose Shadows ended up in this place," explained Jin, resolutely following the impressions being fed to him by Moros. "I remember hearing their stories, back when I was still his apprentice."

"How cavalier of them."

"They were purposefully vague...but in the years I've had to do some digging, it wasn't too difficult to cross my references and determine this place's location. Especially given the Japanese Task Force's greatest shame."

Takaya smirked. "I suppose so...little wonder, that gossip is considered to be a sin." Truly, how much ruin could be laid at the feet of idle speech?

At last, at the end of a long hallway underground, they came across...a rather plain and simple cell. So simple, that it seemed unfitting for its occupant. "So...this is the humble dwelling of the Smiling Traitor," said Takaya.

The lone occupant opened his eyes, looking distinctly unimpressed by them. "...guess all the racket I've been hearing is your fault, eh?"

"Indeed...we are both members of a group called Strega." Takaya stepped forward, resting his hand on the bars.

"And the reason we are here...is to recruit you...Tohru Adachi."

xxxx

END OF 8/9/2015

xxxx

Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuunn. The plot THICKENS.

A summary:

- Igor referencing the plot of the Arena games? SPICY.
- Shinji's Social Link with Kaworu (Death) hit Rank 4.
- We saw that Iwai's Metaverse outfit is a gigantic reference to Kazama Kiryu of the Yakuza games. :V
- Sho still loves his puns.
- Sho Minazuki looks like he didn't take the multiple timelines well, because he's regressed on his character development. YU WOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOU
- A big battle ensued, with Shinji displaying a new power.
- But it turns out Sho was a distraction so Takaya and Jin could do a prison break and get...YA BOI ADACHI.

This will surely end well for everyone involved.