Persona 5: Daywatch
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Lunch Time
Matsushita's Tower, City Overlook
Ryuji climbed up the rope ladder the leader installed after their first visit to the palace. While no signs of evil knights intruded, it felt weird to hit a Palace without either Makoto or Hifumi, neither had the day off from school. Not that he was gonna argue against taking down more baddies. His leg hurt less in the Metaverse, he felt more powerful. Despite the heavy mask over his face, and the monsters trying to kill him, he felt more free in this place than the real world. Like this was where he belonged. Taking the fight to rotten adults, when the real world was just like childhood: you had to stay quiet and hope dad's arm got tired faster than your bones.
Akira sat against the squat projection which would have been stair roof access in the real world, though the door couldn't open here. He held a paper cup of instant ramen and slurped down noodles. They shared a momentary nod after making eye contact, then he returned to eating.
"Yo," Ryuji greeted. "Din'cha eat before comin' here?"
Akira's mask didn't hide the glare he shot up at the runner. "I had a long session with the twins." He pulled out a respectable clump of noodles and resumed chowing down.
Morgana bounced out and tossed something at the runner. Something rattled a bit in one of those little pocket pill holders old people took with them to restaurants, on a length of worn black twine. "Here, Reaper. Channel your energy through this and it will allow you to purge a variety of mental ailments like the terror those Shadows hit you or Joker, or that wave that made Panther forget she had a Persona in Mementos."
Ryuji sucked in air. "Oh, yeah! Like that time that snake lady did that creepy whispering that made you cry."
Morgana rubbed a hand down his face. "Ugh. Yes, I'm not immune to the powers of Shadows, so having somebody else who can clear our minds could save our lives."
It was tight around the runner's head, but slipped on. He glanced around at the others. Kosei was still in session, so Yusuke and Hifumi were absent, though it took him a moment to remember Shujin wasn't completely closed at the absence of Makoto. Futaba braced against a wall to stretch out her calves. Ann checked her pistol, a new sight locked on top, looked like a holographic pop-up with a squared base and open top.
The runner came to a stop alongside her. "Nice choice, that'll give you a boost mid-range but won't hamper short-range shootin' like 'Fumi's telescopic sight." When she gave a nod with no indication of further interest, he swallowed his gun excitement. "You, me, Joker, and Byakko… it's kinda like the O-G group back together."
Futaba cleared her throat.
"With reinforcements," he conceded, if just to keep her from hacking his phone. He didn't need everybody knowing what kinds of porn he browsed. Not with the kind of crap they'd give him for indulging in human nature. Wasn't like it made him any less a gentleman when he was around actual chicks. Hypocrites.
"Okay, everyone," Morgana called. "We're on reduced manpower so we'll need to keep operations tight until the others rendezvous with us. I know we won't have much time before Team Shujin has to leave, but we've tackled Palaces with less. As long as we're mindful and take advantage of opportunities as they arise, we'll advance up the tower. Oracle? Your Persona has the most powerful healing, so I'd like you to hold rear guard. The rest of us will take vanguard. Reaper? Joker? Take point, Panther and I will watch the flanks until we're needed in combat."
Ryuji readied his RPK-74 and the Phantom Thieves headed for the first landing platform, where they found it cleared off and six space fighters sat on what was now a tidy balcony jutting out of the tower's side.
Lunch Time
Matsushita's Tower
Ryuji crept his fighter forward. At first he thought the lack of rain when they arrived at the first landing platform might have been a good thing, but it turned out the clouds were not so high above and by the time they passed the second landing platform, intermittent fog brought visibility down so far he had to bring the thrust to minimum. His fighter shook and rocked against the control stick, dipping one way and another before a warning lit up with STALL in red letters. He jabbed his right hand against what he hoped was comms just to the other fighters. "I can't see an effin' thing, an' I'm about to drop! Pullin' out to pick up some speed."
The radio clicked and Morgana called. Because of course the pipsqueak loafing it in Akira's fighter would be able to respond without a problem, "Careful, Reaper. The tower still has those big turrets, and the fact that we can't see them doesn't mean they can't see — LEFT!"
A flicker of yellow light flashed in the foggy – or cloudy, whatever – murk above and to his left as he swung the fighter up and around.
"Joker?" Ann called, her voice on the edge of panic.
Silence stretched on for a few moments before Morgana responded, "We're banged up, but we found the next landing platform. Joker will be holding a beacon."
Having spotted the flicker of light, Ryuji had no trouble zeroing in on the fog-shrouded landing platform even before coming close enough to land next to a fighter with its top fins sheared off.
The longcoated boy crouched next to the fighter, applying a splint and medicated bandage to the team leader's arm. They shielded their eyes as the runner landed in the corner, the back end dipping off before he boosted forward, a landing strut buckling and metal squealing before he came to a rough stop. By the time Ryuji's engines cut, Akira trotted for the edge of the landing platform with a small, LED camping lantern in hand.
Ryuji laughed. "Beacon, my ass." He climbed up out of his fighter, only to have to duck the moment he was almost out as Marcus zoomed over his fighter.
Rings shot out of the bottom, the Roman-riding-a-spaceship Persona dissipating as the rings deposited Futaba. "Ugh. It sucks that I can hear you guys in Marcus, but you guys can't hear me."
"The cognition you have of communication isn't exactly what the Palace Ruler has," Morgana explained, favoring his splinted arm, "so we should be thankful you can hear us at all." His eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before he brushed aside the thought with a gesture from his free hand. In the mean time, Ann landed and the Thieves aimed for the next passage up so they could unlock the freight elevator.
Afternoon
Matsushita's Tower
Ryuji grinned as the thieves leaped. The team leader tore the robot's flimsy dome from its solid metal body. It swelled and burst into a floating sorceress with a green cloak and body made of darkness.
"Matador!" Akira called, and a Persona just a bit taller than him materialized. While the cut of its black pants and jacket was Western, its shiny silver trim gave it a bold style the runner had never seen before. It twirled a detached cape far smaller and lighter than the one Hifumi slung around, then a tremor passed over Ryuji's body and he felt like he just downed two cans of energy drink but minus the weight in his belly.
Already in motion, Carmen leaped to the fore to unleash two ice bolts, then danced aside.
Taking advantage of the Shadow's distracted state, Ryuji surged forward. He smacked his club across the Shadow's head which looked a bit like insubstantial darkness but rang out and snapped to one side like any guy's might. It turning to face him gave the runner enough opening to bring the club back around and crack across the other side of its head. When the Shadow floated back with a bit of a wobble, Ryuji brought up his RPK-74 and pelted the green-clad Shadow's dark body with bullets.
The Shadow went down, its green cloak pooling at its back.
Morgana and the other thieves encircled the Shadow, but to the runner's frustration held up a hand to stop the runner from going all out. "The day is ours!"
The Shadow wimpered, the golden clasps on its shoulder trembling. "W-wait! Let's talk about this!"
Ryuji's jaw tensed. Charge in while their guard is down and it's over and done with. He hated when Shadows begged, especially when they sounded like a scared girl.
"Might want to lower your gun, Joker," Morgana provided. "This one looks skittish."
His barrel lowered but he kept the P90 ready. "It hurts to be knocked down a few pegs, doesn't it?" Akira said. It lacked the venom he had the last time they came to the tower. The runner wondered exactly what his eyes looked like under that mask.
The Shadow's black head nodded. "I can't believe I was taken down by humans. I'm a powerful sorceress! When I was young I could make interlopers back down with a glare."
"Sometimes you get unlucky," Akira conceded. "You ran into somebody who's just better. So what's it gonna be? Hold out to the very end? Or would you rather show what you're really made of to the palace ruler who thought he could enslave you?" He reached out his right hand.
The Shadow lifted up. "You speak true. I come not from this desolate place. I'll show my ability yet!" She burst into streaks and zipped into the longcoated boy's mask and he stumbled back as if punched.
The runner wondered if that hurt. Not like the guy would ever admit it. Akira lifted a hand to his mask for a beat, a tension the runner recognized from when Akira was studying. "Heh. Yeah, I think this'll do even better than Sui-ki."
"How come?" Ryuji prodded.
"Feels ready to wrestle something down. Like Makoto." The longcoated boy gave a shrug.
Afternoon
Matsushita's Tower, Narrow Bridge Room
Ryuji followed the team leader down a walkway lacking any kind of suspension cables. The glowing strips of lights at the edge were pretty cool, though the drop into infinity below felt less so after the fourth such room. The team paced to the right as the path split around one of the columns studded with buttons, levers, and dials just above the walkway.
They almost ran into the obnoxious palace ruler in a red cape. He stood up, towering over the thieves as a dramatic wind blew at his cape and nothing else. "Villainy can never prosper!"
Akira fired a warning shot.
Shadow Matsushita dove for cover behind the column. "Guards! Save me!"
"Da fuck?" Ryuji gabbed.
They didn't have time to gawk when a Shadow robot popped out of the floor, then swelled and burst into a white dragon with a pale green underbelly and gold horns like branching coral. It roared and the runner braced, both hands on his club and his gun secure on its strap. Morgana jumped back to scope the situation, letting Ann back up the runner.
Without wasting a beat, Akira shouted, "Skadi!"
The floating sorceress with an expansive green cloak manifested, casting an arm at Ann. The blonde breathed out fogged breath. "Carmen!" The purple-skinned dancer swirled into being, trailing glistening fog, and launched a series of giant ice spikes into the dragon. They impacted its scales, leaving gouges but failing to break through despite the growl the blows earned.
Marcus swung out over the black depths and the runner quashed a pang of jealousy that she could fly in her Persona. "Defense up!"
A shell hardened over the Thieves, then disappeared just in time for the dragon to curl in on itself and whip about, its coral-horn-studded tail lashing across the dancer and Ryuji bracing behind his club.
As soon as its reprisal was over, Ryuji slid out of his block with a grin. "My turn. Smash 'im, Captain!"
Kidd coalesced, wind already billowing his sails, and he slashed his sword as the battered ship smashed into the long dragon.
It growled, bearing sharp teeth, but a beat later a pinkish aura flared over its head and bashed it down into the walkway. Dismissing Zorro to allow the Thieves maximum room to maneuver, Morgana shouted, "Keep up the probing attacks. It's got to have some kind of weakness!"
"Pillar of Heaven!" Akira shouted from the back. A beat later, darkness zipped past the runner's feet and roared up into the dragon. If it did anything more than scratches, the runner couldn't see it. The runner sent a short burst of bullets into the dragon.
Ann's pistol cracked off to the left, and she almost fell into him. One of those annoying flying squirrels had swooped in and now rose off, swinging around like a Zero preparing for another strafing run.
Futaba was having none of it. "Oh, you want a fly-off? Eat lasers!" She broke away from the dragon and twin cyan beams hissed from her Roman-riding-glider thing.
Ryuji tried a concussive pulse of wind against the dragon, but if it did anything more than flinching it he couldn't tell.
More angered than injured by their attacks, the dragon reared up, sucking in enough air to make its body expand just a bit, then roared out a freezing gale like January hail. Without even being braced for it, the frigid attack knocked him back and the dragon kept sweeping its attack up the runner.
Whether it was planning on encasing him or continuing to freeze Akira, the runner would never know. Carmen jumped in the way, bracing behind her thorned whip for what little good that would do, and Ann growled against the pain.
Maybe recognizing the runner's frostbitten state or just eager to take the fight to the enemy, Akira leaped where the runner had been standing. "Time for the big guns. Raja Naga!"
A brawny snake-man in gold armor coalesced, his clawed gauntlets sparkling before pointing to the ceiling. A thick bolt of lightning blasted down into the dragon, causing it to stumble and leaving a black scorch.
Legs still stiff from the cold, Ryuji ejected his gun's magazine and pressed the fire crystal into the top, then slapped it in. "Fire, outgoing!" The longcoated boy glanced back and leaped out of the way as if one of the less-accurate Phantom Thieves was shooting. His stream of flaming bolts pelted the Shadow, driving it back just a few centimeters.
Above, he could hear Futaba lasering away at the flying squirrel. At least they weren't tangling up against the dragon.
Again the dragon curled in on itself, then snapped out, lashing its tail across the two in front. At least Ann and Akira braced this time, but doing so lost their momentum.
Morgana must have noticed, because he reached into a pouch and called it, "Magatama out!"
A tiny bead sailed through the air, but the instant it touched the dragon it burst into a brilliant column of light with a roar. When it faded, the dragon was scratched up but still standing. Or floating.
Morgana grimaced and clicked a crystal into a new locking socket on top of his crossbow. "Fine, then. This one's got no specific weakness."
Akira raised his P90. "Neither did the Skadi." He let loose a long burst.
Morgana fired a condensed bolt of writhing energy into the dragon and growled. "We're going to have to split attention. Panther, Joker! Help Oracle against the Ratatoskr. I'll keep the dragon busy until you guys are open. Reaper, back me up." He summoned Zorro, who swished his under-sized rapier before a wash of cool motes spread over the runner. "And Joker, I could use whatever you did earlier to make Reaper faster."
Ann fell back and a few beats later, the runner heard Akira call out Matador.
A shimmer passed over the team leader's body and he flipped out his bayonet. "Try to hold back unless it looks like I'm in trouble," Morgana said before he leapt straight at the Shadow as if he fought giants every day.
Like hell was Ryuji going to just sit back while the leader wore out the Shadow. Akira may have been pulling out some impressive Personas, but Ryuji still had the most powerful among the Phantom Thieves. "Rampage, Captain!"
Despite the relative narrowness of the walkway, Captain Kidd slid along the Shadow at a shallow angle, cutlass slashing up and down until hitting the edge of the path. Wind billowed in the ghostly ship's sails and it lifted off. It felt like a vice tightened around Ryuji's head, but he grit his teeth and focused to give his inner self a few more whacks at the dragon before the ship began to drop and he had to dismiss Kidd.
The dragon finished slashing its short arms ending in wicked claws and twisted around, those glowing blue eyes directing at the runner. It roared into the ceiling and the darkness above and below both turned foggy.
He knew shit was about to hit the fan even before icy javelins plunged from above. When he juked to one side to avoid those, it just opened him up to icy javelins lancing up from beneath. He could dodge one, but dozens proved too much and each one left him slower for the next. Were it not for Futaba's hardening enhancement, he was sure he'd have been speared many times over.
Distantly, the runner heard Akira's voice call out in the bold way he'd summon a Persona. Then a pulsating beam of green-and-white doom roared down into the dragon, slamming it to the walkway as smoke curled from its body.
The fog and ice javelins vanished and it glared up at Marcus as it swooped overhead.
Ryuji blasted gunfire at it to get its attention. The dragon flicked out its arms, stubby for its body size but tipped in claws the size of his forearm. Its eyes narrowed and its muscular body tensed.
The instant it released that energy, he threw his other self into the path of danger. Nobody ever won by playing it safe. Captain Kidd manifested on that broken boat and they collided with enough force to send a shockwave from the sudden impact. The blow shattered his persona into motes and pounded his body like a dead-on truck impact, but he saw it fumble backwards in dizziness.
"Joker, boost me!" Morgana shouted. Matador formed, danced, and the aura of foxfire formed over the team leader, then soaked into him. He howled in wordless rage and Zorro formed, eyes blazing with more power than he'd ever seen from the burly swordsman. An undulating aura raced over the dragon and it spasmed up, then slammed down with a crunch into the walkway, smoke gushing from its cuts.
His breath coming short and the pain too much to bear, Ryuji went down as he heard Akira call the team into an all-out beat-down. A few moments later, he heard the hissing sound of a Shadow becoming nothing, then motes of warmth washed over him and his breath came back.
Morgana paced closer, crossbow folded so he could cross his arms and glare. "I specifically told you to hang back and let me hold the Shadow's attention."
"No," Ryuji snapped back as he pushed himself back to his feet. "You told me to back you up. I figured the quicker we can take down the big baddie, the less hurt we'll all be. 'Sides, Oracle healed me up fine." He flexed left, then right. Yup, good as new.
"You can't be so reckless, Reaper! I have enough problems with Joker pulling stunts like that!"
Ann returned to the group, having been checking the ground where the Shadow was. "No sign of Shadow Matsushita. On the bright side," she lifted a hand, "that dragon had one of the chips to unlock higher balconies on the tower."
"Landing platforms," Akira corrected. He lifted his P90 to look over it. "Maybe I should get a sight on this thing, too. Panther was the one who ended up taking the flying squirrel down."
A hint of a blush showed beneath Ann's feline mask. "Well, Shinya-kun is quite the task master." Her eyes narrow at the runner. "At least he gives us good pointers."
To the runner's surprise, Akira steps between them. "Whoa! We've got a lot of tower left to cover. Let's take that chip and get to the lift."
Late Afternoon
Matsushita's Tower, Robot Recycling
Ryuji juked right, one point of the Shadow's nine-toothed rake catching his armored jacket. His foot hit the severed tracks of some forgotten rolling robot.
Akira dashed in from the side, only getting one good slash in before the Shadow parried and smacked him away.
"Reaper!" Hifumi's voice floated from… well, it sounded like she called from right next to the recovering runner, even if she was on the ground floor. "Zhu Bajie is weak to wind."
"Oh." As soon as he had his feet under him, he sent out Captain Kidd. A single wave of shredding winds knocked the Shadow into dissipating red-black muck.
"We'll meet you at the lift," Hifumi said.
Late Afternoon
Matsushita's Tower, Ground Floor
Makoto raised her shotgun and stepped out from the corner of the hallway. Like the rest of this tower, it all felt a little too clean. More like a sci-fi hospital than the trashy halls she imagined of a corrupt government bureaucrat sending interns to intimidate rival politicians running for office. The student president hustled up to the doors large enough to take a flatbed truck, Hifumi following close behind and Yusuke guarding the rear.
"That's them," Hifumi noted with a distracted tone.
Lights blinked on the computer panel next to the door and she tensed as the doors slid open with a hiss.
The hacker and runner leaned against a wrapped palette, chatting about energy drinks while Akira's hands rubbed against the blonde's shoulder. "That better?"
"Yeah. I…" Ann glanced up. "Oh, hey guys. I thought we were gonna meet you further out."
Despite the darkness of her hood, Hifumi's chin and smirk was still visible. "Dihya's pretty good at helping us avoid fights we don't want to be involved in." She cast a gloved hand into the air. "And now, brave adventurers, let us make the most of our time together!"
Late Afternoon
Matsushita's Tower, Freight Elevator
Wind rustled through the elevator as the Phantom Thieves headed back down. Ryuji tapped the steel-toed shoe against the wrapped pallet, annoyed at having to break off so close to the top. Bored and feeling a bit wired from the energy drink the president brought due to his dislike of coffee, he looked around the expansive metal space rushing downwards. Ann and Yusuke chatted over foreign films in one corner. A bit further away, he thought he spied Akira and Hifumi making out, but they didn't quite have their arms tight around each other like tended to happen there. One hand rested on the other's hip, the other clasping the other's hand as they more swayed than shuffled.
Ryuji elbow-tapped the president drinking coffee from the thermos cup next to him. "Hey, what're they doin'?"
Makoto shrugged. "Getting along? Things have been remarkably smooth going today. I'm just glad they pulled their heads out of their…" She sighed and pushed up her mask to massage the bridge of her nose. "I've been spending too much time around you."
"Asses," he helpfully supplied. "It's okay to say it, Prez."
Morgana bounded up, his folded crossbow in hand. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm good," Ryuji offered with a grin.
Morgana sighed. "You're going on the class trip in a few hours, Reaper."
The president crossed her arms, eyes darting about in small movements as she plotted. "Those magic crystals Akira gave us have done a lot to diversify our output, so I feel safe enough about our plans to visit Mementos later, but there's still the defensive gaps. I recommend we take some time to shop for some additional accessories so we can use a few more of those defensive enhancements he's managed to create."
"Did the memory terminals Joker told you about give you any ideas about what kind of calling card we'll need for the Palace Ruler?" Morgana said.
Bored with their business talk, the runner turned away, only for Makoto's strong hand to clap onto his shoulder. "You're all packed and ready for the juniors' class trip, right?"
Ryuji swallowed. "Y-yeah?" When her eyes narrowed on him, he pulled away. "Almost everything."
Wednesday, 7 September 2016
Evening
Haneda International Airport
Ann covered her mouth as a yawn crawled out, following behind Akira and Yuuki. She suspected, despite the anticipation for visiting such a vacation hotspot, that she would have been that 'on edge' sort of tired even if it hadn't been for the Phantom Thieves' excursion into Matsushita's tower. She didn't want to say anything to make Yuu-kun feel worse, but his presence seemed to magnify the absence of Shiho when all three were so looking forward to the splendor of the Pacific. But she was at another school now.
"If it helps any," Yuu-kun offered, "the flight's over 6 hours. Maybe it's a good thing to head out tired, you'll be able to get some shut-eye on the flight."
Akira turned a page in his book. "I should've brought War and Peace, I'm going to finish this thing before we get there."
Makoto rolled her eyes. "Well, it's about time for you all to check in. Make sure you look out for Ryuji, okay?"
The runner hiked his backpack further up. "Whaddya singlin' me out for?"
Ann glared at him. "Would you have been packed and ready if we hadn't all been together and reminding you about it just a few hours ago?"
"Yes!" he protested, though the wideness of his eyes said no.
She shook her head and turned her attention to the flight information. "Well, it looks like our flight is gonna be on time. I feel like anything headed to America runs late or gets canceled."
Makoto looked over the runner again. "You know you won't have the opportunity to grab something else if you didn't pack everything."
Akira shifted the strap for his black duffel bag. "He looks prepared to me."
Ryuji gave a bow. "Thank you. At least someone has a little faith in me. C'mon, it's only four nights. Ain't like we're gonna have a special palace visit or nothin'."
Akira jabbed him with an elbow.
Yuuki finished typing something into his phone. "Shouldn't you check in with your class rep before we board?"
To Ann's surprise, Akira flipped his book closed. "Oh! Let's take a group photo before we leave. That way we'll remember what the guy who gets eaten by a monster in a foreign hotel looked like."
Makoto's eyes widened. "What?"
Ann rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Akira. That's such a cheesy horror film cliché."
Ryuji hopped and clapped his hands. "You're in the middle, you be the camera dude."
Ann waved the class president over. "C'mon, you might as well join in, Prez."
She smiled. "This is a trip for the second years. It's not like I'm coming along to fill in for teachers caught in some scheduling scramble." Despite her words, she stepped closer and the runner pulled her tight against the others.
His phone camera clicked and they all remained crammed around to look at the image. Yuuki was looking off to one side.
His phone buzzed, Futaba with an incoming text on a direct message. [C'mon, Ryuji. At least open your eyes for a group photo.]
"Oh yeah, she's right!" Ann didn't realize she missed that. Then her breath caught. "Wait, how'd she know that? You haven't even sent us that photo yet."
[I bugged Akira's phone to find the Phantom Thief, remember? I can see EVERYTHING through his camera.]
Akira growled and texted back, [There are things I can do to ruin that.]
[You're assuming I wouldn't sell those photos,] the hacker retorted.
Makoto buried her face in her hands and groaned.
[Don't underestimate the original Medjed,] Futaba sent. The blonde could imagine the hacker cackling.
Akira tapped out, [I thought it was Alibaba now.]
A few beats passed as they waited for the hacker to answer, before Yuuki pointed out, "They're going to begin boarding. We better check in."
Makoto waved. "You all stay out of trouble, okay?"
Ann couldn't get over Futaba having access to pictures they hadn't even sent yet. "I am so glad she's not an enemy."
"Eff yeah," Ryuji said as they headed for the counter. "Bein' able to read texts we ain't even sent yet is scary as shit."
Akira gave him a side-eye. "Wait. What are you talking about?"
AN: Happy Christmas, everybody. Thank you for reading, and thanks a lot for reviews! I've had a lot pile onto me in real life, and a shift change or I'd have updated last weekend. Due to that shift change, it's going to be harder to update on the weekends, but I'm settling back into a routine so I should be able to make progress more rapidly. Stay safe and be good to each other.